text:
Saturday. 16/1/2021
Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday
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OPENER / ANDREW TUCK
Shot in the arm
When talking about the vaccine roll-out, government officials, including the UK's prime minister and especially our health secretary, Matt Hancock, make it oddly clear exactly where the jab has been given. I don't mean geographically as in, say, Thurrock, but rather the spot on the recipient's body. Hancock was at it again this week, telling TV viewers: "The good news is we are managing to get it out into arms as quickly as the two companies are delivering to us." Is he signalling that it won't be injected into Britons' prized bottoms? Judging by how often he says it, I wonder if a market research group warned him that old folk are nervous of being asked to drop their bloomers for the good cause and so might refuse to respond to the call up? Something's afoot – or at least abuttock – because the man can't stop himself.
Although, personally, I'd prefer it in a buttock. The sight of a needle – even on a TV show – makes me feel faint. As a child I had terrible hay fever and every spring, in a bid to prevent the annual sneezeathon, I would have to submit to a series of eight weekly injections of increasing intensity to supposedly give me some resistance. But if my arm swelled I would have to repeat the dose, which meant that some years I would end up having as many as 15 injections and by the time summer finally rolled around I was as perforated as an Aertex vest that's been eaten by moths. It's left me with needle issues. When it's eventually my turn to be vaccinated I might claim that Hancock has been saying "in the arse". Anything to look away and not see the needle.
The UK vaccine programme is seemingly almost going to plan and those in the most at-risk groups, some 15 million people, should have all been offered a jab by mid-February (certainly my senior neighbours and relatives have all had the initial injections). But the odd thing is that, for now, the messaging says that it offers no freedom. Even if you cannot catch coronavirus, perhaps you might pass it on, they claim. But that's a tricky line of argument and it's another reason why people just aren't shutting themselves away so strictly in this lockdown – when the young know that their grandparents are probably safe, it changes how they feel too. Meanwhile, I have an inkling that underground raves for the inoculated over-eighties could be a growth market.
A friend tells me that the builder on their project – a successful Polish entrepreneur – is obsessed with the anti-vaccination story, saying that the whole thing is a ruse so that Bill Gates can insert a microchip into everyone's arm. The builder says that he will refuse the invite to be vaccinated as he does not want to be tracked by big tech. He forwards a bonkers video of some doomster's rant – from his app-laden smartphone that supplies more data on him than anyone needs, tracks his every move and knows all about his penchant for pierogi. But, apparently, while his logic might be flawed, his plastering is faultless.
If you thought that the Brexit debate was over, bad luck. Everything is now filtered through the deal and its consequences. Successful vaccine programme? It's because we left the EU! And it certainly seems to be the ambition of Boris and the gang to beat our neighbours in this particular race. This week there was a kerfuffle over whether the hoi polloi could be told how many doses were in the UK. The reason? We were scared that other countries might steal our orders. "It's partly a matter of security," an official told one paper. "But it's also to protect manufacturers from pressure from other countries to deliver more to them, once they know how much we are getting." So, yes, the vaccine programme is about protecting our health but it's also geared to burnishing the government's bruised reputation.
I did have a jab though: for flu. As the doctor guided me into his office, he said, "I hope you don't mind, I have a trainee with me today who will be giving you the injection." It was hard to make a dash for it at that point. The trainee explained that my arm might hurt afterwards, that I could feel ill for a few days and that there was a risk of going into anaphylactic shock. I assured him that potential death was really not an issue but seeing the injection most definitely was. A manoeuvre was agreed upon in which I would look away and he would alert me when it was over. I even got a little plaster. But I really hope that there are not too many people like me in the world, or it will never be my turn to get the coronavirus jab – in my arm or anywhere else.
THE LOOK / KAMALA HARRIS
Vogue magazine's cover shot of US vice-president-elect Kamala Harris, for the print edition of its February issue, attracted controversy this week (writes Tomos Lewis). Standing in front of a messy backdrop of unstyled swathes of pink taffeta and green damask, Harris is wearing clothes that she reportedly chose for the shoot herself: a dark brown blazer, some comfortable-looking black trousers and a pair of Converse trainers, which became her trademark footwear during her own bid for the presidency. She looks at ease, smiling, hands clasped loosely in front of her, her stance suggesting movement, as though she has just arrived from somewhere or is about to step away to somewhere else. All of these qualities make the image starkly different from the familiar tropes of political portraiture.
And it's this breaking of the mould that appears to have irked so many. Commentators (and Harris's own team) have said that the image is too casual and does not capture Harris's historic accomplishments, nor the gravity or turbulence of the moment in which she was elected. A more serious allegation – that the tone of Harris's skin was lightened in the photograph – has been strongly refuted by Vogue's editor Anna Wintour. It feels somewhat unfair to express disappointment at the magazine for showing Harris wearing clothes that she chose herself; the look was very much part of her political persona when she was running for president. No doubt the magazine would still have drawn criticism had she been photographed looking like any other politician.
The most consequential shots of Harris, however, will be captured on Wednesday – inauguration day. They will show a woman of colour, one hand raised in the air, another on a copy of the Bible, taking her oath for an office that no one who looked like her has ever assumed before. And they will speak for themselves, no matter what Harris chooses to wear.
CULTURE / FASHION-WEEK FILM FESTIVALS
Scene on screen
After audiences were deprived of live events throughout 2020, this year's fashion weeks in both Berlin (which starts 18 January) and Milan (from 23 February) have opted for a strength-in-numbers approach, aligning the stylish goings-on with the cities' film festivals.
The events have not previously joined forces but the decision makes a lot of sense: many brands now unveil collections through film, such as Gucci's recent Gus Van Sant-directed flick and Miu Miu's In My Room series. We're curious to see how this alliance will unfold in future and whether there will be more crossover than just shared dates; perhaps we will see pick and mix and buckets of popcorn appear in the front rows of 2022's runways.
HOW WE LIVE / BODYGUARDS
Right hand man
Given that most celebrities now willingly upload snippets of their daily life to social media every couple of hours, gossip rags and paparazzi no longer hold the monopoly of the inside eye on VIPs' lives (writes Chiara Rimella). Still, some people are allowed a closer look than most. Sébastien Jondeau, the late Karl Lagerfeld's bodyguard is one such person. And, from 27 January, we can read all about it in his memoirs of a relationship with someone he considered almost a father, not just a boss.
Published by Flammarion, Ça va, cher Karl? might not be the first book in the canon – titles by Winston Churchill's and Princess Diana's respective chaperones are also available. But it is the most high-profile recent proponent of the genre. Interestingly, it's also one of the first books published about the famously inscrutable creative director since his death in 2019. We know that the muscular, silent and ruthless bodyguard figure has had considerable cinematic fortune, with Kevin Costner's role in 1992's The Bodyguard perhaps being the most successful. Now that we're thirsty for whatever mystique remains behind brands and celebrities, could their stone-cold expressions be the gateway to a new slew of tell-all biographies?
THE INTERROGATOR / CLAUDIO CERASA
As editor in chief of Il Foglio, Claudio Cerasa is part of a young guard of journalists shaking things up in Italy's media scene. Founded in 1996 as a centre-right, analysis-led daily, the svelte paper has freshened up considerably under his leadership. These days it attracts opinionated readers with a wry sense of wit. Cerasa's approach has led to newsstand success and as he explains, there are a fair few new supplements set to join the text-heavy broadsheet soon. Here we find out his choice of salty breakfast treat and the series he watches just before bedtime.
What news source do you wake up to?
I wake up to my social media timelines – primarily Twitter. And then I look at all the Italian front pages and the main international ones: The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The New York Times and Le Monde.
Any new projects that you're working on?
At the moment we're realising a project focused on agriculture and the innovation within it, telling stories of people and of excellence. And in the next few weeks we'll be launching a fashion special, with a different angle to other publications: talking about the business of it and the lesser-known brands. And then, on 31 January, we're celebrating 25 years of Il Foglio, so we'll release a 180-page magazine exploring 25 years of Italy through past editions of the newspaper.
Coffee, tea or something pressed to go with headlines?
In the morning I read the papers while I'm running on my treadmill for about 20 minutes. Then I drink a cappuccino and eat toasted bread with olive oil and salt.
Something from the FM dial or Spotify for your tunes?
I listen to Spotify and Youtube Music; I rely on my nine-year-old son's playlist. He finds beautiful songs that I then adopt as mine.
What's that you're humming in the shower?
I sing the songs I listen to on Spotify – recently it's been BTS.
What magazines are on your weekend sofa-side stack?
I read weekend inserts from the international newspapers – The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The New York Times and The Economist – and Monocle.
Newspaper of choice?
Aside from Il Foglio, The Wall Street Journal.
A favourite bookshop?
It's on Via Nazionale in Rome: Libreria Libraccio. It's a shop that's not too confused and full of ideas – ideal for those who like to be advised and not just follow bestseller lists.
Is that a podcast in your ear?
I don't really listen to podcasts; I don't find the time. Though we are thinking up ways of producing one.
What's the best thing you've watched on TV recently?
From the point of view of entertainment, a programme on Raiplay called Paese Reale: comedian Edoardo Ferrario has made a satirical talk show that mocks the Italian talk shows – it's very funny. In terms of series, I'm also watching Tehran and SanPa, a docuseries shot in Italy about a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts, which is currently part of the public discourse in Italy.
A favourite film?
Inside Man: I rewatched it recently and it is really well made: great dialogue and a captivating plot.
What's on before drifting off?
I watch the TV series Suits before going to bed – at the moment it's season nine on Netflix.
CULTURE / READ / WATCH / LISTEN
A world apart
'A River Called Time', Courttia Newland. Set in a world where colonialism and slavery never existed, and where African rather than European culture prevails, this audacious novel introduces us to a parallel London. Here the elite take refuge in an area called the Ark – built to protect them from pollution on a planet ravaged by climate change. Those on the outside, meanwhile, live in a city beset with inequality, where those in power have an aversion to truth-telling. Newland's bold addition to Afrofuturism reads like the missing link between JG Ballard and NK Jemisin.
'The Event', HBO Max. Remember large soirées, with their clinking glasses and impeccable catering? Though the hook for this series is the big-name chef Wolfgang Puck, the real protagonists are the members of his team, who have to work together like an organised army for every evening to come off splendidly. Behind the scenes of some of Hollywood's glitziest events, we watch the group navigate dramas and somersault to success when things inevitably go wrong.
'Introducing…', Aaron Frazer. Could any other title have been a better indication of the old-school nature of this album? Baltimore-born, Brooklyn-based Frazer teamed up with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys for his debut and the result is suitably warm and vintage-sounding. There are echoes of Motown and lashings of soul here: it's a heart-filling record to start the year with.
OUTPOST NEWS / 'ARA BALEARS', PALMA
Talk of the islands
With their turquoise waters and scenic coastlines, the Balearic Islands are a popular sunny retreat for many Spaniards and other Europeans alike (writes Julia Webster Ayuso). The archipelago is one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions and home to a population of more than a million people, who speak in dialects of both Spanish and Catalan.
Based in Palma de Mallorca, Ara Balears is the sister publication of Ara (meaning "now"), which was founded in Barcelona in 2010, and it's the sole Catalan-language print newspaper on the islands. "We are the only print publication that speaks to part of the population in their mother tongue. That gives us an advantage," says editor Enric Borràs, who is from Barcelona but has spent a large part of his career working in Mallorca. He took over as editor in chief in 2018 to oversee the transition of the daily newspaper into a weekly, favouring longer formats that can stay relevant to its readers for longer. Here, Borràs tells us about the escalating pandemic, a historical anniversary, and Mallorca's snowcapped mountains.
What's the big news this week?
The biggest news is the pandemic. Restrictions have been tightened this week but each island is on a different tier specific to the local situation.
A favourite headline from a recent issue?
We ran a historical piece last week under the headline, "500 years since the Brotherhoods: revolt, civil war and repression". The Germanies, or Brotherhoods, was a revolt that happened in Mallorca against the urban middle class and high nobility, sparked by similar revolts in Castile and Valencia. It's an important event in our history; you can draw some parallels with the present day when it comes to centralism and some of the current issues we have in Spain.
What's your down-page treat?
We have a column called Hàbitats Naturals ("natural habitats") by a well-known writer from Mallorca called Sebastià Alzamora. He analyses island life from an outsider's perspective and it's a fun read. Last week's was titled, "Mallorcans in the snow: the musical", in which he talked about how everyone goes crazy when it snows here. During the snowstorm in Spain people flocked to the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountains on the north of the island, causing huge traffic jams despite the government's restrictions and health warnings.
What's the next big event on your radar?
The question is, when and how we will be able to welcome tourists again? That's what we'll all be monitoring very closely.
WHAT AM I BID? / VIRGINIA WOOLFE'S LITERARY CONFESSIONS
Heirloom of one's own
Ever wanted to flick through the diary of your favourite writer to find out what they thought of their famous friends – who they think is supremely talented or who was a bit of a jerk? Well, fans of Virginia Woolf and her contemporaries now have the chance to (writes Hester Underhill). Gloucestershire-based auctioneers Dominic Winter will take offers on Really and Truly: A Book of Literary Confessions, an important log of British literary gossip from the 1920s, in which 10 writers have answered a set of questions about their opinions on everything from their favourite children's book to the worst English playwright.
Aside from Woolf, who has written her answers in her signature purple ink, writers including Hilaire Belloc and Margaret Kennedy (whose grandson currently owns the book) have filled out the questionnaire. "It's great fun and was created as a sort of parlour game," says auctioneer Chris Albury. "The answers even show a bit of bitchiness and backstabbing. Woolf names Hilaire Belloc as the most overrated English writer, while Belloc – and this is probably tongue-in-cheek – names himself as his favourite living humourist and essayist." The lot is expected to reach an estimated £4,000 (€4,500) when it goes on sale on 21 January.
dominicwinter.co.uk
FASHION UPDATE / JM WESTON
Football might be known as the beautiful game but, let's be honest, it doesn't look great. The neon trainers, garish patterns and logo-heavy T-shirts can be a bit of an eyesore. Fortunately, French shoemaker JM Weston is making sure that some players are staying snappy.
As a 140th birthday gift to historic French team Girondins de Bordeaux, the cordwainer has crafted a set of smart leather shoes, including the brand's classic 180 Moccasins, for the club's top-tier players to don while they're off the pitch. The shoe brand is celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2021 and, as a Limoges-based company, it seems to be sending a clear statement on the region's heritage: effortless style, virtuosity and free kicks that look good.
jmweston.com


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David Sherrington  is a British theoretical physicist and Wykeham Professor of Physics Emeritus at the University of Oxford.  He is known for his work in condensed matter and statistical physics, and particularly for the invention of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model, an exactly solvable mean-field model of a spin glass.

Career

David Sherrington was born in Blackpool, UK in 1941 and grew up in Yorkshire.  He received an undergraduate degree in physics in 1962 and a PhD in theoretical physics in 1966, both from the University of Manchester.  After a brief period as a lecturer at Manchester, he took a position at Imperial College London as a lecturer in physics, rising subsequently to the rank of reader and later professor.  In 1989 he moved to Oxford University as a Fellow of New College and to Oxford's Department of Theoretical Physics (now the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics) as the sixth Wykeham Professor of Physics and head of the department.  He retired as head of the department in 2004 and from the professorship in 2008.  Sherrington has been Editor-in-Chief of the review journal Advances in Physics since 1984, and was a founding editor of Communications on Physics as well as editor of the Oxford Monographs in Physics book series starting in 1995.

Among other honours, Sherrington is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, and the European Academy of Sciences.  He was recipient of the Bakerian Medal of the Royal Society in 2001, the Dirac Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics in 2007 and the Blaise Pascal Medal from the European Academy in 2010.

Research

Sherrington's contributions to theoretical physics are in the areas of condensed matter physics, statistical physics and complex systems, particularly focusing on glassy systems, neural networks and optimization problems.  Perhaps his best known contribution is the 1975 invention, with Scott Kirkpatrick, of the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model of a spin glass.  The Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model is an Ising spin glass model in which every spin interacts with every other, with interaction strengths having signs that are chosen independently at random.  The importance of the model stems from the fact that it was subsequently shown, in work by Giorgio Parisi, to be exactly solvable for its thermal equilibrium properties.  The solution, which was based on the replica method, reveals a phase transition in the model to a glassy phase that displays a loss of ergodicity.  Sherrington has made numerous subsequent contributions to replica theory and the theory of spin glasses, and is also notable for his work on complex systems including the minority game (a model of market competition) and early work on the application of statistical mechanics to network theory.

See also
 Spin glass
 Artificial neural network

Articles

References

British physicists
20th-century British physicists
21st-century British physicists
1941 births
Theoretical physicists
Complex systems scientists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Institute of Physics
Fellows of New College, Oxford
Wykeham Professors of Physics
Living people

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Need an optimization algorithm I need this algorithm for one of my projects. I will paraphrase the problem.
There are 'n' ropes that have different colored rings on them. (The colors might repeat on the same rope or across different ropes).
My job is to pick a few of these ropes and join them such that all the colors in the n ropes are included in that joined rope. I should get the smallest rope size possible.
I am allowed to cut each rope once and discard the end part if needed.
It will be nice to have exact solution for this.(This gives us something like a goal that our project is aiming to achieve). Can someone tell me how I might approach this? The n is about 10^5 for my work.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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© 2015 Remax - Real Estate.


Admitted to practice in all courts in the State of New York in the year 2000, I am also a dual Irish-American citizen. New York's civil legal system is highly-developed, and the civil law provides remedies in the courts for actionable negligence that results in harm. This Tort prinicple runs through the entire Insurance industry, and is also part of the 'social contract' between individuals and Government agencies. Since 1792, the 7th Amendment (Bill of Rights) guarantees the right to a jury trial in a civil action.
I represent plaintiffs in civil cases in the Supreme Courts of New York County, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Westchester and Nassau. For over 18 years, I have had an excellent track record successfully resolving complex medical malpractice, serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, many of which were referred to my office by other attorneys. I meticulously prepare, give each case thorough attention to detail, and provide regular client updates on case progress.
After passing the New York Bar exam first time in 2000, I worked in a plaintiff's firm, of counsel to the NYC Transit Authority in bus and train accident cases. I also represented members of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association in discplinary hearings on Riker's Island. None of it was glamorous, but I have always enjoyed the practice of law. I'm also very interested in medicine, and I have transitioned into practice areas that focus on medicine. As an associate and 'of counsel' attorney to prominent medical malpractice firms, and as a solo practitioner since 2012, I have recovered substantial awards and settlements for my clients in serious personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases. I also handle the administration of deceased clients' estates in the Surrogate's Courts, and responsive briefs in appellate courts, and personally ensure that the case is handled correctly from the beginning to the very end. As a solo practitioner, I have recovered multiple seven-figure settlements for my clients.
I have successfully taken on cases from catastrophic accidents, involving many experts, and a wide range of medical malpractice cases, such as surgical error, delayed cancer diagnosis, post-operative infection, nursing home injury, plastic surgery error, Emergency Room failure to order lab tests, paramedic pre-hospital negligence, and many others. I hope to bring a compassionate and professional approach to difficult situations.
The advantage of retaining a solo practitioner to handle your case is that you are more than a file number. When a client calls, they speak to me, their attorney, not an associate or paralegal. I know immediately what is going on with my clients' cases because I handle them personally. You only have one case, and I know that.
Upon consultation and retainer, my office will investigate your case, prepare all paperwork, advance case expenses, obtain records, review medical records, consult with experts, investigate liens, present claims, correspond with insurance claims adjusters and defense lawyers, keep you informed of every step in the process, file your lawsuit, and all court papers, pleadings and discovery exchanges. I will personally appear in court on your case, pursue crucial documents, take and defend all depositions, subpoena records, engage in motion practice, engage in settlement negotiations, draft all papers necessary to accomplish settlement, and if we can't get an adequate settlement, proceed to pick a jury for trial, secure all records for trial, draft trial memoranda and submissions, present and try your case to verdict, and prepare all papers necessary to enforce judgment, and resolve liens. In a wrongful death case, I will also prepare and file Surrogate's Court estate administration petitions. I work hard to ensure that your case moves forward in a thorough and professional manner.


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Massage for pregnant women is delicate and gentle, it helps relieve muscle tension and swelling, promotes better sleep and general feeling. Massage is carried out with a pregnancy doctor's permission if there is no risk of a miscarriage.


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April 29th, 2019 Neville Smith Asia, Operations, Opinion, Tech 0 comments
The first step in making a change is acknowledging the need for change and by that marker, the maritime industry should by now be well along with the process of digital transformation. To judge by the attention lavished on digitalisation at the Sea Asia exhibition earlier this month, the topic ranks ahead of regulation and profitability in the minds of owners.
That appears to put the cart before the horse, but rightly or wrongly, technology is being touted as the means to comply with the former and as a key to unlock the latter. The Maritime CEO Forum was uniquely able to give the topic its due place in the pecking order, bringing together a tech accelerator, a leading shipmanager, an autonomous ship platform and the industry's leading communications provider for a discussion that ranged widely.
Ultimately, digital progress is probably still not fast enough and is hampered by familiar issues; the scale of the challenge, a lack of collaboration and a fragmented vendor-driven approach to name but three. But there is reason to be positive and still plenty of opportunity for the ambitious, if not the brave.
And as an aside, the previous week's CMA Shipping had seen numerous well-funded technology bucks describe their transition from start-ups to industry players – though the problems they were tackling sounded very familiar.
So how does shipping get from digital dreaming to reality – and is it even necessary for all players? Wallem CEO Frank Coles has run technology-focused businesses and is no doubt that the problem is not scarcity but abundance.
"The industry does need to change but it starts in the office not on the ship, with leadership. There is not enough culture around modernising and using technology as an enabler," he said. "What we have is a lot of people talking fragmented and unconnected apps and tools and they are presenting to people who are very confused and very scared because they don't understand how to use them. None of it is connected and we're not collaborating."
Päivi Haikkola is ecosystem lead at One Sea, a platform that drives OEM collaboration with the aim of developing autonomous vessel technology and has found that the desire for collaboration requires more than just open APIs. "I have to admit we have found it is not as easy as it sounds, there are so many internal systems and everyone is afraid their IP will disappear if they open them up."
The feeling that we are still at the start of the digital journey was reinforced by Inmarsat Maritime president Ronald Spithout who was shocked by the company's research into IoT which found that 51% of respondents had 'no clue' how to get real time information off their vessels.
"What we have so far is owners using apps for cost saving; that's the lowest level of digitalisation of the industry as a whole. Only the most sophisticated shipmanagers are getting to the next level," he said. "The capacity of most organisations [in the digital sphere] is still not there at all, with enormous fragmentation in standards and platforms."
Incredibly innovative in cargo transport, it seems shipping's engagement with digital so far is about saving nickels and dimes rather than having a wider vision. Spithout agreed there are far too many solutions and hopes to see a de facto platform where apps and data can be interchanged in a standardised way.
"The problem is that it's disruption and not innovation," added Coles. "We're looking for change but it's really hard to get there. Companies are still using 15-20 different applications in an office when we should be driving towards the least amount of paper as possible. We're talking autonomy and pushing paper; there's something wrong with the narrative."
Dhritiman Hui, who brings high level shipping experience to EPS MaritimeTech Accelerator Powered by Techstars, reckons that part of the problem is sectoral. "For young and tech savvy entrepreneurs, shipping is not something you look at. It hums along in the background and not enough technologists have tried to do anything," he said. Exceptions include 'poster boy' Flexport whose valuation exceeds that of Inmarsat and Hui believes the situation "is going to change exponentially over the next 10 years or so. Owners will have to stay ahead of that curve."
But is the start-up model the right one since it tends to focus on discrete problems in a model designed for a short term payback rather than a long term solution. Hui pointed out that unlike in fintech or ride sharing, where a young entrepreneur can run a limited experiment with tens of thousands of users, "in shipping you are talking about innovating around a massive vessel with all the risks attached. It's much harder for an outsider to come in and experiment." Instead he advocated teaming up with an incumbent as this gave owners and managers the opportunity to get in on the disruption rather than be disrupted.
Haikkola agreed and said the size of the innovation challenge meant that the sums investors could put in and the relative scale start-up companies were far from sufficient. "We realised early on that to back a 10 person start-up on technology that has to last for 20 years is a disaster. When we talk about start-ups what we mean is start-ups like IBM, companies that are not in maritime or autonomy."
The lack of collaboration also means there is very little of the standardisation that is needed, if the industry is to adopt more than the entry level technology. She admitted that even with big OEMs onboard, the task was 'overwhelming' not because they wouldn't share data and information but because the challenges had to be broken out and addressed piece by piece.
Perhaps the reality is that the industry needs another shakeout of personnel in order to drive transformation – and a round of retirements. Hui disagreed, noting that his peers and colleagues all want technology, innovation, simplification and cost savings but that new opportunities would come only by having more success stories to share.
Having just celebrated a significant birthday himself, Coles agreed that too many companies were staffed by managers thinking in terms of 20 years ago and Spithout advocated for a blend of youth and experience.
For her part, Haikkola pointed out that more creative thinking would result from greater gender diversity, though she noted 'Elon Musk is a middle aged white man'. So perhaps there's hope for shipping after all.
This article was first published by Global Navigation Solutions last week.
Maritime CEO Forum
Singapore Maritime Week
Neville Smith is director of maritime PR consultancy Mariner Communications. His fee for this column has been donated to Sailors Society.
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Would the Baltic Exchange serve the markets better by going down the 'last done' route, like equities markets, rather than its existing broker panel system?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text: Q: Set TableView as central widget in dialog I'm now develop a GUI using QT in C++. I know we can use function setCentralWidget to set a widget as central widget of mainwindow, but how can I do that in dialog.


press release: Rebecca Williams Spindler, author, and Adrienne Hulburt-Stroud, Common Ground Café owner/writer are excited to assemble a unique variety of local Wisconsin published authors. Novels from the following genres will be represented: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime Thriller, Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Humor and Memoir.
The Great Summer Read is a day filled with author panels, Q&A sessions, and the opportunity to purchase and have your books signed by authors in a wide variety of literary genres. There are four two-hour panel sessions with 4-5 authors on each panel. The panels will take place on the main dining room stage throughout the day Saturday, June 2. There will also be a series of free workshops that will take place in the large meeting room upstairs throughout the day.
This event is free and no registration is required! Feel free to grab food or drink from our cafe or bar while enjoying author presentations and workshops.
Check out a great variety of books in time to add to your summer reading list. Join local authors as they discuss the writing process, editing and publishing. They will also read from their books. These highly praised books will attract many readers.


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use Psi\Bridge\ContentType\Doctrine\PhpcrOdm\Tests\Functional\PhpcrOdmTestCase;

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 * @OutputTimeUnit("milliseconds", precision=2)
 */
class DoctrinePhpcrBench extends PhpcrOdmTestCase
{
    use DoctrineBenchTrait;

    public function setUp()
    {
        $container = $this->getBenchContainer();
        $this->objectManager = $container->get('doctrine_phpcr.document_manager');
        $this->initPhpcr($this->objectManager);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
ACM CSCW
Hateful People or Hateful Bots? Detection and Characterization of Bots Spreading Religious Hatred in Arabic Social Media
Nuha Albadi
This post summarizes a CSCW 2019 paper titled "Hateful People or Hateful Bots? Detection and Characterization of Bots Spreading Religious Hatred in Arabic Social Media" by Nuha Albadi, Maram Kurdi, and Shivakant Mishra.
In our previous work on religious hate speech — hatred that is based on religious affiliation or lack of such — on Arabic Twitter, we found that almost half of the Arabic tweets discussing religion incited hatred and/or violence against religious minorities in the Arab world, mostly targeting Jews, Atheists, and Shia — the second largest Islamic sect. For example, we found that there was about 60% chance that a tweet would be hateful if it contained the Arabic equivalent of one the words: Jew, Jews, and Judaism. Having such a large volume of hate speech and knowing that ISIS and other radical organizations have been using bots to push their extreme ideologies, we hypothesized that bots may be to blame for a significant amount of this widespread hatred.
We identified Twitter accounts disseminating hate speech from the data set constructed in our previous work. We then took a sample subset of these accounts, manually examined each one of them, and assigned a bot-likelihood score ranging from 0 to 5, with 0 being "very unlikely" and 5 being "very likely" based on the extent by which an account exhibited a suspicious bot-like behavior. We show below examples with pictures of some bot-like behavior.
Tweeting nonsensical tweets or random letters that do not form actual words.
The same content is posted by several other accounts around the same time. The content usually is about general facts or famous quote.
Being followed by accounts with an empty profile description and the Twitter default profile image.
Those random letters again with an excessive use of hashtags for every tweet.
We then used this labeled data set to train a machine learning regression model that can automatically score new accounts from 0 to 5 based on the level of bot-like behavior they show. This model takes into account content and linguistic features (e.g., average length of words and tweets and average number of emojis, hashtags, and URL links per tweet), tweet features (e.g., the proportion of original, reply, and retweet tweets), topic and sentiment features, and account features (e.g., number of followers and friends).
After applying the model on a wider range of accounts with hateful tweets, we found that bots do have a role in the spread of religious hate on Arabic Twitter. In particular, we found that about 11% of accounts with hateful tweets were more likely to be bots. Our topic analysis showed that bots participate in highly controversial political discussions related to Israel/Palestine and Yemen. We also found that Arabic bots can live longer than English bots.
Our feature analysis showed that bots in our data set exhibit distinct behaviors and features. Unlike humans, bots tend to be isolated and not engage in conversations with other accounts. We found that human accounts usually exhibit a variety of behaviors such as replying, retweeting, and tweeting an original text, whereas bots tend to show more of a black and white behavior in the sense that some of them only retweet while others only tweet original tweets. We also found a significant difference in the distribution of topics discussed by bots and humans. Unlike bots, humans tend to discuss a wider range of topics.
We found linguistic features to be highly discriminatory in detecting Arabic bots. We showed that training the model on simple content and linguistic features outperformed Botometer — a bot detection model that relies on language-independent features when it is presented with a non-English tweeting account. This result emphasizes the importance of considering language specific features in bot detection tasks. Important informative linguistic features include the use of numerics and emojis. We found that bots tend to include in their tweets less emojis and more numbers than humans. Other informative linguistic features include the average length of words and the average number of punctuation marks.
The analysis of social media content to understand online human behavior is of a great interest to many researchers. Our findings challenge the assumption often made by such studies that online social media content is always created by humans. We showed that the presence of bots can bias analysis results and disrupt people's online social experience. Platform designers should increase their efforts in combating malicious bots that compromise online democracy. Data scientists should also account for bots in their studies. In particular, Arabic social media studies that are focused on understanding the differences in behaviors and language use between humans and bots can benefit greatly from our bot detection model.
Paper Citation: Nuha Albadi, Maram Kurdi,and Shivakant Mishra. 2019. Hateful People or Hateful Bots? Detection and Characterization of Bots Spreading Religious Hatred in Arabic Social Media. In Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 3, CSCW, Article 61 (November 2019), 25 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359163
Research from the ACM conference on computer-supported cooperative work and social computing
Cscw2019


text:
Utomi floats $135m commodities exchange
by GTI Research · August 23, 2017
Integrated Produce City Limited is developing a new agricultural commodities exchange to take advantage of the government's efforts to boost farming output to reduce reliance on oil.
The Exchange will be located near the southern city of Benin, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub, a site accessible to nearby growers of cocoa, palm oil, rubber and cassava, its Chief Executive Officer, Pat Utomi, said in an interview.
"The concept of a wholesale-produce market is to enable the farmer to fully dispose of his produce, instead of today where he loses 80 per cent of his output" that rots before it can reach the market, Utomi said in Abuja, according to Bloomberg.
Nigeria is boosting investment in agriculture to increase exports and cut food imports that cost it $3.2bn in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The country has been hit hard by lower output and prices of crude, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of foreign income and two thirds of government revenue.
Integrated Produce City will have storage facilities, including refrigerated warehouses, and host processing plants on its 100-hectare (247-acre) site in Edo State's Ugbokun village when it starts operating by the end of 2018, Utomi said.
Italy's flagging economy may scupper radical coalition's plans
Oil prices rise; still set for third weekly drop on oversupply, U.S.-China trade dispute
Senate frowns on bailout funds for power sector
Next story SEC, NSE want legal firms listed on capital market
Previous story Nigeria's forex inflow hits $1.79bn in Q2 '17 — NBS


text:
Christian Gehring (* 1. Januar 1979 in Villingen-Schwenningen) ist ein deutscher Politiker der CDU. Seit 2021 ist er Abgeordneter im Landtag von Baden-Württemberg.

Leben
Nach seiner Mittleren Reife mit 16 Jahren begann er als Polizist zu arbeiten. Von 1995 bis 2000 war er Schutzpolizist. Er wurde in Lahr/Schwarzwald und Freiburg im Breisgau ausgebildet und war anschließend Teil einer Einsatzhundertschaft in Stuttgart. Danach war er bis 2010 als Personenschützer tätig. Nachdem er seine Hochschulreife berufsbegleitend nachgeholt hatte, besuchte er von 2006 bis 2009 die Hochschule für Polizei Baden-Württemberg in Villingen-Schwenningen und schloss sie als Diplom-Verwaltungswirt (FH) ab. Ab 2010 arbeitete bei der Kriminalpolizei, zunächst in Waiblingen. Ab 2017 war er beim Landeskriminalamt Baden-Württemberg in der Führungsgruppe des Staatsschutzes tätig. Seit 2019 arbeitete er im Innenministerium Baden-Württemberg im dortigen Landespolizeipräsidium.

Politik
Gehring ist kooptiertes Mitglied im Kreisvorstand der CDU Rems-Murr und stellvertretender Ortsvorsitzender der CDU Kernen im Remstal. Bei der Landtagswahl in Baden-Württemberg 2021 erzielte er im Wahlkreis Schorndorf ein Zweitmandat.

Privates
Gehring ist verheiratet, hat drei Kinder und wohnt in Kernen im Remstal.

Weblinks
 Homepage von Christian Gehring

Landtagsabgeordneter (Baden-Württemberg)
CDU-Mitglied
Politiker (21. Jahrhundert)
Deutscher
Geboren 1979
Mann


text:
Home > Entertainment > Celebrity > Nessa Barrett
Nessa Barrett Really Doesn't Know How to Stay out of the Spotlight
By Chrissy Bobic
Feb. 10 2021, Updated 2:23 p.m. ET
The roaring 2020s are a strange time. Not only does the youth have a pandemic hanging over their heads to give them tons of uncertainty, but they can suddenly become famous overnight thanks to apps like TikTok. Over the past year, it has become *the* place for rising internet celebrities, including Nessa Barrett, who was recently exposed for not only using the n-word more than once, but also maintaining two finstas, or fake Instagram accounts where a user posts private things for followers.
It's basically like the now-adults of the MySpace days thought they had it hard as teenagers and the Gen Z kids said, "Hold my beer." Because as famous as Nessa might be on the internet, she has that much more potential to have haters coming for her as soon as she slips up. And, according to a former classmate and other internet sleuths, she has continued to slip up enough to be continually exposed.
Nessa Barrett's finstas have been exposed.
Someone claiming to be Nessa's former classmate on TikTok recently exposed her finstas and, in turn, exposed Nessa for being as derogatory as some have considered her to be in recent months. He claimed that, through her fake Instagram accounts, she has shown how racially and culturally insensitive she is.
According to this former classmate, Nessa has used the n-word on her finstas both in songs and in captions, she fat shames other people, and she makes fun of those who have disabilities. But after already being called out for being racially insensitive, it's just another shoutout from the internet to Nessa's alleged misdeeds. Whether or not her finstas are legitimate, none of this looks good added to her laundry list of internet issues.
A post shared by ✰ 𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 ✰ (@nessabarrett) on Feb 11, 2020 at 11:58am PST
She has been accused of being culturally insensitive before.
After Nessa posted a TikTok of herself and a friend dancing to the Quran of all things, she received tons of backlash. She took the video down and issued multiple statements about it. In one, she essentially defended her actions and claimed to have distant relatives through marriage in Egypt which, through her explanation, made it seem as though it negated any insensitivity she had expressed in her video.
Who is Nessa Barrett dating?
As a TikTok celebrity whose fandom extends well beyond the short form video platform, Nessa has plenty going on in her life. This includes a boyfriend who is famous in his own right. According to Nessa's Instagram account which appears to be her main one outside of her alleged finstas, she is dating fellow TikTok star Josh Richards — who had his own "exposure" in April 2020 in which he literally exposed his privates on Instagram Live.
Although there were rumors of an April 2020 breakup, judging by Instagram, Nessa is still dating the Sway House member. She might need him to lean on if people continue to come for her, especially in light of the allegations of her multiple Instagram accounts and continued offensive language and behavior over social media. Nessa has already been exposed a few times, and those instances may not be the last.
Here Are the TikTok Stars Living in the Sway House
TikTok Star Lilhuddy Got Diss-Tracked for Allegedly Cheating on Charli D'Amelio
Josh Richards Exposed Himself on Instagram Live and Fans Are Freaking Out
Latest Nessa Barrett News and Updates


text:
Q: Django: how to create a ContentType Object for a Permission? I'm trying to create in the backend Groups and Permissions.
Now I'm trying to understand what is the content_type argument and how to use it when creating a Permission.
Documentation for Permission model says:

content_type¶
Required. A reference to the django_content_type database table, which contains a record for each installed model.

How can I get this content_type? Where should I look for it?
I'm using PosgresSQL as Database.
According to this other question, one can do this:
from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Group, Permission
from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType

content_type = ContentType.objects.get(app_label='app_name', model='model_name')
permission = Permission.objects.create(codename='can_create_hr',
                                       name='Can create HR',
                                       content_type=content_type) # creating permissions
group = Group.objects.get(name='HR')
group.permissions.add(permission)

But again, what is app_label='app_name', model='model_name' inside:
content_type = ContentType.objects.get(app_label='app_name', model='model_name')?
My project structure:
stickers-gallito-app
    |_cart
    |_shop

A: As we can see in the source code [GitHub] it refers to the ContentType model [Django-doc]:
class Permission(models.Model):

    #  ...

    name = models.CharField(_('name'), max_length=255)
    content_type = models.ForeignKey(
        ContentType,
        models.CASCADE,
        verbose_name=_('content type'),
    )
    codename = models.CharField(_('codename'), max_length=100)
A ContentType is a model to refer to model classes. If you install the contentype app, then Django will maintain such table and "maintain" it: this means that if you add an extra model, Django will automatically add an entry to the ContentType model. You can see these values in your database (usually under the django_content_type table).
A model class is defined in an app, and that app has a label. Furthermore a model also has a name itself. For example for the User model, we see:
>>> from django.contrib.auth.models import User
>>> User._meta.app_label
'auth'
>>> User._meta.model_name
'user'

A model can thus be specified through the app_label and the model_name.
You can for example obtain a reference to the class of that content type through the model_class method:
mypermission.content_type.model_class()


text:
Q: how to schedule kafka topic message consumptions? I've been working with Apache Kafka and was able to publish and consume messages on my Ubuntu server. So basically I've got my publisher Java program & on the other hand I've got my consumer Java program.
I'm hereby providing the source code for my Consumer class. I've got somewhat knowledge on scheduling such as Threads and TimerTask. In the source code I'm printing the messages repetitively using a while.
What I want to know is, how could I print, the number of messages (ie: count of the messages) have been consumed within a period of 3 seconds. I've done something like this when I'm publishing the messages:.
TimerTask tasknew = new TimerTask() {

        @Override
        public void run() {
            System.out.println("count : "+ count);
            count = 0;

            for (int i = 1; i < 2100; i++) {
                count = count + 1;
                String ip = "192.168.2." + rnd.nextInt(255);
                String msg = " testing ";
                KeyedMessage<String, String> data = new KeyedMessage<String, String>("Games", ip , msg);
                producer.send(data);

            }
        }
    };
    Timer timer = new Timer();
    timer.schedule(tasknew, 100, 3000);

So what basically this does is to print 700 messages, every three seconds. I need the same to be done when I'm consuming as well. But to show the number of messages that have been consumed within a period of 3 seconds for example.
How can I work it around? Any help would be appreciated.

A: To answer your question, I would say YES.
Yes we can do monitor the consumer and find it out what is the message rate of consumers.
To have this there are multiple tools available like - KAFKA UI and GANGLIA.
KAFKA provides JMX port which is configurable when we install these tools and you can simply see the metrics.


text:
Hamano (written:  or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:

, Japanese photographer
, Japanese golfer
Junio Hamano, Japanese software developer
Kazco Hamano (born 1970), Japanese singer
, Japanese musician, composer and actor
, Japanese film director
, Japanese archer
, Japanese football player

See also
Hamano Station, a railway station in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Japanese-language surnames


January is the time people make New Year's resolutions; February is when they begin planning how they're going to make them happen. The Fork + Farm team of world-class chefs is no exception, but while we've been busy dreaming up new ways to wow our clients for the new year, we can't help but look back on some of the highlights from 2017!
It was an honour for the F + F team to plan, execute, and cater a very special birthday for one of our corporate clients. Over a dozen of our staff came together to create this "Okanagan Garden Party" themed event in the Napa of the North, which featured two nights of celebration, creative and interactive food stations, and the incomparable 54/40 playing long into the night- all under two huge tents on the warm, sunny shores of Lake Okanagan. Our team is incredibly proud to have created this celebration of such a community pillar and looks back on this as not only our biggest event yet, but one of our most successful.
We make sure we always have our finger on the pulse of the latest and most innovative industry trends, so we were thrilled to be featured in Avenue Magazine as wedding food trend experts. The article showcased some of the newest and most exciting wedding food trends of 2017. Expert Tip? 2018 is going to be all about geo cakes, ice branding (it's a thing!), seafood charcuterie, gold on everything, and yes folks, it looks like frosé is here to stay!
At F + F we're devoted to providing our clients with passionately crafted culinary experiences. We believe an important part of being able to deliver those experiences is having an innovative team that's always on the cutting edge of new technologies and trends. This past year F + F brought six outstanding members of our team on a week long adventure to New Orleans, Louisiana, to attend Catersource 2017, an educational catering conference which teaches the latest trends and techniques in the industry. We loved being able to bring these new skills back to YYC, so this year our team is set to learn once more from the best in Denver, at The Special Event in New Orleans, and, of course, at Catersource Las Vegas!
4. 18 Offsite Christmas Events in 10 Days!
2017 truly was a banner year for F + F – we had an incredibly busy year and broke all our previous records! With that excitement comes a bigger team; we now have three Event Experience Coordinators and seven Chefs, all committed to creating "hand-crafted everything" culinary experiences for Calgary and beyond.
Interested in booking Fork + Farm? Click here!


text:
When talking about having twins with Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan remarks, "It still hasn't sunk in."
In a recent interview, Vignesh Shivan discussed the delight of becoming a father and shared his emotions. He had surrogate twin sons earlier this year with his wife Nayanthara.
On October 9, surrogate parents Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara welcomed their twin children. Vignesh has been highly active on social media ever since he decided to embrace fatherhood and has shared numerous postings there in which he expresses his happiness at becoming a father. He described it as a "surreal" emotion for him in a recent interview.
Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan wed in a private ceremony in Chennai on June 9. Their families and a select group of close friends from the film community attended the wedding. Shah Rukh Khan and Rajinikanth were among the guests that attended their wedding.
Vignesh Shivan announced their surrogate birth of twin boys on Instagram four months after their wedding. When describing how much his life has changed after becoming a parent to India Today, he said, "It still hasn't totally sank in for me that I am now a dad. Being with them and spending as much time with them as I can right now is the most fun and happy I've ever had.
The pair was photographed at Tirupati the day after their wedding, where they had travelled to perform a special puja. Nayanthara was seen wearing shoes while walking inside the temple grounds, which resulted in the pair receiving a legal warning for breaking the temple's laws. Following the delivery of the couple's legal notification, Vignesh apologised. In addition, Vignesh and Nayanthara stirred some controversy when they revealed they were adopting a child through surrogacy. Due to India's recent ban on commercial surrogacy, the process' legality was called into question.
Nayanthara last appeared in a Tamil film under the direction of Vignesh Shivan, Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal. Vijay Sethupathi and Samantha Ruth Prabhu both starred in the romantic comedy. Nayanthara played Kanmani Ganguly in the movie, who develops feelings for Vijay Sethupathi's character while Samantha's character is also in love with him.
Nayanthara's upcoming film, Connect, is directed by Ashwin Saravanan. Following the supernatural thriller Maya, this is the director's second collaboration with Nayanthara. The director is Vignesh Shivan. The release date for Connect is set for December 22.


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Guremurin had grown tired of this game. The lies and deceptions had delighted him at first, but he was glad they would end today. The joke had grown stale.
He tied a white sash tight to secure his black robe about him and smiled with pride. He alone among his tribe had been cunning enough to sneak through the forest, past the searchers and through the cracks in their towering walls, and arrive here.
The empire's barriers had been breached in the past, he knew. There were legends. But the braves before him had not been as clever; they had all been tracked down and caught in the end. None had gotten half as far. None would have had the patience to wait for months as he had, playing pretend.
After today, Guremurin knew his name would never be forgotten. The Father of Night's own lips would speak it with praise. His tribe would sing it from the mountainsides.
The screen to the dressing chamber slid open.
"How can you not be dressed?" the abbot croaked, incredulous. Blue veins poked out on his bald, liver-spotted head. "Do you think the Emperor intends to wait until you are ready, Guri? You are not even wearing your kanmuri!"
Guremurin sighed, returning his thoughts to the present. He donned the black lacquered hat and reached back to ensure that the white ribbon trailing from it was centered across his back. The abbot studied his appearance critically then eventually moved on to berate some of the other young priests.
This was to be expected. Guremurin, or 'Guri' as these men knew him, was their newest member so he received the most scorn.
Having spent a good amount of his energy recently manipulating humans, it was transparent to him that the abbot was not really despairing of his appearance. The old man was merely using him as an example to ensure the utmost respect was paid to this ceremony. For his part, Guremurin continued to play along, blushing and nervously making adjustments to his robes.
It was good that he had reached the end of his plotting. Going through these motions had begun to irritate him a bit, and the abbot's opinion was no longer of any real value. But he did not want to draw his peers' attention by acting outside of their expectations for earnest young Guri's behavior.
He turned to Hashi, another young priest who had become his friend and mentor since he first arrived at the monastery.
"I feel like I have enough butterflies dancing in my stomach to bring spring into bloom myself."
The soft-cheeked young man chuckled; his eyes becoming distant for a moment, perhaps reliving his first time participating in the rebirth ceremony. It would not have been long ago.
Hashi patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
"You will be fine, Guri. In truth, no one will really be paying you much attention." That was something that Guremurin was counting on. "Just try not to drop your censor."
The abbot silenced their chatter with a glare and began lining them up for the procession. As the newest priest, Guremurin's place was all the way at the back. They had rehearsed their part in the ceremony so many times that muscle memory now began to take over and the feeling of routine calmed his nerves.
At the abbot's signal, they filed out of the dressing chamber onto a back corner of the dais outside. Beginning their chant, they swung their censors wide to spread incense upon those nobles with enough imperial favor to be seated near the stage.
The sun was bright above and immediately uncomfortable on Guremurin's brow. Fortunately, during the past months he had grown somewhat accustomed to how strong it shone here, and he scowled little more than the acolytes preceding him. Upon his shoulders, the black robes grew instantly warm, but the crisp breeze kept it from feeling anything like the heat back home.
The crowd's anticipation was something more felt than heard. A more vulgar audience might have cheered to see the rites beginning, but from these onlookers there was barely more than an expectant rustle of cloth. He was aware of their rising interest only from the increased intensity of the eyes upon him.
The amphitheater here was a natural one; and it was a little funny to see so many richly dressed lords and ladies trying to look formal whilst lying about on mats in the dewy grass. Fabrics dyed in expensive blues and purples broke up the green of the surrounding lawn. Servants hustled about in a panic, trying to adjust parasols for shade and provide other comforts.
His procession made its way slowly but steadily across the perimeter of the platform, all of them chanting in deep, guttural tones. In a way it reminded him of the shamans back home. As the priests finished tracing the edge of the stage, the excitement of the crowd reached an almost palpable climax, and Guremurin knew before turning that the Emperor must have stepped out onto the center of the dais.
Emperor Hiroki had not been present during any of the rehearsals of course, so it was the first time that Guremurin laid eyes upon this great enemy of his people. The pretend priest was unimpressed.
While Hiroki's bulky figure had likely once projected strength, it was now stooped and softened with fat. The man moved in a slow and stilted way that to Guremurin bespoke gout or some other infirmity; but the Emperor's experience at performing for an audience was immediately clear. He managed to gird his hesitant movements in a veil of austerity, as if he moved slowly so as to pay the proper respects, and to ensure the rites were not rushed by human impatience.
Hiroki's garb also guaranteed that he made a marked impression. Though they both wore black, the Emperor's robes were glossy where Guremirin's were dull, as deep as midnight where his were own were faded, and rippled like silk where his hung heavy against the windv -- scraping like burlap against his skin, or at least this pale human analog.
With each step toward the altar, Hiroki placed his considerable weight upon the staff he carried for support. Guremurin knew that this powerful relic was originally of his homeland, and that in a way it was a symbol of the very feud between the Father of Night and the Emperor; but he was still surprised to see how visibly its vitality contrasted with the tired trappings of this empire's cumbersome ceremonies.
Unlike the typical deadwood that you saw these people using for all of their construction, the staff appeared formed from a sturdy, living branch. Its circumference was wreathed by glistening green leaves, whose blades where tinted here and there by bands of blue, yellow, and red. Nubs of new twigs sprouted from its umber bark, which was rough and uneven all along its length despite its decades of use.
With their circuit complete, the monastery's priests had completed their part in the opening rites. Hashi stepped off of the stage and back into the shade of the holy vestibule. If Guri hesitated a moment too long to follow, surely it was nothing but the act of another young acolyte, awed by the appearance of the holy Emperor?
"Come on! Off! Off!" Hashi urged him from the doorway, pulling lightly on his sleeve. The abbot saw him lingering upon the edge of the stage and started down the line with surprising speed, no doubt intending to haul his newest charge into the vestibule by the ears if the prior rehearsals had been any indication.
But that young priest was already gone.


1 Discovering Affordable Dental Implants in Iglesia Antigua, Texas– Why So Costly?
5 How Do I Get Dental Implants in Iglesia Antigua TX?
You thought whatever was fine. No person showed up to discover that you were missing a few teeth, then somebody crossed the line. You were given gran slippers and also a crocheted blanket for Xmas, the suggestion being that it was time to curl up on the couch with your cat and also a glass of warm milk.
Discovering Affordable Dental Implants in Iglesia Antigua, Texas– Why So Costly?
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The Russia Bounty Story Was Always Murky
The intelligence community is inundated with 'low to moderate confidence' information frequently. Why did this get so much attention?
Thomas Joscelyn
Bagram Air Base. (Photograph by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua/Getty Images)
During a briefing Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked whether the Biden administration thinks "Russia placed bounties on American troops." Her answer demonstrated why this storyline, which garnered much press during the 2020 presidential campaign, was always dubious.
"Well, I would say, first, that we felt the reports were enough of a cause of concern that we wanted our intelligence community to look into those reports as a part of this overall assessment," Psaki replied. "They assessed … with low to moderate confidence … that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan."
"Low to moderate confidence" doesn't mean that the story was a complete "hoax," as President Trump claimed. There was some intelligence behind this reporting.
It does mean that then-candidate Biden was far too strident in his critiques of Trump. For instance, Biden said it was "absolutely despicable" that Trump didn't challenge Putin on the allegations.
In reality, this story was always murky.
From the beginning, the U.S. intelligence community wasn't really sure whether the Russians actually paid for any anti-American operations. In other words, they didn't know whether the alleged bounty offers had any real effect.
This seems to be what Psaki was alluding to when she said "Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks" on the U.S. and NATO personnel. "Sought to encourage" means the U.S. intelligence community couldn't say that any operations actually occurred because of the purported bounties.
Psaki pointed to the uncertainty of "detainee reporting" and "the challenging operating environment in Afghanistan" as reasons for the intelligence community's "low to moderate confidence."
But there's an added issue, one which I addressed when this story first broke: Why would the Taliban need encouragement from Russia to do what it's been doing for most of the last two decades—namely, attacking American and NATO forces?
U.S. officials told reporters that two specific attacks were being scrutinized. One was the April 8, 2019, bombing outside of the Bagram Air Base, the largest U.S. military facility in Afghanistan. Three U.S. Marines were killed and several other people were wounded.
That bombing looked like many other typical Taliban operations through the years. The Taliban's official spokesman quickly claimed responsibility for it, praising the "martyr" who blew himself up. The Taliban routinely attacked Bagram both before and after the April 8, 2019 suicide bombing, including another suicide raid in December 2019. None of these other operations at Bagram were supposedly instigated by Russian bounties. So, why did the April 2019 attack stand out? There were no answers offered.
The Russian bounty theory included the possibility that "criminals" who worked with the Taliban were paid by the Russians to strike at Americans. Speaking on background to reporters Thursday, a senior administration official said their "conclusion is based on information and evidence of connections between criminal agents in Afghanistan and elements of the Russian government."
But why would criminals be called upon to carry out a Taliban suicide bombing – the type of ideologically motivated operation the jihadists specialize in?
This is not to suggest that such an arrangement is impossible, but in Afghanistan's sea of violence, it is curious that such reporting would stand out, especially without confirmation.
The reality is that the U.S. intelligence community is inundated with "low to moderate confidence"-type reporting all the time. Why did the alleged Russian bounties deserve front-page attention? It's natural to suspect that anything Russia-related stood out to officials during the Trump years, when the president was widely accused of being a Russian asset and a Kremlin hook could instantly hype any story.
Psaki explained that the U.S. intelligence community "assesses" with "high confidence" that Russian's military intelligence service, the Main Intelligence Directorate (also known as the GRU), "manage[s] interaction with individuals and Afghan criminal networks" and the "involvement of this [GRU] unit is consistent with Russia's encouraging attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan." It may be "consistent" with the bounty story, but it doesn't close the loop and show that the GRU paid for actual attacks.
Although the reporting isn't firm, Psaki said the Biden administration "felt it was important for our intelligence community to look into it" and "will not stand by and accept the targeting of our personnel by any elements, including a foreign state actor."
"This information really puts the burden on Russia and the Russian government to explain their engagement here," Psaki added.
Again, the U.S. government should be forward leaning when it comes to protecting American troops, especially as they are withdrawn from Afghanistan. But that doesn't mean this story deserved all the attention it received.
Andy T
Part of the problem here is that the Trump administration was so chaotic and Trump himself so committed to a "always attack, never explain" approach to any question that the normal process broke down. And lets be clear, watching his presidency from the disgrace in Helsinki to the appalling Super Bowl "we have killers to" interview to the eminently impeachable Ukraine behavior made it very easy to believe that he was intensely relaxed about Muscovite thuggery and murder.
Almost all of the "media was the worst ever to Trump" narratives would have gone away if he had behaved with a modicum of respect for the office and the American people. from the beginning:
"I am deeply shocked and surprised at the revelations about my former campaign manager Paul Manafort -- who, by the way, I was totally right to fire and I never really liked -- and General Flynn, who lied to Mike Pence's face about contacts with the Russians and who apparently was working in cahoots with the Turks to. So I'm going to be cooperating, because I think there are alot of Democratic sore losers who are going to make this about me, and its not. And I'm also going to be releasing to a select committee some details about my business dealings with Russian nationals, which wasn't alot and is exactly what anyone would expect from someone like me"
"Personally, I asked my Generals to look into this as soon as I heard, and although there may not be much to it I'm certainly going to raise it with Mr. Putin if we don't get some satisfactory answers. Let me clear -- any foreign power that aids and abets the murder of American service members and thinks they can get away with it is very much mistaken"
Not that hard, and would have undercut much of the narrative (or at least made those pushing it look unreasonable). Instead he acted in a way that opened the door to continued digging and inferences by *never* responding in a straight manner and being more interested in attacking the media (up to and including Fox News) than protecting the country.
If your answer is "but that's not how Trump is", well, that's Trumps problem and he can't complain if his vulgar mindless combativeness wasn't met with meek submission and the benefit of the doubt.
Also, as with almost every story about media coverage in the Trump years, its ridiculous to ignore the fact that the media of 2016 was not the media of Walter Cronkite and Woodward and Bernstein. The old economic model was dead, fact checkers were frequently the first people cut, the basic infrastructure and culture built around a single daily paper or news hour couldn't cope with 24/7 news cycle driven by twitter and and Fox news had made a crapload of money by competing without the old pretense of objectivity.
I see a lot of comments here that basically boil down to "Trump was terrible, and therefore the reporting was ok". I strongly disagree with this sentiment.
Trump was a bad president, and his personal demeanor was disgraceful. None of that excuses the media. It was a BS story with zero evidence behind it. Running this story, in conjunction with a lot of other damaging stories ran against Trump and other republicans(60 Minutes, anyone?), only serve to support his assertions that the media is not to be trusted. There were a ton of terrible things Trump and his administration did; the media didn't need to make stuff up about him.
Why did it get so much attention? It was an election year, and Trump is a republican running for office. That was all that was needed for them


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Bringing the Heat
Robert De Niro Would Like to Punch Donald Trump in the Face
Emma Stefansky
Robert De Niro on Donald Trump: "God Help Us"
Last Night on Late Night
The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj Explains How a Donald Trump Presidency Threatens Everyone
a little less raging bull
Robert De Niro Will Restrain Himself from Punching Donald Trump
"I can't do that now."
Yohana Desta
To paraphrase a song Donald Trump has been using for his presidential campaign (despite the band's repeated statements that he doesn't have their permission to do so), you can't always get what you want. Robert De Niro knows this—and oh, it pains him to admit that he unfortunately cannot make good on his wish to punch a certain businessman turned politician in the face. In October, the Oscar-winning actor appeared in a P.S.A. calling Trump a punk, a dog, and a pig. "He talks about how he'd like to punch people in the face. Well, I'd like to punch him in the face," the actor added, channeling the fury of a thousand Jake LaMottas.
Unfortunately for De Niro, we've now entered the darkest timeline. Trump has become the president-elect. And since threatening an elected official is a crime, De Niro has to re-examine his punching plan.
"Are you still gonna punch Donald Trump in the face?" Jimmy Kimmel asked the star when he stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday. "Because you can now get arrested for that."
"I can't do that now; he's the president," De Niro replied. "I have to respect the position, though we all know what . . . "
He trailed off, allowing the audience to play a mysterious game of fill-in-the-blanks. Sometimes, silence says it all—though De Niro has already been pretty frank about his thoughts on Trump.
"We have to see what he's gonna do, and how he's really gonna follow through on certain things," De Niro added.
In the meantime, Trump may be somewhat distracted from White House planning, as he's due to appear in court this month for a class-action case against the now-shuttered Trump University.
U.S. Women's Soccer Champs Skip White House, Collect 5,000 Chicken Nuggets on Kimmel


New paint or wall covering can update the look of a bathroom in a flash, but many come loaded with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that threaten indoor air quality. Find low- and no-VOC options at your local home center.
Traditional vinyl curtains and liners are often made from materials like PVC, which can release VOCs. These can degrade the quality of your indoor air in your home for up to a month, according to the EPA. Further, many companies add phthalates to their curtains to make them more pliable. If vinyl is your only choice, air the curtain outdoors for several days to reduce off-gassing.
If you're remodeling, opt for a glass shower door and avoid a curtain entirely. But for a quick, eco-friendly facelift, choose a fabric curtain made from hemp, organic cotton or naturally antimicrobial bamboo. Fabric is easy to clean (just toss in the washing machine) and if you purchase sustainably-sourced material, your choice can have a lasting impact.
Bath mats made from 100% bamboo come in a wide range of colors and textures and don't require you to compromise a chic look to be good to the earth. Or for something even closer to natural, you can also step out of the shower onto a moss carpet, which will flourish in the damp environment of the bathroom and provide the added benefit of fresher air.
Even grownups have been known to have a bath toy or two, but many traditional plastic bath toys are riddled with BPA, PVC and phthalates that can leach into the hot water. Instead of tossing caution to the wind, toss in toys that you know are free of the big three. This guide from Simply Natural Mom is a perfect jumping-off point for making bath time both green and clean.
The bathroom is home to most of our beauty and hygiene needs. While these don't qualify as "décor" now is a great time to consider making more mindful choices. Check out EWG's guide to the safety of personal care products and consider replacing products that contain ingredients you are not interesting in using.
While it may not be the most glamorous task to clean your toilet bowl and tub.Take a moment to consider the products you are using to get this job done. Look for products that have their ingredients listed right on the product label, so you know what you are using in this room where you spend quite a bit of time. Seek out environment-conscious brands. Look for cleaners like these at your local retailer.
We use a lot of paper in the bathroom, from personal cleanup to wiping down the sink when we don't have a towel at hand. Go for post-consumer recycled toilet paper. Enough said.
For the healthiest bathroom on the block, ensure you have adequate ventilation. If your system isn't where you want it to be, you don't have a window to crack, and you're not planning on a full remodel anytime soon, there are some temporary fresh air solutions: add a houseplant, leave the door slightly ajar, and set a fan blowing outward into the house (toward an open window) during a long shower.
Have you done a bathroom Eco-Makeover? Share some of your best tips!


Overview of marking and feedback flyer.
By the end of the year most children will have at least a 2, which is the numerical value for 'expected', in each area for each subject. This will give a total of 16 (8 areas x 2). Children with particular learning needs (SEND – Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities) may have a different total to achieve, depending on their individual requirements.


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COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact Keeps 1.5°C Goal Alive
WWF supporters displayed a colorful banner at the World Leaders Summit part of COP26, November 12, 2021, Glasgow, Scotland (Photo by Earth Negotiations Bulletin) Used with permission
GLASGOW, Scotland, November 17, 2021 (ENS) – The UN climate conference COP26 concluded late Saturday night with a deal among the 196 Parties to forestall catastrophic climate change that hinged on a surprise development. Minutes before the final decision on the text of the Glasgow Climate Pact was taken, India proposed a weaker version of the language on coal.
Bhupender Yadav of India serves as the Union Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Here he raises the question phasing down rather than phasing out coal combustion to limit global warming. November 13, 2021, Glasgow, Scotland (Screengrab from video courtesy UNFCCC) Posted for media use
Speaking for a group of developing countries including China, India's Climate Minister Bhupender Yadav questioned how developing countries could pledge to phase out coal burning and fossil fuel subsidies when they still have to "deal with their development agendas and poverty eradication."
In the final vote, countries agreed to "phase down" not "phase out" coal. The decision covers "unabated" coal, creating an exemption for coal when its combution is combined with carbon capture and storage.
Several countries expressed anger at the last-minute change that will allow more climate-heating coal to be burned, and an emotional COP26 President Alok Sharma of the United Kingdom said he was "deeply sorry" for the way the final minutes of the COP unfolded.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said in his final news conference that even having the mention of coal in the final document was a step forward.
Kerry said that in the 30 years he has been attending these climate meetings, this is the first time coal and fossil fuel subsidies have ever been addressed in the final communique. "That's never happened … big countries that are dependent on coal have signed on to seeing it phased down. Does that mean it is phased down – no, but that's the follow up," Kerry said.
U.S. Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry addresses reporters at his final news conference at COP26, November 13, 2021 (Screengrab from video courtesy UNFCCC) Posted for media use
"Coal and the phase-down of coal is on the books. You have to phase down coal before you can end coal. So this is a beginning. We always knew Glasgow was not the finish line," Kerry told reporters.
"Paris built the arena and Glasgow starts the race," he said. "Today the starting gun was fired. We have nine years, this decade, this decisive decade."
Plenty of Work to Do
The Glasgow Climate Pact, combined with increased ambition and action from countries, means that the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to no more than a rise of 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels remains in sight, but "it will only be delivered with concerted and immediate global efforts," said UN Climate, the organizing agency for the 26th Conference of Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC.
"We will be leaving Glasgow with clarity on the work we need to undertake to reach the 1.5-degree goal," said Patricia Espinosa, the Mexican politician and diplomat who serves as the executive secretary of UNFCCC.
In her closing remarks to the conference, Espinosa highlighted four accomplishments that she says represent "significant progress in the world's efforts against climate change."
Adaptation has been central in all conversations at the COP, Espinosa said, and the texts approved by the Parties recognize this relevance. She was addressing how people can adapt to the situations already created by the changing climate such as intense wildfires, widespread drought, destructive flooding and extreme weather.
"We welcome the call to at least double finance for adaptation. We know the needs are still very much beyond what is currently available, and Parties must continue to focus on this issue," she said.
"We now also have a work program to define the global goal on adaptation," Espinosa said. "This will allow us to identify the collective needs and solutions for the climate impacts already happening now in all regions of the world."
The Santiago Network Can Help
The Santiago Network, which provides technical support for countries to address and manage loss and damage, has now been enhanced, strengthening global efforts towards resilience, Espinosa told the COP26 closing session.
The vision of the Santiago Network is to catalyze the technical assistance of relevant organizations, bodies, networks and experts, for the implementation of relevant approaches for averting, minimize and addressing loss and damage at the local, national and regional level, in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change (Decision 2/CMA.2, para 43)
The Santiago Network will connect vulnerable developing countries with providers of the technical assistance, knowledge, and resources they need "to address climate risks comprehensively in the context of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage."
Funding the restoration of community functions after loss and damage due to climate change was one of the primary demands of civil society groups that attended COP26.
Espinosa explained that "regarding finance, an issue extensively discussed here at COP26, all Parties agree that much more support needs to be provided to developing counties."
"In particular," she said, "Parties have also recognized that the most vulnerable cannot be ignored, that much more finance for adaptation is needed and it has to be predictable."
US$100 Billion a Year Pledge Still Outstanding
Espinosa said the UN organizers of COP26 are "disappointed" that a US$100 billion annual pledge from wealthy countries to help poorer ones to fight and adapt to global warming is still outstanding. She called on all donors to make it a reality as by next year.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, told reporters that he expects new financial commitments to fulfill the promise to provide $100 billion a year in aid for developing countries
The latest diplomatic effort, led by Germany and Canada, intends to draw that amount from wealthy donor countries by 2023, three years behind the schedule set in the Paris Agreement.
Kerry said in his concluding news conference that even having the mention of coal in the final document was a step forward.
In the 30 years he has been attending these climate meetings, Kerry said this is the first time coal and fossil fuel subsidies have been addressed in the final communique. "That's never happened … big countries that are dependent on coal have signed on to seeing it phased down. Does that mean it is phased down – no, but that's the followup," he said.
Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Food
Another avenue of progress was opened up in Glasgow as 45 governments pledged urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming.
In addition, 95 high-profile companies committed to being "nature positive," to work towards halting and reversing the decline of nature by 2030.
Governments and businesses joined with farmers and local communities at COP26, securing new agreements to protect nature and accelerate the shift to sustainable agriculture and land use practices by making them more attractive, accessible and affordable than unsustainable alternatives.
Twenty-six nations set out new commitments to change their agricultural policies to become more sustainable and less polluting, and to invest in the science needed for sustainable agriculture and for protecting food supplies against climate change, laid out in two Action Agendas.
All continents were represented, signatories include: Australia, Colombia, Germany, Ghana, India, and Vietnam.
National commitments aligned with this agenda include Brazil's plan to scale its ABC+ low carbon farming program to 72 million hectares (277,993 square miles), saving a billion tons of emissions by 2030.
Germany plans to lower emissions from land use by 25 million tonnes by 2030, and the UK aims to engage 75 percent of farmers in low carbon practices by 2030.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with delegates at COP26, November 2, 2021 (Photo courtesy Earth Negotiations Bulletin) Used with permission
The UK also announced funding of £500 million (US$671 million) to support the implementation of the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Roadmap that was launched during the World Leaders Summit November 1 and 2 at COP26. Twenty-eight countries are working together to protect forests while promoting development and trade.
A further £65 million will support a "Just Rural Transition" to help developing countries shift policies and practices to more sustainable agriculture and food production.
Commitments made by countries at COP26 will help to implement the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use which aims to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, is now endorsed by 134 countries covering 91 percent of the world's forests.
Alok Sharma is a British politician serving as President for COP26 and Minister of State at the Cabinet Office. Sharma resigned his previous position as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in order to lead COP26. November 9, 2021 Glasgow, Scotland (Photo courtesy Earth Negotiations Bulletin) Used with permission
COP26 President MP Alok Sharma said, "If we are to limit global warming and keep the goal of 1.5C alive, then the world needs to use land sustainably and put protection and restoration of nature at the heart of all we do."
Speaking at the close of COP26, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "The approved texts are a compromise. They reflect the interests, the conditions, the contradictions and the state of political will in the world today. They take important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions."
"As I said at the opening, we must accelerate action to keep the 1.5 degree goal alive. Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe," Guterres warned. "It is time to go into emergency mode – or our chance of reaching net zero will itself be zero."
Current pledges, even if fulfilled, are only enough to limit global warming to 2.4° Celsius beyond pre-industrial levels, but at the start of COP26 two weeks ago, the forecast was worse – the pledges would limit warming – not to 1.5°, not to 2.0° – but to 2.7° Celsius.
As COP26 concluded on Saturday night, Secretary-General Guterres called for ending fossil fuel subsidies, phasing out coal, putting a price on carbon and "building resilience of vulnerable communities against the here and now impacts of climate change."
"I know many of you are disappointed," he acknowledged. "We won't reach our destination in one day or one conference. But I know we can get there."
"We are in the fight of our lives," declared Guterres. "Never give up. Never retreat. Keep pushing forward. I will be with you all the way."
"COP 27 starts now."
COP27 is scheduled for November 7-18, 2022 in a city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the coastal strip along the Red Sea – Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Alok Sharma Antonio Guterres China climate Climate change coal COP26 Germany Glasgow India John Kerry Paris Agreement Patricia Espinosa Santiago Network UK UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
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