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Yemen's Dirty War
War has raged in Yemen since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition waged an all-out air campaign against Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels, who had staged a coup d'état and forced their allies in the legitimate government to flee.
What had been anticipated as a swift victory by the Saudi-led campaign turned into nationwide chaos, in which allies turned against one another and fought for power. Islamic extremists, including al-Qaida, have been used in score-settling, enmeshing militants in the front lines and within the newly-built security establishment.
U.S. allies have revealed their desire to expand their military reach, while Western governments have been complicit in allowing war crimes and human rights abuses to go unchecked. With arms deals worth billions of dollars, American and European countries have continued their unabated support for the Saudi-led coalition, despite the slaughter and woundings of thousands of civilians in busy markets, weddings, funerals, hospitals, and schools.
Millions of civilians have also been caught in grinding cycles of epidemic, starvation, and corruption, a perfect recipe for what has now become the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
The AP has set up a webpage where readers can find out how to help relief efforts in Yemen.
Learn more about the journalists' reporting process here.
<Any>ArticleBooksE-booksField NotesAudioInteractivePhotoVideo
April 08, 2019 | Associated Press
In Yemen, Corruption Worsened World's Worst Cholera Outbreak
Maggie Michael
Corruption from both Houthi rebels and the U.S.-backed government in the south has prevented aid groups from fighting Yemen's cholera epidemic.
December 31, 2018 | Associated Press
AP Investigation: Food Aid Stolen As Yemen Starves
Maggie Michael, photos by Nariman el-Mofty
Documents reviewed by The Associated Press and interviews with al-Hakimi and other officials and aid workers show that thousands of families in Taiz are not getting international food aid intended for them.
In Inferno of Yemen's War, Child Soldiers Are the 'Firewood'
Grantee Maggie Michael of the Associated Press investigates the use of child soldiers by Houthi rebels in Yemen's civil war.
December 11, 2018 | NPR
Reports Emerge Of Torture Inflicted By Yemen's Houthi Rebels
Steve Inskeep talks to Maggie Michael of The Associated Press about the reports of torture carried out inside detention sites run by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
December 03, 2018 | Meet the Journalist
Meet the Journalist: Maggie Michael
Yemen is currently home to the world's worst humanitarian disaster, with vulnerable citizens caught in the crossfire of a war that has raged for three years.
Pulitzer Center Grantees Win 2019 Michael Kelly Award
Meghana Mysore
Pulitzer Center grantees Maggie Michael, Nariman Ayman El-Mofty, and Maad al-Zikry were awarded the 2019 Michael Kelly Award for their Associated Press reporting on the cycles of epidemic, starvation and corruption faced by millions of civilians in Yemen's war.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Maggie Michael on War, Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
Associated Press team, supported by the Pulitzer Center, sought to document the struggles faced by ordinary people in Yemen and show the human costs of the civil war.
April 19, 2019 | Awards
Pulitzer Grantees Recognized at OPC Awards
Pulitzer Center grantees Jeffrey E. Stern, Shiho Fukada, and Nariman El-Mofty each received awards at the 80th Annual OPC Awards.
April 15, 2019 | General news, Project news, Awards
Grantee Team Wins Pulitzer Prize for Coverage of Yemen's Civil War
"Again and again the Associated Press has led the way," said Pulitzer Center Executive Director Jon Sawyer, "in exposing to the world Yemen's dirty war."
A war fought in the name of the Yemeni people has exposed dirty deals by all parties to the conflict, including U.S. allies, and pushed the nation to the brink of famine.
Based in Cairo, Maggie Michael has 15 years of experience covering conflicts across the Middle East, and has gained deep knowledge of the political, social, and cultural dynamics of this volatile...
Maad al-Zekri
Video journalist Maad al-Zekri reported on multiple aspects of Yemen's civil war, including as part of an investigation team that in 2017 uncovered torture at secret prisons run by the United Arab...
Nariman El-Mofty
Based in Cairo, Nariman El-Mofty is an Egyptian-Canadian photographer covering Yemen, with a sensitive eye for portraiture that highlights the humanity of an impoverished society collapsing under the...
Launched: May 7, 2018
Conflict, Human Rights, Poverty
Yemen: Journalist Maggie Michael in Conversation with Jon Sawyer
Yemen's Civil War–and How the U.S. Is Involved


text: Sarasota News Leader January 18, 2013 Page 63 an architectural icon into a new destination THE MAN BEHIND THE SCULPTURE for Sarasota." Members of the public able to make it to the Surkis explained the process has already been site any day between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. before very successful in increasing awareness of the the sculpture is completed will have the pleaSMOA. sure of seeing Dougherty and his team of local volunteers meticulously threading branches "People have been coming by ... and really getacross foundational trunks or using larger ting to see the sculpture evolve just as we're branches in a swooping pattern to create what hoping that they'll get a sense of what's gowill be a miniature organic circus. ing to happen once we really get the [SMOA] project finished," she said. "We only need 30 Dougherty took a few minutes from weaving percent more to get to opening day, and so and leading volunteers on Jan. 11 to speak we are optimistic that more people will come with the News Leader about the piece and his forward to help us reach the goal even faster." work as a whole. The sculpture is expected to be completed by When asked if he is tailoring this sculpture for Jan. 26; between $50,000 and $60,000 was in- the SMOA or whether this is more of an indedependently raised specifically for the work. pendent experiment, Dougherty explained it The location of the Patrick Dougherty sculpture sees a consistent flow of visitors and curious passersby on the afternoon of Jan. 11. Dougherty appeared happy to take the occasional moment to chat with admirers or inquisitors.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What is Vembu BDR Essentials?
Vembu BDR Essentials is an exclusive license package for businesses having backup requirements up to 10 CPU Sockets or 100 VMs. Vembu BDR Essentials is applicable for VMware and Hyper-V environments.
How is Vembu BDR Essentials licensed?
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text:
Green Star Energy launches new loyalty scheme - but should you go for it?
Ben Salisbury
Green Star Energy has launched a loyalty scheme which rewards customers for switching and staying with the firm with gift cards or energy-related products. But it's only open to those on certain tariffs – and if you're thinking of switching, you should always do a full market comparison to find your cheapest deal first.
The Perks scheme rewards gas and electricity customers who switch to one of the company's eligible tariffs and pay their bills on time. Up to £90 of gift cards could be earned in the first 12 months, though for many these won't be the cheapest tariffs.
Unfortunately if you're on the Green Star tariff featured in MoneySavingExpert.com's last collective switch – the Rate Saver 12month Fixed MSE deal – you won't be eligible for the loyalty scheme.
How does the Green Star Energy loyalty scheme work?
Customers earn 5,000 'Perks' points (worth £50) once they switch to a dual-fuel tariff, and a further 1,000 points (worth £10) every three months they stay on the eligible tariff – so up to £90 of gift cards can be earned in the first 12 months. Customers on a single-fuel tariff get half the number of points.
Green Star's partner for Perks, Energy Earth, is administering the loyalty scheme. Points are loaded onto your account a few days after they're earned and can be redeemed against gift cards or energy products, such as bulbs, thermostats and smoke detectors. Points are valid for three years after being issued.
Retailers you can get gift cards for include Pizza Express, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots, TK Maxx and more (see full list). If you don't have enough points to buy the gift card you want, you can settle the difference by debit or credit card.
Points are only given after each quarter if bills are paid on time. You can stop earning points or even lose existing points if your account is in arrears.
How competitive are the tariffs which come with Perks?
Two tariffs are eligible for the scheme, which can be dual or single fuel:
Rate Saver + Perks is a fixed rate tariff available for 12, 18 or 24 months. Based on typical use this is the cheapest tariff available from Green Star that's part of the loyalty scheme, averaging £938/year for dual fuel. (Though Green Star has another tariff which is cheaper on average, at just £900/year, which doesn't offer Perks.)
Green Saver 12M + Perks uses 100% renewable electricity and is a 12-month fixed-rate dual-fuel deal which conforms to guidelines on green energy tariffs from regulator Ofgem. Based on typical use, this tariff costs an average £1,043/year.
At the time of writing the market's cheapest one-year fix is an average £840/year based on typical use. So the Rate Saver + Perks tariff is only likely to be competitive if you collect all the rewards and use them somewhere you were already going to be spending. Again, always do a full market comparison to check which rates are best for you.
For renewable energy tariffs, the market's cheapest is an average £884/year, so more than £150/year cheaper than the Green Saver 12M +Perks tariff.
Is it worth switching for the loyalty scheme?
Green Star was the winner of our latest collective switch through Cheap Energy Club. In fact, it's offered one of our winning collective tariffs four times before and has always been well received.
However, it's probably not worth switching to Green Star on the basis of the loyalty scheme alone. But if you like the rates and price and are planning to move to the firm anyway, think of the loyalty scheme as an added bonus.
If you're a Green Star customer already, it's free to switch to an eligible tariff that's part of the loyalty scheme, but again always do a full comparison first.
To check if you can switch and save £100s on your energy bill, use our free Cheap Energy Club.
Green Star Energy launches new loyalty scheme but should you go for it?


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Harrasteturnaus aikuisille Las Vegasissa huhtikuussa 2013
Imagine... playing your favourite ice-sport in the middle of the desert!
Sport Destination has staged four very successful Adult Women's Ringette tournaments in Las Vegas.
Mark April 21-24, 2013 in your calendars to attend this exciting annual event and get your chance to meet and compete with Ringette enthusiasts from across North America in one of the hottest adult vacation destinations, LAS VEGAS, NV!
It's a 'girls-get-away' with 3 guaranteed games of Ringette for good measure. It's a perfect way to cap off the winter season and bond with new and old friends!
Packages are from $500 double-occupancy and include 4 nights at the Bally's Resort in the heart of the Strip, all ground transportation, awards banquet, tournament fees, breakfast at the arena on game days, a visit to the Fremont Experience and a souvenir t-shirt. Packages do NOT include airfare. You get to Vegas and we do the rest!
Register and pay in full by December 15th and get a $25 Early Bird Refund at the tournament! First 5 teams to register and pay in full by the Early Bird deadline also get a team gift.
This tournament is for all Women's teams with players 21 years old +. The main goal of this tournament is FUN!
Want to join the fun but don't have a team? No problem, register as an individual player and we will find a team for you! What a great way to meet new friends!
If this tournament is not for you at this time we understand. Please feel free to pass this invitation around to others in your Ringette networks.
Visit our website http://sportdestination.com for all the details and to register for "What Happens in Vegas… V"! Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportdestination/ or on twitter at @SportDestin to be kept up to date.
Looking forward to hosting you in Vegas!
Tod Bovingdon - Tournament Director
"What Happens in Vegas...V"
http://sportdestination.com
todio@todio.ca


text:
The war within America 3
Is there a war on Christianity?
In Islamic countries, in Arab countries in particular, there is. In the Islamic State it is a war of annihilation. And the Christian Powers do nothing to save the victims. There does not even seem to be any emotion about it among Christians in Europe or America.
Is there a war on Christianity in America itself? Some say there is, and a lot of emotion has been aroused over it.
Jay Michaelson writes at the Daily Beast:
Why try to understand complicated things like demographics for the decline of your faith when you can blame gays and liberals for waging a "war on religion"?
Among the Christian Right, and most Republican presidential candidates, it's now an article of faith that the United States is persecuting Christians and Christian-owned businesses —that religion itself is under attack.
Religion has been under attack for a very long time. But are Christians under serious threat? Now? In the United States?
"We have seen a war on faith," Ted Cruz has said to pick one example. "His policies and this administration's animosity to religious liberty and, in fact, antagonism to Christians, has been one of the most troubling aspects of the Obama administration," he said.
Well it is true that the Obama administration does not seem to like Christians. It is reluctant to admit Christian refugees from the wars in the Middle East, while it insists on bringing in tens of thousands of Muslims. But is it against religious liberty?
The writer thinks the very idea that Christianity is under assault is a "bizarre myth". But he also thinks it is true "in a way":
Why has this bizarre myth that Christianity is under assault in the most religious developed country on Earth been so successful? Because, in a way, it's true. American Christianity is in decline — not because of a "war on faith" but because of a host of demographic and social trends. The gays and liberals are just scapegoats.
The idea that Christians are being persecuted resonates with millennia-old self-conceptions of Christian martyrdom. Even when the church controlled half the wealth in Europe, it styled itself as the flock of the poor and the marginalized. Whether true or not as a matter of fact, it is absolutely true as a matter of myth. Christ himself was persecuted and even crucified, after all. So it's natural that Christianity losing ground in America would be seen by many Christians as the result of persecution.
According to a Pew Research Report released earlier this year, the percentage of the US population that identifies as Christian has dropped from 78.4 percent in 2007 to 70.6 percent in 2014. Evangelical, Catholic, and mainline Protestant affiliations have all declined.
Meanwhile, 30 percent of Americans ages 18-29 list "none" as their religious affiliation (the figure for all ages is about 23 percent). Nearly 40 percent of Americans who have married since 2010 report that they are in "religiously mixed" marriages, which means that many individuals who profess Christianity are in families where not everyone does.
These changes are taking place for a constellation of reasons: greater secular education (college degrees), multiculturalism, shifting social mores, the secular space of consumer capitalism and celebrity culture, the sexual revolution (including feminism and LGBT equality), legal and constitutional changes (like the banning of prayer in public school, and the finding of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage), the breakdown of the nuclear family, the decline of certain forms of family and group identification, and the association of religion in general with nonsensical and outdated dogmas. The Pew report noted Americans are also changing religions more than in the past, and when they do so, they are more likely to move away from Christianity than toward it.
While we like to hear talk of "nonsensical and outdated dogmas", the rest of that paragraph needs critical examination. Quite a few of the impersonal causes listed are in fact the result of liberal policies: multiculturalism, the legal and constitutional changes, the breakdown of the nuclear family. Feminism is a leftist cause. And the Left has promoted "LGBT equality" for political rather than moral reasons.
So while changes in public morals regarding women and LGBT people (and how the law treats them) are part of the overall shift, they are only one part of an immensely complicated set of factors — and I'm quite sure I've left out some of the most important ones. Probably the never-ending stream of sex scandals, from the Catholic clergy to the Duggar mess, haven't helped either.
But no one likes a "constellation of reasons" to explain why the world they grew up in, and the values they cherish, seem to be slipping away. Enter the scapegoat: the war on religion, and the persecution of Christianity.
It's much easier to explain changes by referring to a single, malevolent cause than by having to understand a dozen complex demographic trends. Plus, if Christianity is declining because it's being attacked, then that decline could be reversed if the attack were successfully repelled. Unlike what is actually happening — a slow, seemingly irrevocable decline in American Christianity — the right's argument that "religious liberty" is under assault mixes truth and fantasy to provide a simpler, and more palatable, explanation for believers.
We think he is right that there's a "constellation of reasons" for the decline of religion. While we think a decline in religion is highly desirable, we cannot help but notice that Leftist intolerance is among the reasons for it.
Take, as an example, Christmas. The weird idea that there is a "War on Christmas" orchestrated by liberal elites — Starbucks cups in hand — is, on its face, ridiculous, even if it is widely held on the right. Shop clerks saying "Happy Holidays" aren't causing the de-Christianization of Christmas — they're effects of it. Roughly half of Americans celebrate Christmas as a cultural, not a religious, holiday: Santa Claus and Christmas trees, not baby Jesus in a manger. So that's what businesses celebrate. It's capitalism, not conspiracy.
And long may it flourish!
Unfortunately, even if the war on religion is fictive, the "defense" against it is very real and very harmful. This year alone, 17 states introduced legislation to protect "religious freedom" by exempting not just churches and religious organizations (including bogus ones set up to evade the law) from civil rights laws, domestic violence laws, even the Hippocratic Oath, but also private individuals and for-profit businesses. Already, we've seen pediatricians turn children away because their parents are gay, and wife-abusers argue that it's their religious duty to beat their spouses, and most notoriously that multimillion-dollar corporations like Hobby Lobby can have religious beliefs that permit them to refuse to provide health insurance to their employees on that basis.
Meanwhile, the "war on religion" narrative appears to be gaining ground.
The fining of Christian business men and women for refusing to bake cakes or supply floral decoration for gay weddings makes the "narrative" plausible enough. (See eg. here and here.)
According to data from the Public Religion Research Institute, 61 percent of white evangelicals believe that religious liberty is being threatened today. (Only 37 percent of non-white Christians believe this, suggesting that what's really happening is an erosion of white Christian hegemony; the "browning of America" goes hand in hand with the de-Christianizing of America.) They believe they have lost the culture war, and even that LGBT people should now pity them.
In other words, "religious liberty" is not merely a tactic: it is a sincerely held belief among the religious right, which, not coincidentally, feeds into the belief that we are living in the End Times — something an astonishing 77 percent of American evangelicals believe.
We shouldn't think of Kim Davis and her ilk as motivated by hate. Actually, they are motivated by fear, which is based in reality but expressed in fantasy. Christianity is, in a sense, losing the war — but the fighters on the other side aren't gay activists or ACLU liberals but faceless social forces of secularization, urbanization, and diversification.
There's not really a villain pulling the strings of social change, but like the God concept itself, mythic thinking creates a personification of evil who is fighting the war on religious liberty, the war on Christmas, the war on Christianity. These malevolent evildoers are like a contemporary Satan: a fictive embodiment of all of the chaotic, complex forces that threaten the stability of religious order.
Leftists really do have "a sincerely held belief" that they are on "the right side of history" – as Obama likes to say he is. History itself, according to Marxist dogma, is a force moving inexorably towards global collectivism. Leftism is itself a religion. (See our much read essay Communism is Secular Christianity, January 14, 2015, listed under Pages in our margin.) How many adherents does it have world-wide? For all we know, they outnumber the 1.6 billion Muslims, and the 2.2 billion Christians.
Jay Michaelson believes that inexorable forces determine the direction of human affairs; that human agency has little or nothing to do with it.
He "mixes truth and fantasy". Christianity may well be a declining religion. We hope it is. It did much harm in its time, and we cannot see that its fading away is a regrettable loss to humankind. And the fading away of Islam would be an enormous boon. An abandonment of old religious beliefs generally would remove a major cause of conflict. But other than Islam, they no longer pose a serious threat.
The serious threat comes from the Left. The Left is in power in most of the institutions of the West, most notably and dangerously in the media, the academy, and above all the executive branch of government of the United States. The Left, in the person of journalists and educators teach and preach statism and collectivism, and the Obama administration forces its will on the nation by executive order.
They are "pulling the strings of social change". Many of them may believe – just as Christians and Muslims do – that what they are doing is to achieve good ends. They may not all be malevolent in intention. But they are doing much harm nonetheless, by making war on personal liberty.
Posted under America, Arab States, Christianity, Europe, genocide, Islam, jihad, Theology, United States, War by Jillian Becker on Sunday, December 27, 2015
Tagged with Jay Michaelson, Kim Davis, Ted Cruz, War on Christianity, War on liberty
Atheism, science, and the law 9
Any idea that needs a law to protect it from criticism is ipso facto a bad idea.
That is our own maxim. We repeat it often. It cannot be repeated often enough.
There used to be laws, in Western secular states, protecting religious ideas; usually the ideas of a particular religion favored by the state. The crime was called "blasphemy".
Such a crime, carrying severe punishment, including the death sentence, still exists in Islamic countries.
And the crime still exists in Communist countries. As Communists do not acknowledge their ideology to be a religion, they do not call it blasphemy. It is called an offense against the state, or "dissidence". It was often treated as a mental illness in the Soviet Union. It was also often punished by execution, not only in Russia but wherever the iron fist of the Soviet regime was the law.
In America the First Amendment to the Constituion, as everybody knows, enshrined freedom of belief and freedom of speech. Yet there lingers in the mores of the American people, generation after generation, the notion that religious beliefs should not be publicly criticized. Such criticism is felt to be a discourtesy at best, and at worst an actual defiance of the First Amendment itself!
Even some scientists respect this social taboo.
We quote a good article on the subject from the New Yorker, by Lawrence M. Krauss:
As a physicist, I do a lot of writing and public speaking about the remarkable nature of our cosmos, primarily because I think science is a key part of our cultural heritage and needs to be shared more broadly. Sometimes, I refer to the fact that religion and science are often in conflict; from time to time, I ridicule religious dogma. When I do, I sometimes get accused in public of being a "militant atheist". Even a surprising number of my colleagues politely ask if it wouldn't be better to avoid alienating religious people. Shouldn't we respect religious sensibilities, masking potential conflicts and building common ground with religious groups so as to create a better, more equitable world?
I found myself thinking about those questions this week as I followed the story of Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who directly disobeyed a federal judge's order to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, and, as a result, was jailed for contempt of court. Davis's supporters, including the Kentucky senator and Presidential candidate Rand Paul, are protesting what they believe to be an affront to her religious freedom. It is "absurd to put someone in jail for exercising their religious liberties", Paul said, on CNN.
The Kim Davis story raises a basic question: To what extent should we allow people to break the law if their religious views are in conflict with it? It's possible to take that question to an extreme that even Senator Paul might find absurd: imagine, for example, a jihadist whose interpretation of the Koran suggested that he should be allowed to behead infidels and apostates. Should he be allowed to break the law? Or — to consider a less extreme case — imagine an Islamic-fundamentalist county clerk who would not let unmarried men and women enter the courthouse together, or grant marriage licenses to unveiled women. For Rand Paul, what separates these cases from Kim Davis's? The biggest difference, I suspect, is that Senator Paul agrees with Kim Davis's religious views but disagrees with those of the hypothetical Islamic fundamentalist.
The problem, obviously, is that what is sacred to one person can be meaningless (or repugnant) to another. That's one of the reasons why a modern secular society generally legislates against actions, not ideas. No idea or belief should be illegal; conversely, no idea should be so sacred that it legally justifies actions that would otherwise be illegal. Davis is free to believe whatever she wants, just as the jihadist is free to believe whatever he wants; in both cases, the law constrains not what they believe but what they do.
In recent years, this territory has grown murkier. Under the banner of religious freedom, individuals, states, and even — in the case of Hobby Lobby — corporations have been arguing that they should be exempt from the law on religious grounds. (The laws from which they wish to claim exemption do not focus on religion; instead, they have to do with social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage.) The government has a compelling interest in insuring that all citizens are treated equally. But "religious freedom" advocates argue that religious ideals should be elevated above all others as a rationale for action. In a secular society, this is inappropriate.
The Kim Davis controversy exists because, as a culture, we have elevated respect for religious sensibilities to an inappropriate level that makes society less free, not more. Religious liberty should mean that no set of religious ideals are treated differently from other ideals. Laws should not be enacted whose sole purpose is to denigrate them, but, by the same token, the law shouldn't elevate them, either.
In science, of course, the very word "sacred" is profane. No ideas, religious or otherwise, get a free pass. The notion that some idea or concept is beyond question or attack is anathema to the entire scientific undertaking. This commitment to open questioning is deeply tied to the fact that science is an atheistic enterprise. "My practice as a scientist is atheistic," the biologist J.B.S. Haldane wrote, in 1934. "That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel, or devil is going to interfere with its course and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career." It's ironic, really, that so many people are fixated on the relationship between science and religion: basically, there isn't one. In my more than thirty years as a practicing physicist, I have never heard the word "God" mentioned in a scientific meeting. Belief or nonbelief in God is irrelevant to our understanding of the workings of nature—just as it's irrelevant to the question of whether or not citizens are obligated to follow the law.
Because science holds that no idea is sacred, it's inevitable that it draws people away from religion. The more we learn about the workings of the universe, the more purposeless it seems. Scientists have an obligation not to lie about the natural world. Even so, to avoid offense, they sometimes misleadingly imply that today's discoveries exist in easy harmony with preëxisting religious doctrines, or remain silent rather than pointing out contradictions between science and religious doctrine. It's a strange inconsistency, since scientists often happily disagree with other kinds of beliefs. Astronomers have no problem ridiculing the claims of astrologists, even though a significant fraction of the public believes these claims. Doctors have no problem condemning the actions of anti-vaccine activists who endanger children. And yet, for reasons of decorum, many scientists worry that ridiculing certain religious claims alienates the public from science. When they do so, they are being condescending at best and hypocritical at worst.
Ultimately, when we hesitate to openly question beliefs because we don't want to risk offense, questioning itself becomes taboo. It is here that the imperative for scientists to speak out seems to me to be most urgent. As a result of speaking out on issues of science and religion, I have heard from many young people about the shame and ostracism they experience after merely questioning their family's faith. Sometimes, they find themselves denied rights and privileges because their actions confront the faith of others. Scientists need to be prepared to demonstrate by example that questioning perceived truth, especially "sacred truth", is an essential part of living in a free country.
I see a direct link, in short, between the ethics that guide science and those that guide civic life. Cosmology, my specialty, may appear to be far removed from Kim Davis's refusal to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, but in fact the same values apply in both realms. Whenever scientific claims are presented as unquestionable, they undermine science. Similarly, when religious actions or claims about sanctity can be made with impunity in our society, we undermine the very basis of modern secular democracy. We owe it to ourselves and to our children not to give a free pass to governments — totalitarian, theocratic, or democratic — that endorse, encourage, enforce, or otherwise legitimize the suppression of open questioning in order to protect ideas that are considered "sacred". Five hundred years of science have liberated humanity from the shackles of enforced ignorance. We should celebrate this openly and enthusiastically, regardless of whom it may offend.
If that is what causes someone to be called a militant atheist, then no scientist should be ashamed of the label.
We have said it is a good article. And what we have quoted, we heartily agree with.
But we left out one paragraph (where the dots are).
This reticence can have significant consequences. Consider the example of Planned Parenthood. Lawmakers are calling for a government shutdown unless federal funds for Planned Parenthood are stripped from spending bills for the fiscal year starting October 1st. Why? Because Planned Parenthood provides fetal tissue samples from abortions to scientific researchers hoping to cure diseases, from Alzheimer's to cancer. (Storing and safeguarding that tissue requires resources, and Planned Parenthood charges researchers for the costs.) It's clear that many of the people protesting Planned Parenthood are opposed to abortion on religious grounds and are, to varying degrees, anti-science. Should this cause scientists to clam up at the risk of further offending or alienating them? Or should we speak out loudly to point out that, independent of one's beliefs about what is sacred, this tissue would otherwise be thrown away, even though it could help improve and save lives?
Either the author did not watch the videos that recorded Planned Parnethood personnel talking about their trade in the body parts of aborted fetuses, or he did not hear, or chose to forget, some statements they made. The videos make it perfecty clear that the organization was not just selling the parts in order to cover costs, but carryng on the trade for profit.
Now we have nothing against trade for profit. On the contrary, we think the making of profit is the morally best and most socially useful reason for selling anything and providing any service.
But it happens that the selling of the body parts of aborted fetuses for profit is against the law. So exactly the same objection that Lawrence Krauss makes to Kim Davis's action – that she broke the law – applies to Planned Parenthood's action.
What seems to cloud his judgment in the case of Planned Parenthood – if he did watch the videos and take in what was said – is the fact that the body parts went to scientists for the great cause (and we do think it is a great cause) of scientific research.
But however good the cause that the illegal trade was serving, it was still illegal.
In fact, what emerges from those videos is criminal action more morally outrageous than just selling the parts of aborted fetuses. (Note, please, that we are calling them fetuses, not "babies", in order not to use controversial language.) It is revealed, in an interview with an employee of a firm that bought the body parts, that Planned Parenthood was urging pregnant women to have an abortion – even when they were uncertain that they wanted one, and even in one case when the woman was inclined NOT to have one – so that Planned Parenthood could sell the fetus's body parts and so make a profit.
That is iniquity.
Now scientists like Lawrence Krauss might argue persuasively that there should not be a law forbidding the selling of fetuses, whole or in parts, for profit. Just as Kim Davis might argue that there should not be a law that compels her to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. But there are such laws. And if it is wrong for Kim Davis to break the law on the grounds that it does a disservice to her idea of a higher good, so it is wrong for Planned Parenthood to break the law even if by doing so it is serving the genuinely higher good of science.
We have said that Lawrence Krauss's judgment may be clouded by his belief in the supreme goodness of scientific research. We will not go so far as to say that he holds that end to be "sacred", because we agree with him that the word has no place in the vocabulary of atheism. So we toss the accusation aside.
It could be said that our moral judgment of Planned Parenthood – accurate though our allegation is that the organization broke the law – may be clouded by our extreme distaste for their abortion services. (Note that we call them "services", firmly resisting the temptation to call them "abuses".) It is true that we have an arguably irrational prejudice in favor of human life. We very much dislike abortion – while acknowledging that there are reasonable grounds for it in certain cases, and on no account arguing for it to be made wholly illegal. But obviously our objection to it is not on religious grounds. We do not believe that it frustrates "God's purposes". We are against it because we are against the deliberate destruction of human life – unless the human in question has forfeited his or her life by taking someone else's.
Those who are for abortion on demand accuse those of us who are against it of being inconsistent when we call ourselves "pro-life", because many of us are for the death penalty. By the same token, we can accuse them of inconsistency when they are for the destruction of life in the womb, but against putting convicted murderers to death. We are for saving the innocent and punishing the guilty, while they are for destroying the innocent and saving the guilty.
(Hat-tip for the article to our reader, Stephen)
Posted under Atheism, Christianity, Commentary, communism, Crime, Ethics, Islam, Law, liberty, Religion general, Science, Soviet Union, United States by Jillian Becker on Saturday, October 24, 2015
Tagged with abortion, Hobby Lobby, Kim Davis, Lawrence M. Krauss, Planned Parenthood, Rule of law v religion, Science v Religion, Sen. Rand Paul
The grandstanding martyrdom of a government clerk 6
A Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, has been jailed for contempt of court. She refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, even though ordered to do so by a US District Court Judge.
She is against same-sex marriage because, she says, her Christian faith teaches that homosexuality is wrong. Which it futilely does.
(But by saying that fobidding homosexuality is futile we do not mean to imply "same-sex marriage" makes sense. It doesn't. It's a farce. However many people of whatever sexual proclivities decide to form a union, there has to be at least one man and one woman among them for it to be marriage in the universal historical meaning of the word. It would be best to leave marriage to the religions, and for the state – or rather the states – to recognize Contracts of Union for all sorts of voluntary conjugal relationships.)
Kim Davis should issue the licenses whatever her thoughts and feelings about same-sex marriage, because it is her job to do so. The principle of "separation of Church and State" must apply to her case. She is as free as everybody else to express her opinion of same-sex marriage, homosexuality, Christian doctrine, and this horrible government with its ever more foolish laws and regulations that America is now groaning under; but not to refuse to do the job she is paid to do.
What is wrong is that she has tenure. The proper reward for her refusal is dismissal.
Nobody should ever be unsackable. Most particularly, government employees should not be unsackable. Tens of thousands of them need to be sacked – urgently, The head of government, Barack Obama, needs to be sacked – urgently. Like Kim Davis, he doesn't obey the law.
Government employees should not have trade unions: government negotiating terms of employment with itself is absurd.
Government employees should not have the vote (as some of our commenters have recently compellingly argued).
Bureaucrats all too easily get uppity and dictatorial. In Britain they are called "civil servants". They may forget to be civil, but at least their job description defines their place as servants, not masters. Governments shoud be servants, not masters.
If Kim Davis cannot bring herself to do her job, she should leave it. She's no doubt enjoying being a Christian martyr at present. Martyrdom is the non plus ultra of Christian virtue; best if it entails death, and best of all if it entails agonizing death. We hope Ms. Davis won't go that far. We're very much against it.
Posted under Christianity, Ethics, government, Law, United States by Jillian Becker on Friday, September 4, 2015
Tagged with Government employees' tenure, Kim Davis, same-sex marriage


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Ex-Cop Leaves Parking Authority Board to Take Civilian Job at NBPD
by Charlie Kratovil June 10, 2015
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A close ally of Mayor James Cahill and Police Director Anthony Caputo is working at the NBPD for the second time in his career, after more than ten years on the Trenton Police force.
Anthony Barber has apparently left his spot on the powerful, five-member New Brunswick Parking Authority (NBPA) Board of Commissioners in order to take a civilian job with the New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD).
It would have been against the city's Code of Ethics for Barber to take a job with the NBPA for the first year after leaving the NBPA board, but the same is not true of a city job.
Barber's wife Claribel Azcona-Barber is an aide to Cahill, and also serves on the city's Planning and Ethics Boards.
Anthony Barber was also widely considered a political hire during his time with Trenton PD, where he was assigned to be one of two personal drivers for longtime Mayor Doug Palmer, after supporting Palmer's re-election campaign financially in 2006.
Barber was close with Trenton's former Police Director Joseph Santiago. Both were criticized after it was revealed Barber had been given an unmarked "take-home" police vehicle while he was assigned to be the mayor's driver.
Barber's new $49,000 full-time "office supervisor" job at the NBPD headquarters represents a pay cut for him, but it's not immediately clear if he has started collecting his public pension.
Barber has been a police officer in one of the two cities since 1989, according to pension records.
According to APP.com's DataUniverse, Barber was paid $80,153 in his last year with Trenton PD. A person who answered the phone at the Trenton Police Department (TPD) said he left the department on February 1.
A spokesperson for the TPD did not respond to questions about whether Barber had left on good or bad terms.
Barber, and specifically the perks he received like a take-home vehicle, had been the target of criticism on CaptSleepy.com, a website critical of the TPD's leadership circa 2007:
…some immediate perks Barber received were a 3% pay raise and a take home car. All this was on top of his generous starting salary given to him from Santiago.
After about a year in Vice Barber was transferred to the TAC unit, where he remained for only a few months. After that short stint he was transferred again, this time to city hall to coordinate the Safer Cities program under the watchful eye of Santiago friend -and alleged gang expert- Bartholomew Colicelli. While it hasn't been confirmed, it was reported that Barber had a take home car in that position too. After about a year in the Safer Cities program, and with less than 4 years on the job, Barber is now the driver for Mayor Palmer…
If a long time employee who paid his or her dues through years of quality service and dedication was to receive a perk like this man did, then most of us would likely agree he deserved it? But when a new person arrives and has no connection to the city or the department and gets this special treatment, then there has to be some red flags going up in peoples minds?…
The man comes to TPD and immediately gets a raise, a car and premier assignments without paying his dues by working the street.
At least four other officers transferred from different departments before and after his arrival, all with police experience and not known to the criminal element, yet they were put right into patrol.
None of them received a raise, car or sweetheart assignments like Barber.
And finally, Anthony Barber donated at least $900 to Palmer's 2006 reelection campaign…
As the second of two drivers for Mayor Palmer, Barber has an unmarked TPD police car assigned to him to take home…. For the life of me I can't understand why he would need a take home car when all he does is drive the mayor around. Why can't he drive his personal car to the city, pick up the mayor and the car, drive the mayor around, and then at the end of his tour of duty leave the city car behind and get back into his personal car and drive back home?
I just don't get it. Why does Barber have a city car to use at his disposal for personal business 24/7/365?
New Brunswick Today first learned of Barber's re-hiring by the NBPD the day after the City Council voted to replace him on the NBPA Board.
The next day, NBPA Executive Director Mitch Karon told us Barber got a job with the city.
"I'm not sure what he's doing, but yeah." Karon said. "So evidently since he's an employee he can't sit on our board."
Just minutes later, Barber emerged from police headquarters, where New Brunswick Today congratulated him on the new position. But Barber refused to answer any questions about the new job.
"We'll catch up at another time, okay?" was all Barber would say as NBT asked him for his job title, whether he was a city employee, who hired him, or if he was a police or a civlian employee.
Even though he had been on the city payroll for weeks, a spokesperson for Mayor Cahill did not immediately know if Barber was an employee of the city when questioned that same day. Later, she confirmed Barber was a new hire.
"I am told that Tony Barber's hire date was May 18, he is working as an office supervisor with the police department," said Jennifer Bradshaw, the spokesperson.
According to records provided by the city, as of January 1, the city only had two "office supervisors" and neither worked in the police department. In prior years, Scott Bannier served as NBPD office supervisor, earning an annual salary of $41,820.
More than three weeks into Barber's new position, City Hall remains silent on other questions such as whether the position was advertised or not, and if Barber is collecting a pension.
Based on the official timeline, Barber was out of work for almost four months. NBPD recently ran afoul of pension rules and regulations when it quickly re-hired two former cops to civilian jobs last year.
IRS rules stated that for a retirement to be considered legitimate, an employer could not re-hire one of its own for at least six months.
If Barber is indeed collecting a pension and a public salary, he would join Cahill, Caputo, and a slew of other public officials known as "double dippers," those who collect two or more public paychecks on the regular.
Previous Opt-Out Rate For PARCC Testing Triples in New Brunswick
Next Theatre Review: The House of Yes is a Success in Edison


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High School Football: Lennard shuts out Blake on stellar defensive display; East Bay, Riverview lose by 1 point
Lennard's defense has never played better under his three-year reign, said coach Keith Chattin. Lennard High School photo.
By KEVIN BRADY
Bad weather or good weather, it doesn't really matter to the Lennard Longhorns, who took their record to 4-0 Friday night with an 8-0 win over Blake High School.
On a night when the heavens opened up with a biblical downpour that lasted throughout the game, the Longhorns held firm, limiting Blake to virtually no yardage in what quickly became a test of each team's running game. With a soaked football and wet field making passing difficult, this was a ground war that Lennard won convincingly, extending the team's record start to the season.
"The conditions were horrible, an absolute mess," said Lennard coach Keith Chattin. "It rained the whole time, the field was in bad shape, the footing was terrible; so the weather really watered down the game plan."
The Longhorns got a safety in the first quarter to take the lead, 2-0. Later in the quarter, Diontae Johnson took a punt 75 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. "Both offenses couldn't do anything because the field was in such bad shape, so we really just tried to grind it out and run the ball," Chattin said.
The Longhorns had tried to throw the ball early, "but," said Chattin, "the ball just became wet and then it got heavy, so we just had to run the ball. When we got up 8-0, we knew they had to score and get a two-point conversion to tie, so we just kept running the football."
Chattin highly praised his team's defense.
Lennard scored a safety and ran back a punt for a touchdown to defeat Blake 8-0. Big County Preps photo.
"They played lights out," he said. "It was the best the defense has played since I have been here over the last three years," Chattin said. "This team can have a really special season if they stay together and remain focused."
Chattin and his coaches never thought about records at the start of the season, but, he said, "we thought if the kids played hard and stayed focused we would have a pretty good season. But you can never speculate on wins because we are in a really tough district [6A]."
The next four weeks will be a real test of the Longhorns, Chattin said. "We have Hillsborough, Robinson, Jefferson and Armwood over the next four weeks. We will really figure out how good we are then. Those are what everyone around the county and [the press] say are the best teams in the county. That's not to say the teams we have played have been bad, because I think each team we played has been pretty good. But we will really get tested in the next four weeks and see if we are that playoff-type team."
Riverview loses
Giving up just a little more than 100 yards a game, Riverview is just a few plays away from being a 3-0 team. The Sharks also had to contend with bad weather in their 7-6 loss to Wharton. But no one on the team is letting their heads drop, knowing the team could easily have several more wins under its belt.
"I was very disappointed we couldn't move the football well enough to seal the victory," said coach Mike Thornton. "Our kicking game is an area we need to improve on. I think we have to be one of the scrappiest 0-3 teams in the area, no doubt that."
The stats bear Thornton out. The Sharks gave up only 117 yards against Wharton. Thornton said, "We are giving up less than 120 yards a game over three games. I would guess we are one of the toughest defenses in the area."
Thornton and his staff preach "play well and the scoreboard will take care of itself." He said, "I think it got through to the players. They were down that we lost, but they were understanding the adversity we had to face with the weather and they kept their heads up, and I was proud of them when they walked off that field. It's a scrappy group. We are playing several guys both ways and they are playing at a high level. We just have to find a way to move the football."
Riverview will be looking for some home comfort Friday night when they host Middleton.
"Last year, we showed signs of playing well at home, and obviously it's nice to play at home," Thornton said. We will have a little bit more time before the game to prepare and have some quality meetings. At the high-school level, it's very advantageous to be at home."
One-point games
A week after leaving high-school football pundits with egg on their faces with a one-point win over heavily favored Alonso — a game some predicted they would lose by 40 points — East Bay played tough again against a favored opponent, losing by one point to Spoto.
One-point games are becoming a habit at East Bay. The team beat Riverview by a single point a week before their victory over Alonso. This time, however, they were on the losing end, going down 13-12. East Bay is now 2-2 for the season.
The next four weeks will be a real test for the Lennard Longhorns as they face Hillsborough, Robinson, Jefferson and Armwood. Jacob Council photo.


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SECURE Act Passed Potentially Changing Some Retirement Plans
Fulcrum Partners January 2, 2020 Executive Benefits News
News from the IslerDare PC December "Employee Benefits Update" looks at how the recently passed SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act) may impact some retirement plans and strategies.
Congressional Spending Bills Repeal Cadillac Tax and Other ACA Taxes and Pass Retirement Plan Changes
Repeal of Cadillac Tax and Other ACA Taxes
Ending years of speculation amid multiple delays, Congress permanently repealed the Affordable Care Act's ("ACA") 40 percent excise tax on generous health plans – known as the "Cadillac Tax" – as part of the spending bills necessary to extend federal funding.
The Cadillac Tax was originally scheduled to take effect in 2018, but was twice delayed, most recently to 2022, due to widespread unpopularity. The Cadillac Tax would have imposed a 40% tax on employers for certain high-value employer-sponsored health plans with annual premiums over a maximum dollar threshold (projected to be $11,200 for single coverage and $30,150 for family coverage in 2020).
The spending bills also repealed two other ACA taxes: the 2.3% excise tax on medical devices, which originally took effect in 2013, but was then suspended for 2016 and 2017, and the health insurance providers industry fee, which took effect in 2014.
Retirement Plan Changes
As part of the spending bills, Congress also passed the "Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act", or "SECURE Act", and some other miscellaneous changes that impact retirement plans. Highlights of this new legislation include the following:
The automatic contribution maximum for qualified automatic contribution arrangements (otherwise known as "QACA safe harbor plans") has increased from 10% to 15%.
Penalty-free retirement plan withdrawals of up to $5,000 will be permitted in the case of birth or adoption of a child.
Special disaster-related distributions will be exempt from the 10% early distribution penalty.
The age by which retirement plan participants must begin receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) of their plan benefits has been extended from 70-1/2 to 72.
The fiduciaries of 401(k) and other defined contribution plans will have greater fiduciary protection if they decide to offer lifetime distribution options, such as annuities. In addition, retirement plans must provide plan participants with a lifetime income illustration.
Small employers who meet certain conditions can benefit from financial incentives and credits to establish retirement plans and automatically enroll workers and will also be able to pool together with other unrelated employers to form multiple employer plans.
Long-term part-time workers who work more than 500 hours for their employer, for three consecutive years, would be eligible for coverage under employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Further details regarding the changes being introduced as part of the SECURE Act and the funding bills will be forthcoming as additional guidance is issued by the IRS and DOL (Department of Labor).
Other Related Updates from Deferred Compensation News:
#benefitplan #retirement #FulcrumPartners
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice. Any tax advice contained herein is of a general nature. You should seek specific advice from your tax professional before pursuing any idea contemplated herein.
affordable care actexecutive benefit plansisler dareRetirement plansSECURE Acttax reform


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Guide to Seaham, Durham family history and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.
SEAHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Easington, N. division of Easington ward and of the county of Durham, 6 miles (S. by E.) from Sunderland.
Additional information: The parish of Seaham was created from the ancient Parish of Dalton le Dale, Durham and has a Norman church. The dedication of the church was changed from that of St Andrew to St Mary the Virgin . There are references to the church dating back to 1501 although the building shows signs of much earlier construction and is the only surviving building of the original Saxon Village. The church was founded by King Athelston in 930AD. It has both Saxon and early Norman masonry in its nave, a 13th century chancel and west tower. Over the 16th century porch door is a late 18th century sundial with an unusual verse, now illegible, which begins: "The natural clockwork by the mighty one wound up at first and ever since has gone....."
Other places in the parish include: New Seaham, Seaham Colliery, Seaton and Slingley, Seaton with Slingley, and Seaton with Slingsby.
Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/220 1769-1850 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.
The Parish Registers for the period 1646-1967 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Sea).
↑ Lewis, Samuel A.,A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 36-40. Date accessed: 27 July 2013.


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Virtual Sets — For Real
Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 6:28 am
Correspondent Carl Lindemann takes a look at the latest wares.
Virtual sets are gaining traction as both advances in the technology and the realities of HD production make them an attractive alternative. Offerings from Vizrt, Orad, and Neuro TV may, depending on production needs, be the realistic option for delivering quality, economy, and efficiency.
"Virtual sets allow you to do multiple shows on the same stage," says Shaun Dail, VP of Sales & Marketing, North America, for Orad. "Also, you change sets with a press of a button today because you don't need time to recalibrate cameras."
According to Dail, Orad has more than 1,000 installs worldwide, or 70% of the market. One reason for increasing acceptance? Improved realism.
"We're a long way from the early days in the '90s, when virtual sets looked too 'cartoony.' Back then, render power was expensive, too: $500,000 for a single engine. We've had a new release every six months — 36 so far." says Dail.
Interactivity is another significant advance. Vizrt is showcasing interactivity at NAB with touchscreen devices.
"These are tools to enhance storytelling," says Vizrt Chief Engineering Officer Gerhard Lang, and they're all nonlinear."
He sees the transition from SD to HD as a major driver for virtual sets. "Building sets for HD is very costly. Minor imperfections become major distractions. Fingerprints stand out. A virtual set is a clean set."
Chyron has gotten into the act through a partnership with Neuro TV, whose virtual-set capabilities are now tightly integrated into Chyron's graphics.
According to Neuro TV Sales Director Sebastien Hiernaux, the agreement realizes Chyron's mission to deliver tremendous savings over traditional methods: "Our technology fulfills Chyron's goal to provide 5:1 cost savings compared to building HD sets."
While Neuro TV is a relative newcomer to the market, this gives it a technology advantage over the established players. "We use DirectX and not Open GL," Hiernaux points out. "The visual quality is better with DirectX, [which uses] less resources so it can deliver more-realistic details."


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Queen Mary wins Research Project of the Year at THE Awards
Queen Mary, University of London, has picked up the Research Project of the Year at the annual Times Higher Education Awards.
Professor Jack Cuzick accepts the award on behalf of Professor Attila Lorincz
The award was announced at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Thursday 29 November and is for research led by Queen Mary's Professor Attila Lorincz.
Professor Lorincz, from the university's Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, led research to develop a new screening test to detect the virus that causes cervical cancer. In poorer nations where there is no screening, hundreds of thousands of women die unnecessarily from cervical cancer every year.
In a study of 20,000 women in rural Mexico, a new DIY test picked up more than four times as many cases of cervical cancer and more than three times as many cases of a pre-cancerous condition as a traditional smear test. And crucially, uptake for the at-home test was higher than for the smear test suggesting that women prefer this type of screening.
The trial in Mexico was published in The Lancet in November 2011 and gained substantial international media coverage including the BBC world service, Chicago Tribune and China Post.
Professor Lorincz said: "I'm thrilled to have won the award. This work represents the culmination of around 10 years of work trying to bring improved cervical cancer screening to poor women in Mexico.
"I think it is not just of relevance in that country but also for underserved women in all parts of the world and could be an important measure going forward."
Now in their eighth year, the THE Awards are a highlight of the academic calendar. There were 18 categories this year, with Queen Mary shortlisted in three.
The SuperCollider Symposium 2012 – a week-long celebration of the creation of sound and music through the medium of computer programming – was a finalist in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts award.
'Trauma Surgery: The Science of the Bleeding Obvious!' was nominated for Widening Participation Initiative of the Year. The interactive mobile exhibit is aimed at raising awareness of trauma and research into traumatic injury. It was designed by a team from Queen Mary's Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma to inspire the next generation of scientists and healthcare professionals and was presented at the Big Bang Fair in March 2012.


Former President Pranab Mukherjee, social activist Nanaji Deshmukh, and musician and singer Bhupen Hazarika honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award; Prime Minister Modi expresses happiness over award winners.
As per a press communique issued by President of India's office, Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhupen Hazarika will be awarded with the honour posthumously.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said Nanaji Deshmukh's stellar contribution towards rural development showed the way for a new paradigm of empowering those living in the villages. In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Modi said, Nanaji Deshmukh personifies humility, compassion and service to the downtrodden and he is a Bharat Ratna in the truest sense.
The Prime Minister said the songs and music of Bhupen Hazarika are admired by people across generations and from them radiates the message of justice, harmony and brotherhood. He popularised India's musical traditions globally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, former President Pranab Mukherjee is an outstanding statesman of our times and he has served the nation selflessly and tirelessly for decades, leaving a strong imprint on the nation's growth trajectory. The Prime Minister said Pranab Mukherjee's wisdom and intellect have few parallels.


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The U.S. Hit the Debt Ceiling — Here's What That Means for Your Money
By Ryan Ermey,CNBC • Published January 21, 2023 • Updated on January 21, 2023 at 9:08 am
Grant Faint | The Image Bank | Getty Images
The U.S. hit the debt ceiling on Thursday, which forced the Treasury Department to begin taking so-called "extraordinary measures" to continue paying the government's bills.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Jan. 13 that these short-term moves, including suspending reinvestment in the workplace retirement plan for federal employees, could allow the government to pay its obligations until June, after which the U.S. would be in danger of defaulting on its debt.
Putting the politics of it aside, you may be wondering the million-dollar question: Is this situation likely to have a long-term effect on my money?
"In a word, no," says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for the Commonwealth Financial Network.
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Of course, it's a little more nuanced than that. Read on for the answers to the most relevant questions about the debt ceiling, and why, as a long-term investor, you shouldn't be paying too much attention to the headlines.
Remind me — what's the debt ceiling again?
The U.S. government funds much of its spending through debt, which is issued by the Treasury. The current limit is $31.4 trillion.
news 47 mins ago
news 1 hour ago
Raising this limit would allow the government to borrow more to cover spending already approved by Congress. Failure to raise the ceiling would mean the government would eventually fail to pay back its debts, including interest payments on Treasury bonds — technically putting the U.S. government in default.
Where does the debt ceiling stand now?
In political limbo. Republicans in the House of Representatives say they won't agree to raise the limit unless the Biden administration agrees to cuts in spending.
Yellen and company are essentially finding money where they can in the meantime. A few examples: suspending new investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
What could happen as the U.S. approaches a default?
Although some will debate technicalities, most experts will tell you that the U.S. has never defaulted on its debt and will very likely take steps to avoid a default this time around.
Because of its sterling reputation, U.S. debt is considered a risk-free "safety asset" in the world economy.
However, shakiness in U.S. creditworthiness could result in some market turmoil, like in 2011 when the U.S. faced a debt ceiling crisis and received a downgrade in its credit rating.
"That year we saw a lot of market volatility. Stocks really sold off around this event, with companies linked to the government selling off even further," says Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird Private Wealth Management. "It seems to take visceral market volatility to force politicians to the table."
And if the U.S. actually defaults? Then what?
It's difficult to say exactly what would happen if the U.S. couldn't pay its bills, but it wouldn't be your run-of-the-mill default.
"If a government like Argentina or Italy defaulted on its debt, it would be because they didn't have the money in the form that the debt was owed in," says McMillan. "If Italy borrows in dollars, they have to pay it back in dollars."
However, any U.S. default would result from a political decision rather than an economic imperative. Since the U.S. debt is in dollars, "we can pay it back by printing more dollars," says McMillan.
But there would be economic consequences, right?
The answer is yes. Aside from stock market volatility, you'd see ramifications across the economy. Any ding in the U.S. credit rating would likely raise rates on other types of debt, such as mortgages and auto loans, to account for additional risk.
And don't forget that government spending (which would be cut under a default scenario) contributes to the overall economy, which is already in a precarious position — one that many experts say could soon tip things into recession territory.
So why shouldn't I be worried?
Because we've been here before. The debt ceiling has been raised 45 times in the last 40 years. And while past debt ceiling crises have roiled markets — the S&P 500 shed 17% in 2011 — their effects haven't lasted long.
"This is not going to significantly damage the credit rating of the U.S. over time, and it's not going to derail stock markets," says McMillan.
"We will likely get a deal, and if we don't, there are things we can do. And even if we go to default, it will be a technical, political default — not an economic one."
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Mechanics has lengthy been famous because the pivotal technology within the decline of Aristotelian common philosophy and the increase of the hot, mathematical physics of the medical Revolution. much less popular, although, is the sooner transformation of mechanics from a realistic artwork right into a theoretical and mathematical technological know-how. this modification was once occasioned by means of the restoration of the pseudo-Aristotelian Mechanical difficulties and its assimilation throughout the 16th century to the Aristotelian version of the subalternate or center sciences, which take care of typical material yet draw their rules from geometry or arithmetic.
In his discussion on Mechanics, Giuseppe Moletti made the main particular and thoroughgoing try and ensure the geometrical ideas of Aristotelian mechanics, to set up its Euclidean foundations, and in an effort to detect in reality the subalternation of mechanics to geometry. Having performed this within the First Day, he then set out within the moment to increase mechanics mostly to give an explanation for all motions during the research in their forces and resistances. within the method he expected Galileo in announcing that each one heavy our bodies, no matter what their weights, fall with equivalent speeds, and he learned that an analogous resistance that makes a physique difficult to maneuver additionally makes it not easy to prevent - that is nearly the legislations of inertia.
Written in discussion shape in Italian (rather than in Latin) for a courtly and useful viewers, the discussion used to be left unfinished whilst Moletti hand over the Gonzaga courtroom at Mantua to absorb the maths chair on the collage of Padua. by no means prior to released with the exception of short extracts, the entire Italian textual content is edited from the manuscripts and published the following for the 1st time, including a facing-page English translation. The broad notes that accompany the textual content cite and quote from a couple of Moletti's different, generally unpublished, works and his quite a few resources. In his creation, W.R. Laird units the discussion in the historic history of medieval and Renaissance mechanics, sketches the lifestyles and works of Moletti, and analyses the arguments and the geometrical theorems of the Dialogue.
The Unfinished Mechanics of Giuseppe Moletti deals an exceptional examine the transformation of Aristotelian mechanics right into a mathematical technology within the iteration ahead of Galileo.
Calculations in primary Physics, quantity II: electrical energy and Magnetism makes a speciality of the strategies, methodologies, and methods thinking about electrical energy and magnetism. The manuscript first takes a glance at present and power distinction, together with circulation of cost, parallel conductors, ammeters, electromotive strength and capability distinction, and voltmeters.
Boundary aspect strategy for Plate research deals one of many first systematic and specified remedies of the applying of BEM to plate research and layout. Aiming to fill within the wisdom gaps left through contributed volumes at the subject and elevate the accessibility of the large magazine literature protecting BEM utilized to plates, writer John T.
Ahead to Professorship in STEM: Inclusive college improvement ideas That paintings offers top practices on the right way to layout and enforce inclusive workshops geared toward assisting school and employees of their occupation improvement. The ebook addresses primary talents and techniques to excel in academia, with a spotlight on aiding girls and different underrepresented teams to achieve acquiring tenure-track college positions, and in buying tenure.


I usually try to keep it in the shade (Unless it's sunset, or sunrise.), action shots are good, white walls are good reflectors, and have a good time like always. Other that those I don't really have anything to say on the subject.


Built during the period of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, this temple boasts beautiful architectural features and porcelain mosaic tiles. Part of the temple was once a rest stop for an Ayutthaya king, King Suriyenthrathibodi. You will see the historic wooden structure as well as the local morning market.
This temple is full of amazingly large size statues, such as images of Buddha in a sitting & reclining meditation post and other deities from Thai mythology. We can stop to take pictures from the canal, although we do not usually disembark here.
As seen on "Unseen Thailand" published by Tourism Authority of Thailand, this temple is a hidden gem, and its name in Thai means forest temple in mud. It was built sometime in the Ayutthaya period. Before several reconstructions, it was buried in mud and covered with plants. It is still possible to see the ancient spire of the original temple under water next to the canal during very low tide.
Traditional country style small floating market with the thatched roof, it is truly owned by the local people. Apart from the City, being a center of the locally grown organic produce, this place is packed with lunch crowd comes to enjoy variety of Thai dishes. Don't miss a coconut ice cream in a real coconut shell as your desert!
Orchid and plant exporting is now a big business in Thailand, which is the worlds' biggest orchid exporter. We will take you to visit a farm in the suburbs of Bangkok. They grow different types of exotic orchid right next to the canal. We can sit and relax among the wonderful flowers.
This retro riverside market has been revived and transformed into an artists' gathering place. It is now home to a branched troupe of famous "Joe Louis" traditional Thai puppet theater. Demonstration of the puppets might be available when they are at the house. Various handcrafts and art classes are also offered.


text:
Bill to Increase Penalties for Some Assisted Suicides Passes Pennsylvania House
By Wesley J. Smith
About Wesley J. Smith
Follow Wesley J. Smith on Twitter
(Chainarong Prasertthai/Getty Images)
Assisted suicide is illegal in Pennsylvania. Now, after a depressed girl was apparently encouraged to kill herself in an Internet "pro choice" chat room, the state's House has passed a bill increasing penalties in particular cases for such encouragement. From the Penn.Live story last September:
Following a battle of depression, Shawn Shatto took her own life — and she had help.
The help came from an online chat forum that encourages suicide and walks people through the steps to end their life. In some of her last words, the 25-year-old woman expressed fear and reluctance in her posts about committing this final act. The users convinced her it was the best and only option and wished her well on her journey.
People can be just awful, can't they?
But wait. Why are we surprised? Suicide promotion and counseling are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. The media romanticize and extol people like Brittany Maynard because they commit assisted suicide. Indeed, boosters of assisted suicide engage in equivalent immoral encouragement all the time.
Final Exit Network counsels people with illnesses, disabilities, and depression on a particular method of committing suicide — even attending and cleaning up the evidence afterwards — with no particular popular outrage, rare arrests, and fewer convictions.
Compassion and Choices — formerly more accurately known as the Hemlock Society — pushes assisted suicide legalization in the states, including Pennsylvania, with tens of millions in donations from George Soros and his fellow travelers. C & C also teaches the elderly how to commit suicide by self-starvation, which they call VSED, for "voluntary stop eating and drinking."
The odious Australian death doctor, Philip Nitschke, teaches people how to kill themselves using common household products without penalty. Indeed, he travels the world giving how-to-commit-suicide seminars, and speaks as a hero at conventions of the so-called "right to die" movement. He also invents "suicide machines," and the media swoon.
The bill would increase existing penalties for the assisting suicides of anyone under 18 years of age or who has an intellectual disability.
I am good with that. But I do wish that more people had a better understanding that suicide is suicide and assisting is assisting. People who want to kill themselves because of a serious illness are often vulnerable too.
I just hope any legislator who votes for this bill doesn't later turn around and vote to legalize assisted suicide for people who are sick.
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Wesley J. Smith is an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism. @forcedexit
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Central to Doctors Hospital of Laredo's mission is its commitment to excellence in serving patients — from providing an aesthetically pleasing environment to ensuring quality in medical care.
Every employee at Doctors Hospital receives service excellence training and personally pledges to put the needs of patients first. The staff takes pride in providing a safe and secure environment for patients. Every patient is entitled to privacy during their stay at the hospital and continued confidentiality about all medical information.
Service Excellence – We will provide timely, professional, effective and efficient service to all of our customer groups.
Continuous Improvement in Measurable Ways – We will identify the key needs of our patients, assess how well we meet those needs, continuously improve our services, and measure our progress.
Employee Development – We understand that the professionalism and drive of our people are the most important factors in the quality of the service Doctors Hospital provides. We will hire talented people, increase their skills through training and experience, and provide opportunities for personal and professional growth within the company.
Ethical and Fair Treatment of All – We are committed to forming relationships of fairness and trust with our patients, purchasers of our services, and our employees. We will conduct our business according to the highest ethical standards.
Teamwork – We will work together to provide ever-improving customer service. This team approach to our work will supersede traditional departmental organization and create a true customer focus. People at all levels of the organization will participate in decision-making and process improvement.
Compassion – We will never lose sight of the fact that we provide care and comfort to people in need. The patients and families that rely upon us are fellow human beings and they will receive respectful and dignified treatment from all of our people at all times.
Innovation in Service Delivery – We will invest in the development of new and better ways of delivering our services.
Education and Research – We will work in partnership with our community in pursuit of knowledge and the understanding of the scientific basis for disease, disease prevention and health promotion in the communities we serve.


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Wayne Messam's Wife Angela Messam
March 28, 2019 by Daily Entertainer Leave a Comment
Angela Messam
Meet Angela Messam; she is the pretty wife of Florida Mayor Wayne Messam, who on March 28, 2019, said he will be running for President of the United States.
Angela's husband, one of five children born to Jamaican parents was born in South Bay, Florida on June 7, 1974. He studied at Glades Central High and Florida State University where not only he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems and played wide receiver for the Florida Seminoles; but also where he met his wife.
After College, Wayne started his construction company, Messam Construction, where Angela eventually became a managing partner at.
Initially elected mayor in 2015, Wayne Messan subsequently won re-election on March 12, 2019.
Mrs. Messam was born Angela Towanna Sands on December 12, 1974. She graduated in 1993, with an Associated Arts degree in business and general commerce from North Florida Community College.
Moreover, in 1996, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems and a minor in computer science from Florida State University.
In February 2003, Angela became managing partner & general contractor at Messam Construction.
Angela and Wayne Messam are the proud parents to three children.
Furthermore, check out Angela Messam's Five Facts you need to know here.
Read More About: POLITICS


Home / Dark Balsamic Vinegar / 18 Yr Traditional Dark Balsamic Vinegar.
18 Yr Traditional Dark Balsamic Vinegar.
This balsamic vinegar from Modena, Italy is so smooth you could sip it after dinner. Use it as a drizzle on aged cheeses, cured meats and fresh fruit or as a dessert sauce for vanilla ice cream and strawberries. Makes a great marinade or a fabulous finish on your salmon, 375 ml bottles.


Our Bentley Bentayga has had its first service. How much do you reckon it cost us?
Service intervals get ever longer but they're still a pain when they run out – especially when your car is a mile-muncher like our Bentley Bentayga.
And extra-especially since nowadays there's absolutely no indication from the way a car drives that it needs attention. A 1990s Bentley might have given a hint or two along the way: the Bentayga just drives the way it left the showroom.
As the 10,000-mile cut-off approached, I started counting down from 9200, meaning to make an appointment every day. But I still overshot. And at 10,200, I suddenly discovered an urgent 600-mile errand. Would it be okay to add that extra mileage? We decided it wouldn't, so contacted HR Owen's Bentley service people in a bit of a panic, knowing demand is often so strong that even top cars like our big SUV often have to stand in line.
Good news, though. At a day's notice, senior service advisor Katan Wara found us an emergency slot, sent one of his drivers over to collect the car from our Twickenham HQ and take it to HR's Wandsworth garage. A day later, it was back, valeted, serviced, immaculate and driving exactly as before, ready for another 10,000 miles. The work cost £810, which struck me as pretty solid for a 2hr 10min job, although that price comes straight from the service menu, including VAT, with oil, filters, wiper blades and remote battery changed. The first post-service trip was a particular joy. Whether you're in a Bentayga or a Vauxhall Viva, there's special pleasure in driving your immaculate car just after it has been titivated by experts.
Our Bentayga has reached its first service at six months and 10,000 miles without a single fault or flaw, a feat in such a complex car, even if (as people keep saying) that's what you should get in a £197k car.
Our Bentley Bentayga is bolting with dizzying speed towards its first service. The electronic log currently says it has 1500 miles to run. It has accumulated miles so quickly because (like most owners, I suspect) we use it almost exclusively as a mile-eating grand tourer.
One or two owners I've seen in the Cotswolds where I live have given their Bentaygas the role of GT-car- with-horsebox, a task at which it seems to excel. But every owner I've met agrees it's no city car. It's a big-occasion car, and not much good at squeezing into an average parking space. In town I use one of those higher-priced, more spacious inner-city Q-park sites (my other half calls them 'gentleman's car parks') but that's not a catch-all solution. Best to do what the rich do and use a smaller car in urban areas – or get Smiggins to drop you off and collect you later.
The burning Bentayga topic of the moment – as just about everywhere – is: are diesels any good? Although in the Bentley's case the question is being framed rather differently. Instead of regarding the diesel as a potential mistake, prospective owners, having seen that the Bentayga Diesel has just achieved a rare five-star Autocar roadtest rating, are wondering if the oil-burner (which is £30,000 cheaper than our W12) is the better and more practical version.
There is certainly an argument to be made for the diesel, because the first-ever Bentley diesel is sensationally refined. But after more than 8000 miles, I continue to argue for the W12 – for its exotic nature, for its all-Bentley 12-pot heart, for its decisively better performance (it's a second faster to 60mph and delivers bigger margins further up the range) and for the fact that its reasonable 22mpg overall – with an easy 350-mile range – protects you from the worst problems associated with ownership of a huge, 600bhp car.
To Wales from London, four up, laden for a week's stay and nursing a sore leg, the legacy of old age and amateur running. The former I expected the Bentayga to cope with, especially with the recent adornment of a roof box; the latter I expected to be nursing with little sympathy.
The roof box is a controversial addition. Initssmart, dark paintwork, I reckon the Bentayga is understated – if an off-road Bentley can ever be described as such. The roof box lends the car a purposeful look and forgives some of its excesses.
The box is contoured to carry skis and accessories, although in our case it made do with wellies and big coats for a trip to the Preseli Hills. It was convenient for swallowing the luggage and allowed us to keep the boot mud and clutter-free. There are many makers of roof boxes, many charging less than the £2757 (including roof bars and 'load assist' tray) Bentley asks, but there's no doubting its suitability for the job.
Likewise its motorway-munching – and knee-healing – qualities.
As I exited the M25 and began the trip down the M4, I started playing with the cruise control functions.
By the time I'd set the speed control, distance control, speed limit sensors, lane-keeping assist and auto braking, accelerating and steering, I started to wonder what was left for me to do.
It was my first prolonged exposure to such an integrated system. With the M4 relatively empty, so long as I kept my hands resting lightly on the wheel I didn't have to offer a single input. It's surprising how quickly you get used to watching a steering wheel being adjusted on your behalf. By the Severn Crossing I'd covered almost 100 miles without doing a thing, and the aches and pains coming from my rested knee had subsided.
I always knew the Bentley's fuel economy would be steep (18- 22mpg), but I didn't expect it to drink screenwash quite the way it does. You have to fill it every week or so. It stands to reason, what with all those screen jets, the tendency of the rear screen to need a lot of cleaning and the consumption of the integral headlight washers. With everything on, it's like the Niagara Falls.
Having established within our first few hundred miles that our new Bentley Bentayga is fine for every mode of motoring (except perhaps for cramming into supermarket car parks), I spent a lot of time investigating its popular appeal over a few weeks by toting different groups of passengers to and from events.
It proved very instructive. Everyone who travelled in it remarked on two things: the way the 6.0-litre W12 engine is so refined as to be almost noiseless even at brisk speeds; and the supreme rear-seat comfort.
It's absolutely vital that our £197,000 SUV should get the popular nod on rear-seat comfort: the model is already being extensively used by Bentley Motors itself for chauffeuring top people and, even more importantly, most of its Far Eastern owners – of whom there are plenty – will usually be driven rather than drive. Apart from travelling in comfort, one special Bentayga advantage my occupants noted was its entry and egress. It is easy and more dignified getting in and out of a vehicle of such imposing height and with such large doors.
Two caveats, though. As you look through a rear door, the seats don't look as imposing as the rear compartments of some limousines. And although there's enough leg room, even for big people and even behind a big driver, there doesn't seem to be quite the sprawling room offered in a long-wheelbase Range Rover, almost identical in length. Bentley is rumoured to be working on a longer Bentayga for markets where rear space counts as the greatest luxury of all. For the rest of us, the present edition works very well.
Opinions vary over whether the Bentayga looks big or small. Stand by the mighty grille, or clock the height of the big bonnet, and there is no doubting that this is a very big car indeed. Negotiating streets in inner London soon tells you plenty about its width, too. Yet the car is in such good proportion – its wheel sizes, ground clearance, overhangs and height all matching one another – that viewed from a distance, it can appear quite compact. If you're looking for a vehicle to make the car designers' enduring point that good proportions matter, the Bentayga really does the job.
So,nothing new really,great to driven I guess,supreme comfort,first time I sat in the back of a RangeRover I thought,WOW! ,so, if I read unimpressed it is because......I am not!
Are we looking at the same thing?
To quote: "If you're looking for a vehicle to make the car designers' enduring point that good proportions matter, the Bentayga really does the job."
It occurs to me it was designed by "chop shop". The east end custom garage on tv. If in doubt look it up and you will see what I mean.
I suppose a car that looks like a jumped up London Taxi has to cater for passengers.
Have you been looking at a scale model, maybe? This thing looks about as compact as a Range Rover, or a tall large Bentley, which is what it is.
Steve Cropley is a tireless defender of Bentley. Aesthetically speaking I find Bentley, not only this hideous Bentayga but the entire Bentley range, to be well below the standard of what one expects from a luxury brand. Their cars look heavy, lumpy, visual elements are often poorly coordinated. The Bentley design language lacks the simplicity and relaxed confidence of eg. Rolls Royce Ghost and Phantom. By trying too hard Bentley designs only expose their weaknesses.
I agree with Mr Cropley.
I agree with Mr Cropley. There is a deception that this vehicle looks smaller than it is. That isn't to say it looks like a small car. I'm not a car designer, I'm more important than that, I'm a car buyer and if something doesn't look right it will not pass the second purchase consideration hurdle -looks. (The first naturally being price bracket.) Unfortunately, excellent proportions do not wholly constitute excellent design and looking beyond the proportions of this vehicle, it's the style and detail which let it down. It's hideously ugly but well proportioned. Second hurdle therefore failed which was a fanciful decision because it fell at the first in any case.
After 4 months more, it still looks like it was designed with a crayon by someone with two broken wrists. I am a big defender of people's right to buy what the hell they like. You make your money you make your own choices.
However there are limits and the bentayga is a step too far. Hideous wealth display machine, that has no purpose but to display wealth, as it has no real external design merit. If you want spend your hard earned, please don't do it on one of these, buy something nice.
I'd hate to pay less than £800 for a service for my Bentley. What would people think? I'd willingly pay a bit more if they used the golden spanners.
That's sooooo déclassé- I have Gary lineker and Kelly Brooks servicing mine and it is a snip at £5000 to top up the washer fluid. The washer fluid is supplied inside a live leopard carried by a smurf.


I am working on building a physics model into the xStats home run prediction. In order to do so, I had to learn the equations backwards and forwards. I started with Alan Nathan's calculator as a starting point. I studied it, took notes, memorized it, and created my own version from memory. The result of which you can see below. It is functionally identical to Alan Nathan's calculator with one major difference: it doesn't use wind.
I've also added a few other features that Nathan's calculator does not have. Let me show you its features.
Select a ballpark. This will Automatically input an elevation. You can search by team or ballpark and it will work either way.
Initial conditions for a batted ball. You should be most interested in the first three: Exit Velocity, Launch Angle, and Spray Angle. You can edit all of the rest if you'd like. Remember elevation is automatically changed by the ballpark.
Target Wall Height. The calculator will indicate the point in the trajectory where a ball crosses the height specified. (See 8. Below).
You can input a known wall distance and wall height and it will be drawn on the chart. (See 9. Below).
The distance from home plate at the specified target height. There are three results. The red line depicts the upper range for coefficients of drag and lift. The blue result uses the mean values for drag and lift. The green line uses the lower range for drag and lift.
Vertical and horizontal angles are drawn for reference.
Various constants and other values used for calculation. Do not edit these.
Each painted trajectory will have a small vertical line showing where it crosses the target height (See 3. Above).
The thick black line shows the location for the inputed Real Wall (See 4. Above).
Calculations. You don't need to worry about these, but you can look at them if you'd like.
I took the upper and lower coefficients from a few studies into baseball coefficients of drag and lift. I was hoping they would approximate the second or third standard deviation, but in my testing I have found that actual MLB batted ball distances have an even wider range than depicted by this calculator.
The difference could be due to wind, I cannot rule that out. I find it hard to talk about wind at all, since it is such a complex issue within a baseball stadium. It swirls around the stadium in difficult to predict, chaotic patterns. Small changes in wind speed or direction can create large changes in the local wind effects at any given point within the park. Wind is difficult, and I'm choosing to ignore it for the moment.
At the end of the day, this calculator is a first step towards the greater goal of integrating a physics model into home run prediction. You can mess around with the spreadsheet as you please. Just open the link below and click File -> Make a Copy.