Call of Duty: what would indie developers do to it?
How would indie developers alter the Call of Duty franchise? Given the suggestions below, we'll never find out.
Call of Duty – same every year, right? A bunch of savage looking eastern Europeans attack America with nuclear weapons or computer viruses, and then you join a crack squad of spec-ops hard men traveling the world trying to shoot everything that isn't physically nailed down. Eventually you get to the terrorist leader, who turns out to have a complicated backstory, but you stab him in the neck anyway; then you spend the next six months complaining that the multiplayer servers are full of 12-year-old racists.
Thankfully, Sledgehammer Games is promising to mix things up with its forthcoming take on the series, Advanced Warfare, which features Kevin Spacey as the lunatic head of a private military contractor. But is making Keyser Soze the lead antagonist going far enough? Could Activision really not turn the formula on its head? What would happen if the franchise was handed over to the indie community?
I'd take some of the millions and billions of dollars it makes each year and hire a decent writer to craft something that isn't all 'hoo-ah dudebros', and invest in some tech that makes it a more open, engaging experience rather than just a corridor shooting gallery. There's great scope for Call of Duty to do some real good for games with its popularity, it'd be nice to see them capitalise on that. Knowing me, I'd turn it into a point and click adventure.
With an unlimited budget? Go open-world, non-linear, incredibly empty with long periods of tense nothingness punctuated by insanely frenetic, chaotic and confusing action where you don't really know what the hell is going on and you are mainly screaming and panicking and nuking everything that moves and then it suddenly goes utterly quiet again and you are back to being cut adrift in a big unfriendly world that's really difficult to predict. Rinse and repeat until post-traumatic stress disorder kicks in.
I'd do a first person war game from the perspective of a civilian, swept up in events, who doesn't pick up a gun. Protecting your family, avoiding forces on both sides. It'd be an interesting and under-represented perspective on a conflict.
The "good guys" would essentially play peacekeepers, and have similar tools like sniffer dogs to find bombs, riot gear, barricades to 'contain' a panicked populace. But I'd be very keen to make sure it all depends on the player's deployment of the tools they're given.
Riffing on that, I'd encourage the "baddy" team to try to disrupt things for the civilians as well as the good guys – bombs, sabotage, etc. The idea being that the bad guys want as much media attention as possible, while the good guys are always trying to bend the rules without being caught on camera so as to cut off the terrorist threat and deny them the attention. This could all make for some amazing emergent gameplay and truly memorable scenarios.
Ukip has not only won the election but has thrown the UK into a xenophobic state – turning the country into a closed dictatorship. All is not well, however, and civil war has broken out across the nation. The jack-booted Farage stazi start clamping down hard on the insurgents using lethal force. You play as an an ex-SAS fighter, now part of the super elite FreeUK freedom fighters tasked with breaking into the highly fortified war fortress that used to be Whitehall and assassinating the Ukip overlord. Will that do?
My version would draw on competitive puzzlers such as Super Puzzle Fighter. Two participants play in separate stages. Enemy soldiers wear either red, yellow or blue jumpsuits, and if you shoot three of the same colour in a row you get a chain. Getting bigger chains sends more enemies to your opponent, but if they chain them right back they can send even more to you. Ka-pow! It would be called Call of Duty: Combo-Bustin' Chaos.
With the impending First World War Centenary, I'd return the series to the trenches of Northern France in WW1. The game would revolve around life between battles: making a decent cup of tea, using rats for target practice, burning lice out of blankets with candles, reinforcing the trench walls to keep out the mud, playing cards and writing letters home... all under heavy bombardment (lots of camera shake and deafening audio design).
Each level would end with you and your pals climbing the trench ladders to charge at the enemy, then everything would fade to white and the next level would start, only with some of your fellow soliders gone.
George and I are waiting to board a plane to Iceland so we've both decided to give hurried responses.
George: If I designed the new Call of Duty, it would be a Doom WAD.
Mitu: Mine would be a complex social simulation in which you must juggle your duty to your country with the growing romantic feelings for, and catty struggles between, your squad mates.
I have the unfashionable post-Gone Home viewpoint that I quite like the unfettered face shooting that the Call of Duty games provide. Admittedly the single-player is an increasingly pointless, diversionary, and bombastic spectacle and has never again reached the genuinely groundbreaking and interesting narrative highs that Modern Warfare managed. But Call of Duty has always been about multiplayer and it's still a taut, precise, and largely flawless shooter in that regard. The corporate answer would of course be to suggest a real-time second-screen tactical experience to run alongside the main game allowing you to control a whole squad rather than a single player (*cough* like Salvaged - Kickstart it now!), but actually I'm tempted to go the Billy Joel route and say, "I love you just the way you are."
The player is a military contractor working as a remote operator of an unmanned drone aircraft. You begin your day by driving to work and sitting in a server room, watching a video screen and pressing buttons to send commands to the drone. You get 10,000 points for blowing up an enemy militant or military hardware, but be careful because you lose one point if you hit a civilian.
Call of Duty: War Photographer. Players step into the shoes of veteran conflict documentarian Angela Espinoza, entering hot zones armed only with a mechanical film camera. Adjust the F-stop on the fly and swap lenses with the analog triggers and d-pad. Develop photos after each battle, selling them to player-run galleries and news agencies.
Cold open through the sight of a sniper scope. Fast zoom on to typically arid landscape, sand-blasted rubble, long shadows and crumbling stone huts. Your red dot dances across a doorway. Suddenly: movement. You track your dot back – but it's just a scrawny cat, chasing the laser. The cat stops in its tracks, narrows its eyes, ears flatten, and slowly turns to face the scope. Has it seen something? Then it happens: the cat reaches, with a paw that behaves unnaturally human, behind her tail and pulls out a Desert Eagle. Everything slows down as she shoots and your POV reels backwards. Before you fade to black you catch a glimpse of your falling body in a cracked mirror behind you. You, too, are a cat. Call of Duty Logo. You're welcome, Activision. I know what the internet wants. Call me for more on the Grumpy Cat Season Pass.
Call of Duty: Fallen. The player takes the role of soldiers injured or incapacitated in battle, in a series of set-pieces covering the course of war in human history from the Peloponnesian War through contemporary remotely-operated 'surgical' drone warfare. In each case, after a struggle, death overtakes him—differently in each scenario. The soldier's ultimate duty is not to liberate nor to defend nor even to kill, but to die, and the game strips warfare down to this singular principle.
Clearly the next CoD should be set near Bournemouth and feature a retired colonel whose lawn has been trampled. Having spoken about this to his second wife, Miriam, he sets out for bloody revenge.
An Oculus Rift game set in Blitz-era London. It's blackout, no lighting of cigarettes, no switching on of lights. You play a pregnant woman going into labour. You have to get across London to a hospital or a midwife before the baby is born. The idea is to navigate by sound and shadow, by the voices of strangers to get help, and avoid being blown the heck up. Your move, Sledgehammer Games.
So what's your idea for the future of Call of Duty? Let us know in the comments section.


15 or so years ago, while enrolled at a Christian graduate school, I went to an evening seminar in which the speaker, a well-known visiting professor from a prestigious university, was to present on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s theology. The turn-out from the largely white campus was small, especially given the topic and professor's reputation, but what I most remember was how much of the presentation was dedicated to making the case for King's Christianity. It was as though the professor knew that, before discussing King's theology, he had to convince his mostly white, Christian audience that the most revered preacher America has ever produced was… a Christian.
I've thought a lot about that strange moment over the years and again on this 50th anniversary of King's assassination. I've learned so much from him in the past 20 years, about theology, preaching, organizing, prayer, and more. But what I've most learned – what that 15-year-old memory reminds me of – is how white people, including Christians, generally respond to movements for racial justice.
Wether debating King's movement strategy, American loyalty, or Christian faith, white Christians were quick to find ways to discredit the movement for racial justice and thus ignore or oppose it. In this regard, as that college seminar revealed, very little has changed in the 50 years since King's murder.
Occasionally I'm asked about how white people respond to things I write and say publicly about racial justice. The assumption, correct much of the time, is that the responses can be harsh. In fact, I think very little about these responses anymore. Mostly this is because I know how much more opposition my friends of color, particularly women, face when they speak for racial justice. Any flak I take is small in comparison. But the other reason I'm not surprised about these typical and troublesome responses is that King prepared me. He taught me to understand how unrepentant whiteness responds when the possibility of genuine racial justice surfaces.
Let me be more honest: King taught me to anticipate my own backlash to racial justice. His words and actions, and the violence they provoked, help me to see the violence within myself. Under his influence, I've come to doubt my initial responses to calls for racial equity and repair. The privilege and blindness that comes with my race make my emotions and experiences untrustworthy guides in the journey toward justice. King taught me to submit my instincts to the wisdom of those friends who exist outside of whiteness's blinding lies.
King taught me to understand and anticipate the tepid caution, dangerous opposition, and utter irrelevancy of most white responses to racial justice. This backlash has exerted only a tiny price from me but this week we remember that for many others the cost has been deadly.
Fifty years ago Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama, scratching out a modern epistle in the margins of a newspaper. The Letter from a Birmingham Jail was a direct response to a letter published in the local newspaper written by a group of Birmingham clergy who were critical of the civil rights movement which had upset the balance in the "Magic City". Rev. King's response was nuanced and not without charity. It was also very direct.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail is especially fascinating for its open criticism of those Christian leaders who considered themselves progressive yet who distanced themselves from the Civil Rights movement. Rev. King's logic and critique reveal the strange and disappointing relationship between white Christians and their pastors and the experiences of their African American brothers and sisters in the Faith. As Edward Gilbreath shows in his new book, Birmingham Revolution, the relationship is no historical artifact. Rev. King's critique retains its prophetic edge today.
Gilbreath acknowledges that Rev. King's life, including this important episode in Birmingham, have been extensively documented, analyzed, and interpreted over the years. So why another book? Gilbreath's unique and helpful contribution comes from his journalist's eye, his commitment to Christian faith, and his long experience in white and black churches. From this vantage point he weaves a captivating narrative that pulls from history and contemporary events and shows the ongoing relevancy of Rev. King's letter.
To show why the letter still matters Gilbreath ranges far and wide: NPR stories; many interviews, including with those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement; The Boondocks; his own personal experiences of race and injustice. He combines an unflinching eye with a light touch and the book moves quickly, subtly building the case that Rev. King's observations and questions should be applied to the justice issues of our day. Throughout the book we meet lesser-known heroes of the movement- Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth is one the author is especially drawn to, and for good reason! We're left wondering about who our contemporary foot soldiers are. Who are the women and men whose faith directs them toward such courageous compassion and critique?
Just like Luther's memo nailed to the Wittenberg Church door, King's jailhouse epistle is a document teeming with deep and challenging ideas about theology, justice and freedom. If we allow it, we'll find King's freestyle meditation will take us on a sweeping journey form the Birmingham, Bible Belt, Deep South of 1963 to the postracial, post-Christian, Red State-Blue State cacophony of twentieth-first-century America and beyond.
Glibreath is just the right guide and Birmingham Revolution maps the journey with precision, imagination, and just the right amount of hope.
On Saturday February 22 Edward Gilbreath will be our church's guest for a half-day conference that will be open to the public. We'd love to have you join us. I'll share the details next month.
There's a lot of good commentary on this 50th anniversary of the March on Washington – reflections on the forgotten context and all that remains undone – but the place to start is with Rev. King's speech, the whole thing.
I wonder if the slipperiness of the word makes my earlier point that violence is less a moment in time and more the ground on which we walk. On June 19, 1968 Coretta Scott King addressed the Poor People's Campaign in Washington DC and described the pervasiveness of violence.
Poverty can produce a most deadly kind of violence. In this society violence against poor people and minority groups is routine. I remind you that starving a child is violence; suppressing a culture is violence; neglecting schoolchildren is violence; discrimination against a working man is violence; ghetto housing is violence; ignoring medical needs is violence; contempt for equality is violence; even a lack of will power to help humanity is a sick and sinister form of violence.
Context always matters, no more so than in the case of Mrs. King's remarks. Less than three months earlier her husband, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., had been assassinated in Memphis. His was an especially violent death, captured in images and eye-witnesses accounts that still register in our national consciousness. Yet, when describing the toll of violence, Mrs. King pointed not to her husband's spectacular and undeniably violent death but to the millions of accepted and overlooked acts that take place every day.
Making the shift toward Mrs. King's view of violence leaves us with a dilemma far more significant than a murky definition: such a view implicates not a few violent actors but most of us, most of the time.


From the man who brought you 'Fresh Mint', 'Snapped' and 'Loophole' comes 'Out of Order' - a dynamite packet trick that cannot fail to amaze! 'Out of Order' delivers three distinct climaxes, each more impossible than the last and, when the trick is over, every card can be FULLY EXAMINED!
Explaining that magicians go through a LOT of playing cards you display a packet of special 'printer cards' - blank on both sides - that you explain can be used to print new cards. Two selections are made from an ordinary pack, let's say the Jack of Hearts and the Ten of Spades. You continue, "...so, if I wanted to make a copy of the Jack of Hearts, all I do is rub it on the printer cards and...", one by one you print three perfect duplicates of the Jack of Hearts! Turning your attention to the second selection, you attempt to print a few duplicate Ten of Spades but nothing seems to be happening. It's now that you realise that some of your 'printer cards' are actually out of order. The blanks are turned over to reveal large 'OUT OF ORDER' signs on the back! Undeterred you soldier on and, for a finale, proceed to print three duplicate Ten of Spades right on the backs of the three Jack of Hearts you printed earlier!
'OUT OF ORDER'! 100% EXAMINABLE - TOTALLY CUSTOMISABLE - INCLUDES 7 GAFF CARDS, DVD AND BONUS EFFECT.


As the country continues its climb to economic resilience, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has embarked on a multimillion dollar Port modernization project.
The port modernization project, which is schedule to have its ground breaking on Monday, 15th January 2018, will see a large-scale effort placed in completing the task.
Chairperson of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority, Senator Mary Clare Hurst, highlighted some of the renovation task planned for the project. She states, the new facility will be equipped with a new and extended Sea wall, new and expanded operations area, a maintenance shop, dockers quarters, a new warehouse, Marine department and Administration building which will house all the state agencies responsible for facilitating business at the Port. These agencies are, Customs, Immigration, Plant Quarantine, Port Health, Ministry of Trade and Finance and the Port Authority. The project will also include a new carpool and a modern Port gate.
The facility will also be equipped with other amenities such as Security building, fire pump house, tug berth and Cross Docking facility, customs detention area and a water storage area.
As with most heavily financed projects by the Chinese, there will be a trade off with workers for the completion of this project. However, while a specific number has not been determined, the Prime Minister has mandated that his government expects no less than 40% of the labor to be local. Additionally, an audit has been conducted by the Chinese to determine the equipment pool (trucks and heavy equipment) on the island.
According to the Port's chairperson, "The effort is being made to reduce the volume of equipment to be used on the project. When one combines the prospects of labor and equipment use the number should exceed 200," She suggests.
The project, which will commence by April, is anticipated to be completed in 3 years. Port Management indicated that, if all goes well, this could be reduced to 2.5 years.
Both the Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, and Port Management expects high yields after the completion of the port modernization. Enhanced market competitiveness, Improved trade facilitation, enhanced service levels, prospects for branding, entrepreneurship, and product differentiation are all aspects in which the new port will provide.


text:
Evaluation Design for the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund
Working with the Department of the Treasury to design evaluations of a fiscal transfer program
What was the challenge?
The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) is a program run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments across the country to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 provided $350 billion of funding to SLFRF to fight the pandemic and support families and businesses struggling with its public health and economic impacts; maintain vital public services, even amid declines in revenue resulting from the crisis; and build a strong, resilient, and equitable recovery by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity.
What did we do?
OES partnered with Treasury to identify and recommend data sources and evaluation opportunities to build evidence about the ARP funds spent through the SLFRF program. OES reviewed SLFRF guidance and conducted a systematic review of research reports on SLFRF to identify data that can be used to monitor and assess the program. OES then designed descriptive and impact evaluations options to assess a range of important economic and equity outcomes.
OES identified a number of potential short-term and longer-term evidence-building opportunities to use administrative and survey data to build evidence about the role of the SLFRF program in improving outcomes for disproportionately impacted populations.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Kryo: How to use the CollectionSerializer with Scala? Using CollectionSerializer to write is straight forward enough, but how do I de-serialize the byte array. CollectionSerial.
I would expect to be able to do something like this (given the interface):
listSerializer.read(kryo, new Input(bytes), classOf[java.util.Collection[AnyRef]]).toList

or
listSerializer.read(kryo, new Input(bytes), classOf[ListBuffer[AnyRef]]).toList

but nothing I tried compiles.
Thanks in advance.

A: Use Chill or akka-kryo-serialization, linked from the Kryo docs.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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De II-13 is een nationale weg van de tweede klasse in Bulgarije. De weg loopt van Montana naar Dolni Dabnik. De II-13 is 104 kilometer lang.

13

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Lovran (Opatija) is the right destination for your vacation? Viktoria is the name of this object, located in Lovran (Opatija). This object is 1000 m of air distance away from the sea. During the summer days, look for refreshments for yourself and your family on the beach that is 3600 m away from the object. The beach is: pebble beach. To stay on the beach, make sure that you bring towels and protect yourself from the sun with a hat or sunshade, and use a protective cream. Viktoria has a secured parking, which is another advantage of this accommodation, and is of crucial importance if you travel by car on your vacation. If you are traveling with a pet then you will be positively surprised because this facility has the option of accepting pets. Pet friendly accommodation - only by prior arrangement with the agency. Any additional questions related to the beach or destination Lovran (Opatija) please check with your host because they still know best the location. We wish you a warm welcome to our facility Viktoria in destination Lovran (Opatija).
Accommodation Viktoria is located 1000 m from the sea, 3000 m from the center in the town Lovran (Opatija). This accommodation offers a view of the Sea, green area and garden. Type of beach pebble beach. Private accommodation Viktoria is ideal for 6 persons and has 2 rooms in the accommodation. Accommodation is equipped with: Air conditioning, Television, Internet, Safe, Baby crib, Iron. To make the hot summer days more bearable in the accommodation there is an Air conditioning. Pet friendly accommodation - only by prior arrangement with the agency.


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Caroline Thompson
Caroline Thompson (born April 23, 1956) is an American novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer. She wrote the screenplays for Tim Burton's films Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Corpse Bride. She co-wrote the story for Edward Scissorhands and recently co-adapted a new stage version of the film with director and choreographer Matthew Bourne. Thompson also adapted the screenplay for the film version of Wicked Lovely, a bestselling fantasy series, in 2011, but the production was put into turnaround.
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Tank Transfer Method ('TTM') is a method for prophylactic treatment for the Marine Ich parasite (Cryptocaryon irritans, referred herein as just 'Ich') that is common to marine fish (does not apply to freshwater fish). The method entails transferring a fish from one tank to another several times until the parasite is eliminated. When administered correctly, TTM is highly effective at eliminating Ich from the fish.
16.	Do not put your TTM tanks within 10 feet of your Display Tank due to the risk of disease transmission via aerosol. Preferably, keep your QT/TTM tanks in a separate room or location.
18.	TTM does NOT work on anything else, such as hermits, snails, live rock, macro algae, ANYTHING WET!
1.	How is Tank Transfer Method performed?
2.	What equipment do I need?
b.	Is additional/other equipment OK?
a.	Can I do transfers more often (less than 72 hours)? Can I do transfers for more than 12 days?
b.	Can I use Display Tank water instead of mixing new water?
c.	How long after TTM should I wait to add them to the Display Tank?
d.	Can I couple TTM with Copper or Hyposalinity, or other treatments (formalin baths, etc)?
e.	How does TTM compare to Copper, Chloroquine Phosphate or Hyposalinity treatment?
f.	Will Tank Transfer Method work on anything else, such as shrimp or coral?
g.	If I may already have Ich in my Display Tank, what steps should I take?
4.	Why/how does it work?
a.	I heard that you must do the transfers in the morning, is this true?
5.	What is Ich and why should I worry about it?
How is Tank Transfer Method performed?
TTM is a very simple process. For the why/how it works, see the 'Why/how does it work?' section below. For now, we jump straight into the important part, "how to do it".
•	72-hours rule: You can do transfers sooner than 72 hours, but you should not go over 72 hours by much; if you inadvertently go over the 72 hours when performing a transfer by more than even an hour, then you must start over again with TTM from Day 1 to be absolutely sure the treatment was effective. See 'Why/how does it work?' below for why.
o	Drying: Research has confirmed that simply allowing the equipment to dry AND remain completely dry for just 24 hours will kill any remaining Ich life-cycle stages. This means that you must allow time first for (a) all little remaining spots of water to evaporate and then (b) the equipment to then stay that way for 24 hours; this means you really should allow for no less than 48 hours total of drying to ensure this happens [authors opinion, fwiw].
	You MUST consider the points in the 'What equipment do I need?' section associated with certain types of equipment when dealing with drying; such as airstones and other equipment with difficult-to-dry nooks-and-crannies.
	Consider putting a small fan over the drying tank and equipment to speed up the drying process.
	It is NOT a requirement (per research) to also clean with bleach or other disinfectants, unless you are paranoid (not a bad thing to be when dealing with Ich). Drying is enough.
o	Cleaning/disinfecting: Simply rinsing with tap water and letting dry is all that is necessary; however, as stated above you may also prefer to take additional precautions to ensure Ich cysts are all dead in between transfers, and many people prefer to take this additional step. A bleach solution is the most commonly recommended disinfectant for assisting in killing Ich cysts. You can use as little as a 10% bleach-to-water solution to be successful.
	Interesting, and important to know, is that if you have leftover bleach on your equipment/tank after cleaning, then when the bleach completely dries it only leaves behind salt with no harmful residue remaining (i.e. bleach residue is safe once dried).
	If you do use disinfectants, it is still highly advised to allow your tank and equipment to dry thoroughly as well (see 'Drying' above). This will ensure that any spots that the disinfectant missed will still result in dead cysts.
o	You are done with TTM. This is their new temporary home, no more transfers necessary; however, you will want to quarantine them for a period of time here to ensure that TTM succeeded and that no other health issues are present on your fish. See 'How long after TTM should I wait to add them to the Display Tank?' below for things to consider.
o	While buckets, tubs and other plastic containers can be used, a glass tank at eye level is optimal for better visualization of symptoms.
•	Hiding places – can simply be PVC attachments of various sizes/shapes, or anything else non-porous and tank-safe you can think of. If treating fish such as gobies, jawfish and certain wrasses, a small plastic container filled with sand may be utilized, however, it must be thrown out and replaced with a new container with fresh sand in the next transfer (cannot reuse it!).
•	Airtube & airstone – it is recommended you buy tubing and airstones in bulk as it is generally considered best practice to throw these away after each transfer rather than trying to reuse them. This is because Airstones especially are very porous, making ensuring complete drying difficult to guarantee. You could just leave them out to dry for an extended period of time (ex. a month); however, they are so cheap, why risk it?
•	Ammonia detox (such as AmQuel or Prime) – good to have on-hand in case ammonia starts creeping up in between transfers. 3 days generally does not allow ammonia enough time to negatively impact a fish, however depending on your fish-to-tank size ratio, you could potentially get there. The best thing to do is to simply add the Ammonia detox product at the beginning of the 3rd day of each transfer to neutralize any ammonia build-up to that point. Many people do this as standard procedure since it doesn't negatively impact the fish to do so even if no ammonia is present.
•	Airtube/airstones – are cheap and low stress on the fish, providing for no major water current that newly added stressed fish have to fight against.
•	Powerheads – may provide excessive water current that newly added fish have trouble fighting against, especially considering most people use a small tank for TTM; Powerheads also have many parts that are exposed to water, many of which have small nooks-and-crannies that are difficult to completely dry and may lead to a parasite transferring over at the next transfer. If you are certain that you are cleaning and drying completely and that the pump is rated correctly for the size tank you are using, then Powerheads are OK; however, completely unnecessary for the fish during the short TTM period.
•	Hang-on-Back (HOB) filters – provides a gentle flow at the top of the water; however, you need to consider the same points made in above in the Powerheads commentary regarding cleaning/drying adequately and having a filter not rated correctly for the size of tank you are TTM'ing with.
How do I transfer the fish to the new tank?
•	By colander: Easy to scoop them up with, and probably the safest method of all. You can find rectangle ones to make it even easier (example from Bed Bath and Beyond: http://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/19817318939533p?$478$). Cover it with your hand or something flat to ensure the fish doesn't jump out in-route to the new tank.
•	By hand: Consider wearing non-powdered vinyl, latex, nitrile or rubber gloves, and you may not want to consider this for fish with excessive spines, especially toxic ones! Otherwise, this is perfectly OK, just be careful not to drop the fish or squeeze it to death!
•	By net: You will hear people instantly say "no" to this; however it is actually OK with some considerations. The risk of using a net for tank transfers has less to do with the parasite risk and more to do with the damage it could cause to the fish with fins getting caught in the net, etc. Now, where parasite risk does comes in to play is that nets don't tend to dry very quickly – you must consider the 'Drying' rule above when dealing with nets – and for this reason I'd personally recommend going with by-hand or by-colander in transferring the fish.
Incidental water transferred: Having very small amounts of water transfer over with the fish to the new tank is perfectly OK. This water is low risk of transferring an infectious Ich life-cycle stage over because the Ich life-cycle stage that TTM is 'tricking' (for lack of a better term) is concreted hard to a surface somewhere in the tank, such as on the side of the glass, heater, hiding places, etc, and importantly NOT in the free floating water molecules itself or on the fish. You should however try to greatly limit how much water you transfer, especially for the ammonia risk.
Can I do transfers more often (less than 72 hours)? Can I do transfers for more than 12 days?
As long as the 12-day minimum is met, and no more than 72 hours has passed between transfers, one can perform more than 4 transfers. For example, the standard protocol is 3+3+3+3, but 6 transfers every two days (2+2+2+2+2+2) would also satisfy the treatment requirements. Other combinations would work, provided the 72-hour rule is not violated, and the total treatment time is at least 12 days. Equally important is to ensure that all equipment is allowed to completely dry AND remain completely dry for 24 hours between uses (the 'drying' rule above). More frequent transfers may not provide for enough drying time, unless one has more than 2 sets of equipment.
Treatment can exceed 12 days as well. A 5th transfer can be performed for additional peace of mind, but is not necessary provided the 72-hour/12-day requirements are met.
Can I use Display Tank water instead of mixing new water?
Yes. IF you are absolutely certain that your Display Tank is free of parasites and disease. Otherwise, you are just transferring over more Ich or other issues, nullifying the TTM protocol. Continuity of water parameters is crucial for reducing the fish's stress. Temp, salinity and pH need to be the same from one transfer to another which is one more reason to use uninfected display tank water. It is advisable to set up the tank for the next transfer at least a day ahead and fully aerate the water. If the Display Tank is not free of Ich, all fish must be removed for treatment, and the Display Tank allowed to remain fallow (fishless) for 72 days to ensure no reinfection occurs. And in that case, you will need to use newly mixed saltwater that has not been exposed to Ich.
Some people will advise against using Display Tank water due to heavier nutrient content causing ammonia to build up faster. However, if an ammonia neutralizer is used, any potential nutrient problems can be avoided.
See the 'If I may already have Ich in my Display Tank, what steps should I take?' section below for more information on what to do in cases where your Display Tank may already be infected.
How long after TTM should I wait to add them to the Display Tank?
The general recommendation is at least 30 total days of quarantining your fish, which may include the TTM period. However, longer periods for observation may be beneficial, and is highly encouraged that you extend the quarantine period to at least 4 weeks following TTM. Because TTM only affects Ich, one must ensure more harmful parasites like Amyloodinium (Velvet) or Brooklynella (Brook) are not present. Typically, these parasites present within the 30-day time period, whereas you can treat as necessary at that point.
Flukes (monogenean trematodes) are relatively easy to treat, and prophylactic treatment with praziquantel (PraziPro, a common shelf item at fish stores) should be part of a standard quarantine protocol. You can even couple TTM with PraziPro, as long as you follow the PraziPro instructions carefully.
Can I couple TTM with Copper or Hyposalinity, or other treatments (formalin baths, etc)?
Yes; however, combining TTM with chemical treatments is simply not necessary for the purposes of eliminating Ich, and may cause additional undue stress to the fish. Some fish (Angelfish, Blennies, etc.) do not cope well with Copper treatments. Similarly, formalin baths and freshwater dips are not recommended in conjunction with TTM.
If other parasites appear during TTM, one should discontinue TTM and treat the new disease instead. Diseases such as Amyloodinium (marine velvet) and Brooklynella are much more virulent than Ich and should be treated immediately upon diagnosis.
If you still choose to couple Copper with TTM, you will always want Copper levels staying at .35ppm or higher, never dropping below it. This is because there is evidence that non-therapeutic levels of Copper (less than .35ppm) masks symptoms of some parasites and disease and can potentially slow the process.
How does TTM compare to Copper, Chloroquine Phosphate or Hyposalinity treatment?
o	Formalin dips: Formalin is not a recommended treatment for Ich. It does provide temporary relief for Velvet and formalin baths in between transfers can obviate Brook and Oodinium; however, there is no evidence it does the same for Ich.
Will Tank Transfer Method work on anything else, such as shrimp or coral?
No. TTM only works on fish! This is because a different Ich life-cycle stage is targeted when it comes to fish vs. non-fish. On fish, we are waiting for the Trophont feeding stage to drop off the fish, and then transferring the fish to a clean environment prior to the dropped-off parasite having time to reproduce (never gives the chance for new parasites to infect the fish). We know that with fish it is extremely rare for a parasite to encyst (Tomite/Tomont stages) on the fish itself, encysting instead on glass or other tank items, which can include hard creatures such as shrimp, hermits, coral, live rock, parts of macro algae, etc. (all bucketed in the "non-fish" category for this commentary purpose).
Research has shown that the encysted stage of the Ich life-cycle can take up to 72 days to hatch, while generally taking only 5-8 days. Due to this unknown range of time (5 to 72 days), to completely ensure that the encysted stage has completed its life-cycle and died, you must keep non-fish fallow (in a fishless environment) for the full 72 days. Many people take their chances and move over non-fish earlier; however, like with anything, the risk is completely up to you on whether to accept or not. Many people get lucky, many people say this is where they went wrong.
There is currently no known method to eliminate the encysted life-cycle stage from non-fish without killing the non-fish along with it.
If I may already have Ich in my Display Tank, what steps should I take?
If your ultimate goal is to completely eliminate Ich from your tank environment, then you will need to remove ALL fish (regardless if you see Ich signs on the fish or not), and treat them. You will need to leave your Display Tank fallow (fishless environment) for 72 days to allow time for the encysted life-cycle stages to complete their life-cycle and die due to not finding a host. ALL corals/inverts can remain in the display tank. Do not use Display Tank water for your TTM water changes while running fallow as you may transfer over a parasite.
After TTM completes, you will need to house your fish in a separate environment for the remainder of the Display Tank fallow period. While TTM can use smaller tanks, you will likely want a larger tank for the remaining period.
Many people have too many fish to TTM all their fish at once. If this is your case, you will need to consider other options, such as Copper, CP or Hyposalinity in a larger treatment tank environment while your Display Tank runs fallow.
These studies are the best research conducted on the Ich parasite, providing us with the know-how to combat it. Everything below comes from understanding the research from these two individuals and the different Ich life-cycle stages.
With TTM, you are simply waiting for the Trophont stage parasites to drop off the fish, which as noted above will complete in 7 days. Given TTM recommends 12 days, there is plenty of buffer to ensure any late stragglers all jump off as well.
Once a parasite jumps off the fish it begins the stages required to multiple and then release new parasites to further infect the fish. So goal number two is to prevent this from ever happening. The minimum amount of time that this takes is 82 hours (2 hours for the Protomont stage, 8 hours for the Tomont stage, and 72 hours for the Tomite stage). As long as you do your transfers sooner than this amount of time then you prevent reinfection of your fish. However, you wouldn't want to just squeeze by with that time; which is why with TTM it is preferred to do transfers every 72 hours or sooner to give you a reasonable buffer of time before new parasites are released. If you miss the window of opportunity and even a single parasite finds a fish host, then the life-cycle begins all over again and you must go back to the beginning of the TTM process.
Although there is some risk of a Tomont forming on a fish rather than on a hard surface somewhere in your tank (glass, heater, hiding places, etc.), research has shown this to be very rare. However, this also means that someone is going to get unlucky at some point in time. A reason why quarantining your fish for inspection for a period of time following TTM is highly encouraged.
Following proper cleaning protocol of the equipment and tank between uses will ensure that the parasites left behind all die; which would be in any of the Protomont, Tomont or Tomite stages at that point.
I heard that you must do the transfers in the morning, is this true?
No. Time of day does not matter even slightly. As long as you are following all the rules (12-day and 72-hour) set above, by the time that the 12 days is up all Trophonts (feeding Ich life-cycle stage) will have dropped off the fish and been eliminated through a transfer. The point of 'morning' comes from the time of day that Tomonts (cyst stage) have been documented to hatch. They do this because it is easier to find fish in the early hours since fish tend to stay close the substrate or rocks while sleeping; increases the chances of a parasite finding a host.
Time of day of your transfers should be selected solely based on convenience for your schedule to give you the maximum chance of consistency. For example, many people prefer to do transfers in the early morning hours because they know they will be home at, for example, 6am every day; whereas, sudden late night work deadlines or happy hours with friends might get in the way of setting transfers at 7pm.
"Infective dinospores can be transported in aerosolized water droplets (Roberts-Thompson et al 2006). Droplets from static systems were shown to be transmissible for up to 1.44 feet however droplets from dynamic ones were shown to be transmissible up to 9.8 feet. This means that adjacent aquaria, (and potentially ponds), could spread the infection of parasites such as cryptocaryon irritans, amlyloodinium, etc. to other aquaria nearby. As such that aquaria that are situated close together should be covered especially if one is known to have or have had a parasite." These references were originally from Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment By Edward J. Noga but after additional use of Google Scholar, there were other examples. So bottom line is respect aerosol transmission of parasites between proximate aquaria.
What is Ich and why should I worry about it?
If reading this post, you likely already understand that Ich is no fun at all, and you are looking for answers as to how TTM can help; however, having a complete understanding of what the Ich parasite is, what causes it to flare up, and how it impacts fish is very important.


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Prologis Begins 21,000 Square Metre Speculative D…
Prologis Begins 21,000 Square Metre Speculative Development in Madrid
MADRID (14 February 2017) – Prologis, Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate, today announced it has begun construction of a 21,000 square metre logistics building, which is being speculatively developed at Prologis Park San Fernando on a 90,000 square metre plot in the SUPI-4 sector of San Fernando de Henares, Madrid.
The building is expected to be completed by the beginning of the third quarter of 2017.
Improved prime features:
The building will be developed to the highest standards with significant technical features, notably a storage height of up to 11 metres, allowing an increase of storage capacity of around 20 percent compared to a traditional building.
Equipped with LED lighting:
Among the innovative features in energy efficiency in logistics buildings, the building will have LED lighting equipment that will reduce electricity consumption by approximately 40 percent.
A key location between major national markets:
The property is 15 minutes from the centre of Madrid, in the San Fernando de Henares area. Prologis Park San Fernando is directly connected with the A2 motorway, linking Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona, and the M-50 ring road.
"This is a strategic entry point to Madrid, with a perfect location, excellent connections and proximity to an available workforce," said Gustavo Cardozo, country manager, Prologis Iberia. "The development will be a point of reference for new logistics and distribution facility generation in Spain, as has been the case with many of the distribution facilities we have developed in Spain."
As of 31 December 2016, Prologis in Spain owned and managed more than 800,000 square meters of logistics space in the main logistics markets.
The statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Such statements involve uncertainties that could significantly impact our financial results. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to rent and occupancy growth, development activity and changes in sales or
contribution volume of properties, disposition activity, general conditions in the geographic areas where we operate, our debt, capital structure and financial position, our ability to form new co-investment ventures and the availability of capital in existing or new co-investment ventures — are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained and therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may affect outcomes and results include, but are not limited to: (i) national, international, regional and local economic climates, (ii) changes in financial markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, (iii) increased or unanticipated competition for our properties, (iv) risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions and development of properties, (v) maintenance of real estate investment trust status, tax structuring and income tax rates (vi) availability of financing and capital, the levels of debt that we maintain and our credit ratings, (vii) risks related to our investments in our co-investment ventures, including our ability to establish new co-investment ventures and funds, (viii) risks of doing business internationally, including currency risks, (ix) environmental uncertainties, including risks of natural disasters, and (x) those additional factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by us under the heading "Risk Factors." We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this document.


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The rising cost of court fees
Victoria Bonnet
Anyone involved with the Court process in recent years will be aware that, like many public institutions, the Courts have been affected by funding cuts. Seemingly in an attempt to help the finances of the Court system, the Government is proposing on increasing Court fees.
The consultation document provides that the Government plans to increase the fees for commencing money claims. The proposal is that from April 2015, fees will increase to 5% of the value of the claim for claims of more than £10,000, subject to a maximum fee capped at £10,000. The proposal is that the fees for claims under £10,000 will not increase.
Whilst the Justice Minister has stated that 90% of cases will not be affected by the introduction of the fee, the announcement has not been welcomed. Indeed, even judges have expressed their concerns, with senior judges raising their concerns that the increase in fees may lead to more litigants in person, who may seek to mitigate the increased court costs by avoiding instructing solicitors to save costs. A further concern is the impact that the increase in fees could have on the appeal of bringing litigation to our courts from overseas.
However, the Government seem determined. The Justice Minister concludes his statement by saying "Increasing court fees will never be welcome. I believe, however, it is right that those who use the services should make a greater contribution towards their running costs, where they can afford to do so. I am also sure that those who choose to litigate in our courts will continue to recognise the outstanding qualities our legal services offer, and the excellent value for money they provide."
It remains to be seen whether the proposed changes will go ahead, but on the face of the proposals it would be wise for any would-be claimants to think seriously about commencing proceedings sooner rather than later.
The full Government statement can be seen here.
Extending your residential lease
Dilapidations 2021 : Can't pay won't pay? Landlords' Notices to Repair During Lease Term
With shorter term leases, greater economic uncertainty, and many repairing issues "parked" in 2020 on account of the pandemic, dilapidations will be an increased issue for commercial landlords and tenants alike in 2021.
Service Charge Disputes in 2021 – Can't Pay Won't Pay?
In a recent service charge decision The Court of Appeal confirmed a commercial landlord's role can be as judge, jury and potentially executioner in terms of the service charge sum payable by the tenant under the lease.
Top tier rankings in this year's legal 500 for national law firm Ashfords
Following the publication of the Legal 500 2021 directory, Ashfords has once more been positioned as an outstanding leading law firm with rankings in 37 practice areas.


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Content on these sites is provided for general information only. It is not intended as medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with qualified health professionals who can determine your individual medical needs.
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This summer, a group of banks in Australia did the unthinkable — they took on Apple, the on-again, off-again largest company in the world.
Today it was announced the banks appear to have lost that fight, as expected. They cannot collectively bargain with Apple, as they had requested.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said on Tuesday in a draft ruling it was "not satisfied" that the likely benefits from allowing the banks to negotiate with Apple as a bloc outweighed the negatives. Allowing collective negotiations "could reduce competition between the banks in the supply of mobile payment services for iPhones," the regulator said.
This draft ruling weakens the banks's negotiating power and makes more likely their capitulation to the Cupertino megacorporation.
The battle was over control of the iPhone's NFC transmitter, which Apple reserves for the exclusive use of Apple Pay. The banks — Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac Banking Corp., three of Australia's Big Four — demanded access, presumably to launch their own mobile payments operations, something they had failed to do before Apple Pay came ashore. ANZ — Australia and New Zealand Banking Corp. — had already made a separate piece with Apple and its name appears in the list of banks accepting Apple Pay.
A spokesman for the banks expressed disappointment with the draft ruling, and called the move a blow to consumer choice for iPhone owners wishing to use mobile payments.


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– A theater and videoinstallation about freedom, body and space.
May 16–17th 2013
PUMA scenkonst (in English: PUMA Performing art) performs the installation Den Gula Tapeten (in English: The Yellow Wallpaper) between 16 and 17 of May at 7 pm at Färgfabriken. The installation contains film and theatre focusing on gender power relations, both in the private and public space.
Limited seats, book your ticket at PUMAs website.
Charlotte, the main characters, life is described through the notes of her diary, which tells us about the time when her husband kept her locked up in her room, because she needed to get rid of her "nervous disorders". In her loneliness she develops a neurosis about the patterned wallpaper which takes a lot of her time and energy.
The performance contains two parts – the first one is a video installation and the second part is a theatrical monologue. With Charlotte, the audience shares her crumbling reality where the spatial boundaries between actors and audience are erased. At the walls the patterned wallpaper plays with itself and moves us into suggestive rooms.
The yellow wallpaper was, when it was published, a critique of the institution of marriage and against women's limited possibilities to independency.
PUMA scenkonst is a non-profit organization with the goal of producing anxious, obstinate and political art with particular focus on gender and power related issues.
By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Director: Aurelia Le Huche
Dramturgical: Elin Skärstrand
Actor: Elin Skärstrand
Music: Simon Steensland
Projection: Tanya Byrne
Set designer: Erika Sjödin
Costume: Aurelia Le Huche


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Can prayer determine the will of God?
Results of surveys and experience.
The importance of assessing God's will.
Americans' prayer life:
Most adults in the U.S. and Canada say that they pray to their deity or deities. In 1999-MAY, the Gallup Organization at Princeton NJ reported the results of a number of public opinion polls taken between 1991 and 1995. They concluded that for American adults:
9 out of 10 say that the do pray. Among them, about:
75% pray daily.
15% pray at least weekly
6% pray infrequently.
Most say that they pray to a Supreme Being; only 1% pray to other options supplied by the polling agency: "a transcendent or cosmic force, to the 'inner self,' or to the 'god within.' " 1
Beliefs about the effectiveness of prayer:
Beliefs differ:
There are countless anecdotal stories of individuals who are totally convinced that prayer works. According to the Gallup report cited above, most of those who pray:
"... report experiencing a deep sense of peace and the strong presence of God through prayer."
They often say that they:
"... have received an answer to specific prayer requests. Still others say they have gained a deeper insight into some biblical truth, and that they have been inspired or led by God to perform some specific action." 1
The vast majority of those who pray:
"... seek guidance [from God] for decisions" 1
that are before them. Teleministers frequently mention that God has spoken directly to them in prayer; so do many individual believers. Clergy often recommend that their members pray to God to find out his will on all significant matters.
On the other hand, some liberal theologians believe that prayer is useless when a person is trying to assess the will of God. Garry Williams reported in the Dallas Morning News that Rowan Williams, the new archbishop of Canterbury and the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion:
"...discusses how people who hold different views of Jesus should understand their differences. He argues that they do not have the voice of God to tell them which beliefs are right. They have their own differing visions of Christ, but Christ himself is silent." 2
If prayer is effective and reliable, then many conflicts that arise in life would be easily settled. A few examples are:
Over the almost 23 years of this web site's existence, we have have received many dozens of Emails from Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christian couples, whose marriages are headed for "the rocks." Both prayed separately to determine whether God wished that they:
Stay together and try harder to make their marriage work, or
Separate and perhaps divorce in the future. They often believe that they received opposite responses.
Within Christianity, there are countless disputes over theology. For example:
Conservative Christians often view the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a heretical "cult" -- many feel that the LDS church is not even Christian. Meanwhile, Mormons generally regard their faith group as the only accurate reconstruction of the early Christian movement. Many Mormons regard other contemporary Christian denominations as having deviated from primitive Christianity and from the teachings of Jesus. Obviously, either one or neither of these two groups could be correct.
Even within a single wing of Christianity, there are many conflicts about religious belief. The Zondervan Publishing House has produced a Counterpoints series of books. Each book considers a single topic, and allows three to five leading Evangelical Christians to discuss their opposing beliefs about that topic. Some of the topics discussed are:
Who will be saved and who will be lost.
The rapture.
The meaning of the book of Revelation.
End of the world scenarios: Premillennialism Postmillennialism and Amillennialism.
If, and under what conditions, is divorce and later remarriage biblically allowable?
The nature of Hell.
Creation and evolution.
Similar disagreements can be seen within debates over the role of women:
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is composed of sincere, thoughtful, intelligent, devout, knowledgeable, born-again Evangelical believers. They promote very separate roles for men and women -- roles that they feel are God-given and fixed. They consider women and men as being of equal value and importance, but advocate that women not be in any position of authority over any man or have a position of equal power to their husband in the family. They are able to support this position with numerous quotations from the Bible. 3
The Council on Biblical Equality is also composed of many sincere, thoughtful, intelligent, devout, and knowledgeable Evangelicals. They promote an equal status for men and women, with no reserved roles for either gender. They also support their beliefs with numerous biblical quotations. 4
Each group sincerely, devoutly, prayerfully believes that they are representing the true Biblical message on the roles of men and women. From their literature, it is obvious that both feel that God is on their side. Yet only one, at most, can be holding the correct view.
Back in 2003, the membership of the Presbyterian Church (USA) was almost evenly divided on the question of ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians in committed relationships:
Conservatives in the denomination generally believed that the Bible condemns all homosexual activity as sinful, even if it occurs within a devoted, committed, loving, and permanent relationship. The concept of lowering ordination standards to allow ministers who engage in such sinful behavior was repugnant to them.
Liberals in the church generally believed that homosexuality is a normal, natural, fixed, and morally neutral orientation for a minority of humans. They accept committed same-sex civil unions and relationships as equivalent to marriage. They supported ordination of sexually-active homosexuals, and regard it to be a human rights issue.
Presbyterians on both sides are thoughtful, sincere, dedicated, devout, intelligent and committed to their faith and church. Yet they seemed unable to resolve this issue.
Members of the Episcopal Church, USA, the United Methodist Church and may other denominations have shared this conflict.
The importance of accurately assessing the will of God:
When a person prays, believes that they have assessed the will of God on some matter, and acts on the information that they believed that they have received from God, the results can be life changing for a person, a family, or sometimes even for hundreds of thousands of people. One incredibly sad occurrence was discussed by Ewen MacAskill, who -- writing in The Guardian -- said:
"George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. ..."
Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said:
"President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did."
Mr Bush went on: "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East'. And, by God, I'm gonna do it." 5
Former President George Bush's decisions to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, were largely a response to the earlier attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon by a small group of terrorists on 2001-SEP-11. Most of them came from Saudi Arabia. A 2014 study found that the death toll from the Iraqi war reached 500,000. 6 If the invasion had not happened, and dictator Saddam Hussein had continued his dictatorship, the death toll might well have been hundreds of thousands fewer.
A test of the effectiveness of prayer:
If prayer to assess the will of God were truly effective, then all of the above conflicts could be very easily resolved. One could simply assemble the thoughtful, devout believers with diverse beliefs, ask them to pray, and determine the will of God. God's answer would then the same for all of the believers.
By following this method:
A couples in a troubled marriage would be able to determine whether God wished them to separate or to continue in efforts to remain together.
Believers would be able to determine which, if any, Christian denomination(s) out of the approximately 30,000 Christian denominations, sects and faith groups in the world represent the true church. The other denominations could then change their beliefs or close down.
Church schisms would never occur. Debates could be settled before conflicts rose to the point where a denominational split was inevitable.
There would be no need for Zondervan, and other publishers, to sell books which explain conflicting biblically-based beliefs among Evangelical Christian leaders, because all would hold the same beliefs.
Results of prayer:
When couples pray for God's wishes about their marriage, each spouse is usually certain that they received a response from God. However, when they compared notes, they often found that God's messages conflict. One spouse reports that God wants them to stay together; the other believes that God wants them to separate.
In such matters as:
Which is the "true" Christian denomination,
The role of women in the church and family,
Theological debates, and
God's wishes concerning equal rights for the LGBT community, etc.,
it is apparent that Christians on both sides of various issues feel that they are receiving communications from God; but the messages conflict.
Thus, conflicts in families, within denominations, and between denominations continue. Disagreements cannot be resolved. One is led to suspect that devout, thoughtful believers may not be able to assess the will of God. One has to look for alternative explanations. Two might be:
Believers are unable to get a meaningful response from God during prayer. They are generating answers within their own minds, and deluding themselves into believing that the messages come from God, or
Believers obtain conflicting messages during prayer, presumably from different sources.
This throws great doubt on the use of prayer as a method of assessing the will of God.
George Gallup, Jr., "Poll releases: As nation observes National Day of Prayer, 9 in 10 pray -- 3 in 4 daily," 1999-MAY-6, at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr990506.asp Unfortunately, the Gallup Organization now restricts public access to its historical data base. It is now only available to subscribers to the Gallup Organization's "Tuesday's Briefing."
Garry Williams, "Garry Williams: Archbishop's theology not orthodox. Author says differences not restricted to sexual ethics as frequently reported," Dallas News, at: http://www.dallasnews.com/religion/
Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood maintains a web site which promotes defined roles for men and women. See: http://www.cbmw.org
Christians for Biblical Equality has a home page promoting non-discrimination on the basis of gender . See: http://www.cbeinternational.org
Ewen MacAskill, "George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq'," The Guardian, 2005-OCT-07, at: https://www.theguardian.com/
Kerry Sheridan, "Iraq Death Toll Reaches 500,000 Since Start of U.S.-Led Invasion, New Study Says," 2014-JAN-23, at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/
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Since the founding of our business in 1985, our staff at Raymond Brothers Landscaping has worked to set the standard for excellence for landscaping in Woodcliff Lake NJ and surrounding towns. At Raymond Brothers, our top priority is always customer service. This is the reason we have developed our landscape maintenance and design company on the referrals of our customers' friends, family, and neighbors. We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our landscape maintenance and design services' quality as part of our commitment to Total Quality Management in every aspect of our landscaping work. Get in touch with the landscaping professionals that your family and friends have relied on if you are looking for a landscaping contractor in Woodcliff Lake NJ.
Expert landscape design in Woodcliff Lake NJ is one of the key ways to raise both the resale and aesthetic value of your property. We provide a wide range of landscape design alternatives at Raymond Brothers Landscaping, making it simple to locate an alternative ideal for your personal requirements. We will consider the way in which you want to use your outdoor space, your budget, and also your vision for your property when performing work like defining distinct areas in your garden with shrub and hardscape elements and designing beautifully contoured flowerbeds. Through the use of high grade native plants, we reduce your landscape maintenance costs by reducing watering needs and also the replacement costs of grasses, flowers, and shrubs which aren't suited for your local environment. We provide a large variety of specialty services in landscape design, which includes landscape lighting and water features as a full service landscaper serving Park Ridge NJ.
Whether you wish to create a focal point in your yard by creating a small oasis with a pondless waterfall or you want to give your swimming pool a tropical atmosphere with waterfalls, plants, and hardscape elements, Raymond Brothers Landscaping is a top choice for a landscaping company in Woodcliff Lake NJ that is able to design water features which make your dreams a reality at an affordable price. As a leading water feature landscaping company, we specialize in pondless waterfalls since they're very low maintenance, energy efficient, and safe for families with kids and pets. Call Raymond Brothers Landscaping to learn more about our services related to water feature landscaping in Woodcliff Lake NJ.
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As a top rated choice for a commercial and residential landscaping service in Woodcliff Lake NJ we at Raymond Brothers Landscaping totally commit ourselves to making sure your lawn is totally protected. To ensure this total level of protection we offer wide variety of services. Something that a lot of home and business owners don't take into account when it comes to landscaping is the damage that specific insects are capable of causing. The insect management applications we offer will stop this from occurring and make sure that your landscape has the capacity to boom. We are aware of what insects are likely to result in damage to your landscape in the local area and the best way to prevent them from doing so because we have a great deal of knowledge and experience in the local place. With tick protection programs we're capable of making sure that when you're enjoying spending time in your outdoor oasis, you, your family, or your employees won't have to worry about these potentially dangerous insects. To supply the maximum protection possible for your landscape, if you are looking for a local commercial and residential landscaper in Woodcliff Lake NJ don't hesitate to take advantage of the wide variety of services we can provide at Raymond Brothers Landscaping.
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Our landscape maintenance team's attention to detail is one of the reasons Raymond Brothers Landscaping is among the most highly respected landscape maintenance contractors in Park Ridge NJ. Few landscaping services additionally provide the vast array of services we can. The large variety of services we're effective at providing at Raymond Brothers Landscaping puts us in a better position to fit your needs, whatever they might be. Such a large number of business and homeowners in the local region depend on us to ensure that their landscape looks its finest year round for this and many other reasons. Insect management applications, snow and ice management, yard cleanup, fall aeration, and different lawn treatment are all services you can expect. When you need a high quality landscaper in Woodcliff Lake NJ for an personalized landscape maintenance plan, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.


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HomeThe CityCharitiesCharitable Choices: Samantha Ouyang of Superposition Toronto
Charitable Choices: Samantha Ouyang of Superposition Toronto
September 21, 2021 Demian Vernieri Charities, The City
We had the chance to talk with Samantha Ouyang, Founder of Superposition Toronto about the work they do at the organization.
Describe your charity/non-profit in a few sentences. When did you start/join it?
Superposition Toronto is a non-profit dedicated to bridging the gender gap in STEM by creating educational opportunities and supportive communities. Founded in July 2020, they set out to change the narrative of women being left out of STEM and innovation, to create a safe space where everyone feels that they truly belong and can pursue their passions with confidence and excitement, rather than doubt.
Women make up only 23% of science and technology workers, 19% of first-year engineering undergraduates, and 16% of first-year computer science undergraduates in Canada. Though we've come a long way, gender minorities are still very much discouraged from pursuing STEM due to underrepresentation or discrimination. People often say, "Girls just aren't into STEM," but it's important to ask why. This narrative has been carved out from traditional beliefs of masculine and feminine interests and activities, discouragement from a lack of female role models, a highly male-dominated culture within the field, and girls losing confidence early on in their lives. Diversity in STEM matters, because STEM is driving innovation for everyone on the planet. Innovation however, cannot be accomplished without a diversity in perspectives, and this lack of diversity represents a loss of talent and discovery, hindering further societal development.
What made you want to get involved? What was the situation like when you started?
In my first two years of high school, I quickly learned that my areas of interest — technology and engineering — were largely overshadowed at my school. I was frustrated by the fact that my school put so little effort into supporting them, and I felt like I couldn't reach my full potential because of it. But what really exacerbated the issue was that those who did share my interests were all male. That lack of community made me feel lost and alone, and I struggled to find my place. While I did consider the guys to be my friends, there were numerous times where I faced prejudice from them — where they doubted my skills, discredited my achievements, and blurted out blatantly degrading comments without thinking — but I just tried to pretend they never happened. Looking back, I stayed close to the people that hurt me the most because I had no one else to go to.
For too long, I simply accepted the fact that some things were just going to remain the way they were. When my male friends took jabs at my coding skills, I just laughed with them too — I thought it was just something I was going to have to put up with. No one ever wants to call it out, because we all just want to avoid trouble and pretend that things are fine, when in reality, that's far from the truth. I didn't think anything could really change — but that's because no one was actually taking action. So I took a chance last year and tried, and since then we've grown into Toronto's largest student-led women in STEM non-profit and I couldn't be more proud of what we've accomplished in just a year.
In just a year, we've reached over 33,000 individuals in 80 countries and all inhabited continents through our workshops, panels, contests, and social media. We've made accessible educational opportunities on STEM topics that aren't taught in schools, such as AI, blockchain, gene editing, and bionics; built a supportive community of women in STEM; and fostered an environment for young women to build their confidence, to prove to themselves that they can do a lot more than they think.
What more needs to be done? How can our readers help?
Solving this issue definitely won't be easy, in fact, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 135 years to close the gender gap. However, there are ways you can help, even if you're male, to combat this issue from the inside out. One thing to recognize is that you can't change the systems unless you change the people within the systems — you can't close the gender gap without involving the majority group, a key reason to promote allyship. Becoming mentors to younger girls to encourage early participation, help build confidence, teach skills, and create a support system is one of the easiest ways to do this. It's also important to assess your own implicit biases and privileges, participate in discussion, be an active listener, and amplify women's voices rather than speak for them. Something we don't believe in entirely at Superposition Toronto is pure advocacy. You can have an informative social media page talking about the issue, increasing awareness and fostering dialogue, but that doesn't actively bring more girls into STEM. Our approach differs by equipping them with skills, hosting interactive and accessible workshops and events where they can actually learn and try their hand at these technologies, all the while establishing a welcoming community where they can meet other girls on a similar journey.
Do you have any events coming up?
We actually just wrapped up our largest event since being founded! From Aug. 13 to 15, we hosted The SuperPOSITRON, an international all-female & non-binary virtual hackathon with 1100 signups from 63 countries. It featured 24 technical and career-building workshops and talks, 8 networking sessions, 14 fun activities with the chance to win limited edition swag bags, over $62,000 in prizes, and $600 of free tech for all attendees! We also hosted a pre-hack week called "Liftoff" from Aug. 10 to 13, with a variety of workshops that equipped them with the skills and tools you needed to build their own project, even as a complete beginner.
You can stay posted about our newest initiatives by following us on our Instagram, our website, or by joining our Discord community to network with other women in STEM! We are also active on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok.
One of our favourites has to be CryptoChicks, a non-profit based in Toronto that is committed to educating women about blockchain, cryptocurrency, and other emerging technologies like AI. They have programs in Canada, US, Russia, Pakistan, and the Bahamas and major hackathon events that are supported by large companies like Microsoft and Deloitte. We've partnered with them in the past to deliver workshops on blockchain and smart contracts, and love how closely our missions align, with a focus on empowering women and learning by doing.
Samantha Ouyang
Superposition Toronto
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Charitable Choices: Frances-Anne of CaribbeanTales
April 5, 2022 Demian Vernieri Charities, The City
CaribbeanTales is a registered Canadian charity that helps to eliminate racial discrimination. We spoke with Frances-Anne, Award-winning Filmmaker, Director Member […]
Charitable Choices: Youth Without Shelter emergency residence
January 29, 2019 Joel Levy Charities, The City
We first spoke with the people at Youth Without Shelter back in 2016 and thought we would follow up with […]
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Not long ago we had the chance to speak with Lindsay Oughtred, Executive Director of Kids Up Front, about how […]
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Lauren London Honors Nipsey Hussle for Father's Day
Lauren London is remembering Nipsey Hussle this Father's Day.
On her first Father's Day since his passing, the actress is honoring her late boyfriend and the father of her son with a sweet dedication on social media.
Taking to Instagram, London shared a photo of her and Nipsey with their son Kross. "One of the reasons I fell in Love with You…. Your Fatherhood," she wrote. "Today we celebrate You Love you Ermias 💙"
She added another heartfelt message on Instagram Stories: "Happy Father's Day to The Great. Sent a lot of prayers to Heaven last night."
One of the reasons I fell in Love with You…. Your Fatherhood Today we celebrate You Love you Ermias 💙
A post shared by Lauren London (@laurenlondon) on Jun 16, 2019 at 8:33am PDT
It's been two-and-a-half months since Nipsey was shot and killed outside of his Marathon Clothing store in L.A. London and Hussle began dating in 2013 after meeting on social media. They have a two-and-a-half-year-old son named Kross together. Nipsey also has a daughter, Emani, from a previous relationship.
Following his death in March, the 34-year-old actress opened up about losing her best friend and devoted dad. "I am completely lost," wrote a heartbroken London. "I've lost my best friend."
But his legacy lives on. Nipsey will be honored with the Humanitarian Award at the 2019 BET Awards on June 23. DJ Khaled, YG, and John Legend will also perform a tribute to the beloved MC, who is nominated for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist.
2 Chainz Uncovers Late Father's Hidden Cash Stash
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Mango season. That glorious time when fruit that tastes like pure sunshine is falling from all the trees in the neighborhood. It comes and goes so quickly that sometimes we hardly know it has passed. Everyone seems to come together in their love of mangoes. Even the odd person who doesn't like them seems to embrace everyone else's excitement. There is sharing between neighbors, there are rivalries over who had the best variety growing, and, best of all, mango everything to eat. Pickled mango, li hing mui mango, mango jam to keep the season going just a bit long, and every kind mango dessert you could imagine.
This sorbet is one of my favorite mango recipes because it really accentuates the smooth luscious texture of a perfect mango. To keep things interesting in a time of potential mango overload, I add lime and ginger to spice it up a bit. (The ginger syrup can also be used to make a wonderful cocktail with lime, white rum, and a bit of soda water.) I usually make this recipe ahead of time when I am having a dinner party. It is a great way to end a celebratory evening with a glass of bubbly. As long as it is in an airtight container, it will remain soft and smooth in the freezer for up to a week. If it gets too hard, simply leave it on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.
This is also great in cocktails!


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Science, Technology & Medicine > Mathematics & science > Biology / life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences
Science, Technology & Medicine > Earth sciences, geography, environment & planning > Earth sciences > Palaeontology
On the Anatomy of Vertebrates - Cambridge Library Collection - Zoology Volume 2 (Paperback)
Richard Owen (author)
Richard Owen F.R.S. (1804-92) was a controversial and influential palaeontologist and anatomist. Owen studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and at London's St Bartholomew's Hospital. He grew interested in anatomical research, and after qualifying he became assistant conservator in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and then superintendent of natural history in the British Museum. He quickly became an authority on comparative anatomy and palaeontology, coining the term 'dinosaur' and founding the Natural History Museum. He was also a fierce critic of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and engaged in a long and bitter argument with Darwin's 'Bulldog', Thomas Huxley. Published in 1866, this is the second book in a highly illustrated three-volume set that comprises a thorough overview of vertebrate anatomy. This volume focuses on the anatomy of birds, and includes the first part of the analysis of mammalian anatomy.
Unlikely Friendships
Jennifer S. Holland
British Bird Sounds
Ron Kettle
CD-Audio
The Red Canary
Tim Birkhead
Biodiversity Economics
Andreas Kontoleon
A Dictionary of Animal Behaviour
In the Shadow of Man
Birds of Senegal and The Gambia
Nik Borrow
The Dog Listener
Jan Fennell
Reason For Hope
An African Love Story
Dame Daphne Sheldrick
The Eye: A Very Short Introduction
Michael F. Land
Our Inner Ape
Frans de Waal
When Elephants Weep
Jeffrey Masson
The Dog's Mind
Bruce Fogle


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Q: How do I scroll a JPanel with keyboard, while other components have focus? I've been looking for a solution for this, I think, very common, problem, with Java Swing, but can't find specific answers.
I have this Swing JPanel with a scrollable JPanel on top, showing an  image of a document.
Below there is more Swing components, e.g. a JTable and some textboxes, JButton controls etc. in another panel. (There are more panels in the same JWindow.)
When user edits data etc. in the boxes below, these of course gains focus as it should be. Now when the user wants to scroll for some specific data in the document, he/she needs to set focus (with mouse/tab) on this first, and then scroll.
So user would like to use e.g. arrow up/down keyboard without leaving focus from the other component he is working with.
I've tried to set keyboard handlers up, but can not get it to work without involving moving focus to the top.
Isn't there a way to scroll a scrollable Swing component without this component (and another) has focus?

A: If the components are text fields in the scroll pane, it seems Page Down works if the (first, at least) text field is focused. This is the result of running such code and hitting Page Down a few times.

If this behavior is needed while components outside the scroll pane are focused, perhaps look to key bindings.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;

public class KeyboardScroll {

    private JComponent ui = null;

    KeyboardScroll() {
        initUI();
    }

    public void initUI() {
        if (ui != null) {
            return;
        }

        ui = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(4, 4));
        ui.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(4, 4, 4, 4));

        JPanel textPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
        for (int ii = 1; ii < 101; ii++) {
            textPanel.add(new JTextField("Field " + ii, 30));
        }
        JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(textPanel,
                JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS,
                JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);
        ui.add(scrollPane);
        Dimension d = textPanel.getPreferredSize();
        scrollPane.getViewport().setPreferredSize(
                new Dimension((int)d.getWidth(),100));
    }

    public JComponent getUI() {
        return ui;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Runnable r = new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                try {
                    UIManager.setLookAndFeel(
                            UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
                } catch (Exception useDefault) {
                }
                KeyboardScroll o = new KeyboardScroll();

                JFrame f = new JFrame("Use 'Page Down'");
                f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
                f.setLocationByPlatform(true);

                f.setContentPane(o.getUI());
                f.pack();
                f.setMinimumSize(f.getSize());

                f.setVisible(true);
            }
        };
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(r);
    }
}

A:
Isn't there a way to scroll a scrollable Swing component without this component (and another) has focus?

Then general solution is to use Key Bindings.
However, the problem is that each component can implement Key Bindings itself for the up/down event, in which case the related Action for that component is invoked.
The tutorial demonstrates how you can remove key bindings from a component.

a JTable and some textboxes

So these are examples of components the do implement up/down key bindings.

JButton controls

Is an example of a component that doesn't have default up/down key bindings.
So you could add your own with code like the following:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

public class SSCCE extends JPanel
{
    public SSCCE()
    {
        setLayout( new BorderLayout() );

        JPanel top = new JPanel();
        top.add( new JTextField(10) );
        top.add( new JButton("Button") );
        add(top, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);

        JLabel label = new JLabel( new ImageIcon("mong.jpg") );
        JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane( label );
        add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);

        JScrollBar scrollBar = scrollPane.getVerticalScrollBar();

        InputMap im = getInputMap(JScrollBar.WHEN_ANCESTOR_OF_FOCUSED_COMPONENT);
        ActionMap am = getActionMap();
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("pressed UP"), "up");
        am.put("up", new AbstractAction()
        {
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
            {
                scrollBar.setValue(scrollBar.getValue() - scrollBar.getUnitIncrement(-1));
            }
        });

        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("pressed DOWN"), "down");
        am.put("down", new AbstractAction()
        {
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
            {
                scrollBar.setValue(scrollBar.getValue() + scrollBar.getUnitIncrement(1));
            }
        });

    }

    private static void createAndShowGUI()
    {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("SSCCE");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.add(new SSCCE());
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(javax.swing.WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setLocationByPlatform( true );
        frame.setVisible( true );
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
    {
        java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater( () -> createAndShowGUI() );
    }
}

In the above example the image will scroll when focus is on the button, but not on the text field.


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Norberto Claudio Bautista (ur. 30 grudnia 1940 w Rosario, zm. 13 maja 1987) - argentyński piłkarz grający podczas kariery na pozycji środkowego obrońcy.

Kariera klubowa
Norberto Bautista rozpoczął karierę w klubie Rosario Central w 1959. W 1968 występował w stołecznym Banfield. Ogółem w latach 1959-1968 rozegrał w lidze argentyńskiej 126 meczów. W 1969 wyjechał do kolumbijskiego klubu Deportivo Cali. Z Deportivo zdobył mistrzostwo Kolumbii w 1970. W 1972 był zawodnikiem klubu Cúcuta Deportivo, a w latach 1973-1974 Amériki Cali. Karierę zakończył w drugoligowym Central Córdoba Rosario w 1976.

Kariera reprezentacyjna
Jedyny raz w reprezentacji Argentyny Bautista wystąpił 31 marca 1963 w zremisowanym 1-1 meczu z Paragwajem w Mistrzostwach Ameryki Południowej. Na turnieju w Boliwii Argentyna zajęła trzecie miejsce.

Przypisy

Bibliografia

 Profil
 Profil

Reprezentanci Argentyny w piłce nożnej
Piłkarze CA Rosario Central
Piłkarze CA Banfield
Piłkarze Deportivo Cali
Piłkarze Cúcuta Deportivo
Piłkarze América Cali
Uczestnicy Copa América 1963
Urodzeni w 1940
Zmarli w 1987
Ludzie urodzeni w Rosario