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Aid finally made its way back onto the front page of the New York Times on Saturday, April 12, with Jane Perlez in Kuwait writing a story titled "Aid Groups Urging Military to Protect Essential Services." Here it is in full:
"The Bush administration's plan to pour large amounts of food and medical supplies into Iraq quickly appeared in danger of breaking down today as aid agencies took the unusual step of appealing to the military for help.
"In an urgent appeal from its Geneva headquarters, the International Committee of the Red Cross called on American troops to protect hospitals and water supplies in Baghdad. The agency, which usually refrains from asking for military assistance, said that to comply with the obligations of an occupying power the United States must direct its military to stop the looting of essential public utilities.
"The medical system in the capital had 'virtually collapsed,' the committee said in its statement [issued April 11, the day this article was written]. Of the 40 hospitals in the city, 39 had been looted or closed.
"The Red Cross, the only international relief organization functioning in Baghdad this week, said its aid workers were able to venture outside their offices for only a limited time today.
"Workers from other experienced aid organizations were not prepared to cross into Iraq because the situation there was considered so dangerous.
"In neighboring Kuwait and Jordan, nearly 50 specialists assembled by the United States Agency for International Development to help with emergency aid were left stranded with little to do. In a hotel lobby here, some of the specialists who have been waiting to go into Iraq for several weeks watched with embarrassment as images of the deteriorating hospital conditions in Baghdad flickered on television screens.
"Medical supplies and food that were supposed to go into Iraq immediately after the military made its way to Baghdad remain stacked in warehouses in both Kuwait and Jordan. Fleets of trucks to transport the supplies stood idle.
"The man designated by the United State to run Iraq temporarily, Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who is retired, set foot in the country for the first time today on his new assignment, but went only as far as Umm Qasr. It was not safe for him to go further north to Basra, the second-biggest city in Iraq, his aides said.
"The poor security was summarized at a briefing of the Humanitarian Operations Center in Kuwait, where the American military works with nongovernmental organizations to coordinate their efforts in Iraq.
"On Thursday, the military gave three categories of security in Iraq: permissive, uncertain and hostile. Only a small southern sector of the map as far as the town of Zubayr, on the outskirts of Basra, was marked as safe enough for aid workers. The situation remained unchanged today, officials said.
"Much of the immediate assistance planned by USAID for Iraq is to be delivered by major American nongovernmental organizations such as CARE, the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps and Save the Children. But security was so poor that none of the agencies was operating in Iraq outside of Umm Qasr, the town just over the border from Kuwait, a senior USAID official said.
"In another sign of conditions in Iraq, USAID said a World Health Organization stock of medical supplies for treating 10,000 people for three months was stolen soon after the American military unit left it at a hospital in a city on the way to Baghdad.
" 'We are not giving any more kits to the military just so they can be looted,' the official said. About 100 more similar sets of supplies had been prepared for Iraq in neighboring countries but were currently being held back, the official said.
"In a press briefing today, spokesman Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said that he had been told by the head of USAID, Andrew S.Natsios, that there was not a widespread aid crisis in Iraq. There were 'pockets' of problems, Mr. Fleischer added. But, he said, President Bush viewed the aid effort as a 'key part of the mission.'
"Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave a less grim picture of the situation in Baghdad at a Pentagon press briefing today. 'There is no question but there is a hospital that was looted,' he said, adding that the Baath Party put its headquarters in hospitals all over the country.
"He said the American military was working to stop the looting, which he called the 'untidy' outcome of people feeling the first taste of freedom.
"Peter Bell of the American aid agency Care, which receives funds from the United States government for its work in Iraq, joined the ICRC in appealing to the American military to protect the hospitals. A senior worker for the agency visited Baghdad this week, but only for a security assessment, he said.
"Meeting in St. Petersburg today, the leaders of Russia, Germany and France noted that the Geneva Convention binds American and British forces to protect Iraqi civilians and ensure their humane treatment until order is restored.
"Administration officials have said frequently that they had wanted to quickly demonstrate their good faith by assisting the Iraqi people in the immediate aftermath of the war. These officials knew, they said, that in most circumstances aid deliveries had more to do with winning the support of a suspicious population than alleviating a chronic need.
"But with the uncertain security situation in Baghdad, there was concern that it would be hard to harness the support of the people there. 'I think they are going to find it hard to put the cap back,' said Kenneth Bacon, the president of Refugees International.
"Mr. Bacon said the Bush administration had little choice but to instruct the military to create some kind of order. In particular, he said, the military should create zones of security around hospitals and water points.
"The top official of the Red Cross in Baghdad, Roland Huguenin-Benjamin, called the situation there 'anarchy.'
"At the 650-bed Medical City, Red Cross workers found few people. 'Operating theaters are no longer functioning. There are no more instruments, in any case,' a spokeswoman, Nada Doumani, said. Most staff members had stayed at home to protect their own property from looters.
"Al Kindi Hospital was attacked by armed looters on Thursday and stripped of everything from beds to medical equipment to drugs, Red Cross officials said. Today, the hospital was empty, Ms. Doumani said.
"In Basra, the International Committee for the Red Cross said it had appealed to the British to impose a curfew as a way of halting looting.
"The agency, which has been in Iraq during the past decade, was able to help British soldiers in Basra to find civil servants, many of whom were in hiding, so that they could resume essential services, Mr. Kuhn said. 'We linked the British with the remaining water engineers; we knew the water engineers, they didn't,' he said.
"Similarly, the Red Cross found electrical, sewage and medical personnel and urged them to return to their stations. 'We're tying to find some police,' Mr. Kuhn said.
"At the Humanitarian Operations Center, a spokesman said more than 100 aid missions had been dispatched into Iraq since the center was set up. But the spokesman, Maj. Chris Hughes, said that most of the missions were to assess security and that most of the aid that had been sent over the border was provided by Kuwait."
The above story was accompanied by a photo on page B8 with the following caption:
"Iraqis lined up for bottled water as it was being distributed in the villages of southern Iraq. Relief agencies said anarchy threatened their efforts."
FYI, for those with curious minds: The carton of water pictured in the photo says "Berain Bottled Drinking Water" on it. A quick Googling of "Berain" yielded this link, which reveals that Berain is the "leading bottled water distributor in Saudi Arabia."


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We discover today that Jeremy Piven is not liked by many people. Three of those people have ties to this show. We also discover that Tom is passionate about the confederate flag, being a home grown southerner as he is.
Becky's favorite countryman/author calls in and swears a bunch for Tom. She writes profanity all the time, why not say it? Then we've got Peter Mehlman, who's also a writer, but not the same kind of writer. Because Seinfeld.

subset: commoncrawl


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Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV) Launching and Recovery Systems must be tested periodically to ensure safe operation. This test is also part of the certification requested by most ROV contractors.
ATRAC has experience in testing LARS and has helped many ROV operating companies to comply with the highest industry requirements.
ATRAC can offer a service contract to fulfill your load testing and inspection needs.


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Medical devices, the next big step for semiconductor makers6 min read . Updated: 17 Jun 2008, 11:55 PM IST
Medical devices, the next big step for semiconductor makers
Medical devices, the next big step for semiconductor makers
Bangalore: Semiconductors, silicon chips that run mobile phones, game consoles, photo copiers, television sets and almost all other electronic devices are in search of a saviour—a killer application that can maintain its magic run that began with the personal computer and consumer electronics booms in the 1990s.
And, it seems, medical applications—growing at 12% annually, higher than any other semiconductor application, according to market research firm Databeans Inc.—could well be the knight in shining armour.
For these reasons, even though medical semiconductors comprise just about 1% of the global industry—and projected to reach $266.6 billion (Rs11.4 trillion) this year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, a US grouping—ISA assigned medical electronics top priority at its annual summit earlier this year. Ahuja says the sector offers unique opportunities in India, which has the need as well as the capability to address it.
The industry has begun chipping at the opportunity. Texas Instruments Inc., or TI, recently unveiled a new class of chips for portable to high-end ultrasound diagnostic equipment, which the company says allows better image quality and reduced power consumption.
In April, TI signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, to develop semiconductor technologies for health-care applications—the first association for the company with an IIT in this area, according to Biswadip Mitra, managing director, TI India.
GE Medical Systems Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd in Bangalore is currently evaluating this chip for its forthcoming portable ultrasound products, for India as well as the global market.
GE recently launched a portable electrocardiograph, or ECG, machine that gives results at as low as $1 compared with $25- $100 otherwise.
The second biggest medical semiconductor supplier, STMicroelectronics NV (ST), has virtually built a "technology toolbox" to facilitate convergence of semiconductor and health care industries.
Using technology that was originally developed for ink-jet applications, it recently unveiled a "lab-on-a-chip platform" called In-Check, whose first product, in collaboration with a Singapore firm Veredus Laboratories Pvt. Ltd, is an avian flu diagnostic test.
"India is one of ST's most important centres for design and will play a major role as ST expands its offerings in healthcare," says Michael Markowitz, director of technical media at ST. The In-check platform is now being used to develop other molecular tests, he adds.
Such diagnostics are made possible by what are called system-on-chips, or SoCs, where all the components of the traditional printed circuit boards are integrated on a single chip.
Freescale Semiconductors India is active in this space and has some "work in progress" which it is not ready to disclose yet. But its president and country manager Ganesh Guruswamy agrees that there's plenty of innovation that Indian engineers can bring in the design while driving the cost down. "We can integrate more stuff, for instance if two-three chips are used for sensing, we could use one; or even add video processing," he explains. It's an emerging market and everybody is studying it, he says.
The Western world has started to look at medical applications as the next big opportunity as the phone and automotive markets are getting saturated and fast turning into commodity-like businesses. In India, these sectors are still driving the industry, but experts say it would be prudent to get started early on.
To the extent Indian engineers and semiconductor companies are already proving themselves to be the chip design houses of the world, medical applications, even if challenging, might just need priming the existing pump, some experts say.
According to a report jointly prepared by technology researcher International Data Corp. and ISA and released in April, the Indian design market was worth $6 billion in 2007 and is estimated to grow at 21.7% annually in the years to 2010, more than three times the global growth rate.
The intensity of design and testing work involved in chips associated with medical applications, for instance, makes such development a good fit for India. Custom design companies such as Cadence say biomedical devices also use a significant number of radio frequency, or RF, and analog-mixed signal components—both areas that are design-intensive.
In short, "chips should be designed to have high levels of sensing functionality and configurability," says Poornima Mohanachandran, director of medical business development at TI India. "We see medical electronics as the next growth engine, particularly in a country like India," she says.
Telemedicine, tele-diagnostics and other remote ways of taking medical help to rural areas are some of the uses that she thinks have vast scope here in India.
Intel Technology India Pvt. Ltd's Sanat Rao, marketing director for the company's embedded market division, thinks medical imaging is another area that places India in a strong position.
From traditional applications such as ultrasound machines, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans to emerging ones such as home health monitoring, ECG machines with easy and common interfaces with computers and other devices, automated pathology equipment, India offers tremendous growth opportunities.
"We see several original equipment manufacturers developing products for the Indian market," says Rao.
While leaders such as Intel and TI are betting big on embedded chips and dual core processors (a new technology that increases the speed of computing in electronic devices), smaller players such as Open-Silicon Inc., an application specific integrated circuit provider, think their offerings, particularly with radio and medical analysis capability, will play a big role.
Whether the medical chip sector will get divided in battle lines the way graphics chips today are trying to outflank each other in price and performance is a question that will need an answer a few years down the road when health care becomes accessible to a larger population. Currently, just about a third of India's population has access to hospitals, according to the country's drug prices regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.
Still, as of now, the challenge for the industry, according to ST's Markowitz, is mastering a "knowledge network" that includes expertise in physiology, biology, chemistry, and regulatory issues that "semiconductor companies have little experience with".
The other catch is affordability. While features in medical applications are certainly an advancement over what is required for most commercial applications, pricing the products within the consumer's reach remain a challenge.
It is for this reason that some of the leading firms in this area may not look at India and developing countries seriously for technology-intensive opportunities such as SoCs, fears Chandrasekhar Nair, founder director of Bigtec Pvt. Ltd, a biotechnology company that is currently testing a SoC-based handheld diagnostic device in Hyderabad. "This is also possibly because the Indian market is very price-sensitive," he says.
The developers could then emerge locally because India can serve as a proxy for the entire developing world.
"I am excited about how Indian players will step up to address the needs of the market, which is going to be the biggest growth driver not only for India but the global industry," says Cadence India's Ahuja.
Semiconductors in medical applications (Source Mint research)
* Smaller, lighter, and cheaper electronic devices like CT and MRI scanners, ultrasound and ECG machines
* Devices for drug dispensation like insulin pumps
* Implants for tissue repair; for example, deep brain stimulator for Parkinson's disease
* Monitoring devices like glucometer, blood pressure meters
* Automated pathology equipment that do blood tests, clot detection, test for diseases such as hepatitis, avian flu, malaria, et al. For instance, GE and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are developing a 'virtual microscope" that would let clinicians analyse slides from computer monitors and share their results with an expert anywhere in the world


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Overview Ref# 541
A residential property suitable for a medium sized family home located in Disaneng ward, approximately 8km from the town centre of Maun.
The property offers modest accommodation within a calm neighbourhood of Disaneng.
Developed on the plot is a single storey two bedroom house and a cottage enclosed in 1.2m high diamond mesh wire/partly timber and a boundary wall to a steel motor gate .
Electricity is connected to the property and pressurised water is sourced from two storage tanks, whereas mains water is available for connection.
General amenities
- Air conditioning
- Balcony
- Bedding
- Bike Paths
- Bird Watching
- Boating
- Clinic/ Private Hospital
- Clubhouse
- Controlled Access
- Courtyard
- Filling Station
- Fishing
- Fitness Center
- Free Roaming Game
- Game Reserve
- Golf Course
- Heating
- Hunting
- Lift
- Lodges/ Hotels
- Pans
- Parking
- Parquet
- Photographic Tourism
- Playground/Park
- Pool
- Public Transportation
- Schools
- Shopping Mall
- Spa/Jacuzzi
- Sports Complex
- Tennis Courts


text: Recently a few of our friends went on a vacation to Switzerland. At the time of booking our tickets, we had expressed out intention to halt at Dubai for sightseeing, during our return journey. We were upset to know that Swiss Airport had not received 'stop over' instructions from Dubai for our halt. My friends were in 'Beta Level' and were arguing with the Airport authorities. I silently went into Alpha and visualized that airport authorities had received suitable instructions and we were flying to Dubai and this is exactly what happened.


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California attorney general's race roiled by Becerra appointment
When Gov. Jerry Brown shocked California on Dec. 1 by naming Los Angeles Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra to replace newly elected Sen. Kamala Harris as the state's attorney general, politicians across the state were forced to hit the reset button.
At least one candidate quickly left next year's race for attorney general, and others have had to rethink their campaign plans.
"I'm not going to be running," said Dario Frommer, a former Los Angeles assemblyman who already had $650,000 for the campaign and had lobbied for the appointment. "It's hard to run against someone who will have the words 'attorney general' under his name on the ballot."
For more than a year, politicians had been jockeying to replace Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney who was going to be termed out of office in 2018. When it became clear that Harris was the odds-on favorite to replace retiring Democrat Barbara Boxer in the Senate, they saw a chance of getting Brown's nod to serve out the remainder of Harris' term.
But when Brown picked Becerra, a 24-year veteran of Congress and a House Democratic leader, he turned the 59-year-old attorney into the instant favorite in next year's contest for attorney general, an office that has a history of being a steppingstone to the governor's office.
The appointment "certainly came up without much advance notice," Becerra said in an interview. "My wife is still in D.C. because she hasn't been able to wind down as quickly as I had to."
Becerra's name had never come up in the various well-publicized musings about whom Brown might select to replace Harris, mostly because few people believed Becerra, whose district includes downtown Los Angeles, part of East Los Angeles and ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Koreatown and Little Tokyo, would give up his party leadership role in Congress.
But Democrats hailed the move, and the Legislature quickly confirmed Becerra's appointment.
"It was a brilliant move by Brown," said Garry South, a veteran Democratic consultant and onetime top aide to former Gov. Gray Davis. "It was a good appointment."
Becerra quickly announced that he was returning to California for the long haul.
"I'm committed to do this work as long as the people of California will have me," he told reporters after being sworn in on Jan. 24, adding that "2018 is around the corner."
Becerra's leg up in next year's election is bad news for Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who had been widely regarded as the front-runner in the contest. Termed out of office in 2018, Jones announced more than a year ago that he was running for attorney general.
Jones quickly put the best face on the new reality of the attorney general contest.
"I'm very excited about my prospects. I'm off to a good start and continue to pick up support," Jones said in an interview. "I already have $3.4 million available for the campaign, and I understand that's more than twice as much as (Harris) had at the same point in 2009."
The 55-year-old Jones is a former Sacramento councilman who spent six years in the Assembly before being elected insurance commissioner in 2010. He also worked in the Clinton administration for three years as a special assistant to Attorney General Janet Reno.
Jones declined to say whether he had sought the appointment to replace Harris or to talk about whether having Becerra as attorney general has changed his campaign plans.
"My focus is first and foremost to work with other Democratic leaders to resist bad legislation coming from (President) Trump and the Congress," he said. "There will be time to draw comparisons and contrasts (with other candidates) later."
A victory for Becerra in November 2018 is far from a sure thing. Appointed incumbents have a lousy track record in California, South said.
"Historically, being appointed to office is not a road to success in California," he said. "You may have the office, the power and the visibility, but if you haven't run for statewide office before, you have to start from scratch."
In 2009, for example, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated GOP state Sen. Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor to replace Democrat John Garamendi, who had been elected to Congress. He was beaten by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2010.
Schwarzenegger also appointed Republican state Sen. Bruce McPherson of Santa Cruz as secretary of state in 2005 after Democrat Kevin Shelley resigned. McPherson lost to Democrat state Sen. Debra Bowen in 2006.
Democrats also have had their problems, South noted. In 1964, Gov. Pat Brown appointed San Francisco native Pierre Salinger, former press secretary for President John Kennedy, to the U.S. Senate after Democratic Sen. Clair Engle died of a brain tumor. Salinger was beaten by George Murphy, better known as a Hollywood song-and-dance man, later that year.
While Becerra was a well-known political force in Washington, D.C., that's a long way from California, where even a veteran congressman is virtually unknown once he steps outside his own district. The only time Becerra ventured outside that comfort zone was in 2001, when he ran for mayor of Los Angeles and finished fifth in the primary.
Becerra is likely to get a campaign boost from Brown, the man who appointed him. As the state's most popular Democrat, the governor's anticipated endorsement would mean something. The new attorney general also will get plenty of time in the spotlight as California's point man in likely battles with the Trump administration in such areas as immigration, climate change and environmental protection.
"Good policy is good politics," Becerra said. "If I do my job well in the next 18 months, I hope people will reward me with more time to do the job."
While eight people already have collected campaign cash for the attorney general's race, that lineup is guaranteed to change before the June 2018 primary. Besides Frommer, who won't run, Orange County Democrat Lou Correa won a congressional seat in November, taking him out of the contest for attorney general. Other current contenders include former East Bay Democratic state Sen. Ellen Corbett and three Republicans, San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, Auburn attorney Nina Salarno and South Lake Tahoe Judge Steven Bailey.
With the filing deadline for the primary a year away, there's plenty of time for additions and subtractions from that list.
"I don't think anybody knows who's running until the March 2018 filing," Jones said.
John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: email@example.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: email@example.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth


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Ticks are widely spread all over Europe and especially Germany. Ticks themselves are not dangerous, yes, they bite… but the bite itself isn't any worse then a mosquito bite. What makes the ticks so dangerous is that they carry diseases and pass them on to their host.
Ticks, once they have reached maturity, only need one big, blood meal. That meal is enough to last them over several years or until the female lays eggs. They will suck a huge amount of blood out of their hosts over a period of up to 15 days. Once the tick is finished it will have gained up to 200 times its original body weight and then releases from its host. Inside controlled laboratory conditions, ticks have been able to survive up to 10 years from just one meal; out in the wild, ticks usually live to be 4-5 years of age.
Ticks here in Germany can carry several viruses, Lyme disease being one, then FSME encephalitis and meningitis. Since ticks have very few natural enemies, prevention is the key. Ticks aren't picky when it comes to picking a host.
Ticks become active as soon as temperatures reach 45 degrees Fahrenheit. They live in the woods, parks or gardens. They prefer damp weather, so they will be out in droves after a warm summer rain. While searching for a victim, ticks can climb up to 6 feet high, but usually they hang out in tall grass and bushes at knee height. Often ticks climb up to the tips of the grass blades, so they can grab on to a host. They smell their prey and sense the carbon dioxide we breathe out as well as sense our body heat. That ticks drop from trees onto their prey is a myth.
Once the tick has landed on a victim, it will start looking for a spot to bite and latch on to. They have no problem navigating under clothes or fur. They prefer areas that are damp and have a relatively thin layer of skin, on humans that is usually the torso and in the back of the knees, on kids they prefer the head, hairline and in the nape of the neck. Ticks are able to numb the area of the bite; that's why tick bites don't hurt. They also administer an anticoagulant to keep the blood flowing. After the tick starts sucking, it becomes bigger and heavier. It starts producing a glue to ensure that it stays attached to its host. As soon as the tick bites and during the attachment, the tick drinks and exchanges fluids with its host. As it digests the blood, viruses can be transferred to the host, so removing the tick as soon as possible is essential.
So, what are the best ways to prevent getting bitten?
1 When outdoors, stay on paths, keep out of tall grass and bushes
2 Dress accordingly, long pants and shirts, tuck pant legs into socks or wear rubber boots
3 Search for ticks on clothes and body after being outdoors
4 Use tick repellants (not bug repellant)
5 Get tick vaccine
6 Get your pets on tick treatments (frontline, bravecto, scallibor collar)
Every year, as soon as the tick warnings are issued, natural treatments are also recommended, but there is really no proof that they repel or prevent tick bites. With the seriousness of the diseases ticks carry, being on the safe side with store bought medication is the way to go. As a reminder, most topical treatments for pets are not repellants, they are toxins that kill the tick after it bites and latches on. So, don't be surprised if your pet still brings ticks home. Also, be sure to read the instructions, watch out for the weight limits and make sure the treatment is safe for cats if you also have cats in the same household. Double dosing or using dog treatments on cats can cause serious injury.
A tick removal tool should be part of every emergency kit in a home, but tweezers work just as well. There are many simple tools out there where you just slide it under the tick and then pull straight out. Once the tick is removed, you can either discard it or you hold on to for testing, if you are worried. The best way to dispose of a tick is either burning it or putting it in alcohol. If you want to squash it, do so inside a tissue. An egg carrying female could explode them all over your home. Flushing a tick down the toilet isn't a good idea either; ticks can survive underwater for up to 3 weeks!
Finally, I want to clear up some of the common myths about ticks:
Ticks do not need to be twisted counter clockwise, or clockwise. Pull them straight up.
Do not put anything on a tick while it's still attached to your body, no nail polish, no peppermint oil. Don't burn it while it's attached. All you do it stress the tick and cause it to regurgitate its last meal back into your body along with whatever viruses it may carry.
Don't freak out if the head did not come out with the tick. Normally your body and immune system does a good job getting it out on its own. You can put some Neosporin on it.
Have a safe summer!!
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Banana Split
The film looks beautiful, using natural locations and available light, all of which creates a real sense of the environment.
The film looks beautiful, using natural locations and available light, all of which creates a real sense of the environment.
There may be no March Madness this year but there's something truly insane related to college basketball this Tuesday.
Roger Ebert on James Ivory's "Howards End".
"The Ballad of Narayama" is a Japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. What a space it opens…
Chaz Ebert essay about the cancellation of Ebertfest 2020 and presenting an exclusive video of Ebertfest 2019.
A whimsical ode to the comic book character She-Hulk, who will be receiving her own Disney+ series.
Chaz Ebert essay about the cancellation of Ebertfest 2020 and presenting an exclusive video of Ebertfest 2019.
A whimsical ode to the comic book character She-Hulk, who will be receiving her own Disney+ series.
A correspondent offers her advice on stuff to binge during the quarantine.
Recommendations from Far Flung Correspondent Seongyong Cho about films other than Parasite that represent the best in modern South Korean film.
An interview with the director of The Banker.
Five highlights set to screen at the 12th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival, running Tuesday, March 31st, through Monday, April 6th, exclusively online.
"Torch Song Trilogy" opens with a closeup of Arnold, the hero, looking his very worst. He's backstage at the drag club where he works as a female impersonator, and he's halfway into his makeup. You can see every facial flaw of the male face underneath and the female face he's applying to the surface. Cigarette smoke drifts through the shot. You can almost smell the cold cream. He's talking about his life as a homosexual, and there are moments when his voice catches with emotion.
We're touched that he's revealing himself so honestly. But then, of course, he breaks the spell with a throwaway one-liner.
He breaks a lot of spells that way. This is a man who has used sarcasm and self-satire to build a wall around himself. One of the earliest scenes in the movie is a flashback to childhood when his mother surprises him on the floor of her closet where he is playing dressup with her high heels and her makeup. It is obvious that dressing like a woman is important to him, but later he turns that part of himself into a parody, as a drag queen who laughs first so that the joke is never on him.
"Torch Song Trilogy" is basically a movie about a man who slowly becomes more comfortable with himself. As written and performed by Harvey Fierstein as a long-running stage hit, it was seen as a sort of nostalgic visit to the problems that gays had in the years before the horror of AIDS. The movie has more or less the same focus, but because it's a movie, it becomes more intimate and intense. It's about a man who was born gay and has known about himself from an early age and has accepted his homosexuality more easily than certain other facets of himself - such as fear of loneliness, insecurity about his appearance and paralyzing shyness. Homosexuality is not his problem - it is the arena for his problems.
I'm glad they let Fierstein star in the movie himself. There might have been a temptation to go out and hire some established, bankable star who could win points for his courage in playing a gay (for example, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison in "Staircase"). That would have been phony from the outset, but it also would have denied us a look at this extraordinary individual with the deep, raspy voice and the exaggerated double takes and the face that looks handsome from some angles, goofy from others and ravaged when he has a hangover. I have not seen anyone quite like Fierstein in the movies, and the fact that he is a specific individual gives this material a charm and weight it might have lacked if an interchangeable actor had played the role.
The movie is told in three major parts, with some moments in between. Arnold falls in love with Ed, a bisexual man (Brian Kerwin), who is not sure of his sexuality and certainly not sure of Arnold.
Arnold loses Ed. Arnold falls in love with Alan (Matthew Broderick), and they love each other and try to build a life together. Alan is killed by gay-bashers. Devastated, Arnold falls into a deep depression, which is mostly offscreen; in the last part of the film, he is friends again with Ed, and he has adopted a gay teenager and sounds exactly like his mother when he talks to the kid.
Written down starkly like that, the movie almost sounds like a formula of love and loss. But "Torch Song Trilogy" is seen in a lot of specific scenes, in moments like the one where Arnold wakes up before Ed in the morning, dashes into the bathroom to make himself look as good as possible, and then jumps back into bed a second before the alarm goes off. Or the moments in the alley outside the nightclub, where Arnold's friend, Bertha (Charles Pierce), also a drag queen, provides a few words of advice that come from a lifetime of experience.
Or the painful scene in a gay bar where Arnold is so shy he can hardly bring himself to respond to Ed. A person emerges from these moments.
There are some passages that don't work very well. The whole business of the adopted son feels unconvincing and tacked-on, and Eddie Castrodad plays the teenager like the precocious host of his own party.
Another awkward scene involves a weekend in the country, with Arnold and Alan visiting Ed and his bride (Karen Young). Ed and Alan wind up in the hayloft (of all places), but I was never sure what the point of their infidelity was supposed to be.
The movie's ending is a powerful, painful confrontation between Arnold and his mother (Anne Bancroft). I've had reservations about Bancroft in some of her recent performances, because she tends to go over the top, but here there is no reason to hold back. She is the demonstrative, emotional mother of a son who shares many of the same mannerisms, and I believed her in the role. I also believed Arnold when he finally told her exactly what he thought about his sexuality and her attitude toward it, and when he said, "There are two things I demand from the people in my life: love and respect." He could have been speaking for anybody.
This message came to me from a reader named Peter Svensland. He and a fr...
While the pandemic will pass, our awareness of each other should not.
An essay on the art of choosing a favorite film.
A tribute to the late director, Stuart Gordon.


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RAC/RAS YHA series
Wall and floor mounted split systems
–An office can be
more than
a workspace.
–It can motivate and inspire.
A haven of calm and a source of creativity.
–A place where
business can flourish.
–Climate control solutions for all types of commercial office.
–If you have questions about this range, or any of our products, please get in touch.


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Twirl dress - Retro Polka Dots size 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
Our popular Twirl Dress in a super cute combination.
The dress features a dark charcoal skirt and a retro turquoise top adorned in big white polka dots.
Colour: charcoal, turquoise and white
Fabric Content: 100% cotton knit
The doll dress fits most 16 – 18 inch dolls such as American Girl as well as most rag dolls like Powell Craft dolls.
Girl and doll dress can be machine washed cold. Hang to dry.
Which size to choose for your little princess? Maybe this size chart can help or you can send us a message and we'll be happy to assist.


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Interesting fun Facts & Trivia–
- Hilary played the character of 'Mogli' in the play 'The Jungle' when she was just 9.
- She played the role of Teen Brandon in the movie 'Boys Don't Cry'. To prepare for this very role, she of her hair and adopted the lifestyle of a boy for a month. Her hard-work paid off and she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance. It was her first Academy Award.
- She belongs to a special group of stars who have been nominated twice for Academy Awards and both the times they won. She got Academy award for 'Boys Don't Cry' and 'Million Dollar Baby'.
- She has been thrice (2000,2004 and 2005) included in the list of 50 Most Beautiful People published by "People" magazine.
- She bagged a salary of $30,00,000 for her role in the movie "The Affair of the Necklace" (2001).
- Hilary neither smokes nor she drinks.
Hilary Swank Net Worth: Is estimated at around $40 Millions.
Hilary Swank Figure Size : 34(bust/breasts)-24(waist)-36,(butt/hips)
Hilary Swank bra size : 34C
Age in 2013–39 Years
Hilary Swank Weight (in 2013): 55KG
Eye Color : Brown
Hair Color & Pattern : Brown
Shoe Size : 9
|Hilary Swank Wiki :
|Hilary Swank Height :
|Full Name & Home/Nick Name:
|Hilary Swank
|in centimeter (cm)- (barefoot without heels)
|168 cm
|Date of Birth (DOB):
|born July 30, 1974
|Height in Inch
|5 ft 6 in
|Birth Place & Origin:
|Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
|Height in feet
|5.5 foot
|Parent's Name:
|Judy Swank, Stephen Michael Swank
|Height in Meters
|1.68 m
|Religion & Sun Sign:
|NA and Sun Sign Leo
|Height (with Heels/Shoes)
|5 ft 8 in
|Relationships & Other personal details:
|Other Details:
|Daniel Swank
|Children/Kids Names:
|Marital Status:
|Vehicles (Cars & Bikes) owned:
|Racing car
|Spouse name:
|Chad Lowe (1997–2007)
|Hobbies & Interests:
|she likes talk about music and people and love movies, songs
|Hilary Swank's like Dogs and parrots
|Languages known:
|English, French
|Boyfriends & Affairs
|Chad Lowe
|Favorite Food & Cuisines:
|she likes broccoli and green beans and asparagus and Fish
Quick History and Biography- She is an American actress born in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 30th 1974. For her superb performance in the movies Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby, she got Academy awards. Swank had a very difficult childhood facing poverty, though her acting has brought her recognition as a star but she has seen numerous failures as well. When she was just 6 years old, her father left the family because of disputes in his relationship with her mother. She was very particular about her career dreams, when she was just 8, she decided that she wants to become an actress. In an interview, she said "I never had a doubt that I could do it, but I also never expected that I'd have any great success." In 1994, Swank got her big significant break as a leading role in The Next Karate Kid, however, the movie was a disastrous flop on the box office.
Her role of Brandon Teen in the movie Boys Don't Cry was one of her breakthrough performances. For her role in the movie Boys Don't Cry she got a remuneration of just $3000, however, 2 years later i.e. in 2001, she got a remuneration of $30,00,000 for her role in The Affair of the Necklace. She married the actor Chad Love, whom she met with at a Hollywood party when she was just 18. For her outstanding performance of a female boxer in the movie Million Dollar Baby of Clint Eastwood, Swank underwent a fierce training program, working for 4 hours everyday in order to gain 19 pounds of muscle on her body (while she was just asked to gain 10 pounds). But her zeal to put her everything in this role in the her month training, boxing, weight lifting program made it her breakthrough performance.In the year 2006, she signed a critical3 year deal with Guerlain to become the face of the women fragrance 'Insolence'. After a 13.5 year of wedding success, Hilary and her husband got divorced in 2006. She starred opposite of actor Gerald Buttler in the movie PS I Love You and it proved to be another milestone for her career.


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Cecil Hutson Sermon Archive
October 19, 2008 PM
INTRO: Three chapters in the synoptic gospels have given rise to every sort of speculation about the Lord's return. They are Mt 24, Mk 13 and Lk 21. From these chapters (and Rev 20) premillennial writers and teachers have developed elaborate ideas about the Lord's second coming. A great many of today's televangelists speak of such ideas, and a great many sincere religious people are influenced by them. And in our study of the Gospel of Mark we have arrived at chapter 13. I do not propose to engage in a detailed study of this chapter (and those parallel with it). I will touch some of the highlights in the hope that you will be able to have some anchor points for further study.
We need to "visit" Mt 23:34-38
- the historic treatment of God's servants by Jews was horrible
- now, they were on the verge of crucifying the very Son of God
- they had rejected God at every turn!
- now, the temple would be desolate ... or, waste
But the disciples could not imagine such a thing - Mk 13:1
- Herod's temple was, by all accounts, a magnificent thing
- it was truly an engineering and architectural wonder of that world
- the stones used in construction were massive by any measure
- to imagine the desolation of the temple was beyond them
However, Jesus is very specific about the temple's future - Mk13:2
- what was unimaginable to them happened just 40 years later!
- in 70 A.D. the Romans did exactly what Jesus said would happen
- the magnificent temple lay in ruins ... desolate ... waste
- for the Jewish world it was an unthinkable catastrophe
- We need to "visit" Mt 23:34-38
Four apostles came to Jesus with this question
- Peter, Andrew, James and John were certainly closest to Him
- and such a prophecy would have "boggled" their minds
- they were, after all, Jews
When? What will be the signs of those times?
- note Mt 24:3 - the added "and of the end of the world"
- Jews could only conceive of the temple's destruction in view of the end of the world (or, age) - the disciples thought in terms of the end of the Messianic age as the time the Lord would return (and, of course, that time will see the end of the world)
- but Jesus answers their questions as individual questions which cannot be synonymous in nature
- Four apostles came to Jesus with this question
There would be false Christs - Mk 13:5,6
- the Messianic expectation was of a political Messiah
- there were, thus, those imposters who claimed to be the Messiah
- some have suggested the Simon of Acts 8:9,10 to be such a one
There would be wars and political upheavals - Mk 13:7,8a
- notice at the end of v. 8 "the beginnings of sorrows"
- such things as Jesus now mentions heralded the beginning of the end
- historically, wars and political upheaval were on immediate horizon
- There would be false Christs - Mk 13:5,6
There would be natural disasters - Mk 13:8b
- between Jesus' death and 70 A.D. there were numerous earthquakes
- in Acts 11:27,28 a great drought (and famine) was prophesied
- but these things did not signal the end of Jerusalem - the Jewish world was, however, in great turmoil during this period
Interestingly, many point to today's world as "the beginning of the end"
- and our world is most assuredly in turmoil
- but people have been pointing to turmoil, evil leaders and such for many, many years as they predict the end of the world
- because such things are appeal to emotions and to a human penchant for the spectacular, a great many people are "buying in", affected
CLOSE: But in Jesus' words there is also the sound of hope. When He speaks of the "beginning of sorrows", He uses a word describing a woman's pain in childbirth. What would be happening in Jerusalem would be tragic for the Jews, but it was essential for the development of the faith in Christ. So, Heb 12:25-27.
Cecil A. Hutson
19 October 2008
God's Plan of Salvation
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
You must believe and have faith in God because "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called "Sinner's Prayer" that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the "Sinner's Prayer" to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus "Lord of your life." Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just "accept Jesus as your personal savior." We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God's grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God's grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)


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Please leave comments if you are having any problems, or even if you are NOT having problems reading or seeing photos.
Didn't think this would be part of my 'madness' in March! LOL
Frustration Levels
I'm getting some constructive criticism on this new blog and how it's not working for those who pull it up and want to actually read it. So someone, yeah me, will have to do some real soul searching to see if this is really the venue I want to use to continue my blogging.
Please leave comments if you are having any problems, or even if you are NOT having problems reading or seeing photos.
Didn't think this would be part of my 'madness' in March! LOL
Five Hours Into It....
I'm SO excited to wake up this morning and get things rolling! Get my normal routine going by letting the dogs out, read the fun stuff that came on the Blackberry overnight and made the coffee. HAVE to make the coffee. I knew we were running low so picked up another can this last weekend, but really folks......... how can I possibly throw this huge plastic container away? Isn't there something that can be made from this? It's big, it's sturdy, it's got a gripper handle, and it smells like coffee! If Bill sees it in the trash, he will pull it back out again and ask me if I'm sure this should be thrown away, and I'll hear "Can't you MAKE something out of this?" So help me out here - I could use some brilliant ideas from you all. You can either post it here on the blog, or use the contact form.
As I mentioned earlier, I went through my Blackberry to get up to speed on all the happenings that go on while we sleep. There are many thank you's that are going out with this post today. Wonderful feedback on the new site, an actual sale from the journal store....... all sorts of good stuff.
Here is a screen shot of me working on this site. I can't tell you how user friendly this place is compared to the others I've tried and used. For me to be able to sit and with 4 total hours of work have it up and working the way we wanted, is a total blessing!
So y'all click around, check things out, drop me a line or attach a comment.
And PLEASE help me figure out something to do with that plastic Folgers container so I don't have to wrap it in a rug and put it in the trunk of my car!! :)


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Thank you for your patience.
Our brand new official English website has been completed.
Please take a look around. You will be able to find your favorite ones, as well as stay informed about our events.
If you have any enquiries, you are always welcome to contact us via email or visit our store.
Thank you for visiting. Please come visit our store if you have a chance to come to Tokyo. We are looking forward to meeting you.


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Details of Amani Bungalows
Situated at the wonderful beach in the North Coast of Zanzibar, drive one hour from Zanzibar International air port or sea port.
Amaan Bungalows offers a wide range of accommodation styles to suite every BUDGET and need.
Some of their Accomodation Features
- » Locally designed serene architecture
- » Modern Bathrooms
- » King Sized Beds
- » Mosquito Nets
- » Warm Africanised Environment
- » A Minute walk to the beach.
- » Superb Customer Service.


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Are you ready for our 2019 Annual Congregational Meeting? Prepare to join us this Sunday, March 17, starting at 11:30 a.m. in Wendte Hall. Read or print this year's Annual Report ahead of time by downloading it at https://uuoakland.org/annual-report/. Early check-in and ballot pick-up will take place between 9:30 a.m. and the start of service. Ballots can also be picked up after service. Lunch and childcare will be provided. Questions? Please contact Michael Fitzhugh.
REMINDER: the Oakland Marathon is on Sun., March 24th. It may affect your travel time. You can find the info on the route here.
Sun., April 21, Child Dedication Service, Sign up by March 31. In the UU tradition, we bless our children and commit to their care in the ritual of a child dedication during the worship service. It is most often done with babies if their parents are members of the church, but if families join later, some opt to have their children dedicated as older children as well. If you would like your child dedicated by the congregation on April 21st, contact Rev. Sheri firstname.lastname@example.com by March 31.
Sun., April 7, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, First Sundays For Racial Justice, Starr King Room. (Revised plan!) We will have lunch together, and will start the meeting by 12:20 or 12:25 by breaking into at least two caucuses by racial identities for up to 90 minutes, so plenty of discussion time is provided. We may come back together for a few minutes near the end. Childcare is Provided during this Meeting. If you have a question in advance of the meeting, please address it to the Journey Towards Wholeness Transformation Team. Want to learn more about Journey Towards Wholeness? Click Here!
Policy-based Governance model approved by Board: A Governance Model that Empowers & Distributes Leadership. After much input and discernment the Board voted unanimously at their February 26 meeting to adopt a policy-based governance model. There have been several informational meetings, meetings with key members, and a month of tabling.
The key governance groups moving forward include an Operations Team with the minister, congregational admin. and laypersons to oversee day-to-day operations, a Program Council to provide coordination between councils and leadership development, and a Board to oversee strategic planning and support and monitor the preceding entities.
You can access the Policy Governance document at this link. In addition, there will be a hard copy available at the Annual Meeting this Sunday, March 17. A Board member will briefly go over policy-based governance and this document at the meeting. In faith, Governance Committee, Board of Trustees.


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"My study of modern dance patterns help me to realize how I want to cut through space with my materials and color," says artist Kati Casida. Her work implies motion and a continuous passage through space, inviting visitors to view natural elements inside, outside and through her work.
About Kati Casida
Kati Casida was born and raised in Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She has travelled extensively in countries including Norway, Sweden, Greece, Israel, Japan, England, Switzerland and Costa Rica among many others. She was an Artist-In-Residence in Ekeley, Edvard Munch Studio, Oslo, Norway and also in Hydra, Greece, at the Ecole Superiure des Beaux-Arts d'Athens. Her work can be seen in several public collections including the Santa Clara Civic Center, Oakland City Center and the Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley, CA. She has also had numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world and is featured in many private collections. Casida was the editor and publisher of Nordic 5 Arts and in 2006 coordinated the Nordic 5 Arts exhibitions in San Francisco. She currently lives and works in Berkeley, CA.
For more information, visit katicasida.dreamhosters.com
For purchase and inquiries regarding Kati's sculptures exhibited in Harmonies exhibition, please contact email@example.com


text: Well, I'm hooked again. Just picked up an ADA 60-P. I have a pretty good idea about the hardscape already: The lighting is a Twinstar 600ES. filtration will be an Eheim Classic 250 and an Azoo skimmer. The Eheim is maybe a bit weak for flow, but I will supplement with a powerhead if necessary. I haven't decided on plants yet, but for sure a variety of epiphytes on the wood and maybe also some moss. Probably also some crypts for the midground. I'm not sure about the foreground and background - maybe Eleocharis mini and Eleocharis vivipara in the background? Originally I intended this to be a low-tech setup with the Twinstar dimmed to 50 or 25 % but I must admit that I'm tempted to get a CO2 system for it. I am, however a bit reluctant after stumbling upon some forum threads and a practical fishkeeping article about the potential negative (and invisible) long-term effects CO2-injection can have on fish and invertebrates. PFK article https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/blog/articles/does-co2-injection-cause-disease Barrreport thread: https://barrreport.com/threads/14-ppm-co2-proven-detrimental-for-freshwater-tropical-fish.14126/ Do you think observing normal behaviour and no deaths is good enough to assure that the CO2 levels used aren't harmful? I'm not sure I think that's enough to claim that CO2 is harmless, so I'm struggling a bit with justifying CO2 injection at the moment. If someone can provide good arguments for justifying the use of CO2 (or the opposite) or just have some relevant knowledge on fish physiology and/or CO2 levels in nature you are very welcome to share it here.


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Fostering cultural, intellectual, artistic and friendly exchanges between the French-speaking world and our local and regional communities.
The French government is launching a new standard for keyboard layouts in France. The position of the letters (A-Z) will remain the same, but special characters like accents and punctuation marks are moving and many more are added to better support typing French and boost usability and speed. Read more here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190403165844.htm
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit will present the first exhibition in the Midwest and most comprehensive show to date of the French art movement Supports/Surfaces. This group of fourteen artists, along with several others who were closely affiliated, lived and worked in the south of France, producing artwork marked by an interest in materiality, a lyrical use of color and expansive ideas of what constitutes a painting. French society was undergoing social protests and upheavals in the 1960s that mirrored the civil rights and anti-war movements in the USA. Feb 1-April 21, 2019
More information? https://mocadetroit.org/unfurled-supportssurfaces-1966-1976/
Metropolitan Museum Exhibition link: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2018/public-parks-private-gardens
Do you like to read? Do you like contemporary literature? Do you like to read in French? Or do you like to read in English? Check this out!
The Albertine Prize recognizes American readers' favorite work of contemporary Francophone fiction while encouraging the discovery of new literary voices, translated and published in the US in the past year. The selection presents a range of stories from many diverse locations and perspectives, reminding us of the importance of looking beyond one's own borders.
What's the program? One book a month. We'll introduce you to the best of contemporary French literature, one book at a time. One book a month for five months!
Don't speak French? Not a problem.
You don't need to know French to enjoy these books. The Albertine Prize shortlisted titles have been published in English within the past year.
Where to begin? Right here.
All of the books are available in the US at Albertine and online at www.albertine.com. Join the conversation using the hashtag #albertineprize and vote at www.albertine.com/albertine-prize.
The best part? A Book Battle.
In the spring, we'll host a Book Battle at Albertine Books. Five literary minds will defend their Albertine Prize favorite.
Don't live in New York? That's ok.
Follow us and join the conversation via Livestream, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You won't miss a thing!
Ready to vote? Great!
Vote anytime for the books you love. You don't have to pick just one. You may vote once for one or more of the shortlisted titles.
Every vote counts!
At the end of all this? A party!
Yes, we get to celebrate literature! The author and translator of the award winning book will be flown to Albertine Books in New York City this summer to receive the Prize and say a few words. Cheers!
More info? http://www.albertine.com/albertine-prize-2018/
Tout en étant obligé de s'inscrire dans la lignée des comtes d'Ormesson, il s'était fait son propre nom, en forme de sourire, qui reflétait bien son caractère facétieux : Jean d'O. Plus il vieillissait, plus Jean d'Ormesson – qui est mort dans la nuit du 4 au 5 décembre à l'âge de 92 ans – était charmant et charmeur, avec son œil si bleu et son air à jamais espiègle. « Il a toujours dit qu'il partirait sans avoir tout dit et c'est aujourd'hui. Il nous laisse de merveilleux livres », a déclaré sa fille, Héloïse d'Ormesson. Il pensait avec raison que la gaieté est une politesse et voulait mériter un qualificatif presque perdu, « dans un siècle où règne le ressentiment » : délicieux.
En savoir plus sur http://www.lemonde.fr/disparitions/article/2017/12/05/l-ecrivain-jean-d-ormesson-est-mort_5224647_3382.html#KDqCgMGAdrQpUPtu.99
Pop star Johnny Hallyday has died:
Johnny Hallyday s'est éteint dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi à l'âge de 74 ans. C'est son épouse Laeticia qui a annoncé la terrible nouvelle cette nuit dans un communiqué envoyé à 2h34 du matin à l'Agence France Presse. "Johnny Hallyday est parti. J'écris ces mots sans y croire. Et pourtant c'est bien cela. Mon homme n'est plus. Il nous quitte cette nuit comme il aura vécu tout au long de sa vie, avec courage et dignité." L'annonce de sa mort suscite des milliers de réactions parmi ses innombrables fans mais aussi de la part de toutes les personnalités qui l'ont cotoyé au fil de ses soixante ans de carrière.
Manon Pignot is a French historian specializing in the experience of children during World War I and in war and more broadly. She is an associate professor at the Jules Verne University of Picardy and a junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France. She is the author of The Crayon War: When the little Parisians drew the Great War (Editions Parigramme, 2004); Let's go children of the fatherland: Generation Great War (Le Seuil, 2012); The child-soldier, 19th to 21st century: A critical approach (Armand Colin, 2012); and Paris in the Great War (Editions Parigramme, 2014).
The study of "teen-combatants" is a growing subfield in the history of children at war, the history of war violence in general, and World War I in particular. Too young to be legally enlisted as conscripts in 1914-1918, teen combatants also felt that they were too old to remain on the home front. This lecture will explore the cross-European phenomenon of "teen-combatants" both as a rite of passage into male adulthood and as a transgression of wartime norms.
For more information: https://mershoncenter.osu.edu/eventcalendar/eventdetail/633/-/manon-pignot.html
In a career that spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) was deeply inspired by tradition yet rebelled against its idealized forms, introducing innovative practices that paved the way for modern sculpture. He believed that art should be true to nature, a philosophy that shaped his attitudes to models and materials. Many know Rodin for the controversies surrounding certain of his works, such as the scandals around The Age of Bronze or the Monument to Honoré de Balzac, and for his unfinished projects, most famously The Gates of Hell. But few who recognize Rodin's sculptures have failed to be moved by them.
To celebrate his life and legacy, cities around the world are exhibiting Rodin's sculptures! Check out the Midwest exhibitions below.
September 1, 2017 to May 13, 2018
The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, USA
September 14 to December 17, 2017
Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
September 15, 2017 - January 7, 2018
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI
November, 3 2017 to March 4, 2018
The Art Institute of Chicago, Il, USA
Teaming up with photographer/muralist, JR, Agnès Varda journeys through rural France, meeting locals and developing a sense of humanity and character through art by virtue of their own sensibilities and the perspectives of those they meet along the way.
Primary female director of the French New Wave, Agnès Varda has been revered as the mother and grandmother of the movement. From drama film, Cléo from 5 to 7 to revered documentaries, The Beaches of Agnès and The Gleaners & I, Varda has regarded political and feminist ideologies in the most revealing proximity.
"Magnificently moving, funny, life-affirming, and altogether wonderful...a screen duo for the ages." - David Ehrlich, Indiewire
Check out this delightful preview:
Opens in Cincinnati, OH on November 1, 2017 at the Mariemont Theatre.
Opens in Columbus, OH on November 3, 2017 at the Gateway Film Center.


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All about safe mercury filling removal from a dentist in Encino
Dental amalgam is a mixture of metals, containing up to 50 percent mercury, along with silver, tin, copper, and additional trace metals. For over 150 years, amalgam has been used in dental fillings.
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the toxicity of amalgam fillings and the potential effects it has on the body due to mercury. At the office of Dr. Paul O'Malley DDS, we do not use amalgam fillings, opting instead for biocompatible composite resin fillings. This safe material is durable, aesthetically pleasing, and free of harmful metals like mercury. Additionally, we offer the safe removal of existing mercury fillings for patients who need to have them removed.
The concern about mercury
Dental amalgam fillings can release toxic mercury vapors during such tasks as biting or chewing. Mercury vapor exposure has been linked to an increase in risk for some medical conditions.
Safe removal of mercury fillings
We don't recommend the removal of amalgam fillings that are still in good condition. If there is no decay around the filling, it's best to leave it in place. Removing amalgam fillings can slightly compromise healthy tooth structure and may unnecessarily expose patients to mercury vapors.
If you have a failing amalgam filling, it can pose risks including: mercury vapor exposure, recurrent tooth decay, or tooth fracture. For patients who need amalgam filling removal, we follow the strict protocol of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. This helps to ensure that the patient and staff are protected against harmful mercury exposure.
When it comes to your health and wellness, we want to be your partner. Whether it's the safe removal of amalgam fillings, biomimetic restorations, or full mouth reconstruction, we are here to help. If you are in the Encino area, call us today at 818-616-8838.


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The WALL, Prisoners of the War on Drugs
Mission & History
Staff & Volunteers
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Working to end drug war injustice since 1997
Outraged by drug war injustice?
Don't forget to tell your federal and state elected officials. Find contact information for your candidates & elected officials with a Zip Code at
The Wall
Braddock, Kenneth
Kenneth E. Braddock -- #21037-044
18 Years -- Drug Conspiracy
I am the one in the picture that's really happy to see his three sons. This is a time in my boy's lives that I should be with them, but instead I'm in federal prison.
I have served 33 months of a 210 month sentence. Almost 15 years left to serve ... my sons will all be men before I am released.


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Let's get all primary students together to take part in a creative writing, poetry-reading and storytelling competition. Organised by the British Council in partnership with the Posties section of the South China Morning Post, English Master Junior 2020 is open to all primary school students in Hong Kong.
The British Council and Posties share a key mission – to make learning English fun. The competition, now in its third year, aims to boost students' confidence in English and inspire greater enthusiasm for language learning. This competition will also help students develop life skills such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking. They will have the opportunity to get involved in fun activities and to explore new ideas and concepts. More than 1,500 students from 86 primary schools took part in the competition in 2019.
Working in groups of three to four and representing their schools, students will showcase their reading, writing, speaking and presentation skills. They will also have the option to take the competition to another level by adding music, dancing, drama and singing. The two runner-up teams will receive a trophy for their team, and each member of a runner-up team will receive a certificate, book vouchers and a British Council summer English course voucher. The winning team will receive a trophy, and each winner will receive a certificate, HK$1,000 worth of book vouchers and a free British Council summer English course. They will also be recognised as English Masters!
Click https://goo.gl/vVkSRE to view the excellent performance of the students who participated in the Stage 2 Poetry Reading and Final Stage Storytelling for the English Master Junior in 2018.
Why should you participate?
School teams will take part in fun, creative activities, which will develop their skills and engage their imaginations. This competition is a great way to motivate students to read, write and speak, while also developing teamwork and communication skills.
Who can enter?
All primary students in Hong Kong are eligible to participate. Each team competes in either the Lower Primary or the Upper Primary group. Each school can register more than one team for each group, and each team should consist of three to four students.
|Level of study
|Primary 1–3
|Lower Primary
|Primary 4–6
|Upper Primary
What is the schedule?
|Stage 1
|27 September–10 December 2019
|Stage 2
|4, 5 or 6 March 2020 (Each team will perform on one of these dates only. The specific date on which each team will perform will be confirmed by early February 2020.)
|Final stage
|9 May 2020
Stage 1: Creative Writing
Be creative! Each team has to work together and come up with a creative and interesting story based on the criteria below:
|Lower Primary
|Write a unique heroic story of between 150 and 200 words, in English, based on the pictures on the entry form [download here].
|Upper Primary
|Write a unique adventure story using the pictures on the entry form [download here] and create your own special ending. Your story should be in English and be between 200 and 300 words.
Submission deadline: 10 December 2019
Stage 2: Poetry Reading
20 teams from each group will be selected to take part in Stage 2, where each team will be asked to recite an assigned poem from memory and perform their own dramatic interpretation of the poem to accompany their recital.
Event date: Wednesday 4 March, Thursday 5 March or Friday 6 March 2020 (Each team will perform on one of these dates only. The specific date on which each team will perform will be confirmed by early February 2020.)
Venue: British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Final stage: Storytelling and Awards Ceremony
Five teams from each group will enter the final round of the competition. Each team will have prepared a five-minute performance based on an assigned topic. The performance may involve storytelling, drama or singing. The results will be announced on the same day.
Event date: Saturday 9 May 2020
Venue: MegaBox, Enterprise Square Five, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Judging criteria
Please refer to the competition details.
The three best-performing teams from each group will receive the following prizes.
A certificate, HK$1,000 worth of book vouchers and a free British Council summer English course for each student
1st Runners-up:
A certificate, HK$500 worth of book vouchers and a HK$1,500 British Council summer English course voucher for each student
2nd Runners-up:
A certificate, HK$200 worth of book vouchers and an HK$800 British Council summer English course voucher for each student
We will also present the Student Participation Award and the Best Teamwork Award at the award ceremony. The Student Participation Award will be given to the school who submits the most applications at Stage 1, while the Best Teamwork Award will be given to the team who demonstrate the best examples of good collaboration and team spirit in Stage 2. All participants will also get a HK$200 British Council summer English course voucher.
|Student Participation Award:
A 2-hour English language workshop for the students of the winning school before the end of May 2020
|Best Teamwork Award:
A certificate, HK$100 worth of book vouchers and a HK$500 British Council summer English course voucher for each student
How to enter?
Simply download the entry form for the Lower Primary Group or the Upper Primary Group. Remember there should be three to four students in a team, and each school can nominate more than one team for each group. All applications must be submitted by a teacher.
You can submit your application by email or by post.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Post: South China Morning Post, English Master Junior 2020, 4/F, Morning Post Centre, 22 Dai Fat Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, New Territories, Hong Kong
For more information, please contact the Posties team at the South China Morning Post (phone: 2680 8822 email: firstname.lastname@example.com).
Terms and conditions
In submitting an application, schools are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the competition listed below.
- Entries must be submitted on or before 10 December 2019. Late submissions will not be considered.
- All applications must be submitted by the participants' school teacher. School teachers must obtain parental consent prior to their students registering to participate in the competition.
- The decision of the panel of judges is final. Participants shall raise no objection to the results.
- The participants authorise the British Council and the SCMP to publish, display and use all entries in any format and on any platform. Participants also authorise the duplication and display of their entries for advertising and promotional purposes. The British Council and the SCMP shall have the right to modify, translate, use, duplicate and disseminate all or part of the contents of the work without seeking prior consent from the participants.
- Participants shall only use music, images or video clips from a third party in their submitted work after written consent has been given by the relevant third party. Such usage shall be acknowledged in their work in accordance with the relevant copyright law.
- All entries must be the original work of the participants. If any team submits an entry whose content amounts to an instance of copyright ordinance infringement or the violation of intellectual property rights, this will result in that team being disqualified with immediate effect.
- The British Council and the SCMP reserve the right to use any photograph/video taken at any English Master Junior 2020 event without the expressed written permission of those included in the photograph/video. The British Council and the SCMP may use the photograph/video in publications or other promotional material including but not limited to brochures, books, newspapers, magazines, websites, social media, etc.
- The personal data provided by the participants will be used for this competition and other relevant events.
- The free summer English courses and course vouchers are only applicable to students who have not registered for a 2020 summer English course, and cannot be used to apply for a refund of course fees already paid towards a 2020 summer English course. Please refer to the gift redemption letters for the terms and conditions of the free summer English courses and course vouchers.
- The British Council and the SCMP reserve the right to suspend, modify or terminate this event or any of these terms and conditions without prior notice.
- In case of disputes, the decision of the British Council and the SCMP shall be final and conclusive.
The British Council believes that all children have potential and that every child matters – everywhere in the world. The British Council affirms the position that all children have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse as set out in article 19, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989.


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Base Coat | Essie Millionails
Colour | Models Own Sun Hat
Top Coat | Glisten and Glow HK Girl Top Coat
I don't think I'm ready to accept that my summer holiday is over for another year. We got back on Friday, so pretty much a week ago and until now I couldn't face writing a blog post because it was like accepting I was home. Sob.
I'm SO greatful that it has been hot and sunny though otherwise I think I would have actually suffered with the worst post holiday blues but actually I've been OK. Work is mega busy which has also helped as I haven't had a chance to daydream of beaches.. mojitos.. swimming.. reading.. and all my other favourite holiday things. I've also been putting off editing my holiday photos for the same reason but I promise I'll get around to it soon so I can share some with you. We really did have the best time!
One of the first things I did when we got back is paint my nails, I hate having chipped nails so I couldn't wait to paint them. I opted for Models Own Sun Hat as I had a feeling it would really accentuate my tan, besides if I don't try out the Polish For Tans collection now, when will I?
Sun Hat is a neon girly pink that really does pop against my tanned skin. It applies evenly in 2 easy coats and I've really enjoyed having this on my nails. In fact I have also had a few compliments on it too which doesn't happen all that often!
What have you been wearing on your nails this summer?
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Mehni Design
Generally girls and females explore of beautiful and attractive simple mehndi designs. As per as quite a few wedding function come to or Eid event starts the womenfolk start considering for some of the splendid and gorgeous Simple mehndi designs that can grace them appear as center of attraction in the gathering from hands and feet. Although there are several ways of means above which you can look for some of the looking fabulous and beautiful simple mehndi designs very easily.
Applying mehndi design is really an art, but it's not big deal to convert these design in to simple design with a little bit of art and mind sense. There can be a small number of tricks for doing so. You want to select a design of mehndi which is stress-free to note down. This shows that you can simply discriminate the design of mehndi and get the initial and finish point of pattern or floral design.
Mehndi Designs in Fashion
If you are capable to do so then you can definitely draw the Simple mehndi design of mehndi. It is essential to consider the design and it will help you in making simple mehndi design. As a replacement for of drawing the entire design of mehndi you can just draw a small part of it. In this technique you can make beautiful simple mehndi design bestowing to your choice. You can also start drawing with small patterns and create big designs.
If you sensibly consider, most of the designs be made up of of simple mehndi design. In addition you can even create the best choice of detecting inside the fashion magazines as well. At the time of marrying season magazines gets overload with the images of attractive looking Simple mehndi designs. You can search simple mehndi designs as well as intricate form of mehndi designs as well.


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Experienced Faculty
Placement Assistance
QTP is an acronym for Quick Test Professional. It is an automation testing tool which supports Visual Basic script to test a procedure and to control the applications which are under test. It was originally released by Mercury Interactive in the year 2006 which operates on Microsoft Windows. QTP is an automation testing tool which executes both functional and regression testing through the user interface. Mostly Quick Test Professional is used for User Interface test case automation and additionally, it can also automate on non-user interface test cases which include testing for web services, database and system operations.
QTP Training Syllabus
- Fundamentals of automation testing and Quick test professionals process
- Basics of Quick test professionals screen, Recording & other key elements in QTP
- Fundamentals of Object Repository
- How to identify object configuration
- Explanation of descriptive programming
- What is check points and explanation about output values
- What is parameterization and synchronization
- What are actions and environment variables
- What is transaction points and how to add comments
- Fundamentals of debugging and batch testing
- Brief explanation about quality center
- Different types of operators and constants
- Getting familiar with VBScript
- Flow control using conditional statements
- Flow control using loop
- Fundamentals of user defined functions
- What is built in functions
- Library files & loading library functions
- Excel object model
- What is data base object model
- Database connections
- Error handling in QTP
- How to use web script
- Getting familiar with Frameworks
- Various keyword driven approach & framework
- Data driven framework in QTP
- Hybrid framework in QTP
- OOPs in QTP


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First Synod of Tyre
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The First Synod of Tyre or the Council of Tyre (335 AD) was a gathering of bishops called together by Emperor Constantine I for the primary purpose of evaluating charges brought against Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria.
Athanasius was involved in the early Christian christological and trinitarian debates, and supported the position of the Council of Nicaea in opposition to that of Arius and his followers.
In 328, Athanasius was elected as bishop or patriarch of Alexandria. Alexandria happened to be the city in which Arius was a priest. The situation was further complicated, as Athanasius had not yet reached the age of 30 - the minimum age for bishops in the church.
After Athanasius succeeded to the see of Alexandria, the Arians had accused Athanasius of, among other things: immoral conduct, illegally taxing the Egyptian people, supporting rebels to the Imperial throne, and even murdering a bishop and keeping his severed hand for use in magical rites. More to the point, Constantine had decided that he wanted Athanasius to re-admit Arius to the church—which he would not do. In 334 Athanasius was summoned before a synod in Caesarea, which he did not attend.
The Synod[edit]
The emperor Constantine had ordered a Synod of bishops to be present at the consecration of the church which he had erected at Jerusalem (the precursor to the Holy Sepulchre). He directed that, as a secondary matter, they should on their way first assemble at Tyre, to examine charges that had been brought against Athanasius.[1] The Emperor also sent a letter to Athanasius, making clear that if he did not attend voluntarily, he would be brought to the Synod forcibly.
Eusebius of Caesarea played a major role in the council and, according to Epiphanius of Salamis, presided over the assembly.[2] About 310 members attended. Athanasius appeared this time with 48 Egyptian bishops. The Synod condemned Athanasius, so he went to Constantinople and confronted the Emperor personally.
At a hearing in the presence of the Emperor, Athanasius was cleared of all charges except one: threatening to cut off the grain supply to Constantinople from Egypt. This one charge was enough for the Emperor to exile Athanasius to Trier, then part of the Gallic prefecture of Rome (in present-day Germany).
Athanasius did not return from exile until the death of Constantine in 337.
The Arianism of the Synod of Tyre was ultimately overturned by the Council of Constantinople.
- Socrates Scholasticus & Sozomen, Historia Ecclesiastica, Book II: from the Council of Nicea to Constantine's death
- Westminster Dictionary of Church History, ed. Jerald C. Brauer (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971)
- ^ Socrates Scholasticus, "The Eccesiastical History, by Socrates Scholasticus," in Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. A. C. Zenos, vol. 2, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1890), p.30.
- ^ Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 3 (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1910), p.874.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "article name needed". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.


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Speaker profile
Pierre Quiblier
Pierre Quiblier is Programme Officer at the Chemical and Health Branch of the United Nations Environment.
He managed and coordinated the UNEP global publication of the Global Chemicals Outlook: Towards Sound Management of Chemicals. He led the development and organization, of the first inter-Ministerial Health and Environment Conference in Africa held in Libreville, Gabon, 2008 and the 2nd Conference held in Luanda, Angola, 2010. He developed and contributes to the implementation of the GEF financed ChemObs project. A prototype in nine African countries of national integrated health and environment observatories to provide timely and evidence-based information to better predict, prevent and reduce chemicals risk to human health and the environment.
Pierre graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree from Fordham University, New York. He also post-graduated with a DEA in political studies and graduated with a Master's degree in Political Sciences from the University of Grenoble, France.


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We love telling stories. Especially when they're life-changing.
East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a very special client of ours. They have touched the lives of so many East Tennesseans that it's almost impossible to find someone who lives in this area who hasn't had an experience with their amazing staff or facilities.
Ruby and Rachael are no exception. They both discovered they had scoliosis, but fortunately for them East Tennessee Children's Hospital brings big city doctors and big city care to the East Tennessee community.
Draft was tasked with telling their story in a unique and gentle way while showcasing the strengths of the doctors and surgeons at Children's. We were also challenged with telling this in short-form for digital and broadcast purposes, while still keeping in tact all aspects of Ruby and Rachael's experience.