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Tag: Parvaiz Rasheed
Victory without Unity is Impossible
Shamim Masih has been a fantastic writer on bringing a snapshot on the everyday life experiences of the Christian minority in Pakistan. That snapshot has typically not been a pretty picture. In this post contribution I actually considered to not post it on my American oriented blog. Honestly I was kind of left wondering what the completeness of this picture sent by Shamim. I am sure Shamim will correct me if I am incorrect. My sense is that the theme of this report is a demonstration of a lack of unity among minority writing journalists and Christian Rights activists. And if my understanding is correct then Shamim is calling for a dialogue that brings a better unity of purpose among the movers and shakers of the Christian minority to deal with the discrimination that exists perpetuated by the Muslim led government.
Move to unite muddled community
By Shamim Masih
Sent: 12/15/2013 2:54 AM
ISLAMABAD: Exactly where there exists oneness; there needs to be glory. If there is zero oneness; there isn't any tranquility plus the vice versa. Therefore, I will steer any struggle for oneness, tranquility in addition to the legal in the Country. Union of Minority Journalists Islamabad (UMJI) search for glory will never be doable should the disunity in addition to rancor from the bash just isn't swiftly solved. In line with Sohail Johnson, Chairman Sharing Lifetime Ministry, there's a critical difficulty from the local in addition to countrywide stage in addition to among the agencies in the country. Therefore all of us organized this course, which is the initial associated with it is sort in the country captivated higher ranked journalists in Islamabad. Greater than 50 journalists compiled in order to enjoy Christmas celebrations in Islamabad in addition to Senator Parvaiz Rasheed (Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Cultural Heritage) as main guest at the occasion, Sohail Johnson Chairman Sharing Life Ministry, President PFUJ Afzal Butt, Shehyar Khan, National Press Club Islamabad in addition Romina Khursheed Alam (MNA) had been visitors associated with respect. Contributors contain members in the city's contemporary society in addition to mass media personals had been shown to enjoy the occasion.
The Christmas celebration with minority journalists was started with the recitation of Holy Bible and prayer in Pakistan National Council of Arts –PNCA Islamabad.
Conversing with the journalists Senator Parvaiz Rasheed stated [the] constitution in the state shield the actual rights in the country, there isn't any elegance about the facets associated with faith. As a result govt. associated with Pakistan is convinced in addition to make it possible for many in order to claim their strict ceremony as outlined by their strict norms. He powerfully ruined the actual anti Point out components in addition to enquired the journalists in order to fight against these phones bring tranquility in the country. Government's major make an effort to assist in many people with virtually no strict elegance, he added.
Sohail Johnson, Chairman Sharing Life Ministry stated that Christians are here to join arms along with govt. in progress in the state. He focused in which Christian believers in the country are usually fortifying the country. He told in which govt. to bring reforms in fixing the actual discriminatory laws in the country. Christian believers have got contributions inside their career fields associated with education in addition to health at the same time and will create their predisposition, he added. Tariq Chaman, President UMJI stated in his allowed target in which journalists may bring tranquility inside the contemporary society by means of their particular contribution. He demanded many small section journalists in order to endure simultaneously to bring oneness inside the contemporary society.
Conversing at the special occasion Shamim Masih, author in addition to human rights activist told the actual group to quiet in addition to motivated; because in order to him, whatever the actual judgment could possibly be glory will likely be for the UMJI. He asked for the actual members to pay attention to their do the job in addition to struggle for tranquility in the country. He stated in which whereby there exists oneness; there needs to be glory. If there is zero oneness; there isn't any glory plus the tranquility in addition to the legal vice versa. Therefore, all of us can steer any struggle for tranquility, the legal in addition to oneness in the neighborhood.
Be Blessed,
Shamim Masih
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Author oneway2dayPosted on December 15, 2013 Categories Christian Politics, Christianity, Organizations, PersecutionTags Afaz Butt, Christian Unity, Christmas, Minority Rights, Pakistan, Parvaiz Rasheed, PNCA Islamabad, Romina Khursheed Alam, Shamim Masih, Shehyar Khan, Sohail Johnson, UMJILeave a comment on Victory without Unity is Impossible
Shamim Masih Christian Pakistan Updates
Shamim writes about Christian Rights and the abuse of Christians. He also writes with a spark of nationalism for Pakistan as you will realize in the last sentence of the last article of three that I am posting here. As an American I have mixed feelings in combining as a singularity the two issues of Christian Rights in Pakistan and nationalism for Pakistan. Making the effort to see it from the other side I guess the only perceived hope for Christian Rights in Muslim Pakistan is a national acceptance of Christian Pakistanis as equal citizens.
PMA launched to protect Christians' rights in Pakistan
Sent: 8/12/2013 11:31 AM
ISLAMABAD: I am the true follower of the Shaheed Shahbaz Bhatti and will continue the struggle for my people, said Tahir Naveed Chaudhry.
According to the sources, Tahir Naveed Ch- Ex. Member Punjab Assembly – MPA has launched a political party with the name, Pakistan Minorities Alliance – PMA [Stories I found: HERE and HERE] aims to protect Christians' rights in the country. Talking to the media at the launching ceremony he said that minorities in the country are being targeted frequently during the past decades. I am devoted to serve my community and have spared my life to protect their rights, he said.
The PPP government had declared August 11 as Minorities' Day in 2009 by the effort of our leader Shahbaz Bhatti but the present government is in no mood to celebrate Minorities Day. This shows the lack of interest from the newly elected government towards minorities but we made an effort to make this day, a memorable day and staged the launching ceremony, he claimed. PMA signifies Quaid –e-Azam's speech to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947 in which he had said, "You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State." [Related Post: Pakistani Christian community celebrates Equality Day on August 11]
PMA believes that Pakistan was established as a secular Islamic republic at the inception of its nationhood in 1947. As the years have distanced itself from 1947 Pakistan has become more and more entrenched in the purist Islamic thought that revolves around the theo-political jurisprudence of Sharia Law.
Chaudhry said that we have equal rights according to the founders' speech, but religious extremist are trying to divide citizens of the country. PMA is committed to promote peace and harmony in the country.
Talking to the gathering at the launching ceremony, Sohail Johnson [The blog Random Thoughts has numerous posts relating to Mr. Johnson. I believe you can getting a snapshot of Mr. Johnson's work with this tag link.] Chairman Sharing Life Ministries said that the government has illustrated that they will not tolerate the celebration of the minorities living in the country during the holy period of Eid. Article 2 of the Constitution clearly states, "Islam shall be the State Religion of Pakistan" and this fact alone enshrines a principle that all other faiths are secondary and a natural pariah status to believer of non-Islamic teachings.
The Christian community has upheld minorities' day celebrations despite governmental insouciance and we pray that this will not manifest in the attack on our communities, he added.
We would not beg for our rights, says Dr. Paul Bhatti
Sent: 8/14/2013 1:43 AM
ISLAMABAD: We are equal citizen of Pakistan and we would not beg for our rights; instead we are going to get our rights because we are united, said Dr. Paul Bhatti.
Talking to media in National Press Club, Islamabad – NPC Dr. Paul Bhatti Ex-Minister In charge for National Harmony said that Minorities' Day was declared in 2009 by the effort of my brother and then Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti. The day signifies Quaid-e-Azam's speech to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947 in which he had said, "You may belong to any religion, caste or creed- that has nothing to do with business of the State."
However, this government doesn't seem serious to stand with minorities. He condemned the Parvez Rasheed's statement about the celebration of Minorities' Day. Dr. Paul criticized Parvez Rasheed and said instead encouraging our courageous step about minorities' rights, he become critical.
Parvaiz Rasheed the Information Minister had criticized Dr. Paul Bhatti and said that Dr. Paul Bhatti and Akram Gill were portraying the picture of minorities' rights in Pakistan. "They (Bhatti and Gill) represent their party (PPP and PML-Q) that is why they are politicizing the matter."
However, information Minister said that the day is falling during Eid holidays. Though Pakistan is going through a testing time but Minorities are on our priority list, he added.
Dr. Paul Bhatti added passages of Shahbaz's speech on August 14, 2008: Shahbaz Bhatti said "This very first step of solidarity." In coming people "have also proved" that they "would be no more depressed and voiceless." " From now, I assure you all, that we are no more beggars and we would not beg for our rights; instead we are going to get our rights because we are united . . . the sons of this sacred land of Pakistan," Bhatti said.
"Women," he added, "have to come out of [their] homes." They must join "our peaceful struggle for equal rights . . . and youth has to sacrifice to make a new history of Pakistan."
We are strengthening the nation and I have been visiting people at their places and creating awareness among Pakistani minorities, Dr. Paul added.
Our first identity is Pakistani and we are proud of it, says Albert David
ISLAMABAD: Today we are celebrating our 67th independence day. No doubt freedom is a blessing and we celebrate this event with zeal and joy as Pakistanis and as Christians. Let's pray and work together for a prosperous and peaceful Pakistan. Let us not forget that our first identity in the community of Nations is being Pakistanis, let's be proud of it, said Albert David.
Talking at the Independence Day celebration, Albert David Chairman Pakistan United Christian Movement said, that there is no doubt that there are many inequalities that hurt us as Non-Muslims, be it constitutional, social or political in Pakistan. However there are bigger challenges that we face as Pakistanis, war against terrorism being the biggest. And let's not forget the energy crisis, economic problems and governance issues and above all the current situation at the borders with India.
We have to stand up with these challenges as Pakistanis, we have to come out of our alienation and own Pakistan and the national issues. We have to make use of all our potentials and work with the wider community to overcome these challenges, he said.
As Pakistani Christians we have another important responsibility. We have to regain the same glory and honor that we had during the first three decades of our independence. Where we produced soldiers who became part of history, our education institutions are still the best and have been producing leaders of national and international stature, we had an important role and presence in the field of medicine, he claimed.
Unfortunately our progress and development has slowed down due to the reasons both social and political however we must admit that we have suffered from brain drain. Our institutions have weakened and we have become infertile in producing enough leaders rather visionaries to take on the responsibility of leading us and converting into a nation, he added.
Let us make a pledge today that we will work together and implement the word "unity" that we talk about the most. Let us start appreciating each other's abilities rather than criticizing just for the sake of it. Let's not work for quick wins let's start thinking and plan for 100 years ahead, let's not only think politically but analytically, not only be leaders but visionaries.
Let us not only give statements about youth, let's believe in them and give them the space to grow and develop as future leaders and visionaries. Let us not forget the word "transition". Youth and children are the best investment that we can make today.
Let us collectively work on a national agenda, do away with personal interests. An agenda of development, be it social, political or economic, let's work on a road map of achieving it and agreeing priorities, one of these in my opinion is education.
God bless all of you and our country. Pakistan live forever!
All information links are by the Editor
Author oneway2dayPosted on August 17, 2013 August 17, 2013 Categories Christian Politics, ChristianityTags Albert David, Christian Persecution, Christian Rights, Equal Rights, Minorities Day, Pakistan, Pakistan Nationalism, Parvaiz Rasheed, Paul Bhatti, Shamim Masih, Sohail Johnson, Tahir Naveed ChaudharyLeave a comment on Shamim Masih Christian Pakistan Updates


Frank Hannibal: I need to speak to whomever is in charge.
Ebbirnoth: That would be me.
Lieutenant Pel Ebbirnoth at your service.
Frank Hannibal: "Lieutenant." An ancient term whose original meaning was "One who stands in place of someone else." The "tenant in lieu of the master."
Frank Hannibal: Which is to say, you're not in charge, b ut you might know who is.
Ebbirnoth: That might be what the word used to mean. Right now, though, "Lieutenant" means I get to decide who Sergeant Schlock shoots first.


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Home A & E Stage Bricks Theatre's bitter "The Mercy Seat" unfolds the day after Sept. 11
Bricks Theatre's bitter "The Mercy Seat" unfolds the day after Sept. 11
by Jennifer A. Smith
Peter Hunt and Molly Vanderlin in the Bricks Theatre's The Mercy Seat.
Walking into a Neil LaBute play, I feel like I should brace for impact. LaBute, who wrote and directed In the Company of Men -- the film that launched the career of his frequent collaborator, Aaron Eckhart -- creates characters who run the gamut from morally ambiguous to outright repellent. Misogynists, cheaters and jerks are his stock in trade.
In its latest production, the Bricks Theatre takes on LaBute's 2002 play, The Mercy Seat, which mines territory riddled with moral dilemmas. In roles originated in its sold-out New York run by Liev Schreiber and Sigourney Weaver, local actors Peter Hunt and Molly Vanderlin play Ben and Abby, who've been having a long-term affair. The play opened Thursday night at 827 E. Washington Ave.
You might be tempted to call them "lovers," except that term seems so ill-suited to their liaison. They bicker, insult and jab each other, only occasionally lapsing into moments of brief tenderness. They don't seem to even like themselves, much less love each other.
We meet the combative pair in Abby's New York loft on a day like no other -- Sept. 12, 2001, just a day after terrorist attacks have killed thousands only blocks away. Ben's cell phone rings and rings, his wife calling to find out whether he's dead or alive.
When the towers were struck, Ben should have been inside at a meeting; instead, he was having a sexual encounter at Abby's. Now Ben questions whether or not this moment of national tragedy has opened up a space to reinvent his life. Will he make the choice to allow his own family to believe he's dead, just so he can start over someplace else with Abby? "This is our moment," he urges her. Though the set-up is a bit preposterous, LaBute's play gets at the ways in which we, even in the midst of terrible circumstances, can think and act in petty self-interest.
There's an appropriately rueful, dazed, weary quality to Hunt's portrayal of Ben, punctuated by bouts of anger. He's dissatisfied with his life, yet seemingly unable to commit fully to either his wife and kids or his mistress, who also happens to be his boss.
And not surprisingly for a LaBute play, what used to be called the battle between the sexes is in full swing, too. "You're the guy in this relationship," Ben spits accusingly at Abby. Even their sex life -- dissected in detail -- seems to play out his attempt to gain the upper hand.
LaBute's dialogue, like that of David Mamet, is rapid-fire and often profane. He aims for a realistic style in which people cut each other off or let sentences go unfinished. While it seemed to take Hunt and Vanderlin a few minutes to get the rhythm going, they eventually locked into LaBute's brutal groove.
Under the direction of Bricks co-founder George Gonzalez, this is a heady production that asks us to consider not only world events (is it really possible 9/11 was nearly a decade ago?) but the ways in which we fall short ethically and the rationalizations we pile on to cover those failings.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Mother Watched Daughter Victoria Martens As She Was Being Raped And Killed By Boyfriend
A 10-year old innocent girl Victoria Martens was raped and killed by her mother's boyfriend Fabian Gonzalez in a very brutal manner in New Mexico back in 2016.
The girl had turned 10 recently and this is how terrible of a surprise her very own mother gave her.
We all have heard this news before but the recent Victoria Marten update 2020 will shock you to your core. We are already warning you, the details have the potential to give you unrest for the rest of your week.
A lot of people are wondering how a mother can be so cruel to her own children? What does it really take to be this savage and barbaric to your offspring? Because as far we know, even animals protect their children?
Let us find out the real story of Victoria Martens and what really happened to the innocent creature at the Victoria Martens' apartment.
Who Is Victoria Martens and What Happened to Her?
Chipchick.com
Victoria Martens lived with her mother and a younger brother in an apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She did not have a father to take care of her. And apparently, from what we learn in the story, her mother was an alcoholic and a drug abuser.
The little girl was born on August 23, 2006, and had a life full of tragedy till 2016 when her mother's boyfriend alongside his cousin Jessica Kelly brutally murdered her. The nature of the murder was so tragic and severe that her body was also torn into pieces.
How Did Police Realise About The Murder?
Viralnova.point 144 | com
According to resources, the police department received a call on 911.point 206 |
It was about a domestic assault and abuse at the Victoria Martens' apartment.point 71 | When the cops arrived, they found out poor Victoria Martens' dismembered body parts in a burnt blanket inside her mother's apartment.point 196 | 1
The cops arrested her mother Michelle Martens who is a 35-year old woman, alongside her boyfriend, 31-year old Fabian, and his cousin Jessica Kelly,31. Jessica had recently come out of prison only four days ago.
Read how this grandmother murdered her husband and now serving a lifetime in jail
Shocking Victoria Martens Update 2020
Viralnova.com
Men often came, raped the little girl. While her mother facilitated them in all of this in the Victoria Martens' apartment. Not only this but they also sexually abused her young son.
Michelle Martens had found her boyfriend Fabian from a digital dating app who raped her before murdering her. As per some resources, after brutally murdering Victoria, all three had dinner together as nothing happened.
What Police Found Out About Little Girl?
Michelle Martens has given contradictory confessions to the police as she said she injected her daughter with meth. Whereas, only there was only alcohol in her body. However, the cops got disturbing information upon investigation.
Michelle's boyfriend repeatedly raping her daughter from a month and she was got the HPV virus. Fabian had not only raped the little girl but also made videos and took pictures on his cell phone.
Later when he put her on fire dislocating her whole body. Taking out some of her body organs, he left her to dumb in the washtub. He also took out her heart wrapping it into a plastic bag.
All three of the criminals have pleaded not guilty in the court. Since 4 years, the court did not decide anything so far. However, a first-degree murder case against all 3 individuals is going on in the court. The court rejected Jessica Kelly's plea request.
Please share this blog with as many friends and family you can so you could save your daughter and sons from such tragedies. Sharing is caring!


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Nancy Unsure Who She's Speaking To & What Day It Is – Suffers Total Brain Freeze
What's wrong with Nancy Pelosi? More and more Americans are wondering just that after the Speaker of the House has been caught suffering from massive brain freezes and glitches lately. Just yesterday, the 79-year-old Democrat was addressing the American Road & Transportation Builders Association when she forgot who she was speaking to and didn't know what day it was. Then, in the end, her brain froze completely. Don't miss this.
Nancy Pelosi (Photo Credit: YouTube/Screenshots)
Nancy Pelosi's past gaffes have been chalked up to drinking alcohol or being overly medicated. In the beginning, we all had a good laugh. However, for those of us who are keeping track of the Speaker's struggles to keep a coherent thought, yesterday's display is really troubling and might be due to an underlying medical condition that is just getting worse.
Pelosi was supposed to be addressing the American Road & Transportation Builders Association to sell an infrastructure plan. During her 14-minute remarks, she lost track of who she was speaking to and what day it was.
Touting the plan to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure, Pelosi said, "This is really a pivoted— pivotal moment."
Moments later, she said, "You know last week, we um — was it last? I'm losing track of the days of ah — last week was the um, ah, celebration of the golden spike," referring to the railroad that crossed the country.
"Did I say I was closing? I'm just going to say it again. I'll close by saying this," she said, repeating herself, despite the shortness of her remarks. She clearly was lost. Almost as if she didn't know where she was.
Just moments later, she couldn't remember the organization she was speaking to, despite previously heaping praise on its leaders.
"I congratulate you for this wonderful conference. I want to again commend um, the," she said, fumbling through her notes. "I'm not going to say your initials, I want to say the whole word here. Uh, The American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the Association of General Contractors of America."
She ended her remarks with a brain freeze, awkwardly staring at the audience as she fumbled for words.
"We just have to stick with the program," she said. "Just stick with the program," she laughed, "and uh, um, again, um — I'm confident that it will happen," Pelosi blurted.
"Can I say it that way," she looked off stage with a bizarre laugh. "I'm confident that it will happen," she slurred, before offering a hearty wave and departing the podium.
This isn't the first time we have seen Pelosi suffer from what medical professionals call "trans-ischemic-attacks" or TIAs. It sure looked like oxygen wasn't reaching all her synapses. Pelosi's mal-functioning in public is getting beyond a joke.
Just two months ago, the Speaker was addressing the "Friends of Ireland" luncheon, in front of the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and esteemed guests, Pelosi struggled to keep her train of thought. Her sentences trailed off making no sense, and she suffered from brain freezes, slurred speech, and repeated words.
Pelosi began by telling reporters that President Trump and the Prime Minister of Ireland would be visiting the Capitol today in honor of St. Patrick's Day this weekend.
As she suffers a brain freeze, she said the lunch was intended "to honor St. Patrick and ah, ah… the beauty of immigration to our country of, and ah, ah — people coming from Ireland." It was really hard to watch and really difficult to understand.
In the middle of another statement, she let out a big sigh before continuing. But as she continued, she seemed to be lost while talking off the top of her head and quickly reverted to her notes.
"Herd— Hurting families and hungry fam— farmers and hungry families by slashing $220 billion from the SNAP food assistance and cutting Agriculture Department budget by almost 15 percent," she said.
The Speaker tripped over saying "LGBTQ community" and suffered another brain freeze mid-answer. Then, the House Speaker said some of the Democrats' ideas for climate change "will be consistent with some of what's in the— in, uh, the, the Green Deal— New Green Deal?" she said, looking at the reporter for a lifeline.
She again called it the "Green Deal" just moments later. It wasn't the first time she botched the socialist plan's moniker:
No one wishes their worst enemy to suffer from medical issues, not like this. Although people love to laugh at Pelosi, maybe it's time we stop and implore her family to get her the help she needs.
At 79-years-old, Nancy needs to retire, and it's up to her Democratic colleagues to also insist she step down and pay attention to these brain freezes and glitches. It's imperative to our national security. Pelosi is 3rd in line to the presidency. We can't allow someone so close to the office of president to be suffering from brain issues. Yet, they all ignore this.
But, we shouldn't be surprised. The leftist media along with the Democratic machine looked the other way when Hillary Clinton had major episodes of unwellness all throughout the 2016 campaign. It's how the party of death rolls. They condone killing babies after botched abortions, so why wouldn't they turn a blind eye to an elderly woman having what looks like mini-strokes on live TV.


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Labels: idiocracy, idiots, jerks, stupidity
This is a re-post. Original post can be found here- Insane IITians.
This blog post is the blogger's imagination. Any resemblance to any other real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. This supersedes all previous notices.
The Rowdy Keralite:
Rowdy was born in Kannur district of Kerala. Since his childhood, he has taken great joy in irritating others. He would steal the lunch boxes of his friends in school, and then laugh at their bewildered faces! Once it so happened that he did the same to a new boy, who, in turn, hit him so hard that he changed his life forever. Since that fateful incident, he has been wearing a plastic nose to hide his true deformed face.
As a child, (un)fortunately, all his teachers were abusive. They were sarcastic bastards, which changed Rowdy altogether. Rowdy became insensitive to his surroundings and his fellow human beings, losing the sense of humility and empathy altogether.
The greatest disappointment in his life is his inability to get in IIM Kozhikode, which was almost next door for him. He then wanted to be a physician, but he was deemed physically unfit for the same. He then turned his attention to the subject Sheldon Cooper hates the most.
Greatly influenced by Indiana Jones, he started his expeditions in state of Rajasthan. His explorations led him through the desert and once he reached the temperate regions, he proclaimed himself successful! Taking great pride in his fairness, he fondly calls his people 'black', forgetting that he has already landed in prison thrice for the offense.
He then decided to turn into a teacher, in the hopes of turning innocent minds into sarcastic-emotionless-blood-sucking-vampire-zombies, and joined a deemed university. To hide his true face, he started wearing big glasses on top of the aforementioned plastic nose.
His daughter is a doctor, working in the clinic nearby. However, he takes great pride in her, and remains in the illusion that she is a part of AIIMS. As if that was not enough, he mentions it ten times a minute, making you want to burn your ears!
During his exploration of Afghanistan, his breakfast, lunch and dinner were the same- kebabs! He is in so much love with Kebabs he says-
If you gimme a choice of picking one among a million dollars and a meal of kebabs, I would choose the kebabs blindly.
(Such a wise ass! Someone tell him how many kebabs can be bought with a million dollars, as his math is not so average)
During his lectures, he makes the students take more classes than himself. This is to ensure that his inefficiency in the subject is not exposed, much like Gilderoy Lockhart, he takes important steps like talking in a language which makes even the most knowledgeable think twice. As such, anything that he doesn't understand is termed 'high level'- be it advanced sarcasm, or something as simple as arithmetic addition.
The most unbelievable thing about Rowdy is his affinity for the opposite gender. If you want a good grade and you are a guy, the only thing left for you to do is a sex change. Otherwise, you can kiss your progress in his subject(s) goodbye.
Any Jerk:
Any has always been a kind hearted person, it's just that he is too weak. He completed his education in vernacular medium, and ended up learning English late in his life, but imperfectly. Other details about his life are not so known, as he is apparently from a family under witness protection. Rumor mill has it that he witnessed a brutal killing by serial killer Theodore T-Bag Bagwell, and ended up in witness protection after testifying against T-Bag.
Any then started his great explorations. He greatly believes in traditional methods which are mostly outdated. Because of his contributions to Science, which had already been proved centuries in the past, he was offered a professorship at MIT (Moron Institute of Technology), and he definitely jumped at the opportunity!
Now, here's the catch. As mentioned earlier, he loves his mother tongue. However, the medium of instruction at MIT is English. To win him over, you need to write imperfect English, or else, well, the less said the better. It also happens that he is unable to understand the issues of his class because of the language barrier. He once brought all his exploration equipment inside the mini-classroom just because he couldn't understand what Sher Dil was asking about!
Once, it so happened that Sher Dil went to get a recommendation letter from Any. Although Any was teaching him a course on his outdated methods, he refused to recognize Sher saying he was trying to impersonate someone. However, it turns out that he did so because he did not want to type out a letter, and Sher Dil did not have a format prepared for the same.
Big Eyes:
Big Eyes is perhaps the scarily craziest person in the vicinity of MIT. He has a perfectly spherical head, and a cylindrical torso. The only fact known about Big Eyes is that he sets fire to every place he sets his foot upon, making him largely untraceable!
Big has always been the bad-ass dude, and rightly so. With the strength of an ostrich, he is famous for his shit studies, literally. He analyses animal shit- yes, holy sh!t indeed. Big follows a protocol when collecting his sample. He uses modern technology to track the animals down- sophisticated instruments important from far-off lands. Big Eyes then battles fierce animals ranging from rabbits to deers, and forces them to shit their pants. And then Big gives out his scream of victory, pissing over the area to mark the boundary of his dominance.
Big has a scar on his face, not from just any animal, but the Duckbilled Platypus. During an Aussie trip, he was left hungry after his food supplies were stolen by a kangaroo, he tried (unsuccessfully) to steal the eggs of a Platypus. When Big was caught red handed, he tried to make a fierce (and might I add, making his face even rounder) expression to divert the attention of the Platypus. The angry Platypus, in no mood for amusing gestures, flung at Big with all its might, forcing him to spit out the eggs he had tried to steal!
Big has always been the opportunist- rising at the cost of others at every possible chance he got. Over the course of his opportunist days, he has made more enemies than friends, and weirdly enough, he takes great pride in the fact!
There have also been attempts on his life- fifteen to be exact. The closest someone could get was a certain Mr Scornful Student. Scornful utilized Big's weakness and sent him muffins, poisoned ones. Big, the glutton that he is, ate all of them at one go. However, Big was left hungry and went on to eat more. The food that he stuffed inside him was so much that it diluted the poison to such an extent that it was just enough to give Big loose motions. It is rumored that Big then confronted Scornful, and he was never heard from ever again.


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How could reward seat availability improve?
One of the greatest loves for frequent flyer members is not so much the earning of points, but the time when you can start redeeming those hard-earned points for much-loved reward seats.
Over the frequent flyer industry's history, the opportunities to earn points has grown exponentially from its early beginnings. However, the opportunities to redeem points for reward seats have generally not kept up, resulting in many frustrated frequent flyer members sitting on a pile of points, with nowhere to go.
This Editor's View takes a look at the issue of reward seat availability, how airlines have tackled this problem in the past and what they could look to do in the future.
The economics behind reward seat availability
The song 1979, by Good Charlotte, speaks to how it was a good, good year and that life was simple. I'd be surprised though if the writers of this song knew how applicable these two points (pun intended!) are to frequent flyer programs. For avid travellers like myself, 1979 was indeed a good, good year. It was, in fact, the year that frequent flyer programs were born, courtesy of Texas International Airlines. And back in those days, these programs were very much simple. You earned a mile for every mile flown, and you redeemed your miles for seats. That's it.
But the airline industry is one of the toughest industries to operate in, and airlines around the world look for all possible opportunities to optimise their operations, and subsequently, their profit margins. Everything from flight schedules, fuel burn, fuel hedging, labour costs are all in play, but so too are aspects of airlines' frequent flyer divisions. Specifically, the opportunities to increase the revenue earned from selling points to an ever-growing list of program partners.
Increasing the list of program partners though can be a double-edged sword for frequent flyer members. While it's good news that members have more opportunities to earn points, the increased number of points subsequently awarded and vying for reward seats that don't commensurately increase in number, means that there is less chance for members to redeem their points for their intended reward.
The increase in reward seats as compared to opportunities to earn points has not exactly grown by as much as the above indicates.
Notwithstanding the many variables that affect airfares, such as operational costs, competition and product quality, I believe that most people understand one of the main factors that determine the price of an airline ticket is the concept of supply and demand. That is, the higher the demand for seats, the higher the price of the airline ticket. Conversely, the higher the number of seats available, the lower the price of the ticket.
The economics behind reward seat availability is not too different. There are generally two types of reward seats available, called 'Any Seat' rewards and 'Classic Flight Rewards' or ' Reward Seats' by Qantas and Virgin Australia respectively. The former act in exactly the same way as cash fares, with the only difference being that prices are quoted in terms of frequent flyer points rather than in cash. In contrast, the latter works in a fixed-points-cost-basis, where the cost of the seat is heavily discounted and as such, the number of seats released is limited. Until recently, the latter type of reward seats was the only type to be offered to members, with the objective being to fill seats that would otherwise be left unsold.
Releasing of Classic Flight Reward seats is definitely a high-wire act for airlines' revenue management teams. Release too many Classic Reward seats, and the airline potentially forfeits the ability to sell the seat to fare-paying customers. Release too few, and airlines run the risk of frustrating their loyalty members potentially to the point where they become disengaged and no longer earn the airline points revenue from transacting with program partners.
There is nothing more frustrating for a member than unsuccessfully looking for a Business Reward seat, only to board the plane from the front and see half the Business cabin empty. Or seeing a Business Reward seat open up, but just days before departure, which for many, is too much of a risk to take, especially in high demand travel periods.
Seeing an empty Business Class cabin after spending months searching for a Reward Seat can be frustrating.
So, what have airlines been doing to remedy this situation, and what could they be doing better?
What have programs been doing to increase reward seats?
The issue of reward seats being hard to come by is nothing new, especially during high travel periods when demand for these seats easily outstrips supply. But airlines have faced this challenge and looked to 'right' the disequilibrium between demand and supply in different ways.
For example, some airlines, especially those based in the United States, have gone down the path of dynamic pricing, where the points cost of a reward seat fluctuates with the demand for those seats. While dynamic pricing has been sold as potentially being a win for members during off-peak and low-demand travel periods, in the main, it has been quite unpopular among frequent flyers. This is because the removal of award charts has also removed the certainty in price that these charts provided. This did cause some disengagement among many program members, which I'm sure was not the objective of these programs.
Delta's dynamic pricing madness: Economy, premium and Business are all the same price. It definitely is not the conclusive solution to the reward seat availability problem.
Qantas publically acknowledged in June 2019 that the occasional lack of Classic Reward Seats was one of the major gripes of Qantas members. As a result, they made sweeping changes to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, with those relating to reward seat availability being:
The addition of 1 million extra reward seats per year through new airline partnerships with Air France-KLM Air New Zealand, Bangkok Airways and China Airlines
A reduction in the number of points required on domestic and international Economy Classic Rewards and an up to 15% increase in points for premium cabins on domestic and international Classic Flight Reward seats and up to 9% increase on the points for upgrades. The points cost changes were done to better reflect the demand-supply profiles for the different travel classes.
Qantas also upgraded their IT systems to better handle the allocation of upgrades and issue them even as late as 'at the gate'. Many times, premium cabin reward seats become available at the last minute due to such events as missed connections or no-shows, and previous IT systems could not process outstanding upgrade requests before boarding commenced.
But are there even smarter ways to improve reward seat availability that will benefit both members and airlines?
Frequent Flyer programs need to think 'outside the square'
At present, the moves made by airlines to improve rewards seat availability have resulted in just as many costs for frequent flyer members as benefits, such as a higher cost for redemption in exchange for increased reward availability. And at times, the only result has been a higher redemption cost!
While the concept of booking airfares online has been with us for over two decades, many people still prefer to use third parties such as travel consultants to book their flights, especially for more complex international itineraries.
As it stands today, many travellers still seek out assistance from third parties to help them secure an exceptional deal. These deals though are currently limited to cash fares, where travel consultants are provided with a bucket of fare classes that are exclusive to that provider, depending on the size and scale of the company.
The current model though does not extend to reward seats purchased using frequent flyer points. And here lies the opportunity for airlines and frequent flyer members alike.
Could airlines release exclusive reward seat fare buckets to third party travel providers?
The benefits that can arise from airlines offering a bucket of exclusive reward seats to travel consultants in a similar vein to that of cash fares include:
For the airlines
Increase the pool of members open to reward seat offers by including those that use travel consultants. Doing this will increase the likelihood that such members would look to utilise the service of the airline rather than a competitor by being able to use their frequent flyer points on a reward seat.
Encourage members to redeem their points for flight rewards rather than non-flight rewards, with the former being less costly for the airline. The cost is less, as the airline would not need to procure the non-flight redemption from an outside supplier, who themselves would be looking to take a financial cut from the transaction.
An increase in reward seat revenue for the airline as these exclusive buckets could be offered at a slightly higher points cost. Frequent flyer members may well be willing to pay the higher cost to obtain the reward seat that otherwise would not be available under a standard deeply discounted online rewards search.
Greater reward seat bookings made by more members will give airline revenue management teams more accurate visibility of the actual supply and demand for reward seats, up to 365 days in advance.
For frequent flyer members
Travel consultant may be able to provide their client with a solution to their travel request that may not otherwise be available should the specific airline not have provided the consultant with an exclusive bucket of reward seat fares.
Allows the frequent flyer member to use the points on their preferred option should that be reward seats, rather than having to make use of them on a sub-optimal redemption.
At present, there is an obvious glitch in the above recommendation that would need to be addressed. And that is travel consultants are incentivised to book cash fares by way of commission paid by the airline to the consultant. No such commission or incentive structure exists for the booking of reward seats. This, coupled with the inventory of reward seats that travel consultants currently see being no different that of the frequent flyer member, means that booking of reward seats outside of the airline's online channel is currently non-existent.
While a simple 'commission per booking' model could be used by the airline to incentivise travel consultants, more creative incentive structures could be more effective in accomplishing this objective. These include:
an increase in the supply of reward inventory the more a travel consultant books rewards seats, which will help drive further airline and hotel bookings for the airline
advanced reward seat allocations for popular redemption flights (such as the Qantas 787 Perth to London service)
payment or additional reward seat allocations for enrolling a new customer to that airline's frequent flyer program
Imagine a time when a customer could walk into a travel agency and after outlining to the consultant their travel plans, get first asked "Do you have any frequent flyer points that you could use for this booking?"
The above scenario is quite a step-change from what is occurring today. But with the incentives to travel consultants outlined above providing the 'lead-hook' to asking customers this question, it's very much a plausible scenario that will benefit both the travel consultant and the customer.
The benefits for frequent flyer programs as a whole should also not be understated. If customers feel that they can redeem their frequent flyer points for their 'seat of choice' with some high degree of likelihood, then they are much more likely to engage with the frequent flyer program and utilise their points rather than simply seek out the cheapest cash fare for their intended route. And by incentivising consultants to include frequent flyer points payment into the lexicon of their travel advice, then the likelihood of meeting frequent flyer members' redemption needs indeed increases. And so too would member engagement.
And don't forget the opportunity for consultants to be further rewarded should they enrol new members to frequent flyer programs. While Qantas and Virgin Australia boast 12 million+ and 10 million+ members respectively, that counts for around half of the adult Australian population. Travel consultants are bound to assist many travellers that are currently not members of a program for various reasons, and these programs would be of value to them.
It has surprised me that this has not already occurred. I mean, airlines have already allocated separate fare buckets to reward seats, such as (X) for Economy, (Z) for Premium Economy and (U) for Business Class as an example. So it appears less to be an operational or administrative hurdle and more to do with an idea not yet considered or one that has already been rejected by airlines for fear of cannibalising revenue tickets.
The above 'Business Reward' seat is allocated a standard fare bucket (Z). Could new exclusive fare buckets be the way of the future?
If it is the latter, the above benefits for airlines should give them pause.
The progress towards improving reward seat availability has been a mixed bag among airlines, given the disparate paths taken to address the issue. But while steps have been taken by airlines, there continues to be a level of frustration about reward seat availability that continues to this day.
These concerns have been largely mitigated at present given the current COVID-19 travel restrictions, however, as travel demand begins its path back to normality, the 'pent up' demand for travel is likely to exacerbate this problem in the years to come.
The suggestions above look to benefit travel consultants, frequent flyer members and airlines. The benefits are a result of increased member engagement through increased opportunities for members to use their points on their preferred redemption, increase in revenue from reward seat redemptions and increased transparency of the demand-supply relationship to more optimally release reward seats without cannibalising revenue tickets.
Failure to address this issue could well lead to member disengagement, something that no airline would want to sacrifice, especially given the financial lifeline that frequent flyer divisions have played to so many airlines during this COVID-19 pandemic.
What are your thoughts about reward seat availability? Comment below.
Check out the other Point Hacks Editor's View articles here
How could reward seat availability improve? was last modified: April 9th, 2021 by Daniel Sciberras
Who wrote this guide?
Daniel lives and breathes loyalty programs, and has spent over two decades researching the best ways to earn and redeem loyalty points for maximum value. He travels for both business and leisure and is a frequent traveller to Europe and the US. In his downtime, he enjoys CrossFit, hitting the beach and playing tennis.
Daniel can also be found on: LinkedIn Twitter
Read more articles by Daniel Sciberras.
platy says:
IMHO the logic is profoundly flawed on many counts.
On the positive side, in my experience, most program members are poorly informed about the program they belong to – how to find award seats, get a good deal, when to book, etc. So many need help.
That said, it amazes me that no airline / programs make effort in educating their membership base. Lucky for folk who run websites such as this one.
So yes, expert advice could help fix that issue.
Now to the flip side. We need to view the loyalty program and the airline as two separate entities. I'm sure that the program is delighted when a member spends points on items other than award seats. Merchandise etc is in good supply whereas classic award seats aren't. Relatively large numbers of points get drained from the liability bucket. The program has done it's maths. It's demanding sufficient points from the member to cover the cost of supplying the cash equivalent award. It's got control of the sell and buy pricing of the points its issued.
The airline has no interest in paying commission for a third party to make a booking. It's whole ethos is the opposite. Encourage customers to self serve.
In any case, it would be the program, not the airline that would need to factor the additional cost. If such an increase in costs were ever entertained, we, the members, would end up paying for it anyway.
The airlines / programs locally, especially QF, are creaming cash revenue through "carrier charges". All they need to do its up those even more – then we all get to pay more.
The airline isn't necessarily going to release extra award seats, just because there are travel agents willing to be third parties.
Those agents themselves would need extensive training to master the tricks to booking award seats and get good value for a customer's points. I doubt that the airline or loyalty program is equipped to provide such training or oversee any process to manage and guarantee quality in service level provided.
By creating a new distinct subset of award seats you'd be diluting access for others.
An alternative point of view is to encourage the two currently invested parties to hold the airline / loyalty program to account for numbers of award seats released.
The real power lies with the program member because ALL of the cash flowing through the loyalty system ultimately comes from the program members.
Yet most members have no idea what returns they are getting from their engagement and loyalty
The secondary power lies with the program partners who buy the points in the billions upon billions of dollars per year. Their investment is undermined when the program devalues and the airline doesn't release classic award seats.
We just don't now if the big players like Amex are having those discussions closed door.
The third power lies with regulation. In most jurisdictions points aren't treated as a financial entity. Regulation subsumes to some feeble application of consumer law.
Introducing a peripheral party is unlikely to create fundamental change.
I'd love this to happen!!
Time is short and to book your redemption flights can take ages online.
I would happily pay a savvy agent to do this for me.
Paulette Kay says:
I looked at booking 1-30 Nov 2021 Business today Sydney to London return and came up with a cost of $8553 (about the same as pricing end of 2019) but the same trip using points was an astounding 1,236,300 plus taxes. I have paid 360,000 points previously for business RTW with Qantas. Have not read anything about this increase in points anyway. I have screen shots. If not a computer glitch, a huge impact on value of points.
Brandon Loo says:
Hi Paulette, looks like your 1.26 million+ trip price on points is a Qantas 'Points + Pay' booking, which is when the cash fare is converted to points at a low value.
What you booked before were the coveted 'Classic Flight Reward' seats, which are fixed price and very limited in supply.
Was points + tax only on another try today but will pursue another path to establish if point value's changed. Appreciate your response. Thanks Brandon.
Mark Harwood says:
This setup was effectively in place in the mid 1990s with QFF. Travel consultants of a certain standing could see redemption seats and book them using members points. They charged a fee to the member for the service as they saw fit, sometimes doing it for free if you were booking a large holiday as well with them. There is no reason why this could not still be the model though I think the life of the travel agent is limited into the future.
Anthony Koning says:
Nice feeler being put out here and probably not all that different if you are a person who has GOLD or higher status.
For someone like me (and many others) that were left on a lower status level due to the pandemic and QANTAS' poor handling of the status situation I doubt will see anything but a reduction in seat availability with a program like this.
I think you need to be more specific about the proposed "slight" cost.
Is the proposal to add more seats or take from the existing pool thereby again disadvantaging loyal frequent flyers.
I did not appreciate the business class classic rewards increase. Basically my points pool devalued by 15%.
I don't like the prospect of losing more opportunities for flight rewards for programs like this.
The further things go the more hoops you have to jump through to get a flight on popular routes. The playing field is nto level anymore.
QANTAS screwed too many people over with the way they handled status maintainence. I missed out on gold by 90 SC and had flights booked which would have given me earlier access to reward seats. They would of lost a lot of frequent flyers in similar situations if they did not basically have a monopoly. The simple solution was to extend status birthdays and maintain frequent flyer status. They can still do this and remove the bitter taste from many people's mouth.
In summary, anything that reduced the value of my points or reduces my ability to access seats is another nail in the coffin for my relationship with this program.
Introduction: what is a reward seat and how does it work?
When do frequent flyer programs release reward space for redemptions?
Why frequent flyer programs are the main game for airlines
Points & Miles Guides
editorsview Using Points
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Time to read: 8 minutes


text:
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Disney cancels Descendants 3 red carpet out of respect for the late Cameron Boyce
Christian Long
@cuneform
Tag: Cameron Boyce
Tag: Disney
Tag: Descendants 3
Tag: Descendants
Following the unexpected death of actor Cameron Boyce, the Disney Channel has canceled a red carpet event for Descendants 3. The red carpet was originally scheduled for July 22, according to Deadline.
A statement released by the network reads as follows: "We're proud to be part of Cameron Boyce's legacy by showcasing his talents on screen but we are canceling the red carpet premiere event for Descendants 3 and instead, The Walt Disney Company will make a donation to the Thirst Project, a philanthropic organization to which Cameron was deeply committed."
Descendants 3 will wrap up the Disney Channel original franchise, which follows the adventures of the offspring of Disney's most notorious villains. Boyce played Carlos, the son of 101 Dalmatians' notorious fur enthusiast Cruella de Vil. With permission from the actor's family, the cable network will dedicate the telecast of the film to Boyce's memory.
Boyce, who was only 20 years old, passed away unexpectedly over the weekend. Just yesterday, his family clarified that the young actor died of a seizure as a result of epilepsy.
In addition to the Descendants franchise, the prolific up-and-comer had guest roles in Disney projects ranging from Jessie, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Spider-Man.
Aside from acting, Boyce was very involved in the Thirst Project, which aims to bring awareness about the global water crisis and build wells in Swaziland. In April, he was awarded the Pioneering Spirit Award at the 9th Annual Thirst Gala for raising $30,000 for the organization. You can read more about the Thirst Project and what it does here.


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You are here: Home » Nuts and Bolts » Referee Nuts and Bolts – November 2011
Referee Nuts and Bolts – November 2011
by: John Van de Vaarst
Volume 30 – November 2011
This monthly column is written primarily for the college and high school soccer Referee. However, any soccer Referee who wishes to improve personal performance may also find that this series is helpful.
All articles address those basic techniques, procedures, practice alternatives, and skills that are often forgotten or overlooked while going through the experiences of soccer refereeing. The short discussions and accompanying tips stress important advice for competent performance.
This month's article focuses on making the tough call and dealing with the critical situations.
There are many times during the course of a season and at times during one game that critical calls must be made by the referee. Some people call these the moment of truth and others just accept them as part of the game. In either case, the referee must make a decision, control emotions and keep the game in control. This article will provide several examples that a referee must deal with that can cause loss of game control or future problems for the referee.
A border line foul is committed by the defensive team just inside the penalty area or near the side of the area while the attacking player is moving away from the goal. Should the referee award a penalty kick? This is a decision the referee must make rapidly. What are the options? a)call the penalty and more than likely the team will score a goal b)make up an indirect free kick foul so the attackers will have a free kick but not a penalty kick c) ignore the foul and allow play to continue. Option "b" is not a choice. This decision will only let the players, coaches, bench personnel and fans know that the official cannot make a critical call and is taking the easy way out. If the incident is truly a foul, it is a penalty kick. The only option the referee has is to ignore the foul and allow play to continue. This can work if it is the type of foul that is somewhat questionable. However, if the foul is a clear breach of the rules, a penalty kick must be awarded.
Related to the above is a foul is committed by the defensive player in the penalty area during an overtime period. The referee must immediately decide whether to award the penalty kick or not. Making the call could easily result in the goal being scored and the game won by the kicking team. The referee must show extreme courage in this situation and if the foul warrants the call then the penalty kick should be awarded. About the only option for the referee is if there is a clear advantage and a strong opportunity for the attacking team to score on the advantage call.. If this works out the referee will have allowed the players to win the game on the field and there should be no controversy. However, if the advantage is not realized, the referee will have a tough situation to deal with for the remainder of the game. Making this type of call is what makes a referee one of the top in the Country.
During a recent high school game with the attacking team loosing by one goal, they chipped the ball over the defense. A player broke through and was running toward the ball. The goalkeeper came out of the penalty area and leaped in the air to clear the ball. In the process, the goalkeeper fouled the attacking player with the goalkeepers knees up near the attacking player's face. The attacking player is on the ground and clearly in pain. Does the referee a) award a direct free kick; b) stop the clock and caution the goalkeeper or c) stop the clock and eject the goalkeeper. This decision must be made with no hesitation. Clearly, all players and coaches must know the decision to prevent retaliation. At a minimum, the goalkeeper should be cautioned. If the referee felt it was serious foul play, an ejection is appropriate. No matter which decision is made there is going to be controversy. If it is a caution, the opponents will claim there player was hurt and the goalkeeper should have been ejected. If it is an ejection, the coach of the goalkeeper's team will protest because the goalkeeper is out of the game and will be suspended for the next. The referee must make their position very clear and keep the dissent to a minimum. If the injured player is removed quickly, the best thing the official can do is get the game restarted. If the player needs attention on the field, the referee must keep the opposing players separated to prevent retaliation, taunting, etc. The referee must be extremely professional when responding to the coach who is protesting and keep their composure.
The above are but three examples of when a referee must use their skills, knowledge of the game and their people management skills to maintain game control and ensure the game proceeds without further problems.
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A flexible zoom covering a popular focal length range, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO from Olympus is a wide-to-portrait-length 24-80mm equivalent lens for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras. Its sophisticated optical design, which includes a variety of aspherical, low dispersion, and high refractive index elements, reduces both chromatic and spherical aberrations throughout the zoom range for notable clarity, sharpness, and color accuracy. A ZERO lens coating has also been applied to improve contrast when working in strong lighting conditions. Beyond the advanced lens design, this zoom is also characterized by its constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, as well as its durable weather-sealed construction for working in a variety of conditions. Additionally, a Movie & Still Compatible autofocus system achieves fast, smooth, and silent focusing performance, and a manual focus clutch affords instant switching between focusing methods.


Graham, not a big oops.
It's a stunning piece of work, with the most beautiful timber.
Love the decoration on the lid.
BB...IMHO the overall look would benefit without the foot - the foot adds too many angles to an already "busy" design.
Also a touch thinner on the finial would be a winner.
Graham depending on the underside of the lid.
I'd place it in a cole jaw or on a flat face plate bring the tail stock up with a wooden tip shaped to take the end of the finial and help centre it. Then proceed to turn it down.
Or place it into a large jaw chuck using tape or non-slip cloth to protect it.
The bowl body has great figure and its too good for firewood. The great thing about an oops is you get to learn new stuff, what does/not work. Given you are stuck with needing a foot what about having the lid and the finial out of the same timber. Having 3 timbers is, I think,one too many.
I cannot believe I just used great 3 times in one short post!
Personally I think the foot is an unwanted addition.


Authors note: During this project of producing Jim's latest CD and getting Jim's name out there , I am always surprised at the little tidbits of information I get from Jim and his interesting life, so I have decided to add them here for the record, and will continue to do so as they are revealed to me, just out of interest sake.
Jim was in a band during highschool; they played all the highschool dances etc. After Jim moved to Canada, the band went on to be called The Young Rascals and then just "The Rascals"; the "blue eyed soul" group who wrote many top ten list singles including the song "Groovin" . Jim was in the car cruising on THE Sunday the band came up with the line "groovin on a Sunday afternoon".
As a teenager Jim called into a talk show to express his opinion on the Vietnam war. This was just before the U.S entered the war. He stated that as far as he could see it was a civil war between North and South Vietnam and that the U.S should stay out of it. He was then called "everything in the book", Communist, traitor, anti patriot etc. The talk show host was none other than Larry King. The Vietnam war was one of the incentives for Jim to move to Canada. 50,000 young men in Jim's age group died in the war.
When JIm flew to Jackson Florida to perform at this renowned festival , not only did he perform after The Modern Jazz Quartet and before Chick Corea: he sat right next to one of his musical influences Tito Puente for the entire flight, as well as hanging with all these legends backstage.
Jim had the honour of playing with jazz piano legend Mary Lou Williams. Years later after Mary Lou's death, he attended his eldest sister's funeral and discovered that like their father she was an activist in the civil rights movement, and well respected by the African American community. At the funeral he happen to meet mary Lou williams brother!


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Q: Minesweeper Code C++ I'm having trouble writing the part of my code for minesweeper that occurs when you click on a blank space and it kind of cascades outward and results in a ring of numbers. I have an array set up for numbers and an array for bombs. In the numbers array, zero means there is nothing there. I first check if the spot clicked was a bomb, if not then if there is a number, and then the else statement must result in the cascade and ring of numbers. Basically I go through four while loops up, down, left, and right of the box clicked until I find a number. From there I have eight for loops, going along each of these lines in increasing and decreasing order of x and y until a number is found. Once a number is found, I attempt to return back to the original point, but by checking the boarders of the path I took to get there, by increasing the coordinate value by one and decreasing the coordinate value by one. For some reason I can't get my code to work. Here is an example of my while loop. "checkx" and "checky" are the coordinates of the array. "revealxposition" and "revealyposition" are the coordinates in the graphics window.
int i=0;

         while(i == 0 && checkx < length && checky < length)//right
         {
         if(numbers[checkx][checky] != 0)
         {
             revealxposition = (checkx*20) + 5;
             revealyposition = (checky*20) + 3;
             showNumber(revealxposition, revealyposition, numbers[checkx][checky]);
             xmax = checkx;
             i = 1;
         }
         else
         {
             if(checkx == (length - 1))
             {
                 i = 1;
                 xmax = length;
                 a = checkx*20;
                 b = checky*20;
                 c = a+20;
                 d = b+20;
                 line(a,b,c,d);
                 line(a,d,c,b);
             }
             else
             {
                 a = checkx*20;
                 b = checky*20;
                 c = a+20;
                 d = b+20;
                 line(a,b,c,d);
                 line(a,d,c,b);

                 checkx++;
              }
         }
         }

This is an example of one of my for loops:
 for(int xx = checkx; xx < xmax; xx++)
 {
         int z = 0;
         int xxx = xx;
         while(z == 0 && checky < length)
         {
         if(numbers[xx][checky] != 0)
         {
             revealxposition = (xx*20) + 5;
             revealyposition = (checky*20) + 3;

             int originalxposition = revealxposition;
             int originalyposition = revealyposition;

             showNumber(revealxposition, revealyposition, numbers[xx][checky]);

             //reveal diagonals and back
             while(bombs[xx][checky] != 1 && checky >= originaly)
             {
               counter++;
               revealxposition = originalxposition - 20;
               xx = xxx - 1;
                 showNumber(revealxposition, revealyposition, numbers[xx][checky]);
                 checky--;
                 revealyposition -= 20;
             }
             xx = xxx;
             checky = originaly;
             revealxposition = originalxposition;
             revealyposition = originalyposition;
             counter = 0;

             while(bombs[xx][checky] != 1 && checky >= originaly)
             {
               counter++;
               revealxposition = originalxposition + 20;
               xx = xxx + 1;
                 showNumber(revealxposition, revealyposition, numbers[xx][checky]);
                 checky--;
                 revealyposition -= 20;
             }
             xx = xxx;
             z = 1;
             counter = 0;
         }
         else
         {
             a = xx*20;
             b = checky*20;
             c = a+20;
             d = b+20;
             line(a,b,c,d);
             line(a,d,c,b);
             checky++;
         }
         }
         checky = originaly;
 }

A: Your code is really hard to read , i dont know what xx or xxx is meaning or a=xx*20;
I did a minesweeper once and im pretty sure there a more easier way to check blank space. The objectif is to use recursity . let me show you an exemple.
void checkNumber(x,y) {
  revealNumber(x,y); // write the number
 if(Number[x,y] == 0){ // if it is blank space, check all 8 square around
       if(x>0)
           checkNumber(x-1,y); // check left
       if(x<maxX)
            checkNumber(x+1,y); // check right
       // repeat for up,down and diag
        }
   }

This will give you a loop that will reveal all blank space and the closest number to it. Hope it could help you.
)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sukhmani Part-1 is a katha recited by Gyani Sarvan Singh Ji and it belongs to the album Sukhmani Sahib. This katha states one universal creator god. The almighty is well knower and he is present everywhere. Your name is endless, with your name enemy rushes away. You are the one of all.


I updated my nvidia drivers as there was no option to rollback. Anyone know how to fix this?
in your code possibly the last 2 } } are missing?
you read ( load song from data/ ) and start a sound.
so you actually try to read and start that song 780 times per second.
play first in a extra little "project" to get that running.
should come at the very beginning of the file, even before the setup() method!


Has anyone else experienced games where someone on the other team will play as Sylvanas, and then just sit in that lane pushing til they get the fort? Even when the objective comes up, like at Alterac, your team of 5 will vs 4 of their team and she'll just sit in lane. At least for my time, we did get the objective, but all we got out of it was the first wall and towers, while she got our fort before the objective even finished.
There's no punishment at all. What advantage did we get for winning objective when she just sat in lane getting our fort? Shouldn't there be some kind of significant reward for the team that gets the objective? Yet no matter what, Sylvanas and most specialists get rewarded for ignoring objective. So much for this game being an objective based game, all the while they give these heroes tools to ignore the objective and don't get punished for it.
And for reference, I actually enjoy playing as a specialists, but I'm never one of these people that just sits in lane pushing while objective goes on. Why? Because you're leaving your team one short for team fights and risking them losing the objective while you just sit in lane doing pretty much nothing. But then whenever I see specialists do this, they don't get punished and their team is somehow able to keep up in a 4v5.
Send someone to stop her...?
Pre-nerf Sylv is why I started practicing Zeratul.
Anyways, it's one of those things that's just part of the game, and its a playstyle with its own strengths and weaknesses. There are many heroes who take a hit to their team fighting capability in order to excel elsewhere, and Sylvanas is one of those who trades that raw power in exchange for shutting down structures and allowing a greater ability to take advantage of a winning fight (whereas other teams would have to wait for a minion wave, go get a camp, etc).
You counter her by counter-pressuring. If Sylv is down in a lane, then she's not fighting with her team, and you are more likely to win. If you decide the value of the objective is less than what Sylv can score on her own, send someone down to handle her and suddenly you've neutralized her entire advantage. She's trying to earn value by winning elsewhere than the main fight, and she can't do that if she's stuck against something that fights back.
Sylv isn't much of a duelist, and with her nerfs, you don't even necessarily need to kill her to deny her damage, just shoo her off - now you're back to 4v4 at the main fight, and 1v1 in Sylv's lane, completely shutting off her advantage. Obviously you can't just send just anyone over to do it (ah, the woes of support), but there's many characters you can jump her with, score the kill, and then get back to the fight.
You don't "punish" her by winning an early objective that might get one set of walls, you punish her by actually punishing her, and killing her for even thinking of leaving her team alone. You can kill her with Zeratul, with Alarak, with Kerrigan, with Genji, and heck, you can even nab her with Dehaka if you know what you're doing, and he doesn't even have anything like a Sonya leap to just hop on her with. If you can't outright kill her, many of the strong solo laners can at least break even with her - with experience, you will know who can make the kill and who can just contest.
Sylvanas' real power is in her ability to allow her team to capitalize on winning fights and objectives, shutting down towers to preserve her team's health and that of map-specific vehicles. Solo Sylv is what people do when they don't know how to play her - they shouldn't be a problem, they should be easy kills.
This. And if you encounter such a situation while playing a support like Ana, Morales, Uther and so on.. Then you just discovered the reason why most top players are assassin mains.
You can't really punish a solo pushing Sylvanas if you are no credible threat to her and have no realistic way to push her out of the lane or kill her.
Being at the mercy of your teammates to do things like that is just not a viable strategy. You have to do it yourself.
It can be a legitimate strategy. Sylvanas is the strongest solo lane pusher if left uncontested since the only thing stopping her are the gate towers and even those do not last long due to her disabling at least half of them. If left uncontested she will get forts down very fast by herself, especially as her level increases.
The problem is that many people are ignorant of Sylvanas mechanics. Instead they go to 4v5 an objective and team wipe and give the enemy the objective and a level advantage undoing all of Sylvanas's work.
Instead of suiciding 4v5, they should split 3 people to Sylvanas and leave the best poke/escape at the objective. The enemy will either not stop the push in which case they have lost a fort and possibly most of a keep for the objective, a fair trade. If they do split off to stop the push then that 1 player can stall the objective, potentially costing the enemy the objective and a fort. Important is to avoid deaths since chances are Sylvana's team will have a level advantage due to the extra lane/soak time.
Late game when objectives matter more she has to partake in teamfights. However by then she better have many forts/keeps down or it will likely be a loss anyway.
There are several heroes who should not be left unchecked. Sylvanas is one of them. The longer you let her push, the bigger minion army she gets. People tend to underestimate ranged minions and then they wonder why their forts disappear.
Something that might help, is that she has to reactivate her ghost wave to move to it, so timing your stun/grab/silence at the right time leaves her with no escapes.
I've seen a good sylvanas pop her ghost early to only move a couple feet which throws off the attacker's timing, it's a skill match-up.
I read a Topic about "I played with specialist and i was banned"
That dude did the sylvana stuff what are you mentioned, and he was banned for it.
So this seems to be a lose-lose situation to me.
I personally i would ask our sylvana to do pushing, or i would do that with my team in that 30 sec while they together try to collect that one stuff. You can collect so many xp by doing that.


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Home>Global Travel News>City Leaders from Around the World Meet to Re-Imagine Urban Tourism
City Leaders from Around the World Meet to Re-Imagine Urban Tourism
Porto, Portugal, July 14, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The mayors of some of the world's leading destinations have met in Porto to rethink urban tourism in the post-pandemic age. Organized by UNWTO, the Government of Portugal, Turismo de Portugal and the City of Porto, the Mayors Forum on Tourism and the Future of Cities highlighted the opportunity to restart urban tourism with a focus on sustainability, innovation and inclusion.
Formed in April 2019, the Mayors Forum provides a unique platform for cities and other key players to share tourism policies and best practices. The international forum works to advance tourism's role in the urban agenda and harness the potential of the sector to provide economic opportunity and promote cultural links. The Porto meeting was embraced as a chance to rethink urban tourism and keep delivering on its proven potential to benefit both residents and tourists.
• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.
Return of tourists 'brings hope for cities'
The return of tourists to cities around the world will bring more than just jobs and economic recovery
Urban tourism has been among the hardest hit parts of the sector and may be the last to recover. For this reason, "the return of tourists to cities around the world will bring more than just jobs and economic recovery", said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. "It will bring hope, confidence and help revive what makes urban life so exciting, from culture to gastronomy to entrepreneurship and new ideas." In this context, the Secretary-General also commended Portugal's National Support Plan for Tourism recovery as well as its recently launched Sustainability + Strategy.
Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition of Portugal said: "Now is the time to reflect on how important management of flows of tourists is in our cities. Digital technologies and continued investments in new attractions will allow us to provide a better experience for the millions of people who are eager to resume travel and who will come to visit our cities in the future."
As host of the Forum, the Mayor of Porto Rui Moreira said: "Cities must know how to transform themselves, turning the old into new, rehabilitating and promoting their heritage, material and immaterial, and simultaneously creating new poles of interest to serve and welcome residents and visitors."
Organized by UNWTO, the Government of Portugal, Turismo de Portugal and the City of Porto the Forum welcomed mayors and vice-mayors from Athens, Belgrade, Braga, Bruges, Brussels, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Florence, Madrid, Moscow, Podgorica, Prague, Samarkand, Sao Vicente, Skiathos, Tirana and Venice. Joining them were leaders from UN Habitat, the European Committee of the Regions and the Unión Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI), as well as representatives from key private sector stakeholders, including Expedia Group, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and Airbnb.
Porto Declaration on Future of Cities
Participants adopted the Porto Declaration on Tourism and the Future of Cities, which reaffirms cities' commitment to growing tourism sustainably and responsibly. This includes placing tourism on the urban recovery agenda, with policies aligned with the United Nations New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Declaration also states that signatory cities will promote multi-stakeholder cooperation for fostering innovation and using digitalization and big data to enhance both the tourist experience and the sector's positive impact on residents. Furthermore, the Declaration recognizes the importance of cities building bridges with rural areas so that the benefits of tourism are employed more widely.
First published at TravelCommunication.net
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Hong Kong Luxury Hotel Join Forces to Collaborate on Recovery Strategies
Transformation Towards Tourism of the Future – Declaration Signed in Panama
Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary Nominated for Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the World
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Are you a morning person? I'm not. I'm a total night owl and love to stay up late. Working on my blog, watching that latest episode of Downton Abbey, or cuddling on the couch with my man. I just despise waking up early. Totally not my thing. I may (sometimes) wake up grumpy, but you know what always cheers me up? Making a yummy breakfast for my family!
These mini lemon pancakes are almost too cute for words. I'm already a huge fan of pancakes of any kind, but make them tiny…just stop it. I've accepted the fact that every treat becomes irresistible when it's in it's tiny form. Mini cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, bite-size cookies, brownie bites. I just can't say no. I also can't stop myself at just one.
Back to these adorable pancakes. They are gluten, dairy, egg free and so fun! I added fresh lemon juice and lemon zest because, well, I love all things lemon. The pancakes are so light and fluffy and get nice and golden from the coconut oil. This batch makes quite a few, but they freeze and store quite well. Great to make for school mornings too. My kids love them with either peanut butter, fresh berries or pure maple syrup. I've decided to enter these little guys into the Fast and Fresh Dairy Free Time Trials recipe contest, sponsored by So Delicious over at Go Dairy Free. Quick, easy and already a winner in my book!
In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In medium bowl, mix together coconut milk, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Whisk until just combined.
Heat large skillet over medium low heat. Coat with cooking spray or a tablespoon of coconut oil. Add a heaping tablespoon of batter to the pan. Flip pancakes after about a minute, when golden brown on the underside (they cook quickly). Continue to cook on other side. Repeat with remaining pancake batter. Serve warm.
This entry was posted in Kid Zone, Main Dishes, Recipes, Recipes & Techniques by Cooks We Love, Vegan and tagged autism diet, autism gluten free, autoimmune disease, breakfast, celiac, celiac disease, celiac health, food allergies, g-free, g-free diet, G-Free Foodie, gluten allergy, gluten free, gluten free baking, gluten free cooking, gluten free diet, gluten free food, gluten free mommy, gluten free parent, gluten free parenting, Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats. Bookmark the permalink.


First up, the Philadelphia Eagles. I was really hoping that last season would see QB Carson Wentz getting to the playoffs, if not, the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case as his season ended early after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back. The team Wentz will be coming back to is going to look a little different.
Wide receiver Golden Tate is now a Giant, but they did also bring back WR Desean Jackson from Tampa Bay. Jackson was a 3 time Pro Bowler during his tenure with the Eagles previously. The Eagles were also given a gift from the Chicago Bears in the form of running back Jordan Howard. Their defense is in pretty good shape so far. I don't see why Wentz and the Eagles aren't going to have a good 2019. They for sure will be contenders for the division title. IF Wentz can stay healthy.
Heading up I-95 we find ourselves talking about Eli Manning and the Giants. It's hard to think that the Giants aren't going to draft Manning's replacement this year. But after recent moves by the Giants General Manager, you sort of have to question what his thought process may be.
Manning has lost his most talented receiver he's had in a long time, if not ever, in Odell Beckham Jr. Yes, he still has WRs Sterling Shepard, and Tate, tight end, Evan Engram, and RB Saquon Barkley. But if Manning is having a hard time throwing downfield, and the offensive line isn't very good, these guys aren't going to be able to do too much. They've got plenty of picks in this years draft, and if they have a good draft, 2019 could be a good year. The recent moves by this team, however, lead me to think differently.
Since we're wallowing in misery, let's talk about the Washington Redskins quarterback situation for 2019, Case Keenum.
Good talk! 2019 probably isn't going to be looking too bright for the Redskins quarterbacking situation. May the draft gods be good to them.
Last, but far from least, 'Dem Boyz. The Cowboys probably have the most solid QB situation right now. I say that because there really isn't anyone calling for Dak Prescott to be replaced, and he's played well. He's poised to lead the Cowboys back to the playoffs this season. They've got a solid offensive line, RB Ezekiel Elliot, and WRs Amari Cooper and Tavon Austin. They also welcomed new additions to the team in WR Randall Cobb and the un-retired tight end Jason Witten. Throw in new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, and this offense could be pretty amazing. Prescott and company are poised to retain their division title and have a deep playoff run in 2019.
So, readers, I ask you which quarterback in the NFC East is going to have the best 2019?
Posted on April 3, 2019 April 2, 2019 by SonjaKGPosted in Authors, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, NFC East, Philadelphia Eagles, Sonja Greenfield, Washington RedskinsTagged Carson Wentz, Case Keenum, Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, Eli Manning, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins.
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