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Prince Benjamin's Story - Chapter Five
"Excuse me Sir," Benjamin tapped an older gentleman on his shoulder and the man turned with curious eyes. "Could you tell us how to get to the palace?"
The man turned all the way around to give Benjamin and Nisha his full attention, looking them up and down with curiosity in his creased brow.
The open air market was bustling with people and he seemed to be the only person browsing like he didn't have anywhere important to be. Everyone else was busy shopping.
Benjamin and Nisha had intended to glance around the shopping center but he quickly grew antsy to fulfill his purpose for coming here to Madain Saleh. He hadn't thought to ask the concierge for directions after checking into their hotel. They'd just left the hotel on foot, immediately sucked into the busy city center where shopkeepers peddled everything from clothes and scarves to freshly cooked treats, jewelry, the latest smartphones, and ancient relics pulled from the sandy landscape surrounding the kingdom. The place was fascinating, but not what Benjamin wanted to see.
"You're looking for the palace?" the older gentleman asked. That seemed like a rhetorical question since Benjamin had just asked him how to get to the palace. But he nodded. The man looked Benjamin up and down. "What business do you have at the palace?" Was that suspicion? Or interest? Benjamin decided to just be honest.
"I believe I may have family members there."
"Really?" The man seemed confused. "What is your name, son?"
"My name is Benjamin Sayid." Benjamin lifted his chin with pride and honor. In this tiny kingdom his last name was associated with royalty. He wondered if this gentleman would recognize him as such.
"Are you the son of Marcos Sayid?" Apparently the man knew more than Benjamin expected.
"I am," Benjamin said, not sure he should be grateful to be recognized or nervous. His father had fled this kingdom among allegations of sabotage and murder threats twenty-one years ago. Not sure how many people still knew the details of his father's departure, Benjamin proceeded with caution.
"Well then, I believe you do have family at the palace. I venture to say you are a prince." The gentleman's tone was complimentary, as if he was excited to be in the presence of royalty.
"That I am, Sir." Benjamin nodded with gratitude for the kind recognition.
"If you will follow me, I will lead you there myself." He began walking in the direction of the palace which Benjamin could now see poking through the skyline.
Another man, who was almost large enough to be a bodyguard, followed behind.
"Don't mind him, he is merely my companion." The gentleman waved dismissively to the larger man, who grunted with apparent disapproval.
"What an honor to have a companion." Benjamin glanced up at the guy, who narrowed his eyes briefly but not really in a threatening way. More that he was curious about Benjamin. The large man was too young to actually be a companion and Benjamin wondered if he was indeed the older man's bodyguard.
"I see that your companion is much more beautiful than mine." The older gentleman gestured to Nisha.
"Forgive me Sir." Benjamin cringed at having forgotten to introduce his wife. "This is my bride, Nisha."
"Welcome to Madain Saleh, Princess Nisha," the older man said.
"Thank you, Sir." Nisha nodded her head regally. She had taken on the role of princess quite well in the ten days since they'd married and carried herself with an air of dignity.
As they drew closer to the palace, people seemed to shift out of their way as if they were honored guests approaching the palace walls. A gate opened and a guard bowed low.
"Did you enjoy your afternoon, Your Majesty?" the guard asked. Benjamin almost responded to the man that his title was Your Highness not Your Majesty when suddenly the older gentleman who had shown them to the palace answered the guard.
"Yes, thank you. I met with shopkeepers in the town square." He stepped back and gestured toward Benjamin and Nisha. "And look at my good fortune of having stumbled upon my grandson and his bride. Allow me to introduce Their Highnesses, Prince Benjamin Sayid and Princess Nisha."
The guard bowed low as Benjamin's jaw dropped. All this time they'd been walking through the heart of the kingdom with the king himself.
"You're… King Sayid?" Benjamin tried to wrap his brain around what had just happened. How embarrassing that he didn't recognize his own grandfather. Not that he'd ever met the man. Benjamin had been taken from the palace before his first birthday and his father refused to return. "Why didn't you introduce yourself?"
"Where's the fun in that?" King Sayid patted Benjamin on the shoulder. "Come, allow me to introduce the rest of the royal family."
Benjamin glanced at Nisha and shrugged, then followed his grandfather along a gilded marble path toward the largest, most ostentatious residence he'd ever seen. In his imagination growing up, Benjamin always envisioned the palace in Madain Saleh to be an old castle like the palaces in Europe, or a crumbling rock structure like the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula back home. He was not prepared for this monolithic display of gold and marble and modern elegance.
"Wow," Nisha whispered, wrapping her hands around Benjamin's arm, clinging to him.
"My thoughts exactly," Benjamin mumbled in response, trying to maintain an air of dignity as he gawked at the structure before him. The rocky terrain surrounding the kingdom, and the humble shops and colorful displays in the city led Benjamin to expect something more subdued.
No wonder his father always seemed to have plenty of money. Their family was wealthier than he thought.
Miss a Chapter of Benjamin's Story? Click Here!
Click here if you'd like a complimentary digital copy of the Complete Genealogy of the Royal Family Saga. (You might need that in order to follow this!)
If you'd like to read the entire series in its present form, here is the order:
Billionaire Crown Prince
Billionaire Hero
Billionaire Professors
Billionaire's Brother
Billionaire's Sons
The new series (coming in spring 2022) will be published as a three-volume series in chronological order! I'll let you know as soon as I have those available for preorder.
Prince Benjamin's Story - Chapter Four
"My mother encouraged me to crash your wedding in order to find my cousin, Aloise," Shaden said, her tone a little more snarky. "Her dad told my dad that you were here." The lift of her chin and commanding tone accentuated the chip on her shoulder and Benjamin could tell she was accustomed to controlling any conversation.
"Considering this is my wedding," Benjamin interrupted. "Would you kindly introduce yourself to me."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Shaden said with disdain. "I'm Shaden Cohen, daughter of Liam Cohen and Rachel Ashish-Cohen." Was he supposed to be impressed?
"It's Your Highness," Benjamin grumbled in a more humble but equally commanding tone.
"I'm sorry?" Shaden cocked her head to the side.
"My title is Your Highness, not Your Majesty," he clarified with more confidence.
"Oh, gee, my sincerest apologies, Your Highness." This girl was grating on Benjamin's nerves. She pulled a timid-looking young man to her side. "This is my cousin, Ishmael, but everyone calls him Ishy."
"Baby Ishy?" Sarah placed her hand on her heart. "Is that really you?"
"No one has called me Baby Ishy since I was, well, a baby." Ishmael shoved both hands in the pockets of his slacks. The young man was slightly older than his cousin yet obviously less confident and more submissive.
"My grandson." Sarah's voice was almost a sigh. Love shown through her countenance. "And my granddaughter." Sarah turned to Shaden.
"Nice to finally meet you," Shaden said with a little more humility. "I'm sorry we've been kept apart all these years."
"Oh, my darling. That wasn't your fault." Sarah gathered Shaden into her arms then turned and pulled Ishmael close. "And Ishy, oh my sweet Ishy, all grown up."
Joseph Cohen stepped forward, his elegant black shirt with white collar stood out in contrast to the other wedding attendees with their festive and modern clothing. He held his hand out to Ishmael. "I understand you and I were born a few minutes apart. I'm your uncle Joseph."
"That's so weird." Ishmael laughed lightly and shook Joseph's hand. "I'm pretty sure I'm technically older than you."
"By about twenty minutes, I believe." Joseph and Ishmael turned to Sarah Cohen.
"More like an hour," she said. "I was in labor for a little while."
"Anyway, it's really good to finally meet you," Joseph said. "All I've ever heard about you was how adorable you were as a baby. Kind of strange reimagining you as a grown man."
"Hey, Joseph," Benjamin interrupted. "What are we supposed to call you now? Father Joseph, or something?"
"Some people do call me that, or Pastor Joseph," he said. "Around family and friends, simply Joseph is fine."
"Okay, Simply Joseph," Ishmael said. "I look forward to getting to know you since we're practically twins."
Reverberation from the microphone at the DJ stand scratched over the loudspeakers and the DJ called into the microphone, "At this time we'd like to have the bride and groom join us on the dancefloor for their first dance together as husband and wife."
"That's our cue," Benjamin said, turning to the recently reunited Cohen family. "Take all the time you need to get reacquainted and tell each other all your stories from the past twenty years. But I'm going to spend the remainder of the evening in the arms of the lovely Princess Nisha."
People chuckled as they shook hands to say goodbye and congratulations, then Benjamin took Nisha gently by the hand and led her to the dancefloor.
The DJ called out again, "Allow me to present their Highnesses, Prince Benjamin Sayid, and Princess Nisha Sayid."
The wedding guests applauded with reverent congratulations as Benjamin and Nisha took their place of honor at the center of the dancefloor.
As they swayed to the music and gazed into one another's eyes, a plan began to form in Benjamin's mind.
"What do you say we skip the honeymoon in Cancun?" Benjamin whispered.
Nisha pulled back slightly and creased her brow. She almost seemed to have tears in her eyes as she asked, "Why?"
"I think we should travel to the Middle East," Benjamin explained. "Take me to Mumbai and show me your homeland. And then… let's go to…" He hesitated but she finished his sentence for him.
"We should go to Madain Saleh." Her eyes were alight and her statement was almost not audible. But Benjamin heard her with all his heart.
"I want to see where I was born," Benjamin said with a soft nod. "I want to meet my family and prepare to lead my people."
"King Benjamin," Nisha said with a teasing lilt. "That has a nice ring to it."
"I agree, Your Grace," Benjamin teased back. "Queen Nisha Sayid."
"Gosh, give me a chance to get used to my new title as princess before you increase the size of my crown."
Benjamin glanced at the delicate ring of gold and jewels resting atop the head of his bride and smiled. "You wear it well, my darling."
"Thank you, my prince." Nisha glanced up at Benjamin's crown. "Let's go travel the world together."
"Just don't tell my father," Benjamin said. "He'll freak out if he knows I'm planning a trip to the kingdom."
"Maybe visiting there will help you find some closure and understanding," Nisha suggested. "Perhaps you can bridge some old feuds and bring peace to your family."
"That would be wonderful." Benjamin changed his countenance and twirled Nisha around with renewed festivity. "But tonight, we dance."
Nisha laughed and smiled as she got caught up in Benjamin's joy. "Yes, my love, tonight, we dance."
Miss a Chapter of Benjamin's Story? Click Here!
Prince Benjamin's Story - Chapter Three
Most royal weddings probably took place in a palace or respectable religious edifice. Benjamin's was held at a beachside resort south of Cancun in a little town called Puerto Aventuras. Chosen for its elegant yacht club and palatial mansions, the resort town had been the home of the Sayids and the Cohens since Benjamin's parents had stumbled upon the location while honeymooning. They didn't want to leave.
When Prince Marcos had fled the Kingdom of Madain Saleh with Benjamin in his arms and Princess Lyla at his side, together with a few of their close friends, this was where they took refuge. The Cohens moved here as well, and the dynasty began.
When two billionaire families move into town, people take notice. When the twenty-something sons of the billionaires start buying up failing businesses and turning a profit, they become part of the local community government and commerce. Benjamin's surname preceded him, and he intended to take full advantage of the foundation his father and Uncle Nick had set in place. Until he was needed to serve in the Kingdom.
Because neither Benjamin nor Nisha claimed any religious affiliation, their wedding was an eclectic combination of Indian rituals and Middle Eastern traditions, officiated by a local Mayan tribal leader, and boasted authentic Mexican food served in elaborate fashion classy enough to entertain royalty and dignitaries.
Only a handful of family members and friends had made the journey from India so there was a noticeable dichotomy between the bride's side and the groom's. Benjamin made it a point to focus his time and energy getting to know those who had honored them by traveling so far. There would be plenty of time to spend with locals over the next few months and years. The biggest exceptions were his cousins from out of the area.
Not actually Benjamin's cousins, they were Alexandria's cousins. Sons and daughters of the Cohens. Honorary cousins. The person Benjamin was most interested in meeting was Uncle Jacob's son, Emanuel because they were almost the same age. Manny had recently married and brought his young bride. Benjamin was intrigued by the woman for reasons he couldn't identify. As soon as he and Nisha had made the obligatory rounds with the Indians, Benjamin coaxed his bride to be introduced to the mysterious young lady.
He wasn't the only one.
The entire Cohen clan seemed drawn to Manny and his bride. She was beautiful, but it was more than that. She was… familiar. She had deep brown eyes and olive-toned skin, wore her thick brown hair flowing down her back with some natural curls falling haphazardly across her shoulders.
When Alexandria noticed Benjamin and Nisha approaching, she stepped forward and took Benjamin's hand, the one not clinging to his new bride. "Benjamin, you simply must meet my cousin Emanuel and his wife Aloise."
"Emanuel, it's an honor to meet you." Benjamin shook the young man's hand. "Allow me to introduce my bride, Nisha."
"The honor is mine, Your Highness. And please, call me Manny." They shook and Manny led forward his own wife. "And this is my bride, Aloise."
"What a unique name." As Benjamin reached forward to shake her hand, he fought the urge to say she had a beautiful name but thought that too forward and could be misconstrued. He glanced back and forth between Manny and Aloise. "Did you grow up in Michigan also?"
"No, Your Highness." Aloise chuckled nervously. "And you can all stop staring. Now that the bride and groom have joined us, I'll introduce myself properly. My maiden name is Ashish and my parents are David and Shira."
There was an audible gasp among the older Cohens and Father Joseph actually took a step away from Manny's wife, curling his upper lip in disgust.
"Jacob… is this true?" Uncle Nick asked Manny's father. "You allowed your son to marry David's daughter?"
"They eloped without my consent." Jacob visibly gulped then cleared his throat. "David and I have since… reconciled."
"You're kidding," Levi, the oldest Cohen, and patriarch of the family, stated. "I never thought I'd see the day."
"I was shocked as well," Jacob said.
Levi's wife Sarah pushed forward and took Aloise by both hands. "My dear, do you know where my sons and grandchildren are?" The pleading tone in Sarah's voice encapsulated years of longing to be reacquainted.
Benjamin was still confused. Who were these Ashish family, and why would they know the Cohen's sons and grandchildren?
"I'm sorry," Aloise said with a shake of her head. "I don't know who you're talking about."
"She's talking about my oldest two brothers along with their wives and kids," Jacob said. "They were business partners and close friends with David and Shira Ashish before becoming estranged from the family."
"Estranged?" Levi said with disgust in his voice. "Is that how you want to call your brother's foiled murder plot and destruction of property?"
"Father, that was over twenty years ago," Jacob said. "David has apologized and I believe he is sincere in his remorse. He and my brother were both inebriated at the time and barely remember the incident."
"Where are your parents now, dear?" Sarah asked Aloise.
"They travel the world on a sailing yacht but they are currently docked near my husband's home in Alpena, Michigan. Our families are still adjusting to Manny and I eloping."
"Do they know where my sons are?" Sarah asked. "I haven't seen my grandson since he was less than a year old, and I don't even know if my oldest son had a boy or a girl."
"He had a girl." A woman in her early twenties stepped cautiously into their circle with apprehension in her expression. "My name is Shaden."
Prince Benjamin's Story - Chapter Two
Click Here if You Missed Chapter One
Note to Blog Readers: this chapter mentions a lot of characters from prior books, so I wanted to make note of them to help you out.
As I mentioned in the previous blog post, Prince Benjamin's story is a little side story that is a bridge between several other stories and brings together characters from many parts of the families. If you've never read the Royal Family Saga, this might get a little confusing.
The main character in this story is Benjamin, son of Prince Marcos, who is the son of King Sayid. You might remember Marcos as the main character in Part One of Billionaire's Brother: Royal Family Saga Book Four. At the end of his story, he fled Madain Saleh with little Benjamin in one arm and his brother's crown in the other. Marcos claimed the title of Crown Prince in absence of his older brother, Jared, who died in a tragic motorcycle accident. Now Benjamin is grown and getting married.
In this chapter, you will meet Alexandria Cohen-Stephenson, mother to Alex, Sr. This is the only story where you will meet her because she dies when Alex is very young. Until I started writing this story, I had no idea how close she and Benjamin were, or the reasons why her husband Garrett never really got along with Benjamin. Now I understand!
Other characters who make brief appearances in this chapter include several of the Cohen brothers, along with their wives, and children, plus their parents, Levi and Sarah.
Most notable of all the characters (in the whole series) is Nicholas Cohen, third son of Levi and Sarah Cohen. He is the main character in Part One of Billionaire's Sons: Royal Family Saga Book Five. Coincidently, once this series is republished in three volumes, Nicholas will be the first main character of the whole series, as he should have been all along. His three children are introduced in this chapter, but if you've read the series, you might recognize them. Alexandria is mother to Alexander, Sr. (The Councilman), Alejandro is father to Hazel (who marries Mark, Benjamin and Nisha's son), and Santiago is grandfather to Felicia (who marries Prince Aaron).
Others introduced in this chapter are Jacob Cohen (fourth son to Levi and Sarah), who fell in love with his wife, Maryam, while traveling on their superyacht. Also, their son, Emanuel (Manny) (The Hunter), and his new bride. You'll get to know her a little better in Chapter Three, along with some surprise wedding crashers. Speaking of weddings, let's get to it…
Prince Benjamin's Story – Chapter Two
Prior to Nisha's entrance into the chapel, Benjamin had taken time to scan the room full of wedding guests, many of whom he didn't recognize. His father sat beside his best friend, Nicholas Cohen, or Uncle Nick, as Benjamin had always called him. He and his wife Adele filled the empty space where Benjamin's mother, Princess Lyla, would have sat. Cancer showed little regard to status or age and took her when Benjamin was just a teenager. His father's words telling him that his mother was smiling down on him today brought him comfort, helping him to get through this day without her.
Uncle Nick's twin sons, Alejandro and Santiago, sat behind their parents, along with their girlfriends and Alexandria's new boyfriend, Garret. Two years younger than their sister, the twins had been annoying brats growing up. Now they were quickly becoming respectable young men. If rumors were true, Alejandro and his girlfriend, Avellana had gotten serious and talked about getting married and moving to some fancy political college in the United States.
Alexandria stood with Nisha's sister and her best friend, looking playfully elegant and spirited in an Indian version of a bridesmaid's gown. Benjamin winked at her and they both chuckled. It was really too bad they didn't like each other as more than friends. Their parents would have loved for them to marry. Too late now. She had met Garret the same weekend Benjamin had met Nisha.
Now Benjamin was about to place a crown on Nisha's head, and Garret sat beside the twins, pulling at the collar of his cheap dress shirt and glancing at his watch. He hadn't known what he'd gotten himself into when he met a hot chick on the beach in Cancun during spring break. Finding out Alexandria was an heiress who rubbed elbows with royalty had been a shock.
Continuing his perusal of the wedding guests, Benjamin noticed Uncle Jacob with his wife Maryam, and a young man who Benjamin assumed was their son, Emanuel. Known as Manny, he'd brought his young bride along. She looked vaguely familiar as if Benjamin had seen her before.
Uncle Sam and his wife Leanne sat beside Uncle Joseph, who had taken a vow of service and joined a missionary church as a priest of some sort. Only two years older than Benjamin and Alexandria, Joseph seemed more like a cousin than an uncle. Benjamin cocked his head wondering if he should call him Father Joseph now since he was a man of the cloth. He'd have to ask about that later.
Behind the Cohen brothers sat the patriarch and matriarch of their family, Levi and Sarah, who seemed just as regal as any of the Sayid Royal family could. Here in Puerto Aventuras, the Cohens were more like royalty than the Sayids, and twice as wealthy. They had created a small dynasty and Benjamin was honored to have them attend his wedding.
The Cohen's oldest two sons, Liam and Lyle, had been disowned years ago because of some scandal, and they'd taken their wives and disappeared. No one seemed to know where they'd gone, and Benjamin didn't care to ask. He knew of one child, Ishmael, who had been born on the same day as Father Joseph—that was going to take some getting used to—and one of the Cohen's wives had been pregnant when they'd been disowned but Benjamin didn't know which one.
Before Benjamin could take any more time scanning the guests, his bride appeared at the far end of the room and took his breath away.
Nisha was a vision of elegance in a traditional wedding ensemble from India. The red gown woven with gold thread was practically a silk tapestry. He was glad she'd chosen Indian customs rather than boring white satin and lace. Not that he cared what she wore, he just wanted to join his life to hers and celebrate their love for the rest of eternity.
Born and raised in Mumbai, Nisha had claimed she wanted to draw upon the multicultural nature of their heritages. Neither she nor Benjamin had any ancestry in Mexico yet here they stood on the sandy beaches south of Cancun about to take their vows. They lived in a global society of riches and abundance with little regards to country of origin.
Because Nisha's parents had experienced persecution following their interfaith marriage, they encouraged Nisha to create her own path and not feel pressured to follow any specific traditions. The fact that she was marrying the son of an exiled prince on the other side of the world didn't faze them. They were excited by the pageantry and elegance and considered the occasion a destination wedding. The insistence from Benjamin that they refrain from paying him a dowry was no doubt appealing.
Maybe after travelling to Madain Saleh, Benjamin could take his bride on a private jet to visit Nisha's homeland.
Her slow progression down the aisle held grace and dignity, the epitome of the princess she would become in a few short moments. Her crown waited in a small velvet box that rested on the altar before him along with the ring that had been handcrafted for her using a two-carat diamond that had been removed from her crown. An ancient stone that had been passed down through generations.
If King Sayid were here, he would likely participate in placing Nisha's crown. But in his absence, Benjamin was now the only man in the room qualified to do the honor. Since his coronation last month, Benjamin was Crown Prince of Madain Saleh, second only to the king, even above his own father, Prince Marcos. He swallowed hard against the magnitude of the weight of the crown, a weight that had less to do with the gold and jewels from which it was made, and more to do with the responsibility and honor.
Upon agreeing to this union of marriage, Nisha was also agreeing to take upon herself the same responsibility and honor. She had to recognize that she could very well be the next queen of Madain Saleh. No pressure.
Prince Benjamin's Story - Chapter One
"Sure wish mom could be here." Benjamin took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Looking at his father in the mirror, Benjamin straightened his bowtie.
"I miss her too, son." His father, Prince Marcos Sayid of Madain Saleh, put his hands on his son's shoulders. "I'm sure she's smiling down on you today and is almost as proud of you as I am."
"Thanks, dad." The older Benjamin got the more he looked like his father. In spite of his mother's blonde hair and blue eyes, Benjamin had inherited his father's dark brown hair and olive skin tone. He also had his father's nose and firm jaw.
Even without his crown, his father appeared regal. Perhaps the reason Benjamin seemed so much like his father was because the crown now rested on his head. Today he would be placing a crown on his bride and coronating her as his princess.
"Do you think Alexandria's going to be angry?"
"Nah, jealous, maybe." His dad scoffed. "She knows just as well as the rest of us that you and Nisha were meant to be together. I think it's nice that you included her as one of your bridesmaids."
"She's my best friend." Benjamin shrugged and adjusted the cufflinks on his custom-tailored tuxedo. "We're like cousins."
"Speaking of cousins, hers will be here today for your wedding."
"Uncle Jacob's son?" Benjamin hadn't even considered that any other Cohen brothers would be here with their children. Some of them had been estranged from the family almost as long as his father had been estranged from King Sayid, Benjamin's grandfather. "I thought they lived in Michigan or Canada or something."
"They're flying down from Michigan," his father said. "And Emanuel is bringing his bride."
"Isn't he a little young to be married?" Benjamin chuckled. "What'd he do? Get her pregnant?"
"He's barely a year younger than you." His father raised his eyebrows, meeting his gaze in the mirror. "Did you get Nisha pregnant? Is that why you're marrying her?"
"Heck no. Geesh, dad, I'm not stupid." Benjamin pulled his gaze away from his dad's penetrating stare. Not innocent either, but definitely not stupid. "We're getting married because we love each other and want to be together forever."
"Change of subject—" Benjamin used his wandering thoughts as a clever way to take the focus off his premarital relationship, and presumed lack thereof. "Most of these people weren't at my coronation last month. Are any of them going to be freaked out about me wearing a crown?"
"Most of them have never seen me wearing a crown either, son. The crown is reserved for very formal occasions, occurrences of which we have very few while living at a beachside resort in Mexico."
"I kind of wish I was getting married in the kingdom," Benjamin whispered, hoping he didn't get reprimanded.
"I will never return there as long as my brother's widow is in control." The angry growl that escaped his father's throat was all the reminder Benjamin needed to shift the subject again.
"My apologies, Your Highness," Benjamin mumbled then pulled himself confidently together. "My bride awaits. Shall we?"
"We shall," Marcos responded with renewed confidence.
Benjamin wrapped his arm around his dad's shoulders as they strode from the room. "What are you going to do without me around anymore?"
"Travel, most likely," Marcos said. "Explore some of this beautiful land we call home."
His father's statement once again drew Benjamin's thoughts back in time and place to the land of his inheritance. Travel. Maybe it was time for Benjamin to do some travelling as well. With or without his father, Benjamin had already determined to get more involved in the country where he was destined to lead.
Perhaps an extended honeymoon could take him and his bride to visit the Middle East. The Kingdom of Madain Saleh called to him. Having been taken from the palace before his first birthday, Benjamin had no recollection of the kingdom in which he'd been born. Yet he had dual citizenship with Mexico and royal diplomacy from Madain Saleh. Travel indeed.
But first, a wedding.
Note to Blog Readers: in preparation for re-releasing the entire Royal Family Saga in three volumes, rather than five books, I've been working on this little side story. At this point I'm not sure how long the story will be and I'm not done writing it, so be patient with me.
If you've never read the Royal Family Saga, this might get a little confusing because this little side story is a bridge between several other stories and brings together characters from many parts of the families.
The main character in this story is Benjamin, son of Prince Marcos, who is the son of King Sayid. You might remember Marcos as the main character in Part One of Billionaire's Brother: Royal Family Saga Book Four. At the end of his story, he fled Madain Saleh with little Benjamin in one arm and his brother's crown in the other. Marcos claimed the title of Crown Prince in absence of his older brother, Jared, who died in a tragic motorcycle accident.
That was the moment when the Crown was contested by his brother's widow, Princess Tayma, who claimed the title should be conferred upon her five-year-old son, Prince Omar. Thus began a four-generation war between Jared's descendants and those of his brother, Marcos.
You might remember Benjamin's son, also named Prince Marcos after his grandfather, who was usually referred to as Mark. He and his best friend Alexander Cohen (Alex, Sr.) travelled to Madain Saleh in Part One of Billionaire Crown Prince to return Prince Marcos to the land of his inheritance to be interred alongside his brother, Jared.
Mark and Alex will both be born near the end of Benjamin's story. Mark will become father to The Young Princes (Part Three of Billionaire Crown Prince), and Alex will become father to Alex, Jr. who we lovingly refer to as the Honorary Prince. You can only read Honorary Prince by requesting the free copy and joining my weekly email newsletter / book club.
In Benjamin's story you will also meet Alexandria Cohen-Stephenson, mother to Alex, Sr. This is the only story where you will meet her because she dies when Alex is very young. Until I started writing this story, I had no idea how close she and Benjamin were, or the reasons why her husband Garrett never really got along with Benjamin. Now I understand!
Other characters who make brief appearances include several of the Cohen brothers, along with their wives, and children, plus their parents, Levi and Sarah. You'll also meet several wedding crashers, the children of the oldest two Cohen brothers who were estranged from the family at the end of Jacob's story in Billionaire's Sons: Royal Family Saga Book Five. Are you confused yet? Imagine how I felt writing all this!
Benjamin's story takes place immediately following the end of Billionaire's Sons. You might remember the day after Emmanuel and Aloise got married when a wedding invitation was delivered. Manny was dumbfounded to be pulled from his honeymoon just so his father could excitedly announce they'd been invited to the royal wedding. Manny shoved his father back out the door and told him not to knock again for several weeks. Yeah, that's where we're at in the timeline.
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Epilogue
"You're really not going to finish your last year of college?" Reese asked with tears choking her words. "I thought you loved living in America… and that you loved me."
"I do love you." I leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. "But I made a promise to compete one more time for the ROC, and I always keep my promises."
"But you'll be gone for over a year."
"I'll be in training for over a year," I corrected her. "For the Olympic Trials. Just like you will be. We can video chat every day and send each other texts and heart emojis and emails. And then a year from now, I'll meet you at the Summer Games in Los Angeles."
"That's a long time from now," she said. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"If our relationship can stand the test of a year apart, then we can stand a lifetime together."
She nodded but didn't answer with words. We'd had an exciting three years as teammates on the University of Michigan gymnastics team, had fallen more and more in love, and were inseparable. I knew I was trying to convince her that we could survive a year apart, but I think I was also trying to convince myself. This would be a difficult separation, but necessary.
A year had been way too long and yet this felt too reminiscent of four years ago. Instead of tentatively entering the Bercy Arena in Paris, I was arriving at The Forum in Los Angeles. The setup was the same. Mats and apparatuses already in place just like every gymnastics competition I'd entered in since the time I was five. All the same teams were settling in for ten days of fierce battle for the gold medals of the Summer Olympics.
Many of the competitors had changed, but the flags were the same. One competitor in particular raised his gaze and met mine. Four years ago, I had grumbled and complained at seeing his hypnotic brown eyes. Today, I threw my gear bag to the floor and ran toward him. He stepped away from his team and caught me as I wrapped my arms and legs around him like a monkey.
We pressed our lips together in a kiss more passionate than the first time we'd allowed ourselves to get carried away and the officials had to pry us apart with a crowbar. Whistles and catcalls from our friends and competitors didn't detract from the moment. We didn't let go of one another even after we tore our lips apart. I laid my head on his shoulder, and he buried his face in my hair, which I'd left down on purpose because I knew he liked it that way.
The subtle cologne that barely masked the natural pheromones that diffused from the man I loved engulfed my senses and took me back to our last goodbye and the anguish I'd felt at our impending separation.
"I can't do this anymore, Reese," Dmitri whispered. I pulled back and met his intense gaze, my arms still around his neck, my legs still around his waist, and his hands holding me up in a way that bordered on too personal for mixed company. "I'm never leaving you again. Whether we live in Russia or America or some remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I don't ever want us to be apart."
"I don't want to be apart either." Desperation filled my voice. "A day is too long."
"A night is too long," he grumbled in a husky voice. "But I'll settle for a wedding date scheduled sometime in the very near future."
"Very near," I agreed.
"What do you say we go win some gold medals, and on our day off go shop for some gold rings?"
"Las Vegas is about a four-hour drive from here…" I raised my eyebrows suggestively.
A low rumble emerged from somewhere in Dmitri's throat, and his eyes smoldered. "As tempting as that sounds, if my mother and your mother don't have a chance to plan everything from the color of the invitations to the style of your gown, we'd both be disowned."
"Guess we'll have to settle for gold medals, then."
"I'll cheer for Team USA if you'll cheer for Team ROC," Dmitri suggested, finally setting me back onto the floor.
"I think I could be persuaded to cheer for the enemy whenever the guys are in the arena, but I'm kicking your women's team right back to Moscow."
"Understandable." Dmitri's expression shifted from playful to serene. "Thanks for meeting me at the Summer Games, my little Volchitsa."
"Thanks for falling in love with me at the Summer Games, my Volchara."
Another brief kiss sealed our commitment to one another, then we reluctantly returned to our own teams, prepared to compete against one another for the last time.
Click here for more chapters in Meet Me at the Summer Games
(As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!)
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Thirty
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Nine
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Eight
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Seven
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Six
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Five
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Four
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Three
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-Two
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty-One
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Twenty
Meet Me at the Summer Games - Chapter Nineteen


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Gov. Northam as Poster Boy for Abortion
April 1, 2019 by Ed Martin
The scandal of Virginia's Democratic Governor Ralph Northam has peeled back the curtain on a little-known corner of the abortion industry. What happens when the infant survives an abortion to be born alive?
You've heard about late-term abortion, which occurs when the infant is far enough along to survive outside the womb. You've heard about partial-birth abortion, where the infant is partially delivered before being killed with a sharp jab to the base of his skull.
What Governor Northam advocated is even more gruesome than that. It is textbook infanticide. Governor Northam is not just a politician, he's a medical doctor with a specialty in pediatric neurology. Even after 12 years as an elected official, Northam remains a member of the medical staff at a children's hospital in Norfolk.
However, Northam's comments did not just advocate for late term abortion. He plainly and unashamedly made the case for infanticide, the killing of infants after birth.
Speaking with the authority of a board-certified pediatrician, Northam said, "If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired. And then, a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."
Northam's "discussion" would not be whether to wrap the baby in pink or blue. Not about whether to start a college fund. Not about teaching the new mother how to breastfeed her new baby.
No, the discussion would be whether to leave the baby on a table without care or nourishment until it stops breathing and turns cold. The practice of abandoning a newborn to die is known as infanticide, which the civilized world has prohibited since Christianity took over the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D.
Many people think the story of mankind is a story of progress. They want to believe we gradually reject the barbarity of our past and move into a more "civilized" and "enlightened" way of thinking and interacting. Governor Northam's heinous comments prove that the capacity for evil is still very much a socially acceptable thing for some political ideologies. That is why it is so important to be ever-vigilant against these statements and to be always ready to rebuke them for the barbarous evil they are.
Filed Under: Daily Radio Commentaries, Sanctity of Life
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Oregon Water Science Center+
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Real Data. Real Fast.
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Local Community. Local Science.
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New Problems? New Solutions.
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Welcome to the USGS in Oregon. Our mission is to explore the natural world around us and provide reliable scientific information to help Federal, State, and local agencies, Tribes, and the public make well-informed decisions. Our research is widely used to manage Oregon's water resources for the benefit and safety of people and the environment.
Current Stream Conditions
See what is happening in streams near you. View real-time stream data for streams around Oregon.
Weekly Science Seminar
Our lunchtime seminars are held Tuesdays from 12pm to 1 pm and are open to the public.
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See what the USGS is doing locally.
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Lunchtime Seminar Series (Winter 2020)
Our lunchtime seminars are held Tuesdays from 12pm to 1 pm PT. The science lectures are held at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center at 2130 SW 5th Avenue in Portland, OR (unless otherwise noted). The presentations are informal and are open to the public. Please, bring your lunch.
Attribution: Oregon Water Science Center
USGS-PSU Partnership
In June 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Portland State University (PSU) formally joined together into a partnership working toward collaborative research, education, and outreach.
Lunchtime Seminar Series (Fall 2019)
Our lunchtime seminars are held Tuesdays from 12pm to 1 pm PT. The science lectures are held at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center at 2130 SW 5th Avenue in Portland, OR. The presentations are informal and are open to the public. Please, bring your lunch.
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment transport in streams of the southwestern United States
Given the predicted imbalance between water supply and demand in the Southwest region of the United States, and the widespread problems with excessive nutrients and suspended sediment, there is a growing need to quantify current streamflow and water quality conditions throughout the region. Furthermore, current monitoring stations exist at a...
Wise, Daniel R.; Anning, David W.; Miller, Olivia L.
Attribution: Oregon Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Water Resources
Wise, D.R., Anning, D.W., and Miller, O.L., 2019, Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment transport in streams of the southwestern United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5106, 66 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195106.
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the Pacific region of the United States
Although spatial information describing the supply and quality of surface water is critical for managing water resources for human uses and for ecological health, monitoring is expensive and cannot typically be done over large scales or in all streams or waterbodies. To address the need for such data, the U.S. Geological Survey developed SPAtially...
Wise, Daniel R.
Attribution: Oregon Water Science Center, Water Resources
Wise, D.R., 2019, Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the Pacific region of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5112, 64 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195112.
Differentiating sediment sources using sediment fingerprinting techniques, in the Sprague River Basin, South-Central Oregon
Identifying sources of sediment to streams in the Sprague River Basin, in south-central Oregon, is important for restoration efforts that are focused on reducing sediment erosion and transport. Reducing sediment loads in these streams also contributes to compliance with the total maximum daily load reduction requirements for total phosphorus in...
Schenk, Liam N.; Harden, Tessa M.; Kelson, Julia K.
Schenk, L.N., Harden, T.M., and Kelson, J.K., 2019, Differentiating sediment sources using sediment fingerprinting techniques, in the Sprague River Basin, south-central Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019-1120, 25 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191120.


Despite living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and total wrist fusion, 33-year-old Emily from Cornwall has recently competed for England and won several Para National Dressage qualifiers.
Having ridden since the age of four, she now competes and trains horses six days a week.
She runs two successful businesses and is the proud mother of two boys aged six and four.
Her rare inherited condition means she has a variety of mobility challenges and hence needs assistance walking.
Emily has won her last two qualifiers for the Para National Championships and represented England (SW) in a home international where her team finished second.
She has also qualified for the Elementary Silver Summer Regional Championships and the Medium Silver Area Festival.
Over and above these competitions Emily continues to train hard for her ultimate ambition of the 2020 Paralympics and working towards qualifying for forthcoming international events.
"My ultimate ambition is still to compete at a Paralympic Games, with the next one being Toyko 2020."
Last year Emily represented GB at 2* international for the first time and now hopes to be able to do this again this year especially as my national qualifiers are going well.
TGA, the UK's leading mobility scooter specialist is supporting Emily with a Maximo mobility scooter so she is able to manage her horses and attend equestrian events without having to struggle across large distances on crutches.


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Musk Says Tesla Self-Driving Cars Will Be in Wide Release by Year End
TechMusk Says Tesla Self-Driving Cars Will Be in Wide Release by Year End
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Brandenburg Premier Dietmar Woidke and Elon Musk attend the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory in Germany in Marcy. Patrick Pleul/Pool photo via REUTERS
Tesla chief Elon Musk said on Monday he aimed to get the electric auto maker's self-driving technology ready by year-end and hopes it could be in wide release in the United States and possibly in Europe, depending on regulatory approval.
Speaking at an energy conference in Norway, Musk said his attention was currently focused on his SpaceX Starship super rocket and self-driving Tesla electric cars.
"The two technologies I am focused on, trying to ideally get done before the end of the year, are getting our Starship into orbit … and then having Tesla cars to be able to do self-driving," Musk told the audience.
"Have self-driving in wide release at least in the U.S., and … potentially in Europe, depending on regulatory approval," he said.
Oil and Gas Still Needed
Earlier, Musk said the world must continue to extract oil and gas in order to sustain civilisation, while also developing sustainable sources of energy.
"Realistically I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilisation will crumble," Musk told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
Asked if Norway should continue to drill for oil and gas, Musk said: "I think some additional exploration is warranted at this time."
"One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy," he said. "That will take some decades to complete."
He said offshore wind power generation in the North Sea, combined with stationary battery packs, could become a key source of energy. "It could provide a strong, sustainable energy source in winter," he said.


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Alfred Markus Müller (* 8. Juni 1960 in Hecklingen) ist ein deutscher Maler und Bildhauer. Sein Werk umfasst Malerei, Intarsien, Skulpturen und Fotogramme.

Leben
Von 1981 bis 1986 studierte Alfred Müller an der Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe bei Georg Baselitz und Rainer Küchenmeister. Mit der Einzelausstellung im Jahre 1990 im Badischen Kunstverein Karlsruhe zeigte Alfred Müller zum ersten Mal seine "Silberbilder". Mit seiner Ausstellung in Schwäbisch Hall knüpfte er an diese Reihe an.

Einzelausstellungen (Auswahl)
 1990: Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe
 2013: "What a Fucking Waste of Time", Kienzle Art Foundation, Berlin
 2015: "Colour is Kitsch", Kunstverein Schwäbisch Hall

Literatur
 Badischer Kunstverein Karlsruhe: Kunst der Neunziger Jahre, Aktuelle Kunst in Karlsruhe und Baden 2. Mai–13. Juni 1993, ISBN 3-89309-060-6
 Alfred Müller: Colour is Kitsch, 2015/16, Publikation anlässlich der Ausstellung im Kunstverein Schwäbisch Hall
 Künstlerhaus Bethanien: Condiciones de Visibilidad Sichtverhältnisse Madrid-Berlin, ISBN 84-88006-40-3
 Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart Edition Cantz: Das goldene Zeitalter, ISBN 3-89322-362-2

Weblinks

Website von Alfred Müller
 Mülleranonym
 Alfred Müller – Galerie Heinz-Martin
 Kunst Raum Rhein: Alfred Müller
 Alfred Müller Archives – Kienzle Art Foundation

Einzelnachweise

Maler (Deutschland)
Bildhauer (Deutschland)
Deutscher
Geboren 1960
Mann

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Supreme Court hears arguments on Affordable Care Act, seems likely to let it stand
Author: Mark Sherman
, Associated Press
A demonstrator holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as arguments are heard about the Affordable Care Act, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Tuesday to leave in place the bulk of the Affordable Care Act, including key protections for pre-existing health conditions and subsidized insurance premiums that affect tens of millions of Americans.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, among the conservative justices, appeared in two hours of arguments to be unwilling to strike down the entire law — a long-held Republican goal that has repeatedly failed in Congress and the courts — even if they were to find the law's now-toothless mandate for obtaining health insurance to be unconstitutional.
The court's three liberal justices are almost certain to vote to uphold the law in its entirety and presumably would form a majority by joining a decision that cut away only the mandate, which now has no financial penalty attached to it. Congress zeroed out the penalty in 2017, but left the rest of the law untouched.
"Would Congress want the rest of the law to survive if the unconstitutional provision were severed? Here, Congress left the rest of the law intact," Roberts said. "That seems to be a compelling answer to the question."
For his part, Kavanaugh said recent decisions by the court suggest "that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate and leave the rest of the act in place."
A week after the 2020 election, the justices heard arguments by telephone in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in the court's third major case over the 10-year-old law, popularly known as "Obamacare." Republican attorneys general in 18 states and the administration want the whole law to be struck down, which would threaten coverage for more than 23 million people.
California, leading a group of Democratic-controlled states, and the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives are urging the court to leave the law in place.
Kavanaugh is one of three justices appointed by President Donald Trump on a court that is more conservative than the ones that sustained the law in previous challenges in 2012 and 2015. The others are Neil Gorsuch and new Justice Coney Barrett, who joined the court late last month following her hurried nomination and confirmation to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The three Trump appointees have never ruled on the substance of the health care law. Barrett, though, has been critical of the court's earlier major health care decisions sustaining the law, both written by Roberts.
The Supreme Court could have heard the case before the election, but set arguments for a week after. The timing could add a wrinkle to the case since President-elect Joe Biden strongly supports the health care law.
The case turns on a change made by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2017 that reduced the penalty for not having health insurance to zero. Without the penalty, the law's mandate to have health insurance is unconstitutional, the GOP-led states argue.
If the mandate goes, they say, the rest of the law should go with it because the mandate was central to the law's passage.
However, enrollment in the law's insurance markets has stayed relatively stable at more than 11 million people, even after the effective date of the penalty's elimination in 2019. According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, enrollment dropped by about 300,000 people from 2018 to 2019. Kaiser estimates 11.4 million people have coverage this year.
An additional 12 million people have coverage through the law's Medicaid expansion.
The legal argument could well turn on the legal doctrine of severability, the idea that the court can excise a problematic provision from a law and allow the rest of it to remain in force. The justices have done just that in other rulings in recent years.
But in the first big ACA case in 2012, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas voted to strike down the entire law. Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor have voted to uphold it.
A limited ruling would have little real-world consequence. The case could also be rendered irrelevant if the new Congress were to restore a modest penalty for not buying health insurance.
A decision is expected by late spring.
Biden blocks drilling in ANWR, among his first acts as president
'It felt like I was the first person to step on Mars': Anchorage free divers plunge into icy Rabbit Lake
Anchorage man sent death threats to Assembly member, charges say
'Too innocent and too GAY': 'Tiger King's' Joe Exotic claws at Trump for pardon rejection
QAnon believers grapple with doubt, spin new theories as Trump era ends: 'What a fraud'
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Roy Johansen
@royjohansen
www.royjohansen.com
Roy Johansen has written several New York Times bestselling mystery novels, including The Answer Man, Beyond Belief, Deadly Visions, Silent Thunder, Storm Cycle, Shadow Zone, Close Your Eyes, Sight Unseen, The Naked Eye and Night Watch.
Q. Your latest, Killer View, features Kendra Michaels, a fearless heroine for hire. What inspired you?
Roy: My mother, Iris Johansen, and I have now written eight books featuring Kendra Michaels. We thought it would be fun to create a classic detective in the vein of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, an investigator who can walk into a room and make deductions no one else can. But we wanted to give Kendra a new and interesting reason for this ability. That's when we came up with her back story of having lived the first twenty years of her life as a blind person. As with almost all sightless people, she learned to rely on all of her senses to make her way in the world. Now that she has her sight, she takes nothing she sees for granted, plus she makes perceptions based on those senses that she honed during her years in the dark. Kendra is a fun character to write.
Q. Killer View is part of your Jessie Mercado series. How does Jessie fit into the story?
Roy: Although Kendra plays a significant role in Killer View, Jessie is the lead character this time. She's been in the previous four Kendra books, with a bigger role each time. She's an LA private investigator who's a war hero and former security chief for a pop star. Jessie has become a reader favorite, and we've received a lot of emails asking when she might get her own book. I figured it was time for Jessie to take the lead, and my mother encouraged me to go for it. I had a story idea I thought would be interesting for Jessie, so I started writing Killer View.
Q What is an incarceration consultant? What kind of research did you do to learn more about this?
Roy: I once read about a murder case in which an incarceration consultant was actually a suspect. The case wasn't all that interesting to me, but this suspect's occupation was. What a fascinating job: preparing convicted criminals headed for prison and managing their affairs while they're away. I spoke to a couple attorneys and found that no two of these consultants are alike in terms of the services they provide. That gave me the leeway to use my imagination to create Mamertine Consultants, a firm with some interesting – and possibly deadly – secrets.
Q. Who are some of your go-to authors for a page turning night in?
Roy: I have to admit that I rarely read fiction, although Nicholas Meyer's new Sherlock Holmes book Return of the Pharaoh is on my night table right now. I've also been meaning to get to Ernest Cline's Ready Player Two. I'm a huge fan of his first book. And I love Mary Roach's hilarious and fascinating science books. I'm reading Grunt right now.
Q. Will we be seeing more of Kendra Michaels?
Roy: Definitely! My mother and I are working on her new adventure right now. It'll be out next year. I can also guarantee that Jessie Mercado will be back in the near future.
Roy Johansen's Latest
Killer View
Kendra Michaels, blind before gaining her sight via a revolutionary surgical procedure, offers her razor-sharp senses to assist her friend Jessie Mercado in a baffling case. An army vet and former bodyguard for the rich and famous, Jessie has faced all kinds of danger but one thing the motorcycle-riding private investigator has never encountered before is an incarceration consultant.
Preparing wealthy people to go to prison is big business. When Owen Blake of Mamertine Consulting hires Mercado to find his missing partner, their suspect list is filled with recently released white-collar criminals, a few drug kingpins, and a couple of murderers to keep things interesting.
As witnesses turn up dead and car chases leave destruction in their wake, Jessie and Kendra learn just how far someone will go to keep the fate of one man hidden. But why? Together they must hunt down the lethal secrets of Blake's company, hell-bent on staying one step ahead of disaster.
Roy Johansen's latest available at:
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Jeff Jacoby
Where conservatives have it wrong
By Jeff Jacoby
Globe Columnist / November 22, 2009
YOU'RE A sensible, principled conservative. You want America to be a land of boundless opportunity and freedom, where people are treated as individuals and judged on their merits. You reject the divisive identity politics of the left - what matters most about any of us, you would insist, is not race or class or ethnic origins: it is personal character and achievement. There are few things about contemporary politics you deplore more than the demonizing or scapegoating of entire groups ("white males,'' "the rich,'' "the Christian right,'' "gun owners''), as though every member of the group is interchangeable and indistinguishable, wholly defined by a single disparaging label.
But let someone mention "illegal immigrants,'' and your principles fly out the window.
So when Governor Deval Patrick recommends allowing young illegal immigrants - residents of Massachusetts who have graduated from high school - to attend a public college and pay in-state tuition, you flip out. This is outrageous, you protest. It rewards people who broke the rules. It's unfair to the taxpayers who subsidize public higher education. Why should an illegal immigrant get a valuable tuition break that Massachusetts wouldn't give to a kid from Maine or New Hampshire?
You vigorously agree with Charlie Baker, a Republican candidate for governor. "If you're illegally here, you're illegally here,'' Baker said last week. "The notion that we should treat illegal immigrants with the same benefits and opportunities that legal immigrants and legal citizens have doesn't make any sense to me.''
It is dispiriting to see Baker, a man of considerable intellectual heft, stoop to such shallow sloganeering. It is even more dispiriting to see conservatives assail immigrants instead of the insane immigration system that gave most of them no legal way to enter the United States. On the whole, illegal immigrants are just the sort of newcomers Americans should embrace: self-motivated risk-takers, strivers determined to improve themselves, hard-working men and women willing to take the meanest jobs if it will give them a shot at building their own American dream. Why would we want to punish them? Why would we want to punish their kids?
A couple from Brazil, seeking a better life for themselves and their 2-month-old daughter, enter the United States unlawfully. They settle in Massachusetts, where 18 years later the girl graduates from a public high school, as assimilated and acculturated an American as her classmates in every respect - except that they are US citizens, and she, by virtue of a decision made when she was a baby, is not. Her classmates can attend the University of Massachusetts, paying $9,704 a year in tuition, the price tag for Massachusetts residents. She can attend only if she pays the out-of-state rate of $22,157; if that's more than she can afford, she's out of luck.
How is that a rational public policy? How is Massachusetts improved by making it impossible for an accomplished high-school graduate, a lifelong resident of the state, to gain a university degree? Who benefits when her education - along with the higher earning potential it would lead to - is cut short? She doesn't. You don't. Massachusetts taxpayers certainly don't.
Those taxpayers, remember, include illegal immigrants. More than two-thirds of illegal immigrants pay Social Security and income taxes. Between 1996 and 2003, payments from tax filers using Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers - a nine-digit substitute issued by the IRS for taxpayers ineligible for Social Security - totaled $50 billion. More than 35,000 such taxpayers, most of them illegal immigrants, annually file returns in Massachusetts.
If Republicans really believe, as Baker says, that "it doesn't make any sense'' to allow illegal immigrants to enjoy the same benefits as other state residents, why stop with in-state tuition? Why not bar them from driving on state highways? From camping in state parks? From using libraries?
Of course illegal immigration is a problem. But it can only be solved by overhauling our dysfunctional immigration laws, not by demonizing or scapegoating illegal immigrants. Those immigrants didn't come here in order to be lawbreakers; they broke a law in order to come here. That's a distinction with a crucial difference - one that sensible and principled conservatives should be able to understand.
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com.
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-- or pick a columnist-- Derrick Z. Jackson Jeff Jacoby Scot Lehigh Joan Vennochi -- Regular contributors -- James Carroll Elissa Ely Ed Glaeser Ellen Goodman HDS Greenway Ed Siegel -- Metro columnists -- Yvonne Abraham Kevin Cullen Adrian Walker


I'm happy to welcome you to the home of Lookmark – a new app for smart and easy app installation on iOS.
It all started a few months back. As an iOS developer I'm always looking for interesting apps to use or to be inspired by. I find them on the internet or through recommendations from friends and colleagues. This happens a lot, often several times per day.
Usually I'm sitting by the computer, so I visit the app's website to check it out. However, clicking the "Download on the App Store" button is not the most streamlined user experience. On my computer, that makes iTunes launch wanting me to download the app and then synchronize with my iPhone. Not so smooth. Most of the times I just pick up my phone to do another search for the app in the App Store. Not ideal either.
I gave this problem some thought and came up with a solution that would save me both time and money. Even if no one else wanted it, I would use it every day. Lookmark was born.
Lookmark for iOS collects all your lookmarked apps for easy installation. You can lookmark apps in the App Store with the Lookmark Share Extension. If you want to, Lookmark can remind you to install the app when you get WiFi connection. Saves you a lot of data!
The Lookmark Chrome Extension can be used when browsing the web on your Mac or PC. When visiting a page that has an iOS app link on it, the link(s) will be detected and with a couple of clicks the app is lookmarked and sent to your phone.
If this sounds like something that could make your digital life slightly easier I hope you will give Lookmark a try.
Many exciting features are in the works. This is just the start. The beginning.


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Eugen C. Botezat (n. 3/15 martie 1871, Tereblecea, Austro-Ungaria, azi Ucraina – d. 23 decembrie 1964, București) a fost un zoolog român. Contribuții în domeniul organelor de simț. A descoperit organele gustative la păsări. Membru corespondent al Academiei Române (1913), exclus în 1948, repus în drepturi în 1990.

Biografie
S-a născut în comuna Tereblecea din Bucovina de Nord, Imperiul Austro-Ungar (azi în Ucraina) într-o familie de învățători. Face liceul la Cernăuți și Suceava (1888-1892). A absolvit Facultatea de Științe, secția științele naturii la Universitatea Cernăuți. În 1897 elaborează în cadrul Facultății de Științe din Cernăuți teza sa de doctorat privind histologia fină a terminațiilor nervoase pe care le descoperă în corpusculii tactili ai mamiferelor. Doctor în științe ale naturii la Universitatea din Praga (1898). În timpul vacanțelor (1894-1897) urmează cursurile de biologie marină de la stațiunea zoologică de la Triest aflată sub conducerea Universității din Viena.

La început profesor de liceu (1898-1919), asistent la Universitatea din Viena (1894-1897) și Praga (1897-1898), apoi profesor la Universitatea din Cernăuți, între 1918-1938, fiind și rectorul celei din urmă. Devine Membru corespondent al Academiei Române la 25 mai 1913, la propunerea Prof. univ. Ion Simionescu de la Universitatea din Iași, iar din 1936 este unul din membrii fondatori al Academiei de Științe din România. Membru al Societății Științifice de Anatomie din Berlin și al mai multor societăți științifice române și străine.

S-a dedicat cercetărilor de zoologie, histologie, anatomie comparată, ecologie, etologie, publicând 34 de lucrări de specialitate din domeniile morfologiei, anatomiei fiziologice, fiziologiei animale și cinegetică, creând o adevărată Școală de biologie la Cernăuți. Meritele lui au fost recunoscute și de regimul postbelic comunist din România prin acordarea titlului de Profesor Emerit al Republicii Socialiste România.

Studii privind terminațiile nervoase la perii tactili ai mamiferelor, anatomia și histologia organelor de simț la animalele vertebrate, dubla inervație a organelor tactile de la păsări și mamifere, filogenia perilor la mamifere etc.  În 1904  descoperă organele gustative la păsări, descoperire epocală. El pune în evidență dubla inervație a mușchilor striați și a epidermei, precum și activitatea glandulară legată de celulele senzoriale. Rezultatele cercetărilor lui Botezat sunt menționate în tratate de zoologie ca și în tratatul de histologie a sistemului nervos publicat de Ramon Y. Cajal.

Face primele descrieri precise asupra bourului (Bos primigenius) și a zimbrului (Bison bonasus). Consideră bourul ca reprezentant al taurinelor cu precizarea că ultimul exemplar a fost vânat pe teritoriul României în 1627. Observații asupra vieții în mediul natural și obiceiurilor căprioarelor, cerbilor, mistreților, urșilor, lupilor, râșilor etc. A fost unul din promotorii mișcării pentru protecția naturii.  Publică lucrări științifice și de popularizare.

Lucrări
 Despre bour și zimbru, 1913
 Originea și evoluția filogenetică a părului la mamifere, 1914
 Vânătoarea, factor de cultură și civilizațiune, 1942
 Valabilitatea doctrinei Iarkiene întemeiată pe funcția adaptivă, 1942
 Manual de zoologie, 1922-1924.

Note

Bibliografie
 Gheorghe Mohan, Lucian Gavrilă, Aurel Ardelean, Constantin Pârvu. Istoria biologiei în date. Editura All. 1996
 Radu Ichim. Prof. dr. Eugen Botezat, un mare vânător din Bucovina. Bucovina Forestieră. Volumul 2(1), 1994
 Petru Bejinariu. Eugen Botezat (l87l-l964). ECOS 18/2006, Revistă de educație ecologică și ocrotire a naturii.
 Eugen Botezat în Ion Crețu "Tereblecea - un sat la margine de țară". Presa Universitară Clujeană 2010
 Bejinariu, P. (2005), Eugen Botezat și școala de biologi de la Cernăuți. Editura "Septantrion", Rădăuți.

Legături externe
 Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent – B

Nașteri în 1871
Decese în 1964
Zoologi români
Membri corespondenți ai Academiei Române
Români basarabeni
Rectori ai Universității din Cernăuți


text:
Today at 10:13 by Hieronymus
Today at 8:11 by cyprussyd
Yesterday at 18:19 by gil t azell
Mon 15 Jul - 23:17 by Hieronymus
Mon 15 Jul - 8:44 by Hieronymus
Sun 14 Jul - 9:08 by barrowmackem
Fri 12 Jul - 17:19 by Hieronymus
Fri 12 Jul - 14:57 by Mackemneil
Ndong money to be used to bring finances under control
Guest on Sat 29 Dec - 10:32
https://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/football/sunderland-afc/sunderland-chief-stewart-donald-reveals-transfer-kitty-boost-but-it-won-t-come-from-didier-ndong-deal-1-9511880?fbclid=IwAR3SVbikn7-MxU4diMOH2bTesafRnO7Z3QJGOp-yS9qvVhMwJUj0H640W7Y
Sunderland chairman Stewart Donald has revealed that the club are set for a timely transfer budget boost - with the January window opening in a matter of days. But that boost won't come from Didier Ndong, despite the midfielder agreeing a deal to join French outfit Guingamp yesterday. The 24-year-old, whose Sunderland contract was terminated in October, is set to sign for the Ligue 1 basement side after a move was agreed 'in principle'.
Firstly, Ndong will have to pass a medical at his new club, with Guingamp stating that the move is 'conditioned to the traditional medical visit' - which could be a concern given the midfielder has scarcely played in 2018. However, his new employers claim that he is undergoing a 'specific program of recovery' at their training base in order to ensure he is fit and ready for their relegation fight. The French side also claim that an 'agreement with Sunderland' also needs to be reached. Previous reports had suggested that the Black Cats would be entitled to a fee of around £3.5million when Ndong found a new club - and it seems an amount close to this figure will be handed over in the near future.
Guingamp remain confident of sealing a deal by next week, with Ndong not officially able to join a new club until January 1. And while a substantial sum could be headed towards the Stadium of Light, it is understood that the money will not be going into Jack Ross' transfer kitty. Executive director Charlie Methven has previously confirmed that money received from any Ndong transfer - or a deal involving Papy Djilobodji - would be used to help brings the clubs finances 'under control'. Methven said: "So we had to sign off on an FFI (Future Financial Information agreement), which was our business plan and included how we would bring our finances under control.
Two of the assumptions in that were that Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong would leave the club. So them leaving does not mean there is money to spend in January.
"For us to be able to bring in more players, our current wage outgoings will have to be reduced. It is as simple as that." However, the Black Cats are set for a susbtantial budget boost from an alternative source. Donald has confirmed that Boxing Day's bumper crowd of 46,039 has allowed the club to pump extra funds into Ross' January budget. Not only did the crowd set a new League One record - surpassing Leeds' attendance against Gillingham in 2008 - but it also provided the cub with an extra £300,000 ahead of a crucial transfer window.
Such news is timely given the close proximity of the window and will the Black Cats to strengthen in key areas as they aim to sustain their promotion push. Ross revealed last week that he was hopeful one deal would be concluded in January, and Donald has now hinted that the club have a 'couple in mind' when it comes to new recruits. Replying to a supporter on Twitter, the Sunderland chief said: "No giveaways - but about 300k into the transfer kitty for signings and wages - we have a couple in mind." Ross is thought to be eyeing defensive recruits when the transfer window opens, as he eyes depth in all areas ahead of the season run-in.
Re: Ndong money to be used to bring finances under control
A timely reminder of where we find ourselves...
But progress on the field is on going.
As we have debts.. the more we clear them the more financial freedom you have. It's like having a mortgage on a house..when it is paid off..your money is your own.. not being siphoned off to a bank for interest and capital repayments
Hieronymus on Sat 29 Dec - 14:13
Short paid off all the debts when he left except the £68m apparently owed to him personally, so this 'windfall' money is going to Ellis Short - lest we forget.
Mackemneil on Sun 30 Dec - 9:24
Good to see that, despite the team exceeding our expectations at the beginning of the season, the club has not lost sight of the business plan! Essential to the full recovery of our club.
cyprussyd on Sun 30 Dec - 10:12
Mackemneil wrote: Good to see that, despite the team exceeding our expectations at the beginning of the season, the club has not lost sight of the business plan! Essential to the full recovery of our club.
Yes fits the game plan that Donald outlined. He knows we dont need to spend big in division 1 and getting the finances right is vital.
He was asked about this on twitter and was very honest, Short wrote of the debts and the money he had put in but, outstanding payments on players who we bought on installments, the Alvaz court case and massive wages all need paying, One or all of Cattermole, Oviedo, Matthews and Mcgeady were expected to leave last summer.
We will IMO reap the rewards in the summer when we will need to spend when we go up.
oldblackcat on Sun 30 Dec - 10:19
I'd rather we sorted the finances than gave the money for transfers....glad we have a business plan we're sticking to......full marks to the owners!
we can't afford to slip back into the financial mess that was so nearly the end of our club
Hieronymus wrote: Short paid off all the debts when he left except the £68m apparently owed to him personally, so this 'windfall' money is going to Ellis Short - lest we forget.
stewart donald
@stewartdonald3
Replying to
@Jamie45009480
@bobbygurney
Ellis Kindly wrote off all the money he put in. However some future income had been spent and some big bills left to pay. EG players who been bought on instalments, Alvarez etc - that is what is being serviced and there is around £5 million left to service plus court cases.


It seems I'm always late finding these articles, but nonetheless I still want to share this blog entry from The Washington Post inspired by Bobby Rush's recent run-in with the House dress code, which requires not just shirt and shoes, but jackets and bare heads. Roxanne Roberts and Amy Argetsinger dug up examples of past House members who used clothing and personal style to make statements about themselves and their politics.
Bella Abzug was indeed famous for wearing hats, but never wore one on the House floor–hats had been prohibited since 1837. Despite a relatively short time in Congress, she made a strong impression with a brash, even abrasive, personal style; she courted controversy in matters non-sartorial and tackled issues like American involvement in Vietnam headfirst, inspiring other women to engage in politics themselves.
John Randolph of Roanoke, on the other hand, spent more than 30 years in Congress beginning in 1799, mostly in the House. Frequently at the forefront of debates, he cut a striking figure and applied his cutting wit to many a target. In his Congress of the United States, Alvin Josephy describes Randolph: "he swaggered around the House floor like a strange, tormented autocrat, booted and spurred, swinging a riding crop imperiously, often with one or two foxhounds at his heels." (131) The Post piece focuses on one of Randolph's interactions with Speaker Henry Clay, whom Randolph grew to dislike intensely. Clay is the subject of one of Randolph's most well-known barbs; Randolph described Clay as "this being, so brilliant yet so corrupt, which, like a rotten mackerel by moonlight, shines and stinks." (Josephy 148) In his later years, Randolph's effectiveness decreased as he struggled with alcoholism and mental instability, but he served in Congress until his death in 1833.
Jim Mattox, a member from Texas, is perhaps better known for his time as attorney general of Texas and as Ann Richards' opponent in the primary race for governor. However, his 1979 coat-and-tie-less protest of higher summer settings for the Capitol's AC garnered nationwide coverage. Here, a Washington state paper re-prints a Dallas Times Herald article covering Mattox's encounter with Speaker Tip O'Neill in detail.
My question for Roberts and Argetsinger: no mention of the Seersucker Caucus? More whimsy than drama, perhaps.
Josephy, Alvin M., Jr. The American Heritage History of the Congress of the United States. American Heritage Publishing Co., 1975.


text:
Q: how to update two joined table with queryBuilder in symfony3 How to update fields of two tables which are joined.
it's showing error.

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                ->where('au.id = ?1')
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Az Ál-Nászr Football Club (teljes név: ál-Száúdi ál-Nászr Nádí: arabul: نادي النصر السعودي) szaúd-arábiai labdarúgócsapat. 1955-ben alapították, stadionja a Mrsool Park.

Az Ál-Nászr Szaúd-Arábia egyik legsikeresebb klubcsapata. Ugyan pontosan nem ismert, összesen valószínűleg 27 trófeával rendelkeznek.

Szaúd-Arábiában a csapat kilenc bajnoki címet, hat királykupát, három koronaherceg-kupát, három föderációs kupát és két szaúdi szuperkupát nyert el. Nemzetközileg két GCC-bajnokok ligáját nyertek el, illetve 1998-ban az ázsiai duplát is sikerült megszerezniük, megnyerve az Kupagyőztesek Ázsia-kupáját és az ázsiai szuperkupát.

Története

Kezdeti sikerek (1955–1989)
Az ál-Nászrt 1955-ben alapították az ál-Dzsába testvérek. Az edzéseket egy régi játszótéren tartották a Gaslat ál-Sortában, az ál-Fota-kert nyugati részén, ahol volt egy kis futballpálya és egy kis szoba, a labdák és mezek tárolására. Abd ál-Rahmán bin Szaúd al-Szaúd herceg lett az ál-Nászr elnöke, haláláig több, mint 39 évet töltött a csapat élén három cikluson keresztül. A csapat iránti szeretete miatt vállalta a kihívást, hogy egy másodosztályú klubból bajnokot csináljon. Az ál-Nászr keresztapja néven is ismert. 1963-ban feljutottak az első osztályba. Az 1970-es és 1980-as években a klub négy szaúdi bajnoki címet, hat királykupát, három koronaherceg-kupát és három föderációs kupát nyert. A csapat sikerei a Medzsid Abdullah, Fahad al-Bísí és Mohaíszen ál-Dzsamán alkotta "szaúdi aranytrió" köré épültek.

1989–2002
Az 1990-es években az ál-Nászr további két bajnoki címet, egy királykupát és egy föderációs kupát nyert. Számos nemzetközi bajnokságban is sikereket értek el, két GCC-bajnokok ligáját, egy Kupagyőztesek Ázsia-kupáját és egy ázsiai szuperkupát nyertek. Az ázsiai szuperkupa győzteseként az ál-Nászr FC képviselte az AFC szövetséget az első FIFA-klubvilágbajnokságon Brazíliában, 2000-ben. A tornán az ál-Nászr a Corinthians, a Real Madrid és a Raja Casablanca ellen játszott és a csoportban a 3. helyen végzett. Az ál-Nászr elnyerte a bajnokság Fair Play-díját.

Visszaesés (2003–2007)
Az Aranytrió visszavonulása után az ál-Nászr teljesítménye komolyan visszaesett. A 2006–2007-es szezonban a klub csak a szezon utolsó napján kerülte el a kiesést, ami arra késztette a klub vezetőségét, hogy megújítsák a csapatot és a jövőbe tekintsenek terveikkel.

Újabb fellendülés (2008–napjainkig)
A játékosállomány jelentős átalakítása után az ál-Nászr megnyerte a 2008-as föderációs kupát a városi rivális ál-Hilál ellen. A klub a 2009–2010-es szezonban a harmadik helyen végzett, így a következő szezonban már az ázsiai bajnokok ligájában játszhatott. 2011–2012-ben az ál-Nászr a királykupa döntőjébe jutott, de diadalmaskodni nem tudott. 2012–2013-ban folytatták a megkezdett munkát, hogy visszatérjenek régi sikereikhez, a koronaherceg-kupa döntőjébe jutottak, ahol büntetőkkel kaptak ki az ál-Hiláltól.

2013–2014-ben az ál-Nászr végre elérte a régen vágyott célját, amikor a városi rivális ál-Hilál ellen duplázott: megnyerte a bajnokságot és a koronaherceg-kupát is. A csapat ezt követően bejutott a 2015-ös AFC-bajnokok ligájába. A 2014–2015-ös szezonban az ál-Nászr tovább folytatta menetelését, megnyerte a bajnokságot, és bejutott a királykupa döntőjébe, valamint a koronaherceg-kupa elődöntőjébe.

A 2018–2019-es szezonban az ál-Nászr megnyerte a bajnokságot, valamint bejutott a királykupa elődöntőjébe és az AFC-bajnokok ligája negyeddöntőjébe.

A csapat 2020-ban és 2021-ben is megnyerte meg a szaúd-arábiai szuperkupát. 2020-ban az ál-Távun FC-t 1–1-es rendes játékidő után büntetőkkel 5–4-re verte, 2021-ben pedig a városi rivális ál-Hilált 3–0-ra győzte le.

2022. december 30-án az ál-Nászr szerződtette Cristiano Ronaldót, miután a portugál játékos közös megegyezéssel távozott a Manchester Unitedtől. Ronaldo szerződése két és fél évre, 2025 nyaráig szólt, évi 200 millió eurós fizetéssel, ami a legmagasabb fizetés, amit valaha profi labdarúgónak fizettek. Azonnali hatást gyakorolt a klub népszerűségére világszerte, Instagram-fiókjuk a portugál érkezése előtt 860 ezer követővel rendelkezet, míg egy héttel később már több, mint 10 millióan követték.

Cristiano Ronaldo szerződtetése a szaúd-arábiai csapatnál vegyes reakciókat váltott ki, főleg azért, mert a Perzsa-öböl menti ország több kivételt is tett, hogy leszerződtessék a labdarúgót. A portugál játékos rég óta kapcsolatban van argentin származású spanyol modell barátnőjével, Georgina Rodriguezzel. A Szaúd-Arábiai Királyságban gyakorolt iszlám törvények tiltják az "együttélést házassági szerződés nélküli," amit figyelmen kívül hagyva a szaúdi kormány hajlandó volt kivételt tenni a labdarúgó és barátnője számára.

Címer és színek
Az ál-Nászr arab jelentése győzelem. Ugyanilyen nevű klubok találhatók Ománban, Kuvaitban, Bahreinben, az Egyesült Arab Emírségekben és Líbiában, de a szaúd-arábiai klub volt az első, ami felvette ezt a nevet.

A klub logója Arábia térképét ábrázolja sárga és kék színekkel. A sárga az arab sivatagok homokját, a kék pedig az Arab-tengert, az Arab-öblöt és az Arab-félszigetet körülvevő Vörös-tenger vizét jelképezi. A közelmúltban a régi logót egy "modernebb változatra" cserélték, de még mindig nagyban hat rá a klub régi logója. Az új logó csak a labdarúgócsapatot jelképezi, míg a régi logó a klub egészét.

Mezszponzorok és felszerelés

Szakmai stáb

Keret

Vezetőedzők

 Ámed al-Dzsoker (1960–62)
 Ámíed Abdullah (1962–65)
 Lamaat Katna (1966–67)
 Abdulmádzsid Tarná (1967–69)
 Hasszán Szultán (1969–70)
 Zaki Oszmán (1971)
 Mimi Abdulmádzsíd (1972)
 Hasszán Háírí (1973–74)
 Mahmoud Abu Rodzsejla (1975)
 Vivas (1976)
 Ljubiša Broćić (1976–79)
 Chico Formiga (1980–81)
 Mário Zagallo (1981)
 Francisco Sarno (1983)
 José Chira (1983)
 Carpergiani (1983–84)
 Robert Herbin (1985–86)
 Billy Bingham (1987–88)
 Joel Santana (1988–89)
 Juszef Hámísz (1989, 1995, 2000, 2006)
 Claudio Deorati (1990)
 Násszer al-Dzsohár (1990–91, 1993)
 Dragoslav Šekularac (1992)
 Qadies (1992–93)

 Medzsid Abdullah (1993)
 Jean Fernandez (1993–94, 1995–96), 1998)
 Henri Michel (1995)
 Ilie Balaci (1996–97)
 Dimitar Penev (1997)
 Dušan Uhrin (1997–98)
 Dutra (1998–99)
 Procópio Cardoso (1999)
 Milan Živadinović (2000)
 Artur Jorge (2000–01)
 Héctor Núñez (2001)
 Szálíh al-Mutlák (2001)
 Jorge Habegger (2001–02, 2006–07)
 Julio Asad (2002–03)
 Ljubiša Tumbaković (2003)
 Mircea Rednic (2004)
 Mohszen Száleh (2004)
 Dimitar Dimitrov (2004–05)
 Mariano Barreto (2005–06)
 Hálíd al-Koroni (2006)
 Artur Jorge (2006)
 Ednaldo Patrício (2007)
 Foeke Booy (2007)
 Julio Asad (2007)

 Rodion Gačanin (2008)
 Edgardo Bauza (2009)
 Jorge da Silva (2009–10, 2014–15)
 Walter Zenga (2010)
 Dragan Skočić (2011)
 Gustavo Costas (2011)
 Ali Kmeih (2011)
 Francisco Maturana (2011–12)
 José Daniel Carreño (2012–14, 2018)
 Raúl Caneda (2014)
 René Higuita (ideiglenes) (2015, 2016)
 Fabio Cannavaro (2016)
 Raúl Caneda (2016)
 Zoran Mamić (2016–17)
 Patrice Carteron (2017)
 Ricardo Gomes (2017)
 Gustavo Quinteros (2017–18)
 Héldermb. (2018–19)
 Rui Vitória (2019–20)
 Alen Horvat (2020–21)
 Mano Menezes (2021)
 Pedro Emanuel (2021)
 Miguel Ángel Russo (2021–22)
 Rudi Garcia (2022–)

Sikerek

 Szaúdi bajnokság: 9 alkalommal
 1974–1975, 1979–1980, 1980–1981, 1988–1989, 1993–1994, 1994–1995, 2013–2014, 2014–2015, 2018–2019
 Szaúdi királykupa: 6 alkalommal
 1974, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1990
 Szaúdi koronaherceg-kupa: 3 alkalommal
 1972–1973, 1973–1974, 2013–2014
 Szaúdi föderációs kupa (utánpótlás): 3 alkalommal
 1975–1976, 1997–1998, 2007–2008
 Szaúdi szuperkupa: 2 alkalommal
 2019, 2020
 Szaúdi bajnokság (másodosztály): 1 alkalommal
 1963

 Kupagyőztesek Ázsia-kupája: 1 alkalommal
 1997–1998
 Ázsiai szuperkupa: 1 alkalommal
 1998
 GCC-bajnokok ligája: 2 alkalommal
 1996, 1997
 Rijjádi regionális bajnokság: 8 alkalommal
 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974

Jegyzetek

Labdarúgócsapatok
1995-ben alapított labdarúgócsapatok


Picking up the story from where the infamous Driv3r left off, you play as long time protagonist Tanner, awaiting the transport of his nemesis Jericho to a maximum security prison. Needless to say, things happen and in Tanner finds himself on the wrong end of a collision between his own vehicle and a lorry, putting him into a coma and setting up the more outlandish aspect of the story. As a result of this coma, Tanner finds he now has the ability to 'shift' into the body of any other driver in the city.
In gameplay terms, this means that at almost any time, you can press the shift button and suddenly be flung up to a birds-eye view of the city, allowing you to look around for a car or any other vehicle that takes your fancy which you can then posses and in flash be driving said vehicle. While from the outside this seems like a distinctly Quantum Leap flavoured gimmick, in actuality it's a really neat way to change between the different cars in the city without having to jump through hoops or indeed menu screens to do so and also neatly negates one of the major criticisms of previous games in the Driver series by meaning Reflections Ubisoft don't have to make a sub-standard on-foot portion of the game and can stick to their strengths in making a solid, satisfying driving game.
This mechanic also makes for some pretty fun and varied missions. Of course, there are the classic missions like police chases or getting to a destination quickly, but these are interspersed with some more original missions, such as attempting to frighten a driving instructor by performing stunts, or team races in which you have to get both first AND second place by switching between the two drivers in your team. Get enough of these missions under your belt and you're allowed to progress with the main storyline, as well as earning the game's currency of Willpower which can in turn be used to upgrade your abilities, making your shift powers last longer or granting further powers like boosting and shunting or unlock new cars – all of which are fully licensed this time around.
And the licensing is indicative of the biggest thing about the new Driver game – it's a love letter to car chases. Sure, Driver has ostensibly always been the developers love of the classic movie car chases – those with long memories will remember that Reflections are such big fans of them they released the Stuntman series as the most overt outpouring of their love until now. The difference is that Driver: San Franciso is the first time they truly seem to be having fun with it. Whether it's the missions that are almost literally lifted right from the most famous car chase scenarios such as Gone in Sixty Seconds, Drive, Starsky & Hutch, Blues Brothers. Yeah, the plot holding all these together is at best, forgettable and the script is almost gloriously cheesy but it's just the most fun a Driver game has ever been.
And it comes across in every part of the delivery. Little touches like the random dialogue from passengers as Tanner hops around cars across the city – some of the exchanges are downright hilarious and even though there's never really a connection between your random faceless passengers, it doesn't fail to raise a smile as you hear about the police officer who wants to be more than partners to Tanner's unwitting host, or the bloke who just wants his mother to be a bit more careful when driving, just as you take over her body (and thus her vehicle) ready to jump over that car transporter, and thanks to San Francisco's many jumps and inclinations you can have him screaming "MOMMMMMMMY!" all the way until you shift to your next unwitting victim. Of course, you never have to deal with the consequences of your Quantum Leaping, but that wouldn't be right as it just wouldn't fit in with the game's mantra of just having a great time.
Yes, some missions can feel a little samey after a while and though there's an impressive number of cars, you'll pretty quickly find the ones that work best for you and largely stick to them throughout the game. If you need a specific type of vehicle for a dare then they'll seem to spawn more readily in the area and be helpfully marked on your map, so you can easily Shift into one. So the option to buy your own from the garage seems only really to cater to those with a compulsion to collect them all for completeness sake as there's really no other reason. This also makes the inclusion of the New Game Plus all the more baffling, as you'll no doubt max out your abilities well before the end of your first playthrough anyway. Also it remains to be seen whether how the PC version will suffer from the DRM woes that plagued From Dust's launch on that platform – sadly it seems the PC crowd are getting the sort of DRM (activated once per session) too, at least at launch.
Nevertheless, one thing is clear about the game itself – Driver: San Francisco is just oozing with fun and a blazing return for the series. It's a stonking good romp and doesn't take itself seriously. Yes, it has a ludicrous plotline but this works deeply in the title's favour because it doesn't just acknowledge it's silliness – it downright revels in it and runs (or should that be drives?) with it. It's an unashamedly good time.


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The teeth you see here came from a massive rodent called a nutria. Garry and Marcia, our Oregon hunting friends, caught and cooked one for an event called the "invasive species potluck". It was a retirement party where everyone brought a dish with an invasive, damaging species. So they brought crocked nutria, and others brought fried bullfrog legs, popcorn sparrow, turkey casserole, dandelion salad, and many other treats. Doesn't that sound like an awesome party?


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El municipio de Roosevelt (en inglés: Roosevelt Township) es un municipio ubicado en el condado de Pocahontas en el estado estadounidense de Iowa. En el año 2010 tenía una población de 97 habitantes y una densidad poblacional de 1,16 personas por km².

Geografía
El municipio de Roosevelt se encuentra ubicado en las coordenadas . Según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, el municipio tiene una superficie total de 83.94 km², de la cual 83,94 km² corresponden a tierra firme y (0 %) 0 km² es agua.

Demografía
Según el censo de 2010, había 97 personas residiendo en el municipio de Roosevelt. La densidad de población era de 1,16 hab./km². De los 97 habitantes, el municipio de Roosevelt estaba compuesto por el 96,91 % blancos y el 3,09 % eran de una mezcla de razas. Del total de la población el 1,03 % eran hispanos o latinos de cualquier raza.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Municipios de Iowa
Localidades del condado de Pocahontas (Iowa)


Written by linus on July 18th, 2016 November 19th, 2016 .
Note: ableist wording is quoted in this submission.
'On each of YOUR forms you ask: male or female???
And if I can't tick any of them, suddenly I AM the one with the GENDER DELUSION.
Written by linus on July 18th, 2016 .
Well-paid internship at an U.S. university?
… NOT for 'unfinished' trans people like me.
Next to the statement, there is a blue smiley with an angry face glued on. It says via a speech bubble: 'I'm non binary!' An arrow points from the speech bubble to the word 'unfinished'.
Written by linus on July 18th, 2016 July 18th, 2016 .


Our mission at SWMOBasketball is to provide exposure for area athletes through premium coverage, offering analysis of players and teams.
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Dainty, understated, yet arrestingly beautiful, this is the perfect bracelet to wear everday, whether you are in jeans and a white T-shirt, or have donned your favourite party dress. Available in sterling silver, yellow gold plated or rose gold plated sterling silver, and an almost endless range of colour choices of waxed cotton cord. Are you finding it difficult to choose a colour? Worry not - when the cord wears out, you may return it to me for free re-stringing at a later date. Please leave a note at checkout to let me know your colour choice.
The pebble size is approximately 10mm by 7mm. Adjustable size waxed cotton cord.