Over the course of 1995-1996 CE, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) alienated many people who had come under its banner inside Algeria as well as many supporters abroad. The GIA's amir Djamal Zitouni (Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin) was assassinated by elements who had turned against the GIA. In his place came Abu Talha Antar Zouabiri (/Zawabiri), who did nothing to improve the declining reputation of the GIA.
In September 1996 CE, the GIA's magazine publication released an issue featuring an interview with Zouabiri. This interview should be considered a key text in the history of the GIA for a number of reasons. Arguably, the central point that Zouabiri emphasizes is that the defections from the GIA have not harmed the group, but have rather supposedly increased the GIA's determination and helped expose those who were not sincerely committed to the jihadi cause, which cannot entail any dialogue or agreements with the Algerian government. Meanwhile, the jihad will continue so long as religion does not wholly belong to God- a reminder that the GIA's ambitions were ultimately global in nature. The transnational nature of the GIA's goals was also embodied in the ambition to establish a Caliphate, which is mentioned on two occasions in the interview.
The reader should pay attention to the purpose of the interview outlined in the introduction. In hoping that the interview will heal "pains of doubts," the GIA was clearly aware that it was floundering and that many who would have otherwise supported the GIA had developed doubts about the group. As becomes clear from the first question put to Zouabiri, a common criticism directed at the GIA was that it had become a group of Khawarij (referring to a trend in early Islam that has now become synonymous with extremism and excessive takfir against those who declare themselves to be Muslims).
In keeping with the views outlined in the GIA's manifesto Hidayat Rabb al-Alimeen that was released under Zitouni's tenure, Zouabiri emphasizes the Salafi character of the GIA and distances the GIA from the al-Hijra wa al-Takfir (/al-Takfir wa al-Hijra) trend that had originated in Egypt and was criticized in the GIA manifesto as embodying a Khawarij trend. However, while responding to the Khawarij criticism directed at the GIA and mentioned in the interview, Zouabiri also offers some insight about the earlier composition of the GIA. Though he insists the GIA was always a Salafi and jihadi-led group, he notes that some people who did not identify with that trend had come under the GIA's banner, including those of the nationalist Islamic trend of Djazarism. As Zouabiri explains it though, these Djazarists were infiltrating the GIA, but then the GIA supposedly discovered their plot and thus fought and killed them. Interestingly, the Islamic State Movement- one of the groups that broke ranks with the GIA- claimed in a March 1996 CE that Djazarists were among those who had taken over the GIA's leadership.
Another criticism of the GIA was that the group had little regard for the killing of civilians- a subject addressed in the interview. Zouabiri's line of argument is that the GIA does not intentionally kill Muslim civilians in its attacks. For instance, in preventing youth from moving about between the areas, the aim is not to kill civilians but to kill Algerian reservist soldiers who might otherwise not be distinguished from the general population. For the discussion about whether attacks can be launched against non-Muslim/apostate targets in the knowledge that some Muslim civilians might be killed in the process, one should compare with Islamic State figure Abu Malek al-Tamimi's "Nigerian Questions," which addresses a query from the West Africa Province affiliate on the same topic. In short, so long as there is no intention to kill Muslim civilians, it is acceptable to launch attacks against targets where the enemy might be using Muslim civilians as 'human shields' and so those Muslims might be killed (e.g. because the enemy holds Muslim hostages, or Muslim civilians happen to dwell in proximity to the enemy targets in the cities). This approach is justified on the principle of pursuing the lesser of two evils.
Of further interest is the question of the GIA's relations with other jihadist groups abroad. It should be remembered that by the time this interview was released, Osama Bin Laden (OBL) had ceased to deal with the GIA. OBL, however, receives no mention in this interview. Instead, Zouabiri is asked about Egyptian Islamic Jihad (the "Egyptian Jihad Group" as described in the interview) and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), both of which distanced themselves from the GIA. Zouabiri's response partly attacks both groups as ideologically deviant: Egyptian Islamic Jihad is portrayed as partisan for Sayyid Qutb (an Egyptian Islamist thinker who promoted the idea of a 'vanguard' to lead the fight against the 'Jahiliya' prevailing in the Muslim world) while the LIFG, which launched an unsuccessful insurgency in the 1990s to overthrow Qadhdhafi's regime, is characterized as closer to the Muslim Brotherhood's thinking as well as being partisan for Sayyid Qutb.
The final concluding remarks of the interview can be summed up as a call to bloodshed and massacre, unleashing the wrath of the GIA against the 'renegades/traitors' and the 'apostate' government and its supporters. It is thus hardly surprising that the GIA continued on its bloody path and went into further decline.
Below is the text with translation.
This is the discussion the Jama'a magazine promised its readers a year ago and the Blessed and Almighty willed that it would not be with the brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) as the promise came, but rather the Exalted willed that it would be conducted with the brother Abu Talha Antar Zouabiri the amir of the Armed Islamic Group (may God protect him). And of course some of the defined topics have changed on account of the change in the situations and events, and we ask God Almighty to benefit our reader brothers through him and that He make these responses as the healing medicine for what our brothers find in their hearts from the pains of doubts and that He also make them a sharp sword in cutting the heads of fitna and irjaf.
He is Abu Talha Antar Ibn Muhammad bin Qasim bin al-Rabi' Zouabiri born in 1390 AH/1970 CE in Boufarik. God- Blessed and Almighty is He- distinguished him in being among the predecessors in this jihad as he joined the ranks of the mujahideen since they operated in the form of the groups to command what is right and forbid what is wrong in 1411 AH/1991 CE as made clear in Hidayat Rabb al-Alimeen. And he- may God protect him- lived with all the first brothers: Muhammad Khayr, Nur al-Din Salamna, Muhammad Allal and others besides them. Then he later became among the notables of the group and among the Ahl al-Hall wa al-'Aqd in it, for he was among those who appointed the brother Sayf Allah Eisa (may God have mercy on him) as amir over the Armed Islamic Group after the brother Abd al-Haqq L'ayada was taken prisoner at the beginning of July in 1413 AH/1993 CE. And he was wholly with the brother Sayf Allah Ja'afar and Sheikh Abu Abdullah Ahmad (may God have mercy on them both) until they were killed, then he was with Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) and he took all the stances and there were between the two of them friendship and affection whose extent cannot be known except by God Almighty. And after Abu Abd al-Rahman (may God have mercy on him) was killed, the Ahl al-Hall wa al-'Aqd appointed him to lead the group, that the course might continue on the path that his first brothers had cut and which we reckon to be the path of truth, if God wills.
Q: Many rumours have circulated on the suspicion of being Khawarij. How do you comment on that?
1. The innovators of the Djazarists: and these people are well-known for their hostility to the Salafis since a long time before the jihad for they have thrown this accusation at a number of the mosques and their imams like the Faris mosque in Kasbah and the al-Tawba mosque in Boufarik and the al-Huda mosque in Blida and the al-Fatah al-Mubin mosque in al-Harash and the al-Bashir al-Ibrahimi mosque in Baraki and the Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi mosque in Belcourt and others besides them. And all of these mosques, their sons and leaders are those who launched this jihad since the beginning.
And thus they accused our brothers with this suspicion: our brother Nasir al-Din Kahil and Muhammad Khayr and Muhammad Allal and Ali Zouabiri and Abdullah Shlala and others besides them (may God have mercy on them). And when all the doors were closed in their faces, they entered by necessity into the Armed Islamic Group with the aim of attaining their idolatrous goals as they thought that the group was an open door for them, so they kept silent about our being charged with this suspicion when they were in our ranks. But when our brothers discovered their plot and killed their heads, they revolted against the group as they had failed to proceed in their plot and deception. Then they returned to accusing us with the accusation of al-Hijra wa al-Takfir and Khawarij as they did before. So it is no surprise then that this innovating, heretical sect accuses us as such, as this is the custom of the people of innovation with the Ahl al-Sunna as is well-known and established.
2. The hypocrites who are ill of heart: and these people have no resolve over a matter as is the case of the hypocrites, for they were accusing the Armed Islamic Group of the innovation of the Djazarists and that was after this latter sect joined the group, and after the group began to fight these Djazarists and killed their heads when their plot became apparent as previously mentioned, these hypocrites began to condemn us for killing them and fighting them and defend them. Then they went to characterize us with this innovation: the innovation of the Khawarij and al-Hijra wa al-Takfir, which has resembled their hearts, and refuge is to be sought in God. Then after that they concocted manifest, trivial suspicions by which they establish these accusations of theirs and justify through them their going out from the group.
The truth is that these hypocrites rather went out from the Armed Islamic Group with the intention of returning to the Salvation Front and its idolatrous work and sit at the table of dialogue with the apostates, for one of their heads has set a meeting with the head of a provincial office for this misguided, misleading party. Then they think that the path to settle the matter with the apostates is dialogue and this is by the witness testimony of one of them, and recorded in an audio clip.
And among those suspicions with which they have charged us is the issue of takfir against Ali Ben Hadj, and for the sake of it they have created a massive stir. And I say here that one of them, indeed their head, declared takfir against Ali Ben Hadj: this was in more than one meeting and with the attendance of a group of the mujahideen. And as for the issue of Ali Ben Hadj: we sought good from him for some time because he showed that he was Salafi, until after a number of the preachers and the brothers established the proof against him. We mention among them: Omar Alami and his brother Abd al-Nasir and our brother Abu Malik al-Eid, who was killed with the brother Eisa bin Ammar the amir of the Armed Islamic Group. I say: until after the proof was established against him, we thought good of him, and our brothers continued to correspond with him, advise him, and strive to get him out of prison as happened in the time of Sheikh Abu Abdullah Ahmad and the brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on them both). And it is not hidden that his name had been mentioned in a statement of the conditions in the French aircraft operation at the end of 1414 AH/1994 CE. And when his concealment of deviation and error became apparent after the appearance of the proof time and again and that was through his vouching for the Rome meeting and his vouching also for the Salvation Army, we disavowed him just as we disavowed the rest of the innovators, as we did not ever have something by which we could establish him on this innovation that leads to kufr: entering into democracy and insisting on that, and he himself would say: "If you see me deviating, don't follow me." So we have disavowed him an abandoned his error and deviation.
So when our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) took the decision to separate him from the ranks of the group, the evils of these people sick in their hearts began to appear gradually until they began accusing us of al-Hijra wa al-Takfir.
Indeed they got to the point of killing our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) because he- as their witness said in the clip- was not prepared for dialogue.
And in summation: the Armed Islamic Group is a group that wishes to worship God- Blessed and Almighty is He- in what pleases the Exalted, and we will never be content to be directed by any side as the Djazarists tried to make us directed by Iran and Libya, and as some of them tried to make us directed by some of the organizations and so forth. As for the issue of dialogue and truce and reconciliation with the apostates, this is an issue on which Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may God be pleased with him) and the consensus of the Companions was contracted on that and our sheikh Abu Abdullah Ahmad (may God have mercy on him) ruled on it just as in the first number from the victorious sect and likewise in the clip that was recorded three days before his killing and which the al-Ansar newsletter published. And we repeat it here and we say it because all that has been repeated has been established: no dialogue, no truce, no reconciliation, and no dhimma pact with all of the apostates. And this creed of ours will not change because of the barking of some of the hypocrite dogs and we will not abandon the consensus of the Companions for these erroneous, misleading people who want dialogue.
Q: These hypocrites have found for themselves justifications to revolt against the Armed Islamic Group, among them their claim that it does not care about killing the general populace. So what is your response to this claim?
A: These people had objectives they wanted to realize and attain, but when their thoughts and efforts were frustrated, they found and invented for themselves justifications that have no foundation in truth and among them are these lies and falsifications that are not hidden to anyone of sound heart and those lies are the killing of the general populace and whoso wishes clarification from the truth of what we say, he need only examine as SAWS said: "News is not like examination." For the group embraces the doctrine of wala' and bara' so whoso shows wala' to God and his religion and helps the mujahideen, it is a right upon us to be loyal to him. And as for the one who shows enmity to the religion of God and helps the apostate Tawagheet, upon us are disavowal of him. And we are hostile to him and fight him. And as for the one who embraces the stick from the middle, neither to these people nor to those, they are the hypocrites. So the one whose evil, kufr and wala' to the apostates have become clear to us, we must by law kill him, and this person is more evil than the disbeliever. And as for the one who shows wala' to God's religion and the believers and the mujahideen, that person is among us and we are of him, unless there appears from him what contravenes that as the rulings of Islam apply to the open.
So the group does not halt in ruling on the people, whether believing in God, disbelieving in Him or hypocrites, and just as mention of these three categories came in the beginning of Surat al-Baqara.
1. Statement removing excuses and doubts for the oil workers.
2. Statement clarifying the path in prohibiting the youth from long travel.
3. Explosion operations our brothers (may God protect them) undertake.
As for the first: it was issued to strike the biggest of the apostate Taghut's resources, for it is the biggest artery for their economy, for it is not hidden to anyone that these companies are the ones by which the apostates are financed in furnishing their armies and thus waging war against Islam and the Muslims.
And this is not hidden to anyone who has the slightest knowledge of these apostates. And we do not rule absolutely by kufr against the workers of these companies but rather their ruling goes back to the aforementioned classification. And killing them is from the angle of realizing the predominant interest and repelling the evil corruption realized on the basis as we mentioned that among them are the believer, among them the disbeliever and among them the hypocrite.
As for the second: as made plain in the statement itself, it concerns those youth who have reached the age of conscription in the ranks of the apostates, so it was issued to remove the obstacle from the mujahideen, as the reserve soldiers have been moving about without documents establishing that they have joined the apostates' army, so our mujahideen brothers cannot distinguish between them and others besides them from the youth. For this reason, we prohibited the aforementioned youth from moving through the areas, so the one we find not in his place on the basis of the conditions mentioned in the statement, we kill him. And until now, most of those we have killed in implementation of this statement, we have found them to be among the apostate reservist soldiers, and praise be to God.
And as for the third matter, it is the explosion operations. The targets that our brothers strike are the centres of the apostates and in them naturally some of the general populace are hit and this does not ever mean that we have intended to kill them, and the Shari'i lines of evidence have explained the permissibility of killing the Muslims used as shields without intending to kill them and this is so regarding the Muslims taken by force to the ranks of the disbelievers, not to mention those who live with them voluntarily without compulsion. And the Prophet (SAWS) said: "I disavow every Muslim established among the backs of the idolaters" or as he said, and this does not mean that we declare takfir on the people absolutely but rather we make clear that the general populace who reside among the backs of the apostate Tawagheet are more deserving to be killed through shielding than the Muslims by whom they are shielded through compulsion, and God knows best.
Q: Some of the renegades from the group announced that they deposed the brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin and appointed an amir over the head of the group with tazkiya from members of the Shura council. What is your comment on the news?
A: This news reached us more than two days before the killing of the brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) and this is among the signs that show the corruption of their intentions and their plotting against the group and its people. And they prepared the operation to assassinate our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman and some of the notables in the group. And as for their claim that the Shura council of the group had vouched for this new amir as per their claim, it is a falsehood and lie as the Shura council never met with these people. And the members of the Ahl al-Hall wa al-'Aqd agreed that in the event of the death of the amir of the group or occurrence of what would require his removal, their meeting to appoint a new amir would only be in the area in which Radwan Abu Basir, entrusted to convene the session of al-Hall wa al-'Aqd, was present, and it would not meet in his absence. And this is what happened when I was appointed as amir of the group after the killing of my brother Abu Abd al-Rahman (may God have mercy on him).
So the claim of these renegades that the Shura council or the Ahl al-Hall wa al-'Aqd gathered and appointed the claimed amir, their meeting, even if it actually happened, is not acceptable as they violated the principle agreed upon and indicated above.
"And they have charged them with transgression on account of that by which the one making the charge is more deserving to pay the penalty for the deed of the criminal."
Q: What is your assessment of the group after the recent events and especially the killing of Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him)?
A: If you mean the situation after the revolt of these renegades, we give them no weight and we remind you of the words of God Almighty: "God would not leave the believers on what you are upon until He should distinguish the evil from the good"- Al Imran. So the appearance of the renegades is in truth a mere tribulation, a test to distinguish the ranks even if some of the weak-hearted from the people have considered it to be fitna and hardship, and in truth it is a blessing and grant. And it is the Sunna from which there is no fleeing or escape and whoso goes out for jihad in God's path is patient, reckons, and embraces the group so long as it complies with the Book of God and the Sunna of His Messenger (SAWS) and the guidance of the just predecessors. And we do not forget that we were praying to God Almighty to rip apart the veils of the traitors and expose the blemishes of the hypocrites and reveal them. So that was by God's grace alone, so this tribulation and this testing only increased our force and solid foundation, because these renegades were the ones causing the impediment of victory and enabling as the Almighty has said: "Had they gone forth with you, they would only have increased your confusion, and they would have been active among you, seeking fitna among you. And among you are those who listen to them"- al-Tawba. And it suffices for you that they were calling for abandonment, impeding things and casting doubts to stir up false rumours among the mujahideen. And we have in the biography of our predecessors from the Prophets and those sent and the Companions and followers the greatest example, and in the story of Talut is a lesson for whoso wants to consider and in the Messenger of God (SAWS) an example in patience and steadfastness, for a third of his army turned away in the Ahad raid and that did not reduce the determination of SAWS or the determination of his companions at all. And likewise most of his army turned away in the Hunayn raid and only a few remained with him. Despite this, the victory in the end is with the Muslims. So what is the benefit for the remaining of these intruders from the innovators and hypocrites in our ranks as the evil they have brought is far greater than the good they have offered, nay, most of the fitnas that befell the mujahideen in the group? And the evidence that the group is in a good state is that our mujahideen brothers, after these events I have pointed out, managed to teach the apostate Tawagheet lessons in courage and boldness that reminded us of the first days of the jihad.
- Putting in place an ambush for the apostates in which they took as spoils 10 Kalashnikov machine guns and in which four of the men of the group were killed.
- Our mujahideen brothers launched an attack on the apostate Tawagheet in the Sur al-Ghazlan area, in which our brothers from the Green Battalion participated. And they took as spoils 11 pieces of weaponry.
- And we note in particular the wondrous battle our intrepid mujahideen brothers waged in the highest of the Shari'a mountains, following which three helicopters were struck and compelled to flee and they did not manage to descend except with difficulty and this is entirely evidence for the force and solid foundation of the Armed Islamic Group and its mujahideen and that the coming out of these renegades did not impact us, but rather our determination and steadfastness were increased.
And we affirm again that the Armed Islamic Group is in excellent condition and we today are on the heart of one man because it has now returned as it was in the beginning, Salafi in its intrepid men who embrace the Book and the Sunna and the Salafi manhaj. And we do not care for the idealistic multitude because we do not fight our enemies from apostates and renegade innovators and their likes by number or equipment, but rather we fight them through this religion.
You reproach us that our numbers are few. I said to them that the noble are few.
And it has not harmed us that we are few, and our religion is true and the religion of the others is ailing.
Q: Let us move now to outside the Armed Islamic Group. It is well-known that there are jihadi groups working in the land of the Muslims. Can you give us a picture of your view of them in general?
A: This question is of the core and the most important of the causes we are interested in, because we believe it is from our obligation to embrace the doctrine of wala' and bara' in word and deed, and this is in the path of our father Ibrahim (peace be upon him). And only the one who discredits himself loathes it, for it is a public matter and not secret.
Then indeed among the responsibilities of wala' and bara' is to abandon those of innovations and whims and disavow their corrupt beliefs and false creeds, so it is obligatory upon us to abandon them, not deal with them, not mix with them, and condemn them. And this is among the obligations of wala' and bara' and one of its requirements. And therefore our just predecessors say: beware of two kinds of people: the one of whims tempted by his whim, and the one of material world who likes his material world.
"If condemnation of me comes to you from a deficient person, it is testament for me that I am virtuous."
1. The jihadi groups that we do not consider from the outset as among the Muslims, like the Imamite Rafidites and the Nusayris.
2. The jihadi groups whose loyalty to the apostate Tawagheet has been established or which fight according to kufr programs and what it comes to: like the Salvation Army and its likes. So we disavow this type and we do not gather with them or work with them. And our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin issued a statement about this Salvation Army and he made clear in it the group's position on it, and in sum this is all made clear in Hidayat Rabb al-Alimeen.
3. The jihadi groups that affirm affiliation with the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a. As for these people, our stance on them is a Shari'i stance. Our loyalty to them depends on their embracing of the Book and the Sunna and the Salafi manhaj in word and deed, externally and internally, and among the most important signs of embracing that is showing disavowal from enmity and not dealing with sects and organizations of innovation, because a group that claims to bear the banner of the Salafi da'wa has no right to support or aid these organizations, because in that they nullify the doctrine of wala' and bara'. Indeed the obligation is to abandon them and condemn them even if that leads to fighting them and opposing them. As for the jihadi groups that embrace the Book and the Sunna and the Salafi manhaj and embrace the doctrine of wala' and bara', they are of us and we are of them. And we and they are one hand against those besides us from the original disbelievers and the apostates and likewise the renegade innovators we repel from each other what the murjifun and hypocrites disseminate from doubts and accusations. And there is no heed for borders or distances that separate us, for the victorious sect is not confined to one land but rather what brings us together is Tawheed that is the opposite of idolatry and following that is the opposite of innovation, nothing else. And this is the matter of our just predecessors (may God be pleased with them) for it is al-Hassan al-Basri who says: "Wish the Ahl al-Sunna well for they are in what few have proceeded, and they are least in what comes." And as it has been from the obligation on the Ummah that there should be one Imam for it under whose banner it wages jihad and professes to hear and obey him, it has been obligatory on us to appoint one Imam over these Salafi groups. And were God to allow and enable us or others besides us in one of the abodes and were allegiance to be given to a Caliph leading us by the Book and Sunna of our Prophet (SAWS) and were there to be in him the conditions of the Imamate on which the imams of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a have agreed, like being male, of the Quraysh, justice and other conditions, then it is not allowed for any one of us to become imam and not recognize him as imam.
And we do not find in ourselves an objection to the issue of Quraysh origin but rather we defer to the command of the Messenger of God (SAWS) and we submit to him and we do not merely concede voluntarily. How could it be otherwise? For the Messenger of God (SAWS) says: "Give precedence to a Quraishi and do not precede upon it yourselves." And SAWS' words: "The imams from Quraysh, when they have judged, have been just." And the Almighty's words: "And no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you judge in the dispute that has arisen between them, and then they do not find in themselves an objection to what you have judged and submit"- al-Nisa'.
Q: The Egyptian Jihad Group and the Libyan Fighting Group have issued a statement in which they declare an end to their support for the Armed Islamic Group. What is your position on them?
A: Let all know that when we announced the jihad in God's path and went forth to fight the apostates, we did not rely on the support of anyone- whoever they may be from creation- but rather we believed that God the Exalted and Almighty is the One who supports us and helps us and gives us victory, as per the Almighty's words: "If you support God, He will support you and plant firm your feet" (Muhammad).
And the Almighty's words: "If God supports you, no one can overcome you, and if He forsakes you, who is the one who can support you after Him?" (Al Imran). And the words of the Almighty and Exalted: "He is the One who has supported you with His victory and the believers." And He has also said: "And victory is only from God" (Al Imran). So we have only ever hoped for the support of God (Blessed and Almighty is He).
Therefore we remind all who love jihad in God's path and support the Armed Islamic Group that the one who wages jihad, wages jihad for himself, and that supporting the mujahideen and helping them are an obligation on every Muslim proud of this blessed jihad and this is among the greatest signs of loyalty to God and the Sunna of His Messenger (SAWS) and his believing, mujahideen servants, so it is not for anyone to bless us, for God Almighty is the One who has blessed us as He has guided us to Islam and jihad in His path. So we, if God wills, comply with the Book and the Sunna and the Salafi manhaj. And we are not like the rest of the sects and organizations that do not comply with that, so praise be to god for that first and last.
So we say to these two groups mentioned in the question. We do not care for you or your support. For as we began the jihad in the path of God Almighty, seeking the help of the Exalted, so we will remain by God's permission. The one who forsakes us does not harm us, nor the one who ceases to support us. And note that the Armed Islamic Group was offered material support and not merely moral support by some of the organizations, and it was embodied in furnishing it with weapons and ammunition and equipment and assisting it likewise with money, but the Armed Islamic Group rejected that because it complies with the law and will not deviate from it an inch, for we are not swayed by wealth and arms, and we will not sell our creed for the sake of that and we do not accept that anyone should barter with us in it, and we have a lesson in what happened in the abode of the Afghans when they deviated from the Book and the Sunna and the Salafi manhaj. The result was their division into factional followers, divisions and parties. Rightly applied to them are the words of the Almighty: "Let those who dissent from his order beware lest fitna should strike them or a painful torment should strike them"- al-Nur. So consider oh people of understanding.
As for the Egyptian Jihad group, they have taken revenge against us for our frankness in responding to them as came in the message that my brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) sent to their amir: the message contained things that did not accord with their whims, among them that Sayyid Qutb (may God have mercy on him), despite the tribulations he endured, is not considered among the 'ulama of the Ahl al-Sunna because of what he believed from innovations and errors that are not hidden to anyone who reviews his books and works. So they responded strongly to us and became partisan for a person and not the truth just as the innovators of the madhhabists have been partisan for the imams of their madhhabs and like the partisanship of the innovators of the Sufis for their sheikhs and leaders. And they have taken revenge against us also for those frank pieces of advice that my brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) offered them. So when they wanted to announce this revenge of theirs, they found justifications that they invented and fabricated against us with no foundation for them from truth. Among them is that when my brother (may God have mercy on him) advised them to return to the path of the Companions (may God be pleased with them) in the conquest of Egypt on discussion of their work, they said this is among the signs of the Khawarij for they are the ones who do not consider fighting except by the sword and spear. And consider- may God have mercy on you- how they interpret the words and distort their meaning.
For what our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman (may God have mercy on him) meant by this expression was dissuading them in their path of change, to quote them, and it is the path of the coup or what they call the comprehensive plan and its adoption of a manhaj for them. Then how do we advise this? And we, praise be to God, use all types of weapons and strive to acquire them by all legitimate means. The likes of these doubts that they place are lines of evidence and justifications for the likes of this action of theirs and beside this, for from the manhaj of the Jihad group is that it considers dealing with all the mujahid groups on the field according to their differences without distinguishing. Indeed they consider it necessary to deal with them and cooperate even with the sects that claim affiliation with Islam, all in its field for the sake of establishing an Islamic State, as their amir affirmed. And this contravenes the manhaj of the just predecessors (may God be pleased with them) from the Companions and the followers, and also contravening the ahadith of the division of the Ummah and the remaining of a sect that fights on the basis of this religion. But also it is part of the policy and way of the erroneous sects like the Ikhwan and their likes in bringing together and uniting the ranks not on the basis of the methodology of the Prophet and his companions.
As for the Libyan Fighting Group: they sent a delegation to us and met the amir of the Armed Islamic Group our brother Abd al-Rahman Amin and they met with the Shari'i committee and they discussed many matters. It became clear after this discussion that this group- the Fighting Group- is Salafi on paper and tongue, but in reality they are totally removed from Salafism. Rather they are closest to the manhaj of the Muslim Brotherhood, for among the issues that make that clear is the issue of amirship. For they appoint the amir and remove him according to the circumstances and stages, so they may appoint an amir and then it may become apparent to them that the stage needs one besides him, so they remove him and appoint one besides him and so on. And likewise the Shura is bound on the madhhab of the Brotherhood and so too in that they are contravening what the predecessors and Imams were upon. And it is surprising that one of the delegates with them gave a lecture to the mujahideen in which he said that the isolated ahadith should not be invoked as proof texts in doctrine, on the basis of the assertion of the Mu'tazilites who use kalam. And another of them said that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may God be pleased with him) was extremist in adherence to the Sunna. Then it became apparent after our meeting with them that they are extreme in partisanship for Sayyid Qutb (may God have mercy on him) and in exchange for this they forsake the Sunna of the Messenger of God (SAWS) and are not bound to it, so how can these people be Salafis? Then they joined with the Djazarist innovators in the al-Arbia' area and this is among the greatest of loyalties to the people of innovation. Then their amir stated to us that he does not consider there to be an objection in dealing with the people of innovation. So what is this Salafism? It is Salafism of the tongue and pen, nothing else.
Q: The Armed Islamic Group accustomed us in the time of the brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin to its bold and frank stances towards France and other countries of kufr that support these apostate Tawagheet. Has any chance come upon these stances?
A: God Almighty says: "Fighting has been prescribed for you and you dislike it. And perhaps you dislike something that is good for you and perhaps you like something that is bad for you. And God knows and you do not know"- (al-Baqara).
The positions and principles of the Armed Islamic Group are not derived from stage or changeable interest, but rather it derives that from the Book and Sunna on the understanding of the just predecessors (may God be pleased with them) and this issue is among those. For our position on France and the likes of them is a Shari'i stance, not one of rational interest as some think.
The Almighty has said: "Fight those adjacent to you from the disbelievers, and let them find harshness in you"- (al-Tawba). And it is well-known that France has brought all the reasons that necessitate fighting it from waging war on the Muslims and supporting the apostates openly, and this matter continues until now, and thus our position on France is the same positon as our brothers who preceded us like Ja'afar and Abu Abdullah and Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on them) and it is well-known that we strive to establish the Caliphate on the Prophetic Methodology and this will only be through implementing the Almighty's words: "And fight them until there is no more fitna and religion is entirely for God"- (al-Tawba). And the words of SAWS: "I have been ordered to fight the people until they bear witness that there is no deity but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God and they establish prayer and zakat..." (the hadith). And the Almighty has said: "He is the One who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it supreme over religion entirely, even if the disbelievers hate it"- (al-Saff). And that will only be through overcoming the disbelievers, and implementing the rulings of Islam openly and obliging all by them and subjection to them, and God knows best.
A: Lastly I all on my Salafi mujahideen brothers (and God bears witness that I love them) in God Almighty to implement the Book and Sunna and comply with the Salafi manhaj in word and deed, externally and internally. And I call on them to embrace patience and steadfastness on the path of jihad in God's path and not to be perturbed and impacted by what is happening in the field of jihad, especially after the appearance of the renegade innovators from whose evil God has protected us by their revolt against the group and distinguishing them. And this is a grace from God Almighty, and know oh beloved mujahideen that Paradise is surrounded with disagreeable things as came in the hadith of the Prophet (SAWS): "Paradise is surrounded with disagreeable things, while Hellfire is surrounded with pleasant things."
And as for these innovators who have turned on the group and the ill-hearted, they have gathered on one matter: and that is stopping this blessed jihad. For their objective is one and that is dialogue with the apostates in order to return to what they were upon before and that is seeking refuge behind this material world and its delectations and delights. And the affair of these renegades is like the affair of the hypocrites who secretly harm us and attack us as they were in the ranks of the group. But God has protected us from their evil by their appearance and their desertion, so we have known from which side we were being stung. So praise and blessing be to God.
And we have in the Messenger of God (SAWS) the good example, for SAWS was harmed by the hypocrites and they attacked his honour, and despite that harm and slander, SAWS was not impacted but rather that increased his determination and that did not divert him from waging jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites, as per the Almighty's words: "Oh Prophet, wage jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites and be harsh with them. Their abode is Hellfire, and evil it as destination"- (al-Tawba).
And know oh mujahideen brothers that victory is with patience and that deliverance is with worries and that with adversity is ease as per the words of SAWS: "...And know that what has come to you could not miss you, and what has missed you could not come to you. The pens have been raised and the pages filled in"- (narrated by al-Tirmidhi on the authority of Ibn Abbas with an authentic chain). And in a narration: "And know that victory is with patience and deliverance is with worries and that ease is with adversity"- (the hadith).
And I call on my mujahideen brothers not to listen to every treacherous, hypocritical screeching person, and listen and obey the Almighty's words: "Had they gone forth with you, they would only have increased your confusion, and they would have been active among you, seeking fitna among you. And among you are those who listen to them"- al-Tawba. So do not (may God have mercy on you) be among those who listen to these deceptive traitors, and know for certainty that God has deceived them and they will never succeed. I advise my mujahideen brothers and their supports to return to the Book of God and ponder the Almighty's words: "Oh you who have believed, if a gravely immoral person comes to you with news, investigate, lest you harm a people unknowingly and you become regretful over what you have done"- al-Hajarat. So if this came down with regards to a companion of the Prophet, what is the wrong with you with the one besides him, especially these heretics who are not even good at lying?
So you must investigate and be certain and do not forget that your brothers who are at the head of the Armed Islamic Group are well-known from before and their state is well-known, for God has ennobled them by the grace of precedence and good performance and they are well-known for their adherence to the Book and Sunna and their following of the guidance of the predecessors of the Ummah (may God be pleased with them). So they are not misled by the rebellion of foolish people who are only good at speaking affectedly and seducing the masses whom God has not ennobled by the grace with which He has ennobled our brothers who are the notables of this blessed group. Indeed it is well-known about them that they are cowardly weaklings, so be of good thought and always return on your conflict in something to the Book and the Sunna as per the Almighty's words: "So if you dispute something, refer it to God and the Messenger"- (al-Nisa'). And remember, dear brothers, how these fools, who claim the Sunna and anoint themselves with Salafism, betrayed your amir Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (may God have mercy on him) and whose courage and initiative in the deeds in which he participated you all bear witness to. And they bear witness to that. So be among the clever, intelligent ones who cannot be easily deceived. And know for certainty that those who betrayed our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin, nullified their allegiance, broke their faith and nullified the covenants will meet their reward in this world before the Hereafter and the days between us. And SAWS said as in the two authentic collections: "The banner of treachery will be erected on the Day of Judgment, so it will be said: this is the treachery of so-and-so son of so-and-so." And how great is the treachery against Imams and amirs.
And they accuse us of being Khawarij and they are more deserving of that and the evidence is they are the ones in whose ranks is found one of the heads of al-Hijra wa al-Takfir, not we, so wake up, oh mujahideen brothers.
And I return and remind my brothers in God from the mujahideen and the supporters of the Almighty's words: "Do not despair and do not be sad, and you are the supreme ones if you are believers"- (Al Imran). For we believe in God's promise to us of His victory. Thus no one will be able to divert our determination or impede us: either victory or paradise. And we have- praise be to God- men who can succeed us so the fighting will not stop if God wills until the rise of the Hour. My Salafi mujahideen brothers, destroy the heads of the Khawarij, the Djazarists and their likes. Disperse them in the land, uproot them and kill them wherever you find them. For there is a great reward for the one who kills them. And as came in the authentic hadith: "Blessed is the one who kills them and is killed by them." And they are the ones about whom SAWS said: "They kill the people of Islam and leave alone the people of idols." Oh dear brothers, you must massacre the apostate Tawagheet and the original disbeliever, and do not betray and do not alter. And remember the words of God Almighty: "Oh you who have believed, do not betray God and the Messenger or betray your trusts, and you know well"- (al-Anfal).
And be firm on the pact and be with the truthful ones about whom the Exalted and Almighty has said: "Among the believers are men who have fulfilled what they have pledged to God, so among them is the one who has fulfilled his vow and the one who awaits. And they have not altered anything. God will reward those who have been true for their honesty and will punish the hypocrites if He wills, or He will accept their repentance. Indeed God has been forgiving, merciful" (al-Ahzab).
So you, oh mujahideen, must destroy, slaughter and massacre- for destruction is destruction and blood is blood- until we enable God's religion in the land. Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with him) said: "Kill the idolaters in al-hall and al-haram, and take them prisoner. And you must kill and massacre, and you must lie in wait and disturb them until they answer to God's ruling. And prevent them from moving about in the land and set in place for them every point to observe them."
And know that so long as idolatry remains and religion is not entirely for God, we will continue fighting in God's path until God alone is worshipped without a partner for Him and religion is entirely for God as the Almighty has said: "And fight them until there is no more fitna and religion is entirely for God."
So no dialogue, truce, reconciliation or dhimma pact with the apostates.
Exalted are you, oh God, and by Your praise. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I ask for Your forgiveness and I repent to You.


The project "Additive Manufacturing for Extra Large Metal Components" (AiM2XL) aims at the production of large-scale (~1 to >10 m) additively manufactured metallic components for maritime applications. To accomplish this, you will support the design of such products by simulations of the production process. Straightforward simulations by current techniques require very long calculation times and are therefore not feasible for industrial applications.
You will finish your research with a PhD thesis.
You are fluent in English and express yourself easily both in speech and in writing. We require a TOEFL > 90 or IELTS > 6.5 score.
For information, please contact dr. ir. Hubert Geijselaers (h.j.m.geijselaers@utwente.nl).
The start of the project is as soon as possible. We also invite applications from candidates, who expect to graduate soon. Your application should be submitted before 22-4-2018.
References and, if applicable, a list of publications.
We offer a very challenging fulltime position for four years in an inspiring multidisciplinary and international environment. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda.


Hi - My wife applied for H4 COS + EAD on May 31, 2018 through my employer. It is with Vermont service center. She is currently working on full time on F1 OPT EAD and her EAD is valid till 02/11/2018. Post 02/11/2018 she will not have work authorization.
She is planning to put in an expedited request due to Severe economic hardship, she will loose her job. Please advise if this is a viable option. Also what all options she has.
please suggest if u found a way for your case?


Cinco de Mayo will be here before you know it. Whip up refreshing drinks with tequila from Taste of Home readers and food bloggers, and get ready to fiesta!
It's steamed pudding! This frugal-yet-tasty dessert helped home cooks make the most of budget ingredients.
We Made Julia Child's Coq Au Vin. Here's How It Turned Out.
American Pie, Rock Lobster... some songs just make you hungry!
What in the World Is a Whoopie Pie?


Here at Rocketrip we're obsessed with building a delightful product, and a big part of that is making sure we deliver a seamless user experience. Everything from an intuitive user interface to a beautiful design has a big impact on that experience.
The design of Rocketrip's application has been updated with a modern look and simplified navigation. We've made it even easier for travelers to get their Budget to Beat, view their upcoming trips, and redeem their points.
We're especially excited about our new rewards store. Not only have we ravamped the look and feel, but we've also added great new rewards partners where travelers can redeem their points.
There's no need to zoom or scroll. Travelers can log into Rocketrip.com or check their Rocketrip emails anywhere, anytime, and rest assured that everything fits on the screen of the device they're using.
We want travelers to have a cohesive experience across all their interactions with Rocketrip. That's why throughout our platform and communications, travelers will see our new design represented everywhere.


text:
Q: Firebase Storage Not working in Express Server Environment I am currently building an app and am trying to test the production server environment I created using Express. The application works fine when served via webpack-dev-server, but when my Express server.js is bundled by webpack, and node server.bundle.js is run I get the following error regarding Firebase storage.
/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:533
  var storage = _firebaseConfig2.default.storage();
                                         ^

TypeError: _firebaseConfig2.default.storage is not a function

Node ends up just switching to running my dev environment.
Below are my package.json containing my dependencies and npm scripts followed by the log from my terminal.
All google/stackoverflow searching I did on '_firebaseConfig2.default.storage is not a function' turned up just about nothing.
Package.json
{
  "name": "mtbparks-member-app",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "main": "index.html",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "if-env NODE_ENV=production && npm run start:prod || npm run start:dev",
    "start:dev": "webpack-dev-server --inline --content-base build/ --history-api-fallback && postcss --use autoprefixer -d build src/styles.css",
    "start:prod": "npm run build && node server.bundle.js",
    "build:client": "webpack && postcss --use autoprefixer -d build src/styles.css",
    "build:server": "webpack --config webpack.server.config.js",
    "build": "npm run build:client && npm run build:server",
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "license": "ISC",
  "devDependencies": {
    "autoprefixer": "^6.3.6",
    "babel-core": "^6.8.0",
    "babel-loader": "^6.2.4",
    "babel-polyfill": "^6.9.0",
    "babel-preset-es2015": "^6.6.0",
    "babel-preset-react": "^6.5.0",
    "eslint": "^2.9.0",
    "eslint-loader": "^1.3.0",
    "eslint-plugin-react": "^5.1.1",
    "http-server": "^0.9.0",
    "postcss-cli": "^2.5.2",
    "postcss-loader": "^0.9.1",
    "webpack": "^1.13.0",
    "webpack-dev-server": "^1.14.1"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "compression": "^1.6.2",
    "express": "^4.13.4",
    "firebase": "3.0.2",
    "foundation-sites": "^6.2.1",
    "if-env": "^1.0.0",
    "re-base": "^1.5.1",
    "react": "^15.0.2",
    "react-dom": "^15.0.2",
    "react-router": "^2.4.0"
  }
}

Logs
=> NODE_ENV=production npm start

> mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 start /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp
> if-env NODE_ENV=production && npm run start:prod || npm run start:dev

> mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 start:prod /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp
> npm run build && node server.bundle.js

> mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 build /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp
> npm run build:client && npm run build:server

> mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 build:client /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp
> webpack && postcss --use autoprefixer -d build src/styles.css

Hash: cf9ca8bbc1315fc1c9db
Version: webpack 1.13.0
Time: 14624ms
        Asset     Size  Chunks             Chunk Names
    bundle.js   855 kB       0  [emitted]  main
bundle.js.map  4.59 MB       0  [emitted]  main
   [0] multi main 40 bytes {0} [built]
    + 538 hidden modules

> mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 build:server /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp
> webpack --config webpack.server.config.js

Hash: 4561926734ef8e1e5a47
Version: webpack 1.13.0
Time: 973ms
           Asset     Size  Chunks             Chunk Names
server.bundle.js  27.6 kB       0  [emitted]  main
   [0] multi main 40 bytes {0} [built]
    + 17 hidden modules
/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:533
  var storage = _firebaseConfig2.default.storage();
                                         ^

TypeError: _firebaseConfig2.default.storage is not a function
    at Object.defineProperty.value (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:533:41)
    at __webpack_require__ (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:20:30)
    at Object.defineProperty.value (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:179:14)
    at __webpack_require__ (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:20:30)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:83:16)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:121:31)
    at __webpack_require__ (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:20:30)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:48:19)
    at __webpack_require__ (/Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:20:30)
    at /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/server.bundle.js:40:18

npm ERR! Darwin 14.5.0
npm ERR! argv "/Users/palcisto/.nvm/versions/node/v5.11.1/bin/node" "/Users/palcisto/.nvm/versions/node/v5.11.1/bin/npm" "run" "start:prod"
npm ERR! node v5.11.1
npm ERR! npm  v3.8.6
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 start:prod: `npm run build && node server.bundle.js`
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Failed at the mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 start:prod script 'npm run build && node server.bundle.js'.
npm ERR! Make sure you have the latest version of node.js and npm installed.
npm ERR! If you do, this is most likely a problem with the mtbparks-member-app package,
npm ERR! not with npm itself.
npm ERR! Tell the author that this fails on your system:
npm ERR!     npm run build && node server.bundle.js
npm ERR! You can get information on how to open an issue for this project with:
npm ERR!     npm bugs mtbparks-member-app
npm ERR! Or if that isn't available, you can get their info via:
npm ERR!     npm owner ls mtbparks-member-app
npm ERR! There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR!     /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/npm-debug.log

> mtbparks-member-app@0.1.0 start:dev /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp
> webpack-dev-server --inline --content-base build/ --history-api-fallback && postcss --use autoprefixer -d build src/styles.css

http://localhost:8080/
webpack result is served from /
content is served from /Users/palcisto/Sites/sandbox/MTBparks/MTBparksMemberApp/build
404s will fallback to /index.html
Hash: e38d4972b9458e39b46c
Version: webpack 1.13.0
Time: 16461ms
        Asset     Size  Chunks             Chunk Names
    bundle.js   928 kB       0  [emitted]  main
bundle.js.map  5.17 MB       0  [emitted]  main

A: Firebase Storage dev here:
Firebase Storage is currently browser JS only. Since Google Cloud Storage already provides a number of high quality client libraries, we didn't want to reimplement another--we recommend using the GCloud-Node library for this type of development. You can use this with your existing storage bucket and the typical Firebase Server development setup instructions.

A: Agree, this seems to be against the whole purpose of Firebase. On the one hand the offical doco in places says "...for some features of Firebase Node.JS is required..." (or similar) and yet in this case we can't use Node.JS.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Editorial: A nice cold month in the hot lights
By Pioneer Press Editorial Board | Pioneer Press
Buoyed by the Vikings' "Minnesota Miracle" this week and ready for the next big game, St. Paul is prepared for its moment — make that nearly a month — in the spotlight.
Friday, Red Bull Crashed Ice returns to the dramatic backdrop of the St. Paul Cathedral as part of our big buildup to Super Bowl LII. The attention and excitement continue for three more weekends until an extended Winter Carnival wraps up Feb. 10.
Adam Johnson of Visit St. Paul, the city's convention and visitors bureau, offers a "tip of the cap" to the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee. The group, he told us, "was intentional to name it the Minnesota Super Bowl," making the effort a statewide one with benefits reaching beyond the site of the game.
The hoopla, bringing full hotels and busy restaurants, comes with a message: "Nobody in the world celebrates winter the way St. Paul does," Johnson declares.
We should know, with celebrations that date back to the 1880s, when business leaders created the Winter Carnival to prove wrong a New York reporter who disparaged our frosty landscape.
Now, with what Johnson says is the largest collection of media ever assembled for the Super Bowl — 5,800 credentialed representatives — "we have the opportunity to say, 'It might be chilly, but we have incredible attractions and a second-to-none hospitality community'" that are helping us become a destination. Details are at visitsaintpaul.com/things-to-do/super-bowl-lii.
He describes two hubs of activity downtown:
Rice Park, a focal point for many Winter Carnival activities and the place a 70-foot Ice Palace is rising to be ready for its lighting ceremony on Jan. 25, the day the festival begins its 17-day run.
After off- and then-on-again palace plans, "it's important to us that we build it for the community," said Deb Schaber, president and CEO of the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, which manages the carnival. Information on events and the carnival's "Buy-a-Block" effort to engage the public in supporting palace construction are at wintercarnival.com.
CHS Field in Lowertown, where the St. Paul Saints are applying their offbeat "Fun Is Good" approach during the first wintertime use of the ballpark. Included are the St. Paul Super Slide and an ice-fishing opportunity that Executive Vice President Tom Whaley describes as "the Saints' version of a frozen lake" stocked with rainbow trout.
It was a priority that a ride on the slide — with a 40-foot drop and a run that then continues to near second base, be affordable for families — Whaley told us, noting that Securian Financial Group stepped up as sponsor. "There's not a group out there who 'gets' St. Paul better than Securian," he said.
Tickets — $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under — are good for unlimited rides during a one-hour time slot.
Also noteworthy are the three major events that will take place here:
Super Bowl Opening Night, Jan. 29 at Xcel Energy Center. It's billed as fans' first chance to see the Super Bowl teams in Minnesota and watch media interviews with coaches and players.
Taste of the NFL, Feb. 3 at RiverCentre, features a chef from each NFL city serving a signature dish alongside a current or former NFL player. Funds raised at the event over the years have provided 200 million meals for those in need.
"The Night Before" concert by the Dave Matthews Band Feb. 3 at Xcel Energy Center.
It's worth noting, as well, that the big game culminates a year-long charitable giving effort that's been good for St. Paul. It's geared to leave a legacy, with about $4 million awarded throughout the state to improve the health of Minnesota children.
Included are $50,000 awarded last week to the Sanneh Foundation to make over the Conway gym on the East Side; $100,000 to retrofit several tennis courts at city parks into courts for Sepak Takraw, a traditional Southeast Asian sport; $50,000 to support an outdoor neighborhood garden in the Dayton's Bluff area; $50,000 for a three-structure demonstration kitchen at Frogtown Farm, the urban farm in that neighborhood; and $100,000 to CLUES, the state's largest Latino-led nonprofit agency, which will add a teaching kitchen to its headquarters on the East Side.
It's been said that no place else lives the Bold North brand better than St. Paul.
We believe it, and our visitors soon will see for themselves.
Pioneer Press Editorial Board
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DALLAS -- Most of us know that hollow feeling that comes when we realize our sports heroes aren't so heroic — when our favorite slugger is caught doping; when a Texas sports icon has to surrender his Tour de France titles; when a hustling, hard-working switch hitter admits to gambling on his own team; when one of the world's greatest...
Other voices: Pressuring Iran, Trump adds diplomacy to deterrence
After the United States killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Iran responded by launching missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq, what would President Donald Trump do? We were as unsettled as anyone at the prospect of Trump exacerbating dangers by letting his ego and emotions rule. That didn't happen — at least not immediately. In a televised address...
Other voices: A slower-growing population is bad news for the economy, culture and budget
NEW YORK -- In 1918, U.S. population growth nearly flatlined, amidst the Great War and the global Spanish Flu pandemic. In 2019, U.S. population growth hit its lowest levels since then, and for another bad reason: Birth rates are falling, immigration is constricted, and millions of Americans are dying prematurely. Unless America can reverse this huge and dispiriting trend, it's...
Other voices: Fairness, respect, dignity for all? Seriously?
SACRAMENTO, Calif -- The California Democratic Party loves to trumpet its superior moral values. The party and its faithful never miss a chance to present themselves as paragons of anti-Trumpian virtue on issues such as immigration, climate change and economic inequality. Still, it was somewhat shocking to witness party figures crowing perversely about "values" last Friday as they announced a...
Other voices: The wine cave conundrum: Do Democrats want successful people in their party anymore?
Once upon a time, America felt pretty good about stories like Craig and Kathryn Hall's. Here are people who have worked hard their whole lives, made good investments and have given back to their communities and their country. We used to find that inspiring and worth emulating. After all, Craig Hall is a guy who started off his billion-dollar development...
Other voices: A church shooting in Texas ends because good guys with guns fought back
DALLAS -- On Sunday, the kind of news no one wants to see slid across the landscape. There was a shooting at a church in White Settlement outside of Fort Worth, and there were casualties. But as we delved into the details, we will admit feeling first a sense of relief that the loss of life was not larger —...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Wisdom is none else than intelligence scented by compassion.
Human beings are the only living creatures that are aware of their own awareness.
We are aware of our own existence and are the only living beings empowered by the power to decide.
Being capable of choosing our own thoughts is tantamount and immanent to our essence. We have been gifted with the ability to respond to stimuli which life poses upon us all along the years.
We can and must make use of this arcane and magic tool which we have piled with dust in the attic of our conscience and which some are keen on calling "Freedom of Choice".
The day we make use of this gratuitous legacy, we are fulfilling our "raison d'être"—our reason to exist.
As men and women evolve, we realize that every chaos is organized just as water is organized, the moment that the mind finds an altruistic course, an approach that transcends personal interests.
The talent of a swamp is the same talent which the river holds, it is called water.
Human beings—just as swamps and rivers—have talents.
Energy is neither good nor bad. It can be good or it can be bad.
It all depends on how we use it.
Our being intelligent does not turn us into better human beings; intelligence is not a choice, it is merely a tool.
Intelligence in the hands of a cruel man is equivalent to a knife in the hands of an ape; it is an extremely dangerous tool.
Compassion and Cruelty constitute a choice.
We can use our talents either to build or to destroy; to become stagnant and isolate ourselves like the swamp; or to flow, contribute and irrigate fields like a river.
If we fail to tap our talents and place them at the service of humanity, they become stagnant, our life becomes flooded terrain, a swamp with plenty of water, plenty of talent but lacking a course, a path; it isn't focused, it does not move, it's paralyzed and what is paralyzed is dead because it dies with every passing day.
Curiously, when the river is born, it has less water than the swamp; however, since it has a focus, a mission, a purpose, it flows toward its goal: the ocean.
The swamp dries up one day at the time; it complains for the lack of rain and begs the skies for water.
The swamp is rough, obscure, it is an accomplished misanthrope. Its water does not move, smells bad; it is stagnant and sad.
The river is an exemplary philanthropist. Its water flows unendingly, joyful, alive, clean and clear.
The river does not complain because it lacks the time to do so; it is busy leaping, playing, freely enjoying its path toward the sea and also irrigates land on the way, giving life and food to all and everything that meets its course.
The swamp's paradox is that the lesser it gives, the more it dries up.
The river's paradox is that the more water it feeds to the fields, the more water it receives; the most it contributes, the most it serves, the more it grows.
The life of a person that has resembled a swamp becomes diaphanous when a cause, a purpose, a focus and Mission are found.
From times immemorial, man has intellectually fought to find his raison d'être.
Cervantes, the genius delved into the concept using the chimeric deliriums of the Quixote.
Shakespeare used to concoct a masterly description of how Hamlet agonized to discover his "reason to be".
Maslow described it as the need to attain "Self-achievement".
This apparently trivial and anodyne concept in our lives is in effect the most important and transcendent one in our existence.
To the degree that our "reason to be" is clear to us and our peers, our potential will grow geometrically and we shall be able to become alchemists, we could be able to transmute at will our inherent egoism into generosity.
Let us make use of our power, of the power to choose how to use our talents, because we would, in fact, be choosing our destiny at the time we elect to choose what we think.
let us be a river and not a swamp!!!


No one ever said you needed to hike the entire Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail in one trip. We are all section hikers before we are thru-hikers. Piece by piece, we continue to add to the total until the whole trail is complete. Support your favorite hiking blog with this classic Section Hiker logo hooded sweatshirt, perfect to wear on a cool autumn day while on the trail.
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The Earth radiates back into space as much heat as it receives from the sun.
Panama, because of a bend in the isthmus, is the only place in the world where one can see the sun rise on the Pacific Ocean and set on the Atlantic.
The surface of Venus is actually hotter than Mercury's, despite being nearly twice as far from the Sun.
Honeybees navigate using the sun as a compass, even when it is hidden behind clouds.
Only five percent of the stars in our galaxy are larger than the Sun.
The Sun is flattened on the top and the bottom.
A galaxy of typical size about 100 billion suns produces less energy than a single quasar.
A white dwarf has a mass equal to that of the Sun, but a diameter only about that of Earth.
The first populated land where the Sun will rise on a new day is the Chatham Islands.
Aristarchus, a Greek astronomer living about 200 B.C., reportedly was the first person to declare that the Earth revolved around the sun.
In the city of Reykjavik, Iceland, one can see the stars eighteen hours a day during the heart of the winter. During the summer, sunlight is visible 24 hours a day.
Because of the speed at which Earth moves around the Sun, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 8 minutes.
On Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east, the opposite of the Earth.
Four million tons of hydrogen dust are destroyed on the Sun every second.
The Sun's total lifetime as a star capable of maintaining a life-bearing Earth is about 11 billion years.
The Tarantula nebula is thought to contain a huge star of over 1,000 times the mass of the Sun.
The Sun shrinks five feet every hour.
There may be a giant black hole at the center of our galaxy, weighing as much as 4 million Suns. The black hole may be capturing stars, gas, and dust equivalent to the weight of three Earths every year.


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Filed under Editorial, Opinion, Story Carousel
Time for high school journalists to be protected by First Amendment
Juleanna Culilap
In his concurring opinion in the Supreme Court's ruling in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), former associate justice Hugo Black wrote "The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people…It is also a vibrant marketplace of ideas, a vehicle for ordinary citizens to express themselves and gain exposure to a wide range of information and opinions".
However, 17 years later in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court declared "educators did not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the content of student speech so long as their actions were 'reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns'," giving administrators large control over student journalism since.
But now in 2019, the time has long since passed for this to change. Currently, there are two bills in the Texas Legislature, SB 514 and HB 2244, that are part of the New Voices legislation, which aim to extend the same press freedoms enjoyed by independent papers to student publications.
The Legislature must pass these bills, or some such similar version, to protect safeguard student journalists from unfair censorship.
By passing this New Voices policy into law, legislators would be able to fight the double standard that exists between the student press and other publications. The First Amendment ensures freedom of the press, one of the five freedoms the US was founded on. Why should these rights not to be extended to students?
High school is a time for teenagers to discover who they are, pursue their interests, and express themselves. The threat of censorship inhibits teenagers interest in journalists from doing this and sends the message that their thoughts aren't valued, or that it is okay to silence the opinions of others. These bills would help guarantee the true values of journalism are taught to students.
Access to full press rights for student journalists can promote a more open school environment by representing many perspectives and bringing issues to light. Just a few miles north at Prosper High School, the principal John Burdett censored three articles last school year, making headlines when he removed an editorial by student Neha Medhira about the school's response to the 2018 National School Walkout. The contract of the journalism teacher on campus was not renewed for the next year. Much like state-run news agencies in countries with limited rights, practices like this are an embarrassment to a country founded on freedom. Passing this legislation would protect perspectives and promote constructive dialogue in a polarized political climate. Students could address real issues facing them today with the law on their side.
Granting students equal press rights does not mean that students can simply say or attack whatever they want on a school platform. In SB 514, protected speech "does not include speech that "is obscene or libelous…intended to incite the imminent commission of a crime or violation of school policy and is likely to produce that result…or substantially disrupts a school 's operation". With such speech not allowed, the benefits of free press would be widespread.
Articles about school policies would not necessarily harm school districts but provide an outlet for its students and a system of accountability. Like journalists exposed the Watergate Scandal that resulted in former US President Nixon's resignation, student journalists in Kansas questioned the legitimacy of their principal's degrees, ultimately resulting in her resignation, a testament to the power of the press that all schools need.
With the Legislature's session ending May 27, time is running out for legislators to pass bills. While education funding has dominated the session, lawmakers must understand the importance of free press for students and vote for New Voices legislation. It is time that student journalism is treated as the real journalism it is.
Other stories filed under Editorial
College admissions should be about merit not money
State Legislature must search for school funding solutions
District extends grading periods for the better
Stopping threats is just an app away
Stop cell phone use in class
Other stories filed under Opinion
Real Talk: summer plans
Students have the power to fight plastic waste
Say It Louder: the last column
Real Talk: 4 day weekend
Social studies changes perform a disservice to students
Make a choice and vote
Editorial: College Board doesn't offer the whole history
Editorial: Red Ribbon's message lost in dress-up days
Editorial: quality over quantity


One of the most enjoyable experiences anyone can have during Christmas is to receive a book as a present. A hardcover or paperback book is an ideal shape to be wrapped and, if the giver is tuned in enough to the tastes of the recipient, when the wrapping is opened it is certain to delight.
It is a gift suitable for all ages. Small children love turning pages to admire pictures and be read to by an attentive adult. Those of us who are older can curl up by a fire or somewhere warm knowing that someone close to us has been thoughtful enough to bestow such a delightful personal gift.
So when out shopping for someone close to you at this festive time of year your first thought should be to buy a book.


text:
An event every week that begins at 6:00 pm on Monday, repeating until April 11, 2022
« Photoshop Basics Online
Lightroom Basics Online »
Challenging Composition with Rob Sheppard Monday
March 21, 2022-March 21, 2022
Challenging Composition with Purpose – Techniques for More Expressive Photography
With Rob Sheppard
Mondays, March 7 – April 11, 2022 6 PM – 8 PM, ONLINE
Create new and fresh photographic compositions. See the world in whole new ways! Join Rob Sheppard, for a unique and effective look at making your compositions better.
It will include the following (and much more!):
Communicating with composition
What eye-level means for all subjects (and why is this so important)
Controlling depth of field and light for impactful compositions
Using color to affect composition
Working edges and angles for more impact
How changing your focal length and distance to the subject can create fresh and totally different compositions
As Rob Sheppard says: "I love working with fresh and new photographic compositions that go beyond the rule of thirds. If you only know composition through a group of rules, you are missing out on the full potential of the visual language of photography. Effective and engaging compositions are so important to me that I collaborated with Art Wolfe on the popular book, The Art of the Photograph, all about making your compositions better. I want to connect you with photographic compositions in unexpected and unique ways in this class. This is not a technology class, but a class that will challenge you to think differently and see the world in imaginative ways."
About Rob Sheppard
My interest in photography began in junior high. Later, I was a photojournalist for the college daily and had my first paid photography with the Seattle Post Intelligencer. After college, I pursued my other great interest of nature and became a naturalist in a county park system.. Next I became the staff photojournalist in the communications department at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Composition is critical for photojournalism in order to connect quickly with a reader. Then I worked for a publication company as a writer/photographer. From there, I worked at a production house in Minneapolis where I was a photographer, videographer, and producer. We moved to California to pursue bigger opportunities in photography, video, and film. I was as an associate editor at Peterson Photographic then became editor at Outdoor Photographer magazine. I also began writing and photographing books and doing photo workshops around the country. After 12 years at Outdoor Photographer, I left to do more work on my own, photography and writing. I still do that today, concentrating on nature work.
Challenging Composition (6 lessons, 3/7)
Mondays 6 PM - 8 PM | March 7 - April 11, 2022, 6 ONLINE lessons
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text:
Q: CORS issues in ionic requesting api hosted on localhost My Ionic app run on http://localhost:8100/ and I'm requesting http://localhost:40410/api/myApi for api.
I know it will get CORS issues , I tried by adding proxy setting in ionic.config.json like
"proxies": [
{
  "path": "/api",
  "proxyUrl": "http://localhost:40410/"
}
           ]

And when I ionic serve , I got this output on console Proxy added:/api => https://localhost:44381/  , but in app , I can't get any data from api.
This is what I got in chrome dev tools
Request URL: http://localhost:8100/api/myApi
Request Method: GET
Status Code: 500 Internal Server Error
Remote Address: 127.0.0.1:8100

this is my ts code ,
    this.http.get('/api/myApi').subscribe(
(data) => {
  console.log(data.json());
},(error) =>{
console.log(error);
}
   );

A: You can run chrome with the following parameter to disable cors protection.
--disable-web-security


The "Series 180" consists of three compact miniature microphones with patterns that satisfy the demands of all common studio applications. Because of its optimized mechanical construction and conscious omission of modularity, which is unnecessary in many cases, the "Series 180" is predestined for economy-minded production and home recording studios. The KM 183 omnidirectional and KM 185 hypercardioid microphones are based on the tremendously successful KM 184 cardioid microphone, which has become a standard within the global studio community in just a very short time. All "Series 180" microphones are available with either matte black or nickel finish.


text:
Burger-A-Day
Not Just Beef
PUP-Morbid Stuff
April 9, 2019 April 7, 2019 / James P. Crowley
Following the success of 2016's The Dream Is Over, an album that catapulted PUP from respectable Canadian pop-punks to North American scene superstars, Morbid Stuff was weighted with excitement and ambition. While there was plenty to ring up the excitement in Dream, Morbid Stuff is like taking a rocket to an unknown moon that was just discovered orbiting earth. With sleek and chunky riffs, Stefan Babcock spills anxiety over with rallying cries and quarter-life rage that sets the band in a certain class of their contemporaries like Rozwell Kid, where they can make incredibly fun and upbeat songs that are immediately memorable and occasionally silly but only layering over a very real sense of self-actualization.
Look to the opening track, Babcock sings,
I was bored as fuck
Sitting around and thinking about all this morbid stuff
Like if anyone I've slept with is dead, and I got stuck
On death and dying and obsessive thoughts that won't let up
It's the sort of matter-of-fact verse that sounds like it ought to be on a record belonging to Modern Baseball, JuiceWRLD, or Sun Kil Moon, but Pup don't let the depression that mortality brings bog down their songs. It's a song that seems like it takes joy in the titular "Morbid Stuff." Throughout the eleven song album, Babcock looks at everything from godless existences, vegan food, and meltdowns. In the tradition of sad songs that sound happy, PUP are fucking kings. Babcock yelps with a sense of certainty that's unsure if it's a desperate cry for help or a cackling child rallying against bedtime. Steve Sladkowski's leads are also part of what make the songs feel so infectious. The first three seconds of "Free At Last" sound like it's about to be PUP's take on a Black Sabbath song before launching into modernist pop-punk that's reminiscent of the Ramones' immediacy and American Football's precision.
Perhaps the joy in PUP's music is that it all sounds like it's a rage against all of the sickening thoughts that plague Babcock. Morbid Stuff is an apt title, because that's what he dwells on the most, but the album's mission statement comes in "Free At Last:" "Just cause you're sad again/It doesn't make you special at all." The fun is almost overlined by all of the sadness, because the next song is called "See You at the Funeral," but Babcock assures us not to really worry towards the end of the second verse, as he sings, "I've always been a little masochistic." There's a worry that some of the drugs and alcohol that he seems to medicate with may not just be little releases but the coping mechanism that he's holding onto. "Scorpion Hill" starts with a "Home on the Range"-like diddy, before launching into the manic pace that we've come to expect, and as he talks about sitting drunk he delivers some of the best lyrics of the bands career:
If the world is gonna burn
Everyone should get a turn to light it up
Down and out, I've been on the rocks
I've been having some pretty dark thoughts
Yeah, I like them a lot.
There's tons of horrible things, but why shouldn't we take some joy in the horror? We're living the ultimate terror show always.
As PUP has graduated from songs about getting trashed on tour to contemplating their own mortality, there's no shortage of the fun that songs like "DVP" provided. Morbid Stuff is a champagne-popping, shotgunned-beer of a meditation on all the horror we see as people, and I like it a lot.
juicewrld, modern baseball, morbid stuff, pop punk, punk, pup, rozwell kid, sun kil moon
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Dave Hause-Kick →


November 4, 2012 / TheSpectrum.com / — Most smokers realize that tobacco is harmful and nearly 35 million smokers want to quit each year. Unfortunately, more than 85 percent of those who try to quit on their own relapse, most within a week, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (www.drugabuse.gov).
Why is kicking the habit so difficult?
"Nicotine is the No. 1 most-used addictive drug in America," said Melissa Hinton, a doctorate nurse practitioner at Intermountain St. George Pulmonary Medicine. Hinton is a subspecialist in addiction and an expert on smoking cessation.
Understanding the way cravings work can help when trying to quit.


It was July 5, 2014 and Ramoncito Pio Rodillo, the newly hired analyst of White Rock Investments, a local brokerage firm in the Philippines, was preparing an analysis of Victorias Milling Company, Inc. (VMC). After the stock had risen by 150% from the start of the year, May Chang, head of the research division, wanted to provide a fundamental analysis of the stock. This would be the first assignment of Ramoncito and he had to make a recommendation on the stock.
VMC is a domestic corporation founded on May 7, 1919 to manufacture raw and refined sugar. VMC's sugar plant facilities are located in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
WriteWork contributors. "VMC CASE" WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 06 November, 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2019.


text:
Last Updated: Monday, 5 December 2005, 08:24 GMT
E-mail this to a friend
In pictures: John Lennon anniversary
John Lennon died 25 years ago, leaving an enduring musical legacy after his success in The Beatles and as a solo artist.
Born in Liverpool on 9 October 1940, John Lennon got a taste for rock and roll in the 1950s and formed The Quarrymen.
The Quarrymen became The Silver Beatles, shortened to The Beatles and featured Lennon's art college friend Stuart Sutcliffe (centre).
By 1962 the line-up was complete. The Fab Four - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison - were on their way to becoming pop icons.
The Beatles' fame spread from the UK to the world with a landmark 1964 US TV performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
John Lennon married art school friend Cynthia Powell in 1962, with whom he had a son, Julian. They divorced in 1968.
The Beatles moved from rock and pop to folk and psychedelia, while members began to experiment with solo side projects.
Lennon made the 1968 album Two Virgins with his new lover, artist Yoko Ono, before staging an anti-war "bed-in" in 1969.
Tension grew between The Beatles' principal songwriters Lennon and McCartney, and by 1970 the band had split.
John Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman outside New York's Dakota apartment building on 8 December 1980.
JOHN LENNON ANNIVERSARY
You the critic
Four readers' critical assessments of John Lennon's life and career
Fans pay tribute to John Lennon
Emotions run high in New York
Lennon reveals all in new tapes
Lennon's friends recall ex-Beatle
Tapes of Lennon's killer to air
Lennon's murder explored in film
REMEMBERING LENNON
Celebrities pay tribute to Lennon
Is Lennon an icon to the young?
The life of a pop icon
Yoko's Iron grip
'I was there' - Tom Brook
Hear John Lennon
Your memories of John Lennon
Life of Lennon
1980: John Lennon shot dead
Radio 2: John Lennon
TOP IN PICTURES STORIES
The early days of spaceflight
Day in pictures: 5 April 2011
Battle for Misrata


There was no afterword in the first volume, but it appears there is one in the second. According to the editor, I can write whatever I want, so right now I'm in the middle of thinking of what to write. Please wait.
I know. Let's talk about my favorite games. Although slightly, they had an influence on this work so it's not completely unrelated.
As you can probably imagine, my favorite genre are RPG. Square Enix-type games and Tales series for sure, but I also often played Wild Arms series. I played to the point where I sacrificed my sleep time. I sure was young back then.
On the other hand, I rarely played RPGs that had world similar to our modern world like Persona series..
I don't know when did this happen, but at some point in time my craving for such games had disappeared. I used to preorder a new games from Tales series when it was announced, then waited impatiently until it the day it went on sale. But right now, even if I see an article on the new about them I only skim over it.
Even when a new RPG gathering attention from entire world was announced, I was not excited in the least. Although, I think the love for RPGs inside me still hasn't changed.
However, in exchange for that, there were games that made me obsessed about them. They were Dark Souls and The Elder Scrolls Series. They're great fantasies. Although, Dark Souls is a little too dark for my taste.
TES right now has an online game. However, there is no Japanese version (as of 2014/09) so I can only play in English, so it might be quite a hurdle for someone like me who knows English only up to middle school level. But I won't give up! Even if it's an English version I… There were days I used to think so.
So, you see. Speaking of the number one game that has my attention right now...don't say you aren't interested, just listen.
Since you are going out of your way to read an afterword, I'm sure you aren't indifferent, so I shall announce it!
Its title is "Deep Down". Ever since I saw the trailer my excitement won't stop!
Oh right, speaking of dreams, this Summer (of 2014) Universal Studio Japan opened that. Y'know, that. The thing that's being mentioned all over the TV!
Yes, "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter"!
I wonder just how many among you who read up until this point have went to visit it. ...I'm truly envious.
Rather than being interested in attractions, I just want to daze off in that world's atmosphere. To me who loves fantasy, that place is my ideal space. So much that I would love to live in there.
I'm sure it would stimulate my sense. Possibly, it might become something to write about. Is how I'll put airs of a writer.
Right now, going in there is my number one goal. And I want to buy a lot of things. I definitely need to buy a wand! And then I'll shout incantation! I also want a robe, if possible, about four types of them. My dreams sure are expanding. Well, it will take time though.
I wish I hit big at a lottery~. I didn't buy any, though.
Well, like this I who have a disposition to escaping from reality have one more hobby, that is to watch beautiful images. I watch the fantastic and nostalgic images I gathered from the net and think "I wish I could go to a place like that" or "I wish I could live there" I daydream.
Did you see the cover page? Continuing from the first volume, Fuji Choco-sama drew it!
Fuji Choco-sama's illustrations seem to be spreading even beyond the curtains of the world, making me see the parts of the world that were not drawn, they are incredibly charming and I love them.
And my delusions are advancing at great pace.
I'm an insignificant novelist who wearing jinbei walks around that world to look for things to write about. I asked Sanzen-Sekai's shop manager and was allowed to leave books in a corner. I was invited to an orchestra for a festival so I whimsically showed myself. Not knowing where to go I just jumped onto a train and watched the city dye in the evening colors.
Yeah, I want to go there.
And so, borrowing this place I would like to thank you, thank you for showing me that wonderful world, I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for drawing the cover and the illustrations inside.
Fuji Choco-sama, thank you very much! Please take care of me from here on as well!
On this occasion, I would like to thank you for your purchase. Thanks to you, I have gotten closer to my goal. Please continue like this, and take me to Universal Studios Japan.
Please take care of the next volume as well.
Apparently, Elder Scrolls Online now has a Japanese version (which is apparently also locked to Japanese server and can be bought only in Japan for some reason).
ESO's European server is also full of people who are bad at English anyway, so I don't think the author would have so many problems playing in English.
I wonder if the author got to play it in the end. Getting to see beautiful landscapes is probably the only part of The Elder Scrolls series that properly transferred to MMORPG anyway.
Krytyk, thank you for the translation. It's pretty good.
I played plenty of ESO myself, maxed out two characters at one time. My brother still plays it from time to time.
Author is a man living in his daydreams, what a life! Thanks for new stuff!
Wow, 2 whole volumes out of nowhere! Thank you very much for your hard work!
Thanks. Crazy that we still don't really have an update on Deep Down, the except for Capcom extending the trademark in 2018. So it's probably still in development.
And this was written in... uh *checks volume 2 release date* late 2014, too.


text:
Dennis O. "D. J." Wonnum Jr (born October 31, 1997) is an American football outside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Carolina.

Early life and high school
Wonnum grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia and attended Stephenson High School. As a senior, he was named All-Region after recording 38 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Wonnum initially committed to play college football at Iowa State before de-committing after a coaching change. He subsequently committed to attend Indiana before de-committing a second time and signing to play at South Carolina.

College career
Wonnum played in all of South Carolina's games as a true freshman, recording 32 tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Wonnum was named a permanent team captain going into his sophomore year and finished the season with 57 tackles and led the team with 13.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. He injured his ankle during the Gamecocks' season opener as a junior, and only played in five games. He compiled 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks during the injury-shortened season. As a senior, Wonnum recorded 37 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks with three quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, one blocked kick, and an interception and was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference.

Professional career

Wonnum was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 117th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

In Week 4 against the Houston Texans, Wonnum recorded his first career sack on Deshaun Watson during the 31–23 win.
In Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers, Wonnum recorded a strip sack on Aaron Rodgers which was recovered by teammate Eric Wilson late in the fourth quarter to secure a 28–22 Vikings' win.
In Week 10 against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, Wonnum recorded a sack on Nick Foles during the 19–13 win.

Personal life
Wonnum's younger brother, Dylan, is a starting offensive lineman at South Carolina.

References

External links
South Carolina Gamecocks bio

1997 births
Living people
Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)
Sportspeople from DeKalb County, Georgia
People from Stone Mountain, Georgia
American football defensive ends
South Carolina Gamecocks football players
Minnesota Vikings players

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