Minnesota Reading Corps is a statewide initiative to help every Minnesota child beocm a successful reader.
Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC) is a program that places members in schools to enhance literacy instruction. MRC focuses on children from age three to grade three. Some members work with preschoolers and focus on integrating talking, reading, and writing into all activities. Other members tutor children from kindergarten to third grade in literacy. Still others recruit, train and manage community volunteers to expand the capacity of the program. MRC members and volunteers are trained in research-based, leveled literacy instruction. They are also supported by expert coaches. Members track student progress, and with help from their expert coaches, use this data to inform tutoring strategies for each student.
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Area Authors And Illustrators at Saturday Book Signing and Sale In Oil City
Jill McDermott | December 4, 2019
OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) Authors and illustrators from Titusville, Oil City, Erie, and Pittsburgh will participate in a public Book Signing and Sale on Saturday, December 7, in downtown Oil City, as part of "Christmas Past in Oil City."
From 10:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. they will greet guests and then inscribe their works purchased on-site in the office of the Oil Region Alliance at 217 Elm Street in Oil City, where all books will be offered for this day only at half of their regular retail prices. All attendees are welcome to free sets of oil-derrick bookmarks and light refreshments.
Two newly available children's books are "Oil Tales of the Early Days" written by Titusville's Carole Hall and illustrated by her daughter Marcia Hall from Erie, and "Uncanny Annie of the Early Oil Patch" authored by Kathy Flaherty of Pittsburgh with drawings by Titusville's Beverly Schultz.
An unusual soft-cover book entitled "Oily Odes" is original poetry also by Kathy Flaherty.
The husband-wife team of Neil and Lois McElwee of Oil City have combined their skills and research to produce four books which will be available on Saturday. These include "Oil City's Victorian Houses," "Standard Oil Company Men in the Early Oil Region," "The National Transit Company, Standard Oil's Great Pipeline Company," and "Oil Creek: The Beginning."
In addition, already autographed editions of "The Natural Gas Industry in Appalachia" by David Waples and "Myth, Legend, Reality – Edwin L. Drake and the Early Oil Industry" written by Dr. William R. Brice of Johnstown, PA and designed by Oil City's Lynn Pacior Malys are available.
About the Authors and Illustrators
Kathy J. Flaherty is a resident of Pittsburgh. She is an oil history and a prolific poet when it comes to oil history, yet she has a humorous side that shines through each of her books. Employed as a petroleum geologist, she has edited several major annual journals for oil/gas industry educational organizations.
Beverly S Schultz of Titusville used pen and ink to sketch the light-hearted illustrations which accompany Mrs. Flaherty's 58-page story about a grandmother reminiscing about how she, as a youngster, followed a butterfly into the woods and convinced her family to drill a well where the butterfly eventually landed.
Carole E. Hall of Titusville combined into one 34-page hard-cover book five stories she had previously written, to describe everyday life in northwestern Pennsylvania from the late 1700s to the early 1940s. She blends her own family's history with the history and tall tales of the region, as seen from several perspectives.
Marcia J. Hall of Erie County, PA gladly used her stylized drawing skills to prepare black-and-white drawings to illustrate her mother's stories in this 2018 book published by Friends of Drake Well and produced by Mechling Bookbindery in Butler, PA.
Neil McElwee of Oil City, PA is co-owner of Oil Creek Press, along with his spouse and illustrator Lois McElwee. This team focuses their written works on regional oil history, the distinctive architecture of the area, including a special interest in the Standard Oil Company and its pipeline subsidiary, National Transit Company.
David A. Waples of Erie County, PA is the region's expert on the history of the Natural Gas Industry from its beginnings in the area through the modern natural gas companies and techniques. He is retired now, after having been employed by National Fuel Gas Company and having taught at several universities in Erie County.
William R. Brice, Ph.D. of Johnstown, PA is a retired professor emeritus from the Johnstown campus of the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught geology classes for decades. The Past President of the nationwide nonprofit Petroleum History Institute (which is headquartered in Oil City, PA), was commissioned by OIL 150 to research, document, and wrote a major expanded biography of Edwin L. Drake. The resulting 662-page hard-cover full-color book was published in 2009; it was elegantly designed and illustrated by Oil City's Lynn Pacior Malys.
These featured books, as well as all other non-fiction oil history and area history books in the extensive inventory at the Oil Region Alliance office, are discounted for this Saturday only. They will return to regular pricing after this weekend; the books and additional oil region products are available at the ORA business office on weekdays year-round, and through www.OIL150.com and www.oilregion.org.
Category: Local News, News

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Home / 97.1 The Ticket / Sports / Detroit Lions / Lions S Duron Harmon Wants A Better World, And He's Doing His Part
Lions S Duron Harmon Wants A Better World, And He's Doing His Part
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By Will Burchfield 97.1 The Ticket
June 5, 2020 06/05/2020 5:13 pm
Duron Harmon was 17 years old when he experienced racism for the first time, when he understood what it means to be a black male in the United States.
He was in his home state of Delaware, dropping off his mom, his sister and his nephew at Walmart. He parked for a moment in the fire lane outside the entrance, which caught the eye of a police officer nearby.
"He looked at me crazy and I kind of gave him the same look back," Harmon recalled. "Then he circles around, knocks on the door, 'What are you doing right here?' I was like, 'I'm just waiting for my family to get out.' Then he starts snapping, telling me to get out the car. I ask him why, tell him I'm about to move. He's like, 'No, you're not about to move. Get out of the car.' Then all of a sudden he says, 'If you don't roll this window down I'm gonna break this effing glass.' He pulls me out, gets me up, I go to put my hand in my pocket, he starts yelling at me, 'Get your effing hands out of your pocket!'
"I'm a 17-year-old boy, and we did all this for a ticket for parking in the fire lane where all he had to do was just tell me to move. He just didn't like the way I looked at him, he felt like he was in control of the situation, he had to let me know he was the boss."
It wasn't until the police department realized Harmon was a local football star, committed to play at a Division 1 university, that tensions cooled. This would prove to be a theme when Hamon reached the NFL. The new safety for the Lions, acquired this offseason in a trade with the Patriots, spoke for nearly a half-hour with local media Friday morning about his personal experiences with racism and his efforts for change as protests against social injustice and police brutality continue around the country.
Harmon, 29, spent the first seven years of his career in New England, where he remembers being pulled over multiple times for dubious reasons. Like the time he was leaving a mall in Massachusetts with his wife and his son, and a police officer stopped him as soon as he got on the highway because his car still had Delaware plates.
"I'm like, 'So you pull everybody over for not knowing the license plate?'" Harmon asked. "And he didn't really give me an answer."
Or the time he was going to get an MRI in Brockton, a 'predominantly black and brown community' south of Boston.
"Literally 30 seconds from the MRI place and get pulled over, and the first thing the policeman asked me was, 'Whose car is this?' I'm like, 'You see me driving it, it's my car,'" Harmon said. But that didn't satisfy the officer, who asked Harmon what he was doing in Brockton.
"Then he asked for my license, registration and he comes back, and it's so crazy because in both of those instances, after they figure out who I was and who I play for, the conversation obviously takes a turn," Harmon said. "Then they want to talk about the Patriots and us trying to win a Super Bowl."
Harmon doesn't recall these experiences bitterly. They are what they are, a reality of the world he lives in. It's a world Harmon is striving to improve. He's been a vocal participant on the Lions' Zoom calls this week about race relations and how the organization can help affect change, and he's eager to move from Massachusetts to Detroit to start helping at the local level. Harmon is cognizant of his platform as an NFL player and how he can use it to help those in need.
It's something he learned during his time with the Patriots, from former teammates like Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty and Matthew Slater. Harmon teamed up with the McCourty twins last year to help pass an education bill that increased funding for schools in low-income communities in Massachusetts.
"Being able to be a part of changing the education bill in Massachusets and get a billion dollars for unprivileged schools, that's what it's about. That's what's really going to change people," Harmon said. "Me playing the game, yeah, it'll give some people hope, but if I can be a part of something that gave a billion dollars to unprivileged schools, work for that and really lobby, went in front of the legislators and voiced my opinion, that's important.
"I think once I was able to accomplish that, I realized how big our platform is. And I'm just trying to let younger players realize how big their platform is and how much we really can create change."
Harmon was one of several NFL players who followed Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem in 2017. The injustices Kaepernick was protesting then -- police brutality, racial inequality -- are even clearer now.
"It's not something he just did for attention. This is something that this guy is still fighting for today. One of the best leaders of our generation. He's fighting each and every day, so all you can do is respect what he does," Harmon said. "Obviously you're sad because his career didn't go the way it should've went, but I think people are realizing now what he was truly standing for because the world is stopped and people have to listen, they have to see it. There's no turning the other eye. If you're turning the eye, you're condoning it."
Harmon is committed to continuing Kaepernick's fight, and enlisting the help of the NFL along the way.
"I think the NFL is trying to do a good job right now," he said. "They're putting out statements, they're donating money. But as black NFL players, we have to continue to pressure the NFL to truly stay on course and stay at this issue because eventually people are going to get busy again and want to get back in their own worlds. As African American players, we have to make sure the NFL is always fighting this issue and having our back, because we're not going away from this. We're going to make sure that it gets changed, and the only we can do that is with our white brothers and white sisters, because we need them with us.
"We're crying for help and I feel like we're at a point where help is on the way. And the NFL is trying to make sure that they supply that help as well so we can create real change in the world."
Duron Harmon
Joe Biden to wear custom-made Ralph Lauren suit to inauguration: Report


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DEI and ESG, Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Sustainability
4ocean: making waves with sustainable messaging
Originally published December 2020 by WP Engine's Velocitize. Sally's author page is here.
4ocean's digital leads share the inside scoop on building a purpose-before-profit company.
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, Americans will produce an extra 1 million tons of trash every single week, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
That would be an additional 25 million tons of trash entering landfills and the ocean every holiday season, according to 4ocean, the company that uses the sale of its bracelets and other products to fund ocean cleanups. "If every U.S. family reused two feet of holiday ribbon this year, we'd save enough of it to tie a bow around the planet, just like the gift it is."
Such is the helpful, eco-friendly tone in every communication from 4ocean. It was founded in January 2017 by Andrew Cooper and Alex Schulze, two surfers who found their life's purpose after a trip to Bali.
Take Out the Trash
Aghast at the rampant pollution in this Indonesian province, they set out to find a solution: Their Boca Raton, Fla.-based for-profit company. For every product the 200-person company sells, it pulls at least one pound of trash from oceans, rivers and beaches. The process has been certified by the Better Business Bureau. Professional crews have pulled more than 11.6 million pounds of trash off the coasts of South Florida, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Haiti.
In 2019, Forbes named Cooper and Schulze to its 30 under 30 list of social entrepreneurs. Earlier this year, 4ocean became a Certified B Corporation, an international standard for companies committed to positive social and environmental impact.
But it's Steve Lamb, the company's head of global digital marketing, and Patrick Carney, director of customer experience, who steer the company's communications ship. In an exclusive interview with Velocitize, Lamb and Carney explained their digital strategy for the holidays, shared tales of how the company has weathered the Covid-19 pandemic, and provided their unique perspective on how business can make the world better.
"Our end point is to rid the ocean of plastic, and we want to take the customers on our journey—not just highlight the wins, but the process of doing that," Carney says. "It's an arduous process, and we want to invite them into it. When you come on board with 4ocean you're becoming part of that mission."
4ocean's customers are a global group of ecologically aware individuals. While most of them are in the U.S., its English-only website sells to people in 185 countries. Canada, the U.K., Australia, Germany, and Italy are also big markets.
The company has created a robust profile of its eco-friendly customers from several data sources. Its YouTube channel has 101,000 subscribers, and nearly 3.6 million views for the B Corp video announcement; its Facebook page has nearly 1.3 million followers. They use Google Analytics, which provides demographic information on people visiting the corporate site.In addition to caring about the ocean and sustainability, their typical customers love gardening and pets, especially dogs. They represent basically every age range, with the bulk of them between the ages of 35 and 65. Women make up 70% of the customer base."Another one is news channels," Lamb says of his customers' lifestyle preferences. "People that like to watch the news like 4ocean." That makes sense. People who care about the environment and climate change tend to be informed.
Target the Consumer
Indeed, a 4ocean ad appeared next to election news in The Guardian recently. The author of this article had been visiting 4ocean.com to conduct research. The company started advertising to her online, a process called retargeting. An ad featuring several variations of the company's plastic bracelets—the most popular product—ran in the middle of a story.The company's paid advertising strategy is sound, according to new research by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.In an interview for Velocitize's Election Day coverage, Sue Hogan, the IAB's SVP of research and analytics, said: "News consumers think that brand advertising adjacent to even unsettling and sensitive news has a positive impact on perception of a brand's trustworthiness. Rather than shying away from advertising, brands that embrace the news could benefit greatly from association."
Happy Eco-Friendly Holiday
For this holiday season, 4ocean has unveiled face masks made of organic cotton; a limited edition bracelet co-marketed with Below Deck, the reality show now in its eighth season on Bravo; and its first iPhone case, made from plastic pulled off the coast of Haiti.In a November 13 email announcing the new case, the company explained its commitment to a "closed-loop manufacturing process" that uses the ocean as part of its supply chain to create new products. The goal is to "end the world's reliance on single-use plastic."Indeed, such correspondence—a mix of education, passion and transaction —is a major part of the company's multimedia marketing strategy. While the near-famous TV commercial of the company's bare-chested founders walking along the Bali coast helps to raise brand awareness, digital channels engage people who are more ready to buy.
"Quiet Activism"
4ocean employs a wide array of communications strategies: Digital radio, TV, social media, banner ads, paid search, email, and text. "We pretty much do everything under the sun to drive awareness of what we do and stay connected to people who already know what we do," Lamb says.
Tony Sgro, a hair stylist at Olivier Salon in Fort Lauderdale, is one such person. He was motivated to research the company after seeing the ad featuring "two attractive surfers" talking about the amount of plastic in the ocean. He went to their website and purchased two bracelets. Wearing the bracelet is a "quiet way of activism," he says.
We Saw You Checking Us Out
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Lamb and Carney decided to pull away from the more expensive channels, TV and YouTube.
They increased the frequency of their emails from one or two times a week to five or six times a week. After the writer of this article left the site without buying anything, the company labeled her an "abandoned browser" and sent her an email titled, "We saw you checking us out."
"We want to be as personalized as possible," Lamb says. "[There are] different stages of triggered emails that go out to the customer based on their point in the journey. We wanted to encourage you to come back to the site and continue the journey, and remind you that every product purchased pulls a pound of trash from the ocean to really drive home the message."
To be authentic at 4ocean is to be fun and lighthearted. Copy writers, for example, get to use the word "stoked" to convey the company's B Corp accomplishment.
"We try to keep it casual and engaging," Carney says. "We are an ocean company founded by a couple of surfers who love being on the water. And we all do, too. We want that to come through in the messaging."
In recent months, 4ocean's marketers assessed that their customers needed messages of hope.Digital communications provided reminders that professional crews—following safety guidelines—were still working to pull trash from the oceans. They also continued to operate the company's recycling facilities."[During quarantine] people wanted to feel like they were making a difference doing something, and that helped our online business a little bit," Lamb says. "Once people started getting government relief checks, they were ready to spend some money to make a difference in the world."
Lamb, who lives in Fort Myers, Fla., says a science lesson at his daughter's school introduced him to 4ocean. When she was in the seventh grade, she came home wearing a 4ocean bracelet, a gift from her teacher.
Cleanup Time
Now that he's part of the company, he and his team are building The Clean Ocean Club. The subscription plan will accelerate ocean cleanups and fund educational programs in the U.S. and abroad. Say you're a subscriber and you buy the bracelet of the month. Your $20 will pull two pounds of trash from the ocean. It's a feat made possible by cleanup processes that are growing ever more efficient.
Through the eco-friendly Pound+ program, you can buy ocean cleanup as a service, without buying a tangible product. It's a way to pay 4ocean to keep working "to pull pounds," as they call it, when you don't need more stuff.
"We do good in the world, and we do it well," Carney says. "It's an economy around the ocean."
All photos courtesy of 4ocean
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About Sally Ann
Sally Ann O'Dowd is a communications executive and writer with 20 years of international public relations and advertising experience, including seven years running PR and content production departments for Publicis Groupe agencies in Chicago and Paris. Sally Ann provides marketing-communications and editorial services to all sized businesses. O'Dowd earned a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. In 2017, she moved from Manhattan to Fort Lauderdale so she could swim more.
Email: sally@sallyonmedia.net
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Enjoyed a relaxing MVP with Dawn today! She fixes up my tricky hair every time.
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"How to Win a Nobel Prize"- Themed Interactive Literary Fun!
Step into the wild, weird and wonderful world of breakthrough science and learn about luminous figures along the way as you follow Mary, a 10-year-old budding scientist aiming for the biggest goal of all - a Nobel Prize!
Mary may only be small, but she has a big dream. She's been doing experiments at home, and thinks science stuff is pretty cool – but how does a 10-year-old become a real grown-up scientist? Even … win the Nobel Prize?
Mary is the hero of Nobel-prize-winner Barry Marshall's hilariously informative illustrated adventure book, How to Win a Nobel Prize. Now, in a special performance from the book's co-author Lorna Hendry and illustrator Bernard Caleo, real-life kids will have the chance to follow Mary's lead – and step into the wild, weird and wonderful world of breakthrough science. Along the way, they'll meet Einstein, Marie Curie, DNA co-discoverers Crick, Watson and Wilkin, and many more.
This special Wheeler Kids interactive event will (literally) draw out some of the characters from the book, and get kids started on some serious – and seriously silly – experiments they can do at home. It's free – and some clever kids may even win their very own (delicious) Nobel Prize medallion.
Price: This is a free event, but bookings are essential.
More information: See the website.
Suitable for 6–12 year olds. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian while participating in Wheeler Kids events.


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Category Archives: Panama
A Tale of Three Cities: Panama City
Posted on September 13, 2014 by Anita @ No Particular Place To Go 22 comments
We celebrated our last few days in Central America and Panama and splurged a bit by returning to Panama City and renting a charming apartment in the tony area, Casco Viejo, with rooftop views of the city and the bay.
When thinking of Panama City the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the Panama Canal. But Panama City is far more than this modern marvel and encompasses two old and venerable cities within its boundaries: Casco Viejo and Panama Viejo. In between these two entities, each of which shares the distinction of being selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contemporary Panama City carries on its robust and active life with towering skyscrapers, billboards and neon signs and three and four lanes of traffic jammed with honking, speeding cars. All of which were jarring to our senses after days spent in a tranquil, seaside village.
Panama Viejo, or old Panama, is the oldest Spanish settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. Founded in 1519, it grew in importance as the Spanish empire expanded in South and Central America. Panama Viejo's value to the crown was the fact that it served as the port city for most of the silver, gold, pearls and other loot that was stripped from the Andes of South America and the rain forests of Central America. From there it was moved overland, by land or water, depending on the season, to be transported to Spain. Not only did Panama Viejo flourish, it became a tempting prize for the many pirates who prowled the equatorial waters seeking lucre. Being alert to this danger the city was situated inland from the coast and fortified by a defensive wall.
Panama Viejo
It was put to the torch by its Spanish rulers just prior to being overwhelmed by the notorious pirate, Henry Morgan. He was now a more respectable English admiral but still commanded a pirate army that had crossed the isthmus after razing the garrison at San Lorenzo. Panama Viejo was abandoned and fell into oblivion except for providing building materials for the new city which arose at a point roughly six miles southwest along the coast. This site, later known as Casco Viejo, was protected by fortified walls and a reef which allowed access to the city only at high tide.
But the remains of Panama Viejo are magnificent and inspire an almost reverential awe as one walks among its ancient ruins. The old city's remaining skeleton contained houses and a hospital as well as the remnants of the Cathedral with its adjacent tower which, as its medieval shape implies, probably served as a watch tower. The Iglesia de la Concepcion housed a convent for the nuns and their servants in addition to the church with its altar, sacristy and nun's choir. The site's location, quite near to massive, towering modern structures, offers a quick comparison of the fate of the long-ago dead in the modern era.
And the city that was literally rebuilt from many of the stones of Panama Viejo? This is the rapidly changing old quarter known as Casco Viejo, the Spanish colonial city that replaced the vestiges of Panama Viejo in 1673. When the Americans' began construction of the Panama Canal in 1904 the old town of Casco Viejo was all that existed of Panama City. However, with the completion of the canal and the natural growth of the capital city many of the country's elite began to abandon the old quarter and it deteriorated into an urban slum. The stately homes, hotels and government office buildings fell into disrepair. But recently, a new wave of gentrification has emerged and the process of decay is being reversed and eradicated. Even now, part of the charm of the place is the grungy disrepair which stands in stark contrast to the modernized and revitalized buildings.
If the trend continues, and there appears to be no reason at that this point to assume that it will not, Casco Viejo may be one of the most in-demand neighborhoods in the capital. It is filling rapidly with a mix of traditional Panamanian and gourmet restaurants serving a variety of menus aimed at satisfying every taste, chic shopping venues and large colonial buildings that are being converted to stylish condos. Most of the old churches remain along with many government buildings, the national theater and the original offices of the French Panama Canal organization. And so, Casco Viejo stands alongside Panama Viejo and the contemporary Panama City in a perfect trifecta and a tale of three cities.
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Travel in Central America
The Heartland of Panama and The Gringa of Guararé
Posted on September 6, 2014 by Anita @ No Particular Place To Go 48 comments
The Azuero Peninsula hangs off of the Panamanian underbelly like a squat appendage, jutting southwards into the Pacific. It's been called "the heartland of Panama" and "the home of folklore and traditions" but at its heart it is the distillation of the old Castilian culture; the celebration of the vaquero – the cowboy and the landed gentry. Fittingly it is a land of voluptuous, softly rolling hills and breathtaking vistas, verdant green pastures, farmland and working cattle ranches.
For the modern world, it encompasses golden and white sand beaches, world-famous surf destinations, spectacular sport fishing, whale-watching, snorkeling, diving and sea turtle nesting areas. The eastern portion of the Peninsula, the most populous region, includes the city of Chitré, the smaller city of Las Tablas and the sleepy, seaside fishing village where we found ourselves, El Puerto de Guararé, (pronounced Gwa-RA- ray).
Although our perception of Guararé was of a town that had stepped back in time our hostess Bonnie Birker, owner of the friendly, seaside guesthouse Casa del Puerto, said it had progressed since her first arrival in 1967 as a Peace Corps volunteer. At that time La Enea de Guararé was fairly isolated with only one car in the entire area and roads of deep mud during rainy season. There was electricity but no phone service. Water was provided by a village pump and the homes had outside latrines.
Guararé was featured by Lonely Planet in 2000 and Bonnie, who prefers to be called a gringa from Guararé rather than an expat, realized that the town that had given her so many friends and memories had modernized and even had phone service. She returned to Guararé for good in 2006 after her retirement from a career as an international consultant in countries that included Honduras, Jamaica, South Korea, the Philippines and Nepal. She bought a large but unpretentious house with deep covered porches that overlook the wide expanse of the Pacific spread out in all its awesomeness.
The food in Guararé is well worth mentioning. It's located on the coast and small fleets of boats set out twice daily in the early morning and near sunset and their catch graces the tables of many local restaurants. Most often we feasted on freshly caught corvina, or sea bass. Served with heads on – and sometimes staring eyes, too – they were easy to debone with a sumptuous, flaky, white meat. They came accompanied by the regional specialty of patacones – which we had previously called tostones in Nicaragua – or crisply fried green plantain patties. We also stuffed ourselves with fresh fish or shrimp ceviche. Late one afternoon we dined on fresh caught tuna on the southern coast of the peninsula. The bounty of the sea was never more lavishly available than in the Auzero.
During our visit Bonnie did her utmost to show us some the reasons why she had returned to the village of Guararé and the Azuero Peninsula. We visited Las Tablas for the National Festival of the Pollera held there each July. The Pollera, a descendant of the Castilian culture, is the females' yang to the vaqueros' yin. It is the quintessential national dress composed of a blouse and long, full skirt featuring the painstaking work of the Panamanian women with original and complicated, decorative embroidery and, many times, additional applique, crochet and lacework.
The festival included the presentation and judging of the Pollera in several categories, rodeo and equestrian events, craft and food vendors and a concluding parade. The latter displayed several dances with the men and women moving in a formal and stylized, intricate synchronicity while others featured the women – with many young girls imitating them – swirling and twirling holding the hems of their dresses up to display the gorgeous embroidery designs and a demure peek at the white-on-white lace and cutwork underskirts.
Many of the dresses involved hundreds of hours of skilled and careful needlework and the most elaborate were expensive by almost any standard. And, as if the Pollera needed any additional decoration, several long necklaces of gold were draped around graceful necks, sparkling beaded hair adornments sat atop glossy, black hair and eye-catching earrings dangled from lobes.
Towards the end of our time in the Azuero we spent a day traveling through the center of the peninsula to the southern coast, again with Bonnie. We drifted through established towns such as Tonosi in the rolling hill country, still much immersed in the cattle culture. Places such as these are the anchor of the peninsula, they are the heartland clinging to the more traditional. At the terminus of the journey we stopped at the beach town of Cambutal, with its rapidly expanding infrastructure reflecting the up-coming changes. Here, and elsewhere, are modern signature homes, boutique hotels, tony yoga retreats, funky eateries and up-scale restaurants all vying for the dollars possessed by the surfers, sun worshipers, eco-tourists, gringo retirees and wealthy Panamanians.
The Azuero Peninsula neatly encapsulates the tensions that exist as an established way of living cedes ground to the new. Surely benefits accrue in the wake of modernity but at a cultural cost. Bonnie, and her many amigos, represent those on the cusp, those who are witness to and participants in the changing of the guard. And in the Azuero, we were the fortunate ones who wandered through able to observe and appreciate the heritage and enjoy the perks offered by the latest and greatest.
Celebrations-Holidays-Traditions
Panama Pictures And Panoramas
Posted on August 16, 2014 by Anita @ No Particular Place To Go 24 comments
Panama is the southernmost country of Central America and is comprised of a variety of stunning landscapes and seascapes, white and golden sand beaches, rolling hills with farm and ranch lands, mountains and, of course, cities and people. During our travels in July we took hundreds of photos and we wanted to share some of our favorites this week.
Panama City – skyscrapers and traffic
Skyscrapers and ruins Panama City
Panama Viejo in foreground – Panama City skyscrapers in rear
ruins at Panama Viejo UNESCO World Heritage Site
street art among the ruins and gentrification Panama City
Catedral Metropolitano in Panama City
festival masks
17th century church at Panama Viejo
Panama City skyscrapers
friendly game of checkers in the park – Panama City, Panama
Kuna woman in traditional dress – Panama City, Panama
Casco Viejo – UNESCO World Heritage Site Gentrification and restoration i
young girls wearing traditional clothes at festival, Panama
sunrise on the Pacific Guarare, Panama
Azuero Peninsula
the beach at Cambutal Panama
Pollera Festival, Las Tablas
Pollera Festival Las Tablas
the country side of the peninsula with a living fence
cows on the road Azuero Peninsula
verdant land
rice fields – Azuero Peninsula
Tonosi village Panama City
cow country Azuero Peninsula
Panama Canal Miraflores Locks
San Lorenzo UNESCO World Heritage Site
Lushly treed road to San Lorenzo
our Double-Decker bus to David
Boquete River with flood control
fishing by the docks Almirante,Panama
wild parrot Boca del Torro
dugout canoe with goods to sell
pond at the Smithsonian research center – Bocas del Toro
brute strength – Bocas del Toro
dugout canoe – Isla San Cristobal
What's in a name? Bocas del Toro
flowering tree – Bocas del Toro
San Lorenzo 17th century Spanish cannon UNESCO World Heritage Site
Bomberos – fire trucks – Bocas Town
old fire engine circa 1916 Bocas Town
a street scene after a rain Bocas Town
Bocas town graveyard – moldering and mildewing
Bocas Town waterfront
hanging nests of Montezuma Oropendola birds – Bocas del Toro
tugs maneuver ship into the Panama Canal
Bomberos – firetrucks Bocas Town
Quaint Abode Bocas Town
a little island charm Bocas Town
tallest building in Bocas Town
festival masks – Panama
Casco Viejo Hotel Columbia and other businesses
We've spent the month of August crisscrossing the US visiting family and friends on a long overdue trip back "home". Our travels started at the beginning of the month flying in from Panama to New Jersey for a few days and followed by a ride to Washington D.C. via Amtrak. Later we flew to Spokane, WA. for a mini-family reunion. Another flight a few days afterwards took us to Denver, CO where we're currently visiting more family including our son and grandson. Our last stop in the US will take us to Corpus Christi, TX before we head to South America in September. There we may just have to take some time off to recoup from a hectic month and catch our breaths!
Next week: More stories from Panama
Some Sun, More Rain and the Journey to Bocas Del Toro
Posted on August 9, 2014 by Anita @ No Particular Place To Go 35 comments
Leaving David in the early morning we were off for the Caribbean coast to see the reputed number one tourist area of Panama – Bocas del Toro. The day was bright and hot, promising to be another scorcher. Feeling a little less confident about our navigating skills and, again, embarrassed at our fractured Spanish, it had taken us two circuits bumbling around the large and confusingly chaotic, triangular-shaped bus terminal of David before we found the boarding area for the bus bound for Chinguanola that would send us on our way . The bus was a twenty-four seat vehicle, a mid-size in the world of Panamanian buses, and it left David far from full, departing the terminal with only seven passengers. We headed east down the Pan-American highway which was under construction; a perpetual condition here in Panama we had been told.
We left the Pan-Am near Chiriqui and began the slow ascent towards the continental divide on our way to the archipelago of Bocas del Toro and Bocas Town on Isla Colon. As we climbed towards the summit the air cooled and it began to mist; wispy, feathery clouds crept out of the valleys and clung forlornly to the ridgelines. Peering down into the valleys revealed a fractured and folded terrain for Panama is a new land. Somewhere around four million years ago, an eye blink in geologic time, massive tectonic plates ground together and this magical landscape up-lifted and created the land bridge between the northern and southern continents.
http://www.eyeonpanama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/panama_map_colon.gif
Just past El Valle de la Mina, near the summit of the continental range, the distinction between the sky and the road began to disintegrate rapidly. The white-greyness of the air merged with the grey-whiteness of the undelineated concrete highway and the misty rain played havoc with depth perception and object identification. The bus crept and climbed slowly along the dizzying curves of the winding road as the windows streamed with moisture.
As we descended from the summit and made our way to the coastal area, the visibility improved somewhat although it had begun to rain steadily and with great purpose. The bus stopped repeatedly, filled to standing room only and emptied and filled and emptied again, with chattering,neatly dressed, uniformed children finished with another day of school. The sky cleared briefly and the sweltering heat enveloped the land only to be replaced again by more heavy rain as the thunderheads moved in off the Caribbean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col%C3%B3n_Island#mediaviewer/File:Bocas_del_Toro_Archipelago_map.png
Almirante, the jumping off point for the water taxi to the Bocas del Toro archipelago and Bocas town, may have seen better days or perhaps it was always neglected and dirty. We grabbed a cab from in front of the dilapidated bus stop but the scenery only deteriorated further when we arrived at the waterfront where outhouses perched at the ends of docks extending out from ramshackle homes.
After purchasing our tickets for the water taxi we wrapped our backpacks in waterproof covers to protect our laptops from the rain and hunched protectively over the packs in our laps (rather resembling gargoyles at this point) as we hunkered down in the launch. Rain dripped down the sides of the canvas tarp overhead and splashed into the boat from the sides as the water taxi gained speed and we endured the half hour ride to the island.
And, you ask, was Bocas del Toro worth the time and effort? We might have to rethink scheduling any future visits during the rainy season, which according to one local, was one of the wettest years he could remember. However, most afternoons we could count on the sun making an appearance and a few hours of no rain so that we could explore around the colorful Bocas Town and the Isla Colon. We managed a day trip on a catamaran sailing to Isla de San Cristobal and Isla Carenero among numerous little islands.
We anchored a couple of times to swim and snorkel alongside a shore tangled with mangroves above a fantastical reef which included startling deep purple and brilliantly golden coral and other fabulously shaped and colored occupants. An amazing number of plumped up, rosy-colored starfish, resembling pictures from a children's book, rested on the sand or draped over the coral inhabitants in the reef garden. Another day we unfurled umbrellas and spent a few hours following an energetic English expat as she showed us her incredible botanical garden paradise, Finca del Monos, spread over 27 acres.
So yes, our journey was well worth the time and effort and we were supremely comfortable and well cared for at Lula's B and B. And hey, we're not vacationers counting each precious day, despairingly waiting for sunshine and cursing the rain. We can be patient and enjoy the thunderstorms and downpours. We have time …
By Richard and Anita, Panama, July 2014
Neither Here Nor There: David And Boquete, Panama
Panama is a country of a few large cities interspersed between small towns glistening with puddles following a rain or a coating of dust in the dry season, wide spots on winding highways often with magnificent, breathtaking scenery. And, at the end of yet another long bus ride, we found ourselves in David on our way to other places.
Our battered Lonely Planet Guidebook, a 2010 edition given to us by a friend in Nicaragua, advised us of to think of David (pronounced Dah Veed) as a major agro-business and commercial center rather than a cultural hub. Further digging informed us that it was a popular tourist destination and the second or third largest city in Panama, depending on the source, with a population of roughly 150,000 souls.
As the capital of the Chiriqui Provence, the city of David and the surrounding area is rumored to be attracting ever more foreigners interested in relocation and might even be poised on the brink of major growth in both its economy and population.
Although David was founded in 1602 there is very little sense of historical importance or any impressive architecture. Indeed, the present was much more in keeping with a city devoted to the reality of commerce minus the frills of the arts and letters.
The center of the city, which radiates outward from Parque Cervantes, is a utilitarian affair which quickly turns drab or run-down in a couple of blocks if you head in the wrong direction. And Cervantes Park, while neat and stylistic, is not particularly appealing to the eye or the seat of pants for the foot weary pedestrian or the casual people watcher.
Our guidebook, under the heading "Sights" had listed a single entry: the Museo de Historia y de Arte Jose' Obaldia. We hoofed it over to the museum twice, both times during the posted hours, with consistent results. It was closed, padlocked shut; so much for the cultural part of our stay…
We took a bus out of David and headed up into the mountains, less than an hour to the north. Here we encountered Boquete, a quiet mountain town of roughly 5,000 people and prized by Panamanians for its refreshing climate and pristine natural setting.
This is the same locale selected a dozen years ago as one of the top four overseas destinations for retirement by Modern Maturity, the magazine of the AARP. So, aside from the gated communities which dot the hillsides, and are currently spilling onto the crowded valley floor, and disregarding the astronomical real estate prices which to seem to start at around a quarter of a million dollars, Boquete is an attractive place.
Due to the fertile soil, flowers, coffee and citrus all do well in this beautiful mountain town and the surrounding valleys. The city provides a picturesque central square which is clean, compact and welcoming for relaxed chats or simply watching the folks flow by. The presence of sweaters and light jackets might be what confirms the fact that one is in the mountains rather than at a beach resort judging by the relaxed and convivial atmosphere of the people. Returning to David from the crisp and invigorating climate of Boquete we couldn't help but compare the two cities. Perhaps the geography best sums up our apathetic response to David. One city nestled in the mountains and the other, situated below a dormant volcano, sweltering in a basin with reputedly one of the hottest climates in the Central American region. It was definitely time to blow this burg and head for points more interesting and, hopefully, a little cooler!
Transportation to anywhere else…
Plundering, Protecting The King's Gold And Pirates: Fort San Lorenzo
Posted on July 26, 2014 by Anita @ No Particular Place To Go 32 comments
By the map it's only eight miles west of the Caribbean port city of Colon, Panama to the UNESCO site of the colonial Spanish fort at San Lorenzo on the northern border of Panama. However, this abandoned citadel hidden away at the end of a two-lane road through dense jungle is a world away from the hub-bub of the Canal Zone of which it was once a part. As with many things Spanish in Central America, San Lorenzo represents conquest, exploitation, untold wealth in precious metals and empire.
The remains of the crumbling fortress, perched atop a bluff eighty feet above the Caribbean Sea and further protected by a dry moat on the landward side, provided a clear vantage of ships approaching to attack or to blockade the mouth of the Chagres River.
This ability to protect was a vital necessity, for the Chagres River was the eastern terminus of the wet season treasure route that funneled gold and silver from the Incan empire in Peru down through Panama City and across the isthmus and, eventually, to the royal coffers in Spain. Old cannon, some with insignia still visible, litter the site lying awkwardly in broken cradles or sprawl about near crumbling fortifications no longer capable of defending the interests of the crown.
At one time San Lorenzo was a player in the game of international wealth. The initial fortress was a battery built at sea level. But starting in 1560, shortly after its construction, pirates began to assault the lucrative target and the trail of gold stretching back to Peru. The attackers were persistent and in 1670 Henry Morgan, the Welsh privateer, brigand and English admiral, defeated and leveled the original fort. Using it as a base, he provisioned his troops and took his motley assemblage of buccaneers across the isthmus and sacked the mother lode – Panama City.
The old fort destroyed by Morgan was abandoned and the current fortress that commands the heights above the River Chagres was constructed by the Spanish only to be attacked anew by pirates and adventurers as well as by the English navy. When the Spanish fort at Portobelo, further east on the Panamanian coast, fell to Admiral Edward Vernon, San Lorenzo was left the preeminent military garrison on the Panamanian coast. However, the decision by Spain a few years later to ship its booty around the tip of South America at Cape Horn left the bastion on the Caribbean headland bereft and inconsequential.
San Lorenzo's star faded quickly. It was used as a prison for over a century. Undoubtedly an ignoble death awaited as age claimed the deteriorating brick, wood and stone structures. As a part of the agreement with Panama in 1903 the lands containing the fort and those adjacent to the Chagres River were folded into the Canal Zone administered by the United States until December 31, 1999. But little was done by the Zone administration to conserve the structures that they had acquired in the transfer and the decay continued virtually unabated.
In 1980 UNESCO designated San Lorenzo a World Heritage Site. There is much to be done. The fortifications at San Lorenzo remain in a state of ruination. The mosses, grasses and plants grow in profusion on a majority of the buildings allowing the eradication to continue day by day. The unabated destruction of the site is almost palpable.
However, Fort San Lorenzo is a visually engaging site awaiting the attention that once brought it to prominence as a guardian of the riches of the new world. It now needs to be resurrected as a custodian of the history of a world long since passed away.
By Richard and Anita, July 2014, Panama
In The Zone: The Panama Canal
We left Costa Rica on the Tica Express Bus at midnight for what turned out to be a sixteen hour bus trip from hell (think freezing cold air conditioning and the passenger in front of us lying almost in our laps). However, we were on our way to Panama City and a visit that we'd dreamed of for many years: the Panama Canal. Several years ago we'd watched an impressive documentary about the building of the Panama Canal and, since then, seeing the Canal had been one of our big bucket list items.
A waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans had been a dream since the explorer and conquistador, Vasco Balboa, first claimed the western sea for the Spanish crown in the 16th century. However, by the turn of the 20th century it appeared to be more of a fools' delusion as the French had lost a veritable fortune and an estimated 20,000 lives between the years 1881 to 1884 attempting this folly. But less than twenty years after the French catastrophe, science and technology had progressed sufficiently in divergent fields to allow this ambitious aspiration to become a fully functioning engineering reality.
<http://wwnorton.com/college/english/naal8/section/volD/maps.aspx>
Scientists, among them Dr. Walter Reed, established that malaria was transmitted by a mosquito and, through an aggressive campaign on many fronts, effectively halted the pestilential killer during the construction. New earth moving machines such as drag-line shovels and moveable dredges made mass excavation possible on a scale previously unimaginable. And concrete, at the time a novelty for heavy civil construction, was used as the predominant building material. All of this newly acquired knowledge, scientific components and machines allowed the work to begin in earnest.
But perhaps the most phenomenal aspect of the canal was the elegantly simple notion to use gravity to raise the ships from sea level through a series of locks over the continental divide and then return them to sea level on the other side of the isthmus. Sir Isaac Newton would surely have been proud.
For the better part of two days our venues were the Visitors' Centers, first at the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side and subsequently the Gatún Locks on the Caribbean side, gaping at the massive ships as they transited the canal through the system of locks and lakes that comprise this international waterway. Call us hicks but this was one show for which we had both been eagerly awaiting; it was bigger than the big top at the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus we'd attended as kids.
We were still struggling with the concept of gravity as the main character in the live drama before us when we realized that a very large container ship, the MSC ELA, was actually sinking into the center lock at the Miraflores. It wasn't really sinking; the water was being equalized with the adjoining chamber so that when the gates opened the ship would glide towards the final lock gates. This commercial behemoth was being held firmly in the center of the canal by eight mechanical mules (locomotives) with their sixteen hawsers.
What was even more astounding was that there were approximately eighteen inches of clearance between the sides of the ship and each canal wall. These last gates would open, when all was stabilized, and the MSC ELA would be free to resume her voyage to the Pacific side of the American continent.
That this entire operation was one hundred years old in 2014 was a staggering thought. The lock gates, forged in Pennsylvania a century before, were performing magnificently. The major modification occurred in 1998 and changed the forty horsepower motors which drove the bull gears, the massive ratio-reduction system of cogged wheels, to a pneumatic system. But ultimately the key to the longevity was rigorous maintenance and that was evidenced all around us as we watched the ships transit north and south though the canal.
So much of what we saw was attributable to the efforts of individuals on a regular and recurring basis. This was true from the surveyors who shot the original grade to the laborers who manned the shovels and dredges; from the men who operated the Canal Zone as an American enterprise until the transfer on December 31, 1999, to the country of Panama and the Panamanians who now provide this vital service to the world.


text:
Q: android using Bluetooth without activity I want to write a library project in android to scan Bluetooth devices and return list of devices. The library project does not have an activity. In the library project I will write getListOfBlueTooth function. Or I will provide Interface to be implemented in the client app to communicate. It may be looks like the SDK project of Facebook.
I will create a client application and from the client application I will invoke getListOfBlueTooth devices API of my library. Or I can communicate with library by implementing the Interfaces of the Library project. That is in the client application I don't need to know how the logic is implemented in the Bluetooth device listing.
My question is, is it possible to invoke the startDiscovery() function of BlueToothAdapter without an activity class. Because, I read that I need to register for ACTION_FOUND to be notified as remote Bluetooth devices are found. For this I need to use broadcast receiver and IntentFilter. Hope I have explained my problem clearly. Is is possible? Could you please give me advice?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Preflex Paddles - Aquawear, Inc.
The perfect paddle for the catch on ALL FOUR STROKES! This replaces the Fingertip Paddle with added benefits including a flexible mid section to better mimic true hand position.


Located in Newark, New Jersey, Rutgers University Newark is a mid-size four year public college offering both undergrad and graduate programs. In the most recent statistical year 13,435 prospective students applied, and 8,631 were granted admission. Of those admitted 1,325 enrolled in the school. 9,010 students are enrolled on a full time basis, and 3,758 attend part time. In-state tuition for 2017/2018, excluding room and board, is $11,619 plus fees of $2,466. Rutgers University-Newark is ranked 715 nationally in the CollegeSimply.com 2019 U.S. Colleges Ranking.
Can you get into Rutgers University-Newark?


NOTE: 1 July 2014 -- First posting with new ESCR website interface ... !
to cycle thru the pics!
back-arrow in the upper-left corner.
Click here for a short wmv video [1.2 MB]!
Update--26 Apr 05: Sedona, AZ run 8-10 Apirl pictures--hail, snow and sun!
Guess who's getting a new bike... ANSWER!!!!!!


Schomburgk, R.H. 1847. Linnaea; Ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange 20: 759.
Hassler, M. 2018. Gongylolepis. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World (version Mar. 2018). In: Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 4.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Gongylolepis. Published online. Accessed Nov. 4 2018.
Tropicos.org 2018. Gongylolepis . Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 4.
This page was last edited on 4 November 2018, at 21:10.


Seattle Nirvana: Great Stuff to Do in Seattle — 2checkingout | travel and adventure | Inspiring. Capturing. Experiencing.
After our wild and wet Oregon road trip, the city lights of Seattle were calling. Like, true tourists, we opted for the scenic route oblivious of the weather forecast. After driving for a couple of hours, very light snow started to fall. Within 30 minutes, it was coming down by the bucket load and the road was starting to look like a ski field. Without 4WD or snow chains we started to get concerned about how we would get over the Snoqualmie Pass, the highest point between Seattle and Hood River. Concern turned to panic when we saw trucks and cars pulling over to chain up. The overhead signs flashing stern warnings, 'chains or 4WD only'. I was concerned we wouldn't have enough traction to get up the hill. Julie was concerned we wouldn't be able to keep control going down the hill. We tucked ourselves in behind a couple of snow ploughs and prayed to the weather gods.
Ten miles later we both started to breathe easier and I loosened my steel-like grip on the wheel as the lights of Seattle came into view and the snow turned to sleet.
We stayed three nights at another Air BnB gem. A new-looking shared house in one the trendier parts of town. The only other occupants were a couple of shy Finnish girls. We quizzed the owner about dinner options and followed up on his top recommendation, a buzzy Mexican restaurant called The Matador. We raised a glass to thank the weather gods. And here's something you won't hear too often, the Brussel sprouts were to die for.
A 20-minute bus ride took us into the centre of downtown. We mooched through a couple of department stores then wandered the Public Market including the world famous Pike's Fish Market. Here, the fish fly through the air from the front of the counter to be snaffled and wrapped by the bearded dudes standing behind.
At the base of Seattle's Space Needle is Chihuly Gardens. We were aware that Chihuly had created the amazing glass petal sculpture that is part of the ceiling at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas. Other than that we had no idea what to expect from this visit. Our jaws dropped as soon as we walked into the first exhibit hall. A mind-blowing gallery of techno-coloured glass sculptures. Vivid colours popped before our eyes from indoor and outdoor exhibits. A demonstration of glass blowing techniques showed us how some of the exquisite works of art are created. Julie's favourite was the floor to ceiling seascape. A vibrant collection of blues and white with the odd golden sea creature thrown in. Mine was the very first sculpture, a forest of neon blue and pink glass tubes.
A visit up the Space Needle provides incredible views of Seattle. They have this neat smartphone application that shows 3D animated holograms when you point your phone at pictures on the floor.
At the nearby EMP Museum (experience music projects) we were undecided whether to pay the $25 each admission fee when a lady offered us a free ticket. Clearly a sign that we should see what this funky looking building had to offer. Dedicated to pop culture this museum is very different from any other we had visited. The first exhibition was dedicated to local indie rock legends Nirvana. Other exhibits included Hello Kitty, Jimi Hendrix and video gaming history. The centre piece of the main walkway being a two storey high guitar sculpture.
A giant two storey iMax screened iconic music videos and documentaries. The full Michael Jackson's Thriller video was playing when we arrived. I offered to show our funky moves learnt at Burning Man, but they were having none of it.
So that was our whirlwind trip to Seattle. A perfect weekend getaway. We managed to cram quite a bit into just two full days. The Chihuly Garden and Glass being one of the favourite things we have done so far. But, now it was time to head back to Portland to start our 6 week house sit.


Great family oriented entertainment business for sale. An escape room business located on the coast of South Carolina and in the middle of one of most popular tourist destinations on the east coast. This business presently has four escape rooms that are designed for six players to be challenged to work together to find clues, solve puzzles and unlock locks that will free them from their game room.
This business is a Franchise that has proven itself to be a solid business model. This particular location was opened in 2016 and has continued to experience steady sales growth. The location is exceptional and is in the middle of one of the busiest tourist locations along the coast of South Carolina.


Forest Department Wardha (Van Vibhag Wardha) Group C & Group D Annukampa posts Exam Results, Selection List and Waiting list has been released. We are providing the direct download link for Forest Department Wardha Results 2018 in our article. Applicants who are applied for this Group C & Group D Annukampa posts can check the Results, Selection List and Waiting list in below given link.


text:
package apycazo.codex.java.basic;

import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
import org.springframework.cglib.proxy.Enhancer;
import org.springframework.cglib.proxy.MethodInterceptor;

@Slf4j
public class ProxyWithCglib {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Enhancer enhancer = new Enhancer();
    enhancer.setSuperclass(Dummy.class);
    enhancer.setCallback((MethodInterceptor) (obj, method, params, proxy) -> {
      if ("echo".equals(method.getName())) {
        String result = (String)proxy.invokeSuper(obj, params);
        return "echo was '" + result + "'";
      } else {
        return proxy.invokeSuper(obj, params);
      }
    });
    Dummy dummyProxy = (Dummy)enhancer.create();
    log.info("Call 'echo' -> {}", dummyProxy.echo("eureka"));
    log.info("Call 'hi' -> {}", dummyProxy.hi());
  }

  public static class Dummy {

    public String echo(String text) {
      return text;
    }

    public String hi() {
      return "hello world";
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I started my journey to health with 's program under protest, and not with the greatest attitude! My primary care physician referred me to the program after I informed him that I intended to go off of all 9 of my prescriptions due to the side affects and contraindications associated with them. The 2 most common problems associated with most of them were weight gain and muscle pain - I was extremely obese and had Fibromyalgia, for crying out loud!! I had tried for over 20 years to lose weight, but had trouble exercising because of the pain associated with my Fibromyalgia. The doctor had sent me to his nutritionist, who had me keep a food diary for over a month.. and she said I was doing nothing wrong, yet I kept GAINING weight! I WAS DESPERATE! But when my doctor asked me to try one more thing before giving up on my medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, reflux and more, I assumed he was just trying to stall… None-the-less I agreed to give it a "TRY"
So it began. The first thing my "instructor" informed me about, of course, was that I must exercise to remain in the program. This infuriated me, and I was ready to quit right then and there! If looks could kill… But amazingly, seemingly unfazed by my glare, she asked me if I could "walk for 2 minutes". When I acceded that I probably could manage that, she threw another question out. "Could I walk 2 minutes 5 times in one day?" Well, now, that was pushing it, but I agreed to try. At the same time my thoughts were "Why???" I had done all the "reading". Supposedly a person needed at least 20 minutes of sustained aerobic exercise to benefit from it, so why bother? But, then if it kept me in the program long enough to convince my physician I had truly "tried", well then, okay. What this smart lady knew, that I did not, was that once I started, 2 minutes turned to 3 minutes, which in turn became 5 minutes, which led to 10 minutes, and so on. Today I walk an average of 45 minutes to an hour per day, with a good 2 hour walk thrown in occasionally. I have walked 6.5 miles in approximately 2 hours numerous times as of this writing. In addition, I have learned from informative literature provided with the program, that new studies have been done since my previous "reading" and that "short bouts" are beneficial after all!
How long have I been in the program? 6-1/2 months!! I have lost OVER 100 pounds. I am off of ALL of my medications, and NOT because I "just quit taking them", but because as I lost weight and walked more, HEALTH was the result! The program physician removed them one by one, as my body did not NEED them any more!! I am still working on losing more weight, so that I will no longer be "overweight", and will have the best possible chance of continued health.
Why am I sharing this? Because my goal when I started this was to regain my health. I am a 50 year old mother of 6, and grandmother to 5, so I figure if this can work for me, it can work for others who may have given up long ago, who may have decided they just have to "live with" the health problems, the expense of medications, the lack of energy, the too-small seats at every event and mode of transportation, the ill-fitting clothing, and every other discomfort that comes with being overweight. Maybe you tell your grandchild "Grandma just has to sit down, now.." That was where I was at before Hackley's Health Management Resources Program (). Now I am healthy and happy, thanks to the dedicated staff, the easy to follow dietary plan, and just a little determination on my part. The shakes are the best tasting I have ever tried, and the "decision free" aspect of this program has made it the easiest way I have ever come across to manage my dietary intake while leading an extremely busy life. If you run into one of my 5 grandchildren, be sure to ask them how much fun grandma is NOW!


text:
Russia-Ukraine war live: pressure mounts on Germany to send tanks; Chancellor Scholz due to speak in Davos
Politico's chief Brussels correspondent Suzanne Lynch reports from Brussels that Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has said he expects Germany will sign off on sending tanks to Ukraine at a key meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group at the Rammstein air base in Germany on Friday.
New — Lithuanian Foreign Minister @GLandsbergis tells says he expects Germany will sign off on sending tanks at a key meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday#Davos #Ukraine
— Suzanne Lynch (@suzannelynch1) January 18, 2023
Helicopter crashes near kindergarten in Brovary, Kyiv region – reports
A helicopter has crashed near a kindergarten and residential buildings in the town of Brovary in Kyiv region, according to reports.
Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv, has posted to Telegram to say:
In the city of Brovary, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building. At the time of the tragedy, children and employees of the institution were in the kindergarten. At this point, everyone was evacuated. There are victims. Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the crash.
The Guardian has seen an unverified image which appears to show at least one adult severely injured at the scene.
The state broadcaster Suspilne has posted to Telegram to say "Preliminarily, it is known about five injured people, there are also deaths due to the fall of a helicopter in Brovary."
Updated at 07.31 GMT
It has been up on Twitter for more than 14 hours, bu still nobody at the Russian Embassy in Sweden has noticed that they map they pushed out yesterday to try and illustrate how Europe's energy prices are suffering because of sanctions against Russia shows Ukraine with its internationally recognised borders, including Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, all areas of Ukraine that the Russian Federation claims to have annexed.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a changing world order are straining ties between France and Germany as they prepare to celebrate 60 years since a post-second world war treaty sealed their reconciliation, AFP reports.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected in Paris on 22 January to meet President Emmanuel Macron before the pair lead a joint cabinet meeting to mark the Élysée treaty signed on 22 January 1963. But the two leaders' relationship is seen as cordial at best.
"Scholz isn't very European at all, he's much more 'Germany first'," a senior member of Macron's Renaissance party, who asked not to be named, told reporters this week.
In Paris, there's an impression of German "disinterest in the French-German relationship", said Jacob Ross, a researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin.
The frictions are even being felt by the public, with 36% of French respondents and 39% of Germans telling pollster Ipsos this week that relations were suffering.
But the legacy of the 1963 treaty – signed in Paris by Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle – remains strong on everything from military cooperation to youth exchanges.
Finland is prepared to support Ukraine in its war with Russia for as long as necessary, Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday while speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.
"I think the only message that we need to send is that we will support Ukraine as long as needed. One year, two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years," Marin said.
In 2022, the Finnish government spent €300m on support to Ukraine, about €190m of it on buying defence equipment.
Two of three Nato surveillance planes deployed temporarily to Romania have arrived at an airbase near Bucharest, from where they will fly missions to monitor Russian military activity near the borders of the 30-nation military alliance, AP reports.
The Airborne Warning and Control System planes landed at Otopeni airbase on Tuesday afternoon, with one more expected later. They are due to be based there for several weeks.
The AWACS aircraft, which Nato refers to as its "eyes in the sky", belong to a fleet of 14 usually based in west Germany. They have large fuselage-mounted radar domes and can detect aircraft hundreds of kilometres away.
Kate Connolly
Earlier this week, Britain said it would donate a squadron of 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, but that number is well below the 100 minimum that experts have said would be needed to allow Ukraine's forces to achieve a breakthrough against Russia.
However, there are more than 2,300 Leopard 2 tanks available or in storage across Europe in 13 countries, including Germany, and if a group of countries were to donate some of their tanks it could add up to a significant force on the battlefield.
Berlin's permission is needed to re-export the tanks because they were originally made in Germany, and it has been particularly cautious about making any move that could be interpreted by Moscow as a significant escalation. Politicians are also mindful of the country's second world war history.
Dan Sabbagh
The British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, will join counterparts from Poland and the Baltic countries in Estonia to mount a final attempt to put pressure on Germany to authorise sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week.
The meeting of so-called "Leopard coalition" of countries willing to or keen to see western tanks sent to Kyiv comes a day before a group of about 50 defence ministers assemble in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss future weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Defence sources said a purpose of the meeting on Thursday was "to encourage the Germans" if no decision has been made by Berlin before then, although the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is due to speak at the Davos summit on Wednesday afternoon.
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, speaking at the Davos World Economic Forum on Tuesday, said a positive decision from Berlin to allow the re-export of German-manufactured Leopard 2 tanks was "very, very, very, very needed", and that a group of Nato countries wanted to come together to help form an armoured brigade that could be given to Ukraine:
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I'll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours.
Our top story this morning: the British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, a meeting to mount a final attempt to put pressure on Germany to authorise sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week.
More on this shortly. In the meantime here are the other key recent developments:
A search and rescue operation in the rubble of Saturday's Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro has been completed, authorities said. The death toll currently stands at 45, including a child, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region military administration said. At least 19 people are still missing and a further 79 people injured, according to local officials.
The Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has tendered his resignation after a public outcry over comments he made suggesting the Russian missile that struck the building in Dnipro had been shot down by Ukraine. The Ukrainian air force says the apartment complex was hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which Kyiv does not have the equipment to shoot down.
Russia has announced it will make "major changes" to its armed forces from 2023-26, promising to shake up its military structure after months of setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine. In addition to administrative changes, the defence ministry said it would strengthen the combat capabilities of its naval, aerospace and strategic missile forces.
More than 9,000 civilians, including 453 children, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion last February according to Ukraine. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential staff, said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, "We will not forgive a single [act of] torture or life taken. Each criminal will be held accountable.".
Ukraine's top general, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, spoke to his US counterpart, General Mark Milley, face to face near the Ukraine-Poland border for the first time. Milley, who is the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met for a couple of hours with Zaluzhnyi at an undisclosed location in south-eastern Poland on Tuesday. The pair have talked frequently over the past year but had never met.
Ukraine has urged world leaders to intensify efforts to remove Vladimir Putin's troops from its soil as its war with Russia dominated the first full day of the gathering of the global elite in Davos.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday picked little-known Boris Pistorius to be Germany's new defence minister, putting him in charge of steering the armed forces through an era of momentous change. The appointment follows the resignation of Christine Lambrecht at a crucial time for the ministry, with Germany under intense pressure to send battle tanks to Ukraine.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has told Joe Biden that the Netherlands will offer Patriot missiles to Ukraine. The Netherlands will join the US and Germany in sending the Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine, Rutte told Biden at the White House. Biden thanked Rutte for being "very very stalwart" on its support for Ukraine.
The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has justified the supply of Challenger tanks to Ukraine, saying it was designed to bring the war to a quick conclusion and there was a moral imperative to end the war soon due to the casualties and cost. His remarks seemed designed to encourage the US to step up its own weapons supply.
The EU executive has confirmed it is releasing €3bn in emergency aid for Ukraine, the first tranche of an €18bn fund intended to help run essential public services during winter.
China ends de facto ban on Marvel films after more than three years
International Labour Organisation rejects government claim it supports anti-strikes bill – UK politics live
Rishi Sunak faces questions over Nadhim Zahawi sacking – UK politics live
Teal MP Monique Ryan taken to court by staffer Sally Rugg over alleged workplace law breach
Erdoğan says Turkey may accept Finland into Nato without Sweden


Bonobos are smaller than other chimpanzees. They tend to climb in the trees more than other chimps. They are more like monkeys in that way.
↑ 1.0 1.1 Pous, Dinorah (2003). Blue Planet English through Science level 5. Alpha Omega Publications. ISBN 970-10-3769-3 .
↑ 4.0 4.1 "Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees". PBS. 1996. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/jane-goodalls-wild-chimpanzees/introduction/1908/. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
↑ Mitani J.C; Watts D.P. & Amster S.J. 2010. Lethal intergroup aggression leads to territorial expansion in wild chimpanzees. Current Biology 20 (12) R507/8.
↑ Buskey, Teresa K. LIFEPAC History and Geography. Alpha Omega Publications. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-58095-155-5 .
↑ The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium (2005). "Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome". Nature 437 (1 September 2005): 69–87. doi:10.1038/nature04072 . PMID 16136131 .
This page was last changed on 6 July 2014, at 17:02.


text:
Gharaunda is een stad en gemeente in het district Karnal van de Indiase staat Haryana.

Demografie
Volgens de Indiase volkstelling van 2001 wonen er 30.179 mensen in Gharaunda, waarvan 54% mannelijk en 46% vrouwelijk is. De plaats heeft een alfabetiseringsgraad van 67%.

Plaats in Karnal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


"Everybody has beliefs about how men should behave," says Ronald Levant, who was the APA president when the guidelines were initially conceived, and who has worked on them ever since.
The more men cling to rigid views of masculinity, the more likely they are to be depressed, or disdainful, or lonely.
Levant was shocked this past week by how many people responded as if the guidelines were suggesting the latter — people who read the 30-page document as an indictment not of rigid, traditional masculinity but of allmasculinity, and of men themselves.
"The guidelines are about, how do we help men live healthier lives?" he says.


text:
Tag: politics
FUN FACT: Moderating Facebook Gives Facebook Moderators PTSD
The question for me is this: Does Facebook provide anywhere near the social value to justify what this man suffered? Does it provide enough value to justify the suffering of the likely thousands of workers who Facebook employees to protect us from Facebook?
As you reflect on this, you probably want to check out The Facebook Files, an ongoing investigative series from the Wall Street Journal (articles are paywalled, but the related podcasts are free and worth your time and attention).
Plainly put, Facebook profits from hate and misery. Further reads:
"People are more anti-vaccine if they get their COVID news from Facebook than from Fox News, data shows"
"Social media platforms are failing to monitor anti-Semitism, two reports say."
Failure to Protect: How Tech Giants Fail to Act on User Reports of Antisemtism
This report notes that, of the posts reported to them as anti-Jewish Facebook acted on less than 11%. By contrast, Facebook claims to proactively remove +90% of child porn without anyone (outside of FB mods) ever having to see it, let alone report it. The second problem—moderating images of abuse—is a lot harder than setting up a grep to flag specific hate terms (let alone having a moderator check a user-reported post to see what it says). And yet FB gladly pours the resources needed to do the harder thing. Why? Because, broadly speaking, the world abhors the abuse of children—and thus advertisers find it toxic. It hits their profit center, and so they act. (I leave it as an exercise for you, in your quiet hours, to consider why it is that the world doesn't abhor Jew hatred. I assume it's because they believe that we often have it coming.)
Brass tacks question: Given what social media companies like FB can and will do, in terms of exerting editorial control when it is in their interest to do so, I'm left wondering if they really deserve Section 230 protection?
FB, of course, is far from unique here—or, maybe, is uniquely awful only in the magnitude and clarity of their disfunction and viciousness. For a Twitter-centric rumination on the fundamental design aspects of social media that are making it so damaging to both individual humans and larger human societies, please read Noah Smith's rational (and, in the case of the later, research-backed) articles "The Shouting Class" and "The Shouting Class 2: Last Refuge of Scoundrels":
"In other words, society has always had about the same number of shouty jerks. But with the rise of social media, we have moved our society's political discussions from spaces in which the shouty jerks were at least somewhat marginalized and contained to spaces that preferentially amplify their voices.…In pursuit of personal glory, bad people turn neighbor against neighbor."
Noah Smith in "The Shouting Class 2: Last Refuge of Scoundrels"
Author dave-oPosted on September 22, 2021 September 21, 2021 Categories Other WritingTags commerce, communication, harms, hate, money, newsF, patriotism, politics, social media, the end is near, tribalism, trump
A few weeks back I was walking the dog when it dawned on me that a billionaire could give away $1 million each week for a year, and he (yes, HE) would still be a billionaire at the end of that year[1]
And a billionaire is practically a pauper. If Jeff Bezos did this for 1,000 years—if he gave away $1 million every week for 52 weeks each year over the course of 1,000 years—he'd still have over $50 billion left, assuming he doesn't invest his money at all, just keeps in a big hole in the ground. If you taxed his current wealth at 99%—something that, to the best of my knowledge, no elected or appointed official has ever come remotely close to suggesting—then he'd still be a billionaire, and could still give away a million a week for a year without stopping being a billionaire.
All "conservative" freak-outs about taxes and stifling innovation and redistribution of whatever aside, there's literally no way to take it all away from Bezos or Musk or Gates or Zuckerberg or the Waltons or the Kochs, not in practical terms, not before they'd had time to make it all back on something as benign and boring as holding government bonds.
And as I walked the dog, I just thanked my lucky stars that we fought a revolution in this country to break away from all the old potentates and riyals and dynasties, to be sure there was at least one spot on earth where a man could live free and equal with all other men, not as some peon who could be ground under the foot of a clumsy giant whose piles of lucre blocked his ability to see where he was going and what he was doing. Humanity really dodged a bullet with this whole democracy situation!😅 Anyway, gotta go cook 25-cent Ramen for my kids!
But as I walked a little further, it dawned on me that what I was really saying was:
"If you have the luck and privilege to have your shit together enough to have some real portion of your wealth socked away in any decent retirement savings plan, then you can afford to give away at least 0.5 to 1% of your wealth every year and still be wealthy."
And was I even doing that?
Nope, I wasn't.
But, shit, now I've got a goal, don't I? 💸
[1] For all practical purposes: Let's assume this billionaire has his wealth invested in something as safe and stodgy as bond funds, which historically earn ~2–4% each year. If he gives away $1 million each week for a year, his nest egg will be reduced to $948,000,000, but he'll earn $18–$37 million on that, bringing him back up to just shy of $1 billion. If he's invested in something extremely safe, like an S&P 500 index fund, he'll likely come out of the year ahead, having earned ~$75 million on the money he had left over after having given away $52 million.)
Author dave-oPosted on August 11, 2021 August 10, 2021 Categories Other WritingTags billionaires, bonds, charity, culture, index funds, Jeff Bezois, money, politics, retirement, stocks
This is a fun little film…
… but just a reminder to my American readers: We already live in this reality. This country isn't just full of guns; it's full of ammunition. If you have access to even a single bullet, you are $10 and a trip to the hardware store from making a wonderfully lethal weapon: unserialized, untraceable, highly concealable, nearly foolproof. You won't be doing any civil massacres with a hardware-store slam gun, but you can mostly definitely kill the guy standing in front of you with little effort.
The reason no one will shoot you today is because no one feels like shooting you today.
Author dave-oPosted on June 8, 2021 June 29, 2021 Format AsideCategories Other Writing, VideoTags AI, death, fear, guns, horror, newsF, paranoia, politics, sci-fi, scifi, tech, terror
This isn't antisemitism—but, straight talk: It's really hard to argue that Ann Arbor gives a shit about its Jews
This vexes me.
Antisemitic messages were found written over a Pride Month painting on a rock near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this weekend.
A nearby synagogue has been the scene of weekly anti-Israel protests featuring antisemitic rhetoric for many years.
->https://t.co/WX18io4WHO pic.twitter.com/5kZoYc0LA3
— Combat Antisemitism (@CombatASemitism) June 6, 2021
Just for the record, this isn't antisemitism. I saw this Saturday, soon after it was painted, while driving past with my kids on the way to the river. I'm one of the chairs of the Jewish safety committee for this area, so it's safe to say that my anti-Jew radar is exquisitely well tuned.
"Fuck Israel" written on a public Rock that, for decades, has been a locus of political speech? That isn't hate speech.
The fact is, Israel is a goddamned country. You can say the nastiest words in the world about Israel, and as long as you keep it about the nation-state of Israel, we're all good. It's just like how you can criticize China or the Democratic Republic of the Congo without being racist about it.
Meanwhile, standing outside a synagogue and holding a sign that reads "Israel Has No Right to Exist"? That is antisemitism. And folks have been doing it just a few hundred feet up the street from the goddamned Rock for 16 years and Ann Arbor has done shit about it:
Author dave-oPosted on June 7, 2021 June 7, 2021 Categories Other WritingTags ann arbor, anti-Jewish, anti-Semitism, hate, Jews, politics, racism
"Overcome Stress By Visualizing It As A Greedy, Hook-Nosed Race Of Creatures"
Timely! (see also this swastika and this other swastika and all the little swastikas raining down all around me like a gentle, glittering, beautiful snow storm whisking me straight up Heaven's Chimney!)
Author dave-oPosted on May 18, 2021 May 18, 2021 Format AsideCategories VideoTags Jews, laughing my way to a shallow grave, politics, swastikas
Bigots: Please Use Punctuation!
I've got no clue if your message is the command "KIKE: FREE PALESTINE 卐!" or the wish for a "KIKE-FREE PALESTINE 卐", and that's driving me nuts. Please, parents: Don't just teach your children to hate Jews; teach them to use hyphens and colons properly!
[This message brought to you by
British Vandals for a Kike-Free Palestine,
and the Letter 卐]
Straight talk, though: If you're vandalizing a synagogue in England—regardless of what words you paint—it really doesn't have shit to do with Palestine or Israel or whatever. Likewise, if you are holding a protest outside a synagogue (as has been the case at the synagogue ~1 mile for my house for the last 16+ years), it has nothing to do with what's written on the signs.
Similarly, the extremely high likelihood that right now you're thinking "My Gosh! That is so clearly and obviously wrong, but you have to admit that Israel blah blah blah…" —that thought, it doesn't have shit to do with Palestine, either.
The vandalism is anti-Jewish.
The protest outside a synagogue is anti-Jewish.
Expecting Jews in England or Michigan or—hell, anywhere OTHER THAN ISRAEL—to bear some special responsibility for Israeli domestic policy is anti-Jewish and, frankly, crazy. It's literally the same as protesting outside a Black church because you're upset about the ongoing lack of accountability or reconciliation from the Liberian Civil Wars, or protesting the Xinjiang internment camps by picketing outside of a Chinese restaurant.
The fact that any of what I'm saying maybe makes you uncomfortable, that's for you to sort out.
But if you're afraid I'm maybe implying you harbor anti-Jewish sentiment, here's a test you can do in the privacy of your own head, and never tell anyone the outcome. Do you agree with the following statements:
I feel weird acknowledging the 3000+ rockets Hamas fired at Israeli civilians in the past month without also acknowledging the 20x difference in Israeli and Palestinian casualty rates.
When someone mentions the 58+ Palestinian children killed in this latest paroxysm of violence, I don't even think for one second about the terror of ~3000 rockets coming at you in a single month.
If you answered YES to both, congratulations: You're pretty much like every other person in the world. If you've ever wondered how something like the Holocaust happens, now you know.
Sorry to be a bummer, but real talk and then we're done: Did you feel worse about the thousand rockets, or the 58+ Palestinian kids, or the fact that some Jew in Michigan called you out about it?
You probably feel attacked right now, so I want one last thing to be crystal clear: My answers to those two questions were "Yes"es, too. If your culture has a bias, you have that bias as well—even if, in your heart of hearts, you despise the bias. Even if that bias contributes to your own destruction. None of us get to stand outside our culture; there are no free passes in this game. It's noble to want to fix Israel, or Liberia, or China—but sorta weird not to give a moment to healing yourself, too.
Incidentally, my source for the image above includes some interesting history (which I've touched on before) specific to the town where this happened:
This anti-semitic attack in Norwich makes me want to tell a story of the Jews of Norfolk. By way of background, the first synagogue in Norwich dates back to 1087. This is a story of both hatred and decency. Of English antisemitism. This is the story of William of Norwich. 1/8 https://t.co/oP6EoqJDkg
— Daniel Korski (@DanielKorski) May 14, 2021
(here's an easy-to-read "unrolled" version of his eight-part tweet, which is worthwhile)
Author dave-oPosted on May 18, 2021 May 18, 2021 Categories Other WritingTags anti-Jewish, anti-Semitism, fear, hate, hate crimes, israel, Jews, politics, terror
Don't wanna get into why I'm reading up on Little "Saint" Hugh of Lincoln Today…
… but for those looking for insights into why the Defeated PotUS is obsessed with an absolutely anti-factual narrative of a rigged election, this is worthy reading, especially the "Royal Intervention" sub-section:
The difficulty remains as to why King Henry and his servant John of Lexington would have believed the accusations in the first place. … While the decision to act belonged to the King, Langmuir believes that he was weak and easily manipulated by Lexington. Langmuir says Henry III has been described as; "a suspicious person who flung charges of treason recklessly, [who] was credulous and poor in judgment, and often appeared like a petulant child. When to these qualities we add his addiction to touring the shrines of England, it becomes easier to understand why he acted as he did…" Langmuir therefore concludes that Lexington "incited the weakly credulous Henry III to give the ritual murder fantasy the blessing of royal authority". Jacobs on the other hand sees the financial benefits that Henry received as a major factor, conscious or unconscious, in his decision to mass arrest and execute Jews. As noted above, he had mortgaged his income from the Jews to Richard of Cornwall, but was still entitled to the property of any Jew executed, adding that Henry, "like most weak princes, was cruel to the Jews".
[Popular Anti-Jewish woodcut depicting the blood libel child murder of either Simon of Trent or William of Norwich (which are basically the same story, in either case). Note the dude at the far left who appears to be wearing George Jetson's house on his head; that's a "Jew Hat."]
Note the profit motive, the crushing debt, the love of touring from big public event to big public event, the absolute credulity to believe what is convenient, the tendency to flit and flip-flop from outrage to outrage, and a reflex to accuse sinister cabals composed of largely powerless minorities of master-minding vast schemes against a blameless populace.
If all of this seems long ago and far away, then please note that QAnon, Pizzagate, and a goodly portion of current Trumpery-driven White Violence is just this same story repeated over and over and over again.
Nice prayer at the bottom of that link, though.
Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln
Anyway, Happy Nittlenacht everyone!!!
Author dave-oPosted on December 24, 2020 December 24, 2020 Categories Other WritingTags anti-Jewish, anti-Semitism, fear, Jews, politics, terror, trump, trumpism, xmas, Xtians
Go Watch *Monsters*
I had no idea they even had free feature-length movies on YouTube. Anyway, go watch Monsters. It's just as good as I remember it being in the theaters; back then it felt like it was mostly about U.S. foreign/immigration policy with a smattering of Chernobyl anxiety (this was back in 2010). Now, in the midst of a plague year, it feels like it's sort of about a lot more.
Also, are you finding that, when watching old movies now, you're often distracted by how close people stand to each other, how blithely they enter each other's homes or push into crowds, maskless? How we used to live was crazy, right? 😷
Author dave-oPosted on December 15, 2020 December 11, 2020 Format AsideCategories VideoTags america, covid, covid-19, infection, love, plague, politics
This is Not a Peaceful Transfer of Power; It's a Frog Boil 🇺🇸🔥🐸
This whole article is sorta astounding. I mean, nothing is really surprising, but it's sorta shocking to have all of your assumptions confirmed:
"20 days of fantasy and failure: Inside Trump's quest to overturn the election"
I can't help but imagine all of what's happened over the past month from the PotUS's perspective:
(art by DonkeyHotey)
He's never had a real job—not one that he could actually lose. And now a bunch of losers—people with no wealth, no audience, no "pull," folks with meager incomes and dumb names, with little (if any) power, many of them women and people of color—they took away his toy.
And they didn't do it by force: They didn't pull a gun on him, they didn't have to "see him in court!!!" They didn't have to look at him or talk to him or even acknowledge him. They just ticked a box and mailed a stupid scrap of paper.
And all of those "they"s in the previous graff: those are "you" and "me"; we did this. We, who are weak-ass little pussies and cry babies and retarded faggot snowflakes, we hurt him, deeply. And we did it while hiding in our little shithole houses in shithole towns and bullshit states.
I imagine that, in his heart of hearts, he simply never believed such a thing was possible, so insulated from reality was his 70+ years on this earth.
"The most petulant 46 minutes in American history"
It is all so astoundingly pathetic. If he hadn't done so much to hurt so many, you'd weep for his loss of innocence.
Just to be clear: Although no shots have been fired (yet), this is not a "peaceful transfer of power." At best, it's a tremendous waste of the most precious resource in a time of crisis (like this one): Attention.
At worst, it's an incitement to violence.
His blood is boiling, and we are the frogs.
Author dave-oPosted on December 3, 2020 December 11, 2020 Categories Other WritingTags america, death, despair, destruction, fear and loathing, hope, politics, terror, trump, trumpism
Washtenaw County (Michigan) Voters: IF YOU SEE A GUN, CALL 911!
Given the recent arrest of White Power and anti-government terrorists in Michigan (and the fact that these groups had both been active in Washtenaw County), it is reasonable to worry about armed bullshit at the polls here. Although there is no known credible threat or planned actions, law enforcement here is vocally committed to protecting our free, fair, and open elections. I'm not just getting this from the letter: Over the last month I've been in meetings with Rep. Dingell, Sheriff Clayton, Police Chief Cox, etc. and the message has been clear and consistent: They are not playing around with any jackassery at the polls, esp. "open carry" or self-appointed "election protectors" or any other extra-legal shenanigans.
If you suspect VOTER INTIMIDATION on election day, immediately alert a poll worker and call 866-OUR-VOTE
SEE A GUN? CALL 911: If you see someone acting threatening, call 911. The Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Police Departments are very interested in any information about any sightings of suspicious activity or firearms near polling places. AAPD is emphatic: it is not your job or responsibility to determine if someone is "exercising their rights" or "brandishing" or "harassing" or "intimidating" or "walking their emotional support gun" or anything else. Dial 911 and report exactly what you've observed (i.e., number of individuals, number of guns, identifying physical characteristics, location, direction of movement) and indicate that YOU ARE CONCERNED FOR YOUR SAFETY AND THAT OF YOUR NEIGHBORS.
If you are outside of Arbor/Ypsi and have reason to believe your local PD might not take this seriously, call the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office directly 734-994-2911. Sheriff Clayton takes this seriously.
It's extremely likely that nothing bad or weird or yucky will happen; high rates of early voting hint at a very boring in-person final voting day here in Washtenaw County. But you do not have to put up with any crap, and it's fundamentally wrong for anyone to attempt to make you uncomfortable at the polls, let alone disrupt you submitting your ballot. WHATEVER YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT COPS IN GENERAL, HERE IN WASHTENAW COUNTY WE ARE ALL ALIGNED ON THIS ISSUE.
Author dave-oPosted on November 2, 2020 November 1, 2020 Categories Other WritingTags guns, policing, politics, safe, terror