text:
Star Trek Online Wiki
Star Trek Online (often abbreviated to STO) is a Star Trek themed free-to-play MMORPG developed by the Cryptic Studios, published by Perfect World Entertainment.
SettingEdit
See also Chronology and Canon in Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online begins 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and 22 years after the destruction of Romulus (seen in Star Trek (2009). The year is 2409 and the infiltration by the Undine (Species 8472) has led to a new war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and a Romulan Republic (under Spock's protege D'Tan) has broken away from the remnants of the Romulan Star Empire (under Empress Sela). The game covers characters, locations and events from all series and films, including the latest releases such as Star Trek: Picard.
GameplayEdit
For information on how to get started, see the links on the wiki's main page.
Gameplay revolves around playing a character of desired faction in an open world, with various locations and elements from the Star Trek universe. It features a combination of space, where you take control of a starship, and ground portion of the game, where you control an avatar from the first or third person view. Game starts with a character customization, and a tutorial which introduces player with basic mechanics and available game formats, such as PvE (episodic storyline, PvE Queues), PvP and other content slowly unlocked with leveling.
Game releaseEdit
Star Trek Online - Official Console Announcement Trailer
The launch of Star Trek Online for Microsoft Windows occurred on February 2, 2010. Players who pre-ordered had early access, called Head Start, which began January 29, 2010. The launch build was temporarily revived on April 1, 2015, known as Star Trek Online: Rebirth, allowing players to experience the game as it originally existed.
On November 12, 2013, a beta version of Star Trek Online became available for MacOS, but official support ended on February 5, 2016.[1]
Microsoft Windows:
Beta access dates
Closed Beta: October 22, 2009
Open Beta: January 12–26, 2010
Head Start: January 29, 2010
North America: February 2, 2010
Europe: February 5, 2010
Australia: February 11, 2010
Xbox One and PlayStation 4:
North America: September 6, 2016
Europe: September 7, 2016
DevelopmentEdit
Star Trek Online was originally being developed by Perpetual Entertainment, but in January 2008 the company announced it would no longer be developing the game and the license and content was transferred to Cryptic Studios, while the game was being published by Atari Interactive and Namco Bandai.
After Perfect World acquired Cryptic, it was announced on August 31, 2011 that they would be offering Star Trek Online in a free-to-play model in addition to its subscription option. The details of such a system, with free silver accounts and paying gold accounts, were announced September 6. The free-to-play service launched on January 17, 2012. By July 2012, Star Trek Online was the top performing game for Perfect World North America [2].
System requirementsEdit
As of March 1, 2017, Star Trek Online no longer[3] supports Windows XP and Direct3D 9, or Video Cards with a Direct3D Hardware Feature Level less than 10.0. To ensure a smooth gaming experience, it is recommend that the following specifications are met:
OS: Windows® Vista SP2, 7, 8 or 10
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz (or equivalent AMD CPU)
Hard Disk: 21 GB
Graphics: NVidia GeForce 8000, ATI/AMD Radeon HD 2000, Intel G965M Express, Intel HD Graphics 2000 or better (Supports Direct3D Hardware Feature Level 10 or higher)
Sound: DirectX 10 compatible sound chip or onboard audio capability with the latest sound drivers
Network: Broadband Internet connection required
UpdatesEdit
The logo of Legacy of Romulus
Main artice: Season, Release notes
In Star Trek Online, major updates/patches are called seasons in reference to the television show. Season numbering has remained consistent between PC and Console releases, despite seasons 1-11 being released at launch for console. The largest updates have been called expansions, which to date include;
Legacy of Romulus: introducing the Romulan Republic faction and early-game KDF characters.
Delta Rising: adding the Delta Quadrant and a Star Trek: Voyager focused storyline.
Agents of Yesterday: introducing the TOS Starfleet mini-faction and a Temporal Cold War story.
Victory is Life: focusing on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Since Victory is Life, the game has focused on releasing expansions overtime with thematicly-linked seasons.
Season 15 to Season 18 focused on Star Trek: Discovery.
Season 20 started a Year of Klingon theme.
StatisticsEdit
For the 3rd Anniversary of Star Trek Online, PC Gamer released some game statistics[4]:
2 million existing player characters
10 million starships in service
10 billion light years travelled
1 billion planetary encounters
800 million episodes completed
16,500 fleets in service
For the 4th Anniversary of Star Trek Online, additional statistics were released[5]:
3.2 million existing player characters
300 playable starships to command
2.8 million reputation projects completed
75.8 million duty officers in service
3.8 million existing player characters, on 2.5 million accounts
51% tactical, 28% engineering, 22% science
73% Starfleet, 16% Klingon, 11% Romulan
107 million duty officers in service
8th Anniversary updated statistics[7]:
5.2 million total players (62% on PC, 19% on PS4, 19% on Xbox)
139 unique species available as captains, bridge officers, or duty officers
502 unique playable ships
161 playable episode
Perpetual Entertainment screenshotsEdit
Some of the very few in-game screenshots released, shortly before Perpetual Entertainment stopped development.
Early Dev.Logo
Space scene
Ground scene
Ship Interior
Early Dev.Ship
Concept artEdit
Early Concept art
Beta screenshotsEdit
Open Beta ground scene
Open Beta inventory & status windows
Open Beta space scene
Open Beta Loading Screen
↑ Mac closure notice (February 2016)
↑ Dan Stahl - Forum posting (1 August 2012)
↑ Updated system requirements for Star Trek Online (December 2016)
↑ PC Gamer - Star Trek Online three-year anniversary beams up guest appearance by Denise Crosby (30 January 2013)
↑ 4-Year Anniversary Infographic (30 January 2014)
StarTrekOnline.com, the official website
Star Trek Online at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki.
Star Trek Online at Wikipedia
Star Trek Online: 8th Anniversary Dev Reflections on Youtube, January 17, 2018.
Console edition
Star Trek Online: Console UI
Star Trek Online: Console Space UI
Star Trek Online: Console Ground UI
Star Trek Online: Navigating Console UI
Star Trek Online Console Differences
Retrieved from "https://sto.gamepedia.com/Star_Trek_Online?oldid=440619"


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The car, a black BMW 1 series, was found burning on Dantestraat in Amsterdam Zuidoost three hours after the shooting. The car was equipped with forged license plates after being stolen in Houten.
Surveillance camera footage show a man with a pram looking at the car parked on the street on the day of the murder. The police would like to talk to this man.
Mohammed was buried in Morocco on Friday. Since last week's broadcast of Opsporing Verzocht, the police received 20 new tips about this case.


I hereby expressly disassociate from the contents of all externally linked pages on this site. Responsible for the content are the holders of these linked sites. This statement applies to all links, references and sources outside the www.pikkubot.de domain.
This is NOT an official website of Linden Research Inc.


Helaba Invest Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH (a major German investment firm) was founded in 1991 as a fully-owned subsidiary of Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen. With assets under management of more than € 89 Billion, Helaba is one of the leading investment companies in institutional asset management within the German market.
Modern tax and dividend reporting solutions play an important role in ensuring a smooth functioning of the daily operations in investment companies. The proper handling of tax reporting workflows, whilst taking account of the extensive legal requirements in the field, is essential for the business' success.
Before implementing the tax and dividend reporting tool labs.STAR by Lupus alpha Business Solutions GmbH (labs), Helaba Invest used an Excel-based calculation tool. The decision for implementing a new tax and dividend reporting tool was made with the goal of reducing high manual effort. One major consideration in the process of opting for a new solution was the requirement of a higher degree of automation. Other clearly defined requirements of the new software solution were the comprehensibility of previously performed calculations and calculation bases, as well as secure performance of calculations. One specific requirement by Helaba Invest was the automated calculation of withholding tax, which was, until then, performed in a manual process.
labs were able to convince not only with their solution labs.STAR, but also as a system provider. On one hand, they convinced with the high level of flexibility that enables the company to react promptly to arising problems. On the other hand, the phrase "proximity to the customer" can be taken literally for labs. Being a fully-owned subsidiary of Lupus alpha Asset Management AG, labs' employees have been gathering experience with the requirements of the industry for many years. Furthermore, no less than nine financial institutions in Germany and Luxemburg are at present using the tax and dividend reporting tool labs.STAR.
The project for the implementation of labs.STAR at Helaba Invest started in February 2013, under the direction of Monika Rothenberger. The project team consisted of employees from the IT and tax-departments of Helaba Invest, as well as employees of labs and their integration partner fintexx.
Throughout the project the team was continuously faced with new challenges caused by changes in the investment law and resulting new requirements. Parallel to the integration of the solution, these new requirements had to be implemented as well. This demanded dedicated teamwork and full commitment to the project from all members of the team.
Following a project of nine months, Helaba Invest successfully took labs.STAR into production in November 2013. The investment company uses the solution to perform calculations required by paragraph 5 of the German Law of Investment Tax (InvStG) for all funds. The scope of application includes, amongst others, the creation of declarative statements, accounting documents, tax certificates and declarations of capital gain tax.
For the future it is planned to enhance the solution with a historisation functionality and a deadline management. Furthermore, the performance of processing mass calculations is supposed to be optimised.
After the successful completion of an implementation project, labs continue to support their clients with quick and reliable support. When necessary, problems are solved directly on-site with the client.
UserGroupMeetings are regularly hosted by labs and attended by users assigned from all labs.STAR clients. The meeting's purpose is to inform the users about system updates which are in the planning or already implemented, and to inform them about other relevant topics. Furthermore, the meetings provide the possibility of personally addressing individually required enhancements and adjustments to the software. "The UserGroupMeetings offer an ideal opportunity for exchanging with other users of labs.STAR," Petra Reisle says.


text:
The A List: What TAP (and Ben Crenshaw) Love About Golf in Ireland
The writers at Golf's leading website—joined by two-time Masters (and one-time Irish Open) champion Ben Crenshaw—reveal what makes their hearts sing when visiting the Emerald Isle
It has been said that if the Scots invented golf, the Irish perfected it. For the journalists at The A Position, golf's leading website, there is no truer sentiment.
Ireland is blessed with an extensive menu of marvelous golf courses—tucked along the sea, rolling across the countryside, accessible to great cities, and in the middle of nowhere. But just as great as the golf are the intangibles, from the warmth of the people to the magic of the light; from melodious place names that lilt off the tongue to ambrosial potions lovingly raised to the lips.
Ben Crenshaw, this month's celebrity contributor, has deep feelings about Ireland. As a great player he is a past winner of Ireland's national championship. As a noted golf architect his sensibilities have been influenced by the Irish landscape. And as a student of golf history, it is no surprise that his most precious Irish memory combines the traditions of the game and the culture. In honor of St. Patrick's Day this month, we raise a glass to—and with—the Irish.
I have great memories of all of my many trips to Ireland. The people are wonderful, the topography and sandy soil make for outstanding and interesting golf courses—like Royal Portrush (above)—and the Irish love golf. I was fortunate to have won the Irish Open at Portmarnock in 1976, so there is a place in my heart with memories from that experience. But most particularly, when I think of St. Patrick's Day, I think of Bobby Jones, my idol: His birthday is St. Patrick's Day and he always carried a four-leaf clover for good luck.
—Ben Crenshaw
Pat Sweeney—who I will always think of as "Putting Pat"—understands the wiles of Enniscrone (right) as well as anyone. He knows that putting only on the green is as foolish as the idea of brewing Guinness Lite. Pat likes to putt pretty much from anywhere inside of 150 yards. "A bad putt is better than a bad chip," he offered in the course of a recent round as he wound up to unleash another 100 yard approach putt. To prove a point, or perhaps just for fun, Pat played Enniscrone's par-five, 514-yard 16th with a driver and a putter. After hitting his drive 225 yards down the left side of the fairway, Pat putted, putted, then putted again. His fourth and final putt dropped into the cup for par. Wielding our fairway woods and hybrid clubs post tee-off, my playing partner and I each managed a double-bogey.
—Chris Santella, chrissantella.net
Irish golf is inspiring, particularly its great links courses. But as heavenly as those great courses are, Irish bars are even closer to God. One reason is that they never close. I learned this one night when the proprietor of Maguire's Pub in Donegal locked the front door at closing time with me and 100 new-found friends still in it, still drinking, still ordering, and becoming happier by the passing hour. A few days later, relaxing in the bar of the Victoria Hotel in Galway City after a day on the links at Connemara, we were again chagrined when last call was announced—particularly because this time they were intent on clearing out the barroom. We needn't have been. Because as we were soon informed by a group of locals who'd befriended our bedraggled lot: "That's what night porters are for!" Off to the comfortable lobby we went, where as guests of the hotel we were allowed to carouse 'til dawn. What a country!
—David DeSmith, daviddesmith.com
My favorite part of golf in Ireland has nothing to do with golf but stems from a long drive around the Dingle Peninsula and into a maze of dry stone walls rising out of green pastures, webs of rock dividing and encircling many hundreds of small fields, some with cattle and others with grazing sheep. This arrangement made the wood posts and barbed wire that we used on our 55 acres in Washington State seem downright impermanent and ineffective, which I guess it was given how often the cows busted out. Ireland apparently has a quarter-million miles of stone walls, mostly in the west. They look ancient—and the craft of creating them is more than 4,000 years old—but the fact is that most were built after the Great Famine of the 1840s, when Irish farmland was redistributed, cleared of rocks, and divided. It's thus a most practical thing, yet visually arresting and clearly memorable.
—Jay Stuller, jaystuller.com
Everyone knows about Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. To me, the best thing in golf is to find truly great courses that are off the radar, real hidden gems, and Ireland has more than anyplace else. All you need to do is drive down the coast and look for fairways amidst the dunes. Ardglass, just over the Northern Ireland border from Dublin, is a perfect example, with more dramatic oceanfront holes than Pebble for about the price of a PB yardage book. Or the Island, Dublin's best kept secret. Or 36-hole Ballyliffin, Ireland's northernmost golf, in the little sliver of the Republic's Donegal that sticks up past Northern Ireland. True links golf, formed by nature and the raw rugged North Sea exposure, two world-class courses bursting with Irish hospitality yet rarely visited—it's so awesome I joined. That's why I love Ireland (and the whiskey!)
—Larry Olmsted, larrygolfstheworld.com
What I love about Ireland is the surprise, every visit blessed by a few moments of absolute serendipity. The first view of the rumpled landscape, looking like an unmade bed, at Ballyliffin. The soldier hidden in the grass (this was years ago, thankfully) using his rifle to track our approach to a checkpoint. The ridiculous hill climbs to the tees at Portstewart. The chance conversation in a pub that turns into a night-long party. Realizing that I can drive a stick shift, five-speed no less, from the right-hand driver's seat. The sheer golf awesomeness of Portrush, Ballybunion, and Waterville. The inevitable rain showers followed by the inevitable rainbows. The muttered "Ohmygod" when my best friend, having never played a true links course before, came around the clubhouse at Rosapenna (above) and saw the course, the sea, and the sky at all once and as he'd never seen them before.
—James A. Frank, jimgolfrank.com
The first thought that pops into my mind when I think of golf in Ireland is the distinctive bright yellow of the gorse in bloom. It creates an eerie, almost lunar quality to the experience. At Portmarnock the blooming gorse framed the shots in a way I had never experienced. Each hole might as well have been surrounded by amber water, the gorse was so forbidding if you hit your ball into it. I feared at night the Hound of the Baskervilles must patrol this moor, tearing the throat out of lost souls still searching for their spheres in the tangled underbelly of the Irish brake. Yet it was so pleasant to look at and walk by that it was like playing in a giant nursery.
—Casey Alexander, caseyalexandergolf.com
As I struck the lob wedge as hard as I could on the 8th hole at Donegal Golf Club, aka Murvagh, in northwest Ireland last July 23rd, I felt and heard a pop just after an ideal impact. The first thing I said after hitting the ground was "did it clear the bunker?" It did, but alas, I did not. After a brief visit to Now Doc Urgent Care—where the doctor turned away after seeing the hematoma in my left hip—I was off on an hour-long ambulance ride through the dark night. On the upside, I was treated like royalty at Letterkenney General Hospital at three in the morning, orthopedists, internists, and physiotherapists diagnosing a strained hip abductor, ruptured tendon, and dislocated hip. On the downside, I thought it was socialized medicine over there but my bill came to 1,350 Euros, and that after spending the night in a room with three guys I was sure were either going to die or kill me, whichever came first.
—Peter Kessler, peterkessler.com
Nobody has perfected the pursuit of perfection like the Irish. My clearest memory (and none of them are all that clear) of my first visit to Killarney was the dedication with which my hosts sought the perfect Guinness on any given night. It often involved sampling pints in a dozen different pubs, declaring each delicious draught to be a wee bit too warm or too cold, or that it wasn't allowed to settle quite long enough or perhaps the pub door opened while it was pouring. And so it was on to another cozy establishment because you never knew quite where the absolute perfect Guinness might await on that particular evening. Not unlike golf, really—and no place on earth has better links golf courses than Ireland—where you continue to chase after a level of perfection that is by all indications unattainable. But what would be the point of not even trying?
—Jeff Wallach, jeffwallach.com
I could talk about Ireland as a total sensory experience. The countless shades of glistening green, from pea to emerald. The pungent smell of burning peat in an earthen-floored pub, and the steady din of the fiddlers, pipers, and strummers who play in them. The irrepressible cheerfulness of the Irish, and the spoken poetry of their lilting speech, have been well documented. Guinness? An entirely different beverage in Eire and the finest 19th Hole refreshment ever invented. As for the golf, Ireland simply has the finest natural linksland in the world. The great Henry Longhurst said it best: "Some of the Irish links, I was about to write, stand comparison with the greatest courses in the world. They don't. They are the greatest courses in the world, not only in layout but in scenery and 'atmosphere' and that indefinable something which makes you relive again and again the day you played there."
—Brian McCallen, brianmccallen.com
Ireland mainly exists in my imagination. I've fallen in love with all things Irish, from Guinness to Jameson Whiskey, but I've never truly experienced the country. I actually was in Dublin for the 2006 Ryder Cup, but it was a waste. We stayed in a drab suburb, and for all the great links venues, they played the matches at the K Club, which looked like a course you would see in North Carolina. Missed opportunity. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to stay longer, but a couple trips to Dublin's Temple Bar area did give me a taste for the music and drink. The closest I've come to returning is Tom Coyne's excellent book, "A Course Called Ireland." As I read through his tales of golf and Irish characters, I envisioned my trip to Emerald Isle when I would do it right. One of these days.
Ed Sherman, edshermangolf.com
I don't know what makes it different over there—the proximity of the brewery, perhaps, or maybe it's something in the air and the light—but there is a definite difference between the Guinness that oozes from an Irish tap and the muted version available here on the western side of The Pond. A true pint of the black stuff is more than a quaff, more than a beverage. It's a balm, a meal, a restorative, and taken in hand between the morning and afternoon rounds at Baltray—that quintessential links known formally as County Louth, deliverer of so much of what Bernard Darwin called "pleasurable excitement"—it's as much of heaven as we poor humans deserve here on earth, and as much as we need.
—Jeff Neuman, neumanprose.com
An ode to Irish golf wouldn't be complete without a nod to the wild west coast where Lahinch, Ballybunion (above), and Tralee will knock your socks off. Lahinch is an eccentric hoot with enticing blind holes, the narrowest fairway in Europe, and resident goats that predict the weather (not that it ever rains; it's just an Irish mist). At Ballybunion you might be spooked by the strange Vision of Killsaheen, a blurry mirage of a woman on a bridge stretching across the sea. Tralee's back nine will definitely scare the bejesus out of you. Every green is protected by a yawning chasm and located on the side of a cliff. All this local color makes for great craic over a Guinness or two. Sure and begorrah, you can't help but have the best of times in Ireland—both on and off the links.
—Anita Draycott, anitadraycott.com
What I love about golf in Ireland is being in Ireland, and the near-inevitability that at least part of the day will be spent near a bar where a few pints of the black stuff will be poured. And it's not the drink itself that's the main appeal, it's the craic: that barely definable Celtic word for the lively and lovely life of the Irish pubs. It doesn't take long to see how it goes: if willing, one simply steps into the current and flows, no doubt on a wave of stout, from one eddy to the next, alighting in whatever venue momentum provides. And there's plenty of momentum. Friendly, the Irish are. And curious: one never drinks alone for long. Order a pint and conversation is imminent; one is jostled into the crowd, caught up in the noise, talk, music, drink, and movement, and ultimately clasped into the fold. That's the craic, and it's nigh irresistible.
—Tom Bedell, tombedell.com
Given the jaw-dropping natural scenery, it's easy to overlook the vivid manmade visual stimuli of Ireland's riot of names and accompanying signage. I'm entertained by it every time I visit. Golf courses can be prime examples, especially the ones with two equally romantic-sounding names: Donegal and Murvagh, Sligo and Rosses Point, Carne and Belmullet. Not only are they fun to bandy about, they're onomatopoeic: Can anyone imagine a club named Ballyliffin consisting of two dog tracks? Doesn't Royal Portrush sound like the great course it is? Of course, the Irish love of language—and the admixture of English with the native tongue—is evident throughout the culture, whether it's an alliterative Tipperary or a self-deprecating Burnfoot. A few town names culled from a recent trip there: Culfadda, Dromoghille, Ballyfarnon, Castlebar, Tobercurry, Crossmolina, Tuam, Bealaclugga, Lisdoonvarna, Drumshanbo, Muff, Ballyconneely, Glennamaddy, Lahardaun, Cloondaff, Kilcolgan, Gubaveeny, Kilmallock, Castlecoot, Templeboy, Gorteen, Rathmelton, Murrisk.
—Tom Harack, tomharack.com
Knowing the Guinness, golf, and greenery are being well covered by my colleagues, I'm voting for Millers Pizza Kitchen, at 50 Upper Baggot Street in the leafy Ballsbridge District of Dublin. This little find was an absolute delight when we were staying at the nearby Airel House. Millers Pizza Kitchen is one of few restaurants in this mostly residential area. It's small and generally crowded, and its specialty pizzas are 3-D works of culinary art. Here, flavored dough serves as a foundation for a cacophony of flavors. Like the Satay Pizza (red chili dough) with Satay vegetables, noodles, spring onion, peanuts, bean sprouts, mozzarella, chili jam, coriander, and prawn crackers. Or the Seafood Pizza (citrus dough) with tiger prawns, smoked mackerel, mozzarella, garlic, anchovies, semi-dried tomato salad, chives, and parmesan. They even have duck, lamb combinations, and oh yes, traditional pizzas, which include pepperoni and cheese.
—Susan Bairley, susanbairley.com
I love so much of Ireland, but the North & Western area of linksland courses may be the best-overlooked menu of golf in the entire world, my secret until now. Home to Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, and David Feherty, what you won't find are trophy courses that remind you of Bethpage on a Saturday morning with luxury busloads of loud, slow-playing Americans swarming like locusts. Instead you will discover quiet, world-class courses with spectacular scenery and tee times available at far better values. You will also encounter unusual rock formations, vintage Irish Whiskeys, quiet country inns, charming Bed & Breakfasts, and comfortable quaint seaside hotels. Remember these names: Royal Portrush, Donegal, Enniscrone, Carne, Narin & Portnoo (above), Ballyliffin, Ardglass, Rosapenna, Portsalon, County Sligo, and Connemara. These are fantastic true Irish links with three or four that I rank among the best in the world. I love this place!
—Bob Fagan, robertfagan.com
Golf course photographs courtesy of John & Jeannine Henebry.
TOPICS: Courses and Travel, Golf, Lifestyle, Personalities, The A List	Tags: Ardglass, Ballybunion, Ballyliffin, Ben Crenshaw, Darren Clarke, David Feherty, Donegal, Enniscrone, Graeme McDowell, Guinness, Ireland, Jameson Whiskey, Killarney, Lahinch, Portmarnock, Portstewart, Rory McIlroy, Rosapenna, Royal Portrush, Tralee, Waterville
ABOUT: James A. Frank
Jim stumbled into golf more than 30 years ago, first picking up a club while attending a week-long golf school at Pinehurst. That experience turned into his first writing assignment on golf, and in less than four years he was Executive Editor of Golf Magazine. He worked there for more than 18 years, serving as Editor from 1990 until leaving in 2003.
The Grain 2016 U.S. Open Edition
Superstars of Scotland—Tom Morris Old and Young
Golf Road Warriors Fort Myers Video!
Masters Week at Augusta and TheAPosition.com is Bringin' It
Play Golf Road Warriors Bow to the King
Golf Road Warriors Bow to the King
Play Traveling North in Ireland
Traveling North in Ireland
Play Destination Dublin
Destination Dublin
Play Ireland: Beyond Guinness
Ireland: Beyond Guinness

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Raigam Tele'es Best Teledrama Supporting Actress Award is presented annually in Sri Lanka by the Kingdom of Raigam associated with many commercial brands for the best Sri Lankan supporting actress of the year in television screen.

The award was first given in 2005. Following is a list of the winners of this prestigious title since then.

Award list in each year

References

Supporting Actress
Television awards for Best Supporting Actress

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Is it necessary use thread-safe methods when i use AsParallel? When i use AsParallel(), the next operations runs in multi-thread, so, the methods that i use in this query, should be a thread safe?
In the next example, the method Convert(string value) is not thread-safe but is being used in a Select() that run as AsParallel().
Is it correct to use AsParallel() like standar Linq?
Note: The Convert() method it's just an example, but imagine a more complex method that really required a thread-safe implementation, when it will be executed in a multi-thread environment.
List<string> myNamesList = new List<string>()
{
   //Initialize with a lots of elements
}

List<string> myConvertedNameList = myNamesList.AsParallel()
                                               .Where("Any Condition")
                                               .Select(x => Convert(x))
                                               .ToList();

public string Convert(string value)
{
    int length = value.Length;
    string myFantasticValueConverted = "_" + value + "["+ length +"]";
    return myFantasticValueConverted;
}

A:
Is it necessary to use thread-safe methods when I use AsParallel?

Yes.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We are extremely excited to announce that A. Kuster Sirocco AG is the first company from Switzerland to join the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP). Founded in 1908 by Alfonso Kuster, the company quickly established itself for roasting high quality coffee. In 2009, more than a century later, A. Kuster Sirocco AG took the plunge and applied the same principles and high standards to a new organic tea collection.
Their range of pure teas, which are certified as 100% organic, are packed in fine, handcrafted sachets made of biodegradable materials that are good for the environment.
The announcement underlines a period of exceptional support for ETP with 47 international tea companies and retailers now working together through ETP to improve tea sustainability. This support is reflected by another successful TEAM UP event – held in Kenya for the first time, and events in China and India that are catalysing the supply chain and helping the sector to make progress against the Sustainable Development Goals.
"Sustainability, fairness, and social responsibility are not merely passing fads but have been central concerns for more than 100 years since the company was founded, and handed down from generation to generation. Joining the Ethical Tea Partnership underline our efforts in all these areas." Ralph Grüniger, owner and CEO of A. Kuster Sirocco AG.


text:
Oct 29, 2016 I Jason Offutt
Strange Cases of Foreign Language Syndrome
Ben McMahon
Croatian teen
Foreign Accent Syndrome
Foreign Language Syndrome
Johan Ek
Liu Jieyu
Michael Thomas Boatwright
Reuben Nsemoh
When sixteen-year-old soccer goalkeeper Reuben Nsemoh, from Georgia, USA, recently dove for a ball, he didn't see the foot that eventually collided with his head. That kick put the Brookwood High School athlete into a three-day coma.
After Nsemoh finally awoke in the hospital, he could speak fluent Spanish. However, before the head injury, the only language he could speak fluently was English – which he seemed to have forgotten, according to WSB-TV. As he began to remember how to speak in English, his knowledge of Spanish began to fade.
Nsemoh's case is rare, but not unheard of.
This is called Foreign Language Syndrome, and can occur when a person becomes unconscious due to a brain injury. The brain attempts to reboot itself, often working around the damage. Sometimes this manifests itself physically, and the person temporarily loses the use of their limbs, and sometimes … well, the person speaks a language they couldn't speak before (at least not fluently).
In cases of Foreign Language Syndrome, after the brain readjusts, the person usually forgets how to use the foreign language, and starts speaking their original tongue.
Four hundred years ago, if the person could survive the head injury, they may not survive being burned as a witch when they suddenly started speaking Portuguese.
Although some want to explain this phenomena through a paranormal lens, science (the no-fun guys) has been able to explain Foreign Language Syndrome. If a person has learned a second language – even if they have forgotten most of it – as the brain heals, it shifts its functions through the secondary language, Queensland Brain Institute neuroscientist Dr Pankaj Sah told the Melbourne Herald Sun.
Regardless, it's still fascinating, and similar to Foreign Accent Syndrome, where people with head injuries wake from comas speaking in a foreign accent.
Other cases of Foreign Language Syndrome include:
Michael Boatwright
Michael Thomas Boatwright: In 2013, police found an unconscious man in a motel in Southern California. Although the man's identification cards said he was Michael Boatwright from Florida, after the man woke in Desert Regional Medical Center, he claimed his name was Johan Ek, according to CNN. He also spoke Swedish. Boatwright was a Navy vet, tennis pro, once taught English in Southeast Asia, and was divorced with a child. He remembered none of it.
Liu Jieyu: After suffering a stroke in 2015, Liu Jieyu, 94, of China went into a two-week coma. When she woke, she spoke perfect English, and didn't know a word in her native language, according to the UK's Daily Mail. Although she had once taught English, she hadn't spoken it in thirty years after retiring to the city of Changsha. "I can't ever remember having a case like this before but we anticipate with proper rehabilitation and rest she should regain the ability to speak Chinese," Medic Tao Hou told the Daily Mail.
Ben McMahon: When 21-year-old Australian university student Ben McMahon woke in a hospital after a head-on car collision, he was in a haze, but he was pretty sure where he was. "When I woke up seeing a Chinese nurse, I thought I was in China," he told the Herald Sun (he wasn't. He was in Australia). When he spoke to the nurse, the words were in Mandarin. McMahon's native language is English, but even though he studied Mandarin in high school, he wasn't fluent in it. After the accident his Mandarin became so good he is the host of the Chinese television program "Au My Ga" (Oh, My God). He has since regained his ability to speak English.
The Croatian girl: In 2010, a thirteen-year-old Croatian girl woke from a one-day coma and had completely forgotten her native Croatian. However, she could now speak German, according to ABC News. Although she already knew a few words in German, she had only just begun studying it. The language switch was so complete she needed a translator to communicate with her family. Since the teen was so young at the time the family didn't release her name.
Jason Offutt
Jason Offutt is paranormal investigator, an author of several paranormal books such as "What Lurks Beyond," "Darkness Walks: Shadow People Among us," "Haunted Missouri," and "Paranormal Missouri" and a teacher of journalism at Northwest Missouri State University.
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Rockland — The Knox County Democratic Committee will host a town hall meeting Feb. 22 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Watts Hall, 174 Main St., Thomaston. The meeting will provide information on a bill before the state Legislature that would require employers with more than five employees to offer earned paid sick leave.
Under the bill, proposed by Democratic Sen. Rebecca Millett of South Portland, employers with five or fewer employees would also be required to offer earned unpaid sick leave. The measure would take effect Jan. 1, 2021. All are welcome to the forum.
The bill, LD 369, will come up for a hearing before the Labor and Housing Committee in Room 302 of the Cross Building at the State Capitol Feb. 13 at 11 a.m.
There appears to be a logic error in the bill's wording. The employee a earns up to 40 hours a year and may carry forward at least 40 hours a year. That could be 80 hours. But the employee may only use a maximum of 40 hours in a year. What happens with the carryover time?
Another logic error: Other states cap the number of paid sick leave hours that may be accrued in a year at 40. This bill does not. So an employee who is required to report hours worked and who works overtime may earn more than 40 hours, but may only use 40 in the year. The employee may carry over the additional hours if allowed by the employer but may not use them.
By the way: the only employees who ccurrently do not earn paid sick time are the ones who need it most.
Paid sick leave will destroy small business. Any body notice that history has proven you can not take from one and give to another for very long? The socialist agenda will ruin this country.


text:
Put Up Your Dukes: Romance's Favorite Rank Ever wonder why two-thirds of all the romance novels ever published seem to involve dukes? Romance author Lorraine Heath says we can't resist their historical celebrity superpower.
Welcome to the NPR Books Summer of Love!
Put Up Your Dukes: Romance's Favorite Rank
April 27, 20145:44 AM ET
Ever wonder why two-thirds of all the romance novels ever published seem to be about dukes? We do. hide caption
Ever wonder why two-thirds of all the romance novels ever published seem to be about dukes? We do.
Snow White didn't fall in love with one of the dwarves. She fell in love with the prince. But princes are scarce, and the next title of any consequence is that of the duke – which explains a lot about the rows and rows of romance novels with the word "duke" somewhere on the cover.
In the real world, dukes are thin on the ground: Generally, there are fewer than thirty — but it's more than rarity that makes dukes so wildly popular: They're just downright sexy. In modern terms, the duke is the equivalent of the movie star, seen on the big screen, bolder than life. They cause palpitations and sighs aplenty. Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Tom Hiddleston and Daniel Craig are all dukes in our modern celebrity peerage.
The marquess, one rung down, more closely resembles the television star: Certainly worthy of attention but not the one sitting on the front row at the Oscars. Nathan Fillion, Andrew Lincoln, Alexander Skarsgard: Far more numerous, but shining just a bit less brightly.
The earl, lower still, is the equivalent of a reality television show cast member. He may find himself running naked through the jungles of an uninhabited island, getting sunburned and eaten by bugs. He may appeal to many but he's not pulling in the millions that the movie star does. Nor does he usually walk down the red carpet.
Romance Novels Sweep Readers Off Their Feet With Predictability
Lowest of all, the viscount; he appears in commercials. Generally nameless, he's the focus of attention for a fleeting few seconds. He's the one you fast-forward through, or abandon entirely to go grab a snack.
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When a lady finds herself in trouble, she knows she can rely on a duke to assist her in setting matters right. To mix our movie metaphors, he's Jason Bourne: He always knows how to get the job done. It doesn't matter that he's had no military training; something in his background has prepared him for the moment when he is called upon. He is as strong, determined, and capable as the heroine at facing dangers and emerging victorious.
A duke is never referred to as "my lord" or merely a lord. Up on the pedestal of his exalted rank, he's above all that. He is addressed as "Your Grace," or simply "Duke" if no other duke is around to create confusion.. And of course, a lady who marries a Duke becomes a duchess. She is not "Lady So-and-so" or "My lady," rather she is "Duchess" or "Your Grace." Much more elegant.
It isn't just celebrity worship — in historical romances, the social ladder matters. Marriage to a duke elevates the lady's social status, which is the reason that so many American heiresses flocked to Great Britain in the late 19th century. They would, of course, settle for a lesser rank if need be, but a duke was always considered the prize.
Yes, every lady, every heroine, dreams of having a duke of her own. It matters not if he's wicked, wayward, dangerous, and scandalous – and he usually is. Ladies set out to romance, tame, and reform him. But on her terms — this man of power, influence, and prestige presents a challenge to the heroine, one she is more than capable of facing. She is his equal in character, strength, and determination, and quite adept at bringing him to heel.
The duke always gets the leading role and the leading lady. Who doesn't want to be the leading lady?
Lorraine Heath always dreamed of being a writer. In 1990, she read a romance novel and became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since.


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Find out what it takes to get your corporate funding requests approved.
Join AFP Central South Carolina for lunch and a panel discussion with representatives from some of the Midlands' largest corporate philanthropists, including Susan B. Bankson, Wells Fargo Foundation, Stephanie R. Jones, SCANA Corporation and Susan Forrest, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.
Stick around for a question-and-answer session to learn more about what your organization can do to be more competitive for corporate dollars.


But the "fatwa" in question does not exist.
The invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has done extensive research into compilations of Khamenei's published fatwas. (See here and here, and citations therein.) No such fatwa has ever been published.
In a sharia state, particularly the one in Iran that is actually run by the country's top sharia jurists, fatwas are important statements of governing law, like statutes are in the U.S. Yet despite repeated requests, Iran has never produced the purported anti-nuclear weapons fatwa from Khamenei.
"Obama's Norouz message included dishonest assertions and his claim of friendship for Iranian people was not sincere," the Leader said, noting that Obama's claim that there are people in Iran who do not want nuclear case to be resolved through diplomacy is a lie.
What the Iranian nation is resisting against is bullying approach of the United States, Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
The second point, Ayatollah Khamenei said, negotiations with the United States are just about the nuclear case and does not cover regional issues or issues related to Iran's domestic issues, including defense matters.
The third point, as put by the Leader, was removal of anti-Iran sanctions, which should be discussed as a part of nuclear talks, and should not be considered a result of those talks.
The Ayatollah's sharp blowback doesn't matter to Obama. The Nowruz message was a head fake to give him room with you, me, our elected leaders and some in the media.
Obama seems almost certain to miss his end of March deadline for an agreement with Iran. He will extend the deadline and make a deal acceptable to Iran's Supreme Leader. That Obama and Secretary Kerry lie about this as well as other hot spots doesn't matter. That Khamenei and his leadership team are not fooled and publicly rebuke Obama/Kerry doesn't matter. That most Americans, specifically the national media, will believe much of what Obama/Kerry say and not know or care what the Iranian response is is what Obama needs. It is critical he does not get it.
This entry was posted in A Criminal Enterprise, Anti-Semitism, Foreign Policy Disaster, Islam the New Normal, Lawless Government, Obama. Bookmark the permalink.


Since the start of the Syria crisis in 2011, millions of Syrian children and young people have sought refuge in neighbouring Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. It is estimated that around 50 per cent do not attend school. Host governments and other stakeholders see non-formal learning as an alternative way of providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and survive following displacement. But they also face a significant challenge in creating systems that recognise both the non-formal learning of Syrian refugees and the learning, qualifications and life experience they acquired in their home country.
A new UIL publication, Pathways to empowerment: Recognizing the competences of Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, stresses the importance of viewing recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) systems for Syrian refugees as part of comprehensive national strategies of host governments rather than as fragmented and ad hoc projects. For children, youth and young adults who have had their education interrupted, recognition of non-formal learning and competences becomes a tool of empowerment vital for the possibility of re-entering the education system, integrating into the world of work, and living with freedom and agency.
While regional policy-makers have prioritized the issue of RVA mechanisms for non-formal and informal learning, effective, comprehensive systems still do not exist. Pathways to empowerment recommends that RVA systems be integrated into host countries' education, training and qualifications reforms, rather than being treated as stand-alone measures.
The book's recommendations are relevant to countries in other parts of the world where the recognition of refugees' non-formal learning and competences remains ambiguous.
The study is the result of a collaboration between UIL and the UNESCO Beirut Office and Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States. UIL and the UNESCO Beirut Office will facilitate a policy dialogue between national authorities, social partners and sectoral stakeholder at a conference to be held in Beirut in July 2018. The objective will be to develop an action plan to recognize formal, non-formal and informal learning of Syrian refugees in their host countries.


Another report from the Dakhleh Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt! I have neglected this blog for the past few days and, in order to remedy this sorry situation, I intend to catch you up! For this purpose, we will go back to January 31st and move forward to present day from there. On the morn of the last day of January, Miriam (a fabulous Dutch archaeologist and a wonderful person) instructed us on the technique and then the practice of drawing a wall to scale. First we took detailed measurements of every important feature of the segment of wall we were assigned, and for me and my partner Kyera (a recent graduate of the University of Michigan and an anthropology major with a focus in archaeology, a phenomenal artist and genuinely sweet girl), these included two painted windows, a woven throw rug on the mastaba (bench) jutting out from the wall, and a geometrically adorned light fixture. The basic skills required to take the measurements, adhere to the scale, and to account for depth and position of the features and objects being recorded were related to the students as a whole when I was out in the field with Ellen and Johanna, so this experience of drawing was extremely useful for me. This skill and the process by which the features and objects were recorded in extreme detail proved to be not only an enjoyable experience, but an extremely useful and relevant skill to not only our particular excavation but in field archaeology in general, and I was and am extremely grateful to be gaining experience and skills in this completely unfamiliar field of study.
That afternoon I gladly returned to the ceramics area where I have been learning and working for the majority of our "training/field school" time at the dighouse. As I have done several times in the past, I attempted to piece together a ceramic vessel, which turned out to be complete up until the top of the body where the neck would have begun. Sadly, however, that most interesting feature was not included in the sherds given to me, so I did the best I could and pieced together a nice base and body of a relatively large and detailed jar. As always, I find that the uniqueness of each vessel makes the task both exciting and informative, but also the similarities Throughout this process, I have begun to notice that pots have started to align themselves into correlations and patterns as fabrics, colors, firing techniques, and forms come together to create a larger picture of the ceramics of Amheida.
Just before dinner, Dr. Bagnall shared with us his knowledge, discoveries, and theories concerning the ostraka of Amheida. Through is excellent description of both the genre of ostraka in a larger sense and the demographic of samples identified and synthesized from our Roman city, I was able to much better understand both the function of ostraka in Roman Period Egypt, and the nature of their use in Amheida. Also, as a product of the study of these inked potsherds, Dr. Bagnall and his colleagues were able to make many valuable and exciting discoveries concerning the identity and life of the owner of the villa and of the nature of the economy, political system, and private affairs of the people of Amheida. I truly enjoyed this insider perspective into this subject otherwise unknown to me. Although we are unable to excavate, I am finding this experience equally as valuable in education and the acquisition and cultivation of relevant and helpful skills and specialties and am greatly enjoying this unique opportunity to learn from and build relationships with this outstanding group of scholars.
February 1st, true to its nature as a new beginning, was excellent change of pace around the dig house/Dakhleh Oasis-land as we committed the morning to a field trip to the medieval city of Balat and to the "Painted Mountain" as Asharaf called it, a desert crossroads called Darb el-Gubbari where a road to Kharga entered the Oasis. Balat was an amazing and unreal departure from the traditional mudbrick experiences we have explored (mainly of the Roman fortress, geometric and structured city, and temple varieties) as the narrow covered roadways wound back and forth in an dizzying maze of two-story or more fortress-like mudbrick houses, plastered bi-yearly to maintain both the structural integrity and individual identity of the home, some still inhabited today. These homes were dark, small, and like the streets to which their doors narrowly opened, were cool, dank and emanated a sense of intriguing antiquity and utility unlike anything I have yet experienced in the Oasis. In this relatively unconserved and unexcavated city, we were able to re-construct the lives of its medieval inhabitants, cooking on the roof in steam ovens, going to the palm-tree-supported mill, and voicing their political concerns at the house of the Sheikh Balat, 2nd in command to the Mayor of Balat.
After carefully weaving our way out of the mangled city we drove out to an area of exquisite rock formations as layer upon layer of cross bedded, loosely cemented, vibrantly-mineral-tinted shades that can be eroded by the hand into million-grained rainbows just beneath the wind-blown sandy surface. Personally, as a huge rock nerd, this site was one of my favorites as the geology was not only visually captivating but intriguing as I tried to make connections between the landscape and environment during their formation and tried to extrapolate the dominating influence of the scarp which ushered in the traders and pilgrims from Kharga.
After lunch, Sara (my beautiful and extremely computer-savvy roommate, a recent graduate of Pitzer College) gave Andrew (a Columbia Ancient Studies major, and a junior also) and I a crash course in AutoCAD, a very intuitive and quite extraordinary program wherein you can digitize exact plans of entire sites (i.e. the villa which we used for demonstrative purposes today) and minute details within the individual rooms, stratigraphic units, features, an objects therein. Although I am typically technologically inept, I found this tutorial very straightforward and am excited to apply these skills and watch as an archaeological site is immortalized and made extraordinarily available to the masses through digitization. It was cool, needless to say ☺.
To conclude our day, we listened to a fascinating and particularly interesting discussion of the meshing and eventual evolution, selection, and exclusion of Egyptian and Greco-Roman funerary iconography and the depiction of the deceased, particularly in the Behnasa Stele group from the late 2nd to early 4th century AD. In his presentation Sander (another fabulously kind and intelligent Dutch archaeologist) included comparisons between the depictions of the deceased as a Greco-Roman statesman from a tomb in local Muzawakka, a similarly represented stone relief of the deceased in a Behnasa Stele, and further the also analogous depiction of the deceased in traditional Greco-Roman garb from the Faiyum Portraits. Interestingly, the Faiyum portrait and the local tomb painting depict the deceased in a traditionally classical manner, but were surrounded by Egyptian figures and popular funerary iconography, including interaction with Egyptian gods. This melding together of cultural, societal, and religious conventions was particularly interesting to me as it displays how the integration of two cultures was manifested in funerary art as well as how the individuals within the culture chose to construct their identity in death in visual iconography and cultural association. I very much enjoyed his insights and studies and found them particularly relevant to the Oases where the clash of cultures must have been a relatively frequent conflict as we see the Sheikh Muftah, Pharonic Egyptian Pagans, Greco-Romans, Persians, Christians etc. came to this isolated island in the desert and were forced by sheer remoteness and centralization of resources to interact and find some cultural camaraderie and collective identity.
The morning of February 2nd morning marked another very useful and fascinating lesson for our pseudo field-school; photogrammetry with Fabritzio and Sylvia. Before this instruction, I had had no idea what this skill entailed or the purpose in an archaeological setting, but I soon discovered that, for the purposes of publication and educating the masses, creating a comprehensive and accurate picture of the excavation, and for reconstruction, this particular set of integrated skills is of tantamount importance and value. First, we were shown the theory of photogrammetry with the "Total Station", a automatic level-on-steroids of sorts that can swivel on 2 axes and works in cooperation with a prism and a laser beam to extremely accurately plot a series of many points from a fixed point, that will eventually be compiled together in the computer to re-construct the feature (for our purposes the wall at the front of the dig house). These coordinates in combination with a digital photograph of the feature can be placed into AutoCAD and then made into an amazing 3-D image of the entire villa for example, in all three building stages. This truly was an incredible experience and I was awed by the precision and the detail available in these digital renderings of archaeological sites as the paintings and graffito on the walls of the villa were placed upon the walls of their original context so one could digitally stroll through the same environment as the archaeologists on site.
In the afternoon, I took the very much pleasure and relief in working on my research paper. I had been feeling slightly anxious about this project as of late (mainly due to the obvious time constraints, limited comprehensive information, and my laughable inability to actually do valuable work in paper writing in the library) and this time, used to research my topic and scan into PDF on my computer any valuable or relevant information, established a sort of safety net (for if I cannot finish or do quality work here, then I have the materials I need when I get home to feel comfortable and prepared) and made me feel much better. Although I have miles to go and many hours to devote to research and collection of thoughts and formation of theories, I think this time helped the process along, and I look forward to further developments and discoveries concerning this most interesting of topics (to me at least hehe).
In the evening (pre-dinner) I also helped Andrea (an alumni of this program and a 3 year returning ceramicist, an enthusiastic and joyful girl), Iris (Barnard College Junior archaeology major), and Kayla (Cornell Junior archaeology major) sort pottery from room 15 in the villa at Amheida (famous for its amazing wall paintings) into diagnostic forms (straight sided bowls, small bowls with incurved and outturned rims, basins, bases, handles, jars, and miscellaneous collections of sieves, body sherds, and other strange pieces). This process allows ceramicists to collect important data concerning the numbers and types of pottery contained within a constrained, positive context and allow them to extrapolate demographic data from these numbers, further illuminating the function of the room, the wealth and kind of family or individuals using it, and the purpose of the vessels. It is this kind of activity that, although tedious, makes me appreciate and enjoy ceramics so much, as it provides an excellent and exciting view into the lives of the inhabitants of an area, and that is a unique gift only clay carries.
Yesterday, was the lovely and talented Ellen Morris' birthday, and to celebrate (well not really, but it was a celebration for me!) Ellen invited me to accompany Johanna and herself once again into the field to discover litihics, pottery, and other cultural material of the distant, Paleolithic past in the area around Amheida. In the company of these amazing women as well as my fabulous roommate Sarah and the ever-endearing Andrew, we set out from the Bedouin village of Amheida in the morning ad proceeded, with many wanderings, hill (or as often happened, rubble pile) scalings, and collections of flints and sherds, all the way through Quasr to the foothills of the escarpment, where we rested our eager feet (that had not stopped pressing forward from when we arrived until about 1pm when we gave in to hunger and sun-educed tiredness) and ate lunch with a view that rivaled anything I had yet seen in the Oases. To the left of our picnic spot was the majestic and intriguing escarpment, foothills, outcroppings, and a beautiful hilltop hotel to the front, and an Islamic cemetery, the city, and miles of impossibly green agriculture crisscrossed with imposing sand dunes to our right. It was incredible. On the way back to the village we took the "scenic route" through the fields, wells, springs, farmhouses, and palm trees, enjoying our beautiful, yet intense walking tour of the Western Oasis. To put the day into perfect conclusion, we stopped atop a hill right on the edge of the village to look for more cultural material and rest a bit before continuing our search and were almost immediately joined by about 10 children and several men who had worked at Amheida. These kind and welcoming people brought us ice-cold water (a liquid everyone treasured as they had not had cold water in a month) and delicious mint-tea. The last half hour of our day or so was therefore spent taking pictures with the kids and enjoying our friendly encounter with the local people. Admittedly I was rather uncomfortable as the many, MANY children giggled, danced, and yelled following us all the way to the bus, but even though I cannot seem to understand and therefore appreciate children as I wish I could, I still found their little parade amusing.
Back at the dighouse, the after dinner hours until bed time (a very short span for my old-bones) I had the great pleasure of listening to Olaf Kaper's discussion of Ein Berbeia, a badly destroyed limestone temple to the unique, local god Amun-Nacht here in Dakhleh. This quite extraordinary temple was interned in sand up to roof level and for years, the land atop and around the temple was fed by a well and used for agriculture; therefore the temple was severely cracked and damaged by the wet soil. I really enjoyed learning about its many idiosyncrasies and innovative attributes as Olaf presented them; mainly the unusually precise date given to the decoration of the temple with the deciphering of the cartouches of Galba in his early and later names as well as the influence of Osiris, Seth, Horace, and possibly many other gods in the iconography of the oasis-made-protector god Amun-Nacht. I very much enjoyed this unique piece of Oasis religious architecture, iconography, and cult practice, and am very excited to view the parallels and influences on the characteristics of Amun-Nacht in the valley temples during the tour.
Another week, another set of adventures for me here in the Oasis. Daily life remains very much the same as we go about our respective duties and lessons in and around the dighouse and, subsequently, every day has been as wonderful, exciting, and educational as the last. Still without our permit, each and every team member has been slowly chipping away at the backlog of information and field reports, drawing and cataloging pottery and small finds, creating a new online database for the project, learning how to digitize and map images from the site, and compiling a new catalog for our ceramicists. In a departure from my usual lesson in the morning ceramics in the afternoon routine, I was invited by Ellen to accompany our newly-arriving geologist, herself, and one other student (Mat, he's an amazing 32 year old senior at Columbia in New York, planning to attend law school in the fall to practice antiquities law) on a pseudo-geological-and-cultural-material survey in the land around Amheida, a carefully delineated area surrounding our dig site, a great portion of which Ellen had surveyed during last year's excavation. Of course, I was thrilled and honored to join them on their trip into the desert, and I eagerly packed my backpack the next morning for a day of discovery.
And so, at promptly 9 AM we departed for our demonstrably-not-on-site desert query (it would have been VERY bad to enter the site without our permit, and the last thing we wanted to do was make this already precarious situation more so) about 30 minutes on the other side of the Oasis from our home. The adventure that followed was, honestly, one of my favorite experiences of my already fabulous time spent in the Oasis. We eagerly traipsed up and down brilliantly colored outcroppings of dried up spring mounds, deposits of vibrant orange iron-rich hematite, paleolake sediments (remnants from a time when the Oasis was a much wetter, forgiving savannah environment containing a large lake), and layers upon layers of loosely cemented, crossbeded windblown sand. It was as if we were visitors to an unknown desert planet; an eerily barren yet complex world of sand, rock, and sun, where the stories of eons were intricately displayed for the eager student, diaries of past worlds left behind in the many colors and faces of rocks just waiting to be read. As we hiked and explored we stumbled upon hundreds upon hundreds of flint tools, handcrafted by our sub-humanoid ancestors 200,000 years ago. These unique artifacts ranged from large and formidable hand axes, to delicate yet severe blades and knives, to the cores and flakes of flint left over from the creation of these precious lithics, to pieces of ancient ostrich eggshell, as well as pottery sherds from the Paleolithic all the way to the Roman Period, lying together on the surface of this world dominated by the all-powerful will of the wind, a force of change so powerful that it can erode and uncover meters of earth and sand each year. I think it is this very miracle of the conjunction of earth and humanity that I love so much about geology: the history of our planet and the history of our very selves is recorded in the stratigraphy of our hometowns, beneath our cities, and within our deserts as the earth and the human race change and evolve simultaneously.
Exhausted from the unrelenting sun and physical exertion, we eagerly sat beneath the only patch of shade we could find which was graciously granted by an inclined outcrop in the center of this area and ate our picnic lunch of oranges, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and bread (for the other there of course) which, true to form, meant I got to bring back the notebook-paper-plate I'd grown so fond of in Kharga. The rest of our afternoon was spent exploring and discovering the area, attempting to piece together the story fragments to form a clear environment from which our Roman city and its predecessors would have lived. At 4 that afternoon, we returned from a quick visit to Ain el-Gezareen, an Old Kingdom Settlement only a few kilometers away from Amheida, and boarded the bus that would take us back home. I returned elated at my good fortune, new knowledge and understanding of the geologic past (provided graciously and expertly by Joanna our geologist) and cultural history of the area, as well as my renewed enthusiasm for both our project and the disciplines I have grown to love. It was truly amazing.
To complete my week of immense pleasure and discovery, my fellow students and I accompanied the owner of a local hotel, Sammy (as we call him), a band of his friends, and a Bedouin band complete with "flautist", drum, and tambourine into the middle of the desert for a "Bedouin desert party" last night to celebrate Annie's birthday (a Junior at Barnard College in New York, a fabulous and sweet girl we all love). After getting over the relatively terrifying ride into the desert that was attempted in patches of total darkness (as Egyptians are not fond of using their headlights and prefer to boost the excitement of the outing by nearly killing themselves and all passengers by running off the road…into a donkey cart…over a ravine…whatever…) despite the rocky, steep terrain, we all exited our exhausted and vehicles (which ultimately were discovered to have been in varying states of disrepair all the way to straight up broken) and were overwhelmed by the cool desert air, the warm, welcoming bonfire, and, most awe-inspiring, the night sky, so full of stars it seemed to blur the limits of the horizon, breaking the traditional heavenly register and completely dominating both the celestial and earthly landscapes.
Greetings once again from the Dakhleh Oasis!
Well, as I said, I thought I'd now take this opportunity to share with you a bit about daily life here in the desert, my now somewhat familiar and beloved home. The dighouse sits a few miles outside of the capital of the Oasis, Mut, and lies atop a small hill that we share with the dighouse for the Dakhleh Oasis Project proper. Daily life at the house begins at 8:00AM with breakfast (my favorite meal of the day!). Lunch is always enthusiastically received at 1PM and dinner at 7PM. Basically our eager stomachs drive our desires and occupies our thoughts as nearly all the students count the minutes until the next mealtime; a habit we have grown comfortably accustomed to due to our outstanding kitchen and our love of food ;). Tea is served midmorning and mid-afternoon to break up the extended periods of library and work time (and give our stomachs yet another event to look forward to!) and is graciously received. It would be a safe estimate to say that in the past month I have consumed more tea than I did the entirety of last semester and I have grown very fond (dare I day dependent?) on its daily presence.
In the dighouse we also have many curious habits and rules that have been fashioned to adapt to desert living. The bathrooms for example are operated under the maxim: "if its yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown…" well you get the picture! Also, due to our very limited water resources and fairly temperamental waste disposal tank, we only dispose of really REALY dirty toilet paper, throwing the only slightly soiled stuff in the trashcans that are emptied daily for our olfactory satisfaction and sanity. Showering is similarly a no-funny-business, in and out experience as we are all under the "navy shower" rule: rinse, soap up, rinse, and get out. Usually this is a particularly enjoyable experience nonetheless due to the fact that no matter how much you try, you are always a sandy-dusty-dirty individual by the end of even the most indoor-sedentary day. The only possible hitch in the glorious cleansing is the water temperature, which can be temperamental at best. The bipolar hot and cold knobs, despite patient coercion and attempted mastering of the tricky equation of cold to hot so that it stays consistent throughout your allotted 3 minutes of shower time, the pipes more often than not have a mind of their own, changing temperatures from freezing to scalding whenever the mood strikes them and appear to be unwilling to listen to reason. However, the ups and downs of temperature are greatly preferred to the complete absence of H2O, a state of dehydration that occurs relatively frequently around here. For example: yesterday during the middle of the day (prime shower time, as it is often too chilly in the morning or in the evening to shower in the as-close-to-outside-as-you-can-be-with-a-door-and-a-ceiling shower area) the waste treatment plant at Sheikh Wadi, the little town closest to our dighouse, malfunctioned, sending waste water through the fresh water pipes and effectively mucking things up for an entire afternoon as the water was turned off during this nasty backwash.
However, these problems are more entertaining than unfortunate, and are just an amusing part of the Oasis life I have come to love. Having spend the entire morning and afternoon piecing together a shattered Roman-Period fine ware bowl and getting completely caked in charred 2000 year old firing remnants that easily rub off the potsherds, I was filthy and covered in ceramic glue which essentially fused the grunge to my hands, face, clothes, and hair. Of course, I loved every minute of my 3-D puzzle work and grew more and more excited as my teeny tiny sherds, which at the beginning of the process appeared to be as random and unrelated as bread molds and amphorae, began to take shape: coming together to form a piece of pottery that once sat on the table of a resident of Amheida. It was amazing and surreal, and this is just the beginning of many similarly awe-inspiring encounters with the past I will experience as time marches by here in the Oasis.
Our Little Library...we're in here a LOT.
Since we are still stuck in "permit purgatory", we as students have been divided up into small groups to be trained in various aspects of fieldwork and excavation. I have been placed in the ceramics group for both preparation as well as the first part of the excavation (here's hoping), so I am spending time getting to know the fabrics and shapes of Amheida's pottery, a task much to my liking. This morning, however, we were divided up into two groups to be taught how to take levels, elevations, and absolute heights in the field; an essential skill and a really fun little workshop put on by Roberta and Miriam, two of our phenomenal archaeologists that are the supervisors of the Temple area and the Villa respectively. They had set up 12 points to calculate all around our little hilltop home and we had a blast moving the automatic level around, fussing with the tripod and measuring sticks, and laughing together at funny little mistakes and not-so-little struggles with the orientation of the level to the points of measurement. This is one of the greatest things I have experienced here in Dakhleh: everyone, regardless of age, nationality, specialty, role, or identity with the larger context of the dig is always patient, kind, jovial, enthusiastic, easy going, and so passionate about this place and this excavation that even permit-imposed doldrums cannot staunch their smiles and enthusiasm. I have so much to learn from them and I am reminded daily how truly blessed I am to have that unique opportunity.
Well now that I've TALKED YOUR EAR OFF, It's time for me to go. Stay tuned for more news from the dunes here in Dakhleh, and I wish you all the best. Take care.
It has been almost a week since my return from the trip to Kharga Oasis and my life here has substantially changed gears in the past couple of days. This past Friday marked the end of our first class here entitled "the Oases of Egypt" as well as our daily Egyptian Arabic instruction. The past month has been a wonderful blur of intense academics, trips to sites, research projects and presentations, daily classes, and no days off. So, needless to say, we were all ready for a breather when Friday came and we had the day to relax and prepare for the upcoming excavation. Originally, plans were set to begin the field season Saturday, however, archaeology in Egypt is no simple or straightforward day in the desert with a trowel; it is an arduous process involving many time consuming preparatory arrangements and much paperwork. Despite excellent and timely submission of permit forms and many other bits of antiquities red tape, our dig at Amheida only received 2 of the 3 necessary permits to begin our excavation this season on time. As far as we know, nearly every excavation had been delayed due to this very reason this winter, and the delay ranged from only a few days to more than a week: a probability that is both disconcerting and frustrating to a house full of internationally renowned archaeologists eager to begin their work and to have a successful season. As of this moment, since we have yet to receive this from the Egyptian Military (the missing permit; this is absolutely vital since the Oasis is classified as a military zone in Egypt) we are at a bit of a preparatory standstill in the dighouse. However, everyone is upbeat and all smiles and appears to have made an unspoken yet collective commitment to stay positive and hopeful, and do everything we can to prepare for the season doing whatever there is to do in the magazine, database, and with the small finds and ceramics we have in house.
As students, we have begun training for the tasks ahead by learning how to accurately and properly fill out the forms we will use on site as well as how to enter them into the database, and have been taught how to identify, sort, weigh, and catalog ceramics. These skills are invaluable to us as students of field archaeology and will prove to be essential as we contribute what we can to the team and to the excavation as a whole. Tomorrow, I begin my first assignment working on pottery here, a task very much to my liking as so much about the lives of the ancient inhabitants of Amheida can be used from the clay vessels left behind. Also, (and I recognize that this officially makes me even MORE of a nerd than you already know I am if you have been reading this blog 😉 haha) during training I realized that principles of geology greatly apply to identifying pottery as one uses grain size, mineral presence, identification and form, fabric, luster, hardness, and texture of the material to determine its individual identity, date, use, and place of production; characteristics that in turn speak volumes about the individuals and society that crafted them. In case you did not know, I am a self-declared rock nerd; I love all things related to geology, earth systems, minerals, rocks, etc. and am eager to apply my training in these subjects to the best of their ability. Therefore the chance to further my training in this area by applying these principles to antiquities is a thrilling prospect for me, and I cannot wait to begin my real training and work in the morning! More to come on this as things develop… Sadly, that's all for now, I must return to the magazine, but bokra (tomorrow) I hope to chat a bit about life here (the boring stuff) and give a brief overview of daily life here. So, until tomorrow: Salamu Aleekum!
It's been far too long….but I'm back!!
The past few weeks in Dakhleh have been spent largely in the classroom learning about the Oases of the Western Desert, Dakhleh especially. We have been collectively learning about this astounding Oasis' history through geology, human occupation, and the development of its many cultures and civilizations throughout time starting in prehistory and continuing through Pharonic Egypt, the Ptolemies, the Roman Period, the Christian Period, all the way to present day. Squeezing so much history into a few short weeks was quite the ride, but what I learned from my experiences in the classroom and on the road (we visited many of the sited we discussed in both Dakhleh and Kharga Oasis) was both enjoyable and invaluable.
Around our Oasis, we were guided by Olaf Kaper, a phenomenal archaeologist and a venerated member of our team, who expertly uncovered the secrets and history of Ain Aseel (an incredible Old Kingdom settlement) and its tombs which housed the eternal resting places of the governors of the Oasis (tombs which mimic those of royalty in miniature of the Nile Valley in structure and iconography), the beautiful stone temple of Deir el-Haggar (a temple to Amun associated with Amheida), and el-Muzawakka (impressive stone-cut tombs carved out of the rocky outcropping of an area outside of yet associated with Amheida).
After this local exploration, the other students and I, our wonderful and brilliant professor Ellen Morris, our sweet and knowledgeable TA Heather McCarthy, and our remarkable expert guide and friend Asharaf Barakat loaded up the filthy desert-ready "autobis" (bus) to drive the 3 hours to Kharga Oasis. Immediately after arrival we hurried down a picnic lunch consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, several different kinds of cheese, bread, bread, and more bread, the very popular "Kiko" cookies which my fellow students covet, bananas, oranges, and did I mention bread? Being gluten intolerant and unable to eat the bread which served double duty as plates for lunch, I improvised, eating my veggies and cheese from a piece of paper torn out of my oh-so-handy notebook; an adaptation that made my considerate and light-hearted companions laugh every time we ate.
Lunch having been consumed with fervor, we once again boarded the bus and headed to Hibis Temple, one of the most amazing structures I have ever had the good fortune to experience. This Temple was originally constructed by Darius the First and was dedicated to Amun Ra. It was added on to and re-constructed by the Ptolemies, Romans, and eventually the Christians who added a church onto one side of the temple and served as a major administrative and military center during the Roman occupation of the Oases. Next we journeyed to many Roman temples and mud brick fortresses, Dush temple, Necropolis of Bagawat (a city of the dead housing hundreds of Christian chapels and tombs), a monastery associated with Bagawat (quite a climb to the top of a huge and inaccessible hilltop), and many other amazing sites. Our days in Kharga were jam-packed from dawn till dusk with lessons, hikes, visits, more hikes to sites, and long, seemingly endless treks into the desert at the end of which would lie another architectural and historical secret of the sands.
One such trip was mid-Saturday afternoon where we got off the bus in the middle of nowhere and headed straight into sandy nothingness, an hour long desert expedition during which we encountered some of the most enormous sand dunes I have ever seen. The size of a 2 story building, one particular dune peaked our interest, and, after an unsteady, sweaty, yet amazingly fun and hillarious climb to the top we collectively jumped/rolled/ran/fell/tumbled down the steep edge of the dune (sooooo much fun!!!!!) laughing, and having a fabulous time (an exercise Ellen deemed "dune diving…good for the soul" she says, and she's right!).
However, all good things must come to and end, and after 3 (ish) days in Kharga, we returned, sleepy-eyed and sandy, to our beloved home in Dakhleh; a welcome and anticipated reunion with our comfortable dighouse and its wonderful inhabitants. This evening was to be our last as our small group of pre-season students and early-arriving archaeologists, for the entire team was to arrive the next day (Yesterday).
The arrival of twenty-some new faces, new specialties, new languages, and new personalities was a much anticipated and exciting event for our little group, as we had only been around the same small group of people for almost a month and, although we love each other and are having a great time, the prospect of so much diversity and the arrival of our respected, accomplished, and brilliant director, Roger Bagnall, was definitely an event. Now, the team has been united for less than 24 hours, but the dighouse has truly come to life and I'm thrilled to get to know and spend time learning from these outstanding individuals in the upcoming excavation.


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At the end of each year, I have a personal tradition that I engage in.
I spend the last week of the year in quiet reflection of the year that has just passed, and the new year that is to come.
I make time in my schedule to be alone, with just my notes from the previous year to keep me company.
I gather up all those pieces of paper on which I've scribbled ideas for articles, blog posts, or new projects I wanted to take on or complete (yes, I do hang onto them!). I spend time thinking about what I've accomplished and what I didn't get around to doing.
Where will you find inspiration for the coming year? If you haven't found it yet, keep looking!
I think about which people and what events inspired me this year, who and what got me fired up, and what did I do about it.
Yes I do make some new year's resolutions – just a few, just personal things. Mostly I make plans and set goals. I think about where I want to go, and where I want to be at the end of next year, what I want to get done and what I feel I should abandon.
This year I've included something both new and old into my thought process.
Years ago I read several books by Robert Fulghum, one of my favorite authors. One of his books, Words I Wish I Wrote: A Collection of Writing That Inspired My Ideas, is one I picked up when I was going through a major upheaval in my life, and needed to chart a new path. This particular book is where I found the inspiration to try my hand at writing.
Recently, while visiting my parents, my Mom shared with me a few passages from another of Mr. Fulghum's books – one I'd also read (and loved) – "What on Earth Have I Done?" by Robert Fulghum.
As I listened to her read, I was reminded again of the reasons why I loved this book (and of course, how wonderful it is when parents read to their children). I remembered why it was that I found Mr. Fulghum's words to be so very inspirational when I first read them, and again now as I listened to them.
What in the name of god are you doing?
These questions are much more than just those a parent would ask a child – they are questions we should ask ourselves.
What have I done this past year? What am I doing now? What will I think of/plan for next year? And 'who do I think I am' is especially important to think about…..because who we are is wrapped up in all of those questions……because who we are guides us in our personal and professional lives, and colors every decision we make.
These questions are helping me form the basis of my planning for next year, both in life and in work.
I've picked the book back up and am now re-reading it, and finding inspiration again already.
Who and what inspired you this past year? Share your reflections!
This entry was written by Trisha Miller, and posted on Monday, December 27th, 2010.
.-= Vero´s last blog post: Best places to spend New Year´s Eve =-.
Thanks Veronica – Happy 2011 to you too!
My routine for end of year reflection is kind of like Julia Cameron's morning pages – just write.
I also sit and think about what my influencers would tell me: I pretend i have all my people in a room – Danielle Laporte, Eban Pagan, Naomi Dunford, Chris Guillebeau, etc – and they're all cheering me on and giving tips and advice.
.-= Andy Hayes´s last blog post: Inspirational Spiritual Places =-.
Andy I love your method and your enthusiasm, but mostly I love your imagination. I too occasionally have imaginary conversations with my influencers, but usually that's after a few too many drinks!
Like you, I try to spend time reflecting on the past year, but I'm also a goal setter, so I do that as well. I like to start the new year with a clean slate, so I work like crazy the last few weeks of the year so that I can start January 1 feeling refreshed.
.-= JoAnna´s last blog post: Whose War Vietnam =-.
Every successful person is also a goal-setter! I love the idea of starting the new year with a clean slate…..I don't think that's a goal I have any hope of achieving, but I love the idea of it anyway.
Hey Trisha, interesting to hear about your inspirations and how you use it to set goals for the new year.
I personally don't make new plans/goals at this specific time of the year. Plans and goals seem to be more of an ongoing process. The last time I set some goals, was about a month ago and they will probably keep me busy for a few more months to come. Then when the end of a project comes in sight, I think of new things to do.
Of course I have some long-term goals/projects in the back of my mind, but these span years and only float to the surface of my thoughts occasionally.
Good luck with your reflective week and I wish you lots of inspiration for 2011!
.-= Maria Staal´s last blog post: The Book That Didn't Want To leave My House =-.
I think everyone has to do what works best for themselves…..I do think that setting goals of some sort, and on some schedule is a must for success, but I don't think it's important when you set your goals.
I love the combination of both short-term and long-term goals – the short ones keep you moving forward toward the long-term ones, and there's nothing as satisfying as a feeling of accomplishment when you tick the short-term ones off your list!
Nice post. We use this time of year to remember all the wonderful people who came into our lives over the past year and to express our gratitude to them. We had the good fortune to meet many extraordinary travel writers at TBEX in NYC this year (including yourself) and to welcome many travel writers to the Nova Scotia Authentic Seacoast including Andy Hayes, Cailin O'Neil, Gary Arndt, Candice Walsh, Carlo Alcos, Celeste Brash and Shelley McCarron. Travel writers open the world for people and we are grateful for your words and insights. Here's to more great travel stories in 2011!
Thanks Doug! And I love your idea too – I was also grateful to meet so many wonderful people at TBEX this year (including you and Margit)! I hope someday to make it up to Novia Scotia again, my last trip was as a toddler (with my parents of course) and I remember very little of it. Until then I'll just keep enjoying the wonderful things I read about it.


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text:
Q: SBT apply Task after Compile I am able to automatically execute a task before compilation with:
compile in Compile <<= (compile in Compile).dependsOn(myTask)

How do I do the same but after compile?
I know I can do:
compile in Compile <<= (compile in Compile) map{x=>
  // post-compile work
  doFoo()
  x
}

to execute arbitrary Scala code, but I need to automatically execute the target task itself when a compile event occurs
Doing something like:
val foo = TaskKey[Unit]("foo", "...")
val fooTask = foo <<= scalaInstance map {si =>
...
} dependsOn(compile in Compile)

works if I type "foo" from sbt> prompt; i.e. task is executed after compile, but the goal is to hook into compile task itself, so anytime a compilation occurs, the foo task is automatically called after compilation completes.
Is this possible, or am I going about things in the wrong way to hook into the built-in compile task?

A: In general, there is some task that depends on your task.
If compile is being used to mean "compile and set things up for Grunt", then create a prepareGrunt task that depends on compile and myTask and run that instead.
If myTask should run before the project's classes and resources are used by something else, then make it a dependency of exportedProducts.  Tasks like run and test and tasks in dependent projects will get the exported classpath entries from that task.
The danger in "run sometime after compile" is that myTask won't be run before the task that actually needs it.  There is the triggeredBy method on Initialize[Task[T]], but it is easily abused and should only be used when the output of the task is known to be used only after all tasks execute.


text:
Thank you for ensuring we are not alone
2018-10-27T17:52:41+02:00Fri, 19th Oct '18, 17:15|0 Comments
Labour wants the world's press to stop being interested in Malta unless it is to sing the praises of Joseph Muscat, but the presence of international NGOs, MEPs and journalists during the past week is important for us.
I'll explain this in simple terms for the trolls and the tyrants to have no difficulty understanding. What happened to Daphne Caruana Galizia must not happen again. The intimidation she suffered is raising its head many times over, directed at her family and at other journalists and activists and opposition politicians. The police have learnt nothing from the lesson of a journalist killed under their watch. They provide no discernible protection to other journalists and seem just as resigned to see another journalist killed as they expect another brawl in Paceville.
But the rest of the world has learnt the lesson that in Malta, in Europe, journalists can be isolated to the point that their assassination is possible.
That's why all those people were here.
I did not meet everyone these past weeks but I answered every call I got because while the oppressors know the rest of the world is watching we are all a little bit safer. I feel it is my duty to answer questions to the best of my ability. I owe it to my country to be honest and not to gloss over things. One day even people here will realise that the scandal is in the crimes being committed not in the act of revealing them.
I thank the Italian journalistic community that has stepped up and extended their support and solidarity to Maltese activists and journalists as if we were their own. The declaration led by Maria Grazia Mazzola of TG1 and signed by 57 other Italian journalists who covered the story and made important public pronouncements was a challenge to the government that has clearly no intention of going away.
RAI itself covered Malta in 10 special programs over this week, not to mention crews here in Malta for TG1, but also Carlo Lo Savio for TG2, Piere Damiani D'Agata for TG3, Roberta Marilli for Mediterraneo RAI and Ilario Piagnerelli for Rai24.
Carlo Bonini's coverage for La Repubblica as part of the Daphne Project is crucial to the discovery of what really happened to Daphne Caruana Galizia, how her assassination happened and bringing us closer than anyone to the truth about the murder. He has covered this story for a year, published a book about it and shows no sign of letting go.
These Italian colleagues gave us the opportunity to speak to other journalists accredited in Rome and thanks go to Maarten van Aalderen of the Netherland's De Telegraaf, and journalists from Radio Svizzera Italiana, ARD Das Erste and several other publications accredited to Rome. Sabrina Provenzani continued her important coverage for Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Italian NGOs Libera Informazione and Antimafia Duemila are also ensuring there is extensive coverage and the support of journalists working in the fight against corruption and organised crime.
Deutsche Welle continued their reporting of the happenings here and Iris Rohmann drove and continues to drive a campaign of journalism, art and social activism combined.
This week covering the situation in Malta there was the chief international correspondent of US network NBC, Richard Engel. From Japan's national TV station there was Shoko Koyama.
We had with us civil society's guest from the BBC John Sweeney who continues to take a deep interest in the situation here and has lectured at a public event and to Maltese journalism students at the University. The BBC covered Malta in Simon Reeve's series on the Mediterranean.
Sonia Logre was here from Agence France Presse as well as Stephen Grey for Reuters. They ensured the entire world read about what was going on.
Delegations from PEN International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the International Press Institute and the European Federation of Journalists were here. They spoke out, openly and clearly, addressing the prime minister, the local press community and international news organisations about the state of affairs in Malta.
And hosted by MEP David Casa, there were MEPs Ana Gomes from the socialist party, Monica Macovei from the conservatives and Stelios Kouloglou from the hard left, incidentally a journalist himself.
The rest of the world's press freedom community carried the message and made sure that the campaign for truth and justice that is fought here has the world's attention. What happens here is important and for as long as the world watches the assassins of Daphne Caruana Galizia — not just the ones in a cell today but the ones walking around as if nothing happened — cannot strike again.
For this my sincere thanks.
One TV, in the beginning of this month, said I would lead a campaign against Malta. I led nothing. These journalists, NGOs, MEPs came here because they feel the horror of a country that used to be a democracy but has killed one of its own journalists and let the politicians and the criminals she investigated do as they please. And they feel the fear that since nothing changed this year, this can happen again any time.
If I, or frankly anyone, had the means and the ability to mobilise such interest in a story which, as Labour would have you believe, is untrue, even the witchcraft they attributed to Daphne would not be enough. Most Bond villains would not manage this.
Still, I admit to being a little flattered that One TV thinks that the notion that I could have this ability is something their viewers might believe. Perhaps they should tell them that we have every intention of ensuring we stay safe, even as we continue to work to reveal the truth about the cabal that has stolen our country.
International free speech NGOs finalise recommendations
The alibi that stayed in bed