text:
GOP Caves on Payroll Tax
If you follow politics the only question you can ask is: Why?
Why did the GOP House feel the need to push for a 1 year extension of the payroll tax?
Clearly the Dems had time on their side. The Senate side of the GOP was even tossing bombs at their brothers\sisters on the House side for not passing the 2 month extension and move on.
So, trying to read between the lines a bit, what does this show?
1) The Tea Party still hasn't figured out how to fit in.
Just like folks who follow Religion, they stand on their principles based on faith that they are right and making a deal (any deal) is selling yourself short. Sometimes that's OK. However, it usually means you are not going to get out of the way of the moving car when it's speeding at you.
In the real world, there is give and take. Even more so in Politics. The Senate side of the GOP (who have 6 year terms and are less affected by the Tea Party) could see the car coming and was shouting for the House to get out of the way. Now they are all effected by the wreck.
2) Boehner can't control the house.
If it wasn't clear before, it's clear now.
Boehner didn't get to this position without knowing a train wreck when he sees one. The Tea Party just won't follow the GOP leadership. So Boehner was stuck with either following the Tea Party or having the GOP looking like a house divided to the public. In the end, Boehner made the choice that fighting this and losing looks better than giving the GOP the image of fighting among themselves.
It's clear to me that Barack Obama needs to win back the White House. He's a weak President to be sure, but the best way for this country to get back on track is to pry the GOP away from the crazy folk and that's the Tea Party and Religion. That's only going to start happening if they lose to a weak President in a bad economy.
There's a darn good reason that Bob Dole and George H W Bush support Romney, they are trying to move the GOP closer to the center as it was during Reagan's time.
The issue clearly is the rank and file of the GOP has moved away from the center position. It's going to take the GOP getting its butt kicked for them to start to see that their base is not going to carry them forward in the future.
Sorry AronRa :(
Theoden (From Lord of the Rings): No parent should have to bury their child.
That goes double for grandchildren. Sorry for your loss.
The Hobbit (Trailer 1)
10 years ago my wife and I enjoyed going to the movies to watch The Lord of the Rings (LotR) while my parents watched the kid(s). A year from now, I'll be able to bring my kids… *sniff*
The Hobbit is a lighter book then LotR. It will be interesting because they are dividing the movie up into two films. There is not enough in The Hobbit for two films so they will be trying to fill in the back story as well as they can without pulling directly from The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales since they don't have rights to them.
Anyway Enjoy!
D&D and Dungeon Mapp Update
So I've played a few rounds of D&D…
As far as the 4e rules are concerned, I like them. The play is smooth overall and even as a newbie I know where to look when I have a question. I know a number of folks still play 3.5e, but having played a bit of both I like the simpler rules of 4e. Clearly YMMV and I can see why 3.5e holds appeal.
I also want to talk a bit about Dungeon Mapp (DM) and about the Pluses and Minuses of these iPad apps that take the place of minis in general.
I started the group off with the Forgotten Realm campaign in Loudwater as a starting point. I had a group of 6 first level players fighting 13 goblins. DM was a big timesaver in setting up the maps the players are going to use in advance and tracking initiative and everyone's hit points. Just for that, it's worth it. DM had some bugs tracking the goblins initiative, which has been fixed now, and flagging a goblin as dead, flags all the goblins running under the same object as dead (not fixed). So when they died, I just deleted them.
I still have some issues with DM which are not show stoppers: The hide room function has an issue of not hiding the monsters when you reload a map (revealing a hidden room, even one you already revealed, rehides the monsters) and the last update made DM crash anytime I reloaded an old map. Clearly, the old maps didn't work with the new code, but a warning would be nice about that before I updated the code that I was going to lose the maps. Overall, as some who has written code for more languages then I would care to count, I just don't get the feel that this code gets tested well enough before it goes out the door.
All that said, it was a huge timesaver and I wouldn't trade it in for any of the other options out there right now.
Also, I want to give a warning to anyone using any of these apps and the more people you have in the group, the bigger this downside… Really only one or two people can look at the map at once time (unlike using minis), so that keeps players a little more out of the loop. My solution for this is that I got the iPad's AV connector, so now I can show the map on the 50 inch TV. That's an extra $40 cost and I'm not sure this will work on an iPad (I have an iPad2 and it works great), but I'll use the AV for other things as well. Still it's something to keep in mind.
Overall, the pluses outweighs the minuses, but there is room for improvement and there is no way I'll start investing in minis. This is looks to be the best option going forward. It's only going to get better from here.
Some options I'd like to see going forward:
1) More graphic art. Some more has been added and it's animated art, which is nice. However art is key from giving each new location a different look and feel. It could use more. If memory is an issue then make 'art packs' that can be loaded and unloaded as needed.
2) Flag spell effects. If I'm going to put up an anti-magic spell or a wall of flame, I should be able to mark that on the map somehow.
3) Maybe some more movement options. If, for example, there is a building in front of you. Flag those squares so they don't count towards movement.
I'm sure I'll come up with a few more as I use it a bit more. Overall, it's a good start!
Thanks to Christopher Hitchens
A great speaker has passed away. Not just for Atheism, but for other topics as well. You may not agree with all his views, but he did make you think and he will be missed.
I give you one of his best moments when he takes the Catholic Church to task on if the Church is 'a force for good in the world'. Enjoy!
Being an Atheist during Xmas
No doubt I (and other Athiests) will get a few question on why we have Xmas trees, etc. For me, it's just a time to celebrate family. There is no need to add superstition or today modern myths on God to enjoy it. This video did a good job of showing that if you go back in time, you will see that Xmas has nothing to do with God and, like many religions, just borrowed ideas from other myths that predated it.
Watts Up With That? and Lord Monckton
Lord Monckton is a big name in the anti-science movement in reguards to climate change. Of course he doesn't believe it. Potholer54 had a 5 part series on Monckton documenting his missteps and now Monckton replied to it on the website 'Whatts Up With That?'.
Below is Potholer's video reply and he shows why he continues to be one of the best channels on youtube. How anyone believes these guys I really can't understand…
If you missed the series, here it is:


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Right now I'm playing DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi. Dragonball was a decent enough anime for the first story arc or so, but it lost me with the insufferable wait for the first SSJ transformation, weeks and weeks of talking about it but not delivering, false hopes and anticipation, then after that finally happened there was the whole "five minutes till the planet explodes" thing that literally lasted an entire semester at college...whatever. I'm finding that I'm enjoying the story far more when I can work my way through an entire plot in an evening, and something like the Frieza saga can be boiled down to a dozen key battles.
I'm seriously an asshole, though. I'm earning cash and trying to unlock all the characters and such for when we eventually have a massive 2P throwdown sometime when I've got folks over for boozing. Most everyone I know are anime fans so this should be an amusing distraction when Soul Calibur starts to wear thin.
Right now, I'm playing a series of Tag Team battles. And rather than picking my favorites from the first season, people like Yamcha and Krillen, I'm going straight for Gogeta and Vegeto.
No, not Goku and Vegeta as my two tag-team partners such that they have the added benefit of fusing into either Gogeta or Vegeto if needed. I'm the dick that's picking Gogeta as 1P and Vegeto as 2P or vice versa. Basically giving me the equivalent of four players in my team. If that's not enough of a cheat, having both fused warriors means I've got two Gokus and two Vegetas. And they're essentially starting out fully powered up, without having to RYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH enough to do something that impressive.
Meanwhile, I'm sure Tien and Chiaotsu are looking across the battlefield and crapping their pants. (Chiaotsu is especially cute. His finisher is where he grabs you by the back and detonates, as he did with Nappa in the anime. And it was equally as effective here...my blonde-haired, blue-eyed ubermench laughed as the midget asploded, shrugging off the suicide attack, and then the battle only becomes even more one-sided.)
Not that I feel bad. Dragonball is about nothing if not excessive overkill. Everytime I launch a Big Bang Super Kamehameha x100 combo, I'm just keeping with the spirit of the game.

subset: commoncrawl


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Efficacy and Safety Study of Meditoxin® to Treat Essential Blepharospasm
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01259557
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : December 14, 2010
Last Update Posted : April 25, 2012
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Essential Blepharospasm
|Drug: Botulinum Toxin Type A
|Phase 4
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|110 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Multi-center, Phase Ⅳ, Single Arm, Open-label Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Meditoxin® in Subjects With Essential Blepharospasm
|Study Start Date :
|August 2010
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|May 2011
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|August 2011
|Experimental: Botulinum toxin type A(Meditoxin®)
Drug: Botulinum Toxin Type A
2 times, Intra-muscular injection, Maximum dosage total 60U
Other Names:
- the change rate of Jankovic Rating Scale score [ Time Frame: 4weeks ]To evaluate the change of JRS(Jankovic Rating Scale) score at 4 weeks post treatment based on baseline( 0 week).
- the change rate of Jankovic Rating Scale scale [ Time Frame: 0 week, 16weeks(or retreatment point) ]To evaluate the change of JRS(Jankovic Rating Scale) at retreatment point or 16 weeks post treatment based on Baseline(0 week).
- the change rate of Blepharospasm Disability Index [ Time Frame: 0week, 4weeks, 8weeks, 16weeks(or retreatment point) ]To evaluate the change of Blepharospasm Disalbility Index at 4weeks, 8weeks, 16weeks(or retreatment point) post treatment.
- Global assessment about the improvement [ Time Frame: 4weeks ]To evaluate the Global assessment about the improvement at 4weeks post treatment.
- the duration of efficacy [ Time Frame: retreatment point or 16 weeks ]To evaluate the duration of efficacy
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Men and women aged above 18
- Subjects who was diagnosed with Essential Blepharospasm
- Subjects who voluntarily Signed written informed consent
- Subjects who can adhere to protocol and study requirements
Exclusion Criteria:
- Subjects with known history of allergy considered due to Botulinum toxin type A
- Subjects who have received botulinum toxin A type within 3 months
- Any disease that might affect neuromuscular function (e.g.. Myasthenia Gravis, Lambert-Eaton Syndrome, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ect.)
- Subjects who are participating in other clinical trials
- Pregnant or lactating female Subjects
- Subjects who are not eligible for the study at the discretion of the Investigator.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01259557
|Korea, Republic of
|Sevrance Hospital
|Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 120-752
|Seoul St.Mary Hospital
|Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 137-040
|Chung-Ang Univesity Yongsan Hospital
|Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 140-883
|Principal Investigator:
|Jaechan Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
|Chung-Ang university Yongsan Hospital
|Responsible Party:
|Yujin Sun / CRA, Medytox
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01259557 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|December 14, 2010 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|April 25, 2012
|Last Verified:
|April 2012
Botulinum Toxins, Type A
Eyelid Diseases
Eye Diseases
Botulinum Toxins
Acetylcholine Release Inhibitors
Membrane Transport Modulators
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Cholinergic Agents
Neurotransmitter Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Neuromuscular Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents


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Because of the fact that the popularity of Polish language is growing and the number of foreigners employed in Cracow's companies is increasing, International School of Polish Language and Culture in Cracow offers Polish courses prepared especially for business clients!
Course types
We offer standard courses of Polish as a foreign language, whose aim is to develop communicative skills and general language competences. Specialist courses can be organised on clients' request.
We guarantee both individual and group language instruction. It is possible to organise lessons in small (2-4 students) and bigger (5-8 students) groups. The courses are on different levels of proficiency - from beginners to advanced learners. Each course begins with a placement test that allows us to assess the level of Polish proficiency represented by a particular person or group, which positively influences the effectiveness of the learning process.
To meet the needs and expectations of our clients, and in consideration of their time and convenience, we organise our courses mainly in the premises of the company. However, on clients' request, the lessons may take place at our school.
Language instruction takes place Monday through Friday, during or outside employees' working hours (in the morning or in the evening).
It is up to you to decide about the time and intensity of the course (i.e. the number of lessons a day). The course may begin any day of the week.
!!! Please note that the course must consist of at least 5 meetings (2 times 45 minutes each).
Language instruction is conducted by experienced teachers who are graduates of Polish Philology and specialised in Teaching Polish as a Foreign Language. Our teachers are carefully selected, which is best confirmed by the high marks that they receive from the students in our 2-week intensive courses (usually circa 4,5 points on a 5-point scale).
We guarantee
- course programme well-suited to the individual needs of our clients,
- professionally prepared placement tests and the division of students into proper language groups,
- monitoring course attendance and progress of each course participant,
- certificates of course completion for the course participants,
- progress reports for the employers.
If you are interested in our courses and would like to get additional information, please contact our office (open Monday through Friday between 8 am and 2 pm).
e-mail: email@example.com
telephone: +48/12/638 36 70 (8 a.m.-2 p.m.)
Our address:
International School of Polish Language and Cultureul. Bronowicka 58/530-091 Krakow, Poland


text:
While you are enjoying the OpenStack Summit in Atlanta, why not treat your bookcase to a new copy of the OpenStack Cloud Computing Cookbook by Kevin Jackson and Cody Bunch?
The Publishers, Packt, are offering 50% off the DRM-free ebook and printed copy with the following codes at their website
50% off ebook, use promo code: AtlantaE50
50% off printed, use promo code: AtlantaP50
We also have a re-publication of the 1st Chapter that fixes a few issues which you can find here for free [PDF].
Whilst this book was penned for Grizzly, we ensure we maintain the latest code so you can reference the book and still have the latest and greatest from OpenStack in Icehouse. To get the latest supporting scripts based on Icehouse, head over to https://github.com/OpenStackCookbook/OpenStackCookbook.
More information on the book can be found at http://www.openstackcookbook.com/
Hope you are enjoying the OpenStack Summit in Atlanta, and I'll hopefully get to meet more of you in Paris in November this year for the K Summit!


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SBL Biblical Languages Fonts
For many years I (with many others) used the old Scholars' Press fonts for Greek, Hebrew and other languages, but the problem was that these were not "unicode" fonts. So, they often didn't transfer well from one computing platform to another. Then a few years ago, the Society of Biblical Literature (working with a number of other bodies) brought out new unicode fonts for Greek and Hebrew: http://www.sbl-site.org/educational/biblicalfonts.aspx.
I've now pretty much moved over to these fonts, having used them in several essays written during 2011. But I have to say that one complication is getting used to the keyboard. With the old SP fonts, I found the keyboard fairly intuitive. But for the new unicode fonts, I have to keep to hand printed sheets reminding me how to get accents and breathing marks in Greek. And I find the Hebrew keyboard even more difficult to figure out.
The Greek keyboard I chose is this one: http://www.jcu.edu/language/llc/keyboard-setup-greek.htm.
For Hebrew, I downloaded the "SIL" keyboard, link here: http://www.sbl-site.org/educational/BiblicalFonts_SBLHebrew.aspx
If others have any advice, tricks, simplications, let the rest of us know!
Justin J. Evans permalink
I used to use the SBL fonts, but would occasionally have compatibility issues. I also found that I had problems with line spacing, since part of the document was written in an English (usually Times New Roman or Garamond), and part was written in Hebrew. Now, I just use Times New Roman for both English and Hebrew. Since I still use the SIL keyboard layout, I have easy access to the full range of vowels and accents. I find this to be a more seamless transition between the two languages. (I set Ctrl + Shift as the keyboard shortcut to toggle between English and Hebrew). For Greek I use the Bibleworks fonts, and am generally happy with it.
I use the Greek Polytonic keyboard for the PC (Windows 7) and it did take a while to get used to where the accents were for unicode characters; but it comes with time. I also find it occasionally frustrating to then do a search in something like Bibleworks, and go back to using an older keyboard scheme (where, for example, θ is mapped to the Q key rather than the U key).
The SBL fonts are great, but I wish they would update their uncial font. SP Doric is pretty clunky (non-aesthetic), does not handle supralinear marks well, and could use an extended character set. The Greek Font Society has some reasonable uncial fonts (I prefer GFS Jackson), which at least solves the aesthetic problem.
And while support for unicode is fine in programs like MS Word, manipulating unicode data in other environments (even DOS) can be pretty horrific.
Oh, I forgot to mention the interwebs! If you are familiar at all with HTML, using the font tag can help your Greek/Hebrew language display greatly. I can't recall if WordPress allows HTML in replies (I assume not, so the raw HTML should appear below) but I know it does in original posts.
Greek isn't so bad as-is (Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος is pretty readable), but Hebrew can look miserable in many browsers (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד). Adding the font tag and setting the face (="times") and size (="3″) features can help a lot ( שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד).
It looks like WordPress interprets the tags but the CSS for the website overrules the font settings here. Ah, well.
On the Mac, I simply use the Greek Polytonic unicode keyboard. For example, see here for Greek http://en.foursenses.net/sblgreek. For Hebrew, I use the Tyndale keyboard.
Amen to Nick Norelli's comment – as a Mac user!
Have you tried KeyMan? I found it pretty intuitive to use.
Comments are closed.


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The Himalayas, is a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayas is the highest mountain range of the world with over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres (23,600 Ft.) in height. Giving Birth to many life giving rivers, religions and cultures of the world. Indian Himalayas offer a wide range of trek routes for people of different fitness levels, tastes and expectations, therefore, being a magnet for both Outdoors enthusiast and Leisure traveller alike.
We at, Himalayan Outfitter, work with local experts all across Indian Himalayas creating itineraries for remote, less travelled regions, offering a diverse range of walks ranging from Soft to Moderate treks catering to both Outdoors enthusiasts and Leisure Travellers interested in photography, local culture, wildlife and solitude. While on tour, we try to provide the best available in terms of food, amenities and service to all our guests so that your Walking tour to the Himalayas is a safe and memorable experience.
Passion: The quest for exploring Outdoors in Himalayas and India has taken us to some amazing regions, our local friends and guides are people whose everyday work involves exposing people to the culture, flora and fauna of India's National Parks, Rivers and Trails.
Exclusivity: Our endeavour is to pay full attention to your needs and expectations, therefore, we work exclusively for your group, you will not be expected to share camp.
Escorted Trip: From the time of query till your departure from India, you will be interacting and spending time with the same set of people. We travel with every Guest (or Group) on their trip.
Customizable: We are open to making any changes and modifications to the dates, group size and tour as per your taste, fitness level and expectations.
Transparency: We communicate to ensure that our Guests are fully aware of what would be on offer in terms of food, transport and services. There are no hidden costs.
Safety: Your well-being is of foremost importance; therefore, all the trips are planned taking into consideration your safety and security.
Walking in Himalayas means one must be free from any kind of illnesses. If you at any point before embarking on a trek either mentally or physically, feel uneasy or an onset of any minor illness it is better to delay the trip as medical facilities may not be available in the remote interior areas. Elementary medicines may be available in far off places but one should be self sufficient as far the medicines are concerned.
A certain degree of physical fitness in which muscles are conditioned to take the rigors of ascent and descent in long marches. A trek is enjoyed more if you are not particularly tired on reaching the camp after a day's trek. Doing some cardio-vascular exercises and aerobic activities will help you prepare for the trip.


text:
Thanks to MATT for the heads up on this AMAZING deal!
Current price: Check on Amazon (Amazon Prime members may get free shipping when purchasing this item. Not a Prime member? CLICK HERE for a 30 day free trial!)
Know of a great deal? Tell us about it!
Did you miss out on this deal? Set up Struggleville post notifications and never miss a deal again!


text:
This plugin will display an Amazon wishlist. You can search for the wishlist on all Amazon domains, including Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.jp, etc.. Future features include having more control over the look and feel of how the wishlist displays. Available in english, deutsch, español, français, italiano, 日本人, 中国的. For bugs or features contact: firstname.lastname@example.com
- From "Plugins" section click on "Add New"…then click "Upload" and find and choose 'easy-amazon-wishlist.zip'
OR you can click "Add New" and search for the plugin with the search term "Easy Amazon Wishlist" and click "Search Plugins" and when you find the plugin, and then click "Install Now"
- Activate the Easy Amazon Wishlist Widget (You can do that from "Plugins" page)
- Go to Settings > Easy Amazon Wishlist and set the wishlist you want to display
- Go to Appearance > Widgets and place the widget on your page
- Can I have different Layouts?
You can customize the display options by specifying what elements appear (click the radio buttons under Display Options) as well as specifying a
character limit on the title, or specifying the text that goes in the click-able button.
- What version of PHP is required?
- Will there be pagination for the wishlist items anytime soon?
Yes…that's the next thing I'm working on, as well as a direct link to the wishlist in Amazon through the title.
Contributors & Developers
"Easy Amazon Wishlist" is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.Contributors
Translate "Easy Amazon Wishlist" into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Change log
1.2.3 As per the usual, a hasty bug fix actually broke something else. I reconfigured the plugin to save files inside the Easy Amazon Wishlist plugin directory and everything seems to be working again.


text:
Beyond excited, beyond proud. Picking his clothes out days in advance. This little boy loves to sing and he loves to soak up attention from his parents. I loved watching how much he's grown in the past year. He was more serious as he sang. Instead of watching the kids around him and observing the concert he was right there with them singing earnestly. He was so PROUD of himself.
Afterward we did a nativity project in his classroom and shared cake.


text:
Link Resources
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Home and Gardening Directory of home and gardening related websites.
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Anything Blogs
Anything blogs is a new resource for easy link exchanges and posting useful content. We will be featuring a wide range of every type of content you can think of. Content like computer hardware related, holidays, building equipment, furniture etc
Patio Furniture Clearance
Patio furniture has advanced from the old classic plastic lawn chairs and tables that most of us used to have when we grew up
Bespoke furniture, custom made reproduction pieces in a variety of veneers and finishes. Based near brighton, east sussex.
Pool Enclosures For Outdoor/ Indoor Pool Setting
Covers in play provides retractable patio enclosures and pool enclosures for swimming pools, swim spas, patios to create an outdoor/ indoor pool setting. Only covers in play offers innovative pool enclosure frame design with an automated drive system
Furniture Devon Directory
Find furniture stores in devon furniture stores based in plymouth, exeter, torquay, paignton, exmouth, newton abbot, barnstaple, tiverton, brixham, teignmouth, bideford, sidmouth, tavistock, ilfracombe, dartmouth
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Check out the largest,and the cheapest, selection of office equipment online,including, fax machines, printers, scanners, copiers, furniture, supplies, calculators,computers, office electronics,from amazon. Com
Ecommerce Solutions Ecommerce Solutions & Software Development Company London Glasgow UK.
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Harkness was accepted as a sept by CDSNA sometime between 1995 and 1999.
Apparently supporters of the Closeburn Kirkpatricks (per Black in Surnames of Scotland), it makes sense this family would also be supporters of the Douglas.
The Surname Database writes,
Recorded in several spelling forms including: Harkness, Hakkness, Hearkness, and Harkess, this most interesting surname is Anglo-Scottish. It is a locational name from an unidentified place but possibly the remote village of Hackness in Yorkshire. The translation of this name is 'Hook shaped headland', or the possibly as the village is well inland "the (pagan) shrine on the hook shaped hill", the second element of "naess", having varied meaning according to the specific location. As this is a locational name, that is to say a name given to people after they left their original homes and moved elsewhere, perhaps it is not surprising that in the churchyard of Dalgarnock, near Thornhill, in Scotland, are several tombstones of people of this name, who were mostly tenants of the farms of Locherben and Mitchellslacks, in the parish of Closeburn. The first recording of the surname appears relatively late, in the early 17th Century (see below), while James Hearkness married Jane Wawby at the church of St. Mary, Carlisle, Cumberland, on April 30th 1678. One James Harkness of Locherben was leader of the band of Covenanters who rescued some Covenanters from Royal troops in the Pass of Enterkin, while they were being conveyed to Edinburgh for trial, in 1684. His brother Thomas was executed in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh in 1685 for his part in the affair. A branch of the family emigrated from Dumfriesshire to Ulster in the 17th Century, and settled finally in Co. Limerick, Ireland, where the family of Harkness of Garryfine still possess lands.
Black states, "Alexander Harkness was Canon of Holyrood in the year 1547."
More research for this surname is recommended. Information on why this surname was selected may be found in a CDSNA newsletter published sometime between 1995 and 1999.
Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 1993. Print.
Surname Database: Harkness. http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Harkness


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Gag Reflex: Melinda Gates Isn't the Only Funder Worried About the Mexico City Policy/
Since Trump's election, Bill and Melinda Gates—along with the foundation they run—have said little about the new administration's policies, including the executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
But this week, the Gateses finally spoke up, expressing concern about how Trump's "America First" stance might imperil U.S. development aid. They're also deeply worried about the administration's reinstatement last month of the Mexico City Policy, the global gag rule (GGR) that states that the U.S. "does not consider abortion an acceptable element of family planning programs," and that it will "no longer contribute to separate nongovernmental organizations which perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations."
This latest reinstatement of the GGR—as with other iterations of the policy—targets family planning programs. Trump's version, however, extends to "global health assistance furnished by all U.S. government departments or agencies." Meaning, the policy now applies to all global health organizations that receive funding from any US government agency. The full text of the memorandum can be found here.
Financially speaking, foreign NGOs risk losing US government funding if they give counsel about, perform or actively promote abortions—even though they are using money they've received from other sources to do so. Meaning if a foreign NGO even talks about abortion, it cannot receive funding from any U.S. department or agency for any health program.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television that aired yesterday in which she spoke with barely controlled rage, Melinda Gates said, "I'm personally concerned about the Mexico City Policy." And it isn't just continued access to contraception that worries Gates, who's been a champion of greater investments in family planning. She also noted that the expanded rule could affect health organizations that provide drugs to combat HIV, malaria and other diseases. She pointed to its possible effects on the work of the Global Fund, supported by a wide range of governments (including the U.S.) and many private donors, which she said had saved 20 million lives, in part by setting up health clinics around poor countries that distributed HIV/AIDS drugs. "And because we're implementing a policy, all of sudden, a clinic's going to be shut down?" Gates asked, in disbelief. She slammed the new policy as out of step both with American values (including a belief in "life") and its national security.
As part of the GGR, organizations can elect to sign a pledge stating that they will not discuss abortion. Sounds simple enough. However, in many countries, family planning and other health services are performed in one clinic and signing such a pledge would necessitate the separation of family planning and reproductive health services from other health services. In an interview with Vox, Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of the global health organization PAI, "The administrative and bureaucratic burden," of doing so would be "staggering."
How much U.S. aid money might be affected by the Mexico City policy, and how might philanthropy make up the difference? These are urgent questions right now.
Before moving forward, let's untangle a few things.
U.S. NGOs will continue to be eligible for global health assistance whether they provide abortion services or not. The Helms Amendment has prohibited the use of U.S. taxpayer money to fund abortions overseas since 1973. However, U.S. NGOs receiving U.S. government funding will have to enforce GGR policies on their foreign NGO partners.
Last year, U.S. appropriations for global family planning and reproductive health programs alone totaled over $607 million. This includes a $32.5 million designation for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). What that figure does not include is funding for other global health programs that could be negatively impacted by the GGR.
Cutting that funding stream off will be devastating for many NGOs and catastrophic for others. This will affect not only the smaller organizations but also the global health giants that are among the top recipients of USAID grants—many of which are sounding off against the policy.
Pathfinder International, a global health outfit that works to expand access to contraception, promote healthy pregnancies, and halt the spread of HIV, called the global gag rule a "punitive policy that risks women's lives around the world."
In 2015, Pathfinder received $70 million in funding from USAID. It also receives plenty of funding from other sources. The Gates Foundation has awarded the group over $43 million in grants over the years. The Susan Thomson Buffett Foundation, which is the biggest overall player in global family planning philanthropy, gave Pathfinder over $20 million in 2015 alone. The Hewlett Foundation has been another big backer.
Pathfinder itself won't stand to lose its funding from USAID or any other government agency. But the organization heavily backs local health centers, clinics, and community health workers in their efforts to provide increased access to family planning information and services—which can often include information and services related to abortion.
Prior to the latest reestablishment of the GGR, Pathfinder could provide funding to these local NGOs for things like contraceptives and health screenings even if the local clinics offered abortion services. Now, this is no longer the case as the latest iteration applies to funding for all health services. So, for example, if a health clinic in rural Ghana offers services or counseling related to abortion, but also offers vaccinations and necessary medications for diseases like diabetes or malaria, it stands to lose its Pathfinder funding altogether.
These cuts could put intense pressure on Buffett, Hewlett, and other funders to do more, including Gates, which has become a growing leader in the family planning field in recent years, with Melinda embracing this as her top cause, along with women's empowerment broadly. In 2012, the foundation—along with the Department of International Development (DFID), USAID, and UNFPA—launched Family Planning 2020 (FP2020), a global campaign fighting for the rights of women and girls around the world to decide for themselves when and if they have children. Since 2013, the Gates Foundation has awarded around $24 million in grants to support FP2020's mission of providing 120 million women and girls with access to modern contraceptives by 2020, no matter their circumstances and no matter where they live.
Related: What has Gates Done Lately on Global Family Planning? Big Things, With a Big Partner
DKT International, another powerhouse in global family planning and a leading FP2020 partner, received a $37.5 million loan/grant combination from Gates at the end of last year. Buffett is another big funder of this organization, and the Hewlett and Packard foundations have also provided support, although at lower levels. DKT provided services to some 30 million couples last year alone. Chris Purdy, DKTs CEO, has called the gag rule "insidious," and expressed uncertainty about U.S funding for FP2020. Purdy also made a point about how counterproductive the rule is likely to be on curtailing abortions.
The great irony in this is that you will have more women who don't have access to family planning who are going to get pregnant and will have to go and get an abortion. So the very thing they are trying to prevent is probably going to increase because of the very thing they're doing.
Sexual and reproductive health outfits aren't the only ones that stand to lose here. Let's take a look at how the rule could potentially impact Gavi.
Gavi's stated mission is "Saving children's lives and protecting people's health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries." This international alliance receives financial backing from a host of governments as well as donors like Gates and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).
Last year, CIFF awarded Gavi a $25 million grant for HPV vaccinations for adolescent girls, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. HPV is a sexually transmitted infection. In the course of Gavi affiliates' HPV vaccination work in partnership with CIFF, which most assuredly involves discussions about sexual and reproductive health, another top priority of CIFF. If any of the local clinics supported by Gavi—which received around $800 million in U.S. government funding in 2016—talks about abortion, the clinic risks losing all Gavi funding.
As I mentioned, CIFF is a huge backer of sexual and reproductive health programs around the world. Marie Stopes International, which provides contraception services and supplies, as well as abortion services for women around the world, is another major CIFF grantee impacted by the GGR.
CIFF has partnered with Marie Stopes for projects totaling $28 million. The Gates has awarded the organization over $61 million in grants over the years and it has also received millions of dollars in funding for the Buffett Foundation. In addition, in 2015, Marie Stopes received £23.4 million from USAID. Given that the main mission of Marie Stopes is to provide not only contraception but "safe abortion to women and girls living in urban and rural communities all over the world," the organization itself stands to lose a huge chunk of its U.S. government funding—potentially putting pressure on private funders to make up the difference.
A number of other global family planning and health groups not discussed here stand to be affected by the new gag rule.
Some may argue that philanthropic organizations and private donors could step in to fill what will likely be a gaping hole left should the U.S. pull its funding. Surely, the pressure will be on for them to do so, and many will do more.
But after looking at the numbers, it's clear the funding gap is way beyond what private donors could fill.


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The United Nations' self-styled "Human Rights" apparatus is under fire yet again after one of its "experts," a Brazilian socialist, issued a report suggesting that efforts to control ballooning welfare spending in the United Kingdom were a supposed "human rights" violation. According to the UN, authorities in the U.K. must build more and better taxpayer-funded housing to comply with supposed "obligations" under so-called "international law."
Top British officials, however, were not amused, lambasting the UN accusations as a "Marxist diatribe" and "utterly ridiculous."
The controversial report was issued by Raquel Rolnik, a former "urban planning minister" with the Marxist-oriented Workers' Party of Brazil. According to Rolnik's sister, speaking with the U.K. Daily Mail newspaper, the UN "expert" was a "dabbler in witchcraft" who once "offered an animal sacrifice to Karl Marx." Under the title of UN "Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to non-discrimination in this context," Rolnik claimed the bloated UK welfare regime was not enough to satisfy the international outfit's view of "human rights."
The report is set to be discussed at the dictator-dominated UN "Human Rights Council" in March. Among other concerns highlighted in the document, Rolnik lamented that "the housing stock is no longer viewed as a public resource." Pointing to a wide array of UN "international covenants" and "conventions" — including the highly controversial Convention on the Rights of the Child that the U.S. Senate has steadfastly refused to ratify — the UN "Special Rapporteur" said the British government was "required" to obey the planetary outfit's demand for bigger and more intrusive government at all levels.
"According to the principle of progressive realization in the right to adequate housing, States are bound to provide an equal or better level of enjoyment of a particular right," Rolnik wrote in the report. "This principle requires that States examine themselves against their own legislation and policies, including in times of austerity, and make every effort to ensure that available resources are distributed fairly." The report was also filled with radical so-called "recommendations" purporting to order British officials to spend more taxpayer funds on UN-demanded welfare schemes.
One element that received a great deal of media attention was the UN demand that lawmakers undo recent reforms aimed at ensuring that welfare recipients live in appropriately sized government-provided housing. Sometimes misleadingly referred to as the "bedroom tax," Rolnik said "the removal of the spare-room subsidy should be suspended immediately and be fully re-evaluated in light of the evidence of its negative impacts on the right to adequate housing and general well-being of many vulnerable individuals and households." In other words, taxpayers must continue to supply extra bedrooms to welfare recipients at no cost.
Other "recommendations" in the UN report include extending and expanding taxpayer-funded grants and subsidies for so-called "social housing" — also known as government housing. "More resources and allocations are needed in this area to ensure that new developments address the specific needs of those individuals and households," said the report, which misleadingly attempted to paint the UN as the ultimate defender of the poor even as its "peacekeeping" troops are accused of never-ending atrocities against the world's poorest people.
In addition to demanding more government spending, the UN also called for more government control over what remains of the private-sector housing market. Rolnik called on British authorities to "increase regulation and enhance information and accountability in relation to the private rented sector; adopt regulatory tenancy protections, including minimum length of contracts, restraints on rent increases and strict limits on eviction." Ironically, those exact policies, when implemented anywhere in the world — from New York to Stockholm — result in housing shortages and a wide range of other problems.
Even before the radical report was released, British officials and media outlets had been ridiculing Rolnik, calling her a "Brazil nut," a "Loopy Brazilian Leftie," and more. The chairman of the ruling Conservative Party even wrote a letter to UN boss Ban Ki-moon demanding an investigation and apology for Rolnik's "disgraceful" comments and behavior. Other top political figures pointed out that the ruling Brazilian Worker's Party to which Rolnik belongs rules over a nation where some 50 million people live in slum-like conditions.
When the dubious UN report finally emerged, it was promptly ridiculed by the press and the government. U.K. Housing Minister Kris Hopkins, for example, said the "partisan" document was "completely" discredited. "It is disappointing that the United Nations has allowed itself to be associated with a misleading Marxist diatribe," Hopkins said, dismissing the findings. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, meanwhile, seized on factual errors in the "utterly ridiculous" report, saying it was "biased, poorly researched and contains inaccuracies the author refused to correct even when they were pointed out to her."
Numerous experts pointed out that the UN has no authority to meddle in British affairs or to impose its radical vision of ever-greater government control over housing under the guise of "rights." Still, that does not mean the document will not have an impact. "There is no world human rights police that will come in and assume control of UK housing policy," so-called "human rights law expert" Professor Aoife Nolan, who supports the UN vision, told the U.K. Guardian. "But we will definitely see the report being used as an advocacy tool by groups seeking more effective protection of the right to adequate housing in the UK."
Critics have long called for the UN and its discredited "human rights" regime to be abolished. In fact, the U.S. government actually stopped funneling taxpayer funds to the dictator-dominated "human rights" outfit until funding was restored by the Obama administration. As long as it exists, though, its time would probably be better spent investigating UN "Human Rights Council" member regimes such as the despots — and in some cases even mass murderers — ruling over Cuba, China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the Congo, and more.
Instead, the UN human rights entity has been busy criticizing legitimate governments for not stripping their populations of enough money and freedom. Last year, for example, exposing its own ignorance and totalitarian agenda, a coalition of UN "human rights" luminaries called on the Obama administration to "nullify" state laws protecting the unalienable right to self-defense. More recently, the despot-dominated "human rights" outfit decided to investigate whether or not an NFL team's name was a "human rights" violation.
Separately, the discredited UN "human rights" schemers were lashing out at Canadian authorities for maintaining relatively low taxes and for allegedly failing to provide enough welfare to satisfy UN demands. In Switzerland, citing the fact that many women still stay home to care for their children, the Swiss government came under UN pseudo-human rights attack for failing to mandate enough of what the outfit refers to as "gender equality." Switzerland and Canada, of course, have among the strongest protections for real human rights in the world — not to mention being among the most prosperous nations in history.
With another gaggle of tyrants appointed to the UN Council last year, critics say it has become clear that the international outfit needs to be abolished. Among the ruthless dictatorships selected to sit on the body in November are those ruling over Cuba, China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and more. There were already plenty of despots on the discredited "human rights" outfit before that. In fact, the outfit was led by the Gadhafi regime in Libya prior to 2006 "reforms" aimed at trying to restore some credibility to the scheme.
None of the idiocy should be surprising. The UN notion of human rights itself is something of a cruel joke, as The New American has documented extensively. In its "Declaration of Human Rights," for example, the UN states its abhorrent position that "rights" are "granted" by governments, not the Creator as explained in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The global entity also claims "rights" can be limited "by law," and that no rights may be "exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations."
It is past time for the U.S. Congress and legitimate governments around the world to ditch the UN Human Rights Council. In addition to legitimizing the terror and mass murder perpetrated by its member regimes, the international body makes a mockery of real human rights. There is no excuse for the Obama administration or any civilized nation to continue funding the disgraceful UN spectacle with taxpayer money.
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