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15.06.10: Found: Lunokhod 1.
June 15, 2010 By David Dickinson 1 Comment
NASA has located an old friend on the lunar surface; Lunokhod 1, which landed on the lunar surface in 1970 and fell silent after 11 months of service. A Soviet unmanned rover, Lunokhod 1 delivered some first rate science. Remember, the Apollo astronauts stayed on the lunar surface for a period of time equivalent to a weekend camping trip. With its old school tech, Lunokhod 1 is decidedly steam punk in appearance. Fans of this space will also remember its sister rover Lunokhod 2, purchased by Richard Gariott for $68,500 in 1993. Both were imaged and recovered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter recently, and now scientists are recruiting the rovers to conduct science once again. Lunokhod 1 was equipped with corner cube prisms, which reflect laser light back at exactly the direction that it came from. On April 22nd of this year, scientists at the Apache Point observatory in New Mexico fired (you always "fire" lasers!) laser pulses of light via the 3.5 meter telescope and were surprised with the results; more than 2,000 photons were successfully gathered on the first try. In fact, the reflectors on Lunokhod 1 are now brighter than on Lunokhod 2, which may be a scientific mystery in and of itself. Scientists hope to use studies in how the Moon moves through space to search out any potential kinks in General Relativity. That's right; in the true spirit of science, Relativity (and Gravity, for that matter) is still being run through the mill, over a century later. Thus far, reality, as always, looks to be firmly on the side of Einstein, with the help of a now stationary defunct Soviet-era rover!
Filed Under: Astro News, Astro News & Commentary Tagged With: apache point, apollo, einstein, general relativity, laser, lro, lunar reconnaissance orbiter, lunokhod 1, lunokhod 2, moon, new mexico, soviet
28.9.9: Messenger's 3rd Flyby of the Planet Mercury.
The drama in the inner solar system continues… late tomorrow on September 29th, NASA's Messenger space probe will do its third and final swing by of the planet Mercury. At closest approach, Messenger will be less than 142 miles above the surface and provide more stunning images of the inner world. Wide field UV spectroscopy scans should begin later today, and this gravity assist will be the final pass for eventual orbital insertion around Mercury in 2011. About 90% of Mercury has been mapped, although Messenger is only the second spacecraft to examine Mercury up close after Mariner 10 in 1974…did you know that Mariner 10 created a brief buzz of excitement when it appeared to have discovered a "moon" of Mercury? The anomalous UV radiation was later accounted for by the star 31 Crateris, but it serves as a reminder that we don't know everything about this tiny world. I also mention this because in the days after its pass, Messenger will conduct a wide angle satellite search as it calibrates its cameras… such a discovery would be just plain cool! Messenger has been busying itself by conducting a survey for any hypothetical "Vulcanoids" interior to Mercury's orbit, and will conduct measurements with its Laser Altimeter tomorrow during its closest pass. Mercury is currently low in the dawn sky, rising about an hour before the Sun. A very cool time-line is provided for those who want to follow the action!
Filed Under: Astro News, Astro News & Commentary Tagged With: astronomy, exploration, flyby, laser, mariner 10, Mercury, messenger, moon of mercury, nasa, probe, september 29th, space
Keep Watching the Skies! by W. Patrick McCray
May 27, 2008 By David Dickinson 3 Comments
Quick note: The Phoenix has landed! Full details in next weeks' post!
The 1950s were heady times for both the public and amateur and scientists alike.
Rarely have the contributions of rank amateurs been acknowledged publicly. In Keep Watching the Skies! The Story of Operation Moonwatch and the Dawn of the Space Age, W. Patrick McCray reveals a forgotten saga. It's hard to imagine that only a scant fifty years ago, "satellite spotting" (a future movie?) was not as common or mundane as it could be considered today. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Great Books of Science Tagged With: astronomy, cold war, laser, moonwatch, satellite, space age, sputnik


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International Branch Campuses and the Issue of Access
By Jason Lane and Kevin Kinser. Two weeks ago, Jason and one of our graduate students, Christine Farrugia, were in the United Arab Emirates working on a survey of the country's educational system. Jason's been to the country several times over the past few years, and Christine has been there since January on a fellowship to study the legitimacy of branch-campus policies. For obvious reasons of wealth and an existing international reputation, Abu Dhabi and Dubai tend to capture most of the attention of those interested in the exciting developments in UAE education. However, those are only two of the seven emirates that comprise this small nation. In other regions of the country, things can look very different. According to most estimates, 80 percent of the UAE's population is expatriates. Some of these are wealthy westerners, but the vast majority represents lower socioeconomic classes from Africa and the Asian subcontinent. Many have resided in the area for two or three generations, but because of very strict laws about who is considered a "national," they remain expatriates and are excluded from many public services. For example, public schools and universities enrollments are mostly restricted to nationals, forcing all others into private education. This has resulted in an interesting patchwork of educational offerings that includes, by some estimates, about a dozen different national curricula being offered at both the k-12 and postsecondary levels. The impact of branch campuses, then, is directly related to this private sector demand for access; particularly in the smaller emirates where branch campuses tend to serve a local population that has few other options.
As an example, while doing site visits in the Emirate of Ajman, Jason and Christine encountered Preston University. Preston is in the UAE as a branch campus of a Pakistani institution (they were also once associated with the diploma mill Preston University in Wyoming; but that's for another posting). The facilities were plain and basic, but it was obviously an educational institution. The halls were full of students. Bulletin boards were covered with flyers announcing student activities. The trophy case was full of awards for both athletic and academic merit. Even during Jason and Christine's meeting with the director of the institution, students were coming in asking about grades and course schedules. It was not clear how the institution compared in terms of size or quality of academic offerings with the home campus, which remains an important issue in assessing such institutions. But the director emphasized that this institution's mission was to provide access to higher education to those students with no other opportunities. From that respect, it does a better job than the much higher profile—and better financed—New York University campus in Abu Dhabi, which is designed to provide a liberal-arts education to a highly selective group of students from around the world.
While much attention is often paid to the economic and reputational effect of branch campuses, we often fail to account for the much more important consideration about how these institutions integrate with and serve the local environment. The prestigious institutions from Western countries garner most of the press and are the focal point for critics, but these are not typically the ones that serve important societal functions such as providing access to those who don't otherwise have it.
Not all international branch campuses are alike. What consideration should be given to those institutions that serve a valuable local purpose? What metric should we use to evaluate their academic worth?
Posté par : pcassuto à 21:50 - International - Permalien [#]
UN FORUM DE LA COMMISSION EUROPÉENNE POUR...
Les 28 et 29 février 2008 se tiendra à Bruxelles le premier Forum Université-Entreprise qu'organise la...
LA FORMATION CONTINUE DANS LES IAE
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I'm 'with' Hillary Clinton, but I don't want to be
by Brianna Cox
Brianna Cox
Brianna's Most Recent Stories
I'm jealous because I can't get pregnant, but I still support your right to an abortion
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June 8, 2016 at 12:55pm PM EDT
Justin Sullivan/Staff/Getty Images
Over the last year or so, the election coverage for Hillary Clinton and the support behind her have illustrated how far we still need to go for feminism to be widely and mostly intersectional.
Related story Hillary Clinton Has Dire Warning About Another Donald Trump Presidential Campaign in 2024
Intersectionality, for those who do not know or need a reminder, is the recognition of people's intersecting identities. Additionally it is an understanding that the unique ways that each person's identity converges is necessary to consider and question as a way to flesh out privilege and strive toward equality. For example, I am a black woman. This means I simultaneously face racism, sexism and misogynoir, the unique racist sexism aimed at black women.
As a person in a heterosexual relationship, who is educated and cisgender, I have privilege over those who are in homosexual relationships, who did not have the same access to education or who are transgender or otherwise nonbinary.
More: Hillary Clinton running for president is the best thing for my sons
With this in mind, Hillary Clinton is not for me. And she is mostly not for people who are like me or who look like me. Clinton is for white women — specifically, wealthy white women. This makes her campaign and her would-be presidency almost wholly directed at white women as well.
While a female president is absolutely historic, the white, wealthy Washington insider that is Hillary Clinton clinching the nomination does not feel historic for me; it feels like more of the same. I do not feel the same warm fuzzies that I felt in 2008 when we (somehow) elected a black man to the presidency. While I understand that white women have been historically left out and are presently still not equal to men, consider that white women in society are still privileged over people of color.
Consider, to paraphrase a friend of mine, that white women seem to often think that women as a group are monolithic and that a white woman breaking a ceiling will make way for other women to also break that ceiling despite any historical evidence to support this belief.
More: Let's admit why Brock Turner's getting sympathy for rape
For example: The 19th Amendment, along with its champions Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, is celebrated for bringing suffrage and more equal American rights to women. However, that Amendment, which was passed in 1920, gave voting rights only to white women. Black women, for example, were still black and would not have full voting rights until the 1960s. Anthony and Stanton, who are hailed as feminist heroes, were outrageously racist themselves, making speeches that called black men "sambos" and that giving them the same rights as their white male counterparts would mean the further mistreatment of white women, as they argued why white women deserved the vote over black men (notice, of course, that black women were left out of the conversation, as usual).
They were not feminist heroes; they were white feminist heroes. They did nothing for black and brown people and even went to far as to disparage them.
Hillary Clinton — who herself called minority men and gang members "super predators with no conscience or empathy" within the last two decades, who used racism and Islamophobia as tools when Barack Obama began to pull away in the 2008 presidential election, who has talked down to black women interrupting her at events to demand an explanation, who pretended that she knew what it was like to be an abuela or be Latino/a — is comparable in that way. She is not a symbolic figure for women. She is a symbolic figure for white women.
More: I got death threats for breastfeeding at a Bernie Sanders rally
So while I am, of course, always against the trainwreck that is the Republican Party, I cannot say #ImWithHer. I'll stick with #GirlIGuessImWithHer or #FuckTrump if forced to pick.
Before you go, check out our slideshow below:
Image: John Sykes/Getty Images


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Pamela Brown (top) and E. Graham McKinley (bottom) copy editing during their respective times as faculty advisor for The Rider News.
Home/News/Retired but not forgotten: A farewell to professors
Retired but not forgotten: A farewell to professors
By Megan Lupo
When Pamela Brown, director of the master of arts in business communication program, stepped down as faculty advisor for The Rider News in 1994, she left imparting words to her next-in-line, journalism professor E. Graham McKinley.
"It is difficult now to step down from a job and a two weekly challenge that I have enjoyed so much, but I do so trusting that my successor, Graham McKinley, will continue to uphold the educational role of The News while also supporting the staff's freedom of expression," Brown said in the 1994 Rider News article. "I wish for her the good fortune I have had in being able to work so closely with such wonderful individuals as those who have made up the staff year after year."
Twenty-five years later, Brown and McKinley are both saying goodbye to Rider at the end of the semester.
The fall of 1969 was when Brown stepped on campus for the first time as a student and found her time at Rider worthwhile.
"Once I got here, I found journalism classes were interesting and challenging. I got involved with the newspaper pretty quickly," Brown said. "There were two professors that had a huge impact at least in the department — one was Bill Lally. He was advisor to the paper and the main journalism professor when I was here. And the other was a speech professor, Inez Calcerano."
Working as a student journalist for The Rider News on Wednesday and Thursday, Brown said that those nights consumed her and her fellow editors' lives.
"We used to stay up all night putting out the paper. The paper came out on Friday. There was a lot of fooling around, a lot of laughing," Brown said. "It was a great community and everyone up there was serious about journalism and very committed. We would go to conferences as a staff and won lots of awards."
A few years after she graduated and went off to Ohio State University for her master's, Brown found herself circulating back to Rider in a one-year teaching position, where she said she had one of her friends when she was an undergraduate in her class.
After receiving her Ph.D. at Iowa University, she secured a tenure-track position at Rider, teaching and serving as faculty advisor for the Rider News for a decade.
"That was really interesting because having been on staff, my only experience of advising was Bill Lally, so I followed his model, which was [a weekly critique session but hands-off approach for student decision-making.]"
"It was a very satisfying experience, again challenging, but I felt like it was best teaching that I did in journalism," Brown said.
When reflecting on what she'll miss at Rider, she said the students and a handful of faculty members that she had grown close to.
For McKinley, she echoed Brown's sentiment.
"I have been privileged to teach at Rider for almost three decades. I have especially loved working one-on-one with students, both in and out of the classroom," McKinley said. "I enjoy doing research and writing, but teaching and helping students succeed has always been the most rewarding part of my job. And Rider students are great to work with."
McKinley's academic career began with the pursuance of her first love— music at Yale University.
After working as an organist and choir director for churches throughout Connecicut, Massachusetts and Illinois, McKinley received a master's in church music with an organ concentration at Westminster Choir College (WCC) in 1983.
Working as an adjunct professor and teaching journalism courses, McKinley discovered another one of her passions and went on to get her Ph.D. at Rutgers University.
According to Nancy Wiencek, assistant professor of public relations, McKinley is the only faculty member on the Lawrenceville campus who is a graduate of WCC.
The contributions to the Department of Communication and Journalism she instrumented are vast, including the formation of all three journalism computer labs, the hiring of Rhon Fitzwater, its systems manager and creating the graphic design and web design programs.
For 22 years after Brown's departure, McKinley aided as advisor, in which the student editors continued their work of general excellence.
Under McKinley's leadership, the 2007 staff won the most New Jersey Press Association awards of any state newspaper, according to Wiencek.
In retirement, McKinley said that she plans to continue doing music at church, while Brown said she intends to volunteer at an animal shelter that's meaningful to her.
Yale police shooting evokes protest
Westminster sale canceled, Rider unveils consolidation plan
MAAC approves spring sports start date


Affordable coastal cottage in Colington Harbour on the OBX has been well maintained with lots of updates! This three bedroom, 2 bath home features an open dining/living and functional kitchen with stainless steel range, microwave (new in 2017) and refrigerator (new in 2016). Large laundry/mud room with exterior entrance in the back. The washer and dryer also new in 2017. Fresh paint throughout the entire home including the ceilings. Updated baths include new vanity, light fixture, faucet and plumbing in master bath. There is irrigation system in front lawn. Septic system was installed in 2016. Colington Harbour is a gated community that offers a sound side beach, playground, boat ramp and picnic area. All Owners also have the option to join the pool and tennis for an extra fee.


I love Thai food and Marin County seems to have endless choices when it comes to Thai food. Today I joined a friend for lunch at a place called Lanna Thai in San Anselmo located on the Miracle Mile. The décor is nice and the food is good.
We had another TweetUp lunch at Thai Smile today (long story why we went to Thai Smile twice in a row but hey it's good and cheap… $10 each). Not sure what to call our group that is forming. The Twitter Ladies, The Women of Twitter, The Marin Mafia Mom's & Co, Twitter Lunch Ladies and Occasional Man, People who Tweet & Like to Eat <-- oh I this one!
We had an informal mini TweetUp at Thai Smile in San Rafael today. This was a lunch full of Marin's Powerful Women! I was honored to be sitting with all these fun and inspirational women!


How can CISOs improve communication with the board?
The role of the CISO within the enterprise environment has not always been regarded as important, influential and necessary as it should have been. Given the current climate in which data is king and the capabilities of unethical hackers evolving at a constant rate, this is changing.
The primary purpose of a CISO is to secure the means by which businesses protect themselves from hostile actors who may be seeking to penetrate defences for a variety of reasons, from wishing to make a direct financial gain or cause reputational damage by leaking sensitive information to the public. Of equal importance is the evolving way in which data is collected, stored and analysed for business benefit. As endpoints multiply and the vulnerabilities of the enterprise landscape better highlighted, the need for CISOs to adequately illustrate an organisation's preparedness for an attack is vital.
CISOs are tasked with presenting meaningful security metrics to a Board of Directors who, if not exclusively, are typically made up of non-security inclined individuals. In order to circumvent such barriers to well informed and agreeable dialogue, the CISO must illustrate an organisation's security posture in a way which is both informative and highly tailored.
of failing to protect against internal and external threats.
This, of course, is easier said than done as many CISOs continue to rely on presenting information in a way which many on the Board will find either impenetrable or unengaging. The most common ways in which CISOs fail to convey adequately is either by providing quantitative figures related to malware outbreaks and by using security non-compliance lingo which is foreign to those outside of the profession. Equally true is the commonly used traffic light system as a way in which to highlight an organisations risk matrix. Whilst moving away from the use of impenetrable InfoSec centred language is an understandable route to take, it does not provide enough actionable data and highlights a misunderstanding of the company's true risk profile.
If InfoSec leaders wish to have their voices heard as loudly and clearly as is necessary, the CISO needs to be able to adequately breakdown and present on the key issues of visibility and business resilience. These primary concerns have remained constant over the last two decades and have only served to increase in sensitivity as the fourth industrial revolution tightens its grip on security protocols whilst simultaneously providing for greater opportunities. In a world in which cloud computing is the new normal, exponential growth in data collection is a reality and advanced persistent threats make headlines on a regular basis, now is the time to harmonise the role of the CISO at Board level.
March 2019. To register to attend, click here.


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Why 'Medicare For All' is the Right Approach
December 23, 2020 December 27, 2020 ~ Cade
A rallying call for many in the progressive left, Medicare For All was effectively introduced and championed by Senators Bernie Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic Party Presidential Primaries. Advocates, of which there are many, claim that Medicare For All would bring the United States in line with the rest of the world, promising cheaper, better quality care which extends to all of the nation's citizens, not just those who can afford insurance.
As a proponent of universal access to health coverage, Medicare For All has at times been on my mind, considered and contrasted with competing plans for achieving universal coverage. I've down a great amount of research over the last two years on both Senator Sanders and Vice President Biden's health plans, as well the existing hybrid public-private insurance system.
I think to get started on whether or not a singleplayer system in the U.S. is worthwhile, we have to have an idea of the system that's been put in place, as well as the issues prompting calls for reform. The United States has a hybrid healthcare system where the majority of hospitals and other providers are privately owned and operated, but where nearly half the population is enrolled in some sort of public insurance plan. These plans include Medicaid, Medicare, the Indian Health Service, Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration.
Medicare and Medicaid were introduced by the Social Security Amendments of 1965, with Medicare, a Federal insurer providing subsidized insurance to the elderly, and Medicaid, a collection of Federally-funded state insurers providing zero cost insurance to the indigent. The Veterans Health Administration and Indian Health Service both slowly evolved into being through the 19th and 20th centuries to provide insurance to veterans and American Indians respectively. The Children's Health Insurance Program began in the late 90's, and similar to Medicaid, provides cost free coverage to children of low income families.
In 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed in law, the most comprehensive and consequential healthcare regulatory overhaul in the history of the United States. Among some of the most striking changes were the implementation of the following regulations:
Mandatory out-of-pocket maximum, capping out-of-pocket expenses each year, not to exceed a level determined annually by the Dept. of HHS based on average per enrollee premiums (e.g. $6,350 in 2014, $8,150 in 2020)
Prohibition against denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions
Permitting premiums to vary only by enrollee age and location
Minimum coverage of 'essential health benefits'
Prohibition against annual and lifetime benefit limits
In addition to these new regulations, the ACA created a pair of new subsidies, a temporary reinsurance program for insurers, and allowed states to expand coverage of Medicaid. The subsidies include the Premium Tax Credit, which directly subsidies premiums for lower and middle income households not eligible for other coverage, and the cost-sharing reduction, which reimburses insurers for mandatory cost-sharing reductions (reductions in deductibles and copays) for low-income ACA enrollees.
Graphic source: A. Roy / FREOPP
Altogether, in the present system, few Americans lack coverage, however, progressives like myself believe that not a single person should be without comprehensive coverage. There are still nearly 30 million Americans without coverage, and tens of millions for whom adequate insurance is hardly affordable. It has been projected that the share of the population which is uninsured could rise over the decades as the costs of healthcare continue to outstrip income growth for ordinary Americans.
According to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in February 2019, one in four taking prescription drugs find it difficult to afford their medicines, meanwhile Gallup found that tens of millions of Americans knew someone who lost their life unable to afford necessary treatment, including nearly a fifth of Americans with annual household incomes below $40,000.
In addition, American healthcare is especially costly, which is particularly bad considering American patients have worse outcomes and shorter life spans. In 2019 the U.S. spent roughly $11,600 per person on health care, or 17.7 percent of national output. This compares to the 7 percent of GDP spent by the British NHS in 2019, or the less than 5 percent spent by Australia's Medicare. The U.S. Federal and State governments collectively spend a similar amount, in many cases more than foreign countries with similar levels of development, but which have comprehensive national insurance.
In addition to this fact, the U.S. has seen hemorrhaging healthcare inflation unlike any other nation. While this might be reasonable or even desired in some sense, it doesn't make any sense when the quality and effectiveness of American healthcare delivers either marginally better, or in some cases worse than peer nation health systems.
Graphic source: Wikipedia
It has been (and in fact I have) previously argued that a single-payer health system in the United States would cost too much or require extraordinary tax hikes, but this is really not the case. Let's begin with the cost of the program. In 2019, state and federal government spent $1.3 trillion on Medicare and Medicaid, or about 5.9 percent of GDP, a third of all national healthcare spending. With aggressively sought administrative and price savings (sources: here, here, and here), the cost of healthcare could fall gradually by a quarter, perhaps below 13 percent of national output after a few years of cost control, enough to counteract modestly increased utilization rates.
For the sake of cost control, this Medicare could retain some very limited cost-sharing features such as a $200 deductible and $1,000 out-of-pocket maximum, phased-out or eliminated for lower and lower-middle income families. Using CMS actuarial value tool, I estimated the value of such a policy with the ACA's essential health benefits at about 90 percent of total benefits, reducing the cost of Medicare closer to 12 percent of GDP, or about 10 percent for the Federal Government.
If we shift to the revenue side, were there to be such a system implemented, it would immediately save employers around $1 trillion in employee benefits expenses, taxed either as corporate profits, income to shareholders, or increased wages to employees. Likely this would lead to a ~20% revenue feedback, so $0.2 trillion give or take. Taken together we have a revenue shortfall of 4 percent of GDP, eventually falling to 2 percent.
However large relative to existing federal receipts, there are sound options for meeting the shortfall. One option would be to simply raise income taxes, perhaps with an income surtax of 5 percent levied on income in excess of $30,000, or $15,000 for single-filers. Such a tax would raise approximately half of the first-year shortfall, but nearly the entire 2030 shortfall assuming a reduction in federal health outlays from 10 to 9 percent of GDP.
Alternatively the revenue could come from a new value-added tax, a type of broad-base consumption tax. Using the Tax Policy Center's estimated VAT tax base of 62 percent of GDP from their analysis of Ted Cruz's 2016 tax plan, the first-year shortfall could be bridged with what is essentially a national sales tax of 8 percent.
If we're really bold, we may consider covering some or all of the shortfall with taxes on the wealthy, perhaps through a combination of a new wealth tax, assorted high income tax increases, and the implementation of some of the measures I've proposed or written about on this site such as dividend integration and retrospective capital gains taxation.
Cost estimates were based off of Urban Institute and Commonwealth Fund's Healthcare Option 7. Revenue estimates my own except for the Warren Wealth Tax, which came from PWBM.
If through a progressive funding scheme utilizing capital income taxes there is an inflation issue, we can always throw in a VAT or broad income tax hikes to tame household consumption. It is likely that the reduction in health spending alone would offset the net transfer of savings to consumption brought on by the progressive financing of singleplayer insurance, and further it is likely that the government would want to offset decreases in aggregate wages and thus spending resulting from the laying off of administrative and insurance workers, not to mention provide those workers a fair transition to new employment.
At the end of the day there are really no good arguments for retaining a private multiplayer insurance system. Medicare For All does not advocate socialized medicine, state run hospitals, or healthcare rationing. What it advocates is an administratively simple scheme of health insurance which covers the entire population for all of its essential health needs, including vision, dental, and long-term care.
The majority of Americans today support some form of universal health care, and progressives have long thought of healthcare as a basic economic right in a country as wealthy and productive as ours. Hopefully sooner than later, progressives will make good on the century-old promise of universal healthcare.
americaaocbernie sandersbidenbudgetcongresscovid-19deficitdemocratseconomicseconomygndgreen new dealhealthm4amedicare for allnational debtobamapandemicsinglepayerusa
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Today, President Serzh Sargsyan received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Vuk Jeremic. Minister Jeremic has arrived to Armenia to participate at the Future of Democracy forum organized by the Council of Europe.
Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia attaches importance to the development of bilateral relations with Serbia. The President of Armenia expressed hope that mutual efforts would allow in the future to create necessary legal field, strengthen cultural ties and assist entrepreneurs in establishing active contacts and finding opportunities for cooperation. According to the President, all this will also enhance the political dialogue.
"During the last year visit of the President of Serbia Mr. Boris Tadic to Armenia, we had a good opportunity to discuss our bilateral relations. I am pleased that now too we concur that it wouldn't be right to refer exclusively to our historical friendship. It is necessary to advance the Armenian-Serbian relations based on the foundation of friendship," the President of Armenia said.


There is something special about the time of year where the leaves turn to bright and brilliant shades of red, orange and even browns. It is this time during the fall when one truly takes in the wondrous beauty of nature and that prompts many to make crafts centered around those stunning reflections of the autumn season. There are various crafts that were made using autumn leaves and they make for wonderful home decor additions and even presents as the leaves all are different and thus they create one of a kind creations that are simply amazing to behold.
One simple project that is a great way to showcase some of those truly amazing leaves found while out hiking, walking or simply strolling through areas with trees are books devoted to those leaves. This is a craft that creates a coffee table style book and is a great craft for kids and adults. The leaves are collected and kept in a bag, though they need to be only gathered for about a day or two since they need to not dry out too much or the project will not work as well.
The leaves are then flash dried using two sheets of wax paper and an iron. The leaves, one at a time, are placed between the wax paper and the iron is gently placed over the leaves. After a few light taps, one will see that no more steam is being released and this lets one know the moisture has been removed. This is key as moisture left inside of those leaves will cause them to rot and mold over time.
The leaves are then coated with a light spray on both sides of shellac to preserve the color and lines of the leaves. Once dry, they are then glued into a book. One can even then write on the pages, add pictures or even poems to create an amazing leaf display. My friend Layla does the most perfect leaf displays. One day I'll put it on this website for showcasing.
Wreaths are a great home decor addition during the fall and there is a great way to make such a wreath and showcase autumn leaves at the same time. The leaves are gathered and it is best to get leaves of all sizes as both large and small leaves will be needed for the project.
The leaves are then allowed to partially air dry, as they need to still be slightly moist inside so when they are attached to the wreath they do not break or crack. It is good to organize the leaves by both size and color so when assembling the wreath it is easy to find the right leaf for the area of the wreath you are working on at the time.
The wreath is made by using a Styrofoam wreath base and having an assortment of small pins on hand. The leaves are attached by simply pushing a pin through the leaf until it is attached to the Styrofoam base. This is repeated over and over until the entire foam ring has been covered and using this method, one can make layers of leaves for a full and vibrant wreath that can be hung either indoors or outside. Adding a great fall colored bow to the bottom edge completes the look and makes this a stunning seasonal wreath.
There truly are plenty of crafts to make using autumn leaves. Applying fall leaves to the outside of a plain wooden box and then using a coating of clear adhesive makes for an intriguing box to store items that use those fall leaves as the decoration on the box. Homemade cards can be made by using plain note cards and then gluing leaves to the front of the card for a special and unusual design. Fall leaves can be used as tablescapes when simply tossed on a table to create a fall appearance to any tabletop. The subway sometimes has wonderful displays of autumn leaves on the frosted glass (that was in 2012).
The options for using those beautiful and abundant fall leaves are almost endless as they can be used in place of other items when thinks of them as accent items that can be used to enhance or cover just about anything to make a tribute to fall that is a sight to behold.


Paulette Warren is a pseudonym of Paul W. Fairman.
Paulette Warren is currently considered a "single author." If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author.
Paulette Warren is composed of 1 name.


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Thales Alenia Space to partner with OHB system to build Copernicus CO2M satellites
The project is in response to ESA and European Union's high-priority requirements to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activity.
An artist's impression of the Copernicus CO2M satellite.
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), has signed a €72m first tranche contract with OHB System, the prime contractor of the project, to develop the payload for the two satellites of the CO2M mission, as part of Europe's Copernicus programme. Copernicus is the core satellite Earth observation programme of the European Commission and a cornerstone of the European Space Agency (ESA) activities in the field as well. It provides Earth observation data for environmental protection, climate monitoring, natural disaster assessment and other social tasks.
The goal of the CO2M mission is to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activity. These measurements will reduce current uncertainties in estimates of emissions of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuel at national and regional scales. This will provide the EU with a unique and independent source of information to assess the effectiveness of policy measures and to track their impact towards decarbonising Europe and meeting national emission reduction targets.
Thales Alenia Space will deliver to OHB the CO2M payload based on a modular architecture and design to be built around a combined CO2/NO2 (carbon dioxide/nitrogen dioxide) instrument based on a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer provided by Thales Alenia Space in France; a Multi-Angle polarimeter (MAP) based on four identical cameras, contained in a dedicated optical unit, provided by Thales Alenia Space in UK; and a cloud imager (CLIM), derived from the flight-proven ProbaV instrument, provided by OIP sensors in Belgium.
The CO2M payload will simultaneously deliver with required rigorous scientific accuracy: highly accurate quantitative measurement of CO2 and NO2 concentrations (using CO2 / NO2 instrument) , measurements of aerosols density (using MAP instrument) and cloud detection and mapping (using CLIM detection), thereby ensuring the maximum accuracy and error corrections of the measurements in CO2 concentration.
Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space commented: "TheCO2M mission marks an important milestone for Europe in terms of leadership with regard to climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Thales Alenia Space is enthusiastic to bring all its flight-proven expertise on Earth Observation to serve the ambitious goal to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activity. This is in line with our Space for Life aspiration for a more sustainable life on Earth".
CO2M will measure images of total column CO2 with the resolution, accuracy, time sampling and spatial coverage required to provide the key space component input of the Operational Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions Monitoring & Verification Support (MVS) Capacity.
Tags: ESAEuropean Space AgencyThales Alenia SpaceCopernicus CO2M satellites
NASA completes James Webb final deployment
EUSPA selects Arianespace to launch four new Galileo satellites
Breaking new ground in space
Ariane 5 launches NASA's $10bn James Webb Space Telescope
Isar Aerospace selects seven payloads for Spectrum launch
ESA selects Thales Alenia Space to design and develop NLES-Next
Eutelsat announces successful launch of first software-defined satellite


text:
Republicans are basically working on retrofitting a 2008 platform while in Tampa. | REUTERS
Tampa platform's 5 flashpoints
By JAMES HOHMANN
TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney's motto during two days of marathon meetings here to craft the 2012 Republican platform could be: Do no harm.
In order to keep the peace, his team must concede some things to the conservative base. But the former Massachusetts governor, who will be formally nominated here next week, needs language in the platform crafted broadly enough that he doesn't end up having to distance himself from unwanted controversies.
This is easier said than done. In the week before the formal opening of the Republican National Convention, Ron Paul supporters, social conservatives and tea partiers all have their own ideas about what today's GOP stands for — and this year's platform is likely to be the most conservative in years.
( PHOTOS: Scheduled 2012 convention speakers)
"The document will reflect the heart and soul of the Republican Party," said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a loyal Romney surrogate picked to chair the platform committee, which will unofficially finalize a platform Tuesday night.
Republicans are basically working on retrofitting a 2008 platform written during George W. Bush's presidency and full of John McCain's fingerprints to reflect the party's shift to the right since its last convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Platforms don't matter the way they once did. Strom Thurmond, for instance, walked out of the 1948 Democratic convention to run as a third-party candidate after the party passed a civil-rights plank. But they nonetheless remain canvasses on which each party paints its principles.
"They've gotten pretty conservative over time," said American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas, who has been attending Republican conventions since 1976. "The conservative community has been more demanding in terms of what the product has to look like … In terms of the last three or four platforms, this one gets the highest score — from me and the ACU."
During 12 hours of meetings Monday, platform committee co-chairwoman Marsha Blackburn (a Tennessee congresswoman) emphasized electability.
"The end in the near-term is winning in November," she said. "That is a worthy goal for us to have."
Eager to avoid controversy, leaders from the Republican National Committee and the Romney campaign spoke extensively with Paul supporters in advance of the platform meeting. They opened a website to take ideas from the public. A professional staff closely tied to the GOP establishment drafted the platform. Copies were distributed to members of the platform committee when they arrived Sunday afternoon.
Draft discussions are public, but the RNC is withholding the platform text from reporters in an effort to prevent the media from disseminating language that hasn't been agreed to. A final copy will not be released until next week, even though the platform committee will wrap up its business Tuesday.
On Monday, the delegates debated economic, energy and foreign policy. Today, they will debate sections regarding hot-button social issues, government reform and health care.
Below are POLITICO's guide to the flashpoints of contention as the platform gets drafted:
The Republican platform will once again support the concept of "traditional marriage," defining it as between a man and a woman. But there are signs that the turning tide of public opinion on the topic might even pervade the GOP after Tuesday's debate wraps up.
Many of the 11 who won slots on the platform committee and support Paul don't think it's government's place to regulate private behavior. They're backed up by the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that supports gay rights.
( PHOTOS: 20 gay rights milestones)
The draft being considered does not call for the reinstatement of "don't ask, don't tell," a law repealed by President Barack Obama. Instead, it broadly rejects "the use of the military as a platform for social experimentation," according to a draft approved by a subcommittee Monday.
Though powerful groups like the Family Research Council helped draft the language, the libertarian crowd amended a section on traditional marriage to add a line preaching tolerance.
"We embrace the principle that all Americans should be treated with respect and dignity," the working document says.
Another subcommittee added a line "to commend the United States House of Representatives" for fighting the Obama administration on the Defense of Marriage Act.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins expressed confidence that he might still toughen up the language on DADT.
"Let's wait to see what the final document is," Perkins said. "You should read the entire plank on marriage, which I wrote. I'm very happy with it."
Some things have become so enshrined in party orthodoxy that they're not fundamentally up for debate. Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, a delegate from Missouri, is proud that there's been no serious push to expand abortion rights in the platform for several years.
The 2012 draft includes support for a Human Life amendment — which would give constitutional protections to the unborn — just as the past three did. "It's not a controversy anymore," Schlafly said. "We've won that battle."
But as the committee prepares to consider that language on Tuesday, the blowup surrounding Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin's comments about "legitimate rape" could generate debate about whether the party should allow abortion in the case of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.
Romney is walking a tightrope because he needs the strong support of activists like Schlafly and Perkins, but he also must appeal to independent women if he's going to win in November. And fueled by comments like Akin's, which Romney and many Republicans have denounced, Democrats are already trying to paint Romney as a creature of the '50s who wants to take away women's rights.
The Bush era saw the ascendance of the neoconservatives, and Romney's coterie of foreign policy advisers is chock full of defense hawks. But Paul found traction during the primaries with his push to bring troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also has support from a contingent of civil libertarians, who want to limit the government's police powers in dealing with terrorism. The Paul campaign got much of what they wanted in the platform fights — including a call for an audit of the Federal Reserve — but they could not get support for a ban on indefinite detention of suspected terrorists or a repeal of the National Defense Authorization Act. They're planning to push for a debate on it Tuesday, even though they know it's futile.
The Paul folks and some hardened fiscal conservatives unabashedly believe that tackling the deficit requires getting military spending under control. Christopher Stearns, a pro-Paul delegate from Virginia, defends sequestration as necessary and spread out over a long period.
"I don't want to be looked at as not telling these people the truth," Stearns said, arguing against language attacking the cuts set to go into effect automatically at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the nonpartisan American Legion has sent leaders to lobby in both party platforms for defense spending. A past national commander of the group urged Republicans Monday not to include any language that limits troop deployments overseas.
"We're stretching them to the breaking point, and we can't continue. So we need a bigger force," said John Brieden, now a Republican county judge from Brenham, Texas. "At this point, if you're going to be cutting something, it should come from somewhere else."
Stearns' effort to remove language opposing automatic cuts failed on a voice vote.
But there was one motion in the foreign policy section everyone could agree with, an error in the draft flagged by North Dakota delegate Kyle Handegard.
"Czechoslovakia," she said, should be the Czech Republic.
The platform drafted by the RNC for the committee to consider spoke in generalities about tax reform, saying the system should be simplified. That's the way Romney wants it.
Surprisingly, several platform committee members spoke out in favor of specific tax deductions.
And several supported an amendment that would include special language to preserve of the mortgage interest deduction. Their push failed.
"Anything we can do to incentivize and encourage home ownership matters," said Clarence Mingo, a delegate from Ohio who works by day as a tax assessor in Columbus.
After multiple delegates spoke, former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent (Romney's point man on the platform committee) pushed back. He said the broader statement was more powerful.
"It avoids getting into specifics about specific areas of the code that might be reformed or changed," Talent explained.
McDonnell chimed in, warning against picking and choosing breaks in the Tax Code. "Leave that up to the candidates," the governor said.
Gone from the 2008 platform is support for long-term energy tax credits to support the development of wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower energy. The goal is to make the platform compatible with Romney's recently expressed opposition to wind tax credits, a stance that's hurting him in Iowa.
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven, co-chairman of the committee, said members instead decided to speak in generalities about an all-of-the-above energy policy.
"The language we have is more general," he said. "How you get there perhaps can differ, but I think it's consistent with Gov. Romney."
States' Rights
The GOP platform used to call for the elimination of the Department of Education. It was a centerpiece of Bob Dole's 1996 campaign. Then George W. Bush massively expanded the federal department with his No Child Left Behind Act, which set federal standards and implemented mandates. Over the past decade, the GOP has shifted back toward its traditional views that states best run schools.
This change has mirrored a larger rhetorical embrace of the 10th amendment, which limits federal power. By the count of Paul's campaign, 32 state Republicans parties have now included 10th amendment-focused provisions in their platforms.
FreedomWorks, a tea party-linked organization run by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, offered 12 priorities they wanted in the platform. Ten got included in the initial draft by the RNC staff. Eliminating the Education department was one that didn't, along with inclusion of a flat tax.
"But despite that, we are incredibly pleased with the language," said Ryan Hecker, a legal adviser to the group. "It's very strong in terms of restoring local control."
During a Monday session, Nevada delegate Cynthia Kennedy introduced an amendment that would have eliminated the Education department altogether.
After much argument, the subcommittee voted to replace the word "eliminate" with a mundane call to "support the examination and functions of."
Republican National Convention 2012


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Eric Roberson, Incognito, Maysa & More Join Najee For 'Poetry In Motion'
Equally comfortable in both the jazz and R&B realms, Najee has spent the last three decades wooing audiences around the world with his inimitable saxophone playing skills. The respected musician has amassed several awards, five No. 1 albums and four No. 1 singles on the Billboard charts throughout his distinguished career. To top it all off, he's collaborated with darn near everyone; a trend he continues today with the release of his 17th studio album, Poetry In Motion.
Via press release, Najee reveals, "What makes this album special to me is the ability to create a project that has so many different elements but yet make sense musically speaking." In addition to stellar production by the legendary Barry Eastmond, the album boasts appearances by Incognito, Will Downing, Eric Roberson, Maysa, Bobby Lyleand Blake Aaron. The saxophonist described his excitement for the talented lineup, saying, "The beautiful thing about this particular project is that I get to work with friends that I love and respect in the music industry…and their contributions and gifts to bring home a project that I think my fans will enjoy."
Poetry In Motion is another noteworthy addition to Najee's catalogue, and listeners will have no problem connecting with the jazzy gems contained in therein. We're admittedly biased, seeing as how some of our faves are featured in the 10-song collection. Instrumental track "Let's Take It Back" is a breezy, Latin-infused jam session with Incognito. Meanwhile, the band's front woman Maysa titillates with the invitational "Don't Make Me Wait." Will Downing (who also celebrates three decades in the biz this year) brings warmth and depth to "We'll Be Missing You," Najee's personal tribute to Princeand Al Jarreau.
A true highlight of the album is the long overdue collaboration with our boy Eric Roberson called "Is It The Way." (No, it's not a Jill Scott remake, but the romantic tune is destined to become a classic just like Jilly's slow jam.) The fellas have known each other for years, yet the track marks the first time they've recorded together. Thankfully, the end result was well worth the wait. We totally agree with Najee's assessment, "Eric Roberson is a special talent...he brought a different element with this record." Erro's relatable lyrics and sleek vocals were tailor-made for the mellifluous tones floating out of the soprano sax.
Released today via Shanachie Entertainment, Poetry In Motion is available to stream below and for purchase on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play Music. Najee will also be performing in a handful of shows this fall, so check his website for details and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.


Prince Kaybee is joining Ukhozi FM!
April 2, 2019 Godlive MasingeEntertainment / Music / NewsNo Comment on Prince Kaybee is joining Ukhozi FM!
Highest Paid DJs in South Africa revealed!
March 1, 2019 Godlive MasingeEntertainment / MusicNo Comment on Highest Paid DJs in South Africa revealed!


A little while ago I did a round up of my favourite free animal colouring pages for adults and you guys seemed to absolutely love them so today I'm sharing more animal adult coloring pages for you, all of them are totally free so you can get your colouring fix whenever you want to and if you want to try it again in another colouring scheme just go and print them off again!
Check out this resource for over 100 free colouring pages and get colouring now!
Thanks so much for sharing these! (I found you on Money Saving Mom. 🙂 ) Downloading now!


The chairs were cold and hard, and I was ready to leave. We sat in the gym listening to song after song, as the program seemed to run long. Finally, someone teased us about closing the ceremony, but then dashed our hopes with "just one more number." I suppressed a huge sigh, as adults are supposed to be above such displays, but my selfishness diminished as I watched a tiny, blond imp walk forward and face the crowd. She shyly smiled and began to sing "Jesus Loves Me." As she walked back to her seat, a brief, "how cute," flitted through my mind and just as quickly left as we were finally dismissed.
If you believe that life is filled with random coincidences that we just happen to experience, then you may not understand the rest of this story. But I hope you will read on, despite some doubt, and learn how much God cares; not just about our needs, but our hopes and dreams as well. I personally believe in divine intervention, prayer and faith, but even I forget just how big God is. Little did I know, sitting on those cold, hard chairs, that God had not only heard my prayer, but had just placed the answer right in front of me.
I had an ache in my heart, a hole of sorts that no surgeon could repair. While I already had two wonderful sons by birth, I longed to adopt a daughter. For me this was a need, but for my husband not so much. Seven years had passed since the topic was first discussed, and I prayed first for his heart to change. But when that didn't get results, I prayed that my heart would. I asked God to take the desire from me, so it wouldn't hurt anymore, or cause bitterness. God was not satisfied with those limitations, and with His typical wisdom and no lack of a sense of humor, He opted for the shock and awe approach. The next time the subject was brought up, it was my husband that said, "I think we should look into adopting!" I almost passed out, but recovered quickly so I could get the ball rolling before he could change his mind!
I called several adoption agencies and was satisfied knowing that packets of information would arrive within a few weeks. Then, being a long-standing member in the, 'it never hurts to ask' club, I put in one more call, this time to a place more local. We were friends with a couple that managed a Christian children's ranch. The kids placed with them were temporary wards, while parents were in jail, or couldn't care for them for other reasons. It was rare that any of the kids were adoptable, so I didn't get my hopes up as I dialed. My inquiry was answered with one question, "how old?" I explained very logically how we felt that a two or three year-old would be best, giving us time with them before they started school. When that was met with, "oh, that's too bad," they went on to tell me that there was a five year-old girl that would be put up for adoption right after Christmas. I heard my voice say, "that is too bad; It's older than we were thinking," and with that I hung up.
She did have blond hair and blue eyes and dimples! Not only was she the girl God placed on my mind that night, she was also the same impish child who sang for us that uncomfortable day in the gym! She would become our daughter that winter. She ended up with two older brothers to torture gleefully, and parents who knew beyond all doubt that she was a gift from God. God made sure our lives were woven with threads of common friends. It has been over twenty years since we first heard her sing, and she still uses her voice every Sunday, as she now leads worship for our church.
Mary is the wife of Dale, mother to Matt, Nate and Maegy, and Mother-in-law to Michael and Amber. She is "Grammy" to Elijah, Asher and Bennett. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is a full-time pastor's wife and part time daycare to two of her grandboos. She has a side business called "Leaf It To Me," making and painting cement leaf castings and speaks for various women's events around the NW. She has guest posted on M2M before, which you can read here.


The Bundestag in Berlin has decided to change the status of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Georgia to "safe countries of origin". Though, if the higher house Bundesrat doesn´t ratify the legislation, it can be turned down. The new rule means that it will be difficult for people from these countries to apply for asylum in Germany. This has led to a controversy between the conservatives on the one side and the greens and left on the other.
However, the Green and the Left Party rejects Minister Seehofer and the new rule. The greens spokeswoman Luis Amtsberg argues that they should "stop trying to portray this issue as a question of Germany´s destiny". She bases this argument with that the number of people from these four countries that have seeken asylum and have been declined since 2016 at a rate of 85 percent, while the number of deportations has risen by a factor of ten.
Accordingly, it remains to be seen what will be decided after the voting in Bundesrat.


Montana is the iconic face of fly fishing.
Trips to its famous rivers are the on the bucket list of many, if not most, fly fishers. What exists in preconception – to those who dream of fly fishing in the state – is more than matched by the reality of vistas of distant mountains, wildlife, and superb fishing for species such as cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout. I've been a number of times and can't wait to go back.
And yet, Montana more than other states may now be seeing adverse impacts of climate change that will threaten, if not destroy, the storied fisheries. For example, Montana's average temperature in 2016 was 3.5 degrees F above its 20th century average – that's double the planetary average for the same year.
Montana, and nearby states, have recently seen winter temperatures rise rapidly in early Spring to those more common in summer – resulting in rapid snow melt. For those not aware, in the West the slow melt of mountain snowpack is what provides the late summer stream flows of colder water needed to keep water temperatures at a tolerable level for fish.
Those who work the rivers daily, fly-fishing guides, observe the snow melt (called runoff), changes in water temperatures, and the timing of insect hatches and see the effects of climate change.
Yet, as is true of most Montanans, most of them are hare-core Republicans and Trump supporters who do not acknowledge the impacts of humans on that change. At the same time, there a few – though of similar politics – who have listened to scientists and have come away with an understanding that climate change is being caused by human activity, specifically the burning of fossil fuels.
But one wonders: what causes people, whose livelihood depends on cold-water fisheries that are at risk from climate change, to refuse to acknowledge even the possibility that human activity is a causal factor?
I believe it's due to one of the most destructive trends I've seen over the last thirty years. That is the embrace of political ideology as self-identity. Ideological values are internalized and substituted for critical analysis. News organizations and other mass media reinforce one's prejudices to the exclusion and the demeaning of other points of view.
It is the embrace of a death cult.
Some studies indicate that almost half of trout fisheries in the interior West, including Montana, will be gone in the next 60 years. Many fish species will go extinct.
And it will not only be fish and the wildlife that depend on them. Montana is also iconic as the land of the Big Sky, the land of ranches and cattle. Climate change may cause that way of life to go extinct also.
High Country News has republished an article from InsideClimate News that interviews a number of guides and fisheries biologists on the state of fisheries and climate change.
Montanans refer to their state as the Last Best Place. I wonder if that slogan may ultimately become ironic.


"Eliminating Veteran and military suicide through support, assistance, awareness, and education."
Eliminating Veteran and military suicide through support, assistance, awareness, and education.
Take your pledge today and receive a free wallet card of your pledge along with a free wristband.
I have read and accepted The Pledge above.
This pledge represents my commitment to life.
I will NOT be #22.
I would like to be placed on The Pledge Wall.
View The Pledge Wall (Opens in new window).


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Home › Top Stories › Government Of Samoa In Negotiations With Tokelau, Tuvalu Over Submarine Cable Connections ›
Government Of Samoa In Negotiations With Tokelau, Tuvalu Over Submarine Cable Connections
Submitted by PIR Editor on Thu, 04/13/2017 - 14:23
More remote countries could be connected via hub in Samoa
APIA, Samoa (Samoa Observer, April 14, 2017) – The government has initiated negotiations with Tokelau and Tuvalu over the possibility of connecting the three countries by submarine cable.
The discussion was held during the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (P.I.T.A) 2017 with Samoa's delegation being led by the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupa'i.
It was a busy time for regional submarine cable connectivity negotiations, in addition to the announcement of the Manatua Cable consortium between French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa.
But P.I.T.A 2017 was even more significant as it saw the strengthening of ties between Samoa, Tokelau and Tuvalu with the commencement of discussions to connect the three countries by submarine cable.
The goal is to look at ways to improve I.C.T in general for the three countries.
Minister Afamasaga said the discussions are important for Samoa.
"These discussions have been a positive step forward in strengthening Samoa's ties with our neighboring islands to create a real and tangible regional partnership," he said.
"It is expected that a standalone Tokelau-Tuvalu submarine cable connecting to Samoa whereby international connectivity will be provided via the Tui-Samoa cable system linking Samoa to Suva Fiji then onwards to U.S.A or NZ/Australia.
"I believe it is the Polynesian Leaders Group (P.L.G) vision to connect all the Polynesian islands in order to create economic and social development for our people"
Part of Samoa's presentation was to provide a substantive update on the progress of the Tui Samoa cable.
"The government of Samoa is pleased to advise that the Tui-Samoa project is on track, with work already underway at the beach manholes and Cable Landing Stations in both Upolu and Savai'i," said Afamasaga.
"Another important milestone was the commencement of the marine route survey for the 1,470 km Tui-Samoa Cable with, the survey to be completed by early May 2017."
Samoa Observer
Copyright © 2017 Samoa Observer. All Rights Reserved
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Sustainability Messaging Examples
Delivered April 9, 2020. Contributor: Hellen O.
To obtain examples of messaging around sustainability for Xerox, Ricoh, Konica Minolta and similar managed print services in the pre-COVID 19 era.
Environment and sustainability is one of Xerox's key focus areas. The same is demonstrated by a key message/slogan on the website that says, "Preserving Our Planet; Sustainability is our responsibility and our promise."
The company, in its sustainability statement, says, "At Xerox, sustainability is our way of doing business. We align our goals for the environment, health and safety in six key areas to make a worldwide impact. We strive to maintain the highest standards for preserving our environment and enhancing the health and safety of our employees and communities."
Reducing the carbon footprint is one of Xerox's sustainability initiatives. The company says, "we are lowering the carbon footprint of our equipment, meeting ENERGY STAR requirements, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
Ricoh is keen on sustainability and a fundamental tenet of its business operations, as it ensures its activities are "For a Sustainable Society."
The company's slogan is "Driving sustainability for our Future. "
According to the website, Ricoh is focused on "Achieving environmental conservation and profits simultaneously."
The company stresses its commitment to sustainability through a statement that says, "the Ricoh Group considers environmental conservation activities and corporate activities as having the same level of significance. Thus, we recognize our responsibility toward the environment and take group-wide measures for the reduction of impacts on the global environment and for the restoration of the earth's regenerative ability".
The company's slogan around sustainability is "Tomorrow in Mind."
Its sustainability statement says, "Konica Minolta is committed to sustainability — for its customers' business success, for society, and for future generations."
According to the company, its "commitment to a sustainable world is also expressed through its contributions to the achievement of the global UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As climate change is one of the most immediate global concerns, climate action is one of the company's core goals."
Konica Minolta's customer-centric approach is presented as an infographic on the website. It comprises five components including, corporate sustainability, climate action, circular economy, diversity & human well-being, and digital responsibility.
Summary of Findings
During the initial hour of research, we provided at least two examples for each of the tech companies. The messaging examples identified include their slogans, sustainability statements, and highlights of some of their initiatives.
Note that we used direct quotes (cited) to accurately present the messaging examples.
Due to time restrictions, we could not proceed further. However, with additional hours, the research team can dig deeper and come up with more examples.
Please proceed to select one or more of the proposed next steps in the scoping section below.


text:
/*
 *  Written for the Pkcs11Interop project by:
 *  Jaroslav IMRICH <jimrich@jimrich.sk>
 */

using System;
using Net.Pkcs11Interop.Common;
using Net.Pkcs11Interop.LowLevelAPI81;
using NUnit.Framework;
using NativeULong = System.UInt64;

// Note: Code in this file is generated automatically.

namespace Net.Pkcs11Interop.Tests.LowLevelAPI81
{
    /// <summary>
    /// C_GetSlotList, C_GetSlotInfo and C_WaitForSlotEvent tests.
    /// </summary>
    [TestFixture()]
    public class _03_SlotListInfoAndEventTest
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// C_GetSlotList test.
        /// </summary>
        [Test()]
        public void _01_SlotListTest()
        {
            Helpers.CheckPlatform();

            CKR rv = CKR.CKR_OK;

            using (Pkcs11Library pkcs11Library = new Pkcs11Library(Settings.Pkcs11LibraryPath))
            {
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_Initialize(Settings.InitArgs81);
                if ((rv != CKR.CKR_OK) && (rv != CKR.CKR_CRYPTOKI_ALREADY_INITIALIZED))
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                // Get number of slots in first call
                NativeULong slotCount = 0;
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_GetSlotList(true, null, ref slotCount);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                Assert.IsTrue(slotCount > 0);

                // Allocate array for slot IDs
                NativeULong[] slotList = new NativeULong[slotCount];

                // Get slot IDs in second call
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_GetSlotList(true, slotList, ref slotCount);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                // Do something interesting with slots

                rv = pkcs11Library.C_Finalize(IntPtr.Zero);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// C_GetSlotInfo test.
        /// </summary>
        [Test()]
        public void _02_BasicSlotListAndInfoTest()
        {
            Helpers.CheckPlatform();

            CKR rv = CKR.CKR_OK;

            using (Pkcs11Library pkcs11Library = new Pkcs11Library(Settings.Pkcs11LibraryPath))
            {
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_Initialize(Settings.InitArgs81);
                if ((rv != CKR.CKR_OK) && (rv != CKR.CKR_CRYPTOKI_ALREADY_INITIALIZED))
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                // Get number of slots in first call
                NativeULong slotCount = 0;
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_GetSlotList(true, null, ref slotCount);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                Assert.IsTrue(slotCount > 0);

                // Allocate array for slot IDs
                NativeULong[] slotList = new NativeULong[slotCount];

                // Get slot IDs in second call
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_GetSlotList(true, slotList, ref slotCount);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                // Analyze first slot
                CK_SLOT_INFO slotInfo = new CK_SLOT_INFO();
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_GetSlotInfo(slotList[0], ref slotInfo);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                // Do something interesting with slot info
                Assert.IsFalse(String.IsNullOrEmpty(ConvertUtils.BytesToUtf8String(slotInfo.ManufacturerId)));

                rv = pkcs11Library.C_Finalize(IntPtr.Zero);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// C_WaitForSlotEvent test.
        /// </summary>
        [Test()]
        public void _03_WaitForSlotEventTest()
        {
            Helpers.CheckPlatform();

            CKR rv = CKR.CKR_OK;

            using (Pkcs11Library pkcs11Library = new Pkcs11Library(Settings.Pkcs11LibraryPath))
            {
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_Initialize(Settings.InitArgs81);
                if ((rv != CKR.CKR_OK) && (rv != CKR.CKR_CRYPTOKI_ALREADY_INITIALIZED))
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                // Wait for a slot event
                NativeULong slot = 0;
                rv = pkcs11Library.C_WaitForSlotEvent(CKF.CKF_DONT_BLOCK, ref slot, IntPtr.Zero);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_NO_EVENT)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());

                rv = pkcs11Library.C_Finalize(IntPtr.Zero);
                if (rv != CKR.CKR_OK)
                    Assert.Fail(rv.ToString());
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Cfa Level 3 Essay Questions And Answers - Wordpress.com. Found this. https://ift.world/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Level-III-Essay-Questions-R. The Level III essay exam is given in the morning session and has a maximum score cfa exam level 3 essay questions 180 points.
Essay Question. By Dr. Bruce Kuhlman, CFA, CAIA - Level 3 Manager. Today well go over the CFA Level 3 essay tips. The morning session of the CFA level 3 exam consists of 8-12 constructed wuestions questions. Level III exam consists of item set and essay questions and is offered in Essay about global warming tagalog only. I couldnt have done it cfa level 3 essay questions sample without the Finquizs qbank and practice exams.
Jun 1, 2016. The essay exam makes CFA level III the most challenging exam of all. Level 3 is often pitched as the hardest because of the essay-style cfa exam level 3 essay questions. Follow the links below to learn more about the exam and test prep resources.
Note that all the morning session questions may be devoted to one topic e.g. CFA Level III Candidate 26 AF Points 0 AF Karma. June 2019 Level III CFA Complete Study Program. Level III. 600+ Practice Questions 3 Mock Essay Exams Detailed Solutions Condensed.
Level III exam has short-answer essay questions that.
Sep 17, 2016. CFA Level 3 Exam prep is key, especially for the essay section.. Apr 29, 2016 - 15 min - Uploaded by AdaptPrepCongratulations on passing Level I and Level II. CFA Level 3 Exam Weights, Study Plan, Tips, Pass Rates, Fees.
Two exams behind you and one of the final CFA hurdles lies ahead—review your. Sign up to receive a level-specific CFA practice question delivered directly in.
The essay exam typically has 10–15 questions, and questions. Chartered financial analyst level investopedia scribd up to date free cfa.
We hope these useful tips will help in. NYSSA provides each candidate with a booklet of approximately 20 CFA Level III type. Question types, embed exams in Wordpress & Google Sites. Level II and Level III CFAВ® exams are only held once a year: on the first saturday of.
Level III. Page 1. The Morning Session of the 2015 Level III CFAВ® Examination has 11 questions. Cfa level iii exam lesson relative value methods. Level III consists of 10-item sets with 10 multi-part essay questions. Item-Set Question Examples (Level III) В· Essay Question Examples (Level III) В· CFA.
CFA Level 3 morning session essay type questions and. Jun 2, 2016. However, one more six-hour hurdle remains: the Level III exam.. Do all the Bloomberg test prep questions, all the end-of-chapter curriculum questions, and all.
Check out our list of the top CFA Exam study tips to help you mentally prepare, complete, and pass the level III CFA Exam.. Read the. Each question part in the CFA exam has its recommended allocated time indicated. Each of the Question is verified by Certified Professionals. Find out the correct strategy & time management techniques to use when dealing with the CFA level 3 essay.
June, is a mix of item set questions vfa to Level II) and essay type questions. CFA exam tricks, traps and signals hidden in the Essay Questions and Item Sets.
The morning session consists entirely of essay-style questions. MBA III Sem (R14) Results. of multiple-choice, True/False questions and a few short essay responses. Oct 3, 2018. The Level III exam is one of the toughest exams for the CFA.


text:
Home » News » Malvertising Campaign Affects At Least 288 Websites
Malvertising Campaign Affects At Least 288 Websites
David Bisson
Follow @DMBisson
Researchers have spotted a malvertising campaign that is believed to have affected at least 288 websites.
On April 10th, the Security Operations Center (SOC) at Fox-IT, a cyber threat management company, first detected the campaign after observing a spike in the number of incidents related to exploit kits.
"The incidents originated from a large malvertising campaign hitting the Netherlands," explains the security firm in a blog post. "The list of affected websites spreads across most of the popular Dutch websites. In total we've now seen at least 288 websites being affected."
Some of the websites affected by this campaign include Nu.nl, the most-visited Dutch-language news portal at over 50 million views in March alone; Marktplaats.nl, a service that is similar to eBay; and other news and culture sites.
As explained by Sophos, malvertising is another name for malicious online advertising. Attackers create a malicious ad and push it out through an advertisement platform that might be used on trustworthy websites. The ad will attempt to download malware or other unwanted content onto a visitor's computer.
That means the affected advertisement platform–not the websites–are responsible for pushing out malicious advertising content.
In this campaign, external scripts are loaded from the malicious ad. Those scripts redirect visitors to the Angler exploit kit, which has dropped Cryptowall 4.0 and other malicious software in other attacks.
One of the redirects towards the Angler exploit kit, as observed by Fox-IT's monitoring platform.
Two domains in particular, traffic-systems.biz (188.138.69.136) and medtronic.pw (188.138.68.191), have been observed to redirect users to the Angler exploit kit in this instance of malvertising.
After detecting the spike in exploit kit activity, Fox-IT contacted the affected advertisement platform, which has since responded to the incident and begun filtering the listed indicators of compromise (IoCs).
However, there's still work to be done.
"They [the advertisement provider] will be tracking down the affected content provider as this issue has not been fully resolved, it has simply been filtered for now," Fox-IT observes.
For more information on this malvertising campaign, please see Fox-IT's post here.
Tags Angler, cryptowall 4.0, Exploit Kit, Fox-IT, Malvertising, nu.nl
About David Bisson
David Bisson has contributed 1,538 post to The State of Security.
View all posts by David Bisson


The 2018 Chevy Silverado Texas Edition is a pickup truck that is offered by Chevy firm. It has advanced and fantastic features like fog lamps, puddle lamps and updated engine under the hood.
The price of 2018 Chevy Silverado Texas Edition is around $42,000.
It has fog lamps and halogen lights on the front end. It also has front chrome bumper. The estimated wheel size is 18 inches. The outside chrome cap and door mirrors are also present. Similarly, halogen projector, headlamps, mirror caps and glass windshield also make the front beautiful. The combination of chrome surround, grille, and recovery hooks is also present. On the rear end, 2018 Chevy Silverado Texas Edition will offer rear chrome bumper, camera, and antenna. The door and ignition locks will also enhance the safety measures. There is no information about increase and decrease in the size of the vehicle. Some rumors announced the use of aluminum in the body of this truck to enhance the fuel economy value up to some extent. No more changes are expected or possible on the rear end of this model.
The cabin of 2018 Chevy Silverado Texas Edition will offer adjustable outboard head restraints, 2 position driver memory, leather seats, power steering and audio controls. The front and rear windows will have power options for up and down movement. Other unique features in the cabin include universal home remote, keyless entry, oil pressure, and tachometer. In order to measure engine temperatures, fuel level, and oil pressure, special instruments are present. The presence of 4.2-inch screen or LCD on the dashboard will impart a good level of entertainment. It will also offer MP3, radio, FM, video and audio players. The presence of Bluetooth, WI-FI, and wireless internet is also reported by the experts.
The cabin will also offer assist handle, power window, theft deterrent system and remote vehicle starter system. The seating arrangement will remain same but with extra space for head and legs. The heated front and rear seats will also enhance the comfort level for passengers. Similarly, passengers will enjoy single slot MP3 player, CD, DVD and Bluetooth. The 6 speaker's audio system and 4GLTE are also available.
The 2018 Chevy Silverado Texas Edition will possess 5.3-liter V8 engine. It will feature direct injection and active fuel management. The expected output of this unit is 383 lb-ft of torque and 355 hp power. The engine will supply power to the front and rear wheels. It will get disc brakes with 4 wheels antilock. The hydroformed front section and fully boxed body are expected. It will offer the best value for fuel economy and cruise grade braking system. All the engine parts will show massive improvement.
The main rivals include Toyota Tundra. The safety features include crash response, the navigation system, and seatbelts. It will also feature airbags, rearview camera, and passenger sensing system.
The wife and I are wanting to purchase a new pick up truck toward the end of 2019, and wondered about the features of the Texas Edition Silverado LT? We have read and heard that the beds on the trucks are made up of Aluminum? We would not want a soft material in that part of the truck. We have also read and heard that the Texas Edition Silverado don't offer as standard the 20 inch wheels? We do understand that the 5.3 liter engine (350) is about standard for these trucks, but wondered if that was true for your 4×4 trucks? In any event, we are not certain that we will be able to come down to Texas to look these trucks over, but wondered when we are ready to seriously pursue a truck, will there be a way for any car/truck dealerships in Kansas to have a outlet as a buyer of these trucks, so that we could test drive them right here in Kansas? Our guess is that this would probably have to be a special order if we did not come to Texas correct?


text:
Home Crime and Justice Quiet AirBnB Weekend Turns To Triple Homicide Bloodbath
Quiet AirBnB Weekend Turns To Triple Homicide Bloodbath
Triple Homicide :Telvin Biles-Thomas Was Arrested For Three Counts Of Murder Late Thursday
The brother of Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles,22, Telvin Biles-Thomas has been arrested and charged with 3 counts of murder. Biles-Thomas is accused of killing three people at a New Years Eve party in Ohio.
Hours after Biles-Thomas was arrested, Simone tweeted, "eating my problems, don't talk to me." Biles-Thomas,24, is currently in the custody of the Liberty County, Sheriffs Department in Georgia.
The murders occurred in Biles-Thomas' home town of Cleveland, Ohio. According to the Sheriffs department they acted on an arrest warrant out of Cleveland. The charges are murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and perjury according to the Cleveland Police Department. According to an incident report, the incident occurred at a house party on December 31, 2018 in Cleveland. A group of uninvited people entered the home, shots rang out, and several people were shot. Three of the guests at the party died, Delvante Johnson,19, Toshaun Banks,21, and Devaughn Gibson,23.
An Investigation By The CPD Indicated That Telvin Biles-Thomas Was The Shooter in this Triple Homicide
An arrest warrant was signed for Biles-Thomas on Thursday, according to officials Biles-Thomas is on active duty in the Army. Biles-Thomas was arrested without incident at Fort Stewart Army Base in Georgia.
Representatives for Biles a four time Olympic Gold Medalist, refused to comment on the situation, saying 'it's a family matter'. Simone Biles was a young woman that beat the odds and rose to the highest level in the Olympic arena.
Biles and her three siblings including Biles-Thomas were placed in Foster Care when Simone was three. Their mother Sharon Biles was a drug addict and had mental health issues and couldn't care for her children. The children were adopted by their mother's parents, when Simone was 6. The children and their grandparents lived in the Houston, Texas area.
Simone Biles Competed On 'Dancing With The Stars' in 2017
Simone Biles competed on 'Dancing With The Stars' in 2017, she was paired with Sasha Farber, and was eliminated in the semi final round. At the time Biles said, "My biological mom was suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. She was in and out of jail, I never had a mom to run to".
USA Gymnastics issued a statement. "In this challenging time for Simone Biles and her family. USA Gymnastics offers our continued support to Simone and her gymnastics family". "This is a very personal and private situation for the Biles Family and we will respect their privacy". "We hope that others will also respect the family's privacy".
There is no attorney for record of Biles-Thomas and he has not yet appeared before a judge. According to a source at the Sheriff's department, he will go before a judge on Friday. There will also be a separate extradition hearing, to arrange for Biles-Thomas to be extradited back to Ohio. A source close to Simone Biles, said "She's very close to her brother and she is devastated."
olympic gold medalist
triple homicide
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[…] fellow Americans in public places like Walmart. At a Walmart in El Paso where 22 were killed, 100 shootings a day here in American. We are averaging 300 mass shootings a year, no other country comes close to […]