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1.1. Crazy wisdom is a way of teaching; and it is prevalent in almost all traditions. It has been there for a very long-time. Crazy wisdom says: we all are, in truth, interconnected. The separations in the physical world such as human bodies, houses, communities are mere appearances. Crazy Wisdom seeks to unearth and heal the false beliefs that people have about themselves and of the world around them. It is a means for expressing and maintaining the difference between the conventional point of view and the transcendental point of view.
1.2. The teaching might have gained that name – crazy – because, its teachers were eccentrics who used their eccentricity to bring forth an alternate vision, the one that was different from the pedestrian and dogma-riddled view of existence. They were the masters of inversion, proficient breakers of taboos and lovers of surprises. They relished the delight in contradictions and ambiguity. Sometimes they overdid and went overboard; and were mistaken for tricksters and clowns.
1.3. Crazy wisdom or holy-madness, as it came to be called, does indeed seem crazy to rational mind and commonsense. That is because it is designed, deliberately, to confront, to shock and to confuse an otherwise rational mind. The crazy teacher's behavior and his teachings turn the ordinary view of life upside down; and, project life in a different perspective. His approach is what one might call "no-holds-bar". The crazy teacher is willing to employ a wide range of tactics and applications including , but not limited to , provocation, insult, physical and mental abuse, humour, and credulity; and in extreme cases, it might stray in to use of alcohol, drugs and sex. All those unconventional and socially unacceptable ways of behaviour were pressed into service in order to drag the student out of the cocoon, strip him naked and bring him face to face with reality.
1.4. Predictably, such behavioural patterns create scare and conflict in the minds of even the committed followers of the path. It also brings into question, the issues of trust; and abuse of position and power. But a serous seeker will have to face those challenges and resolve the contradictions, all by himself.
1.5. The crazy wisdom or foolish wisdom is thus a two-edged sword, to be handled with extreme caution. The dividing line between wisdom and foolishness is very thin; and it is not possible to say with certainty when a fool is just a fool, or a fool graced by wisdom, or a wise person touched by foolishness.
1.6. In all such traditions, it is said, a genuine crazy –wisdom- teacher will act only in response to the needs of his student, regardless of his own discomfort and personal preferences. His main concern is the awakening of his student .But, it is the responsibility of the student to understand and learn; and the teacher is not obliged to make it easy for the student.
1.7. It is explained, the teacher, to put it crudely, is like a dispensing machine. The student will have to come up with right questions to get the benefit of the teacher. It is the questions the student frames – internally or explicitly- and the demands he makes in seeking the answers that truly matter. He can challenge himself to formulate a question that accurately captures the real need; and follow it with intensity. After a period of time, as he begins to endure the heat (tapa), generated by the genuine unanswered questions, the answers start appearing unexpectedly in the most unlikely places or in the most obvious places right under his nose.
That is the basis of the learning process under an Avadhuta or a Siddha or a Zen teacher or the saintly – madman (lama myonpa) of Tibetan Buddhism.
[ By the way, Aryadeva (14th century?), a Buddhist scholar, in his Chatuhsataka (four hundred verses) narrates a story to illustrate (a) madness is a relative concept; and (b) just because one is in a minority he cannot be dismissed as being wrong.
According to his story, a wandering astrologer warned a king that in a week's time, very heavy rain would pour down on his country; and whoever drinks that rainwater would go insane. The king took the astrologer's warning quite seriously and ordered to get his well of drinking water tightly covered. His subjects, however, either lacking means or laughing at the astrologer, took no action to secure their sources of drinking water. It did rain a week hence, as predicted; and the whole of the kingdom's populace drank the rain water which found its way into their well and tanks. They all, promptly, went mad. The king , who had protected his well, was the only sane person in the whole of his kingdom.
But, the king's subjects gathered together and laughed and jeered at the king calling him insane. After such repeated heckling, the king – the only sane person in the whole of the kingdom – could no longer endure the irritating jibes. In order to put an end to his agony, the king, at last, decides to drink the rain water. And, he promptly goes mad just, as his subjects. Now, all are alike ; and all are happy in their madness.
Therefore, if one is the sole, single sane person, then he does not get to call the rest as insane. But, at the same time, he would not be wrong if he calls the rest as insane. Then, again, who will listen to him or pay heed to his words …!!
The story also illustrates how 'madness' is a relative concept, depending upon each one's perspective. In the broader view, what defines madness is the social, cultural and other ways of understanding human behavior at different times; and, in different regions. Madness is thus a highly context-sensitive issue.]
2.1. Avadhuta, the one who has cast off all concerns and obligations, like the Shiva himself, is the typical teacher of wisdom. He does that in a highly unconventional manner. He has no use for social etiquette; he has risen above worldly concerns. He is not bound by sanyasi dharma either. He roams the earth freely like a child, like an intoxicated or like one possessed. He is the embodiment of detachment and spiritual wisdom..
Avadhuta Gita describes him as :
Having renounced all, he moves about naked./ He perceives the Absolute, the All, within himself.
ātmaiva kevalaṃ sarvaṃ bhedābhedo na vidyate । asti nāsti kathaṃ brūyāṃ vismayaḥ pratibhāti me ॥ 4॥
The Avadhuta never knows any mantra in Vedic meter or any Tantra.
Ashtavakra Gita describes him in a similar manner:
The sage sees no difference/ Between happiness and misery,/ Man and woman, / Adversity and success./ Everything is seen to be the same.
sukhe duḥkhe nare nāryāṃ sampatsu ca vipatsu ca । viśeṣo naiva dhīrasya sarvatra samadarśinaḥ ॥ 17-15॥
In the sage there is neither/ Violence nor mercy,/ Arrogance nor humility,/ Anxiety nor wonder./ His worldly life is exhausted./ He has transcended his role as a person.
na hiṃsā naiva kāruṇyaṃ nauddhatyaṃ na ca dīnatā । nāścaryaṃ naiva ca kṣobhaḥ kṣīṇasaṃsaraṇe nare ॥ 17-16॥
The sage is not conflicted/ By states of stillness and thought./ His mind is empty./ His home is the Absolute.
samādhāna samādhāna hitāhita vikalpanāḥ । śūnyacitto na jānāti kaivalyamiva saṃsthitaḥ ॥ 17-18॥
Knowing for certain that all is Self,/ The sage has no trace of thoughts/ Such as "I am this" or "I am not that."
ayaṃ so'hamayaṃ nāhaṃ iti kṣīṇā vikalpanā । sarvamātmeti niścitya tūṣṇīmbhūtasya yoginaḥ ॥ 18-9॥
The yogi who finds stillness/ is neither distracted nor focused./ He knows neither pleasure nor pain./ Ignorance dispelled,/ He is free of knowing.
na vikṣepo na caikāgryaṃ nātibodho na mūḍhatā । na sukhaṃ na ca vā duḥkhaṃ upaśāntasya yoginaḥ ॥ 18-10॥
2.2. Among the classical texts that describe the nature of the Avadhuta, the prominent ones are the Avadhuta Gita , the culminating text of the Dattatreya tradition; the Ashtavakra Gita , a text of the highest order, addressed to advanced learners and dealing with the means of realizing the Self (atmanu-bhuti) and the mystic experience in the embodied state. The third and a comparatively a recent text is the Atma-vidya-vilasa of Sri Sadashiva Brahmendra , an Avadhuta who lived during the eighteenth century.
2.3. The other major sect is the Siddha tradition of South India. The Siddha is one who has attained flawless identity with reality.
Jainism too recognizes Siddha as an enlightened teacher. In the Tibetan Buddhism, Siddha is a yogi who has attained magical powers and the ability to work miracles.
2.4. In so far as the folk tradition is concerned, there are a number of regional groups and subgroups. The better known of them are the Bauls of Bengal; the word meaning mad or confused. They are a religious sect of eccentrics. The Baul synthesis is characterized by four elements: there is no written text and therefore all teachings are through song and dance; God is to be found in and through the body and therefore the emphasis on kaya (body) sadhana, the use of sexual or breathe energy; and, absolute obedience and reverence to Guru.
3.1. Avadhuta Gita the 'Song of the Ever Free' does not indulge in debates to prove the non-dual nor does it ask you to control your senses; it sees no distinction between sense perception and spiritual realization. It makes some amazing statements:
The mind indeed is of the form of space. The mind indeed is Omni faced. The mind is the past. The mind is present and future and all phenomena. But in absolute reality, there is no mind.
All your senses are like clouds; all they show is an endless mirage. The Radiant One is neither bound nor free.I am the Bliss, I am the Truth, I am the Boundless Sky
There is neither knowledge nor ignorance nor knowledge combined with ignorance. He who has always such knowledge is himself Knowledge. It is never otherwise.
How shall I salute the formless being, indivisible, auspicious and immutable, who fills all this with its self and also fills the self with its self?
Know it firmly, freely, independently. And maintain it at all times, all conditions. That is all. Be Avadhuta Dattatreya yourself; because, you are yourself that.
3.2. In the Ashtavakra Gita, sage Ashtavakra maintains that all prayers, mantras, rituals, meditation, actions, devotion, breathing practices, etc are secondary. These distract the aspirant from self-knowledge. Knowledge/awareness is all that is required. Ignorance does not exist in itself; it is just the absence of knowledge or the lack of awareness. The light of knowledge or consciousness will dispel ignorance revealing the Self. The Self is merely forgotten, not lost.
This is not a belief system or a school of thought. This is simply 'What Is' and the recognition of 'What is'.
Attachment and aversion/ Are attributes of the mind./ You are not the mind. You are Consciousness itself–Changeless, undivided, free./ Go in happiness
rāgadveṣau manodharmau na manaste kadācana । nirvikalpo'si bodhātmā nirvikāraḥ sukhaṃ cara ॥ 15-5॥
You can recite and discuss scripture / All you want,/ But until you drop everything / You will never know Truth.
ācakṣva śṛṇu vā tāta nānā śāstrā aṇyanekaśaḥ । tathāpi na tava svāsthyaṃ sarva vismaraṇād ṛte ॥ 16-1॥
Ashtavakra then attacks the futility of effort and knowing.
Being pure consciousness, / Do not disturb your mind with thoughts of for and against./ Be at peace and remain happily' In yourself, the essence of joy. 15.19
mā saṅkalpavikalpābhyāṃ cittaṃ kṣobhaya cinmaya । upaśāmya sukhaṃ tiṣṭha svātmanyānandavigrahe ॥ 15-19॥
Give up meditation completely/ But don't let the mind hold on to anything./ You are free by nature,/ So what will you achieve by forcing the mind? 15.20
tyajaiva dhyānaṃ sarvatra mā kiṃcid hṛdi dhāraya । ātmā tvaṃ mukta evāsi kiṃ vimṛśya kariṣyasi ॥ 15-20॥
kva māyā kva ca saṃsāraḥ kva prītirviratiḥ kva vā । kva jīvaḥ kva ca tadbrahma sarvadā vimalasya me ॥ 20-11॥
kva pravṛttirnirvṛttirvā kva muktiḥ kva ca bandhanam । kūṭasthanirvibhāgasya svasthasya mama sarvadā ॥ 20-12॥
3.3. Atma_vidya_vilasa is written in simple, lucid Sanskrit. Its subject is renunciation. It also describes the ways of the Avadhuta, as one who is beyond the pale of social norms , beyond Dharma , beyond good and evil; as one who has discarded scriptures, shastras , rituals or even the disciplines prescribed for sannyasins;one who has gone beyond the bodily awareness , one who realized the Self and one immersed in the bliss of self-realization. He is absolutely free and liberated in every sense – one who "passed away from" or "shaken off" all worldly attachments and cares, and realized his identity with God. The text describes the characteristics of an Avadhuta, his state of mind, his attitude and behavior. The text undoubtedly is a product of Sadashiva Brahmendra's own experience. It is a highly revered book among the Yogis and Sadhakas.
One of such Sadhakas who really emulated Sadashiva Brahmendra and evolved into an Avadhuta was the 34th Acharya , the Jagad-guru of Sri Sringeri Mutt, Sri Chandrasekhar Bharathi Swamiji. He studied Atma_vidya_vilasa intensely, imbibed its principles and truly lived according to that in word and deed. Unmindful of the external world, he roamed wildly in the hills of Sringeri like a child, an intoxicated, and an insane; and as one possessed, singing aloud the verses from Atma_vidya_vilasa:
Discard the bondages of karma. Wander in the hills immersed in the bliss of the Self -unmindful of the world like a deaf and a blind (AVV-15)
avadhūtakarmajālo jaḍabadhirāndhopamaḥ ko'pi । ātmārāmo yatir āḍaṭavīkoṇeśvaṭannāste ॥ 15॥
Rooted in the Brahman absorbed in the bliss within, he for a while meditates, for a while sings and dances in ecstasy. (AVV-21)
tiṣṭhanparatra dhāmni svīyasukhāsvādaparavaśaḥ kaścit । kvāpi dhyāyati kuhacidgāyati kutrāpi nṛtyati svaram ॥ 21॥
He sees nothing, hears nothing, and says nothing. He is immersed in Brahman and in that intoxication is motionless.(AVV-44)
paśyati kimapi na rūpaṃ na vadati na śṛṇoti kiñcidapi vacanam । tiṣṭhati nirupamabhūmani niṣṭhāmavalambya kāṣṭhavadyogī ॥ 44॥
4. 1.The Lankavatara Sutra of the Mahayana Buddhism is another text of the "crazy wisdom" tradition. It was the text that Bodhidharma followed all his life and bequeathed it to his disciple and successor Hui K'o . Its basic thrust is on "inner enlightenment that does away with all duality." One of the recurrent themes in the Lankavatara Sutra is, not to rely on words to express reality. It holds the view that objects do not owe their existence to words that indicate them. The words themselves are artificial creations. Ideas, it says, can as well be expressed by looking steadily, by gestures, by a frown, by the movement of the eyes, by laughing, by yawning, or by the clearing of the throat, or by recollection, or by trembling.
Bodhidharma instructed his disciples to: "Leave behind the false, return to the true; make no discrimination between self and others. In contemplation, one's mind should be stable, alert and clear like the wall; illuminating with compassion. "
4.2. In Zen too, the "holy madness" is widely used by the roshi (teacher). The adepts of Zen make use of shock techniques such as sudden shouting, abuses, physical violence, handclapping, paradoxical verbal responses, koans and riddles in order to induce satori or enlightenment.
4.3. Tibetan Buddhism also has its share of eccentric Lamas who use unconventional methods to initiate their disciples into enlightenment. Crazy wisdom in Tibetan is yeshe cholwa, where craziness and wisdom walk hand in hand. It is craziness gone wise rather than wisdom gone crazy. Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) and Karma Pakshi the second Karmapa are the celebrated crazy-wisdom – teachers in Tibetan Buddhism. They both were regarded as being able to overpower the phenomenal world. They demonstrated that what we call crazy is only crazy from the viewpoint of ego, custom and habit. Crazy wisdom is natural and effortless; not driven by the hope and fear.
There is also another set of "mad lamas (smyon‑pa) who reject monastic tradition, ecclesiastical hierarchy, societal conventions, and book learning.
4.4. Crazy wisdom is also practiced in Sufism, where it is known as "the path of blame." Some Sufi mystics –majzubs – are known for their strange behaviour as well as for their heretical doctrine of their identification with the divine. The Sufi practitioners of "crazy wisdom" pursue freedom and humility without concern for worldly consequences.
5.1. The crazy teachers were found not just in the East. Socrates was an archetypal wise fool who claimed that his wisdom was derived from his awareness of his ignorance. His distinctive teaching method consisted in exposing the foolishness of the wise.
5.2. Even in the Christian tradition, the absurd notion that the fool may be wise and that the wise may be foolish—has long been in existence. It is often expressed as the "fool in Christ" or the "fool for Christ's sake". Here, foolish wisdom, the "holy folly", is akin to "holy simplicity" or "learned ignorance", which is an alternate way to rekindle the love of wisdom in the hearts of men and women. It is singular and sudden; and, is in contrast with the laborious common wisdom of the learned.
5.3. Europe in the sixth century seemed to be a great period for Crazy Adepts. For instance, there was St. Simeon who liked to pretend insanity for effect. Once he found a dead dog on a dung heap. He tied the animal to his belt and dragged the corpse through town. People of the town were outraged. But, he was trying to demonstrate the uselessness of excess emotional "dead weight" that people drag through their lives.
The very next day, St. Simeon entered a church and just as the liturgy began, he threw nuts at the congregation. St Simeon revealed on his deathbed that his life's mission was to denounce hypocrisy and hubris.
5.4. Another example of the sixth-century spiritual silliness was Mark the Mad, a desert monk who was thought insane when he came into town to atone for his sins. Only Abba Daniel saw the method in the monk's madness, and declared the monk the only reasonable man in the city.
5.5. Saint Francis of Assisi was another example of foolish wisdom. He regarded himself as a fool deserving nothing but contempt and dishonour. He is celebrated for his tender love for God and for God's creatures, big and small.
6.1. The paradoxical idea that the fool may be wise is perhaps as old as humanity itself. It is a common experience that the untutored and innocent, including children, somehow seem to grasp profound truths, while the lettered and the learned just walk past it. Jesus alluded to it when he thanked and praised God for having hidden from the learned and the clever what he revealed to the merest children (Mt 11:25).
6.2. Without love, foolishness is just foolishness; and wisdom a mere collection of inflated bits of information. Ultimately, the foolish wisdom is a gift, a revelation received in humility of mind and simplicity of heart; an un-bounded, luminous, loving energy. It attains the power to convince and transform, more effectively than the sword and rhetoric.
That is possible only when it is graced by tender love for the fellow beings and for the fellow seekers.
Sources and References:
Crazy Spirituality
Wisdom of the Holy Fools
Crazy Wisdom
Zen Stories by Sylvan Incao


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On Friday, we announced that @WalmartLabs sponsored the Pixate project on KickStarter at the $10,000 level. Today I thought it would be fun to spend a few minutes writing about why I'm personally so excited about this project.
What is Pixate?
Disclaimer: I'm not a member of the Pixate team, but I have spoken with them a bit about the project. Take what I say as unofficial but somewhat informed content.
Pixate brings CSS to native apps. What does that mean? Pixate allows for the customizing of attributes of native UI components using a syntax inspired by the web's CSS standards. It doesn't aim to apply every CSS attribute in the various CSS specifications to iOS–that wouldn't make sense. Instead, its goal is to take the "selectors" part of CSS and introduce attributes and values that make sense for styling native components. Where existing DOM-centric attributes make sense in a native context, they'll be reused, but where new ones are needed, they'll be christened as necessary.
Doesn't CSS Suck for Apps?
Many web luminaries have gone on the record for years talking about how bad CSS is as a visual layout tool. I couldn't agree more. In my personal experience, CSS layout has been remarkably unpleasant. Despite my years of hands-on web development experience, I must constantly refer to documentation, commentaries, debugging tools, and multiple browsers to achieve any sort of complex custom layout–heck, even simple stuff much of the time. I'm not interested in bringing this sort of thing to native, where the tools are generally better.
However, there is tremendous power in this concept of declarative configuration of user interface components. The parts of CSS that have to do with changing element attributes works quite well–and that's independent of whether or not the particular set of attributes you have to work with are a mess. The selector syntax is easy to learn and extremely powerful. Editing a few lines in a text file can radically change the appearance of multiple interface definitions and can do so in both very general and very precise ways.
Peanut Butter, Meet Jelly
I've long had two feet in the desktop/native app and web app worlds. I started my career doing desktop apps, jumped to web when it hit the scene, came back to the desktop with Java Swing and then tried to bring some of that back to the web by founding Ajaxian.com with Dion and evangelizing rich web clients. As part of this cross-pollination, I created a Java Swing framework that worked a bit like Pixate: it loaded in interface definition files created with a UI builder (in my case, the third-party JFormDesigner app) and then applied CSS rules to the components in those definition files. Despite having different properties than DOM elements, it was an easy trick to expose properties of Swing components to CSS.
I returned to this idea a second time when I was in Mozilla Labs working on Thunderhead, an HTML5 Canvas-based UI toolkit experiment: I implemented part of a CSS engine to theme custom canvas-rendered components.
Based on these experiences, I've found that the native + CSS approach works really well. After all, it's really just a fairly simple labor-saving short-cut. Both iOS and Android apps generally store the user interface as declarative metadata that is instantiated into a UI component graph at run-time. Whereas no one I know modifies this metadata manually in the iOS community, editing this metadata by hand is the standard approach for Android developers. CSS gives both sets of developers a tool to centralize the style-based metadata and to bulk apply styling rules across multiple components (and potentially across multiple screens) in one go. That's a clear win.
Even if the UI is dynamically generated through hand-coding, the CSS approach can still work. It can be applied before the interface is displayed, and again after it is displayed for dynamic effects.
Update: It's also worth mentioning that both Adobe Flex and the QT project have incorporated CSS-inspired features into their platforms (thanks to the commenters below for pointing this out).
Why It's Useful
This approach opens up a few interesting use cases:
- Making it easier to customize a single UI for various different contexts; a more flexible form of conventional UI internationalization techniques
- Making it easier for non-developers to customize the design of native screens. The Pixate team has visions of integrating their engine with Photoshop, etc. Hey, if this happens, great. But allow designers to iterate in the CSS file directly is pretty interesting on its own.
- Creating app prototypes
- Dynamically changing user interfaces after app deployment. A huge advantage of the web over native is the ability the change the UI from the server. By serving the Pixate CSS to the app at run-time, the app's UI can be changed in interesting ways without an app update. Lots of native developers have hand-rolled their own mechanism to do this, but it's handy to have a general tool like Pixate for the job.
What Pixate Is Not
Pixate is not, and/or in my opinion should not be:
- An attempt at using HTML/CSS to create native user interfaces.
- An attempt to allow you to reuse web-based CSS files for native apps. The set of CSS attributes that a browser supports will be different than the set that Pixate supports. There may be some common attributes, but I don't anticipate the overlap will be meaningful.
- A way to develop UIs once for both Android and iOS. I don't want the Pixate team to waste a lot of time figuring out how to map disparate attributes for kinda similar Android/iOS components into the same CSS attributes. Cross-platform leverage is a non-goal. Let the Appcelerator folks figure out how to map Pixate into the same concepts–in fact, it may make sense to have an Appcelerator-specific grammar for Pixate. That would be really cool.
- Some kind of cross-platform development toolkit that blocks developers from developing their native apps the same way they always have. (Sure, developers will have to make some minor accommodations to incorporate Pixate, like including the lib and perhaps occasionally giving UI components a unique identifier.)
- A silver bullet. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to apply static, declarative CSS to a native UI. That's okay.
Furthering the State of the Art
I believe that we should support innovative tools creators in our industry. When projects come up that represent interesting attempts to further the state of the art, I try to be one of the first ones in line to buy licenses and support the projects, just like many other folks I know. I'm proud that 'Labs has been able to sponsor Pixate so generously.
And perhaps it goes without saying, but in case it doesn't: we're always looking for great talent and we're doing some really cool things in on-line and in-store commerce. Drop me a line (beng@walmartlabs…) if you're interested in joining us.
28 August '12 Update: Made some minor grammatical corrections and added the Flex / QT mention above.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Panama City Beach Conservation Park
Panama City Beach's new 2,900-acre Conservation Park is the perfect spot to explore by foot or bicycle. With dozens of miles of unpaved trails, and boardwalks that wind through cedar forest swamps, this is a nature lover's dream come true. Park and orient yourself at the Nature Center.
Credit: Panama City Beach CVB


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MPI Launches Series of Reports Focusing on Maximizing Human Capital and How Countries Can Address Skills Needs among Immigrant Workers
WASHINGTON — Five years after the onset of the global economic crisis, economic growth and employment remain atop policy agendas in countries worldwide. The crisis has refocused governments' attention on the fundamentals on which their economies are built. More than ever, human capital is seen as the ultimate resource. As a result, policymakers face the challenge of ensuring that workers have the skills and abilities to find productive employment and contribute to growth, innovation and competitiveness in constantly evolving labor markets.
Migrants' skills are often seen as an untapped resource that, with the right formula of policies, can bolster competitiveness, fuel productivity and facilitate integration. All too often, immigrant workers across the skills spectrum experience various forms and degrees of transitional assistance needs — resulting from gaps in technical or professional competencies, limited host-country language proficiency or poor literacy for those who failed to complete formal education.
In Maximizing Potential: How Countries Can Address Skills Deficits within the Immigrant Workforce, Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Policy Analyst Meghan Benton explores the ample toolbox that policymakers have at their disposal to craft a successful skills development strategy, including language and workforce training, reforms to public employment services and training programs, and employer engagement. The report notes that little is known about the long-term effectiveness of these programs, whether targeted or mainstream, and explores the challenges inherent in designing courses for immigrants who differ by educational and skills backgrounds, host-country language proficiency and more.
"There can be lasting adverse effects when workforce preparation gaps prevent migrants from getting decent jobs with the potential for upward mobility," said MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou. "The inability of high-skilled immigrant workers to get jobs commensurate with their skills and experience represents wasted talent. Further, middle- and low-skilled workers who are unable to support their families may end up in a cycle of poverty and the most disadvantaged may become a net drain on public resources and transfer socioeconomic disadvantage to their children."
The report examines the practical, conceptual and institutional challenges to realizing the promise of utilizing immigrants' endowments more fully. Among them: migrants are more likely to have unique learner profiles (for example high educational attainment but a need for basic language skills); the reality that all of the actors involved in immigrants' skills development — employers, policymakers, service providers and migrants themselves — have reason to prioritize finding work quickly over developing skills in the long run; and the fact that the development of migrants' skills depends on multiple agencies at different layers of government as well as employers and non-governmental actors.
The report also provides recommendations for overcoming these challenges and balancing early access to the labor market against the country's long-term skills needs, including adapting mainstream systems to accommodate diversity and reducing opportunity costs in accessing skills training.
"Immigration can be an opportunity rather than an obstacle for workforce development systems," Benton said. "Considering the demographics that all advanced industrial societies confront, those that build institutions robust enough to accommodate the complex learner profiles of migrants will be on much better footing to meet the skills challenges of the future."
Today's report is the first in a series produced by MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration that assesses what governments can do to make the most of both immigrant and domestic sources of human capital across the skills spectrum. The Council is a unique deliberative and advisory body that examines vital policy issues and informs migration policymaking processes across the Atlantic community. Reports issued in the coming days will examine workforce development systems in the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany, and the series will end with a conclusory statement that distills the Council's knowledge in this area and outlines how governments must design strategies that maximize their countries' human-capital resources.
Read the report issued today at: www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/TCM-Skills-ImmigrantWorkforce.pdf.
And for more on the Transatlantic Council on Migration, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/transatlantic.
# # #
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels.


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Before you begin reading this guide, we recommend you run Elasticsearch Error Check-Up which analyzes 2 JSON files to detect many errors.
To easily locate the root cause and resolve this issue try AutoOps for Elasticsearch & OpenSearch. It diagnoses problems by analyzing hundreds of metrics collected by a lightweight agent and offers guidance for resolving them.
This guide will help you check for common problems that cause the log " Trying to update state on non-existing task " to appear. To understand the issues related to this log, read the explanation below about the following Elasticsearch concepts: cluster, persistent and task.
In Elasticsearch, persistent refers to cluster settings that persist across cluster restarts. This setting is used in Cluster Update API calls. Persistent settings can also be configured in the elasticsearch.yml file.
## enable shard routing PUT /_cluster/settings { "persistent" : { "cluster.routing.allocation.enable" : "all" } } ## enable rebalancing of shards PUT /_cluster/settings { "persistent" : { "cluster.routing.rebalance.enable" : "all" } } ## limit the heap size for fielddata PUT /_cluster/settings { "persistent" : { "indices.breaker.fielddata.limit": "30%" } }
A task is an Elasticsearch operation, which can be any request performed on an Elasticsearch cluster, such as a delete by query request, a search request and so on. Elasticsearch provides a dedicated Task API for the task management which includes various actions, from retrieving the status of current running tasks to canceling any long running task.
Get all currently running tasks on all nodes of the cluster
Apart from other information, the response of the below request contains task IDs of all the tasks which can be used to get detailed information about the particular task in question.
GET _tasks
Get detailed information of a particular task
Where clQFAL_VRrmnlRyPsu_p8A:1132678759 is the ID of the task in below request
GET _tasks/clQFAL_VRrmnlRyPsu_p8A:1132678759
Get all the current tasks running on particular nodes
GET _tasks?nodes=nodeId1,nodeId2
Cancel a task
Where clQFAL_VRrmnlRyPsu_p8A:1132678759 is the ID of the task in the below request
POST /_tasks/clQFAL_VRrmnlRyPsu_p8A:1132678759/_cancel?pretty
- The Task API will be most useful when you want to investigate the spike of resource utilization in the cluster or want to cancel an operation.
Log Context
Log "Trying to update state on non-existing task {}" classname is PersistentTasksClusterService.java.
We extracted the following from Elasticsearch source code for those seeking an in-depth context :
return update(currentState; tasksInProgress.updateTaskState(taskId; taskState)); } else { if (tasksInProgress.hasTask(taskId)) { logger.warn("trying to update state on task {} with unexpected allocation id {}"; taskId; taskAllocationId); } else { logger.warn("trying to update state on non-existing task {}"; taskId); } throw new ResourceNotFoundException("the task with id {} and allocation id {} doesn't exist"; taskId; taskAllocationId); } }
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I grew up eating sweet zucchini breads and muffins, but never anything savory coming from the zucchini-infused bread basket. When dear Mihl of Seitan Is My Motor blogged her Savory Zucchini Bread recipe, I couldn't wait for our heat-wave to break – I just had to try it! Mihl's got the most delicious recipes on her blog, if you've never been you really ought to pay her a visit.
Please don't blame Mihl's delicious (and super-easy to follow) recipe for the unsightly nature of this fabulous loaf. If it must be someone's fault, it's mine. Well, mine and Mother Nature's who blessed us with extremely warm temperatures very early in the day.
Thinking I could "beat the heat" I mixed my dough early and let it rise while we prepared for the day. The second rise isn't very long, and since I only had a few errands to run I thought we'd be safe…well… (if you've ever watched the television show I Love Lucy just imagine her saying "well…") the errands ended up taking longer than planned (bien sûr) and the heat shot up faster than I'd planned, and we returned home to two very over-risen loaves.
But really, who cares? So it's not as beautiful as I'd hoped (Guppy asked me if I could make it look like an escargot and I said pourquoi pas?). It does look like an escargot, one that had been crushed, perhaps? The important thing is the taste, and it was voted delicious by 3 out of 3 Fish (myself, Guppy and Monsieur). I was going to freeze one of the loaves, but I didn't even have a chance, Monsieur F. digging into it, topping thick slices with the Raw Ranch Dressing I'd made. That's ok. Just an excuse to go make more!
I'll be submitting this lovely loaf to Yeast Spotting, your weekly dose of home-baked goodness over at Wild Yeast (thanks as usual, Susan!).


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Pakistan PM's motorcade attacked
Shots have been fired at the motorcade of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, although it is not clear if he was in the convoy at the time.
Two bullets from an unidentified gunman hit the PM's car as he was traveling from Islamabad airport into the city, his press secretary told.
But security officials say the car was on its way to collect Mr Gilani.
Mr Gilani's government is grappling with a growing threat from militants in the country.
It is not clear who fired the shots but Islamist militants based in Pakistan's border regions have threatened to kill various government ministers, and have carried out deadly suicide bombings against army and government targets.
The incident represents a major lapse in security. In December former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed at an election rally in Rawalpindi.
Shattered glass
"I can confirm the prime minister's convoy was fired upon while returning from [Islamabad] airport," his press secretary Zahid Bashir told.
Two bullets struck the window of one of the front doors
"The prime minister was coming back from Lahore. The firing took place on the Islamabad highway. At this point, we believe the firing was from a small hill on the roadside."
A statement issued by the prime minister's office said: "Of the multiple sniper shots fired on the prime minister's vehicle, two hit the window on the driver's side.
"However, because of the robust and comprehensive security measures, the prime minister and all the members of his motorcade remained unharmed."
Television pictures showed the shattered glass of the driver's door.
Officials say another car in the convoy was also hit by several bullets. There are no reports of injuries.
However, there was confusion when the interior ministry gave a different account of the incident, saying that Mr Gilani was not in the car at the time of the attack.
The government information minister, Sherry Rehman, supported that account: "The convoy was going to receive the prime minister," she told state TV. "Those who had designs, have failed."
Mr Gilani had been in Lahore to canvass support for Asif Zardari, Ms Bhutto's widower, ahead of presidential elections on Saturday.
Ms Bhutto had been favorite to win Pakistan's general elections and become prime minister for a third time before she was killed on 27 December. The elections were subsequently postponed until February.
Her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) emerged as the winners and formed a coalition with the PML-N party of another former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif. Mr Gilani, himself a senior PPP member, became prime minister
The coalition broke up amid political acrimony late last month.
One of the biggest challenges facing Mr Gilani's government comes from Islamist militants who control large areas along the border with Afghanistan.
Mr Gilani became prime minister after February's elections
The army has been engaged in a major operation in recent weeks in the district of Bajaur which is estimated to have displaced up to 300,000 local people.
This week the government said the Bajaur operation would be suspended during the holy month of Ramadan.
Last year militants grew increasingly confident and carried out a series of attacks in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the country's main garrison town.
And last month a double suicide attack at a munitions factory in the town of Wah in Punjab province left nearly 70 people dead.
The loose alliance of militants that calls itself the Pakistan Taleban claimed responsibility for the Wah incident, the heaviest attack on a military installation by a militant group in the country's history.
Mr Gilani's PPP and Mr Sharif's PML-N have spent much of their time since February arguing over issues such as the power of the presidency and the reinstatement of judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf.
During that time the economy has taken a further battering, with the Pakistani rupee falling to an all-time low, while food and fuel prices have risen sharply.


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TTYM: Dick Butkus Rocks Canadian Tuxedo and Drake Gets His Groom On
More Columns here.
In this week's That Thing You Missed watch a young Cubs fan get a dose of reality, a five-year old who can kick your butt, Drake get his grooming on and Dick Butkus sing at Wrigley Field.
Fashion Fumble
I was having trouble starting this week's column… and then I saw I a Tweet that read: "Dick Butkus sings 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game'" and I clicked on it immediately.
Apparently the NFL Hall of Famer has done it before – but this time it happened during the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field's 100th birthday celebration giving it a national audience.
The video began to trend immediately. What will never be on trend?
The 'Canadian Tuxedo' Butkus was wearing. Where is Joe Namath and his big fur when you need him?
Reality Bites
And while it was all fun and games and celebrating at Wrigley Field, reality soon set in. Despite the Cubs leading for most of the day the Diamondbacks came back with a five-run rally in the ninth.
The D-Backs eventually won the game and stole the innocence of this young fan.
"A hundred years ago, that's exactly what his grandfather looked like," said Bob Brenly, the current Diamondbacks TV analyst and former Cubs TV analyst.
Who am I to talk? I'm a lifelong Mets fan.
Drake On A Roll
It's always been pretty obvious to me that Drake and I had absolutely nothing in common.
And then this happened: Drake decided to groom his pants with a lint roller while sitting courtside at a Raptors (is that who he is rooting for now?) playoff game this week. A man after my own heart.
Do you think he has an entourage member whose sole purpose is to carry his lint brush, like P.Diddy's umbrella holder?
I guess you can call him Drizzy… but don't call him fuzzy.
Martial Arts & Crafts?
I'll admit it. I know absolutely nothing about Mixed Martial Arts.
I do know, however, after watching this video that your son is a slacker. Meet Ramadan Ondash a 5-year old Muay Thai prodigy from Lebanon who I'm certain is already on the UFC's radar.
Something tells me he won't get teased very much on the playground.
Got a comment or a good video for me? E-mail me at email@example.com or send me a Tweet @TaraLipinsky.
for more features.


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Tony Parker had UCLA fans chanting his name late in Saturday's game against Alabama.
In the final minute against Alabama, Parker had a block, two rebounds and made both of his free throws to give UCLA a 75-67 victory in the final tuneup at Pauley Pavilion before Pac-12 play begins.
Parker, who had a UCLA-best 16 points off the bench, was a 43 percent free-throw shooter before Saturday. After he made both free throws with 56 seconds left, giving UCLA a 69-67 lead it never lost, he said he winked at his teammates on the bench.
"That was definitely a good (win)," Parker said. "We needed another out-of-conference win. I had to make plays at the end of the game. The block was big and the two free throws were big."
Parker blocked the shot of Retin Obasohan, and UCLA's Norman Powell was fouled and made two free throws with 31 seconds left for a 73-67 lead to seal the victory.
The Bruins (11-2) improved to 9-0 at home in front of an announced crowd of 9,061.
Parker's play was critical, especially since Alabama guard Trevor Releford had taken over the game. Releford didn't start due to a disciplinary issue, but he scored a season-high 34 points. He made a 3-pointer from the right wing and fell down, then got up to make a steal and uncontested layup on the other end to tie the game at 67 with 1:34 left.
And then Parker took over.
Releford had 19 of his 34 points in the second half but missed a layup with 43 seconds left, and Parker was there for the big defensive rebound.
UCLA guard Kyle Anderson said he had confidence Parker would make the free throws, and he did, but Anderson was a tough critic of Parker's rebounding ability, despite snagging the biggest one of the game.
"He played very well down the stretch, I must admit," said UCLA guard Kyle Anderson. "I'm still mad at him for five rebounds. That's unacceptable. He played well down the stretch and was a big key to our win, but five rebounds is unacceptable for him."
Anderson probably was trying to motivate Parker, but Parker made the plays that gave UCLA an important victory and helped the Bruins rally from their first halftime deficit — 34-33. Parker played only eight minutes in the first half and had all five of his rebounds in the second half.
The Bruins played much better on offense in the second half — even though Anderson was on the bench with cramps in his right calf muscle for a five-minute stretch.
This was the final game before UCLA begins its Pac-12 schedule by hosting USC on Jan. 5.
"We needed this," UCLA coach Steve Alford said he told his team at halftime. "We're getting ready for the conference season and for January, February and March. We were tied with Duke at the half and up at Missouri (in losses). We needed someone to give us a good shot.
"Drexel gave us that at the beginning of the year, but it had been a long time at home since we've had that. I thought we grew and matured a lot. We showed a lot of toughness the last five minutes."
UCLA racked up a nice pre-conference schedule in victories, except for games against its toughest opponents — Missouri and Duke.
The Bruins were outrebounded by Alabama 17-11 in the first half and missed plenty of layups in transition. They also frittered away a 20-9 early lead.
UCLA went on a 9-0 run midway through the second half to take a 48-43 lead.
Alabama had a tough go of it, losing seven of its 12 games, but it has been against a tough schedule. The Crimson Tide has lost plenty of close games, including one to undefeated and 10th-ranked Wichita State and a 10-point loss to No. 9 Duke.
The previous time the teams played, Mark Gottfried (a former UCLA assistant coach) was Alabama's coach and UCLA won in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. UCLA made the championship game that year, losing to Florida. Parker had the chance to see his family in New York recently when UCLA played Duke at Madison Square Garden, so he didn't go home for Christmas for two days. He said he was working with Bryce and Kory Alford on free throws over the break.
It seems he found his shooting touch at the free-throw line, where he made 4 of 5 free throws.
"That's (been weighing) big on me," Parker said. "I thought I was a better free-throw throw shooter. I keep shooting them in practice. It's big for me and my game because I will get fouled a lot."


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From the Herald:
Posted November 15, 2010 by hongkongranger in Uncategorized
Scottish Premiership
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One Determined Ex-Monk Has Spent 50 Years Building This DIY Cathedral
Atlas Obscura on Slate is a new travel blog. Like us on Facebook, Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura.
It is, at its simplest, an ex-monk's act of faith. After eight years in a Trappist order -- and just prior to taking his vows -- Don Justo Gallego Martinez contracted tuberculosis and had to leave to avoid contaminating other monks. Devastated by his dismissal, Don Justo decided to make an offering to God: a giant, self-built cathedral.
The determined man laid the foundation stone in 1963, on land inherited from his parents in Mejorada del Campo, just outside Madrid. Working with no construction permit, no financing, and no formal plan, Don Justo has since spent 10 hours per day building his cathedral out of recycled and donated materials. Petrol drums, paint buckets, scrap metal, and bricks salvaged from a nearby brick factory are all pasted together with thick layers of concrete to form the walls and spires. There is no blueprint for the building -- the design is influenced by St. Peter's basilica but has changed over the years according to Don Justo's shifting inspirations.
The cathedral now stands 131 feet tall and is about 10 to 15 years away from completion -- a problem, considering its chief builder is 88. The fate of the building post-Don Justo is up in the air. As an unapproved construction it could well be razed, eliminating the life's work of a most persistent man.
Captivating cathedrals:
View Cathedral of Justo Gallego Martínez in a larger map


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Blizzard Entertainment Planning A Linux Game For 2013
Blizzard Entertainment, the game studio behind wildly-popular games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft, is planning for a Linux game announcement in 2013.
This year is already looking fantastic for Linux-based gaming thanks to so many recent announcements and more being just around the cog in the future.rner. Since Valve's major Linux push with their native Steam Linux client and their continued porting of Source Engine games to Linux, many other game studios have stepped up with Linux interest, especially with the Linux-based Steam console coming in the future.
Besides Valve, among the publishers expressing Linux gaming interest have been Egosoft, THQ, Overhaul Games, and many other developers large and small have talked about their Linux plans. To add to the ever-growing list of Linux game milestones is now Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard has already been controversial with Linux gamers due to (reportedly accidental) banning of players from their games using Wine to run the Windows titles on Linux, always-online/DRM practices on Windows, and other matters, but it seems the California-based company is finally taking Linux seriously.
It's been a poorly-kept secret that Blizzard has a native Linux client of World of Warcraft. As recently as 2011, the World of Warcraft Linux client was still being maintained internally. The client has been around for years and done by their own developers as a form of testing for the popular MMORPG currently offered on Windows and Mac OS X. As for why they haven't released the client, it's come down to "targeting a specific version of the platform" with Linux being "unstandardized" due to the many different distributions. There's still some fundamental problems with gaming on Linux. With World of Warcraft working generally fine under Wine as well, the company is further unmotivated to officially support a Linux build of the game.
In May of last year when a Blizzard representative was asked about a Diablo III Linux port, it came down to a matter of ensuring there is a commercially-viable Linux gaming market and that the resources can be justified. "I know we actually have a lot of stuff that we... like a lot of our server stuff actually uses Linux, so I don't think that it would be outrageous, but I think that we'd have to see that there'd be a demand for it. And then we'd have to see that that demand would be worth the time we take away from the other things that we could do."
An Executive Vice President at Blizzard said later in 2012 that they agree with Valve's Gabe Newell that Microsoft Windows 8 is a catastrophe, as I exclusively reported on earlier in the year. Windows 8 isn't great for Blizzard.
I was out in the Los Angeles area the past few days and for those that didn't understand the hint, there's new Blizzard Linux activities taking place.
From a reliable source at the company, I have been told at least one of their very popular titles will see a release for Ubuntu Linux this calendar year. I was told this in person and was a statement backed up by additional proof. With their first Linux port they will use it to judge the waters of Linux gaming themselves to decide their future course. This port is being done internally by their own developers, which isn't a huge surprise given their past public statements and already existing internal Linux client work.
A public announcement should come out of Blizzard by this summer. So for the usual skeptics and those not fond of my unconventional approaches in writing thousands of articles annually, if you don't want to believe it now, you should see action in the next few months -- just as the far majority of the Phoronix exclusives over the past eight years have been from continued early information about Steam on Linux to reporting in advance that EA's initial Linux play would be garbage to all of the Linux driver/hardware exclusives and other content.


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after my visit to the museum, i walked for a few minutes going to the national monument of indonesia, monumen nasional. it is an obelisk-type monument that stands 433 feet and sits in the center of merdeka square, an area in central jakarta surrounded by government buidings.
the monument is the symbol of the country's fight for independence. at the top of the structure represents a flame, weighing 14.5 ton called as the flame of independence, which is covered by 50 kilogram of real gold foil.
there is an underground passageway that leads up to the base of the monument, where you have to pay an entrance fee. inside is the national history museum.
The towering monument encapsulates the philosophy of Lingga and Yoni. Lingga resembles an alu rice pestle and Yoni resembles a lesung rice mortar, two important traditional Indonesian tools. Lingga and Yoni also symbolize eternal life with the lingga phallic symbol, representing masculinity, positive elements, and daytime and the Yoni the female organs symbol, representing femininity, negative elements, and night. The monument consists of a 117.7m obelisk on a 45m square platform at a height of 17m, the goblet yard. ~ from wikipedia
there is an observation deck in the tower where you have to pay another entrance fee. unfortunately the ticket counter was already closed at 3:00 pm and i was not able to get access.
the monument is open to the public everyday, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
the next morning, i attended mass at jakarta cathedral ( gereja katedral jakarta).
the cathedral is buit in neo-gothic style and was consecrated in 1901. there are three main spires where the two tallest ones measured 60 metres tall and are located in front on each side of the portal.
the buildings material consist of thick red bricks covered with plaster, roofs made of teak wood and the spires made of iron.
the large round stained glass called as rozeta rosa mystica, is the symbol of mother mary.
only 3% of indonesia's population are catholics.
there is a statue of mother mary in the main entrance and a sentence written in latin: "beatam me dicentes omnes generationes" which means "all generations shall call me blessed".
after the mass was finished, i bought some wooden rosaries in the cathedral's bookstore to bring back home for my ma. i took a picture of the cathedral from istiqlal mosque at the opposite road then took a taxi to surabaya street.


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Remember, now each week a reader is going to feature some of you from the link party – -so fun! I'm already loving it!! If you want to head up a "reader feature", email me, mandybeez at gmail
Hi all of you wonderful Sugar Bee Crafts readers! My name is Christy, and I blog over at Christy's Cuties!
I am new to the blogging world, with only a few months under my belt. But, I have so many more bloggy friends and I am loving every minute of it. I am so excited to be showing off what I deem as "cuties". Shall we get started? Let's go!
Shameless plug….I am #375…in case you were wondering. HA!!
I hope you all have enjoyed my picks! Thanks so much to Mandy for having me.
Have a fabulous day!


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http://mmajunkie.com It is Miguel Torres' turn to be the man.
With "The California Kid," Urijah Faber, cooled off by the beating laid on him by Mike Brown last month, Torres not only steps into his first World Extreme Cagefighting main event this week, he does so as the promotion's new pound-for-pound ace.
Torres, 27, has been a wrecking machine since joining the WEC in September of 2007 and taking out Jeff Bedard with a first-round submission. He captured the bantamweight title in his next bout by choking out Chase Beebe, also in round one. Torres added a title defense to his winning streak in his next bout, beating the game Yoshiro Maeda by doctor's stoppage TKO after round two in one of the best fights of year at WEC 34 in June.
Torres (34-1 MMA, 3-0 WEC) is a fighter who wears his fearlessness on his face, and that extreme confidence is one of the reasons he hasn't lost since 2003 – a span of 15 fights. The East Chicago native also is one of the few mixed martial artists who can claim he's beaten every man he's faced. He avenged his single pro loss by submitting Ryan Ackerman two years following their first fight.
A fighter who is patient beyond his years, Torres knew the day would come when fighters in the lighter weight classes would get opportunities such as main events on national cable TV. He also had a good feeling he would be one of those smaller fighters showing the way.
"For me, it's been a long journey, but I've always had faith in it," he said. "If you watch boxing, I watched boxing my whole life, the lighter weight classes are the most exciting. I knew MMA would get there because Shooto in Japan is huge in the lighter weight classes. I just don't think they take care of American fighters very well, so I never went there. I knew, eventually here, it would grow to where the lighter weight classes would come into play. It was just a matter of time.
"I didn't put myself on the backburner," Torres added. "I still fought as much as I could in the Midwest and trained with the best teams. I knew the time would come eventually. I'm a very patient person for being so young. I think if I would have rushed it when I was younger, I would have made a lot of mistakes. I took my time, and now I'm in a position where I haven't peaked yet. I'm still learning a lot, and I think I have a long run to go as champion."
Manny Tapia (10-0-1 MMA, 2-0 WEC) is up next in Torres' championship run. The two meet in the main event of WEC 37 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Wednesday on Versus (9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. PST).
The 28-year-old Tapia originally set his sights on becoming a boxer, but an aunt told him that he was "already too dumb to get hit in the head." That was enough to talk him out of boxing, but not sufficient to persuade him from pursuing MMA. He found success early in King of the Cage, and his rise up the 135-pound ranks was well timed with WEC's emphasis on the lighter weight divisions, giving Tapia a title shot in only his third WEC bout.
"I can honestly say I'm in the best shape of my life," he said. "I trained for Miguel like I trained for anybody else. I actually didn't roll as much as I probably should have, but I'm not worried about his ground game at all. I'm a big underdog. I got no pressure going into this fight. A lot of people are looking down at me, and those are the people I'm going to shock when I go in there."
Tapia, who trains out of Chino, Calif., says that he's so confident in his ability to beat Torres that he agreed to the bout when he was still rehabbing a knee injury following his last fight.
It's a pair of ultra-confident, high-action fighters in what has the makings of one of the best match-ups of the year. Of course, that pre-fight label is similar to what was written ahead of the Faber-Brown tilt, as well, before Brown caught the champion to shift the balance of power in the featherweight division. Tapia believes he can do the same at bantam.
Bowles-Ribeiro in key bantamweight bout, Fabiano makes WEC debut
No. 1 contender status at 135 pounds is at stake in the bout between Brian Bowles and Will Ribeiro.
A victory by Bowles would continue his surprising rise in WEC. While still learning MMA under the tutelage of Rory and Adam Singer at the HardCore Gym in Athens, Ga., Bowles was tapped to face veteran Charlie Valencia at WEC 28 in June 2007.
Bowles upset Valencia and posted two more WEC victories to push his overall unbeaten streak to six.
"I'm surprised I have done as well as I have in the WEC so early," said Bowles (6-0 MMA, 3-0 WEC), who owns a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Adam Singer. "A lot of these guys have more experience than me, but if you train hard and get with the right people, you can make up a lot of ground."
Ribeiro (10-1 MMA, 1-0 WEC) presents another tough challenge for Bowles. The Brazilian has finished 70 percent of his opponents, but he went the decision route in winning his WEC debut over Chase Beebe in June.
Another fighter seeking to move into title contention is WEC newcomer Wagnney Fabiano (10-1 MMA, 0-0 WEC). The 33-year-old Brazilian closed his tour through the shuttered International Fight League as the promotion's featherweight champion, and a victory over Shooto veteran and fellow WEC newbie Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2 MMA, 0-0 WEC) at WEC 37 would instantly move him into the mix in the increasingly deep 145-pound division.
Fabiano was without peer in the IFL. He posted a 6-0 mark and finished every fight, save one, in the first round. The WEC represents a step up in competition for Fabiano, but most MMA experts consider him the real deal. He gets a chance to prove it in a bout that will be part of the televised package on Versus.
WEC 37 – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
- Champion Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia (bantamweight title)
- Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro
- Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez
- Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks
- Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz
- Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
- Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
- Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski
- Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya
- Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik
Steve Sievert is the lead staff writer and business columnist for MMAjunkie.com. He is also the former MMA beat writer and lead blogger for the Houston Chronicle.


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(2019) Historical Drama (Screen Media) Angus Macfadyen, Anna Hutchison, Zach McGowan, Gabriel Bateman, Talitha Bateman, Brandon Lessard, Diarmaid Murtagh, Emma Kenney, Patrick Fugit, Melora Walters, Shane Coffey, Daniel Portman, Seoras Wallace, Kevin McNally, Jared Harris, Nick Farnell, Gianni Capaldi, Mhairi Calvey. Directed by Richard Gray
In Scotland Robert the Bruce is a national hero, able to do what William Wallace could not – give the Scots their freedom from English rule – but it didn't come easy.
Some ten years after the execution of William Wallace, Robert the Bruce (Macfadyen) is King of Scotland, but uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. That's because other Scottish nobles, particularly the clan of John Comyn (Harris), also are claimants to the throne of Scotland. After an ambush at Greyfriars's Church leads to the death of Comyn, Scotland is in chaos. The English, with whom Comyn had allied, have put a price on Robert's head of 50 gold pieces. The unceasing wars against the English have led to a divided country; some support their King who is promising freedom, other weary of war that has claimed so many husbands, sons and brothers.
Pretty Morag (Hutchison) has lost a husband to the wars and a brother as well. Raising her own son Scot (Bateman) as well as her nephew Carney (Lessard) and niece Iver (Bateman), they live on a remote farm in the mountains. Robert, hounded by foes on every side, is ready to give up. He dismisses his few loyal remaining men, including his best warrior James Douglas (Murtagh) who thinks it is folly for Robert to be without protection. He is soon proven right as Robert is attacked by three of his own men, including treacherous Will (Fugit) and badly wounded. Scot finds him in the woods and the family of Morag bring him to their farmhouse to tend to him, much to the displeasure of Scot who blames Robert for his father's death.
They know they are risking death and their uncle Brandubh (McGowan) is sniffing around the farm – he is looking for Robert, who he has discovered is in the vicinity, but he is also hoping to woo Morag who had married his brother. Even as Robert gets better, the king knows he is in dire peril and dragging this good family in with him. Can he escape and take the family who saved his life to safety?
In all honesty, I don't know how apocryphal the story is. It could be pure fiction, or based on folk tales, or based on fact. I honestly couldn't tell you, but I do know Macfadyen – who played the role memorably in Braveheart previous to this and co-wrote the script – has been trying to get this movie made for more than a decade. The 56-year-old actor is playing the King in a period when he was in his mid-30s; this Robert is more world-weary than the one he played in Braveheart and less fiery-eyed. There are moments, particularly near the end of the film, where we see the old Robert the Bruce and thse moments are welcome.
The elephant in the room is Mel Gibson, and I'm sure he wouldn't be too pleased to be called an elephant. One of the things that made Braveheart such a classic, beloved film was the presence of Gibson, who was at the time at the top of his game and one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and possessed of enormous charisma before later events derailed his career. Macfadyen is a terrific actor and he has plenty of screen presence, but I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you he's no Mel Gibson and the movie feels the lack of that kind of star power.
It also feels a lack of Scotland in it. The movie was largely filmed in Montana which is a beautiful state, but it doesn't have the same look as the Scottish Highlands. The largely American cast also has difficulty with the hard-to-master Scottish accent. Either it's laid on too thick or not thick enough. Mostly, though, actors drop in and out of it willy-nilly.
That's not to say there aren't moments in this film that are worth waiting for. There isn't a ton of action here in the two-hour film, and American audiences may have a hard time with that. It is not a fast-paced film either and American audiences will REALLY have a hard time with that. Still, if you are patient, there are some scenes that come close to recapturing the magic of the Oscar-winning Braveheart but it never quite does. This isn't a sequel so much as a spin-off and it doesn't have the budget to recapture the battle sequences of that film, so Robert the Bruce doesn't have the epic scope of the previous movie. Still, the character is a big part of Scottish history and proud Scots will not want to miss this, nor will those who love that craggy land.
REASONS TO SEE: There are some moments that are pure magic.
REASONS TO AVOID: A little too slow-paced for this type of movie.
FAMILY VALUES: There is all sorts of violence and mayhem.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Mhairi Calvey, who played the wife of Robert the Bruce here, played a young Murron, the eventual wife of William Wallace, in Braveheart.
BEYOND THE THEATER: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Microsoft, Vudu
CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/25/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 40% positive reviews: Metacritic: 42/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Braveheart
NEXT: True History of the Kelly Gang


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Support & Training
Course Detail
Credit Derivatives - Beyond Basics: VIRTUAL DELIVERY
This course provides a detailed overview of the more advanced credit derivative products from index tranche trading to credit options. The course builds on the understanding of how credit spreads and CDS contracts are valued and why and how bespoke products are traded.
- Case studies and illustrations are used to demonstrate the product applications
- A fundamental knowledge of fixed income and credit derivative products
Course Objectives
- Understand the relationship between the credit spread, default and recovery rates
- Explain the pricing methodology behind the ISDA standard market model
- Learn how to express credit views with bespoke tranched products
- Understand the motivation behind Nth to default structures and the product dynamics
- Understand the role of credit options and how they are used in practice
This virtual course is one of the ICE Education LIVE programs. We provide two phases to the course:
1. Live Virtual Sessions: Trainer led live video sessions (as per the outline below). These are short focused sessions with practical activity and interaction throughout.
2. Post-course: The live video clinic session is scheduled for one week post course for any learning points you'd like to revisit.
All course payments must be received one day prior to the start date
Course Information
|1 day
|Virtual Delivery
|Available Dates
Who Should Attend
This course is aimed at anyone with an interest (whether direct or indirect) in the trading of fixed income derivatives. Delegates may include not only traders but also related functions including risk management, oversight and mid-office roles.
Booking Information
Course Content
Session 1: CDS Valuation
- The credit triangle
- The intuitive relationship between the recovery rate, the spread and the default probability
- Senior vs. subordinated arbitrage
- The technical pricing model - ISDA
- Premium leg vs. Contingent default leg
- Bootstrapping the implied default probabilities out of the CDS curve
Session 2: Portfolio Credit Derivatives
- Tranche trading strategies using the iTraxx index family
- What is a tranche? Why are they traded?
- Tranche trading mechanics and specifications
- Attachment/detachment points
- Exploring delta and leverage
- The tranches - long or short correlation
- The effects of convexity in delta-hedged tranche trading
- The role of correlation - base vs. compound correlation
- Tranche trading and hedging
- Case study - AIG and what went wrong
- Trading off-the-run tranches -lessons to learn from JPMorgan
- Nth-to-default baskets
- What are First to Default (FTD) and nth To Default (NTD) baskets?
- Buyer and seller motivations
- Pricing baskets intuition
- Mechanics and settlement
Session 3: CDS Index Options
- The credit option building blocks - payers and receivers
- Standard terms and mechanics
- What happens if there is a default
- Why trade credit options
- Pricing tools and the risk metrics -the Greeks for credit options


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2011-14 (June 24, 2011)
Website Answer Board Expert; Name, Use of;Rules
1.3, 2.10, 2.11, 3.1, 3.7, 3.10
May a Judicial Official serve and be listed as a
subject matter expert for an electronic "answer
board" operated by a nonprofit and non-partisan
organization and, if so, may the Judicial Official
(1) provide quotes and (2) include his or her
judicial position as part of the personal
description of the expert that is posted on the
answer board?
Response: Additional facts include
that the answer board was established to provide
general information on various legal and
constitutional subjects to journalists and to
explain procedural issues to help journalists
understand the law and report more accurately.
The answer board experts may be asked to provide
quotes on subjects such as particular aspects of the
Constitution and constitutional law.
The Committee members in attendance, having
considered this Committee's opinion in JE 2008-25,
unanimously determined that the Judicial Official
may serve as a subject matter expert for the
electronic "answer board" and may include his
or her judicial position in his or her personal
description on the answer board, subject to the
following conditions:
Finally, with respect to the
Judicial Official's inquiry about the propriety of
providing quotes that are attributed to the Judicial
Official, the Committee determined that the Judicial
Official may do so provided that he or she complies
with the above noted conditions.
Committee on Judicial Ethics
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President Purce Will Join Panel Discussing Social Issues
Timberland Regional Library Director, Jodi Reng, will moderate a panel discussion of the social issues underlying Sue Monk Kidd's novel, "The Secret Life of Bees." The event is free of charge and open to the public.
This forum is part of Timberland Regional Library's (TRL) Timberland Reads Together: "The Secret Life of Bees," a program series that continues through October for promoting reading and building community. The panelists are scholars and practitioners in areas that relate to issues in "The Secret Life of Bees" such as race, gender and family relations, domestic violence, child protection, and mental health.
The discussion will be at:
The Evergreen State College
Seminar II Building, Room C1105
10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 21
Ms Reng will ask questions of panelists; then the audience will be invited to ask their own questions. Attending and participating in the panel is an example of exploring a book beyond its literary aspects and discovering connections to real life. For information about participating in other Timberland library programs relating to "The Secret Life of Bees," people can stop by their local Timberland library, call (360) 704-4636, or visit www.trlib.org the TRL Web site.
Panel participants:
Thomas L. (Les) Purce, Ed.D is President of The Evergreen State College, Olympia's nationally recognized, public liberal arts and sciences college.
Babacar M'Baye, Ph.D., American Cultural Studies, teaches African American Studies at TESC. He grew up in Senegal and has lived many years in the U.S.
Nancy Koppelman, Ph.D., American Studies, is teaching "Consuming Utopia: From Wilderness to Wal-Mart" this fall at TESC.
Elizabeth McHugh, PA-C is the Director of Health & Counseling at TESC. She is currently finishing a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies, specializing in Psychiatry.
Laura Hurtado-Webb, the Community Services Coordinator for Safeplace. Her work has focused on services to children, women and families in social agencies and the justice system.
Maureen Fitzgerald is Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Children's Advocacy Centers and Director of Monarch Children's Advocacy Center. Her work has focused on children, families and poverty.
Jodi Reng, MLS, the panel discussion moderator for this event, is the Director of Timberland Regional Library, the regional public library system for Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.


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[This is the second blog on Elie Kedourie: see https://clarespark.com/2014/04/09/disastrous-nationalisms-the-kedourie-version/, written before the second reading of his book.]
Usually I blog about subjects I understand well and can analyze with some clarity, but I admit to being at a loss to explain why arch-conservative intellectual historian and social theorist Elie Kedourie's famous book Nationalism (1960) is considered to be a classic in the field of intellectual history. Nor can I explain why Blackwell Press (in the UK) brought out a fourth expanded edition (1993), for Blackwell is a publisher I associate with the Left: indeed they published Thomas Picketty's Capital, which has lefties in a tizzy, calling Piketty the new Marx. "Everyone is talking about it."
Kedourie's book bears all the imprints of the reactionary: he blames the French Revolution for giving ordinary persons the notion that they could reject authority, even secede from or overturn despotic states; he loathes Romanticism as demonic; he prefers the catch as catch can "order" of the Middle Ages (and antiquity?) to modernity—even the "balance of power" is attributed to the sensible compromises that medieval dynasties/royal families were ostensibly prone to; he loathes John Locke's empiricism, aligning himself with Kant's radical subjectivism (anticipating postmodernist claims that "all knowledge is local"?); the invention of the printing press was a disaster for Order, as were the Industrial Revolution, machines in general, and the economic determinism they spawned; and the notion of the modern woman working outside of her traditional role is foreign to his mind-set. As for cities, they are home solely to anomie.
On the other hand, he attacks German philology and the notion of national character advanced by the Germans Herder and Fichte, leading, he says to Hitler's deadly super-nationalism; he blames the settlement following the Great War for disturbing local communities and carving out artificial states that made no sense to either Central Europeans or to the Middle East. (I agree with this critique, and have traced cultural nationalism myself in numerous blogs on this website. But how odd is it that Kedourie uses the word "race" as if these races were real in the world, and not socially constructed: there goes his implicit critique of "multiculturalism"!)
For admirers of England and American constitutionalism, he blames neither the Reformation, the English Civil War, nor the American Revolution as contributing to the chaos he limns throughout his book.
It appears that democracy is his target, but not rule by a flexible hereditary elite. What leaves me bewildered is his affection for primitives on some pages (they comprise authentic communities and should not be disturbed by modernizers), while on other pages primitivism feeds into "nationalism" through the development of distinctive languages that embody popular "feeling".
In the good old days that Kedourie admires, ordinary people went about their artisanal business and put up with whatever elites dished out: religion bound peasants to monarchs and the status quo (for more on the excellencies of this social bond, see https://clarespark.com/2010/02/10/a-brooding-meditation-on-intimacy-and-distance/). I give up and am open to comments that explain how an apparent anti-statist can appeal to a distinctively left-wing publishing house–unless the hidden agenda is a defense of Islamic principles. The target of Kedourie's wrath may be "Jewish nationalism" as embodied in "the Zionist state." See http://zioncon.blogspot.com/2007/07/yoav-gelber-disease-of-post-zionism.html.
Unless, as Ralph Nader rejoices in his latest book, Left and Right have not only converged, but their marriage is part of a historic political realignment where statist leftism gets thrown out the window.


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amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
UPDATE January 7, 2010—For the first time since 1987, the U.S. is now freely admitting HIV-positive foreign visitors and immigrants. The end of the longstanding U.S. travel ban came definitively with the arrival in New York of an HIV-positive man from Holland on January 7. Removal of the ban took effect on January 4.
NEW YORK, October 30, 2009—amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, today applauded the announcement by President Obama that the federal government would finally lift the U.S. ban on HIV-positive visitors and immigrants, which has been in place since 1987.
The President's announcement came during a signing ceremony at the White House for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act and was the culmination of an extensive federal review process instituted by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in late June 2009.`
"amfAR has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts to remove the U.S. government's ban on HIV-positive visitors," said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. "We're thrilled that the ban has been lifted based on science, reason, and human rights. Our hope is that this decision reflects a commitment to adopting more evidence-based policies when confronting the AIDS epidemic and developing a comprehensive national AIDS strategy."
Additionally, Frost said the repeal of the ban would bolster the U.S.'s candidacy as a host country for future HIV/AIDS research conferences.
"The International AIDS Society said it wouldn't even consider convening the International AIDS Conference in 2012 in Washington, D.C., unless the U.S. lifted the travel ban," Frost said. "Removing the ban opens the door to hosting more international HIV/AIDS-related conferences here in the future, and restoring the U.S.'s place as a leader in the eyes of the world's HIV/AIDS research community."
amfAR first called for the repeal of the ban as early as 1991, when the Foundation opened its public policy office in Washington, D.C., and made lifting the travel and immigration ban for HIV-positive persons one of its main legislative priorities. Since then, members of the amfAR staff and board of trustees have repeatedly pushed for the ban's repeal, most recently in a letter written by Frost and amfAR Chairman of the Board Kenneth Cole to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Lifting the ban was also discussed at the May 2009 Capitol Hill conference, "Future Directions in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS," chaired by Susan Blumenthal, M.D., amfAR's Senior Policy and Medical Advisor and former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General. The meeting brought together key leaders in the HIV/AIDS research, advocacy, and public policy communities and was co-sponsored by amfAR and Research!America.
Since 1987, the United States has banned HIV-positive visitors and immigrants from the country after Congress directed HHS to add HIV to the list of medical conditions of "public health significance" that prevented visitors and immigrants from entering the United States.
In 1991, the HHS secretary recommended removing HIV from the list of those communicable diseases—which also included tuberculosis and syphilis, among others—but that proposal was dropped due to opposition from Congress. In 1993, Congress specified that HIV infection was grounds for inadmissibility, thereby revoking the Secretary's ability to make a public health determination about the disease.
Until today's announcement, the U.S. was one of only 7 countries with laws that bar entry of people with HIV.
About amfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $290 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.
© 2021 amfAR All Rights Reserved || amfAR's mission is to end the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research


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More Info:
- Constitutional Referendum regarding the Prince's powers
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: Prince HANS ADAM II *
- Head of Government: Head of Government Ottmar HASLER
- Assembly: Liechtenstein has a unicameral Parliament (Landtag) with 25 seats.
* On August 15, 2004, Prince HANS ADAM II transferred the official duties to the Hereditary Prince ALOIS, but Prince HANS ADAM II retains his title of Head of State.
Main provisions in the Referendum:
- Constitutional Referendum - Princely Initiative The referendum asked voters to approve an extension of the Prince's powers to dimiss the government, veto legislation and to nomimate judges.
- Constitutional Referendum - Constitution Peace Initiative The referendum asked voters whether to approve or disapprove modificiations on the constitution, which includes limiting the Prince's powers.
Population and number of registered voters:
- Population: 33,000 ( 2003 est.)
- Registered Voters: 16,932 ( 2003 )


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As England celebrates the day of its patron saint, many Palestinians are gearing up for their own forthcoming celebrations of the figure they also regard as a hero.
A familiar flag flaps in the wind above a Palestinian church in the West Bank village of al-Khadr.
The red cross on a white background has been associated with Saint George since the time of the Crusades.
It is the national flag of England and is also used as an emblem by other countries and cities that have adopted him as their own patron saint.
However, Palestinians have particular reason to display the symbol and revere the early Christian martyr. For them he is a local hero who opposed the persecution of his fellow Christians in the Holy Land.
"We believe he was a great martyr for his faith who defended the Christian faith and values," says Greek Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna.
"By making sacrifices for his faith he was able to defeat evil. We take St George as a patron for people living here – and as he was born in historic Palestine, we pray to him to remember us and this holy land."
St George was a Roman soldier during the Third Century AD, when the Emperor Diocletian was in power. It is said that he once lived in al-Khadr near Bethlehem, on land owned by his mother's family.
While the saint's father is usually traced back to Cappadocia, an area in modern Turkey, it is believed his mother was Palestinian from Lydda – now Lod, in Israel.
Read more » BBC


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Build Powerful Landing Pages in Joomla!
Impacto is a complete content package solution
- Responsive
- The Impacto Joomla! template is the first template build on Joomlashack's Wright v3 Framework , making it fully responsive, ready to display your content on any device that can access the web!
- Content Package
- The Impacto template comes complete with custom-tailored sample content for quick setup. This allows you to instantly replicate the styles seen on this home page.
- Lightweight
- Impacto has been rebuilt from the ground up on a completely rebuilt and trimmed down framework, making it blazing fast.. and Search Engines love fast sites!
- Bootstrap
- Bootstrap does not only mean you get a solid, responsive, grid based framework. It also means you have tons of amazing styles, icons, buttons and more at your disposal!
This is your Call to Action (CTA)
Impacto is as easy to set up as installing Joomla! Copy and paste the contents of the provided home page 'landing page' and you'll be ahead of the game. The rest is as simple as replacing the content with your own.
Beautiful Landing Pages
Impacto enables you to build stunning landing pages right inside Joomla using bold, rich typography. With the built in functionality of Joomla you now have the ability to set up unlimited template 'styles' and assign them to your 'pages', allowing you to hide or show content as you see fit, and opening up the door to easy landing page setup.
16 Module Positions
Impacto is loaded with lots of module positions, allowing you to insert any content anywhere you want..above content, below content, left, right, you name it. And Joomlashack's 'Flexi-Module' system allows you to publish up to 6 module positions in the horizontal positions, evenly spaced by default.
Four Color Packs
Impacto ships with four base color styles, along with well-commented CSS. Because Impacto is pure CSS (with one minor exception of the menu bg images for mobile view), you can edit every element of the template's colors all from the CSS files! This not only makes it super easy to customize the colors (no image editing required), it helps make the template blazing fast!


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"OMG...this is beyond sickening, I can't see the dog walking willingly into fire, so she was either burnt or doused in some type of chemical; on purpose. I pray they catch the scum that did this & will keep her in my prayers, in the hopes that all her pups make it & she finds a forever loving home!"
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A pregnant dog that was severely burned is doing much better after being taken in by a local animal rescue group.
"Someone did something unkind to this very sweet dog," says Donna Casamento with Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
It's something so unkind, it's horrific to view. Nina, a terrier mix, has second to third degree burns on her chest, all the way down to her legs.
"It's been a very very sad situation. We weren't sure when we first got her how the burns happened," said Casamento.
But Donna thinks Nina's burns may have been intentional. And what makes this worse, she's pregnant.
"Whether she walked into a fire on the ground, like a fire pit or was pushed into a fire pit. Dogs don't walk into those kind of situations," she said."
Now the race is on to save the unborn dogs while Nina recovers. "It's somewhat difficult for us to tell exactly if the puppies are still alive yet," Casamento said.
Nina was brought up yesterday from Miami-Dade rescue. Veterinarians here are taking care of her around the clock. "Every couple of hours, she's getting this applied to her and then several baths throughout the day," said Donna. "We're giving her pain medication about every three or four hours at this point."
The hope is eventually to find her and her babies, a loving home. "In spite what she's been through, all she wants to do is sit with her head in our lap and get love. This is a great dog," she said.
Vets say once Nina becomes comfortable, they'll be able to perform an ultrasound to see if the puppies are alive. They're asking the community to help with donations for Nina's care. Find out how you can help at their website, http://www.bdrr.org/ .
Miami-Dade animal rescue is investigating the case.
News Link:-http://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/pregnant-dog-burned-alive-gets-help-from-local-animal-rescue-group


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Here we have the trailer for 2016, a movie from Ghana which seems to be set four years in the future, in a time when both Terminators and Predators roam the Earth. It's basically the super-low-budget version of that Indian movie where a giant robot snake slithers around eating cars, with all the gloriousness that would imply. To put it succinctly, a Predator kills a lady with a car and then kicks a baby.
Oh, but that's not all. Let's see if I can provide a full plot summary:
- A Predator says something scary in a robot voice.
- This causes a young boy walking down a street somewhere to be attacked by a flying motorcycle, which cracks open his skull.
- A predator shoots a bullet from his chest and a dude dodges it, Matrix-style
- The predator throws a ninja star, which is also dodged.
- The ninja star continues flying, only to be stopped in mid-air by a TERMINATOR, who deflects it using some kind of forcefield.
- The Terminator pulls a Lamborghini out of thin air and throws it on top of a lady. The lady had been sitting in the middle of the street for some reason.
- A cell phone explodes
- A dude explodes
- The predator kicks a car
- A dude dodges the car
- The predator kicks him in the face
- The trailer ends in mid shot.
And if you liked "2016," you'll LOVE "12:00," which appears to have been shot on the same two streets.
Being a movie trailer announcer in Ghana seems a lot like being the back-up guy in one of those Jamaican rap songs. You just shout one or two phrases over and over, and they always sound awesome. A nuh mi like Predator, him kick de bebbe, BUH BUH!
[Buzzfeed via DAPSWebsite]


text: Meet The Training Team In House Training Customs Procedures Freight Forwarding Online Air Cargo Security Dangerous Goods Terms & Conditions Apprenticeships Home » Training » Online Air Cargo Security & Kn... » KCSD - Known Consignor - Security Documentati... KCSD - Known Consignor - Security Documentation Future dates for this course are listed at the bottom of the page. For full details and to make an enquiry please click the link for the date you are interested in. This course forms part of the BIFA suite of Known Consignor training and complies with the UK DfT Mandatory Conditions & Syllabus Air Cargo (Known Consignor) Security Training (August 2014).Trainees must be engaged by a Known Consignor who has completed background or pre-employment checks as specified by the DfT prior to commencing training.Recurrent training is to be undertaken at least every 24 months. Available Course Dates Online Available: Now Venue: Delivered online


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It's not just Sutro Forest.
Native plant interests threaten trees throughout the city, and in particular, in San Francisco's other significant century-old forest: Mt Davidson. A favorite area for the residents of Miraloma Park, the Significant Natural Areas Management Plan calls for felling over 1600 trees. In the map below, the brown areas would be… well, brown. At least in summer. They are to be turned over to native plants.
The article below by Jacqueline Proctor was published in Miraloma Life in November 2011, and is republished here with permission and added emphasis.
Mt. Davidson Park – An Open Space Preserved for Recreation or Native Plants?
By Jacqueline Proctor
In 1995, the City transferred Mt. Davidson Park to the Natural Areas Program with the result that protection and restoration of native plants—rather than public recreation, aesthetics, or forest maintenance—has become the first priority of the few City staff assigned to maintain the park. A recently completed Draft EIR has determined that the Natural Areas Program Plan will have a significant impact on the environment. Indeed, the Plan envisions the negative consequences to public enjoyment of the Park to be beneficial.
While the City is busy planting 1000s of street and median trees to "clean the air," it is giving the OK to spend limited Recreation and Park funds to cut down 1000s of the historic trees along the trail and road areas of Mt. Davidson, restrict public access through native plants areas by installing barriers, prohibiting benches in the best view areas, and fostering the growth of poison oak (a native plant now thriving where non-native shrubs and trees have already been removed).
The Miraloma Park Improvement Club Board plans a letter to the City advocating for the Final EIR to recommend preservation of the forest as an historic, natural, recreational, and aesthetic resource, as well as advocating for full access to the native plant area and installation of benches in the view areas.
(The Board did write such a letter in comments to the Draft Environmental Impact Report on the SNRAMP.)
Recently, the Wall Street Journal covered this in its December 15th 2011 issue; and the San Francisco Examiner had an article about it on the same day. The San Francisco Forest Alliance (SFFA) has links to both articles on its Facebook page. Click here for WSJ, and here for the article in the Examiner.