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State halts travel for officers without digital passports
By VICTOR JUMA
The new electronic passports. PHOTO | COURTESY
The government has frozen travel for civil servants without the digital passport, citing hitches in processing visa and entry permits using the machine-readable ones which become invalid in less than four months.
Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua said that although entry and exit requirements varied from country to country, the general rule is that a passport should be valid for at least another six months at the time of travel.
"Considering that the machine-readable passport will cease to be a valid travel document with effect from September 1, 2019, any machine-readable passport is already outside the six months validity period," Mr Kinyua said in an April 15 circular seen by the Business Daily.
"To avoid inconveniences that may be occasioned on account of the limited validity period of the machine-readable passports and in observance of the above-mentioned circular, travel clearance should not be issued to officers who do not hold the e-passport" the circular says.
The order means that public servants who had planned to travel abroad in the next few weeks could be forced to reschedule or abandon such plans unless they acquire the new document.
The e-passports are designed to better protect national borders and identities of citizens. They have the latest security features and designs besides a new style polycarbonate bio-data page.
Kenya launched its e-passports in 2017, making it the first country in the East African Community (EAC) to do so.
This saw the country comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) specifications and additional requirements set by EAC members.
E-passports have an embedded electronic chip in the booklet that stores the biographical information visible on page 2 of the document, as well as a digital security feature, according to ICAO.
The digital security feature is a unique, country specific "digital signature" which can be verified using each nation's respective certificate.
The government says the new passport is harder to duplicate and helps to counter threats from criminals such as terrorists and human traffickers.
The e-passport system was installed by British security printer De La Rue.
The Department of Immigration said in February it would open new digital passports issuance points across the country and abroad to ease congestion at the Nyayo House, Nairobi, centre.
The director-general of the department, Alex Muteshi, said additional centres would be opened in Kisumu, Mombasa, Kisii, Nakuru, Embu and Eldoret as well as the US and the United Arabs Emirates — making it the first time the issuance of digital passports will be decentralised since they were launched in 2017.
The digital passport eliminates the need for an East African passport.
The African Union unveiled details of the design, production and issuance of a single African passport last week.
The AU hopes to reduce travel barriers by creating seamless borders across the continent.
African leaders started using a common passport in July 2016.
The idea of an African passport was raised on numerous occasions during AU summits but implementation by member States has been sluggish.

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The mission of the Moore Public Schools Foundation for Academic Excellence is to enhance, expand, and enrich students' educational experiences through private donations and gifts.
Your donations go to teachers & programs that have a direct impact on students. In just the last 18 months, our mission has had an effect on 100% of Moore Public Schools students. Whether it's a sponsorship, an advertisement, a payroll deduction, or a general donation, your money is being used to further the educational experience of 25,000 students.
We connect your dollars to classroom projects
for Moore Public Schools students
Academic excellence has always been the focus of the Moore Public Schools. In 1995, a group of thirty community leaders comprising a cross-section of the community established the Moore Public Schools Foundation for Academic Excellence. The Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization and its members are dedicated to the belief that public education plays a pivotal role in community development. Our staff, board of directors, and community donors work every day to ensure that 25,000 students have the best educational experience we can provide them.
The Foundation's support for the school system comes predominantly in the form of grants awarded to innovative teachers. Every teacher in the Moore system is eligible to submit grant proposals. Such proposals are reviewed for their proposed curriculum enriching properties, and as many as funds allow are selected to receive stipends. Awarded grant funds may be used for:
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
SPECIALIZED NON-FUNDED EQUIPMENT
VISITING INSTRUCTORS OR SPEAKERS
ACADEMIC FAIRS
SUPPLEMENTAL PROGRAMS
OTHER EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
Foundation members believe that teacher grants help turn good ideas into better educational opportunities for our children.
ENHANCE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
We strive to assist in ways that help enhance academic excellence in the Moore schools by providing funding not available through public sources.
SUPPORT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
We work to better inform the community about strengths and innovative programs of public schools while helping build public confidence in the schools system.
BRING THE COMMUNITY TO THE DISTRICT
We focus on encouraging community and business involvement in the public schools in a positive and supportive manner to include financial support.
Brianna Wall
President of the Board of Directors
Brianna Wall's passion for the community of Moore led to her being selected to begin serving on the MPS Foundation board in April, 2020.
A proud resident of Moore since 2011, Brianna and her husband, Corey, have one son, Bryson, who attends Timber Creek Elementary. In addition to the MPS Foundation board, she is also part of the Moore Chamber of Commerce, Pioneer Library System Foundation, and Norman Regional Health Foundation boards of directors.
She has worked at Oklahoma Electric Cooperative since 2006, currently serving as Creative Director and representing OEC on a variety of national task forces and councils within the electric cooperative network. She has proudly co-chaired the Moore Chamber's Leadership Moore program since 2018 and is an advocate for Moore's schools, small businesses and leaders.
In her free time, she chauffeurs her 6-year-old from school to basketball practice to Braum's for milkshakes and enjoys summer parties in my backyard poolside cabana.
Zach Swift - President of the Board of Directors
MaKailee Davis - Vice President of the Board of Directors
Amanda Robinson - Secretary
Catherine Landeros - Treasurer
Amy Smoot
Amanda Robinson
Carla McKinley
Catherine Landeros
David Burton
Drew McKinney
Heidi Fox
Jeanette Capshaw
Jeff Groves
Jessica True
Maggie Alfaro
MaKailee Davis
Michel Roberts
Michael Owens
Staci Aduddell
Tracey Jackson
Zach Swift
Mandy Kincannon
Robert Romines
Kortni Toralba
Alona Whitebird
Clayton Ramick
As a Moore Public Schools Alumni, Clayton Ramick was excited to return to his hometown and be a part of something big. Clayton graduated from Southmoore High School in 2010 and went on to further his education, obtaining a Bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Christian University in 2014. Additionally, he received a graduate degree from Oklahoma City University in Applied Sociology in Nonprofit Leadership.
Since 2017, Clayton has served as the Executive Director and has lead the day to day operations of the organization. He believes that all students have the right to an enhanced educational experience and shares our mission throughout this community. In his spare time, he is an avid traveler, outdoorsman, soccer fan, amateur carpenter and loves spending time with his wife Jillian, and son Fitzgerald.
OUR LIFETIME MEMBERS
As a nonprofit organization, our Board of Directors make all the magic happen. They spend countless hours helping make important decisions for our community. Not only for current students and staff, but for future generations to come. With over 25 years of existence, over 100 community members have served on our Board of Directors. Our Lifetime Members are those who have gone above and beyond. These Members helped take the organization to the next level, every step of the way. We are proud of where we come from, and wouldn't be who we are today without these Members.
WAYLAND BONDS
Mr. Bonds began his educational career in 1965. He taught math and coached in Kansas at Liberal Public Schools. He also taught three years at Olustee Public Schools before serving in the United States Army. He then moved to Moore in 1971 to begin his service with Moore Public Schools. Mr. Bonds taught math at Central Junior High and Moore High School before taking positions as assistant principal at Central Junior High and later, Moore High School. Mr. Bonds then went on to serve as principal at Highland West Junior High and eventually Moore High. After serving as principal at Moore High School, in 1987 he was named principal of the district's second high school, Westmoore.
In 1993, Mr. Bonds became the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the district. He also served as Deputy Superintendent and Interim Superintendent before becoming Superintendent in March of 1997.Mr. Bonds was responsible for the successful restoration of the district's facilities following the devastation of the May 3, 1999 tornado. This tornado caused some $19 million in damages. Westmoore High School sustained more than $12 million in damages and re-opened in August 1999 with only the auditorium still under construction. Kelley Elementary School, which was completely destroyed, opened in August 2000.
Mr. Bonds was named the District I Oklahoma Association of Secondary Principals Administrator of the Year in 1988. He was named District VII Administrator of the Year by OASA District in 2001. He was also named a Life Member of the Oklahoma State PTA. He held an officer's position on the Moore Public Schools Foundation Board once it was established in 1995 and was named a Lifetime Member.
Mr. Bonds received a Master of Education Degree from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Math and Secondary Education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He also received an Associate of Arts Degree in General Education from Altus Junior College.
Jan Bonds has given him her support through 51 years of marriage. Mrs. Bonds retired after 31 years of service to Moore Public Schools. All of her teaching years were at Northmoor Elementary. Mr. Bonds has always attributed his success to his family who stood by him, the employees who worked for him, and the community who supported him. Upon his retirement, the Moore Board of Education named Wayland Bonds Elementary School as a tribute to his service.
DEBBIE VENARD
In September of 1994, the superintendent of Moore Public Schools, Dr. Dan Foreman, reached out to Debbie Venard wanting to create a foundation. The previous district he worked for, had a well-established foundation so he was familiar with working alongside a non-profit that supported the school system. Dr. Foreman suggested that the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Fall Forum would be the best place to gather information so Mrs. Venard and Shirley Beel attended the conference.
Mrs. Venard attended a breakout session on How to Start a Foundation. Mrs. Venard became so excited after all that she had learned, she took the lead and began asking her dentist, vet, insurance agent, her children's orthodontist, the local grocer-Mr. Steve Buchanan and a few others to take part in getting this organization off the ground.
Mrs. Polly Nichols was the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence at the time. In the beginning, the founding group attended several meetings with Mrs. Nichols and she guided them to become a group of fundraisers. Dr. Max and Mrs. Venard financed most of the beginning expenses for the Foundation: stationery, postage, state filings, etc. Mrs. Venard threw herself into the work, making it a full-time job while she was already working a full-time job at Dr. Venard's optometry office. She also had her most important responsibility as wife and mother to her three boys: David, Daniel and Dustin. Mrs. Venard was well-known throughout the district for her work with PTA and her advocacy for her son, Danny, who passed away in 2004.
Mrs. Venard filed the lengthy paperwork to establish the Foundation as a 501(c)3 so all donations would be tax deductible for donors. Volunteers immediately began working to raise funds for the Foundation. The group sacked groceries at Buchanan's grocery store alongside the morning radio hosts of KXY-Dave and Dan, for tips. Mrs. Venard was nominated for the JC Penny's Volunteer of the Year award and was awarded $5000 for the MPSF. These volunteers came together and decided that the seed members of the Foundation should each give $500 to help establish it financially. Each person that made this $500 donation became a Founding Member of the Foundation. This group accepted all donations and were thankful for any monies that came in to support their new cause.
In the early spring of 1995, the MPSF hosted their first banquet at Westmoore High School. Mary Fallin was the speaker and former Governor George Nigh was the Master of Ceremonies. Of the dignitaries at the head of the table, Polly Nichols was included. The event was a huge success! The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence office was located at the Journal Records Building in Oklahoma City and Mrs. Venard spent a significant amount of time visiting Polly Nichols there as Mrs. Nichols helped to propel the Foundation forward.
On April 19, 1995, the Oklahoma City bombing occurred. Mrs. Nichols was critically injured. Mrs. Venard had been in the building 24 hours prior visiting Mrs. Nichols. The bombing stopped all momentum of the MPSF. The group knew it was not the time to ask for donations during Oklahoma City's time of recovery. They had the seed money from the Founding members, the money raised at the banquet, the funds from Mrs. Venard's JCPenny award among other donations.
They decided to hold off on further fundraising that spring and award the first grants in the Fall of 1995. The founders delivered a balloon bouquet to each of the winning teachers, along with the check to cover the costs of the requested grant. Mrs. Venard said it was so fun to physically deliver the news and surprise each of the teachers.
Dr. and Mrs. Venard both graduated from Moore High School. Their sons, David and Dustin, graduated from Westmoore High School and Danny, graduated from Moore High School.
SHERRY HOWELL
Sherry Howell has lived in South OKC all of her life, graduating from Capitol Hill High School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Business from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has known since kindergarten her passion was for teaching and serving others, but her most significant accomplishment is being a wife, mother, and grandmother. She has been married to her husband Larry for 47 years. Her daughter Traci and granddaughter Maci are her pride and joy.
Sherry has always had a desire to "leave her footprint" in South Oklahoma City. In 1976, she and a number of women assisted Helen Cole in creating a Republican Women's Club for South OKC. She was a co-founder and board member of Moore Public Schools Foundation from 1995-2000. It was a time of need within Moore Public Schools. It was the dream of numerous teachers and students to add hands-on academic technology as well as cultural experiences to their classrooms. MPSF listened to these needs and fulfilled them by improving the students' learning experiences in and outside the classroom through teacher grants.
Sherry was a founder, past president and Board member of Oklahoma City Community College Foundation from 1998 to present. She worked with Mayor Kirk Humphreys on the OKC Go program that was put into motion in 1999 at OCCC. During 1998-2007 Sherry served on the Integris Southwest Medical Center FoundationExecutive Board and held the position of Finance Chair.
One of her greatest legacies for South OKC is Women of the South. Sherry along with 8 other women founded the first philanthropic group in South OKC and named it appropriately-Women of the South.
Since it's inception on April 1, 1995, WOS has awarded hundreds of scholarships and participated in many cultural and community projects throughout the South Oklahoma City and Moore area. WOS has Scholarship opportunities for women who are the primary provider to attend OCCC, as well as college scholarships available to all Moore Schools and Southside high school senior girls who qualify according to need. Women of the South facilitates Sherry's passion for education by reaching those who may not have had an opportunity otherwise. Sherry truly believes each person deserves a higher education.
In addition to her South OKC work, Sherry has contributed to numerous organizations and foundations throughout the Oklahoma City area. She was an active parent and teacher at Living Word Academy until it closed in 1986. She and 7 other parents and business owners founded Oklahoma Christian Academy on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. Mayor Kirk Humphreys appointed her to be a co-chair of the Civic Center Renovation in 1998-2000. The renovation evolved into the Civic Center Foundation in which she served from 2000-2011. Sherry continued to work with Mayor Humphreys on the MAPS Project.
Sherry's love and dedication to South OKC along with her desire to teach and assist others in achieving their goals is why Sherry Howell is a shining light for South Oklahoma City.
ANITA HORN
Anita Horn grew up on the outskirts of Oklahoma City in a dedicated, agriculture based family, where she learned the values of hard word. Anita considers her greatest blessings her husband of 35
years, Hoby, their 3 daughters, 3 sons-in-law and 6 Grandloves:
Mandy & Ty Kincannon, Emmie & Dax Haley & Tommy Noles, Paisley & Sunny Natalie & Chance Baker, Beau & Dylan
Working alongside Hoby at a desk and in the shop, they built their family and their business-Horn Equipment Company-together in Moore. Hoby and Anita have always worked at advocating for Moore Public Schools. In the early 1980s, they paid their employees and the spouses of their employees to go door to door lobbying votes that would help increase the state's education budget through horserace betting profits. Hoby, a Moore High School graduate and Anita always felt it was important to raise their children in the public school system and were always proud to do so. All three of their daughters and their sons-in-law are graduates of Moore High School.
When their eldest daughter Mandy started kindergarten at Northmoor Elementary, Anita's community service began as a homeroom mother. Seeing that she could work this into her schedule, then grew to years of PTA service, participation in other community groups, and her service to the Moore Public Schools Foundation.
During her time with MPSF, Anita worked on numerous projects. Most memorably, she authored and received two grants through the Margaret Annis Boys Trust which provided new landscaping to Westmoore High School following the May 3, 1999 tornado which had caused $12 million in damages to the school. She also began the MPSF endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in 2001.
Above all, she says the definite highlight of her time with the Foundation was seeing and hearing the tears, screams, and excitement of the teachers that received grants for their classrooms. She takes great pride in knowing this work continues from year to year, providing teachers with the tools to make learning memorable and fun. She is thankful for the board members, donors, and community partners of MPSF that provide such a much-needed kindness to Moore Public Schools classrooms.
STEVE BUCHANAN
Steve Buchanan is the owner/broker of Buchanan Realty Group in Oklahoma City. He is a commercial realtor, developer, and builder. Steve grew up in the family grocery business – Buchanan Food Marts – which at one time had five stores in the south Oklahoma City and Moore areas. He was a third-generation grocer – the business was started by his grandfather and was operated by the family for over 50 years until it was sold in 1999 to Fleming Foods. During the sale of the company, Steve learned about the real estate business and became interested enough to make it his second career.
Steve attended Moore schools throughout his childhood and graduated from Moore High School. He and his wife, Cathy, have been very involved in MPS activities for years – as their two daughters also attended Moore schools. Steve has always had the desire to help his community and the local schools. He was a founding member of the Moore Public School Foundation when it originated in 1995 and served as President at one time. Through the grocery stores and their mascot, "Bucky", Steve was instrumental in raising funds and bringing the Moore Police Department's anti-drug program (D.A.R.E.) to the Moore Elementary Schools. He also served as the Co-Chairman/Chairman of the Red Ribbon Parade in downtown Moore for 23 years.
Steve captured memories for many families in Moore schools by photographing numerous Moore and Westmoore athletic events, groups, and proms. He has built lasting relationships through his involvement with MPS.
Steve currently serves on the INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center Board as Past President and he is a member of the South OKC Rotary Club.
In his "spare" time, Steve enjoys flying, photography, fishing and traveling.
AMY REEVES
Amy Reeves was raised in the Moore School System, graduating from Moore High School in 1987 where she met her husband Dan Reeves. Amy graduated from College in 1991 from Central State University (UCO) with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education where she was on the Dean's Honor Roll. Dan and Amy were married in 1989 and have three children. They have a daughter Kaitlin that graduated from Moore High School in 2010 and The University of Oklahoma in 2014, a son Matt that graduated from Moore High School in 2017 and is a student at The University of Oklahoma, and a daughter Mackenzie that is currently a student at Moore High School. Amy taught school in the Mid Del School system before she and her husband opened Landmark Fine Homes in the year 2000. Landmark was named America's Best Builder in 2012 and the Oklahoma State Home Builder of the year for 2017. Dan and Amy have donated over $250,000 to various local and national charities. She is a proud2007 graduate of Leadership Moore. Amy has been involved with the Moore Public Schools Foundation since 2007 and served as President for 3 years and is in her second term as a school board member for the Moore Public Schools. Amy is also a past board member and current volunteer for The Salvation Army of Cleveland County and has been a Team Captain for the Cleveland County Relay for Life for the past 10 years. Her hobbies include traveling, decorating, volunteering and spending time with her family.
LORI FIGHTMASTER
Lori is the, Senior Vice President and Director of Retail Banking at First United Bank. First United Bank is building a banking culture to empower and inspire others to Spend Life Wisely through Financial Well-being, Personal Growth and Faith. Lori is a certified Emotional Intelligence Coach and founder of Breakthrough Consulting. She partners with companies to develop mindful leadership and effective communication strategies. She is also a professional instructor at Moore Norman Technology Center. Lori recently served on South Oklahoma City Chamber Board of Directors, Integris South Hospital Board of Directors, as well as Board of Directors at Bridges, a non-profit organization serving homeless high school students in Norman, OK. Lori is a graduate of Moore High School. She and her husband Robert have been married 29 years and reside in South Oklahoma City. Their son Ryan, a graduate of Westmoore High School and OU, is currently attending OU medical School. Lori's passions include activities that bring joy into her life such as traveling, cycling, hiking, volunteering, and spending time with friends and family. Please join me in honoring Lori Fightmaster as the newest Lifetime Honoree of the Moore Public Schools Foundation.
AUDRA BROWN
From 2008-2017 Audra Brown served as an invaluable member of the Moore Public Schools Foundation. Her dedication to education began early when she earned her degree in Early Childhood Education from the University Central Oklahoma. Audra and Duane Brown have been married for 23 years and they opened Brown's Driving School together in 1996. Audra and Duane have raised both of their children in Moore Public Schools. Britt is a Westmoore graduate and plays baseball for Northern Oklahoma College. Madison is a Senior at Westmoore and a successful track athlete.
A transplant from Ponca City that married a Moore native, Audra is thankful to have raised her kids in the welcoming and friendly community of Moore. Audra loved serving on the Foundation Board because of the wonderful people that she worked beside and the mission to do great things in the community for our Moore Public School children. Audra said that Moore is such a welcoming, friendly city with one of the best school systems in the nation and she is proud to call it her home!
LINDA NEIMANN
Linda is a loyal member of the Moore & South OKC community, living in Cleveland County since 1976. Linda has been married to her husband Bill Neimann for 53 years, and they are incredibly active in our community. Bill and Linda have two daughters, Staci and Ashlee, who both graduated from Moore High. Tradition lives on as three of their four grandchildren attend Moore Public Schools.
Linda has always been passionate about growing and improving Moore and South Oklahoma City's quality of education and living. When she was asked to be a founder of Moore Public School Foundation there was no hesitation. For Linda, it was an honor and privilege to join the group. Raising money to ensure Moore Public Schools students and teachers wasn't an easy task, but she did it with charm and determination. MPSF has grown into an incredible force of Grants and Funding Resources and by adding new ambitious board members.
Linda's dedication for the Moore and South Oklahoma City areas lives on today through her active and continued support for all the groups she helped begin.
Shoot us an email, we would love to meet for a cup of coffee and tell you more about what we do!
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In this interactive session organized by the FIBA Women's Leadership Committee, you'll discover techniques for crafting a personalized, powerful self-introduction for networking. You'll also take away practical networking pointers and practice, such as how to ask questions that generate meaningful and relevant conversations.
Anne B. Freedman's life's mission has been to stamp out boring speeches and presentations and to help people deliver their messages with clarity, humor and confidence. For more than two decades, she's worked with a wide range of successful business and community leaders, in the U.S. and internationally, who needed to produce positive, profitable action through their teams and organization.
Ms. Fredman is the author of Public Speaking for the Genius, and the developer of Speak Your Way to the Top, a 9-video e-learning course. She is also a Past President of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and she currently sits on the Board of Directors for both the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the South Florida Progress Foundation.


This essay is the second in a two-part series examining Iraqi political discourse, competition, and potential for reform. Read the first installment here. Last week's piece explored the reasons why Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi failed to implement his ambitious 2015 reform agenda, as well as the growing desire among Iraq's 33.4 million people to transform their country's political system. This week, we dive deeper into the interpersonal rivalries, powerbrokers, communal competitions, and debates that are preventing successful reform in Baghdad.
On 27 October, former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani of "implementing Israeli and US policies in the region," declaring that Israel has "an overwhelming dominance" over Iraqi Kurdistan. In Baghdad – where conspiracy theories and accusations of foreign meddling are common – such rhetoric may seem unremarkable. However, when considered within the Iraqi governance context, the purpose of Maliki's statement as a political foil becomes clearer.
Since his ouster in 2014, after Mosul fell to ISIS, Maliki has sought to systematically undermine Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's government. This competition handicaps Iraqi political development. As noted in part one of this examination, "Dysfunction among legislators points to a deeper rot at the core of the country's political system" – a dissolution process fueled by inter-personal rivalries between key actors.
Over the past few years, the country's population has repeatedly demanded governmental reform aimed at reducing corruption, excess, and patronage politics in Baghdad. These sentiments, however, have not precipitated significant change. Why have these demands, amplified by popular outrage, thus far failed to affect significant change? Maliki's most recent claims open a window onto the web of competition that strangles reform efforts.
Who pulls the strings of government in Baghdad? How do various actors shape Iraq's political future? Have Baghdad powerbrokers co-opted popular frustration, and to what end? How do rivalries between key powerbrokers like Maliki, Abadi, and Barzani – and the constituencies they represent – shape Iraqi politics? To confront the systemic challenges facing Iraq's government, it is crucial to first enumerate the forces shaping Iraqi political and social futures.
Since becoming Prime Minister in August 2014, Abadi has faced stiff opposition from factions within his parliamentary bloc, the State of Law Coalition (SLC), which Maliki leads. This so-called "Reform Front," comprising 100 members of parliament, mostly from the SLC, recently managed to remove the Minister of Defense, Khaled al-Obeidi (August 25), and the Minister of Finance, Hoshyar Zebari (September 21). Both ministers were brought in for questioning by Maliki's faction, and subsequently were unseated by no-confidence votes. While ostensibly conducted under the auspices of Abadi's anti-corruption campaign, the Reform Front's actions have widely been condemned as blatantly political acts designed to deprive Abadi of key allies.
Zebari's ouster, in particular, exemplified the seemingly intractable rivalries within Parliament and Baghdad's ruling circles.
The vote against Zebari highlighted intra-Kurdish cleavages that have increasingly been manifest at the national level. Traditionally, Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi Parliament voted as a united bloc, despite (sometimes serious) disputes between parties within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). This time, however, the KDP's primary opposition – the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Gorran – voted against Zebari, deciding the outcome.
In northern Iraq, gridlock between these parties has paralyzed the KRG Parliament for over a year after the KDP refused to allow its Gorran-affiliated Speaker of Parliament from entering the Iraqi Kurdish capital, Erbil. By voting against Zebari the PUK and Gorran sought to weaken the KDP's position in Baghdad. Maliki capitalized on these rivalries by drawing the Kurdish opposition to his faction within SLC. By splitting the Kurdish position regarding Zebari, Maliki at once removed a key Abadi ally, discredited the Prime Minister's cabinet, and took advantage of Kurdish divisions – a move that weakened Iraqi Kurds' overall influence in Baghdad.
Maliki has worked hard to push Iraqi Kurds apart. In July, he visited Sulaimaniya, a city where the PUK and Gorran hold influence, to congratulate the two parties on their alliance against the KDP in Erbil. When Barzani visited Baghdad, he purposefully did not meet with Maliki. Within this context, the former Prime Minister's comment regarding Israeli influence in KDP-ruled Iraqi Kurdistan further discredited Barzani in the eyes of Iraqi policymakers, many of whom suspect the Kurds' separatist intentions. More importantly, however, the accusation undermined the nascent Abadi-KDP alliance, strengthened during the lead-up to joint Iraqi Army and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga operations against ISIS in Mosul.
In Baghdad, Maliki's maneuvers handicap Abadi's government. The Prime Minister has fought back, but with limited success. In August 2015, he eliminated the position of vice president under the auspices of streamlining government — thus removing Maliki, who occupied the post, as well as the two other officeholders, Osama al-Nujaifi and Ayad Allawi. Following this announcement, Maliki sharpened his criticism against Abadi, and declared repeatedly that he would "not be opposed" to returning as prime minister. On 11 October 2016, the Iraqi Federal Court annulled the August 2015 decision to cancel the vice presidential post, on grounds that it was unconstitutional.
Baghdad's political morass has been further complicated by regional and international actors, chiefly Iran and the United States, as well as the powerful Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) inside Iraq. Abadi has long been a strong advocate of working closely with Washington, partly as a means of reducing Iraq's military reliance on Iran – a stance that earned him few friends in Tehran. The Iranian government refused to accept Abadi's government until Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's highest Shia religious authority, declared Maliki unfit to govern.
Abadi's position vis-à-vis Iran has weakened his position in Baghdad, as Tehran puts its weight behind Maliki's faction. The former prime minister's influence is bolstered by the nearly 70,000-strong Iranian-backed factions within the PMF. The majority of militia factions without formal ties to Tehran — including Liwa' Ansar al-Marja'iya, the Abbas Battle Group, Liwa' Ali al-Akbar, the Imam Ali Troop and the Kadhimin Battle Group – have been starved of funding and equipment in relation to Iranian-supported groups like Kata'ib Hezbollah or the Badr Organization. For example, in July deputy PMU chairman Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis had stopped distributing government salaries to armed Shiite factions not connected to Iran.
Nevertheless, Tehran has corroborated Ameri's claims, and reportedly proposed appointing Maliki to head the PMF. On 29 June, the Iranian Fars News Agency published a photograph of Maliki welcoming Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, for iftar. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini consistently praises Maliki's role in Iraqi politics (something he never does for Abadi), and some sources indicate that Iran is pushing for Maliki to return as prime minister after the 2018 elections.
Abadi will have a difficult time countering these forces. In August, the Independent Electoral Commission banned the PMF from participating in the 2017 provincial or 2018 national elections, and confirmed the Prime Minister's authority over their deployment. Yet this decision will not prevent armed groups from participating in government formation through the political parties with which they are already affiliated. Many of these organizations also refuse to acknowledge Abadi's leadership, declaring instead that they answer only to their faction's commander.
While the Prime Minister has attempted to strengthen western military cooperation and rebuild the Iraqi Army, Iran-aligned factions seek to bolster Shia militia networks and, as Iraq watcher Kirk Sowell noted, "[tie] Baghdad to the Iran-Damascus-Moscow axis." In a 20 October 2015 letter from Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, nominally the PMF's deputy commander but in fact its real commander, he stated: "time and time again" he had told the prime minister that the PMF deserved the infrastructure, pay, and status of the army and other security services. This note, which was leaked to the Iraqi press, presented a direct challenge to the Prime Minister's authority and policy direction and jeopardized efforts to consolidate security forces.
Today's political dysfunction is borne from the fractious political system established after the 2003 US-led invasion. The root of poor governance in Iraq lies in the formalization (or, according to some analysts, creation) of ethno-sectarian divisions in Baghdad's governing structure.
When the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) formed in April 2003, its leadership believed that ethno-sectarian quotas were the only way to ensure each of Iraq's key constituencies were represented in Baghdad. It set up the 25 member Iraqi Governing Council with 13 seats for Shiites, 5 for Kurds, 5 for Sunnis, and one each for Assyrians, Turkmen, and women. Today, the rules of the political game in Baghdad are defined by the ethno-sectarian dynamic codified after 2003.
The root of poor governance in Iraq lies in the formalization…of ethno-sectarian divisions in Baghdad's governing structure.
For example, the former prime minister has managed to alienate members of all sects. Shia parties strongly opposed Maliki's consolidation of power in 2010. In January 2013, Sunni communities widely protested his rule – securing support from Sadr, a Shia.
Ultimately, the rot in Baghdad is due to much more than simply Maliki's malign influence. The political system encourages competition and shifting alliances rather than cooperation, as politicians vie to assert authority within discrete communities and sects. To understand the complex challenges facing any reform-minded government like Abadi's, it is crucial to first outline the relationships and networks that undermine the Prime Minister's authority.
Iraqis are angry at a bloated government unable and unwilling to represent their interests as Iraqis. Abadi has thus far failed to capitalize on this frustration to out-maneuver Baghdad's political operators. Yet his shortcomings highlight how difficult and complex Iraq's networks of competition have become. Spoilers across the government drive the country's political culture, even as its people face rising economic and security crises. The highest-stakes struggle for Iraq will take place not on the battlefield but inside the capital's Green Zone, where policymakers must choose fractious deadlock or cooperation. Worryingly, these politicians are today far more powerful than the people's will. The ability of the Baghdad establishment to reform their own practices will determine Iraq's future trajectory.


text:
Shangdang District (Chinese: 上党区; pinyin: Shàngdǎng Qū), formerly Changzhi County (), is a district in southeastern Shanxi province, China. It is under the administration of Changzhi city, and is located in southern Changzhi.

References
www.xzqh.org

County-level divisions of Shanxi
Changzhi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
'Black Lightning' Spinoff 'Painkiller' Starring Jordan Calloway Set As A Backdoor Pilot
Fans of the hit CW series "Black Lightning" may be excited to learn that a new possible spinoff is currently in the works, and it will star actor Jordan Calloway, as he reprises his role as Painkiller.
According to Deadline, the CW will air the planted pilot spinoff during the upcoming fourth season of the hit series "Black Lightning", which is set to premiere in February 2021. The show's developer and showrunner, Salim Akil, will write, produce, and direct.
Fans familiar with the show knows that Jordan plays Khalil Payne, who is the boyfriend of China McClain's character, Jennifer Pierce/ Lightning. After getting tied up with Tobias Whale's gang, he's eventually turned into his killer alter ego Painkiller, who would later be used as a weapon by the ASA.
Jordan briefly tweeted about the spinoff by replying to a headline with a Marshawn Lynch gif that said "I'm thankful."
https://t.co/ZOdbCGJgHc pic.twitter.com/oMDM1sem3r
— Jordan Calloway (@JordanCalloway1) November 12, 2020
Painkiller first appeared in the "Black Lightning" comics back in 1995 and is based on characters created for DC by Tony Isabella with Eddie Newell. The "Painkiller" spinoff is from Warner Bros Television.
Back in 2018 when "Black Lightning" first premiered on the CW, it became the highest-rated premiere within a two-year span on the CW network. At that time, the show's premiere brought in huge numbers for the network with a strong 0.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.3 million viewers.
Since there have been more black superheroes added to the network.
Back in July, it was announced that Javicia Leslie had been cast as the next Batwoman on the CW series. Making her the first black woman to take on the role of Batwoman on television.
TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
The post 'Black Lightning' Spinoff 'Painkiller' Starring Jordan Calloway Set As A Backdoor Pilot appeared first on The Shade Room.
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The Laboratory for Applied Ontology (LOA) performs basic and applied research on the ontological foundations of conceptual modeling, exploring the role of ontologies and ontology management in different fields, such as: knowledge representation, knowledge engineering, database design, information retrieval, natural language processing, and the semantic web. The group is characterized by a strong interdisciplinary approach that combines Computer Science, Philosophy and Linguistics, and relies on logic as a unifying paradigm. On the application side, special emphasis is given to the use of ontologies for e-government, enterprise modeling and integration, natural language processing, and the Semantic Web.
The FOIS conference is designed to provide a meeting point for researchers from all disciplines with an interest in formal ontology. The conference encourages submission of high quality articles on both theoretical issues and concrete applications at the intersection of philosophical ontology, linguistics, logic, cognitive science, and computer science, as well as in the applications of ontological analysis to conceptual modeling, knowledge engineering, knowledge management, information-systems development, library and information science, scientific research, and semantic technologies in general.
FOIS is the flagship conference of the International Association for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA), which is a non-profit organization that promotes interdisciplinary research and international collaboration in formal ontology.
FOIS 2018, will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, 17-21 September 2018, following the 4th Interdisciplinary School on Applied Ontology, ISAO 2018 that will take place between 10-14 September 2018.
The purpose is to discuss how computational ontologies can support knowledge representation and data modelling tasks in domains such as manufacturing, design, civil engineering and architecture. Both methodological and implementation aspects concerning the development and use of ontologies will be covered in the discussion.
Attendance is for free. No registration is required. However, if you intend to participate, please send an email to either stefano.borgo [at] cnr.it or sanfilippo [at] loa.istc.cnr.it.
Pieter Pauwels, Dept. of Architecture and Urban Planning, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (personal web page).
Title: Product and 3D geometry ontologies at action in construction industry: from manufacturer to demolition.
Abstract: The past few years have shown a strong technological shift in the domain of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC). The World Wide Web is giving a huge push in this respect, including emerging topics such as Linked Data, Internet of Things, Web of Data, Big Data, and so forth. Whereas many industry stakeholders are focusing heavily on the development of web applications, often using the latest graph databases and visualization techniques, a strong surge is also made in standardization bodies, including Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), BuildingSMART, and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), aiming to set out a number of data standards that can be consumed by the relevant industry stakeholders. In this presentation, we will particularly look at the place where both (can) come together.
We aim at the particular case of product data and 3D geometry data in the building industry sector. The W3C Linked Building Data (LBD) Community Group is setting forward a number of ontologies to capture this kind of data, currently using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and the Resource Description Framework (RDF). The group relies on existing work in that area, primarily available in the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) ontology put up by buildingSMART, but also considering the data sets and formats actively used in the industry. Diverse ontologies are presented to capture data, both for the case of product data and 3D geometry. The currently most recommended version will be presented.
Finally, this presentation will also give an indication of how these ontologies can be put to action in the field. For this purpose, a connection needs to be made with the currently prevailing implementation techniques in the construction industry. Although the majority of companies relies on 'ontology-low' software, such as spreadsheets and PDFs, a considerable number of innovative companies build high-quality web applications that allow to re-use building data throughout the building life-cycle in a strongly service-oriented architecture. This presentation will end with showing how the W3C building data ontologies can find a foothold in these newer web application developments, while not disrupting the industry.
Bio: Pieter Pauwels holds a Master degree (2008) and PhD degree (2012) in Engineering – Architecture from Ghent University, Belgium. He is assistant professor and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning in Ghent University. His work and interests are in information system support for the building life-cycle (architectural design, construction, building operation, re-use). Besides lecturing, he is involved in a number of industry-oriented research projects on topics affiliated to Building Information Modelling (BIM), Linked Building Data, Linked Data in Architecture and Construction, and Semantic Web technologies.
Riichiro Mizoguchi, Research Center for Service Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa, Japan (personal web page).
Title: Device ontology: An enabling technology for consistent modeling of physical systems.
Abstract: Modeling is the key to the successful engineering application. Roughly speaking, ontology is expected to help modeling by providing a system of fundamental concepts underlying the domain under consideration. Although it is true, the utility is rather weak because practitioners need more direct help for modeling the target systems. I believe it would be a conceptual framework which appropriately guides them to successful modeling of the dynamism of systems. Device ontology has been devised to provide such a conceptual framework and has been extensively used in the whole experiences of my engineering applications in the context of ontology engineering. It enables you to capture dynamism of systems in a consistent manner. Device ontology is composed of a set of vocabulary supported by a role theory and is viewed as a role assignment system. It is applicable to any object in any domain including a book on the table which is not considered as a device usually. In my talk, I discuss device ontology together with its advantages and applications to functional modeling of devices.
Title: Ontologies & Business process modeling languages: two proposals for a fruitful pairing.
Abstract: Representing business processes via conceptual models is a key task of modern organisations. This has led to the development of a number of Business Process Modeling (BPM) notations, which often encompass the modeling of the mere control flow. Despite this fact, thorough formal investigations on the semantics of BPM modeling languages are often restricted to the elements of the control flow, and have a deep execution based flavor. As a consequence, the interpretation of business process modelling diagrams is often let to the understanding of the modelers (or the readers).
In this talk I will present two research efforts devoted to address this problem. In the first effort, a formal ontological description of the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN), one of the most popular languages for business process modelling, was developed. The proposed ontology (the BPMN Ontology) provides a classification of all the (graphical) elements of BPMN, together with the formal specification of attributes and conditions describing how the elements can be combined in a BPMN business process description. Using the classes and the properties defined in the BPMN Ontology any BPMN diagram can be represented as an A-box (i.e., a set of instances and assertions on them) of the ontology: this allows the exploitation of ontological reasoning services such as consistency checking and query answering to investigate the compliance of a process with the BPMN Specification as well as other structural properties of the process. The second (ongoing) effort makes an attempt to compare a wide range of BPM notations in order to provide an ontological characterisation of process elements, among which process participants, that is, the main entities involved in a business process. Purpose of this effort is to start filling this gap by providing an ontological analysis of business processes from the standpoint of process participants.
Abstract: Representing activities and the constraints on their occurrences is an integral aspect of commonsense reasoning, particularly in manufacturing, enterprise modelling, and robotics. If we focus on a domain such as manufacturing, we see the need to integrate software applications in areas such as scheduling, process modeling, process planning, production planning, simulation, project management, workflow, and business process reengineering. Given this diversity of applications, it is not surprising that there is a clash of semantics; what is surprising is that it is often unclear how to even express the intended semantics for process-related concepts. In this talk, we will use the Process Specification Language (PSL) Ontology to explore the landscape of process modelling. Starting with a set of motivating scenarios, we will show how to correctly axiomatize process descriptions, as well as provide a framework for the evaluation of such descriptions with respect to their real-world behaviour.
Bio: Michael Grüninger is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. He returned to Canada after spending five years as an Assistant Research Scientist in the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland College Park and also a Guest Researcher at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).
Before that, Michael was a Senior Research Scientist in the Enterprise Integration Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. Michael received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science at the University of Toronto and his B.Sc. in Computer Science at the University of Alberta.
His current research focuses on the design and formal characterization of theories in mathematical logic and their application to problems in manufacturing and enterprise engineering. His most recent work on the Process Specification Language has been published as an International Standard (ISO 18629).
Title: Manufacturing reference ontologies – a route to knowledge sharing and interoperability?
Abstract: Competitive manufacturing industries are always striving to be "better, faster and cheaper" to stay ahead of their competition. This requires the ability to make successful business decisions against substantial time constraints and with limited high quality information. However, although ICT tools for manufacturing industry have advanced dramatically in recent years they do have significant drawbacks when it comes to providing the holistic capabilities that are critical to long-term competitive solutions. Part of the solution to this problem lies in the exploitation of semantic technologies that provide a formal, logic base route to sharing meaning.
The effective exploitation of semantic technologies for knowledge sharing and interoperability is not easy, as is evident from the on-going problems that exist in industrial decision support environments. This presentation discusses the problems from a manufacturing perspective and argues for the development of manufacturing reference ontologies that sit between foundation and domain ontologies. The results of a number of projects, culminating in the recently completed EU Factories of the Future FLEXINET project, will be used to demonstrate how this is possible, linking a wide range of manufacturing software support applications, all interacting based on an underlying knowledge base that utilised the reference ontology. This approach will be discussed in terms of its potential development to provide a common shared understanding that can be flexibly and dynamically applied to transform manufacturing industry in the next phase of the information revolution.
Bio: Prof Young is Professor of Manufacturing Informatics in the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University in the UK. He has some 40 years experience in new product development and manufacturing engineering, working both in UK industry and in academia. His research is focused on exploiting advanced Information and Communications Technologies to aid multi-disciplinary teams of engineers in their decision-making through the provision of timely, high quality information and knowledge. To that end his research in recent years has been heavily focused towards the development and use of formal ontologies as a basis for effective knowledge sharing and interoperability in manufacturing.
Prof Young works with a broad range of manufacturing companies from large multi-nationals in the aerospace and automotive sectors to more local manufacturing SMEs. In this latter area he is a director of TANet, an organisation aimed at providing support to the UK SME manufacturing sector. As well as working closely with industry, Prof Young is committed to developing effective information standards for manufacture. To that end he is deputy convenor of the international standards organisation working group concerned with "manufacturing process and management data", ISO TC184 SC4 JWG8. Prof Young also leads a task group within the EU's Virtual Laboratory for Interoperability or INTEROP-VLab. This group is focused on developing improved methods for Manufacturing Enterprise Interoperability.
Abstract: Mechanical drawings and 3D MCAD models play a central role in the design/production process. Both can be considered "documents" aimed at representing the shape of mechanical components and assembly as well as additional (technological) information, required for product development. The presentation will summarize similarities and differences of knowledge representation in this two types of documents, with particular reference to the influence that the skills of the author and the limitation of the modeling tool may have on the representation of implicit (or tacit) knowledge. The objective is to define an educational approach aimed at overcoming the limitations of traditional drawing and modeling teaching methodologies, mainly based on standards, best practices and guidelines.
Bio: Ferruccio is full professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematics Science at the Università Politecnica delle Marche, where he teaches Mechanical Drawing and Computer Aided Design. He obtained a degree in Computer Science from the University of Milan in 1990. After spending 10 months at the University of Tokyo (Kimura Laboratory, Department of Precision Machinery Engineering, Faculty of Engineering) as guest researcher, thanks to a CNR scholarship, he entered the Ph.D. course in Engineering of Industrial Production at the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Parma where he was awarded his Ph.D. in 1995. Feature-Based methodologies and Knowledge Aided Engineering Systems have been his topics of research for several years. At present, his main interest is focused on the methodologies and tools to support education in the mechanical engineering area.
Image and video understanding is the process of converting elementary visual entities (pixels, voxels) to symbolic forms of knowledge (textual tags, predicates), by means of various kinds of models (statistical classifiers, neural networks, knowledge-based systems, etc.). It represents the highest processing level in a computer vision system, operating usually on top of a basic processing layer, which extracts intermediate image representations (patches, volumes).
This semantic layer provides in principle the meaning of the symbolic forms associated to visual entities. In order to develop a principled methodology to ascribe meaning to images and videos, we need ontologies for modelling the domain knowledge, for providing an interpretation of the vocabulary chosen for the visual description of a domain, and for reasoning about the conceptualization of the visual entities.
The process of ascribing meaning to visual elements is a delicate and crucial step in computer vision, an effective modelling of this process is the key to enable a number of applications such that querying image databases, reasoning about images and scenes, inferring information from videos.
The aim of the CONTACT series is to bring together a wide range of researchers in formal ontology on the one side and computer vision and machine learning on the other, to share innovative ideas and solutions for exploiting the potential synergies emerging from the integration of the two domains, with the long term goals of promoting the development of a proper visual ontology and a better understanding of how such a visual ontology could be used for visual inference.
This is the second edition of CONTACT (http://profs.sci.univr.it/~cristanm/contact2014/) and it aims to address specifically scholar in ontology for promoting the applications of techniques developed in ontology and knowledge representation to computer vision.
FOIS early registration: 5 June, 2016.


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State Police investigating deputy involved shooting in Valencia County
New Mexico State Police say they are investigating a deputy-involved shooting involving the Valencia County Sheriff's Department. State police say one person has died in this incident, but state police didn't give detail as to how the person died. The incident occurred in El Cerro Mission near Los Lunas. State Police says all deputies are okay.
Valencia County, NM —
New Mexico State Police say they are investigating a deputy-involved shooting involving the Valencia County Sheriff's Department.
State police say one person has died in this incident, but state police didn't give detail as to how the person died.
The incident occurred in El Cerro Mission near Los Lunas. State Police says all deputies are okay.


Living on Less Money: We're moving!
It's been so long since I wrote that I'm not even sure if I shared that we put an offer on a small little 'grandma' home (750 sq. ft) and it was accepted. Did I share that with you?
Anyway, it's been an extremely interesting 5 weeks or so. Our offer was accepted within hours. My realtor said that was unheard of. We had met the great-grandson of the owner the first night the house went on the market and the Lord gave us favor with him. There were multiple offers but they chose ours.
The appraisal passed. The inspection was not too bad. Our loan was approved. We sailed right through each hurdle and then signed our escrow papers. The loan was due to fund the next day and then record the following day which is when we were supposed to get the keys. Suddenly, we hit a brick wall. Apparently, there were problems with the title. I won't bore you with the details but let me just say that it looked like there was a chance that the whole deal was going to fall through.
I'm going to be honest and tell you I had a pity party for myself! I even cried. I didn't realize, until that phone call came, how much I had invested my emotions into the house. I had been going over 2-3 times a week to water the flowers so that they wouldn't die. It was something happy to think about. Oh, and did I tell you that my daughter in love and 2 grandchildren live directly behind the house? You literally can see their house from my pack porch. Our son passed away in January so this was an added blessing to have his family close enough that they could visit often.
We spent some time praying and repenting and got our eyes back on Christ and prayed for God's grace to submit to His will. We basically released the house in our hearts and prayed for God's will to be done.
This afternoon, after we came home from watering, we got a phone call and all the problems with the title had been solved. It was over. The loan funded today and is expected to record tomorrow. Lord willing we will be moving on Saturday.
So nice to hear that the Lord has blessed you with a home close to your grandbabies and your daughter in love. Sorry to hear of the loss of your son but I know you are following in God's plan as you take each step. God bless and help you in your packing and in your move.
Thank you Lord! Will you still be a caregiver for the same lady?
I saw your post yesterday and wondered if it was about the house working out. So thankful for you. Releasing things back to God is a lesson I have to learn over and over, but he always blesses that action. So my son is also facing similar things with title problems, his closing has been put off again and again .... he is learning patience and trust. Happy Moving and Settling!
Congratulations on your new home. I wish that happiness knocks on your door daily and fills your lives with all the joys and comforts. God Bless!
Yay! Praising God with you for His provision of a new home!
What happy news! Lots of people praising the Lord with you over this blessing!
Oh Georgene, I am so happy for you. It has been such a blessing to see how God has provided and worked in your life. It is so wonderful to be able to trust him in everything!
I didn't know about your son, very sad to hear this.
I am glad you will be near family, that is such a blessing!
I'm so thrilled for you!!! Praise God! I've prayed you would move into this home and live behind your family...... that's wonderful!!!
Buying a house can be like that, a lot of ups and downs. So glad you got it. Now you can enjoy whatever God has planned. It's hard to believe it's been 2 1/2 years.
I am having a pity party today myself. I am living in a 16ft trailer next to my son's (which is a blessing in itself). My husband just informed me that we may have to wait another 8 1/2 months before we can do anything. We need to save money for down payment on things.
You give me hope for the future.
Hi Nina. I am very familiar with what you are feeling. It's not easy, is it!? What helped me through the past 2 years was to remind myself that today (living where God has planted me) was just as important in my life with God as the future. God used every minute of those 2 1/2 years to keep me focused on the present and to be content. Oh my.. but I did have days I struggled. God's grace was sufficient.. totally sufficient. God continued to remind me to live in Matt. 6... to live in the present moment.. not to worry about tomorrow.. to be content with what He had assigned for today. The interesting thing is that I am still having to learn those lessons even now that we've moved because I'm not sure if I will have a job next month. I believe this is where God wants us.. with our eyes on Him to get through each day.Don't you think?


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Q: Getting NotLeaderForPartitionException for a very long time I have a 3 node kafka cluster, suddenly one of the node in the cluster was down and i started seeing the NotLeaderForPartitionException exception in my application logs when sending the message to one of the topics, however for some of the topics i am able post and consume messages.
I could see this problem lasting until all the kafka servers are restarted, after the restart things are all ok.
Now, my question is: why not the new leader not elected for those topics but keep throwing the same NotLeaderForPartitionException exception and how to get the new leader election happen for these topics ?
Exception Trace:
2020-04-11 22:05:21,747 ERROR [pool-15-thread-297] [KafkaMessageProducer:92] Message send failed:
java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: org.apache.kafka.common.errors.NotLeaderForPartitionException: This server is not the leader for that topic-partition.
    at org.apache.kafka.clients.producer.internals.FutureRecordMetadata.valueOrError(FutureRecordMetadata.java:94)
    at org.apache.kafka.clients.producer.internals.FutureRecordMetadata.get(FutureRecordMetadata.java:64)
    at org.apache.kafka.clients.producer.internals.FutureRecordMetadata.get(FutureRecordMetadata.java:29)

A: Both Produce and Fetch requests are send to the leader replica of the partition. NotLeaderForPartitionException the exception is thrown when the request is sent to the partition which not leader replica of the partition now.
The client maintains the information regarding the leader of each partition as a cache. The complete process of cache management is shown below.

The client needs to refresh this information by setting the metadata.max.age.ms in producer configuration. The default value of this tag is 300000 ms
You can go through the following Apache Kafka documentation.
https://kafka.apache.org/documentation/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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[US] Packed House: Actress Stacey Thunder on 'The Jingle Dress' Sneak Preview Screening
By WNN Editors Team on April 10, 2014 Comments Off on [US] Packed House: Actress Stacey Thunder on 'The Jingle Dress' Sneak Preview Screening
ICTMN Staff – Indian Country – Thursday, 10 April 2014 (originally published 07 Apr)
Sisters Janet (Kimberly Guerrero) and Elsie (Stacey Thunder) share a laugh in a scene from 'The Jingle Dress.' Image: Courtesy of The Jingle Dress
On Saturday, April 5, The Jingle Dress made its debut in a sold-out sneak preview screening at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. The film stars Stacey Thunder, Kimberly Guerrero, Chaske Spencer and Steve Reevis. "The screening went great and there was definitely a packed house — chairs were added in the very back of the theater," says Thunder, who took a few moments to discuss the film with ICTMN. (The Jingle Dress will next screen in Minneapolis in about a month, she says, but there is no firm date or venue at this time — follow facebook.com/jingledressmovie for updates.)
What's The Jingle Dress about?
It's a contemporary story of a Native American family who move from their rural home on the reservation in northern Minnesota to the faster paced urban environment of Minneapolis. I play Elsie, the mother of the Red Elk family. She is the backbone of the family and loves them dearly. She is very strong, yet sensitive and looks to her husband John (Chaske Spencer) and sister Janet (Kimberly Guerrero), for support. She worries about her family as they experience their new life in Minneapolis.
What is the significance of the jingle dress to the story?
Its healing power. After Elsie tells her daughter Rose the story of the dress while making it for her, Rose wears and dances in the dress in order to help her family . . .
. . . read complete article . . .
culture gap, empowering women, film festival, human rights, indigenous culture and traditon, indigenous people, international film festival, metered, mothers and daughters, native american films, native american mothers, native american sisters, Native American women, native peoples, the jingle dress, United States, united states women, women activists, women advocates, women and children, women and conflict, women and girls, women empowerment, women humanitarians, women in development, women leaders, women leadership
[US] Packed House: Actress Stacey Thunder on 'The Jingle Dress' Sneak Preview Screening added by WNN Editors Team on April 10, 2014
View all posts by WNN Editors Team →


Home / Tech / Caring For Safety of Kids with BlurSpy Kids Monitoring App!
Caring For Safety of Kids with BlurSpy Kids Monitoring App!
The biggest threat parents of this internet generation are facing is to stop them from getting obsessed with the internet. But unfortunately, it has gone out of parent's hands now. Kids are more technologically smart, and they have access to such apps and sites which parents don't even know about. This has become an alarming situation now because according to various surveys teens spend 5-6 hours of their day on the internet. Which means almost half of their day is wasted in surfing the web. They have accessed dating websites and numerous social media apps which can be disastrous if left unchecked. Mobile tracking on your kid's devices is the only situation which gives you an insight of their activities and does not harm the trust relationship between you two. BlurSpy android spy app is designed specifically for those parents who are busy in their lives and are worried about their kids at the same time.
If you are hesitating about starting tracking your teen's device, then BlurSpy Android monitoring software has a solution for it too. Because all BlurSpy features are completely stealth and hidden. Your kid will never get suspicious if he is being spied on. This amazing app does not require a rooted, which facilitates tracking an Android incredibly. None of their devices is hidden from you now!
Social media apps have increased massively and protecting your kid means to make sure that none of his social media apps is harmful to him. For this purpose the BlurSpy screen recording feature is great. You can record Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, tinder and many other apps' screen altogether. You will not have to face any stress in selecting these apps separately because they all work together in harmony.
This amazing feature ensures the security of your kid in real life. When he goes out of the home, you can still protect him. With BlurSpy mobile tracker, you will always be notified when he enters a place you marked dangerous for him. The detailed and updated map displays all the places your child has stayed in. Similarly, you can mark a safe boundary for your kid, if he goes out of that boundary, you will immediately be notified. This will help you in protecting him from real life harms without facing any hassle.
If you are determined to protect your kid from all the negativity present out there in the world, you will have to scrutinize his internet too. The websites he visits and the videos he has downloaded might be vastly dangerous for him. With BlurSpy cell phone tracking software you can check the sites he visits often. If you feel that a particular web is not suitable for him, you can ban that from his Android device or personal computer.
When kids are growing, they do not have a fear of many things. An important one of them is trusting the strangers. Most of them are found talking and sharing their personal details with absolute strangers through their instant messengers. But you should take precautionary measures to protect them from these potential dangers. BlurSpy android phone spy enables you in doing this. It gives you full access to their call logs and chats histories. You can quickly judge their intentions and the level of relationship they share with their online friends. Blurspy is the best spy app which ensures that your kid is thoroughly protected from the dangers of the virtual and real world. Be a smart parent and never leave a weak point in your kid's upbringing.


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Q: Transformation of a variable to follow Normality When I plotted histogram of a variable to see whether it follows normality, I got a highly positive skewed graph, more like that of a poisson/exponential distribution.
Now, what kind of transformation should I do on the variable to make it follow normality?


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HomePrizewinnersHans Belting
2015 Balzan Prize for History of European Art (1300-1700)
Bio-bibliography (German)
Acceptance Speech - Bern, 13.11.2015 (video + text, German)
A Panoramic Synthesis - Berne, 12.11.2015 Forum (video)
Research Project - Iconic Presence: Images in Religion
For his remarkable contribution to the study of the visible and the function of images in the Western world. For the originality of his approach to interpreting works of art at the junction of cultures and periods. For his commitment to the study of artistic languages and its impact on contemporary artistic creation.
Hans Belting was born in 1935 in Andernach (Germany). He has taught at the universities of Hamburg, Heidelberg and Munich, and at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe, of which he was one of the founders. He has also been invited to teach at, among other institutions, Harvard, Columbia and the Collège de France, where he held the European Chair from 2002 to 2003. He is a member of the "Ordre pour le Mérite" and of a number of other academies, including the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. In 2013 he received the Mongan Prize from the Harvard University Center for Renaissance Studies (Villa I Tatti) in Florence. He is the author of an impressive body of works, marking a turning point in the history of art. His books have been translated into at least ten languages.
Belting has devoted his attention to the function of images in European societies, and to the relationship of the cult image to the development of pictorial art. He has made a considerable contribution to the understanding of figurative culture by forging links between the study of the Middle Ages with modern times, between the Byzantine world and Western Art, and more recently, between theories of vision in the Arab world and the birth of the image in perspective duringthe Renaissance. His field of research ranges from the Byzantine icon and 'cult images' to the triumph of the 'cult of art' that characterises Western modernity. The appearance of the secular image, and most notably the development of the European portrait, has been one of the main areas of his research.
In one of his recent studies, Florence and Baghdad. Renaissance Art and Arab Science, he masterfully succeeds in identifying the role of the visible in the paradigm shift marked by the Renaissance, circumventing the longstanding theory of perspective as 'symbolic form' in favour of perspective as 'cultural technique'.
In Hans Belting's studies, the hermeneutics of the image and the analysis and interpretation of written sources are united with great mastery to a profound knowledge of historical contexts and careful, sensitive consideration of means of transmitting knowledge. His work has had a major impact on recent research in art history. A rarity in the context of university studies, his writings have had an equally important influence upon the creations of some leading contemporary artists.


Welcome to the Malone Family Chiropractic Clinic new patient center!
That's why at Malone Family Chiropractic Clinic our aim is to remove any unnecessary stress or tension and make you feel comfortable during your visit with our chiropractor.
In this area of the website, you will be able to take care of items necessary for your visit prior to arriving. If you have any questions at any time, please don't hesitate to contact our Dubuque chiropractic office at (563) 585-0139!


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text:
První intifáda (: انتفاضة, "procitnutí" či doslova "lidové povstání"), jinak též "válka kamenů", bylo palestinské povstání a následný ozbrojený konflikt mezi Izraelem a palestinskými Araby, který vypukl 9. prosince 1987 v Pásmu Gazy. Oficiálně byla intifáda vedena Organizací pro osvobození Palestiny (OOP), ale fakticky výraznou moc v tomto povstání získala palestinská militantní islamistická skupina Hamás, která vznikla na počátku první intifády. Většinou nedocházelo k ozbrojeným bojům. Palestinské akce zahrnovaly porušování veřejného pořádku, demonstrace, generální stávky, bojkoty, házení kamenů, zapalování pneumatik, graffiti, barikády a pouze občas byly zaznamenány skutečné teroristické akce, při nichž došlo k používání tzv. Molotovových koktejlů či granátů. Nepokoje se rozrostly a byly ukončeny až podepsáním mírové dohody z Osla z roku 1993.

Vývoj
Rozbuškou první intifády se stala dopravní nehoda izraelského a palestinského automobilu, při které zahynuli čtyři palestinští Arabové. Podle palestinské strany měl Izraelec nehodu způsobit záměrně jako pomstu za vraždu Izraelce spáchanou v Gaze o několik dní dříve. Zprvu intifáda probíhala v podobě demonstrací, nepokoje se však zakrátko rozšířily i na Západní břeh. Násilnostmi nepokojů a hlavně jejich rozsahem byli zaskočeni izraelští vojáci, kteří nebyli vycvičeni k potírání lidových povstání, ale k boji proti cizí armádě. Do mnohých palestinských vesnic jim byl zablokován přístup a ve většině měst a sídel v Gaze a na Západním břehu jim Arabové nadávali a útočili na ně kamením a zápalnými lahvemi. Součástí nepokojů byly dále generální stávky, bojkoty, zapalování pneumatik, graffiti, vyvěšování palestinských vlajek a barikády; použití těžkých zbraní či sebevražedných útoků však nebylo typické. V důsledku násilností jednali vojáci podrážděně a obzvláště razantně. Tehdejší ministr obrany Jicchak Rabin přijal tvrdá opatření k zastavení demonstrací a zastrašení demonstrantů v rámci politiky "síly, moci a bití". Armáda používala slzný plyn, kaučukové a plastové kulky a v krajní nouzi ostrou munici. Gilbert ve své knize Izrael: Dějiny zmiňuje Rabinovu instruktáž armádních důstojníků:

Údajný výrok "zlámejte jim kosti" do značné míry rezonoval izraelskou politikou. Dva izraelští poslanci žádali ustanovení vyšetřovací komise, která by prošetřila Rabinovy rozkazy a postupy během intifády. Podle Ley Rabinové, manželky Jicchaka Rabina, ministr takový výrok nikdy nepronesl, avšak podle jiné verze ho skutečně řekl, aby izraelské vojáky odradil od střelby na palestinské Araby házející kameny.

Samotné povstání překvapilo i Organizaci pro osvobození Palestiny v Tunisku, která měla povstání "oficiálně vést". Fakticky však výraznou moc u povstalců získala palestinská militantní islamistická skupina Hamás, která vznikla na počátku první intifády. Nepokoje se rozrostly a byly ukončeny až podepsáním mírové dohody z Osla roku 1993. Kombinace selhání politiky "železné pěsti", snížení izraelské mezinárodní prestiže, přerušení administrativních vazeb Jordánska na Západní břeh a americké uznání OOP zástupcem palestinského národa, donutily Rabina usilovat o ukončení násilí jednáním a dialogem s Arafatovou Organizací pro osvobození Palestiny.

Oběti
První intifáda si vyžádala množství lidských životů. Níže uváděné údaje vychází ze statistik izraelské nevládní organizace na ochranu lidských práv Be-celem a pro období od vypuknutí tohoto konfliktu (9. prosince 1987) až po podepsání mírové dohody z Osla (13. září 1993) zahrnují jak oběti v rámci izraelských hranic (tj. v rámci tzv. zelené linie), tak i mimo ni (Pásmo Gazy, Západní břeh Jordánu a podle Be-celem též východní Jeruzalém). V případě palestinských obětí zahrnuje jak ty zabité izraelskými bezpečnostními složkami, tak ty zabité izraelskými civilisty a v případě izraelských obětí zahrnuje jak izraelské civilní, tak vojenské oběti. Celkem tak zahynulo 100 izraelských civilistů, z nichž 47 byli osadníci, a 60 příslušníků bezpečnostních složek. Dále bylo 1087 Palestinců zabito izraelskými bezpečnostními složkami a 75 dalších zabito izraelskými civilisty. Níže uvedená tabulka je souhrnem těchto statistik za jednotlivé roky:

Přibližně 1000 dalších obětí z řad Palestinců mají na svědomí sami Palestinci.

Časová osa

Odkazy

Poznámky

Reference

Literatura

Externí odkazy

  BBC – 1987: First Intifada
  MidEastWeb – Intifada
  My Jewish Learning – The First Intifada

Izraelsko-palestinský konflikt
Povstání v Palestině
Povstání 20. století
Partyzánské války


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Viasat Group is committed to ensuring correct and complete information about its performances and the highest degree of transparency for all potential stakeholders, promoting a regular and constant dialogue with society.


Click the Map to open a Printable (PDF 240KB).
Turn turn left onto the A6017 Ashton Road, follow the signs for Ashton. After approximately 1 mile turn right at the traffic lights into Shepley Road and Environmental Engineering can be found on the right hand side after the river.


Whenever I visit New Delhi, I encounter the Yamuna River Bridge. Each year the river's water is getting more polluted and there is no sign of any aquatic life. The water which is used my thousands of villagers contain's no property of water, its pH is clone to the one of acid.
It's not just Yamuna, but hundreds of rivers around the globe with no sign aquatic life. Every time a Industry decides to dump it's chemicals and waste into the river, the aquatic life pays the price for it.
Many species of the oceans are getting extinct due to pollution.
With this Earth Day Challenge, I want to solve this problem.
To take suitable action against this problem, we first need data to analyse what is happening inside the water.
We are collecting three major data objects here pH, Turbidity and Count.
The pH of water is very important factor as it determines the acidity and basicity and with every change in pH value a species of aquatic animals are discomforted.
To measure the pH value I have used Arduino and pH meter module.
To measure the turbidity value, I have used Arduino and turbidity module.
Connect the Arduino and pH meter module as per the diagram, use the Analog Pin A0.
Connect the Arduino and Turbidity meter module as per the diagram, use the Analog Pin A1.
Open the Serial Monitor and check if your sensors are printing data.
Walabot is a device which uses Radio Waves to measure the objects around it. We are using walabot to map the thermal radiations emitted by living aquatic animals.
Note - Currently I am using Walabot just to count, but using Deep Learning Algorithms I will add ability to classify the species based on the raw images of walabot.
Install the Walabot SDK and the WalabotAPI Python library using pip.
Follow up instructions for your shield from here.
Add your Sigfox Credentials to the file and run it.
With the three data models pH, Turbidity and Number of Aquatic Species in a water body we can know how much the water body is polluted. Authorities can share this data with Industries who are responsible for it and they can take action to reduce pollution. Moreover after certain measures we can also see if the aquatic life is populating or not and what are the factors which are responsible for their growth of population.
I have tested it on my freshwater fish which I keep as pet and I will now test it on a different rivers and optimize my solution.
Now the data is on the Sigfox Cloud we can use AWS IoT and Sigfox Webhooks to analyse this data.
My project is still in progress and I want to add more and more features to it. The primary feature which I will be adding in future is using Google AutoML or Custom Deep Learning Algorithm (which ever gives better results) so that we can determine how many different species are present in the water body and what is their quantity.


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text:
Q: Excel cell is magically populated with formula after another cell gets data entered Some mysterious behavior within a simple worksheet (Excel 2013 - Win7, but also continues if workbook is opened on Excel 2019 - Win10):
Cells in column "A" are getting populated with a formula after I enter a number in cell of column "C".
For example:
When I enter the number 123456 in C23, the following is automatically entered into a previously blank A23: =HYPERLINK("http://gigapan.com/gigapans/"&C23,C23) which is what I want, but how is it happening automatically? There are NO conditional formattings (that I can find), NO Worksheet_Change VBA subs running (NO VBA code at all for this workbook). The result is what I want, but it is driving me crazy not knowing how it got set up this way!!! Took the xlsx file to another computer with no Personal.xlsb to interfere and same behavior. Suggestions?
Excel example screenshot...

A: This is normal behaviour, controlled by the option Advanced > Extend data range formats and formulas. Described at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/advanced-options-33244b32-fe79-4579-91a6-48b3be0377c4