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Energy Ratings from Maidstone Trade Windows
The benefit of choosing Maidstone Trade Windows and the 'Choices' brand is the energy efficient, high specification glazing that comes with them
Maidstone Trade Windows use EcoClear® as standard in our 'Choices' Windows and Doors and most 'Choices' 70mm UPVC systems are 'A' Energy Rated as standard.
EcoClear® delivers the highest possible window energy ratings and by using EcoClear® you will minimise heat loss, helping to reduce your heating bills.
Using 'Choices' products will give you peace of mind knowing that you have double glazed products of the highest performance, virtually eliminating draughts and condensation.
How Ecoglass Works
Solar Heat Gain
Utilising EcoClear® glazing in your double glazed units allow the suns energy to penetrate through the glass and into the room, a process called free solar heat gain. However, this is not to say your room will be far too hot in the summer, the technology is highly designed, to let only optimal amounts of the suns energy through allowing for ultimate comfort.
Thermal Loss
At the same time, using advanced glass coating technology, EcoClear® reflects the heat generated inside your house back into the room rather than allowing it to escape through the glazing. The product is so advanced that not only is the coating inconspicuous without any haze or tint effect, it moves thermal efficiency into a new league by reducing or eliminating the need for additional heating, ensuring the windows achieve the highest possible Government-backed Window Energy Ratings (WER) which are designed to demonstrate to consumers which windows perform well in terms of energy efficiency.
Reducing Heating Bills and Helping to Save The Planet
By maximising solar heat gain and minimising thermal and air losses, you can be sure that your 'Choices' Windows and Doors with EcoClear® are working hard to help reduce your heating bills and your carbon footprint.


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BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg's healthcare industry database presents the state's companies in the sectors of medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutics. Included are companies that research, develop and/or produce in Baden-Württemberg. Using the free-text search, you can search for keywords in all available profiles and data, or filter your search specifically by industry and field of activity or region. The categorization of the companies is done by BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg. The company profiles are written by the companies.
Your company is not yet represented in our database? Then you can fill out the application form by clicking the button below. If you have any comments or questions, please send an e-mail to datenbank(at)bio-pro.de.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Multi-fluid valves for the process industry
There are fields of application in which the products designed for normal use with compressed air are not appropriate.
Let's take, for example, liquid metering systems, steam conveying systems or chemicals treatment systems.
For all these applications, which can be identified by the general term of "process industry", it is necessary to use components that are designed with specific materials, treatments and technical solutions with particular characteristics.
Metal Work offers a wide range of products suitable for shutting on and off and regulating the flow of various kinds of fluids, such as water, steam, mineral oil and various chemical products.
2 and 3-way ball valve, brass body
2 and 3-way ball valve, precision cast, sand-blasted, AISI 316 stainless steel body
Butterfly valve, painted cast iron body
2-way solenoid valve, direct control, brass or stainless steel body
2-way servo-assisted solenoid valve, diaphragm, brass or stainless steel body
2-way servo-assisted solenoid valves, driven diaphragm, brass body
3-way solenoid valves, direct control, brass or stainless steel body


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Washington, DC…Hi everybody. As I said in my State of the Union address, we live in a time of extraordinary change – change that's affecting the way we live and the way we work. New technology replaces any job where work can be automated. Workers need more skills to get ahead. These changes aren't new, and they're only going to accelerate. So the question we have to ask ourselves is, "How can we make sure everyone has a fair shot at success in this new economy?"
The answer to that question starts with education. That's why my Administration has encouraged states to raise standards. We've cut the digital divide in our classrooms in half. We've worked with Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to set the expectation that every student should graduate from high school ready for college and a good job. And thanks to the hard work of students, teachers, and parents across the country, our high school graduation rate is at an all-time high.
Now we have to make sure all our kids are equipped for the jobs of the future – which means not just being able to work with computers, but developing the analytical and coding skills to power our innovation economy. Today's auto mechanics aren't just sliding under cars to change the oil; they're working on machines that run on as many as 100 million lines of code. That's 100 times more than the Space Shuttle. Nurses are analyzing data and managing electronic health records. Machinists are writing computer programs. And workers of all kinds need to be able to figure out how to break a big problem into smaller pieces and identify the right steps to solve it.
In the new economy, computer science isn't an optional skill – it's a basic skill, right along with the three "Rs." Nine out of ten parents want it taught at their children's schools. Yet right now, only about a quarter of our K through 12 schools offer computer science. Twenty-two states don't even allow it to count toward a diploma.
So I've got a plan to help make sure all our kids get an opportunity to learn computer science, especially girls and minorities. It's called Computer Science For All. And it means just what it says – giving every student in America an early start at learning the skills they'll need to get ahead in the new economy.
First, I'm asking Congress to provide funding over the next three years so that our elementary, middle, and high schools can provide opportunities to learn computer science for all students.
Second, starting this year, we're leveraging existing resources at the National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service to train more great teachers for these courses.
And third, I'll be pulling together governors, mayors, business leaders, and tech entrepreneurs to join the growing bipartisan movement around this cause. Americans of all kinds – from the Spanish teacher in Queens who added programming to her classes to the young woman in New Orleans who worked with her Police Chief to learn code and share more data with the community – are getting involved to help young people learn these skills. And just today, states like Delaware and Hawaii, companies like Google and SalesForce, and organizations like Code.org have made commitments to help more of our kids learn these skills.
That's what this is all about – each of us doing our part to make sure all our young people can compete in a high-tech, global economy. They're the ones who will make sure America keeps growing, keeps innovating, and keeps leading the world in the years ahead. And they're the reason I've never been more confident about our future.
Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.


text: Established in 2004 by Andrew Kudless, Matsys is an architectural design studio that explores the emergent relationships between architecture, engineering, biology, and computation. Based on the idea that architecture can be understood as a material body with its own intrinsic and extrinsic forces relating to form, growth, and behavior, the studio investigates methodologies of performative integration through geometric and material differentiation. The studio's work ranges from speculative and built projects to the crafting of new tools which facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to the design and fabrication of architecture.


text:
Museum Quality Fine Art Reproductions
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Lieutenant Colonel John J. Capolino, USMCR
Accession Number: 92-10-51
Original work: Pastel on Paper
Original size: 32 by 22 inches
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text:
Citizens of the United States:
YOUR suffrages having elected me to the office of President of the United States, I have, in conformity to the Constitution of our country, taken the oath of office prescribed therein. I have taken this oath without mental reservation and with the determination to do to the best of my ability all that is required of me. The responsibilities of the position I feel, but accept them without fear. The office has come to me unsought; I commence its duties untrammeled. I bring to it a conscious desire and determination to fill it to the best of my ability to the satisfaction of the people. 1 On all leading questions agitating the public mind I will always express my views to Congress and urge them according to my judgment, and when I think it advisable will exercise the constitutional privilege of interposing a veto to defeat measures which I oppose; but all laws will be faithfully executed, whether they meet my approval or not.2 I shall on all subjects have a policy to recommend, but none to enforce against the will of the people. Laws are to govern all alike—those opposed as well as those who favor them. I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution.3 The country having just emerged from a great rebellion, many questions will come before it for settlement in the next four years which preceding Administrations have never had to deal with. In meeting these it is desirable that they should be approached calmly, without prejudice, hate, or sectional pride, remembering that the greatest good to the greatest number is the object to be attained.4 This requires security of person, property, and free religious and political opinion in every part of our common country, without regard to local prejudice. All laws to secure these ends will receive my best efforts for their enforcement.5 A great debt has been contracted in securing to us and our posterity the Union. The payment of this, principal and interest, as well as the return to a specie basis as soon as it can be accomplished without material detriment to the debtor class or to the country at large, must be provided for. To protect the national honor, every dollar of Government indebtedness should be paid in gold, unless otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. Let it be understood that no repudiator of one farthing of our public debt will be trusted in public place, and it will go far toward strengthening a credit which ought to be the best in the world, and will ultimately enable us to replace the debt with bonds bearing less interest than we now pay. To this should be added a faithful collection of the revenue, a strict accountability to the Treasury for every dollar collected, and the greatest practicable retrenchment in expenditure in every department of Government.6 When we compare the paying capacity of the country now, with the ten States in poverty from the effects of war, but soon to emerge, I trust, into greater prosperity than ever before, with its paying capacity twenty-five years ago, and calculate what it probably will be twenty-five years hence, who can doubt the feasibility of paying every dollar then with more ease than we now pay for useless luxuries? Why, it looks as though Providence had bestowed upon us a strong box in the precious metals locked up in the sterile mountains of the far West, and which we are now forging the key to unlock, to meet the very contingency that is now upon us.7 Ultimately it may be necessary to insure the facilities to reach these riches and it may be necessary also that the General Government should give its aid to secure this access; but that should only be when a dollar of obligation to pay secures precisely the same sort of dollar to use now, and not before. Whilst the question of specie payments is in abeyance the prudent business man is careful about contracting debts payable in the distant future. The nation should follow the same rule. A prostrate commerce is to be rebuilt and all industries encouraged.8 The young men of the country—those who from their age must be its rulers twenty-five years hence—have a peculiar interest in maintaining the national honor. A moment's reflection as to what will be our commanding influence among the nations of the earth in their day, if they are only true to themselves, should inspire them with national pride. All divisions—geographical, political, and religious—can join in this common sentiment. How the public debt is to be paid or specie payments resumed is not so important as that a plan should be adopted and acquiesced in. A united determination to do is worth more than divided counsels upon the method of doing. Legislation upon this subject may not be necessary now, or even advisable, but it will be when the civil law is more fully restored in all parts of the country and trade resumes its wonted channels.9 It will be my endeavor to execute all laws in good faith, to collect all revenues assessed, and to have them properly accounted for and economically disbursed. I will to the best of my ability appoint to office those only who will carry out this design.10 In regard to foreign policy, I would deal with nations as equitable law requires individuals to deal with each other, and I would protect the law-abiding citizen, whether of native or foreign birth, wherever his rights are jeopardized or the flag of our country floats. I would respect the rights of all nations, demanding equal respect for our own. If others depart from this rule in their dealings with us, we may be compelled to follow their precedent.11 The proper treatment of the original occupants of this land—the Indians one deserving of careful study. I will favor any course toward them which tends to their civilization and ultimate citizenship.12 The question of suffrage is one which is likely to agitate the public so long as a portion of the citizens of the nation are excluded from its privileges in any State. It seems to me very desirable that this question should be settled now, and I entertain the hope and express the desire that it may be by the ratification of the fifteenth article of amendment to the Constitution.13 In conclusion I ask patient forbearance one toward another throughout the land, and a determined effort on the part of every citizen to do his share toward cementing a happy union; and I ask the prayers of the nation to Almighty God in behalf of this consummation.


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Together, Let us make our world as a better place to live!
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Dimmable(dimmer not included)
Showing the single result
Showing the single result
Welcome to Thexmasweb.com! We are your one-stop destination for all things Christmas. Our curated selection of festive products ensures your holiday season is merry and bright, even at the last minute. From decorations to gifts, we've got you covered. Celebrate the season with us!


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Chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Dr. John Wang is Chair of the Anaheim University Institutional Review Board and a Professor for the Anaheim University Akio Morita School of Business. He received a scholarship award to complete his Ph.D. in Business Administration at Temple University in 1990, after earning his M.S. in Systems Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology. In addition to his roles at the Anaheim University Akio Morita School of Business, Dr. John Wang is a professor in the Department of Information and Decision Sciences at Montclair State University. Dr. Wang received his tenure in 1997 and was promoted to full professor in 2000. Professor Wang has published over 100 refereed papers and six books. He has served as session chairman and track chair 17 times on the most prestigious international and national conferences. He has also developed several computer software programs based on his research findings. He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Cases on Electronic Commerce and has been a guest editor and referee for Operations Research, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, and many other highly prestigious journals. His long-term research goal is on the synergy of Operations Research, Data Mining and Cybernetics.
- Ph.D. in Business Administration from Temple University & M.S. in Systems Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology
- Published 100 refereed papers and 6 books
- Develops computer software programs based on research findings
- Served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies, International Journal of Applied Management Science, and International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences.
- Served as the Editor of Data Warehousing and Mining: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (six-volume).
- Served as the Editor of the Encyclopedia of Data Warehousing and Mining, 1st and 2nd Edition.
Message from John Wang, Ph.D.
Are you really ready to face the ever-changing and challenging world? Are you ready? You need to adapt yourself to the environment, but not vice- versa. You will never achieve a high goal if you set your goal low. Like climbing a mountain, learning is fun, but not torture. AU will help you. You can do it!


text:
Undead Empire Oblivion Upgrade
140.00kr NOK
Customes fees and Import tax may apply
Features of the token sets
The tokens are manufactured out of high quality acrylic sheets.
These tokens are produced with our famous laminating method. The result is an extremely durable token set. The main reason for this is that the tokens do not have exposed print surface.
The tokens come with a protection film on one or both sides, This film is transparent and might be tinted blue or green. The film is easily removed by hand.


text:
And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, "Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in as I watched. Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory. And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks. Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," that he went in and stood beside the wheels. And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man's hand under their wings. And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone. As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around. As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, "Wheel." Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one was lifted up, the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them. Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.
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text: Tired of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, itinerant journalist Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local San Juan newspaper run by the downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked lifestyle of the late '50s version of Hemingway's 'The Lost Generation', Paul soon becomes entangled with a very attractive American woman and her fiancée, a businessman involved in shady property development deals. It is within this world that Kemp ultimately discovers his true voice as a writer and integrity as a man.


text:
Watch Jimmy Fallon Realize That He Blew a Chance to Date Nicole Kidman
It's probably safe to assume that last night will not go down as one of 'Tonight Show' host Jimmy Fallon's favorite nights. It all started out simply enough—another show, another night, and the lovely Nicole Kidman on deck as a guest. This will be fun, Fallon probably thought, we can talk about her animated bear movie and say things using Australian slang! But what Fallon did not realize was that Kidman had a story to share with Fallon's audience that directly involved him, and that it would be one that would alter the path of his own life forever.
Kidman and Fallon have previously met—all celebrities know each other, obviously—but while Fallon remembered their years-ago hang as a sort of weirdly casual thing, Kidman recalls it a bit differently. For Kidman, it was a romantic prospect, and the look on Fallon's face when he realizes what might have been is genuinely priceless. You really blew this one, Fallon.


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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Training young children in spatial reasoning can improve their math performance, according to a groundbreaking study from Michigan State University education scholars.
The researchers trained 6- to 8-year-olds in mental rotation, a spatial ability, and found their scores on addition and subtraction problems improved significantly. The mental rotation training involved imagining how two halves of an object would come together to make a whole, when the halves have been turned at an angle.
Past research has found a link between spatial reasoning and math, but the MSU study is the first to provide direct evidence of a causal connection – that when children are trained in one ability, improvement is seen in the other. The findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Cognition and Development.
Kelly Mix, professor of educational psychology, said the findings suggest spatial training "primes" the brain to better tackle calculation problems. Mix authored the study with Yi-Ling Cheng, a doctoral student in MSU's College of Education.
"What's shocking is that we saw these improvements in math performance after giving the students just one 20-minute training session in spatial ability," Mix said. "Imagine if the training had been six weeks."
Understanding the connection between spatial ability and math, she said, is especially important in the early elementary grades because many studies indicate early intervention is critical for closing achievement gaps in math.
Spatial ability is important for success in many fields, from architecture to engineering to meteorology, according to a Johns Hopkins University paper. An astronomer must visualize the structure of the solar system and the motions of the objects in it, for example, while a radiologist must be able to interpret the image on an X-ray.
Some education experts have called for including spatial reasoning in the elementary math curriculum. But there are many forms of spatial ability and Mix said it's important to first figure out how each of them may or may not relate to the various math disciplines.
To that end, Mix is leading a larger study that tests elementary students on different forms of spatial ability and math performance.
Mix's research into spatial ability and math is funded by two grants totaling $2.8 million from the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.
Journal of Cognition and Development


text:
Jon says "So here we are. Song 365. It's possibly not the most appropriate farewell song given the sting in the tale. Over the years there were a fair few regulars who got themselves barred from the Half Moon – I always think of them when I sing this! But it is goodbye from me. It's been a real pleasure singing to you all this last year. I'd like to thank a few people who have been doing the really hard work – Andy Bell who has done the bulk of the recording and mixing, Ben Bowdler at Proper who has done all the technical web stuff, including manually uploading each individual podcast. A particular thanks to Simon Holland who has been your host on this site – writing introductions to all the songs and keeping an eye on all your comments. It's been great for me to read Simon's intros every day and then read all the various ensuing postings. I'd like to thank Steve Kersley at Proper who encouraged me to make what was a fairly mad idea, into a reality. I'd like to thank EFDSS for all their support and encouragement. Lastly but most importantly I'd like to thank you all for listening and commenting on the site. I'm hoping that A Folk Song A Day may continue in some form so I look forward to joining in the conversation with someone else doing the singing! See you around. All the best, Jon."
I'll add my thanks to Jon for an inspiring and extraordinary journey into the world of folk song. This is a massive achievement that I feel privileged and proud to have been a part of. I've certainly learnt a lot, but there's so much more to discover. Thanks to everyone for your contributions, opinions, comments and for putting me right where needed. For once I genuinely feel at a loss for words, although this bittersweet song seems a perfect end. I must just give you a final link to Mainly Norfolk and offer special thanks to Reinhard in particular, for his outstanding resource that has more often than not been my first call in researching these songs. I'll see some of you at Cecil Sharp House and promise to enjoy the evening on behalf of those that can't make it. Thank you all, Simon.
YouTube – When Fortune Turns The Wheel
Tags: guitar, traditional songs


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Protection for your boat and other watercraft.
Boat and watercraft insurance throughout Northeastern Ohio.
Whether you own a paddle boat or a power boat, you want to enjoy your time on the water without worry. We'll help you leave your worries on dry land and fully enjoy your time on the water.
Getting out on the water should be carefree, but owning and running a boat brings several financial risks. Watercraft insurance means you can stop worrying about those risks and get back to relaxing on your boat.
Boat insurance (or watercraft insurance) policies usually have two standard elements, with two optional extras that are worth considering. One standard feature is insurance coverage for physical damage to the boat, whether that be from a collision, fire, severe weather, theft or vandalism. The other standard feature in a boat insurance policy is liability, meaning you're covered for damage you cause to other boats or people, along with the associated legal costs. Look for insurance policies that cover the costs of cleaning up any oil spillages if your boat is severely damaged, as well.
One optional element of watercraft insurance is coverage for theft of or damage to your personal possessions kept or used on your boat. This is well worth considering when you think about the costs of sports or fishing equipment and expensive gadgets. You can also get optional boat towing and assistance coverage that protects you against the costs that come up if your boat breaks down while out on the water.
Spending time on the water is fun. Talk with us about getting the proper boat insurance coverage in place today.
Watercraft Insurance Quote Request
As an independent agency, we offer multiple options at competitive prices.


text:
The first civil partnerships were formed on 21 December 2005, after the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 came into effect on 5 December 2005. Same-sex marriages contracted abroad, however, have been recognised as valid civil partnerships from 5 December 2005. Whilst the legal formalities may differ from those of marriage, the practicalities make them almost identical, including the granting of the full range of paternity and child care rights enjoyed by married couples.
A civil partnership can be terminated only by death, legal dissolution or annulment and dissolution is allowed, as in marriage, only on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown. One difference between civil partnerships and marriage is that adultery is not a ground for irretrievable breakdown in the former, but is in the latter. On the breakdown of a civil partnership, the normal claims for financial relief – such as division of assets and maintenance payments – apply as in a marriage and with the first breakups of civil partnerships already taking place, it is clear that the courts are taking the same approach to dissolutions of civil partnerships as they do in the breakdowns of marriages.
Civil partners have the equivalent rights of a spouse on the death of their civil partner, so the same sort of thinking needs to be applied towards making a will and Inheritance Tax planning as should be done by married couples. A civil partnership, like a marriage, invalidates an earlier will.
More recently, the Government has announced that same-sex couples are to be allowed to hold civil partnership ceremonies in churches and other places of worship in England and Wales.
In 2012 the first 'high net worth' dissolution of a civil partnership occured. The decision of the court confirmed that the same principles on the sharing of assets apply when a civil partnership ends as apply when a marriage ends.
In July 2013, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 was passed into law. This effectively puts same-sex marriages on the same footing as heterosexual marriages and deals with some of the anomalies that result.
Among other important legal issues dealt with by the Act are:
• Same-sex marriages solemnised in foreign jurisdictions before the passage of the Act will be recognised as marriages in England and Wales;
• It does not change the effect of any 'private instrument' made before it comes into force. So, for example, the definition of 'spouse' in an existing Trust providing for children and spouses would not include same-sex spouses; and
• It does not extend the common-law presumption that a child born to a married woman is also the child of her spouse to the circumstance in which the spouse is also female.
It also provides that civil partnerships may be turned into same-sex marriages. However a court ruling in 2017 confirmed that heterosexual couples cannot formalise the relationship using a civil partnership.
One aspect of non-equivalence that should be mentioned is that where a 'private instrument' (such as a trust document) was created before the Act was passed, the term 'spouse' will not include a same-sex spouse. However, it has been confirmed that when a civil partnership is turned into a marriage, the wills of the civil partners continue to be valid.
In 2017, a ruling by the Supreme Court confirmed that same-sex spouses and civil partners must receive the same rights in respect of their occupational pension entitlements for dependants as do heterosexual spouses. Prior rulings limited the entitlement insofar as those rights relate to pension rights accrued before the passing of the Civil Partnerships Act.
When a heterosexual couple lost their court battle to have a heterosexual civil partnership, the Supreme Court found this was a breach of their human rights and the Secretary of State was ordered to bring regulations into effect by the end of 2019 to allow heterosexual couples to become civil partners,


text:
Asking a marketer to describe their brand's content strategy is like asking my wife what she wants for dinner.
You'll hear 50 different answers that really only distill down to a handful of choices:
- FORMAT – "We use video, images and real-time engagement…"
- MEDIA – "We create paid, owned and earned experiences…"
- CHANNEL – "We use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn…"
- SOURCE – "We have curated, syndicated, and costume content…"
- INTENT – "We drive traffic to our blog for lead gen and SEO…"
The only answer you won't hear is "I don't know."
While these inputs represent vital building blocks for connecting ideas, communities and people, successful content marketing strategies start with 2 core questions:
1. Who are we talking to…
and why should they care?
2. What are we saying…
and why should they share?
Content is the oxygen of your social media ecosystem (tweet this). Strategy is the process of converting it into results by regulating what you do, why you do it and how. A content marketing strategy dependent on a specific channel, format or source will soon be on life-support as technology changes and interest wanes.
There is a better way.
At Intuit we've had the opportunity to test, learn and iterate on several campaigns targeting global business professionals and small business owners. The content marketing strategy we've adopted focuses on maximizing the 2 core questions and scaffolding our content plans around consumer-driven motivations.
The best and worst of content marketing strategies come to life in 4 types:
WORST: Vanity Content
With lagging consumer relevancy and even lower trust, many traditional, outbound marketing tactics fall into the vanity category. Companies struggle to hit tomorrow's revenue forecast and reach today's audience with yesterday's playbook.
Until recently the marketing solar system revolved around products and brands, not consumers. Mass scale was rewarded, encouraged and expected. Vanity content strategies are like a bad blind date that expects you to pay for dinner after blabbering about themselves through three painful courses.
To be fair, vanity content pieces do have a place and a purpose but a strategy built on this approach is destined to fail. Just say no.
GOOD: Conversational Content
Conversational content powers Twitter timelines, serving as a virtual village where ideas go to spread or die. The steady stream of share-bait presents easy access to news, information, updates and random distractions.
Done right, this approach requires dedicated resources who are equipped with the right tools and empowered by leaders. Like a great dinner party, the key to great conversational content is to start the discussion, not own it.
Conversations can quickly become viral or convictional based on how audiences respond so leave room for the unplanned.
BETTER: Convictional Content
Content that evokes emotions, strengthens beliefs or confronts assumptions is challenging to produce yet powerful to consume. We often speak of "humanizing" or "personifying" our brand, alluding to the notion that people connect more easily with other people.
This approach works extremely well when focused on the people behind your products and a story bigger than your brand. What this content approach lacks in scale it makes up for in transparency and trust.
Great content elicits an action, which is the ultimate goal of most brand marketing and media. Instead of asking for the action, convictional content asks for a discussion.
BEST: Viral Content
The word "viral" has been abused more than Charlie's bitten finger. By definition, the term denotes that new consumption comes from the activities of current consumers.
Or said another way, users begat other users. Even within Intuit virality has various degrees. Sales enabling content for QuickBooks Online Accountant Edition (B2B) performs very differently from a TurboTax video campaign (B2C).
While every piece of viral content isn't necessarily marketing, all viral marketing delivers on the core 2 motivators: giving consumers a reason to share and care.
It begs an obvious question: In a world transformed by digital technology, why is viral content so prevalent online yet elusive for marketers?
Easy answer: We're busy creating innovative ways to talk about what we know best – ourselves.
In business, strategies answer obvious questions and question obvious answers.
Any content plan will evolve over time but should always serve as a true north representation of what and who your brand stands for. I recently presented at Social Fresh West in San Diego on this topic and discussed how to drive digital results by focusing on relationships.
I shared a case study of this new "Care & Share Model" to illustrate how it comes together in the real world.
I look forward to hearing how brands and small businesses alike tackle these challenges. If your content strategy had a Facebook page, would any of your customers like it? Leave a comment below with how you would rank your own content marketing strategy. Feel free to link to examples!


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The White House Plan to Strangle Iran
Nov 6 2019 / 2:08 pmMore Sanctions, More Punishment
There is a certain irony in President Donald Trump's frequently expressed desire to withdraw from the endless wars that have characterized the so-called "global war on terror" initiated by George W. Bush in 2001. The problem is that Trump has expressed such sentiments both when he was running for office and also as recently as last week without actually doing anything to bring about change. In fact, the greatly ballyhooed "withdrawal" from Syria turned out to be more like a relocation of existing military assets, with soldiers moving from Syria's northern border to take up new positions to continue control of the Iraqi oil fields in the country's southeast. Indeed, the number of American soldiers in Syria may have actually been increased with armor units being transferred from their base in Iraq.
The all too characteristic Trumpean flip-flop on Syria may have been due to pressure from congress and the media, who were bleating over how the departure of U.S. troops was a grave mistake, but if that is true it is a tribute to the abysmal ignorance of America's Solons on the Potomac and the presstitutes who echo their bipartisan myopia. In truth, clinging to the Syrian oil wells makes no sense just as the war in the north served no purpose. The petroleum production is not enough to pay for the occupation, even if the oil is successfully stolen and sold, by no means a certainty as the rest of the world minus Israel regards it as the property of Damascus.
And to be sure, congress-critters know all about winners and losers. The mainstream media has been full of utter nonsense, including claims that Russia, Iran and Syria were all winners due to the American pull-out while neoliberal democracy promotion in the Middle East has suffered a defeat and Israel is now under threat. And, of course, the United States has to its shame betrayed yet another ally in the Kurds while also losing all credibility worldwide.
No one has, of course, examined any of the claims being made by the interventionist crowd. How Russia has won in taking on a client state that it cannot afford, or Iran in maintaining an extraterritorial presence that is regularly bombed by Israel, is by no means clear. President al-Assad meanwhile has the not so enviable task of putting his country back together. Meanwhile the Kurds will manage by cutting their own deal with Syria and Turkey with Russia serving as guarantor of the arrangement.
The real reasons for maintaining a U.S. military presence in Syria all have to do with Israel, which has long supported a fracturing of that country into its constituent parts both to weaken it as an adversary and to enable the Jewish state to steal still more of its land, possibly to include the sparsely populated oil producing region. Israel also wants a robust American military presence in Syria to prevent Iran from turning it into a base for attacks across the border, an unlikely prospect but one that has resonated with the U.S. Congress. Indeed, deterring Iran is the reason most often cited by both Washington and Tel Aviv for American interference in Syria, where it has no other actual interest apart from an apparent demented desire to remove President Bashar al-Assad.
In fact, all of the turmoil about what Trump might or might not do, plus the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has enabled the White House to move quietly ahead with its major foreign policy objective, which is, not surprisingly, destroying Iran. On October 28th, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin was in Israel – of course – where he announced at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States would increase economic pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, saying that "We have executed on a maximum pressure campaign for sanctions. They have worked, they are working, they are cutting off the money. We will continue to ramp up, more, more, more …" Turning to Netanyahu he added "I just came from a very productive working lunch with your team. They gave us a bunch of very specific ideas that we will be following up." Netanyahu responded "So I want to thank you for what you've been doing and encourage you, Steve, to do more – more, a lot more."
Mnuchin the Poodle, who did not seem to know that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program, was referring to the latest round of sanctions, announced in Washington three days before, that are clearly intended to make it impossible for Iran to use the international banking system to engage in any commerce at all. To achieve that objective, the Trump administration sought to exclude Iran from the global financial system by declaring that the country is a "jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern."
The new designation, which comes on top of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) similar designation for the Iranian Central Bank, requires U.S. banks to conduct "special due diligence" on accounts maintained by foreign banks if those foreign banks themselves hold accounts for Iranian financial institutions. The chain of secondary sanctions means that, in practical terms, U.S. banks will press their foreign correspondents to close any accounts maintained on behalf of Iranian banks so as to eliminate sanctions risk. This will further sever Iran from the global financial system, as Iran's few remaining non-designated banks will find it increasingly difficult to maintain accounts abroad.
Treasury's designation of Iran as a primary jurisdiction of money laundering will make it impossible for the few Iranian banks that deal internationally to maintain what limited overseas accounts continue to be available to them. The blocking of those accounts, either held directly by the Iranians or through other banks, will mean that Iranian importers will be unable to pay for medicine or food coming into the country, the so-called humanitarian goods that are normally exempted from sanctions. The new OFAC regulation does provide a framework for banks to continue hold Iranian accounts by filing detailed monthly reports, but the paperwork and other procedures are deliberately onerous and it is likely that few international banks will be interested in making the effort to comply.
That there is a coordinated scheme being pursued to continuously increase the punishment of the Iranian people was also suggested last Wednesday when the Trump administration joined six Persian Gulf nations in sanctioning over two dozen corporations, banks and entities that, it was claimed, are connected to Iranian support of Hezbollah and other groups the Department of State designates as terrorists. In a statement, the Treasury Department announced the sanctions mark the "largest joint designation to date" by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) — which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. According to the Treasury Department, several of the companies sanctioned were financially supporting a subsidiary of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the U.S. designated as a terrorist organization earlier this year.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, on his tour of the Middle East, remarked that "This action demonstrates the unified position of the Gulf nations and the United States that Iran will not be allowed to escalate its malign activity in the region."
Make no mistake, the United States is conducting an economic war against Iran that is undeniably aimed at making the Iranian people so miserable that they will rise up in revolt. And the punishment being meted out will hurt the poorest and weakest most of all while also hardening support for the regime rather than weakening it. Not only is the White House action directed against Iran immoral, it is also illegal as Iran and the United States are not at war and Iran does not threaten Americans in any way. The whole affair is just one more example of how powerful domestic constituencies, in this case that of Israel, have distorted U.S. foreign policy and driven it in directions that are both shameful and that serve no plausible national interest.


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Friday, October 24, 2008
Chic is in the details
I always look up to the people (should I say the artists) who dress windows. They have to come up with new ideas, cope with the image the brand wants to promote and catch the passers by attention. That is exactly what happed to me when I passed by this Lanvin window display in the Boissy d'Anglas street. The whole setting was actually very creative and I do regret not to have been able to photograph it due to the light reflexion in the glass. PS: if you are in New York and want to meet me next week, please check this forum entry.
57 comments:
Whoo-hoo. I think I got GF! Today I will take the pearls, which are obviously dying for someone to wear them, and drape them on the crown, where they will add a bit of luster - just what I need to cheer me up as I roll my eyes heavenward waiting for the whistle to sound letting me leave the grindstone behind for the day!
I just might borrow the Lanvin dress as well to make the evening a little more enjoyable and lets see if I can get some perfume to go with that. Hmm - now things are looking up!- AnonymousOctober 24, 2008 at 2:07:00 AM GMT+2
Ah, pearls. One day someone said I always wear pearls, and I didn't even know that about myself!
cARRIE: I just got back from CDG and I saw the decoration for xmas on the facade of Galeries Layfayette in place. Don't get too excited tho. NOWHERE in the world goes as over the top for xmas like America, NOWHERE. The year is 2003. I am standing at the top of a three-storey stairwell with a friend of mine, when (for no apparent reason) the thread of her pearl necklace snaps. A hundred or so of them cascade and ricochet to the ground floor like hailstones. She cries, I laugh. Then she laughs and I cry as it dawns on me that she expect ME to be the one to chase after and recover them. Which, let me tell you, took so long that I still think of her every time I pass a row of pinball machines or watch a lotto draw.
ReplyDeletePearls are indeed so chic that even an image of pearls "hanging on a hanger" is chic. I think it's because it automatically reminds us of Chanel... one of her trademarks.
Lynn I think I know who gave you Amelie. I can't believe you hadn't watch it until today! I love this movie, in fact this year it was one of my birhtday gifts, along with the La Mome dvd too.
PHX I know xmas in the US, specially in NY, is something to remeber for years once you've seen it... but I'd give anything to see Galeries Lafayette's xmas façade right now!!!Window displays in Paris seem to follow the "less is more" technique. Quite often there is just one dress; admittedly a nice dress, with some lovely pearls Eric but not much more to entice one into the store. That said, I did post some lovely shop windows on MBOB from our walk through the passages. :)
So glad that you arrived safely in Boston!Oh Coltrane, I thought for sure you would want to hum a few lines of "String of Pearls" after seeing this post. Go on now, you still have time.
Yes PHX you're right. Holiday decorations here in Paris are quite subtle compared to the U.S. I think that was a subtle understatement as well.
So Lynn, when do we get to hear who sent the DVD? I want to put my orders in early for the holidays in case this admirer wants to admire someone else. hehe- AnonymousOctober 24, 2008 at 6:37:00 AM GMT+2
Lucio: I thought you were going to end with the quote "geez, me beads" attributed to Marion Davies when her string of pearls (Glenn Miller, anyone?)came unstrung.
A little fashion tease, Eric? I am so curious to see the rest of this dress! - AnonymousOctober 24, 2008 at 6:40:00 AM GMT+2
Michael: if we both thought of that song you know Coltrane did.
ReplyDelete Oooh yes the understatement of pearls is classic. I often wear them - some my parents bought me when I was about 18. These ones look very white, perhaps they are freshwater pearls or maybe it's the window lighting. Sorry - I get carried away with jewellery. More please Eric.
I believe this is a Zazzle moment. Girls of all ages would buy this as a greetings card for girlfriends. Men would buy it for ladies. Trust me. :)
I really love this beautiful shot.LOL Michael! That made me laugh. I shall tell you by email I think. Probably this kind person would admit it here if he/she wanted it to be known.
Monica so La Mome? Is this another I should see at some point? I've never heard of it.
Lucio I love your story about the pearls breaking, but at the same time I was horrified at the thought. Wait a second... you... LAUGHED? you LAUGHED? Eek. Of COURSE you were expected to help pick them up! Pah!... Soto voce: A lady's pearls break and the man stands there laughing....mutter, mutter.... ;)Très chic photo Eric. I already imagine myself in this sexy dress! I've never worn pearls...Because I don't have pearls!
Lucky Lynn! You have a secret lover...
(It's Rose! It's Rose! She's lovely... :) )
Monica, nice to see you here. :)
Petrea, I understand what you mean! I've been far from PDP for the last few days and I missed it a lot.
Lucio, I love your story, this situation would have made me laugh too (well, if it was not MY necklace!), I especially like the fall of your story "I still think of her every time I pass a row of pinball machines or watch a lotto draw" LOLGuille
I'm not Lynn's secret admirer, but I know who it is... he he he...
Lucio you are a great story teller. No wonder I missed you so much while you were away.
Accessory? I know what you mean... something like "Darling, you don't need to worry with all these accessories. The necklace will be enough!"Cali: I'm so glad I was able to surprise you!
Lynn: I swear, if it hadn't been funny, I wouldn't have laughed, and if I hadn't felt genuinely sorry for her, I wouldn't have stopped. That said, I was probably lucky not to have copped a summary beating for my bad form, as she had a reputation for smashing mirrors when they answered incorrectly to the question: "Whose the prettiest of them all?"
Guille: A humorous anecdote without the right punchline is like a love affair without the right ending: one knows it's over, but can't be sure exactly why.
Rose: My grandmother was a master storyteller. Compared to her, I will always be a novice. But this hardly matters when one has such generous and appreciative readers.- AnonymousOctober 24, 2008 at 5:20:00 PM GMT+2
Coltrane: great minds, blah, blah, blah. :-)
ReplyDelete Carrie, don't expect too much about Paris Christmas decorations, nothing compared to New York.
Mostly because the city hardly pays for them, the shopkeepers do most of the job.
You'll find some big stores like Le Printemps or Les Galeries Lafayette doing gorgeous things, last year it even snowed every day at 5 PM in front of the Galeries.
And some local tradesmen associations pay for decorating their street, like rue du Commerce, de la Convention, de Buci, de la Contrescarpe....
But if you have time, go look the window displays of Le Printemps and Les Galeries, still if you manage to reach them, or the prestigious shops of the Champs Elysées, every year, it is a new theme and a new show.
It is quite a nice moemnt of "lèche vitrines".- AnonymousOctober 24, 2008 at 6:18:00 PM GMT+2
What a great suggestion, Marylene! I never knew about the other decorated neighborhood streets. I love these great Paris tips !
ReplyDelete I love pearls.
When I think of women in pearls, first comes to mind, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, then Queen Elizabeth I of England. In so many, many pictures, they are wearing pearls.
Lucio, The reason they put a knot before and after each pearl is so that if the strand breaks, the pearls will not fall all over the floor. However, fake pearls, they do not trouble themselves to knot (only if they want them to appear as real pearls). In China Town, San Francisco, all the jewelry stores will knot pearls for about $20.00 and it takes about an hour or so. I drop them off and come back after having a nice Chinese lunch. BTW, Do not be dismayed if they tell you they do not knot pearls -- they are fickle.
Eric, When I photograph a fashion store window in Paris, I do it from across the street -- no reflections. However, I saw an interesting photo of a Russian grocery store window taken in San Francisco's Russian neighborhood -- it had the reflection of a Chinese restaurant sign in the window. It was so beautiful the way he made that reflection work for him.ADVERTISEMENT!
Just got an email from Zazzle saying they are having a 40% off sale on 2009 calendars (including PDP) by entering the code CALENDARSAVE. The fine print reads:
40% off calendars discount is applied to orders of one or more qualifying calendars and applies to the price of the product, not to shipping, taxes, and other charges. The coupon code CALENDARSAVE must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. Offer is valid from October 1, 2008 through October 31, 2008 at 11:59pm PST.Lois: That is a good, but ticklish, question.
Experience has taught me that if one writes without thinking the result is typing, and that if one thinks without typing there is absolutely no hope of ever becoming a writer: which is why I try to both at simultaneously (although I am not always successful - or as pleased with the results as my readers). In short, I am opposed to there being a hard and fast distinction between a "writer" and an "intellectual". This has sometimes landed me hot – no, scalding – water, as a distinctive "voice" in academia is about as welcome as a clown at a funeral. Still, I soldier on, defiantly.
I suppose I could also answer your question by saying that one can be read as a writer without being an intellectual, and be an intellectual without being read as a writer, but that it is always far more satisfying (at least, it is to me) to attract readers whose liking for an intriguing thought is at least as great as their appetite for a lively use of language.
As a coda to what I said earlier about clowns and funerals, if the funeral were that of a clown there would obviously not be a problem. There are always exceptions to the rule - and who, I ask, would rather be the flunky of rulers and rule-makers than truly unique and exceptional?Oh Michael how saucy
You, Sue and I; naughty!
We couldn't resist
and couldn't desist
From lowering the tone
On Eric's sweet tome
But what will he say?
Will he send us away?
Will he jump and shout out?
And scurry about?
I hope he will smile
Indulge us a while
So come on, let's verse
If a little perverse!


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Photo by Justin Follis, Unsplash.
This is a reminder and reinforcement for Black Lover's Day this month and each day all year round. It is not an exaggeration to state that there is no issue of greater importance, urgency or enduring impact in terms of the foundation, functioning and future of us as a community and a people than the quality of male/female relationships. Indeed, this speaks not only to the health and wholeness of our people, but also of each member of the community and to how we imagine and either forge or forfeit a good future for our children. So, the issue of quality relationships between men and women and boys and girls is not just about coupling, cuddling and masterful moves. Nor is it about sexual seduction and consumer things about which they think they will die if they don't get. And it is not just about the increase in desperate and hope-to-die claims that they will never love, be hurt or hassled, trust or try to build a relationship again. Indeed, the intensity of the denial only demonstrates how deep and enduring the need to love and be loved is.
Surely, then, it is about something deeper, more ancient and indispensable, something our ancient sacred texts tell us is inherent in the conception, creation and functioning of the world – the complementary and species-compelling need for male and female love, presence and cooperative practice in the world. For the Husia and Odu Ifa speak to the need we have not only for each other in spiritual, natural and social ways, but also the need of our togetherness to create and sustain the good in family, society and the world. And it is within this ancient and ongoing African understanding that we must conceive, build, sustain and make flourish our relationships and teach our children likewise by the most careful instruction and self-conscious example.
There are so many things that block the road toward realization of the togetherness in love we long and live for. There is racism that degrades and devalues, sexism that teaches submission and domination, and materialism that makes things and money the measure and meaning of everything. There is also unemployment and vulgar individualism, Eurocentric drama, drugs and unrealizable dreams, the prison system and broken promises, the media and the mean and merciless streets and a long history of Holocaust, horror and other forms of oppression at the hands of our oppressor. So, the wonder is not that we have problems, but that so many of us have survived and solved them and went on to build rock-strong, stable and loving relations worthy of the highest praise and promise. Indeed, the point is not that we have problems – for that's only human; the issue is how we solve them in the most gentle, loving and effective ways.
Love is the heartbeat and hope of any real, reciprocal and enduring relationship, and we must understand it not simply as an emotion, but also as a practice. For at its best, love is ultimate appreciation, attentiveness and consideration that expresses itself in the mutual investment in each other's happiness, well-being and development. It is ultimately a reciprocal, deeply rewarding and awesome giving of ourselves and receiving the same from another as a sacred exchange.
Here it is important to make a distinction between pleasure and happiness. For pleasure is satisfaction of the senses, but happiness is satisfaction of the heart and mind. Pleasure is a time and space limited satisfaction of desires by external events and experiences, but happiness is an enduring inner satisfaction. And love, as mutual giving, engenders such an enduring inner satisfaction, enhances our sense of well-being and enriches our development as persons and human beings.
At the heart of the practice of love is active commitment to an Afrocentric value system which teaches and reinforces our essential identity as bearers of divinity and dignity, and requires us to approach and treat each other and our relationships as sacred and worthy of the highest respect, care and consideration. Since the Sixties, I've taught that the Nguzo Saba is that African-centered value system and that we can use it to build our relationships and community and enrich our lives.
The first principle is Umoja (Unity) which stresses the good and need of togetherness in the most principled and purposeful ways. It teaches us to remove all thoughts, emotions, speech and conduct which undermine our togetherness and pull us apart. At one with each other, we will see ourselves in each other and sense our divinity, reaffirm our dignity and develop an identity meriting a high respect and place among men and women.
Kujichagulia (Self-determination) teaches the right and responsibility to choose, to choose who we will be and it requires that each of us be allowed and encouraged to be who we are in the most positive and progressive sense without crass criticism, hindrance or negative questioning, but always within the framework of the requirements of togetherness and common ground. And it teaches us that the ground of our choosing must always be from within the context of our own culture and its highest values. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) teaches us active working, building and struggling together to clear space for our love to grow, to transform ourselves so that we feel and fit right and rightfully together and to take collective responsibility for the good and bad, right and wrong, the beautiful and ugly that strengthen or undermine our relationships.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) teaches us the principle and practice of shared work and shared wealth, that we not make money the measure and central meaning of all things and to reject debilitating disputes and disagreements about it. And it requires us to avoid materialism and consumerism of the dominant society, value each other more and those qualities that reflect strength of character and depth of commitment.
The principle of Nia (Purpose) teaches us that we must live purposeful lives, share goals, aid each other in realizing our different yet interrelated goals and work toward things that strengthen each of us. At the heart of this practice must be the goal of building a friendship defined by our thinking good of each other, wanting and working for the good of each other, doing good to and for each other, and sharing good with each other as a fundamental principle and practice of love and life.
Kuumba (Creativity) urges us to pursue the positive, avoid the negative, to constantly reaffirm the dignity and worth of each other, and our need for each other and to avoid all conversation and acts that degrade and violate the sacredness of each person and the relationship itself. And it means that we, as the ancestors taught in the Husia, must strive always to quickly and eagerly to raise up what is in ruins, repair what is damaged, rejoin what is severed, replenish what is depleted, set right what is wrong, strengthen what is weakened, and make flourish what is insecure and undeveloped in our relationships.
Finally, Imani (Faith) urges us to trust and believe in the good, and in our capacity to create it and share it. It encourages us to produce a new paradigm and practice of Black love and live it as a conscious need and undeniable necessity of life. And this means bringing into being a new man and woman who truly live for and through each other and pass on this lesson and legacy to future generations.
An earlier version of this article was posted here on May 10, 2016.


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Live Internet TV.
Developer's Blog.
I am pleased to welcome you on our blog about the development process of Live Internet TV broadcasting and streaming system.
Over the past few years I have led the development of streaming Internet TV broadcasting. We developed our own H264 video encoders and repeaters. Our streams may be viewed on different devices such as iPad or iPhone and, of course, on computers.
As the leading developer of this live streaming system, I decided to write some notes, covering organization questions of own broadcasting through the Internet, the difficulties which we had to encounter, and ways of their solution, as well as emphasize advantages and disadvantages of this system compared both with the Open Source software, and professional decisions. Considering the fact, that is not much information on this subject in free access, maybe it would be useful somehow.
As the signal source we use a signal from the satellite antenna, then we decode audio and video streams and so we get uncompressed video and audio. And then we code video data by video codec H.264, and audio data by audio codec AAC. Then these results are multiplexed in real time into so-called fragmented mp4 files and then these files are sent through the HTTP protocol to the audience. Broadcast viewing is available on computers, tablets and mobile devices.
You can see how it works on our site where we broadcast different TV channels - http://www.ontvtime.ru
Main articles:
TV through the Internet: how it works
The choice of broadcasting format for viewing in browser
Video streaming formats supported by Flash player
Development of the video codec H.264
Audio and video synchronization
Optimizing video codec for performance
Why do we need to create our own HTTP server
How video stream relay works or we are building our own CDN
Does peer-to-peer television has the future?
Internet-TV system developer toolkit


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The Green Tea Citrus Cleanser is a foamy, gentle cleansing option for environmentally challenged skin. It works well to remove makeup and protects the skin from cellular damage while improving clarity and tone.
- Clarifies and cleans
- Supports skin immune functions
- Maintains healthy cell function
- Provides cellular protection from free radicals
- Provides anti-inflammatory-like benefits
Active Ingredients:
- Sodium Hydroxypropylsulfonate Laurylglucoside Crosspolymer is a natural plant derived surfactant from coconut oil and corn syrup that is gentle to the skin.
- Sodium Coco-Glucoside Tartrate is an ultra-mild surfactant with excellent detoxifying properties.
- Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate is a surfactant derived from coconuts.
- Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) and Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extractinhibit destructive bacteria growth while maintaining healthy bacteria colonies to prevent acne breakouts. They protect from cellular damage and are antioxidant-rich to neutralize free radicals.
- Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract is rich in polyphenols that repair and prevent cellular damage. It is also an antioxidant and is antibacterial to counter skin irritations to offset redness and inflammation.
- Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil is high in Vitamin C and potassium. It provides antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
- Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil stimulates lymphatic drainage, is an antiseptic, and is antibacterial.
- Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extractis soothing and anti-inflammatory.
- Yucca Schidigera Leaf/Root/Stem Extract is an antioxidant and improves cell growth.
Directions: Apply with fingertips in a circular massaging pattern. Remove with a warm washcloth; follow with toner.
Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Sodium Hydroxypropylsulfonate Laurylglucoside Crosspolymer, Sodium Coco-Glucoside Tartrate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Sodium Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Amaranth Protein, Butylene Glycol, Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Oil, Litchi Chinensis Pericarp (Litchee) Extract, Yucca Schidigera Root Extract, Prunus Avium (Sweet Cherry) Fruit Extract, Prunus Cerasus (Bitter Cherry) Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Gluconolactone, Glycerin, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Sodium Hydroxypropylsulfonate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Phenethyl Alcohol, Sodium Benzoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Alcohol Denat.


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In the days before the Internet, selling a business was a slow but straightforward process: The buyer would drive across town, view the business in person and "kick the tires" before signing on the dotted line. The seller would then sign over real estate deeds, transfer inventory, provide in-person training and hand over the keys. Since the advent of online businesses, however, what used to take weeks now happens in a matter of hours or days.
As soon as you accept an offer on your business, you're going to be anxious to jump into your next big venture. Savvy buyers often withhold a portion of funds until you finish training them on the nuts and bolts of the business, so your work isn't over just yet.
Sara Paulson, shipping coordinator, Langer Delivery
When businesses change hands, it's common for the buyer to deposit a portion of the funds into an escrow account and not release them until you hold up your end of the bargain. While it can be scary to give up control of your business before you have the cash in hand, realize that putting the funds into an account controlled by a third party offers protection to both you and the buyer: It ensures the buyer actually comes forth with the funds and that you fulfill the criteria set forth in your agreement (such as business training or the transfer of intellectual property).
If your business earns money from subscriptions, SaaS tools or memberships that automatically renew on a monthly or annual basis, you'll need to help the buyer gain permission to collect recurring revenue from those clients. Handling this up front can help prevent headaches and service disruptions a month down the road. Instead of living across town, your buyer may live across the country or halfway around the world. And instead of handing over the keys to the building, you're transferring account passwords, intellectual property and domain names. That's the beauty of having an online business – you can live virtually anywhere. But distance doesn't mean you should close the lines of communication after price negotiations are complete.


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As fundamentalists seem to love the way online anonymity enables juvenile trolling, we have yet another new rule here. No anonymous comments. This will immediately separate the (honest) men from the (dishonest) boys, the latter of whom will promptly whine and snivel over how this proves we're too chicken to allow dissenting views to appear here, all we want is an echo chamber where we preach to the atheist choir, and so on, waah waah waah, I want my invisible space daddy!
Anyone who makes this claim can, of course, be immediately shuffled into the "loser" file and discarded. As always, Christians are allowed to comment here, they are allowed to disagree with us, tell us how wrong and misguided we are not to believe in the Lord, and so on. Only one thing has changed: Christian commenters are now required to demonstrate integrity and the courage of their convictions by attaching a name to their posts. Either you're here to engage us honestly in stimulating debate, in which case you should have nothing to fear by identifying yourself, or you're a mindless troll in a state of arrested development. If the former, consider yourself welcome, and we look forward to discussing the arguments you care to bring in support of your beliefs.
Those of you who don't like the fact that the comments are moderated should realize that it is only the disgraceful behavior of your righteous brothers in Christ that has led to it. Look, it would be very easy to leave the comments entirely unmoderated, and allow your fellow fundamentalists to run amok with one abusive, offensive post after another. It is almost guaranteed this would happen, and happen with such frequency that they'd do all the discrediting of Christians for us, and we've rarely if ever have to put up a new post of our own. But as admin, I'd really prefer this blog were a civilized place. Which means the bad guys among you need their leashes jerked. Really, by moderating comments and requiring names on them, I'm doing believers a huge favor, as now every Christian commenter here will be a person with a modicum of character, at the very least. You won't have the worst among you making all the rest of you look bad.


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Thanks to Lynne Hemer of Cook & Be Merry for the beautiful photo |
There are two kinds of families when it comes to Thanksgiving.
Some families are willing to experiment. I had one friend who used Thanksgiving as a culinary lab. Every year she made something different. Pumpkin soup yielded to chestnut soup turned into carrot soup. One year the stuffing had sausage, the next year oysters. I thought she was nuts and never understood how her family tolerated it.
Most people, in my experience, need their Thanksgiving tables to be just so. Turkey. Gravy. Mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce. Pumpkin pie. Just the way Mom and Grandma made them. Nothing fancy. No surprises.
The one dish I have to have at Thanksgiving is green bean casserole. I love the creamy sauce wrapped around frenched green beans, the whole thing topped with canned french fried onions. My mom made it the old-fashioned way: canned cream of mushroom soup, frozen frenched green beans, french fried onions. The way it was intended to be. Processed, salty and convenient.
Over the years my tastes have changed. And so has my green bean casserole. Now I do everything from scratch - except for the french fried onions. I probably could fry my own, but I hate the mess of deep-frying. For this one application I can and do live with the canned french fried onions.
I brought this green bean casserole to the Food Bloggers Los Angeles pre-Thanksgiving celebration last weekend. It didn't last long. And, much to my surprise, no one complained about the canned french fried onions.
My secret weapon: Italian porcini bouillon cubes, which give the cream sauce an amazing depth of flavor. Look for them at specialty food stores that carry gourmet Italian ingredients.
Green bean casserole from scratch (almost)
Fresh green beans, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms in a homemade cream sauce make a much better green bean casserole than the classic 1950's canned soup version - even with the canned french fried onions.
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 pound crimini or white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 Italian porcini bouillon cubes
- 2 cups canned french fried onions, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the green beans and boil rapidly until softened but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool 20 minutes. When the beans are cool enough to handle, pull them apart lengthwise with your fingers (this is called frenching the beans). This step is optional but it helps the green beans meld with the cream sauce, so I recommend taking the time to do it.While the water is coming to a boil and the green beans are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until the onions are golden brown and the water from the mushrooms has evaporated completely. Put the green beans, mushrooms and onions into a large mixing bowl.In the same skillet used to cook the onions and mushrooms, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the flour, stirring to make a paste. Cook the paste about 2 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add the milk and whisk quickly to dissolve the butter-flour paste - it's important to do this thoroughly or there will be lumps. Crumble the porcini bouillon cubes into the cream sauce and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Pour the cream sauce over the vegetables in the mixing bowl.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.Add 1 cup of the canned french fried onions to the mixing bowl along with the salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour the green bean mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Bake the green bean casserole about 30 minutes, until the sauce bubbles up around the edges. Spread the remaining 1 cup of french fried onions on top of the casserole and bake another 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8 servings


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Parameterized route finding in ORBIS |
Our initial steps were these: (a) create an API allowing a few simple RESTful queries of the ORBIS database (orbis.stanford.edu/api), (b) publish an RDF file which maps our URIs for 402 of ORBIS' 751 sites to Pleiades places, and (c) build a simple dynamic map landing page for the URIs.
Project background
The initial phase of the ORBIS project was completed with a web site launch in May, 2012. Development has largely paused for several months, but will resume in early 2013. The goal of the project is to model Roman communication costs in terms of both time and expense, and to permit scholars and the general public to interact with that model, by means of a route-finding web map and an interactive distance cartogram. By simulating movement along the principal routes of the Roman road network, the main navigable rivers, and hundreds of sea routes in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and coastal Atlantic, the model reconstructs the duration and financial cost of travel in antiquity. The purpose, development and use of the model and web application are described in considerable detail on the site.Interactive distance cartogram in ORBIS, showing 'grain-distance' to Rome during June, in denarii |
So, what does ORBIS add to the growing graph of annotations to Pleiades places that Pelagios enables? The initial answer is that for each of 402 places we can tell you which Pleiades places are directly connected to it by a single network segment. In the coming weeks we will be extending both our annotations and the range of API queries, and report that here.
ORBIS places
The ORBIS database includes 751 sites, most of them urban settlements but also including important promontories and mountain passes; 268 of these served as sea ports. ORBIS sites are drawn, with a few adjustments, from the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (Talbert 2000). The Barrington map key categorization for size and importance of settlements is maintained, in five rank classes (in ORBIS: increments of 10, 60 to 100). Of the 751 sites, 402 have been identified as identical with Pleiades places, and this is the basis for ORBIS' connection to the Linked Data cloud.The road network encompasses 84,631 kilometers of roads and desert tracks, and 28,272 kilometers of navigable rivers and canals. This multi-modal terrestrial network is described in the spatial database in terms of 625 distinct road segments and 107 distinct river or canal reaches. As an aside, these segments and reaches are places as well—certainly events have occurred at, on, or near them. Granted the first order of business in our collective effort at large-scale digital historical gazetteers is point locations, principally for settlements. However, named and unnamed paths (e.g. roads, rivers) and potential or actual routes taken upon them (journeys or trajectories), are entities of interest as well—as sites of historical activity and events.
Creating an API
The ORBIS routing application calculates routes between sites, along a multimodal network comprising the terrestrial segments mentioned above, and a 0.1 degree lattice laid over the Mediterranean and Black Seas and North Atlantic Ocean. The route calculation accounts for 8 parameters, each with multiple possible values: start (639), destination (639), month (12), priority (3), network type (5! = 120), river vessel (2), sea vessel (2), land vehicle/mode (9), and price (3). Obviously, results for these billions of distinct combinations can't be (and needn't be) pre-calculated and published; a simplified API can deliver results programmatically. So, what to offer in an API? We have begun simply. You can request for example,- A dump of all 402 sites mapped to Pleiades places, in JSON format
http://orbis.stanford.edu/api/sites - A listing of sites one network hop from a given site (using either Pleiades place ID or ORBIS site ID) by road or river, with segment length, e.g
http://orbis.stanford.edu/api/sites/108772 - A route between two places. There are four required parameters: start, destination, month and priority (fastest or shortest route). For example,
requests the shortest path between Aquae Sulis and Augusta Suessionum in June using Pleiades IDs—and returns a JSON object with the estimated trip distance and duration, and a sequence of 7 segments (6 road, 1 coastal sea). For each segment, distance, duration and type are returned as well.
API technical details
Because ORBIS uses PHP for database access, and the syntax we preferred uses slashes (like orbis.stanford.edu/{param1}/{param2}/{param3}, I found the Slim API framework (http://www.slimframework.com/) to be simple and effective. In our case this meant a central index.php referring to separate PHP scripts for each of our three offerings, and a single mod_rewrite statement added to our Apache web server configuration. The API queries are simplified version of existing queries in the ORBIS application. For further details, just contact me.RDF publication
Pelagios required first and foremost a web-published RDF document describing (minimally) mappings between ORBIS sites and Pleiades places, in the form suggested by the Open Annotation Collaboration (openannotation.org ). One such entry is as follows:<rdf:Description rdf:ID="orbis_50012">
<rdf:type rdf:resource="http://www.openannotation.org/ns/Annotation"/>
<oac:hasBody rdf:resource="http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/108751"/>
<oac:hasTarget rdf:resource="http://orbis.stanford.edu/api/site/50012"/>
<dcterms:creator rdf:resource="http://orbis.stanford.edu/"/>
<dcterms:title>The Roman era place, Ara Agrippinensium</dcterms:title>
Generating this document was straightforward for us; the ORBIS sites table has always included a Pleiades ID field, and we had already made 402 mappings there. A SQL query that concatenated the necessary XML markup with site numbers and Pleiades IDs was a simple matter. The file can be freely downloaded, but is presently useful only to Pelagios.
Web landing page
The URIs published in the above file have to resolve to a meaningful location. Navigating to http://orbis.stanford.edu/api/site/50012 loads a page with a small map with markers for that site and the sites directly connected by a single segment to it.A few comments
The ORBIS site does offer the option to export lists of calculated routes as KML for Google mapping, or comma-delimited format (CSV) for more general use. This is good as far as it goes, but we are intrigued at the prospect of ORBIS routes and related data being mashed up in other applications, and see a potential 'multiplier' effect in this capability. The ORBIS project will also be a partner collection in Anvil Academic's Built Upon digital publishing initiative, which may present novel opportunities for linked data applications.Pelagios allows anyone referring to a Pleiades place to discover other annotations for it, now including those of ORBIS. However, given the parametric nature of ORBIS data, what can a simple static URI provide? For the time being, this is only the set of Pleiades places connected to that place by a single terrestrial segment. This seems to me of limited value, although as a Linked Data devotee I understand my job is simply to publish data, enabling applications we can't necessarily predict. The API we've developed to return parameterized routes appears more immediately useful, and in fact we know of one pending application related to paths between coin finds and nearby mints. The annotation provided through Pelagios could be extended, but how? For example, would it be useful to provide, for a given place, distances and durations to all places of a given size or importance? Suggestions are most welcome.
Talbert, R. J. A. (ed.) 2000. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton.


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Images from the groundbreaking June 2015 Rose Charities NZ retinal surgical training team visit toDr Vra and Natalia's Rose Cambodia Eye Hospital. June 2015. With retinal surgeons Dr. Muhammad Khalid, from Hawkes Bay and
Dr Rob Weatherhead .
This enormously successful visit organized by ike Webber (GNZM) Optometrist of Wanganui NZ , and funded by generous NZ donors resulted in a major upgrade of retinal surgical capacity in the excellent facilities of the new international standard hospital built by Dr Vra. The original Kieng Khleang clinic remains to help meet the huge demand in Rose Cambodia's services to the poor


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Lake Fun Book: A Fun and Educational Lake Coloring Book
The original Lake Fun Book. Also available custom made for every lake in the world. Lake Fun! Does your little one love spending time with the family at the lake? Then they will love this delightful book filled with activities related to water-side vacations. The Lake Fun Book includes coloring pages with everything from the animals you'd find at the lake to the tents you sleep in. Puzzles and word finds create fun and educational activities, for both you and your child, throughout this enjoyable book. As a bonus, this book would serve as a good resource for the times at the lake when the weather isn't suitable to be outdoors. Pick up this charming activity book for your youngster today! Are you constantly looking for activities to keep your young one busy during those bad weather times at the lake? Are they tired of sitting in the tent with nothing to do? Then the Lake Fun Book is the book for you! Filled with lake related coloring pages, challenging word finds and educational puzzles this book will keep your littlest child busy for hours. In addition, the lake related theme throughout will get your youngster excited about all the things the lake has to offer when the weather clears. Pick up your copy of this charming activity book today and be prepared for that next rainy day at the lake! · DISCOVER:: FUN on the lake. This body of water is a true gem. Now you can work your way through the majestic shores that make this lake so special. Fun for all ages. Share the gift of Lake Fun with someone you love today. Do you want to see a side of the lake a child rarely gets to see? Do you or a child you love need to express their creative side while enjoying a fun cultural experience? Read on to find out more about how this book can solve your problem. The one and only Lake Fun Coloring Book, here's a preview of the pictures you'll find inside this book: · · Fisherman, First Aid Kit, Tent, Sleeping Bag, Beach, Towel, Fish Net, Flippers, Boat, Paddle, Hat, Visor, Swim, Trunks, Bikini, Radio, Playing Music, Life jacket, Rafts, Knee Board, Tubes, Friends, Fire Wood, Camp Fire, Grill, Sun Screen Lotion, Money, Drinks, Goggles, Wake board, Ski Rope, Anchor, Bug repellent, Beach Chairs, Binoculars, Book, Playing Cards, Cooler, Coozie, Camera, Snacks, Tackle Box, Fishing, Rod, Worms, Cricket, Water Shoes, Skipping Rocks, Water bottle, Floaties, Swim Noodle, Dry Clothes, Phone, Trash Bag, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Watermelon, Lantern, Flash light, Boat light, Ski rope, Bobber, Fishing Hook, Catfish, Bluegill, Turtle, Minnow, Crickett, Water Snake, Duck, Pelican, Seagull, Frog, Large Mouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Trout, Laptop Computer, Tablet, Swim Cap, Nose plug, Fish food, Bag of ice, Dog, Pop sickle, Marshmallows, Chocolate, Graham crackers, Smores, Canoe, Kayak, Paddlebaord, Flip flops, Lake Map, Swim Noodle, and more!


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Assurance that you can find your dream watch. And of course an assurance that authenticity, quality and condition at the right price is in place.
Swift from store to wrist. The watch will be shipped immediately by Postnord or another courier, when the agreed money transfer is registered.
Guaranteed safety before, during and after the purchase. Vi giver altid 24 mdr. reklamationsret, så du kan være helt tryg.
We are of course subjected to Danish consumer law. Payments are handled as immediate money transfers, and Unique Watches issues invoices for all trades according to special Danish VAT legislation.
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'Akhanda' movie review: Boyapati Srinu and Nandamuri Balakrishna's loud action entertainer is strictly for the fanbase
Boyapati Srinu and Nandamuri Balakrishna deliver a loud mass action entertainer that is strictly for the fanbase
Boyapati Srinu and Nandamuri Balakrishna deliver a loud mass action entertainer that is strictly for the fanbase
There are films, and there are films by director Boyapati Srinu. Then there are films by Boyapati Srinu starring Nandamuri Balakrishna. In the cinematic universe where the two collaborate, everything is larger than life. Nothing is subtle, not even remotely. In their third outing together after
Simha and
Legend , the two decide to up the scale and the decibels. Telugu film
Akhanda stars Balakrishna in a dual role, but we'll come to that in a bit.
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The director is aware of the star's massive fanbase. Chants of 'Jai Balayya' are the norm when his films arrive at the theatres. This time, the fans took it a step further. Sample this: 'Edukondalavada Venkataramana… jai Balayya!' In
Akhanda , one of the roles essayed by Balakrishna is akin to a demi-God, someone who has superhuman powers. The other character played by Balakrishna is named Murali Krishna, a Good Samaritan who has been instrumental in stopping faction strife and is revered by all.
With the stage set for a larger-than-life canvas, Boyapati goes all out. The 167-minute film begins and ends with action sequences that are carefully choreographed, with ample slow motion shots designed to be dutifully lapped up amid loud cheers. Balakrishna walks between two large wheels and later tyres that are rolling away, after beating people to a pulp, of course, in slow motion.
Elsewhere, he thrusts a trishul into someone and turns it round a couple of times, just so we know he isn't letting the evil ones get away easily. In another scene, bullets pop off someone's skull. Another man beaten up by Balakrishna and hurled up is still spinning in the air while the star walks away in s.l.o.w.m.o.t.i.o.n. This is only the tip of the iceberg; there's plenty more action in the film, unfolding to Thaman's rousing score.
The story is that of twins separated at birth. Been there, seen that? A uranium miner exploits the land and its people to the hilt. Seen such stories too? Boyapati gives these oft-repeated mainstream storylines an added edge with the 'Akhanda' (invincible) aspect, throwing in a good measure of religion, spirituality, good Vs. evil godmen.
The narrative unfolds in a familiar fashion, depicting the hero's good deeds. There's room for romance as well. The new district collector Saranya Bachupalli (Pragya Jaiswal) is depicted more as a romantic interest and later as wife and young mother than as a civil servant. She gets ample screen time, but not enough scope to be taken seriously as a district collector. The age difference between the couple also appears glaring.
Poorna, as principal secretary Prabhavathi, probing the mining scandal, has slightly better scope to portray a no-nonsense government official.
Srikanth is cast as mine owner Varadaraju who knows no remorse. He eats at a poor woman's house and in return, presents her with the severed head of the man of the house. If that gives an idea of the depiction of evil in this film, there's more. A series of barbaric events sets the stage for the arrival of 'Akhanda' as the saviour.
The drama goes on and on, with Boyapati and team not tiring of several more action sequences. All this is laced with dialogues by M Ratnam. Some are sermons while most are punchlines — '
Meeku samasya vaste dandam pedataru, memu aa samasyake pindam pedatam ; both are not same'. Boyapati and Balakrishna seem to have thoroughly enjoyed making the film.
Srikanth is introduced as a powerful antagonist but eventually comes across as a regular villain. Numerous other characters fill the screen but have no scope to make an impact.
The film gets tiresome post intermission and the incessantly high voltage background score doesn't help either.


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I'm designing a music player app, which will play from a stream on the internet. In the app, I plan to show a navigation bar, a tab bar, and some info about the song that the user is listening to.
In addition to viewing info, I'd the users to be able to stop/resume playback and have some way for them to see the song in iTunes or some external website.
Consider that I have two actions:
- Playback
- Launch External App
I seem to only have one place to put a button. I was thinking of making the album artwork into a button, but the next question is, which action gets a button, and which one gets the artwork? What do users expect? Do I simply put two buttons beneath the song info? Do I put one button in the right of the navigation bar?