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You can Give a Child in India a Future
December 3, 2017
The buzz which began last month with the celebration of India's festival of lights, Diwali, continues on! Everyone everywhere is in the festive mode. In a little over seven weeks from now, every street, every apartment, and community will be buzzing with the sound of children enjoying their year-end break.
Soon after, there will be the beginning of a New Year, many looking ahead to new beginnings with New Year resolutions. For children, it is a lot simpler. They simply look forward to catching up with friends, sharing stories of how they spent their holidays, the clothes they bought, the gifts they received, the places they visited, the festive snacks they binged on, and what not!
But to some children in India, the New Year welcomes them with their worst nightmare becoming a reality. Some of them soon realize that they did not come home for just the year-end break, they came home to the end of their education altogether. Even as many eager young minds return to the classroom, there's a sad truth still many of them face. Before they reach high school, 60 percent (47 million) drop out of school. Imagine that! What if three out of every five children in your neighborhood never finished school? Life in America would be very different.
The reasons for dropping out of school are many, but rural India, especially, has two predominant reasons that keep their children from going back to school. Parents often choose to keep their daughters home for safety concerns and to help with chores. As for young men, they leave their education only to find a job and help supplement the family's meager income.
The truth remains, that simple solutions cannot and will not solve the complex issues these young people face. Education alone will not be a comprehensive solution. It takes much more to help these children grow up to become the next generation of godly leaders, which India so desperately lacks today. And, you can help.
With your support and prayers, Love One More takes a multi-faceted approach to enable children to stay in school and prepare them for future leadership. From education to love, from spiritual mentoring to career guidance, L1M's children's ministry, currently serving 8,000+ children, has proven effective at giving children a future of which they could only dream.
L1M childcare workers are actively seeking drop-outs in rural villages to re-enroll them. It is imperative that all these children receive every help possible to remain on the path to leadership. So, how can you help? You can give these young people the love and support they desperately need! Through clothes, nutritious meals and schools supplies, you can change the lives of these children forever. Not just theirs, but for their generations to follow!


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DETROIT – Thursday evening will be beautiful but cold. Colder than average conditions occur overnight setting the stage for snow Friday. As much as two inches is possible.
Please join me on Twitter (@AndrewLocal4) for regular weather updates.
Thursday evening will be mostly clear and chilly. Temps will be in the 30s with wind chills near freezing or lower. Remember to bundle up, but roads will be dry for dinner-time or late-night plans. Sunset is at 7:41 p.m., and it will be gorgeous with a blue, yellow and orange sky.
Clouds gather Thursday night as temperatures drop to the 20s. Overnight lows will be in the upper teens in many surrounding neighborhoods and in the low 20s in Motown.
Snow arrives Friday, but it's part of a fast-moving system and afternoon temps will mean a wintry mix after lunchtime.
The first snowflake start falling after 8 a.m.; beginning in the regions South and West Zones (in Lenawee and Washtenaw Counties. Between the end of the morning commute (9 a.m. or 10 a.m.) and lunchtime, light to moderate snow overtakes Detroit and most of Southeast Michigan. There will be a few heavy bursts. By early afternoon, one to two inches of new snow will fall south of 8 Mile Road and West of I-275. The North Zone (areas north of Hall Road) will receive between a trace and one inch of new snow.
A few raindrops will mix with snowflakes during the afternoon commute and temps rise to the middle and upper 30s.
Saturday will have scattered rain and snow showers with highs in the low 40s.
Sunday will be sunnier with highs in the middle 40s.
Spring begins at 6:28 a.m. Monday with the Vernal Equinox. Daytime temps will rise to the low and middle 50s, but rain showers are possible. It will be chillier the rest of next week.
Local 4Casters weather app:
Remember to download the FREE Local4Casters weather app. Just go to your app store and search for "WDIV." Our local radar pops up as soon as you open the app. It is the perfect resource for traveling because you have the power to monitor 4 Live Radar anywhere in the nation.
Also, download our FREE Storm Pins app so you can take and share weather photos and videos. Just pin Storm Pins to a map so the Local4Casters can share them and give you a TV shoutout. Feel free to share pictures and clips with other Storm Pins users, too.
The FREE Local4Casters Weather and Storm Pins apps are the perfect way to make weather more social.
Weather links:

subset: commoncrawl


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Per the following document, user can search the "contains" functionality by using %searchterm% :
Search for values that contain search-term.
However, in any OOB instance it returns no result with %searchterm%. User expects to see the same result when they search by *searchterm.
Steps to Reproduce
In any OOB instance,
-Go to inciden.list
- Search "for text" = *visio
Actual Beahvior: It returns INC0000006 which contains visio in the short description
-Now, search "for text" = %visio%
Actual Behavior: It returns no result.
Expected Behavior: It should return INC0000006 which contains visio in the short description
This issue is under review. To receive notifications when more information is available, subscribe to this Known Error article by clicking the Subscribe button at the top right of the article. If you are able to upgrade, review the Fixed In field to determine whether any versions have a permanent fix.
Related Problem: PRB1358622


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Among his Columbia colleagues and students, Shaw-Hwa Lo is known as a brilliant statistician, a dedicated teacher and an innovative researcher. Lo, a Professor of Statistics, has taught at Columbia for nearly 30 years. He began his career as a mathematical statistician and his early contributions to the field were in the arcane-sounding areas of Asymptotics Theory, Survival Analysis, and Resampling Methods. But in the late 1990s, he expanded his reach by using statistical methods to understand the burgeoning field of genetics. Back then, advances in genome studies had increased the size of genetic data and identified genetic variants responsible for several diseases. How to predict which variants caused what diseases became a central question of the time. Lo merged statistics and molecular biology so as to quantify 100 millions of markers (SNPs) in DNA, helping ultimately to decode the human genome. He also built statistical models to identify genes associated with certain diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome, breast cancer and leukemia.
Read More here: https://datascience.columbia.edu/columbia-professor-shaw-hwa-lo-honored-using-statistics-solve-societal-problems


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His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama To Lead Environmental Summit in Portland
Written by: Jeanne Alberts, John Alberts, Laura Miller
At the invitation of Maitripa College and its founder and president, Yangsi Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to Portland, to join with leaders from the environmental, scientific, policy and faith communities for an Environmental Summit on May 9 & 11. Maitripa College is the host of the Portland visit.
Founded in 2006, Maitripa College is the first Tibetan Buddhist school of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, and its mission is direct – to develop the good heart through scholarship, meditation and service. The college hopes the connections made through the environmental summit will carry His Holiness' message of promoting universal human values and fostering inter-religious harmony to a larger audience, especially within the context of our shared environment.
The summit could not be timelier – 2012 was the hottest year in recorded history. It was also a year which included record drought across the Midwest and the devastation of the Northeast coast by Hurricane Sandy. At a time when so many feel paralyzed in the face of intensifying environmental degradation, Maitripa's president seeks to empower individuals and communities to create change.
"As we face the environmental issues before us, solutions will come through awareness and individual responsibility," said Yangsi Rinpoche. "The purpose of the Dalia Lama Environmental Summit is not to focus on all that is wrong, but to inspire ourselves and future generations to act in a positive way for the environment."
"Individual responsibility arises from individual inspiration, formed and catalyzed by spirituality, philosophy and policy," he said. "Therefore, this summit is designed as a platform for these three areas, all driving forces of action on this planet."
The summit commences the morning of Thursday, May 9, with an interfaith dialogue entitled, "Spirituality and the Environment." Joining His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be leaders from the Archdiocese of Portland, Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana of Congregation Beth Israel; Imam Muhammed Najieb of the Muslim Community Center, and Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz.
On Thursday afternoon, His Holiness will offer a public talk on "Universal Responsibility and the Inner Environment: The Nature of Mind." Both events will be held at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.
On Saturday morning, May 11, His Holiness will join a panel discussion with political and scientific leaders on the role of science and policy in catalyzing environmental action globally and in the Northwest. The discussion, "Environmental Summit: Universal Responsibility and the Global Environment," will take place at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and will include Senator Jeff Merkley, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, David Suzuki, an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, and Andrea Durbin, executive director of the Oregon Environmental Council.
Concluding the summit on Saturday afternoon, His Holiness will deliver a public talk entitled "Inspiration for the Global Environment," co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council.
Lobsang Nyandak, who was given the post of representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas in September 2008, said during a recent visit that he had visited the college near the beginning of his term, and that this year would be his last in office.
He added that he was very happy to be finalizing and bringing "full circle," plans to bring His Holiness to Portland. Maitripa College is honored to have worked on the program, from aspiration to fruition, with Lobsang Nyandak's kind assistance.
In addition to his time in Portland, His Holiness will also offer a public lecture in Eugene, Ore., on Friday afternoon, May 10, co-organized by the University of Oregon and the Eugene Sakya Center.
For more information, updates and potential volunteer opportunities, please subscribe to the Maitripa College e-newsletter, or visit www.dalailamaportland2013.net.
Photos: Don Farber, Leigh Sangster


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Learn More About Our Legal Practice
Initial Meeting with Mr. Musemeche
A contested family law case, a probate matter, or a business dispute is often the first time that a prospective client will consult with an attorney. The legal process can be confusing and stressful, and is often marked by anger, frustration, fear, and uncertainty. The first step is to squarely face your legal issues and ask for help.
You can count on Musemeche Law, PC to counsel you and assist you during this difficult and challenging time in your life. Our mission is to make the legal process as simple as possible, while achieving the results that matter to you. Our team will share important information about what you can expect, the potential costs of hiring qualified legal counsel, and answer as many questions as possible so that you are comfortable.
What to Expect
To help you make an educated and informed decision about how to proceed with your case, we would like to share important information with you.
Knowledge of the Law and Sound Legal Advice
It is important for your attorney to discuss the law openly from the very beginning. An experienced lawyer will not only advise you about what you need to do, but will also thoroughly explain the "why" behind your case.
At Musemeche Law, P.C., we believe that educating our clients about the law is first and foremost. We believe our clients not only want to know the law that affects their case, but they also need to know how the applicable law may affect their position so that they can evaluate their settlement options and make informed decisions.
Rob Musemeche not only knows the law, but he also knows how to apply the law in the real world to real families. Rob prides himself on offering common sense, practical solutions, and advice tailored to your needs and concerns.
An Honest Assessment of Your Situation
One of the primary duties of an attorney is to provide you with a frank and honest discussion of the facts and issues of the case. We understand that legal disputes and challenges are often emotional and very personal. It can often be difficult to see anything but your own perspective. Here at Musemeche Law, P.C., we are your advocate, and in advocating effectively for you, it is our duty to be objective with you about all of the facts, the law, and your options.
With nearly three decades of trial practice, Rob Musemeche believes it is a lawyer's obligation to be candid and honest with a client in evaluating all sides of your case. At Musemeche Law, P.C., we promise to discuss with you the "good, the bad, and the ugly," so that you can make informed and educated decisions.
It has been said that "time is money," and both are important factors for a client to consider. You can trust us to discuss all viable options. With extensive courtroom and litigation experience, we understand that litigation can be complex, contentious, time-consuming, unpredictable, extremely expensive, and, quite often, very frustrating for clients and lawyers alike. We are strong advocates for our clients and we pride ourselves on being solution-oriented and discuss with our clients all available options to resolve their dispute outside of litigation, including resolution through negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
Loyalty, Commitment and Communication
Attorneys owe an undivided duty of loyalty to their clients. When hiring an attorney, one of the most important factors to consider is the "trust" factor. You should not only feel that the attorney has the knowledge and experience necessary to win your case, but you also need to trust and believe that your attorney understands the goals, cares about the outcome, and will ardently advocate for your rights.
You must remember that your attorney cannot control the ultimate outcome of your case. If the case is litigated, a judge or jury will decide all issues in dispute. We cannot promise results. However, we will zealously advocate for you and work as hard as possible to further your cause.
We understand that legal proceedings are complex, and we strive to provide you with a timely response to all of your questions. We will return your call or email within twenty-four hours. We use a cloud-based law office management system to upload copies of correspondence and other documents we receive related to your case. You will be given a personal login and will have unlimited internet-based access to your file, including a calendar of the events in your case.
You can trust us to keep all your information confidential. Without your permission, we won't reveal any of your information to people outside our law firm. Whatever you discussed with our attorney is "privileged". The attorney is forbidden to repeat or discuss what you have told the attorney. What you discuss in our office remains here unless you allow us to discuss your case with someone else. Your attorney should not wonder whether you're telling the truth or not. We are on your side and you shouldn't be afraid to tell us the truth. We won't be able to help you unless you tell us the whole story.
What We Expect From Our Clients
We need to know the truth; even if it hurts. If you believe that there is some fact that may be harmful to you, it is much better to discuss this openly with your attorney rather than trying to hide it or hoping no one will ever learn about it. With 32 years of courtroom experience, Rob Musemeche believes almost nothing is ever successfully hidden from the other side. If they know the truth, it is essential that your attorney know the same facts at an early stage in the process, rather than being ambushed with the information in the courtroom for the first time. Surprises of this kind can harm your case. With advance knowledge of problems or difficulties, your lawyer can often suggest a course of action that can defuse/disarm the anticipated impact, or avoid exploitation of the problem by the other side.
Cooperation, Communication, and Input
Family law, probate and business disputes can be very emotional, painful and stressful, and sometimes a client simply wants to avoid having to deal with the issues. We are here to help you, but we cannot do it alone.
The lawyer and the client are a team. The lawyer's job is to provide the client with sound legal advice so that the client can make informed and educated decisions. As the client, your job is to provide us with the information we need in order to advise you appropriately, and to follow our advice.
Additionally, we may advise you to take certain actions regarding various matters in order to advance your cause. It is very important that you follow our advice, as it may affect the overall outcome of your case. Finally, you need to communicate with us and keep us updated on all matters relevant to your case and respond to our requests for information in a timely manner as well, especially if your case is in litigation where there are court-ordered deadlines in place. Also, please be sure to let us know if there is a change in your telephone number, email, place of work, or home address.
Payment for Legal Services
Our firm is committed to working hard for you to resolve your legal dispute in the most timely, cost-effective way possible. While our firm offers payment plans where appropriate, and periodically offers pro bono services to those in need, we generally bill for our services, and the client is expected to pay all legal fees incurred in the client's case as requested by the firm.
Legal fees are an important part of the "team" and "communication" concept. We need to work together. We promise to keep you apprised of fees incurred, the likely cost of pursuing various options in your case, and to advise you of the overall financial benefit of moving forward with a particular option in your case.
We will continuously evaluate and re-evaluate your options, and we will be practical in our advice. You will also be expected to evaluate your settlement and trial options based on the amount of legal fees you will incur to accomplish a certain goal. You are expected to pay your legal fees with our office and inform us immediately of any changes in your situation that may prevent you from paying your fees.
We believe in discussing fees early and openly with our clients. It is our belief that a client who knows important billing information will be better informed and more satisfied with the services we provide. In order to retain our firm, you will be required to sign an Agreement for Employment of Legal Counsel and pay an initial deposit towards the representation. The amount of the initial deposit will depend on the legal issues we are handling for you. Typically, $3,500 is required for most routine divorce and probate matters, while high conflict cases, or contested custody and property disputes can require a higher retainer... usually $5,000 and up. However, some legal services, such as estate planning, including a Will and other related documents, can be quoted on a flat fee basis, and will be explained during the initial consultation.
At Musemeche Law, P.C., we understand that no two clients are alike, and no two cases are alike. Simple cases may turn out to be very complex. No good lawyer in most cases will tell you that your case is "easy" or "no problem." Many cases that appear to be routine at first glance can mushroom quickly into complicated problems. A case that one client may think can be resolved quickly in a settlement may end up being a complex or high-conflict dispute. Because of the unpredictability of litigation disputes, we believe the fairest way to bill for legal services is for the client to pay only for the time the lawyer and his staff bills.
We maintain detailed records of the time we spend on each client's case. Our firm sends out monthly invoices detailing the legal services rendered to the client, so you should be able to look at your invoice and know immediately what work was done on your case. We bill on the basis of tenths of hours (six minute increments). Thus, a one-half hour phone call would be listed as: "conference call with client – .5 hours". If the call is 36 minutes long, the invoice time entry will read "conference with client - .6 hours."
A detailed listing of the hourly rate charged by each member of our firm will be provided in your contract and always available for your review. Rob Musemeche has been a trial attorney since 1988, and can give you an estimate of costs for the case when he talks with you about the case "game plan." However, any quote for the total cost of our legal services is merely an educated estimate. Your adversary, the opposing party or others may engage in activities beyond our control that require time that was originally not contemplated.
In addition to legal fees, most cases require court filing fees, process server fees, private investigative fees and expenses, court reporter fees for recording and transcribing depositions, expert witness fees, and any other expenses incurred during the representation by the firm. These expenses are billed at cost directly to the client.
Please feel free to ask any questions you wish about fees or additional costs that may be incurred in your case. Our goal, above all, is to counsel and maintain clients who are well informed and who are satisfied with the services we provide to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have tried to identify various questions that frequently come up about initial consultations. However, if you have any questions regarding the consultation, please do not hesitate to call our office or send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
What is the cost of the initial consultation?
There is no charge for an initial family law consultation. After 31 years of active legal practice, Rob knows that finding the right lawyer to fight for you and protect your interests can be a challenge. So, when results matter and you need quality legal solutions, you should feel confident that you are getting what you ultimately pay for, and that your lawyer is the single most important advisor you can retain in order to make it successfully to the finish line. That takes chemistry and trust, and the initial consultation should provide you the best chance to gain enough information to make an informed choice if you've found the right lawyer to stand by your side.
How long will the initial consultation last?
Rob will typically meet with prospective clients for about 30-45 minutes during the initial consultation. The length of the consultation depends on the issues at stake. Please make sure to allow yourself at least one hour for the initial consultation, as more time may be needed in order for the attorney to gather the facts and advise you on your legal issue, and there will be a brief written questionaire to fill out before the consultation, if not completed and emailed to the office prior to your arrival.
What happens during the initial consultation?
During the initial consultation, the attorney will obtain a history and facts regarding your legal matter, advise you of the law, and then counsel you on what steps you should take to protect your legal interests. This advice may result in counseling the client to initiate a lawsuit or advising a client to take certain protective measures, or do nothing at all.
What should I bring to the consultation?
Based on your particular legal issue, you may need to bring certain documentation with you for the attorney to review during the initial consultation. Such information may include any lawsuits that have been filed, previous orders or agreements, wage earning statements, tax returns or other financial documents. This will all depend on your specific legal situation. Depending on the issue, we may ask that you provide certain documents in advance of the consultation.
Is the consultation confidential?
Yes. Even if you choose not to retain the firm, the information you disclose to the lawyer in the consultation and on the Prospective Client Application will remain strictly confidential and is protected by the attorney-client privilege. We want you to be able to be candid and open with us without the fear of our divulging this information.
I am a stay-at-home parent, and I don't have child care. Can I bring my children to the consultation?
There are many families in the Bay Area who don't have relatives close by to help with child care or who haven't lived in this area long enough to develop a strong support network of friends. We truly sympathize with your situation. However, we will likely be discussing very private, sensitive, adult issues in the initial consultation, some of which may involve the very children you wish to bring with you to the consultation. Our office is not a place for children. Please find suitable child care arrangements for your children so that you can attend the initial consultation and devote your time and attention to these important legal matters.
How much will my case cost?
We believe in discussing with our clients at the initial interview such matters as the hourly rate our firm charges, the amount of the initial deposit that you pay to our firm, the approximate time we expect your case will take, the possibility of requesting an award of attorney's fees as reimbursement to you, and other matters. It is our belief that our clients will be better informed and more satisfied with our services if we discuss these at an early stage. However, there are a number of factors that may affect the costs of your case. The tactics taken by your spouse or his/her attorney if you are involved in a family law matter, or the complications and necessity of expert business appraisers and the like if the case is related to a probate or business litigation dispute can effect the cost of litigation. Lawyers have no control over unavoidable delays in the court system, etc. Just as important, no two cases are alike. For example, a lawyer may have estimated that a case would cost tens of thousands of dollars and linger for years in the court system, but that same case may suddenly settle because of some new revelation. On the other hand, a case which from the outset may seem relatively simple and straightforward could mushroom into expensive, contentious litigation due to no fault of the client. However, in each case, we work very hard to prepare our clients for the potential costs associated with his or her case, and remain mindful that you are the client. We work for you and not the other way around.


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Bath Bomb - Grapefruit + Peppermint + Orange
Slip into a soothing warm bath and allow our uplifitng blend of essential oils to boost your mood. Moisturizing qualities of avocado oil will renew and rejuvenate your skin leaving it hydrated and glowing.
Our bath bombs are made without any coloring, because who wants to clean their tub after a relaxing bath ?
Ingredients : baking soda . citric acid . epsom salt . arrowroot powder . kaolin clay . avocado oil . pure essential oils ( grapefruit + peppermint + orange )


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Extended wheelbase E-Class offers 14 cm more leg space. The model is part of a trend in the Chinese market of extended wheelbase variants of premium models.
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the E 300 L - a long wheelbase E-Class sedan - at the Auto China 2010 show.
The E 300 L is the first model by the Stuttgart-based premium brand to be developed specifically for the Chinese market. It features 14 cm more leg room for the rear passengers and a wheelbase of 3.014 m - with the overall length of the E 300 L measuring 5.008 m. The extended wheelbase variant will also come as an E 260 CGI model.
The new model is part of a growing trend in the Chinese market for extended wheelbase variants of premium brand vehicles. And the market is a very important one for Mercedes with its sales having grown 112 percent in the first quarter of this year.
The E 300 L will be manufactured locally by Beijing Benz Automotive Corporation - a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company (BAIC).
The Beijing International auto show run from April 25 to May 2.


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I have updated this post. I made a few mistakes in the circuit that I designed, and it didn't work as it should. Make magazine has a great LM386 circuit that is used as a guitar amp. The $5 Crackerbox Amp.
If you want to use this as a simple amplifier for something that is quiet, but doesn't need distortion, you can remove the 5k pot from pins 1 and 8. Or you can use trim pot and set the gain for at the perfect setting.
Make lists the parts list on their site. I also have a parts list on the Instructable that I wrote. http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Process-of-Building-a-Cigar-Box-Guitar-Amp-L/ It will probably cost more than 5 dollars to make, but it is worth it. It shouldn't take more than 2 to 3 hours to have a great amp.


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|April 7th, 2008
Topic: The Next Campaign Stop: Iraq Hearings
April 7, 2008
Pg. 1
At Tuesday's Sessions, Candidates Can Ask Questions, Try to Score Points
By Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post Staff Writer
When Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow, they might be the ones before the microphones, but the cameras will be trained on three of their inquisitors: Sens. John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
The hearings before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees promise to be as much about presidential politics as about the past six months of military and diplomatic progress in Iraq. All last summer, Washington anxiously awaited the September appearances of Petraeus, the commanding U.S. general in Iraq, and Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad, anticipating that their testimony could determine the political viability of continued war.
Their return engagement is eliciting no more than shrugs -- except on the political front. It has been months since Obama, McCain or Clinton appeared at a hearing, but all three contenders for the White House will take rare breaks from their campaigns to be on hand. Although the committee chairmen are loath to admit it, two relatively junior Democratic senators and one ranking Republican are likely to steal the show.
"This is sort of a dress rehearsal for who is best prepared to be commander in chief, who has the best understanding of what has happened, what was wrong in Iraq and how to fix it," noted Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), an Armed Services Committee member and McCain backer.
For the three candidates -- and for the Senate at large -- there is little expectation of surprises. Last September, lawmakers anxiously watched for cracks, either in Republican support of President Bush's war policies or in Democratic opposition.
"It's all completely predictable this time, what everyone is going to say," said Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), a senior Foreign Relations Committee member and Obama backer.
If anything, the campaigns have dug the divisions deeper. Besides Bush, no other politician is as vested in the success of the troop increase and new counterinsurgency strategy as is McCain. He helped promote the troop increase, then used the fall and winter's drop in violence to resurrect his campaign. Graham said McCain has the opportunity tomorrow to make those successes his own -- and to challenge his would-be Democratic rivals to prove them illusory.
With Obama and Clinton (N.Y.) still dueling for the support of the Democratic voters most disenchanted with the war, neither is about to break from promises to end it.
"We have more than 150,000 Americans in the middle of two wars, brave men and women on their second or third or fourth tours of duty in Iraq, a place where we're spending $400 million a day to help a government that refuses to help itself, a war that never should have been authorized and never should have been waged," Obama told the North Dakota State Democratic Convention on Friday.
For the outsize personalities that dominate the two committees, the political preparations for the hearings have been particularly galling. Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) rejected any suggestion that he move Obama up in the questioning order rather than stick to the committee's rules on seniority. "The biggest mistake we could make is politicizing this, looking at this in terms of political advantage," he said. "The American people are sick of this."
But even they concede that the attention is unavoidable. "That's a natural thing in the middle of a political campaign, that the media will look at the candidates, scrutinize them, read all kinds of things into their answers and their body language, into their greetings and their hugs and their coughs, their sneezes and a few other things," Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) grumbled.
Recent events in Iraq -- particularly, the Iraqi government's inconclusive assault on Shiite militia in the southern port city of Basra -- show how deep the political divisions in Washington run. Graham gave the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki an "A" for effort but a "D" for execution, suggesting the assault showed that Iraqis are ready to defend national unity but still need U.S. military support. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), a McCain supporter on the Armed Services Committee, said Basra is evidence of what happens when a Western military force -- the British in this case -- withdraws too quickly.
Democrats saw something very different. "We cannot be in that position, where our troops are brought into a communal conflict and have their lives jeopardized by a prime minister who's got a political agenda, not just a military agenda, and who's highly sectarian, with a corrupt administration," Levin said.
In the ideological duel that will unfold tomorrow, McCain will have a distinct logistical advantage, Republicans are quick to note. As the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, he will deliver the second statement and the second set of questions, and will have the right to interject at will. Allies said he is likely to toss out Clinton's statement from the September hearing that it would take "a willing suspension of disbelief" to accept Petraeus's security assessment, and Clinton -- lacking seniority -- will only be able to watch.
Finally, McCain's positive assessment of progress in Iraq will jibe with the testimony of Petraeus and Crocker.
"There's no strategy to back him up on anything," Chambliss said. "John's independent. John's going to ask what John wants to ask, and probably take as much time as he wants to take and go as many rounds as he wants to go."
Republican skeptics on Iraq are plentiful on the Foreign Relations Committee, but the Armed Services Committee Republicans are a hawkish lot, Chambliss noted -- and they will be backed by independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), a Democrat by heritage but a bulwark of McCain's defenders. In contrast, Clinton, whose seniority ranks ninth of 12, is unlikely to get a word in until late in the session.
Obama may be in even worse shape. The Foreign Relations Committee, famous for its long-winded and assertive chairman, will not begin its hearing until 2:30, and if all members show, Obama would be 13th to speak -- possibly after the evening news. Biden made it clear Friday he plans no deference to the junior senator from Illinois, saying that would be "putting a big light up, saying this is all politics." Obama aides said Friday he had not asked to be moved up in the questioning.
"On the Banking Committee, you get to speak if you show up early. On Foreign Relations, it's strictly by seniority," lamented Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), who recently endorsed Obama.
Obama supporters were cautioning not to expect a game-changing moment. "This campaign is much bigger than a hearing on the Hill and seven minutes of questioning," said Kerry, the panel's third-ranking Democrat. "I don't think that Obama is relying on that as his strategic moment at all."
But even for the candidates not slated for prime time, the stakes might be considerable. "This hearing will be carried live and watched by few. The comments in this hearing will be replayed endlessly," Graham said.
All three senators have indicated they are preparing diligently. Obama told reporters aboard his campaign plane Friday that he will press Petraeus and Crocker to answer a question pointedly posed in September by former Armed Services Committee chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.): Has the Iraq war made the nation safer?
"Essentially, what we've seen both from the administration and from John McCain is a trumpeting of improvements from a horrific situation to simply a unsustainable and intolerable situation," Obama said. "It's looking at the entire picture that I think is the obligation of the president."
Democrats will press their contention that the recent flare-up of violence in Basra showed a failure of leadership by the Iraqi government and a failure of military training by the Bush administration.
Another flash point will be news that the Iraqi government is running a surplus of at least $30 billion from oil profits, yet U.S. taxpayers continue to foot the bill for reconstruction and military training.
Committee Republicans said McCain is ready to challenge Clinton on her statements from September. And he is likely to take ownership of the "surge" strategy that sent tens of thousands more troops to Iraq and refocused their mission on civilian security.
"The two big themes will be: 'Did my theory or belief that more combat power lead to a more stable Iraq? Did that work?' And secondly: 'Okay, if we change strategy, if we adopt the Clinton-Obama pathway, what's the most likely consequence?' " Graham said.
Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said the senator will press Petraeus and Crocker on what she sees as a lack of political progress in Iraq, the rising influence of Iran and "the strain on our military caused by the continuing presence of large numbers of troops in Iraq."


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Doping in Sports – What You Should Know
Editor's note: The Spanish Courts upheld charges filed recently against Eufemiano Fuentes and Jose Marino Batres, the doctors at the center of a major doping investigation in cycling that busted Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Francisco Mancebo and several others out of the 2006 Tour de France. Nearly 100 bags of frozen blood and equipment for treating blood were found in their clinic, along with documents on doping procedures performed on cyclists. Although proclaiming their innocence, it is clear that local police and investigators are beginning to take a stronger role in supporting WADA and USADA to level the playing field in competitive sports. Podium offers this insightful and educated insight from Dr. J. Morrow into doping in sports.
Ever since the late 1960's, the sports world has been under increasing scrutiny in regard to performance enhancing "drugs". That's approximately when the word leaked out that certain countries like East Germany were "inviting" their most elite athletes to participate in innovative biochemical programs that promised them added success and acclaim. Prior to that time, the idea of supplementing blood sweat and tears in sport with high science seemed rather dubious and benign. Something akin to snake oil remedies, that is until the results surfaced from the Olympics and the world was able to see first hand the advanced competitors that these "supplements" had literally assembled. Since then, supporters and opponents have been waging an ethical, legal and biochemical war of "cat and mouse" that currently threatens to destroy the integrity of sport. The introduction to what is now referred to more generically as "doping", has impacted every sport on every level including recreational athletics.
In early 2005, as baseball's steroid scandal converged with other tragic doping stories, the United States Congress, House Government Reform Committee saw fit to initiate hearings on what they perceived to be a "national health crisis of epidemic proportions". Under the guise of focusing on baseball, this forum of subpoenaed suspected players, medical experts, aggrieved parents, and baseball executives took on a much more integrated approach to the problem. And although critics of the hearings contend that "no surprises were revealed and nothing was accomplished", doping was fortunately etched into the national consciousness forever by virtue of insistent front-page news coverage.
Doping encompasses a wide range of illegal behaviors which include the ingestion (oral, intravenous) and/or application of banned substances (gels, balms, drugs, hormones) for the sole purposes of improving athletic performance and reshaping physiques. Also implicated in the rubric are specific techniques and processes such as "blood doping", which artificially supercharge athletes' bodies by transfusing them with their own oxygen-saturated blood.
Although there are minor variations on the "outlawed" lists from sport to sport, a universally accepted set of criteria are generally used to determine whether to ban or approve a substance or procedure. This determination is based on a combination of legal, philosophical, historical and medical factors. In making their decisions, the governing agencies, such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee attempt to standardize the opportunities for competitors to succeed. That is, they try to keep the playing fields even without jeopardizing the participants' health and/or well being and without violating the spirit of the sport by artificially distorting its archival context (records) and historical traditions. The four key elements that constitute the criteria for prohibition of a substance or procedure are: its legality, its health risk status, its effectiveness, and its likelihood of profoundly changing the continuity and structure of the game.
Oddly enough, the major sports (football, basketball, baseball, and hockey) in the United States had been the most reluctant to formally address the issue. This lag was initially due to an outright denial of a doping problem, which, when later acknowledged, was further delayed by protracted wrangling and posturing between the player's unions, team owners and league officials. Purportedly, insiders have known that as far back as the mid 1970's, several of the National Football League's most successful teams were stocked with "juicers", as they are idiomatically referred to. Yet, it wasn't until 1987 that an anti-steroid policy was initiated by the NFL. Eventually, pressure from the media, the public, as well several notable politicians, forced the remaining leagues to capitulate and adopt formal protocols of random testing and stringent punitive consequences for guilty offenders.
The first types of drugs that were used in sports were illegal stimulants and painkillers such as methamphetamines, and morphine derivatives. These substances provided athletes with short- term bursts of energy and allowed them to play through marginal injuries. Even though they were not easily concealed, and were overtly distributed, there was little concern and league and agency officials dismissed queries regarding their intrusion into sport offhandedly. Since that time, pharmacologists have conspired to create scores of designer substances that are increasingly difficult to detect, more potent and far more menacing.
The most commonly recognizable category of doping agents are anabolic steroids. These are synthetic hormones that are similar in composition to testosterone produced in the male testes. Their function is to build pronounced muscle mass quickly and they were originally introduced to speed the recuperative process of the severely ill and injured. In addition to swiftly healing muscle tissue from strenuous workouts, which allow an athlete to work harder and longer, they also have psychotropic properties that make athletes more aggressive in the weight room and during competition. Sports that require explosive strength and speed are especially vulnerable to steroid abuse and this classification of "drugs" is constantly being reengineered, like the now infamous BALCO laboratory's THG, to keep them one step ahead of the testing agencies and laboratories.
Erythropoietin, or EPO is another artificial hormone. It allows the blood to carry more oxygen, thus boosting endurance. It is more effective and less intrusive than the more primitive "blood doping' method and doesn't require the inconvenience of having athlete's train at higher altitudes so that their blood can be extracted and later reintroduced at sea level. In producing an abnormal count of oxygen enriched blood cells, EPO offers a distinct advantage to marathon runners, cyclists, cross- country skiers and others of that ilk.
As with many other illegal and abused substances and procedures, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) was originally developed for beneficial purposes. HGH is the designer analog of pituitrin, which is the hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Originally conceived to increase the stature of abnormally short, underdeveloped individuals, it is now used among athletes to strengthen joints, bones and restore lean muscle tissue. The effectiveness of HGH is similar to steroids, however, because detecting it requires much more sophisticated and invasive techniques such as blood testing, many doping experts consider it the most dreaded of supplements.
The aforementioned catalog of banned performance enhancers is hardly exhaustive but rather representative of the types of "drugs" available on the black market. Interestingly, there are a host of substances that are prohibited due to the idiosyncratic nature of a particular sport. For instance, sports that are based on weight classifications, like boxing and wrestling, forbid the use of diuretics and certain laxatives as a supplement to help shed excess pounds. Likewise, target sports like archery and the biathlon include beta blockers, which slow down the heart rate and in turn facilitate hand steadiness, as contraband.
Mitigating circumstances, however, sometimes complicate the process of separating the guilty from the innocent. For example, some over-the-counter cough, cold and herbal remedies contain banned stimulants such as ephedrine and, although the athlete ingesting them probably did not intend to "dope", sanctions are nonetheless, generally imposed by arbitrators. This is because the question of intent is difficult to establish and is so often used as the knee- jerk explanation by violators of the anti-doping statutes.
Landmark research conducted in the late 1980's offered the world an ominous view of the perspectives and priorities of international elite level athletes. In a survey conducted at the Seoul Olympics, the question " Would you use prohibited drugs if you were guaranteed a gold medal in your event and the substance was undetectable, yet, its use would shorten your life span by ten to fifteen years?" was posed to competitors. Alarmingly, over seventy-five percent of the anonymous sample endorsed the item. This clearly corresponds with the short sighted achievement orientation of the respondents.
What exactly are the risks, other than being caught, involved in the use of steroids and other types of assorted hormones, stimulants, pain- killers, peptides and blood altering agents? One event in particular scandalized, and alerted the international athletic community during the naïve pre-doping, pre-testing mid 1960's. During the Tour de France, a cyclist succumbed to a heart attack and autopsy results determined that the death was caused by an overdose of stimulants. The shock and surprise emitted from the public at the time were in stark contrast to the inured reaction one would expect today.
Over the years, a solid body of evidence has been collected which indicates that that all forms of doping are health compromising in one way or another. Side effects range from the unobservable life threatening (kidney and liver failure, arteriosclerosis, enlarged heart, tumors, immune system suppression), to the more visible (severe acne, abnormal bone growth in the head, hands and feet, atrophy of the testes and breast development in males, drastic increase in muscle mass), to the emotional (uncontrollable rage "'roid rage", depression and chemical dependency). Not incidental is the assertion that steroids have been responsible for several suicides among young adult males who have attempted to detoxify too quickly without medical supervision.
Clearly, athletes must not be forced to consider getting "juiced", as an option. But regrettably, a clean athlete can not compete with one who has used banned performance enhancers, given equal resources and talent. They work. They're hazardous, and this is precisely what delineates them from admissible supplements and procedures like Creatine, a synthetic amino acid that purportedly builds muscle and hyperbaric chambers, whose efficacy and toxicity are marginal, questionable or insignificant.
Even though each sport's testing protocols and policing bodies differ, the procedure typically involves procuring urine and/or blood specimens from the athlete and splitting them into two identical samples so that the tests can be replicated by alternate approved laboratories, if need be. This helps to insure reliability. The degree of supervision during the collection process and the random spontaneity of testing sessions also strongly contribute to the reliability and validity of the process. Athletes who dope are ingenious and sophisticated in their attempts to avoid being exposed. Most have been counseled by self-taught experts and experienced peers, so that cycles of drug use, and cessation can be either adroitly masked by another drug, or cleansed from the system before scheduled dates. Therefore, unanticipated, unannounced visits by anti-doping institutions, especially during off-season, must be mandated as the standard policy of a program to make it truly substantive
In an equally resourceful manner, athletes have been known to substitute their "dirty" urine with clean samples they have obtained. Quite often this switch involves some repulsive and demeaning behavior, further underscoring the notion that many elite athletes will undertake almost any dehumanizing excess in order to achieve their goals. So once again, the policing agencies must outwit the athlete by remaining vigilant throughout the entire specimen collection episode, even if this means that social norms regarding privacy are often violated.
Most anti-doping agencies, with the exception of the major professional leagues in the United States, use the stringent World Anti-Doping Agency Code as their prototype. This Code states that athletes testing positive for a doping infraction who wish to dispute the finding have a right to arbitration. If the arbitrators determine that a violation of the Code has been committed, the offending athlete is disqualified from competing for two years and any awards and titles are rescinded. A second offense results in a lifetime suspension. The National Football League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball have adopted much more lenient sanctions, offering many more chances to repeat offenders along with shorter suspension times. This seems to serve in their best interest since polled American fans indicate more interest in seeing their favored players compete rather than in ruminating about how they got that way or whether they should be cast as unethical cheaters.
Some wonder, if this response from the public is so equivocal and lacking the full force of condemnation, why bother to regulate? Discounting health and unfair advantage, are there any other causes for concern? Sports purists and social scientists have equally strong arguments to counter this more libertarian, hands off position.
One of the many entertaining aspects of sport, states the purist, is in the examination of historical records of performance and achievement. Archival statistics reveal how athletes from different eras compare and inspire much friendly discussion and storytelling. But, because doping is so effective, it has artificially inflated ability which, in turn, has distorted the record books and made comparisons meaningless. Was Marion Jones faster than her predecessors? who knows. The purists contend that since athletes are competing not only with their contemporaries but also with history, the standards "of old" should apply so as to maintain a semblance of tradition.
A proposal, using the sport of bodybuilding as a model, where two formal classifications, clean and "juiced" would openly exist, has been offered. This alternative draws the ire of educators, child psychologists and sociologists because, they argue, any position less than complete condemnation would suggest tacit approval, citing the "athlete as role model" principle. Their concerns are not unfounded since approximately eighty percent of the steroids that are consumed are not for purposes of performance enhancement by athletes but by male adolescents for purposes of vanity. And although high schools often test for recreational drugs, steroids and other doping agents generally remain undetected due to budgetary constraints and privacy concerns.
As an alternative attempt to fill this void, California, as well as several other states are developing certification programs for high school coaches so that they can become more observant, informed and proactive. The logic behind this trend assumes that since adolescents are not emotionally equipped to make uninformed life and death decisions, all options must be introduced in order to stem the tide. Painkillers, as a class of addictive substances, have developed as one of the major threats to an athlete's enduring health, while also significantly altering an individual's social and occupational functioning. Exemplary treatment for these conditions have been found in California painkiller treatment centers.
Iconoclastic visionaries are quick to note that biotechnologists have already teamed up with kinestheologists, opthalmologists, and geneticists to produce a futuristic generation of performance enhancers that "make anabolic steroids seem pre-historic". Start up companies are already investing time and money to develop artificial muscles, zoom vision and customized "gene doping" which can reconfigure DNA to optimize musculature, explosiveness, lung capacity and even personality. Sport is clearly at a bioethical crossroad, weighing whether the pursuit of the perfect, super endowed athlete is a potential step towards dehumanization of the species.
Since the writing of this article by Dr. Morrow, Floyd Landis has been investigated for high levels of synthetic testosterone in both his A and B testing sample taken on the day of his resurgence in the 2006 Tour de France. Clearly, this issue won't go away as Tyler Hamilton has resumed racing at the World Championships after completing his 2 year suspension from the sport. How ironic is it that The Danish newspaper Politiken reported on 8/20/06 that Hamilton has been implicated in "Operacion Puerto", the Dr.Eufemiano Fuentes blood doping scandal that saw Jan Ulrich, Ivan Basso and a host of others tossed from the race the day before it started?
There are those of us who naively want to think that 'cycling' is the culprit and that the culture breeds such insanity. I think not, however.
Anytime there is big money, sponsorship, fame and fortune on the line, it is my considered opinion that the forces influencing the human condition are at work. Lance Armstrong intimated that a conspiracy might be afoot when L'Equipe accused him of using performance enhancing drugs last year. Who is to say that that's not possible? Are these labs, couriers, and scientific analyses beyond question? What's to be done? How deep does it go? Where does it end?
This is what he had to say –
By J Morrow Ph.D.
Maybe it's time to give up the ghost – that is, in terms of doping at the elite levels of international and professional sports. As of late, stories regarding doping are demanding far more attention than actual sport competition. Interest in actual athletic events and accomplishments have been displaced by news stories related to the use of illegal performance enhancers by some of our most revered cultural icons. Suspicions, allegations and lab results continue to swell the airways of sports radio talk shows, replacing the time that was usually spent discussing scores, strategies and personal feats-So waddya say we move on, it's the 21st century and it's time to accept the fact that the world just ain't what it used to be.
What's needed, even more than new, improved detection tests is a new, sea change of a mind set. The rewards stemming from top level athletic achievement have spiraled upwards at a dizzying pace and just as it always does, attached to the wealth and fame comes a Faustian offer. But when you make a deal with the devil you should anticipate some down side results, one being the price you have pay nowadays to be great. Who cares who's to blame for this situation…it's just so.
This "win at any cost" mentality was best been illustrated by questioning a sample of participants at the Olympic Village at Seoul in 1988. The one question posed in this seminal bit of research went something like, "if you could be assured of winning the gold in your event by ingesting health compromising substances, even though death within five years was a certainty, would you agree to do it?" My memory of the precise percentage of the respondents in agreement with the statement escapes me, but I do remember it was well over eighty percent.
Athletic supremacy favored over an extended life, now that's cold, but the incentive certainly does explain the never ending efforts of endocrinologists, chemists, geneticists, nutritionists, physicists and the like, to explore fresh, undetectable, performance techniques, substances and masking agents. Progress can't be anticipated and the process of invention is neither smooth nor linear. So then, what we are left with is a never ending cycle of "cat and mouse" or, if you prefer, "spy versus spy" (a.k.a.MAD magazine), with the scientists proactively pushing the envelope while the doping agencies are relegated to the unenviable task of forever attempting to play "catch up".
Furthermore, what specifically are the basic criteria that we use and will continue to use in the future to separate the legal from the illegal? For example, how might we view genetic engineering or the implanting of computer chips and artificial tissues? Will this determination be based on equal accessibility for all or health risk factors? The attempts to level the playing fields for all are unrealistic. Some athletes, some countries, some teams, simply have more incentive to succeed and more resources at their disposal, and because of this, they will continue to "go to the well" to seek the competitive edge. You can't legislate against human nature. We've seen unsuccessful attempts at prohibition before.
The time has come to accept doping as a given and then, by putting that behind us, we can focus on the truly pertinent core questions, such as: how do we address role model issues? How do we redesign our anti-drug campaigns in light of what seems to be hypocrisy? Or, what necessary procedures and protocols do we establish in distinguishing youth, high school, and intercollegiate sports from the play for pay venues?
It's payback time. From now on, by ignoring the questionable and potentially dangerous necessities to compete, we will have established a type of parity, since top level pro athletes will now have to pay, by jeopardizing their futures in exchange for today's fame and fortune.
Obviously this is only one, albeit provocative solution to the problem of doping which currently scandalizes a great portion of sport. The position is a "work in progress" with many holes and bugs that need tweaking and fine tuning. As Denise Miller often says after a rant, "Of Course I may be wrong but that's my opinion."
By Dr J Morrow


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Our FREE Day of Dentistry is Almost Here — 5 Things You Should Know
Our FREE Day of Dentistry is almost here! On October 13th, we'll open our doors and offer our clients a complimentary day of dental care. To find out everything you need to know to be prepared when the day arrives, here are five things you should know about our Smiles on Us event. Free Service […]Read more


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The IMF has recently released the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), "Challenges to Steady Growth."
The report projects that global growth will remain steady over this year and next, at last year's rate of 3.7 percent. This growth exceeds that achieved in any of the years between 2012 and 2016, and it occurs as many economies have reached or are nearing full employment and as earlier deflationary fears have dissipated. Thus, policymakers still have an excellent opportunity to build resilience and implement growth enhancing reforms.
Read the full IMF World Economic Outlook October 2018 Update here.


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Research Repository
An uneasy assemblage: Prisoners, animals, asylum-seeking children and posthuman packaging
Bone, J and Blaise, Mindy ORCID: 0000-0003-2476-9407 (2015) An uneasy assemblage: Prisoners, animals, asylum-seeking children and posthuman packaging. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 16 (1). 18 - 31. ISSN 1463-9491Full text for this resource is not available from the Research Repository.
Official URL: http://cie.sagepub.com/content/16/1/18
A response to this article was later published in Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 18 (3) pp. 346–350 (2017) 'Responding creatively to Bone and Blaise (2015) through packaging, drawing and assembling.'
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|disparate elements; posthuman performative methodology; posthumanism; asylum-seeker
|Current > FOR Classification > 1606 Political Science
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > College of Education
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Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-midnight; Fri. 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sat. 11:30 a.m.-midnight; Sun. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Catch live music from Bay Area bands every Sunday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Wednesdays 6 to 9 p.m. Expect to hear jazz, world grooves, blues, and roots music from local ensembles and never pay a cover. Cato's is open for lunch and dinner and has free wireless. Test your wits at trivia every Monday, or come for karaoke every first and third Saturday. The beer selection is impressive. There are also wine options, but no liquor is served. The menu includes pizza and pub fare, and the kitchen is open until 10 or 11 depending on the day.
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Tagged: Solitude
written february 2017
Granada, Spain
crashing through the bedroom "door" in typical grunting fashion, fighting back the plastic laminate and lifting the blanket pinned to the frame behind it, I stumble into the little hovel i've fashioned into a solitary living space — curtain, window, desk and chest of drawers, radiator broiling bitter oil and threatening to set the place aflame. These items stand stoic round the single bed shoved in the corner, positioned as if guarding sentry against the devious nothingness that steals in every night and hogs the tattered blankets: the only thing that enters here other than myself.
imagine my surprise, then, as I toss my keys onto the table and unshoulder my pack looking up just in time to see you there, stretched out on that tiny plank of a bed. though the dreams i've had of you have often kept me warm and helped me pass the winter nights, never did i have so clear a vision of you here — lounging somewhat comically, one leg extended fully to the edge of the bed, perhaps a little over — your head propped up on one hand, the other resting on your hip, sumptuous as a curvy mistress posing stacked in lingerie, clutching a can of whipped cream cooing "welcome home, honey buns." But it's you, just you, in your sweater and your jeans, glint in your eye and your gaze on the doorway, waiting to surprise me. flew all this way just to find me, hunted down my address, broke into my house… that's fine, that's all just fine with me.
but again, the shock. i draw a sharp breath as my head jerks back to get a better look at you — just in time, as I said, for in that flash of time you've vanished. again i'm left alone — certain but shaken, gazing blankly at the imprint your body left pressed into my shoddy bedding.
my boy, my lad, stop haunting me.
only three times in my life have i experienced these visions, if that's what you want to call them — unearthly flashes almost too vivid to possibly be a product of the mind, the conjurings of shining eyes and wet lips parting to murmur all the half-truths I want so madly to hear. perhaps it's some sort of miracle: to love a person with such delirium that the heart, mind and eyes set to collaborating, constructing human forms from dust and longing and poor lighting. i like to think it's not a symptom of a broken mind but I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions; when a mind is born broken, so are each of its careful creations.
there was one time on the subway in Berlin late at night, my brain full of fumes in the flickering jaundiced glare. i was the only person on the night line — then looked up and bam, there he was, clear as day though so clearly not, gazing hard at me with those sparkling blue eyes, transmitting everything he never said that night when I left him. I dared not to blink as I knew he would vanish so I sat there, swaying in my seat in that hurtling yellow tube, waiting for his dimpled smile to slowly lift his cheeks, and I could not move or breathe as I watched him — that's the rule, see. twitch and you break the cosmic balance. reality comes busting in and sets the scene to neutral. everything you ever loved will vanish in an instant. remember, remember: remember not to blink.
you are
you are
you are the
of bodies
and things
you are gone
from my skin
like a mist
or a phantom
you rose out
left some stains
nothing more
the clouds are red-black
and the wind
cools me down
i haven't felt
the wind
in ages
hey nacho
send some more pics of your
stumpy pink dick while you
hold it at the base with your
unwashed sheets and empty
walls in the background and
the the tv tuned to some
sports channel that
shit gets me so
wet i just
I cried for you in the kitchen last night
before I remembered
I live alone,
just like I wanted.
in the summer you said you didn't want to be
another one of my guys that I write about
so let me keep this brief:
you have a horse mouth (neigh!)
and horrendous taste in music
you are small
yet the biggest coward I have ever known.
I could mention your pecs (I admit
they were nice)
or the way your half-assed chimney beard just
didn't sit right on that horsey face (though
sitting on it was just fine)
or that awful tattoo you got when you gave up
all your dignity as a person (I guess)
but all that just makes for shit poetry.
actually though
just in general
you as a man, you make for shit poetry
not because you're short or weird-looking or because you think it's hot to shave
your entire body
"para que se ven mejor los músculos"
but because you're boring and you just kind of
suck ass
speaking of sucking ass:
you fucking gave me hemorroids with your mouth before I left
(one last gift, he said —
I will remember you always
especially for that
though he may watch you just that way
with narrowed eyes, a bitten lip
the taste of metal, scent of sweat
though he may say it perfectly
I want to make you bleed —
leave him sleeping.
though he may twist you
pin the hands and bite and growl
gouge you out just so
though he may tell you
you are my only need —
leave him sleeping.
when he tells you you are wrong
but does the same himself
when he tells you not to hurt
but draws the blood himself
when he tells you pretty lies
but keeps the truth for himself
leave him sleeping.
and when you hear her crying
though hidden she may be
clutching at your arms, your teeth, your brain
and begging listen — listen please,
don't go forth unblinking, turn and
see her, take her with you
but leave him sleeping
leave him sleeping
leave him be.
heat rises. stay high.
be resourceful. fuck a
guy from a beach
town above the water
level but heed the
tide ye lunar whore
the seasons change all
over even if the
weather doesn't and even
if you don't. still
the dampness invades more
than just moldy bedding
and old walls. breathe
in. you will feel
it if you can
feel anything
at all.
three girls who couldn't be alone: some dirty seething tracks in our family line that crumpled us and hooked us on the backs of conquerers for survival. you say I am a free woman but you wonder when the husband's coming (as we know those tend to wait just around the corner.) the free woman now in the family and finally I have eyes to see, a life spent hiding my head (despite its size) between the thighs of creature comforts to distract from the very illness of just waking. you say I'm independent but depending can keep a person breathing for a while longer if the tank's still got juice and the tracks don't run too deep. only me to rely on: a bottle of iodine and a whole lot of gauze to get me through another night as creature comforts just don't cut it anymore. time better spent on a threadbare single mattress with a hand in your pants and a distant memory of central heating. look out there, see those mountains? men go trekking there alone and do it fine and well. I'd go but it's too risky for a woman alone so I'll just keep to this mattress and cooking for one and wearing my underwear inside out because laundry can't be done for another two weeks (shower wash on a dime with your feet while standing and hang-dry on a flammable heater.) even the best of laundry machines don't always get the job done, you can't erase a bleach stain or pretend you weren't bleeding. the iron stays with you and so do the scars.


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Concurrent expression of erythroid and renal aquaporin CHIP and appearance of water channel activity in perinatal rats
(American Society for Clinical Investigation, 1993-10)
Major phenotypic changes occur in red cell membranes during the perinatal period, but the underlying molecular explanations remain poorly defined. Aquaporin CHIP, the major erythroid and renal water channel, was studied ...
Aquaporins in complex tissues. I. Developmental patterns in respiratory and glandular tissues of rat
(American Physological Society, 1997-11)
Developmental expression of aquaporin water transport proteins is not well understood in respiratory tract or secretory glands; here we define aquaporin protein ontogeny in rat. Expression of aquaporin-3 (AQP3), AQP4, and ...


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If this video is anything to go by, it looks like Prince William really is a hands-on dad.
He was filmed yesterday struggling to stay awake at Westminster Abbey two nights after he became a father for the third time.Marcus Rashford says 'kids will go to bed hungry' after MPs reject free school meals plan
He was joined by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at an Anzac Day service in the abbey.
But poor Wills' heavy eyelids got the better of him a few times throughout the service where people were encouraged to renew their 'commitment to the causes of justice and peace throughout the world'.
The Dean of Westminster paid tribute to the thousands of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War and subsequent conflicts.
Harry and Ms Markle joined the congregation for a service of commemoration and thanksgiving, a few hours after they attended a dawn service in central London where Meghan looked emotional as a hymn was sung by thousands gathered at the New Zealand war memorial.
William, who is taking a few weeks off official royal duties after his son was born on Monday, joined the couple for the Abbey service, and told a line-up on arrival that the family are 'very well'.Parents demand answers from school after kids say new pupil 'looks like 40-year-old man'
He added: 'Sleeping's going reasonably well so far, so he's behaving himself which is good news.'
Ms Markle may not yet be a member of the Royal Family but she has attended a large number of official events in the run-up to her royal wedding on May 19.
The American actress wore a dark outfit finished off with a small hat.
Anzac Day – April 25 – marks the anniversary of the start of the First World War Gallipoli landings, and is a national day of remembrance for Australia and New Zealand.
The Westminster Abbey service was the culmination of a day of events honouring Australia and New Zealand's fallen, and those who have served in subsequent conflicts, which began with a dawn service and wreath laying.Students fined £40,000 after accusing police of 'spoiling fun' at house party
Harry left a floral tribute at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on behalf of the Queen, after laying wreaths at the New Zealand memorial and Australian memorial.
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, told the congregation in the Abbey: 'The landing of allied forces at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915 led to one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
'Australian and New Zealand forces joined together for the first time, and a new word entered the language: Anzac.
'Remembering that so many died, we honour the bravery and determination of the men at Gallipoli. The memory of what became known as The Great War is with us as a warning and an encouragement.
'We are warned that war involves suffering and death; we are encouraged by the spirit of national pride shown by the soldiers we remember this Anzac Day.250-year-old former 'tree of the year' cut down to make way for HS2
'As the Union Flag and the flags of Australia and New Zealand are presented at the High Altar with the flag of Turkey in a sign of the reconciliation of old enemies, let us renew our own commitment to the causes of justice and peace throughout the world.'
Thousands of Anzac troops – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – died in the ill-fated 1915 campaign. Waves of Allied forces launched an amphibious attack on the strategically important Turkish peninsula, which was key to controlling the Dardanelles straits, the crucial route to the Black Sea and Russia.
But the plan backed by Winston Churchill, then first lord of the admiralty, was flawed and the campaign, which faced a heroic defence by the Turks, led to stalemate and withdrawal eight months later.
Its legacy is the celebration of the 'Anzac spirit' – courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship – shown by the Antipodean troops and today the Anzac Day service in London has become an important occasion for thousands of New Zealanders and Australians.
During the Abbey service the Last Post was sounded and wreaths were laid at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.UK records 26,688 cases - the highest daily total since pandemic began
Turkey's Ambassador to the UK read the famous words of Kemal Ataturk – Turkey's founding father – from Anzac Cove.
Earlier, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson also laid a wreath.
Mr Williamson said: 'On Anzac Day, we remember the sacrifice and courage of troops from Australia and New Zealand.
'Almost a century has passed since the end of the First World War and Britain is proud to have served side-by-side with them in many conflicts over the last 100 years.
'Our alliance is one of the most constant and enduring military partnerships in history, one which will continue to protect our shared values and commit to make the world a safer, more secure place.'
The Defence Secretary met with his counterparts from Australia and New Zealand earlier this year to examine how allies can continue to work together against evolving threats.
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Police: Stolen buns, comforter helped lead them to James Horn Jr.
Fugitive suspected in 2 homicides killed during confrontation with police
Sandra and Zach Sutton will be buried Wednesday in Clinton, Missouri, and new details are emerging about how police found the man accused of killing them.
James Horn Jr. was on the run since Sandra Sutton escaped from his Sedalia home, where police said he kept her in a wooden box for extended periods.
The hunt for him became even more urgent when Sandra Sutton and her teenage son were shot in the Clinton home where they were staying with relatives.
Police said the theft of hamburger buns and a comforter helped lead them to a vacant home in the Kearn Wildlife Area. The items had been stolen from a vehicle in the area, and police said they realized there had been a series of break-ins there over the previous three weeks.
Investigators said they were preparing to go door-to-door in the area to make sure no one had seen Horn or was being held captive in their homes. A conservation agent remember there was a vacant house on the property, suggesting police look there first.
Police went to the house, where Horn was fatally shot during a confrontation.


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Wizardry Legacy
Start: March 14th, 2002
End: February 28th, 2006
Archived: June 7th, 2011
Type of documents: Text, Source Code, Pictures, Binaries
Language: English
Note: : This project has been revived and is now somewhat active again. You can find it here: Wizardry Legacy
This is a video game remake of the famous wizardry video game series. The objective was to make a generic wizardry game where player could create adventures of their own
The archives first contain the executable for many different OS, the data files required to play the game and and archive of pictures and sound that was used to supply the game. These pictures and sound are copyrighted material which was taken from Wizardry, Heretic and Hexen video game.
Screen Shots
Related Archives
Video Game
DOS Binairies (598K)
DOS Binairies TXE ???(598K)
Windows Binairies (529K)
Windows NT Binairies ??? (529K)
Datafiles (required to play the game) (4548K)
Source Code (337K)
Wizardry, Heretic and Hexen picture and sound sources (33.4M)
Adventure Template (1073K)


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I wasn't alone
In 2010, in the wake of the "Great Recession of 2008," I filed for bankruptcy.
Since 2008, states have cut $1.8 billion from their mental health budgets, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. How would you like to live in the great state of Vermont? They closed its only state-run psychiatric hospital after Hurricane Irene hit in 2011.
People who lost jobs and retirement incomes stopped paying mortgages, health insurance premiums, car notes, everything. At once banks and their lawyers were backlogged with foreclosure proceedings. Bankruptcy courts were clogged because unemployment was going up; businesses were failing; stock prices were plunging; 401ks were dying; i.e., all hell was breaking loose on Wall Street.
Small, private health care providers such as dentists, trainers, in-home support service workers, physical therapists, mental health professionals suddenly were struggling to make a living.
My therapist was not immune and becoming a bit snippy. Before I realized how bad my fiscal problems were, I wrote him two rubber checks in a row. I never wrote bad checks but it didn't matter. The damage was done.
His practice was shrinking fast and I was no help. I was one of many big ticket items for him at $18,000 per year. He elected to work six days a week with minimum 12-hour days. He was well into a six-figure counseling practice. However, both of us were in the same boat. He was losing money, I lost money and everybody was in a bad mood.
In the beginning
When I first started therapy, I was in emergency mode. I was very suicidal, incredibly dysfunctional and major depression made my life nearly impossible to live. He told me I was only one of a few of his clients who, if I called, he would stop what he was doing and pick up the call. No one did that for me before. Nobody cared enough.
After I attempted suicide, he visited me twice in the hospital. My mother never even called while my father visited once and genuinely seemed distressed at the thought I would want to kill myself. After discharge and during intensive outpatient therapy, he reiterated his commitment to take my calls by giving me his home number. Who was this guy? Is he real? Apparently so.
Before finances dried up, I regularly threw it in his face that he was a phony pretending to give a rat's behind about someone like me. After all, I was only one client. He insisted that he actually, genuinely cared bout me. He said he wanted to give me his full attention. I reminded him I paid for his "genuine" care and attention. I didn't pay friends to care yet he somehow he wanted me to believe he cared despite paying full fare.
Too much compassion
When I was about to declare bankruptcy I tried to end therapy. He wasn't having it. He wouldn't let me go. I absolutely insisted while I was in tears trying to rationalize I wanted desperately to honor him by not expecting virtually free therapy. After all, he had a lifestyle to maintain. He reduced my fee in half.
He explained he had an ethical obligation to continue our course of therapy. Terrific. Now he's "obliged" to give me services. I was a charity case he could boast about. However, after a few years I knew in my gut what I said wasn't true about him.
On one hand, I felt awful that I couldn't pay him what he was worth. On the other hand, I knew I had something so many wish they'd had: a qualified, compassionate mental health professional. At one point I told him I wanted to repay him but he said it wasn't necessary.
Five years ago I began paying $50 per month. He still sees me today. I know it's a miracle. I also know he really loves and cares about me. What a gift.
Here's what you can do
Anyone caught between a therapist and a tight budget, try reading this article. Also keep in mind that some therapists might be willing to see you via Skype, FaceTime or Google Hangouts. However, you should not establish virtual meetings without first meeting face to face for a period of time. Both of you need to get to know each other and build trust. The therapeutic relationship is best established in person and it is the single most important piece of talk therapy. Take the time to bond.
A friend of mine, while attending USC, had meetings every other week via FaceTime. When he came home for breaks, he would reconnect with his therapist face to face. Note: they already established a strong therapeutic relationship. For them, it made the most sense. My friend still sees him via FaceTime because he's on the east coast in grad school. Of course, every situation is unique so don't hesitate to negotiate for this so you can begin the process of healing.
Another alternative is the Abide app. Believe it or not, this app has several pre-recorded prayer on a variety of searchable topics. I actually heard prayers from Tony Evans and Mike Bickle. However, this is not a substitute for psychotherapy. It's one more resource to help you stay sane and connected to God between sessions.
Also, any of these options might work well for those living in remote locations. Discuss these with your therapist and find out how much they are willing to accommodate you.
If they are willing, you may have found some gold.


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Contemporary and classic designs are perfectly combined in our newest 2019-2020 collection, blending elegant feminine shapes, sparkling stones and vivid blue colours.
A piece of Nona Jewellery is more than a simple decorative accessory, with Nona Jewellery you can let your own personality shine.
With attention to detail, our designer designs every piece with the Nona philosophy in mind. This creativity combined with our year-long expertise makes every piece unique.
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Our brand
Don't ever lose your sense of wonder
Enjoying every single moment of life with a smile on your face, that is the Nona philosophy. No matter where you are and what you are doing, spending precious moments with family, having a good time with friends, being captivated by a thrilling book, going shopping with your friends or simply spending a lazy Sunday in the park... may fun and happiness be with you!


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In 1980, Ana Mendieta returned to Cuba for the first time since her exile in 1961. She visited the island seven times between then and 1983, working as a tour guide for the Cuban Cultural Circle. During that time she reconnected with the culture firsthand and made connections between artists living in the U.S. and Cuba. Her Esculturas Rupestres (Rupestrian Sculptures) was made in Jaruco Park outside of Havana. The low relief sculptures that resembled petroglyphs, were influenced by Mendieta's interest in the indigenous Taíno people of Cuba. Part of the process of preparing for this series was researching and building an understanding of the Taíno's creation stories.
Itiba Cahubaba (Old Mother Blood), 1981
Untitled (Guanaroca: First Woman), 1981
In these two examples of some of the relief sculptures she created in the caves at the Jaruco Park, Mendieta pays tribute to the goddesses of Taíno creation stories. Their appearance suggests they were executed pre-contact, not by a contemporary artist. Art of the past is made just as relevant and important in this instance.


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Committed to community here and afar, there are many ways to serve all of God's children through the Body of Christ that is New Hope.
Congregational Care Lay Ministry
The Baltimore Washington Conference has blessed us with a grant that helps provide leadership, materials and training for congregants to become Congregational Care Ministers. Pastor William Carpenter leads and instructs the group on home visits, care facility visits, grief support, care-giver's support and many other support aspects of our congregation. This ministry is open to anyone in our church or community who is interested in shepherding and giving support to those who are in need or are hurting. If this is a ministry that you have a heart for please contact Pastor William or Pastor Katie.
Children & Family Ministries
This ministry provides opportunities throughout the year that foster Christian fellowship among the children and families of the church and beyond. Sunday School classes are available each week for preschoolers, early elementary, intermediate elementary and the youth at 10am. One Sunday evening a month, a youth group dinner and activity is planned. Some of those activities include: playing games, cooking contests, talent shows and creating items to share with people in the community. There are events held throughout the year for families such as picnics and movie nights.
Youth Ministries
Crystal Renn leads an Elementary Youth group for grades K-5 and Toni Gardiner is on staff as New Hope Youth Group Director which includes Junior and Senior High age youth. The youth meet on a regular basis and enjoy events such as ROCK in Ocean Cityk MD, mission trips, Adventure Park, Chili Cook-offs, and even Flamingo Flockings!
Music & Worship Ministries
Use your musical gifts to glorify God and bless the community through participating in either the 9am Contemporary Worship Team or the 11am Traditional Music Choir. A new hand bell choir is also being formed. For details on the music and worship ministries of New Hope, please visit our worship page.
New Hope has a children's choir that meets on Tuesday evenings. We work on songs to share during Sunday services, events, caroling, and each year the kids work very hard on a Christmas Eve musical. There are events held throughout the year for families such as picnics and movie nights.
Hope Worth Sharing
It is through his Ministry that we are committed to community here and afar, there are many ways to serve all of God's children through the Body of Christ that is New Hope. Domestic, foreign, and hometown missions are supported and encouraged through a #hopeworthsharing


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Soul singer Sharon Jones gave a recent interview with WNYC Soundcheck host John Schaefer where she discussed about going back on tour with her band, the Dap-Kings, and her recent triumphant recovery from cancer. You can listen to the audio above.
Interview highlights include Sharon discussing her preparation of returning to the road and the nervousness she felt getting ready for her February 6th concert at NYC's Beacon Theater. She confesses how she was afraid she'd never perform again after her operation from pancreatic cancer and goes in depth about her chemo recovery. Sharon admitted:
I was really scared because laying around for those months and not having energy... where I was cut, straight across the diaphragm, it was just like as a singer I couldn't [breathe]. Actually from June to September I was bent over, I couldn't straighten up from the cut. I didn't even think about singing.
She provides insight that her recovery was being documented by Cabin Creek Films for a VH1 episode that will hopefully be aired this coming winter, or early next year. Sharon talked about the video "Stranger To My Happiness" and the difficulties she faced while making it. You can watch the official video here on Zumic.
Towards the end of the interview, she goes back in time to tell stories about the summer of 1994 and her time working in corrections. For the song, "Damn It's Hot," she remembers meeting the Dap-Kings in a tiny studio with a raggedy air conditioner. She asked the members if it had a title yet, and when they admitted they didn't, she yelled, "but damn it's hot!"
Sharon saves the best for last as she shares a story involving Lou Reed. It's a wonderful interview that sheds light on the struggles that Sharon Jones had to endure, both on a personal and professional musician level.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings latest release, Give The People What They Want, is available on Daptone Records and Amazon. You can listen to the album here on Zumic as well.
Below is a live performance Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings gave in the green space for Soundcheck on the day that the band released their fourth album I Learned the Hard Way.
For further music, news, and tour information on Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, check out their Zumic artist page.
Source: Soundcheck


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Jennifer Mary.
100% Natural, Australian
The voice with heart to help you connect
Looking for a unique Australian voice? One that sounds real and believable, yet also professional? Whether it's for a cool-millennial ad, or a corporate video with gravitas, I'll work to deliver the tone your script deserves. With all the story-telling nuances that help it connect with your audience.
Wondering if paying for a premium voiceover is actually worth it? Click here to read about the headaches you'll avoid and the three things to look for when hiring talent.
Set your mind at ease - ask me for a free custom sample of your script (that I'll get to you fast). If you don't love it, I'll tweak it till you do OR happily suggest another female or male voice artist who might fit the bill. I'm not precious.
Been holding out for a voice talent who will just get it? Don't have time to hand-hold? Looking for 10 Reasons you should hire me for eLearning? (yes really, click here).
Send a message or email now. You'll be sharing the same smart voice choice as some of the world's biggest brands.


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Whether the weather is extremely warm or horribly cold there is nothing better than sending your friends a smug snap with the temperature included.
The temperature feature on Snapchat allows the app to clock into your phone's data and syncs to the temperature in your area.This 'nearly indestructible' beetle can survive being run over by a car
This feature used to be available as a filter on Snapchat, in that once you had taken a picture you could swipe right a couple of times until the temperature popped up.
Then you could tap on the temperature filter to get the temperature as a weather forecast and choose to have it show up as Fahrenheit or Celsius.
Snapchat recently updated the temperature, time and battery features that were once available as filters.
Now you will find the temperature feature in your sticker bank.
The time, temperature and battery filters have been transferred to stickers which now gives you the opportunity to move them around and resize them.
All you have to do is go to the sticker bank once your have taken a photo or video, the sticker bank will be on your right side when you are editing the photo.
It is the middle button on the right panel.
A whole bank of stickers will pop-up with the temperature and time stickers at the very top.
Then you need to click the sticker you want and it will pop-up in the middle of your photo or video snap.
You can pinch the screen to make the sticker smaller or bigger and drag around to position.
Tap on the sticker to change it into Fahrenheit or Celsius or to get up the weather forecast, this works the same for the time sticker.
If you are adding the temperature to a video you can, press and hold the sticker in a certain place and it will move with the video.
If you want to get rid of the sticker, you simply drag the sticker into the bin icon on the right side.
MORE: What does the yellow heart and other emojis mean on Snapchat?
MORE: People compulsively unlock their phones 4,000 times a year for no reason
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Todos os dias oferecemos software com licenças GRATUITAS que do contrário você teria que comprar!
This giveaway offer has been expired. Scroll 'n Roll Text Scrolling is now available on the regular basis.
What people are saying:
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This app is a simple text banner/ticker. It is not overloaded with features, and is just right for everyone. With it you can talk to friends during class! Even slip a girl your number while eating lunch with a friend! Now with no ads! Works with Emojis!
Wendy Bernfeld
iPhone, iPad


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Equal fixing opportunities. There is perhaps nothing better than having all household appliances that perform at the highest level of quality. F.Q.A.R. team wants to provide this opportunity to all Canadians. Whether in a city or village, every resident should have access to professional technical support. That`s why we came to the township in south-central Ontario named Uxbridge. Local community deserves decent repairs at inexpensive quotes. We`ll bring your machines back to life. For genuine solutions, you are at the right place.
List of services. If your dryer, oven, freezer, washer or dishwasher needs maintenance or cleaning, our technicians have experience to deal with it. F.Q.A.R. appliances company offers a wide range of works including:
Carrying out these and other jobs, we want to meet client`s needs at 100%. We preserve honesty and transparency about all affairs and offer a great deal of convenience.
Proficient, trained and dependable. Appliance reliability is doubtless important. No one wants to purchase a new refrigerator have problems right away. Most failures are not handled well anyway as there are only few trustworthy service techs in the country. F.Q.A.R. workmanship of Uxbridge is yearly trained, hence they are able to serve all makes and models. Here are some examples of brands that we can serve successfully:
Easy scheduling. Adjustable booking system enables everyone to schedule a fixing appointment with one of certified electrician hassle-free. From now on, that is you who decides time, day and place for carrying our repairs of your electrical and gas units. Moreover, canceling or rescheduling takes little time. We appreciate your time offering convenient repair windows.
Upfront pricing. F.Q.A.R. technicians strive for offering unbeatable fixing quotes so that every could afford it. We monitor the average household income of Ontario residents and set realistic prices. Before any work starts, you`ll be informed about fixing costs without hidden charges for transport, nighttime service, minimized downtime, etc. Customer comfort is put on the first place. Furthermore, you`ll be well-surprised with exclusive expert advice for free and discounts for loyal partners,
Readily-available. Feel free to ask questions at any time of the day or night. Our best handymen are here 24/7/375. In cases of emergency or just for a preventive diagnostic, turn to us. You can reach F.Q.A.R. customer agents by phone, email or via Website. Residential specialists of Uxbridge are highly recommended by numerous former and current clients. Read reviews and recommendations on our company. Stay tuned and insured!