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Update January 27th, 2011
Standard & Poors has downgraded Japan's long-term credit rating from AA to AA minus with a stable outlook. S&P downgraded the country based on the fact that its "fiscal deficits (are likely to) remain high in the next few years". Is the United States next in line for a downgrade?
Update October 8th, 2010
Japan's Cabinet approved a $61 billion economic stimulus package designed to stimulate the country's rather lethargic economy. The government hopes that the package will add 0.6 percentage points to the country's GDP and create or save up to 500,000 jobs.
Update October 5th, 2010
The Bank of Japan announced today that they have reverted to a zero interest rate because there are signs that the very strong yen is hurting a fragile economic recovery in Japan. Overnight rates will now range from zero to 0.1 percent and will be kept in that range until prices are stable.
Update - September 8th, 2010
Japanese ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, who is challenging Prime Minister Naoto Kan for leadership of the country, stated today that the government of Japan may need to issue more debt to fund its economy if conditions worsen. There is a possibility that Japan will have to reverse Prime Minister Kan's efforts to reign in the country's massive public debt. Japan is increasingly boxing itself into an economic corner because of the size of the country's debt in relation to the size of its overall economy. The Japanese economy is facing additional pressures because of the rapid rise in the yen to its current 15 year highs; this results in decreased international demand for Japanese goods creating further growth issues for the Japanese manufacturing industries.
Original Posting
In light of Moody's recent commentary on potential downgrades to the sovereign debt of both Great Britain and the United States, I thought I'd take a look at a G8 nation that has already had its debt downgraded.
Back in May 2009, Moody's Investor Service downgraded Japan's sovereign debt by two notches from Aaa (Triple-A) to Aa2. Again in February 2010, Moody's threatened to change its outlook on Japan to negative unless the country got its debt under control. In its May downgrade, Moody's cited challenges that face the Japanese economy because of their increase in debt issuance to fund a massive $159 billion stimulus spending program to combat the recession of 2008 - 2009. Japan issued huge amounts of debt during the last 2 decades to combat deflationary pressures in their economy. Other than the threat of deflation, the parallels to the United States economy with its massive debt growth is rather interesting.
While the Japanese government is massively in debt, the same cannot be said for the country as a whole. The nation as a whole has a pool of around $15 trillion in savings, thanks in large part to its frugal populace which have always been encouraged to save.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Japan's nominal GDP dropped 0.9% in the second quarter of 2010 to $1.288 trillion, falling to third place in the world after China whose nominal GDP came in at $1.337 trillion. Last year, Japan's annual GDP came in at $5.108 trillion compared to China's which came in at $4.98 trillion, however, recent growth patterns show that China's economy could well end up being larger than Japan's on a long term basis by the end of 2010.
There are 3 factors working against the Japanese economy; demography, debt and deflation.
First I'll deal with Japan's changing demography.
From the CIA World Factbook 2010, Japan has a total population of 126.8 million people, the 10th most populous nation in the world. They have one of the lowest birthrates in the world at only 7.41 births per 1000 people (222nd in the world putting them in second last place) and with population growth of -0.242%, they also have one of the lowest population growth rates in the world (216th in the world). One of the issues facing Japan is their extremely low fertility rate; only 1.2 children are born to an average Japanese woman (219th in the world putting them in fifth last place), well below the normally accepted replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman in developed nations.
The three factors of a lowered birthrate, a raised life expectancy (the longest in the world) and a very low historic immigration rate are working their magic against the long term viability of the Japanese economy. Basically, Japan is the first nation in the world giving us first hand evidence of a demographic shift that could lead to a marked decline in its population by 2050; from their experience, we will get a taste of what it will be like as the North American and Western European baby boomer populations age.
Here's a quote from the Japanese Statistics Bureau explaining the demographic shift that is expected:
"The population pyramid of 1950 shows that Japan had a standard-shaped pyramid marked by a broad base. The shape of the pyramid, however, has changed dramatically as both the birth rate and death rate have declined. In 2008, the population of elderly citizens (65 years and over) was 28.22 million, constituting 22.1 percent of the total population and marking record highs both in terms of number and percentage. The speed of aging of Japan's population is much faster than in advanced Western European countries or the U.S.A. Although the population of the elderly in Japan accounted for only 7.1 percent of the total population in 1970, 24 years later in 1994, it had almost doubled in scale to 14.1 percent. In other countries with an aged population, it took 61 years in Italy, 85 years in Sweden, and 115 years in France for the percentage of the elderly to increase from 7 percent to 14 percent of the population. These comparisons clearly highlight the rapid progress of demographic aging in Japan."
"On the other hand, the percentage of the younger age population in Japan (0-14 years) has been shrinking since 1982. In 2008, the younger age population amounted to 17.18 million, accounting for 13.5 percent of the total population, the lowest level on record since the Population Estimates began. The working-age population (15-64 years) totaled 82.30 million, continuing its decline since 1996. In share terms, it accounted for 64.5 percent of the entire population. As a result, the ratio of the dependent population (the sum of the elderly and younger age population divided by the working-age population) was 55.2 percent. In terms of their proportion of the total population, the elderly have surpassed the younger age group since 1997."
By 2050, basically less than half of the population (those between 20 and 65 years of age) will be working to support nearly 40% of the population. As we well know, with age comes increased reliance on the social network of any country. Poorer health requires more frequent visits to the doctor and increased hospital admissions. From these statistical estimates, we can see that a smaller proportion of the population will be responsible for funding the increased need for health care of a greater proportion of the population.
Apparently, the Japanese have very efficiently and thoroughly studied this issue. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research has posted this study on their website showing their population projections for the future. Here is a chart summarizing their findings:
Here's a quote from the text of the study:
"According to the 2000 population census, the base year of this projection, the total population of Japan was 126.93 million. Based on the results of the medium variant projection, the population is expected to gradually increase in subsequent years, reaching its peak of 127.74 million in 2006, then enter a longstanding depopulation process. The population is expected to drop to the current size by 2013, then decrease to about 100.6 million in 2050
Based on the results of the high variant projection, the gross population is expected to reach its peak in 2009 at 128.15 million, a little later than the medium variant projection. A downward turn is expected subsequently, reaching 108.25 million in 2050.
Based on the results of the low variant projection, the total population is expected to reach its peak of 127.48 million in 2004, then subsequently decrease to 92.03 million in 2050.
These projections show that Japan will soon enter into the era of population decline, bringing the trend of population increase to an end. The fact that the fertility rate has been far below the level required to maintain the stationary population (population replacement level, total fertility rate requires approximately 2.08) since the mid-70s, together with the low-fertility rate trend continuing for a quarter-century, make the depopulation which start at the beginning of this century almost inevitable.
Secondly, let's take a look at Japan's debt situation.
Japan has a gross public debt estimated to be 862 trillion yen ($10.14 trillion US) by the end of fiscal 2010 which is estimated to be 197.2% of their GDP, the second highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world after that pillar of fiscal strength, Zimbabwe. Please note that I have used a conversion rate of 85 yen to the USD throughout this analysis.
From their 2009 Fiscal Condition document, they show the following chart and graph. Note the rapid climb in their debt-to-GDP ratio since 1995 when their ratio was not that much worse than that seen in other developed nations:
The document also contains the following chart showing their growing debt level over the past three years:
As well, Japan's external debt (owed to outsiders) totals $2.132 trillion, eighth highest in the world.
According to their 2010 fiscal year Budget, 22.4% of the total 2010 fiscal year budget will be spent on National Debt Service. This amounts to 20,649 billion yen or $243 billion dollars, still quite a bit lower than the United States which is currently spending around $400 billion annually on interest payments. Here's the chart from Japan's 2010 budget showing the expenditure breakdown:
Fortunately for Japan, their interest rates have been very low since 1993; according to the Bank of Japan website, their discount rate has ranged from a high of 2.5% in 1993, dropping to 1% in 1995 and remaining between 0.75% and 0.10% from September 1995 to the present. While world-wide central bank rates are now in the sub-single digit range, that has only been a relatively recent phenomena. Japan's protracted period of low interest rates have helped their economy by adding a smaller interest component to their overall government debt.
In July 2010, even the International Monetary Fund warned Japan that they must rein in their high public debt-to-GDP ratio as soon as possible. Their recommendation is that Japan gradually in crease their consumption tax to reduce the risk to their sovereign debt.
Lastly, let's take a brief look at deflation in Japan.
The Japanese economy has suffered from deflation off and on since 1995 and pretty much consistently with occasional positive monthly inflation numbers since 1999. Monthly inflation rates have been as low as -2.53% as recently as October 2009. While dropping prices seem like a dream come true to consumers, they are considered a nightmare by economists. When consumers assume that prices will drop in the future, they tend to put off purchasing items because they know that the same item will likely be cheaper in the future. This results in a drop in economic indicators, especially in the case of Japan where 60% of GDP is related to consumer spending. Indirect evidence of deflation can be seen in the Bank of Japan discount rates over the past 15 years as noted above. Japan has deliberately tried to reflate its economy by maintaining a protracted period of very low interest rates.
From these statistics, we can see how well entrenched deflation is in the Japanese economy.
From this posting, I hope that you can see that Japan's economy faces a rather unique "perfect storm". Many other OECD nations will face similar issues with demography, debt or deflation, however, Japan is in the unique situation of facing all three issues at the same time.


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Trying to look for an answer in the net yielded only one questions and one answer which I could neither understand nor use. On tex.stackexchange I found only this question which was answered but I'm under-skilled to translate it to my case.
I want to use cleveref
together with reftex
when using AUCTeX
in emacs
. In other words, when pressing C-c )
and finding the label I want to refer to, I want reftex
to insert \cref{label}
instead of \ref{label}
Probably there's a way to do it, but I couldn't figure it out.

subset: commoncrawl


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Machinger's Quilting Gloves
Quilters Touch Machingers Gloves are designed for machine quilters. A soft, flexible fingertip grip gives you full control with less resistance and drag on fabric. No more taking your gloves off to change thread, adjust fabric or remove pins. Reduces fatigue and tension in hands, arms, shoulders and neck. Excellent for machine piecing and quilting.


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Ford Model A Victoria unrestored
This Victoria in one of mine Model A:s
Maybe the one that need most work. Love the model so I hink I can get it back to running condition again.
If anyone of you have parts that is in better condition that fits Victora please let me know.
Netclassics()Hotmail.com ()=@
Continue Reading
Ford Model A Victoria unrestored


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SCHWAIG, GERMANY — Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH has promoted two executives into senior positions as Shaun Dean moves from the injection moulding machine company to its Japanese parent Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.
Dean had been chief operating officer of the company based in Schwaig, Germany.
Christian Renners, 47, business unit manager of sales and after sales at Sumitomo Demag, takes over full responsibility of the chief sales officer, as managing director for sales, after sales, marketing and all subsidiaries. Renners has more than 25 years of experience in plastics, the last 10 years at Sumitomo Demag.
Andreas Schramm, currently manager of research and development at the company, has been appointed chief technical officer with full responsibility for R&D, quality and production, starting June 1. Schramm, 46, joined the machinery maker as development engineer in 2001.
"In their new positions Renners and Schramm will with Tetsuya Okamura, Sumitomo, CEO of Sumitomo Demag and senior vice president of Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
Dean will resign as chief operating officer of Sumitomo Demag and return to the Japanese parent company as of June. 1. His new role will involve wider responsibilities within the SHI Group.
"We sincerely thank him for the outstanding service he has given to Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and wish him every success in his next mission within the SHI Group," Sumitomo Demag said in a statement.


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Character Bios
Ecthelion - First Age
Meaning: son of the fountain (Sindarin)/spear-point (Noldorin)
Location(s): Gondolin
Race/Species: Elf
Type/Kind: probably Sindarin
Dates: d. F.A. 510
Ecthelion was captain and lord of the House of the Fountain in Gondolin. His people were noted for their use of silver and diamonds, and Ecthelion himself wore a silver helm capped by a long silver spike. He was an excellent singer, with "the fairest voice...and the most skilled in musics of all the Gondothlim." The young prince Eärendil admired his flute playing, and it seems Ecthelion sometimes cut willow-whistles for him.
With Glorfindel, Ecthelion guarded Turgon''s flank at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. When Gondolin fell in FA 510. Ecthelion brought his men up from the south of the city and held the King''s Square. He slew Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, by driving his spiked helm into the creature''s belly and pulling it back with him into a deep fountain; pinned under the Balrog and weighed down by his own armor, Ecthelion drowned.
Source: "The Fall of Gondolin," The Book of Lost Tales II.'
Zimraphel, 7/16/2003


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X-Men 2
Why I chose to make this costume:
Even though I never collected the X-Men comics, I've always liked the story and characters in the series. I enjoyed the first movie thoroughly and was thrilled when the sequel came out. Aside from the fact that a few close friends suggested Lady Deathstrike to me as a costume project, I thought she was a cool villain who deserved way more screen time than given—so what better way for me to show my support than to cosplay as her? ^_^
How I made this costume:
Because it was hard to find good reference pictures of her, I patiently waited until the DVD came out before even starting to gather materials for the outfit. By pausing the fight scene and drawing sketches, I figured out what the suit looks like. It is a jacket/corset, laced through silver eyelets down the back, and with a zipper in the front. Thin leather strips are sewn on the sleeves and shoulders, and the high collar and side panels are also leather with a stitched pattern.
I found a great ribbed fabric for the main parts of the jacket, and cut up a pleather coat from a thrift store to use for the leather accents. I remember it took the duration of one "Futurama" episode to sewn one and a half strips of pleather onto the fabric. LOL!
Naturally, Lady Deathstrike would not be complete without her awesome adamantium claws! Brian created these awesome metallic-looking claws that could be attached straight to my fingers. The form is more defined so they would show up well in photos.
I had leather pants and heels already and styled my hair accordingly (except my hair parts in the opposite direction naturally). The only accent I am missing at his point are the contacts. Kelly Hu is shown with her normal brown eyes in the movie at the end, so I didn't feel TOO bad for not having them.
Thoughts on this costume:
This was such a high energy costume! I was totally hyped and loved wearing it, even though I could not do ANYTHING with the claws on. People seemed really happy to see this costume, maybe because we all felt like this character was underappreciated in the movie. It was so cool running into two Wolverines during the con,and battling it out right there in the lobby, lol.
My fingers started getting numb after a while, and the claws held on so well that we had to pry them off me at the end. Still, it was a great experience and I can't wait to wear this costume again.


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Jackson Tent Rental | Wedding Rental in Jackson MI
Thank you for selecting American Rentals for your next party or event. We are your premier tent rental company serving Jackson. We offer one of the largest and most extensive Jackson tent rental inventories. Our Jackson outdoor tent rental company has all the standard styles of tents as well as unique and contemporary styles of tents. Some examples are Jackson party tent rentals and event tents including Jackson wedding tent rentals, canopy tents, dome tents, tension tents, frame tents, pole tents, festival tents and more Jackson tent rentals for parties and events.
Jackson Wedding Tent Rentals
Are you planning your Jackson wedding and looking for Jackson rental equipment for that special day? From outdoor tents, tables and chairs to lighting, staging and the dance floor, our Jackson tent rental company has all the wedding rental supplies needed to do your outdoor wedding and reception. As the saying goes "Love is in the air" and what better place to hold such a joyous occasion than the outdoors. The freedom of open space, the fresh air, and all of nature can only add a special touch to an already special day.
With a large inventory of modern looking tension structures and self-supporting frames, we have the specialty tents to make your Jackson wedding or next Jackson event a resounding success. Available in a wide array of widths and lengths, American Rentals' specialty tents offer maximum flexibility without sacrificing beauty and elegance.
Our Jackson Tent Rental Company wishes you the best of luck in planning your next Jackson event, and will offer whatever assistance we can to help make it a success. Just give us a call toll-free at 1-800-637-1110 or request a free online estimate.


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This filter is designed to be fitted to the outside of a rigid pipe such as a MAF sensor housing.
These filters have an rubber polymer neck and a cone shaped filter element. This enables easy fitting to space-restricted engine compartments, whilst providing a large surface to maximise potential air flow. The filters are constructed using stainless steel cage internal and our famous 15mm thick twin layer foam.
Ramair universal filters are designed and manufactured for a very diverse range of applications and are made here in the UK. They are available in many different sizes and styles available.
This product has the following dimensions:
Filter Internal Neck Diameter: 76mm (3")
Filter Neck Length: 24mm
Filter Overall Height: 181mm
Filter Base Width: 150mm
Filter Top Width: 102mm
Filter Material: 15mm Dual Layer Foam


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Looks like we're experiencing a problem with carnival.com. Sorry! We're already working on fixing it up — check back a little bit later, or give us a call now at 1-888-CARNIVAL.
To get your cruise fix in the meantime, visit us on social media… any of these will do:
Want to find out how people like you make the most of their vacation? Visit Away We Go, for great cruise-inspired stories and more. (P.S. There's stuff like cruise tips and lots of pictures too!)


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Silk Road Bazaar
Pickleball Ornament
Handcrafted by women artisans in Central Asia, this felt pickle ball ornament is hand stitched and embroidered. Made of all natural fibers and eco-friendly resources. Measures approximately 4 1/2" in length.
Inspired Design: Silk Road Bazaar works with marginalized, primarily women, artist groups in Kyrgyzstan who have limited market access. Silk Road Bazaar provides training to artisans allowing them to become self-sustainable by developing their designs, management techniques, quality control and computer skills.


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Writing a post like this in English might seem a little strange – but at least it will be readable for foreigners who may want to visit Ã…rhus: I've found a nice place for coffee in Ã…rhus. It's Sigfreds Kaffebar.
For anyone who knows Ã…rhus, it probably shouldn't come as a big surprise. Sigfreds is known as a place of good coffee, and even though we have the Starbucks-style Baresso around here as well, producing somewhat consistent quality coffee, Sigfreds is just a different league – and a wholly different atmosphere. It's a lot more cosy and café-like. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to place here, but I think I'll be going back tomorrow and might get one.
I had a cortado, basicly a double espresso with about the same amount of steamed milk in it, for 32 kroner. It doesn't come with any accessories, apart from an optional glass of water, but it didn't need any: The taste was great. Freshly ground beans, and judging by the videos on the website and the behaviour of the barista, a very keen attention to hygeine and cleanliness. Thoroughly recommended.


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CBO Report: U.S. Will Go to Hell in 2009
According to a report just released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), "the [federal budget] deficit this year will total $1.2 trillion, or 8.3 percent of GDP." This seems about right for a banana republic. The bad news is that neither commercial banana cultivation nor a republican form of government has proved viable in this country.
Bananas, of course, must be imported into this country from Latin America and other places where their commercial cultivation has proved profitable.
As for the republican form of government, the American people have progressively repudiated it almost from the time they won their independence from the British Empire, and during the past century, they have increasingly favored a form of electoral dictatorship cum empire in which, every four years, the people cast ballots for one of the candidates put forward by the two wings of the one-party political apparatus. This system, vigorously promoted by the imperial running dogs known as the mainstream news media, brings great delight to the masses, who love a good horse race, even if it has been fixed. They are also kept contentedly semi-comatose by the bread and circuses their masters provide in the form of the welfare-nanny-therapeutic state and its Hollywood adjuncts. The few who object strenuously are tased or shot dead by the police, who are ever ready to serve and protect the state that employs them.
The CBO's projection does not take into account any addition to the federal budget deficit that may arise from enactment of a "stimulus" bill after the Obama gang takes charge of administering the empire. If the magnitudes now being discussed for this so-called stimulus should prove to be in the right range, the deficit for fiscal year 2009 may turn out to be not $1.2 trillion, but something in the neighborhood of $2 trillion, perhaps 15 percent of GDP. If so, the deficit will be as large in amount as the entire federal budget was as recently as 2002. This prospect may be what cranky commentators such as yours truly have in mind when they speak of "out-of-control federal spending."
The 2009 deficit arises in part from the CBO's taking into account outlays of $238 billion as the net subsidy costs for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plus $18 billion of cash infusions from the Treasury to Freddie and Fannie. It is entirely possible that the estimated net present value of Fannie and Freddie's future earnings will prove to be too large, and therefore that the subsidy will be greater than projected and the overall federal budget also greater by that extra amount.
With little fanfare, the CBO report ventures to mention that "foreign lenders, who have recently been willing to lend to the U.S. government on very advantageous terms, may become less willing to do so in the future, which would tend to raise interest rates in this country." To be sure. Indeed, if the Japanese, Chinese, and Arabs, who have been carrying a major part of the load in covering the federal deficits in recent years, should substantially reevaluate the risk of dollar depreciation (or even U.S. repudiation of its debt) and greatly reduce their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities, then drastically higher interest rates and, in response, hyperinflation (with or without price and wage controls) might well be the next chapter of this unpleasant story.
Meanwhile, my advice is: eat bananas while they are still available from producers who will accept U.S. dollars in exchange for them. If the U.S. dollar is totally destroyed, as recent and impending government actions suggest it might be, then we may be reduced to barter, at least for a while. I wonder if we can trade Hollywood films for bananas. And, most important, I wonder whether I can get a job in the movie business, perhaps as an extra for the crowd scenes. I think I have the talent needed for that role.


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SSG Rusty Dunagan received his new home in Edmond, OK on May 20th, 2015. Brewer Carpet One Floor & Home, who donated all of the flooring installation, were honored to be able to participate in the home build.
Below are some pictures from the home dedication - despite the less than favorable weather conditions, it was a great day had by all.
Welcome home SSG Dunagan and family!
Thank you for contacting Carpet One Floor & Home. Your local flooring expert will reach out to you regarding your inquiry.


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Remote clients run outside of the portal JVM or on a remote machine, but they can still access Liferay's service APIs. The main benefit of remotely accessing service APIs is that security checks are performed. Unless you want to avoid permission checking, develop your client (even if it's local) so it triggers the front-end security layer.
Liferay's API follows a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The API supports Java invocation and a variety of protocols including SOAP and JSON over HTTP. A limited set of RESTful web services, based on the AtomPub protocol, are also supported–see the Portal Atom Collections wiki by Igor Spasić for more details. You can also use the API through Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). You have many good options for leveraging Liferay's API.
Let's step back now and discuss the security layers of Liferay's service oriented architecture and how you can configure them.


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SAS for Improved Manufacturing Quality
Build more agile production.
Help ensure business continuity and resiliency. Drive safe and secure production with reliable quality and yield, while optimizing resource utilization with Industrial IoT and AI.
How SAS® on Azure Enables You to Improve Manufacturing Quality
By combining the power of data integration, automation and analytics, SAS enables you to fully understand operational processes so you can make sustainable improvements and lower associated costs.
Empowerment of scarce engineering resources
- Provide a complete spectrum of analytical tools, including:
- Explorative analysis.
- Design of experiments with optimizers.
- Reduce variation.
Advanced process control
- Run models in real time and get predictive alerts on quality issues before they happen.
- Set up downstream processes to compensate for upstream quality issues.
- Improve yields.
Tighter controls, greater process efficiency
- View high volumes of process sensor data in context.
- Use machine learning algorithms to analyze your process and determine the optimal setpoints.
- Improve profitability.
Why choose SAS® on Azure for improving manufacturing quality?
Get a consolidated view of quality across products, people, places and processes.
Our advanced data models are built to support sensor and industrial IoT data streams.
Quality explorations allow users to view high volumes of sensor data in context.
Our solution gives you the power to determine optimal setpoints.


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Do I need to use the United MileagePlus Explorer card to buy the ticket to get benefits?
by Big A on Jul.18, 2012, under Airlines, Travel Partners
Since I've gotten the Chase MileagePlus Explorer Credit Card, my friends and colleagues have been asking me questions about the MileagePlus Explorer cards benefits.
As a business person, sometimes we can't use our personal cards and have to use a business card. The most popular question I get is:
Do you have to use your MileagePlus credit card when buying United tickets to obtain the benefits?
The answer is NO!
I routinely purchase my United flights with my business credit card via the United/Continental Website. I have my MileagePlus Explorer card stored into my profile, but I change my personal card to my business card upon clicking on "Purchase." Since the MileagePlus Explorer card is in my profile, I still get the United MileagePlus Explorer benefits of free baggage and earlier boarding. Unfortunately I do not get the extra points as that would be a great loophole!
December 16th, 2012 on 7:09 pmgreat post. very helpful tip. i can bank amex pts and get eco plus!


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Here you fill find details about how to use this website.
To join in, you need to register with an email address and follow the registration instructions contained in the resulting email that you get from the site.
This will allow you to log-in to the site and see all the extra pages that are available to members only. Then you can also take part in commenting and posting online. If desired you can subscribe to some pages or content types, so that you receive emails when people make comments on any particular page or the page is updated with new content, or whenever new pages of a particular kind are created.
You need to register for a London Boaters login to be able to see the members area and the site never shares your email address with other users, If you don't want to use emails, you'll still have to register with an email address, but then simply don't subscribe to any pages and instead just browse around the site as a logged-in member - you will see all the London Boaters projects and comments and can take part in commenting on the pages via the website.
If you don't want to use the website, you can still remain up-to-date on the issues that concern you by setting your subscriptions to receive emails for all types of site content, and then just leave the site alone - you will be informed about any site activity by email. This is useful if you're away from a computer, or can't surf certain websites from work, or can't get an internet connection easily, or even simply don't have a computer at all - you can still keep informed just by using a 'smart' phone which has email capability.
Of course you'll need to first have an email account somewhere, even a web-based email account will do, such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail etc.
We also have a facility enabling members to contact each other directly via private message because the website doesn't share email addresses among members (unlike the old London Boaters mailing list which did), so to exchange private contact details and suchlike members may use this facility instead. Only the Site Admin will be able to contact you by email, and users may also deactivate private messaging via their Account-Edit page if they wish to only be contactable publicly (rather than privately) by other site members.
Why not register and give the site a try? We have a Projects page about Building This Website where London Boaters members can point-out problems with the site, make suggestions, discuss methods and more.


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The wireless nurse call system provides affordable and effective CordLess® / wireless monitoring. Ideal for hospitals, nursing homes & residential homes. Can also be used as a portable caregiver alert monitor in a group hospital environment.
Easy To Use
The Economy CordLess® Alarm is simple to use. The Central Monitoring Unit can be placed at the nurse's station to alert caregivers when residents are in need of assistance. Caregivers can monitor multiple devices at a central location simultaneously. This CordLess® Fall Prevention Alarm works with nurse call buttons, motion sensors, and the CordLess® Weight Sensing Pressure Pads and Floor Mats.
Remove Noise From The Room
Caregivers are easily notified with bright blinking light that can be seen from a distance. The gentler chime won't startle residents or disturb others and offers QUIETER fall prevention. Place monitor outside resident's room for an even quieter solution.
- Affordable and effective wireless monitoring.
- Easy set up and operation.
- Adjustable volume – the fall prevention alarm has a low, medium and high volume adjustment and gentle chime setting.
- The Central Monitor can be placed at the nurse's station to alert caregivers when residents are in need of assistance.
- Alarms at nurses' station or other central location audibly and display indicates which resident originated the alarm
- Caregiver is simultaneously notified on caregiver pager.
- Nurse call button allows resident to call caregiver at any time, push-button activation transmits signal to the Central Monitor and caregiver pager simultaneously, can be mounted to headboard or worn with lanyard.
- Functions with call button, motion señsor and CordLess® pressure pads and floor mats – Up to fourty (40) items / call buttons can be used with one alarm.


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In stock. Ready to ship.
This incredibly soft yet durable wool pillow was handwoven in Mexico on a traditional foot loom by a family of weavers we work directly with.
We are proud to pay our weavers their asking price per design and consider ourselves a team throughout the entire process, from initial design in Denver to completion of the product in Mexico.
100% wool with canvas back
12" x 12"
Care: Machine wash on cold/delicate cycle and air dry or dry clean


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Fresh Upholstery Cleaning Steinfeld offers the best sofa cleaning, couch cleaning, leather upholstery cleaning & protection, fabric stain removal & scotchgard protection across Steinfeld. Specializes in anti-allergy Upholstery Cleaning by professional couch cleaners. Call 0488 850 984 same day service!!!
- Local Upholstery Cleaners
- Specialised in Leather Stain Removal & Protection
- Fully Trained & Experienced Couch Cleaning Technicians
- Refresh your upholstery to look like new
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Excellent Upholstery Cleaners Steinfeld
Did you know that regular upholstery cleaning can lead to cleaner and more hygienic upholstery? Further, did you know you could actually add years to your upholstery by getting it professionally cleaned once every season? Did you know that upholstery cleaning also leads to value retention of your expensive possession? Did you know that it is absolutely possible to do away with all kinds of stains (including wine stains and blood stains) from any kind of upholstery with the right tools and knowledge?
Well the answer to all of the above is YES! And we make it happen at Fresh Upholstery Cleaning Steinfeld. Serious about your upholstery? Get in touch with us today!
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We are the affordable upholstery cleaners who you have been looking for in Steinfeld. Providing the cheapest upholstery cleaning service, we never ever compromise on the quality. Further, we have the best of upholstery cleaners onboard with us who are licensed and certified for the task. Also, we train them thoroughly to ensure our customers receive high end quality of upholstery cleaning services. Apart from residential upholstery cleaning we also do commercial upholstery cleaning.
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At Fresh Upholstery Cleaning Steinfeld you can always be assure of one thing – guaranteed upholstery cleaning. Moreover, we leave no stone unturned to refurbish your upholstery in the best possible manner. Also, we have just the right means and tools to give a classy makeover to all kinds of upholstery. From a basic sofa to a love seat, we have got you covered. Our cleaners are well versed with the different kind of cleaning techniques crucial for different types of upholstery fabrics. Our cleaning versatility ranges from cotton, silk, velvet, polyester, mix, to leather. In fact, we have special means to ensure the safety, lustre, and charm of your precious leather upholstery.
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How We Do – Our Upholstery Cleaning Process
No matter how many times you hire Fresh Upholstery Cleaning, you will find our cleaners following the same (below explained) upholstery cleaning process:
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Suede sofa is a popular choice among homeowners as they are quite easy to clean and repel stains and dirt buildup. However, when used regularly it does get stained and filthy. With the regular cleaning you can clean the surface of the sofa, but for the removal of ingrained dirt and stains, you need professionals. And the professionals of Fresh Upholstery Cleaning use high-quality cleaning solutions and advanced equipment to extract debris and stains from your upholstery. From our cleaning products to skills, everything is top-notch.
Ottoman Cleaning Steinfeld
The professionals of Fresh Upholstery Cleaning have covered all your upholstery cleaning needs and ottoman is not an exception. Whether it is leather, fabric, microfiber, or suede ottoman, we can clean it all. Our professionals can reach your doorstep as and when needed. Moreover, we offer same day upholstery cleaning services in Steinfeld, if booked in the morning. Our experienced professionals, don't leave even a single mark or stain while cleaning and make your upholstery completely new.
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Your dear upholstery needs regular care and maintenance to stay bright and clean always and we provide the required service at a minimal cost all across Steinfeld. Give Fresh Upholstery Cleaning a call. Thus, it is time to say bye to all those ugly stains and spots on your beautiful upholstery and revamp them!
Expert Couch Cleaning Services By Fresh Upholstery Cleaning
Need expert upholstery cleaning in Steinfeld straight to your door? Always hire professional couch cleaners by Fresh Upholstery Cleaning Services. Trusted name in leather & fabric cleaning steam cleaning & truly professional service.
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Leather & Fabric Couch Cleaning Steinfeld
We offers professional leather & fabric couch cleaning, sofa cleaning, chairs & lounge steam cleaning, upholstery fabric stain removal, Scotchgard Fabric & Leather Upholstery Protector, eco friendly chemical to disinfect, clean and deodorise fabrics. Book experienced & trained cleaners now.
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How much does it cost to have upholstery cleaned in Steinfeld?
Fresh Upholstery Cleaning provide services across South Australia . Our Prices are most affordable in Steinfeld. Couch Cleaning from $27/seat. Specialised in leather upholstery cleaning & protection.
Regular Service Price Fabric
Standard (Hot Water Extraction) |
Premium Service Price Leather
Hot Water Extraction + Stain protection* |
2 Seater Sofa | $55 | $70* |
3 Seater Sofa | $75* | $90* |
4 Seater Sofa | $99* | $130* |
Armchair | $20* | $40* |
Dining Chair | $19* | $20* |
L – Shaped 4 seater sofa | $99* | $135* |
Office Chair | $88* | $99* |
Dinning Chairs | $25* | $35* |
Car Upholstery | $80* | $160* |
Scotch Gard Protector | $15* per seat | $17* per seat |
Minimum Charge $99 (or 1 Hour) | Minimum Charge $130 (or 1 Hour) | |
*Terms & Conditions may apply. Upholstery Scotchgard Protection additional cost |
Location: Steinfeld, SA, Australia


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Are you aware that the price of a college degree program is about $20,000 dollars each year.
The price of a university education is most likely probably the most costly item in getting up children today. Whenever you consider tuition charges, exam charges, bills, accommodation, books and computers you will find that the typical price of college education has ended $20,000 each year and that is prior to the social side of school existence.
Today we reside in a world where just the best educated and many prepared can succeed. The Task marketplace is most likely the key and competitive component of society and getting a university education and degree goes a lengthy way towards succeeding inside it.
When our kids will be ready to enter the field of work it will likely be even more complicated along with a college education is going to be necessary to succeed. Listed here are 5 methods to fund your son or daughter's college education.
1. The typical approach to parental funding of school education has run out of current earnings, that has run out of your regular salary.
Although this is actually the most typical approach to funding college education it's one which just the very wealthy or highly compensated are able to afford related to ease. Even should there be 2 salaries most families find it too difficult and can require sacrifices, much more if you convey more than 1 child. At the best many parents are only able to manage to lead area of the costs of school education from current earnings. Additional causes of earnings is going to be needed.
2. Your son or daughter could work their way through college.
All students need to work although studying however, many find the expertise of juggling employment, lectures along with a social existence very hard. Frequently as a result students give up of school education, fail their exams or avoid in addition to they might.
3. Your son or daughter might have the chance to get student education loans to finance their college education.
Today most students have to remove student education loans to finance any a part of their college education. Usually to subsidize parental contributions, student education loans are the most typical method of students funding their very own college education. All students however, leave college with substantial debt as well as with rates of interest at in the past lower levels today's students can have a much to pay for substantial repayments for several years.
4. Your son or daughter may get yourself a scholarship or perhaps be titled to grants from either federal or local funds towards the price of their college education.
There are lots of causes of student grants or scholarships and along with some research most students today will find some grant funding. These sources however can't be guaranteed for future years. Although grants don't have to be paid back and therefore are more suitable to loans they aren't guaranteed or foreseeable and for that reason counting on them for the children is really a risk.
5. Remove an education savings intend to fund college education.
An education savings plan's a normal saving plan into which both you and your children can lead. The plans are administered by colleges or condition government bodies and could be removed for just about any child together with a newborns. Due to the results of lengthy term compound interest the sooner you are taking your plan the simpler it will likely be and also the decrease your contributions is going to be. Since the money is developed before going to school students don't have to depend on scholarships, awards plus they can focus on their studies.
There are a variety of choices to fund your son or daughter's college education but the only method funds could be guaranteed is as simple as you getting an education savings plan. Using the education savings plan you choose what you could invest as well as your child may also lead to their college education. With luck grants it's still like will loans to top-up if required. If your little one does not go near college the fund could be sold.


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It's been an above-normal day of controversy in Washington D.C. with regard to President Donald Trump and his border wall funding needs.
The President met with the top House and Senate Democrats at the White House to talk about the funding, which, if it continues dividing the government, will lead to a shutdown.
The deadline for the border wall funding to be approved is Dec. 21 — the end of a current funding extension lawmakers passed after the death of former President George H.W. Bush. Here are some things to know about the situation:
• Trump says he will "proudly" shut down the government if Congress doesn't approve his request for $5 billion for the border wall and security, which is designed to keep people in Mexico from crossing into the U.S. illegally
• A bipartisan bill of $1.3 billion was approved by Congress, and the Dems said it will provide fencing as opposed to concrete
• The Democrats feel emboldened when dealing with Trump as they are set to have the House of Representatives majority beginning in January
• Seventy percent of the government is funded through Sept. 2019. That includes the Pentagon, Department of Health and Human Services and more. Other agencies are waiting for the approval of the current spending bill
• It is possible that if the government shutdown happens Dec. 21, it will not reopen until January, as Congress is scheduled to have a break for the holidays
• Democrats still control enough seats in Congress to block Trump's spending bill
• The President believes if the $5 billion funding of the wall were made available, it would save the government billions that gets spent handling illegal border crossings
• A partial government shutdown would also be disruptive as it would affect several government departments.


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The objectives and implications of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza during November 14-21, 2012, can only be assessed in the wider context of the new Middle East that has emerged from the earthquake known as the Arab Spring.
Israel's Announced Objectives
The objectives defined by Israel's top political leadership were rather modest. As articulated by Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the outset of the operation, they were to enhance Israel's deterrence vis-à-vis Hamas and other factions in Gaza; to deny Hamas and these other factions certain strategic capabilities, especially longer-range rockets; and to restore normalcy to the life of Israeli citizens, hundreds of thousands of whom had been driven into shelters by the daily barrage of rockets. Some claim these objectives were too modest; in actuality, they were well calibrated.
An asymmetric war against an organization such as Hamas, that is at one and the same time a terror organization, a political party, and a paramilitary group both nesting in civilian-populated areas and targeting civilians, constitutes a difficult challenge. Two different kinds of objectives may be set for such an operation. On the one hand, one can focus the objective on enhancing deterrence, namely, hit the terrorists hard enough to give them an interest in a ceasefire for as long as possible, deny them certain capabilities, and weaken their motivation to employ violence against you. On the other hand, one can set a more ambitious, maximalist objective of dismantling their terror capabilities. In this case, that would have entailed a ground operation in Gaza comparable to Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank at the height of the Second Intifada, which would have required very large-scale forces operating in Gaza for a long period.
Both in the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead and in the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel's government opted for the first objective, not the more ambitious one of dismantling Gaza's terror infrastructure or even toppling the Hamas government. In 2008, the Israeli government debated the same issue. Although some officials pushed for a broader operation in Gaza, ultimately the government decided not to go too far, even though it did order a ground operation. The IDF had told the government that a Defensive Shield-type operation to eliminate Gaza's terror infrastructure would take many months – some even said a year; and subsequently a difficult problem would arise: to whom would Gaza be handed over, and what would be Israel's exit strategy?
The 2012 operation, carried out against the background of a dramatically transformed Middle East, posed even more complex challenges, including the possible undermining of the fragile peace with Egypt. Israel also faces uncertainties along its northern borders with Syria and Lebanon, and an ongoing critical situation regarding Iran's nuclear program which may come to a head in a matter of months. Given all these considerations, the government was right to determine more limited objectives. It appears that the basic objective was achieved: Hamas was hit hard militarily, resulting for the time being in nearly absolute quiet along Israel's border with Gaza.
Facing a Complex Aftermath
The realities, however, are still more nuanced and complex. What happened in Gaza is a microcosm of current developments in the Middle East, where new forces have arisen. The most prominent is political Islam, first and foremost the new Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt that must be taken into account when dealing with Gaza. When Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in 2008, the Hosni Mubarak-led Egyptian government quietly encouraged Israel to destroy Hamas, and expressed disappointment when this was not accomplished.
The situation now, of course, is different; Hamas is essentially the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and in a sense heralded the rise of political Islam by winning the 2006 Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections and then taking over Gaza in a bloody coup in June 2007. Whereas Mubarak's government regarded Hamas as a threat to Egypt's national security, the government of President Muhammad Morsi provides the Hamas regime with a political umbrella, and Israel was well aware that it had to maneuver in a different environment for Operation Pillar of Defense.
Moreover, an alignment of major Sunni powers in the region, including Qatar and Turkey, now joins Egypt and provides Hamas with an even wider umbrella. Already before Pillar of Defense, all these actors were helping Hamas break out of its political isolation and economic hardship. In October, the emir of Qatar made the first-ever state visit to Hamas in Gaza, pledging $450 million in financial support. Turkey, too, has given Hamas both political and financial support.
Major Sunni powers have been cooperating with the United States and the West on important issues and particularly against Iran and global jihadi elements; at the same time, these Sunni powers support Islamist actors in the region, including Islamist forces in Syria and Hamas in Gaza. In Egypt's parliamentary elections, Qatar extended financial support to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudis funneled aid to the Salafists. Thus the West faces a serious challenge: major regional forces, that are considered allies in advancing and safeguarding important Western interests, support inherently anti-democracy and anti-West Islamists at the expense of more liberal national forces.
In the case of Hamas, there is a security advantage to this situation, alongside its very basic disadvantages. As evident during the recent crisis, Egypt would like to provide Hamas with political achievements. Yet, at the same time, as long as Cairo – sponsor to the ceasefire – wants to maintain a quiet border between Israel, Gaza, and Egypt and curb jihadi forces threatening the status quo there, and with Hamas having an affinity with the Morsi government contrary to its relations with Mubarak, the chances of Hamas upholding a ceasefire are greater, at least for the time being. In other words, a kind of trade-off emerges: Hamas offers quiet, and receives political and economic assistance from its supporters.
In the broader regional context, increased tensions along the Sunni-Shiite fault line constitute a major phenomenon in this new Middle East. It is evident almost everywhere – in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain, and even in Saudi Arabia where there is a significant Shiite minority in the oil-rich Eastern Province. It is all the more evident in the relations between the major Sunni powers and Iran. In this regard, however, Gaza is a very unique case. Hamas in Gaza, even though a Sunni movement, was part of the radical, mostly-Shiite axis led by Iran along with Syria and Hizbullah. But since the outbreak of the Arab Spring, with Hamas unable to support Bashar al-Assad's Alawite regime in Syria, tensions have arisen between Hamas and Iran, with Hamas declining in favor and losing financial support. When it comes to fighting Israel, however, Iran continues to back Hamas.
Hence, even though Hamas has replaced its Iranian political and economic umbrella with a Sunni one provided by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, it still receives weapons from Iran. And even though the Sunni and Shiite camps are fighting each other, both, in different ways, provide assistance to Hamas in standing against Israel.
Interestingly, whereas in the past the Iranians would never admit supplying weapons to Hamas in Gaza, following the recent crisis they have publicly and proudly taken credit for it, and Hamas leaders have openly acknowledged it as well. The Iranians' new candor can be explained by their concern about the Sunni umbrella. They want the credit for what is perceived across the Arab world as a successful show of resistance by Hamas during Israel's operation in Gaza, including the targeting of Tel Aviv. They want it to be known that they give Hamas a more important kind of aid; whereas the Sunni states may have extended some financial support to Hamas, what Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah mockingly called "a penny and a half," Iran provides the real thing – weapons, enabling Hamas to carry out the resistance against Israel. In other words, it is Iran that does more for Hamas' anti-Israel struggle.
Extremist Islamists on the Rise
The events in Gaza highlight another aspect of the Arab Spring: the unleashing of the energies not only of so-called mainstream Islamic political movements like the Muslim Brotherhood, but also of more extreme Salafist and jihadi streams. Such groups are resurgent across the Middle East; in North Africa (including the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Libya), in Egypt (whose parliament now includes Salafists for the first time), in Jordan (which recently thwarted major jihadi terror attacks on its soil), in Iraq (experiencing a significant spike in the level of terrorism) and in Syria (where Jabhat Al-Nusra, an off-shoot of Iraqi al-Qaeda, is the most potent anti-Assad fighting force).
Over the past few years jihadi groups have also mushroomed in Gaza and Sinai, cooperating with each other in planning and perpetrating attacks against Israeli targets from both areas. Indeed, these jihadi groups' provocations were the main cause of the escalation between Israel and Gaza. Hamas was drawn in so as to maintain its credentials as a resistance movement, until finally Israel was compelled to launch Operation Pillar of Defense.
At present the challenge, first and foremost for the Hamas government in Gaza, is to enforce a ceasefire on all these groups. That was one of the Israeli conditions when negotiating the ceasefire, and the Egyptian document announcing and sponsoring the ceasefire made it binding on all factions in Gaza, with Hamas bearing ultimate responsibility. If it has the requisite political will, Hamas is capable of guaranteeing the ceasefire. It is such political will that has been lacking so far, with Hamas trying to maneuver between its responsibilities as a government and its wish to sustain its standing as a resistance movement. Operation Pillar of Defense, however, compelled Hamas to make a choice, and so far the organization has been enforcing the ceasefire on all the other groups.
The Palestinian Authority in Decline?
Another aspect of the changes underway in the Middle East is the tension between Islamists and nationalists, and it is well evident in the Palestinian context. Although Hamas was decisively beaten militarily, in the political sphere it scored points, mainly because of the above-mentioned Sunni political and economic umbrella it receives. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority was totally marginalized during the Gaza crisis. While Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was in Cairo meeting with Morsi to work out the ceasefire terms, PA President Mahmoud Abbas tried to call Morsi – who would not take his call for five days. When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Israel and Egypt to help craft the ceasefire, she visited Abbas in Ramallah for all of thirty minutes. It was also to extricate itself from this complete marginalization, exacerbated by the events in Gaza, that the Palestinian Authority went to the United Nations.
It remains to be seen how things will play out in the Palestinian context. Over the past few years, the West's and Israel's approach has been to highlight the differences between the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, on the one hand, and Gaza, on the other. It was to show that the nonviolent and potential partner for negotiations – the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank–could become a thriving entity under the stewardship of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad with his institution building, while violent Gaza under Hamas, openly calling for the destruction of Israel, was isolated and declining. The regional transformation, however, has produced almost a reverse picture. While the entity in Gaza is still far from economic prosperity, it now enjoys Sunni investments and has emerged from isolation, whereas the West Bank entity is on the verge of economic collapse. It is as yet unclear whether these two entities can reconcile with each other.
Iron Dome and Imminent Threats
From a military standpoint, Operation Pillar of Defense was different from Operation Cast Lead in several significant ways. Since 2008, Hamas and other Gaza factions have expanded their rocket arsenals to include longer-range rockets. In 2008, Israeli intelligence estimated that all factions in Gaza possessed around five thousand rockets; by the outbreak of Pillar of Defense they were estimated to have ten to twelve thousand, including, for the first time, rockets that could reach Tel Aviv. Indeed, those rockets were used during the recent conflict, albeit in a symbolic fashion.
Israel, however, did not sit idly by between these two operations, and the cardinal development of this conflict was the amazingly successful performance of the Israeli-manufactured Iron Dome rocket-defense system. The deterrence achieved by Operation Cast Lead afforded Israel some time, and Israel used this time to develop Iron Dome with its remarkable 85-percent success rate achieved during Operation Pillar of Defense, providing both security and a sense of security to the Israeli population. That, moreover, was one of the major reasons Israel did not ultimately feel it had to launch a ground operation into Gaza. In the absence of Iron Dome, the pressure in Israel – in response to casualties and damage – may well have pushed the government into such an operation, as occurred during Cast Lead.
Israel also applied lessons about conducting an asymmetric war against a terror organization and a paramilitary force firing at civilians from civilian areas. Israel selected its targets very carefully, using precision-guided munitions. The amount of civilian casualties and collateral damage on the Palestinian side was notably lower than in previous rounds. Israel also invested a good deal in preparing the nonmilitary elements of such asymmetric warfare, including legal, humanitarian, and media aspects. Such wars involve perceptions, not only military hostilities. In this latest round, Israel did better in that regard as well; for example, during the fighting itself, Israel allowed eighty truckloads of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
The Challenge from Iran's Proxy: Hizbullah
What are the implications of this latest round of hostilities on the Iranian challenge? Assuming there is a strike on Iran, be it Israeli or American, and the Iranians respond with missiles and rockets, directly and through proxies such as Hizbullah, have lessons been learned that could be applied to such a confrontation? If there is a showdown with Iran and it entails confronting Hizbullah, the situation will be totally different because Hizbullah now possesses some seventy thousand rockets, including many more longer-range and heavier rockets than Hamas; as Nasrallah has bragged, hundreds of them could be launched at Tel Aviv. Iron Dome can only intercept rockets with a certain range, and Israel still lacks a system that can intercept longer-range rockets. Such a system, David's Sling, is under development, but will only be operational in another two years at the earliest.
If, then, Israel comes to face such a challenge along its northern border, it will have to behave differently. It cannot allow itself to be dragged into a war of attrition where thousands of rockets target Israeli cities incessantly without an interception system to stop them. In that case, and also applying lessons from the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Israel may well have to attack the national Lebanese infrastructure that supports Hizbullah, and may feel compelled to launch a ground operation at an early stage.
Maintaining the Ceasefire: Egypt's Key Role
There is now a ceasefire in place, and the parties are talking continuously via Egypt about a supportive envelope of arrangements. This phase is critical. The most important element is to stop the smuggling of weapons through Egypt into Gaza. Those longer-range rockets did not fall from heaven; they came from somewhere and made their way through Egyptian soil. After Operation Cast Lead, Israel worked out understandings with the United States and Egypt about stopping the smuggling, but not much was done. The present government in Cairo must be persuaded that its own interest entails preventing this smuggling; the alternative is ongoing, intermittent warfare along its border. Such clashes also energize jihadi and other groups that Egypt does not want to be empowered. Thus, a key challenge is to get Egypt to do a better job in stopping the arms smuggling.
For example, the Fajr-5 rockets, some of which were launched at Tel Aviv, are each 6.5 meters long. Although these rockets are disassembled on their way to Gaza, then reassembled there, they are heavy rockets with heavy launchers; why, then, did no one observe them on their way to the border? The routes used for such smuggling (mostly coming from Libya and Sudan) are not that many and there must be a way to stop it.
Although Hamas, for its part, would like to see the lifting of what it calls the siege, it is not to be expected that the crossings between Israel and Gaza will turn from normally closed to normally open. After all, Gaza is a hostile entity. Even before Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel was allowing an average of over two hundred truckloads of goods and medical supplies to enter Gaza daily.
Moreover, the Rafah crossing is open to people, and goods can pass through the Israeli crossing at Kerem Shalom. Indeed, both parties have agreed to allow the entry of construction materials to Gaza through the Rafah crossing on an ad hoc basis. At the same time, huge quantities of merchandise regularly pass through the tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, providing Hamas with a massive source of income. Tunnel owners have to register with Hamas authorities and pay taxes on anything that goes through. The issue, then, is not really one of lifting a siege. It is about being able to claim that Hamas has been victorious in resisting Israel and has gained something from the conflict. What should concern Israel first and foremost, however, is the arms smuggling, and that entails getting Egypt to do more.
In sum, Operation Pillar of Defense exemplifies how Israel has to cope with old, new, and emerging challenges to its national security in a much more complex environment than in the past, one characterized by dramatic changes and rising new negative forces
From a lecture on the subject at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs


text: Kelly joined the MyHealthTeam writing staff in 2015 and became senior content manager in 2019. She earned a B.S. in English from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1998. Over the past 10 years, Kelly has undertaken post-baccalaureate studies in health science including classes in pathophysiology, microbiology, immunology, and nutrition. Kelly is passionate about deepening her understanding of how a chronic condition begins and progresses and how treatments work. At MyHealthTeam, Kelly leads the creation of content that educates and empowers people with chronic conditions.


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Welcome to townofpittsford.org
Thank you for visiting the Town of Pittford website for online access to town hall from the convenience of your home or office.
The Town of Pittsford website provides convenient access to town information and services, making it easier to find information, interact with personnel and complete transactions.
As with all online resources, we recognize that visitors to this website are concerned about their privacy. The Town of Pittsford is committed to preserving your privacy when visiting this website. Any website registration information or submitted items will only be used for Town business, it will not be shared with third parties or used in any commercial means.
If there are any comment/concerns or questions, please contact us at any time.
Bill Smith
Town Supervisor


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The St. Louis Rams faced the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night without rookie offensive lineman Greg Robinson in the starting lineup.
The No. 2 overall pick saw action in the team's third preseason tilt, but not with the first team. Robinson was replaced at left guard by veteran Rodger Saffold with Davin Joseph filling in at Saffold's right guard slot.
It's a curious development for the team's left tackle of the future. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that Robinson's "head is spinning" after repeatedly shuttling between left guard and tackle in the lead up to Week 1.
Robinson has started preseason games at guard only to shift into the bookend role after Jake Long departs. He's struggled over two tilts, though, giving up a sack, a quarterback hit and a hurry over 66 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
"There's a few things I don't remember," Robinson told reporters Tuesday, per The Associated Press, "but I'm coming along well and starting to play a little faster."
The former Auburn mauler has two more weeks to get his house in order. Playing one position -- not two -- might help.
The "Around the League Podcast" Fantasy Football Extravaganza has landed. Tell your friends and lovers.


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Hillcrest School in Bartley Green, Birmingham, has recently developed a language facility called Lingua, similar to the Europa Centre in Havering (See NACELL report). It caters for groups from KS2 – KS5, offering tailor made half or full day programmes in French, Spanish, German and EAL.
Avril Cooper and her colleagues from Hillcrest showcased the possibilities at yesterday's Birmingham Primary Languages Conference, showing us a presentation about the facility before allowing us a taster of the types of activities that pupils might experience on a trip.
On offer at Lingua@Hillcrest:
- Shopping experience
- Puppet shows
- Video editing days
- Tailor made visit
On entering the Shopping Experience, pupils pass through Passport control, then change money into Euros at the bank to be spent in the cafe or souvenir shop. All the shop front, signage etc are in the foreign language. Pupils will then take part in a carousel of activities learning the vocabulary of
- Clothes
- Shops names and items
- Numbers and prices
- Food and drink
Once there has been much hilarity as children rush to dress in the correct clothing, or play pass the food, or make number with their bodies, they go shopping with a personalised shopping list, gaining a stamp for each item. Once pupils have successfully purchased their six chosen items, they then shop for other items, competing to buy most (The record is 32!)
Then pupils can buy a drink or souvenir with their euros before going home!
New innovations soon to be added include the use of PDAs with the language recorded on it visually and aurally as a reminder, longer opening hours and the development of new games and activities.
Several schools in the area have already visited and thoroughly recommend the experience. One quotation from a child – 'We had the best time of our lives at the language village'. The current cost is £125 for ½ day or £250 for whole day, with optional lunch available at £1.80 per child.
I'm planning on taking a group from WCPS; problem is – which year group do I take??
If you'd like more information, contact lingua@hillcrest,bham.sch.uk or call 0121 464 3172


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Establish Good Saving Habits
Pay yourself first
If you wait to see what's left over, you are less likely to save. Determine in advance how much money to deposit into a savings account each month. If you receive a raise, increase the amount of money deposited into your savings account.
Take advantage of bank technology
Consider automatic payroll deductions or automatic transfer from checking to savings. Arrange to have a specific amount transferred to your savings account every pay period.
Pay your bills on time — and pay more than the minimum amount
Although the vast majority of Americans pay their bills on time, some find themselves paying late fees. Alleviate the hassle by scheduling time to pay bills, and put them in the mail with enough time to get to the creditor. If you pay your bills online, be sure to schedule payments several days in advance to insure the payment clears before the due date. Some online payments to merchants are still sent by check. Be sure to verify whether payment is transfer or a check is sent.
Determine needs versus wants
Do you need to eat out every day for lunch? Do you need that gourmet cup of coffee in the morning? By bringing your lunch to work a couple days a week, you can save hundreds of dollars a year.
Consider investments
For long-term goals, such as saving for a home or retirement, look into bonds, mutual funds, real estate and stocks.
Talk to us
Our representatives are eager to answer your questions. Ask which package of bank products and services would best suit your needs.


text:
Finds edges in an image using the [Canny86] algorithm.
Parameters: |
The function finds edges in the input image image and marks them in the output map edges using the Canny algorithm. The smallest value between threshold1 and threshold2 is used for edge linking. The largest value is used to find initial segments of strong edges. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canny_edge_detector
Calculates eigenvalues and eigenvectors of image blocks for corner detection.
Parameters: |
For every pixel , the function cornerEigenValsAndVecs considers a blockSize blockSize neighborhood . It calculates the covariation matrix of derivatives over the neighborhood as:
where the derivatives are computed using the Sobel() operator.
After that, it finds eigenvectors and eigenvalues of and stores them in the destination image as where
The output of the function can be used for robust edge or corner detection.
See also
Harris edge detector.
Parameters: |
The function runs the Harris edge detector on the image. Similarly to cornerMinEigenVal() and cornerEigenValsAndVecs() , for each pixel it calculates a gradient covariance matrix over a neighborhood. Then, it computes the following characteristic:
Corners in the image can be found as the local maxima of this response map.
Calculates the minimal eigenvalue of gradient matrices for corner detection.
Parameters: |
The function is similar to cornerEigenValsAndVecs() but it calculates and stores only the minimal eigenvalue of the covariance matrix of derivatives, that is, in terms of the formulae in the cornerEigenValsAndVecs() description.
Refines the corner locations.
Parameters: |
The function iterates to find the sub-pixel accurate location of corners or radial saddle points, as shown on the figure below.
Sub-pixel accurate corner locator is based on the observation that every vector from the center to a point located within a neighborhood of is orthogonal to the image gradient at subject to image and measurement noise. Consider the expression:
where is an image gradient at one of the points in a neighborhood of . The value of is to be found so that is minimized. A system of equations may be set up with set to zero:
where the gradients are summed within a neighborhood ("search window") of . Calling the first gradient term and the second gradient term gives:
The algorithm sets the center of the neighborhood window at this new center and then iterates until the center stays within a set threshold.
Determines strong corners on an image.
Parameters: |
The function finds the most prominent corners in the image or in the specified image region, as described in [Shi94]:
The function can be used to initialize a point-based tracker of an object.
If the function is called with different values A and B of the parameter qualityLevel , and A > {B}, the vector of returned corners with qualityLevel=A will be the prefix of the output vector with qualityLevel=B .
Finds circles in a grayscale image using the Hough transform.
Parameters: |
The function finds circles in a grayscale image using a modification of the Hough transform.
#include <cv.h>
#include <highgui.h>
#include <math.h>
using namespace cv;
int main(int argc, char** argv)
Mat img, gray;
if( argc != 2 && !(img=imread(argv[1], 1)).data)
return -1;
cvtColor(img, gray, CV_BGR2GRAY);
// smooth it, otherwise a lot of false circles may be detected
GaussianBlur( gray, gray, Size(9, 9), 2, 2 );
vector<Vec3f> circles;
HoughCircles(gray, circles, CV_HOUGH_GRADIENT,
2, gray->rows/4, 200, 100 );
for( size_t i = 0; i < circles.size(); i++ )
Point center(cvRound(circles[i][0]), cvRound(circles[i][1]));
int radius = cvRound(circles[i][2]);
// draw the circle center
circle( img, center, 3, Scalar(0,255,0), -1, 8, 0 );
// draw the circle outline
circle( img, center, radius, Scalar(0,0,255), 3, 8, 0 );
namedWindow( "circles", 1 );
imshow( "circles", img );
return 0;
Usually the function detects the centers of circles well. However, it may fail to find correct radii. You can assist to the function by specifying the radius range ( minRadius and maxRadius ) if you know it. Or, you may ignore the returned radius, use only the center, and find the correct radius using an additional procedure.
See also
Finds lines in a binary image using the standard Hough transform.
Parameters: |
The function implements the standard or standard multi-scale Hough transform algorithm for line detection. See http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/rbf/HIPR2/hough.htm for a good explanation of Hough transform. See also the example in HoughLinesP() description.
Finds line segments in a binary image using the probabilistic Hough transform.
Parameters: |
The function implements the probabilistic Hough transform algorithm for line detection, described in [Matas00]. See the line detection example below:
/* This is a standalone program. Pass an image name as the first parameter
of the program. Switch between standard and probabilistic Hough transform
by changing "#if 1" to "#if 0" and back */
#include <cv.h>
#include <highgui.h>
#include <math.h>
using namespace cv;
int main(int argc, char** argv)
Mat src, dst, color_dst;
if( argc != 2 || !(src=imread(argv[1], 0)).data)
return -1;
Canny( src, dst, 50, 200, 3 );
cvtColor( dst, color_dst, CV_GRAY2BGR );
#if 0
vector<Vec2f> lines;
HoughLines( dst, lines, 1, CV_PI/180, 100 );
for( size_t i = 0; i < lines.size(); i++ )
float rho = lines[i][0];
float theta = lines[i][1];
double a = cos(theta), b = sin(theta);
double x0 = a*rho, y0 = b*rho;
Point pt1(cvRound(x0 + 1000*(-b)),
cvRound(y0 + 1000*(a)));
Point pt2(cvRound(x0 - 1000*(-b)),
cvRound(y0 - 1000*(a)));
line( color_dst, pt1, pt2, Scalar(0,0,255), 3, 8 );
vector<Vec4i> lines;
HoughLinesP( dst, lines, 1, CV_PI/180, 80, 30, 10 );
for( size_t i = 0; i < lines.size(); i++ )
line( color_dst, Point(lines[i][0], lines[i][1]),
Point(lines[i][2], lines[i][3]), Scalar(0,0,255), 3, 8 );
namedWindow( "Source", 1 );
imshow( "Source", src );
namedWindow( "Detected Lines", 1 );
imshow( "Detected Lines", color_dst );
return 0;
This is a sample picture the function parameters have been tuned for:
And this is the output of the above program in case of the probabilistic Hough transform:
Calculates a feature map for corner detection.
Parameters: |
The function calculates the complex spatial derivative-based function of the source image
where ,:math:D_y are the first image derivatives, ,:math:D_{yy} are the second image derivatives, and is the mixed derivative.
The corners can be found as local maximums of the functions, as shown below:
Mat corners, dilated_corners;
preCornerDetect(image, corners, 3);
// dilation with 3x3 rectangular structuring element
dilate(corners, dilated_corners, Mat(), 1);
Mat corner_mask = corners == dilated_corners;
[Canny86] |
[Matas00] | Matas, J. and Galambos, C. and Kittler, J.V., Robust Detection of Lines Using the Progressive Probabilistic Hough Transform. CVIU 78 1, pp 119-137 (2000) |
[Shi94] |
[Yuen90] | Yuen, H. K. and Princen, J. and Illingworth, J. and Kittler, J., Comparative study of Hough transform methods for circle finding. Image Vision Comput. 8 1, pp 71–77 (1990) |


text:
Jon Pardi Marries Summer Duncan in Tennessee
Jon Pardi and his fiancee Summer Duncan had to change their original wedding plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but social distancing and virus-related shutdowns couldn't stop their big day completely. The couple married on Saturday (Nov. 21) in Murfreesboro, Tenn., People reports.
Pardi and Duncan tied the knot at Murfreesboro's Saddle Wood Farms. The singer, his new wife says, fell in love with the venue after attending a friend's wedding there in 2019.
"When we had to cancel our destination wedding, they were naturally the first venue we called when we knew we had to keep things closer to home," Duncan shares. "There's never a right time in 2020 to get married, so after all the planning and replanning, we were just happy we got to do it."
The couple originally planned for a Memorial Day weekend wedding in Montana, but when the novel coronavirus pandemic hit, they needed to postpone -- more than once, in fact. Only a small group of immediate family and close friends -- all of whom took COVID-19 tests prior to the big day -- from the Nashville area attended Saturday's event, so they're now planning a "wedding tour" (Pardi's words) to celebrate with loved ones in Nashville, California and Texas.
Pardi's father Jon and his tour manager Trey served as groomsmen, while Duncan's two best friends, one from California and one from Nashville, were her bridesmaids; Jon Murphy, Pardi's stylist and good friend, married the couple. The men wore custom Aaron McGill suits, American Hat Co. hats and Lucchese boots, while the women donned Johnathan Kayne-designed dressers.
Pardi, meanwhile, wore a McGill-designed tuxedo. Duncan custom-designed her wedding dress and a reception jumpsuit, the latter with Kayne, and calls it "such a fun and magical experience."
Pardi and Duncan used an unreleased song by Pardi, "Look at You," for their first dance. People reports that he wrote the song for Duncan in June, and recorded it in early November.
Pardi, 35, and Duncan, a 31-year-old hairdresser, first met in May of 2017, when a client of Duncan's who is friends with Pardi's mother set them up. He invited her to a show in Denver, Colo., and, she says, "within the first five minutes of meeting Jon, it was game over for me. I texted my mom, 'Sell my house, sell my car, send my dog.'"
"Summer was love at first sight for the first time ever in my life. She was the first girl I've ever dated where I felt like she had my back and that we really are a team," Pardi adds. "Summer is stunningly beautiful to look at, but that doesn't compare with her heart and how caring she is. We have the most fun together — in any situation — and we laugh constantly."
Pardi proposed to Duncan in October of 2019, during a show he was playing at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
"[We went] through the worst year possible for a relationship, one where Jon's career came to a halt and we spent more time together than we ever have," Duncan says of the time between their engagement and wedding. "We're thankful for all that time we got to spend together because it was a confirmation that we are a great team, we get along, we appreciate each other, we respect each other and we love each other."
These Country Artists Have All Gotten Engaged or Married in 2020:


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Utagawa Toyokuni, also often referred to as Toyokuni I, to distinguish him from the members of his school who took over his gō (art-name) after he died, was a great master of ukiyo-e, known in particular for his kabuki actor prints. He was the second head of the renowned Utagawa school of Japanese woodblock artists, and was the artist who really moved it to the position of great fame and power it occupied for the rest of the nineteenth century.
He was born in Edo, the son of Kurahashi Gorobei, a carver of dolls and puppets, including replicas of kabuki actors. At around 14, Toyokuni was apprenticed to the first head of the Utagawa house, Utagawa Toyoharu, whom his father knew well and who lived nearby. One of his fellow pupils under Toyoharu was Toyohiro, whose pupil was the great landscape artist Hiroshige. In recognition of his artistic ability, Toyokuni later took the name Utagawa Toyokuni, following the common practice of using one syllable of his master's name.
Toyokuni seems not to have been an "intuitive genius" determined to forge a new path; rather, he seems to have studied intently those who came before him, particularly Utamaro, Chōbunsai Eishi and Eishōsai Chōki. and through a great deal of hard work produced first a mastery, and then a synthesis of their styles, to create a style of his own.
He was known mostly for his prints related to the kabuki theatre, in particular his yakusha-e actor portraits, a field which he took to new heights. He also, however, produced other genres such as musha-e warrior prints, shunga erotica, and most notably bijin-ga.
In his actor prints, like Sharaku, one sees the real subject; but his prints merely portrayed what he saw, unlike Sharaku who exaggerated those aspects he saw as the most key. It is said of Toyokuni's prints that they recreate exactly what one would see on stage; they show actors acting, not merely just pictures of actors. Together, these characteristics made Toyokuni's prints far more popular among theatre-goers than Sharaku's, although history has come to judge Sharaku the keener observer and greater artist.
His popularity and prolific output may in part have been his undoing, though. From 1803 through 1817, his work became more static, even as it became more popular. He continued to produce large quantities of prints, but the quality as a rule did not match that of his earlier days. Occasional prints from this period, however, show his old brilliance.
He died in Edo in 1825 aged 57, surrounded by many of his pupils.


text:
Maywood Property Crime Defense
Are you being accused of committing property crimes such as theft, arson, vandalism, and other related offenses? It is tough to be accused of such crimes considering the tough laws in Maywood regarding these offenses. When it does happen to you, you need a trustworthy criminal defense lawyer who will help you build a strong defense against these accusations.
Winfield Law is a trustworthy and motivated Maywood, CA criminal defense law firm that can represent clients in difficult legal battles. Our experienced lawyers can help you build a strong defense to ensure that your innocence is protected.
We are committed to helping you get the best outcome. No matter what kind of criminal case is charged to you, Winfield Law is here to defend your innocence.
Contact Winfield Law today at 310-742-8949 for your free consultation!
Got Arrested? What You Should Do
Capital punishment is still practiced in California, and getting charged can be a stressful ordeal. It is also hard to recall that everyone has the right to the presumption of innocence. They must be presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If you were arrested, you need to stay calm and react accordingly to ensure that you will not immediately be treated as guilty in the case. Here are the things you should remember when facing arrest.
1. Stay calm and be civil when talking to the authorities. Remember, if you attack or talk back to the police, it may affect your appeal.
2. Invoke your right to remain silent because you may end up saying something that will cause problems in the case. 3. The Miranda rights say that anything you say can be used against you, so you need to be careful. Politely refuse to answer questions until you speak with your defense lawyer.
4. Call your lawyer immediately when you get to the police station, or if you don't have one, ask someone who can contact one for you.
Although you can ensure that nothing will be used against you when you are arrested, it is still imperative that you get a skilled Maywood defense attorney to help you out. Get in contact with our team here at Winfield Law to get the right kind of representation you need during this trying time.
Contact Winfield Law today at 310-742-8949 for your free consultation!
What is California's Criminal Defense Process?
If you get arrested for any criminal offense in California, you need to know what is going to happen. Depending on the charges filed against you, the sentences you can expect are fines, probation, jail time, or capital punishment. But, before you think about the possible sentence that will be given to you if you are found guilty, you need to know how the criminal defense process goes.
To get a clear idea of how the case will proceed, you should have a defense team ready to help you. Once you are arrested or when the investigations are complete, here is what will happen next:
1. Arraignment – This is the period when the defendant is told of the charges, their rights, and get the chance to file their plea. It is also the first time they will appear in court.
2. Negotiation – This is where plea bargains and sentence negotiations are discussed in the case.
3. Preliminary hearing – this happens if an agreement is not reached. This will also be the time when the judge determines if there is probable cause for a trial to be done. Motions and arguments are forwarded during this time to see if a trial should be done.
4. Pretrial – occurs to give both parties a chance to negotiate a disposition and prepare for the incoming jury trial. This also allows both parties to get all the evidence and information they need to prepare their case.
5. Jury Trial – is the time when the parties present their evidence and arguments. The jury will review the case and give a decision regarding the defendant's guilt. Once the decision is made, the sentencing will be given.
Understanding the entire process will be a good guide on what to expect. But, it is not enough to know it if you do not have a good defense team to help you prepare. With Winfield Law, you can be reassured that we can help you establish a strong defense. We will also be here for you throughout the case to ensure you get the best results for your case.
Whatever case you are facing, the Winfield Law team is ready to help you fight for your rights.
Free Consultation Today
When you contact us here at Winfield Law, we will make sure that we can get you the best outcome for your cases. Our experienced and sharp team of defense lawyers will negotiate and represent you in your case and provide you with a solid defense that will help you get the justice that you deserve.
Once you contact us, we will look into your case and know every detail of the charges filed against you. When we gather all the information, we will assess how we can help you build the best defense plan and represent you in court. We are ready to help you, so contact us today to find out how we can do so.
Contact Winfield Law today at 310-742-8949 for your free consultation with a Maywood Criminal Defense Lawyer!


text:
Reindeer Food
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From the kitchen of Mrs. Parrish's 1st Grade Class
This recipe has been on northpole.com from the beginning… since 1996! We hope you enjoy this classic North Pole recipe. Let us know your opinion by submitting a review!
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Recipe Details
Total Time: |
not specified |
Tags: | Contains nuts, Fun to make with kids, Kid friendly, Quick & easy, Travels well |
1/2 cup granola
5 chocolate chips
10 peanuts
15 M&M's
20 raisins
Mix all ingredients in a paper bag.
How To Feed The Reindeer:
It's the night before Christmas and you know what to do.
You're going to treat Santa, but feed those Reindeer, too!
Wait until Christmas Eve.
Open bag and sprinkle Reindeer Food on lawn.
Hop into bed.
Listen for Santa.
Close your eyes and wait for morning!
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