text:
The clouds forming in Asia as liquidity tightens and China's slowdown curbs demand for commodities and goods are fueling a selloff of emerging-market stocks, reversing a flow of money into the region in favor of nascent recoveries in the U.S. and Europe. Emerging markets from Brazil to Indonesia have raised borrowing costs in 2013 to try to aid their currencies as the prospect of reduced U.S. monetary stimulus curbs demand for assets in developing nations.
"The eye of the storm is directly above emerging markets now, two years after it hovered over Europe and four years after it hit the U.S.," said Stephen Jen, co-founder of hedge fund SLJ Macro Partners LLP in London and former head of foreign-exchange strategy at Morgan Stanley. "This could be serious for Asia."
Almost $95 billion was poured into exchange-traded funds of American shares this year, while developing-nation ETFs saw withdrawals of $8.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Signs of a stronger U.S. economy may prompt the Federal Reserve to begin paring its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases as soon as next month.
Swinging Back
"The pendulum is swinging back in favor of the advanced countries," said Shane Oliver, Sydney-based head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which oversees about $130 billion. "It's one of these things that happens once a decade or so when you see a turn in relative performance. We've entered a tougher, more difficult period" for Asia.In the past three months the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has fallen 7.4 percent, compared with a 0.7 percent decline in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and a 0.8 percent drop in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index up to the close last week.
Yesterday, India's benchmark index dropped 1.6 percent, Indonesia's lost 5.6 percent while Thailand's fell 3.3 percent.
Indian policy makers led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are battling to stem the rupee's plunge, attract capital flows to bridge a record current account deficit and revive growth. The currency has weakened about 28 percent versus the dollar in the past two years, reviving memories of the early 1990s crisis, when the government received an International Monetary Fund loan as foreign reserves waned.
Indian Problems
"It seems now the pain is going to be in the emerging markets," said Nitin Mathur, an analyst in Mumbai at Espirito Santo Investment Bank who expects sectors with higher valuations such as consumer goods to suffer the biggest declines. "The problems in India are not temporary blips. The problems are much more serious which will take a lot of effort to get resolved."In Thailand, the economy entered recession last quarter for the first time since the global financial crisis. Toyota Motor Corp. said last month industry-wide car sales in Thailand will fall 9.5 percent this year. The government cut its 2013 growth forecast yesterday as exports cooled and local demand weakened, with higher household debt restricting scope for monetary easing.
Thai Credit
Thailand's private-sector credit as a share of gross domestic product has "increased significantly" in recent years raising concern about financial stability, Krystal Tan, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in Singapore, said in a Bloomberg Brief commentary.Taiwan last week cut its 2013 growth and exports forecasts and said the global outlook for the second half is worse than in May.
"We are seeing a turning point," said Freya Beamish, Hong Kong-based economist with Lombard Street Research, who says China's competitiveness has been hurt by labor costs that are 30 percent too high. "China's seeing flat to falling growth on our estimates so the region's clouds are already here."
Sentiment is also being subdued by the prospect of a decline in U.S. stimulus, money that often finds its way to export-based countries in payment for goods.
Investors will be looking for clues on how quickly the U.S. Federal Reserve will trim its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases when the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting minutes are released on Aug. 21.
Flow Reversing
The $3.9 trillion of cash that flowed into emerging markets over the past four years has started to reverse since Chairman Ben S. Bernanke talked about a tapering in quantitative easing this year. The slowdown in Fed bond buying will probably begin next month, according to 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg from Aug. 9-13.The JPMorgan Emerging Markets Currency Index has declined 2.4 percent since Bernanke's June 19 tapering comment. The Bloomberg Dollar Index, which monitors the greenback against 10 major currencies, has increased 0.9 percent over the same period.
"The emerging Asia story is crumbling and dollar is once again the king," said Indranil Pan, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. in Mumbai.
India's moves to tighten cash supply, restrict currency derivatives and curb gold imports since July have failed to arrest the rupee's slump to record lows. The deficit widened to an unprecedented 4.8 percent of GDP in the year ended March 31. The government aims to narrow the gap to 3.7 percent, or $70 billion, this year, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said Aug. 12.
Policy Gap
India's slump is worse than elsewhere in Asia because the country has failed to carry out long-overdue structural changes to the economy, said Pan at Kotak Mahindra Bank."In India, we have great policies on paper but the gap between the what's on paper and the implementation is unduly large," R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation's biggest carmaker by volume, said in an interview. "If we just implement what's already there, we can get back on track in the next two to three years."
Richard Jerram, chief economist at Bank of Singapore Ltd., says the market declines reflect overly ambitious expectations rather than fundamental weakness in the economies.
"There's a good structural story based on the underlying domestic demand," said Jerram, who has analyzed Asian economies for two decades. "What you see at the moment is reaction from expectations being unrealistically positive maybe 12 months ago, to now becoming more realistic."
One bright spot is Japan, which has seen its economy bounce back on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's fiscal and monetary stimulus. The Topix stocks index has risen 34 percent this year.
Momentum Slowing
Abe has yet to show that he can sustain the recovery by restructuring company and labor laws and taming the nation's debt, which topped 1 quadrillion yen ($10 trillion) in June."Asia still has potential in the next three years or more, but in the shorter term, momentum for business is slowing down," said Shuichi Hirukawa, senior fund manager at Mizuho Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. "Investors may become more cautious."
China's economy last quarter extended the longest streak of expansion below 8 percent in at least two decades, curbing earnings at companies such as Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Still, there are signs of improvement. Industrial output rose more than economists estimated in July, after larger-than-forecast rebounds in exports and imports and improvement in gauges of manufacturing and service industries.
China is making efforts to bolster confidence. Overall liquidity in China is ample as banks channel more funds to agriculture and small businesses in the world's second-largest economy, People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on state broadcaster China Central Television yesterday.
China Change
"Some Asian countries, especially India, have their own significant domestic challenges," said Jim O'Neill, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist who coined the term BRIC in 2001 to describe Brazil, Russia, India and China. "But China is slowing primarily to improve its growth model and at 7-7.5 percent annual growth is still delivering $1 trillion nominal GDP. And Japan, still Asia's No. 2 economy, is looking better than it has done for a very long time."The slowdown in economies such as Indonesia and Thailand is part of a "very, very global" weakness, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu told reporters in New Delhi yesterday.
The U.S. recovery "was so slow that even the slightest pick up is looking like a pick up," Basu said. "I don't think the Asian situation is any worse. In fact, if anything, Asia is probably better off than the rest of the world."
That underlying strength may not help markets in the region as money continues to flow back to Europe and the U.S. as global investment rebalances, said Oliver at AMP Capital.
Still Stronger
"Asia will still be a stronger part of the world than the U.S. or Europe but compared to people's expectations Asia is likely to come in a little bit lower than expected and Europe and the U.S. are probably set to surprise a little bit on the upside," he said.Developing Asia will grow 6.9 percent in 2013, the IMF said in July, cutting its forecast by 0.3 percentage point. That compares with a global expansion forecast of 3.1 percent and projected growth of 1.2 percent in advanced economies.
Investors will be scanning data from Chinese factories to Malaysian growth this week for further signs of weakness.
An Aug. 22 flash reading for China on a manufacturing purchasing managers' index by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics is expected to come in at 48.1 for August, from 47.7 in July, according to the median economist estimate compiled by Bloomberg. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Malaysian Data
Malaysia's central bank on Aug. 21 may post data showing 4.7 percent economic growth in the second quarter from a year earlier, after rising 4.1 percent in the January-March period, its slowest rate since September 2009, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey.Pressure to raise interest rates to support currencies would hit consumers in countries such as in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where cheap mortgages and easy credit have fueled housing booms.
"Southeast Asian consumers have taken on much higher debt in the last few years," Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc analyst Sanjay Mathur wrote in a July 18 report. He said the largest increase was in Malaysia, where household debt increased by 20 percent of GDP between 2008 and 2012.
There's a feeling that "the rest of the world's getting a bit better and Asean's had its sort of burst of credit-enhanced growth," said Edward Teather, an economist at UBS AG who covers Southeast Asian markets from Singapore. "It's raining already." Bloomberg. By Shamim Adam & Kevin Hamlin

subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, November 18, 2010
For those who don't know, Frostheim is some kind of hunter personality. He writes for WoW Insider occasionally, and runs Warcraft Hunter's Union, a big hunter guild. Apparently Frostheim joined a random Dungeon Finder group, saw that it was Old Kingdom, and announced in party chat that he did not have time to do the optional bosses. The other party members did not say anything. Later on, the other four went to do an optional boss. Frostheim went off on his own and attempted to solo the last boss. The boss managed to get the rest of the group into combat and the group wiped. Drama ensued.
In my view, there were three mistakes made during this fiasco:
1. Frostheim should not have signed up for a dungeon if he didn't have time to complete it.
2. The group should have decided about the optional bosses at the start and communicated that decision to everyone. Then people could leave if they were unhappy.
3. Frostheim should not have gone off from the rest of the group.
In any case, the main point I want to make is:
Sometimes, you get outvoted.
Sometimes, you're in a group, and the majority of the group wants to do something that you don't want to do. The right thing to do is either leave the group, or follow their lead.
There is no shame in losing the vote. "I wanted Y, but more people wanted X, so we did X" is okay. It leads to a functioning group or society. "I wanted Y, but more people wanted X, so I attempted to force them to do Y" just leads to strife.
But a lot of people seem to take being outvoted personally. Like it's a judgement on you as an individual, and it's vital for you to "win" at all costs. And this seems to be happening not only in WoW, but society at large.
For example, take all these schemes to introduce new voting systems like Single-Transferrable-Vote. I can't shake the feeling that the backers feel they can't win normally, and so are trying to rig the game so that they can magically win. We all know Arrow's Impossibility Theorem, so why try and make life more complicated?
Though, to be fair, I am unreasonably conservative on the subject of voting. I disapprove of absentee voting, computerized voting, machine voting, assisted voting, write-in candidates, punching holes in ballots, internet voting, non-secret voting, counting votes by machine, butterfly ballots, releasing results to the media before voting closes, and pretty much anything that is not going to a polling station and marking an X on a paper ballot beside the name of your preferred candidate.
Anyways, went a bit off-topic, but the point remains: when you're in a group, sometimes you get outvoted. You either leave the group, or you abide by the results. Of course, this isn't absolute if we're talking about something like slavery, but for the vast majority of life, it's a pretty good rule to follow.
28 comments:
I didn't read it as him getting outvoted. I read it as the tank pulling a fait accompli, in which case they got what they deserved.
The three of them were up pulling trash for the last boss when the tank took it upon himself to double back to the optional boss with the guy who wanted it. Unless tanks count twice, that's not outvoted.- Anonymous10:53 PM, November 18, 2010
I think you're right, a lot of people seem to get really bent out of shape if (omg) a group wants to do something that they don't. But you're right, they always have the choice to leave.
ReplyDelete At the last line you gave a perfect example why "accept being outvoted" will never work.
People have an inherent FEELING (as opposed to rationally proven/challengable opinion) about what is right or wrong.
Whenever the majority votes "wrong", a social person will consider these voters "wrong" or "evil" and feels urged to punish/change them.
Like you CAN'T accept slavery even if great majority of your country would support it, Frostheim can't accept "these kids ignored my earlier statement and did not respected me enough to care to tell me that they will go for optional bosses"- Anonymous1:35 AM, November 19, 2010
My layman's reading of Arrow's proof (as presented by Wikipedia) is that clear group preferences cannot always be drawn from a collection of individual preferences. Or, more simply: you're gonna have intractable disagreements.
Given this, maybe voting isn't an always effective way to think about group governance. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, perhaps the appropriate response in such 'other' cases is the bold exercise of power. Or, as described in Catch 22, "we can do anything you can't stop us from doing." Tanks can refuse to tank, healers can forget to heal, and hunters can misdirect entire packs of bad guys at you. Arguments are brief when all three of these roles are filled by myself and close friends. The problem with this as with many other pugs is simple, rudeness, frostheim stated at the beginning that he did not have time, simply being polite enough to reply and state the rest of the group wanted to do the boss would have been sufficent. Unfortunately the lol kids know the game is for the main part annonymous and behave like spoilt brats because of that.
ReplyDeleteTwo points: First, who cares about the quality of DPS in Old Kingdom? We ran that nonsense in blues and greens and did fine. Lick the complainer & get another DPS before you are done clicking to join the random queue.
Second, Who runs Heroics for anything other than Justice points anyway? Skip Jedoga and that fungus guy and lose out on (approximately) 30 points? Why would you do that?I'd like to cast my vote on this in the form of a comment :).
Others have said it, but when Frost said he didn't have time at the beginning, that should have been the time to voice any objections. If I read it correctly, nobody even said anything when the group split up.
Also, he was acting on the assumption that his actions on the boss would have no effect on the rest of the group. I don't see that as attention seeking, I just see that as sticking to his word that nobody bothered to voice their opinion too.
In the end, I'm assuming it was meant as a humorous story not a social commentary.
Moral of the story, just like voting, if you don't speak up, you shouldn't expect your opinion to count later on.It came down to lack of communication. One person said full clear, another said no. The rest of group kept their heads down and went with the flow.
It were me, I would have said something like "I have to leave in 15 mins" and left it at that. When the time was up, I ditch the group.
Perhaps one of the issues is this comment he made "I can't stand people who leave halfway through a heroic — as if they didn't know how long it would take them." Would have been a little hypocritical to leave the group part way through, time limit or no. At least, that is one way to look at it.
Because you feel you have been wronged does not mean "you have every right" to do what you feel like. You have every choice (and the consequences that come with them). For example, telling yourself " Screw 'em... I'll just finish off the instance on my own. Goddamnit I don't need them — I'm a hunter!"
Entitlement can be so ugly.- Anonymous9:55 AM, November 19, 2010
If you're dps, sorry to tell you...most of the time the healer and tank can down a boss in the dungeon without you, so you're stuck going where they go. Tough. Get over it.
ReplyDelete - Jonathan11:12 AM, November 19, 2010
The key error here by Rohan is the assumption that there was a vote, that this was a democracy. It wasn't. There was only one vote that counted... the tank. Why? Because the tank has the power to enforce his will on the group. If all four disagree, he can just drop and get another instant queue. If he and the healer agree, then the rest are entirely superfluous and can be ignored.
The real story here is that Frostheim recognized and resented his complete lack of representation or power. His consent, presence or absence was not important... until he chose to make it important.
As long as we have the tank / healer / DPS trinity, this will continue to be an issue. Tanks have the most power, healers have a veto, DPS are unimportant and can be replaced trivially.
Mind you, the *real* error was in remaining queued when he didn't have time. Clearing the rest of OK would have taken, what, 10 minutes? Foolish. - Anonymous12:00 PM, November 19, 2010
I agree — if he didn't have the time to complete the instance he should not have queued.
If somehow communication broke down, he should have tried again to clarify whether they we're doing the optional bosses since he was short on time (and we only have one side of the story here so who knows what was actually communicated). Being an experienced player, he should have know to get this clarified before continuing and if it didn't get clarified, let the group know he was leaving and then actually leave so they could get a replacement.
Most importantly, once it was clear that the optional boss was being done by the other members, Frostheim should not have gone off to solo the final boss. He got upset and made a conscious decision that his needs (wanting to finish the instance) were more important than the group's needs, damn the consequences. I pretty much agree with Rohan. If time was an issue, Frostheim should not have queued. If he saw them going the other way, he should not have pulled, even if he thought he could solo the boss.
Communication isn't that good in a pug. People vote with their actions, not with their words. Maybe they missed what he said in chat. He could have taken the high road, and he didn't. Worse, he thought he was in the right of it.
Some people do something like that and regret it or acknowledge that even though they did it, they felt bad about it afterwards. What bothered me is that there was no regret.- Anonymous3:00 PM, November 19, 2010
A bit off topic, but since we're talking about rudeness and pugs...has anyone else had a tank just bail mid pull because the elemental bosses opened up? Had a guy do that to us in Violet Hold of all places. I was almost tempted to logon to his realm, make a level 1 alt and least say something to the guy.
ReplyDelete When people were first gearing up it was all about max bosses. Then when frost badges were rewarded for the last boss it was suddenly all about finishing fastest. Then came Justice Points and suddenly every boss is worth as much as the last.
When queueing for a random I think it's one's responsiblity to know the current climate of the game. People who are running randoms are doing it for JPs; why else would they be running them? Why else would anyone be running them? If someone can't dedicate their time to what everyone needs they should not expect to be catered to, IMO.
I don't believe it's right to say that if you can't do all the bosses don't queue. If I were to queue for a random I could get something epic and long (H CoS comes to mind) or something as short as ToC or Azjol Nerub. I might as well try my luck. But I do think that, if someone doesn't have the time to finish or do something the rest of the group is set on doing, that person should be willing to bow out instead of making a fuss about it. Long post is long. :S
Reposted for clarification.So in the last few weeks of "LK" a hunter that just happens to be part of wow insider (of what degree I have no idea cause I've never heard of the guy) decides to go it alone and wipes the group?
My next question is what difference does it make? Since when cant a DPS be replaced? Why wasn't he voted out of the group?
I think the answers to any of those questions are irrelevant, I think the real question is why did a "story" of something that happens almost hourly in WoW become the topic of conversation?
My apologies Rohan for not staying on the topic's course, I mean no disrespect, I just don't understand what the big deal is.
So hes a prominent part of the WoW community and hes an a$$hat, nothing uncommon there!
BTW newcomer to BoK, glad to be here.
**Baelgun**- Katherine3:57 PM, November 21, 2010
Is it off topic to ask why you don't want people who use wheelchairs or scooters*, blind people, and people in hospital on election day to vote?
* polling places in many countries are frequently inaccessible to people who use wheelchairs/scooters/other mobility aids.
If it is off topic, feel free to not let the comment though moderation. I just wanted to mention it in case you didn't think of it. Katherine, I am exaggerating a bit for effect. I'll try to give you an explanation of my view, but the truth is that I may be wrong. The other point of view may very well be the correct and rightful one.
The thing is, I believe in rituals. I believe that rituals are important, that they bind us together in a vital manner. That they are necessary to our species in a way that is rather hard to articulate and unfortunately rather easy to dismiss.
The most important secular ritual that we have is voting. At the heart of the voting ritual is a duality: we vote together, and we vote alone. When you cast your vote, you cast it in the presence of your community. As a group, you come to the same place and vote together. The community bears witness to the fact that you have voted.
But at the same time, you cast your vote alone. The actual vote itself is secret, and no one else sees how you vote.
Those two elements, the public and private halves, compose the heart of the ritual of voting. But a lot of the changes to make voting more accessible hurt the ritual aspect, from both sides. Some changes attack the public witness of voting, and some changes attack the idea that you vote alone.
Now, if you can make accommodate people without hurting the ritual, than you should. For example, you mention blind people. Printing ballots in Braille would be a good way to include them inside the ritual itself, and is something that should be done. But allowing someone else to mark the ballot for them cuts at the private aspect of the ritual.
In the past few years, we have made voting easier and more accessible to everyone. You barely have to put in any effort anymore. And yet the percentage of the populace that actually does vote keeps going down. I believe that these two things are related. Rituals are important to us as a species, and by cutting at the ritual aspects of voting, we have made it seem more and more unimportant.
In my opinion, I would rather keep the secular ritual that is voting strong, rather than ensure that every possible corner case of voter eligibility is covered.
But I could very well be wrong. Perhaps ensuring that every single person possible has the chance to vote, regardless of whether the act is witnessed by the community, or if the vote is absolutely secret, is truly more important.- Anonymous10:09 AM, November 22, 2010
I had this happen last night and 1 wanted extra bosses one did not and 3 did not care. So we had the 2 roll and highest roll was what we did. Worked out just fine and nobody bitched.
ReplyDelete - brian duskwood4:19 PM, November 30, 2010
I was catching up on your site which I haven't read in a month or so but usually catch up on it. I read this then read your elemental invasion post.
How do you justify not healing vs pulling the boss like this?
I completely understand frustration of asking a group to wait up to pick up a quest. I Maldonado understand the frustration of wanting to do only the last boss, asking to do that and receiving NO response from the group.
in both situations its a lack of communication and in both instances it seems like its "tanks rule, dps drools" mentality. - brian duskwood1:59 PM, December 01, 2010
Thanks for being honest :).
I really do think its ok to do something like that. I don't think that its a selfish thing at all to not heal or pull a boss when you've asked a question or attempted to get feedback and receive no response. As a tank I always ask if the healer is ready and I often end up just pulling not knowing if they are ready because I've waited 2 minutes for a response and I've seen the healer moving back and forth.
Its extremely frustrating when there's a lack of communication.
I equate it to being in an elevator with someone, asking them to push your floor and them just staring ahead spaced out.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Devil Dogs are likely to return to shelves in coming months, but probably not under the same owners.
Hostess Brands Inc. said in bankruptcy court Friday that it's narrowing down the bids it received for its brands and expects to sell off its snack cakes and bread to separate buyers. The testimony came from an investment banker for Hostess, which is in the process of liquidating.
A likely suitor has emerged for the namesake Hostess brand, which includes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, along with Dolly Madison cakes, which includes Coffee Cakes and Zingers, said Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners. He said another viable bid was made for Drake's cakes, which includes Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and Yodels. That bidder also wants to buy the Drake's plant in Wayne, N.J., which Scherer said is the country's only kosher bakery plant.
Additional bids have been submitted for its bread brands, which include Wonder and Home Pride. Hostess expects to file binding "stalking horse" bids for many of its brands in January. Those filings would be followed by a four-week auction process to allow competing bids. Scherer said the auctions could be very active for some of the brands, given the number of parties that have expressed interest. Sales could be completed by as early as mid-March.
About 30 plants could also be sold with the brands, Scherer said, with six plants, several warehouses and a fleet of trucks likely to be closed or scrapped.
Hostess has hired a firm Hilco to act as a sales agent for those additional assets; the firm will also give Hostess a $30 million loan to maintain operations during its liquidation, which is expected to take about a year.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, has said potential buyers include major packaged food companies and national retailers, such as big-box retailers and supermarkets. The company has stressed it needs to move quickly in the sale process to capitalize on the outpouring of nostalgia sparked by its bankruptcy.
To begin winding down its operations late last month, Hostess had said it would retain about 3,000 workers to shutter plants and perform other tasks. On Friday, an attorney for Hostess said in court that figure was down to about 1,100 employees. The liquidation of Hostess ultimately means the loss of about 18,000 jobs, not including those shed in the years leading to the company's failure. CEO Greg Rayburn, who was hired as a restructuring expert earlier this year, is earning $125,000 a month.
The company's demise came after years of management turmoil and turnover, with workers saying the company failed to invest in updating its snack cakes and breads. Hostess filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in less than a decade this January, citing steep costs associated with its unionized workforce.
The company was able to reach a new contract agreement with its largest union, the Teamsters, the bakers union rejected the terms and went on strike Nov. 9. A week later, Hostess announced its plans to liquidate, saying the strike crippled its ability to maintain normal production. Although Hostess sales have been declining over the years, they still clock in at between $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion a year.
When asked how much the brands are expected to fetch from buyers, Scherer said he would rather not say.


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- Formation of a viable zygote by the union of the male sperm and the female ovum; fertilization.
- Normal hormonal balance, normal cycle, healthy pregnancy.
- Normal gametes.
- Healthy fallopian tubes - normal conduction of ovum, no ectopic pregnancy.
- Healthy, normally positioned uterus, normal implantation.
Embryonic Development: 4-8 weeks of embryo development.
1.5 Weeks
Completely developed embryo.
2nd Week
Primitive streak.
3rd Week
Central nervous system begins to develop.
Heart development initiated - beating begins.
4th Week
Complete mass (baby and chorion, etc.) - about 1" long and the size of a pigeon's egg.
Embryo inside is about 3/8" and weighs less than 1 gram.
Outpouching from anterior brain - early eyes - limb buds of arms and legs.
5th Week
Nose and lips formation begins.
Brain is developed into 5 components and lumen of spinal cord is continuous with brain vesicles allowing free cerebral spinal fluid flow.
8th Week
Major organs begin development.
Now about size of hen's egg.
Embryo is 1" long and about 4 grams.
Hands and feet are seen.
Baby is extremely reactive to its environment.
Male sex hormone (testosterone) produced by testes
Masculine development in males - no change in females.
12th Week
Embryo is about the size of a goose egg.
Placenta is well established and weighs more than the baby.
Baby is approximately 3 1/2 "long and weights about 60 grams (2 oz.). Fingers and toes can be seen.
This is the end of the embryonic stage.
Fetal Development
14-16th Weeks
Brain developed to the point that baby can suck, swallow and make irregular breathing movements.
16th Week
6", 6 oz. (180 grams)
Complete closure of nasal septum and palate.
Fetal heart beat heard with amplification.
Fetal movement is recognized.
Sex is distinguishable now.
Meconium formation in intestines.
20th Week
8", 10 oz. (300 grams).
Lanugo - fine hair covering over entire body, probably for protection of skin.
Vernix Caseosa - secreted by fetus, made of sebaceous material, and other materials and is probably protective.
Has some antimicrobial substances.
Fetal heart beat heard: 120-160 beats per minute.
24th Week
12", 1 1/2 lbs. (720 grams).
Baby is maturing, not considered viable (until 28 week).
28th Week
Baby can survive outside uterus if lungs capable of breathing.
10-20% survival if born at this time.
14", 2 1/2 lbs.
Viable (legally).
Fetus in breech position until 32nd week.
32nd Week
Maturing. 50% survival if born at this time.
Should turn to head down position.
16", 3 1/2 lbs. (1680 grams).
Skin is red and wrinkly.
The downy type hair is less plentiful and has more vernix.
30-34th Week
Baby is the same size as placenta.
36th Week
94% survival rate if born at this age.
18", 5 1/2 lbs.
Has some subcutaneous fat.
The baby stores things during this last trimester.
Mother should watch her weight at this time.
Fingernails are now at the tips of the fingers.
40th Week
Full term. 20", 7 lbs. (3360 grams).
Length is better indication of maturity of fetus.
Very little lanugo, lots of vernix.


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Date: 1/17/2019
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I blogged about For the Makers a while ago, I absolutely love this idea! Each month they send you a box filled with craft supplies for you to make 4 projects. I think it's so great so you don't have to go buy a whole box of whatever craft supplies to make 1 little project .. they send you just the right amount you need. So brilliant.
Today For the Makers is giving away a monthly box to 4 lucky winners! So 4 of you will have a chance to get some of this loveliness in your mailbox. Check out their blog for loads of inspiration and you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook! :)


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Efforts to conceal the identities of musicians auditioning for spots in symphony orchestras significantly boost the chances of women to succeed, a new study co-authored by a Princeton University economist suggests.
Traditionally, women have been underrepresented in American and European orchestras. Renowned conductors have asserted that female musicians have "smaller techniques," are more temperamental and are simply unsuitable for orchestras, and some European orchestras do not hire women at all. Proving discrimination in hiring practices, however, has been difficult.
The study by Cecilia Rouse, an associate professor in Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the economics department; and Claudia Goldin, a professor of economics at Harvard University, seems to confirm the existence of sex-biased hiring by major symphony orchestras and illustrates the value of blind auditions, which have been adopted by most American symphonies. Their report is published in the September-November issue of the American Economic Review.
"This country's top symphony orchestras have long been alleged to discriminate against women, and others, in hiring," Rouse said. "Our research suggests both that there has been differential treatment of women and that blind auditions go a long way towards resolving the problem."
Florence Nelson, director of symphonic services at the American Federation of Musicians, described the research as a "very important statement."
Using data from audition records, the researchers found that blind auditions increased the probability that a woman would advance from preliminary rounds by 50 percent. The likelihood of a woman's ultimate selection is increased several fold, although the competition is extremely difficult and the chance of success still low.
As a result, blind auditions have had a significant impact on the face of symphony orchestras. About 10 percent of orchestra members were female around 1970, compared to about 35 percent in the mid-1990s. Rouse and Goldin attribute about 30 percent of this gain to the advent of blind auditions.
"Screens have been a very important part of the whole audition process," Nelson said. "My sense is that blind auditions have made a tremendous difference in the amount of hiring discrimination women face."
Contact: Justin Harmon (609) 258-3601


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"At this point, I've given up. I've given up any hope of getting help from the state through legal channels. I'll just get what my wife needs illegally."
The Jersey City resident, who did not want to be identified, spoke these words from a waiting room last week at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where his wife was undergoing her second round of chemotherapy.
On Nov. 15, just days after Hurricane Sandy and barely two weeks before Thanksgiving, this resident's wife was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer, a rare form of the disease that affects the thin tissue that lines the abdominal organs.
Unable to undergo surgery immediately, her doctors first tried to shrink her tumors with a nine-session round of chemotherapy that would then be followed with surgery and a second round of cancer-fighting drugs.
This course of treatment proved brutal and debilitating. Almost immediately, her husband said recently, her weight dropped from about 107 pounds to about 97. She was nauseous and unable to eat.
"I was getting concerned because, of course, all of this was going to be followed by surgery and we had to be sure she would be strong enough to go through with that," said her husband.
On Nov. 15, just days after Hurricane Sandy and barely two weeks before Thanksgiving, she was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer.
By law, his wife was required to "develop an ongoing relationship" with a doctor who specializes in palliative care. This relationship must be established over the course of four in-person appointments, which this couple did with palliative specialist Dr. Perry Stein of Montclair. Since medical insurance won't cover such experimental treatment, the couple had to pay for these appointments out-of-pocket, according to the husband.
"That first appointment was 175 bucks. After that, the appointments were 100 bucks each. We then had to pay to get fingerprinted. And that was, like, $75."
'I was trying to do this thing right'
Shortly thereafter, his wife received an account number and they were optimistic that she would soon be able to get a prescription.
She didn't.
The state required both of them to get identification cards that cost $205.40 each. By law, his wife is required to have an ID card as the patient, and he is required to have one as her caretaker.
"Here we are, we've spent all this money out of pocket, but my wife has yet to receive a medical marijuana prescription," he said. "I mean, it's not like I can't get some pot the illegal way. But I was trying to do this thing right. I was trying to do it legally, doing it the way the laws of New Jersey say you're supposed to. But I feel like we've just been scammed and robbed. And what's worse, we were scammed and robbed by our own state."
Since all of the payments that were made were done using a credit card, he is now in the process, he said, of getting some of his money reimbursed under the argument that he did not get the service he had paid for.
As his wife continues her second round of chemo, she is still dealing with severe nausea and has not regained much weight since her diagnosis.
If recent news accounts are anything to go by, this couple's experience with New Jersey's Medical Marijuana Program is fairly typical.
Passed in 2009 just before Gov. Christopher Christie took office, New Jersey's Medical Marijuana Program received bipartisan support from state lawmakers who believed the law would help people with severe life-threatening and debilitating diseases like cancer, ALS, HIV-AIDS, and other conditions.
But in the past month several patients who were supposed to be helped by the law have been speaking out about their experiences ever since Christie told reporters during a March press conference there was "no crisis" in the Medical Marijuana Program. Yet, waiting lists are months long for a prescription.
Part of the problem is that there is only one "compassionate care center" that has so far received final approval from the state to offer marijuana prescriptions. That center, the Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center in Montclair, has assisted 114 patients since it opened in December, according to the Star-Ledger.
The operators of Greenleaf did not respond to several e-mails and phone calls seeking comment regarding their waiting lists.
A separate center, Foundation Harmony, which was slated to open in Secaucus, has yet to receive its final certification from the state to open and begin operating.
"It's been very frustrating for patients," said Ken Wolski, CEO of the New Jersey chapter of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana, who is also a registered nurse. "We've heard terrible stories of people jumping through hoops to get registered and getting an ID card, but then not being able to get marijuana to treat their symptoms. And many of these people are just suffering needlessly."
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services did not return two phone calls seeking comment.
Christie has defended the state's program by saying that he wants to avoid some of the problems other states have had. Arizona has had confidentiality problems, and there has been some confusion around who can and cannot grow medical marijuana at home under Arizona's medical marijuana law.
An audit of Colorado's medical marijuana program found that it took about 23 months for alternative care centers to be approved, but then once approved, some of the facilities were found to have information in their applications that should have disqualified them from approval.
Eighteen states currently have medical marijuana programs, according to Wolski, 12 of which allow approved and certified patients to grow their own marijuana for the purposes of medical use. A home cultivation provision was taken out of the New Jersey law in 2009.
"As soon as I saw the health department's regulations back in 2010, I knew this program was not going to work," said Wolski. "All of the [prescribed] marijuana has to come from six alternative treatment centers. These centers were given the go-ahead in March of 2011. But since they were selected by the health department, only one, Greenleaf, has been able to open. Some of the centers are having trouble getting their sites approved due to community opposition because they interfered with local zoning rules."
The vetting process is rigorous. All employees at the compassionate care centers – even the most junior employees – must fill out a 60-page application. In some cases applicants have been rejects, according to Wolski, due to the past criminal conduct of relatives. This process, he added, has delayed most of the alternative treatment centers from opening their doors and serving the needs of sick patients.
"It's really a shame how this has turned out," said the Jersey City resident. "This is something that really would have been beneficial for my wife."
E-mail E. Assata Wright at email@example.com.


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Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep, with a story of the power of words. Trevis D. Baker swore at a cop in Rochester. Police arrested him, but New York State's highest court threw out the charges. He has a First Amendment right to swear, so long as it's not a challenge to fight. Because the arrest was invalid, the court disallowed a search police conducted afterward.
So Mr. Baker walks away with freedom of speech, and also free of charges that he possessed 25 bags of crack cocaine. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Facebook proposes to end voting on privacy issues
Facebook is proposing to end its practice of letting users vote on changes to its privacy policies, though it will continue to let users comment on proposed updates.
Facebook is proposing to end its practice of letting users vote on changes to its privacy policies, though it will continue to let users comment on proposed updates.
The world's biggest social media company said in a blog post Wednesday that its voting mechanism, which is triggered only if enough people comment on proposed changes, has become a system that emphasizes quantity of responses over quality of discussion. Users tend to leave one or two-word comments objecting to changes instead of more in-depth responses.
Facebook said it will continue to inform users of 'significant changes' to its privacy policy, called its data use policy, and to its statement of user rights and responsibilities. The company will keep its seven-day comment period and take users' feedback into consideration.
'We will also provide additional notification mechanisms, including email, for informing you of those changes,' wrote Elliot Schrage, Facebook's vice president of communications, public policy and marketing, in the post.
Facebook began letting users vote on privacy changes in 2009. Since then, it has gone public and its user base has ballooned from around 200 million to more than 1 billion. As part of the 2009 policy, users' votes only count if more than 30 percent of all Facebook's active users partake. That did not happen during either of the two times users voted and it's unlikely that it will now, given that more than 300 million people would have to participate.
Jules Polonetsky, director of the Future of Privacy Forum, an industry-backed think tank in Washington, said the voting process was a 'noble experiment' that didn't lead to informed debate.
Facebook said in June that it was reviewing how to get the best feedback from users on its policies.
Facebook is also proposing changes to its data use policy, such as making it clear that when users hide a post or photo from their profile page, the 'timeline,' those posts are not truly hidden and can be visible elsewhere, including on another person's page.
Polonetsky called Facebook's data use policy 'kind of a good handbook' and a 'reasonable read' on how to navigate the site's complex settings.
But most people don't read the privacy policies of websites they frequent, even Facebook's.
'I certainly recommend that people read it, but most users just want to poke someone and like someone and look at a picture,' Polonetsky said.
Facebook's task, he added, will be to continue to evolve its user interface - the part of the site that its users interact with - so that answers to questions are obvious and people don't need to wade through the policy.
Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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Teeth that are badly stained, shaped or crooked may be improved by a veneer placed on the surface of the affected teeth. Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain or plastic cemented over the front of your teeth to change their color or shape. Veneers are used on teeth with uneven surfaces or are chipped,
Read more


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In politics, it always comes down to timing. And right now, it appears the timing just isn't right for congressional Republicans to take up an immigration overhaul.
If you read between the lines, that's what Speaker John Boehner was saying when he talked earlier in the week about how "difficult" the immigration issue is. And it's what GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell was saying when he indicated earlier in the week that he didn't see immigration overhaul happening this year at all.
"It's a tough issue in a midterm election year," explains former Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette from Ohio, a longtime Boehner ally.
"Mitch McConnell indicated it ain't happening in 2014 and I think that has everything to do with the fact that he has a primary in the state of Kentucky," LaTourette said. "Boehner followed suit rather quickly and probably from the standpoint, which I think is smart, that he's not going to walk his conference off the cliff on a very thorny issue if it's dead on arrival in the Senate."
The timing is also bad because numerous congressional Republicans are facing primaries. In any case, Boehner hasn't built enough support in his conference to push ahead on immigration, even in the piecemeal way he prefers, as opposed to the comprehensive package the Senate passed last year.
Boehner and his leadership team are sensitive to how immigration could prove so disruptive that it could hurt the chances for any other legislation coming after it.
"It's premature to say it's over. In my discussions with the leadership offices, what they're saying is they can't do it now, they don't have the votes now," said John Feehery, president of communications for Quinn Gillespie, a consulting and lobby shop. "There might be another time when they can get the votes," said Feehery, a former top House aide. "But we've got a debt limit [vote] and this has been a distraction."
So House Republican leaders would prefer to get past the debt limit fight and a few other legislative battles before they take on immigration.
House GOP leaders certainly realize they need to find some way to act on immigration, despite the resistance from a segment of the party. They fully understand the increasing Latino share of the U.S. electorate, and the necessity of make the party more appealing to those voters — otherwise, the GOP will continually find the White House beyond reach. That's why House Republicans unveiled their immigration overhaul principles at their recent retreat.
But it's when you make the move that matters when it comes to controversial legislation. The trouble with immigration is that there may be no good time to proceed — just bad times and worse times, politically speaking.
"The politics of immigration have never been perfect for anybody ever," says Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. "Immigration is just one of those issues that's difficult politically. And I don't know if there's ever a perfect time for immigration reform. In some ways it's like dealing with entitlement reform. Has there ever been a good political time to deal with that?"
Immigration overhaul advocates do have one thing going for them, however. Rattling off a list of what she called "major" immigration laws, Brown said they all passed during even-numbered years — 1986, 1990, 1996, 2000, 2002. "I don't know if I have a rationale for that."
But it provides a sliver of hope for 2014.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Citing an anthrax scare and other safety problems, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday said it shut down two research labs and stopped shipping highly dangerous germs to other labs.
An incident at one of the closed Atlanta laboratories could have accidentally exposed workers in three labs to anthrax last month. A second, previously undisclosed problem earlier this year involved deadly bird flu.
The CDC also released a report that detailed three other incidents in the past decade in which mistakes or other problems caused potentially dangerous germs to be sent out. No laboratory worker or member of the public was sickened in any of the incidents, the CDC said.
The federal agency operates some of the world's most advanced and most secure laboratories for the handling of deadly germs, and has enjoyed a reputation as a role model for that kind of work. During a press conference Friday, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said he was upset by the carelessness.
"I'm just astonished that this could have happened here," he said.
Frieden said internal and outside panels will investigate both recent problems and review safety procedures for handling dangerous germs.
Friday's disclosures came days after the government revealed that 60-year-old vials of smallpox virus had been forgotten in a lab building at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Md.
Frieden said Friday that tests show that two of the six vials had live virus. More testing is going on, but all the samples are to be destroyed. No infections have been reported in that incident, either.
Smallpox was one of the most lethal diseases until a vaccine was developed. It was declared eradicated in the 1980s, and all known live virus is stored at CDC headquarters in Atlanta or in Russia.
The CDC shipment moratorium applies to specially built labs in Atlanta and Fort Collins, Colo., that deal with the most dangerous infectious germs. Work in the laboratories includes developing vaccines and medications and finding faster ways to diagnose infection.
"They deal with the most sensitive infectious agents and so we expect they will adhere to very high standards," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt Univ.
Schaffner called the CDC's disclosures "disturbing," but praised the CDC for being candid and for taking steps to prevent future mishaps.
Frieden said "appropriate personnel action" will be taken against any employees who caused or failed to prevent the safety failures. No matter how terrifying these germs can be, "if you work with something day in and day out, (eventually) you can get a little careless," he said.
The anthrax incident occurred in a lab that works on germs that can be used in bioterrorism. A CDC report issued Friday showed the problem started on June 5 when a scientist who was new to the laboratory used live anthrax for an experiment which did not require use of such a dangerous bacteria. There were other errors—perhaps chief among them, samples weren't sterilized as expected before being sent out to two other less secure CDC laboratories.
When the mistakes were discovered, the agency offered antibiotics and other treatment to dozens of potentially exposed workers.
In the flu incident, the CDC said a sample of an animal flu virus was accidentally contaminated with a deadly bird flu germ. That sample was then sent to another lab run by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture—which discovered the contamination in May. The problem wasn't reported to CDC's top management until this week, Frieden said.
Frieden said he was angry about the delay, and employees could be disciplined not only for errors but also for failing to report them.
The CDC also noted three incidents of similar lapses over the past decade. In 2006, anthrax DNA was sent to two outside laboratories. The CDC laboratory thought it had sterilized the anthrax, but later learned it was still potent.
Members of Congress voiced concern about the CDC disclosures. Sixteen senators signed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, calling for a careful review of safety policies at HHS agencies—including the CDC and NIH.
One biosecurity expert said it's important for CDC to identify and fix any safety problems. But he worries the public will overreact.
"I fear a backlash against this research that I consider very, very vital," said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.


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Route/Track Table...
The table(s) below lists our recommended route.
Distances listed below are actual road or track distances as computed from individual GPS track segments.
To download all the above track segments in GPX format:
Below is a route automatically calculated by Google Maps. It shows the route from Kilometer Zero, Roxas Boulevard, Manila to Baler Church :
If you like to get detailed driving directions from Google, you can view the route directly on Google Maps
Your browser does not support iframes.


text:
LAS VEGAS (AP) - LG unveiled a 55-inch TV that sports "ultrahigh-definition'' resolution with four times the sharpness of regular HD television sets, kicking off what is likely to be a mini-obsession with the latest super-clear format at the annual International CES gadget show.
The model announced Monday is the smallest in a 2013 lineup that includes 65-inch and 84-inch versions. But the smaller size - and smaller price tag - begins the parade of TV makers that are seeking to bring ultrahigh definition to the masses.
Also known as "4K,'' ultrahigh-definition screens are 3,840 pixels wide and 2,160 pixels tall, or more than 8 million in all. The higher resolution will let TV screens get larger without degrading picture quality, though initially the price tag will limit those sets to technology's early adopters.
LG said the 55-inch and 65-inch versions will be available later this year in the U.S. No price was announced, but it will be less than $10,000. The 84-inch version that went on sale late last year cost $20,000.
For a few years, though, there won't likely be a mainstream standard for getting native ultra-HD movies and TV shows to the screen either by disc or broadcast.
LG Electronics Inc. said these new TVs will have upscaling technology that takes images of lesser quality and renders them in high detail. The Korean electronics maker also said it has formed an ultra-HD content agreement with Korea's top broadcaster, KBS, and is seeking out deals with other global content providers. The company offered no specifics.
LG said that with an ultra-HD TV, it will be possible to play phone games with very sharp resolution and in 3-D. The company said it has been possible to hook up smartphones to the TV to play games with current sets, but the resolution isn't good.
Along with the lineup of higher-resolution TVs, LG unveiled a new Magic Remote, which acts like a wand that is sensitive to motion and is used to navigate on-screen menus. LG said the new model responds better to natural speech and can be controlled with a single finger rather than ``very tiring arm gestures.'' It also lets you change the channels by writing numbers in the air.
The company also touted the ability to tap different devices so they can share data. With that capability, you'd be able to see what's inside your refrigerator while shopping, and you'd be able to monitor how clean your house is getting with cameras on a robotic vacuum. Washing machines will also have such capabilities.
LG Kicks Off CES With 55-inch 'Ultra-HD' TV
Copyright AP - Associated Press


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Il Fanale Group borns out of the initiative of its two promoters Luisa Martin and Fausto Dalla Torre, with the aim to developproduction- quality lamps applying the secrets learnt in 15 years experience beside masters in the working of classical materials.
The strong entrepreneurial spirit, the high degree of specialization, the quality of the materials, the creativity of the designers and the innovation of the techniques used in the production, represent, since the origin, the Company distinguishing heritage, making it known, in the Italian market and abroad, for the quality and uniqueness of its products.
The constant investment in new forms and materials experimentation has permitted Il Fanale Group, during its way, to steadily enlarge its collection, ensued from an ancient made in Italy tradition.
The philosophy of Il Fanale Group, deeply rooted in reliability, expresses itself in the traditional quality of its products and in a customer service able to give support since the planning stage.
The primary objective of Il Fanale Group is the service, always been a priority of the Company, like the productivity and the economic growth. The seeked bilance between design and technology has permitted the Company to establish itself in Italy and abroad as a landmark in the production of vintage antique lamps.


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There is no part list for ->Turn signal<- available through or database at the moment.
It doesn't mean that OEM# for this part doesn't exist it only means that we still didn't add this item to our huge database.
Please send me a note about this and I will try to check why Turn signal is missing.
I am just one person behind this project and volunteers/help are/is always more then welcome :) lets make hondapartscatalog.com the biggest database of reserve and replacement parts together!
Or simple go back and continue with your search.


text:
Hi I'm ALLON, one of HST's top agents and I'm ready to assist you with all of your healthcare needs. Feel free to call me directly or fill out the form below and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Get A Quote- Email: email@example.com
- Phone: 314-620-5233
- Cell Phone: 314-620-5233
- Address: 1044 TAVISTOCK CR SAINT LOUIS MO 63129
Get A Quote
Getting any health insurance with optimal coverage at the right price requires an experienced agent.
Our industry experts are waiting:
You can expect same day correspondence and a quote within a day. Our seasoned staff members are relationship focused and here to guide you through what can be an overwhelming process without a helping hand. Fill out our simple form and we'll have you covered in no time.
Insurance Dental
Insurance Life
Insurance Supplemental
Medicare Group
Insurance Dental
Insurance Life
Insurance Supplemental
Medicare Group


text:
H-99: Ninety-Nine Haskell Problems
These are Haskell translations of Ninety-Nine Lisp Problems,
which are themselves translations of Ninety-Nine Prolog Problems.
If you want to work on one of these, put your name in the block so we know someone's working on it. Then, change n in your block to the appropriate problem number, and fill in the <Problem description>,<example in Haskell>,<solution in haskell> and <description of implementation> fields. Then be sure to update the status on this page to indicate that we have a solution!
The problems
These problems have been split into 11 parts, for ease of access.
- Questions 1 to 10: Lists
- Questions 11 to 20: Lists, continued
- Questions 21 to 28: Lists again
- Questions 31 to 41: Arithmetic
- Questions 46 to 50: Logic and codes
- Questions 54A to 60: Binary trees
- Questions 61 to 69: Binary trees, continued
- Questions 70B to 73: Multiway trees
- Questions 80 to 89: Graphs
- Questions 90 to 94: Miscellaneous problems
- Questions 95 to 99: Miscellaneous problems, continued
(Though the problems number from 1 to 99, there are some gaps and some additions marked with letters. There are actually only 88 problems.)
Known solutions are listed at 99 questions/Solutions. Some of those we have could do with cleaning up or additional solutions.
- P-99: Ninety-Nine Prolog Problems (Wayback Machine; original link now dead) contains Prolog solutions to all the problems.
- L-99: Ninety-Nine Lisp Problems contains Lisp solutions to problems 1-11, 14, 15, 17 and 20-28.
- 99 Problems in Perl 6 has an increasing number of Perl 6 solutions.
- 99 Problems in OCaml contains Ocaml solutions to many problems.


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WASHINGTON – A bipartisan 8-member Congressional delegation led by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), visited Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova. In Baku, Azerbaijan, Representative Chris Smith (NJ-04), Co-Chairman of the Commission, headed the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) from June 28-July 2 that successfully advanced priority security and human rights initiatives. Key among the U.S. initiatives was a resolution introduced by Chairman Ben Cardin condemning Russia's violation of international commitments by annexing Crimea and directly supporting separatist conflict in Ukraine. Upon passage of the resolution by a 3 to 1 margin, Cardin stated: "Russia is a member of this organization, but is violating its core principles. We must speak up in the strongest possible way and hold Russia accountable for its destabilizing actions and that is what we did here."
Co-Chairman Smith received overwhelming support for his resolution on efforts to combat child sex trafficking. As the Assembly's Special Representative on Human Trafficking, Smith's initiative pressed for the formation of a notification system among countries regarding the travel of persons convicted of sex crimes against children, as well as increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies and with the travel industry to prevent child sex tourism. "This resolution provides a tool to mitigate the horrific abuse of children by sexual tourism," said Smith. "These predators thrive on secrecy, and so the goal is advance notification of sex offender travel so that children can be protected."
In addition to Chairman Cardin and Co-Chairman Smith, the delegation included Commission Ranking Member Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Commissioner Representative Robert Aderholt(R-AL), Commissioner Representative Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA). The U.S. delegation fielded two of the 18 resolutions considered at the annual session, as well as a total of 19 amendments to several of these resolutions.
In an initiative related to Chairman Cardin's Ukraine resolution, Senator Wicker introduced language adopted by the Assembly recognizing the importance of the OSCE's military observation missions, including the inspections in Ukraine. Senator Wicker also participated in a dialogue with fellow parliamentarians on OSCE engagement with partner country Afghanistan.
Senator Tom Harkin successfully offered amendments calling for access and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities, including calling for the ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by all OSCE participating States. Commissioner Representative Robert Aderholt achieved passage of language supporting the integration of Western Balkan countries into the EU and NATO, and, in a separate initiative, highlighted the plight of "disappeared" political prisoners in Turkmenistan and called on that government to finally come clean on the fate of these individuals, one of whom was a former OSCE ambassador. An initiative by Rep. David Schweikert encouraged increased outreach by the OSCE to Mediterranean Partner countries, while Rep. Phil Gingrey brokered an agreement calling for concrete steps to promote clean and affordable energy. Finally, Rep. Smith and Senator Cardin joined an initiative with the Canadian delegation to respond more vigorously to acts of anti-Semitism throughout the participating States.
On July 2 the meeting concluded with the adoption of the Baku Declaration, containing broad policy recommendations for the OSCE and its 57 participating States in the fields of political affairs and military security, trade, the environment and human rights.
While in Azerbaijan, the delegation also held bilateral meetings with the Government of Azerbaijan, including meeting with President Ilham Aliyev as well as representatives of civil society fighting for media freedom, rule of law and disability rights in Azerbaijan.
Bilateral meetings in Georgia and Moldova
In addition to attending the OSCE PA's Annual Session in Azerbaijan, Chairman Cardin led the delegation to stops in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Chisinau, Moldova, for bilateral meetings to discuss expanded ties with the United States as well as regional security in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine. In Georgia the delegation met with the President, Prime Minister, and the leadership of the United National Movement opposition party offering U.S. support and encouraging further democratic reforms, particularly in building a robust and independent judiciary free from corruption and untainted by politically-motivated prosecutions.
In Moldova, the delegation met with the Prime Minister and key political leaders across the spectrum on the day the national parliament ratified an historic agreement with the European Union. The delegation also held consultations with the leadership of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, representatives of civil society, and the U.S. Embassy.


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Someone has pinched the heart of St. Lawrence O'Toole, and thereby hangs a typical Irish tale filled with metaphors, parallels, and some pretty serious weirdness.
Who done it? The suspects are many and varied.
Could the heist from Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral have been engineered by the infamous "troika" of the European Commission, the European Bank, and the International Monetary Fund? Seems like a stretch, but consider the following: O'Toole—patron saint of Dublin—was, according to the Catholic Church, famous for practicing "the greatest austerity." Lawrence liked to wear a hair shirt underneath his Episcopal gowns and spent 40 days in a cave each year.
That is a point of view the troika can respect. They have overseen a massive austerity program in Ireland that has strangled the economy, cut wages 22 percent, slashed education, health care, and public transport, raised taxes and fees, and driven the jobless rate up to 15percent—30% if you are young. At this rate many Irish will soon be living in caves, and while hair shirts may be uncomfortable, they are warm.
There are other suspects as well. For instance, St. O'Toole was friendly with the Norman/English King Henry II, who conquered the island in 1171. The Irish are not enamored of Henry II, indeed most of them did their level best to drive the bastard into the sea. Not Lawrence. He welcomed Henry to Dublin and, according to the Church, "Paid him due deference."
So "deference" establishes yet another suspect: the current Fine Gael/Labor ruling coalition. Fine Gael leader and Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Edna Kenny has already signed the new European Treaty, but was forced to put it up for a public referendum at home (no other EU county is being allowed to vote "yea" or "nay"). Kenny is pressing for a "yes" vote, and Labor's Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore argues that a "yes" vote would be a "vote for economic stability and a vote for economic recovery."
The Treaty will not only continue the austerity program, it will move decision-making to EU headquarters in Brussels. This means that governments will be powerless when it comes to the economy. Think "Model United Nations" and lots of earnest high school students.
Who will make these decisions? Good question. Well, it turns out that a committee of the German Bundestag debated the Irish austerity proposals before the Dublin government even got a chance to look at them. How did that happen? Again, good question, but no answer yet.
Maybe German Chancellor Andrea Merkel lifted O'Toole's heart. She certainly has a motive: Merkel is leading the "austerity is good for you" charge, a stance that has battered economies from Spain to Greece. In any case, the Irish are already suspicious of the German chancellor. An anti-austerity demonstration outside the Dail, Ireland's parliament, featured a poster calling government ministers "Angela's Asses."
Much of the economic crisis in Europe—and virtually all of it in Ireland— is due to the out-of-control speculation by German banks, along with the Dutch, Austrian, and French financial institutions. "Yet it is the working people of Ireland and Europe who are being asked to pay the price," argues Des Dalton of Sinn Fein. It appears that the Germans have discovered that one does not need Panzer divisions to conquer Europe, just bankers and compliant governments.
"Compliant," however, has run into some difficulties in Ireland, a place where "difficulty" is a very common noun. On Mar. 2, Sinn Fein President Jerry Adams trekked out to Castlebar in the west of Ireland to resurrect the ghost of Michael Davitt, founder of the Land League and leader of the 1878 Land War (there was an earlier one from 1761 to 1784, but more on that later). Adams told the Mayo County crowd "The Irish people cannot afford this treaty."
The Castlebar symbolism was about as heavy as you can get. Davitt, along with the great Irish Parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell, launched the land war from that city, calling up the words of the great revolutionary, James Fintan Lalor: "I hold and maintain that the entire soil of a country belongs by right to the entire people of that country."
These days that is not a popular sentiment in most European capitals, where governments are shedding public ownership in everything from airlines to energy production. The Irish government is trying to sell off several lucrative holdings, including Aer Lingus, Ireland's natural gas company, and parts of its Electricity Supply Board. The state's forestry will be sold as well. "It is the depth of treachery to sell billions of Euros worth of State assets to pay bad gambling debts," Socialist Party member Joe Higgins said in the Dail.
The land wars were a reaction to efforts by the English to apply to Ireland the Enclosure Acts, a policy that sold "common land" to private landowners and forced the rural population of England, Scotland and Wales into the hellishness of industrial Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool.
As Laura Nader and Ugo Mattei maintain in their book "Plunder: When the rule of law is illegal," what is currently happening in Ireland (and all over Europe) is a 21st century version of the Enclosure Acts. The last vestiges of public ownership are being systematically auctioned to the highest bidder, and the concept of "the common good" is fading like the ghost of providence.
But not without a fight.
While Adams was resurrecting the spirit of Michael Davitt, demonstrators were besieging Parliaments in Greece, Spain and Romania.
Ireland rejected two previous European treaties, only to pass them in a second round of voting. However, under the new rules, it no longer has veto power. If 12 out of the 17 Euro Zone countries endorse—pretty much considered a slam-dunk—then the new treaty goes into effect.
A number of commentators are saying that the 12 country threshold makes the Irish referendum irrelevant, but a "no" vote will be a blow to the Euro currency, and it might eventually encourage similar "no" votes in other countries. In that sense, the Irish tail could end up wagging the European dog.
Since Irish stories always include parallels, there is certainly one to be made between the first land war and the current debt crisis. The 1761 effort by English landlords to apply the Enclosure Acts to Ireland ignited resistance, first in Limerick, then spreading to Munster, Connacht and Leinster. Crowds of Irish tenants dressed in linen masks and coats—hence their generic name, the" Whiteboys"— burned hayricks, knocked down enclosure walls, and hamstrung cattle. On occasion they pitched land agents into the local bog.
The Irish resistance to the Enclosure Acts was not unique, but a very odd thing happened in Ireland: they won. A combination of population growth and war had driven up the price of food, so even the small-scale agriculture practiced by the Irish was profitable. Plus the rent capital skimmed off the Irish peasantry was playing an important role in helping to capitalize the English industrial revolution. Add to this the resistance, and the English decided that it was in their best interests to back off.
The average Irish tenant knew nothing about international finance or capital accumulation, but they got the idea that if you dug in your heels and went toe-to-toe with the buggers, you could beat them. It was a momentous experience, and a collective memory that would help fuel more than 150 years of rebellion.
Can the current Irish resistance movement turn the tide against the austerity madness that has gripped the European continent? Well, the Left is on the rise (in some places, so is the Right). Sinn Fein's support in the most recent opinion polls shows a 25 percent approval ratting, up 4 percent. In comparison, Fianna Fail—the party that ushered in the current crisis—has dropped from 20 percent to 16 percent. Labor has fallen to 10 percent, and Fine Gael is at 32 percent. Other Left parties are also doing well.
Indeed, the Left seems to be resurging in other countries as well. A center-left party in Slovakia ousted a right-wing government, and France seems posted to vote socialist. The Greek Left is fractious, but its various stripes now make up a majority.
Weirdness. Remember weirdness? For starters, an 832-year-old heart is pretty strange. And it wasn't just the heart that was snatched. Someone also stole a splinter of the "true cross" (if one added up all the splinters in all the Cathedrals of Europe you end up with a fair size forest). And then there is the matter of the cheekbone of St. Brigid that just missed getting lifted from a church in North Dublin.
In the end, saints will not preserve Ireland from an invasion of the austerity snakes. The Irish people will have to do that. But they sport an impressive track record of overturning imperial designs, and they have long memories: put enough people into the streets of Castlebar (Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Galway, Limerick, etc) and the bastards will back off.
As Adams said in Castlebar, "Stand together, stand united, and there is nothing we cannot achieve."
CONN HALLINAN can be read at dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com and middleempireseries.wordpress.com. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion.


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Concrete grey RAL 7023
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By Orest Deychakiwsky and Winsome Packer
Policy Advisors
The conduct of the September 28 parliamentary elections in Belarus fell significantly short of international standards, despite some hopes that there would be improvements following the August release of political prisoners, Belarus' reluctance to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia and statements by senior Belarusian officials raising expectations. The Commission followed the run-up to the elections closely, holding a hearing on September 16 titled "Business as Usual? Belarus on the Eve of the Elections," and issuing a press release expressing concern about the pre-election climate and encouraging last minute steps, including transparency in the vote count and full access for OSCE observers. [Both the hearing and the press release are available on the Commission's website.]
Two members of the Commission staff traveled to Belarus as part of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's delegation of the overall OSCE Election Observation Mission, observing in Minsk and Smolevichi. In its statement, issued the day after the election, the OSCE election observation mission concluded that despite minor improvements, the conduct of the parliamentary elections in Belarus "ultimately fell short of OSCE commitments for democratic elections." On election day, voting itself was generally well conducted, though the vote count was assessed as bad or very bad in 48 percent of OSCE observations.
The experiences of Commission staff on voting day were consistent with those of other OSCE observers. For the most part, the voting itself in the precincts staff visited went smoothly. However, the vote counting process was particularly problematic, given the lack of transparency. All 110 elected members of the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly (lower chamber of parliament) are pro-government. No opposition activists from out of 70 nominated by the democratic opposition were elected.
The vote count in one Minsk precinct in which Commission staff observed jointly with a Swedish member of parliament was dramatically lacking in transparency. There were three candidates on the ballot in this precinct, including one opposition member. Both the OSCE and domestic observers were hindered from having a full view of the vote counting proceedings. The precinct electoral commission set tables up as barriers about three meters from the tables on which the ballots were being counted. Further obstructing the observers' view of the ballot count were the electoral commission workers themselves, who were positioned in such a way as to make viewing difficult. Attempts by observers and a proxy of the opposition candidate to clarify which provisions of the electoral code permitted this behavior by the electoral commission went nowhere. All of the ballots – from the early voting, mobile voting, and regular voting were mixed in together. When an OSCE observer took a picture of the vote count, or, more accurately, of the election commission members blocking the vote count, the chairwoman interrupted the count to write a complaint against the observer. After about 20 minutes, the opposition candidate's proxy notified her that according to Article 55 of the electoral code, "the count must be performed without a break until the results of the voting have been obtained." Only at that point did the Chairwoman cease writing and resume the count.
In the North-East Minsk district that other Commission staff monitored with an Irish senator, the experience was similar. The voting process at the eight polling stations that they monitored was orderly and transparent. The problems came in the counting process. Similar to the reports from other observers, Commission staff and the Irish observer were prevented from standing close enough to watch the vote counting in a manner that allowed them to see the names and other distinguishing information on the ballots, even though the importance of this facet of observation was stressed to the government by the OSCE and the Interior Minister assured observers in a briefing on September 25 that election monitors would be able to watch the counting from a close vantage point.
In a far departure from this promise, the precinct officials refused to announce what boxes they were opening during the process. They would lift a box, dump its contents on a table on the other side of the room from where the observers were seated, and ten or so people would crowd around the table to separate the ballots and "count" the votes. Observers could not distinguish which ballots came from early voting versus the ballots cast on election day, or spoiled ballots. They refused to announce the results of the count or record them in the protocol as was delineated in the procedural manual provided by ODIHR. They then huddled with a calculator to tabulate numbers, write them on a piece of paper in complete silence. Afterward, the precinct chair posted all of their numbers on a bulletin board. They then gathered up the ballots and left the building without a word. It is apparent that further legal and cultural changes are required for truly democratic elections to occur in Belarus.
Several problems that manifested themselves during the actual voting were that the material used to seal the ballot boxes was easily manipulable and could be removed and put back on (clay dough and a string). In a number of precincts, the early voting ballot boxes were not in plain view, as required by law. Early voting was significant in several precincts, up to 39 percent in one case.
Before voting day, there appeared to be a certain willingness on the part of some in the West to give the benefit of the doubt to the authorities, in part due to the minor improvements that had taken place in the election campaign, such as slightly increased access of opposition representatives to district election commissions, and the decision to repeat the airing of the candidates' five-minute campaign spots on state TV and radio stations. This, together with the release of political prisoners Aleksandr Kozulin, Syarhei Parsyukevich and Andrei Kim (which led to the temporary lifting of U.S. sanctions on two subsidiaries of Belarus's giant petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim), and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenka's unenthusiastic response to Russia's occupation of Georgia and refusal to date to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia created an atmosphere of optimism that Lukashenka would be willing to take steps towards democratic reform and engage in a dialogue with Europe and the United States.
The stark lack of transparency in the vote count was also surprising to many because it flew in the face of Belarusian authorities' pledges prior to the vote, and it was probably unnecessary. Given the overall election campaign climate, which did not allow for genuine political competition and where the opposition had extremely minimal representation on precinct election commissions, the vast majority of pro-governmental candidates would have won in any event. This is within the context of the wider extremely inhospitable environment for the democratic opposition, in which for almost 15 years the Lukashenka regime has tightly controlled the media; vilified the opposition; repressed the independent media; disappeared, detained, imprisoned, and beaten opposition members and democracy activists; harassed and suppressed non-governmental organizations and, in short, done its best to stifle independent thought.
Notwithstanding the EU's temporary lifting of some visa sanctions against senior Belarusian officials, Mr. Lukashenka may have yet again missed an opportunity to move Belarus towards democratic Europe, which would enhance Belarus' independence, at a time when it especially needs to be strengthened, given intensifying Russian pressure on Belarus. Notwithstanding the flawed elections, both the United States and Europe have displayed a willingness to continue to engage in dialogue with Minsk and to encourage Belarus to move forward along the path of compliance with freely undertaken OSCE human rights and democracy commitments. The poor quality of the September 28 elections did not facilitate this process, as had been hoped by the West. Nevertheless, if the Belarusian authorities take steps to increase political freedom and respect for human rights, the real possibility exists for a gradual opening in U.S.-Belarusian relations – for Belarus to begin the process of reducing its self-imposed isolation and eventually taking its rightful place among the community of European nations.