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All news (515)
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis receives Spanish Foreign Minister in Bern
Press release
On 20 November 2020, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, met with Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya. The talks focused on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, relations with the European Union and bilateral relations between Switzerland and Spain. The Spanish minister's visit was also an opportunity to discuss multilateral commitments and International Geneva.
President Sommaruga takes part in video conference on Portugal's upcoming EU presidency
Press release
President Simonetta Sommaruga took part in separate hour-long video conferences with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister António Costa. Portugal assumes the presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January 2021. The talks held yesterday and today focused on European policy, overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, climate and environmental issues, bilateral relations and railway investment.
Ignazio Cassis receives French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian in Bern
Press release
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis met today in Bern with France's Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian. The talks centred on French-Swiss cooperation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral relations and European policy. Current international affairs were also discussed.
Ministerial session of the Council of Europe: Ignazio Cassis stresses the importance of close cooperation between states
Press release
"In these unusual times, close cooperation between our states is the only adequate response to the difficulties we are currently facing," stated Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis at the 130th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE). Under Greece's chairmanship, the foreign ministers at the session adopted the 'Athens Declaration', reaffirming their existing commitments to respond effectively to public health crises while respecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law – the CoE's founding values. Key representatives also met to celebrate 70 years of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Meeting of the Swiss-EU Joint Committee for Research and Innovation
Press release
The 25th meeting of the Joint Committee for Research and Innovation between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) / Euratom took place on 27 October. Discussions focused on implementation of the existing agreement between Switzerland and the EU on Horizon 2020, the Euratom programme and the international fusion reactor ITER.
23rd meeting of the Swiss-EU Joint Committee on Free Movement
Press release
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 23rd meeting of the Swiss – EU Joint Committee on the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) was held today by video conference. The delegations from Switzerland and from the European Union and its member states discussed various matters relating to the AFMP's application and development. The two partners stressed the importance of their close cooperation in managing the public health crisis.
Official visit to Norway: Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis travels to Oslo for talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide
Press release
On 15 October 2020 Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, met in Oslo with Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide. Mr Cassis and Ms Eriksen Søreide praised the excellent relations between Switzerland and Norway. In addition to bilateral relations, their talks focused in particular on the two countries' relations with the EU and their close cooperation within EFTA and the UN.
Federal Council appoints Livia Leu as new State Secretary and approves adjustments to the structure of the FDFA
Press release
Livia Leu, who is currently Switzerland's ambassador in Paris, will assume the leadership of the Directorate for European Affairs (DEA) with immediate effect and will take up the post of chief negotiator for negotiations with the EU. She will receive the title of State Secretary. The Federal Council took this decision at its meeting on 14 October 2020. It also agreed to adjustments to the structure of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). From 1 January, the European Affairs and Political Affairs directorates will be merged under a single State Secretariat headed by Livia Leu as the FDFA State Secretary.
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis to make official visits to Oslo and Copenhagen
Press release
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), will visit Norway on 15 October and Denmark on 15 and 16 October. In Oslo, Mr Cassis will meet with Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide. In Copenhagen, he will meet with the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Rasmus Prehn, and Minister for Finance Nicolai Wammen for bilateral talks.
Ignazio Cassis receives Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček in Bern: bilateral and European relations on the agenda
Press release
On 6 October Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček at the Lohn Manor. The meeting focused on the strength of Swiss-Czech bilateral relations and included discussions on possible areas for further collaboration. Mr Cassis and Mr Petříček also addressed a number of European and international issues. Switzerland and the Czech Republic maintain excellent economic relations and enjoy close cultural and social ties.
Ignazio Cassis on official visit to San Marino, where tradition meets innovation
Press release
On 1 October Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis participated as official speaker at the investiture of the captains regent of San Marino, a traditional ceremony that has been handed down unaltered since 1243. In his speech, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) restated the importance of multilateralism and international Geneva as a platform for discussion on digitalisation. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding committing them to work together more closely in the multilateral arena.
Switzerland completes emergency aid operation on Lesbos
Press release
Switzerland responded immediately with emergency aid following a fire which devastated the refugee transit camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. Over several weeks, Swiss Humanitarian Aid focused on access to safe drinking water, medical support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and disaster risk reduction. It also dispatched five tonnes of relief supplies to the facility. Switzerland is ending its emergency aid activities on Wednesday 30 September, having restored access to clean drinking water for 10,000 people. It will continue its support in the form of medium and long-term assistance.


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Hurricanes can cause massive damage and injury, but they're not our only weather concern along the Gulf Coast. Large storm systems can bring havoc with their high winds and flash flooding potential, leaving a trail of serious injury and property damage in their wake.
There's not a lot we can do to prevent these weather events, but a few common sense preparations can make a big difference in how much inconvenience we experience during and after these events, and how ready we'll be to react effectively should we be called on to help our family or neighbors.

subset: commoncrawl


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N'Djamena (12°07′ North, 15°03′ Est), the capital city of Chad is a port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River. The estimated population was close to 1 million inhabitants in 2009.
N'Djamena has a semi-arid climate with a short wet season (June-September, with the heaviest precipitation occurring in August) and a lengthy dry season. The average annual precipitations are around 750 mm. The city's highest temperatures are usually recorded between March and June (32°C to 35°C) while average temperature are between 27°C to 31°C during the rest of the year.
Field work will be carried out in dry and wet season 2011.


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If a picture is worth a 1000 words, it is the photographer who chooses the words and the message they convey.But the perfect image is elusive.
Post production is a technique which can make the pictures perfect and can make huge difference in the final results but it also takes away many hours from your busy schedule, time better spent on marketing or doing more photography which you really want to do.
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Since we understand that every photographer has their own editing style, we follow their instructions, preferences and study their work to match up their expectations. We keep their style consistent throughout the event. Our QC team double checks all the images one by one to make sure that the editor has done his work properly, He informs editor and the production head in case of any changes needs to be done.
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Sunshot hand cannon is far from the popular choice of Guardians in Destiny 2 and Bungie decided to give it some love. In order to make it not obsolete, the clip size will get buffed when Shadowkeep releases. Or should we call it a cylinder?
Sunshot is a sleek looking hand cannon in Destiny 2 that has barely anything to its name other than the pretty aesthetics. It is in the fast shooting hand cannon category, with a decent fire rate at 150 rounds per minute but Sunshot is held back by a huge capacity deficit compared to its peers.
Other hand cannons in this category tend to have 12-13 rounds per reload while Sunshot has only eight. Considering the fast shooting hand cannons have lower stopping power, the eight bullets just couldn't cut it which resulted in this exotic being benched indefinitely.
Players have been complaining about Sunshot's underwhelming performance for a long while now and Bungie are ready to bring it to the big leagues with Shadowkeep. According to Bungie's developers, they have been working hard on improving sandbox quality of life in the expansion but they are also looking at the hand cannon's problematic capacity.
They didn't offer any exact numbers but the comment made by makes it pretty obvious the changes revolve around the capacity itself and not the other mechanics this particular exotic features. It is highly likely Sunshot will still not have the same capacity as the other 150 RPM hand cannons though, due to the weapon's inherent explosions and the potential to chain them.
Despite the explosions being fun against weaker enemies, the gun still lacks power and is easily overshadowed by other exotics, not just exotic hand cannons, that outperform against enemies that are not glorified cannon fodder.
The clip changes are still a bit of a mystery since we are not getting exact numbers from Bungie but dmg04 did state we should get more info as 1 October 2019 approaches.
On a somewhat off-topic note, it would be great if they settled it once for all - should we refer to Sunshot's ammo container as clip, magazine or cylinder?
Destiny 2, Bungie's three newly added pinnacle weapons
- Image: 1 / 5


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Outdoor Kitchen Bars
What's better than a backyard with equipped with a top-of-the-line grill and plush, comfortable seating? The backyard with an outdoor kitchen bar. (Think increased entertainment capabilities.)
Outdoor Kitchens: Gas Grills, Cook Centers, Islands and MoreSee All Photos
Shop This Look
Like the indoor kitchen island's much-used breakfast bar, the outdoor kitchen bar provides a designated space for family members and guests alike to pull up a chair, eat a meal and stay a while—not to mention a prime place to interact with the chef or enjoy the scenery.
As with the indoor kitchen island, the outdoor kitchen bar requires forethought on functionality in addition to aesthetics. While similar design considerations will apply (think countertop work space, single-height or double-height counters, an overhang for leg room and drawers for storage space), you'll also want to keep factors like weather resistance and durability in mind.
Perhaps the most important element of creating an outdoor kitchen bar: keeping it covered, whether via pergola, umbrella, thatched roof or overhang. This will not only help shield your investment from the elements, but it will also extend the life of your appliances, surfaces and materials.
More Outdoor Kitchen Accessories
Other Outdoor Kitchen Inspiration
- Outdoor Kitchen Cabinet Ideas
- Outdoor Kitchens: Grilling and Chilling in the Great Backyard
- Outdoor Kitchens: 10 Tips for Better Design
- 7 of Our Favorite Outdoor Cooking and Dining Areas
- Maximum Home Value Outdoor Living Projects: Outdoor Kitchen
- Selecting Outdoor Kitchen Flooring


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I can be confident in my ability and nervous.
I am confident, but I am also nervous.
Beautiful shots! And I completely agree with you on the nerves - if I'm not nervous or at least stressed out about something, I take it as a sign that I don't care as much about it as I should. Good luck over the next two weekends!
I love your perspective on your nerves, and I'm glad you use them productively instead of passively. You are a fabulous photographer and I always enjoy how you capture time. I would tell you good luck for the next two weekends but I know you don't need it! I am praying for you though that you enjoy your time behind the lens!!! You're awesome!!!
Hoping all goes well for you. I always love your pictures.
these are all so gorgeous! you're very talented!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Have fun the next two weekends! And I totally agree. Being nervous is not a bad thing, contrary to popular belief! It is very possible to be confident but nervous. You'll be great, my dear!
I'm telling you, when I finally meet the man of my dreams, we're moving back to Texas so that way you can be my "important moments photographer". IE. I want you to photographer EVERYTHING for me. You're are really good Meg! Like real good!
Good luck this weekend! You're gonna be amazing! :)
You are going to ROCK those two weddings. Just sayin.
Cause girrrrl you got skills.
And I absolutely love your perspective on being nervous.
I should probably take this advice and run with it.
those are BEAUTIFUL!!
You are SO amazing. Seriously. You'll be great, I know it! You're so so good at what you do.


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Apply for Internships
Application Process
During the application process, you'll have an opportunity to select the program(s) that are right for you. A resume and unofficial transcript are required to submit an application.
Once your application is processed, (allow 1-2 days), you can apply directly to available positions through the SOCHEintern Portal or automatically be considered for internship opportunities as they become available.*
New Applicants:
Existing Applicants:
Questions about Internships?
For information about year-round internships at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) contact Brittany Edwards at firstname.lastname@example.com.
For information about DAGSI and other research internships at AFRL contact Kim Marshall at firstname.lastname@example.com.
For information about regional internships contact Morgan Plummer at email@example.com.
For information about high school internships contact Patty Buddelmeyer at email@example.com.


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The White House's attack on scientists could manipulate public opinion
The Trump administration's FY2019 budget, unveiled last Monday, proposes cuts in essential funding for scientific research and education. Unfortunately, this attack on science is not an isolated incident. Barely a year into President Trump's term, there have already been 111 attempts by the federal government to censor, misrepresent, or stifle science. Many appear intended to gain support for the administration's efforts to prop up the fossil fuel industry. Despite the administration's claims that its actions put "America first," they will in fact undermine our economic competitiveness and our position at the forefront of scientific research.
{mosads}The U.S. prides itself on being a world leader in science and technology. And for good reason: life-saving vaccines, MRIs, the Internet and many other revolutionary technologies were invented here, often with the help of government funding. But under President Trump, funding for scientific research is facing cuts. The Trump administration is also undermining science in other ways, like preventing scientists from publicly communicating about their research and misrepresenting scientific studies.
We decided to tally all of these anti-science actions in a Silencing Science Tracker, which shows that many of the administration's actions involve attempts to downplay, obscure, or outright challenge the scientific consensus on climate change. This makes sense given Trump's focus on "beautiful" coal and other climate-damaging fossil fuels. The Trump administration is effectively promoting the fossil fuel industry's interests over public health and safety and appears to be using its control over scientific information to manipulate public opinion in this area.
For instance, in the early months of the Trump administration, numerous government websites were changed to omit scientific information about climate change and the fossil fuel industry's adverse effects. Newly released emails show that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt was eager to scrub the agency's climate change pages. Given his "arm in arm" past with the fossil fuel industry, and his subsequent moves to undo or weaken regulations imposed on it, this is no surprise.
At the Department of the Interior (DOI), a website discussing the environmental and other risks of fossil fuel development was changed to emphasize economic benefits. A few months later, large swaths of land previously protected from coal mining and oil and gas drilling were opened to development. Shortly after this, DOI's Bureau of Land Management changed the image on its homepage from a scenic park vista to a pile of coal, presumably to reinforce the message that public lands are for mining.
This is, in some ways, nothing new. Past administrations have used government communications to advocate their policies. But President Trump is going much further.
Recent changes in federal research funding suggest that the Trump administration is deliberately silencing science that could call its policy decisions into question. For example, in August 2017, shortly before allowing more coal mining on federal land, DOI suspended funding for a study intended to identify its health risks. Four months later, DOI suspended a study into the safety of offshore oil and gas drilling, just days before proposing a massive expansion in the area available for drilling.
This cannot possibly be a coincidence. The administration is clearly out to pre-empt possible opposition to its policies and is not at all interested in verifying that they are scientifically sound. It seems intent on limiting independent scientific research while propping-up industry-backed science. This is particularly obvious at EPA, where university scientists have been removed from advisory panels, to make space for industry representatives. EPA is also considering reducing vehicle emissions standards based on industry-sponsored science and pushed through industry-backed chemical rules against the advice of agency scientists.
We shouldn't be surprised. President Trump, after all, has in the past ignored scientific advice that contradicts his pro-industry agenda. He once famously called climate change a hoax perpetrated by China to harm American businesses. More recently, he used a cold snap on the East Coast to suggest that climate change isn't happening and reiterate his (false) talking point that remaining in the Paris Agreement would have unnecessarily cost the U.S. "trillions."
Trump supporters speak positively of the president's blunt style, saying they "want a president who is not politically correct." But the irony is that so much of what the Trump administration has done involves manipulating science to match political goals, like requiring EPA grants to be reviewed by political appointees and removing agency websites containing politically inconvenient information.
In reality, Trump's claim to "tell it like it is" is actually the greatest hoax of all.
Lauren Kurtz is the Executive Director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund.
Romany Webb is an Associate Research Scholar at Columbia Law School and Climate Law Fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.


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Right on, wedges
Remember about 4 years ago when wedge shoes went OUT of style for a while?
Let's just go ahead and refer to that time period as the Dark Ages.
I love love love wedges for spring and summer. As a shorty, is always nice to get some extra height and they make any outfit look a little nicer without crossing over into "dressy" category.
Here are the two I've picked up (so far.. heh heh) this spring:
Spiney- $80 – I wear these out with the Pilot – without heels I come up to just under his chest 😉
Pouche- $70 – for more everyday purposes. Both pairs are from Aldo, which is one of my go-to shoe places. Their shoes are very inexpensive and have great quality.
Wedges look cute with pretty much EVERYTHING (crops, dresses, skirts, longer shorts), but here are some of my fave ways to wear them:
1. With a long tank dress and cuff bracelet
2. Crops, flowery tank and earrings
3. Shorts, longer textured top, lots of small sparkly bracelets. The trick to wearing wedges with shorts is to make sure the shorts aren't too short and that the top is more conservative. This keeps things on the classy side 😉
4. With any dress or skirt 🙂
5. NOT with skinny jeans- some people can pull it off, I am not one of them.
This season, they came out with some very fun spins on the usual wedge shoes, which I adore:
Red, which can be worn as a neutral color:
Color blocking
Lace Up
and more modern, stylized:
(my heart is swooning, and I'm not even a *shoe* person)
Are you rocking wedge shoes this spring? Where did you pick up your fave pair?
Post Navigation:Sweet Treats → ← Berry Nice
39 Comments
Love wedges! I can't walk in high heels, but can walk in wedges! They are much more comfy to me!
I am ecstatic that wedges are back–and that I still have a few pairs from the last time they were in style! Why did you have to show me those Tory Burch ones–love.
LOVE that first pair! And the red ones.
I'm getting in to wedges more but I must say … I'm a sucker for a good sharp pointed toe heel!
I am so glad that I kept all my wedges from a few years back, now I can break them out again 🙂
I LOVE wedges- they are the perfect Casual Friday shoe too which is a nice break for my feet! I have been looking at those Aldo coral-ish red ones for a little while now and I think I'm going to go for it- you're right they are a great neutral!
Great, now I need red wedges! Thanks a lot. Hehe just kidding. I mean, I do now need them, but I'm happy about it, not mad. Also, I LOVE the color of that dress- so pretty.
I love wedges now, but I used to think they were hideous! I'm glad I've changed for the better. I am a *shoe* person, but it is very rare that I spend more than 30 dollars on shoes, unless they're workout shoes. I go to target for almost all of my shoes. They're cute, inexpensive, vegan, and the quality actually isn't too terrible.
Holy smokes! I don't know how you can walk in such high wedges! I don't wear wedges or heels a whole lot because I'm tall already and my boyfriend is just a couples inches taller than me. I do like to wear them every once in a while for special occasions though!
I'm wearing a pair right now! I've been avoiding any shoes with height because my darn running, flat, and wide feet are no good for them, but I love how feminine they make my legs look, so to heck… I'm wearing them.
loveee wedges!
love your wedges but i recently posted that i wear a ladies size 12 shoe. yes bigfoot here. They match my 5'10+ height but unfortunately cute shoes are not easy to find in a 12. Or I would totally have a minor shoe addiction, or major 🙂
I still have my wedges from a few years ago. I've learned not to get rid of things I love. I just wait until they come back in style. I think I need those Kate Spade wedges you posted the pic of. I loveee them!!!
I absolutely hate them! I don't know what it is, I have never seen a cute pair ever. I'm so sorry ladies, but I gag!
I'm w/ you Alicia! Although I was surprised that I actually really liked that 2nd pair you bought, Gina. Made me wonder if I needed to rethink my whole wedge-hater philosophy. Might even have to go get a pair (gasp!). I AM a shoe person – fer shure!
love wedges too!!! i'm a huge shoe person more than a purse …and do love the wedges you got! been looking for some for ages now! are those comfy?
i love wedges! I have feet issues (flat feet, orthodics, etc) and can't wear high heels where I'm basically walking on the ball of my foot. Wedges solve this problem! They're my go to once the weather is warm enough for them 🙂
I used to hate wedges, but they're starting to grow on me. The first pair you bought are really cute!
Buying wedges or any shoe wear in red is next on my wish list. I love the red one.
What great timing, I literally JUST bought some new Banana Republic wedges today! They are navy blue canvas cross-cross straps with woven raffia platform wedges. I love em already! I share your affection for Aldo, too 🙂 I buy most of my wedges and shoes in general at TJ Maxx and Nordstro
Rack–discount shopping at its finest.
I love love love wedges. I've already bought three pairs for the summer! I run a lot and they are the only heel I can wear during marathon training!
I just bought the Forwood wedges from Aldo. They are my absolute favorite. They have a crazy 70's style print!
totally agree – i love wedges.. Sadly (not) I had to buy more this year after I gave mine to the second hand store during the Dark Ages thinking they may never make a revival!
Ahhh I am loving the fact wedges are "back" – always amazes me how different styles go in and out of fashion.
Today at the consignment shop we received the cutest wedges. They're brown with a satin pretty bow on the top. Tone on tone chocolate brown…. I think I'm going back to get them tomorrow!
I just got a pair a couple of weeks ago very similar to the 2nd ones.. I got them at Urban Outfitters and they are super comfy plus I'm 5'10" so for me to say that is huge! Great post!
I'm 5'8″ and my husband is 5'6″ so I can't even wear heels if I wanted to. But, I love UO!!!
I'm loving wedges right now too even though I consider them to always be in style… but that's just me. My Stuart Weitzman Alex wedges are my ultimate favorites but I own several wedges because they're so comfortable. I had my eye on those lace up Tory Burch wedges as well 🙂
I sooo wish I could fit aldo's shoes. I like Kork Ease an Born wedges in pretty much any color. Loves em.
Just bought a pair of Steve Madden ones last weekend.. Pure love!
I love aldo wedges i have more Aldo shoes then any other designer. i didn't realize it until i read this post and started to think about it lol.
I didn't think wedges looked right on me before, but after I found a cute red pair at Target, I've changed my mind. I posted a pic of them on my blog last week, and I got a comment telling me they were ugly and that I have no fashion sense…LOL! Obviously someone needs to read this post!
love wedges!!!!!!!!!!! 😀
I love wedges. I just got a pair of madden girls and a pair of louis viutton. I have a pair of lou's but I think my fave as far as versatility is the madden girl.


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WASHINGTON -- The bartender who secretly filmed Mitt Romney's infamous "47 percent" remarks at a Boca Raton fundraiser last May had an idea of what the former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential nominee was really like. The two had crossed paths before.
The filmmaker tells The Huffington Post that he had actually met Romney at a previous fundraiser, held months before at the home of private equity manager Marc Leder. At that event, which included drinks and a quick speech by the presidential candidate, the would-be filmmaker also tended bar.
He and Romney shared a typical bartender-to-patron moment.
"I handed him a diet Coke with lemon on it," the filmmaker recalled, "because I was told that that's what he drank."
Romney didn't acknowledge his server at all.
"He took it and turned and didn't say anything," the filmmaker explained. "I presented him the exact right drink that he wanted ... Had it there, sitting there on a napkin. He took it out of my hand and turned his back without a 'thank you' or anything else."
HuffPost has agreed to withhold the name of the surreptitious filmmaker until he breaks his silence on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" Wednesday evening, followed by an appearance on HuffPost Live Thursday morning. In interviews over the last several months, he laid out his thinking before and after Romney's speech.
The filmmaker had worked in the service industry for years, starting out after high school as a club doorman in Boston. He slowly worked his way up to bartender and then operations manager and general manager at a downtown nightclub. He had wanted to be a cop and hoped to get a degree in criminal justice from Northeastern. When he couldn't afford to complete his degree, he still had his night-club jobs.
He moved to Florida about 10 years ago. He told HuffPost that former President Bill Clinton had partly inspired him to release the video: He had worked at a Clinton event at which the politician had made an effort to greet the cooks and waiters. Romney had been the opposite.
"You can tell a lot about someone the way they take a drink from you," he said. "[Romney] took it and just turned his back."


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Try it now!
11th May 2017
The data indicates that the higher the component score is based on the distributed questionnaire, the more significant that component is to quality and customer satisfaction. The data shows that the factor that has the most significance is the tangible aspect, followed by empathy, then by assurance, then reliability and finally responsiveness.
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Table 1 Significance of Test Variables
The graphical presentation of the figures indicates that the distribution of the responses based on the variable under study. The graphs show a cross section of the results, the first showing the responses per variable for each question while the second shows the distribution of the responses per variable under study.
Figure 6 Distribution of Responses per Question
Figure 7 Distribution of Responses on the Basis of Study Components
The components indicate that the most significant variable is the tangibles. However, this does not mean that the other components are insignificant. In fact, the analysis indicates that the questions are significantly addressed depending on the construct under view. For example, tangibles are more important for achieving customer satisfaction, while reliability is least important for achieving customer satisfaction. On the other hand, reliability is the most important variable in consideration of customer loyalty while tangibles are the least variable of consideration for achieving customer loyalty. A summary of the relationship of the variables to customer loyalty and customer satisfaction is shown in the succeeding illustration.
Figure 8 Effective factors that affect CRM strategies in healthcare organizations
The figure above shows that of the five factors being considered for customer relationship management strategies, the more relevant variables for achieving high customer satisfaction are tangibles, responsiveness, empathy, assurance and finally, reliability. For achieving customer loyalty, the sequence is reversed. Customer loyalty is influenced mostly by reliability, assurance, empathy, responsiveness and tangible variables. These variables are the same variables that are used in the SERVQUAL framework.
In terms of overall importance to customer relationship management strategies, the data analysis indicates that the highest variable for consideration of both customer loyalty and customer satisfaction is responsiveness, followed by tangibles, assurance, empathy and finally, reliability.
The objective of this research paper is to help identify the characteristics of the customer relationship management strategies that healthcare organizations implement and see what factors make these strategies effective. This research includes a lengthy discussion on the theoretical background of the service quality model, specifically the SERVQUAL model. The SERVQUAL model is a model for measuring the differences between service quality received, on the basis of the customer's perception of the service and the customer's expectations.
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In this study, the empirical model that was used in developing the SERVQUAL model was used to provide the conceptual framework necessary for utilizing the SERVQUAL model for CRM studies. The use of the questionnaires to gather credible data supports the empirical validity of utilizing SERVQUAL models for this type of researches. The critical factors identified in this study conclude that for a health organization to ensure that the benefits of CRM programs are achieved, the CRM strategy must be developed to respond to one of the two constructs that are of significance to overall customer satisfaction. If a healthcare organization wishes to attract loyal customers, it must prioritize strategies that enhance overall service reliability. If the healthcare organization wishes to develop higher levels of customer satisfaction, then the tangibles (the facilities, equipment, and appearance of the healthcare professional) must be addressed.
On an academic level, this research paper hopes to provide information and intuitive direction for further academic research. This research further aims to provide a framework that can be utilized by healthcare organizations in further enhancing their customer relationship management systems using the five-factor system that was determined as a result of the SERVQUAL model use. Based on this model, the customer relationship management system can be further enhanced using the conceptual framework developed herein.
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Liver Models
For many, a tactile approach to learning is best. Offer your students and patients the option of learning about the liver hands on with these anatomical models. Anatomy Warehouse offers a variety of anatomical models that make exceptional study aids, patient education tools, or simply décor for your office or medical facility. Not sure what will work best for you? Contact our expert support team for advice.


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Q: What is the modification?
A: MOND can be interpreted as either a modification of
gravity through a change to the Poisson equation, or as a
modification of inertia through a breaking
of the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass.
The modification occurs at very small accelerations. Above a critical
acceleration a0 (the one parameter of the theory), everything
is normal. Below a0, the effective acceleration approaches
a = (gN a0)1/2, where gN is the
normal Newtonian acceleration. The two regimes are joined smoothly by
an interpolation function mu(x) with the asymptotic property mu(x) → 1
for x » 1 and mu(x) → x for x « 1, where x = a/a0.
In the case of a modification of the Law of Inertia, a=F/m
becomes a=F/[m*mu(x)], and the effective acceleration can be found from
Q: Isn't it rather drastic to modify such fundamental Laws?
A: Sure. Just as it is drastic to fill the universe with non-baryonic cold
dark matter consisting of new fundamental particles we don't actually know
to exist. The data drive us to one of these extremes. The question, of
course, is which is a better approximation of Nature?
Q: What is mu(x)?
A: The interpolation function is not specified theoretically, but there is a
fairly narrow range of empirically acceptable mu(x). Possible forms
which are acceptable to galaxy data are
mu(x) = x(1+x2)-1/2
mu(x) = x/(1+x), and
mu(x) = 1-e-x.
Q: What is the acceleration scale?
A: a0 = 1.2 x 10-10 m s-2, i.e.,
about one Angstrom per second per second. This is one part in 1011
of what we feel on the surface of the earth. The precise value depends on
the distance scale to galaxies, so perhaps it would be better to say
a0 = 1.2 x 10-10 m s-2
h752, where h = H0/75 is the
Hubble Constant (the expansion rate of the universe) in units of
H0 = 75 km s-1 Mpc-1.
(Currently, most measurements report values in the neighborhood of
H0 = 72 km s-1 Mpc-1.)
Q: Why an acceleration based modification?
A: We usually think first in terms of a modification at some length scale:
galaxies are big, so maybe gravity is different on large scales. This does
not work. But there are other scales which are different about galaxies.
One of them is the very low centripetal acceleration experienced by stars
orbiting within galaxies. This is just as far removed from our laboratories
as is the size scale of galaxies.
MOND was motivated by two observations: 1) the asymptotic flatness of rotation
curves and 2) the slope of the Tully-Fisher relation
(M ~ Vflat4). These two things lead to an acceleration
Q: MOND fits the rotation curves of spiral galaxies well, but it was designed
to do that. So do such data provide any test?
A: Yes.
That MOND was "designed" to fit rotation curves and is therefore guaranteed
to do so is a common misconception.
Both MOND and dark matter were invented
to explain the presence of mass discrepancies in astronomical data,
especially the flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies. It is often
asserted that MOND is ad hoc (and therefore bad), but this is also
true of dark matter. Once invoked, dark matter can be distributed
in any way necessary to explain just about anything. It is difficult to
test, and does not constitute a falsifiable theory. In contrast,
once a modified force law is specified, there is no freedom to adjust
its predictions.
MOND can not fit any arbitrary rotation curve:
it is tied down by the observed mass distribution.
However, it does fit real data. I find it remarkable that of
the infinite variety of things rotation curves
might plausibly do were they caused by a Newtonian disk + dark matter halo,
they in fact do the one (and only one) thing allowed by MOND.
Fundamental Clue or Big Cosmic Accident? (Is God subtle or malicious?)
MOND's detractor's often assert it is just some
sort of fluke, so I guess they prefer to believe that God is malicious.
Q: But wait, there is a fundamental objection to an acceleration scale.
The atoms within stars have acceleratoins in the Newtonian regime.
Since the star's constituents are Newtonian with a > a0,
the star itself can never be in the MOND regime.
A: This comes down to when you can consider an object to be a
billiard ball, as
we are so fond of doing in physics. Is a star an unremitingly Newtonian
object because of the microscopic motion of its constiuent atoms? Or can
it be treated as a point mass in the much larger gravitational field of
the entire galaxy?
It would be quite a thing if the accelerations of atoms within stars
could affect their motion in galaxies. There is a matching condition
between the Newtonian and MOND regimes. This effectively defines the
location at which you are in one regime or the other - and whether things
interior to that regime can be treated as a single billiard ball for the
purpose of calculating its motion, e.g the barycenter of the solar system
about the galaxy. The solar system is Newtonian out to about a tenth of a
light year; all the substructure we are familiar with is well within this
radius and matters not at all to the galactic motion.
If quantum mechanics has taught us anything, it is that there is
a regime where substructure matters, and another where the billiard-ball
approximation is quite good. Whether this analogy extends to MOND or not
I expect will be debated for many years to come. It seems not
unreasonable that it might.
Q: Wouldn't MOND effects show up in precision solar system tests?
A: They may have already. Whether they
should or not depends on the interpolation function mu(x).
The accelerations in the inner solar system are millions of times higher
than the MOND acceleration scale, so all that can be tested here is the
(slight) deviation of the interpolation function from unity. This might
be perceptible if mu(x) approaches unity slowly in the limit x » 1, but
would not be if it converged rapidly. For example, if mu(x) = 1-e-x,
then the deviation one is looking for is of order one part in
MOND and General Relativity
Q: Does MOND contradict General Relativity?
A: It generally seems to be assumed that it must, but this is not true.
GR and MOND apply in very different regimes. Relativity is what happens
as v → c; MOND is what happens as a → 0.
Empirically, these regimes couldn't be further removed.
Q: Is there a complete relativistic theory incorporating MOND?
A: There have been suggestions, such as Bekenstein's
Phased Coupled Gravity and Sanders's
Stratified Scalar-Tensor Theory.
It is not obvious that either of these are satisfactory, but they do
at least demonstrate that it is possible to construct theories which
encompass both GR and MOND.
This is a hard problem, especially conceptually. It took
a long time to go from the inverse square law to the Poisson equation,
and from special relativity to GR. If both GR and MOND are correct (as
appears to be true empirically), then there must be a grander theory
encompassing both. But don't expect to derive it on the back of an
envelope in a few minutes.
Q: What about the Equivalence Principle?
A: The inertia interpretation of MOND breaks the symmetry of
the equivalence of gravitational
and inertial mass, which is one of the foundations of GR. This makes it
especially challenging to come up with a relativistic theory. Experimenters
have long searched for violations of the equivalence without success, so
it seems inviolable. However, these experiments are all performed in
acceleration fields eleven orders of magnitude greater than the acceleration
scale of MOND. Accelerations are not relative. Recall the Einstein
thought experiment of an observer in an elevator. The observer may not
be able to tell whether the weight that he feels is due to being stationary
on the surface of the Earth, or because he is being accelerated at 1 gee
out in space. But he knows very sell he is being accelerated!
You can do the Eotvos experiment here on Earth to arbitrary
accuracy and never discover MOND. Moreover, such experiments look for
composition-dependent differences: wood vs. gold, or some such. There is
nothing in MOND that is composition dependent.
Indeed, the galaxian data which support MOND are the only data
which test the Equivalence Principle in the relevant regime.
One fair interpretation is that it breaks
at small accelerations. We do not have a satisfactory
understanding of the origin of inertial mass. This
phenomenology may be a big clue.
Q: MOND can't actually be true, can it?
A: Empirically it works. No empirical piece of evidence
clearly contradicts* it. Its predictions come true where those of
dark matter based theories fail. Could be.
* - This was true when I wrote this web page in the late '90s.
Now (2013) I would say there are two pieces of apparently contradictory
evidence: the acoustic power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB),
and rich clusters of galaxies. Both of these are further discussed on
the main MOND page. In brief, the CMB isn't really
relevant [yet] as MOND provides no definitive prediction for it. It is
very well fit by the standard ΛCDM cosmology, but we've given ourselves
enough free parameters to guarantee a fit, so I'm not sure how impressed we
should be with that. Rich clusters show a residual mass discrepancy - one
still needs unseen mass, even with MOND! This is a clear problem for the
idea, though it is conceivable that some normal matter remains undetected
(we do have a missing baryon problem, after all). Even if this does indeed
falisify MOND, it does not alleviate the burden of explaining the observed
phenomenology: if MOND is wrong, why does it work as well as it does so often?
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text:
ARE PatentS for you?
Most Patents Do Not Make Money
Although most patent owners think they have a really good money making idea, nonetheless, most patents do not make money. Whether attempting to sell or license a patent, marketing the patent may be more difficult and more costly than obtaining the patent. It is often difficult to even get attention of those in a position to license or buy a patent from the patent owner.
Enforcing Your Patent
Even after getting a patent, it is quite possible that someone may infringe the patent without the patent owner ever finding out. The patent owner is responsible for enforcing her/his patent. It may be a good idea to consider how the activities of potential infringers are going to be monitored prior to applying for a patent. Once an infringer is found, if they decide to continue to infringe the patent and not pay royalties despite the patent owner's request to do otherwise, the patent owner may need to hire an attorney, and sue the infringer in court to collect the royalties. (The government will not arrest someone or bring criminal charges against someone for patent infringement alone.) The cost of litigation can be quite substantial, and the number of attorneys willing to be paid on a contingency basis is dwindling. An individual patent owner may not be able to find an attorney to take the case on a contingency basis, and may not be able to otherwise afford the cost of litigation.
Before applying for a patent it may be a good idea for the inventor to check if any agreements were signed that assign any the invention to one of the inventor's clients or former employers. Specifically, upon being hired as a full time employee or even to perform work on a contract basis, the corporation may have the employee or contractor sign an agreement that stipulates that the corporation owns anything the employee or contractor invents. Sometimes these agreements extend beyond inventions that were developed at the corporation.
Usually obtaining a patent involves filing a patent application, and responding to one or more communications (usually including one or more rejections) from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The total cost of obtaining a patent could easily come to quite a large sum of money. The fees for preparing and filing the application are not the entire cost of obtaining a patent. The next significant communication from the Patent and Trademark Office is unlikely to come until at least another year possibly not until after several years. I charge a separate fee for each response to each communication from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Thus, the total cost of obtaining a patent is the cost of writing the application plus the cost of responding to each communication. Each significant communication will likely be spaced apart by at least three months, but not necessarily. Additionally, after obtaining a patent, to maintain the patent, the US Patent and Trademark Office charges fees that are due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after the patent issues.
Please feel free to contact me for more specifics regarding my fees. The Seemingly Endless Process One of the few conclusions to the process of obtaining a patent (which is called patent prosecution) is the issuing of the patent. Usually persistence eventually pays off. There is almost no upper limit to how long the prosecution can be extended. However, the longer the prosecution extends, the more expensive the process becomes, and the prosecution may negatively affect the value of the resulting patent. In at least some cases, there are measures that can be taken to increase the likelihood that the prosecution will be relatively short. However, these measures will generally narrow the coverage that is ultimately obtained.
Will the Invention be Obsolete by the Time the Patent Issues?
The US Patent and Trademark Office attempts to keep the time between the filing of a patent application and its issuance to be eighteen months. Nonetheless, many patent applications are not even seen by the Patent Examiner until several years after filing the patent application. Consequently, it is possible that the product will become obsolete prior to its patent application issuing.
No Guarantees
Although most patent applications eventually become patents, no one can ever guarantee that an invention is patentable or that a patent application will ever become a patent. There is also no guarantee that once a patent finally issues, it is in fact valid. The Examiner may be mistaken in his/her judgement or may miss the best available reference. The above paragraphs give only a brief description of various aspects related to obtaining a patent and are not intended to be a thorough description. The above paragraphs are intended to portray a sense of the expenses and risks involved in filing a patent application so that anyone considering filing a patent application may better decide whether filing the patent application is the correct decision for them.
The above paragraphs should not be relied upon for legal advise.
If you have questions about an employment contract or other contract, licensing, or infringement, please contact an attorney. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.


text:
A few days ago I wrote about how to access the attributes of a Python instance dynamically, a post which spawned quite a discussion because of my support of the policy
It"s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
This principle in coding means that, when writing in dynamic languages (for static languages this does obviously not apply), you shouldn"t check whether some object has some property (like checking if you have the instance of a certain class), you should just try to do what you wanted to do and in case something goes wrong and you get an error, a exception, you just handle that.
I like that principle for its clarity and because it pushes you to doing things right (you are doing exception handling anyways so adding another one for your own mistakes is not a big task [otherwise many people tend to avoid exceptions]). But there are two other aspects that make me a firm believer in that principle, which I"ll elaborate here kind of as a follow-up to the last post. Those two aspects are simplicity and semantic intention.
Now if you are one of the people who tend to do checks beforehand in dynamic languages you might at first disagree: Is it not easier to just do a quick check whether something is a string before calling string functions on it? After all a short "if" with the call are just two lines and even empty exceptions will take a "try", the code, an "except" and the exception handling code. Checks are simpler, right?
When it comes down to pure line count some checks might be shorter, but are they simpler? Think about this:
You want to call a method on some instance. You know that it works if the instance is of a certain type or if it has that method so you check it:
if isinstance(obj,cls) OR hasattr(obj,method):
Simple, right? Oh dammit, there"s another class that works, let"s add that. And another condition we have. Add that. This is the problem: The tests will start building up and become less and less readable.
How would the other way look? You try calling it it might fail and you catch the exception. The code is clear. You see what the intention is and what goes wrong. Now you start separating the different exceptions to handle different errors differently. It stays clear cause what you wanted to do stays at the top and below you just see a list of the things that go wrong and how to handle them.
Exception handling is a standartized way of doing things: You have a "try" block and afterwards the "except" block(s). Tests are usually in nested if constructs but could also be implemented into their own functions/methods. That means that you start moving the test for your code out of view and replace it with a short name (let"s hope the name is good cause in 4 weeks you might have to debug your tests and if you are unsure what this one check_validity() thingy does, you might be entering a world of pain).
So, exception handling is simpler (because it"s standartized), but what does semantic intention mean?
Let"s work on an example. BEHOLD! I give you a boring algorithm:
import string
def get_uppercase(word):
"""Return a string consisting of the uppercase letters from a
given string"""
out = []
for letter in word:
if letter in string.uppercase:
return "".join(out)
What does it do? You feed a string (or a list of items) to the function and it returns all uppercase characters from that string (or list of items).
The algorithm is clear, it goes through the given iterable (string or listy thing) and checks for every item whether it is in the list of uppercase letters. If it is, it"s added to the collection of return items which is then in the end joined to a string and returned. Easy, simple and no line of code that is not directly dealing with the algorithm itself.
This is what the writer of the function semantically intends: He wants to get all uppercase letters from an iterable. This is as close to pseudo-code as it gets, it"s abstract, you can easily transfer the algorithm to any language out there (well it"s an easy algorithm).
Of course in real life things can go wrong. If I feed an integer to the function it craps out (integers are not iterable). Many of your own classes wouldn"t work either. But that is all meta-information about the way the language works. In other languages that Python anything might be a string for example so interegers would automatically be considered strings. Or the language might just be smart and convert everything to a string if things fail. So let"s add some of the meta-information we need for this python program to see where it leads us.
import string
def get_uppercase(word):
"""Return a string consisting of the uppercase letters from a
given string"""
run = False
# check wether word is a string
if isinstance(word,str) or \
if isinstance(work,unicode):
run = True
# iterables like lists should work, too
# didn"t raise an exception, so it works
run = True
# nothing to do
if run:
out = []
for letter in word:
if letter in string.uppercase:
return "".join(out)
Well to code grew but that was to be expected. But what"s with the algorithm? Are the checks part of it or not? Now this algorithm is simple so you can easily see that they are not actually part of the algorithm, they are just necessities for working with language constructs. But what if the algorithm is more complex? What if the tests are not all conveniently put to the top? It becomes harder and harder to determine what is really the algorithm (the functionality we want) and what"s just boilerplate code that we don"t really care about.
Mixing our semantically intended code and the meta-code makes the whole code less clear and harder to read. The algorithm itself is drowned in noise.
And that is the second reason for the "easier to ask forgiveness than permission" paradigm: You don"t wanna clutter your code, the code that you are interested in with things from the meta-level. Exception handling puts all that conveniently away, out of the interesting code. This keeps your algorithm slim and concise.
The code we actually want to write is more important that the code we might have to wrap it in.
Of course there are times where you write checks that you run before you run some other code. Running the intended code might be expensive so you want to minimize the runs and eliminate all tries that will fail anyways, but the tests for certain data structures are in 99.9% of all cases bad style and make your code worse.
How do you write your dynamic code? Do you write tests that run before or are you more of an exception type? Do you avoid exceptions for some reason? If so, why?


text:
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text:
Sam: "Get out of here, Dewey."
Dewey Cox: "What are y'all doing in here?"
Sam: "It's called cocaine, and you don't want no part of this shit."
Dewey Cox: "Cocaine? What's it do?"
Sam: "It turns all your bad feelings into good feelings. It's a nightmare."
Dewey Cox: "I'm thinking maybe I'd like to try me some of that cocaine."


text:
Advertising talcum powder tin, Mennen for Men Bath Talc with Deodorant, circa 1930 - 1940. Tin is 5 3/4" tall, 2 1/2" square with rounded corners, 9 ounce size. White background with green and red lettering. Tin is marked on the side with Mennen trademark, also marked Made in USA, The Mennen Co., Morristown NJ and Toronto Ont. No contents in the tin. Cap twist/open, metal with holes in the top. A few very minor scratches. Overall condition is excellent. No dents or dings.
To purchase with credit cards please use PAYPAL. It is safe, secure, and simple to use. The good news is you do not need a Paypal account. Your credit card will work even if you are not a registered user. We also accept US Postal Money Orders.
All items at Drury House Antiques are available to purchase, unless they are marked Sold or Sale Pending


text:
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Corinne Segal
Corinne Segal
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Ocean Vuong's first poems were born of uncertainty.
In 2008, grieving for his grandmother in the Hartford, Connecticut, apartment where she helped raise him, Vuong turned to the page. He began to write, preserving the folk songs that she had sung to her neighbors from the Vietnamese rice farm of her youth — communicating news of marriages, sharing love songs and other facts of life.
He found himself guessing where she would have put line breaks and other elements of form. Already experimenting with her words, he thought, "Why don't I give my own hand a try next to hers?" The result was a collaboration across time, his grandmother's voice beside his own.
Growing up, she had taught him how to look at the blank walls in their home as a blank canvas for the imagination. And as Vuong began writing poetry, he learned to leave part of that canvas for the reader. In this way, he subverts the historical erasure of stories like his: of immigration, of queerness, of the aftermath of war.
The poems in "Night Sky With Exit Wounds," which came out this month, navigate the in-between of those realities. His piece "Notebook Fragments" states: "In Vietnamese, the word for grenade is 'bom,' from the French 'pomme,' / meaning 'apple.'"
Then, a line break. Silence. The next stanza: "Or was it American for 'bomb'?"
"I often think that, particularly in this country and in the West in general, we often look at empty space, we look at silence, as a sort of death, a sort of weakness," he said. "But I think the practice of poetry teaches us that silence and emptiness and space in general is actually quite potent."
In "Telemachus," Vuong builds a mythology from the absence of a father figure, one that disappears even on the page as we read it. The speaker pulls his father "through white sand, his knuckles carving a trail / the waves rush in to erase. Because the city / beyond the shore is no longer / where we left it."
Vuong's book is an experiment in form, which moves as restlessly between different modes of storytelling as it does between the violent and the erotic. "Anaphora as Coping Mechanism" lays out such a scene: "He dies as your heart beats faster, / as another war coppers the sky."
The reader is a part of this ambiguity. And the act of navigating that space holds political importance, he said.
"The reading of poetry is in itself an act of political resistance to the mainstream," he said. "Particularly in this election cycle, where there is this great anxiety for certainty. What is your position? What is your stance? Why are you flip-flopping? There's an anxiety of certainty and power and boldness … But poetry acknowledges the true complexity of what it means to be human, which is that nothing is ever that certain."
The book "holds a lot of questions," he said. "Some of the questions are, how does one live in the intersectional spaces of trauma, now, in our American time? What does it mean to be a product of an American war in America?"
You can read "Telemachus," or hear Vuong read it, below.
Like any good son, I pull my father out
of the water, drag him by his hair
through sand, his knuckles carving a trail
the waves rush in to erase. Because the city
beyond the shore is no longer
where he left it. Because the bombed
cathedral is now a cathedral
of trees. I kneel beside him to see how far
I might sink. Do you know who I am,
ba? But the answer never comes. The answer
is the bullet hole in his back, brimming
with seawater. He is so still I think
he could be anyone's father, found
the way a green bottle might appear
at a boy's feet containing a year
he has never touched. I touch
his ears. No use. The neck's
bruising. I turn him over. To face
it. The cathedral in his sea-black eyes.
The face not mine but one I will wear
to kiss all my lovers goodnight:
the way I seal my father's lips
with my own and begin
the faithful work of drowning.
Ocean Vuong is the author of "Night Sky with Exit Wounds" (Copper Canyon Press, 2016). A 2016 Whiting Award winner and Ruth Lilly fellow, he has received honors from The Civitella Ranieri Foundation, The Elizabeth George Foundation, The Academy of American Poets, Narrative magazine, and a Pushcart Prize. His writings have been featured in the Kenyon Review, GRANTA, The Nation, New Republic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Poetry and American Poetry Review, which awarded him the Stanley Kunitz Prize for Younger Poets. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he lives in New York City.
Corinne is the Senior Multimedia Web Editor for NewsHour Weekend. She serves on the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.
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text:
Say Hello to Our Little Friend!
Posted by: badanov
The best friend a WWII Soviet rifle company ever had. The Maxim M1910 7.62mm medium machine gun.
In Combat Mission games, at least the era we prefer to play, this is the crew served small arm of choice during daylight encounters.
The Maxim was developed before WWI and was still in widespread use in the Red Army by the end of WWII. The weapon was reliable in all conditions and virtually impossible to breakdown. This wonder of pre-WWI technology fired the7.62x54mm rimmed cartridge, the same as the Mosin-Nagant M18/91 rifle You can see pics of the Maxim here.
You can also see a replica of the weapon firing in the film "Enemy at the Gates." in the scene where the commissars gun down a platoon of poorly armed Soviet soldiers in retreat, our guess would be a penal unit. If you believe Combat Mission's modeling of the weapon, it had a six man crew, presumably a spotter, a shooter, a feeder, a commander, and likely two porters/ordnance men to maintain it during and after firing. The Maxim was water cooled.
If you have something to add, Fire Away!
Number of Comments so far: 0
Click here for a list of stories in the War and Military category


text:
Nationwide recall after popular air conditioning unit catches fire
There's a nationwide recall for some air conditioning units, amid fears they could catch alight.
The consumer watchdog is urging anyone who purchased a Seeley International Braemar or Braemar Outdoor unit to stop using it immediately.
Energy Safe Victoria Acting Director of Energy Neil Fraser tells Luke Grant owners have been notified.
"This came as a result of an investigation in a small fire in an outdoor unit and when we contacted the supplier Seeley, they said that they had three other fires.
"But there's only 70 units affects, 70 per cent have already been repaired and they've made contact with the other 20 owners."
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview


text:
Due to personal reasons, I am incapable of talking about pain without humor. It's a defense mechanism, I admit—when you're dealing with it a lot (chronic pain is a thing I've been accustomed to for the majority of my life), sometimes it's easier to make light of it. But the other day I realized something about how I apply this lens to fiction: Many of the characters I adore have their own issues with chronic pain, and this specific difficulty is tied to how much I care for them. My baby, I think to myself. No one should ever be cruel to this sweet glazed doughnut. Don't you touch their aching heads.
Here is a list of people who have Been Through Enough Hurting. Kindly leave them alone, for my sake.
Frodo Baggins—The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
I used to have regular fights in high school with misguided souls who had watched the Lord of the Rings films, and somehow thought they were cool for insisting that Frodo should not have been the Ring-bearer. "He's weak," they'd say. "Aragorn could have taken the Ring." This despite the fact that the narrative, on film and in print, goes out of its way to address the fact that, no, Aragorn can't carry the Ring, no one can carry the Ring except Frodo (and briefly Sam) to its needed destination. That is literally The Point of the story. We should not need to have this conversation.
The films may not linger as much on this point, but my extreme sympathy for Frodo stemmed from the fact that he was constantly in pain in order to carry out his heroic task. Whether it was physical hurting or psychic hurting or devastating fatigue, the fact that Frodo makes it to Mount Doom is a testament to his his incredible strength of character (and Sam's as well, of course). Even after doing his good deed, he still has to contend with the echoes of all that strain on his body—he loses a finger and has a magical stab wound that frequently acts up when he's trying to go about his hobbit business. Point is, don't you dare claim Frodo was second best. He is good and he is tired, and you should be nice to him.
Laura Roslin—Battlestar Galactica
Bad enough being in charge of the fate of all humanity—being responsible for keeping humanity going after a genocidal event probably isn't high on anyone's list of dream jobs—Laura Roslin has to balance this job with constant stays in sick bay. She receives a breast cancer diagnosis right before the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies, precipitating her ascendancy to the Presidency. Following that, she has to manage her condition and the responsibilities of that job to the best of her ability. For a time, she appears to have beaten the cancer, but when it returns her condition is actually used against her in the trial of Gaius Baltar.
Laura Roslin spends practically her entire tenure as leader of humankind going back and forth between various treatments for her cancer, some of which are drugs with hallucinogenic side effects that give her very special visions of a prophetic sort. And to compound this already untenable lot, she falls in love with Admiral Adama, knowing that she is unlikely to survive and build a life with him on the other side of their journey. In the parlance of our times, your fave could never. Questionable choices aside, Laura Roslin has my unyielding affection and awe.
Spock—Star Trek
As a character, Spock deals with a lot of emotional pain due to difficulties reconciling his human and Vulcan heritages. He's also one of Trek's primary punching bags, injured often for the sake of making the audience feel bad. Then someone has to worry over him (usually Kirk, McCoy, or some combination of the two), and we all live vicariously. This precious pointy boy. It's difficult having emotions and also getting flung to and fro by strange aliens with mind powers.
But perhaps the most relatable aspect of Spock's damsel status is the fact that he's always desperate to get back to his station and do his job, no matter how much everything hurts. We see it in several episodes, including "Operation: Annihilate!" where Spock is infected by an alien that fixes itself to his nervous system and keeps him in agony. At one point, McCoy tells Kirk that according to his instruments, Spock is in so much pain that he shouldn't even be conscious, but Spock is still trying to drag himself to the bridge and do Starfleet stuff. Big mood, Spock. Big. Mood.
I never really cared much about Wolverine, even as a kid from the generation that grew up on X-Men: The Animated Series. He's just kinda grumpy and funny and there to cause problems. Then the first X-Men film came out in 2000 and Hugh Jackman gruffly informed Anna Paquin that the claws hurt when they shoot out from his knuckles "every time" and my whole view of the character shifted. Why would you do that to me? He's just there to smoke cigars and talk about Canada every once in a while. He's supposed to pine after Jean because he has no life, and then vanish from sight.
But that scene permanently reframed Wolverine as a character whose mutant "powers" are also a source of constant pain. And then you have to think about it every time he extends those adamantium claws. There they are—ouch. And again—double ouch. Do they keep hurting while they're out? Does the ache only cease when they retract into his arm bones? Does the repeat trauma of slicing through muscle and skin to emerge outside his body ever make him reluctant to use them? I feel like even with those fancy healing powers, I'd develop an extreme aversion to unleashing my slashy friends. Sheesh, Logan. Have another cheap whiskey on me.
Scorpius and Pilot—Farscape
Let's be honest, I could have picked anyone in Farscape for this list because most of the characters on this show deal with some form of pain or another. Pilot and Scorpius top my list for two very different reasons, though. In Pilot's case, we go through an entire season of the show before we find out that Pilot's bond to the Leviathan ship Moya was not allowed to occur naturally; he was grafted into her systems after Moya's previous Pilot was murdered, which meant that Pilot was forced to endure constant pain as a result of his forced connection. The crew eventually rebond him to the ship so he can continue without pain, but he goes years without mentioning his discomfort to anyone out of guilt and shame.
Then there's Scorpius, whose pain comes from the fact that he is the result of forced interspecies breeding between a Scarran and Sebacean. Since one of these species thrives on heat and the other slips into a coma when it gets too warm, Scorpius cannot regulate his own body temperature. This problem is used to torture him as a child, but he manages to create a system by which cooling rods can be inserted into his brain to maintain his internal temperature. Still, the system requires that he change these cooling rods frequently in order to survive. It's not a pretty picture, but Scorpius keeps his composure regardless—he's a beast when it comes to control under pressure, and I adore him for it.
Avatar Korra—The Legend of Korra
So many things come so easily to Korra when she's young, but the universe seems intent on ridding her of the ease very quickly. First, she loses the ability to bend water, fire, and earth thanks to Amon, and requires the aid of Avatar Aang's spirit to regain it. Then Korra is kidnapped by Red Lotus member Zaheer, and poisoned with mercury. She uses a wheelchair for a time, and though she eventually regains the ability to walk through vigorous physical therapy, she can no longer enter the Avatar State. Korra also suffers from PSTD following her confrontation with Zaheer, and has residual mercury in her body that cannot be removed due to her own subconscious pushback.
With the help of Toph Beifong, Korra eventually releases her fears and rids herself of the remaining poison, regaining all of her abilities. But her rehabilitation is arduous, frightening, and painful, which is rare to see in stories about big heroes who do great deeds. Anyone who has gone through rehab for physical, mental, or emotional trauma can find truth in Korra's story, and for that, I'll never hear a word against her.
John Silver—Black Sails
Look, it's not exactly SFF, but it's a prequel to Treasure Island, so I say it counts. The point is, John Silver doesn't like Captain Flint's crusade, he doesn't like pirates or cooking or vendettas, he doesn't even like the ocean. But he stays because the gold Flint has a mind to capture could give him true freedom. Then he ends up catching too many feelings for the people around him, which leads to a noble deed, which leads to having his leg bashed to pieces with a mallet and the amputation of said leg to save his life.
Keeping that leg from getting infected before the invention of penicillin is not an easy task, and Silver ends up trading out a painful and inflexible prosthetic for his more famous crutch. Thing is, if you've ever walked with a crutch, you know how quickly that can throw your spine out of alignment and lead to a torrent of back and hip issues. And John Silver is dealing with that on the decks of ships, where you're tossed back and forth perpetually. The point being, there is no way he's not in some amount of pain, consistently. And my brain will not allow me to ignore it.
Remus Lupin—The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling went out of her way to say that Remus Lupin's lycanthropy was a metaphor for AIDS and diseases like it, which is a weird thing to insist in regard to your book series where not a single character ever mentions being queer on the page. But that's neither here nor there. Author commentary notwithstanding, Lupin's little werewolf problem is an easy analog for any number of chronic illnesses—especially ones that come with "flares" that reassert the disease or condition over and over.
I happen to have one of those, and was reading Harry Potter at a point in life when my condition was rearing its head. Lupin's monthly rewounding, as his body broke into a werewolf shape and then rebroke back into a human one… it burrowed into my brain like a small, soft rodent in need of a home and never let me go. He will always be my favorite character in the series, and that is greatest measure of why: Remus Lupin, shunned and deemed unemployable and always in some form of pain or another, yet it never stopped him from being kind. From educating others. From trying to give as much as he could when he had virtually nothing. Just give him a cottage near a sleepy town with a decent chocolate shop and leave him be.
This is honestly just a preliminary head count from the League of Pain Friends that I have lurking about in my brain. Who are yours?
Emmet Asher-Perrin needs a League of Pain Friends patch for a denim jacket. You can bug him on Twitter, and read more of her work here and elsewhere.


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It looks like we will begin the day with another stock market drop in the U.S. On a historical basis when stocks have dropped interest rates have fallen as folks move to 'safe haven' assets. This had not happened in the last few days, but today it looks like rates will drop by a fair amount as the 10 year treasury is trading at 2.73% after closing yesterday around 2.82%.
At this time we are not overly concerned with market movements–not just because we have mostly escaped damage, but because while these large point drops make headlines the movements are not overly crazy–remember we have had so many days in the last year with rises of 200 or 300 Dow points. The bigger damage is done to investors who are somewhat new to investing–each time we have market moves like this it takes years to get these folks back in the market after they are spooked and choose instead to move to cash for no return–a lot it can be blamed on the sensational headlines the media puts out.
It will be interesting to see how income securities react to the interest rate drop. Will they bounce a little? Or will the equity downdraft cause a "throw the baby out with the bath water" reaction with even preferred stocks and baby bonds falling off?
We shall watch closely with interest today as we have for almost 50 years now. The markets never fail to 'entertain' us and contrary to the know-it-alls on the TV we find there are always things to learn.


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Today's outfit is all about bright Neon's! The beaded collar neon shirt is from Rue21. Neon bright and gold bangle bracelets from Rue21 (I like this one here). Mood mustache ring from (similar one here) and a stretch Rhinestone ring (similar one here) both from Rue21. And chain earring cuffs from Clarie's (I like this one here and here). My nails are China Glaze Shocking Neon Pink.
I'm currently obsessed with small finger rings to create a double finger ring look. To get this look I purchased a ring that was a couple of sizes too small to fit on the top.


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Our sales team can provide guidance and expertise.
Please contact our studio at +1 212 645 2602 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com for further assistance.
Our sales team can provide guidance and expertise.
Please contact our studio at +1 212 645 2602 or email us at email@example.com for further assistance.
PAST PRESENCE is a collaboration between design studio founders Jean and Oliver Pelle of PELLE, and antique dealer and jewelry designer Russell Whitmore of Erie Basin. The collection brings together PELLE's modern design sensibilities with Whitmore's specialization in jewelry fabrication and historical design.
With the goal of creating a collection that spans beyond the contemporary context, PELLE and Erie Basin layered decorative elements onto modern forms, combining romantic nostalgia with clean lines. The collection was conceived with intentional playfulness, and each piece experiments with traditional methods and rarely-used materials, creating provocative juxtapositions of weight, austerity, and scale.
PAST PRESENCE is a collection of three new unusual pieces that resulted from the collaboration.
Dark Moon is a wall-mounted metal and stone light fixture that mimics a form popular in Arts & Crafts jewelry. The sconce's half-moon is crafted from solid brass that has undergone an aging process of hand-applied jade patina, creating subtle coloration ranging from deep blue-green to carbon black. Below, twelve stone segments dangle from cast brass hardware, forming a freely moving fringe. Each segment is cut from Serpentine marble, whose hues echo the patina of the jade finish above. Light emits from the silhouette of the half moon, diffusing through the stone fringe and highlighting the resonant textures of this illuminated sculpture.
The Fin Chair is a mahogany and blackened steel chair that features a broad "fin" as its central detail. The structural frame, seat and silhouette of the chair offer an unusual combination of elements, joining the austerity of a simple steel frame with the warmth of premium wood. The seat is made of a solid mahogany that is polished and symmetrically joined, the grain of the wood drawing the eye towards the anchoring fin—crafted from matching mahogany. Juxtaposing this rich material with a minimal frame, the Fin Chair brings singularity to a functional design.
Silver Veil is a large table lamp that features a beaded fringe detail on an angular solid body. The lamp base is plated in pure polished silver, creating a highly reflective surface that allows the lamp to effectively dematerialize. A curtain of sterling-silver beaded chains encloses two sides of the lamp, veiling the light source and a dimmer dial set with Maw Sit Sit – a rare jade-like gemstone. The dial's placement invites you to touch the beaded curtain as you turn the lamp on and off, creating a mesmerizing swinging motion.


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This section contains 211 words
(approx. 1 page at 400 words per page)
Thompson Park
Thompson Park is the quaint, older suburb of Washington D.C., in Maryland, once its own town, that Gilly has gone to live in. It is the town where Mrs. Trotter and Mr. Randolph live, and where Gilly will attend school. Above the town is an old white church on a hill that overlooks the capital of the United States of America.
Virginia is the state directly south of Maryland, where Gilly's grandmother, Nonnie, lives in Loudoun County. Virginia is where Courtney lived and grew up.
Mrs. Trotter's House
Located in Thompson Park, Maryland, Mrs. Trotter's house is a large, old, dusty place, but one that is full of love and belonging. It is the scene of family dinners with Mr. Randolph and a place that Gilly comes to call home.
Mr. Randolph's House
Located next door to Mrs. Trotter's house, Mr. Randolph...
This section contains 211 words
(approx. 1 page at 400 words per page)


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Spinder Binder Cover
You asked for it, you got it! The Spinder Cover is a simple, lightweight plastic cover that is designed to hold just one Spinder (Spinder NOT included). This is the perfect craft supply organizer binder for those of you who already use a ScrapRack.
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Dr Solis joined the Australian legal academy as a Lecturer at the University of Adelaide Law School in 2015, after almost two decades as a lawyer in the Philippines and working as a legal and policy adviser to multilateral financing and development institutions such as the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme, among others.
He is also a Visiting Faculty at the University of Sydney Law School in 2016 and 2018. Dr Solis serves as the University of Adelaide's Designated Contact Point to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Adelaide Law School's Indigenous Student Liaison Officer. From 2016 to 2017, he was a member of, and legal adviser to, the Philippines Delegation, and thus, granted a party or negotiator status in the 22nd and 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC in Marrakesh and Bonn. He will head the University of Adelaide's delegation to COP 24 in Poland this year.
Dr Manuel P S Solis will be speaking at ASEAN Forum: environmental sustainability in ASEAN, this Friday 5 October at the University of Sydney.


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While Western Washington is blossoming into a beautiful landscape of wild flowers, budding trees and green grass, it's very possible that your headaches, watery eyes, stuffy nose, and itchy ears have returned as well. Allergy season is in full force, and instead of hibernating until summer, there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and minimize the effects of the world outside your front door.
Be aware of your surroundings
Did you know most weather apps, also track and display our region's pollen count? Take a peek at the forecast in the morning so that you're aware when your allergies could get really bad. Many other factors could affect your outdoor experiences. Depending on how windy it is, gusts could stir up pollen and you're more likely to get the sniffles. Rain can help and minimize the amount of pollen in the air, but don't be fooled – it's still all around!
Be prepared and proactive
Knowing what's going on outside is only half of being ready to take on allergy season. Take time to visit your neighborhood Bartell's pharmacist to get a recommendation on what medications to take for your specific symptoms. There are treatments available for all severities of seasonal allergies. Another factor is timing when you take your medication. It's best to be proactive and mindful as to when you're planning to be outdoors. Timing your medications correctly can be very helpful.
Make your home a safe haven
If your allergies are making outdoor activities impossible, close the windows and stay indoors. If you have central air or a duct system, be sure that your filters are new or cleaned annually. Dust can also be a factor and can affect your allergies. Keep a tidy house, vacuum out the corners and clean up your free-standing fans.
When all else fails
If over the counter remedies, a cleaned house, and staying indoors during bad pollen days don't do the trick, stop in to Bartell's and one of our 15 CareClinic locations. Our providers can prescribe stronger medications and offer additional recommendations to help you get your life back on track.


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Deep pockets behind governor's meeting
16 of the donors had registered lobbyists at State House during last session
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The governors who descended on Providence en masse last week are gone, along with the platoon of shiny black SUVs that General Motors donated to shuttle their security details around.
Now: a look at some of the corporate donors to the clambake-and-policy extravaganza that Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo hosted for the National Governors Association.
Sixteen of the donors had registered lobbyists at the Rhode Island State House during the last legislative session.
They include: CVS Health, IGT, AT&T, Amgen, National Grid, Twin River, Amica Mutual Insurance Company, Bank of America, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Citizens Bank, General Motors, Mutualink, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Delta Dental of Rhode Island, Gilbane, and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, according to a comparison of the sponsors list provided by the NGA and the state's lobbying database.
Another contributor, Alex and Ani, did not have its own lobbyist, but Adler, Pollock & Sheehan was registered to lobby — unsuccessfully, as it turned out — for another of founder Carolyn Rafaelian's ventures: "Dionysus Acquisition D/B/A Carolyn's Sakonnet Vineyard."
A handful, when asked, readily disclosed how much they donated to the governors event, including lottery giant IGT, which has been paid $43 million so far by the state for running the Rhode Island Lottery's technology network last year.
"The governor invited IGT to join with other leading local companies to serve on a host committee for the NGA Summer meeting. We agreed and [company Chairman] Don Sweitzer represented IGT on the committee. At Don's recommendation, IGT became a lead local sponsor at the $250,000 level,'' spokesman Robert Vincent told The Journal.
CVS also made a $250,000 contribution, which spokeswoman Carolyn Castel describes as an "investment in showcasing all that our state offers to the nation's governors and attracting a top-tier event that can boost the local economy.'' National Grid gave $75,000, which, spokesman Mike Ryan notes, came from shareholders and not ratepayers.
But the owners of the Twin River Casino — who scored a potential $43 million win at the State House this year — were at first unwilling to disclose how much they gave.
Asked why, Twin River spokeswoman Patti Doyle said: "You know, they just don't disclose that sort of thing. Even when it [is] contributions to the RI Food Bank, Lincoln Senior Center or a host of other worthy causes throughout the state."
On Monday, after Political Scene was published, the Twin River ownership disclosed the amount it contributed to the National Governors Association summer meeting in Providence.
The amount: $75,000, according to Doyle.
The owners' split of the state-sponsored gambling at Twin River last year was $121.5 million from the video-slots, $116.3 million from the table games, according to the state Lottery.
The state got the lion's share of the rest: $265,513,319 from the video-gambling; $22,414,434 before expenses from the table games.
State lawmakers also allow the casino to offer "promo points,'' which is the industry jargon for free play.
In response to previously reported pleas from Twin River executives, the lawmakers agreed this year to raise the cap on Twin River's promo points from 10 percent to 20 percent of the prior year's "net terminal income" from the video slots, plus $750,000.
Translation: once passed, the budget bill currently in limbo will boost Twin River's "Maximum Promo Points'' to $88,003,707, an increase of $42,947,022 over the last fiscal year, according to the state Lottery.
A second Twin River gambling property — Newport Grand — will also benefit from permission to offer up to $9,977,144 in promo points, "an increase of $4,801,664 compared to Fiscal Year 2017.'' (Actual amounts in both cases are subject to the state Lottery director's approval.)
Put another way: Were it not free, the state would keep roughly 61 cents of every dollar a gambler played and lost on these giveaway turns.
This was the pitch that George Papanier, president and CEO of Twin River Management Group Inc., made to the lawmakers in May: "First – Free Play is the most important and valuable tool we have to maximize revenue. Second — we don't have enough of it; and third — without the ability to get more through this legislation, we cannot expect to successfully compete in a growing competitive market.''
"We are at a moment in time where we have the opportunity to go on the offensive, to grow our business and solidify customer relationships prior to the opening of new Massachusetts competition,'' he argued.
Twin River's intersections with state lawmakers and the Raimondo administration followed parallel paths.
Asked by The Journal who approached Twin River for a donation to the governors' conference, Doyle said: "We were approached in mid to late January by Gabe Amo, who we understood to be director of public engagement for the Governor."
Over the next several months, Twin River pitched its promo-point expansion plan to lawmakers. "And, you should know,'' Doyle said, "no testimony was provided by the administration either for or against'' the free-play bills introduced by Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin and House Majority Leader K. Joseph Shekarchi.
Did Twin River pitch the idea to anyone in Raimondo's administration?
"We work closely with the Division of Lotteries, so officials there were aware of the legislation,'' Doyle said. "Beyond that, I don't believe so."
For the record: Raimondo spokesman David Ortiz said the governor's office asked its chief legal counsel, Claire Richards, for her advice, "and was assured there was no problem soliciting money for the conference. Though there's no prohibition against it, the administration steered clear of companies seeking — or already in the pipeline for — financial incentives from the Commerce Corporation.''
A side note: Remember the SUVs?
RIP the legislation that Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and Shekarchi introduced this past winter to make automobile manufacturers reimburse dealers "more fairly'' for work done under warranty, as the backers described.
It went poof, after a hearing in which the Auto Alliance — a trade group for GM and other automakers — panned it.
More say no
The number of Rhode Island lawmakers who have said "No thank you" to a $200.59 raise has grown.
A week ago, Political Scene reported that 19 of the state's part-time representatives and senators had declined the raise from $15,429.72 to $15,630.31 a year that kicked in automatically by virtue of a provision in the state constitution.
The count is now 24 with the addition of Sens. Frank Ciccone and Donna Nesselbush, and Reps. David Coughlin, Gregory Costantino and Jeremiah O'Grady.
Magaziner engaged
State Treasurer Seth Magaziner is engaged to marry his long-time girlfriend, Julia McDowell.
They met as undergrad classmates at Brown. A native of Pittsburgh, she is currently pursuing an MBA at Yale. They have not chosen a wedding date.
Mum on health care
Political Scene first asked Cranston Mayor Allan Fung where he stood on the congressional GOP's attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare on June 29.
That was the day a coalition of Republican and Democratic mayors from across the country urged Washington to: "Consider the impact this bill will have on Americans — which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated will cause 22 million to lose their health insurance and gut efforts to create strong, healthy communities.''
That same week, the Democratic Governors Association placed a digital ad on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube questioning why Fung, a past — and possibly future — GOP candidate for governor of Rhode Island, had been silent.
"Rhode Island voters want to know: Does he support the Senate health care bill or does he oppose it?" DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold asked. Fung did not reply.
A Journal reporter caught up with Fung at the State House last Monday, at an unrelated event. Asked face-to-face if he is simply unwilling to talk about the national GOP's health-care replacement drive, he said: "What I'm simply willing to talk about is Cranston, and Rhode Islanders and particularly any issues that are important to us.
"The important issue right now ... is figuring out the budget dollars, because our budget dollars are locked,'' he said of the current impasse in Rhode Island.
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