Lots of students like to ask people to prom with a grand gesture — or an over-the-top gesture, depending on your point of view — but why would some students be allowed to stage such "promposals," while others might not be? After a high school in Keller, Texas, refused to allow Casey Akers ask another girl to prom, her friends launched #LetCaseyPromposal hashtag to encourage the school to change its mind. The message has been gaining momentum ever since, and with good reason: If some students are allowed to make promposals, all students should be allowed to make promposals.
Casey recently shared her account of the incident with a friend via direct message; after asking Casey for permission to tweet it, the friend launched the story onto the Internet, which led to it going viral. According to Casey, she originally got clearance from school officials to ask someone to prom in the cafeteria during lunch, without mentioning the gender of the student she wanted to ask. She had a box of cookies and a poster that said, "Out of all these cookies, you're my favorite one. Prom?" The girl she was asking is named Cookie, which Casey wrote is where the idea came from. But as she was headed into lunch, school administrators stopped her.
"[They] said I couldn't ask her anymore because it's not appropriate," Casey's original message recalls. "I asked why, and they said, 'You know why. It's just not appropriate.' Basically, it's not okay if I asked a girl, but it would be okay if I asked a guy."
"Keller ISD does not grant permission for any student, regardless of gender, to conduct public prom invitations, or promposals, on campus during the school day. Any previous promposals that have occurred have done so without District approval. Promposals, and other similar public displays, may create a disruption to the academic setting, therefore they are not allowed for any student."
However, if Casey's story about initially getting clearance for her promposal is true, it seems that the ban on promposals is either very, very new, or hasn't been enforced prior to this incident. So is the case similar to when an Oklahoma state representative suggested banning all marriage in order to prevent gay marriage from becoming legal in the state? It does kind of feel that way. At the very least, it seems plausible that the administration, facing a wave of criticism and attention on and off social media, could have decided to implement or revive a policy against promposals to escape accusations of discrimination.
So will the administration back down? Hopefully. After all, LGBT students should be as free as anyone else to make big, romantic gestures. If a school wants to ban all promposals as inherently disruptive and actually enforce that ban equally, that's their right. If schools want to place limits on where and when and how promposals can happen or require students to get approval for their plans first, that's also their right (and also probably a good idea, considering). But what schools shouldn't be able to do is only bar certain students from making promposals, either through discriminatory policy or selective enforcement that only targets certain couples.
In other words, if the school has indeed allowed straight students to make promposals in similar fashion during lunch periods, then it definitely should #LetCaseyPromposal.


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A Little Book for New Preachers
Why and How to Study Homiletics
by Matthew D. Kim
One of the central tasks of pastoral ministry is preaching the Word of God.
Yet those who are called to ministry may feel unprepared, unable, or unwilling to step into this role. Moreover, the discipline of homiletics sometimes gets lost amid the exegetical questions, theological debates, and denominational disputes that overwhelm our attention.
In this brief introduction to preaching, Matthew Kim helps to prepare those called to preach the Word. A seasoned preacher himself, Kim provides proven insight and guidance about the importance and history of preaching, the characteristics of faithful preaching, and the personal habits of a faithful preacher. With his help, both those training for ministry and those new to the pastoral task will be encouraged as they undertake their calling.
"Matthew Kim's excellent primer for new preachers is precisely what I needed as a new preacher—not homiletical tidbits but solid food to nourish the young preacher's soul. What makes for faithful preaching? And more importantly, what makes for a faithful preacher? As a seasoned preacher and skilled teacher of preachers, Dr. Kim speaks with both truth and grace in this genuinely inspiring book. Let me encourage you to get a copy as a gift for the young preacher you know—and don't forget to get one for yourself. Highly recommended!"
Todd Wilson, president of the Center for Pastor Theologians
"New preachers (and those of us who've been at it a while!) will be encouraged by Matt Kim's wisdom, challenged by his counsel, and moved by his vulnerability. An introduction not just to the preaching act but the preaching life."
Mary S. Hulst, college chaplain, Calvin College
"The art of preaching must not be lost. Dramatic changes in our society and in culture require that we go deeper in our preaching rather than dilute this sacred practice. I am thrilled that Matthew Kim has written this much-needed book. I am one of his friends who remembers when Matt was himself a new preacher as a seminary intern at my church. Matt has continued to hone his craft to become one of the best teachers of the preaching arts. In this text, we are reminded of the great legacy of preaching and how it can continue to have a deep impact. Thoughtful, accessible, and pastoral, this text offers some of the best of Matthew Kim's teaching ministry."
Soong-Chan Rah, Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary, author of Prophetic Lament and The Next Evangelicalism
"There is no higher calling than the call to proclaim God's Word, in context, with the Spirit's power and authority. Dr. Kim has given the church a 'little treasure' in this book as he reminds us of the sacred responsibility and privilege that preachers have as those who will speak for God when they preach the text. This guide is for new and old preachers alike, and it reminds us that a high view of God preached from the pulpit is the main venue for teaching and instruction in a disciple-making church."
Eric J. Bargerhuff, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of Bible and theology, Trinity College of Florida
"There are lots of books on how to build a sermon, but in Matthew Kim's A Little Book for New Preachers, he takes a different approach. Instead of walking readers through the process of sermon construction, Kim helps us explore why preaching is so vital and what an effective sermon and preacher look like. This will be an excellent resource for young ministers who are just beginning their preparation, but it will also be an enjoyable read for veteran preachers as a refreshing reminder of why we do what we do."
Michael Duduit, executive editor of Preaching magazine, dean of the Clamp Divinity School of Anderson University, Anderson, SC
"Preaching isn't the only thing a pastor does, but it better be the first thing he does. Matthew Kim helps pastors and other preachers feel the holy heaviness of the task to which we've been called. From good theology to sound interpretation to practical application to spiritual character, he provides preachers—new and old—with a solid foundation on which to build a lifetime of faithful pulpit ministry. And he does it in a pastoral tone that makes us feel like we're having a fireside chat with an experienced practitioner."
Jim Shaddix, W. A. Criswell Professor of Expository Preaching and senior fellow at the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
"This 'little book' on preaching packs a punch. I have found that it is the simplest expressions that are often the most profound. Matthew Kim has written such an offering—a humble yet passionate affirmation of the value of preaching, with wise advice along the way for how we might pursue its practice. Clear some time for this. You are going to want to dwell on what you find."
Kenton C. Anderson, president and professor of homiletics at Northwest Seminary, ACTS Seminaries of Trinity Western University
Part I: Why Study Preaching?
1. Preaching: The Forgotten Discipline
2. Preaching: A Great Legacy
3. Preaching: Making Disciples
Part II: Characteristics of Faithful Preaching
4. Faithful Interpretation
5. Faithful Cultural Exegesis
6. Faithful Application
Part III: Characteristics of Faithful Preachers
7. Being Pastoral and Loving
8. Being a Person of Character and Integrity
9. Being Prayerful and Spirit-Led
Name and Subject Index
Download the Press Kit.
A Little Handbook for Preachers
Preaching in an Age of Distraction
A Little Book for New Theologians
Preaching as Reminding
Preaching in the New Testament
Rewiring Your Preaching
ABOUT Matthew D. Kim
Matthew D. Kim (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is associate professor of preaching and ministry and the director of the Haddon W. Robinson Center for Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of Finding Our Voice: A Vision for Asian North American Preaching, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons, and 7 Lessons for New Pastors: Your First Year in Ministry.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Kim Heung-soo (* 4. Oktober 1980 in Nagano, Japan) ist ein ehemaliger südkoreanischer Skispringer. Seit 2007 ist er Cheftrainer der südkoreanischen Skispringer.

Werdegang
Kim nahm an den Olympischen Winterspielen 1998 in Nagano teil. Er wurde 61. von der Normalschanze und 62. von der Großschanze. Im nächsten Jahr belegte er beim Sommer-Grand-Prix in Hakuba mit Choi Yong-jik, Kim Hyun-ki und Choi Heung-chul den elften Platz. Nachdem er bis 2002 noch erfolglos im Skisprung-Continental-Cup gesprungen war und Anfang 2003 in Tarvisio bei zwei FIS-Springen die Plätze 36 und 35 belegt hatte, beendete er seine Karriere.

Seit 2007 trainiert er die südkoreanische Skisprung-Nationalmannschaft. Die Mannschaft besteht derzeit aus Choi Heung-chul, Choi Yong-jik (heute Choi Seou), Kang Chil-gu, Kim Hyun-ki und Park Je-un.

Weblinks

Skispringer (Südkorea)
Olympiateilnehmer (Südkorea)
Teilnehmer der Olympischen Winterspiele 1998
Universiadeteilnehmer (Südkorea)
Teilnehmer der Winter-Universiade 2001
Skisprungnationaltrainer (Südkorea)
Geboren 1980
Mann
Südkoreaner

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hints of Elfman, Zimmer, and Horner come together to create Swenson's fresh sound-scape. Escape to Oz, a land of fantasy, danger, wonder and triumph; a memorable score inspired by America's very own beloved fairytale.
'Dorothy and The Witches of Oz Soundtrack' by composer Eliza Swenson from the theatrically released film 'Dorothy and The Witches of Oz' is a great addition to any soundtrack lover's collection. Hints of Elfman, Zimmer, and Horner come together to create Swenson's fresh and beautiful sound-scape from this budding composer. Escape to Oz, a land of fantasy, danger, wonder and triumph; a memorable score inspired by America's very own beloved fairytale.
The music is just awesome, and perfectly reflects the atmosphere and spirit of the movie. The orchestral arrangements were very well done; it contains soothing and relaxing tracks as well as powerful and expressive tunes.
Overall, the album is beautiful, and you never get tired listening to it. It will be a nice addition to a music collection for any lover of a good music. I definitely recommend it.


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Home › Vital Signs › Archives › Vital Signs - Sept. 25, 2009 › Family House Diaries: A renewed enthusiasm for life
Family House Diaries: A renewed enthusiasm for life
Russell Ford's enthusiasm for life is contagious. Always has been, but now more so since Ford received a new heart in July.
Ford, 56, a Vance County native who now lives in Four Oaks, N.C., had suffered from congestive heart failure for 10 years. The disease, caused by a congenital heart defect, necessitated that the third-generation textile worker leave the foreman's job he'd worked up to after starting as a sweeper at the mill as a teenager.
"Some people might have asked 'why me", but I asked 'why not me?' Russell said in referencing the disability that in his words "stripped us of everything but our faith." Efforts by family, friends and churches helped Ford, his wife Lisa and their three children, keep their house and the car they needed to get Ford to and from medical appointments.
Despite the economic and emotional hardships, the family's faith provided an acceptance that a plan beyond their control was at work. "I said to God 'he's your son before he's my husband," said Lisa, 46, a long-time Lowe's Foods cashier. "If you decide to take him, we'll celebrate that we've had him as long as we have."
Life was hard, but good, until an October 2008 hospitalization for pneumonia. Russell's heart did fine, but it developed an irregular heartbeat in December, and surgery to implant a pacemaker and defibrillator followed. Still, Russell's heart grew weaker. He prayed to live long enough to see his son graduate from high school on June 12. Russell made it.
But by mid-July the Fords were talking with a transplant coordinator after Russell had collapsed, once at home and once at a family dinner at Golden Corral in Garner. Each time, his heart stopped, but each time, he came back by the grace of God and the kindness of strangers – EMT personnel, restaurant management and staff, and fellow diners.
Hospitalized since the restaurant incident, Russell's major body systems began failing and by July 24 he had moved to the top of the heart transplant list at UNC Hospitals. At noon on July 26, a new heart was available, and surgery began at 5 p.m. Eleven hours later, a new heart was giving Russell a second chance. Two days later he was walking, and drainage tubes were being removed in record time.
"I was crying tears of joy, but never in our joy and celebration of new life have we lost sight that another family is mourning," Russell said, referring to the donor's family. "I can't say enough about how great the need is for organs for transplant."
Russell's surgery took nearly twice as long as normal due to the congenital defect that made the surgery particularly challenging, said Michael Bowdish, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the UNC School of Medicine, who transplanted the new heart.
"The heart started well, and his recovery has been as we expected," Dr. Bowdish said, adding, "We never lose sight that when a transplanted heart beats, it is a kind of miracle."
Dr. Bowdish reiterated Russell's plea for more organ donors. "While improvements in medical care and in artificial hearts have lowered the death rate among patients awaiting transplants, those artificial devices only delay the need for a heart transplant, which remains the gold standard," he said. "And while the overall death rates among patients awaiting heart transplantation have declined over the last 10 years — from 227 per 1000 patient-years at risk in 1997 to 152 per 1000 patient-years at risk in 2006 – still too many people die while awaiting a heart. Improved organ donation rates are imperative if we are to save more people with heart transplants."
During Russell's three-week hospitalization, Lisa stayed at the SECU (State Employees' Credit Union) Family House, a 40-bedroom hospital hospitality house minutes from UNC Hospitals that provides comfortable, convenient and affordable housing for adult patients undergoing treatment for critical illness and trauma and their family member caregivers. Following his hospital discharge on Aug. 14, Russell joined Lisa there before they both returned home on Aug. 19.
"Lisa and our children – Ashley, Jessica and Russell Jr. – needed comfort, and they found it at SECU Family House," Russell said. "It was a comfort to me that they were at a safe place. I went through the hard time, but Lisa deserves the medal."
On Sunday, Aug. 30, the Fords celebrated Russell's 56th birthday by leading the service at their church, Baptist Center Church in Clayton. Their special needs daughter, Jessica, 21, signed the service. The family will share their testimony again in October at a fundraising concert organized by Russell Jr., 19, a freshman at Mt. Olive College.
Lisa credits the entire experience – from anger with Russell's illness through his two "deaths", as she refers to them, and successful transplant surgery to the extended stay at SECU Family House – with helping her and Russell live an earlier dream of being missionaries.
"The awesome part is that so many times through the years of heartache and turmoil, Russell and I have been called to take ourselves out of what we're dealing with and be there for others, to pray, to hug, to just listen," Lisa said. "At this point, we're refreshed missionaries with new material."
This is the fifth in a new series from UNC Health Care that focuses on the stories of UNC Hospitals patients and their families who live in the SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals while receiving or awaiting treatment.
Filed under: Patient Care, Outreach, Cardiovascular


What are the performing arts? If we look into the world of performing arts several things come to mind; dancers, the circus, musicians, clowns, jugglers, and acrobats. Framed performing arts depictions are a popular item among art lovers and there is a wide offering of styles and tastes.
For those that are young at heart and love their memories of the circus replicas of circuses are an attractive piece of framed performing arts pictures. Some of the best designs were created for The Great Wallace Shows, Sells Fluto Circus, Barnum and Bailey, and Rossow Midgets. Photos from the circus can capture time and make great pieces of art ranging from aerial shots of all three rings filled with performers to capturing the trapeze artists in flight.
Anyone that has a little girl that aspires to be a ballerina has a plethora of artists that create beautiful performing arts framed masterpieces. Steve O'Connell is well known for his great sketches of a tiny ballerina with her teddy bear which add a kick to any little girl's room. Other superb artists that work within the ballet theme are Mary Dulon, Caroline Gold, Mary Gottfried Wiley, and Edgar Degas.
The idea of couples dancing can bring on emotions such as love or happiness and many artists have learned to capture those emotions in their work. Pedro Alavarez captures the sensual, steaminess of dance in his painting "Tango Argentina". Jack Vettriano takes another approach by capturing the love of a just married couple dancing on the beach in "Dance Me to the End of Love".


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Q: show fancytree checkboxes only for leaf nodes Is it possible to parametrize the JQuery Fancytree (http://plugins.jquery.com/fancytree/) so it only shows checkboxes next to the leaf nodes?
EasyUI Tree provides such feature, for example: onlyLeafCheck
http://www.jeasyui.com/documentation/tree.php

A: You can globally enable checkboxes using tree's 'checkbox' option, and then hide them per node using the "hideCheckbox": true property.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Posts matching tags 'poland'
Der Spiegel has an interesting interview with Adam Michnik, former Polish Solidarność dissident and now editor of the broadsheet Gazeta Wyborcza, talking about democracy, authoritarianism and civil society in Europe, looking partly at the hardline authoritarian-nationalist turn Hungary has taken, and to a lesser extent the Catholic-nationalist right in Poland:
SPIEGEL: Orbán is trying to direct his country into a "system of national cooperation without compromises." What does he mean by that?
Michnik: British historian Norman Davies called this form of democracy a "government of cannibals." Democratic elections are held, but then the victorious party devours the losers. The gradual coup consists in getting rid of or taking over democratic institutions. These people believe that they are the only ones in possession of the truth. At some point, parties no longer mean anything, and the system is based, once again, on a monologue of power. The democratic institutions in the West are more deeply embedded in the West than in Eastern Europe. Democracy can defend itself there. Everything is still fragile in our countries, even two decades after the end of communism.
Michnik: Back in 1990, I wrote that nationalism is the last stage of communism: a system of thought that gives simple but wrong answers to complex questions. Nationalism is practically the natural ideology of authoritarian regimes.
¶ authoritarianism communism democracy europe hungary nationalism poland politics 0
Nobel laureate Lech Wałesa, who had led the Solidarność movement that overthrew Poland's Soviet-backed puppet government in the 1980s and served as the first President of independent Poland, recently caused an uproar when he said that gay people had no right to serve in parliament:
Wałesa said in a television interview on Friday that he believed gay people had no right to sit on the front benches in parliament and, if there at all, should sit in the back "or even behind a wall". "They have to know that they are a minority and adjust to smaller things, and not rise to the greatest heights," he told the private broadcaster TVN during a discussion of gay rights. "A minority should not impose itself on the majority."
As a private citizen, Wałesa's words have no force in law, though given his status, they wield considerable influence, and resonate with a significant ultra-conservative proportion of Poland's population. (In Poland, the common colloquial word for "gay", pedał, also means "paedophile".) This proportion are well-represented; theirs is the opposition Law and Justice Party (currently allied with David Cameron's Tories in the EU Parliament, much to the discomfort of the we-are-not-the-Nasty-Party faction) and a conservative media which makes Fox News and The Australian look like the New York Times by comparison. (The fact that the Catholic Church was prominent in resistance to the Communist dictatorship imposed by the USSR, and that anything with a whiff of left-wing ideals, from secularism to equal rights for minorities, still stinks of Russian tanks to a proportion of the public doesn't help things.) Fortunately, they are not the unanimous voice of the Polish voting public: Poland's liberals have condemned the remarks, and the liberal Palikot's Movement party in parliament protested by temporarily promoting its two LGBT* parliamentarians to the front bench:
On Wednesday, Robert Biedron, a gay rights activist, and Anna Grodzka, who had a male-to-female sex-change operation, took seats in the front row of the assembly. Both are members of the progressive Palikot's Movement party, and party leader Janusz Palikot arranged for the two to sit in, relinquishing his own seat to Biedron.
The first row in the semi-circular lower chamber, or Sejm, is reserved for party leaders and prominent lawmakers. Biedron and Grodzka – who have been in parliament since 2011 – usually sit in the third row.
Meanwhile, here is a petition asking for an apology from Wałesa for his statement.
¶ gay lech wałesa poland politics 0
Recently declassified documents from the German Foreign Ministry reveal that, in 1981, Margaret Thatcher, long seen as a hero of individual freedom and a staunch and fearless enemy of Communism, considered supporting the Polish Communist government's crackdown on the pro-democracy movement led by trade union-centred group Solidarność:
Carrington had earlier outlined the UK's position, saying that his government only backed Solidarity out of respect for public opinion, but that perhaps, from a more rational position, they would actually be "on the side of the Polish government".
Back then, Warsaw was threatened with insolvency and Thatcher evidently feared that the demands of the workers' movement could trigger a Soviet invasion. A few months later, the Polish communist Leader Wojciech Jaruzelski imposed martial law and the US invoked economic sanctions against Poland. Britain, however, avoided levying sanctions on the country.
Presumably it was the "trade-union-led" bit that swung Solidarność into the same category as Nelson Mandela (considered a terrorist by the Thatcher government); after all, even if they might overthrow an evil Communist regime, what if in doing so they cause the greater harm of giving the local unionists ideas? In which case, Jaruzelski would have been a bulwark of stability, sort of like Thatcher's close friend, General Pinochet.
This wasn't Thatcher's last attempt to shore up the Eastern Bloc; later, as the Berlin Wall fell, she flew to Moscow to press Gorbachev to stop the reunification of Germany. Presumably freedom was good only where it applied to capital.
¶ cold war communism hypocrisy margaret thatcher poland uk 0
Last week, The Guardian once again ran a series of articles on Europe today, with contributions from papers in France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy. Intended partly to combat the rise in anti-European sentiment in the wake of the financial crisis. Among other things, this includes a number of profiles of political leaders by journalists from other countries (i.e., an Italian perspective on Germany's Angela Merkel, a German view of Poland's Donald Tusk, and French and British pieces on the other country's leader), as well as a a section looking at, and responding to, national stereotypes in Europe:
What message do we Brits think we send when our signature cultural export of 2011 was Downton Abbey, a show entirely about the intricacies of class and which apparently longs for a return to Edwardian notions of hierarchy? The smash West End play One Man, Two Guvnors similarly revolves around class. Unfortunately, it's not just a foreigners' myth that in Britain how one speaks and what school one attended still counts.
There is a vibrancy to modern British life that eludes the cliche's grasp. There's a hint of it in that Polish suggestion that the Brits are "kind and friendly to immigrants". Compared with other European countries, it's probably true that Britain is, generally, more tolerant. Some of our public services – the NHS, the BBC – are still cherished. We are not merely a mini-America of let-it-rip free-marketism.
Efficiency is not really a Berlin thing. Take construction. To build 2km of new tram lines to connect the new central station, they set aside three years. Delays were not even factored in. In China, they'd have built whole new cities in that time, or a high-speed motorway across the entire country. Maybe the Chinese are the Germans of the 21st century. Or maybe Berliners are just not typical Germans. Can you stereotype a country if its capital is not typical?
In Italy, sex drive increases with age. Naturally, it is also possessed to a degree by the young (this is why we have children), but it is only after the age of 50 that the Italian male finally dives headlong into adolescence. We are the only nation to have had a prime minister in his 70s who wears a bandana on his head like a tennis player or a rap singer.
¶ culture europe france germany italy poland spain stereotypes uk 0
A gay Iranian teenager who fled to Britain after his boyfriend was hanged for sodomy is facing deportation to Iran, and almost certain death. Britain's Home Office has already denied Mehdi Kazemi, 19, asylum, and now the Netherlands is extraditing him to Britain:
"There is no doubt that Mehdi will be arrested and probably executed if he is sent back there," said his 51-year-old uncle, a salesman from Hampshire. "The police have issued a warrant for his arrest. He will be in terrible danger if he goes back."
Mr Kazemi's father has also told him that if the state doesn't kill him, he will. "His father is very angry but his mother still loves him. She is extremely worried for him but she is in a very difficult position. In Iran, mothers don't stop loving their children because they are gay."
A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed Mr Kazemi had exhausted all his domestic avenues of appeal and could expect to be detained pending his deportation. But she added: "Any further representations will be considered on their merits taking into account all the circumstances."
Meanwhile, in Lancashire, a court has heard that a gang of teenagers beat a 20-year-old woman to death because she was dressed as a Goth. The woman's boyfriend was severely bashed and left with brain damage. It is not clear what the assailants' dispute with the victims' subcultural orientation was, or indeed what their own views were, though it'd probably be a safe bet that they were of the hoody-wearing persuasion.
And the ultra-conservative former prime minister of Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has spoken out against allowing internet voting because the internet is for pornography:
"I am not an enthusiast of a young person sitting in front of a computer, watching video clips and pornography while sipping a bottle of beer and voting when he feels like it," he was quoted as saying on his party's revamped Web site.
He added that Internet users are "the easiest group to manipulate, to suggest who to vote for."
He's right, if one defines being manipulated as being persuaded to put aside cherished prejudices and entertain new, potentially controversial, ideas.
¶ bigotry chavs cluelessness gay goth internet iran poland rightwingers stupidity uk 3
14-year-old "electronics genius" in Lódz, Poland, built a remote control for the city's tram system (apparently out of a TV remote control, though presumably they mean that he housed it in a TV remote control case ) and used it to change points, forcing trams onto the wrong tracks, until he was arrested.
"He had converted the television control into a device capable of controlling all the junctions on the line and wrote in the pages of a school exercise book where the best junctions were to move trams around and what signals to change.
Problems with the signalling system on Lodz's tram network became apparent on Tuesday when a driver attempting to steer his vehicle to the right was involuntarily taken to the left. As a result the rear wagon of the train jumped the rails and collided with another passing tram. Transport staff immediately suspected outside interference.
¶ hacks poland pranks risks security trams 0
After publishing a best-selling crime novel detailing a gruesome torture and murder, Polish crime novelist Krystian Bala has been charged with a similar murder which happened a few years earlier, the victim having been a friend of his ex-wife:
The case was broadcast on Poland's version of the BBC television programme Crimewatch but it produced no serious leads — only some strange e-mails sent from internet cafés in Indonesia and South Korea, describing the murder as "the perfect crime".
The first break for the police came when they discovered that Mr Bala, a highly experienced diver, was on a diving trip to South Korea and Indonesia at the time that the e-mails were sent. Then they discovered that he had sold a mobile phone four days after the body of Dariusz J was discovered. It was the same model that the victim was known to have owned, but that police had never found.
Mr Bala offered to take a lie-detector test to prove his innocence and passed. When the transcripts were read out in court, the judge was struck by the very long pauses taken by Mr Bala before answering, a technique that may allow a suspect to mask the physical signs of lying.
Of course, that doesn't mean that he did it, though it does start to look somewhat suspicious.
Meanwhile, some light has been shed on another murder mystery, the whereabouts of Lord Lucan; some people, including a retired Scotland Yard detective believe that the disgraced peer, who may have bludgeoned his family nanny to death, is living out of a car in New Zealand, with a cat and a pet possum, no less:
Neighbours say the man has an upper-class English accent and a military bearing like Lord Lucan, who was educated at Eton before serving in the Coldstream Guards.
He is said to have arrived in New Zealand about the time Lucan disappeared and is also understood to be receiving money from property he owns in Britain.
¶ crime england history life imitating art literature lord lucan murder new zealand poland 0
In Poland, where the mainstream culture is dominated by a conservative, nationalistic monoculture, more often than not with an anti-Semitic streak, rebels, refuseniks and rootless cosmopolitanists are embracing all things Jewish. Klezmer bands (comprised mostly of non-Jewish musicians) are forming everywhere, people are taking classes in everything from Hasidic dancing to Hebrew calligraphy, and replicas of 1930s-vintage Jewish merchants' signs are cropping up all over Krakow streets like some kind of theme park:
Interest in Jewish culture became an identifying factor for people unhappy with the status quo and looking for ways to rebel, whether against the government or their parents.
"The word 'Jew' still cuts conversation at the dinner table," Gebert said. "People freeze."
The revival of Jewish culture is, in its way, a progressive counterpoint to a conservative nationalist strain in Polish politics that still espouses anti-Semitic views. Some people see it as a generation's effort to rise above the country's dark past in order to convincingly condemn it.
Not everybody's pleased with this:
Many Jews are offended by the commercialization of their culture in a country almost universally associated with its near annihilation.
Others argue that there is something deeper taking place in Poland as the country heals from the double wounds of Nazi and communist domination. "There is commercialism, but that is foam on the surface," Gebert said. "This is one of the deepest ethical transformations that our country is undergoing.
Perhaps we can expect to see a new wave of klezmer-punk bands emerging from Krakow any day now?
¶ authoritarianism culture history jewish judaism poland rebellion 1
Life imitates Goodbye Lenin!; a Polish railway worker, who fell into a coma in a year or so before Communism collapsed, has just woken up:
"When I went into a coma there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol queues were everywhere," Mr Grzebski said.
"Now I see people on the streets with mobile phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin," he told Polish television.
¶ communism europe goodbye lenin life imitating art poland politics society 1
An international manhunt is under way for a Polish man who expressed his disapproval of the government by means of flatulence after being asked what he thought of the president:
Hubert Hoffman, 45, was charged with "contempt for the office of the head of state" for his actions after he was stopped by police in a routine check at a Warsaw railway station.
He complained that under President Lech Kaczynski and his twin brother Jaroslaw, the country was returning to a Communist style dictatorship.
When told to show more respect for the country's rulers, he farted loudly and was promptly arrested.
When you get beyond the gross-out-Hollywood-comedy elements of this story, it starts looking rather disturbing. The implication is that, in Poland, the police are routinely stopping people, asking them what they think of the president, and arresting those who give the wrong answer. Given that the EU is bringing pressure to bear on Turkey to scrap its laws against "insulting Turkishness" before even thinking about being admitted to the EU, one of its own member states behaving in this fashion beggars belief.
Incidentally, if an Australian was stopped by Australian Federal Police outside SouthernCross Station, asked what he thought of the Prime Minister, and replied in this fashion, could he be charged with sedition? And if so, would he be?
(via jwz) ¶ authoritarianism poland 0
The ultra-conservative president of Poland (one half of a set of identical twins running the country (his brother is Prime Minister) and a man so right-wing he makes Tony Abbott look like Bob Brown) has called for the restoration of the death penalty. If anything comes of this, it could lead to an interesting situation, as capital punishment is expressly prohibited in the European Union. Were Poland to reintroduce it, it would leave Brussels with a dilemma: hold to principles and expel one of their populous members, or allow Poland to opt out of the death-penalty ban. If the EU blinks and the latter happens, how long until the Daily Mail and Sun put the reintroduction of capital punishment on the agenda in the UK.
¶ capital punishment europe poland rightwingers 2
As part of a section on the significant chunk of the population of Poland moving to Britain, today's Grauniad has a slightly facetious guide to British culture (in English and Polish).
1 Why do you ask people "how are you?" if you don't care about the answer?
Britain is a nation built upon appearances. We pretend to be richer, happier and probably nicer than we actually are, and glean some small grain of superiority in doing so. Asking "how are you?" is the quotidian incarnation of this trait. We don't actually care how you are, we are merely giving some semblance of caring, so that at all times we can retain the moral high ground. For further examples of this, perhaps study Keeping Up Appearances, the early 90s BBC sitcom starring Patricia Routledge, or the letters page of the Times. It is also worth pointing out that to be asked "how are you?" in a disgruntled British fashion is perhaps not so affronting as to be bid "have a nice day!" by some sunny-side up American.
4 Why do women here wear open-toed sandals in deepest winter?
In Britain, women are highly prized for their hardiness. We have a popular saying: "Is she rugged as a goat? Then she is for me!" Hence a woman spotted out on a February evening in the most northerly quarters of the isle wearing nothing but a short, skimpy frock is valued far above any woman in a sensible coat. A less extreme interpretation is for a woman to sport open-toed sandals, regardless of the inclement weather; to us, it is as erotic as a burst of cleavage, or a glimpse of a lady's ankle.
The guide goes on to cover such perplexing phenomena as the prices of rail tickets, the full English breakfast, and the peculiar habit of eating chips with vinegar (something I never understood either).
¶ culture england englishness poland 0
Approximately 5% of the population of Poland is expected to go to Rome for the Pope's funeral this week.
Pilgrims have been queuing at Warsaw's central station all week hoping to land a coveted seat on the trains leaving today. LOT, the national airline, is struggling to cope with the demand and Poles are said to be buying tickets for any destinations heading south that may get them closer to Rome.
(I wonder if the Polish mass exodus will spread to London. If so, don't count on food stalls at street markets being open this weekend.)
¶ catholicism poland pope 0
You may want to say thank you to Poland for pioneering the GameBoy orchestra scuttling the European software patent directive.
¶ eu gameboy patents poland 0
The floating, untraceable online Forbidden City mentioned in that William Gibson book (Idoru, I think it was) is a reality; only, in reality, it sells fraudulent financial products and penis pills: a Polish "spacker" group is using trojanned PCs to "untraceably" host spammers' web sites. The system works by routing requests to the hijacked machines with special DNS servers run by the group:
According to Tubul, his group controls 450,000 "Trojaned" systems, most of them home computers running Windows with high-speed connections. The hacked systems contain special software developed by the Polish group that routes traffic between Internet users and customers' websites through thousands of the hijacked computers. The numerous intermediary systems confound tools such as traceroute, effectively laundering the true location of the website. To utilize the service, customers simply configure their sites to use any of several domain-name system servers controlled by the Polish group, Tubul said.
"Hackers used to detest spammers, but now that spamming has become such a big business, it's suddenly cool to be a spammer," Linford said. He said the junk e-mail business has also recently attracted "engineers who have been laid off or fired, and people who really know what they're doing with networking and DNS."
That's one of those things that is simultaneously fascinating and repugnant, much like a predatory wasp laying eggs inside a paralysed prey or something. (via bOING bOING)
¶ botnets crime poland security spam 8
Poland votes Yes in EU referendum. The devoutly Catholic country is the largest by far of new member states, having more citizens than all the other applicants combined, and some are hoping that it will bolster the influence of conservative states in Europe, counteracting the influence of the perfidious Gaullists. Hopefully the process will work both ways and EU membership will liberalise Polish society, which is not the most tolerant of places.
Next up: the Czech republic, next weekend.
¶ eu poland 0
Swingin' Stalinism, in the form of 1950s Communist propaganda posters from Poland. Totalitarianism never looked so groovy. (via bOING bOING)
¶ communism maciej ceglowski poland propaganda stalinism 0
Stranger than fiction: Ambulance crews in the Polish city of Lodz have been deliberately letting patients die, in return for kickbacks from funeral companies. In some cases the ambulance crews even hastened the deaths of their charges by administering muscle relaxants. In return, the funeral homes paid the ambulance crews over US$300 for each stiff sent their way.
¶ bizarre corruption death fucked-up poland wtf 0


text:
Total results: 2591.
Personal freedom restricted by force—Li Wenzu applies for administrative reconsideration
On April 13, Li Wenzu sent an application for administrative reconsideration to the People's Government of Shijingshan District in Beijing, demanding a ruling of illegality on the Shijingshan Branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau's violation of law by restricting her personal freedom by...
709 Families and Supporters
悲兮魔兽 (Behemoth)
Zhao Liang
Director Zhao Liang presents an astounding picture of how the mining, steel, and housing industries have shaped the landscape in Inner Mongolia and changed the lives of people who live and work there. Called "a feat of pictorial storytelling," the only lines in the film are powerful monologues...
In Memory of Xu Jue, a Key Member of the Tiananmen Mothers
(Ms. Xu Jue) We announce with deep sorrow that Ms. Xu Jue , an important member of the Tiananmen Mothers, died at 8:51a.m. on April 24, 2017, at age 77. Ms. Xu Jue was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009, and shortly after her surgery, the cancer spread to her liver. She passed away after an eight-...
Shuangzhoukan
Shuangzhoukan (SZK)—HRIC's Chinese-language electronic journal—publishes original writings and articles by Chinese writers, journalists, and lawyers including in-depth analyses, policy debates, and commentaries on current events, China's legal reforms, and other topics. First published in May 2009, SZK moved from a bi-weekly to rolling release format in mid-2013. It now offers expanded social media content, including "Hot Topics," the "Best of" Weibo (Chinese microblog), Twitter, and Facebook, and videos and still images.
My First Trip to China: Scholars, Diplomats and Journalists Reflect on their First Encounters with China
Edited by Kin-ming Liu
"To collect the stories of first encounters with China was a brilliant idea. Not only do we get the benefit of many fascinating insights (and hindsights) from a range of foreigners and overseas Chinese, but these deftly edited views from the outside make up one great story: the history of Communist China. More than a history of one damned thing happening after another, however, this is a history of perceptions, lies, myths, and revelations, as much about China as her rulers wish it to be seen, as about those who chose to see China, more and sometimes less clearly, over the last half century."— Ian Buruma, author of Bad Elements
Purchase from AmazonSmile
Cao Shunli Ill in Detention, Refuses to Sign Official Arrest Document
Lawyer Wang Yu ( 王宇 ) met with detained rights defender Cao Shunli ( 曹顺利 ) for more than an hour on Wednesday, October 30. Wang, who has been retained by Cao's family to represent Cao, was the first person outside law enforcement who has had any contact with Cao since her disappearance on September...
Cao Shunli
"Calling for a Spring that 'Respects and Protects Human Rights'"
In this New Year's message, the lawyers express their continued dedication to defending citizens' rights and interests, pursuing democracy and rule of law, and aspiring to the implementation of constitutional governance. To accomplish these goals, the lawyers strongly demand that the National...
"Turning this Page, Let Life Start Anew"—Statement by Xu Zhiyong's Lawyer
Statement by Xu Zhiyong's lawyer, Zhang Qingfang, upon receiving his client's verdict: four years' imprisonment for "gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place." Xu, a key advocate of the New Citizens Movement, was tried last Wednesday, January 22, at the Beijing Municipal No. 1...
New Citizens Movement
Xu Zhiyong
"Trial of Liu Yuandong Not Based on Fact or Law"— Statement by Liu Yuandong's Lawyer
In this statement delivered on January 24, 2014 at the Guangdong Municipal Tianhe District People's Court, Liu Yuandong's lawyer, Liu Zhengqing, argued that the charges brought against his client have no factual and legal basis. Liu Zhengqing said the prosecution is a political persecution from the...
Liu Yuandong
Yuan Dong's Final Statement
New Citizens Movement activist Yuan Dong was tried at the Beijing Haidian District People's Court on January 27, 2014 for "gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place." He was detained, along with other activists, on April 4, 2013 and later formally arrested after unfurling banners and...
Yuan Dong


This Perching Stool's height is adjustable and has the benefit of side mounted stress bars, which dramatically improve both the strength and stability of the perching stool. Padded seats and the backs are double heat sealed, making them easy to clean with no open seams to trap dirt.
The Pirch Stool can also be used for helping you wash at the sink or can be used in the Kitchen or any place you need to be able to be supported while doing an activity.


text:
Alfa Romeo 4C clocks 8:04 Nürburgring lap time
Sep 30th 2013 at 2:31PM
Image Credit: Alfa Romeo
5 SUVs Americans Are Clamoring For
Most Popular Cars By State
Vehicles That Can Get You 200,000 Miles
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History's 10 Best Selling Cars Of All Time
Best and Worst New-Car Values from Consumer Reports
Typically when we report on a car lapping the Nürburgring, the time starts with a seven or even a six – but then again, the car that's achieved those lap times generally sell for six or seven figures. That's what makes this latest lap-time report as interesting as it is. Because while the mid-engined European sportscar in question has clocked in over the eight-minute mark, its price tag – and cylinder count – don't come anywhere near the kind of exotica these reports typically involve.
The car in question, of course, is the new Alfa Romeo 4C, which has reportedly clocked a Nordschleife lap time of 8:04. That would put it in stride with the Audi R8 and Porsche Cayman S, and second only to the flyweight, can't-believe-it's-still-street-legal Caterham R500 Superlight among the fastest four-cylinder cars ever to run around Green Hell.
Featured Gallery2014 Alfa Romeo 4C
News Source: AutoGuide
lap time
2014 alfa romeo 4c
nurburgring lap time


text:
Q: How to write a remove method to get rid of object from arraylist I'm trying to make a program in java that you can add people's birthdays, names, birthmonths, and birthyears. I'm having a hard time trying to come up with the code to remove an object from the arraylist here is the following code. How would I go about writing the removePerson method?
import java.util.ArrayList;

public class Analyzer {
    // instance variables - replace the example below with your own
    private final static int DAYS_PER_MONTH = 31;
    private final static int MONTHS_PER_YEAR = 12;
    private int[] birthDayStats;
    private int[] birthMonthStats;
    private ArrayList<Person> people;

    /**
     * Constructor for objects of class Analyzer
     */
    public Analyzer() {
        this.people = new ArrayList<Person>();
        this.birthDayStats = new int[Analyzer.DAYS_PER_MONTH];
        this.birthMonthStats = new int[Analyzer.MONTHS_PER_YEAR];
    }

    public void addPerson(String name, int birthDay, int birthMonth, int
            birthYear) {
        Person person = new Person(name, birthDay, birthMonth, birthYear);
        if (person.getBirthDay() != -1 || person.getBirthMonth() != -1) {
            people.add(person);
            birthMonthStats[birthMonth - 1]++;
            birthDayStats[birthDay - 1]++;
        } else {
            System.out.println("Your current Birthday is " + birthDay + " or "
                    + birthMonth + " which is not a correct number 1-31 or 1-12 please " +
                    "put in a correct number ");
        }
    }

    public void printPeople() { //prints all people in form: "  Name: Tom   Month: 5   Day: 2  Year: 1965"
        int index = 0;
        while (index < people.size()) {
            Person person = (Person) people.get(index);
            System.out.println(person);
            index++;
        }
    }

    public void printMonthList() { //prints the number of people born in each month
        // Sample output to the right with days being similar
        int index = 0;
        while (index < birthMonthStats.length) {
            System.out.println("Month number " + (index + 1) + " has " +
                    birthMonthStats[index] + " people");
            index++;
        }
    }

    public Person removePerson(String name) {// removes the person from the arrayList
    }
}

A: /**
 * Removes the {@code Person} with the given {@code name} from the list
 * @param name the {@code Person}'s name
 * @return the {@code Person} removed from the list or {@code null} if not found
 */
public Person removePerson(String name) {
    if (name != null) {
        for (Iterator<Person> iter = people.iterator(); iter.hasNext(); ) {
            Person person = iter.next();
            if (name.equalsIgnoreCase(person.getName())) {
                iter.remove();
                return person;
            }
        }
    }
    return null;
}

See the java.util.Iterator#remove() method.

Tuesday learning bonus:
If you want to look for a name faster in your list, you should consider to use a java.util.Map implementation:
HashMap<String,Person> people;

You can add Person objects in a smart way in order to make your search case insensitive:
people.put(name.toLowerCase(), new Person(name, ...));

... and your removePerson method become:
public Person removePerson(String name) {
    if (name != null)
        name = name.toLowerCase();
    return people.remove(name);
}

See the java.util.Map#remove() method.

A: If you are using Java 1.8. It's pretty simple way to do. This will remove Person having 'name' from your list.
 people.removeIf(x -> name.equalsIgnoreCase(x.getName()));


text:
Home Medtech News + AI and VR in Healthcare Start-up's prostate cancer detection software receives CE mark
Start-up's prostate cancer detection software receives CE mark
UK start-up Lucida Medical has completed CE marking for its new machine learning-based prostate cancer detection software, Prostate Intelligence (Pi).
This milestone enables the technology to be deployed within the NHS and European healthcare systems.
Lucida Medical's goal is to significantly improve the prostate cancer diagnostic pathway with technology that finds cancer more accurately by analysing MRI, enabling radiologists to save time and patients to receive the best possible diagnosis and treatment. It will help providers offer rapid 'one stop shop' diagnosis, enabling patients to have an MRI, report and biopsy in one visit, and ensure consistent reporting quality across imaging networks.
CE marking allows Pi to help radiologists assess and report MRI imaging studies, support the decision whether or not to biopsy, and accurately target biopsies where needed. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Europe, Africa and North and South America, with 1.4 million diagnosed worldwide each year and 375,000 deaths. Earlier detection can help reduce rates of advanced and metastatic disease and in turn greatly improve patients' experience, outcomes, and life expectancy.
Lucida Medical's Prostate Intelligence technology uses radiogenomics, machine learning and image processing to analyse magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Results presented at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in March 2021 indicate that it can help automate labour-intensive tasks such as marking out lesions, and avoid unnecessary invasive biopsies, with unprecedented accuracy and consistency.
MRI is now the preferred technique to assess a range of cancers, including prostate and metastatic disease. However, the current process of radiologists interpreting oncological MRI requires specialist training and is labour-intensive, creating a growing skills challenge. The shortfall in the UK radiologist workforce is forecast to reach 43% by 2024.
Prostate cancer diagnosis using MRI represents a major step forward compared to earlier methods but remains prone to human error. The PROMIS study indicated that radiologists can miss 12% of significant cancers on MRI, and lead to 55% of individuals without significant cancer receiving a painful and costly biopsy. The study presented at ECR 2021 suggests that Lucida Medical's AI technology could help cut missed cancers to 7% and unnecessary biopsies to 24%, as well as making the process faster.
Co-founder and chief medical officer Prof Evis Sala, professor of oncological imaging at the University of Cambridge, said: "We are tremendously excited about this system and its potential to enhance our ability to detect cancer accurately and early. Now PI has CE marking, we can look forward to working with hospitals and radiology and urology partners to bring it into clinical use. COVID-19 has created a serious backlog in cancer screening and Lucida Medical is well placed to help us clear this and further improve the care that we offer over the coming years."
Dr Antony Rix, CEO and co-founder, added: "Today, about half of cancers are found when they have already spread and this makes them difficult and costly to treat. Our unique approach could allow patients to get exactly the tests, diagnosis and treatment that they need. With around 20 million new cases of cancer diagnosed each year worldwide, there is enormous potential for us to improve patients' outcomes and reduce costs for health systems like the NHS."
MRI start-ups artificial intelligence diagnostics prostate cancer CE marking Lucida Medical Prostate Intelligence
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In October, Asian Paints Internationals Mauritius subsidiary transferred its majority stake in two entities to Singapore-based Berger International.
NEW DELHI: Asian Paints on Wednesday said its overseas subsidiary Asian Paints (International) Limited (APIL), Mauritius, has transferred its entire holding in Asian Paints (Vanuatu) Limited to Singapore-based Berger International.
"... of 60 per cent held in the subsidiary company, Asian Paints (Vanuatu) Ltd to Berger International Private Ltd, Singapore," Asian Paints said in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing.
APIL had transferred its entire holding of 80 per cent held in the subsidiary company Samoa Paints Ltd, Samoa and 75 per cent holding in the subsidiary company Asian Paints (SI) Ltd, Solomon Islands, to Berger International.
The transfer of stake to Berger International is part of Asian Paints plans to consolidate its investment in the overseas subsidiaries.
Earlier on September 14, Asian Paints (International) Limited, Mauritius, transferred its entire holding of 49 per cent held in the subsidiary company Asian Paints (Middle East) LLC and 100 per cent of holding in the subsidiary company, Asian Paints (Tonga) Ltd, to Berger International.
In July, Asian Paints (International) transferred its entire holding of 89.78 per cent held by it in Asian Paints Bangladesh Limited to Berger International Limited, Singapore.
Asian Paints shares closed 2.25 per cent down at Rs 841.10 apiece on BSE.