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Finding Joy in Language Learning
The spring language competition has become something of a small tradition here in DILA. Students look forward to hearing their classmates' chants, songs, and short lectures. For the students who take part in the competition, this is a unique opportunity to get additional instruction from their language teachers outside of the classroom.
During language classes, it often feels like most of our time is spent trying to wrap our minds around some difficult grammar point, flipping franticly through various dictionaries in search of a clue about the meaning of this or that word, or scouring desperately the various electronic resources and tools available to us. But when we find no joy in learning— or any endeavor requiring sustained effort, it is difficult to persevere and reach our goal. The Buddha himself recognized that experiencing a modicum of joy ( pīti in Pali) is an essential ingredient for reaching the fruits of the path.
During a lecture given last semester on the issue of creating Buddhist liturgy for Western practitioners, Dr. Stephen Wilcox made us think about the role of chanting in religious practice, showing how the emotions of elation, love, or serenity generated through chanting can serve as an encouragement, strengthening our resolve by way of experiencing—even if only momentarily—a taste of the peace and easefulness that we strive after in our practice.
This insight into the sustaining virtues of chanting was not lost on the Indian sages of old. Nāgārjuna is often remembered as a great philosopher, but we seldom consider his career as an accomplished poet, composing works with such evocative titles as the Hymn to the Supreme Truth orthe Ode to the Incomparable One (respectively
Paramārthastava and Niraupamyastava
in Sanskrit).
When language learning becomes a struggle and gives rise to feelings of frustration and discouragement—which is not infrequent, especially among students of classical languages, it may be useful to let go of one's impatient desire for mastery of the language and try rather to find joy in the process of learning itself. Learning a new language and reaching a certain degree of mastery is, in truth, a lifelong process which cannot unfold naturally when sustained only by one's thirst for some immediate understanding of the wisdom contained in the scriptures. One should be able to experience some benefit at each stage of one's study, rather than endure in the hope of some great future payoff. In this regard, there is no greater way to bring language learning alive with joy and appreciation than to engage in the tried and tested practice of memorization and chanting.
Here at the Language and Translation center we will continue to support students in making language learning a meaningful and joyous part of their lives as students and practitioners. We also invite you to pay us a visit a our office if you have any suggestions or want to help us in our endeavor. Our next event, the foreign language book sharing competition (外文書評比賽), is coming up soon in the beginning of next fall and I hope to see many of you then to share together the joys of language learning!
By Luke Gibson
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perfectly situated
Hotel Plantage
Situated in the green area just outside Hollandsche Schouwburg , Hotel Plantage features 24-hour front desk, room service and trip arrangements.Our 19 individual rooms strike a perfect balance between comfort and style. You will find a storage room, a cash machine and a carpark at the hotel. The venue features heating, television and a kitchenette in each guestroom. Some rooms offer City views. Each room provides you with a private bathroom along with a shower, a hairdryer and free toiletries.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pencil Casual Flat Loafers Style Women Shoes
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– Soft textile lining with lightweight construction for maximum comfort


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Mike Singletary was a Hall of Famer on the football field, but duplicating that success while standing on the sideline has been difficult for the former 49ers head coach.
The 61-year-old's latest coaching struggles ended with him resigning as a high school head coach in Texas after leading Trinity Christian-Addison to a 1-21 record over two seasons.
The Dallas Morning News reported Singletary tendered his resignation in December to focus on motivational speaking and consulting opportunities. Unfortunately for Singletary, he wasn't able to coax much success out of his private school team at Trinity Christian — the Trojans went 0-11 last year after a 1-10 finish in 2018.
The Houston native also doubled as a head coach last season for the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football, with the Express going 2-6 in what turned out to be the league's only season.
Comparatively speaking, Singletary's time in San Francisco now doesn't seem so bad — aside from a rant or two. He coached the 49ers for 2 1/2 seasons, leading them to an 18-22 record from 2008-10.
However, Singletary's time with the 49ers will mostly be remembered for him banishing tight end Vernon Davis to the locker room after an egregious penalty. Oh, and for Singletary dropping his pants in front of the 49ers during a bombastic halftime speech.
Singletary's last coaching stint in the NFL came in 2016 with the Rams when he was a defensive assistant for 4-12 Los Angeles.
The former linebacker enjoyed an immensely successful NFL career with the Chicago Bears from 1981-92. The 10-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Go to Source
Author: Jon Becker


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New furlough information, including an up-to-date Q&A section, appears on the furlough Web pages daily.
Friday, Feb. 1
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
P5 meeting
Wellness Works Brown Bag Seminar - CANCELLED
Speaker: S. Brown, MD
Title: Easy Strategies for Weight Loss
2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II (NOTE DATE)
Speaker: K. Van Bibber, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Title: Ultrasensitive Searches for the Axion
3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
P5 Town Hall meeting
4:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over (NOTE TIME)
5 p.m.
Joint Experimental-Theoretical Physics Seminar - One West (NOTE TIME)
Speaker: E. Lipeles, University of California, San Diego
Title: Measurement of ZZ Production Cross Section at CDF
Monday, Feb. 4
2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: A. Dall'Aglio, Potsdam
Title: Quasars Ionizing Their Surroundings - A New Cosmological Tool
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m
All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II
Special Topic: COUPP Status in the MINOS Hall
Click here for NALCAL, a weekly calendar with links to additional information.
Snow 30°/21°
Extended Forecast
Weather at Fermilab
Secon Level 3
Wilson Hall Cafe Menu
Wednesday, Feb. 6
- Northern Italian lasagna
- Caesar salad
- Cassata
Thursday, Feb. 7
- Closed
Chez Leon Menu
Call x4598 to make your reservation.
Fermilab Today
Result of the Week
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Send comments and suggestions to:
As part of the ongoing P5 meeting, which has open sessions from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today, an open Town Hall meeting will take place from 3-4:30 p.m.
The newest issue of symmetry focuses on the Large Hadron Collider. To view the stories, visit the symmetry Web site.
Among the 10,000 people from around the world who are working on the Large Hadron Collider, 1000 hail from universities and national labs in the United States.
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's next-generation particle accelerator. Arguably the most ambitious scientific endeavor ever undertaken, the $8.7 billion project at CERN, the European particle physics lab in Geneva, Switzerland, has been in the works for more than two decades. When it begins operating in mid-2008, scientists predict that its very-high-energy collisions will yield extraordinary discoveries about the nature of the physical universe.
The LHC project has two equally important aspects: the collider itself and its six particle detectors, each one a self-contained experiment. The collider, nearing completion in a 27-kilometer ring deep below the Swiss-French border, will accelerate two beams of protons in opposite directions to a whisker below the speed of light. For most of their split-second journey around the ring, these hair-thin beams will travel in separate vacuum pipes; but at four points, in the hearts of the main experiments, they will collide at energies of 14 trillion electronvolts. These massive experiments-huge both in size and in worldwide participation-are known by their acronyms: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb. They are the tools physicists will use to turn particle collisions into scientific breakthroughs.
-- Katie Yurkewicz
Read more
Using grid technology, scholars can access and re-use the work of their colleagues, opening new possibilities for collaborative and dynamic approaches to text science.
Image courtesy of TextGrid
A multitude of avid users are waiting to be introduced to grid technologies: scholars are semantically encoding and annotating texts, text scientists are researching the genesis of literature, digitization projects all over the globe are venturing to digitally capture our cultural heritage...
Such projects can sometimes span years, working in isolation on a single text, and together they have already accumulated terabytes of data.
-- Andreas Aschenbrenner, Goettingen State and University Library
From AIP FYI, Jan. 31, 2008
In remarks delivered yesterday to the Universities Research Association, Energy Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach was clear: "Though you have heard this phrase before, we are now at a perilous moment in the history of funding for science in the United States."
Orbach's comments made it clear that legislative actions have real-world consequences: failure to enact the President's FY 2008 request for the Office of Science will be felt keenly in the research programs that the Office of Science supports. Reduced budgets will result in the elimination of funding for more than 4,300 Ph.D.'s, graduate students, and others from what was envisioned in the FY 2008 request.
Selections from Orbach's presentation follow; his entire speech may be found at the DOE Web site
Experiment moves closer to the Higgs boson
This event display shows a "side view" of the CDF Central Outer Tracker with a ZZ candidate event decaying into four muons. The thick green and blue lines indicate the high transverse momentum muon candidates.
For the first time at the Tevatron, CDF researchers have observed events produced in proton-antiproton collisions that resulted in the production of two Z bosons. This signal stands out from potentially mimicking background at a significance of 4.4 standard deviations. CDF collaborator Elliot Lipeles will present the result at a seminar directly following today's Town Meeting. The result highlights the rapidly increasing sensitivity of the Tevatron experiments to rare processes and is a major milestone toward the discovery of the Higgs boson.
The CDF collaboration reported these results in a paper submitted to Physical Review Letters earlier this week.
It was just one year ago that CDF announced the observation of WZ production -- a process expected to occur in only one of every 20 billion Tevatron collisions. Today's announcement of the rarer ZZ production demonstrates that researchers can now identify processes that occur only once per 60 billion collisions. This is an important step on the path toward observing the Higgs boson, which scientists anticipate is produced in approximately one out of every 200 billion Tevatron collisions if it is produced alone and has a mass of around 160 GeV/c2.
The Z boson is a gauge boson, a mediator of the electroweak force, a force that enables radioactive decay. The Z boson can serve as a powerful probe into the Standard Model's fundamental structure. In particular, studying ZZ events provides insight into the largely unexplored interactions of the gauge bosons with each other. A measurement of the ZZ cross section, or production probability in proton-antiproton interactions, could indicate that some of the Z boson pairs produced in Tevatron collisions result from the decay of a third Z boson or a photon. The interactions of three Z bosons with each other are not predicted by the Standard Model and would be a sign of new physics!
In their analysis of 1.9 inverse femtobarns of data, scientists found a handful of expected ZZ events. The chance of obtaining this result in the absence of ZZ production is approximately one in 200,000. CDF researchers measured a cross section of 1.4 ± 0.7 picobarns, which is consistent with the Standard Model.
With the ability to measure such a small cross section already in hand and more Tevatron data being collected every day, the next physics buzz could be much louder.
The proton and antiproton collide and create a photon or a Z or a W boson, which then produces two electroweak bosons. The frequency of production of these bosons provides insight into the Standard Model.
Have a safe day!
H1-B meeting at 9:30 a.m. today
Fermilab has posted an updated policy statement regarding the affects of furlough on H1-B visa holders. All H1-B supervisors and employees are encouraged to attend a meeting at 9:30 a.m. today in Ramsey Auditorium.
Employee Assistance Program
The January newsletters of the Employee Assistance Program are now available for employees and supervisors. The newsletters provide tips for the new year and information on the Employee Assistance Program, which is provided by VMC Behavioral Healthcare Services. Brian Malinowski, EAP counselor, is at Fermilab on Wednesdays and Fridays, x3591, firstname.lastname@example.com. As an employee, you have 24-hour access to assistance, seven days a week by calling 1-800-843-1327.
Brown Bag Seminar CANCELLED
Sheron Brown, MD, will present a Brown Bag Seminar Friday, Feb. 1, from noon to 1 p.m. in Curia II entitled "Easy Strategies for Weight Loss."
Recreation class registration due Friday
Registration for the Muscle Toning Class must be submitted Friday for
the Feb. 5-28 class. The class costs $36 per person. You must be a current member of the gym to register.
Registration for Yoga must be submitted by Friday for the Feb. 5 to March 25 class. $80 per person.
New classified ads have been posted on Fermilab Today.
Additional Activities


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The Factory
Combine quick reactions and a fast mind to juggle falling gears.Instructions:
Bounce the gears with the help of the paddle. The paddle has 4 (prime) numbers on it, while the falling gears have numbers composed out of the ones on the paddle. If the number on the paddle divides the one on the gear, the gear gets smaller and you earn points. On the other hand, if the gear falls, you lose energy. Once the energy reaches 0, it's Game Over. When a gear reaches 1, and thus cannot longer be divided, you can safely let it go.Category:


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Not many actors would dream of playing the role of the suppressed servant. But 20 years ago, an 18-year-old student wrote her university entrance exam about Rita, one of the seen-but-rarely-heard Marthas from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Amanda Brugel received a scholarship from that essay, and two decades later is playing that very character in the critically acclaimed Hulu adaptation of Atwood's novel.
And now, Rita's time has finally arrived. In the season-two finale of The Handmaid's Tale, it's the Marthas who save the day (well, try to save the day). They've been shut up and snuffed out, made to serve their Commanders and nothing else. But don't underestimate the quiet servants in the corner. The Marthas are way more savvy, way more connected, and way quicker than any other faction in Gilead, so in the season finale, it's Rita who rises up to help June and her baby daughter escape the Waterfords.
When the auditions rolled around for The Handmaid's Tale, Canadian casting director Robin Cook — who knew about Brugel's long-term obsession with the story — got the native Canadian in the room. "I walked and announced to all the girls sitting in the waiting room to go home," Brugel tells Vulture, half-jokingly. "Even though I said it as a joke, I meant it in my soul. This was the only part that from the moment I heard that they were auditioning I knew it was mine. It had to be. I wasn't accepting any other answer."
Rita's escape plan is pretty clever: set fires to distract the guards and Commanders, while Martha after Martha run June through their backyards to the edge of town. The Marthas are "badass," to steal one of Rita's rare lines.
I feel like it indicates how fast information travels between them. When they were lighting fires, they would have had no idea Emily had just stabbed Aunt Lydia. Maybe there was another way to save her, but through the network, the Marthas were able to make it a dual escape with the two friends. It shows how powerful they are as a unit, and no one would ever expect them to be. The Martha network is essentially the Underground Railroad — and this is not their first rodeo. Which is why, at the beginning of the episode, you see how distraught and upset Rita was about [Nick's wife] Eden. That was Rita's admitting that she has power to get them out. She realized she couldn't let another woman fall.
We don't know much about Rita's background. Do you make one up for her?
The only thing that's mentioned is that she did have a son and that he fought with the resistance against Gilead and was killed. I'm hoping next season we're going to find out a lot more about her. I have my ideas about who I think she is, though. She was a lawyer or someone extremely successful. She's quite savvy, strong, and manipulative. She's someone who's familiar with the human condition and who knows how to play her cards right. If she didn't hide all this, she'd probably be sent to the Colonies — a woman that successful and that bright would automatically be a threat to the men.
It was about time for Rita to do something, no?
To be frank, it was about time. I love the character, how quiet and mysterious she is. I hope they always keep that. Rita gets to walk that line of someone who could be working for Gilead or could just be keeping her head low. She keeps fans guessing about that. But I needed to sink my teeth into something. I needed to cut someone or someone needed payback for some of this!
How early on in the shooting did you know you were going to get this comeuppance?
I got the script six days before we started shooting! I was on vacation with my family in Niagara Falls. I read it, standing up with the falls in the background and then had to read it again. I was so shocked. My husband asked if I was okay because I was pacing around like an animal.
You have a few really funny moments in season two. How much of your direction is written into the script and how much is improvising?
The writers are brilliant and they do add so much for us in on the page. But Elisabeth is present, so in-the-moment, and I like to perform like that as well. I like to do things to try and make her laugh. Like when all the Wives are having the baby shower, I sip the Champagne. That wasn't written in. There were actually a lot of little things I did in that scene that didn't make it into the cut. I went around the room and gave more Champagne to one Wife who I wanted to get drunker, or I'd switch some Wives' glasses. Because I don't have a lot of dialogue to go on and a lot of the directors are so trusting, they sort of just let me go with it. But it doesn't always make the cut.
The Marthas are meant to be neither seen nor heard. Those are challenging constraints for a TV character.
It's been the most challenging job of my life. Actors rely on dialogue to communicate. Not having anything to say other than "praise be" is really difficult at the beginning. To combat this, I write out a monologue for myself, or my own opinion of what she would say. I also rely on physicality. I put rocks in my left shoe — rocks from the gravel outside the trailer door in Toronto — to give her a limp. I rely on breath or blinking. As an actor, it has changed the way I approach every role.
How did it feel to finally get some dialogue?
Girl, when I read the scene about June asking me to become a godmother, I was so excited that I had words! But I was scared, too. It was a season-and-a-half of me mostly silent and I got very comfortable in that. Suddenly, I had to find a voice of this character that was voiceless, and I was insecure about it. When we started rehearsing the scene, that fear melted away. I have such a wonderful off-camera relationship with Elisabeth Moss that it just felt like me and my girlfriend finally being able to show our connection onscreen. That really helped me find her voice. Now, at the end of season two, I know where she's going. Now I have her voice, so I'm ready to use it.
This interview has been edited and condensed.


text: This new trend in health care spending is going to save medicine Ever purchase something you didn't need right this instant because it was a great deal? Something you are sure you will use but maybe not right away. A great example is the guy that buys a snowblower on deep discount in June. This … Read More


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What is it to be a man?
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childlike ways." – 1 Cor 13:11
As a man, you have to stand on your own two feet. You have to walk with integrity. You must do your duty before God.
Manhood is not a macho facade of "guy stuff" or an effeminate extension of caution. God our Father showed us what it means to be a man when He sent His son, a man's man, for the world to see. A real man is, above all, Christlike. He protects the fatherless, is kind to the widow, generous to the needy, and lays down his life for his friends. He humbles himself, is a man of prayer, honors his parents, exhorts his brothers.
He walks in faith and obedience.
Jesus was above all focused on His mission (to glorify the Father). Never wavering, never distracted. That's what the chief mandate is about–focusing on the mission. Guarding against distractions, we must fight the sinful nature and the powers of darkness on all fronts, to bring glory to the Triune God, bring all things under the dominion of Christ our King, and enjoy His fulfillment and inheritance forever.


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Comedian Franken Keeping Pace in Fundraising for Senate Bid
MINNEAPOLIS – Al Franken, who hopes to challenge Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman next year, delivered a stern message to friend Tom Hanks at a fundraiser in Los Angeles last month.
Franken told the assembled group that while Coleman takes money from "Big Tobacco" and "Big Oil," he'll be raising money from "Big Comedy" — and that he wouldn't be writing any congressional earmarks for Hanks.
Hanks then walked out of the room and slammed the door, Franken recalled in an interview Wednesday. Returning to applause, the actor pointed to Franken and the two said in unison, "Big Comedy."
For Franken, Big Comedy has translated into big bucks.
The Los Angeles fundraiser, held at the home of "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David and his wife Laurie, brought in about $200,000, and another fundraiser in San Francisco yielded about $90,000, Franken said. That helped him pull in $1.35 million in the first quarter of the year, despite not raising any money until he announced his candidacy Feb. 14. Coleman raised $1.53 million during the quarter.
Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said in a statement: "Many people respect the leadership the senator provides on issues important to Minnesota like health care, agriculture, rural development and transportation. Unlike the issues Al Franken will be pushing for his liberal friends."
"These are mainly people I've known for years, that I've worked with," said Franken.
Franken is in Washington this week to meet with Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. On Thursday night, he'll be appearing at a dinner of the Progressive States Network.
Franken said he's campaigning in Minnesota six or seven days a week.
"I like Minnesotans — always have," said Franken, who was born in New York City but grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. "They are earnest, decent people who have fun. They seem to get me — they understand what a joke is. That's why I'm not so worried about what the Republicans are trying to do" — a reference to GOP efforts to use some of his off-color remarks against him.
He doesn't have a clear path to the Democratic nomination. On Wednesday, wealthy trial lawyer Mike Ciresi, best known for securing a multibillion-dollar settlement against the tobacco industry on behalf of the Minnesota government, formally announced his campaign.
Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" star and writer, said he got to know Hanks by working with him on the show.
Hanks donated the maximum $4,600 to Franken's campaign. So did several other celebrities, including David, Paul Newman and Jason Alexander.


text: Slip the Acer Chromebook 13 – C810 into your bag and go all day at school, the library, or home – all without recharging. It has enough battery life to last 13 hours, so even on long days, you can go all day long. Indulge your eyes and see everything in vivid detail on the Acer Chromebook 13 – C810's Full HD display. The Acer Chromebook 13 – C810 features the latest 802.11ac wireless technology, for a smooth internet experience, at up to three times faster connection speeds than previous generation wireless technologies. At less than an inch thin and very light, the Acer Chromebook 13 – C810 is the perfect tool for go-to-school computing. Plus, it sports a fanless design for whisper-quiet computing.


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Books. Book store at Charing Cross, London.
Traditional book stores are disappearing. We are loosing the pleasure of holding the book while reading. Smell it. Its weight. The texture of its sheets…
By Antonio Garcia Martin
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Little Benjamin Augustus was born yesterday morning at Northwestern Hospital in downtown Chicago. Today, I got to meet the little guy, who is just barely a day old.
Benjamin is lucky to have two amazing parents–Brent and Meg–who also happen to be dear friends of ours. As a momma myself, there's something so special about watching friends become parents themselves.
So, I was especially excited to be one of the first people to meet–and photography–Benjamin, who is as cute as can be and was born with a head full of black hair.
Here are some sweet shots of this new little family.
Is it weird that this sweet little baby ear is what is giving me the most baby fever?!


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How to send a stream using cURL
This tutorial will show how to send data streams to Altair SmartWorks with cURL.
First, we need to know what we want to send and how to send it. Data is sent to Altair SmartWorks REST API. You need:
- A device in Altair SmartWorks
- A valid Apikey
- Your data
- A REST client
If youre registered in Altair SmartWorks, you have a default device already created for you.
Check your control panel and see what it looks like.
Basically you need the device id_developer that might be something like defaultDevice@myusername.
We will assume we have the test@smartcore device for this tutorial.
Now, go to your control panel "My account menu" and check your Apikey.
Its a big alphanumeric token like 98346673a6377ef1fde2357ebdcb0da582b150b00cabcd5a0d83045425407ab4.
Now we define our data. It will be a simple data set with temperature and humidity:
Finally we need a REST client. This client can be whatever you want that can create full HTTP request including headers, verbs and so on.
In this tutorial we will use cURL. If you are not familiar with cURL you might want to check the official page: http://curl.haxx.se/ for installation instructions and documentation. We will assume you will have it installed and running. You can also follow this tutorial with other REST clients such as APItester (https://apitester.com/) or Poster plugin (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/poster/)
Your payload, the stream to send to Altair SmartWorks, will be:
If you prefer to send the stream in XML format, then your payload will be:
Protocol will be used in future versions of Altair SmartWorks along with checksum. Use v2 for the protocol.
The at field is the epoch time for the stream you can run date +%s to get it in Unix/Linux shell or go to http://www.epochconverter.com/ hre and grab one. data field contains your data.
Create a file containing the payload: payload.txt
The target URL is: http://api.altairsmartcore.com/streams/
Lets send it to Altair SmartWorks!
Type the cURL command (payload in JSON format):
Type the cURL command (payload in XML format):
This command send a POST request to Altair SmartWorks REST API including the data from payload.txt file. The corresponding apikey
--verbose is there because you like to see it all.
Your response must be something like:
Now you can see your stream listed in the control panel stream list. Go to "Data management" → "Data streams" and you will see your data.


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Getting Bloggers and Magazines to Review Your MusicBy Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
As an up-and-coming musician, you may have no idea where to begin when it comes to how to market your music. Anyone who has been successful in creative endeavors can tell you it's no longer enough to put out a quality product and wait for attention. Your audience has to hear about that product, and they have to hear about it from a trusted, established source. While this source can be someone they know and trust, it can also be professional writers and bloggers in the music industry.
Here are some tips for reaching that group:
Do your homework
Find out which outlets fit your niche, who the contact people are, and whether or not they accept submissions. Subscribe to those magazines, read those blogs, or follow those writers.
Make contact
Send out copies of your music, press packets, and so forth. Tailor each submission to the recipient, too.
Check their submission guidelines… Twice
The press or person might require certain formats or pieces of information, or they might only communicate with managers and record labels. Don't let a procedural mistake cost you this opportunity.
Focus on quality
Be sure that what you're sending is as polished and professional as your budget allows, both in sound and appearance. If you want to be taken seriously as an artist, make sure your product reflects that.
Be relevant
Only send your product to appropriate people. Asking a magazine that focuses on heavy metal to review your jazz flute album probably won't be an effective use of anyone's time or money.
Follow up
If you haven't heard back within a couple weeks, a polite letter, email, or (perhaps most impressively) phone call or two is acceptable. However, do NOT let this turn into nagging or begging.
Be thankful
If the press does feature you, by all means, do a happy dance. Then, send a thank you note. Be sure to share the feature on your website and social media platforms. Even if you're not featured, thank them for their time and ask if they know of anyone in the industry who may be interested.
If you're not sure where to start, try the music blog scene. Read and interact with music blogs like Hypebot, Digital Music News, and Ditto Music. They might answer questions you didn't know you had, or they could simply point you on to the next link.
Have you been featured? If so, where, and how did you make this happen?
2 Comments
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Download and listen here Subscribe in iTunes If software doesn't come in a box, is it still your software? Trick question because it wasRead More
Tag: Creative Suite
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Okay, on to the outfit. Shorts and tights are one of my favorite combos because it's a bit unexpected. I don't have many occasions to wear this type of thing, but I wore this Christmas eve - I figured the holidays were an appropriate time to let my outfit be a little
Blouse: Old Navy (similar)
patterned leggings


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Top Items:
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
Net radio bill passes House — Update at 7:28 p.m. PDT: Quotes have been added from National Association of Broadcasters on why it no longer opposes the bill. — Web radio stations live to fight another day. — The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that Web radio stations …
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, DSLreports, TechSpot, Life On the Wicked Stage and GigaLaw.com Daily News
Julio Franco / TechSpot: Weekend tech reading (9.28)
Warner Crocker / Life On the Wicked Stage: Pandora and Web Radio Get Some Breathing Room
Doug Isenberg / GigaLaw.com Daily News: House Approves Webcaster Settlement Act
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
Pandora, Webcasting appear headed for Senate victory — Technology companies are supposed to be wide-eyed novices on Capitol Hill. I've read that they don't spread enough money around or aren't hip to the ways of Washington. — Regardless of whether that's true, this weekend saw Pandora …
Discussion: Mashable!, Pulse 2.0, TECH.BLORGE.com, Pandora, The Inquisitr, GeekBrief.TV, The Social, Gizmodo and Digg
Paul Glazowski / Mashable!: Webcaster Settlement Act Passes House Vote, Senate Call up Next
Amit Chowdhry / Pulse 2.0: The Webcaster Settlement Act Passes Through The House
John Lister / TECH.BLORGE.com: Pandora's box not slammed shut yet
Tim Westergren / Pandora: CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE #2 — We're thrilled to let everyone …
Cali Lewis / GeekBrief.TV: Pandora Needs Our Help!
Caroline McCarthy / The Social: Pandora to Congress: Vote now, we're running out of time
Wilson Rothman / Gizmodo: Pandora, Nearing Survival Deal, Gets New Threat From NAB
Jason Calacanis / Silicon Alley Insider:
Calacanis: Collapsing Economy Will Kill 50%-80% Of Startups — The following is reprinted from Jason's List, Jason Calacanis's email newsletter. Sign up here. — (The) Startup Depression — Since stock market gyrations and the elections seem to be making everyone rightfully nauseous and depressed …
Discussion: broadstuff, HipMojo.com, Micro Persuasion, Regular Geek, mathewingram.com/work, SYNTAGMA, TechCrunch, Zoho Blogs, The Social Times, Mark Evans, /Message and Howard Lindzon
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / HipMojo.com: Don't Believe the Hype: Success Easier to Attain Now
Steve Rubel / Micro Persuasion: Recession Proof Your Job with Web Based Tools
John Evans / SYNTAGMA: Silicon Valley and the credit crunch
Nick O'Neill / The Social Times: Now is the Time to Start!
Christina Warren / TUAW:
Rumor: Is the Apple TV being replaced? — We just got an e-mail from an anonymous Apple reseller, stating that they received an e-mail from Apple with instructions to remove all Apple TV displays and literature and to destroy them (which I assume means throw away the literature, send back the Apple TVs) by September 30, 2008 at 5 PM.
Discussion: Crave, MacBlogz, The Inquisitr, MacRumors, Gizmodo Australia, Boing Boing Gadgets, 9 to 5 Mac, Gizmodo and Digg
Jonathan Skillings / Crave: Report: Apple TV could get update Tuesday
Duncan Riley / The Inquisitr: What the Apple TV needs
Arnold Kim / MacRumors: Apple TV to be Replaced? [Update: No]
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo Australia: Rumour: Apple TV Changes Afoot
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing Gadgets: Rumor: Apple instructs reseller to remove, destroy Apple TV displays
Andy Space / 9 to 5 Mac: Apple TV replacement looms?
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo: Rumor: Apple TV Changes Afoot
Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
The State of Location-Based Social Networking On The iPhone — We've been bullish about location-based social networks for quite awhile now, especially since Apple announced that it would open up the iPhone to developers. And with two significant developments in this space just this week …
Video? I Doubt It — Canon's much-ballyhooed but not universally welcomed 5D Mark II also (and this is a new thing for SLRs) operates as a high-def videocam. There are two videos linked from The Online Photographer and they are mind-bogglingly, jaw-droppingly beautiful. But it won't work for you.
Discussion: Chuqui 3.0 and The Online Photographer
Michael Johnston / The Online Photographer: Canon 5D Mark II Video Quality
Toby Padilla / Last.fm:
Last.fm iPhone 2.0 — Back in July we launched Last.fm on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It was the end result of months of hard work and we were pretty happy with how it turned out. We received tons of positive feedback and although we weren't able to launch in every country …
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, Distorted-Loop.com, 9 to 5 Mac and Mashable!
Andy Space / 9 to 5 Mac: Last.fm iPhone 2.0 is available now
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
The Google Hive Mind — As Google turns 10 years old, that important birthday sees the company more powerful than ever before. With its competitors in disarray, the Big G seems likely to grow even further. The secret to its success? For me, it's what I've been calling the "Google Hive Mind."
Discussion: Webmetricsguru and The Noisy Channel
Daniel Tunkelang / The Noisy Channel: Danny Sullivan: The Google Hive Mind
Cory Doctorow / Boing Boing:
Wal*Mart shutting down DRM server, nuking your music collection — only people who pay for music risk losing it to DRM shenanigans — Hey suckers! Did you buy DRM music from Wal*Mart instead of downloading MP3s for free from the P2P networks? Well, they're repaying your honesty by taking away your music.
Harry McCracken / Technologizer: Walmart.com Stiffs Its Music Customers
Steven Hodson / WinExtra: So, This Is What You Get For Being Honest
Greg Kumparak / CrunchGear: Wal*Mart pulling the plug on their music DRM Server
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo: Walmart Shutting Down MP3 Store DRM Servers, Umpteenth Lesson …
Paul Biba / TeleRead: DRM strikes again - this time its Wal*Mart
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch: Wal-Mart Closes DRM System: Sorry, Your Songs Are Toast
Scott Thill / Listening Post: Wal-Mart Pushes Customers Off DRM Fence
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo Australia: Walmart Shutting Down Music Store DRM Servers, Umpteenth Reminder …
Ed Hansberry / Pocket PC Thoughts.com: Wal*Mart Drops Support For DRM - Honest Users Get To Repurchase Music
Duncan Riley / The Inquisitr: Walmart Epic DRM Fail
James A. Robertson / Smalltalk Tidbits, Industry Rants: DRM Sucks, Reason 9 million
Japan Today:
KDDI to launch 1Gbps fiber-optic service in Oct — TOKYO — KDDI Corp will launch a fiber-optic communications service with upload and download speeds each of up to one gigabit per second on Oct 1. The new service will target people living in single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings.
Discussion: Cell Phone Feeds, Gizmodo and WinBeta
Patrick Thibodeau / Computerworld Blogs blogs:
Let's turn the federal government over to bloggers — You may be wondering what Barack Obama meant at Friday night's presidential debate when he said he wants a "Google for government." — In 2006, Obama joined with a number of U.S. senators — including John McCain — to pass S. 2590 …
Discussion: Slashdot
Benjamin Sutherland / Newsweek:
My Blackberry As A Bomb Sniffer? — Expensive radiation detectors may not be as effective as widely distributed chips in cell phones. — From the magazine issue dated Oct 6, 2008 — What do bananas, smoke alarms, toilets and large granite buildings have in common?
Discussion: Gizmodo, Phones Review, Gizmodo Australia, textually.org and Digg
Jack Loftus / Gizmodo: California Scientists Design Working Tricorder
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo Australia: Everyone Will Be a Walking Nuclear Weapon Detector


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With this trip, you really see EVERYTHING in Bhutan, going all the way from Paro in the west to the Bumthang Valley in the east. To do all this and not have to drive all the way back, you will fly back to the Paro airport, cutting the drive time in half.
We can customize this trip to including more hiking each day, and you can schedule your trip around a local festival/Tshechu. You can also upgrade the accommodations.
Look closely at the map — you really see everything except for the Haa Valley to the west….
Itinerary in Brief
- DAY 1: Arrive Paro, drive to Thimphu (Simtokha Dzong, Tashichho Dzong)
- DAY 2: Sightseeing in Thimphu (Folk Heritage Museum, National Library, Handicrafts Emporium, Traditional Medicine)
- DAY 3: Drive to Punakha, afternoon sightseeing (Dochula Pass, Divine Madman Monastery, Punakha Dzong)
- DAY 4: Drive to Gangtey, afternoon sightseeing (Phobjikha Valley, Gangtey Gompa)
- DAY 5: Drive to Trongsa, afternoon sightseeing (Chendebji Chorten)
- DAY 6: Drive to Bumthang, afternoon sightseeing (Jakar Dzong)
- DAY 7: Sightseeing in Bumthang (Iron Castle, Monasteries)
- DAY 8: Fly to Paro, afternoon sightseeing (National Museum, Paro Dzong)
- DAY 9: Sightseeing in Paro (Tiger's Nest Monastery, Kyichu Monastery)
- DAY 10: Depart Paro
The price for this itinerary with mid-range accommodations:
- $2495/person for groups of 4 or more
- $2995/person for groups of 2-3 people
- $250/person for the flight back from Bumthang (estimate)


text:
Pop Piano
The Pop Piano lesson is catered for those who prefers to play their favorite songs without going through the structured system. You will still need learn to read musical notes but at a leisurely pace.
Course Details
Individual only
Minimum Age : 7 and above
Duration : 30 mins per lesson
Refer to Available Timings here.


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Jammu: Work at the high court and lower courts was affected in most parts of Jammu region on Saturday, following an indefinite strike by lawyers against the recent decision to divest the judicial courts of its powers to register various documents and vest the same with the revenue department.
The strike call was given by Jammu chapter of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA) on Friday, also opposing the proposal to shift the high court from its present location at Janipur to the outskirts of the city.
The indefinite strike by the lawyers is seen as a major challenge for G C Murmu who took over as the first Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which came into being on October 31.
Also read: J&K and Ladakh become union territories today — this is what changes on ground
On October 23, the State Administrative Council (SAC) headed by the then Governor Satya Pal Malik accorded sanction to the creation of a new department, which will function under the overall administrative control of revenue department, to provide hassle free and speedy service to the citizens for registration of documents pertaining to immovable property like sale, gift, mortgage, lease and bequest.
Earlier, the revenue department was involved in only issuance of 'Fard Intikhab' (authentication of property with reference to original record) and cost estimation of land on the ground of which registry was being done by judicial officers.
Following the strike by lawyers, work in all courts including the high court, district courts, subordinate courts, tribunals and revenue courts remained affected for the second consecutive day on Saturday.
Almost all major political parties, including the BJP and the Congress, expressed their resentment against the decision to divest the judicial courts of its powers to register various documents, saying that the change is not in the public interest.
"The decision to abstain from the work against the government decision was taken in the General House meeting of the association which met under the chairmanship of president Abhinav Sharma yesterday (Friday)," a spokesman of the JKHBA said.
While opposing the proposed shifting of the high court site to Raika, he said the general house was of the view that the move requires cutting thousands of trees at the site, which is considered 'lungs' of the Jammu city, besides causing inconvenience to the general public and advocates.
Meanwhile, Financial Commissioner Revenue, Pawan Kotwal, who has recently been assigned the charge of Inspector General of Registration J-K, convened a meeting of registrars here and had threadbare discussion on various aspects of the process for registration.
Kotwal asked the registrars to make people aware that additional deputy commissioners and sub-divisional magistrates are now authorised for registrations so that they would not face any difficulty for registration of their documents, the officials said.
He also asked the concerned officials to go through the guidelines of the Registration Act and ensure the accuracy of the documents while conducting registrations.
He asked for organising orientation programs for the concerned officers regarding the registration process.
Also read: How Kashmir internet shutdown has hit Valley industries hard


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AMC Networks
| Clients
The Challenge
Launch the first Spanish language cooking SVOD solution in the US for the US Hispanic consumer. Increase leads and subscriptions through the website, Roku, Fire TV, and apps.
Build awareness by creating fresh and engaging digital campaigns connecting Spanish speaking Latinos with their roots. Generate consideration through paid social, SEM, display, and lead nurturing.


text:
Yesterday Nintendo opened the floodgates on Smash Bros. news, going well beyond the typical stuff they've been spoon-feeding fanboys about Peach being a playable character or whatever. In particular, the "Smash run" mode, exclusively in the 3DS edition (which is coming in summer, the Wii U version doesn't hit till end of year), looks like a hoot. Basically, you and three pals race through small platforming stages collecting power-ups.
This is important because, for a Smash game to really take hold, you need to have something to do besides death match Pikachu all the time. That is to say the best Smashes have the best side-modes. To my point: Classic Mode in Melee with those epic battles against the devilish white-gloved-hand was far more entertaining than it had any right to have been. The Subspace Emissary in Brawl, not so much. This, though, looks to rekindle that same I'd-rather-be-collecting-trophies magic.


text:
The Seventh Chair
by Ann Keffer
The Seventh Chair is a 2007 Cybils nominee.
At a Catholic School in Washington DC, a chair comes out of the sky and lands on the playground. Seated in the chair is a being who appears to be a nun, but who turns out to be Merlin. Merlin has come in the Siege Perilous looking for his new protégé, a modern-day Arthur who can help the world out of its troubles. But first he has to deal with a confused headmaster, a school bully, and a missing grail.
The Seventh Chair is a cute, funny, and lively story. Unfortunately, though, author Ann Keffer made a mistake that many novice children's writers make: she wrote the story from an adult perspective. Not only does most of the story follow the adult characters, rather than the children, but it seems to be written with an adult way of looking at the world. Also, while the book looks and reads like it's intended for a fairly young audience, there are some difficult vocabulary words. I'm not in the camp that believes that all children's books should have controlled vocabulary. I think it's good for children to be exposed to difficult vocabulary words. But if you have too many of them, it can frustrate budding readers.
In spite of these flaws, though, The Seventh Chair is an entertaining book. I quite enjoyed it, but then, I'm an adult and not the target audience. I have a hard time judging whether elementary-age children will enjoy it. I think that children will enjoy the humor, especially the way that the adult characters are depicted as largely incompetent. I loved the way that the school bully is depicted as a sympathetic character, and the ending was refreshing.


text:
Geo-Referenced Virtual Reality Content for a Large Urban Developer
For Lennar Urban, TH partnered with Owlized to deploy a unique, permanent VR installation at the San Francisco Shipyard onsite Welcome Center. Transparent House created two 360-degree Panoramas, viewable using the Owl device, to show the evolution of this historic San Francisco neighborhood. The "Owl" device allows users to toggle between the past, present, and future – from the 1950s when battleships were serviced in dry dock to the completion of the Shipyard development, several years from now.
"Thanks to Transparent House, our community members, investors, prospective residents, and tenants can easily step into the past to see, hear, and feel what it was like to be on an active Navy Base in the 1950's, post World War II. Then, they can seamlessly transition to the future of The SF Shipyard and experience the vibrant community of San Franciscans living, working and playing in this bustling neighborhood."


text:
Principal for the Day – Lunch and Singing @ the Convent
Our Principal for the Day had a very musical day today! While enjoying lunch at the Convent with our dear Loreto Sisters and her family…they broke into song! Here's our Loreto Sisters, singing "Molly Malone," featuring our Principal for the Day!


text:
Old Glory, Symbol of our endeavors, a representation of our sweet home and country. Well worn and improved with age, flapping and waving in the wind. Love it, defend it. It's our flag. From our outposts on the moon, to the front yard of a humble abode, it is a representation of the society that makes us great.
Some do not believe we are a great society, they don't respect the flag. When you see the two presidential candidates, see which one is wearing the flag.


text:
Product.Nr.: 5894
Available, quantity ≥2
Please log in for prices.
product description
- 1 - channel straingauge amplifier PCB;
- connection: solder connection;
- dimensions: 22mm x 14mm x 9mm;
- analog output: -10V ... + 10V or 4 ... 20mA;
- input sensitivity: 0.1mV / V ... 8 mV/V;
- interface: TEDS;
- Data frequency 1 Hz ... 25 kHz;
- supply voltage: 12V ... 24V DC;
- Configuration via two control lines "Tara" and "Scale";
- weight: 9 g;
- environmental protection: IP00/IP66
The measuring amplifier GSV-6L converts the strain gauge signal of force sensors, torque sensors, pressure sensors and strain sensors into an analog output signal.
The GSV 6L is integrated in the sensor body.
The GSV 6L is configurable to 100%. It allows current or voltage output, the shift of the zero point, setting the sample rate, the selecting of low-pass filters.
With a sampling rate of 50ks / S of the GSV-6L is the fastest and smallest measuring amplifier of its kind.
3D models
The following videos will explain how to adjust the GSV-6K, GSV-6L and GSV-6A M12 amplifiers with the "ClickR ClackR" user manual.
In addition, you will learn how to use functions "Tare" and "Scale".


text:
Executive Committee
The Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination Executive Committee provides oversight in day-to-day operations. Key among their responsibilities is input and development of a fiscal year budget, input on staffing needs, review of the yearly seed grant submission, and review of internal research and education activities.
The committee represents an interdisciplinary team of University of Iowa faculty and professional staff representing six departments and three university colleges. A link to their departmental homepage is provided.
Executive Committee
David Cwiertny, Ph.D. (Director)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Gabriele Ludewig, Ph.D.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health
R. William Field, Ph.D.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health
Tori Forbes, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry
Paul Romitti, Ph.D.
Department of Epidemiology
Silvia Secchi, Ph.D.
Department of Geographical and Sustainability Science
Donald Simmons, Ph.D.
State Hygienic Laboratory
Michelle Scherer, Ph.D.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering


text:
This keeps on happening intermittently. When I open the IDE and check version control, it gives me an error saying "Could not open WelkinSuite.CorePackage.ToolWindows.VersionControl.VersionControlMainTool Window".
Version Control keeps crashing
Posted 12 Mar 2018 and edited 14 Mar 2018
Posted 12 Mar 2018
Hi Zymark,
Thank you for contacting us with this.
I kindly ask you to send is a bug report directly from the IDE - you can find this functionality in the menu Help -> Report a Bug, please put your email and enable the 'Attach Log File' checkbox. This way we will receive your TWS log files that could help us to find a reason for this crashing.
Looking forward to your bug report and will be happy to help.
Thank you,
Kate Dulko
Customer Relations
The Welkin Suite
twitter: @KateDulko
skype id: d_katerina
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Posted 14 Mar 2018
Hi Zymark,
Thank you for your bug report - we got it.
A reason for the issue is that there is no selected tracking branch - our developers will work to handle this case and to solve the issue.
Right now, to continue your working process in the IDE, please set up all your tracking branches using the next steps:
1. open the command line for the folder where your local repository is located;
2. please use the next command for each of your tracking branches:
$git branch -u origin/{trackingBranchName}
After this, launch the application and please let me know if the issue would be reproduced.
Also, please let me know if you would have any additional questions.
Thank you,
Kate Dulko
Customer Relations
The Welkin Suite
twitter: @KateDulko
skype id: d_katerina
e-mail: email@example.com


text:
10 'Around the World' Stories: Scotland Approves PrEP, the Philippines Backtracks on Marriage Equality, LGBTQ Acceptance Helps All Communities
In this monthly look at news briefs from around the world — courtesy of Equal Eyes, a news source produced in collaboration with UNAIDS and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS — we see some good news. Scotland has approved the use of PrEP, studies show that when communities are accepting of queer people, assaults and hate crimes go down across the board and an activist is honored with a subway station. But, unfortunately we have bad news too — like how Duarte, often referred to as the Philippines' Trump, backtracked on LGBTQ rights… much like the original Trump.
1. Scotland Approves PrEP
The Scottish Medicines Consortium announced that PrEP has been accepted for use to prevent HIV infection and will be available at local Health Boards within three months. The Israeli Health Ministry and the Israel AIDS Task Force announced a joint initiative to distribute free condoms at gay nightclubs and Pride events.
2. Tanzania Starts Forced Anal Exams for Gay Men
From Tanzania, Buzzfeed News spoke to several men arrested during the recent local crackdown on people suspected of homosexuality. The men were forced to undergo "anal examinations" to prove their sexuality—a practice condemned by the UN Committee Against Torture and deemed "medically worthless" by experts. Although Tanzania has not previously been known to use forced anal exams, the Deputy Health Minister, Hamisi Kigwangalla, said he expects testing to become routine.
However, in Tunisa, the National Council of the Medical Order released a statement calling for the end of forced anal and genital examinations.
3. India Schools United States on Transgender Bathroom Issues
In the US, states continued to debate legislation targeted at transgender people. North Carolina politicians repealed and replaced its 'bathroom bill', though advocates warned the new bill altered the language but kept discriminatory practices. The mayors of many cities, including LA, Atlanta, and New York, reaffirmed that travel bans against the state remain. Arkansas dropped its proposed 'bathroom bill', yet continues to consider a bill that will prevent any individual from amending their birth certificate.
4. Osage Nation Recognizes Marriage Equality
The Native American Osage Nation voted by special referendum to recognize same-sex marriage. Thirty-five tribes now provide legal recognition, including prominent Cherokee Nation, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Tribes.
5. Cuba May Improve LGBTQ Rights in 2018
In Cuba, National Assembly representative Mariela Castro Espín told reporters that the Assembly would consider a "legislative package" in 2018 that would improve the rights of LGBT citizens. Although Espín provided no details, as director of the National Center for Sex Education (Cenesex) she has signed an agreement with the UNFPA to promote comprehensive sexuality education and to reduce stigma and discrimination of vulnerable populations.
6. Russia Says "Don't Be Homophobic Abroad"
The Russian Foreign Ministry released new information for Russians traveling abroad that advises them against acting homophobically while in Austria, Denmark, Spain, Canada, and France.
7. The Philippines' Trump Backtracks on Marriage Equality
In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the country could not accept same-sex marriage despite previously suggesting his support. Local activist Normal Baloro urged supporters and media to focus on other issues that impact the LGBT community, especially transphobia.
At the same time, the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Philippine Independent Church released a document using scripture to support inclusion of LGBTQI+ people. The Bishops went on to state: "We humbly ask for forgiveness for the many times we have shown indifference, and have made the LGBTIQ+ people feel less human, discriminated against and stigmatized. We apologize for instances they felt that, through our thoughts, words, and deeds, God's love is selective."
8. France Struggles with Gender
France's Supreme Court heard a case to determine if intersex citizens have the right to be marked as "gender neutral" on their birth certificates. The High Court of Tours originally granted a 64-year-old resident's petition to change their documentation; however, the Court Appeal of Orleans reversed the judgment, stating that the request would in effect create a third gender category and that only legislators could undertake that action.
9. LGBTQ Acceptance Leads to Less Assaults on All Communities
Two related studies were published on sexual assault and sexual and gender identity on US college campuses. The first, which surveyed over 70,000 students, found that students of intersecting minority identities—such as LGBT people of color—have significantly higher odds of sexual assault than their peers. The second found that when colleges are perceived as being inclusive of LGBTQ people, all students are less likely to be victims of assault. Researchers suggest that inclusive campuses empower students to stand up for themselves and embolden bystanders to intervene.
10. Argentinian Activist Honored with Subway Station
In Argentina, the Buenos Aires City Legislature dedicated a subway station to LGBT activist Carlos Jaúregui, the first president of the Comunidad Homosexual Argentina (CHA). The station which opened this month is decorated throughout in murals and rainbow colors.
Unicorn Booty brings attentions to global issues of significance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. Our partnership with Equal Eyes, a news source produced in collaboration with UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, is part of that effort. To learn more, visit their site at Equal-Eyes.org.
This coverage promotes sexual and gender equality while highlighting issues of health, violence, culture, and legal and human rights. Equal Eyes provides advocates and allies a common frame of reference for the realities of global LGBTI communities. Through followup reporting and disseminating this coverage, our effort is to ensure we have a representation of the global stories that matter most or may have under-reporting.


text: Hi All, Does anyone know if IB ever intends to offer a price feed which updates as the actual markets do, rather than sending an update only once per second? While the current price feed gives you a general idea of where the quote stands, and is fine for very very thin issues, it's a little bit difficult to get a good idea of price action with it. Also, if each trade was delivered with the size and price as a pair (rather than separately), you could use it to get an idea of volume, vwap, etc.. With the current implementation, you have no way to tell if only one trade happened during the last second, or if one hundred did.


text:
Image Guidance in minimally invasive liver interventions: CT-guided ablations
Ultrasound is the preferred modality for image-guided ablation procedures in the liver. However, not all lesions are clearly visible in ultrasound, which is why CT-guided ablations are common as well. In this project, various segmentation and registration aproaches for improving image guidance as well as assessing ablation result, have been developed:
- a study on various vesselness filters for liver vessel segmentation ultrasound images,
- a registration approach for aligning pre-operative (diagnostic) images to post-operative images for treatment success assessment
- a registration approach for aligning pre-operative, contrast-enhanced diagnostic images to intra-operative (non-contrast-enhanced) images for improving image guidance
- an assessment of non-rigid deformation of the liver in these procedures
- a method and dataset for assessing Target Registration Errors (TRE) for contrast-enhanced liver CT to non-contrast-enhanced liver CT registration
Luu Manh Ha et al., PMB 2015 : Liver vessel segmentation in CTA images is a challenging task, especially in the case of noisy images. This study investigates whether pre-filtering improves liver vessel segmentation in 3D CTA images. We introduce a quantitative evaluation of several well-known filters based on a proposed liver vessel segmentation method on CTA images. We compare the effect of different diffusion techniques i.e. Regularized Perona–Malik, Hybrid Diffusion with Continuous Switch and Vessel Enhancing Diffusion as well as the vesselness approaches proposed by Sato, Frangi and Erdt. Liver vessel segmentation of the pre-processed images is performed using a histogram-based region grown with local maxima as seed points. Quantitative measurements (sensitivity, specificity and accuracy) are determined based on manual landmarks inside and outside the vessels, followed by T-tests for statistic comparisons on 51 clinical CTA images. The evaluation demonstrates that all the filters make liver vessel segmentation have a significantly higher accuracy than without using a filter (p < 0.05); Hybrid Diffusion with Continuous Switch achieves the best performance. Compared to the diffusion filters, vesselness filters have a greater sensitivity but less specificity. In addition, the proposed liver vessel segmentation method with pre-filtering is shown to perform robustly on a clinical dataset having a low contrast-to-noise of up to 3 (dB). The results indicate that the pre-filtering step significantly improves liver vessel segmentation on 3D CTA images.
Luu Manh Ha et al., Med.Phys. 2015: In image-guided radio frequency ablation for liver cancer treatment, pre- and post-interventional CT images are typically used to verify the treatment success of the therapy. In current clinical practice, the tumor zone in the diagnostic, preinterventional images is mentally or manually mapped to the ablation zone in the post-interventional images to decide success of the treatment. However, liver deformation and differences in image quality as well as in texture of the ablation zone and the tumor area make the mental or manual registration a challenging task. Purpose of this study is to develop an automatic framework to register the pre-interventional image to the post-interventional image. To this end, we propose a registration approach enabling a nonrigid deformation of the tumor to the ablation zone, while keeping locally rigid deformation of the tumor area. The method was evaluated on CT images of 38 patient datasets from Erasmus MC. The evaluation is based on Dice coefficients of the liver segmentation on both the pre-interventional and post-interventional images, and mean distances between the liver segmentations. Additionally, residual distances after registration between corresponding landmarks and local mean surface distance in the images were computed. Results: The results show that rigid registration gives a Dice coefficient of 87.9%, a mean distance of the liver surfaces of 5.53 mm, and a landmark error of 5.38 mm, while non-rigid registration with local rigid deformation has a Dice coefficient of 92.2%, a mean distance between the liver segmentation boundaries near the tumor area of 3.83 mm, and a landmark error of 2.91 mm, where a part of this error can be attributed to the slice spacing in the authors' CT images.
Luu Manh Ha et al., Plos One 2016: CT-guided percutaneous ablation for liver cancer treatment is a relevant technique for patients not eligible for surgery and with tumors that are inconspicuous on US imaging. The lack of real-time imaging and the use of a limited amount of CT contrast agent make targeting the tumor with the needle challenging. In this study, we evaluate a registration framework that allows the integration of diagnostic pre-operative contrast enhanced CT images and intra-operative non-contrast enhanced CT images to improve image guidance in the intervention. The liver and tumor are segmented in the pre-operative contrast enhanced CT images. Next, the contrast enhanced image is registered to the intra-operative CT images in a two-stage approach. First, the contrast-enhanced diagnostic image is non-rigidly registered to a non-contrast enhanced image that is conventionally acquired at the start of the intervention. In case the initial registration is not sufficiently accurate, a refinement step is applied using non-rigid registration method with a local rigidity term. In the second stage, the intra-operative CT-images that are used to check the needle position, which often consist of only a few slices, are registered rigidly to the intra-operative image that was acquired at the start of the intervention. Subsequently, the diagnostic image is registered to the current intra-operative image, using both transformations, this allows the visualization of the tumor region extracted from pre-operative data in the intra-operative CT images containing needle. The method is evaluated on imaging data of 19 patients at the Erasmus MC. Quantitative evaluation is performed using the Dice metric, mean surface distance of the liver border and corresponding landmarks in the diagnostic and the intra-operative images. The registration of the diagnostic CT image to the initial intra-operative CT image did not require a refinement step in 13 cases. For those cases, the resulting registration had a Dice coefficient for the livers of 91.4%, a mean surface distance of 4.4 mmand a mean distance between corresponding landmarks of 4.7 mm. For the three cases with a refinement step, the registration result significantly improved (p<0.05) compared to the result of the initial non rigid registration method (DICE of 90.3% vs 71.3% and mean surface distance of 5.1 mmvs 11.3mmand mean distance between corresponding landmark of 6.4mmvs 10.2 mm). The registration of the preoperative data with the needle image in 16 cases yielded a DICE of 90.1% and a mean surface distance of 5.2 mm. The remaining three cases with DICE smaller than 80% were classified as unsuccessful registration.
Luu Manh Ha et al., WBIR 2018: Image registration is relevant for many medical procedures. For CT-guided ablation procedures, integrating the lesion location from diagnostic contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) images in interventional CT images may provide better guidance for the interventional radiologist. The main requirement for such methods is to accurately align the lesion location. This, in general, can not be measured, and often surrogates are used for the assessment. In this work, we present a method that permits the assessment of the accuracy of the lesion localization, i.e. assessing the value that is relevant for clinical practice. To this end, we developed a method that virtually removes the contrast agent from an interventional CT image, use this image for the registration, and use the original CECT image for the assessment. For the experimental evaluation, imaging data of 20 subjects (33 lesions) were used, and the registration accuracy of a publicly available registration method was assessed using this method.
Associated People
- Camiel Klink
- Adriaan Moelker
- Theo van Walsum
External Collaborator
- Luu Manh Ha


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Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep (Paperback)
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This is book number 2 in the Emily Windsnap series.
- #1: The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Paperback): $6.99
- #3: Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist (Paperback): $6.99
- #4: Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret (Paperback): $6.99
- #5: Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun (Paperback): $6.99
- #6: Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls (Paperback): $6.99
- #7: Emily Windsnap and the Falls of Forgotten Island (Paperback): $6.99
- #8: Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince (Paperback): $6.99
- #9: Emily Windsnap and the Tides of Time (Paperback): $6.99
The New York Times best-selling series
An enchanting tale with a fabulous monster, engaging characters, and plenty of mermaid magic, this second fantasy about Emily Windsnap is filled with charm and warmth.
About the Author
LIZ KESSLER's first book, THE TAIL OF EMILY WINDSNAP, was published in ten countries. Of EMILY WINDSNAP AND THE MONSTER FROM THE DEEP, she says, "I always knew that Emily's story wasn't finished at the end of the first book. I really wanted to explore the idea of an island where humans and merfolk lived together in peace. I also knew that there was a detail I was missing. Then I happened to see an in-flight video about a theme park with a ride called the Kraken, and I instantly knew that this creature was the missing ingredient." Liz Kessler lives in England.
Praise For…
The imaginative premise will intrigue readers and the suspense will be enough to keep them reading to the happy ending and perhaps send them back to Emily's first story.
—Kirkus Reviews
High-action adventure, a plucky protagonist, and whimsical illustrations enliven this sea fantasy.
Interesting, suspenseful fantasy.
—New Mexico Kids!


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This video is very eye opening. So many women are plagued by a very negative view of themselves based on their looks.
Women are the same all over the world. It is time they see and love themselves as others do.
*We do not endorse Dove®, we were just really moved by this video. — IKB


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To improve communication with patients with a hearing loss or impairment, a team of researchers has developed a 'high-definition' aid to help those who are severely hard of hearing. According to Bionics Institute in Melbourne, Australia, researchers, they hope that this technology will be an upgrade on existing cochlear implants as people with these devices are often unable to pick out complex sounds or hear clearly when there is background noise. They stated that they are developing implants which stimulate the nerves using light instead of electrical impulses. (Read: Hearing loss or deafness: 7 facts you ought to know)
The research is backed by the Charity Action on Hearing Loss and is also launching a campaign to fund work on the new technology, reports the Dailystar.co.uk. Researcher Carly Anderson said, "This could go a long way to solving the current limitations with cochlear implants, revolutionising how we can restore hearing to deaf people and how they hear speech and music." "This could enable people to communicate more effectively, which could greatly improve their quality of life," Anderson added.
The cochlear implants were developed 40 years ago and its results can vary dramatically depending on the health of the inner ear and how an individual's brain responds to the device. For the research, the team is using gene therapy to enable the hearing nerve to become responsive to light instead of electrical signals. (Read: Can diabetes cause hearing loss?)
Source: ANI
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Silicon Valley gets queasy about Chinese money
China's ability to invest billions into American startups looks uncertain
BUYER'S remorse is often experienced in Silicon Valley by investors who plough money into risky startups only to see them fail. Some technology entrepreneurs are now suffering from seller's remorse. They are those whose young companies have grown big in part thanks to Chinese financial backing, but now feel under scrutiny because of an escalating fight between the two tech superpowers.
One entrepreneur who took money from Danhua Capital, a Chinese venture-capital firm based near Stanford University, for example, only recently learned that the firm was established with help and funding from China's government. "You're going in blind. If there are issues down the line you may not know who you're dealing with," he laments.
FIRRMA treatment
In coming days President Donald Trump is expected to sign into effect the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act (FIRRMA), which establishes more vigilant reviews of foreign investments into American companies, including startups, on national-security grounds. While Mr Trump and China continue to spar over trade tariffs, FIRRMA reflects a fight over Chinese investment in American technology startups that is less visible but which nonetheless may have serious consequences for Silicon Valley.
Big deals with national-security implications have long been scrutinised. America's powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has reviewed attempts by foreigners to take controlling stakes in domestic firms where their presence could weaken national security. But minority investments in startups went unremarked, though the firms may hold sensitive innovations in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, 3D printing and more.
China is not mentioned in FIRRMA but is the main target. In recent years China's government and several firms have backed more than a dozen accelerators that cultivate startups and have opened "corporate innovation" centres in Silicon Valley. Baidu, the Chinese tech giant that is considered closest to the government, runs a centre focused on AI, and ZGC Capital, a group directly funded by Beijing's government, has opened an innovation outpost. Next year a Chinese firm will open Oceanwide Centre, the second-tallest building in San Francisco, a symbol of China's ambition to play a role in America's technology capital.
But China's main influence comes from investing directly in startups. Estimates are hard to obtain, because venture-capital investments are private and notoriously opaque. But according to an analysis by the Defence Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), a group founded by America's Department of Defence (DoD), in 2015 Chinese investors put $3bn-4bn into early-stage venture deals. Many prominent startups, including the ride-hailing firms Uber and Lyft, the messaging app Snap, virtual-reality firm Unity Technologies, cancer-testing firm Grail, financial-tech firm Sofi, augmented-reality firm Magic Leap and others, have taken Chinese money. From 2015-17, according to DIUx, China contributed 13% of total funds into American venture-capital-backed companies and ranked only second to Europe as the largest foreign source of capital for startups.
Some investors are simply seeking strong returns in a big market outside mainland China. Yet American politicians fret that distinguishing private Chinese capital from government funds is hard and that more is in play than profit.
Series C is for China
That is because China's sovereign, provincial and local governments, state-owned enterprises, firms and individual investors often form their own funds and pool their money in each other's investment vehicles. Many Chinese funds also have Western-sounding names, such as Westlake Ventures, which is owned by the city government of Hangzhou. SAIC Capital, backed by a Chinese state-owned car company, has its office on Sand Hill Road, the main thoroughfare for illustrious venture-capital firms.
Chinese money has come with extra perks for entrepreneurs. The investors usually agree to higher valuations to get access to deals. "We're outsiders. We don't have the years of connections we can offer to entrepreneurs, so we have to offer them something else," explains one. The Chinese have also been more willing to invest in more speculative technologies that are less likely to accrue big financial gains in the near term but require lots of capital.
Until recently startup bosses treated Chinese funds like any other. Aside from a few cautionary tales, Chinese money was broadly welcomed. Now defence experts worry that investors are not seeking financial returns so much as insight into the plans of startups. A recent report by DIUx, entitled "China's Technology Transfer Strategy", analysed this; its findings catalysed the FIRRMA legislation. Investing several billion dollars is ultimately "a small price to pay to see a significant share of American startups' innovation," says Michael Brown, ex-boss of Symantec, a cyber-security firm, and co-author of the DIUx report.
Putting money into startups in sensitive areas, some analysts believe, may also be a way to keep them out of the reach of America's military. The DoD does not use technologies supplied by young companies that have foreign investors, for fear they could share or steal information or secretly offer a backdoor into computer systems. That theory may be unproven, but startups are just one domain of an escalating fight over technology. Mr Trump has made Chinese theft of American intellectual property a theme of his presidency. Industrial espionage is also getting more attention: in July American authorities charged a former employee of Apple with trying to flee to China with information about its self-driving cars.
Passage of FIRRMA will give CFIUS new discretion to review property transactions, minority investments in companies that supply "critical technology" and firms that hold "sensitive personal" data on American consumers. But no review will be triggered by passive investments in companies that do not come with board seats or access to material, non-public information, so lots of investments in startups will not be scrutinised. There is also ambiguity about what will be considered a "critical technology". According to Rhodium Group, 15-25% of Chinese venture deals will be reviewable under the new regime, but if a broad definition is adopted, that could rise to 75% of deals. It is likely that America will continue to identify and add new sensitive technologies to its list over time, says Christian Davis, a lawyer with Akin Gump.
Chinese investors are thinking up coping mechanisms. According to one executive who makes tech investments on behalf of a large Chinese company, they could simply try to hire a team instead of investing in their startup, or ask them to move to Canada before an investment is made. Other investors are planning to take their money elsewhere (though other countries are tightening up their screening mechanisms, too). "If the environment is not friendly for us to invest in America, then it costs us nothing to pull out and do more in Europe and Israel," says the boss of a Chinese venture-capital firm mentioned in the DIUx report. "Tense" is how one participant summed up the mood at a gathering in June near Silicon Valley, called the US-China AI Tech Summit. Several high-profile Chinese tech bosses and government officials cancelled.
Given the past interest of Chinese investors in frontier technologies, startups working on hardware, biotechnology, quantum computing and other areas that require "patient" capital could suffer. That is probably what worries Valley-watchers the most about the recent shift. If America makes life difficult for Chinese investors, the government should provide some sort of improved tax treatment or otherwise encourage more American investors to step in, argues Matt Ocko, co-founder of DCVC, a venture-capital firm. "Startups already deal with so much uncertainty," adds Roy Bahat of Bloomberg Beta, an investor. "Anything that reduces their options or increases their risk makes them more likely to die."
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Cheques and balances"
Business August 11th 2018
- Silicon Valley gets queasy about Chinese money
- More staff training is vital
- Alibaba tweaks a controversial legal structure
- Why oil firms should worry more about climate change
- PepsiCo under Indra Nooyi
- Elon Musk's latest madcap scheme: taking Tesla private
- Danone rethinks the idea of the firm
- How to reform the world's biggest piggy-banks
From the August 11th 2018 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
More from Business
Meet the man who may decide the fate of German industry
Klaus Müller should have been an anonymous bureaucrat, but he's become a celebrity
The open questions of hybrid working
A mix of office and home has become the norm for many. There is lots still to figure out
If Ticketmaster is a greedy capitalist, so is Taylor Swift
What America can learn from Britain about the other gig economy


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Site Data Analysis Tools for 2016
If you're serious about search marketing and want to boost your visibility online, you can use all the SEO tools they offer at Moz.com. You can use their pro, local or content version to help you not only learn valuable information but also to understand how to use that information once you have it.
See your competitors' best keywords, find new competitors, and see how domains change in ranking over time based on their activity. Finding the best SEO keywords will help you rank higher, and will bring more targeted customers to your website.
Take raw data, an address list and other information and turn it into an informative Google Map that will help you make great decisions about sales and marketing. It's cloud based and works quickly to give you the kind of actionable information that you need.
This works with Google to help you make more sense out of your Google Analytics. It's the "plain English" choice that helps you to deliver the very best results to your customers in an insightful way.
Google Analytics
This is tried and true analytics software that has been around for a long time, but you should still use it. It can be used for all sorts of analytics even if you don't use AdWords or run Google Ads. Since it's free, and anyone who has a Google account can use it, why not?
This cloud-based software helps you look into which keywords are getting the most traction and helping you earn the most money. Plus you can get a detailed list of keywords that any website uses so that you can track your competition. Practicing well-planned analytics will help you set expectations for what to expect in the future, as well as how to make what you want to happen come true. You can do that by:
- Determining objectives
- Studying customer experience
- Conducting a traffic study
- Determining visitor loyalty
- Figuring out conversion rates
- Fixing broken links
- Upgrading landing pages
- Defining your goals and values
- Creating a funnel
- Testing and repeating
Good analytics and site data software will help you do all that and more. Without being able to look at all your metrics, you won't be able to define any of the above. But with the information, you can tweak how you do things and improve upon it until you start having the results that you are expecting.
Please share your thoughts on this in the Comments section below.


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The inspector general's findings seem to confirm what many have suspected all along: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) request made during the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation doesn't pass the sniff test. In total, there were 17 errors submitted four times. The level of incompetence required to make these errors in four separate court submissions is nigh inconceivable, leaving two questions that must be answered: Was this flub – or felony? And if the latter, how far does the corruption extend?
Frank Watt, a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a 22-year veteran of the FBI, believes that these errors would have been career-ending felonies in any other situation. He explained in an article for American Thinker:
"The report of the I.G.'s findings on the use of FISA in the FBI Crossfire Hurricane investigation is an outrage. As a 22 year FBI Agent, I have personally conducted multiple investigations using both Title III 'wiretaps' and FISA authorized intercepts. From this perspective, I can only see two possible interpretations of the actions of the FBI and DOJ. Either scenario should anger and frighten every fair minded citizen who takes the time to read the report and understand its implications."
As Watt further explained, these "errors" made it past a great many eyes. The case had to be approved by both the FBI director, James Comey, and the attorney general. In addition, the IG's report identified several others who reviewed and approved the FISA affidavit to surveil Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign: "National Security Division's (NSD) Acting Assistant Attorney General, NSD's Deputy Assistant Attorney General with oversight over 01, 01's Operations Section Chief and Deputy Section Chief, the DAG, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, and the Associate Deputy Attorney General responsible for ODAG's national security portfolio."
That long list of required approvals seems like it should prevent mistakes of the caliber and frequency enumerated by the IG. Was this a rogue group acting independently, providing sanctions all the way to the top?
When a FISA warrant is authorized, the FBI is allowed to conduct telephone, microphone, cell phone, email, and computer surveillance against the named person's home, office, and vehicle. They can even access the individual's safe deposit box and intercept his or her mail. In the wake of the IG report, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which authorizes such extraordinary examinations, has been shown to be extremely deferential to law enforcement and approves 99% of all search warrant requests. In return for the suspension of Fourth Amendment rights, the court ostensibly requires extremely reliable and meticulously detailed applications.
The presiding FISC judge, Rosemary M. Collyer, gave a harsh rebuke to the FBI and NSD. Liberty Nation's Scott D. Cosenza, Esq. explains the issue:
"The former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page is not, and was not, a 'foreign government agent.' That is a vital fact surrounding the Obama administration's attempt to get court-ordered taps for his communications. FISCs are permitted by statute only to grant secret wiretaps when the target is a 'foreign power' or an 'agent of a foreign power.'"
Andrew McCabe has been fired. The Grand Jury is looking into how he intentionally abused the FISA process while conspiring with Peter Strzok to use the notorious and now discredited Steele Dossier to undermine the president. The list of "non-indicted co-conspirators" is extensive. It includes James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce and Nellie Ohr, Christopher Steele, Glenn Simpson, John Brennan, Sally Yates, Loretta Lynch, James Clapper, Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes, Samantha Powers, Hillary Clinton, Valerie Jarrett, and the DNC.
But back to the IG report: It focuses specifically on House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff's (D-CA) falsehoods. White House Deputy Communications Director Adam Kennedy told NPR that Rep. Schiff and others weren't just completely wrong – they were misleading the public about what the president had done, and they deserve to be held accountable for that.
No doubt Attorney General Bill Barr and his appointed investigator John Durham are looking closely at all the thumbprints on the Steele dossier left by the above cast of characters. Will the bad actors among the group ever be charged and face justice? Only time will tell.
Read more from Lorraine Silvetz, MSW.
Liberty Nation Today:
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BREAKING: House Passes Rail Strike Resolution - Will the Senate follow suit? - Read Now!
Media Ready to Become Attack Dog Once Again? – LN Radio Videocast - The Fourth Estate braces for a volte-face. - Watch Now!
Russian Oil Price Cap Will Fuel Energy Crisis - The US and its allies may do more harm than good. - Read Now!
Ex-CEO Crushed by Cancel Culture – 'I Call It Social Terrorism' - Cancel culture succeeds when fear and intimidation make people change. - Read Now!
Ukraine Today – Photos and Facts - The latest news and pictures from the Ukrainian front. - Read Now!


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Our new high precision toolbox for customising Fe+Cu+C mixes is a proof of our constant search for solutions that will take powder metallurgy to the next level. Providing benefits such as significantly improved Cu distribution and dimensional stability, it enables production with extremely tight tolerances, minimum scrap and less machining. By being able to perfectly tailor the powder composition we can meet the physical and mechanical demands of your specific application.
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one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven | twelve
With December only a couple of days away, I thought I'd round up a few of my festive faves to share with you. I like to add a few new pieces to my Christmas collection every season, and this year is a particularly good one. I'm loving all the simple greenery and the natural/earthy tones I've been seeing so much of. I've even managed to nab a couple of pieces that I'm thinking I'll use year round (like no. eleven). All of these products are available in New Zealand and Australia (and some internationally), so just click on the corresponding number to shop. Tis the season!


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No doubt you have heard about or read somewhere about the potential health benefits of CBD and the increasing popularity of these possibly life-changing all-natural products which are now being used worldwide by millions of people from all walks of life with many different kinds of health problems and concerns. And now people are starting to discover that CBD can not only help us but our pets as well.
So, Let's Talk A Little About What CBD Is And How It Works
Cannabidiol (CBD) is just one of over 85 cannabinoids that is identified in the cannabis plant. CBD is becoming increasingly popular amongst the masses for having a wide scope of benefits, due to clinical reports and mounds of test data showing little to no side effects and a lack of psychoactivity (typically associated with marijuana products and high THC).
Cannabidiol (CBD) is not only a major phytocannabinoid, it is the most concentrated form of the three main cannabis plants. The three main forms to use cannabis are Hashish, Resin, & Oil.
CBD or cannabidiol is the main active compound in hemp, and unlike THC, it is not psychoactive, so it doesn't make people high. As you know, inside the human body there's the endocannabinoid system, with receptors spread throughout the brain and body.
The potential benefits of using CBD are many including things like Pain Relief, Anxiety Relief, Neuroprotective Properties, May Help Reduce The Risk Of Arterial Blockage, may work as an Anti-Inflammatory and help Promote Bone Growth. There are over 23,000 studies that show the benefits of medical cannabis for a variety of diseases and health conditions. It's backed by an enormous amount of scientific research, positive public opinion, and now more progressive cannabis laws.
Best Hemp For Health is here to help inform you about the benefits of CBD and other hemp-related products and provide you with a fair and accurate assessment of all products we review.
So How Do We Evaluate Each Product And Company We Review?
We start by looking for a mix of the most searched for and popular brands as well as innovative newcomers to the CBD marketplace. These are companies and products that are recommended by consumers within the online CBD community, product reviews, and of course our own personal experiences since we too are consumers of CBD products.
We have a standard set of criteria that each company and product must meet:
1. Overall Product Quality & Efficacy
2. Lab Verified Results
3. Transparency And Company Background
4. Natural Farming Methods
5. User Experience
Once we put all relevant information together we do our best to provide a fair and accurate assessment of all products and companies we review that we hope will help our readers choose which product is best for them.
CBD offers an amazing array of potential health benefits but, before taking any of the products we recommend on this site it is recommended that you check with your physician or doctor first.