text:
Word Count:
For the best cleaning a patio wicklow company, call Southeast Contractors.
Kitchens used to be hidden from view – but not anymore. Thay have become the focal point of the house and the people who live in it. In this article, the author shares the joys and the advantages that she finds in this new arrangement.
kitchen islands, kitchen carts
To find the best cleaning a patio wicklow company, click here for Southeast Contractors.
When I was growing up as a child in the sixties, kitchens were always a hidden affair. If it was not separated by a wall from the other rooms in the house, then a divider had to be installed to hide it from the rest of the world. Inviting friends over to the kitchen to show off your new kitchen island or cooktop was not the thing to be done.
But not anymore. The kitchen of my adult years has now become the focal point of the house and the people who live in it. There is still the obligatory lounge room to receive guests but it is now just a little room on the way to the grand, open space of kitchen, family and rumpus rooms combined.
This is where most families now gather after a long days work – the parents preparing the family meal while the children (if they are in their schoolyears) do their homework in the family dining table or (if they are already young adults), sit and chatter around the breakfast nook or family room couch. Kitchens now exude warmth and welcome helped by the oak or teak oil-finished kitchen cabinets that usually line the kitchen walls, as well as mahogany or red cedar curio cabinets housing revered family treasures such as photos and bowling trophies.
I have long used my kitchen as my lounge – one of the rooms in the house that I consider most comfortable, functional, tribal and welcoming . My husband and I and anyone of my kids who occasionally fancy themselves as the new Jamie Oliver can showcase our gourmet talents as we gracefully move around the red and brown speckled granite kitchen island or benchtop to the glistening stainless steel sink to the brown flattened glow of the ceramic cooktop. All these in view of the rest of the family, and often times friends and guests who we show in straight to the kitchen/family/dining room area to sit in our beloved dark aubergine brown no-nonsense, yet sumptuous and very practical "Virginia" sofa.
Gone are the days when you felt you needed to detain your guests in the comfort of the Italian velvet sofa in the lounge while you excuse yourself and slave away in the dark, hot and steamy recesses of the kitchen preparing their food. Now there is no shame or cringe to invite friends over to the kitchen because kitchens have become the hub of family life and social entertaining. Architects, home builders and appliance manufacturers have all taken heed of the new trend and have made kitchens not only functional and efficient but also overwhelmingly stylish. Even whitegoods now come in different colors of stainless steel, earthy brown, luminous orange or buttercup yellow to suit everyone's desire and taste.
Friends are invited to hover around stylish marble-topped kitchen islands as they continue with their socialising, talking about nothing and maybe even lending a hand in washing the vegetables and peeling the potatoes. Even wine bars are now in the domain of the kitchen (not the basement or the lounge) as friends sit down and relax in the midst of kitchens sipping their favorite red or white.
Even when alone, my kitchen has always been a delight and a quiet refuge from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. When I wake up in the morning, I find no greater joy than seeing the sun streaming through the beige voile curtains of the northeast facing kitchen window into the deep purple flowered african violets and tall and lanky chinese fortune plants that brighten up the farthest end of my granite kitchen benchtop. And when I come home from work in the evening, I open the very same northeast facing kitchen window to be greeted with the sweet scent of the orange jasmines that line the backyard fence.
My kitchen has certainly come a long way from its hiding place in the sixties and I intend to enjoy it and keep it that way for a long, long time more to come.


text:
126 Devonshire Road, W4 2JJ
tel: +44 (0)20 8742 2302
About an hour and a half into my first visit to Chiswick's newest gastropub, I asked if I could speak to the manager. A nice chap called Joe promptly came over and pulled up a chair. "Joe" I said, "I so want to love this pub. We live just down the road and I was so happy to hear you took over from that ghastly Gordon Ramsay venture that came before you." He looked at me with genuine concern as I continued. "I know you've just opened so I've gotta grant you some slack, but the service has been pretty disastrous and the main you just put down in front of my friend is a joke." Joe bowed his head and said, "I know, today has been total chaos. We're completely overrun. I am so, so sorry. Let me talk to the chef and get back to you." So here's what happened.
Our table for four was right in the middle of the main room of the pub. With wood floors and high ceilings, it's a lovely space and has all the trademarks of a gastropub. Unfortunately on the the Sunday we visited, we immediately felt like we'd been dropped into the middle of a creche. A gaggle of posh children were running wild, their parents obliviously downing bottles of rose. Of course, that's not the pub's fault, but it made it nearly impossible to have any kind of conversation without our chairs being bumped by a screeching kid with a helium balloon in tow every two minutes. We tried our best not to stick out our legs and trip the children for fun and ordered a half pint of prawns with marie rose sauce (£6.50) to start. The prawns were delicious but TINY. And I'm afraid I compare every pint of prawns with the EXCELLENT ones they have down the road at the excellent Anglesea Arms in Ravenscourt Park. There - they are huge, delicious and come with the most incredible garlic aioli. These ones just don't compare I'm afraid.
Half an hour after we finished our starter, no one had come to clear away the dishes. Our wine glasses were empty. Our bellies were growling. One of the other-people's-children started howling. I flagged down our waitress and asked if she would mind clearing the table and getting us some more drinks. She fumbled around for her notepad furiously and I said we'd all just have the same as we'd first ordered. She looked perplexed. "What did you order?" she asked. I told her and she wrote it down and then walked away without clearing any of the empties. Fifteen minutes later she returned with the wine. And then she did something curious. Even though we hadn't touched our cutlery with the prawns starter, she started taking it away and replacing it with brand new stuff. My friend said, "oh don't worry about that, we didn't use these." She said it was her job to change it anyhow. So she did. But by now we had about ten empty wine glasses on our table. She walked away without clearing any of them. It was almost comical. When the mains finally did arrive (they took an hour) she had no choice but to put the plates down on another table to clear the collection of wine glass carnage away. Friend number one dug into her slow roasted pork belly with roast potatoes, borlotti beans and cherry tomatoes (£12.50) and sighed. "This was actually worth the wait," she said purring with pleasure.
I'm afraid patience isn't one of my strong suits, so I wasn't prepared to be as forgiving. But when I tasted my grilled bavette with peppercorn sauce, chips and roasted bulb of garlic (£14.50) I too lost my edge. It was red, rare, chewy and melted in my mouth. The peppercorn sauce was deliciously rich and tasted just as good on the chips as poured over the meat. I loved the final touch of the roasted garlic which was soft, sweet and succulent. My husband had the same and gave it his approval by mopping up every bit of sauce with his last remaining chip.
Where the mains ventured off course was with friend number two's order of girolle & samphire risotto (£13.75). The portion size truly was a joke. It came in a layer so thin that there was surely only three small spoonfuls worth. It was hardly even starter size let alone a main course. Friend number one simply said, "they're taking the piss." And so that's when Joe was hailed. With his gracious apology, the dish was left at the table and 30 minutes later a new, huge portion arrived. Friend two admitted that it was delicious. It was just a shame she had to eat it on her own as the rest of us had finished ages ago. After her plate was finally cleared, Joe came over and said he'd had a word with a chef and agreed that the portion size was unacceptable. So was the wait. As compensation, he offered to take the price of ALL the mains off our bill. We accepted. And after he left the table we all agreed how much we liked him. Not just because our bill came to £30 for four but because it was the right thing to do. While my friends celebrated the deal with coffee, I ordered the oddest sounding dessert on the menu.
Hendricks gin and tonic jelly with blueberry compote and cream (£6.00). Man alive it was boozy. But great fun. And though the service was just as wobbly as the pudding, I feel compelled to return. The Devonshire Arms is experiencing some growing pains, but maybe that's to be expected. As we left, Joe apologised again and said he sincerely hoped he'd see us soon. Because of his gracious gesture and the undeniably good food - he will.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
After a boozy night with some of our good mates and a late night Bangladeshi curry, Sunday ain't a day for doing more than catching up with the papers and downing gallons of fresh coffee.
Jon's sold our beautiful '68 Beetle, Tamula, and I've spent most of the morning skulking about indoors while he did his Arthur Dailey spiel. Despite the number of vehicles parked outside the window, I don't actually live on a car lot.
Bodysuit, waistcoat, Edwardian boots (Charity shop finds), Bayeaux tapestry maxi (Vintage shop), Knitted hat (Jumble sale), Brass and wood jewellery (Various car boots and markets)
My hair's looking a bit dodgy after yesterday's Ga-Ga inspired bow hence the hat.
Tribal choker handmade in brass ,originates from a hill tribe in Orissa, found in Tamil Nadu.
I paid £1 for 1970's coffee table at a jumble sale last week. The travel trunk (just seen), club chair and the vinyl pouffe are past jumble bargains and the rotary dial phone was retrieved from a skip after a drunken night out. I love vintage glass and have collected it for years, never paying more than a couple of quid a piece.


text:
Police Bikes
Twelve motorcycle officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will ride to BMW of North America, LLC headquarters at noon on Sunday, May 9 to kick off their participation in National Police Week, held in Washington, D.C., May 9-15.
The officers will tour BMW's motorcycle training facility, where law enforcement officers become better prepared to ride specially equipped BMW police motorcycles. On Monday, they will escort 100 bicyclists riding from Somerset, NJ to the nation's capital in the Police Unity Tour.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has 112 BMW R 1200 RT-P motorcycles in its fleet, the largest of any sheriff's department in the country. Internationally, BMW is the largest seller of motorcycles for authority use. More than 80,000 BMW motorcycles are currently in official use in over 150 countries on five continents.
In the United States, 430 law enforcement agencies have BMW authority motorcycles in their fleets of patrol vehicles. For more information about BMW Authority Motorcycles, visit www.bmwmc.net or contact Frank Stevens, Authority Program Manager at 201-307-3927.
Each May, during National Police Week, the nation pauses to recognize the service and sacrifice of U.S. law enforcement officers. Last year, 116 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. For a complete schedule of National Police Week events in Washington, D.C., visit www.LawMemorial.org/policeweek.


text:
Beautiful and unique natural Minnie Mouse Silicone Case design for your new lovely LG G3 Beat Mini D722K, this silicone case provides your delicate phone ultimate protection without compromising its looks and adds a unique feel and design to your LG G3 Beat Mini phone. The Minnie Mouse design perfectly blends with your LG G3 Beat Mini to gives it an outstanding style.
Easy to attach and detach, the case allows access to camera & all ports. The smart design allows total access to all functions and buttons without removing your device from the protector cover.
- Designed for the LG G3 Beat Mini
- Easy snap-on application
- Reliable protection against scratches, bumps and damage
- Fun and enjoyable look
Minnie Mouse Silicone Case for LG G3 Beat Mini D722K.
- Price: $22.99 - In stock


text:
Fever. Sore throat. Runny nose. Fatigue. Muscle aches.
The flu strikes up to one-fifth of Americans each year, according to the National Institutes of Health. A yearly flu vaccine may help you dodge the dreaded virus, but gentle herbs and supplements also offer targeted prevention.
Remedy | How it works | Dose |
Beta-carotene | Feeds the mucous membranes so they can better slough off viral invaders in the nose. | Drink an 8-ounce glass of beta-carotene-rich carrot juice daily. Or take an antioxidant formula with 10,000 IUs beta-carotene every day. |
Echinacea | Boosts the immune system, preparing it for battle against viruses. | Take two dropperfuls of a tincture combination of Echinacea angustifolia and E. purpurea every 2-3 hours the first day you start feeling sick. If you don't feel better the next morning, resume dosing. |
Rosehips | Strengthens immunity with antioxidant properties. | To make a tea, steep 2 tablespoons of dried rosehips in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drink a couple of times a day during flu season. |
Vitamin C | Decreases oxidative stress on cells, making them more resistant to viral intruders. | During flu season, take 1,000 mg three times a day. Choose a supplement with bioflavonoids, which increase C's efficacy. |
Zinc | Works similarly to vitamin C. | Take 30 mg a day during flu season. |
Consult your health care practitioner for advice before taking any supplement.


text:
Monica Bonvicini (1965 in Venice, lives in Berlin) and Tom Burr (1963 in New Haven, Connecticut, lives in New York) are internationally regarded as among the most important representatives of contemporary art today. They share an interest in the functional purposes of social spaces and their psychological, social and gender-specific conventions. This mutual interest manifests itself in very different types of photographs, drawings, sculptures and installations. But common to both oeuvres is the question of the dynamics of power reflected in architecture, behaviour and action. Enthusiasm for the almost libidinous quality of surfaces and materials is a further bond between Monica Bonvicini and Tom Burr's artistic output. The juxtaposition of their works brings out both the similarities and the contrasts between their aesthetic strategies.
The exhibition is presented in cooperation with the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich.


text:
The Eleventh Annual Southern California Linux Expo
February 22-24, 2013
Hilton Los Angeles International Airport
February 22-24, 2013
Hilton Los Angeles International Airport
The UpSCALE talks are held in the style of the Ignite presentations made popular by various O'Reilly sponsored events. Participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 automatically-advanced slides, making this a fast paced, fun event for participants and audience.
The UpSCALE talks will take place on Friday the 22nd at 8pm in the La Jolla room. Please join us as members of the Free and Open Source community do their best to beat the clock and get their ideas out!
Chris Bunch - AppScale: Open Source Google App Engine
Deb Nicholson - MediaGoblin
Jon Cruz - Artists' LumPalette
Jaisen Mathai - Consumers and Open Source: Oil And Water
Josh Berkus - The Seven Deadly Sins of Software Deployment


text:
Rest in Peace Johnny
John was an unusual man. He was kind-hearted, a gentleman, intensely curious about the world around him, and happiest when he was talking about what he had learned.
He preferred a slower pace. He liked to drive the back roads, instead of the freeways, because there was so much more of life to see there.
He liked people. He liked rivers, streams, lakes, valleys, mountains, sunsets, and rain storms. He collected and studied history books, magazines, and maps. He could always tell you what was up the road, off the beaten path, and who had been there in times past. He seemed to know something about everything.
He liked cowboys and Indians, and cowboy poets. He liked pine trees, flannel shirts, and campfires. He liked horses, fish, and birds.
He never got enough of the world and what filled it.
He was faithful, loving, and respectful, and we cherished him.
His body was finally overcome by cancer. It's been weeks since he passed away, but it is still difficult to believe that he's not still fighting.
During the last year of his life, there were many times when it seemed his tired body could not possibly hold on much longer. But somehow he rallied. Setback after setback, he came back. It's hard to accept that he had such a hard time of it and hard to comprehend his absence.
John was supported by a strong network of family, by friends who held him so dear they seemed like family, and by kind strangers who heard about him and prayed, yearned, and willed for him to recover.
Labels: Friends and Family


text:
Tax Assistance Group - Colorado Springs
Tax Assistance Group
Address: 102 S. Tejon Street, Suite 1100,, Colorado Springs
Address: Colorado, 80903, United States
Telephone: (719) 722-3388
Website: Visit Website
Opening Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:30 AM-8 PM Friday 09:30 AM-6:30 PM
Tax Assistance Group is A+ rated with the Better Business
Bureau and comprised of experts in their respective fields in
the tax industry. Our group of licensed tax professionals ,
enrolled agents, and certified public accountants provide
taxpayers like you the essential resources needed to organize
a solid case with the IRS. With a personal tax team by your
side, you can rest assured that you have representation that
will negotiate with the IRS to produce an affordable
Have your say
Had a great experience dealing with Tax Assistance Group - Colorado Springs? Share how great it was.
Get Listed for free with bizexposed.com and get valuable exposure for your business.


text:
Decision "could cause unnecessary economic damage to the international financial system"
WASHINGTON – Over 100 economists, including Nobel laureate Robert Solow, Branko Milanovic and Dani Rodrik called on Congress today to take action to mitigate the harmful fallout from the recent ruling by Judge Griesa of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that requires Argentina to pay holdout creditors at the same time as the majority of creditors.
The letter warns that "The District Court's decision — and especially its injunction that is currently blocking Argentina from making payments to 93 percent of its foreign bondholders — could cause unnecessary economic damage to the international financial system, as well as to U.S. economic interests, Argentina, and fifteen years of U.S. bi-partisan debt relief policy."
"It's a widely shared opinion among economists that the court's attempt to force Argentina into a default that nobody — not the debtor nor more than 90 percent of creditors — wants, is wrong and damaging," said Mark Weisbrot, economist and Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who helped circulate the letter.
The letter warns that Griesa's decision could "torpedo an existing agreement with those bondholders who chose to negotiate." It also cautions that, since sovereign governments do not have the option of declaring bankruptcy, "the court's ruling would severely hamper the ability of creditors and debtors to conclude an orderly restructuring should a sovereign debt crisis occur. This could have a significant negative impact on the functioning of international financial markets, as the International Monetary Fund has repeatedly warned."
The court's decision "creates a moral hazard," the economists write, since investors will be allowed "to obtain full repayment, no matter how risky the initial investment."
The full letter appears below.
July 31, 2014
Dear Member of Congress,
We note with concern the recent developments in the court case of Argentina vs. NML Capital, etc. The District Court's decision — and especially its injunction that is currently blocking Argentina from making payments to 93 percent of its foreign bondholders — could cause unnecessary economic damage to the international financial system, as well as to U.S. economic interests, Argentina, and fifteen years of U.S. bi-partisan debt relief policy. We urge you to act now and seek legislative solutions to mitigate the harmful impact of the court's ruling.
For various reasons, governments sometimes find themselves in situations where they cannot continue to service their sovereign debt. This was Argentina's situation at the end of 2001. After years of negotiations, Argentina reached a restructuring agreement with 93 percent of the defaulted bondholders, and has made all agreed-upon payments to them.
The court's decision that Argentina cannot continue to pay the holders of the restructured bonds unless it first pays the plaintiffs mean that any "holdout" creditor can torpedo an existing agreement with those bondholders who chose to negotiate. While individuals and corporations are granted the protection of bankruptcy law, no such mechanism exists for sovereign governments. As such, the court's ruling would severely hamper the ability of creditors and debtors to conclude an orderly restructuring should a sovereign debt crisis occur. This could have a significant negative impact on the functioning of international financial markets, as the International Monetary Fund has repeatedly warned.
Those who invested in Argentine bonds were compensated with high interest rates, to mitigate the risk of default. There are inherent risks when investing in sovereign bonds, but the court's ruling creates a moral hazard, by allowing investors to obtain full repayment, no matter how risky the initial investment.
The plaintiffs in the case purchased Argentine bonds on the secondary market after default, often for less than 20 cents on the dollar. While these actors could have accepted the restructuring and still made a very large profit, they instead have fought a decade-long legal battle, seeking exorbitant profits in excess of 1,000 percent and creating financial uncertainty along the way.
The recent developments will also directly impact the United States and its status as a financial center of the world economy. While much of the developing world's debt is issued under the jurisdiction of New York law and utilizing New York-based financial institutions, the court's ruling will make it more likely for sovereign governments to seek alternate locations to issue debt. Britain and Belgium, for example, have already passed legislation aimed at preventing this type of behavior from "holdout" creditors.
In addition, the court has put restrictions on New York banks, preventing them from distributing regularly scheduled interest payments to holders of the restructured bonds. Already, banks have faced lawsuits from investors, creating greater uncertainty for U.S.-based financial institutions.
Argentina has expressed a willingness to negotiate, and has recently reached agreements with the Paris Club as well as claims by international investors.
We hope that you will look for legislative solutions to prevent this court decision, or similar rulings, from causing unnecessary harm.
Robert Solow, Nobel laureate in Economics, 1987, MIT Professor of Economics, emeritus Dani Rodrik, Albert O. Hirschman Professor in the school of Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey Branko Milanovic, Luxembourg Income Study Center, the Graduate Center CUNY, former Lead Economist in the World Bank's research department |
Andrew Allimadi, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs |
Gar Alperovitz, University of Maryland |
Eileen Applebaum, Center for Economic and Policy Research |
Mariano Arana, Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento |
Leonardo Asta, Università degli Studi di Padova |
Venkatesh Athreya, Bharathidasan University |
Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research |
William Barclay, Chicago Political Economy Group |
Jairo Alonso Bautista, Universidad Santo Tomas |
Gunseli Berik, University of Utah |
Alexandra Bernasek, Colorado State University |
Cyrus Bina, University of Minnesota (Morris Campus) |
Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute |
Peter Bohmer, The Evergreen State College |
Korkut Boratav, Turkish Social Science Association |
Elissa Braunstein, Colorado State University |
Jorge BUZAGLO, University of Goteburg |
Jim Campen, Americans for Fairness in Lending |
Carlos A. Carrasco, University of the Basque Country |
Sergio Cesaratto, University of Siena |
Kyung-Sup Chang, Seoul National University |
Kimberly Christensen, SUNY/Purchase College |
Michael Cohen, New School for Social Research |
Brendan Cushing – Daniels, Gettysburg College |
Omar Dahi, Hampshire College |
Carlo D'Ippoliti, University of Rome |
Peter Dorman, Evergreen State College |
Amitava Dutt, University of Notre Dame |
Dirk Ehnts, University of Oldenburg |
Gerald Epstein, University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
Susan Ettner, University of California, Los Angeles |
Jeffrey Faux, Economic Policy Institute |
Massoud Fazeli, Hofstra University |
Andrew Fischer, International Institute of Social Studies |
Jeffrey Frankel, Harvard Kennedy School |
Roberto Frenkel, CEDES Argentina |
Kevin Gallagher, Boston University |
Chris Georges, Hamilton College |
Reza Ghorashi, Richard Stockton College |
Jayati Ghosh, JNU New Delhi and Ideas |
David Gold, New School University |
Neva Goodwin, Tufts University |
MarÃa Florencia Granato, Corporación Andina de Fomento |
Martin Hart-Landsberg, Lewis and Clark |
Conrad Herold, Hofstra University |
P. Sai-wing Ho, University of Denver |
Andreas Hoth |
Gustavo Indart, University of Toronto |
Joseph Joyce, Wellesley College |
J K Kapler, University of Massachusetts Boston |
Martin Khor, South Centre |
Gabriele Koehler |
Andrew Kohen, James Madison University |
Nikoi Kote-Nikoi |
Pramila Krishnan, University of Cambridge |
David Legge, La Trobe University |
Henry Levin, Columbia University |
Mah hui Lim, South Centre |
Rodrigo Lopez-Pablos |
Robert Lynch, Washington College |
Arthur MacEwan, University of Massachusetts Boston |
Jeff Madrick, The Century Foundation |
Cheryl Maranto, Marquette University |
Ann Markusen, University of Minnesota |
Julie Mattahei, Wellesley College |
Kathleen McAfee, San Fransisco State University |
Elaine McCrate, University of Vermont |
Hannah McKinney, Kalamazoo College |
Thomas Michl, Colgate University |
William Milberg, New School for Social Research |
Larry Mishel, Economic Policy Institute |
Mritiunjoy Mohanty, Indian Institute of Management |
Nicolás Moncaut |
Tracy Mott, University of Denver |
Michael Murray, Bates College |
Luiz M Niemeyer, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo |
Machiko Nissanke, SOAS University of London |
Manfred Nitsch, Free University of Berlin |
Jose Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University |
Carlos Oya, University of London |
Marco Palacios, El Colegio de México |
Antonella Palumbo, Roma Tre University |
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College |
Mark Paul, University of Massachusetts Amherst |
Lorenzo Pellegrini, International Institute of Social Studies |
Lucia Pittaluga Fonseca, Universidad de la República (Uruguay) |
Renee Prendergast, Queen's University- Belfast |
Mark Price, Keystone Research Center |
Alicia Puyana, Facultad Latinoamercana de Ciencias Sociales |
Charles Revier, Colorado State University |
Joseph Ricciardi, Babson College |
Malcolm Robinson, Thomas More College |
Leopoldo Rodriguez, Portland State University |
John Roemer, Yale University |
David Rosnick, Center for Economic and Policy Research |
Antonio Savoia, University of Manchester |
John Schmitt, Center for Economic and Policy Research |
Stepphanie Seguino, University of Vermont |
Anwar Shaikh, New School for Social Research |
Kannan Srinivasan |
James Stanfield |
Eduardo Strachman |
William K. Tabb, Queens College |
Ezequiel Tacsir, United Nations University |
Philipp Temme, Free University of Berlin |
Frank Thompson, University of Michigan |
Chris Tilly, University of California, Los Angeles |
Mario Tonveronachi, University of Siena |
Lawal Tosin |
Chiwuike Uba, African Heritage Institution |
Bunu Goso Umara |
Leanne Ussher, Queens College, CUNY |
Rolph van der Hoeven, International Institute of Social Studies |
Irene van Staveren, International Institute of Social Studies |
MatÃas Vernengo, Bucknell University |
David Weiman, Barnard College |
Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research |
Thomas Weisskopf, University of Michigan |
John Willoughby, American University |
Yavuz Yasar, University of Denver |
A. Erinc Yeldan, Yasar University |
Erhan Yildirim, Cukurova University |
Ben Zipperer, University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.


text:
A New Tool to Help Mathematicians Pack
In the lead-up to the launch of the twin Voyager spacecraft in 1977, NASA's engineers faced a tough question: When the probes arrived at Jupiter and Saturn, how would they transmit color photos back to Earth using roughly the power of a light bulb?
It was a task that called for extreme parsimony: Each image would have to be converted into a series of 24-bit binary sequences, called "codewords," and blipped into space via radio waves that signified each 1 or 0 by the position of their peaks and troughs. But data transmission is noisy. As the codewords journeyed earthward, the engineers knew some 1s would be distorted into 0s and some 0s into 1s. To reconstruct Voyager's iconic photos, they would have to be able to correct the code.
The Voyager probes would need to use codewords whose sequences were distinct enough to be recognizable even with a few corrupted bits. But using less distinct codewords would provide more possibilities within the 24-bit limit, enabling faster data transmission. These competing needs translated into a geometry problem in which the bits corresponded to spatial coordinates, with each codeword the center point of a sphere in 24-dimensional space. If the spheres overlapped, the associated codewords would no longer be uniquely recognizable. To optimize the amount of data that could be transmitted and then corrected, the question became: How densely could spheres be packed in 24-dimensional space?
"The problem of correcting for errors on noisy communication channels like this is exactly the sphere-packing problem," said Henry Cohn, a mathematician at Microsoft Research New England in Cambridge, Mass.
Sphere-packing problems underlie almost all digital communications and storage, from cell phones to CDs to the Internet. But the optimal codes for these forms of transmission correspond to the densest packing of spheres in dimensions beyond the three of everyday experience, and higher-dimensional problems have proved formidable. Even more difficult to solve are the densest packings of different-size spheres or edgier shapes — two- and three-dimensional problems relevant to materials science and industrial manufacturing. Mathematicians have grappled with packing problems for centuries, attracted to their difficulty as much as their real-world applications, but each case has induced its own special kind of headache. "It's ridiculous," Cohn said. "We don't even know the best way to pack pentagons in the plane."
Now, a new computational technique has enabled advances in a number of important cases that had resisted progress for decades. The mathematicians Christine Bachoc of the University of Bordeaux in France and Frank Vallentin of the University of Cologne in Germany developed the tool, called "semidefinite programming bounds," in 2008, drawing on an earlier paper by Alexander Schrijver of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The technique provides ballpark estimates of the densest packing of objects by identifying an upper bound that can be gradually lowered toward the exact solution as the computation of the bound becomes increasingly detailed. The tool is yielding new insights into the underlying geometry of packing problems by helping to address whether symmetry is the central feature of the densest packings.
Vallentin, who is a professor of applied mathematics and computer science, and his colleagues recently used semidefinite programming to lower the ceiling on the densest packing of pentagons in two spatial dimensions and that of spheres in four, five, six, seven and nine dimensions. "This was a real breakthrough in letting us go beyond the analytical techniques that we had previously," said Cohn, who co-discovered the previous best bounds in those dimensions.
The incremental advances achieved thus far have few practical applications, but researchers say they could portend larger leaps. "Right now, it's more about developing the method," Vallentin said.
Oranges in a Crate
Packing problems are some of the oldest in geometry. Centuries of effort have shown that although these problems are easy to understand and straightforward to guess at, they are all but impossible to solve rigorously using the laws of mathematics. Johannes Kepler conjectured in 1611 that the densest arrangement of spheres in three dimensions is the way oranges are stacked in a crate, known as face-centered cubic packing. This arrangement, which fills slightly more than 74 percent of space, is obviously correct, but with an infinite number of possible sphere arrangements, the problem pushes the power of mathematical logic to its limit: Only in 1998 did mathematician Thomas Hales rigorously prove Kepler's conjecture, and his proof involved 50,000 lines of computer code.
Semidefinite programming improves on a technique called linear programming, which has been the upper bound discovery method of choice for decades. With linear programming, researchers list constraints on the possible correlations between pairs of objects, such as the rule that two spheres cannot be less than twice their radius apart. An algorithm then searches for the highest density that satisfies the list of constraints, yielding an upper bound by ruling out a range of densities. In semidefinite programming, the list can also include constraints on triplets, quadruplets or larger collections of objects, providing a richer description of the geometry, which produces better bounds.
"The big trade-off is between the complexity of the bounds and how close we expect them to come to the truth," Cohn explained.
The new tool has already enabled researchers to improve the optimality of binary codes similar to the one used by the Voyager spacecraft. In a pair of papers published in May 2012 and November 2013 in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, two groups have improved the bounds on codes that range in length from 18 to 28 bits.
But apart from deep-space communication, codes of those lengths have only a few applications. Most modern digital transmission involves much larger packages of data, and the efficiency of the transmission corresponds to the packing of spheres in hundreds or thousands of spatial dimensions. In those cases, the densest known packings — conjectured in 2006 by Princeton University professors Salvatore Torquato and Frank Stillinger — are sparse, with spheres filling just a few thousandths of a percent of space. "There's no proof in higher dimensions what the densest packing is," Torquato said. "There is a prospect that as you increase the dimensionality of the space, that in fact disorder ends up beating order and the densest packing is a random arrangement."
Disordered arrangements are difficult to mathematically define and use as error-correcting codes, however. Researchers have striven to find a dense, symmetric lattice of spheres in high dimensions since the American mathematician Claude Shannon revealed the problem's relevance to data transmission in his classic 1948 paper that founded information theory. Semidefinite programming bounds could be a helpful approach in determining ballpark densities that might be achievable, Vallentin and outside researchers said.
The tool is also helping to chip away at more generalized packing problems. Vallentin and colleagues recently applied their algorithm to find some of the first-ever upper bounds on the densest packing of spheres of two different sizes — a problem relevant to the study of many crystals and to codes in which some messages are more important than others. They also showed that pentagons cannot fill more than 98 percent of two-dimensional space.
"Getting upper bounds for these kinds of problems has been extraordinarily challenging," said Yoav Kallus, a condensed matter physicist at Princeton. Three years ago, Kallus and his collaborators proved that pyramidal objects called tetrahedra cannot fill more than 99.99999999999999999999999974 percent of space. "Obviously, we don't expect the packing reaches that high," he said. "It's just so hard to get any upper bound."
Vallentin is honing his algorithm in hopes of eventually lowering the ceiling for tetrahedra closer to the optimal density. (So far, the densest known arrangement, discovered in 2010 by Sharon Glotzer and colleagues at the University of Michigan, fills 85.63 percent of space.) The algorithm would also apply to a variety of other shapes. "The ultimate goal would be: You give the computer your shape, and the computer gives you a reasonable upper bound of how densely you can pack that," Vallentin said.
Considering the complexity of packing problems in two and three dimensions, how were the Voyager probes able to transmit photos using 24-dimensional codewords? Luckily for NASA, among the smattering of packing problems that have been solved is the special case of lattices of spheres in 24 dimensions. "In dimension-24, there is an amazingly symmetric and dense lattice called the 'Leech lattice,' " Torquato said. Discovered in the 1960s by British mathematician John Leech, this snug arrangement of spheres gave the Voyager probes a rich palette of 4,096 codewords to use during data transmission. But the Leech lattice does more than represent the densest packing of spheres in 24 dimensions. It belongs to a new class of geometric structures that are the preferred arrangements of objects that interact in a variety of ways, not only ones like spheres that cannot overlap. These "universal optima" are "the most interesting, the most beautiful, the most important structures," said Cohn, who studies them with collaborator Abhinav Kumar, an associate professor of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Universal optima exhibit certain miraculous properties, such as one Cohn calls the "not-getting-stuck" phenomenon. Consider trying to find the densest packing of circles in a plane. You might start by drawing a circle in the middle of a piece of paper and fitting as many additional circles around it as possible. You will soon discover that six circles form a tight hexagon around the central one. There's no reason to think this pattern should continue to hold (if you were drawing pentagons, for example, you could draw only one ring of neighbors before awkward gaps would appear), but it turns out that you can keep adding circles according to the hexagonal pattern without ever running into trouble. "It all just sort of works," Cohn said.
This rare feature of the two-dimensional hexagonal lattice — exemplified by the continuous planes of honeycomb that bees build — is shared by the Leech lattice in 24 dimensions and a structure called the E8 lattice in eight dimensions. Though impossible to visualize, these lattices are, mathematically, just as painless to construct. "Everything just locks in place," Cohn explained. "The pattern just continues the way you would hope. You never get stuck."
The feature is tied to the property of universal optimality. In the Annals of Mathematics in 2009, Cohn and Kumar proved upper bounds in eight and 24 dimensions that come within a fraction of a percent of the densities of the E8 and Leech lattices, indicating that these are almost certainly the densest packings of spheres in their respective dimensions. But these lattices also appear to be the optimal configurations in general, not only for spheres but also for particles that exert forces on each other, such as two atoms pushing each other apart. For "every reasonable repulsive force between particles," Cohn said, the particles will self-assemble into a hexagonal lattice in 2-D, an E8 lattice in 8-D and a Leech lattice in 24-D. These arrangements are not only densest; they are "universally" optimal.
Perhaps for this reason, the structures appear broadly throughout mathematics and physics. "From combinatorics and graph theory to geometry and algebraic geometry and so on, they show up all over the place," Kumar said.
E8 plays a role in string theory, a hypothetical "theory of everything" that says that space-time is 10-dimensional and that particles such as electrons and quarks are tiny one-dimensional strings oscillating at different frequencies. In the 1980s, string theorists showed that one variant, called heterotic string theory, can be formulated using the symmetries of two copies of E8. "We can exactly produce the real world that we know, starting with the E8 heterotic string theory," said Burt Ovrut, a string theorist at the University of Pennsylvania. When the E8 theory is reduced in a way that makes the world appear three-dimensional, it contains "the quarks, the leptons, the Higgs and all the other particles we observe."
Universal optimality is a young idea, and researchers are still exploring its meaning and consequences. Recently, Cohn and his former intern, Jeechul Woo, used semidefinite programming bounds to discover new universal optima, including some arrangements that are much less symmetric than expected.
"Symmetry definitely plays an important role," Kallus said, "but I think one of the interesting things that Henry Cohn has shown is that there are configurations that are universal optima that have none of this symmetry."
Mathematicians have long approached packing problems under the assumption that, as any traveler knows, order typically trumps disorder when it comes to packing. The fact that symmetry isn't the whole story — not in very high dimensions, where randomness reigns, nor in some newly studied lower-dimensional cases — means scientists may need some other principle to understand the underlying geometry of packing and its grand extension, universal optimality.
"At the moment, I think we don't have a fundamental unifying principle," Kumar said. "I think there's all sorts of interesting things out there. We are looking for some replacement for symmetry."
This article was reprinted on ScientificAmerican.com.


text:
Dianetic Therapy:
An Experimental Evaluation
Harvey Jay Fischer
Transcriber's notes:
This paper is the only formal scientific study of dianetic therapy in existence. I designed the pages to be easily read as hypertext (HTML 3.2) and to be reproducible on standard-sized paper (U.S. and Europe). I have preserved the author's formatting wherever possible. I know of only 2 "hard" copies in existence. My copy originated from the deteriorating microfiche owned by the NYU library. Permission to redistribute is granted provided that the entire document (including this page) is presented intact.
David Cecere
(firstname.lastname@example.com) Copyright © 1999 by David Cecere |
Index (this page) |
Download all files (104kb): fischer_study.zip


text:
Levitra (Vardenafil) is another popular brand name from Bayer used worldwide for erectile dysfunction treatment.
Order now »Levitra (Vardenafil) is another popular brand name from Bayer used worldwide for erectile dysfunction treatment.
Order now »Levitra also has a soft pill version called Levitra Soft (vardenafil), designed for easier and faster absorption and quicker action.
Order now »Levitra is known to be one of the best medicines to treat such erectile dysfunction symptom as male premature ejaculation due to the effect of Dapoxetine.
Order now »Generic Viagra, that includes Sildenafil Citrate as its main active ingredient, helps millions of men in Australia and around the world overcome erectile dysfunction, have better erection and enjoy a more complete and satisfying sex life. Viagra has been the main erectile dysfunction drug in the world ever since it has been created.
Generic Cialis a popular and effective oral drug that helps men with various stages of erectile dysfunction and/or impotence. Cialis can be used on a daily bases or "on demand".
Levitra (vardenafil) is used to overcome the effects of erectile dysfunction (ED) and helps men achieve and sustain firm and steady erection for better sexual experience.
Levitra Alternatives. Read more about impotence treatment, its basic effect on men and erectile function improvement. Order quick and secure delivery airmail or direct courier service. Our special offers include FREE SHIPPING in Australia and worldwide, extra discounts for returning customers and other bonuses like free pills, etc. A reliable online pharmacy offering the best choice of discount prescription drugs: from world-famous brand names to cheap and effective generic analogues.


text:
Silicon Valley is full of hustlers, and that's often a good thing. But there's a difference between hustling and flat-out lying, and when people deceive company after company, it's time to call them out.
So: If you look up Shirley Hornstein online, you might get the idea that she's one of the most well-connected people in tech. Here she is at the THRIVEGulu party last month, where Silicon Valley types got a chance to meet Hollywood geek heroes Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku. Here she is at the Crunchies. And here she is on a list of the top women in venture capital and angel investing (which was republished in Forbes).
When it comes to Hornstein, however, it can be hard to tell what's true and what's not. Take the photo at the top of this post — which was one of the first photos I saw when I connected with her on Facebook. Looks like she must be best buds with Justin Timberlake, right? Except that it's almost certainly a Photoshopped fake, as you can see from the original photo, which we found through Google, below. You can see more examples of Hornstein's Photoshop mastery throughout this post.
And she isn't just claiming connections with with big celebrities. When I first met her more than a year ago, she kept talking about her connections to Sean Parker and Founders Fund — though I don't think I ever pinned her down on her exact role at the firm. Looks like I wasn't the only one she convinced. In fact, Founders Fund took legal action to stop her from claiming that she worked for them. You can read their full complaint below, but here's a quote:
Beginning no later than July of 2011. Ms. Hornstein engaged in a pattern of conduct, which includes making false and misleading written and oral representations, designed to deceive potential business partners and employers into believing that she had prior and/or ongoing business and employment connections to Founders Fund and its partners. In fact, Ms. Hornstein is not now, nor has she ever been, an employee or business partner of Founders Fund or any Founders Fund Partner or executive.
As an example, Founders Fund points to a blog post that was published on the Women 2.0 site where Hornstein says she "has experience working with a number of Silicon Valley companies, including iMeem, Nitro PDF, Dropbox, and Founders Fund." (The post has been taken down for reasons unknown, but you can read an archived copy here.) "That representation was false," the complaint says.
The complaint also states, "On September 16, 2011, Ms. Hornstein again claimed employment at Founders Fund in an electronic communication to a major entrepreneurial networking company. That representation was likewise false."
Oh, and this wasn't mentioned in the complaint, but I was also told that Hornstein somehow attended Disrupt with a Founders Fund badge.
When Hornstein heard that I was writing this post, she emailed my editors to suggest that there were a lot of false rumors floating around about her. That may be true, and it's also true you shouldn't take everything in a legal complaint as objective fact. But I've spoken to a number of people about their personal and professional experiences with Hornstein, and well, the phrase "web of lies" came up repeatedly. (For whatever it's worth, it doesn't appear that she has contested Founders Fund's claims, and in fact the firm has filed for default judgment.)
Anonymous personal gripes (everyone insisted that I not use their names) should probably be viewed with at least a little skepticism, but as everyone told me their story, each one followed some pretty similar patterns. When they first met Hornstein, she'd drop lots of names, claiming she was well-connected with celebrities and Silicon Valley bigshots. (One example: She said she was one of the first angel investors in Dropbox and helped them get into Y Combinator.) She'd find a way to get involved in each company, using promises of introductions to and meetings with those aforementioned celebrities and bigshots. Then if she'd didn't get caught fairly quickly on a falsehood, the charade could drag on for a while, though with suspicions about things like her celeb-packed Instagram feed and the excuses about why she couldn't deliver. Until finally there was a lie too big to sustain, and everything came crashing down. Sometimes it was just embarrassing, in other cases reputations or deals were damaged by the deception.
One of my sources told me: "If nothing else, I've learned a valuable life lesson — don't trust anyone until they deliver."
In the past year or so, it looks like Hornstein has been involved in some capacity in startups including Zaarly, Giftiki, and Postmates. I'm pretty sure there were more, but those are the ones she's discussed with me in the past, or that I've seen her mention online. It's hard to put an exact chronology together because most of the companies I reached out to declined to comment (Zaarly confirmed that she was worked as a consultant for several months in 2011), and Hornstein's LinkedIn profile is pretty barren.
I also emailed Hornstein this morning discuss the specifics of the post, but I haven't heard back.
Now, dragging up old accusations against someone who doesn't seem to be working at a major startup or venture firm might seem mean, especially in the context of this cryptic-but-contrite tweet from February: "I get it Karma, I did some stupid stuff and now I'm paying for it but I learned my lesson. I *really* did. Please stop torturing me? :-(" And look, Shirley Hornstein has never done anything bad to me. Except, y'know, lie. It sounds like she's done quite a bit of that around the Valley, and it seemed like it was time to bring that into the open — before any other naive souls accept her friend request.
Update: As noted in a recent Betabeat article (which has additional, and more detailed, allegations about Hornstein's behavior), TechCrunch community manager Elin Blesener was her roommate for about six months in late 2011. We initially left her out as part of a general effort to protect Hornstein's victims. I've spoken to Elin about the story, but she wasn't the impetus for the post, nor was she one of the sources whose experiences I described in this story. (I interviewed five specifically for the post, though there were a number of other informal conversations. Since it went up, I've received emails from people describing similar experiences, plus several comments that you can read below.)


text:
F13: I voted
Much to my disappointment, among for the naming criteria for Fedora 13, we did NOT have "it must not be a ruler or religious figure" so a lot of obscure kings or emperors were advanced, but a queen is much better than that, more so when we are talking about a queen of the fairies. So my vote for the F13 codename was Gloriana.
Have you voted yet? If not, then go now and obey your queen!


text: TAMPA, Fla., July 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AutoWeb, Inc. (Nasdaq: AUTO), a robust digital marketing platform providing advertising solutions for automotive dealers and OEMs, will hold a conference call on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to discuss its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. The company will report its financial results in a press release prior to the conference call. AutoWeb President & CEO Jared Rowe and CFO J.P. Hannan will host the conference call, followed by a question-and-answer session.Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (2:00 p.m. Pacific time) Toll-free dial-in number: 1-877-852-2929 International dial-in number: 1-404-991-3925 Conference ID: 8050647The conference call will also be broadcast live at www.autoweb.com (click on "Investors" and then click on "Events & Presentations"). Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register and download any necessary software. For those who will be joining the call by phone, please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time, and an operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Gateway Investor Relations at 1-949-574-3860.A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on the same day through August 12, 2020. The call will also be archived in the Investors section of the company's website for one year.Toll-free replay number: 1-855-859-2056 International replay number: 1-404-537-3406 Replay ID: 8050647Tax Benefit Preservation Plan At December 31, 2019, the company had approximately $100.5 million in available net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. AutoWeb reminds stockholders about its Tax Benefit Preservation Plan dated May 26, 2010, as amended (the "Plan") between the company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent.The Plan was adopted by the company's board of directors to preserve the company's NOLs and other tax attributes, and thus reduce the risk of a possible change of ownership under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Any such change of ownership under Section 382 would limit or eliminate the ability of the company to use its existing NOLs for federal income tax purposes. In general, an ownership change will occur if the company's 5% shareholders, for purposes of Section 382, collectively increase their ownership in the company by an aggregate of more than 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. The Plan is designed to reduce the likelihood that the company experiences such an ownership change by discouraging any person or group from becoming a new 5% shareholder under Section 382. Rights issued under the Plan could be triggered upon the acquisition by any person or group of 4.9% or more of the company's outstanding common stock and could result in substantial dilution of the acquirer's percentage ownership in the company. There is no guarantee that the Plan will achieve the objective of preserving the value of the company's NOLs.As of June 30, 2020, there were 13,146,831 shares of the company's common stock, $0.001 par value, outstanding. Persons or groups considering the acquisition of shares of beneficial ownership of the company's common stock should first evaluate their percentage ownership based on this revised outstanding share number to ensure that the acquisition of shares does not result in beneficial ownership of 4.9% or more of outstanding shares. For more information about the Plan, please visit investor.autoweb.com/tax.cfm.About AutoWeb, Inc. AutoWeb, Inc. provides high-quality consumer leads, clicks and associated marketing services to automotive dealers and manufacturers throughout the United States. The company also provides consumers with robust and original online automotive content to help them make informed car-buying decisions. The company pioneered the automotive Internet in 1995 and has since helped tens of millions of automotive consumers research vehicles; connected thousands of dealers nationwide with motivated car buyers; and has helped every major automaker market its brand online.Investors and other interested parties can receive AutoWeb news alerts by accessing the online registration form at investor.autoweb.com/alerts.cfm.Company Contact: J.P. Hannan Chief Financial Officer 1-949-437-4651 [email protected] Relations Contact: Sean Mansouri, CFA or Cody Slach Gateway Investor Relations 1-949-574-3860 [email protected]


text:
composer of chamber music and operas, J. Willard Roosevelt was born in Spain in 1918, to Kermit Roosevelt and Belle Willard, dauther of the then U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, He was raised in New York City, and became interested in music at an early age. Roosevelt was a student at Groton, and studied composition at Harvard with Walter Piston and briefly in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He joined the Navy, and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from Hart College in 1959. He devoted much of his life to teaching music and composition to private students and at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Turtle Bay Music School, and Columbia University.
He appeared as pianist in numerous New York concert halls, and as a composer received numerous commissions including settings of Finnegan's Wake, a cello concerto, piano concerto, and a one-act opera, The Walls Came Tumbling Down, among many chamber and solo works.
His opera was performed at Alice Tully Hall in March, 1976, under the direction of Dorothy Maynor and Thomas Scherman. Set to a libretto by Loften Mitchell, The Walls Came Tumbling Down, was about a group of African-American slaves who traveled to America in the 17th-century with the Dutch, settling their own colony in New Amsterdam after earning their freedom. The opera began as a piano vocal work for five singers but was orchestrated for a benefit in honor of the Harlem School for the Arts.
Another work, commissioned for small orchestra, dancer, soprano and narrator, to texts by Stephen Crane and Oliver WEndell Holmes, Jr., was performed in May 1976 for several bicentennial celebrations, under the direction of Sayard Stone with Carmen de Lavallade, Arlene Stone-Nercombe and Alvin Epstein.
He passed away in 2008 in Orient, New York.


text:
While the FBI is finding new ways to address the needs of crime victims, many state governments are having trouble accommodating the need of prisoners, particularly on the issue on prison overcrowding. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the conditions in California's overcrowded prisons violated the eighth amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. It wasn't just a matter of space but of the inadequate medical and mental health care. The court ordered the state to reduce its prison population by a third, and tomorrow marks the first of three benchmark deadlines. Douglas Berman is a law professor at the Ohio State University and is widely considered a leading expert on sentencing law. He says the popular tough on crime mantra, though a favorite of politicians, helps explain why so many American prisons are over capacity.
DOUGLAS BERMAN: The default is always when in doubt, send away and send away for a longer period of time. That leads to crowded prison facilities, especially as if the willingness to continue to invest in building more and more prisons diminishes.
CORNISH: In order to comply with the court's mandate, California is trying a number of strategies - moving prisoners to county jails, expanding house arrest programs, and, in some cases, letting low-level offenders go free. Again, Douglas Berman:
BERMAN: The consistent strategy is to try to identify those offenders who prevent the least rift and have them be either the ones who first get released or who don't get sent to prison to begin with. And, not surprisingly, this is both controversial conceptually; it's also practically challenging. Because, as some people are inclined to say, in fact, as some Supreme Court justices were inclined to say, you're necessarily going to get that wrong sometimes.
CORNISH: That was Douglas Berman, a professor of law at the Ohio State University. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Officials said Edward Archer, the suspect in custody, was charged with attempted murder and held without bail Saturday in connection with the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer.
Archer, 30, of Yeadon is facing eight charges including attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault of a law enforcement officer in the shooting of Officer Jesse Hartnett.
According to police, Archer confessed to the crime, saying he did it "in the name of Islam."
Commissioner Richard Ross provided the update during a news conference on Friday afternoon. He said there was no indication from Archer that he was involved in a conspiracy.
Archer allegedly told authorities he targeted an officer because police defend laws that are contrary to the Quran.
Archer pledged his allegiance to ISIS, officials said. Ross called the shooting "an attempted assassination of a police officer."
Two law enforcement sources tell ABC News Archer took two recent trips to the Middle East - Saudi Arabia in 2011 for Hajj and Egypt in 2012. However, he was not on a terror watch list.
Ross went on to say Archer "stopped short of implicating anyone else in the attack," adding Archer was "very evasive."
Officials also said the gun used in the crime, a 9mm Glock 17, had been stolen from a police officer's home in 2013, but it's not clear how it ended up in Archer's hand. That officer had been disciplined, Ross said.
The shooting happened around 11:40 p.m. on Thursday.
Surveillance images show a man, identified as Archer, approaching the driver's side window of Hartnett's vehicle.
Images also show the suspect pointing a gun at Hartnett's vehicle, while another shows what appears to be the muzzle flash as he fires. Another image shows the gunman with his arm in the vehicle.
Ross said there was no advance warning to the officer and the suspect "just started firing."
The suspect fired a total of 13 shots, three of which hit Hartnett in the arm, police said.
Despite being seriously wounded, Hartnett got out of his car, chased the suspect and returned fire, wounding his attacker in the buttocks, police said. Other officers chased Archer and apprehended him.
Ross called it "absolutely amazing" that Harnett survived. "It's nothing short of miraculous and we're thankful for that," he said.
"I just have to tell you, when you look at the video - we have video that captured all of this - it's one of the scariest things I've ever seen," said Ross. "This guy tried to execute the police officer. It's amazing he's alive."
The moments immediately following the shooting were also captured in a dramatic recording of police radio calls obtained by Action News overnight.
"I'm shot! I'm bleeding heavily!" Hartnett was heard saying.
Hartnett, 33, is a 5-year veteran of the force. He suffered extensive injuries to his arm, but authorities said he was awake and alert prior to surgery.
The officer's father, Robert Hartnett, got to the hospital right away. The two were able to speak after the officer woke up following surgery.
"I love him and very proud of him. He's an excellent person," Robert Hartnett said.
Hartnett grew up in East Lansdowne with three siblings. He went from the Coast Guard to the police academy.
"His spirits are positive," Ross said. "Now that I see he's waking up. It will be a tough road. But he's a tough guy."
Archer had been arrested previously on charges that include aggravated assault and firearms violations.
"I knew he was Muslim. I knew that he spent time in Egypt before he came back to the United States. He was in Egypt all through 2012," said attorney Doug Dolfman.
Dolfman represented Archer on previous weapons charges in 2013 after he returned from Egypt.
"I don't think he had anything to do with ISIS or the Islamic state or anything like that," said Dolfman. "I think this was an impulsive act by somebody who wanted to make a mark for himself."
The FBI is investigating any connections to the terror group as they pour through evidence collected Friday from Archer's mother's home in Yeadon.
Archer's mother, who declined to speak on camera, tells Action News she is praying for Officer Hartnett.
She says the man seen in those images firing at a police cruiser simply isn't the son she knows.
Mayor Jim Kenney, who said the incident has nothing to do with Islam, spoke to reporters about Officer Hartnett at a mural painting event at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in Kensington.
"I met with him yesterday. He's a terrific young man," said Kenney. "I told him how proud I am of him. I told him that we're thankful for his service. Thankful for his service as a police officer and thankful for his service in the United States Coast Guard."
Kenney said his visit, planned before the shooting, is intended to show his support for the Muslim community who he says shouldn't have to answer for every criminal who invokes Islam.
"Sadly it's the history of this country," said Kenney. "Jews have had to defend themselves, the Catholics have had to defend themselves, African-Americans have to defend themselves, now the Muslims have to defend themselves.
"As free as this country is and as Democratic as this country is, you're free to be ignorant, rude and hateful."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Officer Hartnett. To donate click here.
ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.


text:
CSCI is a single source supplier and can manage all aspects of your IT equipment, from procurement to configuration, support, and preventive maintenance. We will consult with you to figure out which products will best meet your company's IT needs and budget. CSCI is your trusted technology partner. This allows you to focus on your business and reap the benefits of predictable IT costs, proactive support, and "one-demand" support. Our services are available both on-site and off-site.
CSCI specializes IT consulting and systems integration for businesses with 10-25 employees in the San Diego region. CSCI is also an HP Authorized Service Center conveniently located near downtown San Diego.
San Diego ( SAN dee-AY-goh, Spanish: [san ˈdjeɣo]; Spanish for 'Saint Didacus') is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is also the eighth most populous city in the United States and the seat of San Diego County, the fifth most populous county in the United States, with 3,338,330 estimated residents as of 2019. The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches and parks, long association with the U.S. armed forces, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center. San Diego is the second largest city in the state of California after Los Angeles. Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego is frequently referred to as the "Birthplace of California", as it was the first site visited and settled by Europeans on what is now the U.S. west coast.
Alta Vista, Alvarado Estates, Azalea - Hollywood Park, Bay Ho, Bay Terraces, Birdland, Broadway Heights, Burlingame, Carmel Country Highlands, Cherokee Point, Chollas View, Colina Del Sol, Corridor, East San Diego, East Village


text:
[ by Charles Cameron — today's "shout it from the rooftops" is "advertise it on the bus" — the wars of sound-bite religion, plus special extra, the perils of dehumanization ]
I am pretty sure that when Sojourners puts up an ad saying Love your Muslim neighbors" (above, right) it's a religiously motivated act with political implications, but not quite so sure when Pamela Geller puts up an ad that's certainly anti-Hamas and likely anti-Muslim (below), whether to consider it religiously or politically motivated: the two things aren't always easily untangled.
But hey, at least in Portland according to this AP article, the Pamela Geller ads were posted in response to this one, which I'd tend to characterize as politically motivated, with a plausible religious undercurrent:
Of course, there are other maps.. including this one, from American Trial Attorneys in Defense of Israel:
Okay, I've been on about ads as a medium for religious dispute for a while now [1, 2], and frankly I don't know why we need seminaries in Oxford, Qom or Dharamsala if all you need to know about a religion can be found on the side of a bus…
But it does get confusing, eh?
For instance, when Mona Eltahawy defaces one of Pamela Geller's ads, is she erasing freedom of speech, or hate speech — or freedom of hate speech?
Look, here are a series of ads that CAIR has just put out, using the term "jihad" in a way that's both a legitimate meaning of the term within Islam and compatible with western democratic ideals:
And here are Pamela Geller's reworkings of the same series of ads, using the term "jihad" in a way that's both a legitimate meaning of the term within Islam and entirely incompatible with western democratic ideals.
The thing is, there's an enormous spectrum of beliefs and nuances of belief within Islam, and even within Salafism…
And buses and subway ads aren't the go-to places to understand that spectrum.
But they're worth watching to get a sense of how the public is being swayed.
Ironic, isn't it, that as the New York Times reports, Erika Menendez told the cops:
I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers.
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh..
For what it's worth, Sojourners could have posted an ad that said, Love your enemies rather than Love your neighbor — both are equally biblical:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
Matthew 5. 43-44
But then, that's a bit long for an advertisement, isn't it?
Somewhere between Christ's command "Love your enemy" and Sun Tzu's "Know your enemy" we can surely find a place for "Honor your enemy" — and that, it turns out, may be of considerable importance. Describing the work of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Lin, Mehlman and Abney write in their Greenwall Foundation report, Enhanced Warfighters: Risk, Ethics, and Policy:
Grossman has interviewed many US veterans of the Vietnam War. Not all of his subjects, however, were those with lingering psychological trauma. Grossman found that some of the men he interviewed had never truly achieved emotional distance from their former foes, and seemed to be the better for it. These men expressed admiration for Vietnamese culture. Some had even married Vietnamese women. They appeared to be leading happy and productive post-war lives. In contrast, those who persisted in viewing the Vietnamese as "less than animals" were unable to leave the war behind them.
That, more generally, may be key to understanding why demonizing Islam and Muslims is such a bad idea. In Grossman's own words:
It can be easy to unleash this genie of racial and ethnic hatred in order to facilitate killing in time of war. It can be more difficult to keep the cork in the bottle and completely restrain it. Once it is out, and the war is over, the genie is not easily put back in the bottle. Such hatred lingers over the decades, even centuries, as can be seen today in Lebanon and what was once Yugoslavia.


text:
Washington pot sales bring in more than $1M in taxes in first month on sales of nearly $3.8M
During the first month of legal marijuana sales in Washington state, stores sold just under $3.8 million, which is expected to bring in more than $1 million in state taxes.
A spokesman for the Washington Liquor Control Board says it appears the new industry is off to a healthy start, even though the system isn't fully up and running.
Although licenses have been issued for about 40 stores, only 18 were selling pot in July and 16 of them have reported sales so far in August.
Spokesman Brian Smith says most of those stores have not been open the full month since marijuana sales became legal in July.
During the first month of retail marijuana sales in Colorado, the state collected closer to $2 million in excise and sales taxes.


text:
IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2011-06-07
<braunr> hm, i guess i should have used cache=writeback with kvm before
starting the debian installer :/
<braunr> ah yes, much better
<braunr> this shows how poor the state of our I/O drivers and subsystem is
<antrik> indeed... still no clustered pageout :-(
<braunr> and no I/O scheduler either
<braunr> although an I/O scheduler has limited value without clustered
<braunr> since one of its goals is to pack related I/O requests together eh
<braunr> i wonder if the wiki mentions using cache=writeback to speed up
qemu performances
<braunr> it would help those unable to use kvm a lot
<braunr> and even those running kvm too
<braunr> kvm -m $RAM \ -monitor stdio \ -drive
cache=writeback,index=0,media=disk,file=hd0.img \
<braunr> etc..
<braunr> the idea is that qemu doesn't open its disk file synchronously
<braunr> changes are queued in the host page cache before being flushed to
the disk image
<braunr> but if you brutally close your qemu instance, you're likely to
loose file system consistency
<braunr> ext2fs will think it has committed its metadata to the disk, but
the disk image won't be updated synchronously
<braunr> on my machine (which is quite fast), my kvm has installed debian
like 10 times faster than without the option
<antrik> braunr: I don't think killing qemu should hurt in this
case... probably only matters when the host machine dies
<braunr> antrik: ah yes, right
<braunr> it really makes everything faster, even downloading, since I/O
requests aren't interleaved between networking RPCs
<antrik> regarding I/O sheduler... this discussion came up before, but I
don't remember the outcome -- doesn't the glued Linux driver actually
come with one?
<braunr> i don't remember either
<antrik> braunr: err... I don't think interleaving has anything to do with
it... I guess it's simply the fact that downloading writes the result to
disk, which suffers from lacking clustered pageout like everything else
<antrik> (my internet connection is too slow though to notice :-) )
<braunr> well, if there is no I/O during downloading, downloading is faster
IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2011-06-08
<braunr> youpi: does xen provide disk caching options ?
<youpi> through a blktap, probably
<braunr> ok
(Xen, Host-side Writeback Caching.)
<braunr> we should find the pages mentioning qemu on the wiki and add the
options to enable disk image caching
<braunr> it really makes the hurd run a lot faster
<braunr> as a workaround for emulators until I/O is reworked, ofc
IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2011-06-09
<gnu_srs> braunr recommends to use writeback caching with kvm. Is this
really recommended with the frequent crashes I experience?
<youpi> provided that you terminate your kvm normaly (i.e. quitting it, not
killing it), there should be no difference
<jkoenig> I think the host's stability is what matters
<jkoenig> the data presumably sits in linux's cache even if qemu dies
<gnu_srs> But the freezes I see force me to kill kvm :-(
<youpi> maybe kvm doesn't even do caching indeed, I don't know
<youpi> gnu_srs: you can quit even when frozen
<youpi> use the console
<youpi> (the kvm console)
<jkoenig> gnu_srs, "Writeback caching will report data writes as completed
as soon as the data is present in the host page cache. This is safe as
long as you trust your host. If your host crashes or loses power, then
the guest may experience data corruption." (from the qemu manpage)
IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2012-12-30
<gg0> http://bugs.debian.org/622319#51
<gg0> braunr: just pointing out writeback is default since qemu 1.3.0
<gg0> that makes hurd VMs faster by default :p
<braunr> ahh :)
<gg0> about data loss I had read (qemu man pages?) it may occur in case of
loss of power
<braunr> well yes
<gg0> probably on hurd may occur even with writethrough due to non
journaled ext2
<braunr> yes but the hurd flushes everything (and i mean everything) every
5 seconds
<gg0> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2012-02/msg02682.html
<braunr> so it's actually less likely to lose data because of the hurd than
because of power loss
<braunr> what i meant earlier is that we've never experienced unexpected
data loss because of qemu writeback policy
<braunr> if data is in the host cache and you lose power, qemu or not, you
lose data


text:
Libraries - Insufficient audio books
How does Resolver work?
Free forever
Resolver is free. Just raise a case and leave feedback after. Simple! We've helped millions of people find a resolution. Get started now and let's get this sorted.
Know your rights
There's no jargon in our rights guides. Instead, they're full of the info you need to get things sorted. We'll always be on hand with guidance and support to help you get the results you're looking for.
Get your voice heard
You can be certain that you're talking to the right person at the right time. We automatically connect you to contacts at thousands of household names, ombudsmen and regulators to find a resolution.
Based on resolver's experience, your local authority is responsible for providing a comprehensive and efficient library service. Government standards include adequate choice of books and materials at your local library. If you believe your library's services do not meet these standards, you should first speak with the library staff. If the issue is not resolved, you should then contact your local authority to discuss the issue.
resolver will guide you through your local council's procedures to raise issues and complaints.
We have 5,115 pages of rights advice for you covering 10,879 companies and organisations across 16 public & private sectors. Feel free to browse companies for this specific issue - they're all listed below - but the quickest way to find the best rights for you is by using our unique Rights Finder to access our extensive database of advice.
Start by telling us the name of the company or organisation you have an issue with.
Who do you have an issue with?
Helping you with Insufficient audio books
Resolver covers the issue Insufficient Audio Books for 420 companies and organisations:


text:
St. Febronia, Tonsured Euphrosyne, the Wonderworker of Murom
Prince Peter was the second son of Murom Prince Yuri Vladimirovich. In 1203, he ascended the Murom throne. Several years before this, he had developed leprosy, from which no one was able to heal him. In a vision it was revealed to the prince that the daughter of a beekeeper would be able to heal him: the pious maiden Febronia, a peasant of Laskova village in Ryazan. Thereafter, Peter and his emissaries journeyed to the village.
When the prince saw St. Febronia, he fell in love with her because of her piety, wisdom and virtue, and vowed to marry her after being healed. St. Febronia healed the prince and became his wife. The holy couple loved each other through all their ordeals. However, the boyars did not wish to have a princess of common origin, and they urged the prince to leave her. Peter refused, and the couple were banished. They sailed off on a boat from their native city along the River Oka. The wrath of God fell upon the city of Murom, and the people begged the prince to return along with St. Febronia.
The holy couple was famous for their piety and charity. They died on the same day and hour, June 25, 1228, having received the monastic tonsure with the names David and Evphrosyne. The bodies of the saints were put in the same grave.
Sts. Peter and Febronia showed themselves exemplary models of Christian marriage, and are considered the patron saints of newlyweds.
By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)


text:
The before school program begins at 7:00 am and includes breakfast, arts and crafts, games and recreational activities. Breakfast will be served from 8:35 am, with the exception of Bridle Path and Walton Farm, where it will be served at 8:10 am. The after school program begins at school dismissal time and ends promptly at 6:00 pm. Activities include scheduled homework/quiet time, snack, arts and crafts, sports and games, tabletop games and special events. A deposit of $75.00 per child is required at the time of registration. Deposits will be deducted from the last month of care or refunded when a 30-day advance, written notice of termination is given.
2 days per week, $169.00 3 days per week, $211.00 4 days per week, $253.00 5 days per week, $281.00
2 days per week, $223.00 3 days per week, $278.00 4 days per week, $334.00 5 days per week, $371.00
2 days per week, $298.00 3 days per week, $372.00 4 days per week, $446.00 5 days per week, $496.00
Fees are based on a 180-day school calendar. Care is billed in nine equal payments, September through May. A 10% discount will be offered to the second child from the same family. A 30% discount will be offered to the third and each additional child from the same family. Discounts are applied to the oldest child enrolled or the lowest fee if the student schedules are not the same. Parents selecting two, three and four day fixed schedules must specify their days of attendance at the time of registration. Families requiring a flexible schedule will be assessed a monthly $20.00 fee, per child. Schedules must be furnished to the Extended School Care Office by Friday at noon for the upcoming week. Additional days may be purchased by families with fixed or flex schedules on a space available basis, with a minimum of 5 business days' notice.
Subsidized child care funds are accepted from the Montgomery County Early Learning Resource Center. For more information please visit: https://www.montcopa.org/120/Subsidized-Child-Care. View information about registration. The North Penn School District is an equal opportunity child care provider. For more information or questions regarding in-service full day care please call the Extended School Care Office at 215-853-1039.
North Wales Elementary School
201 Summit Street
North Wales PA 19454
Phone: 215-699-4471


text:
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile's interior minister says the death toll has risen to five from a powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake that struck off northern Chile hours ago. The quake forced evacuations along the country's entire Pacific coast for fear of tsunamis.
Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo attributed the five deaths to heart attacks or being crushed.
Thousands have lost power, and hundreds of thousands of Chileans are spending the night away from their beds due to the evacuation order, which remains in effect for northern Chile.


text:
COBIT® 5: Enabling Processes is an official complementary guide to COBIT® 5, and provides extensive guidance on the processes defined in the COBIT® 5 process reference model. As such, it is essential for any organisation implementing the COBIT® 5 framework.
We also offer this official ISACA publication with the other core COBIT® 5 publications in our COBIT® 5 Publication Suite.
COBIT® 5: Enabling Processes includes:
Click to expand full contents »
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. The Goals Cascade and Metrics for Enterprise Goals and IT-related Goals
COBIT 5 Goals Cascade
Step 1. Stakeholder Drivers Influence Stakeholder Needs
Step 2. Stake Holder Needs Cascade to Enterprise Goals
Step 3. Enterprise Goals Cascade to IT-related Goals
Step 4. IT-related Goals Cascade to Enabler Goals
Using the COBIT 5 Goals Cascade
Benefits of the COBIT 5 Goals Cascade
Using the COBIT 5 Goals Cascade Carefully
Using the COBIT 5 Goals Cascade in Practice
Enterprise Goal Metrics
IT-related Goal Metrics
Chapter 3. The COBIT 5 Process Model
Enabler Performance Management
Chapter 4. The COBIT 5 Process Reference Model
Governance and Management Processes
Chapter 5. COBIT 5 Process Reference Guide Contents
Inputs and Outputs
Generic Guidance for Processes
Evaluate, Direct and Monitor (EDM)
Align, Plan and Organise (APO)
Build, Acquire and Implement (BAI)
Deliver, Service and Support (DSS)
Monitor, Evaluate and Assess (MEA)
Appendix A. Mapping Between COBIT 5 and Legacy ISACA Frameworks
Appendix B. Detailed Mapping Enterprise Goals – IT-related Goals
Appendix C. Detailed Mapping IT-related Goals – IT related Processes


text:
Source: Date Stamp: 1983 Release Date: 1983 Carded Availability: Return of the Jedi Tri-Logo Assortment No. : 70760 Retail: $2.99 Weapons and Accessories: Point of Interest: This figure first appeared on the Return Of The Jedi 65 back card. |
Comments: In Kenners vintage Star Wars line, the Weequay action figure was in a daring action pose. In fact, this figure was the most extreme example of action posed figures back in the day, and you know what? He could still fit in every vehicle included in the entire 3 3/4 collection! Crazy that. Major Variations: Though all vintage figures have minor variations, the Weequay action figure has no major variations. Skiff Guard Vibro Axe There were two slightly different sculpts used to create this weapon. There is no indication that either sculpt is exclusive to any one figure/ variation.
Back To Basic Figures


text:
7 Nights | 7Nt EQ Its All Included London Book Go
About St Kitts and Nevis
You will visit the following 3 places:
San Juan
San Juan, officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista (Municipality of the Capital City, Saint John the Baptist), is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 658,304 making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico ("Rich Port City"). Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European-established city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. Several historical buildings are located in San Juan; among the most notable are the city's former defensive forts, Fort San Felipe del Morro and Fort San Cristóbal, and La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas.
St Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis are a pair of tropical islands in the Caribbean and the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with the British Monarch (currently, Elizabeth II) as its head of state. Saint Kitts and Nevis were among the first islands in the Caribbean to be settled by Europeans. It was home to the first British and French colonies in the Caribbean, and thus has also been titled "The Mother Colony of the West Indies''. The natural aspect is what makes the country remarkable. Many tropical birds which one rarely finds elsewhere are present in great concentration in the nature and there are also the famous monkeys which, it is said, were introduced by the pirates
Miami is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625. The 42nd largest city in the United States, with a population of 433,136, it is the principal, central, and most populous city of the South {Florida} metropolitan area, the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States. According to the US Census Bureau, Miami's metro area is the seventh most populous in the United States, with an estimated population of 5,547,051 in 2009.


text:
Keharitomeni Monastery
The Sacred Hesychastyrion of Theotokos Full-of-Grace (Keharitomeni) (Greek: Ιερόν Ησυχαστήριον Κεχαριτωμένης Θεοτόκου) is a male monastery located near the small town of Trizina in the Peloponnese in Greece, on a mountain looking eastward over the Saronic Gulf.
It was founded in 1976 by Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos for some of his spiritual children who had become monks. At first the monastery was more open, helping with local pastoral needs because of a lack of priests, churches, and monasteries in the region. Recently, the ecclesiastical infrastructure of the region has improved, and the monastery has withdrawn into a more retired form of existence, including instituting the abaton (Gk. άβατον), a rule forbidding the entry of women into the monastery.
The current abbot is Fr. Spyridon, a spiritual child of Elder Epiphanios. The monastery still welcomes local faithful as well as visitors from farther afield and is involved in publishing many of the writings of Elder Epiphanios. One of the monastery's more popular publications, available in the U.S., is its prayer book, Prayer Book of Keharitomeni (Προσευχητάριον Κεχαριτωμένης). It includes basic guidelines on the art of prayer and related topics, such as fasting, as well as a broad selection of prayers and services, with laymen as its intended audience.


text:
While the 2011 earthquake and worries surrounding Fukushima have brought the threat of radioactivity back into the public consciousness, many people still don't realize that radioactive contamination is a worldwide danger. Radionuclides are in the top six toxic threats as listed in the 2010 report by The Blacksmith Institute, an NGO dedicated to tackling pollution. You might be surprised by the locations of some of the world's most radioactive places — and thus the number of people living in fear of the effects radiation could have on them and their children.
10. Hanford, USA
The Hanford Site, in Washington, was an integral part of the US atomic bomb project, manufacturing plutonium for the first nuclear bomb and "Fat Man," used at Nagasaki. As the Cold War waged on, it ramped up production, supplying plutonium for most of America's 60,000 nuclear weapons. Although decommissioned, it still holds two thirds of the volume of the country's high-level radioactive waste — about 53 million gallons of liquid waste, 25 million cubic feet of solid waste and 200 square miles of contaminated groundwater underneath the area, making it the most contaminated site in the US. The environmental devastation of this area makes it clear that the threat of radioactivity is not simply something that will arrive in a missile attack, but could be lurking in the heart of your own country.
Continue reading at 10 Most Radioactive Places on Earth