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"Because modern readers define and interpret allegory so loosely and broadly, it has become common to speak of the Narnia stories as allegories of the Christian faith (or at least to speak of the first book in the series as an allegory of the gospel story), or to speak of Lewis's Space Trilogy as allegories of spiritual origins and conflict."
Tim Challies's excellent post this week on why Narnia's Aslan is not the same as the divine characterizations in William Paul Young's The Shack offered a literary side-note that addresses a pet peeve this English major and Lewisphile has held for a quite a while—the incorrect use of the word "allegory." I address some of the ways people erroneously apply the allegorical sense to Jesus's parables, for instance, in my book The Storytelling God, but in general, I notice more and more people referring to things that are simply symbolic or metaphorical as "allegorical," making allegory a sort of catch-all category. But the history of literature does not allow such a sloppy application.
Did C. S. Lewis write allegory? The answer is not as obvious as it seems. Because modern readers define and interpret allegory so loosely and broadly, it has become common to speak of the Narnia stories as allegories of the Christian faith (or at least to speak of the first book in the series as an allegory of the gospel story), or to speak of Lewis's Space Trilogy as allegories of spiritual origins and conflict. But the fact is that C.S . Lewis published only one true allegorical work: The Pilgrim's Regress.
It is important to consider what Lewis himself believed about Allegory, how he defined it. He may well have been wrong (and perhaps modernity has blurred the fine edges off of his definition to the point where he would be wrong today), but I think we cannot rightly call works of his allegorical if he himself denied they were.
The brief note at the beginning of Perelandra includes the curious disclaimer that none of the figures in the story is allegorical. I always thought this odd considering that the book so obviously included references to the biblical account of the fall, and that the hero Ransom was so obviously a Christ-figure. Indeed, the second book of Lewis's Space Trilogy is the easiest of the three to read "allegorically." But again, we must keep in mind that Lewis regards allegory as a specific genre with specific rules.
How then does he define allegory? Perhaps the clearest definition in the most common language comes via a letter to Mrs. Hook (found in Letters of C. S. Lewis, 12/29/58):
By an allegory I mean a composition (whether pictorial or literary) in which immaterial realities are represented by feigned physical objects, e.g. a pictured Cupid allegorically represents erotic love (which in reality is an experience, not an object occupying a given area of space) or, Bunyan, a giant represents Despair.
A more literary explanation is found in Lewis's historical survey and critical appraisal of Allegory, The Allegory of Love:
On the one hand you can start with an immaterial fact, such as the passions which you actually experience, and can then invent visibilia to express them. If you are hesitating between an angry retort and a soft answer, you can express your state of mind by inventing a person called Ira with a torch and letting her contend with another invented person called Patientia. This is allegory.
To put it more simply:
For Lewis, allegory is when tangible things or figures represent intangible ideas—emotions, experiences, virtues, or vices. As an example, the character Christian in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress represents Christianity or Christians in general, just as some of the characters Christian encounters in that allegorical work represent typical Christian struggles—fear, doubt, temptation, and so on.
An allegorical figure would represent an intangible concept. It is allegorical, then, when Johnny represents sacrifice, not when Johnny represents the person of Jesus. When figures represent not the intangible, but other things tangible (like other figures), then they become symbols. You could also perhaps use the word metaphor.
This is why the Narnia stories are not allegory either. Or, more specifically, this is why Aslan is not an allegorical figure of Jesus. In that same letter to Mrs. Hook, Lewis writes:
If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, "What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?" This is not allegory at all. So in Perelandra. This also works out a supposition. . . . Allegory and such supposals differ because they mix the real and the unreal in different ways.


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Igb specializes in the production of packaging for the storage and transport of medicines, including ampoule trays.
Igb Ampoule Trays are entirely made of cardboard: they are safe, eco-friendly and easy to use.
Attention to the environment is evident from the absence of high environmental impact materials, not only in the finished product but also in the production process. In accordance with the ISO 14001 standard, Igb is certified for.
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They are an ideal product for the packaging of vials in the pharmaceutical industry and are available in 4 sizes:
- 10 ampoule tray, for 2ml, 5ml and 10ml ampoules
- 5 ampoule tray, for 20ml ampoules

subset: commoncrawl


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Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed film Taxi Driver centres around protagonist Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro), an honourably discharged U.S. marine that suffers from chronic insomnia, loneliness and depression.
Upon his return to New York, Travis finds refuge and initial solace as a taxi driver. But Travis, working primarily at night, encounters a muddled and disturbing city nightlife filled with prostitutes, perversion, drugs, crime, violence and racism, among other things.
Despite being out and about in the external world, the protagonist prefers to spend most of his time in his head, leading him to repress his anger (he eventually begins a journal and we are privy to his musings in voiceover). His apartment and cab become Travis's safe havens and end up being the only places that he can express himself comfortably (albeit internally).
We learn that Travis desires a romantic partner with whom he can confide in and enjoy his free time with. Things don't go so well for him in the dating game (first date to a porn theatre anyone?), and ultimately he is left with loneliness. Travis deals with the frustration of the bleak New York nightlife and his lack of connections with another person, by strengthening his body through rigorous physical training. Travis intends on putting this training to use as a means of cleaning the streets in ways that the politicians refuse to do.
Scorsese's Taxi Driver represents the dark side of urbanization: whether it's the polluted nighttime streets, filled with material filth as well as human degenerates, or the glaring lighting and unfriendly atmosphere presented, Scorsese's New York is not a place where you want to be. Through his interactions with the city streets and street dwellers, Travis demonstrates that despite the various pluses of urbanization, everything has its down side.
Roger Ebert called Taxi Driver "a brilliant nightmare, and like all nightmares it doesn't tell us half of what we want to know. We're not told where Travis comes from, what his specific problems are, whether his ugly scar came from Vietnam – because this isn't a case study, but a portrait of some days in his life."
Drawing some comparisons to the film we screened last week, David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977), both films follow a disturbed male protagonist through an unrelenting and unpleasant world that we, the viewers, have difficulties relating to or identifying with. Taxi Driver, unlike Eraserhead, is not a surrealist film and presents itself in a clearer, more realistic style.
Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1976 and was also nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score, and Best Picture. Scorsese's newest film with Leonardo di Caprio, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), certainly resembles the misanthropic New York depicted in the earlier feature, but both are a far departure from Scorsese's wildly successful family film Hugo (2011).
Please join us for a free screening of Taxi Driver on Wednesday, Feb. 12 @ Artspace (378, Aylmer St., between Hunter St. and Simcoe St.). The show begins at 8pm.


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Three-seaters and three-wheelers from £3000 – used car buying guide
McLaren F1
Whether you want a three-seater or a vehicle with three wheels, we have some enticing suggestions, priced from £3k to £6m
Three is sometimes called the magic number, and whether you're after something with three wheels or three seats, the automotive world can once again deliver choice. Here are five of our favourites.
1 – McLaren F1 (1992-1998)
When we first tried this three-seat supercar, we called it the finest driving machine yet built for the public road, and many think it still is.
Ex-Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray created this 240mph, low-weight, high-tech rocketship. The driver sits in the middle, because that's the best place to be, and the two passengers sit either side
Power comes from a mid-mounted 617bhp 6.1-litre BMW V12 that shoots the F1 from zero to 100mph in just 6.3sec. It goes, it stops, it corners, and it does it all faster than just about anything else.
The F1 cost £540,000 new. Today you'll need at least £6 million, but, shared between three people, that might not be so bad.
2 – Matra Murena (1980-1983)
What the delightfully wide and deliciously low three-seat Murena lacked in speed it made up for in sensual gratification.
It replaced the equally fruity Bagheera and retained that car's three-in-a-row seating layout, with the driver on the left of the passengers (or on the right, in a few cases) in a stylish, if cosy, interior.
The higher-powered of the two engine options was a 118bhp 2.2-litre mid-mounted four, which pushes the Murena from 0-60mph in 8.8sec and on to 122mph. Cornering is impressive, with little pitch or roll. It even rides well.
Only 10,000 examples were made, but if you're happy with left-hand drive, there are plenty available on the Continent, priced from around £4k.
3 – Morgan 3 Wheeler (2012-present)
A tricycle with two wheels at the front and one at the rear is an infinitely more stable affair than one with the layout reversed. Keep the centre of mass low and it can also be remarkably civilised.
Morgan showed how this could be done as far back as 1912. Its three-wheelers subsequently inspired many more modern interpretations and prompted the Malvern firm to bring out a new version of its own in 2012.
Powered by an 80bhp 2.0-litre V-twin, this 3 Wheeler is a faster and more chunky affair than the original but retains its low-flying, chocks-away spirit. It dispatches 0-62mph in 8.0sec and attacks corners with aplomb. A good second-hand one will be £25k.
4 – Piaggio MP3 (2006-present)
Encounter so much as a wet leaf mid-bend on your motorbike and you will be sliding down the road on your leather-clad rump. Trikes that have two wheels at the rear don't have this problem, but they can't thread through traffic like an ordinary motorcycle can.
Enter the Piaggio M3. With two tilting front wheels, it dispenses with the dynamic disadvantage of the dicyclic vehicle while preserving the agility of the monotrack. The latest 500cc model comes with a CVT and a 5.0sec 0-62mph time. Top speed is 90mph. It handles well, and even hardened motorcyclists admire them. Classed as a tricycle, it can be ridden with a standard car licence.
Buy second-hand from around £3k.
5 – Bond Bug (1970-1974)
Early Bond Minicars were low and light two-stroke affairs, but the 1970s Bug was a much more fashionable thing. Ogle Design's Tom Karen, who also did the Reliant Scimitar, penned the Bond Bug's sharply styled body. Driver and passenger enter via the pull-forward canopy.
Underneath, a 29bhp (31bhp if you can find the ES model) 700cc Reliant in-line four propels the lightweight Bug to 78mph. Steering is two-turns-lock-to-lock quick and the turning circle just 24ft. However, with its single front wheel, it's only really stable when driven in reverse. It's a hairy experience — slightly uncivilised but definitely involving.
For the full tangerine dream, put your flares on and go and buy one now for between £4k and £8k. Groovy, baby!


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Submit an Event
Summer Solstice Labyrinth Walk
Cumberland First Baptist Church
116 S. Muessing Street
Indianapolis, IN 46229
Summer Solstice Labyrinth Walk, Thursday, June 21, 2018, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Cumberland First Baptist Church, 116 S. Muessing St., Cumberland, IN 46229, 317-894-2645.
Walk the quiet path of the outdoor labyrinth to encounter the Holy.
Use the walk to experience the transition of the season from Spring to Summer, as well as the transitions in your personal life.
Walk at your own pace.
Meditation and prayer space inside and outside the church.
www.cumberlandfbc.org and Facebook.
For more information email Sarah.


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I would like to invite you to visit http://motiongraphs.qubahq.com/ - an online version of an exhibition by Quba Michalski, celebrating over a decade of his work in the field of motion design. Throughout this period Quba created several hundred of videos ranging from small independent pieces to massive visual extravaganzas for some of the world's most well-known brands. MotionGraphs gives you a rare chance to gaze into the inner workings of his projects and examine in detail the way these selected works were constructed.
0 Like4 Comments3 Minutes
Tutorial+Preset: Light Wall
This tutorial is a hybrid between the Automated Light Rig and Scrolling LED Text. We will be building an animated image map driven light array that can be used for for either cool light effects or easily controlled particle emission.
While the entire project can be completed within After Effects, I will also jump into Cinema 4D every now and then and show you a very easy way for creating quite complex light arrays and importing them back into AE.
0 Like83 Comments2 Minutes
Money for Masking and the Pics for Free
In this article I would like to propose a solution that could potentially free the artists from the labor of building alpha channels for their images, earn freelancers some money and help the big stock providers expand their offering.
0 Like3 Comments7 Minutes
Tutorial: Enhance Your Images With HolOS
This tutorial video will teach you how to create your own HolOS (Hollywood Operating System) image enhancement effect using After Effects.
0 Like0 Comments1 Minute


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Cute as a button
June 14, 2010
I had the idea for a cute as a (button) t-shirt for a while and then was lucky enough to find a monster bag of embroidery silks and needles in a local charity shop for £2! The t-shirt came from tesco in a pack of 4 different colours and I fished the button out of the spares box. I printed the text in a simple script font and traced it through the t-shirt with a pencil. Then 'embroidered' a running stitch over the text. The photo above is of my working out which of my cache of lovely coloured silks I wanted to use. I used the full thickness of silks not splitting them up (as I was always told to do) so had to use a needle with a fat hole and very pointy end.
I was very pleased with the result, a very simple t-shirt and a little bit different to the ones you see in the shops, and Alice likes to fiddle with the button and try and chew on it (she STILL doesn't have any teeth!) – I hope I have stitched it on properly I don't want her to swallow it, although I guess we would have the same problem with any of her tops with buttons on them!


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|Contact Us
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Phone: 804-644-0041
For general inquiries and membership requests, use The Virginia Bar Association office contacts listed above. If you are a member and need assistance with a specific request or project, please see the staff directory below.
You may also access contact information for the VBA leadership as well as the Young Lawyers Division and the Law Practice Management Division. Contact information for individual sections or committees is available on the individual section or committee pages.
Important Reminders!
If you have a complaint about an attorney, please contact the Virginia State Bar.
For a complaint about a judge, please contact the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission.
If you need a lawyer referral, please call the Virginia Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-552-7977 or 804-775-0808 (metro Richmond area).
Other Programs/FoundationsLawyers Helping Lawyers Program
(substance abuse assistance for members of the legal profession in Virginia)
VBA Divisions
VBA Sections
Section Membership Application
VBA and Section Membership Application
VBA Committees


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We are normally tuned to quotes like ' Listen to your customers' and 'Customer is always right'.
Thats why most businesses try to implement methods to capture customer feedback at various touch points. The customer facing staff is tasked with delighting the customers and in turn collect as much good ratings as possible. However, negative feedback is being frowned upon.
Most Customer Service Managers don't understand why negative feedback is critical to business. The first positive thing about negative feedback is that the customer dint choose to go to your competitor, but instead chose to reach out to you to give negative feedback. It means the customer still trusts the brand to take some corrective action.
However, enterprises must have a solid plan to handle negative feedback. It must be escalated and proper remedial action must be taken. It must also include strategy to bring the customer back on board. Unless a proper strategy is adopted in this case, the negative feedback will work against the brand.


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1-603-569-HOLE (4653) • Store hours: Mon. - Sat.: 6am-6pm Sun.: 6am-2pm • See Map
How to Prepare for the New Hampshire Ice Fishing Tournament
If you are thinking about entering the annual Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby this year, it helps to prepare ahead of time and get all of the winter fishing supplies you need for New Hampshire ice fishing. Even if you already have your own ice fishing equipment, custom fishing rods and reels, sled, auger and other necessary tools, it pays to read through the rules and FAQ for the tournament to know what is allowed and what isn't.
If you are coming in from out-of-state, you need to know that a fishing license is required for all participants, age 16 and older. Children under the age of 16 can fish in the tournament, but they do not need to have a valid fishing license for ice fishing. Everyone who participates in the Derby, regardless of age, needs to have a Derby ticket if they want to enter fish or claim any prizes. You can get all the information you need on the Derby by visiting the Meredith Rotary Club website.
Pre-Fishing Before the Tournament
If you want to stand any chance of winning in the tournament, you need to get into town a few days early so you can pre-fish the area. This can be a very helpful technique, allowing you to get a feel for the lake, figure out where the fish are hanging out, and help you figure out what you want to do on the day of the Derby. Make sure to fish at about the same time that you will be fishing during the tournament so you'll know how a certain spot will be performing at a certain time of day.
Create a strategy that will help you in the Derby. You can even chat with locals where you get your winter fishing supplies, such as the Hole in the Wall in Wolfeboro. New Hampshire ice fishing is more than just a sport, it's a way of life. Everything from the ice fishing equipment that you use to the custom fishing rods and reels available at the local bait shops is a part of the overall experience. Once you figure out where you want to go and when you want to be there on the Derby day, make sure to also make a couple of back-up plans. What are you going to do if someone else is in the same spot that you want to fish in for the tournament?
Go Your Own Way
When it comes to ice fishing in a tournament, stay away from the crowds. Hopefully you have pre-fished the lake, so you'll know where to go and what to avoid. However, if you need to move around because someone else was in "your" spot, just make sure you stay away from big groups of people. Not only will you have less of a chance of catching a fish in a crowded spot, but it is also against the rules for a reason. It is not safe to have that many people out in the ice in one area.
You can download the rules for the annual Great Meredith Fishing Derby from the rotary club's website. This will help give you the opportunity to study ahead of time and know what to expect. Browse through the FAQ section, as they might answer some of the questions that you have about New Hampshire ice fishing and the Derby requirements.
Get Winter Ice Fishing Supplies at the Hole in the Wall
Whether you decide to get in on the tournament or not, make sure to stop by the Hole in the Wall for ice fishing equipment, live bait, custom fishing rods and reels, plus a whole lot more. We have a wide range of New Hampshire ice fishing equipment and other winter fishing supplies, depending on the type of fishing that you want to do. We also have boat rentals, Bob House rentals, ice fishing rentals and other seasonal items available for rent. Give us a call at 1-603-569-HOLE (4653) to reserve a rental for the future.


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Trump,Putin to hold summit
Published : Monday, 16 July, 2018 at 12:22 PM Count : 614
US President Donald Trump will meet Russia's Vladimir Putin later on Monday, ending a tumultuous European tour in which he criticised his allies, reports BBC.
Mr Trump said he had "low expectations" ahead of the talks in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, but added that "maybe some good" would come of them.
The summit comes after 12 Russians were charged with hacking in the 2016 US elections.
Mr Trump says he will raise the issue, but there is no formal agenda.
The two leaders will meet one-on-one, and will be joined only by their interpreters. It is the first-ever summit between Mr Putin and Mr Trump - although they have previously met on the sidelines of multilateral talks.
There have been calls in the US for Mr Trump to cancel the meeting altogether over the indictments of Russian military intelligence agents, announced on Friday.
Russia denies the allegations, and says it is looking forward to the talks as a vehicle for improving relations.
What will be discussed?
US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said both sides have agreed the meeting will have no set agenda.
But he said he found it "hard to believe" Mr Putin did not know about the alleged election hacking and the subject would be mentioned.
"That's what one of the purposes of this meeting is, so the president can see eye to eye with President Putin and ask him about it," he told ABC News.
Mr Trump has also been urged to raise the poisoning of two people in the UK who came into contact with the nerve agent Novichok. Investigators believe the incident is linked to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in March.
Mr Trump elaborated on what will be discussed at the summit during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May last week.
"We'll be talking about Syria," he said. "We'll be talking about other parts of the Middle East. I will be talking about nuclear proliferation."
What are the US hacking allegations?
The 11-count indictment names the Russians defendants, alleging they began cyber-attacks in March 2016 on the email accounts of staff for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
They are accused of using keystroke-reading software to spy on the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and hack into the party's computers.
op Democrats including party chairman Tom Perez have urged Mr Trump to abandon the talks, saying Mr Putin was "not a friend of the United States".
On the Republican side, Senator John McCain said the summit "should not move forward" unless the president "is prepared to hold Putin accountable".
What has Mr Trump been doing so far in Europe?
His tour has included a Nato summit in Belgium and a visit to the UK. Neither passed without controversy.
Following the Nato summit, Mr Trump said the allies had pledged to "substantially" raise their defence budgets but other leaders cast doubt on this claim.
The UK visit also had its ups and downs after Mr Trump told a newspaper the US would probably not give the UK a trade deal under the terms of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans - and then later appeared to backtrack on this position.
He also said Europe was "losing its character" because of immigration from Africa and the Middle East.
On Sunday, just before he departed for Helsinki, Mr Trump described the European Union as a foe on trade.
He told CBS News that European countries were taking advantage of the US and not paying their Nato bills.


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Sarah Norton joined Xebec in 2008 and currently serves as the company's Controller. Ms. Norton's primary responsibilities are related to financial review and the management of Xebec's operating assets and investments. She is also responsible for the day to day accounting activities.
Ms. Norton earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Chapman University where she graduated top of her class.


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We're in the final stretch in rehearsals for This Beautiful Future this week, and fast approaching tech. This wonderful team of creatives are drawing together the unique components of first love, history, dreams, karaoke and chicks that make up this heart-wrenching production written by Rita Kalnejais and directed by Jay Miller. In keeping with the shows exploration of time, I want to take a moment to pause and look back to share some fragments from the research and rehearsal process with you…
Eating fried chicken with teenagers
A real highlight was chatting about the future over fried chicken and cream soda with a fantastic bunch of teenagers. The group are a part of the Company Three ensemble, an incredible theatre company who make work with young people about the teenage experience for adult audiences. Jay and Rita felt it would be useful to connect with some teens to help with character development for our 17 year old Elodie and 15 year old Otto, and to find out more about teenage attitudes towards the future at the moment, to hear about their ideas, hopes and aspirations.
I tagged along with them, and two of our incredible actors Hannah Millward and Bradley Hall. As well as some cracking fried chicken, it was super inspiring to be reminded of the positivity and energy of young people right now. But chatting about the need to get more sleep, to stop worrying about work and to stop going on our phones all the time, I did wonder if growing up actually changes anything at all.
Running the opening for the first time
Without any spoilers, Jay's created a sort of delicate but energetic spark of an opening to our story, combining Jonah Brody's joyous and epic karaoke music (sung beautifully by actors Alwyne Taylor and Paul Haley) and Rita's uplifting text. The first time we put it all together it was such a thrill. It makes me smile and my heart beat a little faster every time I see it.
Big booty everyday
Every afternoon in rehearsals we play Big Booty. Everyone in the rehearsal room at the time has to join in. It involves a lot of dancing.
Researching a new past
Before rehearsals began I spent a week in the Imperial War Museum's Research rooms (fab free archives and reading rooms should you ever need it delving into World War 2 and life in Occupied France. I thought I knew this topic pretty well through AS History, but examining my understanding of the war from a French perspective was a fascinating experience. The German invasion of France happened in the a mere 6 weeks. This whirlwind was traumatic, humiliating and deeply confusing for civilians, and left many without a clear sense of whose side they should be on. It fractured France for a generation and that the stories told in France from the period are often conflicting.
Although full of horror and tragedy, the British understanding of the most momentous period in our living memory is pretty clear cut – isn't it? It's easy to teach in schools, as we were on the right side of history. Our grandparents were heroes, civilians made of steel who never surrendered against the most unimaginable evil. Not to discredit their bravery and sacrifice, I've come to see how the sentimental story of honour could be dangerous. Perhaps it's blindsided us to other atrocities we've committed in recent history, and allowed an arrogance to emerge that leaves us incapable of spotting the pattern of events that a dangerously fractured Europe can lead to.
Part of the genius of Rita's story is in it's offering of a fresh outlook, a view which shakes up our historical understanding of good and evil, as well as reminding us of the lessons of the past.
It's a useful tool for young people right now as it can be hard for to understand the extremes of current world events. But what this play does offer is an injection of hope within an examination of trauma. It looks at the positive energy of youth and love to overcome the barriers to paint a beautiful future.


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MISDIAGNOSIS - The patients that do not exists
A Swedish documentary.
It is possible to see this documentary with English subtitles on YouTube.
I don't think that the people who have been involved in this documentary use the Swedish definition of chronic (Lyme) borreliosis (i.e. late Lyme disease).
Edit to add:
I have not been involved (at all) in this documentary.
"MISDIAGNOSIS - The patients that do not exists" (Sweden)
General or non-medical topics with information and discussion related to Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
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Anyone who has been downloading apps or using the web over the past few years will have encountered location-based services – even if they aren't aware of them. Commonly used as a way to deliver targeted content and ads, these tools are a massive part of marketing strategies all over the world.
But do they have any hidden dangers? This article will look at whether giving away your location is such a good idea. Hopefully, we'll find out what the risks are, and what you can do about them.
What are Location Based Services?
Location Based Services (LBS) involve delivering content to computer and smartphone users based on their geographical location.
With the rise of smartphone apps in marketing, LBS have become a vital tool for many companies, and they often have some very handy uses.
For example, restaurant review apps can use your location to recommend Indian eateries within 500 metres – perfect for when you're visiting a strange town and need a pitstop for an evening meal.
Newspapers might use location detection to deliver relevant stories. Dating apps use them to match users in similar areas – the applications are multiplying all the time.
However, the most common application involves delivering targeted advertising. When websites know where a user is located, they can track their online movements and deliver ads that are (supposedly) relevant to their individual needs.
How do Location Based Services work?
All LBS services need a way to isolate the location of an individual user. This sometimes needs to be extremely accurate (say, if the service in question is recommending restaurants). But other systems can afford to be less precise.
Broadly speaking, there are a few ways to gather location information:
Via smartphone GPS data – When you use your smartphone, you don't just send SMS messages to friends or take part in WhatsApp groups that you control. Your device is also constantly communicating with your mobile phone company, as well as any other services for which you've granted permission to receive data. So, companies delivering location-based services can directly harvest GPS information from your phone – a huge help for all sorts of businesses.
Mobile base stations – A less precise, but potentially cheaper and faster, way to gather data is via mobile phone base stations. When you roam with your phone, you pass from station to station, and your phone company knows which is your closest node at any moment. This can be used to provide a rough readout of where you are.
IP addresses – When users are surfing the web, IP addresses are often the tool of choice for businesses who want to know their location. Your IP address provides a vague idea of where your device is located, and this is usually enough for marketers to know which town you live in.
What are the dangers associated with Location Based Services?
All of this probably sounds unobjectionable. And LBS isn't a problem when companies are using it to deliver relevant, useful information. But this isn't always the case, and LBS has actually given rise to some important security concerns. That's why you're reading about it on a security-focused blog.
These concerns aren't vague online rumors. In fact, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) flagged fundamental concerns as far back as 2014.
According to the GAO, many companies adopted LBS but had failed to inform users what would be done with their personal data. This focused on car companies using smart tech in their vehicles, but expanded to include Google and other tech giants.
Location targeting was essentially a case of "mission creep." From a basic agreement between users and companies to allow the latter to collect data, it has become a way to build detailed individual profiles for corporate profit.
Have these worries eased since 2014? Not really.
In May 2018, Wired reported a disturbing story. Apparently, an LBS broker called Securus had been selling the location of almost any US citizen, and local sheriffs had been buying – giving them a shocking level of insight into the whereabouts of citizens.
Securus doesn't collect data itself. It buys data from a company called LocationSmart, which buys data from mobile phone companies. It's like the Wild Wild West.
Therefore, your location data could end up anywhere, in anyone's hands
We're now learning the truth about location-based services. They are far from just a convenient way to link companies and consumers. Instead, the rapid rise of LBS has provided a vast treasure trove of data about societies across the world. And this is immensely valuable to all kinds of groups.
We mentioned rogue law enforcement officials – and that's one worry. But the profiles drawn up by marketers using LBS can also be used by the supposed enemies of sheriffs: cyber criminals.
The Dark Web is crammed with leaked records containing information about individuals' medical histories, their finances, addresses, and even their passports. When you add mapping data showing where they travel, how they shop, and their daily habits, it's possible to "know" targets in incredible detail.
You can even use algorithms to match up the location maps from separate individuals to work out who meets who, when, and where.
Criminals can use this data to perfect their identity theft techniques. They could use it to mount blackmail campaigns; it could be used by terrorists to target vulnerable groups – the implications are pretty worrying.
So what can we do? Should we just boycott location-based services altogether? Probably not. They are too ingrained in the way the web works to abandon entirely. From an individual perspective, the best we can do is probably to lock down our devices and provide as few "permissions" as possible.
How to minimise your personal risk when using Location Based Services
There are a couple of actions we can take to mitigate the risk of betraying our location, and everybody should at least be aware of them.
1. Use a VPN
Firstly, if you use your smartphone or laptop on the move, and you are exposed to sites that use LBS, it's vital to have a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on your device.
VPNs encrypt the data you send and route your traffic through servers located halfway around the world. So as far as external observers are concerned, your "location" isn't where you actually are.
In some cases, using a VPN will actually stop location detectors working – which could make sites unusable. If so, there's a good chance these sites aren't configured with privacy in mind. And you should be able to change your privacy settings on those sites to deny permissions in any case. But be aware that when you use a VPN, some apps may malfunction.
2. Get smart about granting permissions
The only way location based services have been able to grow so quickly is by obscuring the way they work. In almost every case, individuals must grant permission to websites or apps to detect and transmit their location. But the way this is done can be hard to discern. Additionally, sites aren't always transparent about how far these permissions reach.
This means that it's often necessary to audit your permissions to make sure you haven't granted away huge amounts of data.
On Android phones, this is fairly simple. Head to Apps, choose each individual app, and press the Permissions button. You should see whether the app uses location-based services, and you may be surprised at how many do so.
On iPhones, the process is similar. Just head to the Settings menu, choose General, and then Restrictions. Now choose Enable restrictions, and you'll be able to alter the permissions granted to various apps.
If you're using web browsers, double check that they are set to request when you grant location data. Chrome and Firefox definitely provide this kind of alert, and you should be told when websites want to know where you are.
Don't let your data maps become public knowledge
There's no doubt that location-based services are useful – even game-changing for some industries. But they also come with risks and downsides. If you want to avoid leaking your location data indiscriminately, adding a good VPN to your toolkit is a good start. And managing your app permissions is a sensible second step.
But above all, just be aware that if you're not careful, the whole world will know your most intimate details. And as we've seen, that's a situation full of potential dangers.


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Yushchenko categorically opposed to carrying out two tours of Kyiv Mayor election
It will draw the country aside European mechanisms
President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko is categorically opposed to carrying out two tours of the early election of Kyiv Mayor.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, he claimed this to a press conference in Warsaw today.
The President expressed a belief that this idea will not be supported by the Ukrainian parliament, as well as by the Ukrainian society.
He stressed the country needs stability and peace, and not PR-actions or electoral technologies. That is why he is negative about holding the Kyiv Mayor election through two tours.
The President pointed out that if the Kyiv Mayor is elected through two tours, one should keep in mind that other Mayors were elected on other principles – through one tour. In the opinion of the President, all Mayor elections in Ukraine must base on one principle. If this principle is changed, it will be unfair and undemocratic, he stressed.
Victor Yushchenko also turned attention to the fact that three fourths of Mayors in Europe are elected by representative institutions, and if the election through two tours is introduced in Ukraine, it will draw the country aside the best European mechanisms.
He is confident that this proposal is connected with PR-technologies, and not with desire to make the election more democratic.


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ITAM - IT Asset Management?Posted by mKD at 5:56 PM
So what is ITAM - IT Asset Management? It's software asset management I think. Or maybe it is procurement management, redeployment management or disposal management of information technology. I have no idea. But apparently lots of Sox fans are in this IT asset management field because EMC sponsored the Red Sox last year in our Japan Games. They even slapped the EMC logo on our uniforms. Are the players the assets to management? These business practices....
I wonder if Microsoft sponsors the Seattle team. Speaking of Seattle, here's a great commercial of our new aquisition - A.B.
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IAEE Members: Please log in to access IAEE proceedings and papers.
Heat Supply Systems Using Natural Gas in the Residential Sector: Is the District Heating System Energy Saving?
Hi-chun Park, Hoseok Kim
Download Abstract Purchase Presentation Purchase Paper
Energy Specializations: Energy Efficiency
Presented at: Asian Energy Security and Economic Development in an Era of High Oil Prices, Taipei, Taiwan - Nov 5-6, 2007


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Teddy Bear Home
Decorating | Decoration | Design | House
Your have many teddy bears, but you are sad that they don't have a house. But your parents let you have a special place at home for you teddy bears, and you can call it teddy bear house! Let's decorate this house however you want and make it the cutest teddy bear house ever!


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National Louis University D214 Scholarship
In preparation for the inaugural Harrison Pathways Program class at the Wheeling, IL campus, National Louis University is pleased to offer two full tuition scholarships to District 214 students. The Harrison Pathways Program is designed to be a flexible and affordable program that can lead to any of NLU's undergraduate degrees including Applied Communication, Business Administration, Human Services, Criminal Justice, Psychology, and Early Childhood, Elementary or Special Education.
The scholarship covers full-tuition and fees, renewable for four (4) years. For full details and to apply, please visit the scholarship provider's website.Scholarship Requirements:-Open to students graduating from one of the 6 Illinois Township District 214 High Schools-Have 15 or fewer transfer credit hours -Have a 2.0 or higher high school GPA OR 19 or higher composite ACT score OR 1150 or higher composite SAT-FAFSA completion required An essay is required. Your essay should address the question: "What would the D214 National Louis Scholarship mean to you and/or your family?" or "How do you currently make a difference in your community or plan to after receiving your NLU degree?"


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Your Klout Score
So let's say we're signing up with Klout. You probably won't be surprised to learn that Klout can easily access your personal social networking data with a few swift "OKs" from you. But now that you have your number, how do you get it higher?
Klout is kind of like a credit check. While the service might give you helpful hints about what will hurt or harm your score, nobody can be entirely sure why their score is what it is. What we do know is that Klout says it uses 400 "signals" in an algorithm to show how important you are. Some of those signals are given more weight than others. For instance, while having a bajillion Facebook friends might be great, even more important is that your bajillion Facebook friends all comment or "like" the statuses you share.
The same goes for Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Foursquare. Sure, it's great to have people connected to you, but Klout's Web site is careful to point out that it's how people react to your digital content that ups your score. Just being active isn't going to make you important; Klout measures what they call "moments," or social media reactions that have gotten the most attention. Newer content is also going to get more Klout. There's a 90-day "rolling window," so not checking Facebook for three days won't kill you. But if you had a hit song with the tween set during the '80s, your one-hit-wonder status probably won't make you a Klout star unless you're leveraging it constantly on Twitter. (Which you should really be doing anyway.) In short, getting influential people to interact digitally with you will make your score go up.
And here's something else to keep in mind if you're despondent about your score: One small nip to that algorithm, and suddenly everyone who cultivated that sky-high score is a loser with no Klout. (It really happened in October 2011, and Klout CEO Joe Fernandez was derided so badly he tweeted that the Internet as a whole wanted to "punch me in the face" [source: Stevenson]. So it's best you don't put too much time and effort into it, right?
Well, not exactly. Because some businesses and people actually care.


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(Editor's Note: In this series of reports, we are recounting the daily exploits of Erwin G. "Cannon Ball" Baker, and his record-setting motorcycle run from San Diego to New York City of 11 days in 1914. A group of enthusiasts is re-creating his ride in 2014, and I am trying to keep up with them.)
SANTA FE, New Mexico
Erwin Baker had done two years of advance planning for his trans-continental record attempt in May 1914. The plan called for traveling about 300 miles per day, for 11 days.
The first few days of the trip, which had started May 3 in downtown San Diego, were more challenging than Baker had expected, and had put his schedule under stress.
The first day, en route to Yuma, Ariz., he had experienced extreme heat in crossing the Sonoran Desert, a sandstorm, and trails so impassable he had to ride 65 miles on railroad tracks. The second day, he had become stuck in quicksand-like pits that caused him to run out of gas; he had to push his motorcycle in 119-degree heat four miles to the nearest refueling spot. He was only averaging 220 miles per day at this point – and only about 170, as the crow flies.
At the end of the third day, he was still in Arizona – exhausted from the furnace-like heat of Phoenix, and then shivering from the chill of the snow-packed White Mountains. He braved steep cliffs on a narrow trail through Apache Indian country, he had to have gas for refueling transported to him via a burro, and he was attacked by wild dogs (two of which he had to shoot with the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver he carried).
Baker spent the night in Springerville, and planned to rally his stamina for the fourth day – 350 miles to Santa Fe. He would pass through 90 miles of alkali desert near Albuquerque, where he was sweating not only physicially, but also his fuel mileage; a tankful of gas in his Indian twin would normally last only about 80 miles.
(The 2014 group of riders who were attempting to find Cannon Ball's trail overnighted in Socorro, New Mexico, instead of tiny Springerville, because of a lack of facilities there. From there, they headed all the way to Trinidad, Colorado – a destination that Baker wished he could have made the next day.)
On his fifth day of travel, Baker would pick up the old Santa Fe Trail; he hoped that well-established route would guide his travels all the way to Missouri. But he couldn't stay on that trail for long.
"I left Santa Fe about 5:45 the next morning," he wrote in his logbook, "with the intention of making another record day's ride."
Fourteen hours later, he collapsed from exhaustion – having traveled only 94.8 miles. (His new-for-1914 Indian featured a fancy speedometer with mileage counter!) What went wrong?
"Eight-six miles of mountain climbing," he wrote, "and then my road through these mountains brought me to a mountain stream on which I had not figured."
The stream was so swollen with rain water from a recent storm, and snow melt from the Taos Mountains, that he could not cross. He searched for hours, up and down the river, trying to find a place to ford it. Many times he was ready to give up, and turn back, which would surely mean the end of his record attempt.
But near sunset he finally located a point he thought was shallow enough.
He didn't dare submerge the engine, so he had to make many attempts – back and forth – to find the shallowest parts, while almost carrying the heavy motorcycle. When he finally got to the other side, he was so completely soaked, he had to stop and build a fire to dry his clothes and his waterlogged motorcycle.
Baker spent a fitful night in a tiny hamlet he found nearby called Watrous – still in northern New Mexico – where he wondered whether his record attempt was now doomed to failure. The task ahead seemed almost hopeless. He had burned through nearly half the time he had allotted for his entire run – yet, he had traveled barely 1,000 miles from where he had started in San Diego. He still had more than 2,300 miles to go to his destination in New York City.
And more calamities awaited him on the road ahead.
Jerry Garrett
May 7, 2014


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More details about the Diablo 3 Console, including how it is like and unlike the PC version, are emerging. I'm working on a huge update to the Diablowiki.net Diablo 3 Console article which will include all the Blue posts, basic infos, and play reports, but for now here are some new blue quotes of note:
You'll need 5mb of hard drive space to save your characters on the Xbox version, and 12mb on the PS3. The PS3 requires a bit more space due to the Trophy Pack file that needs to be included.
Any word on a demo for ps3/xbox users yet?
Vaeflare: We don't have any further details pertaining to a demo version for console users at this time.
I've read in a number of user posts that claim developer resources are being tied up working on the console version over patching the original, but haven't found anything yet confirming this among blue posts.
Vaeflare: We have a separate team of developers that have been dedicated to bringing Diablo III to consoles. While they and the PC team do collaborate from time to time to ensure that we're delivering an authentic Diablo III experience to consoles, the two teams operate independently.
…It's understandable that everyone wants updates on exactly what's around the corner, but know that both the Diablo III PC team and console teams are hard at work on their respective versions of the game, and neither is holding the other up. As we have further information, we'll be sure to share it with you. 🙂
Seen in one of the e3 vids "Nightmare(Easy)" What does this mean? is there also different difficulties like Monster Power?
Lylirra: Difficulty levels and Monster Power operate a little differently on console. There will still be Normal, Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno, and completing one mode will unlock the next mode — just like on PC. Also, within each of these modes players will able to select from different difficulty levels to suit their preferred level of challenge. On console, however, there are only 8 settings: Easy, Medium, Hard, Master I, Master II, Master III, Master IV, and Master V. At Medium and higher in Inferno, density does increase, but the increase won't be as significant as what you'd typically see on PC (due to performance issues). Similar to MP on PC, higher difficulty settings present more powerful enemies that will have opportunity to reward players with more powerful loot.
For perspective, here's the current scaling (note that this may change before we ship):
A lot of us are more interested in the console for how the economy works with "fewer, better rares" and no Auction House, but no one really knows yet. I asked some specifics about that in the Josh and Wyatt interview and they speculated freely, but until millions of players are actually grinding away 12 hours a day it will remain hypothetical. The devs do affirm that they've done a lot more play-testing and balancing of the Console end game than we got in the "doubled it" early days of Diablo 3, and the console is launching with roughly the current version of the title, and thus benefits from all the patches and hotfixes we've seen over the past 14+ months.
Who amongst you harbors console buying plans? I'm not one, but I do find myself growing more and more curious how the economy and items will work. I hope some regular readers, who are expert in the D3 PC version, dive right into the console so we can benefit from their insights and observations come September 3rd.


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Knits For You And Your Home by Debbie Blis
Special Offer
Knits For You And Your Home by Debbie Blis
An Enticing Collection Of Over 30 Indulgent Designs From Top Knitwear Designer Debbie Bliss. (HB)Read more >
Newsflash: knitting is cool, and Laughing Hens are keen to gauge the temperature of the nation on this important matter. We want to hear all about why you knit, what you knit and when you knit.
To say thanks, we'll knock 10% off your next Laughing Hens purchase. You'll also be entered into a £100 prize draw so you can splash out on more of our knitting and crochet goodies.


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Regular price
Amazing Product, new to the market!
Blots grease and oils away while not removing or disrupting your makeup.
This new innovative Blackhead Killer ® RedPaper fights shine without disrupting your look, a must-have for every handbag or purse.
Its double-sided feature also allows touch-ups throughout the day and night.
This ultra-thin paper simply does its job perfectly. Discrete and effective.
Use frequently to leave your skin refreshed, unblemished and with a matte complexion.
Perfect for men too! Removes shiny and oily look. Blot areas to return them to the just washed matte look, with our convenient sized pack that slips easily into any pocket.


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Because my corner of Oregon is the nexus of all that's weird in the world:
Woman accused of attack with boiling oil in Bible dispute
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A Eugene woman is held on $250,000 bail after allegedly pouring boiling oil on her boyfriend's face in an argument over a Bible verse.
Angela S. Morris, 19, is charged with domestic violence assault. Her 31-year-old boyfriend, whose name was not released, was taken to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland with severe burns to his face, neck and chest.
The two were reading the Bible at the boyfriend's apartment May 13 when Morris went to the kitchen to prepare french fries, police said.
Morris told police they continued to argue and that he grabbed her from behind.
Police say he then went to his bedroom to lie down. Morris followed and threw the oil on him, they said.
I'm not sure what commandment that breaks, but it's gotta be one of them...


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Darksiders 3: How To Unlock The 'Soul Reaper' Achievement / Trophy Easily
To unlock the 'Soul Reaper' achievement / trophy in Darksiders 3, you're going to need to collect a grand total of one million souls. That's a ridiculously high number, and normally that's going to take more than one full playthrough. But, if you're looking to unlock the achievement / trophy quickly without a lot of effort, you can use this handy trick that's baked right into the game.
Essentially, the game will count "collecting" souls as your grand total, even if you don't have that many souls in your possession. That might sound complicated, but it's very easy. This same trick works with just about any other collectible — you can collect 15 humans in one save file, then 5 more in another to unlock the "Humanitarian" achievement / trophy, for example. I'll explain exactly what you need to do, step-by-step, in the full guide below.
More Darksiders 3 guides on Gameranx:
- Darksiders 3: All Human Collectibles Locations | 'Humanitarian' Guide
- Darksiders 3: How to Get The Secret Ending | Optional Boss Quest Guide
- Darksiders 3: All Chunks of Adamantine Locations | Fully Upgraded Weapons Guide
- Darksiders 3: All Essence Of A Chosen Locations | Fully Upgraded Enhancements Guide
How To Unlock The 'Soul Reaper' Achievement / Trophy Easily
[NOTE: This trick may not work with the latest patch. Uninstall and reinstall Darksiders 3 with your internet connection disabled to return to the factory standard. You'll retain your save files.]
To unlock the 'Soul Reaper' and the 'Soul Harvester' achievement in just a few minutes, you'll need to reach the end of the game. When you're exploring the Scar, or right before the battle against Pride, you should have plenty of opportunity to collect a large amount of souls.
- Collect a lot of souls. Either farm enemies, or break open clusters until you have a large amount.
- 100,000~ is a good number to save, but you can do this with less / more. The more you have, the easier this method is.
- Go to a late-game area with enemies near a Serpent Hole. Exit the Serpent Hole, and die to the enemies so that you leave your souls behind.
- Respawn at the Serpent Hole, then go and collect your souls. Let the enemies kill you again.
- Respawn, and go get your souls again. Rinse and repeat until you've collected the equivalent of 1,000,000 souls.
This works because the game counts "collecting" souls, no matter the source. You can simply collect 250k souls four times, and you'll complete the requirements to unlock 'Soul Reaper'. As stated above, this trick works for other achievements / trophies, too. You can use this same trick to complete your Human collection and unlock 'Humanitarian' — you just need to start a new game and collect the remaining amount of humans.
I need to make clear — this is not a method to farm souls. You won't actually earn any extra souls. This is simply a method to quickly and easily unlock the 'Soul Reaper' achievement / trophy, which is one of the hardest to unlock in the game if you do it the slow way.


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Nine unsung Swindon heroes recognised for going the 'extra mile'
Leading sheltered and supported housing provider Stonewater which owns and manages supported housing projects in Swindon, has been shortlisted for two top accolades at The Foyer Federation's Spark Awards.
Foyer Young People's Specialist Coach Stephen Baker has been nominated for the Unsung Hero Award which celebrates staff members whose contribution in the workplace may go unnoticed. At age 20, Stephen lived at Swindon Foyer as a resident when he took on an apprenticeship with Stonewater (then Jephson). With support from the Foyer staff, he moved out and has now worked for Stonewater for eight years. He was nominated by the Swindon Foyer team for consistently going above and beyond to support the young people living at the Foyer, and for being a source of inspiration of what they can achieve after they leave.
The Swindon projects' Residents' Committee has been nominated for the Extra Mile Award which recognises Foyer residents that have gone the extra mile for staff or peers. The Residents' Committee is a team of eight Swindon Foyer residents who meet regularly to discuss what matters to them - from changes in policies, to activities going on and ideas for the future. Their aim is to provide young residents with a voice and influence the services in Swindon.
The Foyer Federation creates programmes, campaigns and ideas for Foyers to implement, filling gaps in community services and inspiring policy and decision-makers to make a more effective investment in young people. Organised by The Foyer Federation, The Spark Awards celebrate talent across the sector and this year will mark the Federation's 26th anniversary.
"I am really proud of Stephen and the Residents' Committee for being shortlisted for these awards," says Guy Stenson, Stonewater's Director of Housing Strategy & Transformation. "Stephen has moulded himself into a real inspiration for the young people that he helps support and it's a pleasure to see how far he has come. The Committee, meanwhile, is a really proactive and engaged group of young people who truly deserve to win.
"Both Stephen and the Committee work incredibly hard to provide an excellent service, supporting young people in their own communities and I am so pleased that their dedication to making a difference has been recognised. I wish them all the best of luck at the awards, although to all of us at Stonewater, they are already winners!"
Stonewater owns and operates four foyers, two women's refuges and a wide range of other supported housing projects for adults and young people across the South of England.
The winners of the Unsung Hero and the Extra Mile Awards will be announced at the Foyer Federation Spark Awards ceremony in Birmingham on 4 October 2018.


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You can't go home again, cautioned writer Thomas Wolfe. But the melancholy Southerner, who died in 1938, didn't live to witness the birth of television, much less TV reboots.
And so, 11 years after "Will and Grace" ended its eight-season, 16-Emmy run, America is back home again — specifically, at 155 Riverside Drive, New York City, the stylish, rent-controlled apartment of lawyer Will Truman and interior designer Grace Adler.
If you hadn't been turned off by the massive pre-show publicity — and admittedly, it was relentless and cheesy — then you tuned in last night for the ninth season premiere. Was Thomas Wolfe right after all? Maybe, but who cares? Like a steaming tureen of comfort food, more tasty than nutritious, "Will and Grace" is back. And it mostly satisfies.
The sitcom about a homo and his hag premiered in 1998 during the Clinton administration, reached a creative crescendo by its fourth season and arguably lost steam during the Bush 43 administration. (The less said about the Leo Markus doctor-husband story arc, the better.) While accusations of queer minstrelsy continue to dog "Will and Grace," detractors should remember that the series opened a mainstream discussion about gay male life; well, at least Caucasian, upper-middle-class, urban gay male life. Between the brazen quips about "lube and Liza," startling truths were told. Even former vice-president Joe Biden gave props to the show for advancing the cause of marriage equality.
Admittedly, there was a Cliffs Notes feel to the opening of last night's premiere; the script clumsily recounts plot points of the eight-year run, while presenting the main characters as caricatures. Will, charming but uptight. Check. Grace, neurotic and selfish. Check. Jack, an immature, promiscuous id. Check. And Karen, a boozy, pill-popping conservative. Check, check, check.
But the show was equally intent on establishing its place in the culture wars of Trump's America. Within the first two minutes, the cast deftly filets conservatives Steven Tyler, Jon Voight, Newt Gingrich and Caitlyn Jenner. Kudos to Megan Mullally's Karen Walker, called upon to do most of the heavy lifting where it comes to GOP-bashing. Like Alec Baldwin's brilliant right-winger Jack Donaghy on NBC's "30 Rock," real-life liberal Mullally must humanize a woman who pals around with Melania. Sure, it's called acting, folks, but good acting still deserves bouquets.
The first season of "Will and Grace" in 1998 offered far more nuance than the following seven; characters were played less glibly and the lingering (and unrequited) love for Will exhibited by Grace and Jack would bubble up occasionally, to poignant effect. That formula, which resulted in affecting moments, was quickly scuttled, resulting in the manic, crowd-pleasing formula that dominates the ninth season premiere. (Do we really need reaction shots of characters laughing at each other's lines, a directorial tic that still annoys.) While name-checking the Ryans (Gosling and Reynolds), Shonda Rimes, QUEERTY, fidget spinners, Grindr and Anderson Cooper, the group lands, improbably, in 45's White House. As the old TV Guide summary goes, hilarious hijinks ensue. (A visual joke featuring a certain cheese-flavored snack was undeniably cheap, but still satisfying.)
Filmmaker John Waters shocked the world with taboo-busting depictions of sexy trailer-park trash, pansexuality and bizarre fetishes. He soon found it difficult to top himself; later films like "A Dirty Shame" struggle to offend. In a way, "Will and Grace" show creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan are in a similar bind, pushing against the high bar they erected in sharing the cultural secrets of the LGBT community to unsuspecting but intrigued Americans.
One could argue that the premiere was more slapstick-y than plausible — but worth seeing when cuddly hunk Kyle Bornheimer, playing a Secret Service agent, plants a smooch on Sean Hayes. And detractors shouldn't underestimate the importance of a prime-time half-hour comic satire railing against our current Commander-in-Chief that may be seen by scores of his followers. If One Million Moms don't immediately call for a "Will and Grace" boycott in light of this treasonous episode — watch your backs, premiere advertisers Google, Marvel, Chipotle, Toyota and iPhone — then we should lose our faith in the muscle of the alt-right.
Sure, the ninth season premiere was more flatfooted than adroit, more well-intentioned than well-executed, and overly eager to be liked. But it was just as eager to offend conservatives, enlighten fence-sitters and boost morale among those enraged by the current administration. For that reason alone, it's worth sticking with "Will and Grace," even as a patriotic duty. If I can't laugh, I don't want to be part of your revolution.
And if you need more time to warm up to the show, you have it; "Will and Grace" producers have committed to 16 episodes this year and 13 episodes for its 10th season. There's ample opportunity for the writers to strengthen story arcs and topple even more sacred cows.


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Administrative Services
Fallen Soldiers 5K Run/Walk | November 7, 2020 (tentatively scheduled)
In October 2018, runners and walkers joined forces to raise $12,095 by participating in Western Illinois University's 7th Annual Fallen Soldiers 5k Run/Walk. Event organizers hope to see even more next year!
Money raised from the 5K Run/Walk is directed toward the WIU Fallen Soldiers Scholarship Fund, which supports veterans and service members currently enrolled at Western. Additional donations are welcome.
While the scholarship and program will continue to honor the men for whom the scholarship was established, each year the event will also recognize the recipients of scholarships that are awarded in the preceding year.
Fallen Soldiers | email@example.com
Committee Chairs
Holly Sutton | 309-298-1861 |
Brian Thomas | 309-298-1228 | email@example.com
Abbie Pendarvis | 309-298-1861 | email@example.com
Race Results
Overall Results
Check back soon for photos
Mile Marker Sponsor
- WIU Foundation
- Dave & Jackie Thompson
Race Route Sponsors
Other Race Sponsors
- Prairie Farms
- McDonald's of Macomb
Honor a Vet Sponsors
Fallen Soldiers
The event is designed as a fundraiser for the Fallen Soldier's Scholarship Fund in honor of two WIU alumni who were killed in the line of duty. Capt. Derek Dobogai and Lt. Col. Robert Baldwin.
Dobogai, who graduated from Western in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in law enforcement and justice administration, was among the 14 U.S. soldiers aboard a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Aug. 22, 2007 in northern Iraq.
Baldwin, who earned a bachelor's degree in industrial technology from WIU in 1993, was killed Sept. 21, 2010 when his Blackhawk UH-60 helicopter carrying Navy SEALs crashed during combat operations in the Zabul province of Afghanistan.


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Tuesday, March 3, 2009
We've had blocks around since Janey was born, but I think today was the first day she ever noticed them. She has been building structures on the windowsill all day long, including houses with roofs and what she calls stations, and "big buildings". Just now she came over to me and said excitedly "You made a big building, Janey!" and was obviously eager for me to look at it. I got a picture of her pointing it out. It's wonderful to see her engaged like that. I have to use every ounce of self-restraint not to build with her, as I know that will be the end of it---it would set her off crying. I think I will try to get the boys to build with her tonight, as that seems to be more acceptable to her.
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The Waymarkers
There are 35 pavement waymarkers lining the route of the Sculpture Walk.
click here for a map showing the location of the waymarkers and sculptures
The waymarkers were individually designed by members of the local community in a workshop and produced by Sarah Honnor of Outpost Design + Visual Communications.
The waymarkers were sponsored by Surestart Shrewsbury.


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From the start on Tuesday night, nothing went right for the Salina South boys' team as they saw their season end with a 64-23 loss at Wichita Heights.
In a sub-state matchup between the 2-seed Wichita Heights and the 15-seed Salina South, the Cougars came in short handed without the services of Connor Munsell, A.J. Johnson and Cai Calvert. The Cougars were only able to suit up nine players for the game.
Wichita Heights sat in a 2-3 zone all night, but it was anything but pleasant for Salina South. The Falcons would constantly jump passing lanes on their way to easy points off of turnovers.
Unfortunately for South, they couldn't find the bottom of the net in the first half. Heights led 18-0 at the end of the first. A Ty Garrett FT finally put South on the scoreboard at the three-minute mark in the second quarter. That was the only scoring South would do all half, as the Falcons held a 38-1 lead at halftime.
South didn't quit. Led by senior, Joey Wilson, playing in his final game in green and gold, he would hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the first Salina South field goals of the game to start the second half.
Unfortunately, there was just too much Heights. The Falcons led 55-16 after three and would coast to the finals of sub-state.
Wichita Heights (18-3) looks to make the 5A State Tournament for the ninth time in 11 seasons. The Falcons were led by Braxton Kirkendall and Izaiah Hale both with 10 points each.
Salina South (4-17) finished their second-consecutive season with a losing record. The Salina Ortho "Player of the Game" is Wilson, who finished with 12 points on three 3-point makes.
The Salina South girls' team tries their luck in sub-state tomorrow night on the road at Newton. Game time is at 7 p.m. on Y93.7.


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EDWARDSVILLE -- Children attending Edwardsville District 7 schools in southern Illinois won't have classes next month on the day of the upcoming solar eclipse.
The Belleville News Democrat reports that the school board voted Monday to cancel classes Aug. 21 due to safety concerns. School lets out during the time of day when it will be most dangerous to look at the sun. The eclipse is the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the U.S. in 99 years. It will last longest about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Edwardsville near Carbondale, Illinois: approximately two minutes and 40 seconds.
Scientists have warned that permanent eye damage is possible from looking at the eclipse with unprotected eyes.
Edwardsville Superintendent Lynda Andre says the district won't "put the students out and just hope they use safe habits."


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Version 3.0 of DX10 Scenery Fixer is now available from FastSpring for new and existing customers. It is also available to existing customer from The Flight Sim Store.
If you purchased from FastSpring then the download link that you received by email when you purchased should become valid again and allow you to download the new version.
If you have lost your download link then send me an email to the stevefsx email address at yahoo and I will sort it out.
If you purchased from the Flight Sim Store then log onto your account there to download the updated version.
3.0 Changes are
Several fog improvements and fixes.
- Added fogging of the Sun!
Fixed a bug whereby the Axis fix stopped high level clouds being fogged.
- Improved the fogging of taxiways in dense fog when they could appear blue!
- Ignore effects.cfg file when looking for changed effects – this was causing false alerts for customers with Flusifix
- First Time Installation Dialog for new customers.
- Moved Debug Options to top menu
- Fix to handle for broken tangents within some models which caused e.g black stripes with a few Virtavia models
- Added SpecialFeatures in DX10.ini to assist with some After Burner Effects that did not work
- Bug Fix: 2nd system Effects were not updating configuration correctly so settings looked wrong
- Bug Fix: Rain dialog wasn't setting ASN value.
Whilst those might perhaps sound an uninteresting set of changes, Version 3.0 also has provision for using the Sim Connect API which I plan to use in some new add on modules for the fixer.
Update 19th August – I have uploaded a minor revision that removes the diagnostics warning about AMD drivers as I now believe that the latest AMD drivers are ok.


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3rd Philippine Tech Meetup at Ubertor Hackerspace (Video Highlights)
Ramon Pastor of Numlock Solutions on:
Two traits of a Filipino developer to succeed in the apps development and market
One is FOCUS, because you really have to be focused on what you're doing. Second is DISCIPLINE. I can't stress that enough. You have to have discipline.
What is the one thing that keeps you going in the competitive applications market?
You have to be passionate about the platform. If you're an entrepreneur, that's one thing that will keep you going. You don't have money, clients don't pay you on time, clients don't pay you at all, and you don't get sales from the apps store or Android market, it's the passion that will keep you going. the passion for the platform.
Miguel Paraz, developer on what it takes to be a Filipino developer:
So when you say Filipino developer, I think the opportunity really is who is the Filipino developer? You don't have to be a startup person who gets funding... Any(one), you know, a high school student They can start developing on these devices (at Wholesale Applications Community).


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On offer here is a VERY rare LP (especially in this condition!!!!) by Comus called "First Utterance" and is an ORIGINAL 1971 UK 1st Pressing on the 1st Press Dawn label!!!! THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND!!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE RAREST LPs ON THE DAWN LABEL - AND VIRTUALLY NEVER TURNS UP FOR SALE!!!! JUST TRY AND FIND ANOTHER ONE!!!! BACK IN 1971 WHEN THIS LP WAS FIRST RELEASED - IT ONLY EVER SOLD IN ABSOLUTELY TINY AMOUNTS, AND WAS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY DELETED!!!! AS A RESULT IT IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND INCREDIBLY HARD TO LOCATE TODAY!!!! THIS LP IS MADE EVEN RARER STILL - AS IT IS 100% COMPLETE WITH ITS ORIGINAL 'LYRIC' INSERT (SO OFTEN MISSING!) AND IS IN ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE CONDITION!!!!
NOT ONLY THAT BUT THIS LP IS IN ABSOLUTELY STUNNING CONDITION - AND HAS BARELY BEEN PLAYED AT ALL!!!! JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURES!!!! THIS IS THE ORIGINAL 1971 UK 1ST PRESSING ON THE 1ST PRESS DAWN LABEL, 1ST PRESS INNER SLEEVE, ULTRA RARE 1ST PRESS 'LYRIC' INSERT, AND 1ST PRESS 'GARROD & LOFTHOUSE' GATEFOLD 'PATENTS PENDING' COVER!!!! THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND LIKE THIS - SO DONT MISS OUT ON THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY!!!! This is the ORIGINAL Dawn UK 1st Pressing from 1971 and is in absolutely SUPERB condition!!!! The record is pressed on THICK quality vinyl. The Cat. No is DNLS 3019 on the ORIGINAL 1st Press Dawn label (see picture) and is a UK Stereo 1st Pressing (there were NO Monos)!!!!
The record labels are in SUPERB condition (see pictures) with NO wear, NO writing, and barely ANY spindle marks AT ALL!!!! IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THIS RECORD HAS BARELY BEEN PLAYED AT ALL!!!! The vinyl is in AWESOME condition!!!! Most of these 60s/70s LPs had been to a lot of wild parties and are usually found totally worn out, and almost unplayable. This one is NOT and has NO scratches, NO hairlines, NO scufflines, only 2 or 3 absolutely ULTRA light TINY surface traces, and only a VERY few of the lightest paper scuffs only visible under light!!!! ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!! THE RECORD STILL RETAINS ITS ORIGINAL 'JUST PRESSED' LOOK AND LOOKS AMAZING!!!! It is great to find that the record plays as STUNNINGLY as the visual with NO pops, NO sticking, NO jumps, NO hiss, and barely ANY crackle AT ALL!!!! The sound quality is simply SUPERB with NO groovewear and NO distortion either!!!! The record must grade MINT(Minus)!!!! AWESOME RECORD!!!! Believe me this record is NOT overgraded in ANY way!!!! I use STRICT RC grading standards - it is not in my interest not to!!!! Brillant!!!! The record also comes in its ORIGINAL 1st Press inner sleeve which is in SUPERB condition!!!! THE ULTRA RARE 'LYRIC' INSERT IS IN SUPERB CONDITION - AND HAS CLEARLY NEVER LEFT THE COVER!!!! The ORIGINAL 1st Press 'Garrod & Lofthouse' Gatefold 'Patents Pending' Cover is in absolutely SUPERB condition!!!! The cover has NO edge wear, NO spinal wear AT ALL (PERFECT side words!) apart from 2 or 3 ULTRA faint 'touched in' traces, NO sticker marks, only VERY slight corner wear (NOT through the colour!), NO sticker tears, NO yellowing, only a VERY few light creases (cover is VERY flat looking indeed!), NO ringwear, NO rubbing, only some very VERY minor evidence of 'tipping in' to a couple of the corner tips, NO sticker tears, NO annotations, and NO writing!!!! The opening edges are beautifully straight with barely ANY feathering AT ALL!!!! Even the inside of the cover is in SUPERB condition - with NO ringwear, NO yellowing, NO grubbyness, NO rubbing, and NO writing!!!! The cover must grade Excellent+ if not better!!!! SUPERB COVER!!!! THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND LIKE THIS - SO DONT MISS OUT ON THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY!!!!HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I DO MY BEST TO SHOW THE RECORD FROM ALL ANGLES AND MAKE THE PICTURES AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE - THERE IS NOTHING TO HIDE!!!! It really is a GREAT looking LP and it is truly rare to find any copies of this MEGA RARE LP!!!! THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO BUY AN ORIGINAL 1971 UK 1ST PRESSING OF "FIRST UTTERANCE" BY COMUS, IN ABSOLUTELY SUPERB CONDITION!!!! Dont forget to take a look at all my other items including many other TOP LPs and contact me with any queries you may have. Postal discounts for multiple buys are always available - and I guarantee to ALWAYS undercharge on postage! Paypal, Bank Transfers, Cheques, International Money Orders, and Postal Orders accepted. Thanks for looking! Cheers!!!!!
Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items (I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!) - PLEASE REMEMBER to contact with me FIRST, if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one! I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem! This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem. Thanks again - Graham @ XXXRecords. PLEASE NOTE - Private feedback bidders must consult me first prior to bidding - due to previous problems regarding non-payment, and non-receipt. MY POSTAGE UNDERCHARGE GUARANTEE TO ALL BUYERS (I always undercharge on postage!):- Due to UK Royal Mail's obscene price increases this year - I have had no choice but to increase postage charges a little. Until this year - I had kept them exactly the same since I joined ebay back in 2002. However this years price increases have been so obscene, that I have had no choice but to increase my postage charges for the first time ever. However PLEASE NOTE - my absolute 100% guarantee to you as a buyer - is that I will ALWAYS undercharge postage on everything I send out. Even after the increases, I am still charging you the buyer LESS than I am being charged myself. On each package I send out - the price is clearly stated on the front of the package (please check it when you recieve it!). I also do NOT charge for packaging costs - ONLY for postal costs! And should you find that I have overcharged you postage in ANY way - I will refund DOUBLE the difference. THAT IS MY 100% POSTAL GUARANTEE FOR EACH AND EVERY BUYER! No buyer EVER deserves to be overcharged on postage - and on my listings, I'll make sure they are ALWAYS undercharged. Any questions - please ask!


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Location Scout VR Panorama: Passaic County Fair, Garret Mountain Park, Woodland Park (formerly known West Paterson) New Jersey Passaic County Fair Celebration of the rich diversity, traditions and history of the county; includes schedule, entertainment, vendor and volunteer information. VR … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
Category Archives: Location Scout VR Panoramas
Location Scout VR Pano: Kayaking with Mary at Canopus Lake, Fahnestock State Park, NY Canopus Lake – Wikipedia Canopus Lake is a small lake within Clarence Fahnestock State Park in northern Putnam County, New York, USA. The lake is about … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
Location Scout VR Pano – Silvermine Lake, Harriman State Park, NY Silvermine Area – Harriman State Park – NYS Parks The Silver Mine area of Harriman State Park offers picnic grounds, fishing and hiking. Biking – helmets required. Film, … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
Location Scout VR Pano: Kayaking Island Pond, Harriman State Park, NY Island Pond – Harriman Hikers: Unlike many of the lakes and reservoirs in Harriman State Park, Island Pond is a naturally made, glacially formed body of water. It's also … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
Location Scout VR Panorama: State Fair NJ – Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey – On the Midway – Wikipedia: Meadowlands State Fair The State Fair Meadowlands (formerly the Meadowlands Fair) is a carnival held every summer at the Meadowlands Sports … [CLICK TO READ MORE]


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Most of the time blogs focus on single topics. If you are interested in entering the world of blog posting for fun or business purchases, or if your current blog is in need of improvement, the tips that will be provided here can help. The article below discusses what you must know in order to succeed at blog posting.
For your blog to be successful, ensure that search engine optimization is utilized within the content. Because you want people to start reading your blog, you have to be certain that the blog is listed highly in search engine results for specific topics. Your keyword(s) should be in the title of the article, and mentioned a few times in the article itself.
Comment on other blogs to increase interest in yours. If you use Google Reader, try maintaining a separate folder within it to utilize for keeping up with other blogs that you want to follow. It's a great idea to post regular comments, in fact post them anytime you have something to say!
Blog about topics that people want to know about. Everyday chores like dusting and doing the laundry really aren't so interesting. Such content would have to be presented in a unique way to get readers to care. Look for a topic that will engage readers. Keep in mind that your overall goal is to gain regular readers for your site.
Create a blog that stands out from all the other blogs that already exist. Readership will be higher for a blog with unique content. The same effect can be caused by hard to find information. Consider writing about your hobby, or an experience you can share that few people have had. Explain exactly how a widget works. Doing this will encourage readers to visit your blog when they're trying to find information on something specific.
This is a lot of writing a blog information to digest. You may be a bit overwhelmed with what you have read, and that is to be expected. Creating content and maintaining blogs is difficult, but it is worth it. Be sure to keep this article somewhere so that you're able to use it later.


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Community Initiatives Infographic
At Beyond Bank, we strive to build strong communities across Australia. Find out below how we make a difference with local communities and our partners.
To embed this Infographic on your site, simply copy the code below and paste it into your html.
Tony Ross
The Hunter Volunteer Centre has relocated. From Janaury 2014 you can find us at:
Level 2, Devonshire House
406-408 King Street
Please feel free to contact us on our new telephone number
(02) 4929 4424
Thank you for your promptness in updating the Hunter Volunteer Centre's details. Keep up the good work in helping to build strong communities across Australia.


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Higher Committee for Correcting Regulation targeted the US-Saudi aggression coalition to Hodeidah port, a statement obtain to Yemen's Official Saba News Agency today Tuesday.
Targeted the port Comes as genocide and the war of starvation which the coalition practiced against the Yemeni' sons contrary to international law.
The statement was carried by the international community at its forefront the United Nations, the Security Council, the Human Rights Council and the European Union Full responsibility for the continued aggression in targeting economic and vital facilities.


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The suspended Cristiano Ronaldo vented his frustrations with a stunning strike as Real Madrid defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in the Trofeo Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The star forward has missed the last two matches, including his team's opening game of the 2017-18 Liga season, and is banned from competitive domestic action for three further games after being sent off and then pushing the referee in the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana against Barcelona.
While all eyes were understandably on Ronaldo in this exhibition game, links between the past and future of Spanish and Italian football were also apparent by glancing at the team sheets, as Federico Chiesa and Giovanni Simeone, the offspring of former Azzurri international Enrico Chiesa and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone respectively, started for Fiorentina.
Young goalkeeper Luca Zidane was introduced by his father for the hosts in the second half, while Ianis Hagi, son of Romania great Gheorghe Hagi, who played for both Barcelona and Madrid, came on in the second half for La Viola.
It was the less storied figure of Jordan Veretout, rescued last month from an unhappy spell at Aston Villa, who opened the scoring for Fiorentina after just four minutes, stabbing a firm finish from the top of the box past Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.
It did not take long for Los Blancos' stars to assert themselves, though.
The in-form Marco Asensio linked up with the man he has been shining in the absence of, playing in Ronaldo down the left of the opposition penalty area. The Portugal star dragged his shot across the face of goal and Borja Mayoral was on hand to fire home from close range.


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Lauren and I have been best friends since second grade, which I'm sure you know by now since we have a blog post all to ourselves. I am so honored to be able to capture all these special moments and milestones in Lauren and Chris' life! I love being able to share these memories with them and help them last a lifetime! From their engagement to their wedding and now preparing for their little girl due in November.
Last weekend we went back to good ole Gilmanton, NH where we grew up, to Lauren's parent's road to the field where Chris and Lauren got married a couple years ago. It was only fitting to bring it back to where they became the original Woolsey family of two, and now becoming a family of three, and do their maternity session. I loved being able to include Lauren's mom (and her Nana) in some images! They are so precious! I can't wait to do more like that when Baby Woolsey is born. I'm also very thankful that we got their session in before my maternity leave because I wouldn't want to miss out on capturing these for them!
And of course we had to include fur baby Layla at the end! Check out the last three photos of this blog for all these special moments that Layla has been part of too! We couldn't leave her out! She's such a photogenic dog and smiles for the camera.
Here's Lauren and Chris' journey from engagement to maternity! I can't wait to meet Baby Woolsey in November and do her newborn session along with a new best friend session with Bradyn! xoxo


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A beatufil journey around the world visiting HK and USA (LA and SF). Stunning days spending in a travel
Day 12012/06/19
Day 5612013/12/31
Night Hong-Kong is amazing! The best city in a world. Except Moscow.
This is famous Symphony of Light - every day 8 p.m.
Nice Pig! But I am much much more handsome! )
Trams! Double-deckers - truly unique and pretty cheap for a pricey HK. Is a must to do is to ride it when you are in HK especially at night.
I am much bigger than Jackie )
But anyway Jackie is a real star - love his movies... Mixture of kung-fu and humor.
China garden. Meditation and kung-fu studying to be like Jackie or Bruce. Kawabanga!
Famous bed as a monument in Los Angeles - Some people are in movie business exactrly throuh this bed.
Shwarz will be back (c) Terminator. My foot is bigger than Arnie!!!
Rollercoaster baby. Santa Monica pier - place where shooting a lot of movies and episodes for well-loved serials. Californication, mother***er!!!
Route E95! Joke - End of Route 66. It is so pitty that I do not drive - everyone who keen on travelling should drive this famous road.
Frisco baby. Unique city in US. Absolutely differs from other part of this great country. But unfortunately too much homeless.
With my boo. Windy but stunning observation desk. It is good tha t it is possible to reach it by public transport!
Trams. Huge crowd always for them! We were waiting for 20 minutes to ride it! The angle is awesome - scary!
Day 5632014/01/02
Victoria's peak at night. Illuminance is unbelieveable... Reach it by bus - rollercoaster baby!!! Much better than Disneyland )))
Day 5652014/01/04
Mickey and Mini - symbols of Disneyland. Miracle! But I assume that more for children.
Travel Tracking


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You are hereHome ›
News, Videos and Highlights
In order to increase customer reach efforts and address the needs of an expanding staff, Turf Reclamation Solutions (TRS) is proud to welcome Cleo Stoll as one of the newest additions to their staff... Read More »
In response to the industry's growing demand for efficient and nimble equipment designed specifically for synthetic turf field removal and reclamation, Turf Reclamation Solutions (TRS) is proud to... Read More »
I had the opportunity in late August to attend and to speak at the Cal Recycle 2012 Tire Conference in Sacramento, CA. The two-day program was well attended and quite informative, especially for a... Read More »
RATTLESNAKE™ Infill Extractor Want to save your infill when you remove your turf? The Rattlesnake™ is a compact device which allows for continuous extraction of 95% of infill from most turf systems.... Read More »
TRS will be on hand to discuss their suite of synthetic turf removal products and services at the Synthetic Turf Council's 2012 Annual Membership Meeting taking place October 2nd-4th at the Crowne... Read More »
In response to a burgeoning industry demand for sustainable field reclamation services and a desire to expand their business offerings, Turf Reclamation Solutions (TRS) is proud to welcome Bill... Read More »
In order to increase national visibility as the leading provider of artificial turf removal solutions, TRS is proud to welcome Sarah L. Shewmaker as one of the newest additions to their staff.... Read More »
Turn down a trip to Colorado? No way! This was my second time to the Denver area so I knew that Denver wasn't in the mountains. In fact, it's much like northern Ohio in its flatness and vistas.... Read More »
On Wednesday, August 29 Mark Heinlein, President of TRS, will be speaking at the CalRecycle 2012 Tire Conference covering the topic Qualifying Reclaimed Crumb Rubber for Reuse in Sports Field. Mark... Read More »
Artificial turf removal and recycling from Turf Reclamation Solutions (TRS):
TRS is a leading national provider of artificial turf removal and recycling solutions designed to fill a growing need in the artificial turf industry. Our services include: Artificial Turf Removal with the VIPER Turf Slicer, WINDER Turf Roller, RATTLESNAKE Infill Separator and WRANGLER Powered Base Unit. TRS is unique in its ability to offer a complete solution from removal to recycling.
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WATCH OUR PROCESS See how TRS machinery carefully cuts, separates, and removes artificial turf and infill and prepares them to be recycled.


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by Michael La Prairie
on Thursday, August 9th, 2018 at 1:42pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – When it comes to moving the real estate market, don't count aging baby boomers out yet. A report finds almost 1.5 million of them plan to buy a home — most likely a condo — in the next five years.
According to the latest "Boomer Trends Survey" from Royal LePage, 17 per cent of Canadian boomers think they'll be wading back into the real estate market soon, selling longtime homes and downsizing.
But managing broker Michael Trites points out the aging demographic is still dealing with full nests, particularly here on the West Coast, where 24 per cent of respondents with children living at home don't expect them to leave until after the age of 35.
"It's highest here… it comes back to affordability. You can't buy the $200,000 or $300,000 property anymore. For the most part, those are twice that amount."
Continue reading Boomers heading back to real estate market, but downsizing is tough in B.C.: report at News 1130 Website


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As the commemoration to mark the 28th anniversary of the release from prison of Former President Nelson Mandela continued on Sunday, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced that it will issue a set of commemorative banknotes to honour the former statesman's centenary.
Mandela would have turned 100 years this year. Events have been planned to celebrate his centenary.
"These notes will cover all denominations – R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200" the bank said on Sunday.
In addition, the South African Mint, a subsidiary of the SARB, will issue a new R5 circulation coin celebrating Mandela's birth centenary.
The SARB expects the commemorative banknotes and coins to be introduced into circulation from 18 July, what would have been Mandela's 100th birthday.
The central bank's announcement comes as South Africa and the world today mark 28 years since the global icon was released from the Victor Verster prison on 11 February 1990.
Addressing the crowds gathered in Cape Town for the launch of in Cape Town, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "As we gather here to commemorate that pivotal moment in the life of our nation, let us affirm our determination as a people to realise the vision to which Nelson Mandela dedicated his life.
"Let us work with even greater purpose to unite our people – African, coloured, Indian and white – to build a new nation in which all have equal rights and opportunities.
"Let us find a way to work together to build a nation in which all our people have jobs, food, good education, good health and security.
"We need to build a country in which all may share in the wealth of our country."
He also sent special wishes to Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who, like Madiba, once lived in Vilakazi Street in Soweto and who has now become a resident of Cape Town.
"There are few people who better embody the spirit of defiance and desire for justice that have characterised the struggles of this city than its adopted son, Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
"Now, as the city of Cape Town and the province of the Western Cape confront a devastating water crisis, we are once again called upon to unite in a common struggle against a formidable enemy."
Referring to the future of President Jacob Zuma, Ramaposa said it is "Madiba's example that should inform our approach to the tasks that we must undertake.
"As the leadership of the African National Congress, we are currently engaged in discussions around the transition to a new administration and specifically to resolve the issues of the position of the President of the Republic.
"The successful resolution of this matter has significant consequences for the country and for the African National Congress.
"It is therefore important that we manage the discussions that are currently underway with care and purpose, ensuring that we place the interests of South Africa first.
"It is the interests of you, our people, that must be put first, and not the interests of anyone else.
"The NEC will be meeting tomorrow to discuss this very matter and because our people want this matter to be finalised, the NEC will be doing precisely that.
"We know that this matter to be finalised, we know you want closure.
"For Madiba, the unity of all South Africans was paramount.
"For him, a necessary condition for the unity of the South African people was the unity of the African National Congress…"
National anthem at #Mandela100 (@gerbjan) pic.twitter.com/oD0CEHKesx
— Team News24 (@TeamNews24) February 11, 2018
On this day, 28 years ago, #NelsonMandela walked free. May we strive to always live his legacy and defend his legacy in our daily lives. #RememberingMadiba #Leadership #Values #OurGlobalicon #Mandela100 pic.twitter.com/WTBUZM8ALf
— C Constantinides (@ChangeAgentSA) February 11, 2018
#NelsonMandela who later became ANC President was welcomed to Cape Town's Grand Parade by Cyril Ramaphosa.
28yrs later, the same #Ramaphosa will be delivering a Mandela memorial speech at the same spot as ANC President.#Mandela100 #MandelaCentenary pic.twitter.com/9nS7JqxU4l
— Hloni Nyetanyane (@HloniNyetanyane) February 11, 2018
As we emerge from a period of difficulty and discord, this #Mandela100 centenary year offers us the opportunity of a new beginning. Sifanele ujonga ukuthi singalivuselekisa njani ilizwe lakuthi.
— Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 11, 2018