text:
Montblanc Summit 2 review
A luxury Wear OS smartwatch with travel skills
The original Montblanc Summit was a bit of a disappointment. The Wear OS-packing smartwatch looked good, but it didn't have that extravagant look you'd expect from a company noted for its design. It also was pretty basic on the features front too and a pretty no-frills experience on the whole.
The Montblanc Summit 2 aims to up the ante in every area, including introducing a more alluring look and a bunch more features. It's also one of the first smartwatches to run on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip, which aims to make performance improvements across the board including battery life.
The competition: The best smartwatches
Unsurprisingly though this is one smartwatch that doesn't come cheap. You'll have to part with $995 to get one onto your wrist. That's putting it in the same pricing realms as Tag Heuer's watches although it's not quite as pricey as Louis Vuitton's Tambour Horizon.
Is it worth the extra spend over a more sensibly priced smartwatch? We've been living with the Summit 2 to find out. Here's our full verdict.
Montblanc Summit 2: Design
Summit 2 key specs
1.5 days of battery life
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100
1.2-inch 390 x 390 AMOLED display
NFC for Google Pay
14.3mm thick
5ATM water resistance
The Summit 2 eschews the bland design of the original for something a little more inspired. Specifically, it's inspired by Montblanc's 1858 collection. And boy, this makes for one gorgeous smartwatch.
This smartwatch has an elegant look about it. It's not as minimalist as the original, and it comes across as having some confidence. This is a watch that, when it's on your wrist, makes you feel good about yourself.
In fact, it looks so good that I had people surprised that it was a smartwatch. My dad even yelled out "that's a smartwatch?" when I told him about it. A lot of that is because the Summit 2 accomplishes something that other smartwatches struggle with: The display often gives away that it's a smartwatch.
The 1.2-inch 390 x 390 AMOLED display is crisp, and Montblanc's original watch faces complement its hardware design perfectly. All of this makes the Summit 2 easy to wear. It passes the sleeve test nicely, so you won't have to worry about wearing this with a suit.
In addition to the display, you've got three buttons on the right side. There's an elegant crown that spins and also has a button on the edge. The crown is a little extra compared to the rest of the design, but it works. It gives the rest of the smartwatch a nice pop.
The other two buttons are used to pull up apps of your choice, but they're just OK. While the crown is satisfying, these buttons are not. They're pretty squishy, and you can't even tell if you've pressed them.
Despite that, the Summit 2 is one of the best designed smartwatches we've tested. It's fun to look at, it's fun to wear and it definitely is a fashion piece. You can use this to complement your outfit.
Montblanc Summit 2: Wear OS
The original Summit lacked features that would have allowed it to stand out in a crowded luxury smartwatch market. Montblanc does not repeat this mistake with the Summit 2, which has a lot more going on on the smarts front.
Essential reading: Best Wear OS apps to download first
It still runs on Google's Wear OS giving you all the usual suspects from notifications, Google Assistant support, the ability to download apps directly from the watch and customisable watch faces. On the Wear front, it's all pretty normal here. As we've said in other reviews recently, Wear is improving, but there's still room for improvement.
Montblanc does throw in some of its own software into the mix to make it the Summit 2 feel more like using a Montblanc watch as opposed to just another Wear smartwatch.
Up front, we've got a number of watch faces created by Montblanc. All of these are pretty good, and it's hard not to swap between them based on your mood. 1858 is the natural choice, as it's intended for the design, but my favorite was the Boheme Classic. There are a total of 10 to choose from, including two based around fitness - the Activity and Workout Coach faces.
The Timeshifter face is the most unique, and that's because it's built for Timeshifter. This is an app built for frequent world travelers, and it's there to help you get rid of your jet lag. It'll create a jet lag plan for you and then recommend things to do to stay awake and refresh.
For instance, it can recommend whether you need to look at some light, or whether it might be a good idea for a nap, or whether now is a great time for a coffee break or a dose of melatonin. It's also not binary with any of this stuff. It won't just tell you whether you should nap or not, it'll tell you whether you should nap or whether you can nap if you can. There's a slight vagueness there that gives you some options.
There are a number of other Montblanc apps here, too, including a stopwatch, a timer and something called Travel Info. This essentially is a travel guide on your wrist. It gives you information like what the customary tip is, some phrases, basic country info, do's and dont's, cuisine and how the taxi fare works.
It's a wealth of information, and it's all presented well enough that you could give it a quick five-minute glance while waiting for your airplane to de-board. All of this goes well beyond another luxury travel watch, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon.
Montblanc Summit 2: Fitness
The Summit 2 really seems to be a luxury watch first, but that doesn't mean it's holding back when it comes to fitness features. You've got a heart rate sensor on board as well as GPS and 5ATM water resistance.
That experience, however, is a pretty sad miss. Heart rate, when put up against a Wahoo Tickr chest strap, was a pretty solid miss. It largely kept up with the trends of my run, but it struggled mightily in doing so.
The Tickr had my average heart rate at 165bpm, while the Summit 2 with Strava clocked me in at 142bpm. The Tickr had my high at 187bpm, while the Summit 2 had me at 178bpm. While the high wasn't too far off, the average being 23 beats off is concerning.
These fitness problems persisted elsewhere, too. The Summit 2 comes with a fitness app called Workout Coach, which is supposed to give you your VO2 Max and recommend a workout plan for you to get more fit. It recommends 20 minutes of either running or brisk walking to get it going, but it failed to work for me after multiple 20 minute sessions - walking and running. It just kept saying that not enough data was recorded.
Summit 2 HR via Strava on left, Wahoo Tickr on right
Similarly, GPS would not connect when going up against a Garmin Fenix 5 for a GPS test. Connected GPS worked fine, but solo GPS never found a connection in multiple environments.
It's worth noting that Workout Coach did save my fitness sessions, and it seemed to do a good job of keeping up with the Tickr live during the run, but there's no way to export that data to your smartwatch to take a better look at it. All of it lives on your watch. That's fine, but sometimes I want to sit back and look at my workout data on a bigger screen like my phone - you can't do that here.
So yeah, fitness is a pretty big whiff on the Summit 2. It's all a bit of a shame because Montblanc clearly put in the work to do things as best as they could, but it didn't seem to work out the way they wanted. The Summit 2 can still be your workout companion - for the most part - but don't expect anything great until Montblanc goes back and adjusts its software a bit more.
Montblanc Summit 2: Battery life
Montblanc promises about a day and a half of battery life here, and that was pretty easily attained by me during my roughly two and a half weeks with the device. This thing is not going to give you any trouble if you forget to charge it overnight - especially if you decide to turn off continuous heart-rate monitoring.
There's also a battery save mode that turns your smartwatch into a dumb watch. It'll just show a Montblanc watch face and cut off access to the rest of your smartwatch's features. It's a handy feature if you're running low on juice, and it can give you up to a week of battery life, but it's clearly something to get you out of a battery emergency, not something to rely on in place of a hybrid smartwatch.
Montblanc Summit 2
The Summit 2 is an excellent smartwatch in many respects. The design is exquisite and it's fun to wear. It's also got some unique features that actually can help you, like Travel Info and Timeshifter, but the fitness story here is a bit of a mess. GPS doesn't seem to work and the heart rate sensor isn't the most reliable in the world. If you're looking to the Summit 2 for fitness, you're looking in the wrong place. If you want a brilliant looking watch with some features for your jetsetting lifestyle though, this is it.
Design - this is gorgeous
Timeshifter
GPS doesn't work
Heart rate is off
pocholin· 27-Feb-2019 6:05 pm
5-month update.
Good news is I am still loving this watch! Bad news is Montblanc had to replace it in December because the heart rate monitor stopped working. It didn't take long for them to replace it, so I'm not bitter about the episode.
I did buy another puck to charge it in the office, I use the one at home for the weekends. I also bought two watch stands that help charging it in a standing position. I just cannot believe Montblanc didn't care about something so simple yet so useful. Without it the puck looses contact (because it is magnetic) very easily or you have to set the watch on a surface on its face, which is just ugly and risky (for scratches).
Google Fit workout app is great and very accurate, as well as the hear rate monitor. I've also added a few apps, the best one anyone can add is "Staylit wear", otherwise the watch's face turns off after 3 seconds!
Zeus· 02-Apr-2019 7:36 pm
Guys and someone answer a question if you have an iOS Iphone can you reply to text messages like short automated replies like ok,thank you, etc


text:
Home Headlines Innohub CEO grabs two honours at Forty Under 40 Africa Awards
Innohub CEO grabs two honours at Forty Under 40 Africa Awards
The CEO of Innohub Limited, Nelson Madiba Amo, has been adjudged the winner of the Investment Category and The People's Choice Award, at the just ended edition of Forty Under 40 Africa Awards, 2022 held at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra – Ghana.
The prestigious award in the Investment Category was in recognition of his dedication and commitment to supporting small and growing businesses in the country and on the continent. Innohub has done this through the designing of robust platforms that have helped businesses with their scaling up plans, and assisted them to unlock investment capital for growth.
Mr. Madiba's honour in the 'The People's Choice Award' category represented the nominee with the highest number of votes across all the categories.
Speaking to the media after receiving the award, Nelson Amo was grateful to his family, friends, Innohub's partners, board and team members, and everyone who has supported his dreams this far.
He took the opportunity to urge governments across the continent to be very deliberate about creating the right strategies and policies to drive investments into ventures that can promote innovation, create jobs and decent incomes for the ever-increasing youth population, which has been described as a 'ticking time bomb' in Africa.
He also called on African leaders to be intentional about removing the artificial barriers to trade and mobility across the continent, explaining how he missed an opportunity when he was recently invited to attend a meeting in an African country. This was because the processes involved in the visa application were so tedious; meanwhile, his friends from non-African countries could easily acquire the visa to attend the meetings.
He described it as pathetic and shameful, especially as it was easier for him to secure a visa and travel outside Africa. He concluded that such artificial challenges will limit the potential of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provisions from yielding the desired results.
This year's event, which saw dignitaries across the continent, was in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports which seeks to identify, honour and celebrate a cross-section of the continent's most influential and accomplished business leaders under age forty from a wide range of industries which included people committed to business growth, professional excellence and community services.
With regards to background, Nelson has experience in business development, growth consulting, grant management, business model innovation, design of enterprise support initiatives, among others.
Mr. Madiba is the Grant Manager/Programme Lead for mLab Ghana, a project under Ghana's Ministry of Communication with funding from the World Bank to promote the development of digital start-ups, supporting them develop their prototype, and launching the market. He also led the Ghana Climate Venture Facility project with funding from the World Bank.
He is also the Founder of Accra Angels Network – an entity dedicated to driving investments into early-stage start-ups in Ghana.
Previous articleImpactHER reaffirms commitment to support female entrepreneurs
Next articleKwaebibirem Rural Bank makes profit
Patrick Fynn makes it into Class of 2020 for Yunus&Youth Fellowship
MTN to transition into a digital services operator
Best practices to reduce internal fraud (5)
Supporting women-led Micro-Enterprises in Africa:
MoE partners Zoomlion to disinfect & fumigate SHSs in Central Region

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
You are at:Home»Wolf Gordon Clifton
Wolf Gordon Clifton
@lobezno
"Serbian government has pledged to shut all fur farms by January 1st 2019 but due to pressure from fur farmers and fur traders, there are moves to delay the fur farming ban by 10 years." http://www.oipa.org/international/serbia-anti-fur-action/ View
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, Can Biologists Describe New Species Without Killing Them? 8 months, 3 weeks ago
In taxonomy, a type specimen is an individual organism used to officially represent a species or subspecies. The type specimen referenced when describing a new species for the first time is called a holotype. No […]
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, How Animal Protection Impacts All 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 1 year, 6 months ago
From July 7th through July 16th, the United Nations will hold its annual High Level Political Forum (HLPF) partly online this year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Animal People has attended the past two HLPFs […]
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, Making Sense of Sacrifice: An Interview with the High Priest of Gadhimai 2 years, 1 month ago
The Gadhimai festival, the world's largest organized animal sacrifice, is again underway in Nepal. Over the course of two days, starting December 3rd, thousands of buffalo and hundreds of thousands of smaller a […]
Wolf Gordon Clifton posted an update 3 years, 8 months ago
"Serbian government has pledged to shut all fur farms by January 1st 2019 but due to pressure from fur farmers and fur traders, there are moves to delay the fur farming ban by 10 years."
http://www.oipa.org/international/serbia-anti-fur-action/
SERBIA – Anti-Fur Action – SIGN THE PETITION! – OIPA International
"That bezoar is not found in all porcupines, you must be lucky to find the animal, which has it: It seems that only five for every 1,000 porcupines are naturally doted with it. For this reason, Chinese people make order of a large number of porcupines, dead or alive, to the hunters."
http://www.oipa.org/international/porcupine-bezoar-congo/
PORCUPINES UNDER THREAT IN CONGO – OIPA International
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43757716
Kenya elephant rescuer Sheldrick diesConservationist Daphne Sheldrick - famous for rearing orphaned baby elephants - dies of cancer.
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, WORLD NEWS: Cloning, Dog Shows & Children at Bullfights (3/3/18) 3 years, 10 months ago
In this episode of Animal People World News, find out…
How dog shows like Westminster can be harmful for dogs
What Canada's new bill means for cetaceans in captivity
Why Chile and Seychelles' new […]
Wolf Gordon Clifton posted an update 3 years, 10 months ago
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43267524
Executive held over dam activist's murderPolice in Honduras arrest the suspected mastermind in the murder of Berta Caceres.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/world/americas/patagonia-national-park-chile.html
With 10 Million Acres in Patagonia, a National Park System Is BornTwo Americans snapped up large swaths of land in Chile, which they donated to a new conservation area that will be three times the size of Yosemite and Yellowstone combined.
I observed something like nursing behavior in ants while I was in 4th or 5th grade, after stopping two girls from stomping on an anthill during recess. While inspecting the damage, I noticed an injured ant struggling to stand up, and considered putting him out of his misery. Before I could decide, out rushed a second ant, who lifted his wounded…[Read more]
'Paramedic ants' observed treating injured comradesThe social insects have been seen cleaning wounds and possibly administering antibiotics to prevent infection
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42994630#
'100,000 orangutans' killed in 16 yearsBorneo has lost a "shocking" number of its great apes, according to a new survey of the island.
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/01/24/the-name-of-the-game-is-cruelty
The name of the game is cruelty: Why Russia's State Duma wants to ban a 'baiting stations' in the training of hunting dogs, and why the Senate is opposedIn mid-January, the State Duma created a mediation committee to review draft legislation that would ban "baiting stations," where hunting dogs are trained to attack leashed wild animals. Co-sponsored by Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, the bill passed the lower house of Read more...
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, WORLD NEWS: Pope on Circuses, Animal Rights in Pakistan, and More! (1/17/18) 4 years ago
Why the U.K.'s foxhunting ban is here to stay
How the U.S. Interior Department is pushing its pro-hunting agenda
How China is implementing its n […]
Wolf Gordon Clifton posted an update 4 years ago
Sindh, Pakistan to acknowledge animal rights! https://tribune.com.pk/story/1602473/6-animal-rights-sindh/
Animal rights in Sindh - The Express TribuneThe provincial government has decided to introduce a law to free animals from all kinds of abuse
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote on sophia wiiliams' Wall 4 years, 1 month ago
@sophiawilliams Hi Sophia! Thank you for joining the Animal People Forum. I must ask, however, that you please refrain from posting comments on unrelated articles solely to promote your own website. If you wish to raise awareness of your project as it relates to animal protection, the proper way to do so is by submitting an article on it for…[Read more]
"This newly described great ape will be added to the list of Critically Endangered species, just as it is added to the zoological textbooks." http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41848816
New great ape species identifiedThe apes in question were only reported to exist after an expedition into Sumatra mountains in 1997.
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, Wildlife watching soars as hunting dies off, says new U.S. report 4 years, 4 months ago
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Interior released a new report on Americans' wildlife-related activities over the past five years. Announcing the report, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke took the o […]
Wolf Gordon Clifton wrote a new post, Highland Harvest: Vegan Recipes for Four Traditional Scottish Dishes 4 years, 4 months ago
Cooking can be a very powerful way to reconnect with one's origins. Most of my ancestors immigrated to what is now the United States hundreds of years ago, intermarrying with people of various other national and […]
https://time2transcend.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/palm-oil-threats-must-be-removed-if-bornean-orangutans-are-to-survive-report-says/
Palm oil threats must be removed if Bornean orangutans are to survive, report saysA new report published by the International Institute for Environmental Development (IIED) says the development of large-scale oil palm plantations is responsible for significant loss and degradati…
https://time2transcend.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/habeas-corpus-victory-for-bear-in-colombia-encourages-animal-rights-lawyers/
Habeas corpus victory for bear in Colombia encourages animal rights lawyersA bear named Chucho has been granted a writ of habeas corpus in Colombia in a landmark case that is encouraging lawyers who are fighting for animal rights elsewhere. "Personhood for nonhuman animal…


text:
Despite Calm in Afghan Cities, War in Villages Kills Dozens Daily
A reduction in attacks in major Afghan cities amid American peace talks with the Taliban could be misleading. Bloodletting in the countryside continues.
A view of downtown Kabul in December. An unusual calm has taken over major Afghan cities, while the country side sees a slate of bloody assaults.Credit...Jawad Jalali/EPA, via Shutterstock
By Mujib Mashal and Najim Rahim
KABUL, Afghanistan — Over the past couple of months, as American and Taliban negotiators have resumed talks to try to complete a peace deal, an unusual calm has settled over major Afghan cities. Deadly terrorism attacks, once frequent, have suddenly dropped in urban centers.
But a series of bloody assaults in the countryside suggests that the calm in the cities could be misleading. The war continues to kill dozens daily. And the patterns of violence in recent months have been tied closely to how negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, held in the Gulf state of Qatar, have played out.
With talks now seeming to bog down, some diplomats and political leaders fear that violence could grow deadlier — even if much of it plays out in the countryside, away from the headlines.
The sticking point in the negotiations: What reduction in violence is needed to move the peace process forward? The negotiators' ultimate goal is the gradual withdrawal of American troops, and the establishment of talks between the Taliban and other Afghans over power-sharing.
The drop in urban attacks most likely stems from an unacknowledged understanding with the Taliban to reduce high-profile violence in order to pave the way for an agreement. Improvements in security measures, with new leadership introduced over the past year, have also played a role.
But as the Taliban have held back on urban assaults, they are attacking in rural areas.
At least 40 Afghan security personnel were killed in the 24 hours before Wednesday, security officials said, with most of the losses coming in a couple of attacks in northern provinces.
The Taliban have long resisted American demands for a cease-fire, seeking to push the issue later in the peace process, when they sit down with other Afghans on sharing power. Doing so earlier, they fear, will divide their ranks.
Instead, they have answered the demands with a proposal for "violence reduction" — what could amount to the insurgents holding fire on United States forces as they close down their bases and withdraw, and avoiding dramatic attacks in major cities.
The Afghan government, so far excluded from the talks, has asked the United States to agree to nothing but an extensive cease-fire. Its fear is that if the United States signs an initial deal with violence levels reduced only in the cities, the war will simply continue to rage in the countryside.
Brains Turned to Glass? Suffocated in Boathouses? Vesuvius Victims Get New Look
Fourth Spy at Los Alamos Knew A-Bomb's Inner Secrets
Love in the Time of Low Expectations
As the United States has pushed for more from the Taliban at the negotiating table in recent weeks, the insurgents are growing mistrustful, accusing the Americans of moving the goal posts.
Taliban officials say the United States had recently asked for violence reduction, which they brought to the table after a month of consultations all the way down to battlefield commanders.
The American side found the Taliban offer inadequate. One Taliban official said that now the United States is seeking something closer to a cease-fire, which it hadn't demanded earlier. Some Afghan officials and diplomats said negotiators want the reduction of violence to extend from the cities into the districts and along the highways.
But stagnation in the talks has raised fears that the quest for a more expansive truce could break the fragile negotiations at a sensitive time, thrusting the country back into greater violence.
Mohammed Arif Rahmani, a member of the Afghan Parliament's national security committee, said that during past winters the Taliban would expand their attacks in the cities and reduce their activities in the rural areas because of harsh weather.
"But now it feels like the Taliban have only tactically reduced attacks in the cities and expanded attacks in the countryside," Mr. Rahmani said. "In the past week, we have seen an increase in such attacks in the rural areas, and I think it has to do with the stalemate in the talks over the past month."
A large number of the recent fatalities have come in the north — despite extreme cold temperatures.
In an overnight attack in Baghlan Province on Tuesday, the Taliban killed between 11 and 18 security personnel, according to different official accounts, nearly wiping out an entire outpost with the help of an infiltrator. In neighboring Kunduz Province early on Wednesday, at least 12 security personnel were killed.
In the meantime, the Afghan government and its American allies, largely relying on airstrikes, have continued killing Taliban forces at rates of dozens daily. The Afghan government reports — which are difficult to verify and prone to exaggeration — claim its soldiers have killed an as many as 30 Taliban daily over the past week.
The United States has continued airstrikes across the country at high rates. Data released by the United States Air Force showed that American military aircraft dropped 7,423 bombs in Afghanistan in 2019 — the most in any year since the United States began tracking the strikes in 2006 — and have pursued the recent trend of increasing airstrikes.
The expanded air campaign, by both United States and Afghan Air Forces, has also come with reports of increased civilian casualties. In the latest episode, on Saturday, at least seven civilians, all members of the same family, were killed in an airstrike in the Borka area of northern Balkh Province.
"The armed conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down, it is widening, and the people who continue to pay the price are Afghan civilians," said Omar Waraich, the deputy South Asia director at Amnesty International. "There continues to be a shocking disregard for human life from all sides."


Rathduff Community Playschool Ltd invites applications for the following position; Playschool Assistant. The ideal candidate will possess an Early Childhood Care and Education qualification level 6. Good interpersonal and communication skills: fluent English: experience required. Please send a copy of your CV and a cover letter to the Manager, Rathduff Community Playschool, 11 Ard Na Laoi, Grenagh Co. Cork. Applications to be received no later than Friday 30th, January 2015. Rathduff Community Playschool is an equal opportunities employer.


text:
Q: Debugging a Route in Symfony2 I am having trouble figuring out what is wrong with a singe route in my Symfony2 routing YML file.  Every other route is working just fine (and I have a couple dozen already), but this one route refuses to be recognized.
Here is the relevant clip of my YML file:
ProjectMainBundle_util_initUpload:
    pattern:  /util/initUpload
    defaults: { _controller: ProjectMainBundle:Utilities:initUpload }
    requirements:
        _method:  POST

ProjectMainBundle_util_init:
    pattern:  /util/init
    defaults: { _controller: ProjectMainBundle:Utilities:initUtilities }
    requirements:
        _method:  POST

ProjectMainBundle_util_download:
    pattern:  /util/download
    defaults: { _controller: ProjectMainBundle:Utilities:download }
    requirements:
        _method:  GET

The first route, '/util/initUpload', returns a 'No route found for "POST /util/initUpload" error.  I've tried placing the block at different places (even moving it above '/util/init'.)  The '/' index route is at the end of my routing.yml document, so that shouldn't be the problem.  The routes above are the only ones in the format /util/*.
The route serves to handle a form and file upload, but I don't think that matters.  I've removed the POST requirement and tested it directly in the browser, and that still gave me the same error..  The camelCase shouldn't be a problem.  I have other routes in that format that work just fine...
What else am I missing?  Any suggestions on how to debug this?  My next step is to scrap the YML file and rewrite using the php format, though I really don't want to do that..

A: There is a command to list all of your routes:
For Symfony 2.x -
app/console router:debug

For Symfony 3.x and above -
bin/console debug:router

If you don't see your route in there, first try clearing the cache. If it doesn't help, delete the route definition and retype it again manually — don't copy/paste.
P.S. It has nothing to do with YAML/PHP.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Matoutan Gongyuan (, Matoutan Park, en anglais) est une station des lignes 1 et 6 du métro de Wuhan en République populaire de Chine. Elle a été inaugurée le  lors du prolongement de la ligne et l'inauguration du tronçon Dongwu Dadao-Jinghe.

Ligne 1 du métro de Wuhan
Ligne 6 du métro de Wuhan
Station du métro de Wuhan
Station de métro mise en service en 2017

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
On The Record: Alexander Carson
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who haven't come across Alexander Carson before, how would you describe your sound?
Imagine Robert Smith (the Cure) and Chopin wrestling in the nude at the foothills of the acropolis, I am the soundtrack to that encounter.
You recently released 'I Swam', which is a very delicate track full of emotion. What was the songwriting process like for this track?
I'm desperate to under-think my song-writing. I spent a good majority of my youth worrying that what I wrote wasn't "clever" enough (the danger of a classical background is you inadvertently become a snob). I Swam is the embodiment of that desire to move away from over-thought, over-wrought, over-cooked writing. It's just 2 chords. And those 2 chords allow a lot of melody to exist. Lyrically it's about my wife, who I'm obsessed with, and have been for nearly 12 years. But like all good goths I can only process love in the context of loss. So the track is about the fear of losing those we love and how's it best to exist completely in the moment.
What is it that you'd like listeners to take away from the experience of 'I Swam'?
That they are hearing honest, genuine, emotion. Art is utterly and entirely subjective so whether someone likes something or not is arbitrary in my opinion. The only objective element that can be judged is whether something is honest. I believe whole-heartedly that this one of the most honest pieces of work I've ever created.
You cite one of the influences for the song as French composer Erik Satie. Is it important to your work to raise the awareness of classical and neo-classical music?
Truthfully, not really. I think these classical composers occupy enough artistic space without anyone championing them. Specifically the Satie pieces that are the inspiration for "I Swam" (his suite of Gymnopedies) as I think they're probably his most popular work. I suppose my one desire is that people look further than these popular pieces, as Satie's Ogives are great for instance but often overlooked.
Do you think that people are more open to classical sounds these days? Or does the genre still have some obstacles to overcome there?
I think there can be a 'seriousness' to classical music which I have no time for. It can appear as if it is reserved for rich, white, upper class, elderly folk – whereas I believe it should be part of a varied musical diet for all people. "Classical" as a genre is incredibly broad and usually covers everything from Bach (1600s) to Satie (early 1900s) so I think that's worth remembering. Whenever people say they don't like "Classical" music they probably just haven't heard enough, so it's easy to write off.
Who are some of the other composers that inspire you?
Benjamin Clementine for his unwavering honesty and integrity. Rufus Waingwright for his wit and heart. Billie Holiday for her raw vulnerability and how that became her power. Frederic Chopin for his gloomy gothic sensibilities and his virtuosic flare.
For any budding songwriters or composers out there, what's your top piece of advice for them?
Don't be a dickhead. (feel free to edit that if you're not allowed vulgarities)
But truthfully that's the best bit of advice I can give you. There is always someone more talented and younger in the wings ready to take your place. If you're difficult to work with, you won't last long in this industry. Once you're selling out stadiums you can afford an over-inflated ego (but even then I wouldn't advise it) when you're on the way up, move with love and kindness.
Final question, what other exciting plans do you have for this year?
I'll have another singled called "Algorithm" out in the Summer (Aug 23rd)
My album "The Idiot" comes out Oct 21st and I'll be doing a UK tour around this time. Currently confirmed:
Oct 23 – Leeds Oporto
Oct 24 – London the Waiting Room
Oct 25 – Brighton Folklore Rooms
Oct 30 – Norwich Arts Centre
And there are more UK dates to come in November and December. I'm also planning on some continental dates with my booking team in Portugal, Spain, France and Germany in 2023. So I'm hoping to be out on the road a lot over the next year or so. One of the most exciting things about making music for me is sharing it with people in real life.
Follow Alexander Carson:
Alexander CarsonambientclassicalcomposerI SwaminterviewNeo-classicalnew musicOn The RecordQ&Asingle
Previous Post Two years on, Alice Rowe is back with sophisticated single 'As It Seems'
Next Post CAPYAC just wanna have a good time with their funky disco-dance single 'GOODTIME'


text:
Case Study 4: River Beach Primary School Workshops and Project
The aim of this project was to consult children about images of deafness and ways to make books accessible to deaf children. Working with a group of deaf and hearing children, two authors and a translator, the children were given the opportunity to explore deaf characters and how they are portrayed in the books of Italian author Rosa Tiziana Bruno and UK author Julia Donaldson.
The focus was on Zitti's Cake Shop, (one of the books featured in the first 'Reading the Way' research project), by Rosa Tiziana Bruno. 'Zitti' features an outstanding pastry chef who is deaf. He mixes a secret ingredient into his cakes that leave his customers lost for words. The book explores the extraordinary properties of food as a form of communication because understanding does not always need words.
Rosa Tiziana Bruno has created a successful workshop model that she takes into mainstream schools in her native Italy where the children explore the themes of 'Zitti' through baking activities. By adapting this workshop template to fit our own criteria, OIW believed that Rosa, together with translator Denise Muir, would provide a valuable interactive workshop with deaf and hearing children. It would also help OIW collect feedback on the book and to develop resources that could be used in other schools with both deaf and hearing children.
The workshop with Julia Donaldson worked with larger groups of children exploring two of her books featuring sign language and hearing impairment.
Zitti's Cake Shop (La pasticceria Zitti)
Rosa Tiziana Bruno, ills. by Ambra Garlashcelli
La Margherita Edizioni, 2011
Zitti's Cake Shop explores the extraordinary properties of food as a form of communication because understanding does not always need words.
Freddie and the Fairy
Julia Donaldson, ills. by Karen George
Macmillan, 2010
Freddie is delighted when he meets a fairy called Bessie-Belle who offers to grant his every wish. The problem is that the fairy can't hear very well so all Freddie's wishes come out wrong because he mumbles.
What the Jackdaw Saw
Julia Donaldson, ills. by Nick Sharratt
Jackdaw is flying into danger! The other animals try to warn him, but he doesn't understand the signs they are using. A story about friendship and sign language written by a group of deaf children with Julia Donaldson in a workshop run by The Life and Deaf Association.
Italian sociologist, teacher and author Rosa Tiziana Bruno, translator Denise Muir and author Julia Donaldson all have a strong interest in deafness. We had worked with Rosa and Denise previously and knew they were keen to collaborate further on Zitti's Cake Shop.
OIW selected River Beach, a mainstream primary school with a Special Support Centre, (one of only two Primary Support Centres for deaf children in West Sussex). The pupils in the SSC all have a significant hearing loss and are supported by a Teacher of the Deaf and six Special Support Assistants who are experienced in working with deaf children. We had worked with the school in the first RtW project and knew they were very keen to work on a project involving deaf and hearing children using 'Zitti' as a theme.
Johnan Bannier, head of the SSC, staff from the SSC and Deborah Hallford, OIW.
Date: 23 January 2017.
Participants: The workshop involved two sessions: The morning comprised of 12 pupils from Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 – six from the Special Support Centre for Deaf Children (SSC) and six hearing children. The afternoon comprised of ten pupils from YR, Y1 and Y2 – six from the SSC and four hearing children. Length: Two 90 minute sessions.
The workshop aimed to introduce the pupils to the author and translator of Zitti's Cake Shop and to explore the themes of the book through baking activities.
Report: (NB Individual report for each workshop session)
The workshop began with Rosa and Denise being introduced to the group. The teacher explained that Rosa came from another country and spoke a different language so she needed an interpreter (Denise) who could translate her words into English. The children were asked where they thought Rosa came from. Answers ranged from places in the UK, Spain, Greece, China, until one child guessed Italy.
Rosa read a page of Zitti's Cake Shop in Italian. One Y4 boy, who is deaf and also on the autistic spectrum, had not originally wanted to attend the workshop but changed his mind at the last minute, mentioned that he spoke Spanish. As Rosa read he appeared to be signing the Italian words.
Denise then read the story in English with the book being held up and the pages turned so the children could follow the illustrations. The story was also signed by the teacher. In order to ensure that the children were engaged and were following the story they were asked questions about the illustrations.
Rosa explained that the word 'zitti' in Italian was both an adjective and a verb meaning 'silence'. She said that silence is the most important thing that we need to understand each other. Words are very important but we need some silence to understand them. Rosa said that it was possible to belong to a silent world if you could not communicate. She experiences this when she is in a different country surrounded by people who are speaking a different language that she cannot understand.
Rosa told the children that when she was growing up her mother did not speak very much but she showed her love by cooking all her favourite dishes. Through cooking she was able to express her feelings.
Practical Activity
The children made a biscuit mixture following instructions from the teacher. As they were mixing the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl, they were asked to think about a secret ingredient they might add into the bowl before the mixture was made into a dough. The bowl was passed round in silence as everyone sprinkled in their secret ingredient.
Author Rosa Tiziana Bruno and pupils from River Beach School
©Photo Deborah Hallford
The children were asked what they thought of the dough mixture – how it felt to touch, what it smelt like. They came up with all sorts of answers (including squishy, like Play-Doh, and looks like a human brain) but noted that when the dough was ready to roll out it became smooth, pliable and rough on the inside.
Every child had a turn at rolling out the mixture ready for cutting the biscuit shapes. There were three different cutters – heart shape, round and crinkly.
While the children were waiting for the biscuits to cook, they did some drawings that represented their secret ingredient.
When asked to tell everyone their secret ingredient the answers included:
People be happy and enjoy their time
Importance of family
A drop of happiness
Smile - I am a gypsy (because the child was descended from a travelling family)
Super speed - Indestructible
Rosa asked the children what they thought of Mr Zitti – one child answered 'Mr Silence' was special because he made special cakes. She then asked them what they would have done in Mr Zitti's position. The children's answers ranged from: he would have opened a library, opened a café and would have murdered the whole town.
The afternoon session with the younger age group began with a storytelling session of 'Zitti' as it allowed them to engage with the illustrations and participate in the story. The teacher asked the children if they would like some cake pointing to the front cover of the book. Each child reached out and touched the book pretending to take a cake; they were asked what sort of cake they had – chocolate, caramel, toffee, chocolate ice cream, chocolate chip. They interacted with the story as they were asked what they could smell and to think of something secret that might go into the cake.
The children mixed up the ingredients to make cup-cakes passing two bowls around so each child could stir the mixture.
The teacher asked the children if they remembered in the story that Mr Zitti had mixed a secret ingredient into the bowl and explained that Mr Zitti's secret was silence, quiet which he stirred into the mixture.
Todd Parr flashcards were used to help the children select their secret ingredient. The children silently sprinkled their secret ingredient into the bowl.
Pupils from River Beach School ©Photo Deborah Hallford
While the cup-cakes were baking the children did some drawing inspired by the illustrations from 'Zitti'. The children then told the group what their secret ingredient had been. Two children chose 'brave', two children chose 'happy', 'calm', 'quiet', 'loud', 'cuddly'.
Workshop Feedback from Children of River Beach
What did you enjoy most about the workshop?
How we all took time to make the biscuits.
I enjoyed cooking and trying to be Mr Zitti, with our ingredients
That we got to be like Mr Zitti with our secret ingredient
My favourite bit about the workshop was making the cookies!
Cooking and being read the story
Making the sugary cookies
Eating the biscuits
What did you think of the story?
I think it's a great story and it tells a great tale
I thought it was amazing how sometimes not speaking can be a good thing. Loved it.
It shows how silence can be a good thing including different ways to express yourself.
I liked it so I think it should be published (in English)
It was fantastic
A delicious wonder, a fantastic book with beautiful illustrations and a wonderful moral.
What about the illustrations?
They are very meaningful and have good detail and express a story through pictures.
It shows how busy the town can be and what the cake shop looked like. I loved them.
They showed what the town was like and the cake shop that would make better than just writing so I like them.
They were great but you could add more colour.
Beautiful, elegant art.
We liked the drawings
Do you think the book had a message? What was the message?
Yes I do! The message is that in order to hear you must be quiet and in order to be heard you must speak in silence.
That not speaking can be a good thing
I think the message was silence is a good thing
I think the message was that everyone is different and we should be grateful for it.
I think it had a message which was to listen to each other and understand each other.
River Beach started an Able Writers group and an Able Writers After School Club for children who had participated in the 'Zitti' workshop and also other children who were interested in writing and illustrating. Using the themes from 'Mr Zitti' and the cooking workshops as a stimulus, their brief was to include a disabled/disadvantaged character, and 'issue' and a resolution which centred around cake/food. Seven children completed very varied and well written and illustrated stories.
Johnan Bannier, Head of Special Support Centre for Deaf Children at River Beach Primary School described how valuable the project had been to the school:
"We were fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Outside In World for a project to encourage and inspire children to write. Our school has a unit for deaf children aged from 5 - 11 years who all integrate into the mainstream classes through the school."
"A group was set up to write their own stories. The parameters given (for the project) were to choose a character who has an 'issue' which could be physical, social, emotional - just whatever the children chose to write about. The problem was to be resolved in their story through eating a cake.
The group met together weekly for about six weeks and produced a very imaginative and diverse set of stories of which they were rightly very proud. It was a lovely opportunity for children who enjoy writing to let their imagination and vocabulary run wild, but with guidance and editing discussions to keep their work on track to produce a cohesive story at the end.
We really valued the opportunity to run this unusual and inspiring project in which disabled and non-disabled children could explore a new take on inclusion and diversity."
Translator Denise Muir: "Being able to read out the English version of the story, the way I'd felt it and imagined it in my head, see it come alive in the children's eyes as they watched and listened, then take on yet another new life in their secret ingredients and their drawings, was a truly wonderful experience."
Author Rosa Tiziana Bruno: "A special day. The workshop with the River Beach school children was a very emotional moment for me. I am used to doing workshops in schools; I meet hundreds of children every year, but in Littlehampton the children surprised me greatly with their curious questions, their attentive and eager looks, with their small and industrious hands in the kitchen, after reading the book.
The power of literature is immense: a fable has managed to stir up questions and free emotions. A good way to grow and learn to overcome obstacles by turning them into opportunities. I can only be happy."
Date: 7 June 2017.
Participants: 90 children from Year 2 and the SSC. Length: Two 60 minute sessions.
The aim was to introduce and focus on some of the titles that Julia Donaldson has written featuring sign language and hearing impairment. Although these workshop sessions took a more conventional format with larger groups of children we used this unique opportunity for Julia to meet some of the children specifically involved in the 'Zitti' project allowing them to share and read their stories with her.
Julia, accompanied by her husband Malcolm, used a combination of drama and music to explore some of her books.
In the morning session the children had lots of fun acting out two stories: What the Jackdaw Saw – a story about friendship and sign language written by a group of deaf children with Julia – and Freddie and the Fairy – about a fairy that can't hear very well and a protagonist who mumbles so the wishes come out wrong – where the children took on animal roles.
Author Julia Donaldson, pupils and teacher from River Beach School
©Photo Alexandra Strick
In the afternoon session the children joined in singing and learning to sign the 'Monkey Puzzle' song and acted out Julia's latest book The Giant Jumperee.
Julia then spent time with the group of children who have been working on the 'Zitti' project hearing some of the stories they have written inspired by the book.
Author Julia Donaldson and pupils from River Beach School
Johnan Bannier, Head of SSC for Deaf Children commented:
"Our visit from well-known children's author Julia Donaldson was a subject of great excitement for all the school. Pupils, parents and teachers alike all seemed to have a favourite book and were looking forward to meeting the person who wrote so many well-loved stories.
Julia's story books 'What the Jackdaw Saw' and the 'Freddie and the Fairy' came to life as she directed the cohort of year 2 children with props, masks and snippets of dialogue to participate in a dramatic replay of the stories. These two stories touch on the theme of deafness, particularly relevant for us as we have a number of deaf children at the school, of different ages, learning and playing alongside their hearing peers. At the end of the day we had a huge turn-out for the pop-up bookshop and book signing organised by Steyning Bookshop and those waiting in the long queues were delightfully entertained by Julia's husband Malcolm treating us to impromptu songs with his guitar.
Thank you to Outside in World for organising such a valuable and memorable experience for our pupils which we all remember and talk about whenever we pick up a Julia Donaldson book."
River Beach School Project Stories inspired by Zitti's Cake Shop
Faye's Story
Sienna's Story
Harry's Story
Luca's Story
Ruby's Story


Gifts Online Bangalore Bengaluru Gifts provides the fresh fruits delivery in Bangalore. Place order to send gifts to Bangalore for your friends and relatives.
The Aggregate Rating of this Webpage is 4.14 Out of 5 Based on Rating Received from 40 Customers.


text:
EWG Says Eating Well on a Budget Is Possible, and Here's How
By Gretchen Goetz on August 21, 2012
Healthy food doesn't have to be expensive. That's the message of a new guide to eating well on a budget released by the Environmental Working Group today. The guide – "Good Food on a Tight Budget" – is designed to debunk the popular belief that low-income families can't afford to eat healthily. While many nutrition advocates and even government analyses have suggested that eating well is possible with a limited income, EWG sets out to prove this by providing examples of how it can be done. The guide includes sample shopping lists, meal plans, recipes and tips that families can use to stay within a budget of $35-42 per week, or $5-6 a day, based on national price averages. EWG said it wanted to make sure its recommendations were doable for the estimated 45 million people who participate in the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). The number of people receiving SNAP benefits increased by 70 percent between 2007 and 2011, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office. "With the recession and the number of people on food stamps, there's a lot of interest in good food on a tight budget," explained Dawn Undurraga, Nutritionist for EWG, in an interview with Food Safety News. The average family enrolled in SNAP currently receives about $71 per week in benefits, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Over 1,200 foods and 19 nutrients were analyzed in the making of the guide, says Undurraga. One hundred of these foods rose to the top as ones that provide important nutrients such as fiber or iron. EWG consulted food and nutrition organizations such as Share Our Strength, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Feeding America to ensure that the meals recommended in the guide were practical for its target audience to buy and prepare. Recipes in the guide range from breakfasts to snacks to main courses to dips and salad dressings. Tabbouleh, Chinese chicken and veggies, turkey chili and baked fish are among some of the dishes described in the guide. For those worried they don't have enough time to cook at home regularly, there are many recipes that take around 5 minutes to prepare, such as salads and dips, says Undurraga. Meals that take longer to prepare can be made in large batches, stored and eaten when you have less time, she says. "Some of the soups and stews are going to take more investment, but when you make that in a big batch and you divide that over a number of meals, it's an investment in your health." Undurraga acknowledges that, per calorie, unhealthy foods may be cheaper and take less or no time to prepare. The guide, she says, is intended to show that with a little more effort, a healthy diet can be achieved within a small budget. "We're not saying it's easy," she says. "It's a challenge. But it's possible and our guide we hope will provide the support people need." Recipes in the guide are "tried and true," she says, having been tested by EWG staff and approved by organizations that specialize in nutrition for low-income individuals. For those worried that "healthy" meals are not as filling as french fries or a hamburger, Undurraga says the foods included in the guide include proteins, grains, and starches that satisfy appetite while also providing nutritional benefit. And, according to the analysis, all of these can be made at a low cost. "If you cook, things are cheaper," said Chef Ann Cooper, Director of Food Services for Boulder Valley School District and founder of Food Family Farming Foundation in an interview with Food Safety News. Cooper contributed her expertise in making nutritious, appealing food for children – and some of her own recipes – to the guide. "There's plenty of wonderful food out there to eat that anyone can afford," Cooper says it's important that parents use the guide with their children so that kids learn to enjoy healthy, home-cooked meals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 17 percent of children in the U.S. ages 2 to 19 are obese. Poor diet has been shown to be a leading contributor to this problem. "If we really want to turn back the obesity problem, if we really want to change children's relationship with food, we have to find our kitchens again," said Cooper in an interview with Food Safety News. While studies have shown that children must be exposed to a new food anywhere from 7 to 12 times before they like it, children who are involved in preparing the meals they eat — whether through growing food, shopping or helping to cook — are more likely to warm to new foods faster, says Cooper. Some recipes are accompanied by tips on how to make foods more appealing to children. "The browner they get, the sweeter and more kid-pleasing the caramelized vegetables will be," says the Kid-Approved Roasted Veggies recipe. And for those ready to fully embrace the challenge of cooking healthily on a budget, the guide offers additional information about many foods it recommends, including which ones are most likely to carry pesticide residues, which require more environmental resources to produce, and which contain high levels of potential dangerous substances such as mercury. While these factors should not be the primary concern when grocery shopping, they should be noted and taken into consideration if price allows, says Undurraga. "EWG's stance is first of all eat your fruits and vegetables," she says. "But there are questions about pesticide residues, and if people want to be on the safe side I don't think there's anything wrong with providing people with information they can use to make the decision themselves."
Tags: Environmental Working Group, food stamps, nutrition, obesity, SNAP


text:
TOP STORIES / World / Europe
What's all the fuss about Germany?
Refugees arriving in Austria don't want to stay and would prefer to go on to Germany. Many of the reasons have to do more with myths than reality, reports Alison Langley from Vienna.
Farah Aly paced a Red Cross waiting area in Nickelsdorf, southeast of Vienna, near the Hungarian border, unsure of what to do with herself.
She had paid a man 1,500 euros to guide her and her 2 ½ year old son safely to Germany, but after 15 days of travel, they – and the 29 others in her group – were left stranded by a field in the wee hours of the morning in Austria, where they were spotted by police patrols.
But rather than being grateful for the lift to a safe spot where she and her son could drink and eat, the 32-year old Iraqi was near tears in desperation. Her son has a birth defect, she said and only the doctors in Germany can help her.
"I must get to Germany," she pleaded. "I can't stay here."
When told that Austria, like Germany, has an advanced medical system, Aly looked doubtful. She had never heard anyone in Baghdad talk about Austria. Germany is rich. Germany's ruler has said they will take refugees. Germany, she said, is nice. Surely then, she reasoned, doctors in Germany can help her son regain full use of his right arm.
Germany is the promised land
She isn't alone. Aly, like many of the 34,000 refugees picked up in Austria, say they do not want to stay in the Alpine state. On Monday, when police tried to lead away perhaps 15 Syrians as they arrived from Hungary, they staged an impromptu sit-in. "Germany! Germany! Germany!" They chanted.
Refugees waiting at Vienna train station want to go to Germany
Eventually, they were persuaded to leave the train station. But most refugees who arrived on Tuesday were not so easily swayed. As they disembarked the train from Budapest, the first question most asked was where the next train was to "Allemagne."
A woman who called herself Kaffaa, arrived with her husband and toddler. The little girl was sick, she said, but she would only stop for medical help once they got to Munich.
"Germany is no problem for us," she said. "Germany will take us."
Most are keen to meet up with relatives in other countries. Others, like five Iraqi men sleeping in Vienna's train station while they figure out how to get to England, say they fear that Austrian police will evoke the Dublin Accord and send them back to Hungary.
Under Dublin, refugees must apply for asylum in the first EU country they arrive in. But the refugees say they do not want to live in countries like Hungary, which treated them poorly. They want to live in nations where they feel welcomed, they said.
Many think Austria isn't good enough
Ahmet Hussein, 40, said he wants to go to Belgium because "they will give me a house." Hussein had left his wife and children in Iraq while he found a safe place for them to live. He said the family had saved money for months to pay the human trafficker 1,500 euros for what had been promised as a safe journey.
"In Belgium, there is a good chance for my children to study," Hussein said. Then he thought about it and added, "In Germany there are many jobs available if I learn German."
But when challenged: How did Hussein know that? He said people talked along the way. They passed information as they passed the time.
For refugees, Germany seems to be the promised land
Omar Sirwan, an ethnic Kurd from Iran, said he started his journey to Europe on July 29. When he got to Istanbul, he paid a smuggler 8,000 euros to get him to England. "I like the people; I know about the country. I speak a little English," he said. "Here I know nothing."
This is what he thinks he knows about England: When he gets there, he will get money every month until he finds work. He will get a house.
While some appear to have romanticized notions of countries, all seem to be based on half-truths. Yes, refugees are given council flats to live in and small stipends to live on. Yes, many countries offer language classes. But that is just as true for Austria as Germany. So why does Austria have such a bad rap?
The refugees said they heard too many negative stories.
"Here in Austria, there are no jobs and salaries are not good enough for living," Hussein said.
Most importantly, they have experienced personally how difficult it was to simply get here. Now that he is here, though, Kirwan is having second thoughts about Austria.
When he was picked up by police in Serbia, Kirwan said he had to pay the officers 100 euros to be let go. When Austria police picked him up, they were nice.
Hamza Alsawah, 15, from Aleppo, is in Traiskirchen. Initially, he too, wanted to reach Germany. But he was caught in Austria and now, he's happy that he was. Alsawah spends his days outside the intake center, helping Caritas volunteers distribute food and clothing to the new arrivals.
All the Austrians he has met are nice, he said. They are fun to be around.
Inside Germany's first one-stop migrant reception and deportation center
Bavaria has opened Germany's first one-stop reception and deportation center, expressly for turning back Balkan migrants quickly. Human rights groups and some locals aren't happy. Ben Knight reports from Ingolstadt. (01.09.2015)
Migrant misery in Agadez
Young people in West and Central Africa know what the journey to Europe entails. Despite this, every week thousands leave their homes - but for many the journey ends in Niger when money and motivation run out. (01.09.2015)
Budapest, Vienna train stations overwhelmed with refugees
Budapest's Keleti train station has been closed in an attempt to prevent migrants from fleeing to Austria and Germany. Refugees said they spent hundreds on tickets after police told them they could expect free passage. (01.09.2015)
Author Alison Langley, Vienna
Related Subjects Refugees, Migration, Austria, political asylum
Keywords Austria, refugees, migrants, asylum
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/1GPi9
Opinion: EU chooses self-interest over compassion for refugees 18.07.2019
In the EU's game of "refugee bingo," far-right Italian Interior Minister Minister Matteo Salvini can only win. He has little reason to give in to states looking for lasting migration policy, says DW's Bernd Riegert.
EU ministers fail to strike deal on migrants 18.07.2019
EU interior ministers couldn't reach agreement on how to deal with asylum seekers rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. As the ministers held talks in Finland, the captain of a rescue ship at the eye of a political storm appeared before an Italian court.
Refugees sent to Libya under EU deal face 'catastrophic' conditions 15.07.2019
Facing the risk of exploitation, violence and torture, aid groups warn Libya is not a safe country for refugees. They argue that is reason enough for the EU not to send asylum-seekers back to the country.
French court rejects claim against German shipbuilder for 1994 Estonia ferry disaster
Switzerland celebrates rare wine festival
Russian suspect in tainted oil scandal seeks asylum in Lithuania
Bulgaria makes biggest military acquisition since fall of communism


text:
BP Attempts Top Kill: At dawn Wednesday, the oil company will try to choke to death the gusher at the bottom of the sea by force-feeding it heavy drilling mud and cement
SHOOT: Let's all hope and pray that this works.
clipped from news.yahoo.com
COVINGTON, La. – BP is going in for the kill. The trick is to do the job quickly and cleanly.
If it's not done just right, it could make the leak worse.
If some of the higher estimates of 3 million to 4 million gallons a day are correct, "it's going to spit everything back in your face," Bea told The Associated Press. He estimated that anything above 1.6 million gallons a day would be too much for a top kill to work.
Nevertheless, "they're trying and that's a good thing," Bea said. "I certainly pray that it works, because if it doesn't there's this long waiting time" before BP can dig relief wells that would cut off the flow.
The company's backup plans include a junk shot, which involves shooting golf balls, tire scraps, knotted rope and other assorted objects into the well to clog it up.
BP executives say the only guaranteed permanent solution is a pair of relief wells crews have already started drilling, but that will take at least two months.


text:
The 2005 Northwest Airlines strike
A short history, account and analysis of the 2005 strike of mechanics and cleaners at Northwest Airlines against cuts in jobs, wages and benefits, and the lessons it holds for workers in future.
Our perspective... was simple: "What will it take to win this strike?"
It seemed to us that the strike had to impede NWA's ability to operate, it had to start hurting the company. It had to spread to the others sectors of workers at the airports... It had to become an issue of concern and attention for working people generally. It had to create a crisis for the larger capitalist class beyond the NWA board and large stockholders.
Workers of the Skies Unite!
by Kdog
NorthStar Anarchist Collective
Twin Cities IWW GMB
(personal capacity)
In August 2005 the mechanics and cleaners at Northwest Airlines (NWA), the world's fourth largest passenger airline went out on strike. The workers were rejecting the company's final offer of massive concessions, including 53% job cuts, 26% wage reductions and sharp cuts to their benefits and pensions.
This battle is in response to a new round of attacks by the old large industrial corporations, such as the Airlines and Automakers against their heavily unionized and relatively better-off workers. Out-sourcing (reducing unionization), and sharp scaling back of pay, benefits, and pensions are the general thrust, part of their drive to make US workers more "competitive" with the rest of the world. The enormous power and prestige these brand name corporations have means these attacks set the tone and establish the trend for all class relations in the US. As the necessary norm for doing business in the global market.
Today's unions for the most part accept the logic of the capitalist market and are completely out of practice of any kind of militant struggle. This poses the question how are workers going to be able to resist these attacks, and how are we as revolutionary anarchists and class partisans going to be able to best aid our sisters and brothers given our extremely limited size, resources, and influence? Let's look at this strike and try and draw out some lessons so far.
The mechanics, cleaners and custodians at NWA are represented by AMFA, the Airline Mechanics Fraternal Association, a sort of do-it-yourself craft union that for years barely existed at the margins of the industry. Up thru the nineties, the mechanics at Northwest were represented along with the baggage handlers and ticket agents by the International Association of Machinists (IAM). But sick of continuous concessionary contracts negotiated by the IAM, and confident in the leverage created by their skill-set the mechanics along with the cleaners and custodians struck out on their own becoming the first major work group from one of the big airlines to affiliate with AMFA.
Generally we should support industrial, not craft unionism. There were also some conservative reasons why the mechanics at NWA went to AMFA. But it should not be a surprise to us that in the absence of any clear class pole - like the IWW of old for instance - workers will try and find something, anything, that gives them some independence from the business as usual of the mainstream unions. In the same way that the P-9 meatpackers of Austin, MN in the '80's grasped onto Ray Rogers' "Corporate Campaign", the mechanics at NWA grabbed onto AMFA.
AMFA its self is a bit of a trip. Headquartered not in Washington, New York, or Detroit but in a small town in New Hampshire. Run out of a law firm, and headed up by a crusty old airline mechanic called O.V. Delle-Femine, AMFA is not your typical U.S. union. While AMFA regrettably relies on lawyers for its negotiations, it has no real bureaucracy to speak of. It's small number of officers are either still working or fresh from the shop floor.
Rather then being a layered hierarchy of useless and interfering bureaucrats, AMFA had if anything a problem going the other way. A kind of "Tyranny of Structurelessness". There was little internal organization to the strike, meaning every problem, question, and opportunity was thrust to the new local president. There was never any effective democratic procedure for running the strike, like weekly mass meetings and/or an elected strike council of delegates to discuss and implement strategy. Folks were very much winging it.
But I never saw any bureaucratic interference or undemocratic methods used to silence or police the strikers. In fact it was amazing how little "cushion" separated the negotiators from the active core of the strike. One example: a few weeks into the strike, the AMFA negotiators were discussing bringing back a new, worse NWA offer to the membership to vote on. When some of the more active strikers herd about this they were livid and began personally calling the AMFA national leadership and negotiators on their cell phones and demanding that this not happen. At one point a pissed off steward started physically threatening the negotiating team, while others used less violent but still firm reasoning. The negotiators were forced to pull the idea. It is unthinkable to think of local rank & file activists and officers being able to effect national negotiations like that in the Teamsters, UAW, or IAM for instance.
AFL-CIO Treachery
AMFA is not affiliated to the AFL-CIO. Apparently still smarting from the workers exodus from the IAM, the federation did all it could to undermine AMFA during the strike. The AFL actually sent a letter to every metro labor council in the country ordering the unions to refuse any support to AMFA. This had a very chilling effect on solidarity efforts. In concrete terms it meant that even raising simple motions for a donation at your local union's meeting would be opposed by most union officials. It meant that no wider mobilizations of official labor solidarity would be possible. It created a huge obstacle to reaching the constituency that would be most naturally supportive of AMFA's struggle.
Of course this exile from the House of Labor, also gave a certain openness to the struggle that would not have existed otherwise. Many rank and file AMFA workers were not only acutely aware of the "corporate" enemy, but also had a pretty sophisticated understanding of the problems with the labor "movement". With no AFL-CIO support there was not the usual bureaucratic control of the grassroots, the legalism, and electoralism. We found thru the IWW that we were able to easily (surprisingly easily) enter into pretty serious strategic discussions with Local 33's officers and activist core, make proposals and plan some significant action.
NWA is headquartered in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and it's largest hub is at the Twin Cities international airport. AMFA's largest base, Local 33, is in the Twin Cities. From the beginning of the strike, Twin Cities anarchists have been in solidarity. During the first days of the strike, members of Northstar Anarchist Collective did three banner drops over one of the main interstates going out to the airport. Most of our activity has been as members of the newly formed Twin Cities IWW.
Our perspective, which we continually tried to hit home, at the solidarity committee meetings, at the unofficial action group meetings, and at rallies and the picket line was simple: "What will it take to win this strike?"
It seemed to us that the strike had to impede NWA's ability to operate, it had to start hurting the company. It had to spread to the others sectors of workers at the airports, especially the Flight Attendants (The PFAA, an AMFA-like independent union that split from the Teamsters) and Baggage Handlers and Ticket Agents (IAM). It had to become an issue of concern and attention for working people generally. It had to create a crisis for the larger capitalist class beyond the NWA board and large stockholders.
Within the Solidarity Committee, an informal action group (made up of mechanics, revolutionary unionists, and a few other radical supporters), and among individuals there was no real disagreement with this view. But there were serious questions and concerns about whether and how this was possible. Our ideas about direct action meshed with some of the strikers though, and we were able to pull off some important actions.
Three significant direct actions were organized jointly by revolutionary unionists and an informal mechanics action group. The first action served as a kind of test. More then 50 workers (mostly AMFA members) picketed a hotel where scabs were being put up and moved on to hotel property feeling out the reaction of the scabs, security and police. To follow that up we announced to the media and the union's membership that we were going to picket the homes of NWA CEO and Board members. Our group chartered three school buses but shortly before moving out from the launching area/Strike HQ announced to each full bus of 80 plus strikers and supporters that the buses were instead going to three of the hotels where NWA was putting up scabs, in order to blockade the buses NWA chartered for their PM shift. This idea was greeted enthusiastically and we were off. The ruse worked. Vance security and local police were waiting for us at CEO Chuck Steenland's home. At each hotel serious confrontations developed with the scab buses, delaying their movement for a couple hours.
At one hotel location, a scab bus mysteriously developed a flat tire, making a perfect backdrop for an impromptu press conference featuring Local 33 officers and activist flight attendants and baggage handlers who were supporting AMFA. Shortly before police announced they would make mass arrests we retreated as planned.
The shift had been delayed and NWA was confronted with a security hole it hadn't planned for. Direct Action was on the agenda as the way forward, and dozens of workers had played a part in planning and carrying out the most audacious labor action in the Twin Cities in years. The press would have to adjust from its comfortable story line of the union's defeat. And in an end around the AFL-CIO's stonewall, trade unionists and their supporters would see the strike's energy and action on TV and the front page… Except this was also the day after Hurricane Katrina hit and the reality of that situation would wipe nearly everything else out of public discussion and consciousness.
A couple weeks later, following a rally at the Strike Headquarters the same group of us organized and motivated for a car caravan to drive over to the main gate at the airport where the scabs were brought in. Over 200 cars ended up participating - totally jamming up the service road that the scab buses would use. A couple of our cars ended up having "engine trouble" causing the police to make two arrests and tow out two vehicles. Again a shift was delayed, NWA was caught unprepared tactically, and spirits soared.
(In separate anonymous actions, there were reports of metal spike caltrops being spread on that same service road to the airport utilized for transporting scabs, and of a couple scabs being beat up at the hotels they were being put up in by the Corporation.)
There was however no easy consensus on the next step forward. AMFA had been overconfident in their ability to shut down the airline simply by withdrawing their labor. NWA had seen that coming though, and many believe actually wanted the confrontation. While almost no AMFA folks crossed in the first couple months, the company kept the planes flying by hiring and training scabs and using management around the clock. The FAA and the local "liberal" media conspired to suppress the gross safety violations and a couple of near misses that resulted.
We were not able to find a way to create momentum towards more action, involving broader groups of airline workers and others. There was lots of discussions of what it would take to actually shut down the airport for a day - the kind of action that would create a huge amount of attention for the strike and pressure on the other unions to support it - but no plan emerged that seemed realistic.
As the strike dragged on - now entering it's 6th month - more AMFA workers, including many of the strike's active core that we had worked with, started peeling away to go find work elsewhere, move out of state, or just plain move on. Despite the dismal scene, AMFA workers in December voted to reject yet another, worse final offer from NWA. There will be no face-saving way out here. Heads held high, the NWA mechanics and cleaners have had to absorb a major blow. The company now must absorb bankruptcy, the other unions the shame of having stood by and watched. We, who supported and fought alongside the striking workers, need to absorb the lessons.
Some Lessons for Anarchists
1. There clearly is an offensive by the bosses aimed at what have been the best working-class jobs. (See Delphi, GM, Ford, Delta, Northwest . . .) The aim is to force US workers to compete with workers internationally on a much lower playing field.
2. These attacks will generate resistance. Since the mainstream unions are not oriented toward militant struggle, the workers, will by necessity have to seek additional and/or other vehicles to organize struggle.
3. The traditional anarchist and syndicalist methods of direct action and horizontal organization, as well as agitation for expanded Mass Strikes or even General Strikes will be immediately useful to the workers in this situation. Proposals for these tactics may find a much more receptive audience than we are used to. Many workers will be quite skillful at organizing and implementing these tactics. We will have as much to learn as to teach.
4. These type of actions have the potential to escalate and will be met by repression. We have a responsibility to help prepare for the consequences, and plan for the next steps. Individual direct actions can be reduced to "stunts", if not part of a broader strategy. Police brutality, arrests, and corporate lawsuits against the union can have a chilling effect if folks aren't prepared.
5. Despite the potential radicalization among these sectors, it is not automatic that it will go wholly in a libertarian direction. Indeed there is a wide opening for authoritarian and even fascist politics among this sector (made up largely of the formerly best paid and mostly white and male workers). Anti-immigration, economic protectionism and general U.S. nationalism will have to be countered in creative and practical ways.
6. There is a need for an organized pole of consistent revolutionary anarchist / syndicalist ideas and action that can relate to and help develop this resistance. I think comrades in the WSA, NEFAC, NWAF, exFRAC, ARA and individual anarchist militants need to discuss whether the IWW or some other common front is needed to serve as such a pole.
From WORKERS SOLIDARITY, publication of the
anarchosyndicalist Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA) 339 Lafayette Street #202, NY NY 10012. mailto:wsany@hotmail.com
Text taken from http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=3236 - which includes some subsequent discussion.
Steven.
Dec 27 2006 01:36
Kdog
Workers Solidarity Alliance
2005 Northwest Airlines strike


BCAB is a lively community of blind and partially sighted people. Our members include people of all skill levels, ages and interests.
You can join BCAB in two simple steps.
With a free account you can join the BCAB technology forum and PocketPC discussion forum. They're email discussion lists for everyone interested in technology from the point of view of blind and partially sighted people.
Access to member-only content, including technology guides, product reviews and Soundbytes audio articles.
Priority booking, and member-only rates for events, products and tutorials.
Regular newsletters, with technology articles, reports and news from BCAB.
Individual members can join the BCAB online community. Choose to share information with other (Full or Associate) members through your profile page, and connect with people who share your areas of interest. You'll be able to post comments on articles, product reviews and other member-only content, and you'll also be able to apply to the BCAB scholarship fund.
Individual membership is £10 per year (£5 for Associate members).
Commercial and Community members can display information on the BCAB website. Choose to share information with everyone, including contact details, product news, current activities or upcoming events.
Commercial membership is £105 per year (£50 for Community members).


text:
Speechless: The Uncharted Territory of SATB2 Syndrome
Jasper Mack
"Be the expert."
A platitude I've echoed in my head as I venture into uncharted territory.
My general lack of direction over the years has created ample opportunity for this self-talk.
But I've never qualified as an expert. Always onto the next horizon before my "10,000 hours" arrived.
Then I became a dad.
The fit was precise. Love, purpose, direction – the missing ingredients I never knew were missing.
The search for meaning (conscious or unconscious) was over. I knew my path to 10,000 hours – be the best dad I could be.
I didn't really need to be an "expert." I just needed passion.
When actual experts confirm that I am the expert – not by choice, but by necessity – the implications are profound.
Almost two and a half years ago, The Mrs. and I shared an update about Awesome Mack – developmental milestones had been missed and the search was on for a cause behind those missing milestones.
That search has led us down a path with developmental specialists, neurologists, geneticists, dental exams, ex-rays, MRI's, sight tests, hearing tests, PT, OT, speech therapy, blood tests, genetic tests …and ultimately THE ANSWER.
SATB2 Syndrome.
Never heard of it? You're not alone.
Mack was the 53rd diagnosed case of this genetic syndrome – in the world!
But the numbers are growing. We see new members added to the FaceBook support group on a regular basis. Genetic tests are improving, and SATB2 is making waves (ripples?) in the genetic community.
What may have once been categorized as Autism (Mack was almost diagnosed), may have deeper genetic meaning.
Public Service Announcement: If you know a child – perhaps diagnosed with autism? – with no speech and some crazy teeth, a genetic test is probably worthwhile.
What to do with a SATB2 diagnosis?
Become the expert.
With so few diagnosed cases, the parents are the experts. We are the living lab. The doctors defer to the parents.
To begin, we have become very good at expounding the SATB2 highlights:
A de novo (anew – not passed down from parents) genetic syndrome that alters the SATB2 gene.
SATB2 gene regulates other genes. As a result, altering the SATB2 gene can alter other genes.
There are three ways the gene can be altered – deletions, duplications and mutations ("misspellings" within the gene).
A Dr. in Arkansas is currently compiling a study of the known cases.
www.satb2ene.com
There are commonalities among the diagnosed cases, but the sample size is small and much research is needed…assuming the medical community stays interested and funding materializes.
Nonprofit? Another topic for another time.
Common characteristics: developmental delay, speech delay, dental abnormalities, behavior abnormalities.
A common theme but a wide spectrum.
It feels cold to discuss statistics, characteristics, and cases. But that's what experts do, and that's the world we've been thrown into.
A technical mindset is a must to navigate the medical, educational and financial aspects of a lifelong march into uncharted territory. We need to work within large, established bureaucracies, and we need to fight for our needs. We need to speak their language. We need to be the expert.
But that technical mindset doesn't change the fact that this group paving the way into uncharted territory is full of children, parents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, Grandparents, and friends. People.
We're not just cases and numbers lumped into studies. We are the experts, but we are also the emotions that lie beneath the surface. Our determination creates a suit of armor difficult to penetrate, but our love for those we fight for keeps us vulnerable.
A paradox that can be difficult to manage.
Finding the SATB2 answer has removed a small piece of hope – hope that things could all of the sudden be "normal." Perhaps hope is overrated.
More important than hope, knowledge gives us the will to fight for what we believe in. The determination to overcome the odds. The courage to march into uncharted territory.
The strength to be the expert.
Where does Jasper Mack fall into all of this? Speechless.
Mack has a "misspelling."
Because there are a lot of chromosomes that could be "misspelled" and there are so few cases, Mack is literally the only known case with his specific diagnosis.
MRI at 1 year showed abnormal white matter on his gray matter. MRI at 2 years showed no change. No regression – great. But why abnormal…who knows?
A few other cases show abnormal MRIs, but not all. No conclusions.
The Mack Attack is full of love. His "behavior abnormality" seems to be overly happy and friendly. Always smiling. Loves hugs.
Although he does have his breakdowns, and other experts (IE parents) have indicated that frustration seems to build with age – one theory is the lack of speech/communication aggravates…seems sensible.
Jazzy Mack has no speech. Sounds, but no words. We've been working on signs (and speech) for almost two years, and he is only consistent with a few. We are also in the process of being approved (add insurance to our list of expertise) for a communication device – a board with pictures for Mack to choose from.
We are told that his receptive language is higher than we may know. We believe this to be true, but with little communication, it can be hard to tell what "sinks in."
Mackie Mack has decent gross and fine coordination, but not perfect. A lot of PT and OT has improved but not corrected this. The work continues. In the end, it could be neurological, but who knows?
The Boy eats like a champ and is almost as tall as his bro 2.5 years older, but he's thin and does not gain weight easily.
Mack has 4-5 days of therapies per week – speech, PT, OT, and he has a full-time aide with him for three days of preschool.
Progress is being made every day. It may be slow, but it's progress.
We may not seem like experts. We may not act like experts. But when it comes to SATB2, we are the undisputed experts. And our expertise is growing daily.
Why us? Why Mack?
Natural questions, but not worth the energy. No one has the answer, and the answer doesn't matter.
This is our world. This is our fight. This is our Mack.
Our family is exactly the way it should be. Mack is exactly who he should be and exactly where he should be. We are stronger, better people because of Mack.
I relish the opportunity to be the expert that I need to be.
Update: Mom & Dad interview…
PS – It's funny how life gives you what you need when you need it. Coincidence? Synchronicity?
While you wrestle with that conundrum, check out the trailer for an ABC show called Speechless. A great view of being the expert. We can relate…
This entry was posted in SATB2 and tagged expert, mack, SATB2 by admin. Bookmark the permalink.
7 thoughts on "Speechless: The Uncharted Territory of SATB2 Syndrome"
Teresa on October 26, 2016 at 5:21 am said:
Beautifully written and so, so true! It's a privilege to be a part of Mack's life and a joy to watch his progress. He does indeed, make our lives better!
Nina and Rex
Brittney overton on October 31, 2016 at 4:37 am said:
Whitney and Adam this is beautiful and Mack could not have asked for better parents to be on his journey. You guys rock!
Jessica McLean on October 31, 2016 at 6:14 am said:
This is such an inspiration as parents to be our children's advocate. To fight for them. Mack is such an awesome grom and I'm so excited that he and Canon will grow up together. And I truly appreciate you raising awareness and paving the way for other families! You guys rock! Love your family!!!
Mora on November 2, 2016 at 3:41 pm said:
Words escape me – in stark contrast to how eloquently you presented the facts, the feelings, the questions, and the challenges. Mack is exactly who he needs to be and he is exactly where he needs to be – with amazing parents, wonderful siblings, and extended family and friends. All of whom love and support you.
Katy walker on November 2, 2016 at 5:04 pm said:
You guys are seriously amazing, and so is Mack!
Penny on November 2, 2016 at 8:47 pm said:
This literally brought tears to my eyes. Mack picked you to be his parents and there was a reason for that. He could not have found more loving, passionate, patient, and overall amazing humans as yourselves. I am so proud of you and Whit and am even more proud of Mack.
Dr Z on February 9, 2017 at 4:59 pm said:
Enjoyed reading the article and watching the video. Hopefully i can see u guys soon


When you want to send your regards and sympathy to friends or family who have recently lost a loved one you can guarantee that Simply Flowers will deal with your order compassionately and with efficiency. Our experienced florists understand the importance of such occasions and will do everything to ensure that your order is delivered at the correct time.
Sending sympathy flowers is a simple and heartfelt gesture that's sure to relay your sentiments during a time of loss. We offer same day flower delivery and next day delivery all year round. Our professional florists use the freshest, crispest stems to prepare their handmade bouquets, flower arrangements, and floral baskets.
Send your regards and sympathies with beautiful flowers from Simply Flowers 'sympathy' collection.


text:
Before 737 MAX, Boeing's Flight-Control System Included Key Safeguards
Earlier military version of MCAS had features to prevent misfires implicated in two 737 MAX crashes
Two crashes and the global grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX commercial airliner led to extensive disruption in the international aerospace industry. WSJ's Robert Wall explains the continuing effects of the plane's grounding. Photo: Getty Images
Alison Sider
@alyrose
alison.sider@wsj.com
Andrew Tangel
@AndrewTangel
andrew.tangel@wsj.com
Updated Sept. 29, 2019 3:31 pm ET
Boeing Co. engineers working on a flight-control system for the 737 MAX omitted key safeguards that had been included in an earlier version of the same system used on a military tanker jet, people familiar with the matter said.
Accident investigators have implicated the system, known as MCAS, in two deadly crashes of the jetliner that killed a total of 346 people.
The engineers who created MCAS more than a decade ago for the military refueling plane designed the system to rely on inputs from multiple sensors and with limited power to move the tanker's nose—which one person familiar with the design described as deliberate checks against the system acting erroneously or causing a pilot to lose control.
"It was a choice," this person said. "You don't want the solution to be worse than the initial problem."
The MAX's version of MCAS, however, relied on input from just one of the plane's two sensors that measure the angle of the plane's nose. The system also proved tougher for pilots to override. Investigators have implicated the system in the fatal nosedives of a Lion Air jet in October 2018 and of an Ethiopian Airlines MAX in March. Indonesia is expected to fault that MCAS design, in addition to U.S. oversight lapses and pilot missteps, in its final report on the Lion Air crash into the Java Sea, The Wall Street Journal has reported.


1. Begin by slicing the chicken in half to make 6 thinner pieces.
2. Lay the sliced, thinner chicken breasts on a clean platter.
3. Get 2 larger bowls ready, and one smaller one. Place the flour in a smaller bowl, along with the Italian Blend, and the Salt. Place the eggs into the smaller bowl, whisk them up, then add the milk, and whisk until smooth. Mix the Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Cheese, Italian Blend, and Salt in the other larger bowl.
The milk helps to emulsify the egg yolks. And, if you didn't use it, the egg coating would be quite thick, and you'll end up with a heavier batter on the chicken.
4. Place the vegetable oil into a heavy bottomed pan, like a black frying pan, to a depth of about 1/4". Heat this to a medium high temperature.
Set your oven to 350 degrees, and let it warm up while you're frying the chicken.
Dredge the chicken in flour, shake off any excess, then in the eggs, then in the bread crumb mixture. The flour help the eggs to stick to the chicken, and the eggs, give the bread crumbs something to adhere to.
Place in the fry pan, making sure that you don't crowd it. and fry until each piece of chicken is crisp and lightly browned. Be careful, because if the heat is too high, you can burn the chicken, and it'll end up dry.
5. Cook the chicken just until they're browned, and set on a parchment lined sheet pan. This can all be done up to a day ahead of time, and held in the refrigerator.
6. I had made a meat sauce a few days ago, so I thinned it down with a can of tomato sauce, as it was quite thick.
7. Coat the top of each fried chicken breast with a little sauce, then lay the sliced mozzarella on top of that.
I know it seems sacrilegious, but, for this dish, I sometimes use sauce right out of a jar with one tablespoon of my Italian Seasoning Blend added to it for some extra flavor. You really don't want a chunky sauce so don't use one that you've added onions or meat to.
8. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes at 350 degrees. The cheese will melt, and the chicken will finish cooking, but not be dry.
Slice the bread or rolls, then ladle some sauce on top of the bottom piece. Place the chicken on top. As an option, you could now place the sandwiches under your broiler for 5 minutes, or so, to crisp the edges of the bread.