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Is Obesity Associated with an Increased Risk for Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Development of Asthma?
Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology volume 4, Article number: 51 (2008)
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We investigated the association between airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and obesity in adults referred for confirmation of asthma diagnosis. Data were analyzed for obesity class I (body mass index [BMI] 30-34.9 kg/m2), class II (BMI ≥ 35-39.9 kg/m2), and class III (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2). Of 861 subjects, 401 demonstrated AHR; the mean dose of methacholine was 4.16 ± 2.55 mg/mL. A significant association between obesity and AHR was evident for all subjects: the odds ratio was 1.37 (95% CI 1.02-1.82; p = .0317). One unit of increased BMI (1 kg/m2) was associated with a 3.1% increase in AHR risk (95% CI 1.01-1.05, p < .005). The odds ratio increased from 1.86 (95% CI 1.27-1.76; p = .0012) for class I to 2.61 (95% CI 1.48-4.60; p = .0006) for class III. Obesity was found to be associated with AHR and appears to be a risk factor for asthma.
Recently, asthma and obesity have evolved into two major health concerns in developed countries [1]. Over the past 20 years, obesity among adults and children has risen significantly in the United States. The latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 30% of US adults 20 years of age and older (over 60 million people) and 16% of children and teens age 6 to 19 years (over 9 million young people) are obese [2]. In addition, current data overwhelmingly document the existence of a worldwide asthma epidemic, although individual studies remain controversial [3–6]. The epidemic is thought primarily to involve persons with allergic asthma; numerous diverse theories, based on an immunopathologic understanding of the disease, have recently emerged to explain this involvement. Thus, it appears that during the past three decades, the prevalence of both asthma and obesity has increased concurrently in Western countries, therefore suggesting a possible link between the two [7]. Many publications have shown an association between asthma and obesity in adults and children [7–10].
Although obesity and asthma remain two of the fastest growing and most pervasive public health problems in developing countries, the question remains whether the relationship of asthma to obesity is a real connection with causal association or rather a misleading observation. Many, but not all, of the studies have shown that the association between obesity and the prevalence of asthma diagnosis is stronger in women than in men [9, 10]. Despite a number of epidemiologic studies supporting an association between asthma and obesity, controversy and inconsistency in the literature remain. The majority of studies support an association, but they are largely observational in design and failed to use objective clinical measures of asthma; therefore, they are susceptible to the diagnostic and recall bias. The few studies that incorporated objective measures did not find an association [10, 11]. Unfortunately, these studies included a relatively small number of patients, and this may have precluded finding an important difference. Additionally, confounding effects of asthma medications used in the obese cohort may have created a bias against an association being found. Although many studies have supported the possible association between obesity and asthma, the scientific literature remains divided regarding the association between airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and changes in body mass index (BMI). A recent cross-sectional study of 86,144 Canadians examined the association between BMI and asthma prevalence. The study found that 1 unit of BMI increase was associated with an approximately 6% increase in asthma risk in women and a 3% increase in men. A stronger association between obesity and asthma was observed in non-allergic women than in allergic women [12]. No definite information on the BMI-adjusted trends in the prevalence of asthma has been published in adults, although data on asthma and BMI were obtained in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) [13].
To further investigate the association between obesity and asthma and its possible mechanisms, we investigated the relationship of AHR, a marker of asthma, to obesity in adult subjects. We hypothesized that in a large sample of patients with respiratory symptoms suggestive of asthma referred for confirmation of asthma diagnosis, a positive association exists between BMI and AHR.
We evaluated all subjects referred for confirmation of asthma by methacholine challenge test from 1999 to 2004 at the Pulmonary Function Tests Laboratory of St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg. Appropriate Institutional Review Board and hospital approvals were obtained. Based on symptoms, a diagnosis of asthma was suspected by either the primary care physicians or pulmonary specialists. The laboratory database prospectively recorded demographic information, spirometry, and methacholine challenge test data. The chronicled demographic information included age, sex, race, height, weight, referring physician's diagnosis, smoking history, medications, and history of cardiac disease. Evaluation of all subjects and spirometric testing was done by experienced pulmonary technologists certified and licensed by the Canadian College of Respiratory Therapists and the Canadian Association of Cardio-Pulmonary Technologists. In addition, the technologists validated the information provided by the referring physician and documented asthma history as part of the previously established standard laboratory protocol. To minimize confounding by other conditions in which (AHR) has been reported (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], sarcoidosis, bronchiectasis, and cardiac disease and β-blocking medications), we excluded these subjects. Additionally, subjects with a history of smoking (≥10 pack-years), chronic steroid use, and suspected restrictive pulmonary disease (forced vital capacity [FVC] < 80% predicted and ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1] to FVC ≥ 80%) were excluded from the study.
Spirometry was performed according to American Thoracic Society criteria [14]. Testing was done with the subjects seated, and a maximum forced exhalation was carried out for a minimum of 6 seconds. After 6 seconds, the test continued until zero flow was achieved (≤50 mL flow extrapolated over 30 seconds). At least three FVC manoeuvres were performed, two of which were reproducible within 5%. Spirometric measurements were made using the PFT Horizon System SensorMedics Corp. (Yorba Linda, CA, USA); the machines were calibrated daily with a 3 L volumetric syringe. All β2-agonist medications were withheld at least 6 hours before testing. The methacholine challenge test was performed in a standard fashion [15]. FVC and FEV1 were measured after inhalation of normal saline and after doubling concentrations of methacholine from 0.03 to 16.0 mg/mL in normal saline solution. The methacholine solution was delivered using a Wright twin nebulizer and inhaled by tidal breathing for 2 minutes with the nose clipped. FVC and FEV1 were measured at 30 and 90 seconds after each dose. Doubling concentrations of methacholine were administered at 5-minute intervals until the FEV1 decreased by 20% from the lowest value following saline solution FEV1 or until a dose of 16 mg/mL was achieved. The provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20) was calculated by linear interpolation of the last two points. The subjects with a fall in FEV1 of 20% or more with less than 8 mg/mL methacholine were defined as having AHR.
Obesity was defined as [BMI = weight (kg)/height (m) squared (ht × ht) ≥ 30 kg/m2]. Non-obese individuals were defined as BMI < 30 kg/m2. Obese individuals were further classified as obesity class I, BMI from 30.0 to 34.9; obesity class II, BMI from 35 to 39.9; and obesity class III for BMI ≥ 40.0.
Statistical Analysis
Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± SD. Prevalence rates and mean values are reported with 95% confidence intervals. The χ2 test was used to determine the significance of differences in prevalence across all BMI groups and between different BMI groups, determined by increasing cutoff values compared with their control groups. Odds ratios (ORs), relative risks (RRs), and attributable risks (ARs) (AR = risk ratio - 1/risk ratio) were estimated for AHR in the presence of obesity. Correlates of BMI and AHR were studied with analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Wilcoxon rank sum tests where applicable. For all analyses, p values of <.05 were regarded as significant. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was also used to stratify the results by gender. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between continuous BMI and airway responsiveness. Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze means of grouped data, and least-square means post hoc analysis using the pooled variance was also performed to correct for multiple comparisons when comparing specific groups. The Mantel-Haenszel trend test was performed as the data suggested that there might be a dose-response trend. Microsoft Excel and SAS version 9.1 (SAS Inc, Cary, NC) were used for the data analysis.
The analysis included 861 subjects: 337 (39%) were obese and 401 (47%) demonstrated AHR (Table 1). The mean methacholine dose (PC20) was 4.16 ± 2.55 mg/mL. Spirometric measurements of FVC, FEV1, and ratio of FEV1 to FVC in methacholine-positive versus-negative subjects were not statistically different. The mean FVC (89.67 ± 14.88 vs 92.14 ± 15.40), mean FEV1 (98.93 ± 15.34 vs 98.40 ± 16.17), and mean ratio of FEV1 to FVC (85 ± 9.3 vs 81 ± 9.5) were measured within the two groups. There was a significant association between obesity and AHR for all subjects; the OR was 1.37 (95% CI 1.02-1.82; p = .0317). When used as a continuous variable in logistic regression models, one unit of increased BMI (1 kg/m2) was associated with a 3.1% increase in AHR risk (CI 1.01-1.05; p < .005) in all subjects. For men, this risk was 3.4% (CI 1.01-1.06) for one unit of increased BMI (1 kg/m2) and for women 2% (CI 0.97-1.07), respectively.
The OR for point estimates of AHR risk in obesity was 1.09 (CI 0.76-1.54) for class I, 1.5 (CI 0.92-2.46) for class II, and 2.78 (CI 1.56-4.94) for class III (Table 2). The p values were .64 for class I, .10 for class II, and .0005 for class III. When different thresholds for obesity were used as cutoffs, the association became increasingly significant as the level of obesity increased from class I to class III. ORs for class I obesity were 1.86 (95% CI 1.27-1.76; p = .0012) and for obesity class III were 2.61 (95% CI 1.48-4.60; p = .0006) (Table 3). Likewise, the RR increased from 1.22 to 1.67 to 1.86 for obesity class I to class II and class III, respectively. The attributable risk for the entire group increased from 17.83 to 30.43 to 40.13% for obesity classes I, II, and III, respectively. Using multiple regression, for the positive methacholine challenge test, the ageadjusted OR for BMI ≥ 30 was 1.44 (95% CI 1.07-1.93; p = .014), for BMI ≥ 35 was 1.93 (95% CI 1.32-2.84; p = .007), and for BMI ≥ 40 was 2.71 (95% CI 1.54-4.79; p = .0006). The age-adjusted OR for the positive methacholine challenge for a 1 kg/m2 change in BMI was 1.037 (95% CI 1.01-1.06).
On stratifying data according to sex difference, we found dissimilar results. For males, obesity class I did not appear to be a significant risk factor. However, for higher levels of obesity, classes II and III, there was a positive association between obesity and AHR. The OR was 2.75 (95% CI 1.21-6.20) and the AR was 41% for class II obesity in men, whereas the OR was 4.82 and the AR was 51% for males with class II obesity. In females, obesity was a significant risk factor for AHR at all levels of obesity. Class I obesity had an OR of 1.47 (95% CI 1.04-2.08) and an AR of 22%, whereas a higher risk was observed with obesity classes II and III, in which the ORs and ARs were 1.72 (95% CI 1.11-2.65) and 28% and 2.4 (95% CI 1.26-4.55) and 38%, respectively.
We found obesity to be a significant risk factor for AHR in subjects suspected of having asthma. According to the Canadian Asthma Consensus Guidelines, asthma is defined as "a disease characterized by paroxysmal or persistent symptoms of dyspnea, chest tightness, wheezing, sputum production, and cough associated with variable airflow limitation and airway responsiveness to exogenous stimuli" [16]. For epidemiologic purposes, asthma is defined as current symptoms of dyspnea and/or wheeze within the last 12 months, together with documented AHR [17]. The PC20 is usually interpreted in the context of pretest and posttest probability of asthma [18, 19]. The subjects in this study were referred for confirmation of asthma diagnosis because of respiratory symptoms, thus carrying a high pretest probability of asthma. Therefore, following a positive methacholine challenge test (mean PC20 dose = 4.16 ± 2.55 mg/mL), a high posttest probability of asthma in these subjects exists. AHR has also been reported in patients with COPD [20]. However, we excluded individuals with COPD based on spirometry and smoking history. When analyzing data for sex differences, similar to other published studies, we found obesity to be a significant risk factor for AHR at all levels of obesity for females but only for higher levels of obesity for men [11, 21, 22].
Literature Review
Previous observational studies support an association between AHR and asthma and obesity. Based on Canadian National Population Health Survey data from 1994-1995, Chen and colleagues found that BMI values were positively associated with prevalence of asthma in women [8]. The adjusted OR was 1.52 for women with a BMI of 28.0 kg/m2 or more compared with those with a BMI of 20.0 to 24.9 kg/m2. Shaheen and colleagues found that the ORs for the prevalence of asthma among 8,960 British adults were higher in overweight women [9]. ORs were 1.51 in those with a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m2 and 1.84 in those with a BMI of at least 30.0 kg/m2 compared with those with a BMI less than 25.0 kg/m2. Luder and colleagues reported similar associations between BMI and physiciandiagnosed asthma based on data from 5,527 adults living in New York State [10]. Several longitudinal epidemiologic studies have yielded similar results [8–12]. Findings from the Nurses' Health Study suggest that a 25 kg weight gain was associated with a 2.5-fold increase in the risk for diagnosis of asthma compared with no significant weight gain [11]. In a cross-sectional analysis of 18,000 children aged 4 to 11 years, Figueroa-Munoz and colleagues showed that asthma diagnosis and BMI were positively associated (OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.13-1.47) [21]. Gilliland and colleagues showed that the risk of new-onset asthma was higher among obese children (RR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.08-2.36) and found this effect to be stronger in boys [22].
Other investigators did not find such an association and thus speculated that asthma might be overdiagnosed in obese subjects. Schachter and colleagues studied 1,971 Australian adults in a cross-sectional epidemiologic study and found that obesity was a significant risk factor for diagnosis of asthma (OR = 2.04), wheeze, and asthma medication use (OR = 2.83) but not for AHR, atopy, or airflow obstruction [23]. Despite more symptoms consistent with asthma and use of more asthma medications in severely obese subjects, the level of AHR and airflow obstruction did not support higher prevalence of asthma. Sin and colleagues examined data from NHANES III and showed that the most obese participants (BMI > 31 kg/m2) had the greatest risk of self-reported asthma, dyspnea, and bronchodilator use but paradoxically were found to have lower risk for airflow obstruction [13]. Obese subjects used more bronchodilators than non-obese subjects without objective evidence of airflow obstruction, and asthma was overdiagnosed in this obese population. In a cross-sectional study of 86,144 Canadians who were 20 to 64 years of age, a stronger association between obesity and asthma was observed in non-allergic women than in allergic women, with the adjusted ORs being 2.53 (95% CI 2.11-3.04) and 1.57 (95% CI 1.36-1.82), respectively [12].
Biological Plausibility
To establish causality between obesity, asthma, and BHR, plausible biological mechanisms must be proved to support this hypothesis. Obesity may directly affect individuals with asthma predisposition by direct mechanical effects, by immune response enhancement through related genetic mechanisms, and by sex-specific hormones [24]. Since obesity is intricately linked to environmental factors such as physical activity, diet, and birth weight, these environmental influences, in combination with genetic predilection, may then lead to enhanced susceptibility to asthma. Undoubtedly, obesity is known to produce symptoms of dyspnea and wheezing; whether asthma and airflow obstruction are responsible for these symptoms has not been conclusively ascertained. The reduced chest wall compliance in obesity causes a substantial elastic load on inspiratory muscles and increases the work and the energy costs of breathing [25, 26]. Obesity induces a reduction in functional residual capacity (FRC) and decrements in tidal volume, which fail to increase during exercise [27]. Thus, waning FRC and tidal volumes may result in alterations in the airway smooth muscles and hence increased airways resistance and methacholine reactivity. Therefore, obese patients complain of more dyspnea and asthma-like symptoms than leaner patients and may be incorrectly diagnosed with asthma [28, 29]. In addition, obesity has been associated with decrements in forced expiratory flow (FEF) in the midportion of FVC (FEF25-75). The ratio of FEF25-75 to FVC has also been independently associated with methacholine responsiveness of the airways [30]. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is commonly seen in patients with asthma; the prevalence of GER is estimated to be 60 to 80% [31]. Since obesity has been frequently cited as an independent risk factor for GER, one may speculate that GER might mediate the relationship between asthma and obesity.
Asthma and obesity are both inflammatory states [16]. Allergic asthma is characterized by elevation of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5, which are responsible for the inflammatory cells infiltrating the airways [32]. Tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-1β, and IL-6 are also increased in asthmatics. Obesity is also a chronic inflammatory state [33]. Fat cells (adipocytes) are an important endocrine organ that produces a number of compounds that regulate inflammation such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, leptin, and adiponectin [34]. Animal studies indicate that elevations in IL-6 may contribute to upregulation of inflammation in airways, independent of an allergic mechanism. IL-6 increases production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), stimulating the humoral immune system and production of T-helper 2 (Th2)-associated cytokines [35]. PGE2 does this by modulating professional dendritic cells, by acting on their differentiation, maturation, and ability to secrete cytokines [36]. PGE2 is a potent inducer of IL-10 in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, and this cytokine displays both immunostimulatory and immunoregulatory activities [37]. PGE2 can also act on immature dendritic cells to trigger local Th2 recruitment via control of cytokine production [38]. The hormone leptin of the IL-6 family has effects on inflammation, including the release of IL-6 from macrophages and lymphocytes [39, 40]. Leptin levels in adulthood are higher in women than in men, along with a higher prevalence of asthma [41]. But the specific role of leptin and the recently described adipocytokines, such as adiponectin, resistin, and visfatin, remains undefined [42].
Interestingly, in most but not all studies, BMI has not been independently related to atopy, so the effects of obesity, other than immune mechanisms, are mediated through hormonal influences. The study by Huang and colleagues showed that girls in the highest BMI quintile had a significantly higher prevalence of atopy and rhinitis symptoms than girls in the lowest BMI quintile [43]. In contrast, Jang and colleagues and Jarvis and colleagues found no association between BMI and atopy [44, 45]. In a study of children with a mean age of 5.9 years, Guler and colleagues found that atopic asthmatics had significantly higher leptin levels for a similar BMI than non-atopic asthmatics, but this did not correlate with skin test reactivity [46]. An explanation for these disparities may come from the study of Vieira and colleagues, who found that in healthy obese and non-obese women, specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) was three times higher in obese compared with non-obese subjects, as were plasma 17β-estradiol, fasting insulin resistance, C-peptide, and leptin concentrations [47]. All of these factors correlated with fat mass, which was the only positive predictor of specific IgE. Thus, female sex hormones may also play a role, given the increased risk of asthma development in women [48]. The effect of female hormone levels may also be related to our findings of significant BHR in obesity class I compared with men. Obesity may reduce progesterone, which would reduce β2-receptor function, which may reduce bronchial smooth muscle relaxation and worsen asthma control. Weight loss increases progesterone and adrenoreceptor density and improves lung function in obese females with asthma. Although some effect of estrogen levels on airways responsiveness is seen in animal modes, it is not clear which airway cells express estrogen receptors and/or if signalling pathways via estrogen receptors interact with airway inflammation in asthma [49, 50].
Implications of Obesity and Asthma Causality
Our and other epidemiologic investigations denote a significant temporal relationship between alterations in body mass and asthma. This association is probably multifactorial; however, the potential independent effects of biomechanics, inflammation, genetics, and sex-specific effects contradict this association. Research is urgently needed to further elucidate this relationship and understand the causal mechanisms of obesity and asthma association. From a public health standpoint, these studies have substantial implications. If asthma were added to the list of conditions related to obesity, then reducing the prevalence of obesity could be expected to produce even greater public health benefits than are currently estimated. It may be too early to incorporate weight reduction strategies in efforts to reduce the health and economic burden of asthma; however, current evidence mandates that such interventions should not be delayed either.
Limitations of Our Study
Ours is an observational cohort study that includes inherent limitations, such as the lack of an age- and sex-matched control group, its retrospective nature, relatively small sample size, and inability to categorize clinical asthma severity. All patients included in this study were referred to a tertiary care centre for evaluation of respiratory symptoms, therefore creating a selection bias. Despite these limitations, our study attained some important observations, which can have potential implications in designing future health policies.
In summary, obesity and asthma are the two fastest growing health problems worldwide; there appears to be a genuine association between the two. Our study established obesity as a risk factor for new diagnosis of asthma, the risk increasing with higher levels of obesity. These findings should be the basis for future controlled investigations to further establish this association and discover the biological mechanisms for their association.
This study was supported by a grant from Respiratory Research, St. Boniface General Hospital.
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Sharma, S., Tailor, A., Warrington, R. et al. Is Obesity Associated with an Increased Risk for Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Development of Asthma?. All Asth Clin Immun 4, 51 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/1710-1492-4-2-51
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1710-1492-4-2-51
- airway hyperresponsiveness
- asthma
- obesity


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Book 6 days Cairo and Egypt desert safari adventure. Visit Giza Pyramids, Egyptian Museum and Old Cairo then drive to Bahariya Oasis to visit the Black Desert, El Haiz Valley, Crystal Mountain, Agabat Valley, White Desert, Mummies Museum, the Bannantiu Tomb, the English House and the Salt Lake.
The tour will be private with an expert Egyptologist tour guide and all transportation will be by a deluxe private air-conditioned vehicle. Desert Safari and accommodation included.
- Pickup Time: According to arrival time in Cairo
- Trip Runs: Everyday
- Tour Duration: 6 Days, 5 Nights
- Tour Guide: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese
- Children: Can join the tour

subset: commoncrawl


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On four consecutive Tuesday evenings in March-April, Tulku Sherdor of Blazing Wisdom Institute in Andes, New York, a frequent guest teacher at The Tibetan Center, will offer a complete course on The Four Dharmas of Gampopa & Longchenpa.
Registrants should commit to attend the entire series, for which a donation of $75 (for all four sessions) is recommended. Please feel free to offer more or less according to your means and interest.


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I'm a new mother, and can't afford to pay $400 to attend a friend's bachelorette party. Another friend backed out. Should I reconsider?
Which is healthiest — an ice-cream cone, a bag of Fritos or a multigrain bagel? The answer may surprise you.
Consumers Are Starting to Act As If Recession Is Right Around the Corner
This is the No. 1 expense, by far, for retirement-age Americans — and pros say it shouldn't be
Dear Tax Guy: 'I've accumulated a lot of junk.' I plan to make $6,000 selling stuff on eBay. Can I put it into an IRA instead of paying income tax?
Forget DoorDash and Uber. Walmart and Kroger Are Now the Innovators in Food Delivery.
'The Twitter files' shows company's internal debate on how to handle Hunter Biden laptop story
Strong Job Numbers Throw Cold Water on Hopes for End to Rate Rises
Inflation and credit-card debt are on the rise, despite a strong job market. Tell us how the economy is affecting you.
'I hugged him. All I felt were bones': My father, 90, and my abusive mother are divorcing. I've already fired four attorneys. How do I find a good lawyer?
Suze Orman says, 'We're heading downhill very fast,' unless employers start providing this critical benefit to their workers
The U.S. job market is strong, but layoffs are on the rise. Is this a good — or bad — time to ask for a raise? Experts weigh in.
'He is financially secure and owns two homes': I finally met the man of my dreams, but he treated our waitress like dirt and tipped her 10%. Am I overreacting?
Stocks Continue to Rally. That Doesn't Mean the Bear Market Is Going Away.
Virtual Stock Exchange


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New Mexico Museum of Natural HistoryClick Here to navigate to the press.
Designs: 4
Last update: 12-30-2017 22:30:24
Description:Address: 1801 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, USA
If you ask nicely, and promise to leave directly afterwards, admission is not required to smash your pennies. Machine is located on the far side of the gift shop, near the elevator. Go past the gift shop to find the elevator on the right.
There is a set of retired pennies that have dino s as the die but are completly different.
Commentsthegillion added New Mexico Museum of Natural History to system.


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Welcome to The A.V. Club's Love binge-watch. From Friday, February 19 through Sunday, February 21, A.V. Club contributor Shelby Fero will be watching and reviewing every episode of Netflix's new romantic comedy. You can watch and comment along with her here, or chime in on the individual episode reviews. For those watching the show at a more moderate pace, reviews by Molly Eichel will run daily starting Monday, February 22.
Hey, real quick Q here from Ol' Shelbaroni here: Is Mickey crazy, or is she me anytime I've ever liked a boy in the past? Let's get supes real, mah dudes (can you tell I'm not big on sincerity): Without going into detail, I have had some bad relationships in the past (Google "anxious-avoidant style relationships" for more detail), with people whom I'd like to totally write off as the "wrong" one so that I can spare myself any culpability in the inevitable crash and burn. Like Mickey, I've sailed through "serious" milestones without blinking an emotional eye, only to find myself spiraling out over someone who suddenly couldn't care about me less. Whatever the underlying cause is–ego, guilt, clinical depression, maybe?–the object of your affection is that: an object. An object that you feel like you need to live. Like any high, it's impossible to see how pathologically fucked things are until you sober up.
Be it causation (artists are all crazy!) or correlation (this is how it really is!), media doesn't usually paint "true love" with the most measured of hands, so that "love" in a movie almost never parallels stable, healthy "love" in the real world. Instead, this sort of hyper-focused obsession is painted as romantic–noble, even. Everyone swoons when Gosling stays waiting for McAdams in that house for like five years of The Notebook, as if that isn't the creepiest thing ever. So when Mickey tricks Bertie into going on a studio tour so that she can maybe, kind of, totally accidentally bump into Gus, it makes sense. When she wanders into the school trailer, acquainting herself with Arya to embed herself in Gus's life further, it's the logical next step. Even Bertie's infuriated exit can't shake Mickey's resolve.
Gus vocalizes why her actions aren't ok, but Mickey states her case, claiming that–if Gus really liked her for her–he would find all she's done endearing. It's sort of true. If everything works out with them, Mickey's actions are cute. If they don't, she's a stalker. Gus fights dirty, combining honest anxieties with vitriolic rhetoric to wound. He argues that Mickey's using him as a safety blanket; she's taking a detour down a safe, suburban sidewalk to convince herself she belongs there. Just because she's willing to fuck up her life, it doesn't mean she has to fuck up his. He's half-right; Mickey does need to contend with her sex and love addiction before committing to another relationship. But Love isn't interested in clear heroes and villains: As we've seen, Mickey's actively working towards adulthood, while Gus has regressed from a boring nice guy to a philandering prick. When Mickey screams "I'm not crazy!" in Gus's face, she's not right, but she's not wrong either.
Grade: A-
Random Thoughts:
- O, please, dear friends! Guide me to shore; for the "Love (2016)" IMDB page has cast me adrift. Who plays Susan's nephew? He kills as the showrunner's nephew slash crafty intern. Give the man a three picture deal for his performance! Also, "Arya" is spelled "Aria" so take that, one very polite commenter on an earlier review!
- I love how the couple of "capital 'r' capital 'f'" Red Flags that pop up with Bertie and her new beau, Randy, are brushed aside. O'Doherty gives her "Oh really?"s just enough muted panic.
- Foolish security guard thinks Mickey won't notice the giant open gate because he's closed this tiny one in her face? Pathetic.


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Security is a tricky subject; you get people who push for security and other who claim that it is all a waste of money. What is the truth? Is security really worth the investment? Will organizations get something in return for the money they spend securing their infrastructure or is it all a ploy by vendors of security products who try to scare people in buying products they do not really need?
The answer to these questions is never clear cut – it obviously varies from company to company and it depends on a number of factors.
Let's start with a brief overview of what an organization needs to defend. Again this is subjective to each appropriate case but generally it includes a standard number of things. At the highest level you have the physical and the virtual. The physical is pretty straightforward – you have the building, equipment, tools and everything else tangible. Virtual property includes intellectual property, accounts information, operating environment, network infrastructure and other data stored in your IT environment.
Securing the Physical and the Virtual involves the same basic steps. One starts with a risk assessment. Where are my weak points? What kind of attacks am I expecting? How much can I afford to spend to mitigate a particular risk? Once again the answer to this varies according to the individual organization. If you're a bank which has a certain amount of money stored in the building at all times, it makes sense to worry about people breaking in through all kinds of possible entries be it the roof, basement and even the sewers. On the other hand if you run a sweet shop, securing against people infiltrating the store through the roof after climbing down ropes from helicopters might be going a bit overboard.
Identifying the variables
First step is to understand what we're dealing with. The Physical and the Virtual have slightly different variables and dynamics. Taking into account the example above, why wouldn't a sweet shop worry about people climbing down from helicopters to raid the shop? It's because it is easy to realize that thieves with those kinds of resources and tactical expertise will not bother with something as small as a sweet shop and it's a fair assumption to make; however, is that also true in the virtual world as in the physical world? Not in all cases. To understand this better we need to consider our possible attackers. We can experience three different kinds of attacks essentially.
- Targeted Attacks
- Un Targeted (Random) Attacks
- Insider Attacks
Targeted attacks, as the name implies, are attacks launched at a particular target. These attacks would be what in the physical world you would expect from thieves with helicopters. They will have a particular target in mind; they won't roam around in their helicopter and attack the first target of opportunity.
Untargeted attacks are attacks which seek someone vulnerable. Here the attacker doesn't really care about who gets hit, in fact in most cases the attacker wouldn't even be aware who he is hitting. In this type of attack the attacker will simply scan random portions of the internet for someone vulnerable and attack any potential victims that are located.
Insider attacks are the most problematic. Targeted attacks are insidious because the attacker will spend time trying to break through your security and he is intent on succeeding. Chances are that targeted attackers will also be more knowledgeable. Random non targeted attacks are less insidious in that most likely the attacker will try a couple of attacks and if they fail s/he will move on. In most cases the probing around will also be done by a script with no human monitoring whatsoever. However random attacks are more likely to occur because by their nature they are constantly running looking for victims. Each computer connected to the internet will experience plenty of such probes. It doesn't matter how big your business is because the person launching the attack has no knowledge of that. Being a behemoth like Toyota or small like the little corner shop will make no difference (well except that Toyota will have a much larger footprint on the internet than a little corner shop, but apart from that, for this type of attack, they're identical). Insider attackers are the worst because they basically inherit the worst parts of targeted and random attacks. Insider attacks are targeted at you specifically and will persist until they succeed or are stopped in most cases.
In the next segment of this series we'll be discussing the motivation behind online attacks.


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WELCOME! Everything is made to order, so you can pick out anything you'd like and we will create it for you! Our turnaround time is approximately 1-2 weeks from when you order to when we ship.
These are the most elegant, heirloom quality, smooth name puzzles you'll find. We use solid hardwoods, natural polish, and deep nesting pockets with thick letters. Each puzzle is personalized for you--simply include a note during the checkout process mentioning the name you'd like us to make. We always begin with a capital letter followed by lowercase, but if you'd like all capital letters, include that with your note. Multiple names can be combined on one base, so choose the total number of letters for the base and write the names during checkout.
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"Walnut Letters" comes in a Maple Base
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Made to order. Letters are about an inch thick. Base size varies depending on name. Smallest letter is lowercase "r" and measures about 1.5 inches tall. Small pieces pose a choking hazard for children under 3 years old.
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There isn't much right now in the extreme Southeast corner of Lake County, but if you pan out a bit on a multi-county map, it doesn't take long to deduce that the area's sparse condition is likely temporary.
To the east, the area abuts Orange County's booming and close to build-out Horizon West, and Disney's side door. To the North is fast growing Clermont. To the south is Four Corners, the intersection of Polk, Osceola, Lake and Orange counties and access to the I-4 corridor.
A while back, a group of large property owners decided it would be a good thing to plan for the development of the area so it would happen in an organized, rather than piecemeal way. They donated cash to create the plan and Wellness Way was born.
In the summer of 2015 Lake County commissioners approved the Wellness Way sector plan for the 16,200-acre, 25.28–square-mile chunk of land. The plan has one more trip to the state to go for final approval.
Next, the property owners plan to start coming to the county with individual zoning requests and development plans for their land.
"I can tell you that our group (about a couple dozen investor/owners of 1,400 acres) will be moving forward, said Jim Karr, an initial developer of Horizon West who took a lead position in planning Wellness Way along with other land owners.
He is expecting ground-breakings on some sites in 18 to 24 months.
Location: Southeast Lake County
Size: 16,200-acres, 25.28 -square miles
Theme: Wellness, with an emphasis on commercial uses to create jobs
Planning donation by landowners: $175,000
Estimated jobs to be created: 26,839
Start Date: Early 2017, estimated
End Date: Uncertain
email@example.com or 407-420 6261


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Light for My Path Daily Devotion
Bible Reading
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)
Hymn ELH 232:1,6 How Precious is the Book Divine
How precious is the Book Divine,
By inspiration giv'n!
Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine
To guide our souls to heav'n,
To guide our souls to heav'n.
This lamp through all the dreary night
Of life shall guide our way
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day,
Of an eternal day.
Heavenly Father, You have given Your Word to all people so that we may know Your will. Continue to bless me through the reading and studying of your Word- the Law that condemns me and the Gospel that saves me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


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Let our team of storytellers use social media to translate your brand into a digital voice. We promise to be passionately professional because when our clients succeed, we succeed. Small or large, every business deserves a custom social media marketing solution!
Increase your business's online presence through your social media channels. We fully develop and manage our clients social media campaigns and audiences to align with your goals for any channel (Twitter, Instagram, FB, LinkedIN, about.me…) that engages influencers directly with your brand.
Social Media Strategy
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Every social platform has its own tone and protocol. Every client has different business goals. Nexus know that what may work on Instagram, isn't right for LinedIn. So ask us questions, and we will give you answers.


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4 Responses:
Top comment:
Lifting The Veil / Cullen Smith6 days ago (edited)
wowwww this is fucking epic. sharing to Lifting The Veil facebook. thank you. great job. please continue!
There's gotta be a German word for this feeling I'm having.
"Ugh, credulous fools"? It's like, sort of the inverse, and yet the same as, "wake up sheeple"?
It's a pretty good example of what happens when folks rely too much on Benthamite "sinister interest" to explain everything.
It's a beautiful piece of work. Incredibly incoherent and suffers from a lot of delusional paranoia, but maybe that's the point. About 8 minutes in I was trying not to roll my eyes too much; when they got through the psychedelic chakra sequence I was just wondering what next batshit thing there'd be.
Some novels over-explain their world systems, good ones leave things to implication and innuendo which allow the writer flexibility and give an opportunity to come back. This one suffers from a weird mix: it's both overly-detailed and overly explained, but then also left too much to implication.
Either that or I'm just letting all those art history classes stack up too much in my head.
Mmm. "In Shadow: A Modern Odyssey". Do we think those responsible have read Homer?
Isn't there a rule about not reminding people of a better thing during your thing? Like when you're about to title your blog rant "The factory pattern considered harmful" you should read Dijkstra's letter, and think about your rant, and then try something like "I don't like the Factory pattern" (and then very likely delete it because chances are you're no Dijkstra).
Or the one I see most egregiously, titling "A Modest Proposal" some half-arsed supposedly satirical proposal which is in fact pretty modest compared to literally eating babies which is what Swift suggests.
I would give this a pass on the title if it seemed to be a long and interesting journey, of any sort, which has become a meaning for the word "odyssey" in English. I guess it's long, in the same sense that 30 seconds of Nyan Cat is "long" but is it even a journey? It's a portfolio piece. "Hire me to do the animations for your conspiracy theory".


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As the scaling debate rages on, Tuesday saw the release of the latest implementation of Bitcoin Core.
Bitcoin Core 0.14.0 provides some useful adjustments to user features, giving transaction senders and receivers greater flexibility and control over their funds.
Included are significant timesaving benefits for new nodes, as well as optional Replace-by-Fee functionality (also referred to as "child-pays-for-parent").
For nodes joining Bitcoin Core, there is now an "Assumevalid" option to assume transactions are valid up to a certain block, negating the need to sync the entire Bitcoin Blockchain and thereby saving time.
This comes hand in hand with Blockchain pruning - older blocks can simply be deleted if desired once verified, saving users valuable disc space for Bitcoin's 100-gigabyte Blockchain.
In terms of fees, meanwhile, RBF allows a second transaction to be sent in order to have the original one confirmed faster if confirmation is taking longer than expected.
The second transaction will have a higher fee and miners will recognize that both the first and second should be processed. This is already possible from certain wallets but has now received limited availability for Bitcoin Core.
The release comes as both Bitcoin Core and alternatives such as Bitcoin Unlimited continue heated debate on how to resolve the network's capacity issues.
Most recent developments hint that in the event of a hard fork, Bitcoin Unlimited would, in fact, become a new altcoin, known as $BTU or $XBU.
So far I've heard Coinbase/GDAX & Bitfinex state that in the event of a chain fork, the BU chain will be listed as a new altcoin. $BTU $XBU— Samson Mow (@Excellion) March 9, 2017


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You may be aware that Qudos Insurance A/S has gone into liquidation and they are currently not paying insurance claims.
If you are insured with Patrona Underwriting Ltd for Van or Home insurance you are affected by this.
If you are a Van customer, you are now insured with RSA Insurance Ireland DAC.
If you are a Home Insurance customer, you are now insured with Gefion Insurance A/S. Gefion Insurance A/S is authorised by the Finanstilsynet in Denmark (No. 53117), and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules.
Doyle Mahon Insurances have paid a supplementary fee to ensure all of our affected customers are fully covered up to their next renewal date.
Relevant Questions:
Q: When did this change take place?
A: December 6th 2018
Q: Am I covered?
A: Yes. With effect from 6th December 2018 you are fully covered by a new underwriter.
Q: How much will it cost me?
A: Nothing. Doyle Mahon Insurances have covered the cost of ensuring you are fully covered up to your next renewal date.
Q: Will I receive new documentation?
A: Yes.
Q: What do I do next?
A: Nothing, you will receive your new documentation in due course and your policy will run, as normal, to your next renewal date.


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A reunion of The Kinks is still very much a possibility according to Ray Davies.
Speaking in yesterday's The Sunday Times (8th of June), Davies revealed: "I met Dave only last week to talk about getting back together again."
"We've also spoken a few times on the phone and emailed. He's been composing his own songs, but I'd really like to write with him again."
"We both agree we don't want to do old stuff or tour with past hits," continued Davies. "It's got to be something new."
Speaking in the February edition of Uncut magazine, Ray Davies had previously discussed the possibility of Kinks shows in 2014 to mark the 50th anniversary of the group. "It's as close as it's ever been to happening," he said then.
"I said to Ray I thought that it'd be a great shame if we don't try and do something," said guitarist Dave Davies. "I don't think our love has diminished. I think the stage-play has played itself out a bit, the pretence and the acting. I think it's time reality took over, and started directing the last years of… whatever it is. It's like Cain and Abel."
Though Davies added: "I don't want to see the legacy of The Kinks soured by two miserable old men doing it for the money."
Watch this space!
Album Reviews | Live Reviews | News | SBA Lists | The Playlist | Under The Skin | Without A Song


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For Native Americans, the Battle Against Voter Suppression in North Dakota Is Only the Beginning
North Dakota Native Americans say they're fired up to vote following a fraught battle over a voter identification measure that they say amounts to a thinly veiled attempt by the state's Republican officials to bar indigenous people from the polls. What's more, Native American leaders promise that their renewed energy for political engagement will last far beyond Tuesday, citing overwhelming efforts by the community's youth to get out the vote.
"This is far from the election of a candidate; it's more of an empowerment of the people," says O.J. Semans, the co-director of Four Directions, a Native American voting rights group. "I see it continuing and nothing but good happening from it hereafter."
In northern North Dakota's Turtle Mountain, Native American students are set to walk out of class and march to polling places with signs encouraging community members to vote.
"They're taking it upon themselves to become involved," Semans says, adding that the youth has engaged in "trickle-up" activism, inspiring their elders of voting age to travel what can be great distances and overcome technical obstacles posed by the state to vote. "That encourages us knowing the fact that we have future generations stepping up to ensure that we, the Native Americans are going to have people like Barb (Semans' partner and fellow organizer) and I generation after generation after generation. Regardless of what they try, our future generations will know how to stand up to it."
Semans attributes his optimism to the fact that the several setbacks in his battle against voter suppression seem only to have emboldened Native American voters and activists in their push toward the polls. More than ever before, community members of all stripes are encouraging their families and fellow tribal nation members to do what they can to participate in the electoral process, he says.
In their latest setback last week, North Dakota's Spirit Lake Tribe sued North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger in a last-minute bid to block a measure requiring that North Dakotans submit identification with proof of address. That lawsuit cited several North Dakota Native Americans who had obtained the necessary identification listing a residential address but were still unable to vote, despite going to great lengths to comply with the state's rule. Many North Dakota Native Americans live in rural areas on tribal lands, typically without named and numbered roads.
The state has charged that the requirement is designed to stop voter fraud, a phenomenon that the George W. Bush administration study found to be virtually non-existent. Native Americans like Semans say that the measure is a poorly disguised attempt by North Dakota Republicans to give their candidate, Kevin Cramer, an advantage against Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a longtime champion of Native American rights. In 2012, Heitkamp won against Republican Rick Berg by just a few thousand votes.
The state had advised Native Americans to obtain addresses from local 911 coordinators, but the lawsuit filed last week cited circumstances in which Native Americans with those addresses were still blocked from voting.
On Thursday, a federal judge tossed that lawsuit, which sought a temporary injunction against the residential address requirement.
"Last week's ruling was another blow to the backbone of democracy," Semans says. But he is neither discouraged nor surprised. "Lately, rulings like that have been more common that that. We realize sometimes civil rights battles aren't won in court; it's won by movement to make change."
In October, the Supreme Court upheld a lower-court decision in favor of the state's measure to require proof of residential address. That lower-court decision acknowledged that the requirement would discourage Native American voters but held that the overwhelming concern was the prevention of voter fraud.
Jaeger's office did not respond to Pacific Standard's request for comment on the ruling last week and whether it could ensure that Native Americans would enjoy constitutionally guaranteed access to the polls.
The court decisions, which in one case seemed to admit that a ramification of the residential address requirement would be to suppress native votes, may have amounted to obstacles to the Native electorate. But they also inspired tireless work by Semans and others.
"The Supreme Court ruling and the last judge's ruling required us to do what takes six months in a matter of weeks. I'm confident we met the call but we'll see tomorrow," Semans says. "But I can tell you everyone I've talked to are all excited about voted. It's not the issue of who wins and loses; the issue is they're not going to steal their voice by creating nuisance laws." Semans' Four Directions has developed a system with California's Claremont Graduate University that allows tribe members to point to residences on electric maps and generate addresses. On-site tribal officials then printed identification that the voters use to cast ballots. There had been some question as to whether state officials would accept that identification, but the IDs were accepted at a recent early voting event in Standing Rock, North Dakota, Semans reports.
"That's a big victory for us," he says. Tribal representatives will be available at North Dakota polling stations to ensure that members aren't turned away from the polls, Semans says.
Whether they will accept ballots submitted with identification generated on site is about more than just the mid-terms—it's about the future of Native American human rights.
"It goes back to tribal sovereignty to be able to create addresses," he says. But he expects the support of non-Native North Dakotans in tomorrow's final battle against what some say is a discriminatory and suppressive voting law. "It shouldn't take a court to change [the voting law]. It should be the good people of North Dakota saying this isn't right. We're used to losing in court. But we're also used to coming back and winning. It ain't going to stop us. We're still going fight to empower tribes. That's just how it is off in Indian Country."


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Please Don't Lecture On Nationalism, Says Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh to PM Narendra Modi
With the Gujarat elections in full swing, PM Narendra Modi during campaigning on December 10 alleged that the outcome of the Gujarat election is being manipulated by Pakistan.
He further said that in a 'secret' meeting at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's residence, the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met officials from Pakistan and conspired to make Ahmad Patel the chief minister of Gujarat.
To the said allegation the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement and demanded an apology from Narendra Modi for his baseless remarks.
Everything is Pakistan's fault
"There were media reports about a meeting at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house in which Pakistan's High Commissioner, Pakistan's former Foreign Minister, India's former Vice-President and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were present," said Narendra Modi at an election rally at Palanpur in north Gujarat, scheduled to vote in the second phase on December 14.
He alleged that Mani Shankar Aiyar's calling Modi 'neech' (a lowly person), came only after that meeting with Pakistani officials, where Dr Manmohan Singh was also present. Modi hinted at Pakistani influence regarding Aiyar's comment. He said,
On one hand, Pakistan Army's former DG is interfering in Gujarat's election, on the other, Pakistani people are holding a secret meeting at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house and immediately after the meeting, people of Gujarat, backward communities, poor people and Modi were insulted. Don't you think such events raise doubts here.
In his speech, he also alleged that former director general (DG) of the Pakistan Army Sardar Arshad Rafiq appealed to the Congress senior leader Ahmed Patel to be made Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Following Modi's speech, Amit Shah addressed the media at Gandhinagar and claimed that former Vice President Hamid Ansari was present in the meeting and the Ministry of External Affairs was not notified accordingly.
Baseless allegations says Congress
"Holding the country's topmost post, Modiji is making baseless allegations. Modiji is worried, dejected, angry. Such behaviour is unbecoming of a Prime Minister," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters in New Delhi.
He also questioned why did Modi make an "unplanned" visit to Pakistan for Nawaz Sharif's granddaughter's wedding days after "Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attacks at Gurdaspur and Udhampur".
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement on Monday refuting the baseless allegations and also mentioned the people present in the meeting and the topic of discussion amongst them.
He said that he sincerely hoped that Narendra Modi will apologise for hinting that they were meeting to alter the outcome of the Gujarat elections.
In the statement, Dr Manmohan Singh said,
I am deeply pained and anguished by the falsehood and canards being spread to score political points in a lost cause by none less than Prime Minister, Sh. Narender Modi. Fearing imminent defeat in Gujarat, desperation of Prime Minister to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable. Sadly & regrettably, Sh. Modi is setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office, including that of a former Prime Minister and Army Chief.
He also pointed out that he needed "no sermons on nationalism" from someone "whose compromised track record on fighting terrorism is well known," and he also hinted at Modi's "uninvited" visit to Pakistan for Nawaz Sharif's granddaughter's wedding.
"Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic air base in Pathankot to investigate a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan," he said.
Dr Manmohan Singh also made it clear that Gujarat elections or any political issue related to India was not discussed and the discussion was completely based on India-Pakistan relationships. Read the full statement below.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issues a statement after reports of him attending a meeting where a Pakistan envoy was also present. pic.twitter.com/ngAyC7MW08
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2017
One of the people present in the meeting, Sharat Sabharwal, a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan from 2009-2013, and deputy high commissioner from 1995-1999, said: "It was only a discussion on India and Pakistan relations, in the nature of many such discussions. There was nothing to do with the internal political scenario."
Rahul Singh, writer and journalist, who was also present at the meeting said that he was "appalled" and that "there was no mention whatsoever of India's domestic politics, nor of the Gujarat election".
The Logical Indian Take
The Logical Indian sincerely hopes that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not allege things he cannot prove just to manipulate and win an election. He holds the highest office in the country and thus has the power to influence people's minds. But, baseless allegations as such not only reduces his gravitas but also tarnishes the image of the country as a whole.


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A.R.S. B.Ed. College, BSL, L.H. Station Road, Bokaro Steel City (Jharkhand) is established, managed and run by A.R.S. Memorial Educational Society for Human Welfare. It is recognised by NCTE Bhubneshwar and Affiliated to Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University, Dhanbad, to provide education in B.Ed. Course to the students both boys and girls in the surroundings. Its mission is to produce of competent, committed and caring teachers, expected, to lead the future citizens of the world towards a value based and holistic life. They are supposed to be well trained with national and international perspective so as to become able to groom the whole generation and induct the feeling of secularism, democracy, nationalism and universal fraternity in them during their service in the cause of education.
Our endeavor is to provide the participants of our B.Ed. programme a broad-based approach to Human Resource Development and social Development. The college has a full fledged computer lab, Psychology lab, Education Technology lab, Language lab and comfortably equipped library. The spacious and well designed class rooms coupled with a seminar hall, all located in a well closeted building, make A.R.S. institution an ideal destination for teacher education training.
At A.R.S. We would leave no stone unturned to put theory into practice, facilities an excellent learning environment, bridge the gap in quality teacher education through the untiring efforts of highly competent and well qualified faculty and ensure that our aspiring pupils would pass out as well trained leaders in education.
A.R.S. B.Ed. College is peaceful for a healthy academic atmosphere and recognized by National Council For Teachers Education (NCTE) Bhubneshwar vide letter No. ERC-252.4.11/ERCAPP708/B.Ed./2018/56436.
The college has been granted NOC by Jharkhand Govt. and Affiliated to Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University, Dhanbad.


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Amusity is a zany table that ought to make its way to your music collection, simply because designer Idan Arbel who came up with the Amusity wants to turn your coffee table into a tangible user interface for your whole music library. With the Amusity, one is able to play music videos, access information concerning the artist, song and album among others in order to control the flow of the songs. Whenever you activate a song, there will be a bunch of possible paths that are available to you to move on to other tunes. As for the circle pieces, those function as speakers that plays the song when it is placed on the board. Interesting! We do wonder what the power consumption of this thing is, alongside the type of operating system it runs on.
Filed in Coffee Table and Table.. Read more about


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so im not gonna mention mike vick in this post except right here instead there was this song i just heard today by tobymac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZef1vFIM_s and it really caught my attention. I started thinking we are all going to school for our the careers we want to do in the future. Most of us its because we enjoy this career. but sometimes we all get so caught up in our own lives and all the homework we have or the important MU vs. KU game that we forget the whole purpose of life. just to live life and give. once we lose focus of god were losing focus of life. i mean its nice to want that really good job and keep up on your grades but you have to do everything for the glory of god. the Xgames definitely helped me get away from everyday life and realize there's so much more than
at blue river. and i know you derek run off red bull and kendyl you have about 6 foot long legs but thats why i like walking slow because i like to enjoy whats around me. no point in rushing. just relax and have fun and dont give up god for whats happening around you. cody page


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Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is located in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. In the last official census of 2011 the population of the City of Zagreb was 792,875. The wider Zagreb metropolitan area includes the City of Zagreb and the separate Zagreb County bringing the total metropolitan area population up to 1,110,517. It is the only metropolitan area in Croatia with a population of over one million.
The official language is Croatian. Many people, especially young, speak English. German is also widely spoken.
TIME DIFFERENCES: Croatia is a part of the Central European Time Zone (GMT +1): when it is noon in Zagreb it is 12:00 in Berlin, 11:00 in London, 06:00 in New York, 14:00 in Moscow and 21:00 in Sydney.
The main venue for the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2018 is Dom sportova Arena. It has a seating capacity of about 5000 seats and was built in 1973. The ice surface is 60 x 30 m.
Zagreb Fair Arena will serve as the practice arena for the Event. Located on Zagreb Fair complex, it was firstly used as Ice arena in 1979 and renewed in 1999. Before it was used as fair pavilion of Zagreb Fair. Ice surface is 60 x 30 m.
Junior team 2017/2018
Team members (alphabetical order):
Nina Budiša, Franka Ćurković, Franka Đurđek, Sara Gašpar (team captain), Franka Kovačić, Lea Lopotar, Iva Matišin, Ana Mažar, Nika Merkaš, Sara Merkaš, Magdalena Mihalac, Marta Mihalac, Paulina Pavičić, Anja Prižmić, Ena Rajić, Hana Rajić, Lucia Rešetar, Nina Selman, Nives Straga, Bruna Tičak, Emanuela Živko
SHORT PROGRAM: Michael Jackson – Place with no name
FREE PROGRAM: Soundtrack from Dirty Dancing movie
COACHES: Ozana Miljković, Nataša Bahat
POWER COACH: Tomislav Biščan
CHOREOGRAPHY: Ivana Gagro
TEAM MANAGER: Tamara Merkaš
TEAM LEADER: Zoran Kovačević
TEAM DOCTOR : Dr. Josip Feldbauer
ABOUT TEAM: Junior team has 20 members ages 14 to 20. Their skating season started on the 20th of August after which they had skating camp with canadian coach Anne Schelter. During season they are practicing four times per week, including hours on ice, power practices and choreography lessons.
Team Zagreb Snowflakes Junior is also Croatian national team. This season they competed in two international competitions: Mozart cup (Salzburg) and Spring cup (Milan).


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We spoke about Divinity Original Sin when it first launched at the start of July and now we have some excellent gameplay for those that are considering a purchase, but want to check out a Divinity Original Sin review beforehand.
Now, we give you the chance to get the only preview of the game you need, with an uninterrupted Divinity Original Sin walkthrough which offers no fewer than 6 hours of gameplay footage.
The game had an initial target of $400,000 when the Kickstar project was live but for those that are not aware, this is a game that finished up with a total of just under $1,000,000 raised from the community.
You'll also be pleased to hear that the initial Divinity Original Sin reviews have been excellent – with IGN giving the game a 9/10 'Amazing' verdict.
To give you a look at the game itself, bookmark this YouTube channel from Masterworld HD which will provide you with all the footage you need. Simply scroll through the parts which are numbered and keep checking the channel for further updates.
To those that already have Divinity Original Sin, is it one of the best RPGS you have played in years, better than Diablo 3?
*Identifying Monetised Links - outgoing links that we monetise are marked with an '*' symbol.


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We are fascinated by animals, and their interactions with other organisms, and so we enjoy researching basic questions about their behavior, and how such behaviors structure animal communities. Yet at the same time we are challenged by what we consider the most important biological question of our time: how to best conserve biodiversity in the face of human disturbance and while understanding the real need for sustainable development. Hence we try to design interdisciplinary projects that include elements of behavioral ecology and conservation biology.
Some of our current interests and projects include:
Behavioral ecology:
Community ecology:
Urban ecology / Conservation:


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Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) - Acute Care
Company: Preferred Healthcare Staffing
Location: Saint Petersburg
Posted on: November 26, 2022
Job Description:
Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) - Acute Care
RRT Job Summary:
We are looking for a talented Respiratory Therapist with Acute Care experience to work at an excellent healthcare facility in St. Petersburg, FL. This is a fantastic opportunity to build upon your respiratory therapy skills while advancing your RRT career. The job will entail assessing patients at the facility and administering treatment. You care about patients and are committed to helping them improve their breathing and recover from respiratory conditions. You will work with new and ongoing patients to diagnose breathing difficulties, create treatment plans, administer treatments, and evaluate results.
Job Responsibilities:
Job Requirements:
What We Offer:
Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) - Acute Care
Keywords: Preferred Healthcare Staffing, St. Petersburg , Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) - Acute Care, Healthcare , Saint Petersburg, Florida
here to apply!


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Halima White, former President of LIWOCA and 2018 Conference Chair, notes that two keynote speakers explained the importance of showing how the things you want will benefit your employer–not just you. For example, Pilar Ramos of Mastercard previously worked extensively with a client when she was at a law firm. Ramos was not on the firm's M&A team, but when the client was having a merger, she explained to the firm that it would benefit both the firm and the client if she worked on the merger. Ramos got to work on the merger. Sandie Okoro with World Bank was up for a promotion at another job at the same time she was due to take a nine-month maternity leave (got to love the UK). She told that employer that it would take three months to find someone else to take the promotion and three months to get that person up to speed. It would be better if the company chose her. She got the job.
Takeaway: When you see a opportunity for career advancement, highlight why it helps your employer–not just you.
Please contact Halima White at firstname.lastname@example.com for information about LIWOCA.


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"It won't happen to me." This is a common excuse amongst business owners who refuse to equip their network with a comprehensive data backup and recovery solution. They may feel like they're careful enough to avoid a major data loss-causing disaster. Yet, the inconvenient fact remains that a disaster can happen to any business, no matter how prepared they may be.
Argentum IT LLC Blog
It doesn't matter where your business is located; whether it's a tornado that rolls through your city, a structural fire that renders your office uninhabitable, or a freak snowstorm that brings down power lines or grinds travel to a halt, you'll want to be ready for it all. We'll go over what kinds of solutions your business can implement to ensure that no disaster, be it natural or artificial, like a cyberattack, puts a stop to your operations.
With a Managed Service Provider, Every Day is Backup Day
Tomorrow, March 31st, is the official World Backup Day, a day intended to remind us all of the importance of taking backups for the sake of data continuity. While this kind of day can be a valuable reminder of a critical best practice, we contend that your awareness of your backup (and the associated maintenance of it) should not be limited to a single day.
Because of the protection it can offer your organization, data backup is a necessary tool for you to have—that is, provided it has the requisite security and reliability you'll need should you ever have to lean on it. Let's go over a few guidelines to help you be sure that your backup is trustworthy enough to stake your business' future on.
Sometime recently, novelty holidays have popped up for almost anything. Many of which just aim to celebrate the things about our lives that make life worth living. Take any random day, like May 12. There are a half-dozen "holidays" that day: National Limerick Day, National Odometer Day, National Nutty Fudge Day, National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, National Receptionists' Day, and National Third Shift Workers Day. So, May 12 runs the gamut of human existence.
As much as you hope it will not happen to your business, a disaster could very well strike at any time—statistics have shown as much to be true. To remove some of the risks associated with disasters and the data loss they lead to; we recommend that you implement BDR into your business continuity strategies.
Three Seldom-Considered Elements of a Backup Strategy
If you've been following us for any amount of time, it is very likely that you have already heard us talk about the importance of a comprehensive data backup strategy. Recent events have made such preparations no less important for you to have in place. Let's go over some of the key steps that you need to undergo.
Bad things happen. If your business fails to plan for the worst, when something terrible does happen, you could be looking at disaster. If you have a comprehensive continuity plan in place, however, you have a fighting chance. Let's discuss some of the elements you absolutely need to address when making your business' continuity plan.
There are many ways that data loss can take place. Malware can permanently delete your data, and ransomware can do the same (we aren't even entertaining the notion that paying the ransom will return your data to you). Accidentally or intentionally, your end users could be the cause of data loss through deletion or overwriting data. Physical devices can be damaged and fail. When all is said and done, if your data is only stored in one place you will eventually lose it to some degree.
Each week, we try to provide some tips to help you out in some way. This time, we want to take a somewhat different approach and instead present you with two potential scenarios that your business could encounter—one with and one without a backup solution in play—and let you see the benefit that our tip this week (protect your business with a backup solution) can present.
Every business needs a continuity plan (BCP) so that if their business is forced to deal with problems that arise for any reason, that they have a working plan to get the business back up and operating as intended quickly. It's one thing to have it all written down on paper, outlining how things are supposed to go, and quite another thing to have a working strategy when faced with operational interruptions. Today, we'll go through some of the basics of business continuity to help you understand all that goes into a successful plan.
March 31st is World Backup Day, which makes it the perfect opportunity to share the benefits of implementing a complete backup plan. Unfortunately, the current COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant business interruptions make World Backup Day only too timely this year. Here, we'll examine how these times make a business continuity strategy and data backup all the more important to have.
What Value Do Managed Services Offer? Fourth, Data Services
Data is of key importance to many modern businesses, and with the help of a managed service provider, it can become even more useful. Here, as we continue our series on the value that a managed service provider can offer you, we'll focus on the ways that data can be harnessed to your business' advantage.
Best Practices for Setting Up Your Backups and Your Disaster Recovery
When we discuss backup and disaster recovery (BDR), it may seem as though we're talking about a single process - after all, there's just one acronym for it. However, the reality is that - while these two processes are related to one another - backup and disaster recovery each require a different preparation process, with different considerations made for each.
With World Backup Day coming and going approximately one month ago, it hasn't been long since we should all have been reminded of the importance of data backup. Regardless, there is never a bad time to discuss the harsh realities of business data loss, and how businesses can avoid it.
How to Build a Better Backup Strategy for Your Business
Business disasters come in all shapes and sizes, which makes it all the more important that you take the time to prepare for those that your business may be susceptible to. This strategy needs to contain numerous considerations, based on the scenario at hand. After all, there is no shortage of events that can lead to disaster in the business world.
Hurricane season can be a scary time for business owners, as those in at-risk climates can never feel safe from these kinds of unpredictable and devastating storms. In particular, those who aren't prepared to face this destruction are in considerable danger of having their organizations ended for good following a disaster event like a hurricane. We'll help you make sure your business doesn't suffer this same fate the next time it stares down a disaster.
Data backup is a critical part of any business endeavor, because if you don't have one all of your hard work could be taken away in an instant. It's not great to think about, but your business' infrastructure could be put at risk of sudden annihilation. With so much at risk, what is the best way to approach managing your data? There are a lot of options out there, but there is only one that will allow your organization to get back in action following a crippling data loss incident.
Today most companies utilize computers in the dissemination of their services. Whether you run an office that deploys dozens of computers and multiple servers, a busy restaurant with a full-scale point of sale system, or a contractor that only needs one computer with invoicing software, you depend on your data. Since most businesses also provide goods and services for many people that indirectly depend on it, having a plan to protect the business from potential devastation is important.
Tip of the Week: Backup Your Personal Files With Google Drive Backup
Consumers can now take full advantage of a data backup system that's both affordable and convenient, allowing them to keep their data as safe as can be in the event of a disaster. While it might not be ideal for business purposes, the average PC user can surely benefit from Google Drive's new backup system, which takes advantage of the Backup and Sync application.


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Summer months are the time many people take trips by car. Here are some tips for a safer trip and maybe you'll also save yourself some money in improved gas mileage in the process:
Cooling System - Hose connections should be checked for leaks, damage or looseness and need to be replaced as necessary. Have your cooling system flushed to help prevent your car from overheating. Watch for cold vapors from air conditioning outlets that may indicate low refrigerant levels. Check for good airflow at air conditioning vents.
Check the Essentials - Oil and filter should be changed regularly and especially before a long trip. Your brakes, automatic transmission and power steering fluids also should be checked. Have your technician inspect your brakes pads and linings.
Inspect Your Windshield Wipers - Thunderstorms often crop up without warning in the summer, and the previous winter's weather may have taken a toll on your windshield wiper blades. Replace worn wiper blades and keep plenty of windshield washer fluid on hand to clear dust and insects.
Inspect Your Tires - Have your tires rotated if they haven't been within the last 7,500 miles. Replace any unevenly worn or damaged tires. Check and adjust tire pressure according to the owner's manual. Summer heat increases the pressure in tires, so test the pressure before driving far. Don't forget to check your spare tire. Not only will this help keep you safer, but properly inflated tires increase your car's fuel efficiency by up to 3%.
Make a Visit to Your Service Technician - A quick tune-up before a long trip is a good idea. It's better to catch a problem now than late at night in the middle of nowhere.
Emergency Items - After you have had a technician go over your car and you have inspected everything you can think of pack a few emergency items -- just in case.
- Drinking water
- One gallon of 50% coolant to 50% water
- 2 spare quarts of oil
- One gallon of windshield washer fluid
- A good flashlight with spare batteries
- Sunblock and insect repellant
- A piece of carpet or door mat, in case you have to kneel down on the ground in bad weather
- Jumper cables
- First-aid kit
- Air compressor
Remember to take a break every couple of hours when driving long distances and enjoy your summer!


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Dominant Real extend Spanish lead
Karim Benzema scores a brace as Real Madrid crush Granada 5-1 stretching their Primera Division lead to six points.
|Unstoppable Benzema helped heap the pressure on Barcelona who face Espanyol on Sunday [GALLO/GETTY]
Spanish league leaders Real Madrid turned up the pressure on Barcelona on Saturday when the in-form Karim Benzema scored a brace to lead their 5-1 win over Granada.
The victory extended Madrid's advantage over their fierce rivals to six points ahead of Barcelona's Catalan capital derby at Espanyol on Sunday.
Benzema opened the scoring at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the 19th minute.
Granada equalised three minutes later, but Madrid went on to dominate through goals by Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The France striker, who scored the winner in Madrid's 3-2 victory over Malaga in the Copa del Rey this week, has 10 goals in league play this season.
"Granada defends well and keeps its lines together, it's tough to break them down," said Ramos, a Spain defender.
"But in the second half we were able to open it up and score the goals we needed."
Strike force
Madrid coach Jose Mourinho opted for a high-powered attack with Ronaldo accompanied by Benzema and Higuain in strike.
The move proved to be the right one as the three combined for four of Madrid's goals.
Germany playmaker Mesut Oezil, who had been under scrutiny since Madrid's humiliating 3-1 home loss to Barcelona before the holidays, had one of his best games of the season, setting up three goals.
Madrid toyed with the promoted Andalusian side early on with Ronaldo hitting the side netting and Ramos missing with a pair of headers before Benzema put the hosts ahead in the 19th.
The France striker slid into the six-yard box and swept in Oezil's exquisite pass flicked on with his left heel.
Granada responded immediately by pressing up the pitch, and midfielder Mikel Rico turned his header to send Ikechuwku Uche's cross off the left post and across the goal line to pull Granada even.
The loud contingent of Granada fans who had made the trip to the Spanish capital erupted, and Granada came close to adding another when Rico drew a save from goalkeeper Iker Casillas and forward Dani Benitez fired wide from close range.
|Results & fixtures
Saturday January 7
Levante 0-0 Mallorca
Sunday January 8
Rayo Vallecano v Sevilla
Ramos, however, reclaimed the lead for Madrid in the 34th with a header off a corner taken by Oezil, redirecting it into the right corner.
"I am happy for the goal that gave us back the control of the game and got us back on track for the second half," Ramos said.
While the first half had been evenly played, Madrid rolled after the restart.
Higuain put the game beyond doubt two minutes into the second half when he pounced on a ball lost by Marcelo in the box and shot by the passive Granada defence.
Benzema earned his double in the 50th when he pulled in Oezil's long pass, picked his spot and rifled a right-footed shot into the far corner of the net. The former Lyon star left the game shortly after favouring his left leg.
Ronaldo took his league-leading goal tally to 21 with a strike in the 89th.
At El Sardinero Stadium, Racing Santander extended their turnaround since the departure of coach Hector Cuper with a 1-0 win over last-place Zaragoza thanks to Bernardo Espinosa's first-half header.
Santander's unbeaten streak became four games under the caretaker coaching trio of Juan Jose Gonzalez, Fede Castanos and Pablo Pinillos, helping the team move out of the drop zone for the first time in 12 weeks.
Zaragoza recorded their ninth loss in 10 games in the debut of coach Manolo Jimenez following the firing of Javier Aguirre.


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I went hard after trying to make some magic with Fiery Rhetoric.
The deck turned out to be slow as molasses.
Sadly only a two player Tombstone event. Geoff Coleman brought the Oddities of Nature to the party, and the phantom influence in town square slowed attempts to claim victory. Micah Ryse (xp) was loaded with soul blast and a Stone Idol, so I wanted nothing to do with him. Lucky for me, the Oddities had little in the way of real influence to deny me production. Lucky for him, my Law Dogs spent the majority of the game studying scripture - so both of us were well funded. Fortunately the dark powers did not see fit to put a shotgun into Geoff's play hand ALL GAME. When time came to denounce all the criminal ways I booted Micah and Kevin Wainwright to keep them out of the fight, and then ran one Fiery Rhetoric with Sister Lois, and Abram Grothe (with Quick Draw Holster). Round one I scored a one rank victory with the quick draw holster. Round two was a cheating tie, neither of us had resolutions, and I discarded the wounded sister to keep Abram. then I ran the second Fiery Rhetoric with Father Tolarios, and Walk the Path provided the support of 4 stud Abram Grothe. knowing that we were both out of cheating cards, I was able to cheat big, score 4 control, and remove some of that infernal Oddities influence.
I need to tune up the economy a little bit, and I can see the merits of adding in Wylie Jenks, since the master plan involves all of the opposing dudes being wanted. Since the master plan also involves the movement control of the Too Much Attention, setting up the "winning turn" clogs the hand up and doesn't leave room for much in the way of cheatin' resolutions. Also, downside of a late game spell deck is that I end up degenerating out a lot of my values and that doesn't leave room for too many legal hands in the end game. I want to add in some more tool box miracles too, at least Censure and Jael's Guile as on the board Cheatin' Resolutions to take the pressure off of my play hand.
I also have a decklist doing 9's instead of Q's (for Framed, the blessed, and Consecration) - but I like the Q suite more.
|3 comments
Jul 05, 2018
This may be a rare deck where 1 or 2 All Or Nothing's might actually do some work! Even if it doesn't fully succeed, it might clear the TS for the Fiery Rhetoric to swing through unopposed.
Jul 06, 2018
I've also been thinking about trying Fiery Rhetoric again recently, with a similar setup to this actually :)
I still can't decide if I prefer Too Much Attention to Someone Else's Problem for something like this. I also feel that throwing out deeds to force opposing dudes to spread out might be helpful, to make the choice of opposing the job a bit harder. Q with its plentiful cheap deeds and Amazing Grace definitely helps with that approach. Jael's Guile would in theory help there because ideally wanted dudes would be booting into town square to oppose the job. Might 6/10/Q work for values?
Jul 06, 2018
jordan caldwell
Want to spread bounties fast? You got to hire an Irish Preacher.
Law Dogs + Stewart Davidson + Riorden O'Lithen+ free spells (Amazing Grace + Walk the Path + Censure for example) and your half way there.
The clue is on the art. Cheers!