When Terri Roberts heard the news that her son had carried out a suicide shooting in an Amish school, her world was shattered. But the extraordinary forgiveness of those who had lost children was soon to change everything.
It was a bright, sunny afternoon as I ate lunch with a dear friend on the patio at Sight & Sound Theatres, where I worked. Like the lush, calm countryside in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, my life was fully thriving. But that day, on October 2, 2006, we could hear sirens and helicopters, not far away.
What could be happening in this quiet community? As always when I hear sirens, I offered a short prayer for whoever was in need and then continued the conversation with my friend. As lunchtime ended and I returned to the office, the telephone was ringing. I answered. It was my husband, asking me to come to our son Charlie's home right away.
As I descended the stairway in the theatre, I felt an ominous sense of urgency, wondering what information awaited me. In the short ten-minute drive, I turned on the radio, tuning into the breaking news. There had been a shooting at the Nickel Mines Amish School, they reported, and the man's name was Roy (incorrect, as it turned out).
My heart began to race. 'My Charlie parks his milk truck right near the school,' I thought. 'Could Charlie have been involved in a rescue and been shot? What if he was killed?' Soon I pulled into his driveway, where a State Trooper and my husband were standing.
I walked up to the trooper and asked if my son was alive. 'No, ma'am,' he replied.
I looked into my husband's pained eyes as he said, 'It was Charlie!' Our son was not only dead - he was the perpetrator of this heinous crime. Five Amish girls had died, while five others were injured.
My thoughts lurched. No, this could not be - not our wonderful son. He had never committed a crime. We were proud of him. He was a loving young man, and he had a wonderful wife as well as three beautiful children.
What do I recall from this surreal event? I remember falling to the ground in a foetal position, feeling like everything within me would be expelled. Pain seared through my body and mind as I struggled to absorb the news that had just been presented to me. I felt so very hollow inside and desperately thirsty. The trooper repeatedly gave me glasses of water, while I wished that something could satisfy my unquenchable craving for relief.
Suddenly propelled into the public spotlight and reeling with shock and grief, could I really go on living after this? I had already endured a grueling battle with cancer, but this tragedy seemed unbearable.
The media seemed to be present from the very start. Friends and family came to our house that very same day to comfort us, a constant stream of prayers and food and love. They answered the phone for us. All was spinning while my world had stopped.
He encouraged and comforted Chuck, placing his hand on my husband's shoulder. Repeatedly, he said, 'Roberts, we love you. We want you as our friend.' After 45 minutes, Chuck lifted his head, looked into Henry's eyes, and said 'Thank you, Henry!' In that moment, within my spirit, I knew that my husband would heal.
And this was the beginning of an amazing narrative. For Henry's initiative was just the start, as the Amish people - the very ones who had suffered at the hands ofmy son - responded with many more words and gestures of forgiveness.
What is this that we hear? The Amish are saying they forgive. This message became a story bigger than the event itself, a story that went around the world in less than 24 hours of the tragedy.
Rattled with grief, I longed to recoil from everything that was swirling around me, but this outpouring of forgiveness was not something I could ignore. I thought I needed solitude. Soon, though, I saw that I needed to accept this new reality. My life was now interwoven with the Amish community, a people who were offering me compassion in the midst of their own grief. And so I embraced this gift of acceptance, still crumpled within myself, yet immensely grateful for the whisper of hope.
I already knew about, and believed in, the forgiveness extended to us in Jesus. I had trusted this for years. Here, I was learning afresh this truth, displayed by the people whose lives had been devastated along with mine. I experienced personally that the Amish do not merely forgive from a distance. No, they develop the relationship much further.
The Amish realize that when two lives collide under injurious circumstances, they become forever intertwined. And the act of forgiveness ushers in an ongoing interaction, just as God grants to us a relationship of peace through Jesus. The offence is dismissed, the divide is overcome. Because of this mercy, the two sides are no longer separate. They are joined together. And, surprisingly, the wrongdoer is even welcomed!
On the day of Charlie's funeral, the extent of their noble forgiveness was more evident than anyone could have predicted. As our small family grouping approached the burial site, I was bewildered to see a massive array of media clustered behind a police barricade. Could we not have privacy in our grief? The telescopic lenses peered across the fields toward the cemetery as we followed the casket.
And then, from behind a white shed on the edge of the property, I saw something remarkable. More than thirty Amish men and women emerged with their backs toward the cameras, spreading across the grass to shield us from the press. Their religious norms prevent them from posing for photographs, yet here they honored their custom while honoring us as well.
Among them were parents of the victims, their eyes overflowing beneath wide-brimmed hats and crisp bonnets. Even while weeping, their immense sympathy stood strong. This quiet community, known as plain people, exhibited on that day an extravagance of tenderness.
We didn't linger long at the burial site, but before we left, the Amish people approached us to express their condolences. No fictional account would have even thought to fabricate their sincere words as they said, 'We are so sorry for your loss.' I was nearly speechless as their genuineness penetrated my heart.
Their gracious action gradually expanded my perspective. After that first day, there came one tomorrow after another. My healing was not sudden, but I have more than survived. No one could have predicted the relationships and growth, sprinkled with blessings, over the days and months and years.
It is unfathomable that I can smile so authentically, expressing the joys that have come into my life. Loss has not left us. I still see the stain of missing pieces, the awareness of encounters that I could have enjoyed with people, with my son. However, life has been made new, with opportunities unanticipated.
We each must stretch beyond our hurt, making the effort toward healing. By stuffing our hurts, we are only hurting ourselves. We were made to be relational.
Of course, life still isn't perfect, but it has taken on a new normal. I began visiting Rosanna, the Amish schoolgirl who was most acutely injured, assisting the family with her care. It is a home where there is laughter, along with chores to be done, a cow to be milked, butter to be made.
Watching Rosanna's father roast a pig was quite an event to behold on a steamy summer evening. Nearby neighbors also noticed the huge, blazing fire pit, which calmed as the wrapped pig was placed on the flames and covered with soil for an eight-hour roast. And yet, despite the activity, there is nothing easy about Rosanna's context, given the condition of her health. I feel privileged to participate in the life of her family.
The other families, too, have welcomed me into their lives. Less than a year after The Happening, as the Amish call it, all of them came to our home for a picnic. It was a wonderful time together, and the following month I hosted a tea for the girls attending the Nickel Mines school, which was renamed New Hope.
In the fall of 2007, the mothers of the schoolchildren gathered in my dining room for a lovely tea. We nibbled on homemade goodies while talking openly of the highlights and deepest struggles of the previous year. It was exhilarating and sobering, all at once.
In my private reflections there was no exhilaration, of course. I grasped for answers within myself and wherever else there might be clues. What could have caused Charlie to do this? It had never occurred to me that he was unstable or troubled. As a boy, he romped with his friends, riding bicycles, camping as a Boy Scout, playing sports.
I conversed with his childhood chums after the tragedy, and my observations were confirmed: there had been no hint that his life would go askew. That boy had grown into a young man who was a solid worker, driving a tanker to collect milk from dairy farms, even among the Amish. He was a man who had also fallen in love and married, who enjoyed family camaraderie, who seemed content.
I cried out to God, wanting to understand, wanting to resolve the tortuous question, 'Why? Why did he do this, and was any of it my own fault?' As a mother, certainly I should have noticed something - something that I could have identified and influenced for good. But there had been no indications.
My thoughts veered toward another question. 'Why, on another day long ago, had God spared Charlie's life when his truck flipped over on a harrowing, icy road?' God had been merciful. But this time, for reasons I do not know, God allowed Charlie's truckto arrive at that schoolhouse, to carry out an act that defied life itself.
I have come to no definitive conclusion, yet I have settled my incomprehension with the awareness that God has all knowledge. And that has to be enough for me. In the meantime, I am comforted in hearing others tell me that they saw nothing but good in Charlie over the years. So I live in the uncertainty while not dwelling on my lack of understanding.
And that is the reality of life on this earth - joys and sorrows, intermingled. We all suffer in different ways and at various levels. Our choice is to be ready to receive the joy when it chooses to meet us. We choose to forgive, and we choose to discover joy.
I can allow myself to feel cheated and beaten in this life, or I can choose to see each tomorrow as an opportunity. My circumstances do not have to completely define my future. Hard as it is at times, I face each day as a walk of faith, even when it seems that my path plunges into a dark tunnel. There is always hope. As I put one foot in front of the other, I find a breakthrough where God produces the long-awaited joy!
My ponderings do not pour forth from a professional background. I speak from my experience, encouraging anyone who feels as if life is closing in on them. When the struggles bombard me, I do not retreat - I run to the Scriptures.
I turn to Philippians 4:8-9, focusing my thoughts on what is true and good and right. I consider what is wonderful and worthy of praise, surrendering to God. And, in that surrender, I find the peace for which I yearn. God takes me from my pit of despair to a spacious place of freedom, just as in Psalm 18:19. I am freed from my inward thoughts, looking forward to each tomorrow, trusting that there will be happiness.
It starts with the initiative, like Henry's on day one - the initiative to forgive and to embrace the rough realities of each experience. And then, as day two turns into day three and onward, the sorrows are softened through interaction with others on a similar journey.
When the misery in our hearts is inky black, darker than the darkest night, does life hold impending doom and gloom or an opportunity to make something new? Gut-wrenching pain and the most excruciating circumstances under the sun catapult us into the unknown, the apparent abyss. Yet, along with the pains are joys waiting to be expressed and lived to the fullest. With God, all things are possible - a phrase we recite, a phrase we turn trite.
However, the reality of God's grace truly did penetrate my crushing context, infusing into the lives of our community a spirit of compassion and companionship. We confronted distress collectively, moving forward together. No one would have predicted this on day one.
And God has not left us to face this alone. Gracious as he is, he reaches out to the brokenhearted, bringing beauty out of the ashes of devastation. He turns the mournful cries into hymns of worship. In the darkest of days, he sends good news to the distressed (see Isaiah 61:1-3). That has been my experience, and as I share it with those around me, I see God doing the same in the lives of others.
The ripple effect of forgiveness is endless .


text:
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Abp.Domain.Entities;

namespace Abp.ZeroCore.SampleApp.Core.Shop
{
    public class Product : Entity, IMultiLingualEntity<ProductTranslation>
    {
        public virtual decimal Price { get; set; }

        public virtual int Stock { get; set; }

        public virtual ICollection<ProductTranslation> Translations { get; set; }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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K Scott Allen has posted a really interesting post, well interesting for us Geek types that like to look at code to figure out what is going on. Anyhow, Take a look at his post and then run the console app for the full effect.
Some might say it's a day late, but nevertheless, it is a message. And it's for you.
This entry was posted on January 3, 2007 at 1:10 pm and is filed under C#.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


Is complete digital immersion a good thing or a bad thing for humanity?
Nearly half of the 1,150 experts who weighed in on that question told Pew Research Center that we'll all be better off over the next 10 years — thanks to technology.
This canvass — the ninth non-scientific survey from a collaboration between Pew and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center released last week — offers a glimpse into the minds of researchers, professionals and cultural and industry leaders regarding the world's increasing dependence on digital tools.
And it's a hot topic these days, with conversations swirling around privacy, government regulation of big data, the power of social media platforms, and ultimately, the question of how cozy we want to be with our digital technologies.
While these conversations aren't necessarily new, the Pew canvas with its broad scope of expert voices illustrates just how pressing these questions have become and how urgent the need to find solutions — solutions that involve not just companies, designers and government regulators, but individuals and families.
"People are talking more about this stuff, especially in the context of is it helping or hurting," said Lee Rainie, director of internet and technology research at Pew and co-author of the report. "It's a much more intense and urgent set of questions."
"Using the internet to connect people to resources (health information, world events, education, communication with real friends and family) is a win-win that most people agree on," said Karen Panetta, IEEE fellow and dean of graduate engineering education at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, who did not comment in the Pew canvas. "If the internet was just used for these purposes in an ethical, honest and respectful manner, we would not have any further issues to discuss."
But because the internet is being used in unethical, illegal and unkind ways — we're all still talking.
In fact, the canvas allowed researchers to compile written submissions on what they believe is the first comprehensive "laundry list" of digital concerns/faults/sins, said Janna Anderson, fellow co-author and director of the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University.
And at first blush, it sounds bad.
Digital addictions and dopamine-dosing hooks.
Privacy breaches, weaponized fear and threats to democracy.
Yet, that's a very pessimistic way to view the world, says Avery Holton, an associate professor of communication at the University of Utah who weighed in on the questions for Pew.
Digital connectivity has allowed millions of people around the globe to access information that was previously out of reach, and created the ability to connect with family, friends and even strangers in new and previously unheard of ways.
It has revolutionized commerce, politics, civic life, agriculture, scientific research, education and interpersonal relationships.
Greater technology also means advances in health care, increased access to telemedicine, better public health data and even improved ways of interacting with the world itself.
And because billions of people are using digital technologies in myriad ways every day, it's no longer feasible to think about avoiding it or breaking free, Holton said.
"We know that it will always be there," he said. "The perspective has changed and that's a big deal. Instead of just saying, it's easy to leave, vacate, (we're saying) 'how do we figure out these problems together.' "
And for the first time in the canvass, experts were asked to weigh in with specific solutions — which 92 percent said they believe exist.
Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor and leading researcher into social/tech interactions, particularly with computers, wrote that change begins with redesigning systems so they're not engaging human beings like slot machines. Software should become transparent, ownership of information should be discussed and regulation on ads should increase.
Organizations like the Center for Humane Technology have teamed up with Common Sense Media to reshape the conversation around software design, while organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics have encouraged greater research and awareness into the use of technology and its impacts on children and adolescents.
Other groups like "Wait Until 8th" encourage delayed smartphone ownership for kids, and Digital Detox with its "Camp Grounded" — offers a chance to "disconnect to reconnect."
Even individuals can push back against digital omnipresence by "going gray," on their phones (changing screen settings from enticing color) installing monitoring apps on their phone or even choosingless fancy phones to begin with.
Humans have always had to evolve alongside their technology, said Rainie, whether it was adapting to horses, factory work, the microwave, television or smartphones. However, what's different now is the rate of change, he says, which is exponentially faster than it was several decades ago.
In fact, when Pew asked questions of tech experts in 2010, 80 percent agreed with the statement that "the hot gadgets and applications that will capture the imagination of users in 2020 will often come 'out of the blue' and not have been anticipated by many of today's savviest innovator."
Because of such rapid advancement, there's a lot of energy to find solutions that stave off "worst-case scenarios," said Rainie. And many of those relate to how companies treat our personal data.
Congress recently grilled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about data harvesting from the platform, and he presented Facebook's safeguard to-do list that included restricting the amount of personal data developers can access, investigating apps and building in better controls — like showing users what apps they've used and how to revoke permission to their data.
But it's not just Facebook's issue to solve.
Other experts told Pew about the importance of maintaining a free and open digital space that's not economically divided or politically managed.
That's tough following the "devastating blow" of the repeal of "net neutrality," writes Evan Selinger, a professor of philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology, because "net neutrality" is ultimately about social control.
The problem with just relying on government is that "things changes too quickly, governments don't," says Tom Coughlin, IEEE fellow and president of Coughlin Associates, which provides consulting on digital storage and applications.
Laws may help address questions of ownership and copyright law in a digital age, but better solutions will most likely come out of agreements between providers/services and customers who are "knowledgeable about what companies are doing and are choosing or not choosing to be part of what they're doing."
Case in point: the recent "delete Facebookmovement."
"The biggest challenge facing us is how do we make sure that the tools serve us," Coughlin said, "and we do not end up serving the tools."
The best way to keep those tools in check is through more robust, nuanced media literacy beginning with the youngest users, says Alex Halavais, director of the M.A. in social technologies program at Arizona State University, who's been sharing his thoughts with Pew for years.
His son recently came home with a third-grade homework assignment and the only guidance was "no Wikipedia." A better assignment would have been to check Wikipedia, plus a host of other sources, and update Wikipedia if it's inaccurate, since "that's what it's for," Halavais told the Deseret News.
In the past, media literacy meant being a good audience, but now that "we create media as much as we consume it," that education must change, Halavais said.
Students must learn not just how to create an Excel spreadsheet or compose a tweet, but how to appropriately take credit for online contributions and respect the rights of other creators, how to identify misinformation and mal-information, how to keep personal information safe, and how to be a respectful digital participant.
Coughlin also believes it's crucial that individuals learn how to seek for truth, and minimize their time spent in online echo chambers.
"You learn more from the diversity of opinions than you do listening to a single group," he said. "You stretch your mind, exercise yourself and find out whether everything you believe is truly what is true or if you need to expand your horizons and create nuances in your opinion."
Holton tackles the topic of online truth by having students in his Digital Media II class post something that they know is slightly inaccurate and then review the analytics of their post or tweet.
When students recognize just how far their "cascade of misinformation" has traveled — often into networks of people they don't even know — he said they become cautious and take greater responsibility for what they post.
He also has them repost to admit they made a mistake — a crucial step that reinforces the value of truth, he said.
This type of media literacy, with attention to the "ethical, social and political dimensions" of digital use moves people away from just being "savvy consumers," and more toward "engaged citizens in democratic polities and, most grandiosely, human beings pursuing good lives of flourishing in informed and conscious ways," wrote Charles Ess, a professor in the department of media and communication at the University of Oslo. "All of that is obviously a lot to demand — both of educational systems and of human beings in general."
Yet a growing number of people are willing to do just that, evidenced by the pages and pages of suggested solutions in the Pew report.
"These experts put a lot of time into writing their opinions," said Anderson with Elon University. "We want the public to look at this (and realize) that everybody has to work together to make that happen."


Reviews Summary Positive We found 14 reviews that said the staff were helpful and polite. 11 guests reviewed the hotel's location, 11 said it was conveniently located. 14 mentioned the cost of their booking in a review, nine thought it was a fair price.
Reviews Summary Negative Out of 15 reviews about the beds, 11 said they were unclean. We found six reviews that said the shower was dirty, only one thought it was clean.
Description Set in Weymouth, the Super 8 Motel Weymouth is located an easy drive from Boston and Cambridge. The town centre is within an easy drive of the motel. The Super 8 Motel Weymouth offers a convenient 24-hour reception as well as luggage storage. The motels professional staff are available to assist with local insight on excursions, activities and dining. The rooms are air conditioned and equipped with a hair dryer, cable / satellite channels and a refrigerator. Each includes facilities such as a microwave, free local calls and a telephone. The area around the Super 8 Motel Weymouth has a lot of popular cafés and restaurants. John F Kennedy Library is less than a 20-minute drive from the motel.


Travel Tips from Dan! Gretch Runs: Travel Tips from Dan!
Sorry, it's been awhile since my last guest post. Unfortunately I haven't done too much running this year, but I do have some healthy travel tips to share since I started traveling a little more for work. I am by no means an expert, but I wanted to share with you some things I've learned and especially invite you to share with me some tips of your own! Some of my advice is health-based and some is finance-based. While being as healthy as you can be, it's important to save money too, because we want you to be able to afford more trips for many years to come!
My pointers are based on flying to a destination, staying at a hotel for several days to a couple weeks, and being able to pack a lunch box most days. So if your travel consists of driving to a weekend culinary destination where you'll be walking all day, then feel free to tailor these tips to your individual situation and hopefully they'll still be useful to you.
Do yoga and back exercises the night before your flight. It doesn't take long to start feeling stiff sitting on that plane. The longer the flight, the worse your body will be aching. Do yourself a favor and exercise a little bit the day before.
Stay hydrated. Bring an empty water bottle with you to the airport. Once you're through security, you can fill up your water bottle at a water fountain or a water bottle filling station. Don't pay $3 for a 16oz bottle in the terminal. It's expensive and wastes plastic.
DO NOT buy food in the terminals or on the plane. Instead, bring your own snacks, protein bars, crackers, etc. with you. The fast food at the airport is even more overpriced than your local spot, and doesn't taste any better. It's also not as nutritious as the snacks you already know and love.
Piggy backing off of the last tip, make sure you bring enough snacks for your layover too. Traveling is exhausting and you'll definitely be hungry after your first flight or two. I'm glad I had these snacks with me for my layover in Charlotte. The water bottle was a reused bottle I brought from home. So, I spent about $2 total on my layover munchies instead of $10-$20 at one of the fast food joints or restaurants in the terminal.
If you're physically able (and especially if you're not in a rush), always opt for taking the regular stairs instead of escalators or moving walkways. Get those limbs moving and the blood pumping. You'll be plenty stationary once you're on the plane.
STAY AWAY from Starbucks! I know you love it, I know it's addicting, I know it's everywhere… but it's just simply not worth it. Drink coffee at home before you leave or get free coffee during your flight's drink service.
Speaking of drinks on the plane, opt for water, juice, or coffee instead of soda (pop/coke depending on where you're from). We all know by now the negatives of soda. Sure it's refreshing, but you shouldn't compromise your health just because you're up in the air.
Once again, pack your own snacks. Not only is this cheaper than buying the pre-packaged boxes on the plane, but you can also have something nutritious and filling.
If your flight is longer than 2 hours (or any length if you have an aisle seat), I highly recommend standing up, stretching, or even walking around a little bit. You'll probably end up doing this anyway to head to the restroom, but make sure you get some quality stretches in too. If you're in the middle or by the window, I know it's a pain to ask your seatmates to move just so that you can do some toe touches in the aisle. If you don't stretch on the plane, make sure you stretch when you land.
If you can, try to prepare your lunches and dinners most days instead of eating out. This is definitely easier if you scope out your hotel ahead of time and make sure they have a full size fridge and a stovetop. If you're staying at an air bnb, then of course they have a stove, so GET SOME GROCERIES!
BONUS TIP: On my most recent work trip, my 3 coworkers and I ate out on the hotel grill pretty much every night, using food we got from the local grocery store and fish market. This is a pretty cheap and healthy way to eat local food while still socializing and hanging out. It was just as much fun as eating at a restaurant, but for a fraction of the price, plus we usually had leftovers for lunch. Definitely consider this when traveling with a group.
Now despite what I just said, I actually do recommended eating out every 3 nights for longer trips. The reason for this is to maintain sanity and to keep your trip new and exciting. Believe me, I understand that eating your own prepared foods gets old after a while, especially on vacation. Following this rule of thumb will help you stay motivated and not burn out, and also end up saving money.
When you do eat out at a restaurant, opt for chicken, fish, or vegetarian dishes instead of red meat. For their traditional hamburger recipes, most places will substitute chicken or veggie patties. On my recent trip, I had a draft beer and veggie pizza at a brewery while watching the World Series. If you're going to indulge, this is the way to do it- not grabbing fast food every day!
Going back to the grocery store, there's plenty of healthier choices to be made. Choose almond milk instead of regular milk, choose orange juice with added nutrients, and choose bread that's full of nutrients instead of plain white or wheat.
To stay hydrated throughout the trip, I have a specific system down. On the first day when I go grocery shopping, I buy a medium sized Gatorade bottle and a couple of gallons of the cheapest water the store offers. I drink the Gatorade on the first day and keep refilling the empty bottle with the gallon containers of water as needed. This gives me all of my clean drinking water needs for less than $3.
Go on walks (or runs!) to explore the city you're visiting. You see so much more and get in lots of steps when you walk places instead of driving. Some of my favorite moments of my trips have been going on long walks and discovering cool places that I would have missed.
We all know that organic food stores have more attractive looking produce. I have read that these places are actually more wasteful and less sustainable since they just throw out a ton of fruits and veggies just because they don't look as nice. What are your thoughts/opinions on this subject? Thanks!
That's all I have for now. Happy travels!
As much as I am team pack my lunches & snacks during regular life, I actually usually make an exception at the airport. If I have a longer layover I'll scope out the airport online before I go to look at food options. I take snacks to make sure I don't arrive hangry, but then I usually kill time and get some walking in by wandering around looking at the different options.
Our travel often has us staying in hotels with no cooking amenities, but we enjoy free hotel breakfast whenever it's offered + stop by a grocery store to pick up things for PBJ. That way we can do lunches on the go AND save money. Then we head out for dinner and try new things. And we'll head to a local liquor store to pick up wine or beer to enjoy in our room post dinner - it's way cheaper than drinking at the restaurants!


text:
Why executives are preparing to switch to software-defined networking
A network without centralized management is as a chaotic as an airport without an air traffic control center.
Image: Mike Kelley
mchamberlainqz
Expansion. At some point every successful business will have to face down the challenges of growth. These are desirable challenges, to be sure: the magnified scope of a fledgling company is a validation of the ideas that first inspired the enterprise. But for any firm, growth means adjusting to a whole new set of tests. It means running a whole new kind of business.
True to the point of cliché, today's transnational marketplace ensures that expansion plans have to be able to scale to a global audience. Growing businesses need to introduce outlets along the supply chain in a variety of geographies and with a range of purposes—manufacturing plants, distribution operations, and points of sale, to name a few. That expanded geographic footprint means expanding a company's wide area network (WAN), which, unfortunately, can increase the threat of digital attacks.
The global economic impact of cybercrime compared against other criminal activity.
No one said competing for a share of the world's economy would be easy, particularly in this hyper-digital age. Ever-evolving threats to network integrity only compound the challenges of growth. Moreover, with more companies sifting through big data on network-accessed software applications—or, Software as a Service (SaaS)—the success of an enterprise is increasingly dependent on connectivity and speed. It is critical that its branches, mobile employees, and center of operations are able to connect on a safe network.
In the past, that has meant responding to threats or managing network traffic flow with manual repairs and localized configurations. But imagine mending a piecemeal framework with countless devices spread around the globe—it's like patching leaks across a sprawling network of pipes. Local solutions lead to inconsistent fixes and complicate a universal approach to supervision. This kind of network is expensive, tedious, and inefficient.
Enter the cloud era. Companies are looking to rebuild their architecture and many are looking to software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) because of their promise of greater ease, flexibility, and savings. Rather than piecing together physical equipment across disparate locations, SDN allows for the central management and control of network services through software, not hardware. By decoupling the control of applications and data units from physical servers it can optimize and virtualize those services with software. With its Instant Self-Service Activation model, NTT Communications offers enterprises the industry's first and most comprehensive cloud-networking SDN product.
Imagine managing air traffic at a busy airport. Instead of sending a host of air traffic controllers to guide every airplane to their appropriate takeoff or landing strip, the airport establishes an air traffic control center and mounts sensors on each airplane to monitor their movements. Controlling airplane traffic from a central location is a much more effective and intelligent use of resources.
If it is difficult to follow the conceptual appeal, that's understandable. It can be challenging for large, traditional companies to see the benefit in technology spending; widespread adoption of SDN will require a collective leap of faith. Still, the excitement about the possibilities of virtualization remains high: a recent survey of IT decision makers found that many executives didn't fully understand the technology but were preparing to switch to it.
IT Decision-Makers are excited about the possibilities of SDN & NFV, even if they don't fully understand how they function.
Those executives recognize that a few factors—globalization, a need for adaptive network security, increased employee mobility, and the transition to SaaS—are redefining the business IT environment. It's true that big service providers have long offered proprietary solutions. And those worked for enterprises at a time when software was hosted on-site and network speed requirements were constant. But now, with applications spread across cloud-hosted data centers and mass information needs demanding a more responsive network, those solutions are less useful.
The year of 2015 is poised to be a big one for SDN. Forward-looking telecoms like NTT Communications have positioned themselves as first-movers in this space, moving away from offering full-service only products to hybrid products like self-service or pay-per-use virtualization software. These kinds of products will allow nascent companies flexibility when centralizing network functions like security protocols, routing, firewalls, remote access, or application accelerators. The possibility of implementation on commodity hardware—in other words, a non-proprietary, or out-of-the-box computer—will make hardware affordable and easy to obtain.
Those businesses shrewd enough to expand in today's rapidly innovating global market have seen what the cloud can do for their data platforms. Early adopters of SDN and NFV just might see themselves at the forefront of next-generation network operations.
Read more about how NTT Communications can help to build a secure, scalable Global ICT solution for your company here.
This article was produced on behalf of NTT Communications by the Quartz marketing team and not by the Quartz editorial staff.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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NEW TAX POLL: Democrats Must Fight Against the GOP Tax Plan or Risk Ceding Issue to Republicans
Polling Shows That Progressives Must Continue To Focus Their 2018 Strategy On The Tax Plan's Harmful Impact On The Middle Class
press@notonepenny.org
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Not One Penny campaign hosted a press call with Senator Chris Van Hollen, Pollster Margie Omero, and Tax March Executive Director Nicole Gill to discuss new national polling showcasing the importance of progressives mobilizing against the TrumpTax ahead of critical 2018 midterm elections.
The polling shows that Democrats are well-positioned to influence the debate regarding the GOP tax plan, as long as they continue to sell the public on why the GOP tax bill is bad for working families. Conversely, if Democrats cede ground to Republicans and avoid discussing the tax plan, they hurt their party's overall position and boost opinion of the law in the vacuum they create.
Voters polled were split into four groups: one group heard an anti-TrumpTax message, one heard a pro-TrumpTax message, and two heard a mixture of both. The results are clear: Democrats can win on the tax issue, and they neglect it at their peril.
A standalone anti-TrumpTax message shifts support for the plan substantially, from a 4-point margin against the plan (40 percent to 44 percent) to a 26-point margin (a 22-point shift) against the plan (31 percent to 58 percent).
A standalone pro-TrumpTax message shifts support for the plan, from a 4-point margin against the plan (40 percent to 44 percent) to an 11-point margin (a 15-point shift) in support of the plan (52 percent to 41 percent).
A balanced message regarding the TrumpTax shifts support for the plan, from a 4-point margin against the plan (40 percent to 44 percent) to a 7-point margin (an 3-point shift) against the plan (42 percent to 49 percent).
This survey, conducted by GBA Strategies on behalf of Not One Penny also shows that:
With massive spending from the Koch brothers and other corporate supporters, support for the GOP tax plan has risen since passage, yet it remains unpopular, as only 39 percent of Americans on average support the tax plan.
Americans overwhelmingly believe that the GOP tax plan benefits wealthy individuals and corporations.
Only 21 percent of voters report that the GOP tax bill has had a positive impact for their personal finances.
48 percent of Democrats say that the GOP tax bill will be a major factor in their vote during the upcoming midterm elections, compared to 41 percent of Republicans.
Progressives can win the argument on taxes if they engage the debate, but it will be costly if they shy away. Results show that when voters are exposed to both conservative and progressive messaging, opposition to the bill outpaces support.
"It doesn't matter if you are in a red state or a blue state, cutting Medicare and Medicaid to pay for a tax cuts for rich people is not going to be a good message," said Senator Chris Van Hollen.
"We are hearing it across the country–voters are angry that Republicans have gone even further to rig the game in favor of their wealthy friends," said Nicole Gill, Executive Director of the Tax March. "Any way Republicans try to sell this, it's a plan that was made exclusively for their wealthy corporate friends, and won't help working families."
This survey was conducted via online panel matched to a voter file with 2,000 registered voters nationally from February 9 to 17, 2018. The margin of error is +/- 2.2%.
GBA Strategies Memo
Not One Penny Memo
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Available 24/7 Free Immediate Response
VW Attorneys
Top Los Angeles Domestic Violence Defense Attorneys
The Weinrieb Law Firm is widely regarding as a leading team of domestic violence defense attorneys in Los Angeles. The firm has successfully defended hundreds of people charged with felony and misdemeanor domestic violence offenses in Los Angeles County courts.
If you or someone you care about is facing a domestic violence charge, the criminal defense attorneys at the Weinrieb Law Firm can help explain the charges and properly defend against them. Contact us for a free consultation at (818) 933-6555.
What Is "Domestic Violence"?
"Domestic violence," "Domestic Abuse," "Spousal Abuse" or "Spousal Battery" all refer the intentional use of violence or force on someone with whom the defendant has a current or former intimate relationship.
As discussed below, Domestic Violence can be charged under three different sections of the penal code – which section applies to you and whether it is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depends on, among other things, any injuries resulting from the event and the relationship between the defendant and the victim.
Domestic Violence Charges – (1) Infliction Of Corporal Injury On A Spouse Or Domestic Partner; (2) "Simple" Domestic Battery; (3) Aggravated Assault
Infliction of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Domestic Partner (Penal Code § 273.5):
Infliction of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Domestic Partner is the willful use of force or violence on a spouse, former spouse, current or former cohabitant, or the mother or father of the defendant's child that results in a physical, traumatic condition. In other words, there must be some evidence of injury, no matter how slight.
Infliction of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Domestic Partner is a "wobbler" and can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.
"Simple" Domestic Battery (Penal Code § 243(e)(1)):
Simple Domestic Battery is the willful use of force or violence on a spouse, former spouse, current or former cohabitant, the mother or father of the defendant's child, or a former or current fiancée, or former or current boyfriend/girlfriend.
Simple Domestic Battery is a misdemeanor and may be charged where there was physical contact, but no physical evidence of injury to the victim. It also has a broader reach than Infliction of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Domestic Partner because it applies to a former or current fiancée, or former or current boyfriend/girlfriend.
Elements Of A Domestic Violence Charge
The prosecution must prove the following facts to convict a defendant of Domestic Violence:
"Domestic" Victim – The victim is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant (for example, a boyfriend and girlfriend living together), a former cohabitant, or the mother or father of the defendant's child.
Intent – Defendant used deliberate force and meant to commit the abusive act, even if the result or injury was not intended.
Corporal Injury – The abuse resulted some bodily injury that Defendant used deliberate force to inflict. Examples of deliberate force are slapping, hitting, pushing, punching and kicking. Accidental force, for example, an accidental push, is not deliberate force.
The Victim Suffered A "Traumatic Condition" – The victim's injury must be a "traumatic condition". A traumatic condition requires a visible injury, but it does not need to be a serious injury. The injury can be small, such as a tiny scratch, or a more serious injury such as visible swelling or trauma. If the victim's injury is very serious, the prosecution may seek to "enhance" the charge by alleging a "great bodily injury" to increase the defendant's punishment.
"Intimate Partner" Victim – The victim must be a person within any of the categories for a "Domestic" victim (see above), and also includes a current and former fiancée or a current or former boyfriend/girlfriend.
Intent – Defendant used deliberate force or violence, even if the result or injury was not intended.
Unwanted Physical Touching – The force or violence resulted in an unwanted physical touching, no matter how slight. The touching does not need to result in an injury or even a visible mark.
Punishment For Domestic Violence
As with any crime, the potential punishment for domestic violence will vary based on the facts of the case, and can include:
Infliction of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Domestic Partner is a "wobbler" and can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. In deciding whether to file the charge as a misdemeanor or felony, the prosecutor will consider, among other things, the extent of the victim's injuries and the defendant's criminal history.
Misdemeanor — Up to one year in county jail and a $6,000 fine, or both
Felony – 2, 3 or 4 years in a state prison, a $6000 fine, or both.
Up to 1 year in county jail
Up to a $2,000 fine
Minimum one-year batterer's treatment program if probation is granted
Defenses To Domestic Abuse Charges
Depending on the particular facts of a case, defenses to a Domestic Violence charge may include the following:
False Accusations– Arguments between spouses and domestic partners can often result in false accusations of domestic abuse
Self Defense– Defendant used reasonable self defense to protect himself or herself from an attack from their spouse or domestic partner
Accident— Defendant did not deliberately do an act to cause injury
If you or someone you care about is facing criminal investigation or criminal charges of any type, or if they are interested in seeking expungement of a past criminal conviction, please contact the criminal defense attorneys at the Weinrieb Law Firm. We can be reached twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week at (818) 933-6555, or through the confidential and secure email form.
DUI and Driving
16000 Ventura Blvd. PH 1208
garret@vwattorneys.com
© Copyright 2018 WEINRIEB LAW FIRM


text:
Murdoch – a toxic stream since 1919 . . .
Heinz Fuchs, poster, Germany, 1919
An article in Counterpunch reveals the true legacy of the Murdoch newspaper empire stretches back to those defining years just after World War One at the beginning of the last century.
During the recent hearing into the phone-hacking scandal in the British Parliament – when Rupert Murdoch received a pie in the face despite the efforts of his wife to apprehend the shaving-foam assassin – he claimed that his father ['a modest newspaper proprietor'] had left him one small provincial newspaper to run, which Rupert had then transformed into a media empire.
He also made claims about his father's role in exposing the 'scandal of Gallipoli', which Ian Jack in The Guardian dismissed as – at the least – an exaggeration;
Sir Keith was "not rich" only by Rupert's standards, and the disclosure of the mess at Gallipoli owed at least as much to the Daily Telegraph's reporter, Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett, as to him.
The article in Counterpunch describes how ;
Rupert's father, Sir Keith, founded the dynasty during World War I as a dirty-tricks minion for "Billy" Hughes, probably Australia's nastiest prime minister.
It then tells how after a malicious anti-semitic campaign against the Jewish General in charge of the Australian troops – which failed – Keith Murdoch threw the weight of his paper's influence behind the parties at Versailles who were determined to exact the cruellest vengeance on the German population.
Already starving, and with large areas of Germans being either ethnically-cleansed or handed over to neighbouring powers, the continuing blockade as well as the financial sanctions imposed on the German economy proved a fertile ground for the early versions of the Nazi party – the Freikorps and Nationalists – to grow and prosper in the desperate climate.
At Versailles, Keith was Billy's ever-present aide in striving to make the Peace Conference into a vicious cock-up, rich in racist and imperialist content. Curiously, the pair would have had zero leverage but for the failure of a plot of Keith's, which sought in 1918 to remove Australia's battlefield commander on the Western Front, John Monash, for being an unheroic Jew. (Monash wrote home that it was a bore having to fight a "pogrom" at the same time as fight Ludendorff.) The overall commander, General Douglas Haig, wouldn't play: and Monash's divisions led the British breakthrough at Amiens which, ruining Ludendorff, put Germany – suddenly, unexpectedly– at the Allies' mercy. Haig and other soldiers hoped there might be space for a decent peace. But politicians of various brands thought otherwise and none outdid Keith's boss in vengeful demagoguery, destroying at last all the credit Monash had gained for Australia. Billy and Keith weren't prime authors of the Versailles debacle in 1919. But none toiled harder in its cause.
Murdoch's other smokescreen – that he is an outsider battling the Establishment; a representative of the common man is also demolished in another Counterpunch article called The Phony Populism of Rupert Murdoch ;
The 'Dirty Digger' himself might have lacked the right accent, but even when he was first challenging the newspaper establishment, he was scarcely proletarian. Murdoch inherited his first paper, the Adelaide News, from his father, Sir Keith; he did his schooling at Geelong Grammar, a quintessential finishing college for the rich and entitled that also educated a young Prince Charles.
The journalist David Marr tells of attending a lecture in which Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert's son, denounced the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for drawing attention to his shenanigans in the mobile phone business: the particular program in question was, he said, a 'disgracful and biased attack' by 'our media elite'. So powerful has the peculiar vocabulary of New Class anti-elitism become that a man born into the most powerful media dynasty the world has ever seen can still present himself, without any trace of irony whatsoever, as an outsider being done down by society's rulers.
Since Murdoch's appearance at the Parliamentary Committee, a number of other significant developments;
Evidence given by James Murdoch to the Committee concerning his knowledge of the endemic phone-hacking at News International has been called into question by various ex-NI executives and ex-employees.His agreement to a massive payout to keep a case out of a public court now looks like an attempt to pervert the cause of justice.
A laptop and phone in a bag found near Rebekah Brooks' house has been claimed by her husband, who claims that she has nothing to do with either, and is attempting to retrieve said items from the police. This story was covered extensively for two days, and then disappeared from the media. Mr Brooks is an old Etonian racehorse owner.
Sean Hoare, the former NOTW journalist; the first to claim Andy Coulson knew about phone hacking.
Sean Hoare, a real journalist and the first real 'whistleblower' in this story, a 47-year-old who was sacked by the NOTW by then-editor Andy Coulson because of drink and drugs "problems," was found dead at his London residence by police last Monday, 18 July [from here – a site that strangely comes very near to the top of a Google search on this subject, which seems to suggest that the public is not as convinced by the 'no suspicious circumstances' line as the British media].As one of the comedians on the BBC 'satire' the Now Show put it – it's been investigated by the police – the same police who's top officers are currently resigning in the wake of this scandal. So that's alright then . . .
Two of the Met's top police officers, including Sir Paul Stephenson, the Chief Commissioner, have resigned over their links with the News International corporation. The other is John Yates, the policeman who twice resisted calls to reopen the investigation into phone hacking, and who resigned as Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police over his relationship to Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of the News of the World.
Les Hinton, NI Chief Executive and old friend of Murdoch has also resigned from the company, pending investigations into his time at the NOTW. Ex-editor of The Sun and the NOTW Rebekah Brooks has been arrested over suspicions of involvement in phone-hacking and the corruption of police officers.
This toxic seam has only just started to reveal a corruption that has spread throughout the ruling class of Britain – it is impossible to say how much further the Establishment will let the investigations proceed.
Needless to say, there are probably more than a few people who saw the news about Sean Hoare and thought it might be better to keep their lips carefully sealed; and a few others who are checking their backs, waiting for their Brutus to bring them down; especially the ones who – as on old friend of mine from the East End commented 'know where the bodies are buried . . . '
Good luck folks !
Posted in Corporate crime, editorial, Geopolitics, secret histories | 1 Comment »
Schadenfreude – NewsCorp goodbye !
Friday, July 8th, 2011
Rebekah Brooks leaves NotW earlier - NewsCorp on the run . . .
For those of us living in South East London, the scandal which could yet do for Murdoch's NewsCorp empire and has led to the demise of the world's biggest-selling English language newspaper is the culmination of a long, sordid story that has been running like a sceptic sore through the whole of British society for over 30 years.
Murdoch first came to public notice in the UK as the son of a millionaire newspaper magnate who acted as the shock force for the Thatcher Government's assault on the unions in the early 1980's, when he moved his titles to an automated plant at what became known as Fortress Wapping.
The plant had been set up and equipped secretly; with the aim of introducing automation to the extent that most of the printers would be left without jobs.
A strike developed into nightly battles outside the plant, with vast fleets of TNT lorries being escorted past the rioting crowds by armies of police. For Thatcher the benefits were twofold.
Murdoch could break the power of the print union – one of the workforces who had managed, since the Second World War to actually take a share in the vast profits of the capitalist class. Secondly, she was able to rely on Murdoch, who laughingly called himself a 'libertarian' but is in fact the worst sort of old monopolist capitalist. He duly provided support for the Conservatives until the public finally revolted after 18 years, and he quickly switched allegiance to the neo-con patsy Tony Blair.
And one for the memories ! Thatcher leaves No. 10
With the 'death of the print' came the slow decline of many inner city East End and South East London communities; their pubs, old jazz bands, and local Labour [not Nu Labor] parties. After the death of the docks – when dockers were replaced by containers and some guy in a crane – the death of 'the print' was the final straw. It also set the model for other industry post the 'white heat of technology' revolution proclaimed in the Wilson era; when workers, instead of working less and being paid more, would end up working more to produce more profit for less pay, with less rights than their parents.
If you were not prepared to accept the new debt-slavery, you would join the millions of other unemployed on the scrapheap that increasingly piled up at the base of the pyramid.
And meanwhile Rupert would steer his papers to clean up through a mix of scandal, bile and witch-burning bigotry – thus obscuring even more the real social news of the country; in which the world he and his media helped create was becoming increasingly cruel, stupeified and unequal. Like the republicans in the USA – whose cause he has unfailingly promoted – he could make the poor vote for their own oppression, with a combination of ignorance, misdirection and tawdriness, reducing life to twitching net curtains, stained sheets and a trail of blood.
And that leads to the other untold tale of how the Murdoch Empire has corrupted the body of everyday society in the UK.
Daniel Morgan - still awaiting justice after 24 years
The story concerns a private eye [PI] in South-East London beheaded in the car park of a pub called the Golden Lion in Forest Hill, South East London on Tuesday 10 March 1987.
Involved in the plot – in a away that at least five police 'investigations' and two court cases have not been able to fully determine – are a sordid bunch of fellow PI's and ex-policemen, who have been convicted of other crimes including drug running and framing a woman on a cocaine charge in a divorce case.
They were working for the News of the World when it was edited by Andy Coulson, David Cameron's Director of Communications in 10 Downing Street; digging the dirt on anyone and everyone – and that's all we know so far.
Rebekah Brooks, now Chief Executive of News International actually had the lead Detective investigating the murder followed and bugged whilst she was editor of the News of the World. She later told police that she thought he might have been having an affair with a fellow officer [who was, in fact, was obviously his wife].
Andy Coulson's evidence at the Tommy Sheridan 'trial' is now also being called into question – which could lay him open to a charge of perjury and throw more doubts on the case against the Scottish socialist leader.
The corruption which was endemic in the London police in the 1980's, especially the drug squads – and was hinted at in various inquiries into the Stephen Lawrence murder – and its effect on the street from then until the present day was in no short measure due to the pernicious, deceptive media of Murdoch. By making his papers so viscious and tacky but profitable – where you had no professional printers to pay, and no journalists because you'd replaced them with phone hackers, gossips, snitches and smut peddlers – he was slowly dragging all the others down into the same gutter.
It will be interesting to see how the dice fall now – these people built the gallows for enough – often innocent – people. It will be interesting to see how they fancy taking the long walk themselves now, as their masters scramble to distance themselves from their once so-loyal minions . . . .
Posted in editorial | 1 Comment »
Fukushima cover-up in UK – Government conspires with nuclear industry to spin disaster
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
Guardian Online - front page 30/06/11
A report in the Guardian on the 30th June 2011 has revealed what we all suspected [see previous blogs] with the release of information about the true extent of the disaster in the Japanese nuclear plants following the earthquake and tsunami.
With the hard evidence of leaked emails between Government and the nuclear industry, the Guardian article details just how far the spin has extended to an attempt to cover-up the amount of radioactive leaks and their effects on the surrounding population in Japan, as well as its spread across the globe.
Here are just some of the articles in Counterpunch in recent weeks, which reveals the amount of alarm in the scientific and medical communities not being reported in the general media.
Is the Dramatic Increase in Baby Deaths in the US a Result of Fukushima Fallout?
Same Old Tricks From the Nuclear Gang ; The People Who Brought You Fukushima
Will GE Get Whacked for the Catastrophic Failure of Its Fukushima Reactors? ;The Hubris of Nuclear Engineers
~These articles are interesting as a different perspective on the problems of global warming, and attempts by the nuclear lobby to manipulate the whole debate, using it as a way of persuading desperate environmentalists [eg. George Monbiot ] that nuclear power is the only solution.
In the Midst of Fukushima: Ahoy There, Nuke-Loving Greens, Welcome to the Real World!
How Global Warming Rescued the Atomic Lobby ; The "Green" Nuclear Cabal
Bi-Partisan Atomic Flackery ; Nuclear Power Madness
And also a couple of activist sites with handy updates on the crimes and cover-ups of the nuclear industry around the world . . .
nukefree.org (USA)
Envirovideo
And now a report that a French reactor is in trouble . . .
and in the UK;
Jellyfish shut down nuclear reactors
Both units at Torness power station closed after jellyfish found in seawater filters
Posted in editorial, environmental, Fukushima, nuclear | 2 Comments »
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Char Mitrailleur FT 17
by: David Niescior [ AIRWARRIOR ]
The Ft-17 was introduced by the French in 1917. The first versions used either a machine gun or cannon, and used a bolted turret. This model represents a cast turret version with a machine gun. It includes a photo etch fret, and is quite enjoyable, unless you have a disliking for small parts.
Upon opening the box, I was pretty pleased, it resembled the smaller 1/72 scale kit, which I had built earlier, and wasn't surprised by anything. It contained about 5-7 part sprues (can't remember the number exactly) molded in light gray plastic, similar to DML's. I opened the shrink-wrap, and examined it. Not much flash, but large sprues, making cleanup difficult at times, and plenty of parts for the spares box. The tracks were initially disappointing, but I will go into that later. Detail was pretty good, especially for a small run eastern company.
Construction was all right, though some things were met with words muttered under my breath. Suspension proved to be tricky, and left you wondering at times. The model also included a photo-etch fret, which provided some good detail at times, though I did not attach much, as I didn't have the proper tools for bending. The kit also included a mediocre interior, intended to be seen through opened doors, though I decide to build my tank "buttoned up".
After opening the box, I was immediately disappointed by them. Bending them to inspect their tenseness, one length snapped in half. This might have been a production quality control issue, but I doubt it. Also, upon test fitting to the model I was again disappointed. They were too long, and since they were too tense, when pushed onto the return rollers, they flexed out, obviously not touching the drive wheel. They were also impossible to glue with anything, I tried superglue and plastic cement, and even in desperation, the two mixed together, but nothing works. I resorted to using a staple, which in the end worked fine as it was covered by mud.I would recommend purchasing aftermarket individual links, as they have a lot more detail and are less of a pain compared to the rubber band tracks.
The Instructions were not the most impressive either. All part numbers, in the exception of one sprue, were on the instructions on a small diagram, which made building the model include lots of page turning. They also left you guessing at times, especially when building the suspension. It also came with separate instructions for the use of the photo etch, which was better than the main building instructions, and had a nice picture of a finished model on back, which is good for inspiration.
TRACKS: 40%
INSTRUCTIONS: 70%
CONSTRUCTION: 80%
About David Niescior (airwarrior)
FROM: NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES
Hmmm, so you wanna know about me? Well, for starters I am 16 years old, and have been modeling since I was about 7 or 8. When my parents found they were having me, they decided to give up smoking, and to keep them from having the option of buying cigarrettes, they would buy as many kits as they coul...
Copyright ©2019 text by David Niescior [ AIRWARRIOR ]. All rights reserved.


text:
Q: Does using Windows CMD to shut down a computer cause any damage? When you launch shutdown -i to shutdown a computer from the command prompt (CMD), does it damage the computer that is being turned off (either local or remote)?

A: The shutdown command in Windows performs a normal shutdown/reboot/logoff on the computer (local or remote). If you did close all your running programs and saved your files, there's no difference between running any shutdown command (with any parameter) or using the windows user interface from the Start menu, and the command doesn't damage the computer or filesystem in any way.
More about running programs: if some programs preventing the shutdown are running, Windows will automatically try to terminate them, and, if that isn't possible, it will prompt you about it. The only problem you can have here arises for programs performing unsaved changes to files: if they provide an automatic recovery of not properly closed sessions (e.g. like Microsoft Office) they will save their state to recover it on the next start, otherwise you'll lose the unsaved data.

A: No it won't.
When you use the start menu to shutdown the computer, it will also use the same shutdown command, just with different parameters.
The shutdown -i option was made to expose features that the normal windows startmenu does not offer without requiring to use commandline. For example, shutdown -i can be used to send a shutdown command to another PC.
In a similar fashion that shutdown -i won't damage your computer, neither will shutdown -s -t 0.
There is also the -f option, which is to force a shutdown. This will not damage your windows, but it may cause any unsaved data (such as an open word document that was not saved) to be lost.
Normally windows will show you a dialog with: There's a program preventing a shutdown. Do you want to cancel or continue anyway? A timeout will eventually abort the shutdown. With the -f option, instead of showing the message, it will assume the "continue anyway" and close any remaining programs.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: How to convert list of list binary into list of decimal? LIST OF LIST BIN DIVIDED INTO 8 :  [[0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1], [0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1]]
the output I want is:
[101, 119]

A: This is more complex but significantly faster than any kind of string manipulation as it's essentially just integer arithmetic.
from timeit import timeit

lob = [[0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1], [0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1]]

def v1():
    result = []
    for e in lob:
        r = 0
        for _e in e:
            r = r * 2 + _e
        result.append(r)
    return result

def v2():
    return [int(''.join([str(y) for y in x]), 2) for x in lob]

assert v1() == v2()

for func in v1, v2:
    print(func.__name__, timeit(func))

Output:
v1 0.6906622060014342
v2 2.173182999999881


In this paper, Cramer-Rao lower bounds are derived fo r joint estimation of respiration and heartbeat rates via impulse radio ultra-wideband signals. Generic models are employed for displacement functions due to respiration and heartbeat, and the bounds are obtained for the cases of known and unknown channel coefficients. In addition, a two-step suboptimal estimator is proposed, which is based on joint time-delay estimation followed by a least-squares approach. It is shown that the proposed estimator is asymptotically optimal under mild conditions. Simulation studies are performed to evaluate the lower bounds and performance of the proposed estimator for realistic system parameters. © 2007 IEEE.


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Team America: ISIS is 'McCain's Army'
November 21, 2014 By NEWS WIRE 3 Comments
When 21WIRE first put forward the idea that Syrian terrorists (now ISIS/ISIL) form a proxy paramilitary force who are controlled at the highest levels by western intelligence agencies, some would have called that accusation a crazy one. But consider yesterday's history and today's facts, and that supposition is no longer far fetched…
One of the driving political forces behind the proliferation of armed terrorist groups nesting in Syria, is controversial Republican US Senator John McCain from Arizona (photo, left), a man regarded by many as being mentally unstable and no longer fit for public office, let alone fit for heading a Senate Arms Services Committee in 2015.
The war-obsessed Senator has steadily lobbied for shipping more arms and more cash for what he terms as "rebels" in Syria, but who have been consistently proven to be ubiquitous with known violent terrorist groups such as al Nusra, Front Victory and ISIS/ISIL/IS.
McCain can be heard speaking about the Syrian rebel insurgents, constantly boasting how, 'I've been there, and I've met with them. They are freedom fighters and they need more support from us'.
Indeed he has met them, but the picture McCain is painting to the American people is much different than the reality. Below is a photo of McCain leading a pep rally in Syria, meeting with men, including one who looks a lot like ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, or Ibrahim al-Badri aka 'Abu Du'a' (take your pick). Al-Badri was on the list of the five terrorists most wanted by the US. Confirmed in the photo below with McCain is also well known terrorist and kidnapper, Muahmmad Noor (pictured below, holding camera).
McCain's Army: Why was Senator McCain meeting with ISIS leaders in private last year? (Note: al-Badri is second from left, circled in red)
Is John McCain also working in a CIA capacity, or for a foreign entity – with all these official 'unofficial" trips to visit such controversial array of insurgents?
Aside from Syria, he also met with fascist and NeoNazi leaders in Ukraine before the CIA backed coup in February 2014, as well as visiting jailed Muslim Brotherhood agents in Cairo, Egypt, lobbying for their release alongside US Senator Lindsey Graham.
Undoubtedly, McCain has played a central role in both civil collapses in both Libya and Syria, often visiting behind enemy lines in undeclared wars. Through Turkey and into Syria, McCain, along with pro-war colleagues like Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), were sneaked behind terrorist lines in 2013, escorted by ex-special forces paid circa $1,500 per day with journalists, to meeting with "Free Syrian Army" (mercenary) militants and assorted Islamic terrorists, in order to make promises on behalf of the Washington – with all travel expenses (and brown envelopes?) courtesy of the US taxpayer.
This is how McCain is able formulate his politicised 'intelligence', delivered by fake PhD 'experts' like "Dr" Elizabeth O'Bagy and used to make a case for sending more arms to future ISIS insurgents in Syria, as McCain demands more US "boots on the ground" in Syria and Iraq.
The results of these US clandestine policies are nothing short of horrific…
McCain acts as a central hub for organizing instability in various embattled global regions. Middle East correspondant Thierry Meyssan explains:
"When I was in Libya during the "Western"attack, I was able to view a report of the foreign intelligence services. It stated that, on February 4, 2011 in Cairo, NATO organized a meeting to launch the "Arab Spring" in Libya and Syria. According to this document, the meeting was chaired by John McCain."
"Everyone has noticed the contradiction of those who recently characterized the Islamic Emirate as "freedom fighters" in Syria and who are indignant today faced with its abuses in Iraq. But if that speech is incoherent in itself, it makes perfect sense in the strategic plan: the same individuals were to be presented as allies yesterday and must be as enemies today, even if they are still on orders from Washington. (…) the particular case of Senator John McCain, conductor of the "Arab Spring" and longtime partner of Caliph Ibrahim."
Like many before them, ISIS is functioning as a US-controlled covert paramilitary force, who have grown out of control.
Connecting the dots: below is a heady ISIS analysis by writer Tony Cartalucci…
IMAGE: British actor/agent 'Jihadi John' has appeared in numerous ISIS propaganda videos labeled as "authentic" by western 'intelligence community'.
ISIS is America's Dream Rebel Army
Tony Cartalucci
US policy paper reveals desire for construction of full-scale extraterritorial army to invade Syria. Such an army is being built in Iraq and Turkey and it's called "ISIS."
The corporate-financier funded and directed policy think tank, the Brookings Institution, has served as one of several prominent forums documenting and disseminating US foreign policy. It would host in part the architects of the so-called "surge" during the nearly decade-spanning US occupation of Iraq, as well as battle plans for waging a covert war against Iran now well under way.
Part of this covert war against Iran involved the arming and backing of listed terrorist groups, and in particular, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) which has killed US servicemen, American civilians, as well as countless innocent Iranians over the decades. Among those signing their name to this plan found within Brookings' "Which Path to Persia?" report, was Kenneth Pollack. Now, in efforts to overthrow the government of Syria, also a stated and integral part of undermining, isolating, and destroying Iran, Pollack has revealed another element of the plan – to create a full-scale proxy military force outside of Syria, then subsequently invading and occupying Syria with it.
In the report titled, "Building a Better Syrian Opposition Army: How and Why", Pollack cites the so-called "Islamic State" or "ISIS" as the ultimate impetus for expanded US intervention. However, upon looking at Pollack's proposal, it merely looks as if the US is using ISIS as a pretext to more overtly intervene in order to overthrow the government of Syria – not in fact neutralize ISIS.
After a considerable preamble assuring readers that the aim of creating a "better Syrian opposition army" would exclude sectarian extremists and result in the same "success" the US had in training the Iraqi army, the document explains:
…building a new Syrian army is best not done in Syria itself. At least not at first. The program would need the time and sanctuary to perform the necessary training, reorganization, sorting and socialization into a new Syrian army without the distractions and pressures of Syria itself. The Saudi offer to provide facilities to train 10,000 Syrian opposition fighters is one of reasonable possibility, although one of Syria's neighbors would probably be preferable. Jordan already serves as training ground for America's current training program and it would be an ideal locale to build a real Syrian army. However, Turkey could also conceivably serve that purpose if the Turks were willing.
Clearly, not only is this already being done as admitted by Pollack himself, it is being done on a scale already eclipsing Pollack's alleged plan – the only difference is it is being done through the use of sectarian extremists – not the imaginary, nonexistent secular professionals Pollack uses as a marketing gimmick to sell this scheme.
More tellingly, Pollack's plan continues by stating (emphasis added):
In addition to being armed, trained and officered like a conventional military, a new Syrian army would also have to be equipped like one. That would mean not just small arms and crew-served weapons, such as the United States and its allies are already providing, but heavy weapons and logistical support. Like the Croats and Bosniaks, 'a new Syrian army' will need the wherewithal to defeat both the regime and the Islamist extremists. That will require tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, surface-to-air missiles and the like to match the regime's own heavy weapons—and so eliminate the firepower imbalance that the regime's forces have employed to such advantage so far.
Surely, Pollack's plan will never materialize in any practical dimension – however it may be possible to use such a marketing ploy to pour more resources into both the ongoing proxy war against Syria and Iran in general, and more specifically into the terrorist battalions already being armed, funded, trained, equipped, and sent off from Jordan and Turkey into Syrian territory. Handing advanced weapon systems into the hands of front groups consisting of intentionally ineffectual, immensely corrupt, incompetent US proxies is as good as handing the weapons directly to ISIS – and of course – this is precisely how the US is building its actual "new opposition army" – namely, in the form of ISIS itself.
Removing Pollack's rhetoric about secular professionals, and inserting "ISIS" reveals Pollack's paper as the actual already ongoing plan to overrun not only Syria, but pro-Iranian factions in Iraq, and perhaps even Iran itself. ISIS is a massive mercenary army trained and funded abroad by the US with its support laundered via Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey, staged along Syria's borders in both Jordan and Turkey, and acquiring an impressive arsenal just as what is required in Pollack's plan to enter into and overthrow the government of Syria – minus eradicating extremists of course.
RAT LINES: ISIS and Western Spooks have carefully designed a supply network for this new proxy army.
Even a cursory look at ISIS' holdings across the region reveal ratlines leading into NATO-member Turkey's territory and all along the Turkish-Syrian border where news outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post have reported for years the CIA had been operating – unloading billions in aid, gear, weapons, and even vehicles to militants fighting within Syria.
Headlines over the past 3-4 years including: "C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition," – "First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield," – "Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With Aid From C.I.A.," and "Official says CIA-funded weapons have begun to reach Syrian rebels; rebels deny receipt" – reveal precisely how ISIS acquired its vast resources.
ISIS is organized on a professional level precisely as described by Pollack, most likely the result of US military advisers and their counterparts in Saudi and Qatari special operations. ISIS is also heavily armed precisely as was required by Pollack's plan. They now possess an impressive and ever growing arsenal of weapons including tanks, missiles of all kinds, artillery, and even a small collection of aircraft including Russian warplanes and American helicopters.
The New York Times, after years of reporting on the CIA's delivery of weapon systems to "moderate" militants, now laments of ISIS' possession of advanced anti-air missiles. In its article, "Missiles of ISIS May Pose Peril for Aircrews in Iraq," it reports:
Syrian rebels have amassed multiple Manpad models since 2012, and the Islamic State has generally had little trouble acquiring any weapon used by Syrian rebels either through purchase or capture, military analysts say.
Unprepared Iraqi troops – the result of what Pollack claims as an American "success" – have also augmented ISIS with precisely the weapons needed for Pollack's dream "opposition army." No less than 30 M1 Abrams main battle tanks have fallen into ISIS' hands…
Continue this article at Land Destroyer
READ MORE ISIS NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire ISIS File
Filed Under: Featured, US News Tagged With: CIA, ISIS, McCain, Syria News


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Bobak is a given name and a surname. It is a Persian male given name and a variant of Babak, which is derived from the Old Persian , meaning 'young father'.  In Polish, Bobak  is a surname, derived from the Slavic word , meaning "bean" or "broad bean". The name may refer to:

Given name
Bobak Ferdowsi (born 1979), American systems engineer
Bobak Kianoush (born 1978), British musician

Surname
Bruno Bobak (1923–2012), Canadian artist
Celia Bobak, set decorator and art director
Jacqueline Bobak (born 1962), American musician
Katherine Bobak (born 1994), Canadian pair skater
Molly Bobak (1922–2014), Canadian artist and writer
Przemysław Bobak (born 1974), Polish diplomat
Stanisław Bobak (1956–2010), Polish ski jumper

See also

Babak (disambiguation)

References

Persian masculine given names
Polish-language surnames

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia