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Conflict in Konigsbrau Brewery
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There was conflict in Konigsbrau Brewery which was caused by constant checking of the managing director into the affairs of the commercial director. The interdepartmental interaction was interpreted wrongly by Brodsky as contempt rather than correction. Wolfgang Keller and Dmitri Brodsky worked in Ukrainian subsidy of the Konigsbrau Brewery where they held the positions of the managing director and commercial director respectively. They were in constant conflicts because Dmitri Brodsky, who is the commercial director in the company, was in charge of marketing and sales department, but at times, he slept on his job. This caused Wolfgang Keller who was the company's managing director to interfere with the work of the commercial director.
Wolfgang Keller and Brodsky were the key players who held very important positions in the company, which determined the direction of sales and the overall results of the company. Due to their positions, they constantly conflict because Wolf was patronizing which Brodsky never welcomed in his jurisdiction.
Wolfgang Keller was a determined leader in the company and his efforts were evident in the manner in which he pushed things around. He built his career by helping falling companies, by providing strategies which resuscitate companies' potential. He despised mediocrity in the manner things were done, and because of this trait, he had a hands-on strategy which helped him to be conversant with everything that happened in the company. Beer business is a sensitive one; therefore, he integrated with the distributors, as well as the sales representatives and managers. Wolfgang Keller's boss, Dr. Hans Haussler, had a lot of trust in the manner he conducted his activities. Wolf was being sent to Brazil to head a task in formulating a joint venture between Brazilian brewer and Konigsbrau. This shows that Wolf was a man of reputation in the manner he conducted his affairs. He practiced an integrated approach in designing the structures of the company and relating with the staff members.
When advised to fire Brodsky, he refused because he could not find a replacement for the latter had only a little weakness, but were to be refined. He was torn between punishing him and firing him, but decided to highlight his weaknesses so that he changed his approach of things he did. Wolf is a hands-on manager, who took time to understand his juniors. Although he was temperamental, he did not let it affect his unique approach to strategies he implemented in his duties.
There were so many conflicts in the company, but Wolf ensured that he controlled them in the best approach, which leaves the parties involved at peace with one another. The company had tremendous results despite the internal; conflicts because Wolf is endowed with the ability to control the excesses in the company. A good example is when he helped a lawsuit over the company by one of the distributors. He never blamed Brodsky, but did what he was supposed to do. He ensured that he sat next to the distributor during a flight to Munich for a meeting. He talked with the distributor until he dropped the lawsuit. Another time he drove for three hours to claim for a bad debt that was left under care of Brodsky, but assumed his duties. Wolf managed to return with a check of 87,000 pounds. This is an indication that the managing director practiced hands-on management, which was directed, towards the success of the company.
Main issues
The company's main issues revolved around the top management, where Brodsky was a bone of contention. He proved to be a difficult resource in the company. Despite the fact that he was influential, he lacked leadership. He had good approach to theoretical writing of reports, which were sound and professional. He did not have a hands-on policy in determining the direction his work took, yet he blamed Wolf for interfering with his work. There is no way Wolf would have left him to mismanage the company by the provision of inadequate sales in the company. This forced Wolf to involve with the departmental activities.
Formality in the manner Brodsky operated his management style affected the relationship between him and the junior staff. He never distinguished between the official duties and social functions in the company. When the staff went for team building, Brodsky never attended any of the functions. When workers devoted themselves to go to Brodsky's home, he talked to them in a formal way which put off the liveliness in workers, who devoted themselves to visit their commercial director. The fact that Brodsky could not affect the running of sales and marketing without interference from Wolf is a great concern. This is because he never showed total commitment in the manner he runs the company. He was not able to connect with employees personally hence, creating a distance between the employees and their boss. His autocratic aspect of running the affairs in his company made employees shun from his contact because he offered them a cold shoulder when they needed to consult him, in case they needed to solve anything in the company. His inability was a total contrast with the company's attitude because it never depicted the relationship Wolf wanted the employees to have in the company.
The style in which Brodsky managed his works hurt his ability as a leader, which put him in constant conflict with Wolf. As the managing director, Wolf needed to delegate his duties to Brodsky, but in this case, he stooped low for Brodsky by working out his duties. This is because Wolf saw that Brodsky could not manage his work autonomously hence the close supervision. Wolf had many things he was obliged to do so, in order to counter the inefficiency portrayed by Brodsky. Wolf despised the idea of firing him even though he was advised to do so by his boss Dr. Hans Haussler. He thought by firing Mr. Brodsky, he would find a lot of difficulties in finding an immediate replacement for the other employees never wanted to assume that duty.
There was a distributor who took an action to sue the company but, Brodsky never intervened for the company. This pushed Wolf to cease from being an observer and involve himself with the lawsuit claim. Brodsky was not assertive in matters concerning the company, and that is why Wolf was irritated with him. Wolf felt that he could change his perception by training him on how to be answerable to various things that affected the company. This shows that he was a hands-on manager, who could not allow things to fail while he pretended to be at the top level management. Integration with the junior employees was the only way out to solve the incapacitations of the company.
Recommendations and solutions
The manner in which Wolf decided to solve conflict, in the company, could have been a source of another conflict in the proceedings in the company. There was a need to come up with calculated measures of approaching mistakes done by Brodsky. Instead of attacking him literally, one needed to have theories in the practice of solving the problems. The conflict should be resolved effectively so that the common good of the company could be upheld. Brodsky was a resource in the company hence needed to be refined so as to meet the necessary focus on the company. When he was in constant conflict with Wolf, there was some mistrust because a spirit of contempt arrose. For instance, when Wolf drove to have a check instead of letting Brodsky go it his way, there raised conflict because there was doubted capability in Brodsky.
Keller did not provide adequate mentorship to Brodsky because he never took time to understand or share his problem. He only acted against Brodsky which left him intimidated than corrected. If Brodsky was trained in matters concerning the company, he could not have taken six months in coming up with a strategy to design sales and marketing department. Interference of departments is the most annoying thing to employees, whereby workers need to be left alone so that they develop skills to run their constituent, offices and handle challenges in their offices. If not so, they need a calculated approach in the manner the company is run. Brodsky retaliated in the way guidance is done to him.
The "Interest-Based Relational Approach"
When solving the conflicts in the company, Wolf needed to use this theory so as to approach the problem in a more rational aspect than the blunt means he used. When Wolf fitted in Brodsky duties, he only became irrational because he proved Brodsky wrong or incompetent. He was personal when approaching him for he blamed him in almost all the occasions as incompetent.
There were certain rules he needed to follow so as to solve the conflict in the company. He needed to ensure that good relationship was prioritized in the company. This is because, when one treats another calmly, there is the development of mutual respect. If there was mutual respect between Brodsky and Keller, any correction towards Brodsky would have been aimed towards taking care of the company rather than attacking his personality.
Separation of problems and people is imperative because, it helps one to know the position of the other. At times, people are not just difficult, but they lack directives in the duties they are allocated. If Brodsky was trained in his operations and the need of urgency he would have operated in a first manner. Wolf needed to take weaknesses of Brodsky as different from his traits, which would help him to appreciated Brodsky and correct him with compassion rather than contempt and rebuke.
Paying attention to what one is being told is a good gesture that one accepts change. Brodsky needed to listen to the things that wolf said so that they worked in cohesion rather than division. One needs to listen first and then talk. Wolf could have enhanced a rapport with Brodsky rather than conflict, if only they encouraged positive talk, which could have, united them into working together or exploring solutions together. Wolf made himself a paragon of virtue by taking Brodsky as the evil man hence denying him a chance to correct his mistakes. He even contemplated to fire him or deny him his annual increments.
When the theory of solving conflict is employed, the results from the solving of conflict should be implemented in the company. This can be done through seminars and workshops for a rapport to be enhanced. Top management in the company needed to unite and show juniors that they are united. The best thing for such a company was to ensure that the recommendations were implemented in the company. There was a need for refresher courses, which could have reawakened the, capability of the employees. Facilitators needed to be assigned duties of teaching employees on how to meet the strategies set in the company.
When holding the meeting with the employees it was imperative to use an adult approach rather than an aggressive approach or a submissive one. Gathering of information was important so that one presented to the participants something that was relevant. There was the need to set focus in the company, in every department. This called for urgency in meeting deadlines whereby the head in the departments would be answerable for the failure of departmental duties. The company representatives needed to come up with a constitutional agreement whereby there would be an integrated approach in the future about problem solving. There was a need of team building for everyone is supposed to attend or participate. In this case, there are ice breaking activities. No one is supposed to ignore activities of the company because they will be geared toward increasing productivity of the company.
Allowing delegation was imperative so that duties could be performed with consultation instead of solving problems alone. The appraisal activities should be data oriented so that one could be rated as per his or her input in the duties allocated. The agreement needed to be printed for everyone so that it will be accessible and practiced by all employees. Democracy should be prioritized, where selflessness is upheld rather than selfishness in the company. Socialization in the company enhanced employees to have a good friendship, which allowed them to talk and listen to one another. When people listen to one another, they foster a good relationship, which is productive, in their place of work.
Constant supervision of duties helps employees to follow the strategies laid so as to meet the objectives of the company promptly. The company should also reward employees according to merit so as to reinforce good behaviors and encourage assertiveness in the course of work.
When the company management follows the set strategies, there would be reduced conflicts and increased productivity, because employees would work as a family. Managers need to integrate with employees as Wolf did so as to enhance a positive attitude in the place of work. Correction of anomalies like that of Brodsky needed to be well thought of, because it can deteriorate the situation if given a wrong approach. Conflict solving solution should have been given the right approach so as to ensure positive change in the company. It was imperative to foster unity within the staff members and encourage them to be answerable to their duties, which would affect results of the company at large.
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* Legislative lobbying with a focus on breaking down silos, unifying stakeholders and lobbying for systematic change and sustainable funding for integrated pediatric mental health services.
* Developing clinical pathways to more effectively screen and treat patients by improving access and quality across the full continuum of care, as close to home as possible.
* Education aimed at improving public awareness and reducing stigma regarding mental health conditions.


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What are the 5 principles of Appreciative Inquiry?
Who developed the Appreciative Inquiry model?
What is appreciative inquiry examples?
What is appreciative inquiry PDF?
In a later formulation, Cooperrider and his colleague Diana Whitney (2001) proposed and described the five principles that are now considered standard: Constructionist, Simultaneity, Poetic, Anticipatory, and Positive.
David Cooperrider
First developed by David Cooperrider and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University, AI has since been employed and tested by scholars and practitioners around the world. Three concepts form the foundation, sometimes called the "three-legged stool" of Appreciative Inquiry: appreciation, inquiry, and wholeness.
What is Appreciative Inquiry methodology?
Appreciative inquiry (AI) is a positive approach to leadership development and organizational change. The method is used to boost innovation among organizations. A company might apply appreciative inquiry to best practices, strategic planning, organizational culture, and to increase the momentum of initiatives.
For example, appreciative inquiry was behind Walmart's sustainability drive and the creation of the sustainability index for measuring progress toward the goal of using 100% renewable energy and having zero waste throughout the lifecycle of all its products.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a Strengths-based (appreciative) approach that works very well in changing human systems or in solving human systems problems (organizations, small and large groups – including classrooms, relationships, departments, etc.).
How do you learn Appreciative Inquiry?
Appreciative Inquiry Facilitation Guide
Start off by asking the people present what they would like to talk about and learn about themselves as a collective.
Encourage them to settle on a topic that they are interested in and feels important rather than something that they may feel like they should focus on.

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by Elsa Stringer January 17, 2020
Ethan Suplee posted one of the most amazing body transformation stories ever on his Instagram account. His fans were shocked by his new…
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Everyone knows full well that Kim Kardashian West always goes over the top with her photoshoots. For the latest KKW Beauty campaign, she…
CelebritiesStyle
Most Bizarre Look Ever? Cardi B Stuns With Her Odd Fashion Choices!
by Tracy Finke January 17, 2020
Rapper Cardi B is known for her distinctive fashion style, but she stunned everyone with the latest fashion combination when arriving at a…
Famous wrestler Rocky Johnson, the father of actor Dwayne Johnson, passed away at the age of 75. The cause of death has not…
Nicole Kidman is much taller than her husband Keith Urban, but it always seemed like they didn't mind the difference. The couple appeared…
Famous actress Salma Hayek shared on her Instagram a throwback photo of her wearing a butterfly-shaped top that reveals her curves.
Singer Adele has lost more than 40 pounds in recent months and has delighted the public around the globe with her new look.
While the spectators were talking about the greys in her hair, the former Dawson's Creek start couldn't keep a smile of her face.


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Felicity Muench
Felicity Muench's passion for music began at the age of 7 when she began classical guitar lessons with Cuban concert guitarist Hector Garcia. At age 16 she began teaching private guitar students and wanted to pursue a career in teaching and performing. After receiving her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of New Mexico, she went on to receive her Master of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge California.
She headed the classical guitar department at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, CO from 1997 - 2015 where she also taught music business, guitar literature, pedagogy and fretted techniques. A dedicated teacher, she formed the Boulder Guitar Society in 1995 to give adults the opportunity to perform in a supportive environment. Felicity currently teaches privately with a full studio of students ranging in age from 5 – 83.
Felicity's entrepreneurial spirit led her to form Musical Bouquet LLC in 1987 which provides therapeutic music for patients in hospitals and other health care facilities. In concert, she performs both as a soloist and with Silverwood Flute and Guitar duo. Silverwood has performed for the Placitas Concert Series in New Mexico, the National Flute Association in Cleveland Ohio and in La Jolla California.
Her recording "Amoroso Guitar Duo – Romantic Music from South America" was released in 2016. Latin guitar virtuoso Alfredo Muro performs on the CD and Felicity and Alfredo have performed together in Colorado and Mexico. Felicity provided the classical guitar music for the award winning documentary "Vinnie Ream – Lincoln's Young Sculptor" which is sold at the White House in Washington D.C. She hosted and provided music for a second documentary about the Carnegie Library in Longmont Colorado which was televised in 2015.
Her collaboration with Dr. Gregg Cannady and the formation of One Voice 4 Change LLC was inspired from the idea that each person's voice can be used for strength and change. "Giving Strength through Education to Those Who Need a Voice for Change" is the dream this organization hopes to achieve.
Gregg Cannady
As director of Collaboration and Concept Development at STEM School Highlands Ranch, Gregg Cannady has been working on connecting teachers in real-time synchronous learning, replicating successful STEM approaches to learning and other teacher leadership projects. LINK to THE SYNK
Gregg Cannady received his B.A. in Music Education from Colorado State University, his M.A. in Music Education from the University of Wyoming and his D.M.A. in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Colorado.
He has conducted numerous high school choirs as well as conducting the University of Colorado Women's Ensemble and University Singers. He also has worked in North Carolina as Director of Choral Activities and Applied Voice at Mount Olive College and has been the Chorus Master for the Boulder Bach Festival. Choral ensembles under his direction have performed at several state and national conferences and have toured extensively in the United States, China, Italy and Germany.
Gregg Cannady also has been developing music education curriculum using digital applications such as Ableton 9, PUSH and the music composition software Sibelius. He has presented workshops to music educators at state and national music conferences.
Simi Basu
Simi Basu moved to Colorado five years back from Scottsdale, Arizona. She studied Bachelors in Science from University of Delhi, India. After that, she completed her Masters in Information Technology from KSU University and Masters in Business Administration in IT from Bundelkhand University, India.
She moved to the United States 14 years ago.
Prior to teaching, she worked with IBM and other software companies for 13 years on innovative and cutting-edge technologies. This helps inspire kids to reach further than they think they can and prepare them for jobs that don't exist yet. She prefers challenging students with real-world projects and motivate them to try new things and share new ideas. She enjoys creating curriculums that challenges their minds and engages them to their full potential.
She brings her talent and zeal to the classroom and school, and have facilitated the Photo Battle Contests, Gaming Development Club and Cyberpatriot Competitions where students learn defensive hacking. She has also been invited as guest speaker for Women conferences in London and across the U.S. She is really passionate to encourage more women in IT and Computer Science/Stem fields. She constantly collaborates globally and looking for opportunities to help children in education.
In her free time she likes working out and spending time with her family and dog.
For more about her achievements in education:
http://highlandsranchherald.net/stories/women-stem-into-the-future,260215? https://issuu.com/coloradocommunitymedia/docs/hr0222/8
https://coloradosucceeds.org/stem/schools-partner-bridge-rural-urban-stem-divide/
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2017/05/22/take3-stem-school-and-academy-teaches-outside-the.html http://via.kdvr.com/dQqJI
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2017/05/22/take3-stem-school-and-academy-teaches-outside-the.html https://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/25/highlands-ranch-students-holocaust-vr-museums/
http://highlandsranchherald.net/stories/middle-schoolers-learn-about-engineering-in-the-real-world,275847
Rubi Feliciano
Graduated BS Nursing in Manila, Philippines. Practice Nursing Degree in Saudi Arabia for 2 years. After that I came to US about 20 plus years ago. I used to be a successful Real Eatate agent in Las, Vegas NV for 8 years before moving to Colorado about 7 years ago.Since then I have been managing rental properties while taking care of my family.
I am thankful that all my 3 children got the opportunity to go to excellent schools here in the US. And with that my goal is to give back as much as I can by helping under privilege students in third world countries at least go to college and finish their degrees. And encouraging my children to be of help later in their professional life.
Michael DeLalla
For more than 30 years as a composer and concert guitarist, Michael DeLalla has drawn on the musical traditions he has gathered worldwide. His work celebrates his multi-cultural musical habitats in a variety of settings, from a capella kan e diskanin Breton Gaelic, to evocations of Japanese kotomusic and the North African o'ud, to tweaking the nose of the classical music world with his raucous "Piece for Steel Drum (If I Played Steel Drum)" to his double homage to Benjamin Britten and Thelonious Monk ("Nocturnal Scenes 'Round About Midnight").
Michael has also earned acclaim for his scores composed for film, video and dance, which include the recent short film for James Anderson's novel "Lullaby Road", a full-length documentary examining the AIDs epidemic among children in Western Africa, produced and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, and a Rich Lukon film examining how death and dying is dealt with across different cultures and faith traditions.
Michael has over 100 credits as a producer, with projects ranging from solo instrumentalists to world music ensembles, from a Tibetan Singing Bowl master to an award winning hammered dulcimist. His own discography includes recordings of solo guitar compositions, his work with the seminal world chamber ensemble Oxymora, his Celtic trio The Unfortunate Rakes, and a Christmas/Winter Solstice/Winter Holiday recording drawing on traditions from around the globe. He has appeared as a guest artist on more than 40 recordings.
A graduate of the Conservatory at Shenandoah University in Virginia (BMT Music Therapy and MME Music Education; he later served on Shenandoah's guitar faculty and directed ensembles for 10 years), Michael has also been an educator his entire adult life. Since moving to Colorado, he has been adjunct faculty at Front Range Community College, teaching classes in World Music, History of Jazz, Music Appreciation, Music Business, Music Theory and Composition. He also conducts workshops around the country based on his book The Mindful Guitarist (2015), where he explores his principles on the Creative Process through a range of topics for both guitarists and non-guitarists.
For more information about Guitarist/composer Michael DeLalla:
www.fallingmountain.com
www.youtube.com/fallmtn
www.facebook.com/michael.delalla


The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is alive. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit is alive and dwells among His people, in His Church, so that the Spirit of the Father may circulate in the hearts of His children and make the true and holy Christianity shine ever more.
«Children of God! The spirit of Moses, the one who freed the people of God from the slavery of Egypt, is alive. The spirit of Elijah, the one who defended the true faith against the false priests, bearers of a false doctrine, is alive. The spirit of Christ, the One who saves and leads the holy people of God to eternal salvation, Is».
In this Land of Love, the Father's Will is renewed, the Father's Will is alive and instils His freedom and His paternity in the heart of every true Christian, so that the children of God may defend the true faith in front of everyone and everything and in front of all those who hold just the tradition, for the world.
«Children of God! Be all of you representatives of the Spirit that gives freedom, of the Holy Spirit that unites, of the Spirit that frees from sin and from the world that grips the hearts, of the Spirit that leads to the Saviour, to the One who is Life, to the One who has received the power to unite and disunite, to the One who has received the power to save for eternity or to condemn for eternity. Have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had» (Philippians 2:5).
«Children of God! Burn with the Flame of the Father, burn with His Love and His holy heat that, in this Land, the only Land of Love, will regenerate every heart willing to be purified, so to be able to let yourselves be transfigured in your bodies and your spirits, so that the Love of the Father and the Light of His Son, in the unbreakable bond with the Father, may transfigure and forge your hearts, and switch your minds off so that your spirits may be free, free, free from slavery».
The live Will of the Son wants to manifest His essence and His substance, so to save, to purify and to bless. Whoever believes in the Son will be saved; whoever does not believe in the Son, will be lost (Mk 16:16).
«Children of God! Be united around Christ, let yourselves be gathered by the Spirit of Christ, so to be able to manifest the only Body that saves, the only Body that teaches the true doctrine and the true divine Will».
«Children of God! Rejoice and sing: the Saviour is with you».


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Isotomodes cuzcoensis är en urinsektsart som beskrevs av Heinrich Georg Winter 1963. Isotomodes cuzcoensis ingår i släktet Isotomodes och familjen Isotomidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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Steve Eulberg | Steve Eulberg: smile-inducing, toe-tapping folkgrass | Listen to Music : I Celebrate Life!
In his hands, the dulcimers reveal their many different characters: from old-time hoe-down, to sweet lyrical poetry, to bent-note blues and mystical eastern drones. Landscapes and portraits are painted with colorful hues as the listener is transported from the shores of Lake Michigan to the snowy springtime Rocky Mountains, from the gently falling first flakes of winter to the Ozarks of Missouri, from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to the brewing summer storms of Colorado.
But more than a travelogue, these tunes are also sonic journal of the artist's interior and exterior journeys.
Eulberg, a 4-time winner and 3-time finalist in the National Mountain and Hammered Dulcimer Championships, has gathered into one collection the tunes he's been composing for these instruments since he began playing them 25 and 21 years ago. This collection is his book is also entitled, I Celebrate Life!
This recording is a sampling of 22 previously unrecorded tunes. As one reviewer has commented, "This is a Double Album of Original Dulcimer tunes...the best yet!"
I Celebrate Life! follows Eulberg's 2003 release, 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime which was featured on United Airlines Inflight Audio during the holiday season of that year, and his 2001 release, Soaring, whose title track is featured in the soundtrack of the PBS television show Roadtrip Nation (episode 10) which is airing this summer.


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AOC Strikes Again: Is Her Idiocy Strong Enough to Take Schumer Down With Her?
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has not made any secret of her controversial stands on a plethora of issues. She and her "squad" have become so progressive that even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has had to, at times, separate herself from the group in an effort not to be taken down by their far-leftist ideology.
The new and possibly damaging move that has AOC in the dog house, however, has social media calling Democrat Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) for holding his piece while Ocasio-Cortez claimed that the cure to violent crime was to stop the progress on building new prisons in the United States (yes, you read that right, she wants fewer prisons to decrease crime):
"If we want to reduce violent crime, if we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them," Ocasio-Cortez said at a press conference according to The Daily Wire. "The answer is to make sure that we actually build more hospitals, we pay organizers, we get people mental health care and overall health care, employment, etc. It's to support communities, not throw them away."
That call to "forgive and forget" as it were, by the New York Democrat had voters questioning whether the two New Yorkers were in cahoots on the outrageous plan, especially considering that AOC's comments came on the heels of the New York Police Department's announcement last month that crime statistics in the nation's largest city were sharply increasing.
The facts don't seem to be slowing AOC down, however, as she doubled down on her anti-corrections propaganda with the most iconic of liberal bleeding heart mantras:
"Right here in the Bronx, our community developed a successful approach to reducing violence. It starts at the hospital after an incident. We bring in psych Drs & folks who turned their *own* lives around to work w/ youth. It's reduced reoccurrence of violence by more than 50%," AOC later claimed in a tweet.
"It's called Stand Up to Violence (SUV), a cutting edge program run out of @JacobiHosp (a PUBLIC hospital!), and it is hands down one of the most effective treatments we've seen to reduce incidents of violence like shootings and stabbings. I'm asking for fed resources to grow it."
The congresswoman's loud and proud stance against taking measures to rehabilitate lawbreakers caused quite a stir among political commentators, particularly those who blamed the veteran politician that Schumer is, for not reigning in the new crop of progressives:
"This is actually really wrong, many prisoners are overcrowded and antiquated, simply blocking the construction of new ones is inhumane," progressive writer Zaid Jilani wrote. "And you can talk all you want about just having fewer prisoners but you aren't going to get any significant drop overnight, everyone knows that."
National Review Senior Writer David Harsanyi mocked the congresswoman saying that he was going to get rid of his scale saying "It's the only real way to lose weight."
One less notable social media user railed against the congresswoman saying, "She always brings up valid problems with literally the dumbest solutions imaginable," another social media user wrote. "She never specifies how we will accomplish those goals, she just says that we need them and walks away. Implementing a support program via mental health is going to take a complete rewrite of the criminal justice system, and what about for-profit prisons?"
Does American have a problem with violent crime? Yes, it sure does. However, any person who has spent even a day with a toddler knows that human nature dictates that removing the negative effects of a wrong action leads to more of the bad action, not less of it. AOC is once again simultaneously tanking her own credibility and dragging the Democrat party down with her. So maybe that's both the great tragedy and the small gain.
Newsom's Plan to Supercharge Immigration Crisis


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Supreme Court Finds SEC In-House Judges Must Be Appointed, Past Hiring Deemed Unconstitutional
On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court found that in-house Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") judges are "inferior officers" under the Constitution's Appointments Clause, and are therefore constitutionally required to be appointed by either the President or the head of an agency. The decision, Lucia v. S.E.C., No. 17-130, 2018 WL 3057893, (U.S. June 21, 2018), leaves several questions unresolved, particularly as to the status of any cases currently pending before SEC internal judges. It is also unclear whether the decision will have an impact on administrative judges at other federal agencies.
The decision overturns a lower court ruling and addresses a circuit split between the D.C. Circuit and the 10th Circuit. In Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc. v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n, 832 F.3d 277 (D.C. Cir. 2016), Raymond Lucia and Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc. ("Petitioners") petitioned for review of a decision by the SEC that imposed sanctions on them for violations of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and the rule against misleading advertising thereunder. The SEC had rejected Petitioners' argument that the initial decision, which had been made by an in-house SEC judge, also known as an administrative law judge ("ALJ"), was unconstitutional because the hearing had been "an unconstitutional procedure because the administrative law judge who heard the enforcement action was unconstitutionally appointed." Id. The D.C. Circuit found that the ALJs working for the SEC were not constitutional officers and were therefore not subject to the requirements of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. On appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the 10-judge panel was divided, 5-5, on the issue, teeing up the case for the Supreme Court. The D.C. Circuit's decision also conflicted with the holding of the 10th Circuit in Bandimere v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n, 844 F.3d 1168 (10th Cir. 2016), which held that the SEC's ALJs were "inferior officers" whose appointments must comport with the Appointments Clause. Despite coming to contrary conclusions, both the D.C. Circuit's and the 10th Circuit's decisions utilized the well-established analytical framework used by the Supreme Court in Freytag v. C.I.R., 501 U.S. 868, 111 S. Ct. 2631, 115 L. Ed. 2d 764 (1991). In that case, the Supreme Court held that special trial judges ("STJs") in the Tax Courts were "inferior officers" subject to the Appointments Clause based on three characteristics of their position: (1) the position was "established by Law"; (2) the "duties, salary, and means of appointment . . . are specified by statute"; and (3) the STJs "exercise significant discretion" in "carrying out . . . important functions." Id. at 881-82.
Petitioners argued that the ALJs satisfied the Freytag criteria and were therefore unconstitutionally hired. In 2017, the SEC changed its position and argued that the ALJs were indeed officers, forcing the Supreme Court to appoint an amicus to argue on behalf of the lower court's position. In its briefing, the amicus warned of significant adverse practical consequences of adopting a standard within which ALJs would be considered officers. In particular, the amicus raised concerns related to expanding the definition of an "officer," and warned that such a ruling could call into question such widespread and longstanding practices as establishing congressional and investigative commissions without using the Appointments Clause.
The Supreme Court, also utilizing Freytag's framework, agreed with Petitioners. In Justice Kagan's majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch, the Court held that the ALJs satisfy all of the criteria in Freytag and that the Freytag decision was sufficient to determine the case. First, the Court determined that ALJs hold a "continuing office established by law," as the ALJs "receive[ ] a career appointment." No. 17-130, 2018 WL 3057893, at *6. Second, the Court noted that the appointment is "created by statute, down to its 'duties, salary, and means of appointment.'" Id. Finally, the Court said that ALJs "exercise . . . 'significant discretion' when carrying out . . . 'important functions.'" Id. Specifically, the Court noted that ALJs have "all the authority needed to ensure fair and orderly adversarial hearings –indeed, nearly all the tools of federal trial judges." Id. at *7. After determining that the judge that oversaw Lucia's case was "without the kind of appointment the Clause requires," the Supreme Court remanded the case, as the "remedy for an adjudication tainted with an appointments violation is a new 'hearing before a properly appointed' official." Id. at *8.
Concurring in part and dissenting in part, Justice Breyer argued that the outcome should have been determined under the Administrative Procedure Act, which "governs the appointment of administrative law judges" and provides that "[e]ach agency shall appoint as many administrative law judges as are necessary for" hearings governed by the Administrative Procedure Act. Accordingly, Justice Breyer reasoned that the ALJ overseeing Lucia's case should have been appointed by the SEC, rather than hired by SEC staff. Justice Breyer also dissented as to the relief.
Justice Sotomayor drafted a dissent, joined by Justice Ginsburg, that primarily argued that the "ALJs are not officers because they lack final decision-making authority," as the SEC can "review any initial decision upon petition or on its own initiative" and that review is "de novo." Id. at *21.
As yet, it is unclear how this ruling affects pending SEC administrative decisions being heard by SEC ALJs. The SEC stated that it is "reviewing the decision." Also, on November 30, 2017, while the matter was still under review, the SEC issued an order to ratify the prior appointments of its ALJs. In addition to ratifying the ALJs appointment, the order directs the ALJs, in all pending cases for which no initial decision had been given, to (1) reconsider the record, (2) issue an order granting parties until January 5, 2018 to submit new evidence relevant to the reexamination of the record, (3) determine whether to ratify or revise any prior actions, and (4) issue an order by February 16, 2018 stating the completeness and outcome of the reconsideration. Similar procedures were ordered for cases pending before the Commission that had already received an initial decision by the ALJ.
Petitioners argued that this ratification did not resolve the constitutional issue. However, the order did not apply to Lucia's case, as it was no longer pending before an ALJ or the Commission at the time the order was issued. The Supreme Court skirted the question, stating in a footnote: "Lucia argues that the [ratification] order is invalid. . . . We see no reason to address that issue. The Commission has not suggested that it intends to assign Lucia's case on remand to an ALJ whose claim to authority rests on the ratification order. The SEC may decide to conduct Lucia's rehearing itself. Or it may assign the hearing to an ALJ who has received a constitutional appointment independent of the ratification." Id. at *8. It is unclear whether the Court's failure to affirm the constitutionality of the ratification order is an intentional signal that there is a question regarding the sufficiency of the ratification order to cure the constitutional defect, or if the Court simply felt that the issue was irrelevant to the facts of Lucia's case.
Regardless, by not resolving the ratification issue, there is a looming question as to the validity of the cases pending before the ALJs at the time of, and since, the ratification order. This uncertainty creates a significant likelihood of future litigation challenging the constitutionality of the ratification order and the hearings conducted before the ALJs subject to that order.
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Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Enforcement
Insider Trading Enforcement
Amelia A. Cottrell
Elizabeth P. Gray
William J. Stellmach


Award-winning designer and artist Porky Hefer's first solo show in Joburg—Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious—takes place until 4 November 2017 at the Southern Guild and WhatIfTheWorld gallery in Keyes Art Mile.
Krone R.D 2001 was poured on the opening night in celebration of this innovative artist. We catch up with Porky.
It means originating not managing.
Can you tell us about the exhibition and why you think Krone R.D was a good fit?
It has a bit of everything. It shows a good cross section of the work that I have been doing with Trevyn and Julian and the Southern Guild team. It includes both leather and cane pieces and some that combine the two. When I first started all my work was suspended. I was challenged to come down off the roof and use the floor. I did some pieces that explored the walls first which I believe is a totally underutilised surface in the room. These pieces are included as well as the shell, which sits on the floor and of course a number of suspended pieces. I have been in a number of group shows in Johannesburg but never really enough pieces to give Joburg a better understanding of my craft and a peek into my brain.
What inspires you day to day – and what advice do you have for others seeking inspiration?
Evolution inspires me. I try to do something different every time. I like to learn from my process and use this to do something better or braver. I think experience is everything. With it we can steer our own course and find new directions. So many people are committed upholding the status quo. They don't know anything else and don't want to as it might take them beyond their comfort zone. The thugs and the opportunists are controlling the world and society at the moment. We need to get beyond this.
Can you share the story behind The Mud Dauber Sleeping Pod?
These are sleeping pods that are attached to the wall. They are inspired by the mud nests of the Mud Dauber Wasp, made to lay their eggs in. The orange colour of the cushion represents the orange mud, which they make their nests from in Namibia. They are way big enough for a person to sleep comfortably in. They can be hung at waist height for easy access or higher and then accessed by a ladder. I imagine a holiday house with a large wall with four to six of them in with ladders of various heights. This then frees up a lot of floor space that is no longer taken up by large bulky beds.
What's behind the title: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, why did you choose it for your exhibition?
I love the word. I love the way it sounds and the way that it makes you feel when you say it. It's similar to the way you feel after climbing into a Killer Whale Chair or climb on to a leopard's branch. It's childish, fantastic and a bit ridiculous. A lot like my work. I like the fact that it is considered a made up word rather than a "real" word, that's the realm I like to work in.
Do you have any advice for people wanting to get into a creative pursuit like art?
I don't think its something you want to get into. It's something you are in. As a hobby it's fun because there is not much pressure to succeed or be the best or be noticed. It's more of a personal thing. When it becomes a livelihood it becomes a bit more difficult. People have to buy in to what you are doing. They have to like it in order for you to succeed. Art has to have a market of some form, that's when you have to choose between being commercial and being ground breaking—that's a tough fork to navigate. It's a tough path with a lot of rejection and hard work. Working on your own, without the support of a company is difficult. You have to do everything yourself. You have to believe in yourself. But that's good as it becomes more personal and more original.
What's are you working on at the moment? Currently putting finishing touches to a 2.5m long Toco Toucan. Its beak is massive. It's Design Miami time again in November—a great platform with work from the worlds best designers. I like to look at fairs in a bigger context and try to do work that stands out and really connects with the visitors A great opportunity to do something fun and bold but there is some logic behind my madness, Brazilians make up a big part of the collectors in Miami and its them I want to attract.


Carsuits Turkey is the main distributer of the Carsuits brand in Turkey which has been producing protective covers in California, USA for over 30 years. Carsuits aims to produce flawless and practical products for covers that enables the best use for every brand and type of cars. Carsuits is the market leader in protective covers and it innovates it's products by using the latest technology to produce covers that can overcome even the worst weather conditions. To provide the best service in response to our clients needs, Carsuits Turkey has been operating in İstanbul since 2017 with it's management, sales department and manufacturing atelier providing creative designs, dynamic applications and unique marketing ideas that are required in vehicle covers field in 19 different countries promising a customer oriented service by using the latest technology and valuing the job we are doing.


I guess any first station is likely to have a few teething problems; this one certainly did!
We neglected to check how the display of the CTD software was prepared for the cast - we wanted to have fluorescence (a measure of the amount of chlorophyll a, and therefore phytoplankton [microscopic plants], in the water) displayed so we could trigger bottles at particular depths, depending on the fluorescence readings. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the downcast (measurements as the instrument descends) data either, so we couldn't estimate fMax from that either; we opted to trigger the bottles at fairly standard depths (3,000, 2500, 1750, 1250, 1050, 850, 500, 300, 211 100, 50 and at the surface). We've fixed the display for the next station, of course!
That wasn't the only problem; quite a few of the Niskin bottles on the CTD mafunctioned in one way or another. The one triggered at the deepest depth we can reach with the wire available (3,000m) failed to trigger at all. The third bottle from 1,750m had a length of string on it that was somehow too short and didn't close properly. The 10th bottle, triggered at 100m had a leaky tap on it and the 11th bottle out of 12 had a tap missing by the time we saw it on deck again. This meant that we couldn't really take samples from 4 of the bottles, as there would have been contamination of the water samples, rendering them useless.
We hope the ship's crew can fix the niggles with the bottles, or swap them out for others, as it's rather important that we can effectively sample throughout the water column!
This had knock-on effects for 3 components of the science I'm partly responsible for, namely taking nutrient samples (4 depths unavailable), chlorophyll a sampling and phytoplankton collection. (I'll cover what those entail later in the cruise when we're more into the swing of things and I have a chance to take photos of someone else doing it, instead of me being too involved in doing the work to mess about with photography!).
Yes, the time on this post is correct, I am up and about and still working at after 4am (having not been to bed yet)!
Well, its been an interesting first few days, steaming to the first station into strong north-easterly winds on the nose; finally settled down now. Having access to email onboard has its pros and cons - you can stay in touch with family and friends, but the land-based work continues!
Just spent half an hour vainly looking for dinoflagellates under the microscope - its pretty barren out here although Bradley picked up quite a bit of plankton in the multinet sample from the upper layers. Its been useful to see how the CTD is used and how the water samples are processed - being an East coast fisheries biologist I haven`t been exposed to much of this.... trawls are much anticpated!


Bangladesh has a population of 161,083,804 people, Bangladesh's capital city is Dhaka and largest city Dhaka.
Bangladesh personel income per capita $700, jobless rate 7.75% and its currency Taka (BDT) . Bangladesh official languages and mostly spoken dialects are Bengali, ethnics groups : 97.2% Bengali, 2.8% other.
Bangladesh has 147,570 km2 (94th), 56,977 sq mi , its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is 113.855 billion (59). Bangladesh president Zillur Rahman and prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Languages : Bengali, Ethnicity : 97.2% Bengali, 2.8% other.


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A few New Mexico mammals
As of August 2019, a new section. As images appear, they'll be arranged in alphabetical order by taxon. The exception is the porcupines of the Rio Grande Bosque, which get their own page.
Please don't take my IDs as authoritative. These pages of nature photos represent one person's voyage of discovery, not the studies of a trained expert. If you see something I've misidentified, please contact me via my "Contact" page, which is tabbed at the top.
Artiodactyla
Antilocapridae: Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)
Photos taken at extreme camera range, of an animal that's understandably wary of humans.
Cervidae: Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
It's common to see mule deer in the Sandias, but they also range into Albuquerque's easternmost neighborhoods. In September 2021 I watched a doe graze on someone's landscaping in a built-up area. She was skinny, so probably driven into the "burbs" by hunger. To see a video of mule deer grazing on cholla fruit, at a time when few other foods are available, click here.
Tayassuidae: Collared Peccary (Dicotyles tajacu)
Here's a critter I never expected to see ambling by in central New Mexico. Since taking the photos, however, I've learned that they're expanding their range. Historically, they stayed in the southwest corner of the state. In the U.S. they're almost universally known as javelinas, but that name applies to several New World species. If you see a javelina anywhere in New Mexico, it's Dicotyles tajacu, the collared peccary.
Canidae: Coyote (Canis latrans)
Max Evans is no longer with us—he died in August 2020—but in October of that year I found a coyote in his back yard. How appropriate. The coyote was unafraid of me, but wasn't threatening either. A few months later I found the same coyote (sometimes called the Ridgecrest Coyote) in the same yard, enjoying a bit of sun.
Coyotes have infiltrated Albuquerque; my March 2020 photo shows one on a mud bank in the middle of the Rio Grande. The September 2020 photo shows one of a pair of coyotes on the west bank of the river; you can see a YouTube video of those two coyotes by clicking here.
Procyonidae: Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
In Albuquerque, as in so many other places, raccoons are a pest. Handsome creatures, though. The low-light photos from October 2020 show a raccoon raiding food we set out for birds and ground squirrels. In the June 2021 photo of tracks, you can see a print from a hind paw on the left and a print from a front paw on the right.
Ursidae: Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
To see my YouTube video of these bears, click here.
Molossidae? Free-Tailed Bat?
In May 2021 I was surprised to see a bat flying in broad daylight. It kept diving through a cloud of tiny insects that had formed over an irrigation drain. At times it plucked insects off the surface of the water. The pictures are the best I could do. A mammologist I know looked at them, and thinks that they may be of a free-tailed bat (Molossidae), possibly a Mexican Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). He informed me that while daytime feeding is unusual, it does happen, especially if a bat is disturbed out of its sleep.
Eulipotyphla
Soricidae: Montane or Dusky Shrew (Sorex monticolus)
Found dead in the Jemez Mountains, August 2019
Lagomorpha
Leporidae: Jackrabbit (Lepus)
Albuquerque, July 2020
Leporidae: Cottontail (Sylvilagus)
Castoridae: North American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
No photos of actual beavers; they're home when I'm out and about, and vice versa. But evidence of beavers can be found all along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque and Corrales. Near the river it's common to see chisel-like tooth marks on sapling stumps, and drag marks leading from the stumps to the river. Beavers are also willing to cut down cottonwoods that are far too large to move. Once they do that they cut off the small ends of branches to drag away, or gnaw the cambium off the trunks and larger branches.
Cricetidae: Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
Four reasons these aren't beavers: (1) the ears aren't prominent; (2) the backs are out of the water; (3) the tails are skinny; (4) they were out during the day. For a short video of a muskrat swimming, click here.
Sciuridae: Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)
According to the Los Alamos Nature Center, "The Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel is similar to a chipmunk with the same overall appearance. However, the ground squirrel lacks the chipmunk's facial stripes."
Sciuridae: Abert's Squirrel (Sciurus aberti)
Abert's squirrels are not native to the Sandias and Manzanos, having been introduced there in the 1900s. They're best known for their bushy ear tufts, but in the summer they lose those tufts along with the rest of their winter coats. Look for a large squirrel with a black-and-white tail, and often with a rust-colored back patch on a gray body.
Sciuridae: Rock Squirrel (Spermophilus variegates)
"Steve" lived in my former back yard. Like the rest of his species, he was a ground dweller. Once released in the yard (after being captured by an irate gardener in the neighborhood), he tunneled under the concrete slab next to my kitchen door. The only time I saw him was when he darted out to nab walnut halves and other delicacies I put out for him. I can see why gardeners want to get rid of rock squirrels; one of his first acts was to dig up my favorite flower bed, tossing aside the daffodil bulbs while stealing the tulip bulbs. My wife came up with the name and gender, but Steve could have been a she. When we sold our old place in 2021, the new owners were delighted to take over his care.
Rock squirrels can climb trees, as you can see from my photo from July 2022. That rock squirrel wasn't looking for food, just sitting and apparently enjoying the view. The photo from April 2021 shows a different rock squirrel up on his haunches, also just looking around. I've seen that sit-and-look behavior many times.
Sciuridae: American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
Sciuridae: Colorado or Least Chipmunk (Tamias [or Neotamias] quadrivittatus or minimus)
I know that these photos are of one of two species, the Colorado chipmunk or the least chipmunk, because those are the only two species documented for the Sandia Mountains. As for how to tell them apart: if it flips its tail up and down while vocalizing, it's a least chipmunk. If it flips its tail sideways while vocalizing, it's a Colorado chipmunk. Sounds like something you'd tell a gullible kid, but it's supposed to be true.


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The Judge and the General
When in 1998 Chilean judge Juan Guzmán was assigned the first criminal cases against the country's ex-dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, no one expected much. Guzmán had supported Pinochet's 1973 coup against the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, and had worked as a judge during Pinochet's dictatorship. The filmmakers trace Guzmán descent into what he calls "the abyss," where he uncovers the past - including his own role in the tragedy


Watch some younger drivers get frustrated when they encounter a Geriatric Traffic Jam.
The old folks are trying to cross the road in an orderly fashion to get to a corner store only to discover it's closed. At least a few of the motorists saw the humor in this geriatric traffic crossing. Another funny skit from the folks at Just For Laughs Gags. If you like this funny video and want to see another one be sure to watch How Old People Park Their Car.


Used 2006 Dodge Caravan for sale in Langdon, Alberta - The Big Lot!
Seller's Notes: GREAT FAMILY VEHICLE!
New winter tires, Interior is very clean, Well maintained, 2nd owner, RUNS GREAT!
This listing has been viewed 6384 times.


Social media can be hazardous to your health.
This guy wasn't the brightest bulb in the pack, for sure. After all, selfies are one of those things people post to let others know where they are, who they're with, and what they're doing.
"It was incredible work, and incredible airmen doing this sort of thing."
Carlisle's comments came two days before a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the Islamic State group's use of social media. The group, experts told Congress, has published 1,700 pictures, videos and other publications, reaching up to 200,000 readers on Twitter and other sites. The media are used by "core propagandists" to recruit and, in the case of the airstrike, attempt to show off their ability.
Not the most effective recruitment method I've seen, either.


BPL. It's a funny game. How people from all over the world can go dilly supporting a soccer club from a quaint little village in England is sometimes beyond me. But I don't question it - football is the world's greatest soap opera, so sometimes it's just fun to go along for the ride.
ABSA are starting to leverage their BPL sponsorship by running some content and some giveaways and they're encouraging people to talk about the experience of watching their first BPL game. I'm giving away some funky Manchester United swag (which is going to make the YNWA'ers so pissed!). Read more at the bottom of the post!
I could tell the story of my first live BPL game many years ago in the UK. Seeing how 2 teams had to leave the stadium through separate doors. Seeing the jaw-dropping pint consumption rate during half time. Manchester City (before all the cash) vs Reading. It was awesome.


In the West people are looking for leaders who can bring together traditional westerners, who tend to favor resource extraction, with newcomers to the West, who value undeveloped wild country. At first glance octogenarian Bud Moore may not seem to be a powerful leader, but his down-to-earth approach is the right prescription for one rural western valley. From member station K-B-S-U in Boise, Idaho, Jyl Hoyt reports.
CURWOOD: In the West, people are looking for leaders who can bring together traditional westerners, who tend to favor resource extraction, with newcomers to the west who value undeveloped wild country. At first glance, octogenarian Bud Moore may not look like a powerful leader, but his down to earth approach seems to be the right prescription for one rural western valley. From member station KBSU in Boise, Idaho, Jyl Hoyt reports.
HOYT: Bud Moore's place in western Montana's Swan Valley is like one of those calendar pictures. Spectacular snow-covered mountains that encircle a pine forest with glistening ponds full of water birds.
MOORE: Good to see you, I've missed you.
MOORE: Yeah. When you came over the other day.
GRAHAM: What is that white bird that is absolutely gorgeous? A white hat.
MOORE: Well, a little duck.
HOYT: The Moore home is a welcoming place, not just for birds. Neighbors like Jeff Graham are always dropping by to visit the lean and muscular octogenarian and to pick his brain on everything from local wildlife to house building.
GRAHAM: I've got a question for you: do you nail on the tongue or do you nail on the groove?
MOORE: Oh, you nail on the tongue.
GRAHAM: Nail on the tongue.
HOYT: Old-timers often don't get along with all the newcomers moving to Montana. When the old-timers grew up, taming the wilderness and extracting its riches were the dominant values. While newcomers tend to be conservationist who aren't fond of mines and clear-cuts. But the newcomers also have been carving up the woods and riverbanks in their frenzy to capture a piece of the great outdoors, making old-timers shake their heads in disgust. Bud Moore wants the civil wars between the two groups to stop. He welcomes the newcomers.
MOORE: But I also say I'm going to bug you to till you understand our values here, too. And then we can work together on this place and try to keep it nice. And we can do it. We can do a lot.
HOYT: Bud packs away a set of tools he's been using and heads inside. Like the Native Americans who used to burn the prairies to make the grasses more nutritious for the bison, he says people today need to find ways to work with the land rather than subduing it.
MOORE: We must draw sustenance from those ecosystems. But we need to do it in a sustainable way where we can have generation after generation having something like we've had in the past.
HOYT: Bud Moore's philosophy developed over decades of living and working in the woods of Montana and Idaho. He was born and raised about 100 miles south of here, on a farm at the edge of the Bitterroot Mountains that straddle the Montana/Idaho border. His family, like most homesteaders of that era, lived on what they grew in their gardens and hunted in the forests. They killed for food, not for trophies.
MOORE: When I went hunting, if I brought back home a big, big mule deer buck, for example, big rack, my dad would probably take me to the wood shed. He didn't want anything like that around. He wanted something that was real good to eat. That's what we were, meat hunters.
HOYT: In the 1930s, when he was 12 years old, Bud Moore quit school and went to live in what locals call the "Lochsa Country." A national forest with no towns that is watered by the Lochsa fork of Idaho's Clearwater River. He spent the next 25 years there, trapping coyotes, fox, and beaver in the winters and learning outdoor skills.
MOORE: It was where I matured from boyhood to near-middle-age. And so I was pretty well formed, a lot of my principles that I live by, right there in the Lochsa with those mountain men and the great wild country that demanded self-reliance. It made you humble.
HOYT: But his lessons in humility were challenged when the US Forest Service hired him to be District Ranger in the Lochsa. The 1950's were a time of enormous economic growth, and like other rangers Bud Moore encouraged private timber companies to cut as many trees as possible to fuel America's booming home-building industry.
MOORE: We went in and we tried to inventory these wild lands, this great country, and find the things that were useful to humans. And from that, we decided we could take so much out. What we didn't understand fully was the connections between all these, these parts of the ecosystem.
HOYT: But Moore began to see those connections when he discovered a spruce bud worm infestation in a section of the Locksaw. He sprayed DDT to kill these pests. Several hours later, he found dead trout floating in the streams.
MOORE: So the warnings came to us real hard then. Boy, this is bad stuff. That was a big turning point for me, because up until that time I was pretty naive. I had such great faith in our way of life, our culture, my superiors, that somehow I thought that everything that was legally right was also morally right, you know, that sort of thinking. I just didn't think that we were doing anything wrong.
HOYT: He saw other things go wrong after he took an administrative job at the Forest Service in Washington, DC. He realized that forests were being cut faster than they could grow back. Even in his lush beloved Lochsa.
MOORE: I walk now through the upper brushy fork and through there, the country to me is just darn near empty.
HOYT: Ultimately, he moved home to Montana, where he has spent the past quarter century trying to do things differently.
MOORE: This is my sawmilling operation. It's the centerpiece for Coyote Forest Management. We manage our own forest here and the centerpiece is this little mill. And I take the forest all the way from planting the trees the sawn board.
HOYT: Bud Moore's timber company manages his own 400 acres, plus 800 more acres of his neighbors' land. He does selective cutting of different species, leaving behind a mix of species and ages. And enough trees for the needs of wildlife and healthy streams.
MOORE: And this thing we're calling ecosystem management, I think that's a pretty good show, you know, a good way to go. And so, we've been doing a lot of this sort of thing for a long time, but we didn't have the vocabulary of ecosystem management we've got now. So it's easy for us to fit in.
MOORE: Hey, hey! How's it going?
HOYT: As we're talking, another neighbor drops by. Eric Pack, a long-haired, thick-muscled newcomer from Vermont, who raises sled dogs, wants to ask about sharpening saws. When he complains about the mosquitos, Bud offers Eric something to think about.
MOORE: Mosquitos are -- they're a barometer of a rich ecosystem. So when they're biting you good, just tell yourself that boy, I'm in a beautiful place. Got to be with this many mosquitos.
PACK: I'll tell you what, I'm moving back to Vermont then.
HOYT: Inside his workshop, Bud Moore takes inventory of his iron traps, snowshoes and pack. He's taken the past four winters off to finish writing a book about the Lochsa. Now, at 81, he hopes to get back out for a few more seasons of trapping.
MOORE: I know I'm not as strong as I was 3, 4 years ago. The Lochsa story took a lot out of me because if you don't maintain that strength that you need to go across the passes and do it, then you can't get it back. It's hard to get it back, at my age especially.
HOYT: What will endure long after the trapping season has passed is Bud Moore's link between generations. His generous spirit. His willingness to share time, knowledge, and wisdom with both the young and old, so they can learn how to work together to solve the rifts of the rapidly changing west. For Living on Earth, I'm Jyl Hoyt in Boise, Idaho.


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South London News
Croydon and Bromley police given extra stop and search powers after Penge stabbing
An order granting officers extra powers has been passed to stop violence
Robyn DarbyshireReporter
Updated 19:00, 16 MAY 2019
Police on North End in Croydon town centre (stock image) (Image: Local World)
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Police in parts of Croydon and Bromley have been given extra powers to stop and search people following "disorder".
Metropolitan Police officers started stopping individuals at 2pm on Thursday, May 16, and can use the powers through until 2am on Friday, May 17.
This follows on from a Penge knife attack where a 14-year-old boy was stabbed in the arm on Wednesday afternoon, May 15.
Maps were posted on the Addiscombe West Police Twitter account showing the areas where the extra powers can be used.
It spans Croydon town centre, round Purley Way, Selhurst, South Norwood, Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Penge, Anerley, Beckenham and part of Ellmers End.
The tweet alongside the maps reads: "As a result of disorder in Bromley and Croydon, a Section 60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 has been authorised by Inspector Warnes for the areas detailed in below maps.
"In operation between 2pm on 16/05/2019 and 2am on 17/05/2019".
A Section 60 order allows officers to stop and search any person or vehicle without need of reasonable suspicion
Police investigating the Penge stabbing believe it was not a robbery.
They are appealing for information and witnesses to the shocking incident at 3.35pm on Wednesday, May 15, where a group of youths began fighting on Croydon Road at the junction with Weighton Road.
Knife crime in London
Former gang member on London knife crime
Three stabbed in day of violence
London gang member who turned a corner
Police get extra stop and search powers
The victim was found suffering a stab wound to his arm and was taken to hospital, where it is thought he will make a full recovery.
Detectives "retain an open mind as to any motive but do not believe the victim was robbed".
There have not been any reported arrests.
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The Redskins didn't do much in the way of wheeling and dealing during the three days of the 2017 NFL Draft.
They made a trade with the Vikings to move up in the sixth round while moving down in the seventh but that was it.
However, according to a report, they had talks about making a deal that would have been a blockbuster.
The Jets were trying to trade away defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson during the draft and that Washington was one of the teams who were involved in the discussions, according to a report from The New York Daily News.
Richardson was a first-round pick of the Jets in the 2013 draft. He has had his moments, being named the defensive rookie of the year in 2013 and making the Pro Bowl in 2014.
But he has had his share of problems, serving a four-game substance suspension for a substance abuse violation in 2015 and he had to sit one game after running afoul of the personal conduct policy (police car chase).
The Jets' asking price was not thought to be too high for the 26-year-old Richardson.
However, teams did not want Richardson under his current contract. He is set to make $8.1 million in 2017 under his fifth-year option. As of now that salary is fully guaranteed.
If Richardson does not agree to a salary reduction a trade to the Redskins is a non-starter. They had $8.17 million in cap space remaining before the Morgan Moses extension and they still have to sign their draft picks and have money left to get through the season.
Richardson would have to agree to cut his salary at least in half to facilitate a deal to the Redskins. Since the salary is fully guaranteed he has no incentive to do so, making a deal very unlikely.


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5-Hour Energy Drink Sues to Stop Counterfeit Network
The maker of 5-Hour Energy drinks is suing to stop an extensive counterfeiting network.
Living Essentials reports that it recently identified and shut down the counterfeiters' alleged factory in San Diego and obtained court orders to seize tens of thousands of illegal and fraudulent 5-Hour Energy bottles and machinery used to produce them.
According to court papers, the counterfeit bottles were very similar in appearance to genuine 5-Hour Energy bottles, but slightly shorter and without a raised mark in the center of each bottle cap. Dissatisfied customers have complained the counterfeits "did not provide any energy," according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition, the bottles' trademark "running man" is heavier-set on the fake 5-Hour Energy labels. The counterfeits also tasted and smelled differently and contained no vitamin B12.
Real 5-Hour Energy, sold in 1.93-ounce bottles, claims to contain 833 percent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recommended daily intake of B12. Living Essentials says it is unaware of any serious adverse reactions to the counterfeit product.
The company received orders from federal judges in New York and San Francisco to seize counterfeit products and business records. Living Essentials is seeking $25 million in damages and all profits obtained through the alleged counterfeit scheme.
Labels: 5-Hour Energy Drink, counterfeiting
5-Hour Energy Drink Sues to Stop Counterfeit Netwo...


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හොඳ ළමයා
පෙර පාසල් හා 1, 2 ශ්‍රේණි සඳහා සිඟිති අකුරු	රු400.00
ගුණසේන සිංහල කොපි පොත 1	රු175.00
ළමා මනස මනාව තේරුම්ගනිමින් සම්පාදිත විශිෂ්ටගණයේ පාටකිරීමේ පොතකි. දරුවන්ගේ නිර්මාණාත්මක කුසලතා වර්ධනය කිරීමටත්, සත්ගුණධර්මවලින් ඔවුන්ගේ සිත පෝෂණයකිරීමටත් සමත් ය. චිත්‍ර විෂය පාසල්වල උගන්වන ගුරුභවතුන්ට ද මෙය ඉතා වැදගත් ය.
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Piyal Udaya Samaraweera
M.D. Gunasena & Co. (Pvt) Ltd
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Escape to hogwarts with the unmissable series that has sparked a lifelong reading journey for children and families all over the world. The magic starts here. Harry potter has never even heard of hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, privet drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle
Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Last Straw
The last straw is the rib-tickling, belly-aching and laugh-out-loud third title in the bestselling and award-winning "diary of a wimpy kid" series by jeff kinney. Perfect for both boys and girls of 8+, reluctant readers and all the millions of devoted wimpy kid fans out there. "the last straw" was also combined with "dog days", the fourth book in the series, to become the major movie hit at the box-office "diary of a wimpy kid: dog days". The third hilarious book in the bestselling phenomenon that is the "diary of a wimpy kid" series.
Heroes of Olympus The Blood of Olympus
The blood of olympus is the fifth book in the bestselling heroes of olympus series – set in the high-octane world of percy jackson. Though the greek and roman crew members of the argo ii have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, gaea. Her giants have risen – all of them – and they're stronger than ever.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules
Rodrick rules" is the hilarious sequel to bestselling and award-winning "diary of a wimpy kid". Perfect for readers of 8+, reluctant readers and all the millions of wimpy kid fans out there. "rodrick rules" was also a major movie hit at the box-office and the rib-tickling third "wimpy kid movie, dog days" released in the uk in august 2012!
Diary of A Young Girl
In 1942, with the nazis occupying holland, a thirteen-year-old jewish girl and her family fled their home in amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the gestapo, the franks and another family lived cloistered in the "secret annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.
Harry potter's summer has included the worst birthday ever, doomy warnings from a house-elf called dobby, and rescue from the dursleys by his friend ron weasley in a magical flying car! Back at hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry for his second year, harry hears strange whispers echo through empty corridors – and then the attacks start. Students are found as though turned to stone … Dobby's sinister predictions seem to be coming true.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Double Down
The pressure's really piling up on greg heffley. His mom thinks video games are turning his brain to mush, so she wants her son to put down the controller and explore his creative side'. As if that's not scary enough, halloween's just around the corner and the frights are coming at greg from every angle. When greg discovers a bag of gummy worms, it sparks an idea. Can he get his mom off his back by making a movie . . . And will he become rich and famous in the process? Or will doubling down on this plan just double greg's troubles?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days
Diary of a wimpy kid: dog days is the super funny fourth title in the highly-illustrated, bestselling and award-winning diary of a wimpy kid series by jeff kinney. Perfect for both boys and girls of 8+, reluctant readers and all the millions of devoted wimpy kid fans out there. Dog days is also a major motion picture and box office smash.


This entry was posted in Catholicism, Chivalry, Church, Culture, Men, Religion, Spirituality, Templars and tagged Conspiracy, Freemasons, Gnostics, Holy Grail, Holy Sepulcher, In Praise of the New Knighthood, Knights, Marian Chivalry, Secrets, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Templar, Temple, Two Swords by Fr. Angelo M. Geiger. Bookmark the permalink.
Thank you very much for another great episode on "The Secrets of The Templars." There are indeed, two swords for every Christian Knight. One is the temporal or physical sword and the other is "The Sword of The Spirit." St. Paul talks about this "Sword of The Spirit" in the Book of Ephesians, where he refers to it as "The Word of God." In fact, Cahpter 10, Verses 10 through 18 in the Book of ephesians, is a very good "Mini-Manual" on Christian Knighthood.
Again, Thank you for this series. I am sure thay many will find it to be very inspirational as well as educational.
First I just wanted to thank you and the rest of AirMaria for your constant witness to the real truth of the Word of God.
I am a 40 year old converting Presbyterian and you have been very helpful in my conversion. I was a Protestant and involved with ministry for many years and have been in the Word daily for a long time. I deeply love our Lord and His Church, my fellow brothers and sisters. I now finally, am also developing a love for Marry and the Saints.
This last video "The Two Swords." and your last couple of homilies have been very solid and full of truth. One of the reasons why the Lord has lead me home to His true Church is because it remains a steadfast in the truth. The Mainstream Evangelical Protestant Church is truly lost. It no longer upholds and fights for the truth, but rather has become secular and sinful.
It is the duty for every true believer to engage the enemy both in the spiritual battle and in the natural world. The true Church is scarce now, but true believers will always find themselves, unit and defend the faith.
Wow David. It's so wonderful to hear your story. May I ask you how you came to the Church? I have a couple of very good friends who are Evangelicals. I so desperately want to share the truths within the Catholic Church but they do NOT welcome it. It would ruin the friendship. Perhaps I'm doing it all wrong. I'm sure they pray for my soul everyday since it's lost in Catholicism, in their minds. I've left it alone for a few years now but then I start to wonder ….
Honestly, it was the Holy Spirit that led me to the Church. I didn't know or have any Catholic friends. After many years of reading the Bible, I just wasn't at peace in the Protestant Church; slowly I started to develop an interest in Catholic Monasticism. I was very attracted to their dedication and spirituality. That's what led me to AirMaria and over a period of a couple of years, I found myself listening to Catholic homilies exclusively. I finally went to my first Mass, ( extraordinary form ) and I was moved deeply. Never before had I experience such beauty.
Being in ministry for many years, I know for a fact that there are three main components to evangelizing to your neighbors. 1. Prayer 2. Your Witness and planing seeds. 3. Being open for questions and answering with short concise answers in love, but without compromising the truth, even though it might be convicting.
I am really enjoying this series and look forward to the next episode.
Are you familiar with Saint Mercurius the holder of the two swords?
Also I have thought for a while that the temporal authority of the church is mentioned by Christ in the Luke 19 as well.
Thank you so much. It is encouraging to hear the good the work is doing. God bless you.
I never heard about St. Mercurius before. Thanks for the heads up. I will try to incorporate the idea of St. Michael's sword into some of my presentations, especially when I talk about the two swords.


Hawley retainers are probably the most well-known type of retainers. They have a metal wire that wraps around a series of 6 teeth in order to keep them held securely in place. They are often prescribed for both the upper and lower teeth. Unlike bonded retainers, Hawley retainers can be more easily adjusted but will still wear out over time and need to be replaced every 5-8 years.
Essix retainers are clear snap on retainers that fit over your teeth. These retainers need to be cleaned very well after each use but eventually the plastic will wear out and may even crack. Typically, Essix retainers last 1-3 years.


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The following statement is from A Comparative Study of the Cumulative Energy Use of Historical Versus Contemporary Windows (PDF) written by Frank Shirley, Fred Gamble and Jarod Galvin from December 3, 2010:
"This study compares the life-cycle costs of two residential window systems in a pre-1940 house in Boston, Massachusetts. One is an original double-hung window with a new triple-track storm unit. The other is a new, vinyl, double-hung replacement window. Our results are obtained from an algorithm that yields the total present value of all costs associated with a window system over its entire life, including acquisition, installation, maintenance, and energy.
Our study provided 2 notable findings:
the thermal performances of the two-window systems are similar; and
taking all costs into account, it is more cost effective to add a storm window to a historical window, and it remains so at all times for the full 100-year life we considered."
A new study shows that restored 200-year old windows are as airtight as brand new replacements, which compared two new windows against two restored windows for air infiltration (the biggest source of heat loss with windows).
Green America: Three Steps to Super-Efficient Windows
This Wasteful Old House - New York Times Opinion by Richard Moe
Testing the Energy Performance of Wood Windows in Cold Climates - National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
Saving Windows, Saving Money: Evaluation of the Energy Performance of Window Retrofit and Replacement - Preservation Green Lab from the Preservation Leadership Forum
Repair and Upgrade Windows and Doors - Techincal Preservation Services of the National Park Service
Focus on Weatherization is Shift on Energy Costs - New York Times
Historic Windows and Energy Efficiency - Environmentally conscious historic homeowners can keep their historic windows and improve energy efficiency at the same time.


Indie bookstore news from across the country and around the world!
Nina Revoyr discusses her new novel, A STUDENT OF HISTORY.
It was both daunting and thrilling, all the more surreal because it happened in a place I knew.


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Home :: Military :: Library :: News :: 2008 :: June ::
Stennis Receives an Outstanding in FEP
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080621-04
Release Date: 6/21/2008 8:24:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathen E. Davis, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs
USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- USS John C. Stennis received an outstanding score on its Final Evaluation Problem (FEP) June 16 when the crew demonstrated it could defend the ship and take care of combat casualties in multiple, complex scenarios.
During FEP, a two-day, graded event, trainers test ships' abilities to conduct combat missions, survive complex casualties and sustain support functions.
"Stennis hit this one out of the park! The crew set their sights on FEP, with minimal preparation time and achieved a record score that will be extremely hard to beat," said Stennis executive officer Cmdr. David Burnham.
"This crew crushed every FEP score in recent carrier fleet history."
Afloat Training Group (ATG) Pacific, embarked as trainers and evaluators, scrutinized Stennis' abilities since it departed San Diego, May 26.
"The John C. Stennis crew was evaluated on their ability to perform operationally and their ability to survive at sea," said ATG Team Leader Lt. Regina Rogers. "The crew is trained and prepared to respond to any casualty, in the event it comes their way."
To ratchet things up even more, ATG introduced FEP's Total Ship Survivability Exercise (TSSE). At the peak of simulated casualties and related stress-inducing situations, ATG wanted to determine if Stennis had the ability to survive and recover from significant battle damage.
TSSE combined cumulative "casualties" to deliver life-like scenarios to Stennis. General quarters (GQ), at-sea fire party and medical drills tested and improved Sailors' skills.
Leaders say that just like each link in an anchor's chain must be strong, FEP and TSSE demanded strong performances from Stennis' individual teams and departments.
Trainers evaluated the at-sea fire party on its knowledge of equipment used, its abilities to combat fires and how it provided assistance to personnel casualties. The Sailors' who operate in repair lockers demonstrated their damage control skills and first-aid knowledge.
Stennis' Medical Department assisted the "wounded" during mass casualty drills in the hangar bays and in repair lockers during the evaluation. Combat Systems Department conducted equipment casualty scenarios on systems like radar, communications and navigation. Operations Department created a simulated hostile environment to test Stennis' ability to defend against missile, small boat and enemy aircraft attacks. Weapons Department was assessed on proper procedures of using the .50-caliber guns gun, rules of engagement and communication.
Stennis Combat Direction Center Officer and Integrated Training Team Coordinator Cmdr. Brian Albro attributed the success of FEP to every Sailor's skill and knowledge demonstrated during the event.
"I'm always impressed with the crew of John C. Stennis, how we come together and work as a team," said Albro. "When new challenges were piled on by the training teams, the crew stepped up and performed. You can see it across all the GQs we have done; their performance has increased and continues to be superb."
FEP is part of the Navy's commitment to maintain warfighting readiness and to develop its Sailors, essential elements of America's maritime strategy. The successful completion of FEP shows that Stennis has the solid foundation of unit-level operating proficiency needed to support U.S. interests at home and abroad.
For more news from USS John C. Stennis, visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn74/.


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package com.ggj.springboot.logback;

import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

/**
 * @author:gaoguangjin
 * @Description:
 * @Email:335424093@qq.com
 * @Date 2016/3/31 15:40
 */
@Component
@Slf4j
public class LogBackTwo {
    public void showLog(){
        log.debug("LogBackTwo debug");
        log.info("LogBackTwo info");
        log.error("LogBackTwo error");
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Penthouse in Palma de Mallorca is a residential project designed by Bornelo Interior Design in 2015.
It is located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
"The project started along with th contruction of the building, we have done changes on the projected distribution and on the finishing materials. Studing all together, distribution of spaces and furniture leaves us the freedom to offer the client exactly what he expects of his home.
The black and white domain the space along with the greys that soft and harmonizes it, and the result is a very modern and and clean design, marking perfectly the straight lines.


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Free Spirits Release Single "The Power of Our Love" From Debut Album 11.1
Multi-JUNO Award-winning Canadian Platinum-status producer, composer, singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Birkett has a newly minted project on his plate, just ahead of a notable career milestone this Spring.
Free Spirits prides itself on being more than just what meets the ear; The Free Spirits are a musical collaboration shedding light on life, the world, and how artists can help be a positive force for truth and change, they say.
Together, the duo — Chris Birkett on guitar, drums, bass, and keys, and Tallon on flute, keyboards and vocals — are unlocking sonic synchronicity with a debut album, 11:11, and its premiere single "The Power of Our Love."
Read more about Free Spirits Release Single "The Power of Our Love" From Debut Album 11.1


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How democratic institutions are making dictatorships more durable
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor and
Erica Frantz
Supporters of Sudanese President and National Congress Party candidate Omar Hassan al-Bashir attend his re-election campaign rally in El-Ginana, West Darfur March 4, 2015. Bashir said he will step aside in 2020 if he is elected for one more term in April elections. (REUTERS/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)
Voters in Uzbekistan, Sudan, Togo, and Kazakhstan will go to the polls in the coming weeks. Freedom House and others classify these countries as authoritarian and the elections are widely expected to fall short of being "free and fair." How should we think about these elections — and the presence of other seemingly democratic institutions like political parties and legislatures — in non-democratic regimes? Why do leaders of authoritarian countries allow pseudo-democratic institutions?
In a recent article in the Washington Quarterly, we use data on autocracies worldwide from 1946 to 2012 to show that authoritarian regimes use pseudo-democratic institutions to enhance the durability of their regimes. The figure below shows the increasing durability of authoritarian regimes, particularly in the post-Cold War period. From 1946 to 1989, the average authoritarian regime lasted 12 years. Since the end of the Cold War, this number has increased to 20 years. Today, the typical autocracy has been in power for 25 years. From China (where the current regime has been in power for 66 years) to Jordan (69 years), and Belarus (21 years) to Zimbabwe (35 years), today's authoritarian regimes are remarkably durable.
The figure also shows that rising authoritarian durability has tracked closely with the spread of democratic institutions (elections, legislatures, and parties), suggesting authoritarian leaders have learned to leverage these institutions to enhance their staying power. From 1951 to 1989, an autocracy with multiple parties and a legislature lasted about six years longer in office than one without them (11 years versus five years, on average). Incorporating regular elections (at least once every six years) extended a regime's life by another year (to 12 years). This power prolonging effect has become even more pronounced in the post-Cold War period. Dictatorships with multiple political parties and a legislature now last 14 years longer than those without (19 years versus five years, on average). Regularly holding elections further extends their tenures to 22 years.
Data: Susan D. Hyde and Nikolay Marinov ; José Antonio Cheibub, Jennifer Gandhi, and James Raymond Vreeland ; Barbara Geddes, Joseph Wright, and Erica Frantz. Figure: Andrea Kendall-Taylor/The Monkey Cage.
Prior work on "illiberal democracies," "hybrid regimes," and "competitive authoritarian regimes" already documented the post-Cold War surge in regimes that mix democracy with autocratic tendencies. Our study departs from this earlier scholarship by asserting that democratic institutions are not just features of regimes that sit closest to democracy on the democracy-autocracy spectrum. Democratic institutions are now almost universal, and the ways in which authoritarian incumbents use them are contributing to the increased durability of contemporary dictatorships.
So how do democratic institutions enhance authoritarian resilience? The most apparent explanation is that these institutions create a democratic façade, enabling authoritarian leaders to maintain international and domestic legitimacy. Authoritarian incumbents may view the adoption of elections and the legalization of opposition parties as a means of attracting international aid and investment, both critical to keeping their regimes afloat. Likewise, the increasing acceptance of the liberal democratic model among citizens around the world following the fall of communism has likely contributed to authoritarian regimes' assessment that the adoption of democratic institutions is essential to maintaining domestic legitimacy.
But this answer is incomplete. Academic studies, such as those found here, here, and here, offer additional insights on how pseudo-democratic institutions prolong dictatorships, despite the risks they create for incumbents. (Sri Lanka's Presidential election in January, which unseated longtime incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa, is one recent example of how pseudo-democratic institutions are still a gamble for authoritarian regimes). Although infrequently destabilizing, elections can create a focal point for mobilizing opposition, and political parties and legislatures can enable opponents to establish bases of support and provide a forum in which this opposition can coordinate.
Today's savvy dictators, however, have learned to leverage institutions to their advantage. Political scientists show, for example, that leaders understand that institutional manipulation offers greater advantages and fewer liabilities than reliance on traditional tactics like overt repression, which forces compliance with the regime through brute force, but risks creating popular discontent that can lead to destabilizing civil unrest. Incorporating seemingly democratic institutions mitigates some of these risks by providing a leader with alternative methods of control that promote citizen participation, but on the authoritarian regime's terms.
Autocrats' ability to use democratic institutions to enhance their durability is likely to negatively affect the trajectory of democracy worldwide. This is because as autocracies last longer, the number of authoritarian regimes in place at any point in time is likely to grow, as some countries inevitably backslide from democracy to autocracy. While true that the pool of authoritarian countries is smaller than in years past (57 were in power in 2012, compared to 73 in 1991, by our definition), the durability of those autocracies that remain increases the prospect that reversions to autocracy will outnumber the pace of democratic transitions. In 2012, for example, there were three occasions of backsliding, but only one transition to democracy. Because regime type tends to diffuse across borders, particularly to neighboring states, any accumulation of autocracies could create an "autocratizing" momentum that would be difficult to reverse.
To mitigate the chances of a reverse wave, democracy promotion efforts would likely benefit from approaches that address the underlying sources of this enhanced durability. Our research suggests that growing authoritarian resilience is largely a result of these regimes' increasing reliance on pseudo-democratic institutions to maintain power. Equipped with a better understanding of the dynamics that underpin authoritarian durability, policymakers can devise more targeted approaches to enhance the potential for these institutions to serve the democratic functions for which they were created.
Andrea Kendall-Taylor holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. She specializes in the political dynamics of autocracies, democratization, and political instability.
Erica Frantz is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bridgewater State University. She specializes in the politics of dictatorship and is a collaborator on the NSF-funded Autocratic Regimes Data Set.
Some of the data used in this research was funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0904478 and BCS-090463).


Brand new open concept quality construction and designed split bedroom ranch in private subdivision bordering the Niagara Escarpment nearby Lake Winnebago. Towering great room with stone fireplace to center island pantry closet kitchen with spacious western exposure dining area. Private master suite, drop zone laundry with storage lockers, and egress lower level stubbed for 3rd full bath. Maple truffle woodwork, custom subway tile kitchen backsplash with glass inlays, ceramic tile bathrooms, and stunning quartz countertops throughout.