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As shown. Please see all pictures and ask any questions that you may have.
There are no bids for the lot at this time
Our client has downsized and moved across the country to be closer to her family. She has left many beautiful treasures behind for you to bid on. We made our best effort to point out any imperfections in the items on this auction. Please see all pictures and ask any questions that you may have. All items are sold as is. This auction will end on Sunday, November 19th, and bidding will start to close at 8 pm and then every 12 seconds until all lots are sold.
Pick-up will be on Tuesday, November 21st, from 11-7 pm at the home in off of Cary Parkway in Cary. This is the only access we will have to the home, items not picked up will be forfeited. There will be a sign-up time required for this pick-up. A link will be provided as well as all parking information will be at the bottom of all winning invoices. Shipping is available for smaller items. If you require shipping, please contact us before hand to confirm that it is shippable. Shipping is actual shipping cost plus a $6.00 handling charge. Please be sure to bring helpers for furniture pieces and boxes and paper for small delicate items.
Feel free to contact email@example.com with any questions, comments, or concerns.
Auction Terms & Conditions
Information on Terms: By registering to bid, you agree that you have reviewed and accept our terms and conditions. Please be sure to read them in full.
Condition of items: GC5 Auctions has made our best effort to accurately and completely describe each item but all items are sold as-is and where is with no warranty intended or implied. If there is condition statement, it does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear or imperfections. It is the buyers responsibility to examine all photos and ask questions as needed.
Payment: Payment is made with the credit card on file at time of registration.. We accept all major credit cards. Payment must be made before scheduled pick-up.
Buyers Premium: Buyers will be charged a 10% buyers premium.
Included items: Display stands and other items for display are not included unless specified.
Shipping and Pick-Up: All auctions have a designated pick-up time as stated in auction. Often this is the only access we have to the property and must adhere to this schedule. Items left after 72 hours will be considered abandoned and disposed of as we see fit. Buyer is responsible for packing and loading of all purchased items. Shipping is available at buyers expense on small items and we recommended you contact GC5 prior to bidding. We will not ship furniture or very delicate items at this time. GC5 Auctions charges a $6.00 handling charge per package shipped.
Item sizes and weights: GC5 makes its best effort to provide accurate dimensions on listed items. Often, measurements are available in the photographs. When weighing sterling silver flatware sets, we do not include the knives in the weight as the blades are stainless.
Tax: NC Sales tax will be charged unless we are presented with a valid and current NC Sales Tax Resale Certificate at time of registration.
Auctioneer info: NCAF#9944, John and Amanda Giustiniani, GC5 Auctions, a division of GC5 Estate Services, PO Box 61271, Raleigh, NC 27661
United States


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Correspondent Nicole Siscaretti rounds out her coverage for us with a personal tour of the Wild Africa Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom. As you may recall, I was able to preview this trek before it opened to the general public, and shared the Wild Africa Trek Facts and Figures. It remains one of my favorite things to do at Walt Disney World, because it is simply so unique. It is worth every penny, and the experience is one you will remember for a lifetime.
I never shared the video I took that day, but it's good I didn't because the tour has been improved since I saw it. You now get to hang by a harnessed cable over crocodiles as well as hippos, and the safari truck tour at the end is covered. I feel like the tour narration was much more in-depth on Nicole's video and you learn so much about the animals on the trek!
Let's go on safari with Nicole:
To recap from the Facts & Figures post, the Wild Africa Trek is a 3-hour group tour held at various times throughout the morning and afternoon at Animal Kingdom. You are also served an African-inspired breakfast or lunch, depending on the time of your tour, and given a PhotoPass CD of the experience. Pricing varies seasonally but right now you can save $50 on tours at or after 11:45 a.m. from 5/29/12 – 8/25/12. Call Disney for pricing details and to book at (407) WDW-TOUR or (407) 939-8687.
I would like to take a moment and thank Nicole for her amazing coverage here on the site and twitter and facebook, giving Zannaland readers all the latest with great photos and videos. Nicole has a new site she's creating as we speak so keep an eye out for her magical new venture! Asante sana Nicole!

subset: commoncrawl


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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a 2008 multimedia project created by LucasArts, in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics, Del Rey, LEGO, Hasbro Inc., and Palace Press. It was originally slated for release in 2007, and billed as "the Expanded Universe multimedia event of 2007." However, problems in game development delayed the project until 2008. The project was created with the direct input and guidance of Star Wars creator George Lucas. Similar to Shadows of the Empire over a decade earlier and Clone Wars a few years earlier, it features products across different lines, all covering the same story. This includes two games, a game guide, a novel, a graphic novel, a toy line, a reference book, a Miniatures set, and a roleplaying-game supplement.
A sequel to the video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, was announced during Spike's 2009 Video Game Awards. The video game, as well as an accompanying novel and graphic novel, were all released in October 2010.
Plot summary[]
The Force Unleashed features a young man by the name of Galen Marek (codenamed "Starkiller"), the secret Sith apprentice of Darth Vader, and his missions as such in the year 2 BBY. At the beginning of the game, Darth Vader leads the forces of the Galactic Empire against the revolting Wookiees on Kashyyyk, searching for a Jedi Knight that Vader had sensed. After finding and murdering the Jedi, Vader discovers his Force-sensitive son (young Starkiller), choosing him as his apprentice.
Vader dispatches Starkiller to eliminate several Jedi who survived Order 66. His first target is General Rahm Kota, who used a private militia instead of clones and thus survived Order 66. Starkiller sets out with his pilot, Juno Eclipse, and droid PROXY in order to track Kota down. This first level takes place on board a TIE-fighter construction station in orbit around Nar Shaddaa. After defeating a large number of both militia and stormtroopers, Starkiller finds the general, and defeats him in a fierce lightsaber duel. However, as he is about to be executed, Kota predicts that Vader won't always be Starkiller's master, and that someday Kota will be instead. Starkiller casts Kota out of the burning space station and leaves, taking Kota's lightsaber as proof of his defeat and apparent death.
Vader, still not convinced of Starkiller's ability, turns him loose on the junk world Raxus Prime, where he hunts down an insane Jedi Master who has constructed an army of junk monsters and titans. Destroying these with his newfound Force lightning abilities and killing a large number of scavengers in the process, Starkiller ascends an enormous junk tower to find the Jedi Master Kazdan Paratus talking to junk statues of the Jedi Council, saying he will defend them against this "Sith trash." After defeating Kazdan Paratus, Starkiller insists that he is ready to confront Emperor Palpatine, but Vader rejects this idea. Instead the Dark Lord orders his apprentice to undertake one final test before he can fulfill his destiny, sending Starkiller to hunt and kill former Jedi Council member Shaak Ti.
This third test takes place on the world of Felucia, a gargantuan landscape dominated by enormous mushrooms, plants and the mouth of the oldest living sarlacc. After fighting his way past Felucian natives trained by Master Shaak Ti, Starkiller makes his way past rancors and the occasional shaman to the mouth of the sarlacc, making use of his newly discovered repulse abilities. There he encounters the Jedi in question and defeats her, her Felucian allies, and the sarlacc.
Returning with another lightsaber to add to his collection and Shaak Ti's ominous final words, "The Sith always betray one another, given time," ringing in his ears, Starkiller returns to Vader's ship. Vader tells him they will now face Emperor Palpatine, who has just arrived. This turns out to be a trap, as it is quickly revealed that Palpatine knows all about Vader's "secret" apprentice. The Emperor orders Vader to kill the young Sith to prove his loyalty, and Vader apparently does so; after impaling Starkiller on his lightsaber, Vader throws him around the room and then blasts him through a window into space. Apparently dead, Starkiller's body is recovered by a medical droid shortly after the incident.
Starkiller awakens on board an enormous medical station which PROXY has set on a collision course for a nearby sun. Vader instructs him to escape the facility and to begin building an army of dissidents and rebels to distract the Emperor's attention, and allow the two of them another opportunity to attack the Emperor by surprise. Vader claims that this was his original plan all along, and that it was necessary so that he could avoid arousing suspicion from Palpatine's spies.
Grudgingly accepting this, Starkiller fights EVO troopers who can resist his lightning-based abilities and large heavy troopers resembling large robots, then escapes with his pilot Juno, for whom he is developing feelings, against the advice of PROXY.
Starkiller heads to Cloud City, where he encounters Master Rahm Kota, now blind after his near-fatal battle. Together they escape, following an encounter with new, Force-sensitive, armored opponents. They resemble Imperial guards but with less cloak, more armor, and single lightsaber blades mounted on Imperial guard-style staffs.
After rescuing Master Kota, Starkiller travels to Kashyyyk based on his information about an important contact in the Senate. Kota tells him that "something very valuable" to his contact is being kept on the Wookiee homeworld, but does not say what it is. After battling troopers through a large, well-defended building, Starkiller is surprised to discover that the "something" is Princess Leia, the daughter of Kota's contact Bail Organa. Leia insists that she will only leave if he destroys the Sky Hook transportation project being constructed under slave labor first. Starkiller murders the Imperial military leader of the encampment, a hunter of Wookiees, destroys the Sky Hook facility and wins the freedom of the Wookiee nations.
Back on the Rogue Shadow, Kota explains that Senator Organa, his contact, has vanished, having traveled alone to Felucia to look for Master Shaak Ti. Starkiller, knowing Shaak Ti is already dead and that Organa is walking to his death, returns there to find the planet has become corrupted by the dark side of the Force. He battles his way past dark Felucians and a large garrison of stormtroopers. He heads inside the sarlacc he vanquished earlier and after passing through its digestive system, emerges to find Organa being held captive by Shaak Ti's now dark-side-corrupted former apprentice, Maris Brood. After defeating both her and her "pet" (an enormous bull rancor), Starkiller spares Maris' life, and she flees to places unknown, vowing to renounce the dark side forever.
However, Organa insists that open rebellion is too risky as the Empire is too strong. Starkiller, on Vader's instruction, heads back to Raxus Prime to destroy an Imperial base now orbiting the planet as an attempt to destroy a symbol of their power. During the mission, PROXY, who was programmed by Vader to regularly try to kill him as part of his training, ambushes him with a hologram of Darth Maul, but Starkiller overwhelms him and destroys the base, bringing down a Star Destroyer in order to cover his escape.
Finally, after a meeting of rebel leaders is arranged by the now-freed Bail Organa, he attempts to exclaim the beginning of a Rebellion against the Empire. However, Organa's speech is cut short by the sudden arrival of Lord Vader and several stormtroopers, who detain the rebels. Vader expresses his satisfaction at his apprentice's efforts to bring all of "the Emperor's enemies" together where they could be all arrested at once, then attempts to kill Starkiller once more, this time at the edge of a mountain cliff. However, before Vader delivers the fatal blow, he is briefly distracted by PROXY, allowing Starkiller time to drop off of the ledge and escape. After being brought back aboard the Rogue Shadow, he and Juno discover the Rebels are being taken to a giant space station where they will be presented to the Emperor.
After a level on the Death Star which is nearing completion, Starkiller confronts Vader, as the captive Rebels and Emperor Palpatine look on. Vader is defeated, but not yet dead, when Palpatine attacks General Kota; Starkiller must then choose whether to kill his master Lord Vader or try to prevent the Emperor from killing the Rebel leaders.
If Vader is attacked, Starkiller kills Vader, the Rebels die, and he becomes an assassin for the Emperor.
If the Emperor's attack is interrupted, Palpatine is defeated but not killed by Starkiller. Instead, as the Rebels escape, Starkiller dies from an explosion of Palpatine's intense Force lightning and becomes a martyr for the Rebellion.
Promotional material[]
Video games[]
- (Canceled)
Roleplaying game[]
Miniatures game[]
External links[]
- Official game website on LucasArts.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars The Force Unleashed Multi-Media Project on StarWars.com Message Boards. Posted by Leland Y Chee on February 14, 2007 at 10:05 AM. (content now obsolete; backup link)
- StarCom - Unofficial Community & RP dedicated to The Force Unleashed
- Unofficial Force Unleashed Website
- Force Unleashed fan site
- German Force Unleashed fan site


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TurboTax Uses A "Military Discount" to Trick Troops Into Paying to File Their Taxes
In patriotism-drenched promotions, press releases and tweets, TurboTax promotes special deals for military service members, promising to help them file their taxes online for free or at a discount.
Yet some service members who've filed by going to the TurboTax Military landing page told ProPublica they were charged as much as $150 — even though, under a deal with the government, service members making under $66,000 are supposed to be able to file on TurboTax for free.
Liz Zimmerman is a mother of two teenage daughters and a toddler who lives with her husband, a Navy chief petty officer, in Bettendorf, Iowa, just across the river from the Rock Island military facility. When Zimmerman went to do her taxes this year, she Googled "tax preparation military free" and, she recalled in an interview, TurboTax was the first link that popped up, promising "free military taxes." She clicked and came tothe site emblazoned with miniature American flags.
But when Zimmerman got to the end of the process, TurboTax charged her $60, even though the family makes under the $66,000 income threshold to file for free. "I've got a kid in braces and I've got a kid in preschool; $60 is half a week's worth of groceries," she said. "Who needs date night this month? At least I filed my taxes."
In the commercial version of TurboTax that includes the "military discount," customers are charged based on the tax forms they file. The Zimmermans used aform to claim a retirement savings credit that TurboTax required a paid upgrade to file. If they'd started from the TurboTax Free File landing page instead of the military page, they would have been able to file for free.
Like many other tax prep companies, Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, participates in the Free File program with the IRS, under which the industry offers most Americans free tax filing. In return, the IRS agrees not to create its own free filing system that would compete with the companies. But few of those who are eligible use the program, in part because the companies aggressively market paid versions, often misleading customers. We've documented how Intuit had deliberately made its Free File version difficult to find, including by hiding it from search engines.
In a statement, Intuit spokesman Rick Heineman said, "Intuit has long supported active-military and veterans, both in filing their taxes and in their communities, overseas, and in the Intuit workplace." He added: "Intuit is proud to support active military, including the millions of men and women in uniform who have filed their tax returns completely free using TurboTax."
To find TurboTax's Free File landing page, service members typically have to go through the IRS website. TurboTax Military, by contrast, is promoted on the company's home page and elsewhere. Starting through the Military landing page directs many users to paid products even when they are eligible to get the same service for no cost using the Free File edition.
An Intuit press release this year announced "TurboTax Offers Free Filing for Military E1- E5" — but refers users to TurboTax Military and does not mention the actual Free File option. (E1-E5 refers to military pay grades.) It was promoted on the company's Twitter feed with a smiling picture of a woman wearing fatigues outside her suburban home. Google searches for "TurboTax military," "TurboTax for soldiers" and "TurboTax for troops" all produce top results sending users to the TurboTax Military page.
That site offers a "military discount." Some service members can use it to file for free, depending on their pay grade and tax situation. Others are informed — only after inputting their tax data — that they will have to pay.
In one instance, Petty Officer Laurell, a hospital corpsman in the Navy who didn't want his full name used, was charged even though he makes under $66,000. TurboTax charged Laurell $95 this year and $100 last year, his receipts show.
"I am upset and troubled that TurboTax would intentionally mislead members of the military," said Laurell, who has been in the service for a decade.
Using receipts, tax returns and other documentation, we verified the accounts from four service members who were charged by TurboTax even though they were eligible to use Free File. They include an Army second lieutenant, a Navy hospital corpsman and a Navy yeoman.
The New York regulator investigating TurboTax is also examining the military issue, according to a person familiar with the probe.
Active-duty members of the military get greater access to Free File products than other taxpayers. All Americans who make under $66,000 can use products offered by one of 12 participating companies in the program. But each company then imposes additional, sometimes confusing eligibility requirements based on income, age and location.
Those additional requirements are not imposed on service members for most of the Free File products.
TurboTax's Free File edition, for example, is available to active-duty military and reservists who make under $66,000 in adjusted gross income compared with a threshold of $34,000 for everyone else.
It's unclear how many service members were charged by TurboTax, even though they could have filed for free. The company declined to respond to questions about this.
Jennifer Davis, government relations deputy director of the National Military Family Association, said the group is concerned by ProPublica's findings about Americans being charged for tax services that should be free. "As an organization dedicated to improving the well-being of military families, we are concerned that many military families have fallen prey to these fraudulent actions as well," she said. Davis pointed out that service members have a range of other free tax filing options, including in-person help on many bases and an online option through the Defense Department called MilTax.
We tested TurboTax Military and TurboTax Free File using the tax information of a Virginia-based Navy sailor and his graphic designer wife with a household income of $53,000.
The filing experiences had just one major difference: TurboTax Military tried to upgrade us or convince us to pay for side products six times. We declined those extras each time. Finally, the program told us we had to pay $159.98 to finish filing.
And that "military discount"? All of $5.
In the Free File version, by contrast, we were able to file completely free.
Here's what happened when we landed on TurboTax Military:
The software took us through filing our taxes in the standard question-answer format used across all TurboTax products. We entered the sailor's employer and income information.
Then TurboTax told us we were going to save some money because of our service.
"Congrats! You qualify for our Enlisted military discount."
We were then repeatedly offered other paid products.
TurboTax recommended we purchase "+PLUS," which promises "24/7 tax return access" and other services for $19.99.
We were offered "TurboTaxLive" — access to advice from a CPA — for $194.99.
We were also offered "MAX," which includes audit defense and identity loss insurance for $59.99 (a good deal, the company suggests, because the products represent a "$125.00 value").
We rejected all of these offers. We finished filing the sailor's military income and added his wife's 1099 income of $15,000 and her modest business expenses.
When we were done entering their information, the software broke some bad news: We would need to upgrade to TurboTax Self-Employed for $114.99 (minus $5 thanks to the military discount).
On top of that, we were charged $44.99 to file Virginia state taxes, bringing our total to $159.98.
When we started on TurboTax Free File instead of TurboTax Military and entered the same information, the filing experience was virtually identical, with two major differences: We weren't pitched side products such as audit defense and the final price was $0.
While the sailor's family was eligible for Free File, TurboTax Military never directed us to the product, even after we entered a family income of less than $66,000.
On May 10, the New York Department of Financial Services sent a request for documents to USAA, the insurance company that caters to service members, according to a person familiar with the investigation. USAA promotes TurboTax Military, and DFS, which regulates insurance companies, sought records related to any deals with Intuit and other tax prep firms. Two other insurance companies, Progressive and AAA, also received requests for records from DFS. Spokespeople for the three companies didn't respond to requests for comment.
TurboTax first launched the Military Edition in 2012. "TurboTax has a long history of supporting the military and many of our employees have served our country," the then-head of TurboTax said in the company's press release.
It has apparently been a lucrative business. On an earnings call six months later, Intuit's then-CEO Brad Smith boasted "we saw double-digit growth this season from the military and digital native customer segments."
"Given our scale and our data capabilities," he said, "we plan to extend this advantage to even more taxpayers next season." Smith is now executive chairman of Intuit's board.
Last week, a class action was filed against Intuit by a law firm representing a Marine, Laura Nichols, who was charged by TurboTax even though she was eligible to file for free, according to the complaint. The suit cites ProPublica's previous reporting on the issue. The company declined to comment.
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.


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Girls Academy Leggings Details
- Soft touch 240gsm polyester spandex knit fabric
- Quick dry fabric to keep you warm and dry
- Wider elasticated waistband for a more secure fit
- Fewer panelled seams allows ease to add multiple embellishments
Schoolwear UK Information
At Schoolwear UK we always strive to give our customers the best service possible. We do this by ensuring if you need to speak to one of our customer service team then they are always on hand.
Our website is updated regularly. We are always looking to add products to our range to best service our clients' needs. Therefore make sure to check back to see what great new products we have, as well as restocks of the most popular styles.
If you have any queries regarding the Girls Academy Leggings or an order you have placed then please do contact us. If your enquiry is related to a return you can find the details for that process here. For any further enquiries you may contact us via our contact form here.


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The Volunteers in the Courts Program was developed in 1996 to explore citizen volunteers in court-related work and the practical implications of expanding the role of volunteers in the court system.
Volunteer opportunities
There are many opportunities to serve on court-related boards and committees, and we need lawyers and non-lawyers from every county of the state to serve. The court relies on volunteers, both lawyers and non-lawyers, because of their diverse expertise and community presence, to perform this essential service. Please go to the boards and committees participation page for more information on these opportunities.
To find out about volunteer opportunities in your community, review this catalog (last update, 2013).
Success stories
Following are brief descriptions of four successful court-related volunteer programs:
Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
CASA programs are designed to assist the courts and help safeguard the welfare of children in need of protection and services. CASA programs use volunteers to monitor the living conditions of neglected or abused children and ensure that court orders are followed. With closer supervision, these children are able to continue living in their own homes, eliminating the need for foster care in some circumstances.
Teen court
Teen court programs come in many forms, typically hearing the cases of juveniles between the ages of 12 and 17 who have committed their first non-violent offenses or who are minor repeat offenders. The goals are restitution to the community and victims and giving youth an opportunity to become accountable for their behavior and develop as responsible citizens.
Working singly or in pairs, volunteers mediate family matters, small claims and civil cases. The goal is to bring the parties to settlement before the case goes to trial. Success rates are high and in at least one Wisconsin county the parties in small claims actions are required to try mediation first.
Community service programs
These programs allow judges to impose community service in lieu of jail time and/or fines in certain cases involving minor offenses. It is considered a positive means of working with offenders and improving the community at the same time.


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Always lovely to receive a collection of great illustrations from SVA. The exhibition brings together animations, children's books, graphic novels, figurative paintings, comic books and other narrative works by 21 students graduating from the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department at SVA. Curated by faculty member David Sandlin, the exhibition will be on view April 29 – May 14, 2011 at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th Floor, New York City.
It's a very diverse group of illustrators graduating from the MFA Illustrations as a Visual Essay Department at SVA. Some standouts include:
• Chi Birmingham's The Plainview Dispatch: illustrated observations of a fictional town during the height of the Gold Rush.
• The Romance of Tristan & Iseult by Philip Cheaney: interactive animated eBook for the iPad. Video sample here: http://vimeo.com/22456387
• Pimlada Phuapradit creates a curious world of defective toys.
• Korean illustrator Jungyeon Roh celebration of the vegan diet.
Here is a collection of what will be at the exibition:


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The ongoing Bitcoin block size debate has accelerated into a kind of civil war. From threats of a 51% attack to online trolls and controversy over the allegation of covert AsicBoost usage, disagreements on scaling solutions have created a toxic environment in the community. With a divide created by slogans of bigger or smaller blocks with Bitcoin Unlimited vs. Core memes, the ecosystem growing around this technology has started to resemble the craziness of party politics.
This is an article by Nozomi Hayase, a writer who has been covering issues of freedom of speech, transparency and decentralized movements.
We have seen a failure of national politics. From the 2008 financial meltdown and bank bailouts to cycles of austerity, unprecedented levels of corruption spawned a global crisis of legitimacy of institutions and governments. This only seems to have gotten worse.
In the US, at the center of financial and political power, the populace has been trapped by a corporate sponsored political charade, with a rigged presidential primary and election of the lesser of two evils. More and more, people are beginning to wake up to the broken promises and failed policies of their leaders, creating conflicts and instability in regions around the world. While solutions provided in the electoral arena have repeatedly shown to be ineffective, Bitcoin presented an alternative -a departure from this system of politics.
Politics as Systems of Power
So what is politics? What are the characteristics of governance designed by it? The Oxford Dictionary defines politics as "activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power." Politics is inherently associated with power and is a means to organize society through leaders gaining control over the majority.
Western liberal democracy is politically engineered governance. Its fundamental feature is centralization. Rules made from the top are enforced and changes in the system require permission from those who are in positions of authority.
Historian Howard Zinn (1970) noted how:
"In modern times, when social control rests on 'the consent of the governed', force is kept in abeyance for emergencies, and everyday control is exercised by a set of rules, a fabric of values passed on from one generation to another by the priests and teachers of the society." (p. 6)
This command-control style of governance works in hierarchies and is antithetical to democratic values. The integrity of the system depends on success of rulers to foster obedience of those in the network and prevent people from dissenting. For this, managing perception and public opinion through mass media becomes necessary and the system operates under the appearance of democracy, making force of control covert and invisible.
In Democracy INC: The Press and Law in the Corporate Rationalization of the Public Sphere, professor of journalism David S. Allen (2005) described the role of professionals in facilitating this managed democracy. He noted how the creation of expert knowledge is essential in this machination. Science has become a methodology to back professional legitimacy, as "individuals began to regard professional judgments, often supported by scientific data as unquestionable" (p. 54).
The Creed of Objectivity
Professionals with expert knowledge perform the role of trusted third parties who are supposed to represent the interests of citizens and make decisions on their behalf. Here, the knowledge produced in social science, such as economics, political science and psychology are often used to maintain the status quo of power structures. From Alan Greenspan to Ben Bernanke and now Janet Yellen, economists who are appointed by the US President as chair of the Federal Reserve get to decide monetary policy for the country and exercise influence through central banks around the world. What validates their expert knowledge is an epistemological foundation called the creed of objectivity.
Social science has incorporated empirical and positivist methodology of natural science and claimed the ability to form knowledge in a similar way as physical science. With this, researchers assert neutrality as if he or she transcends race, class or any personal bias. Yet, they are embedded within cultural values and their purported value-free objectivity is not actually possible. One's subjective agendas and personal views do not magically disappear by simply claiming it to be so.
Without transparency that ensures disclosure of researchers' bias, this creed of objectivity becomes a cloak that hides their motivations. This stance of objectivity closes off any feedback and the assertions that are not tested are promoted as universally applicable truth. Money in this representative democracy becomes political money, legitimatized by state authority and tied to monetary policies of investment banks and corporations that run government behind the scenes.
Replacing Politics with Math
Now, a breakthrough of computer science has found a way to crack this closed logic of control. Bitcoin opens a path for changing the world without taking power. The whitepaper published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto put forward a vision of a "peer-to-peer version of electronic cash", based on cryptographic proof, rather than relying on a trusted third party. The underpinning of this innovation was a science of asymmetrical security that provides a strong armory against violence, exploitation and extreme selfishness through a mechanism of consensus.
Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist once said that scientific integrity is learning to not fool ourselves. He noted, "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool". In natural science, researchers are given honest feedback from the real world and nature through observation, repeated testing and experiments. On the other hand, social scientists explore dimensions more divorced from physical reality, and in their claim of neutrality, they can become blind to their own bias. This would influence the outcome of their studies and they more easily distort facts with personal opinions and emotions.
This creed of objectivity in social science has shown itself to be vulnerable to tendencies toward deception, while math is a property that is impervious to manipulation. Math cannot be fooled, as it does not respond to lies and threats. Computer science relies on solid data, rigorous testing and peer-review. This gives each person an opportunity to engage in honest work to overcome self-deception and build strong security, even as strong as the laws in the physical world.
Cypherpunks; Scientists with a Moral Code
In the existing model of governance, inherent weakness of the creed of objectivity made the system vulnerable to tyranny of the few. Economic incentives set up by a professional class made the right to free speech exclusive for the beneficiaries of this managed democracy, suppressing any views that challenge this authority. Those privileged in the system call these perspectives subjective, relegating them to mere opinion. This doctrine of false objectivity that has been predominant in academia has conditioned researchers to remain impartial. This turned the populace into passive observers, preventing them from fully connecting with their passion and values.
In the foundation of Bitcoin development, there lies a particular philosophy that revolts against this restriction of free speech imposed by central authority. In the paper The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work published in 2015, eminent computer scientist Phillip Rogaway brought forward the moral obligation of cryptographers and their importance, especially in the post-Snowden era. In this, he described a group that emerged in the late 1980's who saw the potential of cryptography in shifting power relations between the individual and the state. These are the cypherpunks who held a belief that "cryptography can be a key tool for protecting individual autonomy threatened by power".
In an interview with Trace Mayer, applied cryptographer and inventor of Hashcash, Adam Back who was cited in Satoshi's whitepaper, talked about the "positive social implications arising from cryptography". He described the ethos of cypherpunks as writing code to bring the rights we enjoy offline into the online world. The idea is that lobbying politicians and promoting issues through the press would be a slow uphill battle. So, instead of engaging in legal and political systems, Back noted that they could simply "deploy technology and help people do what they consider to be their legal right" and society would later adjust itself to reflect these values. The cypherpunks, with their adamant claim of subjective domains, apply real objective knowledge that comes from math to bring change.
Solidifying Technology's Core
As the forced network effect of petrodollar hegemony begins to loosen, the empire fuels aggression, with more wars and sanctions. While this system of representation weakens, the logic of control from the old world began infiltrating the Bitcoin ecosystem. Regulators try to reach cryptocurrency through exchanges, and by enforcing KYC (Know Your Costumer) create a fertile soil for government surveillance and privacy erosion. Centralization creeps in through industrial mining and patents on hardware, with a trend toward state and corporate backed monopolies. All the while, established media keep writing obituaries on Bitcoin, wishing to declare the death of this new money they can't understand.
Politics that spread through the crypto-community have been hijacking discussions on technical development. With PR, name-calling and smear campaigns, a vocal minority engages in social engineering, distracting developers who are engineering security. This drama that some perceive as Bitcoin's existential threat brings a crisis, yet at the same time is giving us all an opportunity to solidify our commitment to this technology's fundamentals.
Bitcoin as a premise of stateless money has brought many people together. These are free market enthusiasts, traders, libertarians, engineers, venture capitalists, anarchists and artists. Bitcoin is a disruptive technology that has large political implications. Yet, for it to manifest its true potential, we must not forget its roots in its apolitical nature –solid science. This apolitical nature is not a bug, but a feature. This is what makes Bitcoin stateless money, censorship resistant, unseizable and permissionless.
Imagination from Computer Science
Legal scholar and inventor of bit-gold Nick Szabo once noted: "Computer science gives you far more leverage to change the world than any other study in our age." Social issues and questions of democracy have been a philosophical quandary that are generally tackled politically. They were not considered to be the purview of science. Yet now, imagination from computer science has come forward to help us work on solving these problems.
Our commitment to decentralization keeps this consensus algorithm running across the global network and allows all to participate in this scientific endeavor of Proof of Work – to show the world that equality, fraternity and freedom are not just ideals, but unshakable universal truths.
So, let us call a ceasefire in this political battle and engage with the honest work of collaborative efforts of writing code. By moving from a system of power to a consensus of equal peers, together we can find solutions to overcome challenges. From this secure foundation provided by this technology's core, unlimited potential can be unleashed, which creates divergent currencies to carry the wishes and desires of many communities. Where politicians and leaders have failed, Bitcoin succeeds. Our surrender to this scientific process opens a door for development of protocol and gives innovation a chance for humanity to save itself from the mess we have created.


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January 28, 2022
McDougall Newsletter Archives
The IUCr Newsletter is distributed in print to 585 libraries and various crystallographic conferences and electronically to thirteen,000 crystallographers and other involved people in 102 international locations. This is without doubt one of the longest newsletters I've ever read, however what makes it still work well is how top quality and properly packaged the content is. Based on the Worldwide Power Agency, the sector needs to develop significantly to be able to meet universal power access targets by 2030 – on the order of an additional 195 million folks.
Easily add folks outside your Feedly Team account to a newsletter too. "Our checklist will be different – individuals will actually stay up for getting our newsletter," they argue. Which e mail newsletters do you're keen on? In digital kind, this acknowledgement should be seen similtaneously the reused materials, and should be hyperlinked to the IUCr Newsletter ( ).
Newsletters are … Read the rest


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English Village
Westwood Highlands is just south of Sherwood Forest and is a similar neighborhood. Sherwood Forest is perched on the southwest slope of Mount Davidson, the City's highest hill at 927 feet. This tiny neighborhood is patterned around the tale of Robin Hood with street names such as Lansdale, Dalewood and, of course, Robinhood, the highest residential street in the City. Original globe streetlights still grace the small community thoroughfares, which feel a world apart from its more urban neighborhoods. There are only single-family homes in this small enclave of about 200 homes, some dating back to the 1930s by famed architects Julia Morgan, Timothy Pflueger and Harold G. Stoner. From colonials to manor houses, the homes reflect an elegant and serene atmosphere. South of Sherwood Forest lies Westwood Highlands, another small enclave. Many streets end with "wood" (Brentwood, Hazelwood, Burlwood), thus providing the neighborhood's nickname "the woods." Marked with obscure wrought iron signs, Westwood Highlands has 283 residences built in the late 1920s with the look and feel of an English village. The neighborhood association dates back to 1924 when the Residential Development Company of San Francisco established Westwood Highlands as one of the earliest planned residential communities in the country. Most residents are long-term and turnover is rare. Both hillside neighborhoods benefit from lovely views.
Dining, Retail & Entertainment Destinations
The Mount Davidson Stairway Walk meanders through a variety of flora and views of neighboring West Portal, where shops and restaurants can be found.


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