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W Two Worlds Episode 9: The failed happy ending
September 21, 2016 November 8, 2016 heroonthebeach
[Image credit: Dramabeans.com]
We're now halfway through the series! Yay! And I get more excited moving backwards because while I am a strong supporter of the series as a whole, I cannot deny that this series had a significantly stronger start than ending. Each epsiode kept me on my toes and I kept getting more and more impressed with Song Jae Jung's ambitious story telling. It was so powerful that I rewatched the first half of the series with my wife till the wee hours of the night and we both proclaimed it's the best TV drama we've ever watched. It was that impressive.
I've watched two other dramas pertaining to the interaction between two different worlds – Signal and now Queen In-hyun's Man (episode 9 by now). While both shows explore deep issues about the implications of changing the past, the amount of interaction between the two worlds in W is just one notch higher than both shows. The characters are not just participants in the other world (i.e. the comic world) but have the power to actively shape what goes on. We keep getting introduced to new rules governing the comic world, which is intriguing and fun. Plus the
Going into this episode, I was concerned it was going to be a typical slow moving transition episode where Yeon Joo pines for Kang Chul throughout. However, the characters quickly get into action in putting together a happy ending for the comic. While Yeon Joo continues to have heart breaking brief encounters with Kang Chul, Seong Moo and Soo Bong are actively writing the end of W after receiving some help from Kang Chul.
Given that Seong Moo had never meant for the villain to be caught, writing this happy ending isn't easy and Soo Bong asks how they are going to kill the killer since they had made his crimes perfect, with no plot holes. Seong Moo admits some plot holes are inevitable, but they need to ensure the face they give to the killer is logical to Kang Chul. This is where we realize Kang Chul has also helpfully provided them with the case files of all his research on the case to ensure that the killer they create does not fall within the suspects in these files. A smart move indeed! Seong Moo has already decided on the killer's face and Soo Bong gasps when he sees it.
We move back swiftly into the real estate manhwa world where Ajusshi alerts Kang Chul that they've managed to catch the killer on the rooftop through a black box camera of a delivery truck. We watch the video and realize that the fact of the killer is that of Seong Moo himself. Gasp! He claims this is the face that Kang Chul will remember and thus won't be suspicious.
The return to the revenge thriller storyline excites Crazy Dog who waxes lyrical about it to Yeon Joo. This prompts her to call Song Boo who then relates to her the planned happy ending that will happen over four episodes. The killer's identity will be revealed through the W channel and he will be promptly captured by the police. However, just getting him captured is insufficient and dad intends to kill the villain off through Assemblyman Han. Now that the villain's identity is revealed, Assemblyman Han's case against Kang Chul is void and he's asked to step out if the presidential race. Angered by this, he sends people to kill the villain and frame it as a suicide. However, one of the accomplices is caught by W station's crew and featured on the network where he reveals Assemblyman to be the mastermind. Assemblyman Han is caught and the comic gets the happy ending that everyone wants.
Of course Yeon Joo is not as interested in all these and wonders what happens to his love life. Soo Bong tells her that there will be a happy reunion between Kang Chul and Soo Hee at the end, but the story won't go so far as having them date or get married.
Yeon Joo realises that she has really just faded away completely from the Kang Chul's world and nobody will remember her. While reminiscing on their happy moments, she falls asleep but is awakened by an announcement that calls all personal to come and help. She responds to the call and we realize she's back in the comic world again and more importantly, the planning ending has not gone and planned. We learn that there has been a shooting at the W network right as they were announcing the discovery of the villain's identity. More scarily, we return to dad's studio and realize that his face has been stolen! The episode ends with the villain taunting Kang Chul and Yeon Joo staring at news of the shooting, shocked by this recent turn of events.
So much to talk about in this episode! Where do we start?
Let's start with Seong Moo since he's back in the author's seat. While the reason he gives for giving the villain his face is so that Kang Chul will believe it, part of me wonders too whether it's because he believes he can have some more control over the character given that it's modeled after himself. It could also be seen as him confronting his own dark, "killer" tendencies and trying to entrap and eradicate that side of himself. He regains control over the narrative of W too and keeps it as a revenge thriller, deciding not to pursue any possible new romantic ending for Kang Chul. By bringing the narrative back on track, he wins back a segment of his readers like Crazy Dog who are now psyched about what's going to happen and even more impressed that the writer has done a "Hitchcock" move by writing himself into the comic. This victory is shortlived though because just one episode in, he has lost control of the narrative again and now the villain goes on a killing spree at the W network and details the planned storyline. More importantly, Seong Moo has lost his face in the real world and it now seems like we only have Yeon Joo to rely on to save the day.
As for Yeon Joo, she's now the only one besides the villain who has knowledge of the two worlds and how to move between them. Kang Chul's memories of this have been erased thus rendering him ineffective. I like that the amnesia trope was not over-played in this episode and there's also a realization by Yeon Joo that her disappearance from Kang Chul's life may have benefitted him as he now returns to being the Kang Chul everyone loved before – always strong, never discouraged, everyone's hero.
However, Yeon Joo's appearance and exit in the comic book world in this episode went against what has been previously established and what happens after this episode too. It seems like she appears whenever Kang Chul briefly remembers her because he still has some recollection of the dream. However, how does she leave then? It was established that she can only leave when his emotions changed. What's more bewildering is why she appears in the hospital at the end of the episode. Who brings her in? Is it Kang Chul and why? It can't be that he needed her medical support this time round because there's a hospital full of doctors. Could it be the villain who pulls her in – but there's no real reason for that too? Another possibility is that there's a bigger force at work driving this narrative, determining who gets pulled in, where they appear and how they leave. We never quite get an answer for this.
What I thought would be logical was if Yeon Joo had realized through reading the comic that things had gone wrong, then she rushed to her dad's home and realizes he has lost his face. From that point, she then realises she needs to enter the world to save Kang Chul and set things right. However this would have been less exciting and shocking compared to what actually happened – just wish there was a little more consistency and clarity on why Yeon Joo reappeared in the comic a second time since there's no reason why dad, Kang Chul or the villain would bring her in. If anyone has any theories, do let me know.
Moving on to Kang Chul, he has decided to accept the "wretched fate" that dad has given to him but tells dad to stop running away and bring the story to a proper close instead of repeatedly trying to kill him without any context. Once again, Kang Chul helps to give dad a sense of purpose to bring the revenge thriller to a meaningful close and win him favour in the public's eyes. He devises a plan for the dad to create a convincing suspect that he can believe in, based on all the case records of W. When we piece together Kang Chul entire plan including how he saves Yeon Joo by asking her to draw everything as a dream sequence, we realize that he was really actively devising a comprehensive plan in the previous episode.
What this shows too is that Yeon Joo's decision to save Kang Chul from death was not in vain, as it helped him come to terms more with the fate that he had been given by Seong Moo. What has changed though is his motivations, which are no longer just about solving a crime but to protect and save the woman he loves. The killer needs to be identified and taken down because he now knows of Yeon Joo and will find ways and means to kill her. However the loose end that Kang Chul fails to address in his plan is that the killer knows of the existence of both worlds and has already attempted to kill Yeon Joo in the real world. This unfortunate gap is what leads to this plan for a happy ending to fail.
What I really like about this show is that it maintains a very tight core of three characters which are continually challenged and developed and their relationships give the crazy twists and turns of this series a strong emotional core.
All in all, yet another strong episode with so much happening both in terms of plot and character development. Impressive work!
UncategorizedW Two Worlds
Previous Article W Two Worlds Episode 10: A world controlled by the villain
Next Article W Two Worlds Episode 8: The dream reset
One thought on "W Two Worlds Episode 9: The failed happy ending "
MPF April 2, 2018 / 6:33 am
"just wish there was a little more consistency and clarity on why Yeon Joo reappeared in the comic a second time since there's no reason why dad, Kang Chul or the villain would bring her in. If anyone has any theories, do let me know."
Maybe because Kang Chul's emotion has a lot to do with the story line and how it will flow. Yeon Joo is already a part of his emotion, his soul (not just his memory, which is why Kang Chul has a tear upon awakening from the dream at the Hospital.)
Probably, his subconscious mind calls for Yeon Joo (his Heroine by his heart and soul) even he wont acknowledge it in the physical realm. | {
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Według mnie te wydarzenia na statku i w szkole za którymi stał Undertaker muszą mieć z tym związek. Według mnie on szukał sposobu żeby ożywić człowieka i w końcu mu się udało. Zwłaszcza, że prawdziwy Ciel zmarł na tym stole.
Jest już gdzieś rozdział czy to ze spoilerów? Nie zaglądam w tag, więc nie wiem, o czym dokładnie piszecie.
Rozdział pojawił się już na MS.
Ciel Phantomhive agrees to form a Faustian contract with the demon—a turn the cultists are not fond of. They try to make Ciel stop talking, however, it is all in vain as the demon has already acknowledged Ciel's wish and now asks its new master where he wants his contract seal placed on his body. Ciel replies that he does not care where the seal is placed; he only cares to possess more power than anyone else. Smiling, the demon brands his right eye with the seal.
After the seal was placed and Ciel recovered from the marking procedure, the demon persuades Ciel to make his first command. Ciel takes a look at the cultists and his brother's corpse, and recalls the violation he had to endure under their hands—then, he commands the demon to kill all of the cultists.
When the demon is done, it frees Ciel from the cage and asks for his name. Slightly hesitatingly, Ciel tells him that he is Ciel Phantomhive, the future Earl of Phantomhive. Finding out that its new master is a nobleman, the demon adopts the appearance of a butler. Ciel is stunned when he sees the demon's new appearance. The demon interprets his reaction as distaste and proceeds to change his form again and again, asking whether Ciel likes these forms more. After Ciel tells it that the first form was fine, the demon reverts to its butler appearance before announcing that it is now time to discuss the details of their contract.
They sit down at a table, and the demon informs Ciel that demons would never agree to a contract from which they gain nothing, that the contract needs to benefit both parties. It then says that Ciel can make three wishes. Ciel asks if he can really wish for anything, even for the resurrection of someone. The demon tries to convince him that he can indeed do this, but Ciel quickly points out that he is lying—after all, he told him that "the fare for crossing would never return," meaning that he cannot bring back the dead.
Ciel ponders over chess moves and how he can use his wishes to get to most out of the contract and to make sure that the demon stays under his sole and absolute control. Eventually, he settles on his first wish: The demon shall never lie to him. Ciel is about to formulate his second wish, but the demon cuts him off mid-sentence after Ciel mentioned his revenge, wanting to exert it straightaway. Ciel stops him by grabbing his tailcoat and says that he wants to find and kill those who attacked Phantomhive Manor on his own. Furthermore, he does not want the culprits dead before he finds out their reason. Then, Ciel makes his second wish: The demon has to obey all of his commands without questioning them.
Right afterward, the demon asks for Ciel's third and final wish, but Ciel wants to rest first. Taking his words as a command, the demon lifts Ciel and tries to lay him down, but Ciel protests and says that his second wish shall only take effect when he says "I command you."
When Ciel sits again, he makes his third and last wish: The demon shall protect him and never betray him until he got his revenge. The demon points out that these are actually two separate wishes; much to Ciel's irritation. However, the demon accepts it nonetheless as his personal aesthetic denies him to make two contracts at the same time anyway. After everything is settled, the demon stands up and circles around Ciel, and peers at him, saying that he will abide by their contract until Ciel accomplished his vengeance—and when their contract has ended, the demon will consume Ciel's soul, shocking Ciel immensely.
27. tom trafi do sprzedaży 27 lipca.
Ciel pozbywa się dowodów/sprząta/pali wszystko na popiół. No dobra, Sebuś to robi. Wracamy do wydarzeń współczesnych. Koniec wspominków. Moje kochanie się pokazało Undertakera nigdy za wiele Cóż, potwierdza się jedynie, że Grabarzyk ma coś wspólnego z rodzinką. Trzeba czekać, na kolejny rozdział.
Miałam rację, obstawiając Ciela na nową okładkę, no ale któż inny mógłby być, tak po prawdzie?
Jest też nowy rozdział. Podobają mi się latarnie na okładkowej ilustracji, na którym widać znamiona poprzednich arków.
Okazuje się, że Ciel dzięki Grabarzowi był cały czas przy bracie. No i mamy niespodziewanych gości na koniec rozdziału.
Ostatnio zmieniony czw cze 28, 2018 10:06 am przez mika, łącznie zmieniany 1 raz.
Wreszcie Ciel na okładce. Byłam ciekawa czy będzie jedna postać na okładce.
Elżunia wie już o wszystkim i jest w posiadłości.
Za mało gości było ostatnio, przybyli kolejni Jak impreza, to impreza.
Po cichu liczę że Aberlaine jest po jego stronie, ale teraz już nie wiadomo.
Elizabeth i jej rozterkom sercowo-ludzkim. | {
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But the yuckiness had nothing to do with diabetes. Which is a nice change of pace, I guess. What made the day better though, actually did have to do with diabetes.
I missed the DSMA Twitter chat last night. Just wasn't feeling up to it. But my phone buzzed to let me know I was getting mentioned even when I wasn't there. And it buzzed again because someone wanted to know if I was ok. And when I tweeted I'd had a bad day, my phone buzzed again with virtual hugs from my DOC friends.
And all of that made me feel so much better.
So thanks Sara, Simon, C, Martin, Cheri, and Caroline. You lifted my spirits, and made a horrible day so much better.
I love the DOC. And virtual hugs totally help.
I guess C isn't the worst sister ever. Although, the jury is still out on that one. She loved you and called me a poop stain.
Just trying to look out for my friend!
Counting the days until October!
ahhh that is so sweet!!! I missed it too :( I am sorry you aren't feel well. I know things goes in swings, so hopefully you are on an upswing soon!
I'm sorry! I hope you're feeling better today love. Here's some more ((((((((((hugs)))))))) cause you can never have enough! | {
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Sometimes I like to indulge in some guilty pleasures and Elizabeth Hoyt is fastly becoming my guilty pleasure read, no pun intended. I find myself either thoroughly enjoying her work or rolling my eyes but in the same breath, I can't stop reading it. It's a problem, I know!
Temperance Dews is a widow who happens to run a children's home in St. Giles which is known for its slums. She alongside her brother, Winter, take in children and infants who would otherwise be turned out on the streets or worse – used in prostitution or some other gimmick. We learn early on that the death of her husband weighs on Temperance heavily and she seems laden with guilt. What's more is that the home is in desperate need of a wealthy patron to supply funds to them and without the funds, they will all be turned out on the streets.
Gruesome murders aren't so uncommon but there seems to be a serial killer on the loose, gutting women from head to toe and that is what brings Lord Caire to the scene. He's a man known for his dark tastes and wicked ways, he had also hired one of the murdered prostitutes as his mistress. So, he seeks out someone who knows St. Giles better than himself which brings him to Temperance.
The world is so gritty and disgusting you can nearly imagine yourself trudging through those streets and experiencing what it was to be a woman of those times, absolute prey.
I am not overly keen on fast transitions from acquaintance to trembling with want and while I do realize this is a romance novel keep in mind this is my opinion and something that keeps me from enjoying a moment. I don't mind these situations for a quick, guilty read but to gain anything substantial from a love scene [or even just a purely lustful scene,] I like more depth. More building up to it to add more to it. Out of the few Hoyt books I've read, it's either a hit or miss in that department. Still! I'll always pick up a read of hers.
I don't feel as though this book was as well put together as her others, even my least favorite – To Desire A Devil – seemed to be better constructed but I do feel as though it's worth a strong 3 crown rating. It's still a decent read, I enjoyed it and wanted to finish it, but I definitely was not in love with it.
Do you have a favorite Victorian Romance read? Share below.
Next Update: I am here, I am here! | {
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RTÉ star Kathryn Thomas choses August date for wedding to Padraig McLoughlin
Her plans are coming together after three years of engagement
Mikie O'Loughlin
Kathryn Thomas has chosen a date for her wedding to Padraig McLoughlin.
The couple got engaged back in October 2016, but they have been slow to finalise their plans for the big day.
Now, the RTÉ presenter revealed she has set a date for her wedding and will say "I do" in Ireland in August.
"We finally have a date after three years." she said.
(Image: Instagram/Kathryn Thomas)
The Operation Transformation star and the Dublin restaurateur will tie the knot in Ireland this summer after only setting a date in February.
Kathryn explained to VIP Magazine: "It's in August and it's in Ireland. We only decided in February, so when I say last minute, we are very last minute.
"But if you can't organise a party in three months there's something wrong."
Mairead Ronan confirmed to present next series of Ireland's Fittest Family
Since turning 40 after Christmas, she wants to live everyday and be in the moment.
"We spend so much time looking on our phones and looking through the lens at somebody else's life on Instagram wishing we were skinnier, prettier and richer," she told RSVP Magazine.
Kathryn Thomas
See inside Kathryn's house
Kathryn shows off SECOND wedding dress
Kathryn shows off massive wedding ring
Kathryn shares wedding secrets
Kathryn continued: "Everyday you do that is a waste because you are not fulfilling your own dreams and your own goals. I would be a real advocate of setting out your goals and getting out there and achieving them. You are the only person stopping yourself from doing what you want to do.
"For me, travelling the world for 10 years really broadened my mind and gave me incredible experiences. It really showed me that not everyone has to live an Americanised way, there are lots of cultures and countries out there." | {
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December 22, 2021, 6:23 PM ET
Trio Sentenced In 2017 Ambush Killing Of Pizza Delivery Man And 'Loving Husband'
Richard LaBar was fatally shot in the face with a shotgun while delivering a pepperoni pizza to the people who planned to rob instead of pay him.
By Dorian Geiger
Israel Berrios, Carolina Carmona and Salvadore Roberts Photo: Monroe County Office of the District Attorney
Three people accused in the vicious shooting death of a Pennsylvania pizza delivery man four years ago have been sentenced to a combined 115 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Israel Berrios, Salvador Roberts and Carolina Carmona were sentenced on Monday in the murder of 58-year-old Richard LaBar, who was fatally shot in the face with a shotgun during a botched 2017 robbery in East Stroudsburg.
On Dec. 11, 2017, LaBarr was fatally shot as he delivered a pepperoni pizza and cinnamon sticks to a private address at 427 Normal Street, nearby East Stroudsburg University at around 1 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com.
Prosecutors described LaBar's killing as a "set-up" and said the group worked in tandem to lure the delivery man to the address in order to rob him. After Carmona called in the order to Domino's Pizza, prosecutors said Berrios "lurked" in the bushes outside the address clutching a sawed-off shotgun. Roberts, who acted as the group's wheelman, was parked roughly two blocks away in a Mercedes.
As LaBar approached the address to drop off the order, Berrios emerged, pointed the shotgun at him and demanded cash, according to charging documents. After a short struggle, Berrios shot LaBar point-blank in the face, near his right eye. As the pizza delivery driver laid dying on the ground, unable to breathe properly, Berrios and Carmona rifled through his pockets and snatched all the money in his possession.
The trio allegedly then fled the scene. LaBar was later pronounced dead at Leigh Valley Hospital, officials said. Authorities later traced the number used to place the fake Domino's order to Berrio's cellular phone. Surveillance footage and eyewitnesses also linked Berrios, Roberts and Carmona to the crime scene.
"What these three did was utterly disgusting," Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso said in a statement following the sentencing. "The case impacted the community significantly. People still talk about it."
Berrios, the suspected triggerman, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and faces life in prison. His girlfriend, Carmona, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and robbery and received 29 and a half years to life in prison. Roberts received 25 years to life in prison.
Mancusco characterized the group's sentencing earlier this week as an "intense proceeding."
"Each defendant was given a chance to speak not only to the court but also to the family members of the victim," he said.
Berrios, 21, who has a prior history of robbing Domino's drivers, reportedly "quoted scripture and vowed he would be a great man someday," before he was escorted out of the courtroom.
His attorney was adamant Berrios felt "profound regret" for his role in LaBar's murder.
"We are hopeful Israel will someday have the chance to show he is not a lost cause, as the sentence handed down reflects, but can be given the chance to be judged in the future by who be becomes," Jason M. Leon, Berrios' attorney, told Oxygen.com in a statement on Wednesday.
Leon, who blasted his client's sentence as draconian, was adamant the juvenile courts had failed him.
"This is a tragic case for all involved," Leon added. "Mr. Berrios, a child at the time of the offense, was sentenced quite harshly for his role in the death of Mr. LaBar. We are of course disappointed that this young man, in the absence of further intervention of the appellate courts, will not have an opportunity to mature and prove that he can be rehabilitated as he grows into adulthood."
Roberts also apologized in a statement, adding he'd "learned a lot" since his arrest. His lawyer, on Wednesday, said his client's sentence was "appropriate," adding he was deeply remorseful for his role as a getaway driver in LaBar's murder.
"Mr. Roberts is very sorry, obviously, that this occurred," his defense lawyer, Robert Saurman, told Oxygen.com. "He was the driver of the car that took them there. He never got out of the car. He didn't know there was a gun. He's horrified by the result of what occurred. Nevertheless, he recognizes that a man lost his life and he ended up making a plea in recognition of that and in the long-run, in the interest of justice."
Carmona opted not to make a court statement, however, her parents spoke on her behalf, prosecutors said.
Berrios and Carmona will be eligible for parole in their seventies, officials said. Roberts will be eligible for early release when he's 51.
LaBar, who was described as a "loving husband," was born in East Stroudsburg, according to his obituary. He graduated from East Stroudsburg High School in 1978.
"He was just an ordinary man just trying to make an honest living, but was in the wrong place at the wrong time," a GoFundMe page, which loved ones set up for the family in 2017, stated.
At the time of his death, LaBar had been "working extra to try to make money for the coming holidays," according to the Monroe County Office of the District Attorney.
"I told the LaBar family that nothing that happened today could bring their loved one back but maybe this helps bring them a step nearer to closure," Mancusco said.
Mom Posts Thanksgiving Pic Hours Before Alleged Murder-Suicide
Woman Allegedly Held Up Over Coronavirus Stimulus Check | {
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All I ever wanted was a healthy child. Justin seemed to be the healthiest of all the nieces and nephews. He had the heartiest appetite, loved sports even as a toddler, and he was even referred to as the "bruiser." He was such an easy baby. His laid back demeanor, and his warm smile could warm up anyone's heart.
Although he was doing well in his last year of preschool and was his usual cheerful self, I noticed some changes that really bothered me. He started to have random vomiting throughout the summer of 2004. My husband and I thought it could possibly be food allergies, reflux, or a virus of some sort, so we didn't worry too much at first. But, then we started to notice a change in Justin's personality. At times Justin seemed irritable; his eyes clouded and at times Justin even seemed easily worn out. It wasn't till one day on the Jersey Shore, that I remember and can never forget, my sister saying, "Justin doesn't seem right." I realized that she was seeing something I could not.
On August 17, 2004, I waited with Justin and his sister Jenna Marie, who was only four months old at the time, for the radiologist tech to say we could leave after Justin had his CAT scan. The pediatrician had ordered this CAT scan because he felt he couldn't figure out why Justin had been vomiting for so many weeks. It was honestly the pediatrician's last resort.
Little did any of us know or could we have ever been prepared for the results of that CAT scan. The results would lead to our family's greatest challenge. We were told to wait in the lobby because the pediatrician would have to call me. When the call came in, the lady behind the desk called out my name. The kids and I walked up to her. On the other end, Dr. Fox asked, "Are you alone?" I answered, "Yes, why?" I remember feeling nervous, anxious, and irritable. I was in no mood to have someone beat around the bush with me. It was at that point Dr. Fox shared with me the news that Justin had a growth in his brain, and that he would probably need surgery. I told him I would call my husband and that we would get back with him. I wanted to cry, scream, fall to the ground, and plead for mercy. I remember feeling like life was standing still, but the world was going on around me. I remember looking down at Justin and saying, "Okay, I have to call Daddy." My body felt hot. I was scared beyond belief. But, somehow I managed to keep my composure.
On August 25, Justin, then five years old, was admitted to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. It was then they diagnosed him with a brain tumor. Two days later, he endured six hours of brain surgery. The neurosurgeon, Dr. Derek Bruce, successfully extracted his brain tumor; which was located in the 4th ventricle, resting on Justin's brain stem. It was about the size of a small egg. How could this get any worse? The pain on his face was unbearable. But, it did get worse. The following day we were told the tumor was a malignant, stage 4, ependymoma brain tumor. We were told that the type of tumor Justin had would not respond to chemotherapy but that it would respond to radiation.
Fortunately, we were friends with the mother of one of Justin's preschool classmates. Her father is renowned in the neurology world. They knew we needed guidance and support, and that we were stuck. Thanks to her father, she introduced us to a type of radiation we might otherwise not have known about--proton beam radiation. We weren't told about this treatment. We had only heard about intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). We looked into both options. We found out the advantages of what proton beam vs. IMRT were. Proton beam radiation delivers the optimal dose of radiation to the tumor target volume and minimal or no radiation to normal tissues and organs. As with the IMRT radiation, there would still be an exit beam hitting healthy parts of Justin's brain.
Figuring proton beam therapy would be the way we would want to go, we decided that getting proton beam therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston would be the route we would take. Now all we had to do was wait to see if he would be accepted into Massachusetts General Hospital. Our insurance would have to cover the treatment. But, where would we stay for the almost two months? What about the commute between Northern Virginia and Boston? How could my husband continue to work and help care for our sick son and our four month old baby?
While we were waiting to hear from Massachusetts General, we kept busy by going to doctor, occupational therapy, and physical therapy appointments at Children's National Medical Center. Justin had to learn how to walk all over again. His gross and fine motor skills were affected by the surgery. But within a few weeks, the staff at the hospital helped Justin walk without a walker. By late September 2004, we received the news from Massachusetts General Hospital that Justin would be accepted into the proton beam therapy protocol, assuming he could tolerate his treatments without anesthesia. The facility did not have any available slots for pediatric patients that needed anesthesia. We took our chances and expressed to Justin the importance of not moving during his upcoming treatments. Perhaps we were expecting a lot out of Justin. We just knew in our hearts that we wanted him to have proton beam therapy. So, we told our very supportive family and friends the great news. We made arrangements to stay at a hotel close to the hospital, and then we packed our bags. People are amazing during times of need. We received food from strangers, notes of kindness, and there were endless amounts of emotional and financial help. My husband's coworker threw Justin a going away party. All the love humbled us.
On October 17th, we left for Boston. Two days later, he started treatment. Fortunately, the side effects were minimal. He was a bit fatigued, and his appetite was lessened, but overall, he seemed like the strong five-year-old we so adored. The treatment was interrupted with visits from Virginia and Louisiana relatives, almost daily trips to the mall, the circus, and even a Red Sox game. We tried to put as much fun and normalcy into Justin's treatment.
On December 1, 2004, Justin had his last treatment--two short of what the new protocol recommended. We had decided the risks did not outweigh the benefits (for example, paralysis), as he already had 31 treatments rather than the normal 30. And by this time, after approximately six weeks of treatment, Justin was a little paler and skinnier, and his balance seemed more out of kilter.
We thanked our team of outstanding doctors, nurses, technicians, social worker, and school tutor, and we packed our bags and headed home in time for Christmas. It was bittersweet. On one hand, he was done with treatment; on the other hand, we were no longer actively doing anything to make sure the cancer would not return. Two years and three months have passed since treatment ended. It seems so long ago but the nervousness and anxiousness seems like yesterday. We still have reminders of how our lives have changed since Justin's surgery, diagnosis, and proton beam treatment.
At the beginning of this year, we opted to have both of Justin's eyes realigned. The brain surgery had left his eyes a bit cross-eyed and left him with double vision. That surgery was a success, but he will need to endure yet another surgery to bring down his left eye.
As Justin grows and becomes more aware of himself and the world around him, he is now beginning to ask questions about what he went through and what that means for his future health. "Where did I have my melon removed? "Didn't I have it removed in Boston, not DC?" "Are my eyes going to get better?" Furthermore, Justin is aware that he is slower than other kids because of his brain surgery.
The year following treatment, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Make a Wish Foundation granted Justin his wish for him and his family, and even his cousin, Jake, to take a Disney cruise. Approximately a year after his diagnosis, we were on our best family vacation ever. There was never a cloud in the sky, the weather was impeccable, and the cruise was amazing. It definitely put the finishing touch on our hardest year ever as a family. As a parent of a brain tumor child, that's all we want for our kids--never a black cloud overhead and smooth sailing for eternity.
There is normalcy to life now, but we can never forget that long and dreadful time. Quarterly MRIs and visits to the oncology clinic are reminders of how everything could change, just like that. Statistically, there is always a chance his cancer can return. Everyday I count my blessings and pray daily that he is forever healed.
To all that are met with this same challenge, my heart aches for you and your child. We have all learned empathy the hard way. But, somehow we know that we can all relate, and there is a special camaraderie amongst us. My wish for you, my prayer for you is that you find the strength to lean on the kindness of loved ones and strangers when you are weak, that you have the courage to let you and your child be scared, and that you embrace the unimaginable power of hope and love.
Visit Http://firstgiving.com/childhoodbraintumor.orgif you would like to support our Biathlon in honor of Justin.
Michelle has launched a personal page. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 7,336 |
European NGO calls for EU to pressure Cuba on human rights
29 August 2014 | News | Cuba
The EU must put pressure on Cuba to respect human rights
The EU and Cuba held subsequent negotiations concerning the possibility of future political dialogue and assistance between the two sides. To ensure that the agreement will lead to human rights improvements in Cuba, Civil Rights Defenders, together with the Cuban Campaign, Por Otra Cuba, have developed a platform on how these negotiations should be conducted and what should be included in the agreement.
Negotiations between the EU and Cuba, to achieve a bilateral agreement on the subjects of political dialogue and assistance, began in early 2014. Cuba is currently the only country in Latin America the EU has no bilateral agreement with, the reason being the total lack of respect for human rights in the country.
When the Cuban government signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in 2008 it represented a first step towards change. But since then, no real improvements have followed as far as human rights is concerned.
Civil Rights Defenders calls on the EU to put pressure on Cuba to ratify and implement human rights conventions – before any discussion on an agreement can continue. Prior to any final agreement it is essential that the EU includes civil society in Cuba and the political opposition in the dialogue in order for it to have legitimacy amongst the population.
During the negotiations, it has also emerged, that the EU, in addition to the agreement on political dialogue and assistance, intends to initiate a trade agreement with Cuba. The platform states that no trade agreement should be entered into before Cuba ratifies and implements the two human rights conventions.
Read the full platform here
Visit Por Otra Cubas website: in english / in spanish
Categories: News.
Tags: CESCR, EU, ICCPR, and Por Otra Cuba.
Regions: Cuba.(Svenska) Mänskliga rättigheter måste styra polisens våldsanvändning
Posted by John Suarez at 4:44 PM No comments:
Labels: Civil Rights Defenders, civil society, Cuba, EU, European Union, human rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
VOC holds special screening of "Messenger of the Truth," a documentary about Father Jerzy Popieluszko,
"A man who tells the Truth is a free man despite external slavery, imprisonment or custody." - Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, Sermon, October 31, 1982
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation will be holding a special screening of the award winning documentary "Messenger of the Truth about the life of Father Jerzy Popieluszko also known as the "Solidarity Priest" on September 16 at 7pm at the E Street Cinema in Washington, DC. Please share the news with your friends who live in the area. Below is their announcement:
Join us for an exclusive screening of the award-winning documentary "Messenger of the Truth," which tells the story of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the Roman Catholic priest martyred by the Polish Communists for advocating freedom of religion and political reform. By serving as chaplain to the fledging Solidarity Movement, Fr. Jerzy helped to crystalize the anti-communist sentiment in his native Poland. His death sparked a national nonviolent reform movement that eventually dealt a mortal blow to communism's rule of terror.
Fr. Jerzy's life stands as a testament to the strength of conviction and the courage of conscience. The film's Executive Producer, Gary Chartrand, will speak about the film and its importance. Mr. Maciej Pisarski, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Polish Embassy in Washington, will also attend and offer brief remarks.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the building of the International Museum on Communism. To learn more about the documentary, visit the Messenger of the Truth website.
When: September 16, 2014 7:00pm — 9:00pm
Where: E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW, Washington, DC
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is located on 300 New Jersey Avenue, NW # 900, Washington, DC 20001. It is a non-profit educational and human rights organization devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million victims of communism around the world and to the freedom of those still living under totalitarian regimes.
"Our Fatherland and respect of human dignity must be the common objective for reconciliation. You must unite in reconciliation in the spirit of love, but also in the spirit of justice. As the Holy Father said five years ago, no love exists without justice. Love is greater than justice and at the same time finds reassurance in justice." -Father Jerzy Popieluszko
Labels: Communism, documentary, Father Jerzy Popieluszko, Jerzy Popiełuszko, Martyr, Poland, Solidarity, Solidarity Priest
Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera returns to Cuba tomorrow and leaves a message of concern
Stay vigilant and watch over activists in Cuba.
Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera concerned about her husband
Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera is worried about her husband's life and safety. Yris is a human rights defender and president of the Rosa Parks Movement for Civil Rights. She has spoken before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland and returned to Cuba to continue her activism.
She recently traveled outside of the island again to attend meetings in Spain and in the United States to denounce what is taking place in Cuba while at the same time recognizing that within the Cuban populace there is an awakening underway in which many Cubans are demanding their freedom and calling for the end of the rule of the Castro brothers.
Tomorrow she returns to Cuba not knowing what awaits her.
Her husband, Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" has written an open letter to Raul Castro denouncing the dictatorship while describing with great detail how it operates. Yris fears for his life and the reprisals for writing his defiant letter.
In the short video below she expresses her concerns regarding Jorge Luis's health following an injection during his June 2014 detention with an unknown substance. Antúnez described the episode where he recieved the injection:
It begins and he says: "Something to Declare?" and I said, "Yes, I will not shut up, and I will not leave." The people of the Special Brigade appear and they say "bring him" and I think they are bringing someone as a witness, and a man appears in a white coat who wordlessly jumps me and places me in a choke hold. My hands are in handcuffs behind my back. "And what did you tell me?[ and he responds ] I will not shut up, and I am not leaving! ... When I came to, I was in an open air prison cell exposed to the sun, thrown on the floor, and they had given an injection "for me to be revived." That session they did to me twice. The second time they threw me against the doors of the offices, and they told me: No more magic for you!"
He has been suffering intermittent bouts of fever shortly afterwards that have persisted to the present day. Their home was attacked by state security again on August 28, 2014 in the early morning hours.
Friends of freedom and human rights please keep an eye on the plight of Yris and Jorge Luis. Their lives just might depend on it.
Labels: Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez", Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera
Christian Liberation Movement statement on ongoing EU negotiations with regime in Cuba
Real changes are rights based.
Statement of the Christian Liberation Movement
The common position maintained by the European Union in its relations with the Cuban government is under review. Tomorrow Wednesday August 27th the second round of these negotiations will be held. The most important condition has been the requirement of respect for human rights on the island, where little or nothing has changed for the good of the people in recent years. Continuing repression, arrests, lack of opportunities, and impoverishment, in other words, no real changes. Only transformations that seek to conceal a false continuity of oppression and privilege by a small group in power.
The Christian Liberation Movement does not intend to isolate Cuba and understands that the interests of organizations, businesses and citizens of the European Community be defended, but we are convinced that EU cooperation should be focused as a priority on achieving in our country a democratization process to ensure both in law and in practice the full respect of human rights for all.
We therefore hope that the representatives of the European Union are consistent and coherent with the democratic tradition of their own nations and demand a true process of change that our people want and need.
Changes are rights!
Eduardo Cardet Concepción
Coordinating Council of the MCL
August 26, 2014.
Original Spanish text below taken from the Christian Liberation Movement website . If you see room for improvement in the translation please comment below and will take under advisement.
Declaración del Movimiento Cristiano Liberación
La Posición Común mantenida por la Unión Europea en las relaciones con el gobierno cubano está en proceso de revisión. Mañana miércoles 27 de agosto se efectuara el segundo encuentro de estas negociaciones. El condicionamiento más importante ha sido la exigencia del respeto a los derechos humanos en la isla, donde poco o nada ha cambiado para el bien del pueblo en los últimos años. Continua la represión, las detenciones, la falta de oportunidades el empobrecimiento. En fin, nada de verdaderos cambios. Solo falsas transformaciones que persiguen encubrir la continuidad de la opresión y los privilegios de un pequeño grupo en el poder.
El Movimiento Cristiano Liberación no pretende el aislamiento de Cuba y entiende que se defienda los intereses de las organizaciones, empresas y ciudadanos de la Comunidad Europea, pero estamos convencidos que la cooperación de la Unión debe estar enfocada de forma prioritaria en lograr en nuestro país un proceso de democratización que garantice en la ley y en la practica el respeto pleno a los derechos humanos de todos.
Por eso esperamos que los representantes de la Unión Europea sean consecuentes y coherentes con la tradición democrática de sus propias naciones y demanden un verdadero proceso de cambios que nuestro pueblo quiere y necesita.
¡Cambios son derechos!
Consejo Coordinador del MCL
Holguín,
26 de Agosto de 2014.
Labels: Christian Liberation Movement, Cuba, Eduardo Cardet, European Union, MCL
An open letter to General Raul Castro from a Cuban opposition leader (Part 2)
On August 20, 2014 Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" made public an open letter to Raul Castro in which he denounced fraudulent reforms, and the murders of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero in Cuba and declared that national reconciliation necessitates justice, freedom and democracy. In the video below Antúnez read aloud the letter. Below is the second part of Antúnez's letter titled: "No, no and no Raul Castro." Antúnez is a former political prisoner and currently a national opposition leader based in Placetas, Cuba.
Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez"
No, no, and no Raul Castro
Mr. General, and now that you also self-title yourself President of the Councils of State and Ministers, I know well how many letters opponents have sent to you from inside and outside asking you to make reforms and a political opening as well as to convene elections. They ask as if you really were a president and as if in Cuba there was in power a real government and not a tyranny. We know that at any moment, you Machiavellian and opportunistic henchman will accept what they ask for and conduct a popular consultation, i.e. sham elections under your control, where as in Venezuela the totalitarian ruling party continues in power. And it is not a secret, the desperate and cunning maneuvers you and your acolytes perform to manufacture supposed opponents assuring with them the dynastic and ideological succession.
But be forewarned General, and is one of the reasons for this letter, that we, honorable and committed to the future of our country, Cubans are not going to accept that fraudulent and cosmetic change that you are concocting. Know also that the Cuban Resistance does not expect or want reforms implemented by the criminal tyranny over which you preside. The only reforms accepted by us are those that from following your ouster or abandonment of power are realized by the people from the bottom up.
Mr. dictator, enough tricks, that you will not serve a new term, that is not important to us. That you carry out reforms in the economic and immigration arena, that's a lot of lies, and it did not matter to us either. That your regime upgrade your model is another fallacy and lie. That's more of the same.
That monetary reform will come is a tremendous trick and a lie, General. We the people of Cuba, need a democratic system where a market economy prevails. One, two, three or a hundred thousand currencies do not matter, as long as there is a centralized and suffocating economy like your totalitarian system. We do not want with you Mr. dictator, reforms or openings, you are not our owners, nor should you dictate our guidelines.
We know that your time on earth is running out, and that powerful interests have shown the intention of pandering, or sharing huge profits at the cost of the pain and sacrifice of the Cuban people.
General Raul Castro, for warning about the danger of fraudulent change, you ordered the assassination of Oswaldo Payá and the young Harold Cepero. I doubt that you now have sufficient thugs to continue killing thousands and thousands who like Payá and Harold continue to denounce your tricks and continuity maneuvers.
For Laura Pollan, a defenseless woman, you sent your hired murderers to do away with her, because you could not defeat her in her Sunday marches on Fifth Avenue. It did not bother you that she was a woman and justice of her clamor. But Laura also defeated you, cowardly General, for her brave troops of the Ladies in White survived the cruel execution of their leader and is now spreading like patriotic wildfire throughout the Island.
Pedro Luis Boitel, Olegario Charlotte Pileta, Orlando Zapata, Wilman Villar, and many others, who had the courage to sacrifice themselves for the sake of freedom and respect for their dignity had already defeated you. Honor that both you and your thugs threatening to kill me in retaliation for my slogan "Neither will I fall silent nor will I leave Cuba." They themselves also just a few days ago, during one of the many arrests of those that I have been victimized, they tortured and beat me, since according to them and you, I sabotage the attempts of your tyranny to normalize relations with the United States.
Please know General Raul Castro that neither the absurd injunction of house arrest that weighs against me and the obvious threat of being killed, will make me change in my purpose that is that of thousands of Cubans. You will not be able to, Raul Castro; you cannot subdue a people who are tired of living without freedom, as you can not realize the international effort that is brewing against the cause of freedom in Cuba. That plot, Raul Castro, will not succeed, whether it comes from Havana, from Washington, from Brussels, or even from Vatican City. They won't be able to, General, because I know that both you, your family, and that cruel and bloody Party, will be excluded from any process of democratic change as they signify the negation of democracy itself.
And tell your subordinates, General, I'm here and will be here in my beloved homeland of Placetas from which you will not take me out neither your repressive forces or you yourself, or anyone, and that my humble abode, though desecrated, vandalized and looted by your entourage will remain a bastion of resistance, struggle, shelter and sanctuary for my countrymen who fight against you and in favor of freedom and justice. And tell them also General, your promoters and cronies, your spokesmen be they in Miami, in Washington, in Brussels, in Havana, or the Vatican itself not to continue rubbing their hands. We say no to continuity because here in Cuba there will not be reconciliation without there first being justice, freedom and democracy.
And as presentiment also tell some governments that call themselves democratic and which are within the plot, that they are wasting their time General, that the fact that Cubans need and hope for international solidarity, that does not mean that one country or foreign power, no matter how powerful or influential will be part of our process of change, because Cubans, those inside and those outside, are convinced that the solution of Cuba must and should be resolved between Cubans, exempting you and yours of course General, that for the damage you and yours have done to our nation, do not even deserve to be called Cubans.
Raúl Castro Ruz, on behalf of the people of Cuba, my fellow prisoners, and the victims of your dictatorship, I tell you no, no and no.
From Placetas, in the center of Cuba Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez", who "Neither will I fall silent nor will I leave Cuba." 20 de agosto de 2014.
Posted by John Suarez at 2:53 AM No comments:
Labels: Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez", Laura Inés Pollán Toledo, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, Pedro Luis Boitel, Raul Castro, Wilman Villar
Solidarity and the Baltic Way: How nonviolence buried the last vestiges of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Baltic Way brought an end to one key element of Molotov Ribbentrop
History weighs heavily in August of 2014: the centenary of the start of World War 1; seventy fifth anniversary of the signing of Molotov Ribbentrop, the treaty that triggered World War 2 by splitting Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union; thirty five years later, leaders of the Khmer Rouge are finally brought to face justice before an international tribunal; 34 years on the 31 of August 1980 the Polish Solidarity union came into existence; and Cubans observed the 20th anniversary of a mass uprising in Havana known as the Maleconazo that sparked another huge exodus of tens of thousands of Cubans fleeing to freedom.
Within this somber month of needed reflection on what not to do there is an incident that took place that needs to be remembered on what needs to be done. In addition to dismembering Poland, the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact placed the Baltic States under Soviet control. A nonviolent moment twenty five years ago that ended up liberating Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia brought an end to this part of Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact and it was called the Baltic Way. On June 4, 1989 the Solidarity labor movement won in free elections and the Polish people finally regained their sovereignty after nearly 50 years under totalitarian oppression. They did it nonviolently. So did the people of the Baltic states when two million Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians joined hands together in a giant human chain stretching 370 miles on August 23, 1994. Fifty years to the day after the treaty that brought them so much grief had been signed.
A number of excellent and well sourced websites describe and show with images and videos what happened on August 23, 1989. This is how the UNESCO website described it:
On 23 August 1939 foreign ministers of the USSR and Germany - Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop, as ordered by their superiors Stalin and Hitler, signed a treaty which affected the fate of Europe and the entire world. This pact, and the secret clauses it contained, divided the spheres of influence of the USSR and Germany and led to World War II, and to the occupation of the three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
50 years later, on 23 August 1989, the three nations living by the Baltic Sea surprised the world by taking hold of each other's hands and jointly demanding recognition of the secret clauses in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the re-establishment of the independence of the Baltic States. More than a million people joined hands to create a 600 km long human chain from the foot of Toompea in Tallinn to the foot of the Gediminas Tower in Vilnius, crossing Riga and the River Daugava on its way, creating a synergy in the drive for freedom that united the three countries.The Baltic Way was organized by the national movements of each of the Baltic States: the Popular Front of Estonia Rahvarinne, the Popular Front of Latvia and the Lithuanian Reform Movement Sąjūdis.
The Baltic Way brought important changes to the history of the world. This was achieved through social unity and through the joint commitment and confidence manifested by every individual in pursuing the common goal. This impressive act of non-violent protest and solidarity whilst keeping sovereignty was a living example of the culture of peace, opening up access to information and leading to the acknowledgement of the secret treaty and its hideous consequences for the whole world. It increased the opportunity for the national self-determination of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and encouraged democratic movements throughout the Soviet Union. The three Baltic States succeeded in gaining their freedom in a peaceful way, creating a precedent that was, and hopefully will be, followed by a number of countries all over- the triumph of humanity over totalitarianism.
Its a powerful testament that the liberation of Poland and the Baltic states from totalitarian occupation was achieved after fifty years through nonviolent resistance. Now in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia August 23rd has a double significance.
Labels: 1989, Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Molotov Ribbentrop, Poland, Solidarity, The Baltic Way
Molotov-Ribbentrop: The Orwellian non-aggression treaty that started World War 2
"Russia and Germany have signed a cooperation pact. War now inevitable. Went for a stroll." - Evelyn Waugh
German Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop, Joseph Stalin, & his foreign minister, Molotov
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the Nazi German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, officially called the Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was signed 75 years ago today. Made public on August 23, 1939 the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact was a Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with secret protocols setting out how the two regimes would divide Poland and the Baltic States. World War 2 would begin with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939. The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East on September 17, 1939. The double invasion is dramatized in Andrzej Wajda's 2007 film Katyn. This important date in history and cautionary tale for democrats is largely ignored.
German and Soviet Union soldiers greet one another in Poland (1939)
The Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact, 1939
Text of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
The Government of the German Reich and The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics desirous of strengthening the cause of peace between Germany and the U.S.S.R., and proceeding from the fundamental provisions of the Neutrality Agreement concluded in April, 1926 between Germany and the U.S.S.R., have reached the following Agreement:
Article I.
Both High Contracting Parties obligate themselves to desist from any act of violence, any aggressive action, and any attack on each other, either individually or jointly with other Powers.
Article II.
Should one of the High Contracting Parties become the object of belligerent action by a third Power, the other High Contracting Party shall in no manner lend its support to this third Power.
Article III.
The Governments of the two High Contracting Parties shall in the future maintain continual contact with one another for the purpose of consultation in order to exchange information on problems affecting their common interests.
Article IV.
Should disputes or conflicts arise between the High Contracting Parties shall participate in any grouping of Powers whatsoever that is directly or indirectly aimed at the other party.
Article V.
Should disputes or conflicts arise between the High Contracting Parties over problems of one kind or another, both parties shall settle these disputes or conflicts exclusively through friendly exchange of opinion or, if necessary, through the establishment of arbitration commissions.
Article VI.
The present Treaty is concluded for a period of ten years, with the proviso that, in so far as one of the High Contracting Parties does not advance it one year prior to the expiration of this period, the validity of this Treaty shall automatically be extended for another five years.
Article VII.
The present treaty shall be ratified within the shortest possible time. The ratifications shall be exchanged in Berlin. The Agreement shall enter into force as soon as it is signed.
[The section below was not published at the time the above was announced.]
Secret Additional Protocol.
In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement in the areas belonging to the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the northern boundary of Lithuania shall represent the boundary of the spheres of influence of Germany and U.S.S.R. In this connection the interest of Lithuania in the Vilna area is recognized by each party.
In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state, the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narev, Vistula and San. The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish States and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments. In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement.
With regard to Southeastern Europe attention is called by the Soviet side to its interest in Bessarabia. The German side declares its complete political disinteredness in these areas.
This protocol shall be treated by both parties as strictly secret.
Moscow, August 23, 1939.
For the Government of the German Reich v. Ribbentrop
Plenipotentiary of the Government of the U.S.S.R. V. Molotov
Copy of the Non-Aggression Pact signed on August 23, 1939
Labels: 1939, Germany, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Josef Stalin, Katyn, Nazi, Poland, Soviet, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, Vyacheslav Molotov, World War 2
Historical Lessons from Engaging Totalitarians: Tourism
Normally, travel broadens the mind but what about visiting a totalitarian state?
Jane Fonda visiting North Vietnam in July of 1972
Over the past few months there has been a vigorous debate around whether or not to continue economic sanctions on the dictatorship in Cuba and a series of manufactured controversies surrounding democracy promotion programs directed at the island has led to a conversation about their effectiveness. However, a couple of other issues that emerged but that have gone unaddressed are the conceits that American tourists, business, and high technology would somehow be game changers in Cuba and that "evolutionary change" would take place within Cuba. In this second installment will briefly explore some high profile examples of the impact of tourism on totalitarian states.
What has happened in the past when tourists take the lead in public diplomacy? Well it depends on what kind of tourist is visiting a totalitarian regime. Basically divide them into four general groups: bargain travelers, political pilgrims, celebrities, and informed travelers that know how totalitarian states function and know what they are getting into. The last group is almost always a very small number.
Bargain travelers will go to a totalitarian regime because often times it is a cheap holiday in an exotic location. Depending on the regime they will be kept in areas geared to tourists providing them a Potemkin village experience. However that does not mean that information on health and security will be accurate and it can place tourists at risk. In the case of both Cuba and North Korea, businessmen who have engaged the regime in business ventures are rotting in prison. There is also an ethical question providing hard currency to a system that is actively repressing its own populace and no matter how little it may be it is helping a totalitarian state.
Celebrities visiting totalitarian states become targets of both the state security service and the propaganda ministries. These regime will pull out all the stops to show themselves in the best light possible and make sure that celebrities have a great time but within a reality fabricated by the totalitarians. It has paid back with big dividends in the past.
Lincoln Joseph Steffens
For example in 1919 Lincoln Joseph Steffens, a respected journalist, spent three weeks visiting the Soviet Union and wrote "Soviet Russia was a revolutionary government with an evolutionary plan", enduring "a temporary condition of evil, which is made tolerable by hope and a plan." When he returned to the United States he campaigned for U.S. food aid for the Soviet Union saying repeatedly: "I have seen the future, and it works." Remember that in January of 1919 the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin had already been carrying out the systematic and mass extermination of entire social classes. By 1931 Steffens had grown disillusioned but for over a decade people heard from this journalist about the wonders of the Soviet Union.
Charles Lindbergh in Nazi Germany with Hermann Göring
Charles Lindbergh, the heroic emblem of aviation's glamorous present and brilliant future. Lindbergh, who had moved his family to Europe following the kidnapping and murder of his eldest child, visited Germany five times between 1936 and 1939. Officially lionized, taken on tours of airfields and factories, lavishly entertained by Air Marshal Hermann Göring, and awarded one of the country's highest civilian honors, Lindbergh made no effort to distance himself from Nazism. Hitler, he wrote to the banker Harry Davison, "is undoubtedly a great man, and I believe he has done much for the German people." - See more at: http://www.andrewnagorski.com/reviews/new-york-review-books-0#sthash.k1iFj9I6.dpuf
Charles Lindbergh, the heroic emblem of aviation's glamorous present and brilliant future. Lindbergh, who had moved his family to Europe following the kidnapping and murder of his eldest child, visited Germany five times between 1936 and 1939. Officially lionized, taken on tours of airfields and factories, lavishly entertained by Air Marshal Hermann Göring, and awarded one of the country's highest civilian honors, Lindbergh made no effort to distance himself from Nazism. Hitler, he wrote to the banker Harry Davison, "is undoubtedly a great man, and I believe he has done much for the German people." - See more at: http://www.andrewnagorski.com/reviews/new-york-review-books-0#sthash.k1iFj9I6.dpufCharles Lindbergh, visited Nazi Germany five times between 1936 and 1939. Lindbergh was taken on tours of airfields and factories, lavishly entertained by Air Marshal Hermann Göring, and awarded one of Third Reich's highest civilian honors. Lindbergh made no efforts to distance himself from Nazism. Writing to the banker Harry Davison, he said that Hitler "is undoubtedly a great man, and I believe he has done much for the German people."
On June 23, 1933 Adolph Hitler signed a law creating the "Reich Committee for Tourism" and according to Kristen Semmens marked the first step in the Nazis thorough coordination of German commercial tourism. Semmens explains how "normal" experiences--such as taking a tour, visiting a popular sightseeing attraction, reading a guidebook or sending a postcard--Seeing Hitler's Germany deepens our understanding of the popular legitimization of Nazi rule not only in Germany but internationally. This also explains, in part, the inaction of other democratic states in reacting to the consolidation of Nazi rule and its re-armament. Today, in Cuba for example, the tourism industry is run by the military with input by the regime's intelligence service.
Charles Lindbergh, visited Germany five times between 1936 and 1939. Lindbergh was taken on tours of airfields and factories, lavishly entertained by Air Marshal Hermann Göring, and awarded one of the Third Reich's highest civilian honors. Lindbergh wrote to the banker Harry Davison, "With all the things we criticize, he [Hitler] is undoubtedly a great man, and I believe has done much for the German people. He is fanatic in many ways, and any one can see that there is a certain amount of fanaticism in Germany today. It is less than I expected, but it is there. On the other hand, Hitler has accomplished results ( good in addition to bad ) which could hardly have been accomplished without some fanaticism."
Following the 1936 Olympics in Berlin that further legitimized the Nazis, Lindbergh's wife offered the following perspective on Hitler to her mother in a August 5, 1936 letter:
"Hitler, I am beginning to feel, is a very great man, like an inspired religious leader -- and as such rather fanatical -- but not scheming, not selfish, not greedy for power, but a mystic, a visionary who really wants the best for his country and, on the whole, has a rather broad view."
Needless to say the Lindbergh's analysis was profoundly mistaken. The tyrant who many at the time thought wanted "the best for his country" when Germany failed to achieve the Thousand Year Reich Hitler had wanted he issued the Nero Decree on March 19, 1945 ordering the infrastructure of the country to be destroyed effectively also sentencing the German people to death. Not only did Nazi Germany order the extermination of the Jewish race at the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942 but three years later the German people.
Kim Jong-Un & Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang 2013 Photo: KCNA/AFP/Getty Images
The totalitarian state in North Korea is not as expert as their counterpart in Cuba, but nevertheless hosted NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman in four visits to the peninsula between 2013 and early 2014. The brutal communist dictatorship was trying to obtain positive media. Rodman played an exhibition basket ball game in North Korea in January 2014, singing Happy Birthday to dictator Kim Jong Un, said the young leader was a friend and also "a very good guy." Weeks earlier Kim Jong Un had purged and executed his own uncle. According to NBC news the uncle was stripped naked and fed to a pack of ravenous dogs. Official North Korean media has reported the execution of the Uncle but has not specified the method used. However, the NBA star claims that the uncle was not executed. Rodman also attempted to justify the imprisonment of an American citizen, Kenneth Bae, implying in a CNN interview that he had done something to deserve being jailed there since 2012. Kenneth Bae had a tour company organizing tours to North Korea since 2006. He was arrested on November 3, 2012. Despite Rodman's claims international human rights organizations and bodies identify North Korea as one of the most extreme and systematic human rights violators on the planet.
Beyonce and Jay-Z in Havana in April 2013
However at times for the sake of shifting unwanted attention these kind of regimes are more than capable of placing celebrities in the spotlight as was done with Beyonce and Jay-Z back in April of 2013. It was the Cuban totalitarian state that first released footage and news of the Jay-Z and Beyonce trip describing it as tourism. The Castro regime wanted to create a media storm to take attention away from three Cuban women, then exposing the brutal reality in Cuba as they traveled around the world, shifting it back to a debate over restrictions in U.S. law on travel to Cuba. A year later the Treasury Department confirmed that the couple had not violated U.S. laws during the trip.
Singer Linda Ronstadt visited Cuba and got the Potemkin Village tour
Linda Ronstadt in a AZCentral interview on August 18, 2014 questioning the Cuban Adjustment Act she revealed that she had traveled to the island:
"We allow Cubans to come in and say that they're refugees. Well, in Cuba — I've been there, you know — people are fed, people are housed, people are clothed. There isn't violence in the streets.
She had spoken more extensively about her impressions of Cuba in a 2003 interview in City Pulse:
It's an amazing country. I've been all over Latin America. And it's the only Latin American country I've been in that didn't have armed troops on the street, there weren't homeless people everywhere, and kids had school uniforms and had schoolbooks paid for and had their health paid for. There's things going on in Cuba that we don't know about, and that's mainly because of the Miami Cubans, they just absolutely won't – they are absolutely closed-minded. They hate Fidel Castro, they won't even hear about some of the good things he's done, and they don't want anyone else to know about it, either. It's a total propaganda device and they've blanketed this country with propaganda about Cuba, huge amounts of which are untrue.
The reality that Cubans know on and off the island is far different, but also there are respected international human rights bodies and organizations that would dispute everything in the above statement. Sadly, the unwitting "propaganda device" is a talented and legendary singer who had The Eagles as a backup band.
Jane Fonda positioned by North Vietnamese into a photo op
Underestimating the ability of these totalitarian states to manipulate individuals both the average traveler and high profile celebrities has been demonstrated time and time again to be a losing proposition. At the top of this blog entry is a photo of Jane Fonda in 1972 in North Vietnam. In a 2012 Oprah interview reported on the Huffington Post, she described how she ended up on the anti-aircraft gun:
In the clip, Fonda explains that she was taken to a North Vietnam military site on the last day of her visit, even though she did not want to go. "I was an emotional wreck by [then]," she remembers. "I don't know if I was set up or not. I was an adult. I take responsibility for my actions."
That's when a small ceremony began. "These soldiers sang a song; I sang a song in feeble Vietnamese," she says. "Everyone was laughing. I was led to a gun site and I sat down. And I was laughing and clapping, and there were pictures taken."
As Fonda walked away from the site, she suddenly realized how those pictures would look to the rest of the world. "I understand the anger about that," she admits.
The North Vietnam regime that she was visiting came into power through terror campaigns and mass executions. According to the International Business Times as early as 1956 at a Communist Party conference Vietnam's "Red Napoleon", Senior General Vo Nguyen Giap in a moment of candor told delegates that in carrying out their "anti-feudal task":
"...we indiscriminately attacked all families owning land. Many thousands were executed. We saw enemies everywhere and resorted to widespread violence and terror...There were grave errors..."
On other occasions General Giap explained: "We executed too many honest people...", "...We resorted to terror, disciplinary punishments and torture..." Revenge squads organized by the Communist Vietnamese government may have executed up to 200,000, forced the eviction of over a million South Vietnamese to the North as prisoners, and killed no one knows how many more through deliberate exposure to disease and malnutrition. A million and a half fled Vietnam primarily by sea and became known as the boat people. The human rights situation today in Vietnam remains dire.
Countering the Propaganda
Years ago, at a youth gathering at Harvard University , I had the opportunity to engage a bright young student who had just returned from a semester in Cuba and she was spouting Cuban government propaganda. My response to her was to give her a list of links to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission on the human rights situation on the island and past atrocities. She came back a couple of hours later in tears of anger for having been lied to and manipulated while in Cuba.
Iran's Ahmadinejad with Communist Fidel Castro and Neo-Nazi David Duke
Political Pilgrims and Iran
Political pilgrims are people who share an ideological sympathy with the regime and will go there on vacation to reinforce their political beliefs and provide the totalitarian regime with concrete material support. Some of them will take part in political rallies and events while a smaller subset will also engage in trainings to promote their ideology elsewhere. Years ago at the University of Miami met a small group of American students who had returned from such an event in Cuba. They were openly Stalinist and said that those imprisoned in Cuba for their ideas were getting what they deserved. They also volunteered that they were against the death penalty in the United States today because the wrong people were in power but when the revolution arrived they wanted the death penalty to get rid of the "right people." It was a chilling encounter. These youths are part of a totalitarian network that operates internationally with the assistance of state actors. These young totalitarians are found both within Communist and Nazi networks. As one marks the 75 years since Communists and Nazis joined together in the Molotov Ribbentrop pact in 1939 it is interesting to note where they link today on issues such as Israel and in alliances with the regime in Iran. David Duke would fit the bill of a political pilgrim in his 2006 trip to Iran. The human rights situation in Iran remains dire.
Ethical travel to totalitarian states
The smallest group visiting these types of regimes are informed travelers that know how totalitarian states function, understand the dangers and know what they are getting into but decide to risk all and meet with dissidents and human rights defenders demonstrating their solidarity. These travelers are in my opinion the only ones making a positive contribution visiting totalitarian states, but must weigh what they plan to do with how much hard currency they'll be leaving the dictatorship to continue its machinery of repression.
The conceit that "opening up" Cuba to mass American tourism will be a game changer endangering the totalitarian state on the island is not tenable. The dictatorship in my opinion will continue to control through its totalitarian mechanisms who can and cannot enter and with increased travel receive hard currency for the military and intelligence apparatus that run the tourism industry. What to do you think?
Labels: Adolph Hitler, Beyonce, Charles Lindbergh, Cuba, David Duke, Germany, Jane Fonda, Jaz-Z, Linda Ronstadt, Soviet Union, Vietnam
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Bülow-Denkmal oder Bülowdenkmal steht für:
Bülow-Denkmal (Berlin)
Bülow-Denkmal (Bodetal)
Bülowdenkmal Dennewitz | {
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Hop back in time to experience the Gold Rush era in Montana. In just a 20-minute drive from The Resort, you'll find yourself transported to the early 1900s as you walk the streets of Montana's best-preserved ghost town. Your guide will give you the fascinating history of the town, which was still inhabited up to the 1960s, as you explore the Kelley Saloon, general store, Wells Hotel and many homes. The cost is $75 per person, and all ages are welcome (children 3 and under visit free). | {
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AXIOLOGICALLY - axiologically adv. In an axiological manner.
AXIOMATICALLY - axiomatically adv. By the use of axioms; in the form of an axiom.
EXPLICATIVELY - explicatively adv. In an explicative way.
EXTRINSICALLY - extrinsically adv. In an extrinsic manner.
TRICARBOXYLIC - tricarboxylic adj. (organic chemistry) Having three carboxylic groups. | {
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GoTenna Pro meshing radio aspires to deploy next to rescue, fire and security teams
Keeping in touch when there's no communications infrastructure for one reason or another is nice for you and me, but critical for disaster response, forest fire control and military operations. GoTenna wants its new Pro device to be part of that by providing powerful, reliable, off-grid comms in a package a fraction the size and weight of existing systems.
You might remember the original goTenna, a device the size of a candy bar that connected with your phone over Bluetooth, then used walkie-talkie frequencies to let you message and exchange GPS coordinates with other goTenna-equipped phones up to a few miles away. It's a handy device for backpacking, power outages and that sort of thing — but goTenna CEO Daniela Perdomo said that it literally only took minutes after the product's announcement for more serious players to express interest.
Park rangers, firefighters, NGOs whose workers go to impoverished and war-torn areas — they all liked the idea of the goTenna as an adjunct to existing mesh radio systems made by big companies like Motorola, BAE, Lockheed and the like. These systems let you plop down a base station and then have smaller units carried around by people in the unit. Boom, an ad-hoc network only your team can access — but not only are the these devices commonly clunky, they're also expensive as hell: think a few thousand bucks a unit for basic options. The market size is in the tens of billions.
"Search and rescue, military, aid organizations… they use these things every day. It's like their primary mode of communication," Perdomo said. "But there are some out there, big NGOs even, they're priced out the market. Or sometimes you'll have coalition forces or groups that can't communicate with each other because the product they use isn't available overseas."
Those systems, it seems, are in need of a serious competitor, which Perdomo aims to give to them.
The Pro is a lot like the original goTenna, except because the original was a consumer device, it had to be limited (FCC regulations say) in certain ways: primarily the frequencies it could access and the power it could transmit with. By designing and making the Pro available to… you know, pros, the company can give the device access to a full software-defined radio stack with a range of VHF and UHF frequencies (142-175MHz and 445-480MHz if you're curious), plus a much higher transmission power (5 watts).
It's also been further ruggedized and given a fat battery that should last 60 hours or so. And because it uses the SMA standard for antennas, you can stick a monster aerial on there and get miles of range, no special base station needed. The Pro is light enough you could even stick it on a drone and increase your range even further.
One company was so excited about the Pro that they posted about it well ahead of the announcement (Perdomo didn't seem mad). You can see in Technosylva's illustration (it's for a fire response logistics system) up top that the in-mesh communications can also hop to a chopper or base station where they can be blasted out over LTE, another app or what have you, and information can come in that way too. Lots of interoperability here.
The hope is that at $500 each, these things could be bought by the dozen rather than provisioned one at a time. At that price, NGOs won't go broke, and for the military, they're practically disposable. You don't get voice communication, but text and location are what you need most of the time. Who calls anyone any more anyway?
There's a slight catch. This is FCC-approved for use only by people with licenses for the business and public safety radio bands. Unless you have said license, you're not supposed to have one of these. Now technically, you can still buy one. But operating it without a license would technically be illegal.
Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and, with it said, it should also be said that you can now fore-order the goTenna Pro over at the company's website. | {
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Spectacular Custom Home Loaded With Special Features In Brierwood Estates On A Large .8 Acre Lot With No Hoa! Separate Living Space With Private Entrance. Built As Builder's Personal Home. The Beautiful Wrap-around Front Porch And Circular Driveway Are Just The Beginning. Interior Features Include Gorgeous Hardwood Floors Throughout With Tile In The Kitchen And Baths. A Gas Fireplace In The Living Room Has A Tile Inlay Hearth. There Are Custom Wood Built-ins Throughout The Home. Through The Sep. Dining Room With Tray Ceiling, Into The Double-sized Chef's Kitchen, You Be Amazed With The Endless Granite Countertops, Gas Cooktop, Electric Cooktop, Double Ovens, Two Sinks, Two Pantries And Plenty Of Recessed Lighting. Handmade Table And Chair Set That Will Convey.
Home Warrtermite Termite Company: Strand Termite Co. | {
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Automotive Sales Representative / Sales Reps. Simi Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is exploding with opportunity! We are currently looking for sales representatives to help continue that growth!
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Aesthetics plays an increasingly important role in the design and remodeling of different spaces, not only at the level of product design, but also with its colors.
Therefore, the market has been increasing the demands in this regard. New products are sought, but also consecrated products are requested but with new finishes. As a result of observing this trend, in Aramar we got down to work.
As we anticipated last week, this week was going to start with a novelty … and that novelty is the arrival of products in new finishes to our facilities. Specifically, we have expanded our range of finishes in certain references to matt black and gloss black. Some of the items available in the new finishes are: hinges, handles and slides on request.
In the coming weeks we will continue to receive more references in these finishes, such as the Hegox Mar de Plata screen, so if you have any questions, please contact us.
In addition, we invite you to consult our catalog to know all our products. | {
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The CISPA cybersecurity bill will allow any company to share your private information with the U.S Government. Please join us in contacting Congress and then recaptioning some CISPA Cats to feel better about life on this planet.
Call, email, or send carrier pigeons to your local representatives and tell them NO.
And this is a problem because…? What, you actually expect anything you do on a global network of millions of computers to be… PRIVATE?!?
Oh, god. You're so stupid.
Here's an idea… If ICHC is so concerned about our right to privacy… stop forcing us to use Facebook to comment on lols. How about actually practicing what you're trying to preach here?
I had not hear about CISPA til I saw this and when I looked it up it sounds like the various cyber security initiatives are all piling up in the Senate. I find it interesting the MS and FB both view this as beneficial from a corporate standpoint and would be willing to trade individual rights to privacy. | {
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LUP proposes to publish all contributions, including the supplemental data, under a Creative Commons (CC) license. This license form is designed for publications on the Internet. The CC organization is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build and share. The organization has developed several copyright licenses that are better known as CC licenses. The CC license is currently the best type of license which allows the combination and open access paper book edition. <BR><BR> With these licenses, authors / creators themselves indicate and communicate which rights they want to keep, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. For a number of open access databases to be included, there should be under a CC license to be published. LUP uses the following license as a default form for online publications: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives.
The Invasion of the South
Remmelink, Willem (2021)
Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan (now the Center for Military History of the National Institute for Defense Studies) published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History ...
The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal
World History for International Studies
Duyvesteyn, Isabelle; van der Wal, Anne Marieke (2022)
Studying change in the course of human history, in different places, through the lens of a diverse set of core themes, World History for International Studies offers readers a set of windows into different debates historians ... | {
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Censure au Centre Pompidou
Julio Le Parc presents a brief explanation about a situation in which he was not permitted to include a pamphlet with his works in the Denise René L'intrépide exhibition. Due to this situation, which he considered to be censorship, Le Parc invited, through this writing, anyone who wanted to accompany him on Friday, April 20, 2001, at 6:30 PM to paste the pamphlet over one of his works.
Julio Le Parc (1928) was born in the Province of Mendoza, in Argentina, and graduated in Buenos Aires. In 1955, he participated in the student movement that took over the country's fine arts schools, and in 1958, Le Parc traveled to Paris on a scholarship. While there, between 1960 and 1968, he became part of the GRAV, Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel [Experimental Visual Arts Research Group], which, in turn, participated in the Nouvelle Tendence [New Tendency] international movement. He later continued his visual research and production within the kinetic art movement. On many occasions, his positions on various issues from the point of view of a Latin American artist were accounted for. Since 1945, the Parisian Denise René art gallery has promoted abstraction, especially in its geometric and kinetic aspects. Given that the authorities at the Centre Georges Pompidou did not allow him to include his pamphlet that accompanied the works presented in the Denise René L'intrépide exhibition, which took place there between April 4 and June 4, 2001, Le Parc titled this explanation Censura en el Centre Pompidou [Censorship at the Pompidou Center]. This source has been selected as evidence of the invitation to the symbolic act in which he proceeded to stick the pamphlet on one of his works. This document is linked to the pamphlet dated April 3, 2001. Note that the exhibition was also presented at the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria [Grand Canary Island], between September 18 and November 18, 2001, albeit with another title:El arte abstracto y la Galería Denise René [Abstract Art and the Denise René Gallery].
Book or Pamphlet
Manifestoes
Cachan, Francia
Julio Le Parc, Continuel-lumiére mobile 1968
Julio Le Parc, Continuel-lumière mobile 1960-1966
Centre Georges Pompidou
Le Parc, Julio. Censure au Centre Pompidou. Cachan: by the artist, 2001.
Archivo Julio Le Parc, París, Francia.
Courtesy of the Private Archives of Julio Le Parc, Cachan, France
Fundación Espigas, Buenos Aires
Cristina Rossi. | {
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Each June Howard Electric holds its annual meeting for its members. During the annual meeting, the co-op manager and directors will give reports on the cooperative's financial position, its accomplishments and the future outlook. At this yearly meeting you elect your directors and vote on any policies or bylaws that are brought before the membership. Because the cooperative must have a quorum of members to conduct business, it is vitally important that you attend. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions of your board and manager.
You will have a fun time visiting with your fellow co-op members, looking over displays, picking up free registration gifts and having a chance to win the many door prizes we give away. There is also attendance gifts and prize drawings as well entertainment for member's children.
Watch for the details of your annual meeting on the back page of Rural Missouri. | {
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Posted inBreaking News
Wausau mayor accused of violating state campaign ethics rules
by Shereen Siewert January 31, 2020 January 31, 2020
Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke, flanked by staff and supporters, announces he will seek another term of office on Sept. 9, 2019. Photo: Shereen Siewert/Wausau Pilot and Review
By Shereen Siewert
A complaint filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission accuses Mayor Robert Mielke of violating state campaign statutes by using taxpayer money to share a campaign message with thousands of Wausau households and businesses.
Mielke's challenger in the mayoral race, Katie Rosenberg, filed the notarized complaint on Thursday.
Rosenberg alleges in her complaint that Mielke violated a statute commonly referred to as the "50-piece" rule, which prohibits elected officials from using public funds for the cost of materials or distribution for 50 or more pieces of substantially identical material during the campaign season.
The rule is one of several in place to ensure elected officials do not use public funds to further their campaigns.
At issue is the "Mayor's Message" in the Wausau City Winter 2020 newsletter, which residents and businesses received earlier this week — during the campaign season. On the front page, Mielke's message contained "substantially similar content to his campaign messaging," much of which is nearly identical to his September 2019 campaign kickoff speech, which was held at City Hall.
In all, about half of the message mailed to residents at taxpayer expense closely mirrors the September speech, which can be heard in its entirety in this YouTube video:
The newsletter, which can be seen here and is embedded at the end of this story, is not mandated by city ordinance and is solicited, crafted and put together at the behest of the mayor, the complaint states.
Rosenberg said filing the complaint made her uncomfortable.
"I wanted to brush it off and continue focusing on my message, my campaign, and the people of Wausau," Rosenberg said. "However, I can't continue to tell my neighbors that I stand for accountability and leadership while at the same time ignoring another lapse in judgement and misuse of government resources."
"In September, he used the city equipment and social media accounts for his campaign announcement," Rosenberg said. "Now he's using the publicly financed newsletter that is mailed to tens of thousands of Wausau households and business to deliver campaign language."
In her complaint, Rosenberg mentions both issues that arose in September and included links to stories in The City Pages and Wausau Pilot and Review for reference.
City of Wausau Facebook Page screenshot captured Sept. 9, 2019
Photos and an announcement regarding Mielke's political plans briefly appeared on the city's Facebook page, but the post was taken down after critics spoke up. Mielke, in September, said his assistant, Kathi Groeschel, is the Facebook page administrator who both determines and adds city-related news as it happens.
"This isn't a policy disagreement, it's a pattern of behavior intended to give him an unfair political advantage," Rosenberg said.
Most investigations into actions by local officials are undertaken by the city's ethics board, an entity established in 1990 with members chosen by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. But the terms of Wausau's ethics board members all expired nearly two years ago.
Ethics board members are ideally appointed during a time that makes clear to the public that the group serves the public interest and not the interests of those groups subject to the board's oversight, according to the Campaign Legal Center.
The mailing differs from the two other issues cited in the complaint because the action appears to apply to a specific state statute, likely bringing it under the authority of the state ethics commission.
Speaking in general terms Daniel Carlton, administrator of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, said prejudging a complaint would be inappropriate, because the process specifically provides that a person named in a complaint has at least 15 days to respond before the Commission takes any action other than to dismiss a complaint.
"There may be facts or legal argument that would affect any conclusion that we might reach that we would not be aware of until that response," Carlton wrote, in an email to Wausau Pilot and Review.
Penalties for violating campaign ethics rules are far-ranging and vary from state to state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Wisconsin, violators of the code of ethics for public officials and employees are subject to civil penalties of up to $500 or not more than $5,000, depending on the violation. Criminal penalties for code violations include fines between $100 and $5,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both, according to the NCSL database.
Mielke and Rosenberg are the only two candidates seeking the office in the April election. A third challenger, Christopher Norfleet, announced his candidacy but instead opted to run for city council in Dist. 1, challenging Pat Peckham.
Mielke, in an email on Friday, told Wausau Pilot and Review that he was unaware of the complaint filed against him.
Top image: Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke, flanked by staff and supporters, announces he will seek another term of office on Sept. 9, 2019. Photo credit: Shereen Siewert/Wausau Pilot and Review
WW4U_2020_Winter
Tagged: Campaign ethics Wausau, Katie Rosenberg, Mayor Robert Mielke | {
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Thank you for taking the time to find out about Christ College. I hope that by browsing around this website you will begin to establish a true sense of the unique character of the school and will want to come and visit for yourselves.
Set within the stunning scenery of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Christ College was founded in 1541 by Henry VIII and every pupil proudly bears the 'h' logo that links the current members of the school with the founder. Our school motto which is translated into English from Latin, means 'They achieve because they believe they can' and this remains as true of today's pupils as it has been throughout the history of the school; developing personal confidence and the willingness to take on new experiences and challenges are among the core aims of the school.
One of the most special things about Christ College is the warmth of the welcome here and the quality of relationships between pupils and staff in its Junior and Senior Schools. Our community is a small, caring and compassionate one, where pupils learn to value kindness and service to others.
Our dedicated teachers are committed to far more than helping our pupils achieve their academic potential, they are also passionate about their character development, encouraging them to achieve their goals and to grow into confident and accomplished adults.
There is something magical about this place that can only be experienced first hand and I look forward to meeting you and introducing you to it. | {
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} | 9,866 |
We run a weekly daytime support group for bereaved parents in Streatham, South London on Tuesdays from 11am until 12.30pm during school term time.
The SLOW support groups are a place to be yourself and take strength from the support of others, before returning to daily life and its challenges. At our meetings you can share stories with others who have experienced a similar kind of loss.
For more information about what happens in our groups please click here. | {
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} | 5,991 |
In buildings containing flats or in housing developments where there are private areas used in common and not owned by specific properties, the cost of maintaining those areas needs to be recovered. With flats these charges are called 'service charges' and in housing developments they are called 'rent charges'.
The maintenance is usually organised by a third party, such as a landlord or a management company.
Usually an estimate as to the charge is given at the beginning of a pre-defined year and a payment on account made. At the end of the year, accounts are produced and balancing credits or additional payments made.
The service charge costs can be significant and you need to consider this when purchasing. You need to consider the history of payments and future payments. Buildings with flat roofs or lifts can produce particularly high service charges.
You can access any of our property lawyers at any of our offices spread throughout Surrey, Hampshire and Greater London including Kingston upon Thames, Bordon, Cheam, Canary Wharf, Leatherhead, Raynes Park, Surbiton, Tolworth or Walton on Thames. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 33 |
Glenn Jenks Ragtime Revue Oct. 23
Soprano Erin Chenard of Bath. Courtesy of Aaron Robinson
Camden native Glenn Jenks: renowned pianist, composer and music historian. Courtesy of Aaron Robinson
Story Location:
6 Central Street
The Glenn Jenks Ragtime Revue is back and better than ever!
Premiering in 2019 at the Camden Opera House, the Glenn Jenks Ragtime Revue celebrates the life and music of the late composer and pianist Glenn Jenks through music, dance and song from the ragtime and early jazz era. Glenn Jenks was a renowned pianist, composer and music historian from Camden, Maine whose music is still performed and recorded around the world today. Jenks was a founding member and respected figure of several Ragtime Festivals for over three decades and producer of the annual "Harvest Ragtime Revue" at the Camden Opera House in Camden, Maine as well as the "New Vaudeville Revival". A respected ornithologist and celebrated botany specialist of roses, Jenks conducted several tours of local gardens in the Camden area.
This year's Revue is Sunday, Oct. 23 at the Rockport Opera House - 6 Central St., Rockport – at 2 p.m. It features world renowned piano duo and husband and wife team Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi performing 4-hand stride and ragtime piano. Trick and Alderighi have toured the world performing together, presenting master classes and live streaming private concerts. Stephanie Trick is regarded as one of the world's leading stride pianists.
Recipients of the Glenn Jenks "Future in Music" Prize sponsored by the Ragtime Revue Scholarship and presented at the annual Bay Chamber "Young Stars of Maine Prize Program" will also take the stage. Seventeen-year-old 2019 prize recipient and award-winning fiddler Owen Kennedy will perform traditional Scottish selections. Kennedy has performed all over the world from the East Coast to the West Coast to the Shetland Islands and is the 2022 New England Regional Open Scottish Fiddle Champion and the 2021 Junior US National Scottish Fiddle Champion. Eighteen-year- old 2022 prize recipient and internationally award-winning Mavy Le from Gorham will also perform electric violin selections.
This year's Ragtime Revue features the classical ragtime works of Glenn Jenks. The Halcyon String Quartet featuring Sophie and Josie Davis, violin, Nora Willauer, cello and Collin Wheatley, viola will perform Jenks' "String Quartet in Ragtime."
Soprano Erin Chenard from Bath and baritone David Myers, Jr. from Portland will perform selections from Scott Joplin's historic ragtime opera "Treemonisha" along with a 30-member ragtime chorus comprising of professional singers throughout Maine from Bangor to Belfast to Portland.
Award-winning children's book author Steven Costanza from North Haven will perform and also sign his latest book "King of Ragtime - The Story of Scott Joplin," which recently won the Golden Kite Book Award.
Special guest, ragtime historian and scholar, author Edward Berlin will receive the Glenn Jenks Ragtime Emeritus Award and also present a pre-concert lecture about the life and times of Scott Joplin. Edward Berlin has written three books on the subject of Ragtime and its composers: King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era (1994), Reflections and Research on Ragtime (1987), and Ragtime: A Music and Cultural History (1980). He is regarded as the leading researcher on Scott Joplin. Berlin annually helps organize the Scott Joplin Memorial Concert at St. Michael's Cemetery in Queens, New York. For the 100th anniversary of Joplin's death in 2017, Berlin established a fund to place an engraved memorial bench next to Joplin's grave.
This year's Ragtime Revue is dedicated to Glenn Jenk's father Edwin "Ted" Hamilton Jenks who passed away in April at the age of 99 years. Glenn wrote and dedicated his 1993 work "The Old Pink Piano" to his father.
Maine composer and pianist Aaron Robinson will once again host the Revue.
General admission tickets can be purchased at the door. $30 adults / $15 students. Reservations can be made by calling 207-882-6335 or visiting the Rockport Opera House website and Ticketmaster at: https://rockportoperahouse.org/rockportoperahouse or https://rockportoperahouse.thundertix.com/orders/new?performance_id=2853507 | {
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@interface RGViewController : UIViewController
- (IBAction)showShortToast:(id)sender;
- (IBAction)showLongToast:(id)sender;
- (IBAction)showManyShortToasts:(id)sender;
- (IBAction)showManyLongToasts:(id)sender;
@end
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
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L.D.M. Scheduled Programming Presents: Wabi Beats Vol. 1 by Max Hot Salad. Stream the full tape today via youtube https://youtu.be/UYmBjOBiNlk or soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/lewis-del-mar/sets/max-hot-salad-wabi-beats-vol-1. Special thanks to Sean Dwyer for the edit, and Andrew Maury for the mastering. Enjoy.
Track Number_4 from the Wabi Beats Vol. 1 tape, "Take Off & Landing." Full video wave here + track here: https://soundcloud.com/lewis-del-mar/4-take-off-and-landing-master. Love you.
L.D.M. Scheduled Programming Presents: Wabi Beats Vol. 1 by Max Hot Salad. Lots of testing in the studio been happening this yr. This the first bit, a tape Max cooked up. Dropping a track a day this wk, full tape + vid out Monday. "Welcome" Pow Pow ⚡️⚡️. Cheers.
"Lewis Del Mar Live At The El Rey" A short-form concert documentary, made in collaboration with our fans. Dropping tomorrow.
Real Ones. Scenes from "Lewis Del Mar Live At The El Rey" a short-form concert documentary, made in collaboration with our fans. Dropping 12.20.17 📹 directed by Rubberband.
A documentary concert film, shot in collaboration with our fans. Dropping 12.20.17 📷: directed by Rubberband.
our debut album is one yr old today. grateful for all that it's brought our way. mil gracias. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 6,009 |
Never floss with plastic again!
Participate to our Recycling Program and switch to eco-friendly solutions!
"Did You Know?" If everyone in the U.S. flosses their teeth according to ADA recommendations, every year our empty containers alone would fill a landfill the size of a football field that's six stories high. Just for the empty floss dispensers"
And the floss itself? You could circle the Earth with it 1,246 times. That's crazy!!
Dental Lace has a plastic-free solution to eliminate all this waste and we're very excited about it!
This product includes : a refillable glass containers (pink, gray or blue) and 2 floss spools (33 yds each = 60 m).
The refill contains 2 spools of 33 yds each, no container.
Made in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 7,993 |
Q: Real-time sensor data as Server-Sent Events (SSE) from Python through PHP? I'm in the process of updating a web app presenting real-time sensor data, which in it's current first iteration does this by continuous AJAX polling.
However, in order to make this more like a 'true real-time' app, I would like it to be event-based.
I've been reading up on event-based techniques, and based on the fact that the real-time communication only has to go one way (server - > client), I have chosen to go with Server-Sent Events (SSE) for now instead of something like websockets.
As described here on the Mozilla Docs, this is easily implemented on the server side with something like (a little simplified):
<?php
// SSEscript.php
date_default_timezone_set("America/New_York");
header("Content-Type: text/event-stream\n\n");
while (1) {
if ($new_data_available) {
echo "data:". $data;
}
sleep($short_time_to_spare_cpu);
}
?>
and on the client side with:
<script>
var evtSource = new EventSource("SSEscript.php");
evtSource.onmessage = function(e) {
var data = e.data;
// Do something with data object
}
</script>
All the above works fine for me.
However, the sensor data is initially retrieved by a Python script running continuously on the server, so how do I transfer the sensor data from the Python script to the PHP script IMMEDIATELY when it is retrieved, so that an event can be generated and sent?
Can I do something like depicted below? :
At the same time all new data is stored in a MySQL db, so I could of course make the PHP script query the db really often for new entries, but there has to be a smarter way. So can I make 2.1 and 2.2 in the image happen at the same time?
All the answers I could find in here describes how data can be transferred by making the PHP execute the Python script, but that is not what I want as this has to run whether or not a user asks for data.
Is a kind of socket the way to go, and if so, can you point me in the direction of how to do so?
I hope you can help me out!
A: I use redis to do the signalling between python and redis. After python do all the stuffs, rpush a token (or the latest data) into a redis queue. In the PHP I use a while(true) loop to hold the request and redis lpop(queue,timeout) to wait for the token, and send data out, something like this:
<?php
require __DIR__.'/predis-1.0/autoload.php';
header("Content-Type: text/event-stream");
header("Cache-Control: no-cache");
header("Connection: keep-alive");
$lastId = isset($_SERVER["HTTP_LAST_EVENT_ID"]) ?
$_SERVER["HTTP_LAST_EVENT_ID"] : null;
if (isset($lastId) && !empty($lastId) && is_numeric($lastId)) {
$lastId = intval($lastId);
$lastId++;
}
$index = isset($_GET['index']) ? $_GET['index'] : null;
echo "retry: 2000\n";
$client = new Predis\Client();
while (true) {
$data = $client->blpop('queue',5);
if ($data) {
error_log("$index : " . strlen($data));
sendMessage($lastId, $data);
$lastId++;
}
}
function sendMessage($id, $data) {
echo "id: $id\n";
echo "data: $data\n\n";
ob_flush();
flush();
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 9,226 |
Class started on Monday. See post titled Next Course – Civil War Strategy and Tactics.
Part VI – The Conduct of War here.
WOW! I am absolutely engrossed in Edward Hagerman's The American Civil War and the Origins of Modern Warfare: Ideas, Organization, and Field Command. So much to say about Dennis Mahan (right) who I wrote about briefly here in my series on Jomini on the Nature of War (Part VII – Jomini's Impact on Civil War Leadership). The National Park Service has a good bio on Mahan here.
I was very pleased to find online Mahan's Elementary Treatise on Advance-Guard, Out-Post, and Detachment Service of Troops (1847) which Hagerman references in detail. This text was developed by Mahan for West Point and is considered the first tactics and strategy text created for the United States. I'll add this to my primary sources links on Wig-Wags.
I can tell already that I'll have many terms to add to the terms page. More to come of the French connection.
This post continues the series of "Jomini on the Nature of War." Part I: Introduction is available here, Part II: The Burgeoning Military Theorist here, Part III: The Founder of Modern Strategy here, Part IV: The Basics here, Part V: Lines of Operation here, and Part VI – The Conduct of War here.
Returning to Baron Antoine de Jomini (right), I wanted to explore the extent to which his strategies influenced those who held leadership positions during the American Civil War. A modest survey of the literature revealed some disagreement.
But only nine hours were given to the study of the science of war and Morrison contends that this was entirely too brief an exposure to have had any lasting impact. That said, he acknowledges that some alumni of the military academy studied Jomini thoroughly including Beauregard, Lee, Halleck, and McClellan.
I'll discuss some additional viewpoints in the next post.
A word on Dennis H. Mahan. A military theorist in his own right, Mahan was instrumental in developing the engineering-focused curriculum at West Point. Some may recall that he was the father of naval strategist Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan. The elder's obituary, which appeared on September 17, 1871 in New York Times here, reveals that Professor Mahan committed suicide by jumping in the Hudson River from the deck of the steamboat Mary Powell in such a way that he was hit by the wheel. He was apparently despondant about being forced to retire. A sad end to a remarkable career. Professor Mahan's memoir is available online here.
[i, ii] James L. Morrison, Jr., "Educating the Civil War Generals: West Point, 1833 – 1861," Military Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 3. (Oct., 1974), pp. 109. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 3,635 |
Home Forums > Religion, Faith, and Theology > Alternative >
Nirvana: a Theosophical perspective
Discussion in 'Alternative' started by Nick the Pilot, Apr 19, 2009.
nativeastral fluffy future
a university course; but as l'm in 2 minds it may show and am unprepared [see no forward planning ouch!]
nativeastral, May 3, 2009
Here is a well-known "center everywhere" quote.
"That [nirvanic] consciousness, wide as the sea, with 'its center everywhere and its circumference nowhere,' is a great and glorious fact." (The Inner Life, page 148)
Nick the Pilot, May 5, 2009
Hi everybody.
Here is another quote, hinting at Nirvana as being the opposite of annihilation.
"...but when a man attains [Nirvana], it seems to him that his consciousness has widened to take in all that, not that he is merged into something else. And he is right, for that which he had ignorantly supposed to be his consciousness was never his at all, but only the shining of the divine power and wisdom and love through him, and he is now at last beginning to realize that stupendous fact." (The Inner Life, page 148)
'Vedanta's fundamental principle is that because there is no such thing as the "I," you cannot
live for yourself, whether "you" are an individual, a family, a community, a nation or a race.
It is not truth and therefore such separation will go, even though it will take a long time'
PBThesisPt1.pdf (application/pdf Object)
dont know if you are familiar with paul brunton, but he did engage with theosophy for a while, and this thesis l found would be interesting to those studying orientalism. if anyone finds his work online, please let me know!
nativeastral,
The concept of no-self or no-I are important concepts in Theosophy and Buddhism (and apparently in Hinduism too, from the looks of your post). The concept of no-self is also important in this discussion of Nirvana, because Nirvana is a condition where "that which separates you from me" begins to get stripped away.
I find it fascinating that the concept of no-self does not get much acknowledgement in Christianity. It does get mentioned right on the first page of the Bible. The Firmament is an important element of the Christian story, and it is this Firmament that "separates us from God" (to use Christian-like terminology). It is good to know that even Christianity teaches the concept of no-self (and, by extention, the concept of Nirvana) if we just know where to look for it. It also supports the idea that all major religions sprouted from one original religion -- another key Theosophical teaching.
...Did you get the university course?
hi nick
l forgot to mention that quote was from a 'neo hindu' pandit called Iyer who followed an inclusivist approach after Vivekananda [the disciple of Ramakrishna] who represented 'sanatana dharma' by attending the Parliament of religions in Chicago in the late 1800's. He [Iyer] thought it fortuitous and fated to bring about this message during the Hitler era.
sometimes things upside down or inside out look the same!
l wont hear about course yet but blanked out during it whilst recalling that my van had broken down the night before and was stuck illegally somewhere far away
"...stuck illegally somewhere...."
Here is another quote which says that, compared to nirvanic consciousness, the physical world is a delusion.
"The truth is that what is commonly understood by individuality is a delusion and has never existed...." (The Inner Life, page 148)
Nirvana as being everywhere at once.
"Any description of Nirvana which we may attempt must sound strange. No words that we can use can give even the least idea of such an experience as that, for all with which our minds are acquainted has long ago disappeared before that level is attained.... The man feels as if he were everywhere, but could focus anywhere within himself, and wherever for a moment the outpouring of force diminishes, that is for him a body." (The Masters and the Path p. 200)
Nick the Pilot, May 10, 2009
Another thought on Nirvana not being annihiliation.
It has been said that Nirvana is annihiliation, the disappearance of the very essence of our being. Theosophy teaches the opposite. Nirvana is seen as an increase in our abilites, not a decrease. One author described Nirvana as fullness, not emptiness:
"So often the expressions used [to describe Nirvana] may seem to indicate a void. Hence the western idea of annihilation. If you think of it as fullness, you will realise that the consciousness expands more and more, without losing utterly the sense of identity; if you could think of a center of a circle without a circumference, you would glimpse the truth." (George Arundale, Nirvana — An Occult Experience, page 244)
Nick the Pilot said: ↑
yeh l know, was rolling about myself at the time trying to get the frigging bust tyre off then knocking a rusty nut with a wrench trying to get the spare tyre out then finding it bare, flat and the wrong size! no delusion of the physical world there. no discrepancy between appearance and reality!
any one got a vehicle.must run well, have an m.o.t. preferably with a towbar
and must be very cheap??!!
nativeastral, May 11, 2009
Dharmaatmaa New Member
Nick the Pilot,
I've got no time to read the thread now, so I can't partake in the discussion. I just wanted to do what I promised a couple of months ago.
You said that I could give you an address of the electronic form of the theosophical paper, in where is situated the article I translated to Russian.
It's A.P. Sinnett's article about the septenary chains of planets called Esoteric Teaching. To be frank, it wasn't read in Russia before, and was widely discussed when the translation was prepared.
Now, it was published in "The Theosophical Bulletin" (Теософский Вестник) of Moscow.
You can find it here - http://www.theosophy.ru/files/vestnik-4.pdf. It's all in Russian, but what I have to say - we live in a globalization world.
Dharmaatmaa, May 12, 2009
Dharmaatmaa,
I am glad to see that Theosophy is slowly being translated into Russian.
The idea that the Earth is part of a chain of seven planets is a basic Theosophical concept. Thanks for helping to spread such basic teachings.
Here is another anti-annihilation quote:
"Madame Blavatsky often spoke of [nirvanic] consciousness as having its center everywhere and its circumference nowhere, a profoundly suggestive sentence, attributed variously to Pascal, Cardinal de Cusa and the Zohar, but belonging by right to the Books of Hermes. Far indeed from annihilation [annihilation as used to describe Nirvana] is such consciousness; the Initiate reaching it has not in the least lost the sense that he is himself; his memory is perfectly continuous; he is the same man, yet all this as well, and now indeed he can say 'I am I' knowing what 'I' really means." (The Masters and the Path p. 199)
George Arundale wrote of Nirvana as love:
"Nirvana ... is not annihilation, but an infinitely deeper radiance, an infinitely deeper wisdom, power, love." (George Arundale, Nirvana — An Occult Experience, page 120)
George Arundale wrote of Nirvana as radiance.
"Trying to describe what I must call down here the Nirvanic body, the only word that comes to me in substitution for 'body' is radiance....
"In some ways, from the standpoint of the lower planes, the word transcendence is more appropriate even than radiance, for it indicates the going beyond every single limitation worn by the planes beneath. Time, space, form — these are transcended. They have ceased to manifest, though remaining in potentiality.... I am well aware that such transcendence suggests an annihilation of all that on the lower planes seems to make life real-the ego, the personality, the individuality. If these are gone, what remains? Is Nirvana, after all, the annihilation which some philosophers have thought it to be?
"My answer is that all these things, however substantial they may appear down here, however much they may seem to be our ultimate foundation, are themselves but reflections of a nobler substans, themselves rest on deeper foundations still. Individualized Divinity exists in Nirvana, and doubtless in para-Nirvana too, even though its reflections as time, space, form and as the lower individualities we know as ego, personality and individuality, are unmanifest, potential. We have to learn that individuality does not necessarily demand description in terms of time and space and form as we know these in the outer worlds. There is individuality in other terms, in terms of Nirvanic time, Nirvanic space, Nirvanic form-the archetypes of lower time, lower space, lower form." (George Arundale, Nirvana — An Occult Experience, pages 111-112)
Forsaking Nirvana to Do Service Here in the Physical World
George Arundale wrote: (Note Mr. Arundale's description of this physical world as a prison-world.)
"I have entered Eternity. The past is for ever behind me. I am delightfully lost in the rapture of pure being. I am. And in these two words is a fathomless, limitless ocean of bliss supreme. But stay! What is this that I hear? What sounds are these that enter into my joy? Can it be — yes, it is — the call of my prison-worlds. But what have I now to do with my prison-worlds? They are behind me, and never need I return to them again. As I realize that I am free, so gloriously free, I feel how wonderful it is to know my safety in the power of this freedom. No power from prison-world can draw me back, for the power of my freedom transcends all other power below. For a moment again I lose myself in rhythmic ecstasy, and then — what is this strange thing which has come upon me? Am I dissatisfied with such a freedom? Am I, it seems impossible, beginning to want to return? It is true. Across the infinite spaces I have placed between myself and the far-off prison-worlds, come to me the cries of those whom prison-fetters still are binding. Can I honorably ignore them? Yes; and yet I cannot ignore them. Let this freedom, this ecstasy, go. I will have none of it while prison-worlds still call — prison-worlds of every kingdom, prison-worlds of the worlds, of systems, of universes. And as I thus resolve, I find myself apparently turning away from my bliss, and all Nature round me watches my return in solemn stillness, and, I must add for truth's sake though I shrink from writing the words, almost as if in homage.
"Back, back, I go, and at last I am at the doors of that prison-world I left so recently, but which seems an eternity away from me. The doors open. I enter. And as I enter, it is as if I heard: 'You went to your freedom as was your right, for you have won it. The call of freedom came, and your ears were ready to hear, for you had fulfilled many of those vows the Monad made in the beginning of time, and in their fulfilment their fetters must needs drop away. Yet for many of your comrades from long ago the fetters still remain; and you have done well to heed the cry which came to you across the empty spaces. No bliss, however rapturous, must ever dull the ear to the cry of suffering and need; rather must it make the ear more sensitive, and the feet more speedy to succor.'
"And so I find myself back in the old routine of prison-life, and am content, for I am needed where I am. But what is this change which has come about? Surely I am not still in prison? Is there a mistake? Have I felt the cry unheeded? I look around me. The age-old prison-world is round me. Yet I am different. I have not returned alone. Something glorious has returned with me, and in its magic the imprisonment seems no imprisonment. It is imprisonment, and yet it is not. Slowly upon me dawns the fact that while the form is there, the life has become free. I dwell a free man in the form. No longer am I bound upon it. No longer need I return to it life after life its slave, though I may return its master. Form has become the servant of my life. Another miracle of transubstantiation, for within the forms freedom has been substituted for necessity. Have I not brought Nirvana back with me? Have not the swaying ecstasies of Divinity-attuned rhythm entered into my very being, thus abiding with me even in the prison-worlds? All I thought I must leave is with me forever. There is no loss in renunciation, only gain. There is no loss in sacrifice, only gain. And this gain is the supreme gain of gains — the gain of added Unity, and of the Love, the Wisdom and the Power which are its threefold agpect." (George Arundale, Nirvana — An Occult Experience, pages 233-235)
Netti-Netti New Member
Apparently Gautama Buddha attained Nirvana shortly before is death. I think he was in his eighties. What is the trajectory/time frame for Theosophists?
Netti-Netti, May 19, 2009
Netti-Netti,
As far as I can tell, the "trajectory/time frame for Theosophists" is the same for Buddhists and Hindus. A person achieves enlightenment during his or her lifetime, and then lives out the rest of his or her physical life. Then, the person can either enter Nirvana, or return for another physical rebirth. (There are also intermediary options available, called Sambhogakaya. I wonder if Vaj, etc., will agree with me on this....)
The only real difference that I see between Theosophy and Buddhism is the idea of achieving nirvanic consciousness at the moment of enlightenment. I have not heard such teachings from Buddhist teachers.
It should be pointed out that Buddha lived for many years after achieving enlightenment, then entered Nirvana after his physical death. This follows the Theosophical as well as Buddhist explanation of what transpired. I would not say that Buddha achieved Nirvana shortly before his death, but this is a Theosophical interpretation not a Buddhist one. Pehaps Vaj, etc., can supply us with a "correct" Buddhist timetable of the events in Buddha's life.
I would say there is a difference between the Theosophical and Buddhist ideas of what "entering Nirvana" means. I must say I am still unclear as to the Buddhist answer to this question. The Theosophical answer is that Nirvana is a plane of existence, just like the Physical and Astral planes of existences. A nirvani who still lives in a physical body can "go" to Nirvana at night in full consciousness. The nirvani will then reside on the Nirvanic plane continuously when his or her physical body finally dies. Nirvanic consciousness and residence in Nirvana lasts for a long time, but will only last until consciousness is achieved on even higher planes of existence, for example, the Parinirvanic plane, the Mahaparinirvanic plane, etc. I have never heard Buddhist teachings give this type of detailed explanation.
serpentina New Member
So for Buddhists it's more like metanoia.
serpentina, Nov 5, 2018 | {
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We're in the midst of a parade of planets crossing the evening sky. Jupiter reached opposition on May 9th, and sits high to the east at dusk. Mars heads towards a fine opposition on July 27th, nearly as favorable as the historic opposition of 2003. And Venus rules the dusk sky in the west after the setting Sun for most of 2018. June is Saturn's turn, as the planet reaches opposition this year on June 27th, rising opposite to the setting Sun at dusk. | {
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or you may complete the contact form and we will respond as soon as possible. We look forward to communicating with you.
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
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Tell Your Boss to Get Stuffed.
To give up your job tell your boss to get stuffed that's got to be the objective for everyone who starts Internet marketing. If that's the case, why is it that 99.99 percent of people fail. But, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. What happens between the point someone decides they want to be an Internet marketer and the point that they fail?
I have been around six and seven-figure Internet marketers for over 20 years. During that time I have watched how they worked and been lucky enough to be able to analyze why they are successful. I am guessing that the answer to their success might well surprise you!
Successful Internet marketers do not have any qualities that you don't have. They are not super smart. Many of them are not even of average intelligence. However, they All have one thing in common.
There is not a daydreamer amongst them! They are all action takers.
Successful people understand all too well that failure is part of the learning curve. If you want to give up your job, it will be necessary that you re-educate your brain to think differently. For sure, perfectionists find it harder to succeed as an Internet marketer.
The reason being there is no such thing as a perfect product or a perfect website. Fortunately, it's not necessary to have either. Many years ago, my great friend and mentor, Sarah Staar knew a lady, who was developing the next most significant product. She spent a year developing te said product, maybe more. It was never released!
Despite the fact that we often asked how she was coming along, she kept replying it's not perfect yet! Eventually, after about 18 months we really pressed her. She kept responding I have to keep adding things. Both of us kept saying "Why?". That's what updates and version 2's are for.
However, you look at it she was frightened to release it. It also meant she wasted nearly two years of her time. Failure was inevitable because she did nothing to make that product become a product to sell. What a waste of time and effort.
All she had to do was release that product in beta. She could have told all the people that bought it, that it was in development and there will be updates. That is if she wanted to hang onto her perfectionism. She could have prepared them by her actions that the product wasn't complete.
Better yet, she could have had a major mindset shift, and ditched the Perfectionism. To be successful as an Internet marketer you just have to be sensible enough to follow successful people. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. The result is not going to be as significant as the Sistine Chapel.
When you are following successful people, it's essential to have the right person to be a mentor. Sadly, many Internet marketers teach what they don't practice in their everyday businesses. Sarah Staar is an exception. She only shows what she does in her business on a day-to-day basis.
That means as lots of things she doesn't know about! She doesn't use SEO, so she doesn't teach it. Sarah is a pragmatist. She knows there are many other things she could do to increase her profitability. For instance, she could use Pinterest to drive traffic to her offers. She probably realises this would be successful, but takes a pragmatist view that she is already earning seven figures a year. Why should she embark on another learning curve?
B. Teaches what they actually do on a day to day basis.
Being self-employed is entirely different from working for someone else. When you work for someone else, you are paid a salary at the end of the month. This remuneration has no relationship to the amount of effort and work you put in.
Profit generation is not the same when you are self-employed. When you are self-employed, you have to drive profit yourself.
This single factor alone can be quite challenging to get your head around if you're coming from the corporate world. When you work for the people, it's very easy to blame. You can say it wasn't my fault. That luxury is not available to you when you are self-employed. The chances are when you start; it will just be you and your business. There will be no opportunity to blame anyone else.
That's one of the downsides. The upside of this is that you don't have to share the profits either. Everything you earn after you pay taxes is yours. On the other hand, you don't have a guaranteed income.
It's one of the reasons why self-employed people have so many tax breaks. They are businessmen, and entrepreneurs and they take a risk. It's not for the fainthearted.
Success' is not going to come to you overnight. There is a learning curve especially if you are a beginner. It's a bit like your first day in a new job. At the end of the first day, you come home with an excruciating headache. You are confused. Who to ask? What to ask? You have no idea who to trust and whether the person you are asking the question actually knows the answer. Where is the bathroom? Where is the best coffee shop? All in all, you wonder what you're doing and why.
Two weeks into the job and the situation is entirely different. You have learned the systems that operate and drive that company. You have begun to make friends and interact.Everything seems so much clearer than on day one.
That's a bit like Internet marketing. At first, it is confusing, for some it can be overwhelming. You need to step back from it. The best thing to do is learn a little something and immediately put that idea into action.
If you can't actually put it into action, then you know you don't understand it. Then you ask someone who does know. The secret to learning Internet marketing is to learn and take action at the same time.
Don't be confused you are either learning or earning. You can't do both at the same time. However, you can use somebody else's systems and put them into place until you are earning. | {
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Local commercial property developer, Knight Property Group, are pushing ahead their investment within the North East with the development of Kingshill Commercial Park in Westhill.
With a development spend of £5million, the construction of units 1 and 2 is creating work for 100 local sub-contractors and suppliers for 9 months.
James Barrack, Managing Director at Knight Property Group comments, "It's important that we continue to spend money within Aberdeen and support local businesses. Despite the challenging market we have faced, thankfully there are signs of improved confidence within the city.
The Westhill development gained significant interest in Q2 last year with the signing of three long term leases on units 2, 3 and 4. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 9,000 |
Reading Made Easy
Have a struggling reader? Why it&s perfectly okay if your kid doesn&t master reading until later and what you can do at home to nudge it along.
By Erin Zammett Ruddy
A facebook friend recently posted a note from her 4-year-old's pre-K congratulating her on her son's ability to read — then added a few hashtags (#sorrybutsoproud, #Jackrocks, #readingisthebest!!!). Several thoughts ran through my head: 1) Wow, that's impressive. 2) Is he, like, reading reading? 3) Apologizing for a humblebrag does not make it any less braggy (#gagme). 4) C***, my 4-year-old can't read!
Fortunately, that last one didn't take up too much mental space. I have a second grader who reads beautifully now but was nowhere near crushing it until well into first grade, when he was able to navigate the pages without placing a finger under each word and sa-sa-sounding them out.
That's not to say I didn't squirm as I watched him struggle. The anxiety sets in quickly when the bar is set so high — not just on social media but also in school, where kids are expected to be able to read "with purpose and understanding" by the end of kindergarten. It's no wonder we worry if our child isn't keeping up with the others.
Here's why we all can relax. Learning to read in kindergarten (or even before) isn't a sign of intelligence, says Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Ed.D., professor emerita at Lesley University and author of Taking Back Childhood. Not only is there no research showing that kids reap long-term rewards from decoding words at 5, there are numerous studies showing that by fourth grade, "early readers" are reading at the same level as those who mastered the skill in second grade.
Besides, learning to read is a developmental milestone, and some 5- and even 6-year-olds aren't there yet. "Children have to go through a process where they become ready, and it happens at different speeds," says Dr. Carlsson-Paige. In order to truly read and comprehend, kids must be able to recognize and use individual sounds to create words (known as phonemic awareness), understand the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds (known as phonics), and understand, remember, and communicate what they've just read. Has your child nailed all that? Mine hasn't.
Pressuring your kid doesn't help, either — and, in fact, does more harm than good. "If you torture kids with flash cards, reading becomes a job and it's not fun anymore," says Elissa Mostransky, of West Babylon, NY, a mother of three and a K–5 reading specialist.
Instead, kids need a good foundation so the components that make up reading can click into place. Luckily, the way to lay the groundwork isn't about sounding out letters or even pointing to words in books. It's much simpler than that. And — bonus! — you're probably setting the stage without even knowing it. Read on to learn what literacy experts, teachers, and parents recommend.
PLUS: THE BEDTIME ROUTINE YOU NEED TO START TONIGHT
Encourage Make-Believe
Long before my children could read or write, I'd play "restaurant" with them. They'd create menus and have jobs and give themselves new names. I just thought it was a way to keep them busy while I cooked. Turns out, I was fostering pre-reading skills.
One of the many perks of pretend play is that it helps kids learn and use new words, says Dr. Carlsson-Paige. "Oral language is the whole basis for written language, so we want to give children lots of chances to develop theirs," she explains. My 5-year-old now knows what a sous chef is because her older brother is always the chef/owner/boss.
To take these games one step further, set out art supplies. When kids draw, say, wanted posters for bad guys or "keep out" signs for forts, they are grasping the relationship between spoken words, symbols, and the printed word, notes Dr. Carlsson-Paige. "And while you don't want to force it, it's great if kids can naturally incorporate writing activities into their imaginative play."
Take Turns Telling Tales
You probably regale your child with stories already. Now trade off the narrative so the two of you are creating it together in a continuous manner. Doing this will help him understand that stories have characters; a beginning, a middle, and an end; and certain conventions, such as "once upon a time."
Cheryl Boccard, a mom and a pre-K teacher in Huntington, NY, swears by this trick for teaching spontaneous storytelling skills: "I put random objects in a bag — an apple, a toy car, a feather — and one child picks an item and begins a story about it," she says. "Then the next child has to continue the tale with a new object that he picks." Totally stealing this idea for road trips!
PLUS: AUTHORS SHARE HOW TO TEACH KIDS TO LOVE BOOKS
Use "Juicy" Words
We tend to use simple language when talking to little kids, but it's better if you mix in a wide variety of words and constantly define and point out new ones. For instance, if your child asks to see the "picture," tell her it's a special kind called a "photograph" (Boccard calls this a juicy word). And, it almost goes without saying, talk to your kids as much as possible so they hear more words every day.
The reason: A bigger vocab is more closely correlated with reading comprehension than knowledge of letter sounds. "A 5-year-old who has an enormous vocabulary but doesn't know any letters is more likely to do well on his third-grade reading comprehension test than a child who knows letter sounds at 5 but has a smaller vocabulary," says Shanna Schwartz, of the Reading & Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Read Books Every Night
You knew this one was coming, and it can't be overstated. "This is how kids learn that you hold a book a certain way, that the book goes from left to right, that you turn the pages," says Dr. Carlsson-Paige. And while you may tire of hearing the same story night after night, books that use repetition are key for reading readiness.
"It's called predictable print," Dr. Carlsson-Paige explains. "When kids hear the same line over and over, eventually they start to match the words they hear with the little squiggly black things on the page and they figure out how reading works."
Rhyming books (thank you, Dr. Seuss!) are particularly useful because they help with phonemic awareness. "Being able to hear that words rhyme, even made-up ones like shanna, fanna, bo banna, gets kids to tune their ear to all the different sounds they need to identify before they can read," says Schwartz. "You can't put a letter to a sound until you can recognize it first, which is why word games are so important, too."
PLUS: BOOK RECS FOR EVERY AGE AND INTEREST
Choose Quality Books
Interesting plots and characters help your child develop a richer command of language, also known as literary vocabulary, notes Mary Ehrenworth, Ed.D., deputy director of the Reading & Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University. For example, we tend to say "hungry" when speaking, but a character might be described as ravenous — that's literary vocabulary, and children get the vast majority of it before age 6.
What defines a "good" book? You want parts that the kids can chime in on ("I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow the house down"), some repetition, a strong story line, and illustrations that provide clues to what's going on. "When I talk to parents I tell them, it's the books you read when you were a kid," says Schwartz.
Of course, some kids will gravitate toward movie or TV tie-ins, and while those can't really compete with the classics, they're okay, too. "If a book gets your kid excited about reading, be happy," says Dr. Ehrenworth.
Get Interactive
No, we don't mean interrogate your kid until he spots the letter b. Instead, say things like, "Wow, I can't believe that just happened — what do you think about that?" Exaggerating your emotional response helps kids engage with the story, Dr. Ehrenworth says, a key ingredient for reading comprehension. "In order for the story to have any meaning at all, a child needs to notice how the characters are changing and to consider the implications of the story for his own life," she says.
It also turns out that comprehension, along with vocabulary development, is often more crucial than decoding letters when kids are learning to read — another reason to skip the "what letter is this?" quizzes.
That said, if your child is really into the alphabet, it's fine to playfully point out letters on the cereal box or street signs ("I spy with my little eye a letter that looks like a circle with a tiny tail!"). "I'm a literacy expert and neither one of my children learned their letters until kindergarten," says Schwartz. "I wanted them to hear 1,000 books and be able to talk about them."
PLUS: 10 LIFE LESSONS YOU GET FROM BOOKS
Keep a Soundtrack Going
"Songs give children rhyming skills and expose them to the rhythm of reading," says Schwartz. It doesn't have to be kid songs, either (hallelujah!). As long as they can understand the words, they're in good shape.
When you need a change of pace, pop in an audiobook: "Listening to a book is great for fluency and for children to grasp how to read — that you use intonation and change your voice, rather than staying monotone," says Mostransky, who has The Cat in the Hat on heavy rotation. "It's not so different from listening to you read, but it gives you a break."
The bottom line? Keep reading fun. The biggest mistake parents make once their kids start school is that they get into teacher mode, putting their fingers under the words or having their kids sound things out, says Dr. Ehrenworth. "The next thing you know, your child doesn't want to read with you anymore."
The beauty of allowing your child to learn at his own pace is the pride and joy you'll both feel the first time he deciphers a whole page of print on his own. And he will. "Eventually, reading just clicks," says Mostransky. "I see it happen every day."
Photo Credit: Stephanie Rausser/Trunk Archive | {
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Гани Абдурахманович Абдурахмонов (3 декабря 1925, Фергана, Узбекская ССР, СССР — 25 апреля 2016, Ташкент, Узбекистан) — советский и узбекский филолог, действительный член Академии наук Республики Узбекистан, заслуженный деятель науки Узбекистана.
Биография
В 1946 г. окончил Ферганский государственный педагогический институт, вёл научно-педагогическую деятельность в этом ВУЗе. В 1950 г. защитил кандидатскую диссертацию, в 1962 г. — докторскую. В 2000 г. был избран членом Академии наук Узбекской ССР.
Занимал должности заведующего кафедрой и проректора Ферганского государственного педагогического института, заведующего сектором Института языка и литературы Академии наук Узбекской ССР, ректора Ферганского государственного педагогического института, министра высшего и среднего специального образования Узбекистана, ректора Ташкентского государственного института иностранных языков и Ташкентского государственного педагогического института, главного научного сотрудника Института языка и литературы, профессора Ташкентского государственного института востоковедения.
Являлся специалистом в области языкознания.
Награды и звания
Заслуженный деятель науки Республики Узбекистан, был награждён медалью «Шухрат».
Источники
http://www.uza.uz/ru/programs/23-ya-godovshchina-nezavisimosti-strany/akademik-gani-abdurakhmonov-27-04-2016/
https://podrobno.uz/cat/obchestvo/ushel-iz-zhizni-akademik-gani-abdurakhmonov/
Выпускники Ферганского государственного университета
Преподаватели Ферганского государственного университета
Академики АН Узбекистана
Ректоры вузов Узбекистана | {
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Note: Javascript is disabled or is not supported by your browser. For this reason, some items on this page will be unavailable. For more information about this message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov
Lab safety report on Ebola virus transfer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of the Director.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting today that a small amount of material from an Ebola virus experiment that was securely transported from a Select‐Agent‐approved BSL‐4 lab to a Select‐Agent‐ approved BSL‐2 lab may have contained live virus. The material was on a sealed plate but should not have been moved into the BSL‐2 laboratory. We cannot rule out possible exposure of the one laboratory technician who worked with the material in the BSL‐2 laboratory. There was no possible exposure outside the secure laboratory at CDC and no exposure or risk to the public. The event was discovered by the laboratory scientists yesterday, December 23, and reported to leadership within an hour of the discovery. The event is under internal investigation by CDC, was reported to Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, and reporting to the internal and national Select Agent Programs has been initiated. CDC will provide a report on the event when the investigation concludes. The BSL‐2 laboratory area had already been decontaminated and the material destroyed as a routine procedure before the error was identified. The laboratory was decontaminated for a second time, and is now closed and transfers from the BSL‐4 lab have been stopped while the review is taking place. "I am troubled by this incident in our Ebola research laboratory in Atlanta," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "We are monitoring the health of one technician who could possibly have been exposed and I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures. Thousands of laboratory scientists in more than 150 labs throughout CDC have taken extraordinary steps in recent months to improve safety. No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential ‐‐the safety of our employees is our highest priority." CDC will continue to provide support during the Ebola epidemic through its research and diagnostic lab work. Skilled lab scientists in the Ebola response are valued contributors to ending this epidemic. Based on what was learned during the lab science and safety reviews earlier this year, CDC has taken several immediate actions in this incident including closure of the laboratory, notification of staff, initiation of a complete internal review, and notifications of regulatory oversight agencies. This review will give us a clear understanding of what happened in this case and what can be done to further improve laboratory safety. CDC has established a CDC‐wide single point of accountability for laboratory science and safety and this will aid in ensuring accountability in this situation. CDC will also report this event to its external advisory committee which provides ongoing advice and direction for laboratory science and safety.
Containment Of Biohazards
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola
Laboratory Infection/prevention & Control
Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection
urn:sha256:1ca7de99347427bd81d6ead7b886490906bf4e20ea5c8ebf7d14b873a9973208
No Additional Files
Report on the potential exposure to Ebola virus : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of the Associate Director for Science.Office of Scientific Integrity.
This report describes an incident involving the potential exposure of a laboratory technician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to live (non-inactivated) Ebola virus. The incident occurred on December 22, 2014, on CDC's Roybal...
Enhancing domestic laboratory biosafety for Ebola and other highly infectious diseases
Merlin, Toby L.
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (U.S.). Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections.. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee..
Conference Authors:
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee. Meeting (2016 April 13-14 : Atlanta, GA)
Slides from a presentation given at the CLIAC meeting, April 14, 2016.Publication date from document properties.9_Merlin_Biosafety_CLIAC_April2016.pdf
Laboratory safety and lessons learned from the Ebola response
Cornish, Nancy E.; Weirich, Elizabeth;
Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (U.S.). Division of Laboratory Systems.. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee..
Slides from a presentation given at the CLIAC meeting, April 16, 2015.9_Cornish_LabSafety_CLIACApril2015.pdf
OADLSS report of progress towards addressing the recommendations of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ADC), CDC, October 29, 2015
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of the Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Safety.
In an effort to elevate its laboratory science and safety programs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sought internal and external input on strategies to mitigate laboratory safety concerns. The External Laboratory Safety Workgroup...
Next steps: Biosafety and biosecurity at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
On August 18, 2014 Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology John Holdren issued a memorandum titled, "Enhancing Biosafety and Biosecurity in the Unit... | {
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Okay, so this may not be a video about the BEST falafel in Berlin, but it is probably the cheapest 🙂 We wanted to make a video that illustrates that you can live on a tight budget, but not give up your social life completely. Eating out is a huge part of a lot of people's lives and it is a wonderful way to spend time with family and a friends, however it can easily become a super expensive habit … appetizers, dessert, drinks… I mean it is not surprising for people to easily spend over 30 euros a person on a dinner out, which is over a weeks worth of food budget in our frugal lifestyle. So we decided to show you how eating out cheaply can be done in Berlin and enlisted the help of our friend Alix (instagram.com/ouijetaimeaussi) who found falafel for just 50 cents. The main way to make sure that being frugal doesn't dictate your entire life is to be creative and proactive. Instead of waiting for other people to suggest things to you (let's go to this new bar?, want to go get sushi? go to the movies?) make the effort to organize events for all your friends. Not only will you be able to keep the budget low for the activities, but your friends and family will appreciate you taking the initiative to plan fun things for everyone to do. Some cheap things that can be done anywhere: movie night in with homemade popcorn, go on a hike and bring a picnic lunch, go on a walk in a park, game night, have a potluck, look up free events in your area, the list goes on and on! If you have any favorite free activities share them with us in the comments below : ) We'll have 6 videos in this series and we hope to cover not only how to make great tasting, healthy meals, but also fun things to do that are free, the struggles that come up and so much more. If you have any questions or suggestions for us please leave us a comment below! We absolutely love hearing from you and can't wait to share more.
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SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION – Wix permits you to edit page meta tags, web page names, and much of your primary SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING musts. I will go to a trucking web site for instance and get half the advertisements for internet design. Domain identify is the web site URL, the link or handle that needs to be entered within the deal with bar of your browser to open an internet site.
The templates are prime quality, but nobody desires to have an internet site which appears to be like like another. Website Creator is definitely a licensed model of NetObjects' Fusion 12 (originally launched in 2010) and is lumbered with an old school interface and unhelpful jargon (asking, for instance, does your host help CGI/Perl?).
Some of the most popular Android, COMPUTER and iPhone video games have been developed using the present lot of software program packages. If you want, you will get the free trial and make a demo website to get an understanding about creating your website. I use webs (previously freewebs) however I did not realise how many free web builders there were out there.
On condition that Google units a lot retailer by website velocity nowadays, that is an issue. Webnode can be used with any domain (e.g. as ). It implements plenty of web site parts (polls, articles, forums, lists, FAQ varieties, etc.). Customers can use it with any well-liked browser. | {
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The beauty of this pendant from the Da Noi collection by Ti Sento Milano is hard to describe! The pendant has a truly elegant look which combines hand-set brilliant and marquise cut cubic zirconia crystals in a flower design. It has a high quality luxurious finish and a rhodium plating that give the silver added lustre and brilliance. One of the stand out styles from the Da Noi collection, this pendant is a must-have item. Wear it on the sleek black cord, or combine with a Ti Sento necklace chain to suit your style. Style 6716ZI, it has a 2 year warranty and comes with Ti Sento jewellery packaging. | {
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A 15 year old sees a small hovering cylinder in the Azores, Portugal.
I was aware of a faint pulsing sound which was keeping me from getting to sleep. This pulsing had been going on for about 7 minutes, so I decided to have a look out of my bedroom window to see what was causing this sound. I looked out, and as we live in a small village with no street lights it was hard to see. The bungalow opposite us has a 40 feet high water tower behind its garden, and I noticed a small 'trash can' sized cylinder slowly moving up and down over it. It was hard to see what color it was, but it was light, maybe white or a pale gray. It had a domed roof. I was able to look at it for a minute or so before it quickly headed west and gained height. The pulsing stopped when it left. My parents laughed when I told them and said it was probably a helicopter (my dad used to fly Sea Kings for the RCAF), but I know it was too small and quiet to be a heli. Another thing I noticed was that it left a smell of burnt rubber. 100% sure it wasn't a helicopter. | {
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} | 8,092 |
Schiff: January 6 committee decision on criminal contempt charges for Mark Meadows could come this week
By Chandelis Duster and Daniella Diaz, CNN
Updated 11:55 AM EST, Sun November 28, 2021
Bash to Schiff: Is Merrick Garland letting Trump off the hook?
The House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection will make a decision "this week" on whether it will refer Mark Meadows for criminal contempt charges for defying a subpoena before the Thanksgiving recess, California Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the panel, said Sunday.
"I think we will probably make a decision this week on our course of conduct with that particular witness and maybe others," Schiff told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." "I can't go into … what communications that we're having or haven't had with particular witnesses, but we are moving with alacrity with anyone who obstructs the committee, and that was certainly the case with Mr. Bannon. It will be the case with Mr. Meadows, and Mr. Clark or any others."
The looming decision by the committee comes amid attempts to try to get Meadows – the former White House chief of staff for former President Donald Trump, who defied his subpoena from the panel and did not show up for a deposition – to comply with the panel's request as it seeks more information about the events at the US Capitol on January 6.
The committee has already referred criminal contempt charges for former Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon and last week issued new subpoenas to five allies of the former President, including Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark earlier this month stonewalled the House select committee, responding to a subpoena demanding he appear for an interview with the panel, but not answering questions posed to him, sources familiar with his appearance told CNN at the time.
Schiff also told Bash one of the main questions the committee is looking into is Trump's involvement.
"And I can't go into the evidence that we have gathered, but I will say this, I think among the most important questions that we're investigating is the complete role of the former president," the Democrat said.
Meadows, who was still serving in the White House when the riots at the US Capitol took place, has a potentially plausible case to be made for executive privilege. CNN previously reported that two committee members indicated there are several lines of inquiry that would not be covered by executive privilege regarding Meadows.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat who is also a member of the committee, told CNN earlier this month that Meadows may have a "minor claim" to executive privilege over some conversations but stressed the committee has questions for him that "have nothing to do with the conversations he had directly with the President."
Aguilar told CNN's Jim Acosta on Saturday that Meadows still has a "small window in which he can still comply here … But if he doesn't comply, the committee has made very clear just as we did with Steve Bannon that we're willing to use whatever means necessary."
Earlier this month, the White House indicated that concessions do not need to be made for Meadows, notifying him that President Joe Biden will not assert executive privilege or immunity for him on matters related to the probe.
Schiff also suggested Sunday he would like for the Department of Justice to be more aggressive in investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the election in certain states, such as Georgia.
"I am concerned that there does not appear to be an investigation, unless it's being done very quietly by the Justice Department, of for example the former president on the phone with the Georgia Secretary of State, asking him to find, really demanding he find 11,780 votes that don't exist," he told Bash.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN's Sarah Fortinsky contributed to this report. | {
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Evaluation de l'importance des couplages thermo-hydro-mécaniques sur les performances d'un concept de stockage de déchets fortement radioactifs.
congrès international de mécanique des roches ISRM2003, 08-12/09/2003, Gauteng Afrique du Sud.
An evaluation of the importance of the thermo-hydro-mechanical couplings (THM) on the performance assessment of a deep underground storage design has been made as part of the international DECOVALEX III project. It is a numerical study that simulates a generic repository configuration in the near field in a granite medium. The thermo-hydro-mechanical evolution of the whole configuration is simulated over a period of 100 years. The model used to represent the unsaturated behaviour of the various porous media makes allowance for moisture transfers through the effect of thermal and water gradients. The paper presents a comparison of the temperature, water pressure and stress fields obtained by TM, TH, HM and THM coupled calculations. The results demonstrate that temperature is hardly affected by the couplings. In contrast the influence of the couplings on the mechanical stresses is considerable. This is attributed to the key role that water has on bentonite swelling or shrinkage effects that are dependent on its saturation level variations. | {
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לצפייה: הרצאות שניתנו ביום עיון ב-10 בפברואר 2019, בנושא "הרפובליקה האסלאמית בפרספקטיבה של ארבעה עשורים".
On September 3, 2018, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies convened a conference on "The Oslo Process 25 Years On".
Videos from the February 22 international conference on Strategic Challenges in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Gulf, convened by the BESA Center and B'nai B'rith International.
On November 1, 2017, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Bar-Ilan Univeristy co-hosted the "Be'er Sheva Dialogue" at the Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel. The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister of Australia, was in attendance.
On June 26, 2017, Minister Zeev Elkin, Dr. Yossi Beilin, and Prof. Ruth Gavison debated Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror's new study, which takes a fresh look at Israel's options in Judea and Samaria and seeks to chart a path forward that will secure its national security while leaving the door open to peace.
לצפייה: נאומים שניתנו בכנס מרכז בגין-סאדאת למחקרים אסטרטגיים ומרכז מורשת מנחם בגין בנושא "ארבעים שנה למהפך 1977". הכנס התקיים ביום חמישי, ח' באייר תשע"ז, 4 במאי 2017.
On February 21, 2017, for the second consecutive year, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and B'nai B'rith International jointly held an international conference on Strategic Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean. The event, which took place at the Begin-Sadat Center, involved the participation of experts from Greece, Russia, Britain, Turkey, Albania, the US, and Israel.
Shortly after the US presidential election in November, experts met the BESA Center to analyze the reasons for, and international implications of, Donald Trump's triumph, and to dissect the "Yom Kippur" of the liberal elite and media.
In June, experts from Belgium, Bahrain, France, Germany, India, the UK, US and Israel convened at the BESA Center and at Haifa's National Security Studies Center for a two-day international conference to study developments in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. | {
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How many percentage of the quality of a Work T-Shirt does come from its fabric and how many % comes from its garment techniques? No one really know exactly but we all know that both these factors account for 99,99% of the quality and function of a T-Shirt. An One-Stop-Shop OEM service which are aimed to make the whole quality of any Work T-Shirt design is available here at Thygesen. Don't waste your time on procrastination, let's begin with us!
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Local Business Watch: Summer in the Biz World
By Debbie Sklar | July 26, 2010
Summer is in full swing and even though most of us are at the beach, SeaWorld, or enjoying some outside activity, life goes on in the biz world. This has been a busy week too, from a local doctor winning a major award to William Shatner landing on the USS Midway for Comic Con, read on for all the details.
StageofLife.com
It's may be July but high school Language Arts teachers across the US are planning fall curriculum. On the first day of class, they will most likely confront three months worth of time their students spent addicted to "constricted writing environments" such as Facebook, Twitter, and mobile texting – mediums that confine the expression of ideas to a limited character count. By nature, this can lead to students throwing out proper grammar, sentence structure, and other traditional language skills needed for English class and the college application process. To address this trend, teachers are looking for innovative ideas to encourage their students to write more (not less) during the coming school year.
To help in this mission, StageofLife.com, a blogging and resource website for high school students, released its first installment of lesson plans for language arts teachers. The lesson plans provide writing prompts and describe methods for incorporating blogging into the curriculum for a real-world application to get students writing more outside the classroom.
One of the first strategies outlined in the blogging lesson plans talks about the use of the student writing contests to strengthen traditional language skills. For example, Laura Li, a student at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, was a finalist in a StageofLife.com teen writing contest themed around the environment – a timely topic stemming from the BP Oil Spill. She heard about the contest from her AP English Teacher,
"My teacher was talking to our class about small actions making big changes in the world. The next day she offered us an extra credit assignment, which was to submit an essay to the StageofLife.com student writing contest. And since I was also taking AP Environmental Science, I had a lot of knowledge of the environment and thought I would give it a try."
What makes this student writing contest unique, however, is that the entry process sets up each submission as a blog so other contestants and visitors may view, read and comment on the essay. The current writing contest dovetails off of the popularity of TV shows like NBC's Biggest Loser and best selling books such as Michael Pollan's Food Rules as it pushes students to examine America's relationship with food. The contest question asks, "Do we have an obligation to take better care of ourselves by making changes in the way we eat and/or buy and consume food?"
The winning student of the food essay contest receives a cash prize, website swag, and "Featured Blogger" status. Entry forms can be found on StageofLife.com. A new contest topic is posted at the beginning of each month.
Square ENIX, the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in North America, introduced a series of premium-quality action figures based on characters from HALO®: REACH. Developed exclusively for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft by acclaimed developer Bungie, HALO: REACH is the blockbuster prequel to the award winning HALO trilogy that will let players experience the fateful events that transpired on the planet Reach.
All the latest Square Enix products are on display at San Diego Comic-Con, which took place at the San Diego Convention Center from July 22-25.
The Vol. 1 action figures are scheduled for a Fall 2010 release, with Vol.2 slated for an early 2011 release.
"The Square Enix Merchandise Division is dedicated to creating collectible action figures that combine high production value and excellent articulation," said Kanji Tashiro, merchandise director of Square Enix, Inc. "The HALO series has captivated fans across the globe, and we are thrilled and honored to be making action figures for its latest entry. We're confident that even HALO fans that are not familiar with our products will be pleasantly surprised with what we have crafted."
Winning Doctor
The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world's largest professional society of blood specialists, will honor six scientists who have made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of hematologic diseases. These awards will be presented at the 52nd ASH Annual Meeting taking place December 4-7 in Orlando.
Sanford Shattil, MD, of the University of California – San Diego, will be presented with the 2010 Stratton Medal for his remarkable achievements in the area of platelet cell biology and signal transduction. Dr. Shattil led the way in defining the roles of numerous kinesis, scaffold proteins, small G-proteins, and exchange factors in outside-in integrin signaling platelets. He has often been the first to introduce cutting-edge approaches into the platelet field, including live cell imaging and pioneering the technique of deriving megakaryocytes from mouse bone marrow or human stem cells to use as a molecularly tractable model of platelet signaling.
ASH provides Blood: The Vital Connection (www.bloodthevitalconnection.org), a credible online resource addressing bleeding and clotting disorders, anemia, and cancer. The official journal of ASH is Blood (www.bloodjournal.org); the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.
Myouterspace.com, a new Social Network created for those passionate about Science Fiction, launched William Shatner, who soared over the San Diego Harbor in a helicopter, eventually landing on the deck of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier during Comic Con. William Shatner's Myouterspace.com launch was on Friday, July 23.
"I am excited about the possibilities that are happening at Comic Con," said Shatner, host of Myouterspace.com. "The brand new platform for creativity in film, in gaming, and in animation is now coming alive on Myouterspace.com. With Tweet House on the USS Midway, and a great team of partners, can you get more with it?"
"The team at Myouterspace has worked extremely hard towards this exciting event," said Sammy Oriti, co-founder of Myouterspace.com. "Bill is an innovator; a truly incredible visionary and it will a great moment when he lands his helicopter on the flight deck. All I can say is that I have the coolest job in the world…I work with William Shatner in a Sci-Fi virtual universe!"
Photos from kevygee and commorancy via Flickr and Bill Brown via Picasa
Related ItemsbloggingBusiness newsHalohalo action figurelocal businessSanford Shattilstageoflife.comUCSDWilliam Shatner
Debbie Sklar
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University of California Breaks Records for Freshman Applicants | {
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Common Agricultural Policy
DG Environment
Farm-to-Fork
Intensive farming
Positive list
Animal Advocacy and Protection
Badger Trust
Catholic Concern for Animals
On Monday 19 December, the 15th Conference of Parties (CoP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came to an end with the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a set of targets to reverse the trend of biodiversity loss and protect wildlife and ecosystems. We acknowledge the promising inclusion of One Health but regret the absence of strong commitments to address animal welfare in a holistic approach.
CoP15 Global Biodiversity Framework: promising targets for biodiversity but failing to recognise the link between animal welfare and conservation
The Parties to the Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild fauna and flora (CITES) held their 19th Conference of the Parties in Panama last month. Our Wildlife Programme Leader Nick Clark attended to lobby for the protection of animals and learn of the latest developments in the regulation of the international trade in wild animals.
250 species used in exotic pet trade receive stronger protections at CITES CoP19
On June 3rd the Portuguese Presidency of the Council hosted an event co-organised by Eurogroup for Animals and AAP Animal Advocacy and Protection, to explore the risks posed by the exotic pet trade in the EU and the opportunities for better regulation.
The unregulated exotic pet trade in the EU: a threat to health and biodiversity
In December 2020, the European Parliament published a new report on the link between biodiversity loss and the increasing spread of zoonotic diseases. The report, requested by the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, aims at informing EU policy makers and introducing policy options to reduce risks originating from wildlife trade.
The link between biodiversity loss and the increasing spread of zoonotic diseases presented in new EP report
The European Commission has launched a new Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity: a one-stop shop for science-based evidence to protect the natural ecosystems that provide us with food, medicines, materials, recreation, and wellbeing.
Commission launches knowledge centre to reverse biodiversity loss and protect Europe's ecosystems
Two main highlights of this year EU Green Week, occurred from 19 to 22 October, were the State of Nature report launch, which showed worrying trends in EU protected species and habitats, and the presentation of the Positive List system to regulate the exotic pet trade.
EU Green Week's agenda: the need for more protection for endangered species and an EU positive list for exotic pets | {
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Koporo Pen è un comune rurale del Mali facente parte del circondario di Koro, nella regione di Mopti.
Il comune è composto da 16 nuclei abitati:
Béréli
Déou
Don
Gomou
Goro
Gueourou-Dogon
Gueourou-Peulh
Koporo Pen
Korolou
Koumbogourou-Dogon
Koumbogourou-Peulh
Oro
Sagourou
Samani-Dogon
Samani-Peulh
Sassogou
Note
Comuni della regione di Mopti | {
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Q. You are the last player who win Rafa Nadal. Do you think you can beat him again?
LUKAS ROSOL: Well, tennis, everything is possible. We are just the people. Nobody is a machine or something.
I believe that I can win against Rafa, against Roger, against anyone. Just tennis. You know, whoever win the last point is a winner. | {
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An elegant stylish designed necklace using quality leather strips. Handmade to give the wearer a unique contemporary statemented creation.
This unique design work is a perfect marriage of contemporary fashion and art - Wearable Art.
This design can be made to own personal style and requirement with bespoke matching ear-rings. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 4,350 |
Announcing Our Community Trust Fund Steward Organizations
Last spring, we shared our plan to address racial wealth gaps caused by historic racial injustice. With $100 million in new funding, the Bush Foundation committed to seed two community trust funds, to be stewarded by organizations that have deep understanding of and connection to Black and Native communities across our region.
As co-leaders of this initiative, we are thrilled to announce that NDN Collective and Nexus Community Partners have been selected to serve as the steward organizations for the community trust funds.
The Indigenous-led NDN Collective, based in Rapid City, SD, builds power through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking and narrative change. Nexus Community Partners, based in St. Paul, MN, supports strong, equitable and just communities in which all residents have a voice, are recognized as leaders, and have pathways to opportunity.
Throughout the rigorous selection process, we were impressed by NDN Collective and Nexus's passion, clarity and commitment. They know how to engage and energize their communities. They have the trust and respect of the people they serve. And they are deeply committed to building wealth for Black and Native people.
In the coming months, NDN Collective and Nexus will begin designing programs that will eventually provide grants directly to individuals to help them with wealth-building opportunities such as furthering their education, buying a home or starting a business. Sometimes access to money – in the right spirit, in the right moment – can make all the difference.
While NDN Collective and Nexus are rolling up their sleeves to start planning, they need time to shape effective grant programs. The community trust funds will not open for applications from individuals until late 2022 or early 2023. We encourage you to stay informed by signing up for NDN Collective's newsletter and Nexus Community Partners' newsletter.
We believe the community trust funds are a powerful way to address the pervasive racial wealth gaps in our region. Those gaps are the result of generations of unjust policies targeting Native and Black communities. There are direct through lines from broken treaties to unemployment rates, slavery to incarceration rates, redlining to homeownership rates. NDN Collective and Nexus understand this reality, and they have the talent, creativity and commitment to use these community trust funds for reparative action.
We are grateful to the many people who helped us shape this initiative, from our early advisors who worked with us to test this community trust idea to the panel who guided selection of our steward organizations. This is a milestone moment for the Bush Foundation, and we are thankful to have had the wisdom and insights of many Black and Native leaders.
-Jackie & Eileen
Racial wealth gaps
Throughout our country's history, Black and Native American communities have experienced unique and profound injustices. Current racial wealth gaps are the product of centuries of race-based policies. Learn more about racial wealth gaps.
If your organization is working on addressing racial wealth gaps and building racial equity, consider applying for a Community Innovation grant.
For other questions about these investments in racial equity, check out our FAQs. | {
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ComCode Technology provides software development services for telecom core network. Enable a mobile service provider to deploy new services quickly with the broad range of flexible and scalable solutions. Our effective solutions help clients to solve their most challenging issues. Having intensive experience in developing core signaling solutions over SS7/Sigtran. Understanding of complete cycle from requirements to final deployment. ComCode provides complete development of Sigtran Adaptation Layers and Applications over Sigtran Layers. | {
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} | 2,751 |
What happens during a Divine Plan Healing?
Arrival: I give a brief description of what will happen during the healing session. You will be asked to fill in a client form or do so in advance by email.
Then we discuss your healing target which you write down and keep as a record of what issue you wanted to work on.
The Healing: You lie down, fully clothed on a therapy bed and the healing can begin.
After a short time, you will be covered by a blanket. It is important as it represents surrounding yourself with unconditional divine love to support your healing.
At certain points I will ask you to repeat some mantras.
You simply relax and you might fall into a state of deep relaxation.
It is not necessary for the healer to touch the body's energy points at any time. I will move around the room as needed but you might not even be aware of this.
Near the end of the session, I will ask you to come back into awareness and offer some essence drops in water. This is optional and will be discussed in advance.
The session takes about one hour.
Afterwards: You may need some time to sit and become grounded again.
You're asked to keep a simple journal to record changes that you notice over the next few weeks and you are given instruction on how to take your essence and follow-up contacts.
You are asked to email some feedback the following day about how you are feeling. This is just to offer some support if needed. This is also arranged after about 4 weeks. | {
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Sanaullah's body to be handed over to Pak: Shinde
09-05-2013 Chandigarh
The body of Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay, who succumbed to injuries in a Chandigarh hospital on Thursday, will be handed over to Pakistan.
"We will hand over the body to Pakistan," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told PTI.
Mr. Shinde said the Ministry of External Affairs is coordinating with the Pakistani authorities to complete the formalities to send his body back home. "Once the formalities are done, we will hand over the body," he said.
Sources said a detailed post-mortem of Sanaullah, 52, would be done in Chandigarh and the travel arrangements would be made as per the request made by Pakistan.
Government has been informed that Pakistan is arranging an aircraft to fly his body back home, the sources said, adding "If they arrange a non—military registered plane, the clearance would be prompt."
Sanaullah, a convicted terrorist serving life sentence, was injured in a scuffle with another inmate in the high—security Kot Balwal jail in Jammu and rushed to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh on Friday last.
Keywords: Sanaullah Ranjay, Pak prisoner death, Kot Balwal jail, prison attack, PGIMER | {
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7th August Christ the Saviour Cathedral
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is Moscow's famous cathedral situated on the north bank of the River Moskva. At 103 metres high it is the tallest Orthodox Christian Church in the world and dominates that part of the Moscow skyline.
The Cathedral is the second church standing on this site; the original was built during the 19th century, taking over 40 years to build. It was destroyed on Joseph Stalin's orders in 1931. Its' destruction was to allow the Soviets to build a huge Palace of the Soviets and to use the 20 tonnes of gold plate on the dome for Soviet reconstruction projects.
The Palace of Soviets was never built but the gold was stripped and the Cathedral subsequently dynamited. Remnants of marble from the Cathedral found their way into Metro stations and the site became the location of the world's biggest outdoor swimming pool.
In 1990, before the dissolution of the USSR the Soviet government gave permission to rebuild the Cathedral. A fund was started and money poured in from ordinary citizens in 1994. In this year the swimming pool was demolished and reconstruction works started. One million Muscovites donated money for the project.
The completed Cathedral was consecrated on Transfiguration Day, 19th August 2000.
The original church was the scene of the 1882 world premiere of the famous 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky celebrating the victory of Napoleonic France during the 1812 War. Most recently the new Cathedral was in the headlines as the venue chosen by Russian protestors, Pussy Riot, for their demonstration against President Putin and the Russian government.
Cost : 2500 rub per person
We meet at 14.45h outside Kropotkinskaya metro station ( exit towards Volkhonka street) | {
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} | 4,371 |
How smooth your model appears in virtual reality is affected by a series of items, such as hardware and model size which in turn affect your frame rates.
1. Check and confirm that your computer has the necessary hardware to run virtual reality software. Our recommended computer specs are posted here.
2. Check and confirm that all your virtual reality headset cables are plugged in. This can seem an obvious step, but with use, cables can become loose and not transfer data properly. If using an HTC Vive without the sync cable, consider adding the cable for stability.
3. If you're using a laptop, we strongly recommend keeping it plugged into the charger whenever possible. Powering a VR experience is very intensive, and relying entirely on battery power is known to cause degraded performance.
1. Turning off pieces of the model that are "nice-to-haves". For example, trees, people, and cars can make a 3D file grow quite large and lower frame rates very quickly.
2. If you are using 3D components from product manufacturers, check them for excess details. For instance, chairs, windows, kitchens that can be downloaded from the internet are often modeled in very high detail including components such as highly detailed tiny screws. These are useful for drawing sets, but not always necessary for seeing in virtual reality.
3. Consider bringing in a smaller version of the 3D model. For example, if you have a 10 story building or a 10-mile campus massing model, trimming down the area to 5 stories or a few blocks can quickly improve the quality in-VR.
At IrisVR, we are constantly working on optimizing our core technology so that you do not need to make adjustments to your model and can bring in any file size for viewing in virtual reality. | {
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} | 2,149 |
\section{Introduction}
Titan has a dense atmosphere, composed of $\mathrm{N_2}$ and $\mathrm{CH_4}$, and many trace gases such as hydrocarbons (e.g. $\mathrm{C_2H_6}$, $\mathrm{C_2H_2}$) and nitriles (e.g. $\mathrm{HCN}$, $\mathrm{HC_3N}$) produced by its rich photochemistry. Like Earth, Titan has a stratosphere, located between 50~km ($\sim 100$~mbar) and 400~km ($\sim 0.01$~mbar), characterized by the increase of its temperature with altitude because of the absorption of incoming sunlight by methane and hazes. Titan's atmosphere undergoes strong variations of insolation, due to its obliquity ($26.7^{\circ}$) and to the eccentricity of Saturn's orbit around the Sun (0.0565). \\
The Cassini spacecraft monitored Titan's atmosphere during 13 years (from 2004 to 2017), from northern winter to summer solstice. Its data are a unique opportunity to study the seasonal evolution of its stratosphere, especially with mid-IR observations from Cassini/CIRS (Composite InfraRed Spectrometer, \citet{Flasar2004}). They showed that at pressures lower than 5~mbar, the stratosphere exhibits strong seasonal variations of temperature and composition related to changes in atmospheric dynamics and radiative processes. For instance, during northern winter (2004-2008), high northern latitudes were enriched in photochemical products such as HCN or $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$, while there was a "hot spot" in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere (0.1 - 0.001~mbar, \citet{Achterberg2008, Coustenis2007, Teanby2007b,Vinatier2007}). These observations were interpreted as evidence of subsidence above the North pole during winter, which is a part of the pole-to-pole atmospheric circulation cell predicted for solstices by Titan GCMs (Global Climate Models, \citet{Lora2015,Lebonnois2012a,Newman2011}). These models also predict that the circulation pattern should reverse around equinoxes, via a transitional state with two equator-to-pole cells. These changes began to affect the South pole in 2010, when measurements showed that pressures inferior to 0.03~mbar exhibited an enrichment in gases such as HCN or $\mathrm{C_2H_2}$, which propagated downward during autumn, consistent with the apparition of a new circulation cell with subsidence above the South pole \citep{Teanby2017,Vinatier2015}.\\
Some uncertainties remain about the seasonal evolution of the lower part of the stratosphere, i.e. at pressures from 5~mbar (120~km) to 100~mbar (tropopause, 50~km). Different estimates of radiative timescales have been calculated for this region. In \citet{Strobel2010}, the radiative timescales in this region vary from 0.2 Titan years at 5~mbar to 2.5 Titan years at 100~mbar. This means that the lower stratosphere should be the transition zone from parts of the atmosphere which are sensitive to seasonal insolation variations, to parts of the atmosphere which are not. In contrast, in the radiative-dynamical model of \citet{Bezard2018}, radiative timescales are between 0.02 Titan year at 5~mbar and 0.26 Titan year at 100~mbar, implying that this whole region should exhibit a response to the seasonal cycle.\\
From northern winter to equinox, CIRS mid-IR observations showed that temperature variations were lower than 5~K between 5~mbar and 10~mbar \citep{Bampasidis2012,Achterberg2011}. Temporal variations intensified after spring equinox, as \citet{Coustenis2016} measured a cooling by 16~K and an increase in gases abundances at $70^{\circ}$S from 2010 to 2014, at 10~mbar, associated with the autumn subsidence above the South pole. \citet{Sylvestre2018} showed that this subsidence affects pressure levels as low as 15~mbar as they measured strong enrichments in $\mathrm{C_2N_2}$, $\mathrm{C_3H_4}$, and $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$~at high southern latitudes from 2012 to 2016 with CIRS far-IR observations. However, we have little information on temperatures and their seasonal evolution for pressures greater than 10~mbar. Temperatures from the surface to 0.1~mbar can be measured by Cassini radio-occultations, but the published profiles were measured mainly in 2006 and 2007 \citep{SchinderFlasarMaroufEtAl2011,Schinder2012}, so they provide little information on seasonal variations of temperature. \\
In this study, we analyse all the available far-IR Cassini/CIRS observations to probe temperatures from 6~mbar to 25~mbar, and measure the seasonal variations of lower stratospheric temperatures. As these data were acquired throughout the Cassini mission from 2004 to 2017, and cover the whole latitude range, they provide a unique overview of the thermal evolution of the lower stratosphere from northern winter to summer solstice, and a better understanding of the radiative and dynamical processes at play in this part of Titan's atmosphere.\\
\section{Data analysis}
\subsection{Observations}
We measure lower stratospheric temperatures using Cassini/CIRS \citep{Flasar2004} spectra. CIRS is a thermal infrared spectrometer with three focal planes operating in three different spectral domains: 10 - 600$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ (17 - 1000$~\mathrm{\mu m}$) for FP1, 600 - 1100$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ (9 - 17 $~\mathrm{\mu m}$) for FP3, and 1100 - 1400$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ (7 - 9$~\mathrm{\mu m}$) for FP4. FP1 has a single circular detector with an angular field of view of 3.9~mrad, which has an approximately Gaussian spatial response with a FWHM of 2.5 mrad. FP3 and FP4 are each composed of a linear array of ten detectors. Each of these detectors has an angular field of view of 0.273~mrad. \\
In this study, we use FP1 far-IR observations, where nadir spectra are measured at a resolution of 0.5$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$, in "sit-and-stare" geometry (i.e the FP1 detector probes the same latitude and longitude during the whole duration of the acquisition). In this type of observation, the average spatial field of view is 20$^\circ$ in latitude. An acquisition lasts between 1h30 and 4h30, allowing the recording of 100 to 330 spectra. The spectra from the same acquisition are averaged together, which increases the S/N by a factor $\sqrt{N}$ (where N is the number of spectra). As a result, we obtain an average spectrum where the rotational lines of $\mathrm{CH_4}$~(between 70$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ and 170$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$) are resolved and can be used to retrieve Titan's lower stratospheric temperature. An example averaged spectrum is shown in Fig. \ref{fig_spec}.\\
We analysed all the available observations with the characteristics mentioned above. As shown in table \ref{table_obs}, this type of nadir far-IR observation has been performed throughout the Cassini mission (from 2004 to 2017), at all latitudes. Hence, the analysis of this dataset enables us to get an overview of Titan's lower stratosphere and its seasonal evolution.\\
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{Spectra_89N_0703}
\caption{Example of average spectrum measured with the FP1 detector of Cassini/CIRS (in black) and its fit by NEMESIS (in red). The measured spectrum was obtained after averaging 106 spectra observed at $89^{\circ}$N in March 2007. The rotational lines of $\mathrm{CH_4}$~are used to retrieve stratospheric temperature. The "haystack" feature is visible only at high latitudes during autumn and winter. }
\label{fig_spec}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Retrieval method}
We follow the same method as \citet{Sylvestre2018}. We use the portion of the spectrum between 70~$\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ and 400~$\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$, where the main spectral features are: the ten rotational lines of $\mathrm{CH_4}$~(between 70$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ and 170$~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$), the $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$~band at $220~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$, the $\mathrm{C_2N_2}$~band at $234~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$, and the $\mathrm{C_3H_4}$~band at $327~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ (see Fig. \ref{fig_spec}). The continuum emission comes from the collisions between the three main components of Titan's atmosphere (N$_2$, $\mathrm{CH_4}$, and H$_2$), and from the spectral contributions of the hazes. \\
We retrieve the temperature profile using the constrained non-linear inversion code NEMESIS \citep{Irwin2008}. We define a reference atmosphere, which takes into account the abundances of the main constituents of Titan's atmosphere measured by Cassini/CIRS \citep{Coustenis2016,Nixon2012,Cottini2012,Teanby2009}, Cassini/VIMS \citep{Maltagliati2015}, ALMA \citep{Molter2016} and Huygens/GCMS\citep{Niemann2010}. We also consider the haze distribution and properties measured in previous studies with Cassini/CIRS \citep{deKok2007,deKok2010b,Vinatier2012}, and Huygens/GCMS \citep{Tomasko2008b}. We consider four types of hazes, following \citet{deKok2007}: hazes 0 ($70~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ to $400~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$), A (centred at $140~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$), B (centred at $220~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$) and C (centred at $190~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$). For the spectra measured at high northern and southern latitudes during autumn and winter, we add an offset from 1 to $3~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ to the nominal haze B cross-sections between 190~$\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ and 240~$\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$, as in \citet{Sylvestre2018}. This modification improves the fit of the continuum in the "haystack" which is a strong emission feature between 190~$\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ and 240~$\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ (see Fig. \ref{fig_spec}) seen at high latitudes during autumn and winter (e.g. in \citet{Coustenis1999, deKok2007, Anderson2012, Jennings2012, Jennings2015}). The variation of the offset allows us to take into account the evolution of the shape of this feature throughout autumn and winter. The composition of our reference atmosphere and the spectroscopic parameters adopted for its constituents are fully detailed in \citet{Sylvestre2018}.\\
We retrieve the temperature profile and scale factors applied to the \textit{a priori} profiles of $\mathrm{C_2N_2}$, $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$, $\mathrm{C_3H_4}$, and hazes 0, A, B and C, from the spectra using the constrained non-linear inversion code NEMESIS \citep{Irwin2008}. This code generates synthetic spectra from the reference atmosphere. At each iteration, the difference between the synthetic and the measured spectra is used to modify the profile of the retrieved variables, and minimise a cost function, in order to find the best fit for the measured spectrum. \\
The sensitivity of the spectra to the temperature can be measured with the inversion kernels for the temperature (defined as $K_{ij}~=~\frac{\partial I_i}{\partial T_j}$, where $I_i$ is the radiance measured at wavenumber $w_i$, and $T_j$ the temperature at pressure level $p_j$) for several wavenumbers. The contribution of the methane lines to the temperature measurement can be isolated by defining their own inversion kernels $K^{CH_4}_{ij}$ as follows:
\begin{equation}
K^{CH_4}_{ij} = K_{ij} - K^{cont}_{ij}
\end{equation}
\noindent where $K^{cont}_{ij}$ is the inversion kernel of the continuum for the same wavenumber. Figure \ref{fig_cf} shows $K^{CH_4}_{ij}$ for three of the rotational methane lines in the left panel, and the comparison between the sum of the 10 $K^{CH_4}_{ij}$ (for the 10 rotational $\mathrm{CH_4}$~lines) and inversion kernels for the continuum ($K^{cont}_{ij}$ at the wavenumbers of the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~lines and $K_{ij}$ outside of the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~lines) in the right panel. The $\mathrm{CH_4}$~lines allow us to measure lower stratospheric temperatures generally between 6~mbar and 25~mbar, with a maximal sensitivity at 15~mbar. The continuum emission mainly probes temperatures at higher pressures, around the tropopause and in the troposphere. The continuum emission mostly originates from the $\mathrm{N_2}$-$\mathrm{N_2}$ and $\mathrm{N_2}$-$\mathrm{CH_4}$~collisions induced absorption with some contribution from the hazes, for which we have limited constraints. However, Fig. \ref{fig_cf} shows that the continuum emission comes from pressure levels located several scale heights below the region probed by the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~lines, so the lack of constraints on the hazes and tropospheric temperatures does not affect the lower stratospheric temperatures which are the main focus of this study.\\
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{CF_72N_0704_v2}
\caption{Sensitivity of temperature measurements at $72^{\circ}N$ in April 2007. \textit{Left panel}: Normalised inversion kernels $K^{CH_4}_{ij}$ in three of the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~rotational lines. \textit{Right panel:} Comparison between the inversion kernels in the continuum ($K^{cont}_{ij}$ for three of the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~lines in dot-dashed lines, and $K_{ij}$ for other wavenumbers in the continuum in dashed lines) and the sum of the inversion kernels $K^{CH_4}_{ij}$ of the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~rotational lines. $\mathrm{CH_4}$~rotational lines dominate the temperature retrievals in the lower stratosphere, generally from 6 to 25~mbar (and up to 35~mbar, depending on the datasets). The continuum emission probes temperatures at pressures higher than 50~mbar, mainly in the troposphere.}
\label{fig_cf}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Error sources}
The main error sources in our temperature retrievals are the measurement noise and the uncertainties related to the retrieval process such as forward modelling errors or the smoothing of the temperature profile. The total error on the temperature retrieval is estimated by NEMESIS and is in the order of 2~K from 6~mbar to 25~mbar.\\
The other possible error source is the uncertainty on $\mathrm{CH_4}$~abundance, as \citet{Lellouch2014} showed that it can vary from 1\% to 1.5\% at 15 mbar. We performed additional temperature retrievals on several datasets, in order to assess the effects of these variations on the temperature retrievals. First, we selected datasets for which $\mathrm{CH_4}$~abundance was measured by \citet{Lellouch2014}. In Figure \ref{fig_TCH4}, we show examples of these tests for two of these datasets: $52^{\circ}$N in May 2007 and $15^{\circ}$S in October 2006, for which \citet{Lellouch2014} measured respective $\mathrm{CH_4}$~abundances of $q_{CH_4} = 1.20 \pm 0.15\%$ and $q_{CH_4} = 0.95 \pm 0.08 \%$ (the nominal value for our retrievals is $q_{CH_4} = 1.48 \pm 0.09\%$ from \citet{Niemann2010}). At $52^{\circ}$N, the temperature profile obtained with the methane abundance from \citet{Lellouch2014} does not differ by more than 4~K from the nominal temperature profile. At 15 mbar (where the sensitivity to temperature is maximal in our retrievals), the difference of temperature between these two profiles is 2~K. Even a $\mathrm{CH_4}$~volume mixing ratio as low as 1\% yields a temperature only 4~K warmer than the nominal temperature at 15~mbar. At $15^{\circ}$S, the difference of temperature between the nominal retrieval and the retrieval with the methane abundance retrieved by \citet{Lellouch2014} ($q_{CH_4}=0.95\%$), is approximately 9~K on the whole pressure range.\\
We performed additional temperature retrievals using CIRS FP4 nadir spectra measured at the same times and latitudes as the two datasets shown in Figure \ref{fig_TCH4}. In FP4 nadir spectra, the methane band $\nu_4$ is visible between $1200~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$ and $1360~\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$. This spectral feature allows us to probe temperature between 0.1~mbar and 10~mbar, whereas methane rotational lines in the CIRS FP1 nadir spectra generally probe temperature between 6~mbar and 25~mbar. Temperature can thus be measured with both types of retrievals from 6~mbar to 10~mbar. We performed FP4 temperature retrievals with the nominal methane abundance and the abundances measured by \citet{Lellouch2014}, as shown in Figure \ref{fig_TCH4}. FP4 temperature retrievals seem less sensitive to changes in the methane volume mixing ratio, as they yield a maximal temperature difference of 3~K at $52^{\circ}$N , and 4~K at $15^{\circ}$S between 6~mbar and 10~mbar. In both cases, FP1 and FP4 temperature retrievals are in better agreement in their common pressure range when the nominal methane abundance ($q_{CH_4}=1.48\%$) is used for both retrievals. This suggests that $q_{CH_4}=1.48\%$ is the best choice, at least in the pressure range covered by both types of temperature retrievals (from 6~mbar to 10 mbar). Changing the abundance of $\mathrm{CH_4}$~in the whole stratosphere seems to induce an error on the temperature measurements between 6~mbar and 10 mbar (up to 9~K at $15^{\circ}$S), which probably affects the temperature at 15~mbar in the FP1 retrievals, because of the vertical resolution of nadir retrievals (represented by the width of the inversion kernels in Fig. \ref{fig_cf}). Consequently, assessing the effects of $\mathrm{CH_4}$~abundance variations on temperature at 15~mbar by changing $q_{CH_4}$ in the whole stratosphere seems to be a very unfavourable test, and the uncertainties on temperature determined by this method are probably overestimated for the FP1 temperature retrievals. Overall, when retrieving temperature from CIRS FP1 nadir spectra with $q_{CH_4}=1\%$ for datasets spanning different times and latitudes, we found temperatures warmer than our nominal temperatures by 2~K to 10~K at 15~mbar, with an average of 5~K. In \cite{Lellouch2014}, authors found that temperature changes by 4-5 K on the whole pressure range when varying $q_{CH_4}$ at $15^{\circ}$S, but they determined temperatures using FP4 nadir and limb data, which do not probe the 15 mbar pressure level.\\
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{Temperature_profiles_52N_0705}\\
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{Temperature_profiles_15S_0610}\\
\caption{Temperature profiles from CIRS FP1 and FP4 nadir observations at $52^{\circ}$N in May 2007 (top panel) and $15^{\circ}$S in October 2006 (bottom panel), retrieved with the methane abundances measured by \citet{Niemann2010} (nominal value in this study) and \citet{Lellouch2014}. In both cases, the nominal value from \citet{Niemann2010} yields a better agreement between the two types of observations.}
\label{fig_TCH4}
\end{figure}
\section{Results}
\label{sect_res}
\begin{figure}[!hp]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{carte_2d_6mbar_v2}\\
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{carte_2d_15mbar_v2}
\caption{Evolution of temperatures at 6~mbar (120~km) and 15~mbar (85~km) from northern winter (2004) to summer (2017). The length of the markers shows the average size of the field of view of the CIRS FP1 detector. Temperatures exhibit similar strong seasonal changes at both pressure levels, especially at the poles.}
\label{fig_ev_saiso}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{var_saiso_GCM}
\caption{Meridional distribution of temperatures at 6~mbar (120~km) and 15~mbar (85~km), for three different seasons: late northern winter (2007, blue triangles), mid-spring (2013, green circles), and near summer solstice (from July 2016 to September 2017, red diamonds). The plain lines are the meridional distributions given by GCM simulations at comparable seasons (see section \ref{sect_discu}). In both observations and model the meridional gradient of temperatures evolves from one season to another at both pressure levels.}
\label{fig_var_saiso}
\end{figure}
Figures \ref{fig_ev_saiso} and \ref{fig_var_saiso} show the temperatures measured with Cassini/CIRS far-IR nadir data at 6~mbar (minimal pressure probed by the CIRS far-IR nadir observations) and 15~mbar (pressure level where these observations are the most sensitive). Figure \ref{fig_ev_saiso} maps the seasonal evolution of temperatures throughout the Cassini mission (from 2004 to 2017, i.e. from mid-northern winter to early summer), while Figure \ref{fig_var_saiso} is focused on the evolution of the meridional gradient of temperature from one season to another. In both figures, both pressure levels exhibit significant seasonal variations of temperature and follow similar trends. Maximal temperatures are reached near the equator in 2005 (152~K at 6~mbar, 130~K at 15~mbar, at $18^{\circ}$S, at $L_S=300^{\circ}$), while the minimal temperatures are reached at high southern latitudes in autumn (123~K at 6~mbar, 106~K at 15~mbar at $70^{\circ}$S in 2016, at $L_S=79^{\circ}$).\\
The maximal seasonal variations of temperature are located at the poles for both pressure levels. At high northern latitudes ($60^\circ$N - $90^\circ$N), at 15~mbar, the temperature increased overall from winter to summer solstice. For instance at $70^{\circ}$N, temperature increased by 10~K from January 2007 to September 2017. At 6~mbar, temperatures at $60^{\circ}$N stayed approximately constant from winter to spring, whereas latitudes poleward from $70^{\circ}$N warmed up. At $85^{\circ}$N, the temperature increased continuously from 125~K in March 2007 to 142~K in September 2017.\\
In the meantime, at high southern latitudes ($60^\circ$S - $90^\circ$S), at 6~mbar and 15~mbar, temperatures strongly decreased from southern summer (2007) to late autumn (2016). It is the largest seasonal temperature change we measured in the lower stratosphere. At $70^{\circ}$S, temperature decreased by 24~K at 6~mbar and by 19~K at 15~mbar between January 2007 and June 2016. This decrease seems to be followed by a temperature increase toward winter solstice. At $70^{\circ}$S, temperatures varied by $+8$~K at 6~mbar from June 2016 to April 2017. Temperatures at high southern latitudes began to evolve in November 2010 at 6~mbar, and 2 years later (in August 2012) at 15~mbar.\\
Other latitudes experience moderate seasonal temperature variations. At low latitudes (between $30^{\circ}$N and $30^{\circ}$S), temperature decreased overall from 2004 to 2017 at both pressure levels. For instance, at the equator, at 6~mbar temperature decreased by 6~K from 2006 to 2016. At mid-southern latitudes, temperatures stayed constant from summer (2005) to mid-autumn (June 2012 at 6~mbar, and May 2013 at 15~mbar), then they decreased by approximately 10~K from 2012-2013 to 2016. At mid-northern latitudes temperatures increased overall from winter to spring. At $50^{\circ}$N, temperature increased from 139~K to 144~K from 2005 to 2014. In Figure \ref{fig_var_saiso}, at 6~mbar and 15~mbar, the meridional temperature gradient evolves from one season to another. During late northern winter, temperatures were approximately constant from $70^{\circ}$S to $30^{\circ}$N, and then decreased toward the North pole. In mid-spring, temperatures were decreasing from equator to poles. Near the summer solstice, at 15~mbar, the meridional temperature gradient reversed compared to winter (summer temperatures constant in northern and low southern latitudes then decreasing toward the South Pole), while at 6~mbar, temperatures globally decrease from the equator to the South pole and $70^{\circ}$N, then increase slightly between $70^{\circ}$N and $90^{\circ}$N. At 15~mbar, most of these changes in the shape of the temperature distribution occur because of the temperature variations poleward from $60^{\circ}$. At 6~mbar, temperature variations occur mostly in the southern hemisphere at latitudes higher than $40^{\circ}$S, and near the North pole at latitudes higher than $70^{\circ}$N.\\
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{temp_profiles}
\caption{Temperature variations in the lower stratosphere during the Cassini mission for different latitudes. The blue profiles were measured during northern winter (in 2007). The red profiles were measured in late northern spring (in 2017 for $85^{\circ}$N, in 2016 for the other latitudes). The seasonal temperature variations are observed at most latitudes, and on the whole probed pressure range.}
\label{fig_grad_saiso_vert}
\end{figure}
Figure \ref{fig_grad_saiso_vert} shows the first and the last temperature profiles measured with CIRS nadir far-IR data, for several latitudes. As in Fig. \ref{fig_ev_saiso}, the maximal temperature variations are measured at high southern latitudes for all pressure levels. At $70^{\circ}$S, the temperature decreased by 25~K at 10~mbar. Below 10~mbar the seasonal temperature difference decreases rapidly with increasing pressure until it reaches 10~K at 25~mbar, whereas it is nearly constant between 5~mbar and 10~mbar. $85^{\circ}$N also exhibits a decrease of the seasonal temperature gradient below the 10~mbar pressure level, although it is less pronounced than near the South pole. At $45^{\circ}$S, the temperature decreased by approximately 10~K from 2007 to 2016, over the whole probed pressure range. At the equator, the temperature varies by -5~K from 2005 to 2016 at 6~mbar and the amplitude of this variation seems to decrease slightly with increasing pressure until it becomes negligible at 25~mbar. However the amplitude of these variations is in the same range as the uncertainty on temperature due to potential $\mathrm{CH_4}$~variations. \\
\section{Discussion}
\label{sect_discu}
\subsection{Comparison with previous results}
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{comp_prev_studies_v5}
\caption{Comparison of nadir FP1 temperatures with previous studies.
\textit{Top left panel:} Comparison between CIRS nadir FP1 (triangles) and CIRS nadir FP4 temperatures at 6~mbar (circles, \citet{Bampasidis2012}[1], and \citet{Coustenis2016}[2]) in 2010 (cyan) and 2014 (purple).
\textit{Right panel:} Comparison between temperature profiles from CIRS nadir FP1 observations (thick solid lines), CIRS nadir FP4 observations (thin dot-dashed lines, \citet{Coustenis2016}[2]), and Cassini radio-occultation (thin dashed line, \citet{SchinderFlasarMaroufEtAl2011}[3]). Our results are in good agreement with CIRS FP4 temperatures, but diverge somewhat from radio-occultation profiles with increasing pressure.
\textit{Bottom left panel:} Comparison between temperatures at 15~mbar from our CIRS FP1 nadir measurements (magenta triangles), Cassini radio-occultations in 2006 and 2007 (cyan circles, \citet{SchinderFlasarMaroufEtAl2011,Schinder2012}, [3], [4]), and the Huygens/HASI measurement in 2005 (yellow diamond, \citet{Fulchignoni2005}, [5]).The dashed magenta line shows the potential effect of the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~variations observed by \citet{Lellouch2014}. If we take into account this effect, the agreement between our data, the radio-occultations and the HASI measurements is good.}
\label{fig_prev_studies}
\end{figure}
Figure \ref{fig_prev_studies} shows a comparison between our results and previous studies where temperatures have been measured in the lower stratosphere at similar epochs, latitudes and pressure levels. In the top left and right panels, our temperature measurements are compared to results from CIRS FP4 nadir observations \citep{Bampasidis2012, Coustenis2016} which probe mainly the 0.1-10~mbar pressure range. In the top left panel, the temperatures measured at 6~mbar by these two types of observations are in good agreement for the two considered epochs (2009-2010 and 2014). We obtain similar meridional gradients with both types of observations, even if FP4 temperatures are obtained from averages of spectra over bins of $10^{\circ}$ of latitudes (except at $70^{\circ}$N and $70^{\circ}$S where the bins are $20^{\circ}$ wide in latitude), whereas the average size in latitude of the field of view of the FP1 detector is $20^{\circ}$. It thus seems than the wider latitudinal size of the FP1 field of view has little effect on our temperature measurements. In the right panel, our temperature profiles are compared to two profiles measured by \citet{Coustenis2016} using CIRS FP4 nadir observations (at $50^{\circ}$S in April 2010, and at $70^{\circ}$S in June 2012), and with Cassini radio-occultations measurements from \citet{SchinderFlasarMaroufEtAl2011,Schinder2012}, which probe the atmosphere from the surface to 0.1~mbar (0 - 300~km). CIRS FP1 and FP4 temperature profiles are in good averall agreement. The profile we measured at $28^{\circ}$S in February 2006 and the corresponding radio-occultation profile are within error bars for pressures lower than 13~mbar, then the difference between them increases up to 8~K at 25~mbar. The bottom left panel of Fig. \ref{fig_prev_studies} shows the radio-occultation temperatures in 2006 and 2007 compared to CIRS nadir FP1 temperatures at 15~mbar, where their sensitivity to the temperature is maximal. Although, the radio-occultations temperatures are systematically higher than the CIRS temperatures by 2~K to 6~K, they follow the same meridional trend. CIRS FP1 temperatures at the equator are also lower than the temperature measured by the HASI instrument at 15~mbar during Huygens descent in Titan's atmosphere in 2005. If we take into account the effect of the spatial variations of $\mathrm{CH_4}$~at 15~mbar observed by \citet{Lellouch2014} by decreasing the $\mathrm{CH_4}$~abundance to 1\% (the lower limit in \citet{Lellouch2014}) in the CIRS FP1 temperature measurements (dashed line in the middle panel of Fig. \ref{fig_prev_studies}), the agreement between the three types of observations is good in the southern hemisphere. The differences between radio-occultations, HASI and CIRS temperatures might also be explained by the difference of vertical resolution. Indeed nadir observations have a vertical resolution in the order of 50~km while radio-occultations and HASI observations have respective vertical resolutions of 1~km and 200~m around 15~mbar.\\
\subsection{Effects of Saturn's eccentricity}
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{eccentricity_equator_free_T0}
\caption{Temporal evolution of Titan's lower stratospheric temperatures at the equator ($5^{\circ}$N - $5^{\circ}$S) at 6~mbar (left panel) and 15~mbar (right panel), compared with a simple model of the evolution of the temperature as a function of the distance between Titan and the Sun (green line). The reduced $\chi^2$ between this model and the observations is 0.95 at 6~mbar and 1.07 at 15~mbar. The amplitude of the temperature variations at Titan's equator throughout the Cassini mission can be explained by the effect of Saturn's eccentricity.}
\label{fig_eccentricity}
\end{figure}
Because of Saturn's orbital eccentricity of 0.0565, the distance between Titan and the Sun varies enough to affect significantly the insolation. For instance, throughout the Cassini mission, the solar flux received at the equator has decreased by 19\% because of the eccentricity. We make a simple model of the evolution of the temperature $T$ at the equator as a function of the distance between Titan and the Sun. In this model we assume that the temperature $T$ at the considered pressure level and at a given time depends only on the absorbed solar flux $F$ and we neglect the radiative exchanges between atmospheric layers:
\begin{equation}
\epsilon \sigma T^4 = F
\end{equation}
\noindent where $\epsilon$ is the emissivity of the atmosphere at this pressure level, and $\sigma$ the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. $T$ can thus be defined as a function of the distance $d$ between Titan and the Sun:
\begin{equation}
T^4 = \frac{\alpha L_{\odot}}{16\epsilon\sigma\pi d^2}
\label{eq_T_dist}
\end{equation}
\noindent where $L_\odot$ is the solar power, and $\alpha$ the absorptivity of the atmosphere. If we choose a reference temperature $T_0$ where Titan is at a distance $d_0$ from the Sun, a relation similar to (\ref{eq_T_dist}) can be written for $T_0$. If we assume $\epsilon$ and $\alpha$ to be constant, $T$ can then be written as:
\begin{equation}
T = T_0 \sqrt{\frac{d_0}{d}}
\end{equation}
Figure \ref{fig_eccentricity} shows a comparison between this model and the temperatures measured between $5^{\circ}$N and $5^{\circ}$S from 2006 to 2016, at 6~mbar and 15~mbar. We choose $T_0$ as the temperature at the beginning of the observations (December 2005/January 2006) which provides the best fit between our model and the observations while being consistent with the observations at the same epoch ($T_0=151.7$~K at 6~mbar, and $T_0=129$~K at 15~mbar). At 6~mbar, we measure a temperature decrease from 2006 to 2016. This is similar to what has been measured at 4~mbar by \citet{Bezard2018} with CIRS mid-IR observations, whereas their radiative-dynamical model predicts a small temperature maximum around the northern spring equinox (2009). At 15~mbar, equatorial temperatures are mostly constant from 2005 to 2016, with a marginal decrease in 2016. Our model predicts temperature variations of 8~K at 6~mbar and 7~K at 15~mbar from 2006 to 2016. Both predictions are consistent with the measurements and with radiative timescales shorter than one Titan year at 6~mbar and 15~mbar, as in \citet{Bezard2018} where they are respectively equal to 0.024~Titan year and 0.06~Titan year. At both pressure levels, the model captures the magnitude of the temperature change, but does not fully match its timing or shape (especially in 2012-2014), implying that a more sophisticated model is needed. The remaining differences between our model and the temperature measurements could be decreased by adding a temporal lag to our model (2-3~years at 6~mbar and 3-4~years at 15~mbar), but the error bars on the temperature measurements are too large to constrain the lag to a value statistically distinct from zero. Even with this potential lag, the agreement between the model and the temperatures measured at 6~mbar shows that the amplitude of the temporal evolution throughout the Cassini mission may be explained by the effects of Saturn's eccentricity. At 15~mbar, given the error bars and the lack of further far-IR temperature measurements at the equator in 2016 and 2017, it remains difficult to draw a definitive conclusion about the influence of Saturn's eccentricity at this pressure level.\\
\subsection{Implication for radiative and dynamical processes of the lower stratosphere}
In Section \ref{sect_res}, we showed that in the lower stratosphere, the seasonal evolution of the temperature is maximal at high latitudes, especially at the South Pole. At 15~mbar, the strong cooling of high southern latitudes started in 2012, simultaneously with the increase in $\mathrm{C_2N_2}$, $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$, and $\mathrm{C_3H_4}$~abundances measured at the same latitudes and pressure-level in \citet{Sylvestre2018}. We also show that this cooling affects the atmosphere at least down to the 25~mbar pressure level (altitude of 70~km). The enrichment of the gases and cooling are consistent with the onset of a subsidence above the South Pole during autumn, as predicted by GCMs \citep{Newman2011, Lebonnois2012a}, and inferred from previous CIRS observations at higher altitudes \citep{Teanby2012, Vinatier2015, Coustenis2016}. As Titan's atmospheric circulation transitions from two equator-to-poles cells (with upwelling above the equator and subsidence above the poles) to a single pole-to-pole cell (with a descending branch above South Pole), this subsidence drags downward photochemical species created at higher altitudes toward the lower stratosphere. \citet{Teanby2017} showed that enrichment in trace gases may be so strong that their cooling effect combined with the insolation decrease may exceed the adiabatic heating between 0.3~mbar and 10~mbar (100 - 250~km). Our observations show that this phenomena may be at play down as deep as 25~mbar.\\
We compare retrieved temperature fields with results of simulations from IPSL 3D-GCM \citep{Lebonnois2012a} with an updated radiative transfer scheme \citep{Vatantd'Ollone2017} now based on a flexible \textit{correlated-k} method and up-to-date gas spectroscopic data \citep{Rothman2013}. It does not take into account the radiative feedback of the enrichment in hazes and trace gases in the polar regions, but it nevertheless appears that there is a good agreement in terms of seasonal cycle between the model and the observations. As shown in Figure \ref{fig_var_saiso}, at 6~mbar meridional distributions and values of temperatures in the model match well the observations. It can be pointed out that in both model and observations there is a noticeable asymmetry between high southern latitudes where the temperature decreases rapidly from the equinox to winter, and high northern latitudes which evolve more slowly from winter to summer. For instance, in both CIRS data and model, between 2007 and 2013 at 6~mbar and $70^{\circ}$N the atmosphere has warmed by only about 2~K, while in the meantime at $70^{\circ}$S it has cooled by about 10-15~K. This is consistent with an increase of radiative timescales at high northern latitudes (due to lower temperatures, \citet{Achterberg2011}) which would remain cold for approximately one season even after the return of sunlight. Figure \ref{fig_map_temp_gcm70N} shows the temporal evolution of the temperature at $70^{\circ}$N over one Titan year in the lower stratosphere in the GCM simulations and also emphasizes this asymmetry between the ingress and egress of winter at high latitudes. In Figure \ref{fig_var_saiso}, at 15~mbar modeled temperatures underestimate the observations by roughly 5-10~K, certainly due to a lack of infrared coolers such as clouds condensates \citep{Jennings2015}. However, observations and simulations exhibit similar meridional temperature gradients for the three studied epochs, and similar seasonal temperature evolution. For instance, in 2016-2017 we measured a temperature gradient of -11~K between the North and South Pole, whereas GCM simulations predict a temperature gradient of -12~K. At $70^{\circ}$S, temperature decreases by 10~K between 2007 and 2016-2017 in the GCM and in our observations. Besides, at 15~mbar, the seasonal behaviour remains the same as at 6~mbar, although more damped. Indeed comparison with GCM results also supports the idea that the seasonal effects due to the variations of insolation are damped with increasing depth in the lower stratosphere and ultimately muted below 25 mbar, as displayed in Figure \ref{fig_map_temp_gcm70N}. At lower altitudes the seasonal cycle of temperature at high latitudes is even inverted with temperatures increasing in the winter and decreasing in summer. Indeed at these altitudes, due to the radiative timescales exceeding one Titan year, temperature is no more sensitive to the seasonal variations of solar forcing, but to the interplay of ascending and descending large scale vertical motions of the pole-to-pole cell, inducing respectively adiabatic heating above winter pole and cooling above summer pole, as previously discussed in \citet{Lebonnois2012a}.
Further analysis of simulations – not presented here - also show that after 2016, temperatures at high southern latitudes began to slightly increase again at 6~mbar, which is consistent with observations, whereas at 15~mbar no change in the trend is observed, certainly due to a phase shift of the seasonal cycle between the two altitudes induced by the difference of radiative timescales, which is also illustrated in Figure \ref{fig_map_temp_gcm70N}. \\
\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[width=1\columnwidth]{Map_Temperature_70N}
\caption{Seasonal evolution of Titan's lower stratospheric temperatures modeled by the IPSL 3D-GCM at 70$^{\circ}$N - between 5~mbar and 50~mbar, starting at northern spring equinox. In the pressure range probed by the CIRS far-IR observations (from 6~mbar to 25~mbar), there is a strong asymmetry between the rapid temperature changes after autumn equinox ($L_S = 180^{\circ}$) and the slow evolution of the thermal structure after spring equinox ($L_S = 0^{\circ}$). }
\label{fig_map_temp_gcm70N}
\end{figure}
We also show in Figure \ref{fig_grad_saiso_vert} that at high southern latitudes, from 6 to 10~mbar seasonal temperature variations are approximately constant with pressure and can be larger than 10~K, whereas they decrease with increasing pressure below 10~mbar. This transition at 10~mbar may be caused by the increase of radiative timescales in the lower stratosphere. \citet{Strobel2010} estimated that the radiative timescale increases from one Titan season at 6~mbar to half a Titan year at 12~mbar. It can thus be expected that this region should be a transition zone between regions of the atmosphere where the atmospheric response to the seasonal insolation variations is significant and comes with little lag, to regions of the atmosphere where they are negligible. However, this transition should be observable at other latitudes such as $45^{\circ}$S, whereas Figure \ref{fig_grad_saiso_vert} shows a seasonal gradient constant with pressure at this latitude. Furthermore, in \citet{Bezard2018}, the authors show that the method used to estimate radiative timescales in \citet{Strobel2010} tends to overestimate them, and that in their model radiative timescales are less than a Titan season down to the 35~mbar pressure level, which is more consistent with the seasonal variations measured at $45^{\circ}$S.\\
The 10~mbar transition can also be caused by the interplay between photochemical, radiative and dynamical processes at high latitudes. Indeed, as photochemical species are transported downward by the subsidence above the autumn/winter pole, build up and cool strongly the lower atmosphere, the condensation level of species such as HCN, $\mathrm{HC_3N}$, $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$ or $\mathrm{C_6H_6}$ may be shifted upward, toward the 10~mbar level. Hence, below this pressure level, the volume mixing ratios of these gases would rapidly decrease, along with their cooling effect. Many observations, especially during the Cassini mission showed that during winter and autumn, polar regions host clouds composed of ices of photochemical species. For instance, the "haystack" feature showed in Fig. \ref{fig_spec} has been studied at both poles in \citet{Coustenis1999,Jennings2012,Jennings2015}, and is attributed to a mixture of condensates, possibly of nitrile origin. Moreover, HCN ice has been measured in the southern polar cloud observed by \citet{deKok2014} with Cassini/VIMS observations. $\mathrm{C_6H_6}$ ice has also been detected by \citet{Vinatier2018} in CIRS observations of the South Pole. The condensation curve for $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$~in \citet{Barth2017} is also consistent with the formation of $\mathrm{C_4H_2}$~ice around 10~mbar with the temperatures we measured at $70^{\circ}$S in 2016. These organic ices may also have a cooling effect themselves as \citet{Bezard2018} showed that at 9~mbar, the nitrile haze measured by \citet{Anderson2011} contributes to the cooling with an intensity comparable to the contribution of gases such as $\mathrm{C_2H_2}$ and $\mathrm{C_2H_6}$. \\
\section{Conclusion}
In this paper, we analysed all the available nadir far-IR CIRS observations to measure Titan's lower stratospheric temperatures (6~mbar - 25~mbar) throughout the 13 years of the Cassini mission, from northern winter to summer solstice. In this pressure range, significant temperature changes occur from one season to another. Temperatures evolve moderately at low and mid-latitudes (less than 10~K between 6 and 15~mbar). At the equator, at 6~mbar we measure a temperature decrease mostly due to Saturn's eccentricity. Seasonal temperature changes are maximal at high latitudes, especially in the southern hemisphere where they reach up to -19~K at $70^{\circ}$S between summer (2007) and late autumn (2016) at 15~mbar. The strong seasonal evolution of high southern latitudes is due to a complex interplay between photochemistry, atmospheric dynamics with the downwelling above the autumn/winter poles, radiative processes with a large contribution of the gases transported toward the lower stratosphere, and possibly condensation due to the cold autumn polar temperatures and strong enrichments in trace gases.\\
Recent GCM simulations show a good agreement with the observed seasonal variations in this pressure range, even though these simulations do not include coupling with variations of opacity sources. In particular at high latitudes, the fast decrease of temperatures when entering winter and slower increase when getting into summer is well reproduced in these simulations.
\section*{Acknowledgements}
This research was funded by the UK Sciences and Technology Facilities Research council (grant number ST/MOO7715/1) and the Cassini project. JVO and SL acknowledge support from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). GCM simulations have been performed thanks to computation facilities provided by the Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif (GENCI) on the \textit{Occigen/CINES} cluster (allocation A0040110391).
This research made use of Astropy, a community-developed core Python package for Astronomy \citep{2013A&A...558A..33A}, and matplotlib, a Python library for publication quality graphics \citep{Hunter:2007}
\section*{Appendix. Cassini/CIRS Datasets analysed in this study} %
\onecolumn
\begin{longtable}[!h]{lcccc}
\caption{\label{table_obs}Far-IR CIRS datasets presented in this study. N stands for the number of spectra measured during the acquisition. FOV is the field of view. The asterisk denotes datasets where two different latitudes were observed. }\\
\hline
\hline
Observations & Date & N & Latitude ($^{\circ}$N) & FOV ($^{\circ}$)\\
\hline
CIRS\_00BTI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 12 Dec. 2004 & 224 & 16.4 & 20.3\\
CIRS\_003TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 15 Feb. 2005 & 180 & -18.7 & 18.5\\
CIRS\_005TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 31 Mar. 2005 & 241 & -41.1 & 25.7\\
CIRS\_005TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 01 Apr. 2005 & 240 & 47.8 & 28.5\\
CIRS\_006TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 16 Apr. 2005 & 178 & 54.7 & 29.9\\
CIRS\_009TI\_COMPMAP002\_PRIME & 06 Jun. 2005 & 184 & -89.7 & 21.1\\
CIRS\_013TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 21 Aug. 2005 & 192 & 30.1 & 15.5\\
CIRS\_013TI\_FIRNADCMP004\_PRIME & 22 Aug. 2005 & 248 & -53.7 & 25.0\\
CIRS\_017TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 28 Oct. 2005 & 119 & 20.1 & 19.8\\
CIRS\_019TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 26 Dec. 2005 & 124 & -0.0 & 17.6\\
CIRS\_020TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 14 Jan. 2006 & 107 & 19.5 & 19.7\\
CIRS\_021TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 27 Feb. 2006 & 213 & -30.2 & 22.5\\
CIRS\_022TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 18 Mar. 2006 & 401 & -0.4 & 18.4\\
CIRS\_022TI\_FIRNADCMP008\_PRIME & 19 Mar. 2006 & 83 & 25.3 & 24.1\\
CIRS\_023TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 01 May 2006 & 215 & -35.0 & 27.8\\
CIRS\_024TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 19 May 2006 & 350 & -15.5 & 21.6\\
CIRS\_025TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 02 Jul. 2006 & 307 & 25.1 & 21.7\\
CIRS\_025TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 01 Jul. 2006 & 190 & 39.7 & 25.6\\
CIRS\_028TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 07 Sep. 2006 & 350 & 29.7 & 19.7\\
CIRS\_029TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 23 Sep. 2006 & 312 & 9.5 & 19.4\\
CIRS\_030TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 10 Oct. 2006 & 340 & -59.1 & 23.4\\
CIRS\_030TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 09 Oct. 2006 & 286 & 33.9 & 19.9\\
CIRS\_031TI\_COMPMAP001\_VIMS & 25 Oct. 2006 & 160 & -14.5 & 16.3\\
CIRS\_036TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 28 Dec. 2006 & 136 & -89.1 & 12.6\\
CIRS\_036TI\_FIRNADCMP003\_PRIME & 27 Dec. 2006 & 321 & 78.6 & 21.0\\
CIRS\_037TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 12 Jan. 2007 & 161 & 75.2 & 19.1\\
CIRS\_037TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 13 Jan. 2007 & 107 & -70.3 & 20.6\\
CIRS\_038TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 28 Jan. 2007 & 254 & 86.3 & 16.7\\
CIRS\_038TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 29 Jan. 2007 & 254 & -39.7 & 22.0\\
CIRS\_039TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 22 Feb. 2007 & 23 & 69.9 & 21.2\\
CIRS\_040TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 09 Mar. 2007 & 159 & -49.2 & 21.1\\
CIRS\_040TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 10 Mar. 2007 & 109 & 88.8 & 13.3\\
CIRS\_041TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 26 Mar. 2007 & 102 & 61.2 & 19.3\\
CIRS\_042TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 10 Apr. 2007 & 103 & -60.8 & 26.0\\
CIRS\_042TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 11 Apr. 2007 & 272 & 71.5 & 22.6\\
CIRS\_043TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 26 Apr. 2007 & 263 & -51.4 & 24.7\\
CIRS\_043TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 27 Apr. 2007 & 104 & 77.1 & 20.0\\
CIRS\_044TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 13 May 2007 & 104 & -0.5 & 18.8\\
CIRS\_045TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 28 May 2007 & 231 & -22.3 & 22.6\\
CIRS\_045TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 29 May 2007 & 346 & 52.4 & 29.5\\
CIRS\_046TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 13 Jun. 2007 & 60 & 17.6 & 28.6\\
CIRS\_046TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 14 Jun. 2007 & 102 & -20.8 & 19.0\\
CIRS\_047TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 29 Jun. 2007 & 204 & 9.8 & 23.2\\
CIRS\_047TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 30 Jun. 2007 & 238 & 20.1 & 23.7\\
CIRS\_048TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 18 Jul. 2007 & 96 & -34.8 & 31.4\\
CIRS\_048TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 19 Jul. 2007 & 260 & 49.5 & 35.8\\
CIRS\_050TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 01 Oct. 2007 & 144 & -10.1 & 23.8\\
CIRS\_050TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 02 Oct. 2007 & 106 & 29.9 & 19.7\\
CIRS\_052TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 19 Nov. 2007 & 272 & 40.3 & 26.5\\
CIRS\_053TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 04 Dec. 2007 & 223 & -40.2 & 25.8\\
CIRS\_053TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 05 Dec. 2007 & 102 & 59.4 & 28.3\\
CIRS\_054TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 21 Dec. 2007 & 107 & 60.4 & 21.1\\
CIRS\_055TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 05 Jan. 2008 & 190 & 18.7 & 30.5\\
CIRS\_055TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 06 Jan. 2008 & 284 & 44.6 & 22.2\\
CIRS\_059TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 22 Feb. 2008 & 172 & -24.9 & 20.7\\
CIRS\_059TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 23 Feb. 2008 & 98 & 17.1 & 20.0\\
CIRS\_062TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 25 Mar. 2008 & 115 & 59.3 & 17.1\\
CIRS\_067TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 12 May 2008 & 286 & 29.5 & 21.0\\
CIRS\_069TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 27 May 2008 & 112 & -44.6 & 27.3\\
CIRS\_069TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 28 May 2008 & 112 & 9.5 & 19.3\\
CIRS\_093TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 20 Nov. 2008 & 161 & 43.7 & 21.1\\
CIRS\_095TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 05 Dec. 2008 & 213 & -14.0 & 20.7\\
CIRS\_097TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 20 Dec. 2008 & 231 & -10.9 & 23.7\\
CIRS\_106TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 26 Mar. 2009 & 165 & -60.3 & 19.2\\
CIRS\_107TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 27 Mar. 2009 & 164 & 33.5 & 30.4\\
CIRS\_110TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 06 May 2009 & 282 & -68.1 & 25.7\\
CIRS\_111TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 22 May 2009 & 168 & -27.1 & 23.1\\
CIRS\_112TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 06 Jun. 2009 & 218 & 48.7 & 21.0\\
CIRS\_112TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 07 Jun. 2009 & 274 & -58.9 & 20.2\\
CIRS\_114TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 09 Jul. 2009 & 164 & -71.4 & 25.4\\
CIRS\_115TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 24 Jul. 2009 & 146 & 50.7 & 20.1\\
CIRS\_119TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 12 Oct. 2009 & 166 & 0.4 & 18.3\\
CIRS\_122TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 11 Dec. 2009 & 212 & 39.8 & 24.7\\
CIRS\_123TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 28 Dec. 2009 & 186 & -46.1 & 22.3\\
CIRS\_124TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 13 Jan. 2010 & 272 & -1.2 & 19.0\\
CIRS\_125TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 28 Jan. 2010 & 156 & 39.9 & 27.5\\
CIRS\_125TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 29 Jan. 2010 & 280 & -44.9 & 27.3\\
CIRS\_129TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 05 Apr. 2010 & 119 & -45.1 & 28.2\\
CIRS\_131TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 19 May 2010 & 188 & -30.0 & 22.1\\
CIRS\_131TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 20 May 2010 & 229 & -19.8 & 21.5\\
CIRS\_132TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 05 Jun. 2010 & 167 & 49.4 & 27.4\\
CIRS\_133TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 20 Jun. 2010 & 187 & -49.7 & 36.1\\
CIRS\_134TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 06 Jul. 2010 & 251 & -10.0 & 20.0\\
CIRS\_138TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 24 Sep. 2010 & 190 & -30.1 & 21.2\\
CIRS\_139TI\_COMPMAP001\_PRIME* & 14 Oct. 2010 & 132 & -70.9 & 20.6\\
CIRS\_139TI\_COMPMAP001\_PRIME* & 14 Oct. 2010 & 108 & -53.8 & 16.7\\
CIRS\_148TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 08 May 2011 & 200 & -10.0 & 18.3\\
CIRS\_153TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 11 Sep. 2011 & 227 & 9.9 & 19.0\\
CIRS\_158TI\_FIRNADCMP501\_PRIME & 13 Dec. 2011 & 369 & -29.9 & 24.7\\
CIRS\_159TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 02 Jan. 2012 & 275 & -42.2 & 23.7\\
CIRS\_160TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 29 Jan. 2012 & 322 & -40.0 & 21.7\\
CIRS\_160TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 30 Jan. 2012 & 280 & -0.2 & 18.3\\
CIRS\_161TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 18 Feb. 2012 & 121 & 9.9 & 18.4\\
CIRS\_161TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 19 Feb. 2012 & 89 & -15.0 & 17.3\\
CIRS\_166TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 22 May 2012 & 318 & -19.9 & 19.9\\
CIRS\_167TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 07 Jun. 2012 & 293 & -45.4 & 21.7\\
CIRS\_169TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 24 Jul. 2012 & 258 & -9.7 & 20.7\\
CIRS\_172TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 26 Sep. 2012 & 282 & 44.9 & 18.5\\
CIRS\_172TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 26 Sep. 2012 & 270 & -70.4 & 23.2\\
CIRS\_174TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 13 Nov. 2012 & 298 & -71.8 & 21.8\\
CIRS\_175TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 29 Nov. 2012 & 299 & -59.9 & 19.3\\
CIRS\_185TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 05 Apr. 2013 & 244 & 15.0 & 20.1\\
CIRS\_185TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 06 Apr. 2013 & 303 & -88.9 & 16.8\\
CIRS\_190TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 23 May 2013 & 224 & -0.2 & 25.6\\
CIRS\_190TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 24 May 2013 & 298 & -45.0 & 20.0\\
CIRS\_194TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 10 Jul. 2013 & 186 & 30.0 & 19.7\\
CIRS\_195TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 25 Jul. 2013 & 186 & 19.6 & 24.5\\
CIRS\_197TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 11 Sep. 2013 & 330 & 60.5 & 19.4\\
CIRS\_198TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 13 Oct. 2013 & 187 & 88.9 & 8.7\\
CIRS\_198TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 14 Oct. 2013 & 306 & -69.8 & 24.0\\
CIRS\_199TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 30 Nov. 2013 & 329 & 68.4 & 23.9\\
CIRS\_200TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 01 Jan. 2014 & 187 & 49.9 & 19.6\\
CIRS\_200TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 02 Jan. 2014 & 210 & -59.8 & 21.3\\
CIRS\_201TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 02 Feb. 2014 & 329 & 19.9 & 26.8\\
CIRS\_201TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 03 Feb. 2014 & 234 & -39.6 & 20.9\\
CIRS\_203TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 07 Apr. 2014 & 187 & 75.0 & 18.0\\
CIRS\_203TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 07 Apr. 2014 & 239 & 0.5 & 27.5\\
CIRS\_204TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 18 May 2014 & 199 & 0.4 & 27.0\\
CIRS\_205TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 18 Jun. 2014 & 144 & -45.1 & 20.5\\
CIRS\_205TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 18 Jun. 2014 & 161 & 30.3 & 19.1\\
CIRS\_206TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 19 Jul. 2014 & 181 & -50.3 & 17.8\\
CIRS\_206TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 20 Jul. 2014 & 161 & 30.6 & 18.4\\
CIRS\_207TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 20 Aug. 2014 & 179 & -70.0 & 17.8\\
CIRS\_207TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 21 Aug. 2014 & 163 & 79.7 & 17.6\\
CIRS\_208TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 21 Sep. 2014 & 329 & -80.0 & 15.6\\
CIRS\_208TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 22 Sep. 2014 & 175 & 60.5 & 17.8\\
CIRS\_209TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 23 Oct. 2014 & 181 & -35.2 & 17.7\\
CIRS\_209TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 24 Oct. 2014 & 233 & 50.5 & 18.5\\
CIRS\_210TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 10 Dec. 2014 & 329 & -70.3 & 25.2\\
CIRS\_210TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 11 Dec. 2014 & 237 & -19.6 & 27.6\\
CIRS\_211TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 11 Jan. 2015 & 225 & 19.6 & 25.0\\
CIRS\_211TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 12 Jan. 2015 & 258 & 40.0 & 19.3\\
CIRS\_212TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 13 Feb. 2015 & 257 & -40.0 & 30.1\\
CIRS\_213TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 16 Mar. 2015 & 187 & -31.6 & 19.6\\
CIRS\_213TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 16 Mar. 2015 & 258 & 23.4 & 20.5\\
CIRS\_215TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 07 May 2015 & 250 & -50.0 & 31.0\\
CIRS\_215TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 08 May 2015 & 232 & -30.0 & 21.7\\
CIRS\_218TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 06 Jul. 2015 & 249 & -20.0 & 19.9\\
CIRS\_218TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 07 Jul. 2015 & 232 & -40.0 & 25.2\\
CIRS\_222TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 28 Sep. 2015 & 125 & 30.0 & 21.7\\
CIRS\_222TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 29 Sep. 2015 & 233 & -0.1 & 18.6\\
CIRS\_230TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 15 Jan. 2016 & 282 & -15.0 & 19.5\\
CIRS\_231TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 31 Jan. 2016 & 254 & 15.0 & 19.6\\
CIRS\_231TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 01 Feb. 2016 & 236 & 0.4 & 18.9\\
CIRS\_232TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 16 Feb. 2016 & 249 & -50.2 & 24.5\\
CIRS\_232TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 17 Feb. 2016 & 92 & -19.8 & 21.5\\
CIRS\_234TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 04 Apr. 2016 & 328 & 19.8 & 24.7\\
CIRS\_235TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 06 May 2016 & 163 & -60.0 & 19.7\\
CIRS\_235TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 07 May 2016 & 221 & 15.7 & 20.1\\
CIRS\_236TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 07 Jun. 2016 & 88 & -70.5 & 20.5\\
CIRS\_236TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 07 Jun. 2016 & 238 & 60.8 & 20.0\\
CIRS\_238TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 25 Jul. 2016 & 220 & 15.4 & 20.5\\
CIRS\_248TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 13 Nov. 2016 & 185 & -88.9 & 18.3\\
CIRS\_248TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 14 Nov. 2016 & 186 & 30.3 & 17.4\\
CIRS\_250TI\_FIRNADCMP002\_PRIME & 30 Nov. 2016 & 219 & -19.8 & 28.4\\
CIRS\_259TI\_COMPMAP001\_PIE & 01 Feb. 2017 & 302 & -69.0 & 20.6\\
CIRS\_270TI\_FIRNADCMP001\_PRIME & 21 Apr. 2017 & 166 & -74.7 & 25.4\\
CIRS\_283TI\_COMPMAP001\_PRIME* & 10 Jul. 2017 & 114 & 60.0 & 26.5\\
CIRS\_283TI\_COMPMAP001\_PRIME* & 10 Jul. 2017 & 134 & 67.5 & 24.7\\
CIRS\_287TI\_COMPMAP001\_PIE & 11 Aug. 2017 & 305 & 88.9 & 9.3\\
CIRS\_288TI\_COMPMAP002\_PIE & 11 Aug. 2017 & 269 & 66.7 & 23.7\\
CIRS\_292TI\_COMPMAP001\_PRIME & 12 Sep. 2017 & 192 & 70.4 & 19.2\\
\hline
\end{longtable}
\twocolumn
\section*{References}
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-harv}
| {
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March 30, 2018News Alert
"Frivolous" Town Complaint Results in Attorney's Fees Award for Affordable Housing Developer
Judge Finds that None of the Issues Raised by Town Were a "Close Call"
Beveridge & DiamondBrian Levey, Dylan King
The Massachusetts Land Court's recent award of attorney's fees to an affordable housing developer serves as a warning to municipalities opposed to affordable housing projects under the Massachusetts affordable housing statute, M.G.L. c. 40B. In Town of Sudbury v. Bartlett, et al., Land Court Case No. 16 MISC 000734 (2017), the Town sought to block development of property that it had sold to the developer, arguing that the parcel was subject to a deed restriction. The Land Court rejected this argument and sided with the developer in a decision on cross-motion for summary judgment. The developer filed a subsequent motion to recover attorney's fees under M.G.L. c. 231, § 6F.
The Section 6F motion required the judge to determine, in part, if the Town's claims in the underlying action were "wholly insubstantial, frivolous and not advanced in good faith." The developer claimed that "the Town advanced claims that it knew or should have known were without merit, and that it did so in an attempt . . . to use any means available to stop the G.L. c. 40B development." After reviewing the facts, Land Court Judge Howard P. Speicher made plain that he "did not find any of the… issues raised by the Town to present anything resembling a close call." When the Town argued that reference to an approved subdivision plan in the deed is tantamount to a restrictive covenant, the Judge called it a "dangerous and farfetched proposition." The Town's contention that an equitable servitude can be imposed by "circumstances to be deduced from other evidence, including statements at public hearings" met a similar fate: the Judge found that this claim is "not supported by any statutory or case law . . . [and] is antithetical to our jurisprudence . . . ."
As required for an award of attorney's fees under Chapter 231, § 6F, the Court also found that the offending party operated with an absence of good faith. Massachusetts case law supports a finding of the absence of good faith where there is evidence that municipal claims against a Chapter 40B developer are brought with the intention of delaying or preventing low or moderate incoming housing projects. Here, the Court found undisputed factual evidence in the minutes of town meetings and correspondence that the Town was aware prior to filing its complaint that the parcel was not subject to any deed restrictions or covenants. The record also demonstrated a desire by the Town to file the complaint to merely block the proposed development. At one point in the process, a member of the Board of Selectmen said to the Developer, "that type of a project will bring the riff-raff into the center of town . . . you know, riff-raff like they have in West Virginia, with people that will be working on their cars in the front yards, hanging laundry on their laundry lines, and leaving a mess outside."
Finding that the Town had run afoul of Section 6F, the Land Court ordered the Town to pay the Developer more than $75,000 for attorney's fees incurred in fighting the Town's frivolous complaint. The Town of Sudbury serves as a harsh reminder for opponents of Chapter 40B projects that legal challenges must be based on substantive issues and cannot be a mere pretext for delaying or blocking an unpopular development.
Beveridge & Diamond's Boston Office represents developers and owners of residential, commercial and industrial projects in land use and environmental permitting and litigation throughout Massachusetts. For more information please contact Brian Levey or Dylan King. | {
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User freindly and intuitive staffing calendars are the core of MicroStaffer's scheduling component.
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Text messaing of sheduling chagnes and confirmations.
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Memories of Moruya Show
by Shirley Jurmann
Yes, I'm talking about the MORUYA Show, not the Eurobodalla Show.
The Agricultural and Pastoral Society was first formed in 1869. Soon the Show became an event eagerly looked forward to by children and adults alike. In 1890 an area on the river bank near where the Bowling Green and Tennis Courts now are, was set aside for a showground. The Show soon outgrew the land available there and the showground was relocated to its present site in Moruya Park.
My family has been associated with the Moruya Show for at least a century. My grandfather Sid Louttit won prizes for his cattle and horses.
My grandmother May Louttit won prizes for cooking and flowers. In their youth my aunt Minnie Louttit and my father Roly Louttit won prizes for riding in ring events. Dad's room at "Braemar" was decorated with his many ribbons.
Abe Louttit was made a Life Member of the Show in the 1950s along with Mrs Moffatt, Ilma Walter, Leila Campbell nee Luck and Pat Donnelly.
My first visit to the Show was made at a very early age. Note how everybody got dressed up in those days. Ladies always wore a hat. I wore my best hand-knitted layette!
When I was a child THE SHOW was one of the major events of the year. We had a holiday from school on the Friday. My parents were keen exhibitors. Dad had prize chooks and grew many and varied vegetables and flowers. Mum exhibited cooking and fancy work. In the weeks leading up to the show special chooks would be brought inside and frequently handled to get them used to being examined at the show. In the garden precious flowers would be shielded from the sun and rain by an umbrella. In the days before the show Mum would be busy with her cooking. Sponge cakes, fruit cakes, rainbow cakes, caramel cakes, sultana cakes would appear. Dad would be occupied washing and grooming his chooks. White ones were given a blue rinse to make them "whiter than white"!
The first morning of the show was hectic. All the exhibits were given the last minute tweaking. I was occupied too. I belonged to the Junior Farmers which had a special section. I entered in things like saucer posy ( a saucer of damp sand with flowers and leaves arranged to make it look like a posy), plate garden (a large plate filled with damp sand and twigs, small flowers, bits of mirrors for ponds, model houses etc. arranged to resemble a garden), flower arrangements. When all the things were ready it would be into the car and off to put in our entries.
Leila Campbell was the chief stewardess in the main pavilion. She did not put up with any nonsense from anyone. Entries in, it was home while the judging took place. I usually had a new dress for the show made by my mother. One year it looked as though the new dress would not eventuate. When we got home I sighed, wishing I had the new dress. Mum said, "Let's look in the cupboard and see what we've got." She found a pretty piece of fabric with a small floral print. She went to work and in a few hours produced a new dress. It was not well finished off on the inside but looked great on the outside and that's what counted!
Then it was back in the afternoon to check out what prizes had been won. Mum, Dad and I would rush to our individual sections to see the results. There would be joy or disappointment. Then we would go to see Mum's results. She usually won many prizes. One time we were standing near her prize iced sponge cake. Mum's icing was passionfruit. An old man was not impressed with the judge's choice! "Look at that cake", he said. "It looks like a dirty great magpie shat all over it!" We learnt later that his wife's cake got second! The cakes were on display in cages with wire netting around them. At the end of the show people would be dying to buy the prize winning cakes. Mum was always happy to get rid of them. After two days in the open with people breathing all over them they were stale. Next it would be on to the chook pavilion to check out Dad's results. His failures would be likely to end up as next Sunday's dinner! We didn't stay long in this pavilion as the smell was horrible.
The side shows and rides were more basic than nowadays. There was usually a merry-go-round, a stall selling fairy floss, freshly made as you watched, no pre-packaged gaudy stuff, little celluloid dolls with tulle skirts on sticks, a boxing tent where young men were encouraged into the ring with some pretty tough customers. There were no show-bags. I remember going to the Sydney Show one year and being very impressed with these.
A must was a visit to have afternoon tea in the supper room. Generous plates of sandwiches and homemade cakes were served. The cakes were great but the sandwiches were often ham with hot English mustard or chicken minced with the filling which tasted strongly of thyme. Neither of these was appealing to children. The men preferred the bar which sold mainly beer.
My friends and I spent a lot of time in the grandstand watching the ring events. My cousin had a crush on one of the young male riders so we had to watch every event he was in! Later my brother and his friends were in a lot of these events.
Some of our favourites to watch in the ring were Neale Lavis and his brother Garth, Ruth Emery, Colin Rogers, Carmel and Madge Cochrane, Rose Davidge and Cath Carden. Neale went on to represent Australia in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He won a silver medal in his individual event on "Mirrabooka" and the Australian team won a gold in a Three Day Equestrian event. Mirrabooka Ave up beside the Air Raid Tavern in Moruya is named after Neale's horse.
A few years ago I visited the Show with some grandchildren after about a fifty year gap. There were some disappointments. I couldn't believe how the pavilions and supper room had shrunk from what I remembered them! There were not nearly the number of exhibits.
I have returned several times since and there seems to be a renewed interest developing. This is most probably due to the enthusiasm of the committee members. I was pleased to see a section for children. There was even a prize for a garden in a baking dish – not quite the old plate garden but close. The quilt section and photography section were most impressive at the 2014 show.
sumu52
Feature2, General, Moruya District, People, Stories & Announcments | {
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According to MoonScript.org, MoonScript is a dynamic scripting language that compiles into Lua. What is Lua? Lua is a powerful, efficient, lightweight, embeddable scripting language. It supports procedural programming, object-oriented programming, functional programming, data-driven programming, and data description.
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From our beginnings in 2003, the 4Sight Group has built a business based on meeting our clients' rapidly increasing needs for IT. We build and maintain highly efficient, fully integrated systems for our clients, regardless of the type of installations they have. We also improve clients' present systems' performance and flexibility, often at significant savings. | {
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4 Nights with Air from $939 calculating price... – All-Inclusive Hotel with Air Best Rate Guaranteed The dates you have selected are not available.
648 out of 955 (68%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Very Nice. Jackie are maid was wonderful. Our room was great. Had to wait for a hour to get the room we booked. But, they pulled thru. Food very good and ate at market place every night. Breakfast also. Water v beautiful. Bahamar was pretty especially at night. And I hope Melia gives us some thought about a gift card to come again. My husband and I have been there several times. Would love a discount rate? Thanks for a great time.
My first time to the Bahamas and boy did I have the time of my life. The hotel was gorgeous, the staff was friendly and extremely accommodating and the beach was absolutely breathtaking. I absolutely would recommend Melia to family and friends. It is a must!
The beach was nice, pools were nice. Everything is contained. Everything needs updating but it's ok. The hot tub jets didn't work. The buffet was the worst of the dining options. The restaurants were great but getting a reservation was time consuming and annoying (I waited in line for an hour one morning). The minifridge in your room doesn't have much at all. Crystall was an amazing server at the O Grill. So informative, sweet and accommodating. The service elsewhere wasn't good.
Ask a question about Melia Nassau Beach All Inclusive or help someone else answer theirs.
I would suggest you keep an eye out for new specials in early to mid Fall for travel dates in late February.
Yes! As long as you are ok with house-brand alcohol (house wine, etc). Only one drink per person at a time will be served; you can't order multiple drinks for other people (understandably)! No bottles of wine or champagne. Mixed drinks are always made with house liquor unless otherwise requested, and you will be charged for higher-grade alcohol, but the regular drinks are plenty strong and there is no limit to how many you can order, so enjoy!
Yes most of the alcoholic drinks were included in the all inclusive. But high end top shelf is extra.
All of the room categories Cheap Caribbean offers accommodate up to 4 people maximum. This is set by the resort for fire safety reasons, so for 5 people you would have to book 2 rooms.
I had a room with a single king bed, so it could accomodate 3 people at the most.
The resort does not specify which brands of beer are offered at their property, however, most resorts do offer American brand beers.
no. one local beer in can and one on draft. tasty and strong.
The description reads as this: This resort is All-Inclusive. Features include: Breakfast/Lunch at Bimini Market All alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages Non-motorized water sports presented by Aquamarine Water Sports (excluding Hobie Cats) State-of-the-art fitness center Taxes, gratuities and resort fees Is it only breakfast and lunch included? I would hope dinner is also included as well. Can someone confirm?
Dinner is included! We have corrected the omission. Thank you!
Yes, you get 2 nights in the restaurant (Italian). And all the other nights we did Bimini market which is buffet.
Hello---we just got back from an "all inclusive" vacation at the Sheraton. The all inclusive option was definitely the way to go for us! Dinner was also included...and it was wonderful! We ate one night at the Amici resturant...had our other meals at the Bimini Market and the Dolphin Grill. The only things that were not included were things like premium liquors (but their list of "included" liquors was fine)...and you could order a glass of wine...but not a whole bottle to have at your table. The front desk gave us a guide as to what you could and could not do---it was not restrictive at all. We ate like kings! :) Hope this info helps...have fun!
yes. it is all meals. there isn't a big selection of restaurants. The Market (buffet) serves all three meals only closing 11-12 to change to lunch and 5-6 to change to dinner. very large selection of tasty food. Aqua (fancier restaurant) had a delicious menu but is only open for dinner opening at 6pm. The Grill (outside by pool) is only open for lunch 11-5. so you are somewhat limited.
Is the straw market in walking distance from Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort? Are there other resorts in walking distance? Does Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort have a "not all inclusive" plan?
The Sheraton Nassau appears as 2 separate resorts on our website - one reflects the all inclusive option and the other reflects the non all inclusive option. For specific questions regarding the walking distance from the resort to the straw market, we do suggest contacting the resort directly as they would be best to assist you. The email address found directly on the resort's website (https://deals.sheraton.com/Sheraton-Cable-Beach-Nassau-Hotel-3067/so.htm%20?PS=PS_aa_South_Google_sheraton_nassau_Exact_101211_NAD_FM) is info_sheratonnassaubeach@sheraton.com.
The straw Market is about 3 or 4 miles away. Transportation is great though, anytime you walk out of the hotel there is a bus within seconds. It only costs a $1.25 per person.
There is a straw market right across the road from the Sheraton. We went to this one as well as the one in downtown Nassau---and we liked the smaller one much better! The vendors got pretty pushy in the town...the people across the street were much more laid back. I would recommend Finding a booth run by Lisa WIlliams---she makes beautiful jewelry using local materials---shells, etc. Beautiful stuff! We went there a couple times and bought pretty earrings. I think the banner read "Irene's Gems" or somethng like that?? Also----the local buses will take you anywhere you need to go for $1.25. It picked us up right in front of the hotel. Very handy way to get around!! Ask the tour guide folks in the hotel lobby---they had all the details.
no. catch the #10 bus out front for $1.25. takes 10 minutes to get to but watch the time. the buses don't run late and they you have to take a cab back. could cost you 25.00.
There isn't much to see except little fish at the hotel snorkel spot, but the snorkel tours are not very expensive. We took one with Stuart Cove's and it was about $70 pp for 3-4 hours, three snorkel sites, including one with sharks!
The kids club only goes up to age 12 but there are several nearby excursions and attractions. For more information about a resort to meet your specific needs please call our beach experts at 1-800-915-2322.
my kids were 19, 17 and 13. we traveled with large family group so they had eachother. but the 19 and 20 year olds meet a large group on the beach. played volley ball all day and hung out each night. the 13 year old also meet a boy in the pool. but it is up to them to approach kids. no real clubs or activities for kids. and YOUR 18 and 19 year old are legal to drink in the Bahamas. good luck.
2 out of 4 days were high 70's. Other two days were windy and maybe mid-high 60's. Still able to be outside and enjoy the Sun. Were in the hot tub those days.
My boyfriend and I recently booked a 2 week stay at this resort. We chose this resort based on the professional photos, fairly decent reviews, star rating and the price. I`ve noticed lately that the reviews for this resort on tripadvisor.ca keep going down and previous customers seem to have a lot of negative things to say. Our vacation is booked for mid February. I`m starting to worry that we made the wrong decision in choosing this resort. Can any recent visitors comment, I see the last review on this site was from several months ago. Thanks!
Trip Advisor reviews can be posted by anyone, even a rival resort. Please contact the beach experts at 800-915-2322 for more information about the reviews on this website.
We just came back from 7 day stay. We loved it. It was clean and not too many people there, we relaxed. Very quiet. If you don't like your room, ask for an upgrade. The staff is new, and a little slow so don't expect anything else. Very serious and proper. We toured Atlantis one day and were very glad we chose Melia. Food was really good. Go to restaurant too, don't get the Nero Arawanni though, yuk...squid ink and pasta. LOL We did.
you will be fine. I was worried to after reading reviews. there were some cons but no big deal. the food was good, the weather great, beautiful beaches, the rooms clean and nicely done. the big negative is staff is slow. which is most islands and most all inclusives. (they are not working for tips). you can try throwing a few dollars around so they take care of you.
It does not appear that we offer a zip lining excursion in this area. However, most resorts throughout the Caribbean and Mexico do have various tour companies on-site which offer excursions.
Please contact the beach experts at 800-915-2322 for information on first class airfare as part of the package.
you can upgrade at the airport if seats are available.
Most all inclusive packages include non motorized water sports, but for the most up to date information, please contact the resort directly at (1) 242 3276000.
only included water sports are paddleboard, kayak, and snorkeling...everything else is out of pocket.
they offer free snorkel equipment but do not have enough stock so they run out every day. bring your own even if it is a cheap set from Wal-Mart! but a must to see. they have kayaks as well. not big selection.
Most resorts throughout the Caribbean and Mexico do offer nightly entertainment, however, it is subject to change depending upon the resort's current availability. For further information regarding this inquiry, we do suggest contacting the resort directly as they would be best to assist. The email address from the resort's website to contact them directly is melia.nassau.beach@melia.com.
Kind of. There is an outside move one night, singer in lounge one night, some music...... that was about all when we were there for 5 nights.
it is very dark and quiet at night. they had entertainment one night. an acrobatic show where they drag some guests up but that is it. there is no dancing/disco. the outside bar closes at 11pm and the inside one closes at 1am (tiny outside of starbucks). there are no round tables or chairs do you can't even sit outside and play cards. we actually dragged tables and chairs under a lamp post from the Grill (it closed at 6pm) to sit around one night. take the #10 bus out front into town. go to Senor Frogs and Fat Tuesdays. so much fun. but buses don't run late so expect a 25.00 taxi ride back.
do all rooms have a balcony ?
According to the descriptions, rooms have a private balcony or patio.
Yes every room has a balcony. You do not have to pay extra for this like you would if you were taking a cruise.
Is there a shuttle? Also if available what is the price?
This resort does not offer a shuttle to take guests from the airport to the resort, but when booking through CheapCaribbean.com we would be more than happy to assist you with arrange transportation, the currect price per person round trip is $33.60.
WE used mystic tours. we had a group of 30 people. we got our own private bus at a cost of 24.00 per person. fairly new, good shape and air-conditioned. it is better to arrange yourself. travel agents and hotel charge more. NEGOTIATE!
The all inclusive option at this resort includes •Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks •All alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages •Taxes, gratuities and resort fees If Corona or Heineken are served at this resort then they will most likely be included in the all inclusive price.
No, only the local Bahamian beers are included. Also no top shelf liquor, it costs extra.
no. only beer was a draft and a can from the island. keg was down but the can was not bad. strong. stay away from the wine. and you can order an alcoholic drink (daiquiri or bahama mama) and ask for a floater (extra shot on top). very strong.
There are smoking only floors. Every room has a balcony which was used by the smoking guest to smoke.
For specific information on their non-smoking policy please contact the resort directly, their email address is: melia.nassau.beach@melia.com.
Is it possible to book with you when travelling from the u.k.
Our website bases all available vacation packages coming from the mainland United States. If you wish to price out a possible package traveling from the U.K., you may speak to one of our Beach Experts at 1.800.915.2322 to see what options, if any, are available for you.
For specific dietary restricitions please contact the resort directly, their email address is: melia.nassau.beach@melia.com.
There were lots of protein choices and fruits and veggies at every meal. You'd probably be OK, but you might get a little bored if you were there very long. Aqua, their fine dining restaurant has steak, chicken, lamb and a risotto. They were able to handle a very large Kosher group so would imagine you would find plenty to eat as well. They even created separate kitchens for this particular group. Breakfast has all kinds of options including eggs your way every morning. They were happy to handle my requests to mix and match items that they had on the menu.
not sure but the selection is great. my son is a strict vegetarian and they had so many choices. there are a lot of meat, seafood, vegetable choices. I am sure you will be fine. but I doubt you are going to get someone to tell you the ingredients if you have questions.
Is this resort entirely non smoking?
The resort allows smoking outside only. There is no smoking allowed inside and in the outside dining areas. However, everywhere else on the resort (beach, poolside, bar, etc.) smoking is allowed.
I saw people smoking all over the outside. they offer ash trays at the pool bar. guests smoked on beach and at pools. one guest smoked a cigar in the pool at the swim up bar. just not inside..
Within two weeks from your return from vacation you will receive an email from CheapCaribbean.com asking you if you would like to review the resort you stayed at. All you have to do is reply to that email.
No plus they are rude there anyways!
Any additional tips for the waitstaff/bar tenders would be at your discretion.
It's up to you. A 15% gratuity is included, but if you feel your services was better than that than I would tip. They remember you when you tip and tend to go above and beyond, but it is not a requirement.
you don't have to tip them. there's already 15% gratuity included in every single check whether you order water or a huge meal. we tipped a few bartenders because i'd seen in another review that they'll give you faster service if you do buuuuut i don't think that works. our service was no better or worse after tipping.
They add 15% on everything. I would only tip if you felt the service was exceptional.
you are not suppose to tip but they expect it. especially bar tenders. do not over tip first night thinking they will take care of you the rest of your stay because they change for every shift. I never saw same twice. just dangle a dollar and they will come running. other wise, expect to wait 5-10 minutes! order multiple drinks at one time. they say you can't at check in but you can order multiples! and bring a large cup from home. they offer small plastic cups. dump two drinks into your own cup and save a few trips! my niece left her wallet at the dinner table outside at the grill. when she went to retrieve it, a guest had turned it into the server. the server turned around and stated that she deserved a reward! for doing the right thing!
Dress code at this resort is considered casual. I would recommend that men bring at least one pair of long pants, and women typically wear sundresses, etc.
No dress code when we were there. My husband wore long shorts and I wore a sun dress.
We were told that at the Aqua (fancier restaurant) that you could not come in beach ware (shorts or flip flops). While we were dressed up, others were not and were not denied access. Sun dress for women and pants for men are fine. no suits or cocktail dresses needed. even sneakers are fine! At the Market (buffet) just shoes and shirts are required. It is a good buffet. More items then I see at most and ate there for most meals. You just can't pick your own table. they had to seat you even if it was empty. they would make you get up and come to the front and then put you at a different table even if NO ONE was in the entire restaurant. very annoying.
For information about restaurants outside of the resort please contact the resort directly. The resorts email address is: melia.nassau.beach@melia.com. Thank you!
Unfortunately no. But there is a really good restaurant called The Fish Fry not too far which you can get to by taxi or by public transportation. The public bus stops right in front of the hotel and only costs $1.25 per person. Safe, secure, and quick.
Room service is available at an additional cost, however it may not be available 24 hours a day and it may not be the full menu. For more details on room service please contact the resort directly. Their email address is melia.nassau.beach@melia.com. Thank you!
We offer lots of snorkeling excursions for this area! For further details, please call one of our Beach Experts at 1.800.915.2322.
We did not snorkel at Melia, but did on our excursion to Rose Island and it was great!
There are break waters on the outer portions of the beach area. I thought they were awesome for snorkeling. There are plenty of fish and the coral is ok.
The snorkeling at Melia is fantastic. They have several reefs with in a close swim. YOU MUST BRING YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT. We brought our own because I had heard of the free rentals but they do not have much and run out. This was true for the rest of my group. They tried everyday and they would be out of masks. The water was clear every day but one. It was a bit murky because of some rain and boating. But we did see three octopus, sting ray, and many different kinds of fish. good luck.
For information about nearby casinos please contact the resort directly, their email address is: melia.nassau.beach@melia.com. Thank you!
The casino is inside the hotel, just down the hallway from the lobby.
If you wanted to upgrade to a one-bedroom suite that is something that you would have to ask about when you check in at the resort, we do not offer that room category. Thank you!
In order to book that far ahead of time you must contact our Sales Department directly. Due to contracts with the resorts they may not have availability until the contract is renewed. Contact our Sales department after January of 2015 and a Sales agent can assist.
If you are having trouble navigating the website please contact our Sales Department at 1-800-915-2322. Follow the prompt to new reservations and a Sales agent will assist you.
This resort has a wide variety of dinning options, which change on a daily basis. Majority of resorts do offer gluten free options. For more information please contact the resort directly.
I have a peanut allergy and they accommodated well. As for gluten free, check with the hostess and they will find out for you at each restaurant and will check for you.
Can I use my chargers there for phones and tablets?
Yes, they have us outlets.
Melia Nassau is a resort I'm pondering on. I noted in the reviews that some renovations were being undertaken last fall. Are those now completed? Are the new restaurants and spa now open?
Renovations are currently complete and the resort is now fully functional. There may be construction on the new property next door.
Breakfast Lunch and dinner 3 restaurant for fine dining Mexican is one. Italian and hibachi Asian grill. The Steakhouse IS NOT included. Starbucks here but not included. *note fine dining you have to make reservations for.
Many reviews state hidden fees at arrival ($200). If there are hidden fees is cheap caribbean held accountable to reimburse us ?
There are no hidden fees that we are aware of. All taxes and gratuities are paid up front through the package price. Keep in mind the resort may hold a certain amount on your credit card for incidentals or have surcharges for top shelf liquor/premium cuts/seafood. This is no different than any other all inclusive.
We just got back and did not have any fees except for food items, which were clearly stated "not included" (there were only a couple of them). It is your job to find about hidden fees before you go, so I would think that Cheap Caribbean is not responsible unless the fee is charged by Cheap Caribbean. The only thing I can think of that was $200 is if you lose your all-inclusive bracelet. To replace it, it was $200. That is because if someone picks it up, they can come and use the facility free of charge, which can cost the hotel a lot of money. But they don't charge that unless you lose it.
Some drinks and some meal choices are extra but you are told and the menu shows it.
Holding $100 on my cc $200 if you loose your wristband. The Steakhouse restaurant is not included in the package.
A crib can be requested; it would be based on availability just like any other request.
We will be in Virginia for our wedding, then plan on honeymooning in the Bahamas before flying home to Denver.
Yes, we can book a package for you with a return destination different from your departure. Please contact a sales agent at 800-915-2322 for pricing.
Yes, flights are now based on one way fares, no longer round trip.
Yes beach towels are available at no additional fee.
Yes. The hotel gives you Towel cards. 1 per person. Don't lose them or they charge you $30.00. for a new one.
Yes...you will receive a towel card.
with the all-inclusive the towels r free and u can exchange them all day.
Yes. Free. They gave us a towel card at check in but never had to use it.
Are there any Casinos nearby and, if so, what are the best ones to visit?
The closest casino is at the near by Wyndham Nassau Resort. It is a short walk from Melia.
We were told the new casino, which is across the street from the Melia was opening on May 27th. It didn't open. That leaves only one casino at the Atlantis. You have to take a cab. There were 4 of us so that cost $27.00 one was plus tip. Since there wasn't much night life we went 3 times. I wish the Wyndham had stayed open.
There are no casinos on this property, but there is one nearby, please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding location. Their international phone number is: 242-327-6000.
No. The only casino as of July is on Paradise Island. We took a cab over to gamble. Cost about $35 for a group of 5 people.
Yes. On Paraside Island in the Atlantis.
We are big STICKLERS on the rooms, bed and bathroom. Are the beds from, are the rooms updated. Can't really tell by the pictures posted by the site.
The pillows were marvelous but the beds felt like a futon turned sideways. As if there was a pole down the middle. Rooms weren't spectacular but we weren't in them that much. Most of the rooms had chairs on the balcony. Ours didn't. We asked for them but we didn't get them. We gave up.
The room we stayed in was updated. Nothing fancy, which did not matter as we were only there to shower and sleep. Bed is firm, a little more so than I expected after hotels in U.S. But not uncomfortable. Bathroom was minimal but clean and updated.
We've been in two rooms only because we didn't like the room on 1st floor. DON'T TAKE A ROOM.ON THE 1ST FLOOR!!! The rooms was ok I wasn't nervous about getting in the bed and sleeping well. The bathrooms we're Okay. Bring your own towels option ... Beds sit low.... Bring shower shoes. Bring house slippers.
Let Melia Nassau be the location of your dream wedding. With dedicated wedding planners on site, your day is set to be perfect. Please contact the front desk for more information and visit https://www.melia.com/en/hotels/bahamas/nassau/melia-nassau-beach/weddings-and-banquets.html for more information.
I asked if the resorted catered for wedding events. I was told they do accommodate for such events. I did not witness any while I was there. I did not see any fancy or elegant areas that would be designed for weddings except for a gazebo style balcony overlooking the resort pools and beach. The beach is amazing, white sand and crystal clear water which can create a beautiful wedding scenery. Check out Excellence Punta Cana, Dominican Republic that would be a good choice, it really does live up to it's name "EXCELLENCE".
There was a wedding on the beach while we were here. They had a decorated arbor and white chairs they set up for the service. They probably had around 20 people attending.
My son is 2 years old. Is there a charge for him?
For exact pricing, please call one of our Beach Experts at 1.800.915.2322. Our offices are open from 5:00 AM to 3:00 AM EST daily for your convenience.
Please call one of our Beach Experts at 1.800.915.2322 for detailed knowledge from our agents who have hands-on experience with our properties. We can offer pricing on available excursions as well.
We offer the Barefoot Sailing Adventure (Full Day) excursion for $158.00 per person. Please be advised this price is subject to change until booked.
We went on a private boat tour/snorkel, but the boat was parked at the beach hotel. We went for an hour and half and it was $50.00 per person. I think you can bargain if it is a slow time.
Wireless high speed Internet access is available in the lobby and wired high speed Internet access is available(may be an additional charge) in the guest rooms. For more information please contact the resort directly.
Yes it has free wifi...and it works great!
They have a few Palapas (the small huts) on the beach. Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding them. Their international phone number is: 242-327-6000.
No, they don't rent umbrellas on the beach. It is first come first serve. And, there aren't many umbrellas to be had (think there were 6). People were getting to the beach like 7 am to claim umbrellas. And, no there isn't much shade at all.
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding dessert selection. Their international phone number is: 242-327-6000.
Yes They had chocolate and strawberry during our stay.
Yes in the buffet, soft serve, but not self serve.
The buffet has ice cream. Some nights it was regular, packed in a cup and it got chalky-like. Other nights it was soft served dispenser, but regular ice cream that the machine dispenses...really good this way.
I saw a place in San Lucas around the shopping area which said Casino, but did not go in to see what it was like.
Yes, Atlantis. That's about a 15 minute ride from the hotel.
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding safety deposit boxes/safes. Their international phone number is: 242-327-6000.
Yes there are safes and they are free. Just put in your 4 digit pin then press close, then open it and you are all set!
Yes, there are safes located inside the wardrobe closets.
Absolutely not, the price jumps up significantly as a single.
The pool is still usable. You would simply have to pay for food and drinks out of pocket.
No. You have different options.
No, All inclusive is not mandatory at this resort.
They have a day pass you can buy if you aren't staying at the hotel for like ~$30 a day to have access to towels/pool/beach area. If you are booking a room there and opt out of the all-inclusive, you can still use everything. Just have to pay for drinks/food.
Melia Nassau Beach Resort is located on a 1,000-ft stretch of spectacular white-sand at Cable Beach. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
Yes, It is.. Very Nice beach.
Yes, it is right on the beach. A short walk past the pool and you are there!
The drinking age in the Bahamas is 18.
You have to be 17.
18. But this hotel and the people are the worst!! They are soooo rude, unfriendly and unhelpful!! From r the price is not worth it!!
Hello, I see that the restaurants require reservations. Is that something we need to do in advance or can we do same day reservations while we are at the resort?
Only specialty restaurants require reservations and I believe you can only make them while you are there. I would recommend setting your reservations the very first day; the spots fill up pretty quick.
You can book the reservations at the time of check in at the resort, if there is a certain restaurant or a large group then you can try to put in reservations before you leave.
Only 2 (steak house & asian restaurant)of them did. I never made reservations, you can just walk in and be seated from 5pm to 10pm at the others.
The restaurants no longer require reservations, except Black Angus (not included with the All-Inclusive package), and NIKKEI (Hibachi portion). They are first come first served now, which is a pain. However, you can make a reservation daily, if you physically go to the restaurant when they first open. The buffets are easy to get into, usually a very short wait.
Hi, is there a golf course at the resort or nearby, and are there any discounts for resort guests?
Currently there are no golf specials available at this resort.
The brand new $3.5 Billion Baha Mar resort is right next door to the Melia. It is a Jack Nicklaus designed course, but it wasn't open yet. Our tour guide said it was 97% finished though, it looked challenging and gorgeous.
There is not a golf course at the resort. Not sure about surrounding area as we did not look into it.
Not in our room or any other room that I know of.
There is no iPod docks in the rooms.
No iPod docks in the room. Bring a Bluetooth speaker.
Unfortunately, we are not contracted to sell those room categories.
Yes you can, they are pricy. The main differences are that you will be given a second option for breakfast- at the grille restaurant opposed to only being able to eat breakfast at the Buffet which isn't fantastic and you will have access to a small beach area for "level" guests only. Bear in mind you need to "secure" your beach spot early, like the night before by leaving towels and personal items on the chairs you wish to use or you may not have any place to site on the beach. Same goes for the standard beach side as well.
Towards the end of the booking on the site, there are a few transportation options. We went with the bus option. It it very reliable, and the bus/van (depending on the number of people needing transportation) is air conditioned. The company the work with is Majestic Tours.
I know these packages are based on double occupancy. I was wondering if it is possible to stay in the room alone because I would like to travel by myself, and if so, how much is the supplemental charge. Thank you!
I Club level worth the upgrade? what is included?
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding Club level. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
No.this place overall is not worth it!!!
Not worth it because the service, the people are soooo rude! Worst vacation ever!
Don't stay here. Worst place ever. The people are rude and grumpy!! Not worth the money!
Hello, Let Melia Nassau be the location of your dream wedding. With dedicated wedding planners on site, your day is set to be perfect. Please contact the front desk for more information.
Let Melia Nassau be the location of your dream wedding. With dedicated wedding planners on site, your day is set to be perfect. Please contact the front desk for more information.
Don't stay here. The people here are the worst! They are very rude and not friendly at all! They always have a long face for everything!!! Worst experience ever!
Does each room come with a mini bar?
There were a couple of beers in the refrigerator.
Yes, but you have to request it to be stocked. They will bring it to you with in minutes.
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding mini bars within the room.
We do not currently offer The Level at this property, you can certainly inquire upgrading at the resort upon check-in. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
we did not have the level but found no problem with seating. make reservation early.
Not sure if you can but honestly not worth it!! We say right beside it and the only difference is the more comfy beach chair that is only seperates by a rope in the sand!
No, there is no additional charge to kayak or paddle board. Sailing however is not included in the package.
Kayaks and paddle boards are free. Sailing will cost extra.
Kayaks and paddle boards are included, along with snorkeling gear and water bikes.
Should I bring beach towels? or will they be provided for free?
Most resorts do offer towels. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
You receive a towel card that you use to rent a fresh towel whenever you need one. You exchange the card for a towel at the hut, and when you need a new one, just return there.
Towels are provided, no need to bring your own.
For every person on the reservation you get a towel card. You turn in the card and get a towel, you can change them as many times as you want. If you lose the card and want another it is $30. BUT the towels in the room are huge bath sheets so you can use those as well!
They give you a towel card so you can rent out one towel per guest. Return the towel for a new one or to get your card back.
Hard question to answer without knowing where you are coming from.
I am traveling with my mother in law, husband and kids. We would like a private room for grandma and kids.
We do not offer any rooms with a two bedroom suite.
No. You have to get a second room for them. This hotel is the worst by the way. The people are soooo rude, unfriendly and unhelpful! I would not recommend this place for the price stay somewhere else!! Worst place and experience ever!!!
I've read about a premium drink upgrade that allows you to get mid and top shelf liquor with the all inclusive package, however I cannot find where to inquire about this package, is it possible?
Please contact the resort directly to clarify or contact our customer service representatives directly at 1-800-915-2322 and they will contact the resort directly for you. They are available daily from 5AM-3AM EST.
Try calling the resort directly we we were not provided that option.
The Level package allows you premium liquor choices and a roped off beach section and priority seating for restaurants. Go online and read about it. It's an upgrade, check under rooms.
What is your policy(s) on smoking?
I'm a smoker, no smoking rooms, but u may smoke any where that is outside like pool bar wet bar beach, smoke outside your patio make sure the smoke don't go in the room. Cleaning staff might tell on you.
It is a nonsmoking resort. But you have a balcony and can smoke at bars and other outside areas.
This place is not worth it. Was traveling with my 2 kids(3 and 18). We asked for a pulled out couch and never got one. After asking like 3 times we gave up!! Worst place ever: Service, people, room, food!!
Standard rooms are small, so a pull out will make it tight, but you have to reserve ahead of time.
The non-motorized water sports are included, bu the guys on the beach make sure to mention that tips are included. Very fun equipment use though!
Most water sports are included. Jet skis are one of the extras.
Any motorized water sports where an extra charge. For a jet ski, I want to say it was $125.00 for 45min and $150 for an hour. Otherwise, paddle boarding, kayaking, and snorkeling were included and you have to reserve a time for those.
Was reading the reviews and came across this one "We soon became aware that there were different levels of customers with blue, yellow and black wrist bands and all minors wearing red. We were at the bottom with blue wrist bands. Now when we enquired about the difference we were told the yellow bands gives you a better room, better service and a private bar area with top shelf liquor and lounge as well as a private sitting area on the beach." Can you please advise on this in further detail regarding the wristbands? Thanks!
There are only 3 wristbands, one for everyone else over 18 and the other for the Level guests who do pay a premium. You can read about the level service on line. Under 18 have another color so they can't be served alcohol.
there is a service level called "Level" that gets you top shelf call labels for liquor, a private beach area with some 5 sided shade pulls (like a cabana), and a private breakfast grill serving dining area right on the beach.
Room details show option for king bed or two standard beds, but doesn't have anywhere during booking to specify which you want.
You can certainly put in a request, please be advised requests are not guaranteed and they are based on availability at time of check in. If you have any further questions or need help booking, please call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
When reserving our trip I entered in the comments '1 king bed'. Upon arrival to the resort they could see it on their end and granted the request.
Don't bother with this hotel! Worst person, customer service ever!! They are soooo rude and unfriendly! For the cost is not worth it!
We were asked what we wanted in bed size checking in.
You specify your preference when you are checking in. We arrived at on a Tuesday and had no issues with getting a King bed.
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding nightly entertainment/daily activities. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
Bingo and a DJ during the day.
Yes. When you arrive, you are given an event schedule. They have things such as live bands, Zumba classes, trivia, jewelry making, etc. When I went there originally they did not do this. I thought it was a great addition.
Always music by the bar/middle pool. Upon arrival you get an activity calendar that shows different entertainment options throughout the week.
No Casino at the moment but the Resort is renovating a existing Casino to be back in business soon.
No Atlantis has one that I know of..
They do not, but Atlantis has one and you can easily take a taxi there.
Are you able to book any excursions at the hotel?
There may be a representative there, if you would like to book for an excursion ahead of time, or If you need any help booking, please call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
Yes. You can book these at the concierge desk, although some require advance notice. I would say figure out what you want to do and then check their websites to see if you need to book before you leave for your trip. I recommend the Bubble Subs and the Sunset Dinner Cruise!
Yes! There is an excellent tour desk with multiple brochures and they set up the timing and transportation for you.
Yes, the ladies at the hotel information desk are wonderful, and will handle all of that for you!
The legal gambling age in The Bahamas is 18 years old.
Unfortunately, we do not sell the Atlantis resorts as they do not allow outside companies to sell rooms for them. This is something for which you would need to reach out to Atlantis resorts directly.
Ok sized casino, they did have craps though.
Yes, there is an Iron/Ironing board in every room that we offer for this resort.
At this resort, guests must be at least 21 years of age to check-in.
The pools normally close around sundown, between 5-7pm. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
Generally this is something that is allowed, however it can vary from resort-to-resort and may depend on level of occupancy. Please contact the resort directly for further information.
I saw many people give their own insulated mugs to the bartenders who filled them with Pina Colada and other drinks.
I go to the Caribbean and hope to never wear a pair of long pants.
Please check with the resort directly as some restaurants do have a dress code. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
I don't think I saw anyone in shorts in the 2 restaurants (not the buffet) we dined in. It is a good idea just to pack a pair in case. It increases the class of these restaurants since they try to be more formal than the buffet.
Is the price/person for a couple's vacation? I can't seem to find the answer anywhere.
Generally our website prices everything out as per person based on double occupancy. However, without further information, I cannot guarantee anything. For further assistance with pricing information, please call in to 800-915-2322 to speak with one of our Beach Experts.
This resort itself is all-inclusive, so a stay here would be all-inclusive and the price for that is calculated into your resort price.
How do I book in advance to my vacation? I need a phone number and the name of the place. I do not want to get to Melia Nasssau Beach hotel and not be able to do what I have paid for in advance because they are booked up.
You can add a tour at time of booking or any time between booking and travel. Cheapcaribbean would confirm a specific date some time after the tour is purchased, and notify you of this date by email.
When you go to book and pick the dates you are wanting to go, it will tell you if the dates are already booked or not. We booked a few months in advanced and had no issues when we arrived.
Generally the included alcohol is going to be the local, domestic brand. For a list of alcohol brands served, please contact the resort directly.
They do, draft only, and it is part of all inclusive packages.
I did not see any Heineken at the Melia.
I'd like to know if there are any surprises I should expect that I wouldn't usually. And also, what recommendations for things to do in AND outside of the resort.
With respect to activities: Inside billiard table, ping pong table, pretty good fitness center with cardio machines and some weights. Kid center for daycare, with games, movies... Outdoor sand volleyball court, bacci ball lane (also on sand) 3 separate pools, for quiet bs active pool time Beach rentals : jet ski, stand up paddle board, large wheel tricycle paddle boats, snorkel, pretty sure some scuba events (check with majestic tours/activities for additional stuff) Off site: Adjacent Baha Mar resort and casino with live table games, slots, bars restaraunt s. 5 min walk 15-20 min ride to Atlantis resort with multiple water parks slides, aquariums...recommend looking on their website for more info. Day pass about $120-$160 per person per day gets you access to almost everything. entrance to resort is free if you just want to walk around. "Fish fry" is a physical location with large outdoor stage, surrounded by a few dozen open air bars, restaraunt a, and shops. Downtown Nassau has lots of shops from beads and necklaces to Versace and Rolex. Lots of history, monuments, and good restaraunts. There's a senior frogs in Nassau which is always a pretty good time where ever you are in the Caribbean. Majestic tours has desk in lobby for additional events/executions. Recommend checking with their website to more details.
Looking to book an all inclusive trip, but don't want to pay the extra money if there's not beer options to choose from, specifically domestic beer.
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information regarding drink selection as they may have some imported but will mostly have domestic to their location. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
They only have one beer that I found which is Khalik, a Bahemian Beer. However, they do have a in house Liquor Store where there are a couple of Domestic choices. I think I found a Bud Light. Hope this helps.
Kalik which is a local beer.
The only beer was that brewed on the Island, which my husband thought was skunky. The only wines included were dry: merlot and chardonnay. To buy domestic, we went to a downtown liquor store. $4 a bottle!
I have read a few reviews that mention that there are currently some renovations ongoing, is this true? We are looking at booking later this year.
They only had Kalik regular and light, nothing else. The only wine was dry: merlot or chardonnay.
Prices are based on double occupancy. If you have any further questions or need help booking, please call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
My daughter is 18.5 years old. Can she check in the hotel?
The resort may require a credit card in her name for incidentals. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
The Level is the adults only section. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
There is no specific "level" pool that I saw, only a beach area which children are allowed in.
There is a nice family pool. Resort has three pools main pool was being worked on when we were there.
There isn't an excess of nightlife at this property, they do have, on Friday night, mix and mingle with other beach lovers at the resort's Caribbean Night. They are also an approximately 15 minute or so drive to downtown Nassau.
While we were there 3 nights there was a latin DJ night in the main bar lobby, family karaoke the next night, a newlywed game the next night (because there was a wedding the next day) followed by stand-up.
Yes just about every night. Always have a DJ that sets up at 10:00 after the initial performance.
Yes, they have different things going on different nights of the week. Some nights is Karaoke, others its a dj, somethimes its a live band. There is usually always something going on.
Do you have paddle boarding?
Please check with the resort directly for the most up to date information. If you have any further questions, you may contact the resort directly or call and speak to one of our Beachologists at 1-800-915-2322.
Yes free use of paddle boards, kayaks, snorkeling masks, rafts and large floats.
Yes. I saw paddle boarding, jet skies and parasails.
This will vary depending on time of day, what food is ordered, etc. Please contact the resort directly for more in-depth details.
Free with all inclusive package. But there is a $10 delivery charge to the room.
Food is free - $10 service charge to deliver.
Room service is free and unlimited but there is a $10.00 service fee when you order. We ordered 7 meals to one room at midnight so it was worth the money.
We have the option to book the level (elsewhere as Cheap Caribbean does not offer it) and are wondering if the "level" Oceanview room (and perks) are worth paying a few hundred extra compared to a regular Oceanview room?
As this is something we do not offer, I am unable to advise on this. My recommendation would be to compare the perks and decide which is most worth it to you personally. You can also always look into upgrading upon check-in, however this is subject to availability.
with the "Level" rooms i think the best perks is the difference in the liquor they use for the drinks and the kind of room you get. other then that the restaurant are all the same.
I would say it's not worth it.
Hello, It depends on what your looking for. As far as the level rooms, you'll have sliding doors that lead straight out to your "patio" space. You'll be able to walk right onto the pool side and further on to the beach! However, your "patio" area is not private. Anyone can walk righ in from the pool/beach side if desired. Although, everyone seemed to just mind to their own affairs. There were also some restaurant reserved for just level client but Im unsure how it works as I did not choose the level package. Best of luck, hope this helps a little.
Melia Nassau Beach All-Inclusive features 694 guestrooms, including 32 suites. Accommodations include high-speed Internet access, daily maid service, LCD TV with cable, signature bath amenities, private balcony or patio, coffee maker and more.
Lounging on one of the prettiest, white sandy beaches will make more than your vacay.
Sipping a cool adult beverage at the lobby bar is exactly what you pictured. Classy. Modern. Relaxed.
Three sweet pools with waterfalls, ocean views, and drink service. You've earned this sunny spot.
A friendly staff that will take care of all the details while you chillax in paradise.
Snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding - take your adventure out to the blue seas.
You can still get daily workouts in. The fitness center is stocked and open 24-hours a day.
The high-end steakhouse isn't included in the all-inclusive plan, but all the other restaurants are. Also, it offers healthy dining options.
You'll be sippin' your Bahama Mama in a flash. The resort is a short 10-min drive from the airport.
Bus into Nassau is approximately $1.50 - sight seeing is the best.
Book early for reservations at the restaurants - you don't want to miss out.
When you check-in, ask for a cocktail or head to the bar so you can start living on island time.
On Friday night, mix and mingle with other beach lovers at the resort's Caribbean Night.
Free shuttle to Baha Mar Casino - 100,000 sq ft full of table games and slot machines.
Located on New Providence Island, Nassau offers its visitors pristine white sand beaches and the warm Bahamian sun, great nightlife and entertainment, world class shopping and dining, as well as some of the best watersports and diving in the Caribbean.
Postcard-picture shorelines pretty much rule here. Cable Beach, with its white sands, lapis blue waters and sun-shiny skies, ooze some of the best beachy vibes. You're just a sandy barefoot step away from the beach bar, too. But this slice of paradise is what beach dreams are made of. And not just for you, but also for the whole fam. Kid-friendly pools with waterfalls, a spa that will melt away all your stresses and delicious restaurants to savor. You're also in a prime location to take in all the sites in Nassau - shopping, historical museums, dolphin swimming, golf and oceans more. Your Beach Eden is waiting.
At Melia, the memories begin when you arrive.
Description: Gastronomic journey from Mexico with exquisite textures aromas and flavors.
Description: An exotic fusion of Japanese Cuisine and traditional Peruvian ingredients, such as Pisco & Aji. Reservation Required.
Description: An atmosphere of an Argentinean Lounge/ Steakhouse, the finest quality prime cuts, freshest ingredients and traditional fare meticulously prepared by our culinary experts. Healthy options are available. Reservation Recommended. *This restaurant is not part of the All-Inclusive.
Description: Energetic, dynamic, innovative and fun. Serving Signature International Tapas.
Description: Open air restaurant serving up Caribbean fare with a variety of seaside salads and light bites.
Description: Dine on delicious Italian cuisine like soups, salads, pastas, and pizzas.
Description: International buffet with cooking stations and salads, pastas, rice dishes, vegetables, fish, meat, fruit and delicious desserts.
The Baha Mar Casino offers 100,000 sq ft of exhilarating gaming action. Try your luck at table games and slot machines while you enjoy stunning ocean views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Stop by one of the private gaming salons for a VIP experience. If you're in the mood to dance the night away, step into Bond Nightclub. Designed by the award-winning singer Lenny Kravitz, this electrifying nightlife destination treats patrons to international sounds spun by world-famous DJs at the indoor lounge and outdoor terrace. Shuttle from Melia Nassau Beach All Inclusive daily, every 15 minutes, 10am-midnight.
Cable Beach is jaw-dropping gorgeous. With its white sands, bluest waters (ever) and views for miles and miles, we really can't think of a better place to spend your vacay. Plus, there are three pools that cater to all: the main pool will be for adults, the pool near the Kids and Company area will be the family pool and the pool by the Level beach area will focus on a quiet, relaxed atmosphere.
Royal Blue™ Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, is a par-72, 18-hole golf course features dramatic vistas of the turquoise ocean on the front nine and forested panoramas on the second half. Players have access to the full-service locker rooms with showers to refresh after an invigorating round. After your game, retreat to the stylish clubhouse for a casual meal or a formal affair.
Free Wi-Fi is available in all areas of the resort, including guest rooms.
Melia Nassau Beach does not currently offer spa services; however, spa services are located near the resort.
Melia's Kids and Co. program at Melia Nassau Beach fulfills the imaginations of its littlest guest with an array of fun-filled activities. All children between 4-12 years of age are welcome. Daily, 9am-9pm.
Situated on Nassau's world-famous Cable Beach, the resort is a short 10-minute drive from Nassau International Airport (NAS).
A valid credit card may be required upon check-in for possible incidentals not included in your hotel reservation. Must be at least 21 years of age to check-in.
SPRING BREAK POLICY: The legal age to check into a hotel in The Bahamas is 18 years old. This hotel has enacted an age requirement for the entire month of March, where each room must have at least one person who is 21 years of age or older with a valid photo I.D. and credit card. Reservations that do not adhere to this age requirement will be denied. | {
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} | 2,260 |
The 20th anniversary of the death of Jorge Luis Borges continues to leave its mark in Argentina-based weblogs. Roberto Bobrow cites an allusion made to Borges by Italian intellectual Umberto Eco. Jeff Barry, meanwhile, is already on day five of an ambitious series called "30 Days with Borges." It seems useful to those as of yet unacquainted with the Argentine literary giant as well as those who would like to dig deeper into Borges' life, works, and impact. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 6,481 |
ASPHostPortal windows hosting is compatible with the SilverStripe CMS. We offer SilverStripe CMS based hosting plan from just $5/month (see our SilverStripe CMS Hosting Plan).
SilverStripe is a free and open source programming framework and content management system (CMS) for creating and maintaining websites. The SilverStripe Framework brings immense flexibility and ease in customising your site and provides fundamentals such as security models, workflow, caching, and multiple language and subsite support. At ASPHostPortal.com, we specialize in SilverStripe CMS Hosting. Our control panel has built in installation wizard for SilverStripe CMS. We always update and maintain the latest version of SilverStripe CMS in our control panel wizard. You can have SilverStripe CMS installed in just 1 click and 1 minute installation.
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Our Windows Cloud Hosting fully supports SilverStripe CMS hosting. You are more than welcome to try our Free Windows Cloud Hosting before you decide to buy. You can get your Free Cloud Windows hosting account up and running within the next few minutes. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 6,537 |
Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) specialize in normal pregnancy and birth, and care for women from adolescence to beyond menopause. Our scope of practice includes primary care, gynecology, birth control, prenatal care, postpartum care and early newborn care.
CNMs are Master's Degree prepared Advanced Practice Nurses who are board certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB). In California we are independent practitioners and licensed by the Board of Nursing.
Where can you find a midwife?
CNMs in Los Angeles work in hospitals, birth centers, health centers and attend homebirths. You can find us at UCLA, Kaiser, Cedars-Sinai, Planned Parenthood and many more locations. To find a midwife, click here.
In California, UCSF, UCSD and California State University at Fullerton offer Master's programs in midwifery. Learn more about becoming a midwife.
For new and experienced midwives interested in connecting through a mentorship program please see the student page of the CNMA website. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 311 |
Politics of waste
KARACHI: A view of stagnant water and garbage spread at North Karachi area and needs the attention of concerned authorities.INP PHOTO by S.Akbar
http://tns.thenews.com.pk/politics-waste/#.XaRwqdIzbcs
The recent monsoon rains in Karachi left in their wake loads of trash and choked sewers, which the city administration seemed unable to manage. This prompted the federal government to intervene, much to the chagrin of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government and a host of ethnic groups.
Exercising its "executive authority," under Article 149 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the federal government formed a strategic committee that would look into the administrative, municipal, and civic matters of Karachi. A statement in this regard by Law Minister Farogh Naseem, who is also the head of the committee, provoked a strong reaction from the PPP. Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari dubbed it as a "conspiracy," and alleged that the federal government wanted to take control of Karachi. In another press meet, Sindh Minister for Labour, Information and Archives, Saeed Ghani, and former senator Raza Rabbani stated that under Article 149, the federal government could only issue directives to the provinces and not intervene directly.
Ghani went so far as to call it an autocratic move to separate Karachi from Sindh.
To its advantage, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf's federal government has got an ally in MQM-P which has been running the affairs of city's municipality since the last local government (LG) poll in 2015. MQM-P has long been pressing for invoking Article 149, and trying to gather support for such a move by organising gatherings and rallies in the city. It has also accused the PPP leadership of being "biased and racist."
Other voices have joined in the chorus as well. Former Karachi Mayor, Mustafa Kamal, who is the founder-chairperson of Pak Sarzameen Party, has said: "Today, [Karachi's] citizens aren't asking for underpasses or roads, or parks, or even schools. They want an immediate disposal of garbage lying in the streets. They want the sewage nullahs to be cleaned."
According to Kamal, the only way to address Karachi's woes is to revise the 18th Constitutional Amendment to ensure that districts get their due share from the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC). "Political parties did not pass the 18th Amendment just to hand over all power and resources to a chief minister. The power and resources should be transferred at the district level," he says, adding that the Prime Minister should take Sindh Chief Minister [Syed Murad Ali Shah] on board before announcing any plans.
The PTI blames the PPP for misleading the public on the issue through vicious propaganda and by using the "Sindhi card." PTI's parliamentary leader in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh said recently that Article 149 granted the Federation the right to give directives to any provincial government to work efficiently and deliver. He also spoke of making the Sindh government liable to solve the problems of the province.
No recommendations have been made so far. In fact, in all this blame game, the dismal situation on the streets and roads of Karachi remains unchanged. Heaps of garbage and overflowing gutters continue to be a bane for the residents.
"At present, all the three major parties in Sindh are looking for opportunities to draw political mileage, embarrass one another and take advantage of the situation instead of putting in much-needed combined efforts to rectify the institutional and administrative anomalies that contribute to Karachi's deteriorating infrastructure."
Political analysts associate the current crisis of governance with various developments in the recent past — chiefly, the MQM-P's weakening because of the crackdown and split within the party.
The crisis deepened after the 2018 general election. The MQM-P has mayors and chairmen in four out of the six districts of Karachi after it won the LG polls of 2015. But the party claims that owing to legislation in Sindh Assembly, the elected local representatives have been rendered useless, and the provincial government has usurped many of the municipality's powers. The PPP, according to the MQM-P, has held the chairmanship of the district council, so that it can control Karachi's rural and coastal areas.
Meanwhile, the PTI-led federal government has emerged as a new player in Karachi's politics, having won 14 out of the 21 National Assembly seats in the 2018 general polls. It is, however, restrained by the 18th Amendment from carrying out any development projects directly, without taking the provincial government on board.
A government official overseeing Karachi's municipal affairs suggests the differences on ethnic or rural-urban basis could be clearly seen in matters of the city's governance.
However, analysts believe that all this debate and controversy around garbage disposal has to do with power politics. "At present, all the three major parties in Sindh are looking for opportunities to draw political mileage, embarrass one another and take advantage of the situation instead of putting in much-needed, combined efforts to rectify the institutional and administrative anomalies that contribute to Karachi's deteriorating infrastructure," says Dr Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, a political commentator and author of The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi, and Mohajir Ethnic Movements.
He adds, "Article 149 was the government's strategy to embarrass the PPP for its governance failures in Karachi. It only served to inflame political tensions without addressing the city's pressing issues.
Also read: Too many cooks?
"The fact that the PTI government's own ministers have opposed a possible resource to Article 149 attests to its irrelevance as a way forward for Karachi."
Siddiqi is of the view that the PPP's continued confrontation with the MQM-P puts a damper on its politics of retaining the 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy for improved governance. "If the PPP fails to come up with a formula to address Karachi's problems by agreeing to work in cooperation with the MQM-P, as was witnessed in 2012 (when they joined hands to pass the Sindh People's Local Government Act), criticism of the 18th amendment and calls for centralised and unitary politics (for example, Article 149) will only gain further ground," he says.
Realising the gravity of the situation, the Sindh government announced on September 16 that it would clear Karachi of municipal waste to a great extent in one month's time. It may be reminded here that all past cleanliness campaigns, backed by local and federal governments, have failed.
Ethnic politics in KarachiGarbage in KarachiKarachi Sewerage issuePolitics of Karachi
Previous Previous post: No easy task
Next Next post: Sindh's Sikhs prepare for Nagar Kirtan train procession for Guru Nanak's 550th birthday | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 9,299 |
Contignatiospongia nevadensis was named by Kozur et al. (2008). It is not extant. Its type locality is USGS Loc. 11307-CO, Horse Heaven Mountain [Windfall Fm], which is in a Tremadoc slope limestone in the Windfall Formation of Nevada. It is the type species of Contignatiospongia.
2008 Contignatiospongia nevadensis Kozur et al. | {
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namespace debug {
class _CpuProfileGuard
{
const std::string profile_name;
static std::atomic<unsigned int> cnt;
public:
_CpuProfileGuard(const std::string &name)
:
profile_name(std::string(name + "_" + std::to_string(cnt++)) )
{
ProfilerStart(profile_name.c_str());
}
~_CpuProfileGuard()
{
ProfilerFlush();
ProfilerStop();
}
};
}
#define CPU_PROFILE(X) debug::_CpuProfileGuard _cpu_profile_guard(X)
#else
#define CPU_PROFILE(X)
#endif
#endif
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
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The B&B stands in nearly 3 acres and the gate leads to the bridleway of Rutland Water.
Impressive security wrought iron gates supported by stone pillars are at the entrance to this attractive Victorian honey coloured stone, former coach house on the edge of Rutland Water.
A small stone fountain of a boy holding a fish, encircled by a low stone wall and a gravel drive greet the visitor in the Spring with snowdrops, crocus, scillas and aconites. A path encourages the guest to explore the garden past flower beds and croquet lawn, to the paddock where the sight of Rutland Water and Normanton Church is revealed.
Cecilie is the widow of Group Captain Tony Ingoldby whose career included flying Vulcans and whilst working in England and overseas the family would join him. They loved entertaining many people throughout their marriage and Cecilie continues to do so. She enjoys developing her garden where generous chickens roam and provide eggs for breakfast.
Old Hall Coach House is a no smoking house.
The Old Hall Coach House is very much a home from home, where guests stay and enjoy the surroundings.
When guests arrive, they are offered tea in the sitting room with wonderful views of the garden and Rutland Water.
One can sail, windsurf, enjoy a trip on a boat, walk, cycle, horse ride, marry, play golf, pick strawberries, watch birds, visit gardens, shop, buy antiques, eat, visit churches and cathedrals, listen to opera, watch Shakespearean plays, visit stately homes, fish for trout, ride on steam trains or just sit in my garden! | {
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Based in Quebec city, the core of the team is high-talented developers who have more than 30 years of development experience. Team is also completed with people having great talent in communication and graphic design, ready for any challenges.
Our clients are for every tourism and outdoor activities areas such as: zoo, city tours, mountain bike, hiking, skiing places and associations. There are also events and festivals such as the famous Quebec Winter Carnival. If you are from a tourism organisation, outdoor activity center or event where a map is needed to enhance your visitors experience, you may need Ondago free services.
Ondago is an interactive maps platform allowing tourism and outdoor activities to publish their maps into a mobile application (iOS/Android/HTML). Ondago has the ability to geolocalize any kind of maps, allowing organisms to publish their own maps, even if there are artistic. Maps are interactive, intuitive, informative and are usable even when offline. Ondago is a free alternative to custom applications. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 7,505 |
McCarthyizm - Pair O' Docs
2001, McCarthyizm
I recently had the opportunity to check out a local Buffalo band at a small private concert that a lot of my readers might enjoy. McCarthyizm has been together since the early 90's and has released four albums; the most recent, Pair O' Docs, in 2001. The band continues to play together in spite of not recording in almost a decade and plays regularly around Western New York. Lead vocalist and guitar player Joe McCarthy has strong rock voice that can transcend the boundaries of folk and even the occasional Irish drinking tune, and the band plays like one that has been together for the better part of two decades. When McCarthyizm started out major labels were still pretty much the only way to get your sound heard; if these guys were starting out today they'd be getting a lot of attention in the Indie Rock world.
Pair O' Docs opens with All Night, something of a party anthem featuring huge and tireless hooks. It's a fun listen and the perfect opening to the CD. The Great Escape and Into Forever are deeply philosophical, playing around the edges of religion, epistemology and finding personal meaning in life. The Great Escape is done in an Americana style with strong and pleasing harmonies, whereas Into Forever is catchy acoustic/electric rock in the same vein as Canadian cult favorites Dig Circus. Pair O' Docs is a raucous rocker that is great on the CD and even better in a live setting. Reveal My Sin has a lilting Pop quality wrapped into its acoustic Rock arrangement, and is all about finding ways to let go of your inner demons. Walk In The Woods is a straight forward classic rock tune with some righteous guitar work and AOR-friendly hooks. The album closes out with Mt. St. Michel; a special song. It's the story of a dream vacation to France for two lovers where ultimately the vacation and then the relationship fall apart on the basis of different expectations (he's looking to get away, she thinks he's going to propose). The story-telling in song here is amazing; it's the sort of song that other artists are going to want to cover.
McCarthyizm is a hidden gem hiding out here in Western New York. There are bands like this all over the world; playing below the radar in a local market to appreciative crowds but having the talent and charisma to play for much larger crowds. It can be a matter of breaks or timing, but at the time McCarthyizm was starting out independent bands just didn't make it much of anywhere. By the time the Indie world really opened up, perhaps McCarthyizm had just accepted the "fact" of being a regional band. Whatever the case, this is a band that deserves your attention. Pair O' Docs is a great 7-song introduction to McCarthyizm. Make sure you check out this diamond in the rough.
You can learn more about McCarthyizm at http://www.mccarthyizm.com/ or www.myspace.com/mccarthyizm. You can purchase a copy of Pair O' Docs from McCarthyizm's Web store.
Labels: Dig Circus, McCarthyizm | {
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Welcome to St. Cloud is in-between a campaign setting and a scenario and can be adapted to any system, though it already includes stats for the Actual Fucking Monsters role-playing game. It is surreal horror in nature, since it was heavily inspired by David Lynch's cult TV show Twin Peaks (1990), but it leans on other sources, like John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), The League of Gentleman (1999), Carnivàle (2003) and 1970s slasher flicks. There isn't a specific mythology and even the amount of supernatural and/or paranormal phenomena can be easily modified to suit different tastes.
What's presented in this book is a detailed description of the titular small town of St. Cloud, WA, and its inhabitants, which provides multiple story seeds. At the end, there's a much more developed, but unstructured, plot hook which encompasses a series of events set in motion after the death of a local pre-teen girl. The final chapter, (Not) Wrapped in Plastic, is a plotline designed for those who want to play St. Cloud with a distinct Twin Peak's feeling, but without instantly giving away the whole story.
If this and some of the characters' descriptions sound familiar at a glance (you're right, of course it does!), that's only a superficial similarity, however. Surely the inspiration isn't masqueraded, but St. Cloud can be run even if in your group there are players familiar with Lynch's work, since the characters and the town's dirty little secrets are quite different from the source. What remains very similar are the bizarre atmosphere and the overall semblance of a soap opera gone insane. | {
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If you've ever been to Mexico or a county fair, you've probably enjoyed the wonders of a good churro. Sweet dough that's fried and then rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture, churros are crazy addictive and absolutely amazing. While we have tried our hand at making them from scratch – they're surprisingly easy! – we decided to take inspiration from the churro with this recipe, without the hassle of making or frying any dough.
Churro chex mix. So easy and amazing. If you are fans of savory chex mix (gotta love that salty goodness), you have to give this sweet version a shot. The cereals are first mixed in a sweet and sticky, caramel-esque sauce, then covered with a cinnamon sugar mixture and baked to golden perfection. The sweet and crispy finished product will have everyone raving, so try it out and see if it doesn't just become your new favorite!
Preheat oven to 350º F and line 1-2 large baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
Place cereals in a large bowl and set by your workstation. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside.
Combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute.
Remove mixture from heat and stir in baking soda, then pour mixture over cereal.
Toss everything together until evenly coated, then transfer cereal to lined baking sheet. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the cereal and transfer baking sheet(s) to oven.
Bake for 6 minutes, then flip cereal over and cook for another 2-3, or until cereal is golden brown.
Remove mixture from oven and let cool, then break up cereal and store in an air-tight container. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 1,746 |
Ó Troighthigh (in English: Troy; O'Trohy) is a Gaelic-Irish surname, meaning descendant of foot-soldier.
Naming conventions
History
The Uí Troighthigh were associated with the Kingdom of Corco Modhruadh, an area that was coextensive with the diocese of Kilfenora. The earliest mention of the family occurs circa 1002/1003, within the Irish Annals. Specifically the Annals of the Four Masters (M), The Annals of Ulster (U) and Annals of Inisfallen (AI).
M 1002.10
Conchobhar, son of Maelseachlainn, lord of Corca-Modhruadh; and Aicher Ua Traighthech, with many others, were slain by the men of Umhall.
U 1003.3
Cellach son of Diarmait, king of Osraige, Aed ua Con Fhiachla, king of Tethba, Conchobor son, of Mael Sechnaill, king of Corcu Modruad, and Aicher na Traighthech were killed.
AI 1003.3
The slaying of Conchobar son of Mael Sechnaill, king of Corcu Modruad, and of Amlaíb, son of Lochlainn, and of Aicher Ua Traigthech in the west of Connachta; and Cathal, son of Labraid, was killed by the sons of Donnchadh Finn.
The Uí Troighthigh became a hereditary medical family where bearers of the name were in successive generations physicians to the clans of the Dál gCais, as well as other premier families of Munster and Leinster. Branches of the family were located in what is now County Clare, County Limerick and County Tipperary, as well as elsewhere in Munster, and Leinster. While they originated in County Clare with Aicher Ua Traigthech, a large contingent settled within Clogheen district of County Tipperary and their association with the region perpetuated in the place-name Ballytrehy (Baile Uí Throithigh, or the town of Ó Troithigh). Doctors in the Uí Troighthigh family were known for their study of medicine and translated many Latin and Greek medical textbooks over the centuries. In 1477 Domhnall Albanach Ó Troighthigh compiled from older materials the Tripartite Life of St Patrick and in 1482 he also compiled the medical treatise Lilium Medicinae (Lile na h-Eladhan leighis).
The name is now anglicised as Troy. Members of the Anglo-Irish de Treo family (associated with Limerick city since 1189) and the Gaelic-Irish Ó Tréamháin family also use the form Troy, making members of all three unrelated families indistinguishable.
See also
Aicher Ua Traighthech (died 1002/1003), soldier of Corcomroe in the medieval period.
Domhnall Albanach Ó Troighthigh (fl. 1482), scribe and physician
Castletroy, County Limerick - originally Caladh an Treoigh.
Irish medical families
Troy (surname)
Further reading
Patrick Weston Joyce (1906) "Medicine and Medical Doctors", Chapter XIV, A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland.
References
External links
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=
http://mikerin1.tripod.com/index.html
Surnames
Irish families
Irish Brehon families
Surnames of Irish origin
Irish-language masculine surnames
Families of Irish ancestry
Irish-language surnames
Irish medical families | {
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9inSQUIRTINGC0CK . EvaDesiree. dirtypasion4u. CherryLou.
bottan978NiceBoyTravisCleoMoonnPUSSYCATHOT69 .xxxMrsAngelHotBlueRoseMelitaaSamantaWhite .XFlirtyEvaXLadyCataleyaslsm02242PUSSYCATHOT69 .CUMhotMISTRESSxxPUSSYCATHOT69LovelyBrookealllex .DiamondClitSamanthSweetvaleriasweetfuIssaCurley .SoniaCrystalDesiredJadeAlexaMartinsMissChambers .HannaQueenEvelineRayDianochckaaJimmyAvila .SamantaWhiteDimasikMeCleoMoonnKimberRains .EvelineRayNikolandMattXFlirtyEvaXdirtypasion4u .SamanthSweetSHAMMANNTADimasikMeDesiredJade .kinkyEVILSalomeYJhonSUB4MASTERLuannysexy .
VenusBluePinkAlliceCandiemeriohotx20ANTHONYBOYSEXY .1DolleyesLuisNdIrisSoniaCrystaljooony38 .SMILETHOTMediterraneanbeaSUB4MASTERMelitaa .jamie21xxxSUB4MASTERPUSSYCATHOT69AlliceCandie .AlexaMartinsslsm02242MISSandMASTERKIMBERLYandYELSY .valeriasweetfuDesiredJadeSoniaCrystalNiceBoyTravis .VenusBluePinkalllexNiceBoyTravisIssaCurley .WantedBlondyLuisNdIrisPattyHardyCherryLou .JUICYXXPUSSYvaleriasweetfuTianaDavisNikolandMatt .PUSSYCATHOT69GeniJuiceTianaDavisAphroditeXAdonis .sexinlatinosTianaDavisCleoMoonnjamie21xxx . | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 6,686 |
CERTUS Begins Manufacturing of Novel In-House Pathogen Detection System with Toho Technology
CERTUS, innovators in food safety technologies, has begun manufacturing of the CERTUS System Detection Unit, bringing small and mid-sized food processing plants one step closer to a fast, easy and cost-effective way to detect pathogens. Based on SERS nanoparticle technology made available through an exclusive license agreement with BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, the CERTUS System is an entirely in-house system, enabling food producers to perform environmental monitoring without the need for outsourced testing. With the commencement of manufacturing, the CERTUS System Detection Unit is on track for market availability in June 2018.
Manufacturing of the Detection Unit is being carried out at CERTUS' parent company and iconic precision manufacturer Toho Technology. Founded in 1819 in Nagoya, Japan, Toho is a privately-held company that provides engineering, manufacture, distribution and support of diverse industrial and life-science technologies to customers around the world. With a well-established global market presence in optical instrumentation in the fields of semiconductor, flat panel display and process engineering, CERTUS leverages the Toho team and talent to advance out of R&D and into full scale commercial production.
"Being part of the Toho Technology family provides us with a myriad of technological and commercial benefits to ensure our products exceed the market's expectations for precision and accuracy," said CERTUS Director of Product Development, Dr. John Bodner. "Not only does Toho provide significant expertise in the manufacture of precision instrumentation, they also provide CERTUS with the solid infrastructure and financial backing needed to bring this level of innovation to our customers."
In addition to partnering with Toho, CERTUS works with United Kingdom-based Solus Scientific for assay development. "One of the reasons we chose to partner with Solus is because of their efficient research and development track record on bringing to market a range of assays in the area of food safety testing," continued Bodner.
The CERTUS Listeria El assay was developed in collaboration with Solus in 2017, while the environmental Salmonella assay is currently under development and expected to be available for use in the CERTUS System as early as Q4 of this year.
"Through BD's exclusive license to CERTUS and our strategic partnerships with Toho and Solus, we can ensure best-in-class products for our clients, with the end goal of removing the most harmful pathogens from the food system," said Bodner.
The CERTUS System will be commercially available in June 2018 and will feature a simple workflow, Bio-Lock™ safety components and real-time monitoring for rapid results.
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} | 1,575 |
Plan B? Green Party Candidate Jill Stein's Message to Bernie Sanders Supporters
Kurt Schrader D-OR voted to ban GMO labelling
Kurt Schrader (D-OR 5th CD) is one of the 275 Members of Congress who just voted for the DARK ACT (Deny Americans the Right to Know) which prevents all states from enacting their own GMO labelling laws ever, and overturns existing state laws which do require GMO labelling.
Named the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 by a bunch of politicians who know next to nothing about about the dangers of GMOs the legislation was recently passed in the House Committee.
If you are a member of the Pacific Green Party, live in Oregon Congressional District 5, and are OUTRAGED by the Congressman's vote, please considering running against him 2016! We'll help you do so.
Jill Stein invited to meet with Russian leaders
From Green Party Watch:
"Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has been invited to Russia later this year. Stein said that after attending the UN Climate Change Conference 2015 in Paris, she is planning to visit Moscow on a mission for international peace and diplomacy." Click here to read the full article.
Transgender Day of Remembrance 20 Nov 2015
Greens celebrate the diversity of humankind. We believe everybody has a right to be who they are, free from constricting stereotypes, in peace. Our society must heal from all the useless violence by facing the awful truth of our social failures and embracing the radical changes necessary to build the better world we know in our hearts is possible. To find events in your area click here.
State-wide RANKED CHOICE VOTING to be on Ballot in Maine
by Alan F. Zundel
On November 18th the Maine Secretary of State determined that a state-wide ranked choice voting initiative has enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot in the November 2016 election. Maine voters will decide if ranked choice voting will be used for federal and state offices for the first time in U.S. history.
To read the rest of Alan's fine article please visit his blog at RCV Oregon.
Maine Initiative for Instant Runoff Voting Will Be On 2016 Ballot
Published in Ballot Access News on November 18, 2015, by Richard Winger.
On November 18, the Maine Secretary of State determined that the initiative for instant runoff voting (for all federal and state office except President) does have enough valid signatures. It will appear on the November 2016 ballot.
Darryl Cherney running for Green Party Presidential nomination
I am deciding now if I'll run for the Green Party Presidential nomination. Many deadlines are approaching. I am requesting that state parties provide me information on the requirements for earning delegates and/or qualifying for a primary. Please read my revised platform/manifesto and "like" my facebook page.
I need your signatures here to achieve recognition from the GPUS as a candidate. I seek your input now!
My platform is below the fold.
CHRIS HEDGES - CALLING ALL REBELS: THE MORAL IMPERATIVE TO REVOLT
Speech by noted author and activist Chris Hedges to our neighboring Green Party of Orange County on September 20, 2015.
America's Big Election Night
Photo and Article by Blair Bobier
Although a number of important—and under-reported—elections just took place in the U.S., the election that might ultimately matter most to Americans happened last month in Canada. There, the Liberal Party executed an '08 Obama-like ousting of the governing Conservative Party.
Three aspects of the Canadian election are particularly notable and inspiring—if not downright revolutionary. One is the Liberal Party's promise to change Canada's winner-take-all elections; two is the re-election to Parliament of Green Party leader Elizabeth May; and three, is the inclusive Cabinet appointed by the new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
German Greens support protection for Snowden
The European Parliament narrowly adopted a nonbinding but nonetheless forceful resolution on 29 October 2015 urging the 28 nations of the European Union to recognize Edward J. Snowden as a "whistle-blower and international human rights defender" and shield him from prosecution. "It's the first time a Parliament votes to ask for this to be done — and it's the European Parliament," said Mr. Albrecht, a German lawmaker with the Greens political bloc. Click here to read the full article. | {
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Immune cells are normally associated with fighting infection but in a new study, scientists have discovered how they also help the nervous system clear debris, clearing the way for nerve regeneration after injury.
In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers showed certain immune cells can clean up nerve debris, while previous models have attributed nerve cell damage control to other cells entirely.
Registration is now open for our upcoming event. This conference will feature presentations on the latest in PN research, coping skills for patients with painful neuropathies, the role of physical therapy and exercise, and the Peripheral Neuropathy Research Registry (PNRR). A Q&A, along with opportunities to share stories with other patients, will also take place during the program.
To learn more about this conference, please visit our Events page or call 847-883-9942.
From 2002 to 2015, there was a substantial increase in gabapentinoid use, according to a research letter published online on January 2nd in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Michael E. Johansen, M.D., from Grant Family Medicine, OhioHealth, in Columbus, characterized the use of gabapentinoids among adults using data from the 2002 to 2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Data were included for 346,177 individuals.
New research has demonstrated that an enzyme previously identified as playing a role in peripheral neuropathy induced by cancer chemotherapy also plays a role in peripheral neuropathy caused by diabetes.
Dr. Sandra Rieger (picture on the right) attended our 2016 International Research Symposium, therefore we have been following her progression since she was first awarded the grant in 2016.
Wednesday, February 21st from 12:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 24th from 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Monday, February 26th from 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.
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} | 3,879 |
Finishing 3D printed parts with… crayons?
Helping additive manufacturing specialists develop more effective, more efficient post-processing stages is a huge priority for the team at RP Platform. We're always looking for new ways of finishing 3D printed parts that will not only deliver exceptional results, but — equally importantly — how they could potentially be be deployed in a production capacity.
For example, one new post-processing technique that caught our eye recently was Formnext engineer Christian Reed's new technique for using wax crayons to add a touch of colour to his plastic prototype. Christian's technique involves smoothing the part with sandpaper to achieve a completely smooth surface, then using a heat gun to melt wax crayons, so the material drips into indented areas of the model. This is then allowed to dry, after which it can be cleaned and smoothed out. This way, an attractive coloured design can be added to a relatively simple plastic part, for relatively little additional effort.
While Christian's solution was intended for a prototyping application (which we understand was successful, as his design has now been successfully funded on Kickstarter), we would be interested to see how it could be applied in other ways that could potentially be suitable for production applications. The most striking element of the process (beyond the nostalgic element of using wax crayons!) is the use of an indent in the model itself for the coloured design. While this will obviously need to be factored into the model during the design stage, it could in fact be a useful approach for models that require both a multi-coloured design and extremely precise dimensions, as the coloured areas can be added and then smoothed out to perfectly fit the surface dimensions.
It's hard to see how this could be automated for large-scale production, but perhaps it could be a powerful solution for high-end, one-off parts (customised interior parts for sports cars, for example). In such scenarios, we would envisage more durable materials than wax being utilised — perhaps silicone, or even precious metals, such as gold and silver.
We look forward to seeing more creative finishing techniques like this, so if you have found a new way of creating a unique end result when finishing 3D printed parts, do feel free to share it with us!
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St Jerome in his Study is stressing the contemplative rather than the active aspect of Christian life. The engraving shows the translator of the Bible deep in thought at his lectern, with the figure of the saint illuminated by sunlight streaming through the window panes into the cosy room. In front of St Jerome are the resting figures of his faithful lion and dog. A skull on the windowsill and an hourglass above the saint are reminders of the transience of life. The astonishing advance in Dürer's printmaking technique is evident when this engraving is compared with his early woodcut of the same subject.
Dürer, according to the diary of his trip to the Netherlands during 1521-21, sold or gave away copies of this print more frequently than any of his others.
It has been repeatedly asserted that this engraving was to be part of a projected series representing the four human temperaments. Only two others have been so far identified, Melencolia I, and Knight, Death and Devil. Although they correspond in size, Dürer never gave away all three as a set. Occasionally he gave away St Jerome and Melencolia I as a pair.
In the last of the three master engravings, Dürer placed particular emphasis on the subtle differentiation of the material qualities of the objects, and the depiction of the interior according to the laws of central perspective, the converging lines of which terminate in the space to the right of the figure of the saint. The design is based on an exact plan of perspective. A certain degree of distortion is due to the fact that the vanishing point is placed close to the margin instead of the centre. This is a peculiarity that can be observed in other works by Dürer. | {
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} | 3,006 |
Description Summary: The lovers of Basketball cannot ignore the significance of using the latest NBA Live Mobile Guide to optimize the fun factor in the game. There are lots of players who prefer to play the game with the help of NBA Live Mobile Guide to gain more VC or virtual currency. The role of VC is immense in any virtual game. This is the source of all the excitement you can gain from the game. Thus, it is important that you have a constant flow of VC in your account whenever you play the game. In the general process of the game it is a time taking matter. Thus, the world of virtual games prefers to get the help from the guide to gain unlimited resources in this game. Why The Game Is So Famous? This is a basketball stimulation online game that has a huge fan following all over the world. If you are a basketball lover, then you cannot miss this excitement. • The game has all the elements that can stimulate the excitement of National Basketball Association or NBA. • The players have to play the NBA games with created or the real players as well as teams. There are several game modes available for the same. • Players can use the latest NBA Live Mobile Tricks to obtain more and more VC in the game so that they can easily gain all the thrill without spending the real money. What Are The Main Features Of The Game? The game has many excitements to offer to the players who play the game in a regular manner. If you are interested, then you have to have patience. • The players can play the game in various modes. There are regular season NBA games, Summer League games, Playoff games, and others as well. • As a player you main target is to obtaining more and more NBA Live Mobile Free VC to enhance your position in the game. • You can create your own basketball players and let them be the most talented players of the world. The players need to go through the basketball career to have the right skill. How Can The Game Can Excite You? It is known to all that people love virtual games because it offers a lot of excitement and fun to them. The more exciting game you play, the more thrill you can feel. • Before you decide How To Guide NBA Live Mobile, you should know some more details about the fun part of the game. • You can enhance the excitement of this game by customize the skill set, physical appearance as well as the attributes of any player as per your desire. • The same rules apply for your team. You can customize your own team once you build the same. The more interesting features you can add the more thrill you can expect. What Are The Other Stories? The game has every element of being a great virtual basketball game. Though, at some point you may think that your real NBA game experience can help you to perform better in this virtual version of the same. The game has an amazing soundtrack which is created by some famous DJs. The game is perfect for those who love the excitement of the basketball matches along with fine graphics and sound tracks. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 6,872 |
Experts rank things. Teddy disagrees. Then he provides the real rankings. And who's the winner? Why it's you, the listener.
© Copyright 2018 New Rankings with Teddy!
Update: I have continued to listen to the podcast, usually with headphones and the audio levels no longer cause me pain. For an amateur podcast, the production levels are more than satisfactory.
That said, I still do not find the content amusing. I will probably enjoy watching Young Sheldon on CBS more than I enjoy listening to this podcast.
The audio levels in the drops are way too high and makes listening to this podcast painful at times.
Also, I disagree with the content of the podcast regarding the upcoming iphone is filled with speculation and opinions ... wait I am listening to a podcast, why would I hope to get authoritative information.
Oh boy this one's an easy 5/5.
-an-angle-instead-of-straight-on-to-squish-fruit-flies had been included on the life hack list, Teddy's blend of wit, pop culture references, and a healthy dose of self-mockery make for a highly enjoyable and engaging listening experience. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 3,520 |
https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/12/29/resident-evil-movie-reboot-wraps-filming
Resident Evil Movie Reboot Wraps Filming
The Resident Evil movie reboot is one step closer to being ready for its 2021 premiere. In a tweet posted on the official Resident Evil movie page, the filming has finally been completed. The reboot was announced in 2017, and despite 2020 being an unprecedented year (and particularly harsh on both the cinema and video games industries), the Resident Evil movie is still going strong. In previous months the ensemble cast was announced and exciting set photos emerged. Additionally, a release date was revealed with the movie slated for a Fall 2021 launch.
That's a wrap in Raccoon City. 🎬
diREcted by Johannes Roberts pic.twitter.com/9HdIf7shs2
— Resident Evil (@ResidentEvil) December 28, 2020
According to director Johannes Roberts, the reboot film looks to draw on the horrifying atmosphere and settings of the video game franchise, "With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today's audiences."
Now that filming has wrapped ahead of the reboot's premiere, are you excited to dive back into the cinematic universe of Resident Evil? Let us know in the comments. | {
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Angels of the Americlypse: An Anthology of New Latin@ Writing
Edited by Carmen Giménez Smith and John Chávez
Angels of the Americlypse Study Guide, Free PDF
"Exhilarating, daring, breathtaking. These words are not hyperbolic. This book is a head-rush! Language-mixing, genre-mixing, rhythm-dazzling. From Rosa Alcalà to a poet whose work she's translated, Cecilia Vicuña, these Angels of the Americlypse (the phrase is tweaked from Rodrigo Toscano, another such angel) show us how gloriously they can dance on the head of a pin, a pin called AmeRíca, a pin called high-dentity, un-dentity and you-dentity, how gloriously and capaciously they sing, how variously." —Maria Damon
"So often anthologies are strategic weapons used to enforce borders and uphold indefensible psychic and national sovereignties. The Angels of the Americlypse that are here so beautifully collected and dispersed, call for and call out the end of all that. The frontier between lysis and lyric, between social theory and social dance, is constantly, lovingly, violated. So much of the ground and flood and breath of hemispheric experiment is disclosed in this writing that it is to be celebrated, studied, sung, enacted, acted out in groups!" —Fred Moten
"A literary meeting place, a bodega for the thirsty reader, Angels of the Americlypse activates the topologies of place, language, and ethnicity in ways that remind one that modernity can begin again in altered form because it is perhaps not essentially historical in nature but, rather, theoretical and performative. Collectivity becomes collectible in this rhapsody of minds and voices." —Daniel Tiffany
The contemporary literary moment the anthology Angels of the Americlypse: New Latin@ Writing attempts to capture is one defined by diversity, various points of view, literary styles and voices, topical concerns, and senses of self. Not only have these writers widened the field, they have forged new inquiry into their own experiences of the world, as they live in it and understand it. Writing in forms of lyric, short short fiction, nonfictional prose, and in various degrees and forms of experimentation, this collection represents one of the first efforts, in years, to include a critical introduction to the writers' poetry or prose, their literary work, and their own aesthetic statements meant to express their distinct literary presence in American letters.
Featured in Poetry magazine, May 2014
Review by Candice Amich at Waxwing Literary Journal
Angels of the Americlypse: New Latin@ Writing
$45.00; 352 pages
ISBN 978-1933996-39-4 | {
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} | 7,662 |
Keyword Analysis & Research: boston tea party and boston massacre
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massacre 0.03 0.5 6325 77 8
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What was the punishment for the Boston Tea Party?
The British passed the Intolerable Acts as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. They closed the Boston Harbor demanding the city had to pay for the tea that had been dumped into the harbor.
What are facts about Boston Massacre?
Interesting Boston Massacre Facts: The Boston Massacre occurred in the evening on March 5th, 1770 on King Street in Boston. There was heavy military presence at the time, a result of the Townshend Act of 1767 which imposed taxes to help cover the cost of Britain's military assistance.
What is the story behind the Boston Tea Party?
Boston Tea Party, (December 16, 1773), incident in which 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company were thrown from ships into Boston Harbor by American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians. The Americans were protesting both a tax on tea (taxation without representation) and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company.
What was the cause and effect of the Boston Tea Party?
The cause of the Boston Tea Party was the colonists didn't want taxed tea. The effect was the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Mohawk Indians and dumped all the tea of three ships when they brought a new supply to the colonists.
Search Results related to boston tea party and boston massacre on Search Engine
Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party | Library
k12.ma.us
https://www.norwood.k12.ma.us/nhs/library/boston-massacre-and-boston-tea-party
Bostonians and British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House had a conflict on March 5, 1770, which became known as the Boston Massacre. Soldiers shot into the crowd after one of them was struck by a snowball, in spite of orders to not fire.
The Boston Tea Party and Massacre, Two Acts Leading to …
historythings.com
https://historythings.com/the-boston-tea-party-and-massacre-two-acts-leading-to-the-american-revolution/
Sep 24, 2019 · The Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre were two events that inspired the American Revolution, which later led to the independence of the thirteen colonies. Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773, nine o'clock at night. A group of around sixty men had dressed as native americans and snuck onto three British ships, the Dartmouth, […]
Boston Massacre & Tea Party
http://mrssteffan.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/3/6/11369480/boston_massacre__tea_party.pdf
The Boston Tea Party occurred on Thursday, December 16, 1773, and took 3 hours between 7 and 10 PM 90,000 lbs (45 tons) of tea in 342 containers was thrown overboard 116 people participated in the destruction of tea Each full container had a weight of 400 pounds. Half-containers were 100 pounds each The destroyed tea was worth an estimated £10,000.
Boston Massacre: Causes, Facts & Aftermath - HISTORY
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre
Oct 26, 2009 · Colonists continued to rebel after the Boston Massacre, including the historic Boston Tea Party. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images The Boston Massacre had a major impact on relations between Britain ...
Boston Tea Party - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. The Sons of Liberty strongly opposed the ta…
Readers ask: What prompted the boston massacre and …
lastfiascorun.com
https://lastfiascorun.com/interesting/readers-ask-what-prompted-the-boston-massacre-and-the-boston-tea-party.html
Mar 18, 2021 · The Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre were two events that inspired the American Revolution, which later led to the independence of the thirteen colonies. December 16, 1773, nine o'clock at night. The men dumped the tea into the water. The Boston Tea Party, it was later named.
Which happened first Boston Massacre or Tea Party
colors-newyork.com
https://colors-newyork.com/which-happened-first-boston-massacre-or-tea-party/
The Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre were two events that inspired the American Revolution, which later led to the independence of the thirteen colonies. December 16, 1773, nine o'clock at night. The men dumped the tea into the …
John Adams and The Boston Massacre | Boston Tea Party …
bostonteapartyship.com
https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/john-adams-boston-massacre
By the beginning of March, 1770, tensions seemed to reach a boiling point. On the evening of March 5, Private Hugh White was under assault by a crowd of boys throwing snowballs, oysters in their shells, stones and clubs.
gradesaver.com
http://www.gradesaver.com/johnny-tremain/q-and-a/how-did-parliment-punish-boston-for-her-tea-party-97307/
softschools.com
http://www.softschools.com/facts/history/boston_massacre_facts/1025/
https://www.britannica.com/event/Boston-Tea-Party
prezi.com
https://prezi.com/ewkihoyqqqa4/cause-and-effect-of-the-boston-tea-party/ | {
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} | 1,078 |
Movie with ready to shoot script which has a lot of scope for dynamic visual effects and thrilling experience for audience.
Completed Graduation in Visual Commmunication and Masters in Mass Communication. Worked at Ad Agencies in chennai and Abu Dhabi as Advt. Photographer. Founded Film Street and produced corp film, also started film editing since 2011.
Completed Graduation in Visual Commmunication and Masters in Mass Communication. worked in many production houses. "Big Synergy Media Ltd. for KBC South as Contestant Head" | {
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} | 518 |
"Folks," economist Larry Kudlow, a host on the business channel CNBC begged his viewers that evening, "don't give up on this great country!"
Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain had the most to say. On Monday, he said "the foundation of our economy" was "strong," adding that he opposed a government-led bailout of US insurer AIG. But now he's promising further government steps "to prevent the kind of wild speculation that can put our markets at risk." McCain's explanation for the current crisis: "unbridled corruption and greed."
But Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama didn't move past superficialities, either. "We're Americans. We've met tough challenges before and we can again."
What else are they supposed to say? After all, US presidents have very little influence on stockmarkets. And Wall Street is expecting the status quo for the next president. On Wednesday an almost palpable mix of tension and melancholy filled the air above New York's Financial District. The beloved trader bar Bull Run was half empty, and many tables were free at fine-dining establishments like Cipriani, Mangia and Bobby Van's, which are normally booked days in advance.
The bright side of this is you don't have to worry about who's leading the presidential race...it doesn't really matter who wins anyway...we're all fucked.
But hey...The FDIC is starting a PR campaign soon...don't worry. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 7,684 |
This year's Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be held on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden from 3-6 p.m. ET, and livestreamed at grammy.com/live and at cbs.com.
Zac Brown, Natalie Grant and Bernie Herms, Lisa Loeb, Ledisi, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Jimmy Jam are among those presenting the first Grammy Awards of the day in nearly 70 categories. Performers during the Premiere Ceremony include Body Count, India.Arie, Jazzmeia Horn, Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo', and Stile Antico. Singer, composer, and instrumentalist Paul Shaffer will host the ceremony and will serve as musical director while his World's Most Dangerous Band will serve as the house band.
Meanwhile, the Recording Academy has also extended its partnership with Westwood One, with Westwood One continuing to be the Recording Academy's official radio broadcast partner.
Westwood One will also create a two-hour GRAMMYs 60th Anniversary Nomination Special and distribute the broadcast across three key music formats airing Jan. 20 and 21, each hosted by New York City on-air talent. The Top 40/Rhythmic, Hot AC, and AC versions will be hosted by Jayde Donovan from Todd & Jayde Mornings on WPLJ-FM/New York and the Urban/Urban AC version will be hosted by La Loca from WNBM-FM/New York.
Westwood One will also air a week-long series of musical performances and interviews, live from Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17, at Penn Plaza. Pop station 95.5 WPLJ and New York's only country station, NASH FM 94.7, will be hosting private performances all week by Bleachers, Marshmello, and this year's GRAMMY-nominated artist Midland, among others. A complete list of performances will be announced soon.
The 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast live following the Premiere Ceremony on the CBS Television Network from 7:30–11 p.m. ET/4:30–8 p.m. PT. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} | 8,033 |
Q: Meteor - Google Maps InfoWindow Event Not Firing Using Meteorjs and dburles google map package for Meteor.
The Goal:
Is to have the markers map out on the canvas, and then onclick to reveal the infoWindows. I am having an issue firing the google map event in order for the window to reveal.
My Code:
Template.myMap.helpers({
mapOptions: function() {
var locations = [
['Kroger', 34.069201, -84.231052, 5],
['Fresh Produce', 34.069802, -84.234164, 4],
['Starbucks', 34.069003, -84.236323, 3],
['Mall of Georgia', 34.069204, -84.232016, 2],
['Avalanche', 34.069705, -84.238207, 1]
]
// Make sure the maps API has loaded
if (GoogleMaps.loaded()) {
// We can use the `ready` callback to interact with the map API once the map is ready.
GoogleMaps.ready('myMap', function(map) {
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow(),
marker, i;
for (i = 0; i < locations.length; i++) {
marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: new google.maps.LatLng(locations[i][1], locations[i][2]),
map: map.instance
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
return function() {
infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
infowindow.open(map, marker);
}
});
}
});
return {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(34.069705, -84.238),
zoom: 16
};
}
}
});
A: You're returning a function from the event handler rather than just handling the event, for reasons that aren't clear. Try this:
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
infowindow.open(map, marker);
});
UPDATE
The other problem is that you're trying to add it to the GoogleMaps map object, not the instance itself. It should be:
infowindow.open(map.instance, marker);
Also, I haven't run your code, but I think you're going to run into problems with the way you've structured this, as the value of i will not be as intended when the handler is actually fired (because the loop will have subsequently continued). Consider using forEach instead (below via underscore) so that each handler is declared in its own closure.
_.forEach(locations, function(location) {
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: new google.maps.LatLng(location[1], location[2]),
map: map.instance
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infowindow.setContent(location[0]);
console.log(map, marker, infowindow);
infowindow.open(map.instance, marker);
});
});
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} | 2,818 |
John Waters Lists His 10 Favourite Films of 2015
Now that December has hit, it's time for everyone to start rolling out an overwhelming amount of year-end lists. It gets a little exhausting after a while, to be sure, but not when the lists come from someone as open-minded, creative and downright wacky as John Waters.
Speaking with Art Forum, the legendary cult director shared his top ten flicks of the year. As could be expected, it's a wonderfully diverse list that smashes the highbrow/lowbrow divide and showcases a love of sex scenes.
Waters' top choice is Helmut Berger, Actor, Andreas Horvath's documentary about the former movie star. He calls it simultaneously the best and worst film of the year, praising it for its onscreen ejaculation scene. Similarly, he loved Gaspar Noé's Love for showcasing "heterosexual rimming" in 3-D at the Cannes Film Festival.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Waters also loved movies that carried some innocence. Todd Haynes' Carol, for example, he called "shockingly tasteful," while Cinderella was his second favourite flick of the whole year. "I fucking love this Disney film," he said.
There was also a healthy amount of Cancon on the list as Waters loved Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson's The Forbidden Room as well as Xavier Dolan's Tom at the Farm.
Check out Waters' full list of favourites below, and read his commentary on each film here.
1. Helmut Berger, Actor (dir. Andreas Horvath)
2. Cinderella (dir. Kenneth Branagh)
3. The Forbidden Room (dir. Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson)
4. Tom at the Farm (dir. Xavier Dolan)
5. Mad Max: Fury Road (dir. George Miller)
6. Carol (dir. Todd Haynes)
7. The Diary of a Teenage Girl (dir. Marielle Heller)
8. Tangerine (dir. Sean Baker)
9. Fly Colt Fly: Legend of the Barefoot Bandit (dir. Adam Gray and Andrew Gray)
10. Love (dir. Gaspar Noé)
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} | 6,369 |
The hype and nerdom were real for this move. Maybe that is why it was an overall disappointment in my books, but that ending scene was nothing less than glorious.
The movie started off poorly but as it progressed it got noticeably better. Maybe it was just me, but the opening was by far the worst part of the movie but it quickly got better. While the first act was forgettable the movie found its stride during the first Death Star test, the movie never looked back. From fantastic Easter eggs (highlighted and allusions to Obi-Wan Kenobi and an appearance by Grand Moff Tarkin) to action scenes and plot twists.
While the first act was forgettable the third act was amazing, the second act was ranged from good to great. While it found lows on the platform scene (which, to be clear, had bright spots) the highs from the council meeting onward outweighed the average.
What kind of review would this be if I did not talk about the third act? It was established before the movie was released that it underwent extensive reshoots and that clearly paid off. The interlocking space battle, ground scenes, and heist fit perfectly and kept you on the edge of your seat even though you knew the ending and that ending was fantastic. To call it a fight scene would be too generous to the rebels. It was a complete slaughter by Darth Vader and that was everything I wanted. Going into the movie the biggest desire I had was that scene and it delivered. In the end, I would argue this ending was easily the best two minutes of any Star Wars movie and of the greatest, and if I may dare, the greatest, final two minutes of any movie I have seen. Of course, the scene with Princess Leia afterwards tied Rouge One and A New Hope together perfectly.
I have to give one last commendation to the movie; they killed off all the main characters. That is something few movies have it in them to do and even fewer superhero/action movies do. They successfully tied the final loose ends in the stand alone flick with some of the best kill-off sequences of all time.
All in all, this movie was a 7 out 10 without the final two minutes, but a solid 9 out of 10 with it.
Great Review. My thoughts exactly! | {
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} | 6,209 |
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I have two sons that attend Childcare Network #20. They both attend before and after care with Cameron and he is great with the large number of children. My youngest son is in the Pre-K Program with Taryn and Dana and he loves them both. I really appreciate a job well done from both teachers interaction with my son and showing great concern about his well being and his readiness for Kindergarten. These ladies are a great team!
My Son Absolutely Love his teachers at this Child Care Network and We love them as well! They are great people with positive attitudes! They care so much for their students, they build relationships and bond with them as if they are their own children! So thankful for them and my son's progress! | {
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Fausto Gardini
University of Bologna, Italy
Pablo Fuciños
Stefano Zardetto
Voltan Spa, Italy
Front. Microbiol., 02 September 2022
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 13 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1003437
Extension of the shelf-life of fresh pasta using modified atmosphere packaging and bioprotective cultures
Marinella Marzano1, Maria Calasso2, Giusy Rita Caponio2, Giuseppe Celano2, Bruno Fosso1,3, Domenico De Palma4, Mirco Vacca2*, Elisabetta Notario3, Graziano Pesole1,3, Francesca De Leo1* and Maria De Angelis2
1Istituto di Biomembrane, Bioenergetica e Biotecnologie Molecolari, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Bari, Italy
2Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
3Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Biofarmaceutica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
4Food Safety Lab s.r.l., Corato, BA, Italy
Microbial stability of fresh pasta depends on heat treatment, storage temperature, proper preservatives, and atmosphere packaging. This study aimed at improving the microbial quality, safety, and shelf life of fresh pasta using modified atmosphere composition and packaging with or without the addition of bioprotective cultures (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium spp., and Bacillus coagulans) into semolina. Three fresh pasta variants were made using (i) the traditional protocol (control), MAP (20:80 CO2:N2), and barrier packaging, (ii) the experimental MAP (40:60 CO2:N2) and barrier packaging, and (iii) the experimental MAP, barrier packaging, and bioprotective cultures. Their effects on physicochemical properties (i.e., content on macro elements, water activity, headspace O2, CO2 concentrations, and mycotoxins), microbiological patterns, protein, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) were investigated at the beginning and the end of the actual or extended shelf-life through traditional and multi-omics approaches. We showed that the gas composition and properties of the packaging material tested in the experimental MAP system, with or without bioprotective cultures, positively affect features of fresh pasta avoiding changes in their main chemical properties, allowing for a storage longer than 120 days under refrigerated conditions. These results support that, although bioprotective cultures were not all able to grow in tested conditions, they can control the spoilage and the associated food-borne microbiota in fresh pasta during storage by their antimicrobials and/or fermentation products synergically. The VOC profiling, based on gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS), highlighted significant differences affected by the different manufacturing and packaging of samples. Therefore, the use of the proposed MAP system and the addition of bioprotective cultures can be considered an industrial helpful strategy to reduce the quality loss during refrigerated storage and to increase the shelf life of fresh pasta for additional 30 days by allowing the economic and environmental benefits spurring innovation in existing production models.
Pasta is a cereal-based food of the traditional Mediterranean diet, popular worldwide due to its convenience, palatability, and nutritional quality, ideal for easy and quick meals (Antognelli, 1980; Arendt and Zannini, 2013; Carini et al., 2014; Zardetto et al., 2021). According to Italian law, "fresh pasta" is defined as the product obtained by extrusion or lamination of a dough made of durum wheat semolina or alternative flours and water, having moisture content between 24% and 30%, water activity (aw) between 0.92 and 0.97, and stored at 4 (±2)°C (Dpr, 2001; Costa et al., 2010; Carini et al., 2014). In this form, fresh pasta has on average 2–3 days-long shelf life even though this depends on the microbial cell density found at the end of the production process (Tabanelli, 2020). The heat treated (equivalent to pasteurization) industrial fresh pasta, stored at an appropriate temperature, has a shelf life of 30–90 days (Pagani et al., 2007; Angiolillo et al., 2017). However, its shelf life after packaging depends on microbial survival rates to thermal treatments, overcoming the hurdles determined by thermal treatment, aw, and storage temperature (Sanguinetti et al., 2011, 2016). The high moisture content and aw, as well as the nutrient content, lead to microbial metabolic activities (Guerzoni et al., 1994; Zardetto, 2005a; Del Nobile et al., 2009a) determining fresh pasta as a foodstuff easily perishable and compromising both safety and sensorial characteristics of the end product (Del Nobile et al., 2009a; Costa et al., 2010; Oliveira et al., 2014). For this reason, based on nationality, different laws allowed for using chemical preservatives and bacteriostatic compounds, such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate, to maintain the microbial safety and quality of fresh or filled pasta (Fda, 2006; Li et al., 2011; Shahmohammadi et al., 2016; Reg. UE 1129/2011).
Nowadays, the broad diffusion of fresh pasta and, particularly, the increased consumers' demand for reducing the use of synthetic preservatives have provided the interest to extend the product shelf life (90–120 days) taking advantage of "clean-label" methods (Del Nobile et al., 2009b; Angiolillo et al., 2017; Schettino et al., 2019). Innovative approaches are those based on modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and biopreservatives, both aimed to reduce the growth of microorganisms surviving heat thermal treatments while maintaining the traditional organoleptic properties and assuring the hygienic quality of fresh pasta (Del Nobile et al., 2009a).
Modified atmosphere packaging is a well-established technique for preserving fresh pasta quality by taking advantage of gas ratios surrounding the product that is different from the air (Zardetto, 2005b; Del Nobile et al., 2009a). The ratios 70:30 and 60:40 N2:CO2 are the most commonly used MAP gas mixtures to preserve the microbial quality of fresh pasta (Zardetto et al., 2022). These ratios limit microbial overgrowth and toxin production reducing the physicochemical deterioration of packaged foods (Zardetto, 2005b; Chaix et al., 2015). The un-/success of MAP depends on the structure, thickness, area, and permeability of the used film for packaging (e.g., thermoformed trays or flexible films containing specific barrier properties), gradient concentrations, differences in pressure across the film, and temperature (Gholizadeh et al., 2007). Furthermore, recent advances in MAP technologies were based on the application of environmentally friendly film materials in fresh food preservation (Qu et al., 2022; Zardetto et al., 2022).
Biopreservation is a biotechnological strategy based on the use of bioprotective cultures (BCs) or their antimicrobials and fermentation products, such as bacteriocins and organic acids, aimed at preserving foods and extending the shelf life in terms of spoilage and pathogen control (Ananou et al., 2007; Oliveira et al., 2018). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have antagonistic properties, proven antimicrobial properties, and safe history that make them ideal biopreservative candidates (Ghanbari et al., 2013; Cifuentes Bachmann and Leroy, 2015). In previous works, LAB were added during pasta-making to have a final product with a lower glycemic index, low gluten (Calasso et al., 2018), or higher content of B2 vitamin (Capozzi et al., 2011) than controls. Furthermore, LAB strains were recently used to preserve both the microbial and sensory quality of fresh or filled pasta (Angiolillo et al., 2017; Tabanelli, 2020). Also, spore-forming microorganisms (e.g., Bacillus spp.) have been used in research studies to produce heat-treated probiotic pasta (Fares et al., 2015; Konuray and Erginkaya, 2020).
Based on these considerations, this work explored two different fields. First, different MAP conditions (gas concentration and packaging materials) have been tested. As a second-step evaluation, the experimental MAP was combined with a multi-strain probiotic mixture acting as BCs during pasta production. Therefore, both were compared against control pasta to assess differences in chemical, microbiological, and metabolomic parameters considering also temporal dynamics (storage) based on a multi-omics approach. Hence, the microbiota was profiled through culturomics and rDNA gene-target metagenetics, while chemical, proteomic, and metabolomic profiles of the fresh pasta samples have been also studied.
Pasta making
Fresh pasta samples were produced in a semi-industrial factory (Altamura, Bari, Italy), in duplicate on three consecutive days, using commercial durum wheat semolina (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum; moisture 14.6 ± 1.3 g/100 g, ash 0.63 ± 0.06 g/100 g, proteins 13.8 ± 0.6g/100 g, dry gluten 11.2 g/100 g, all on dry weight). All samples were prepared in a semi-industrial plant equipped with a bronze die. The chosen shape of pasta was a short, thin twisted pasta type, named "trofie."
Three different sets of pasta were manufactured (Figure 1 and Appendix A): (i) control fresh pasta made following the conventional protocol and MAP (1MA); (ii) fresh pasta obtained by conventional protocol and packaged in experimental MAP (2MA); and (iii) fresh pasta made with the addition of bioprotective cultures (BCs) and packaged in experimental MAP (2MA-BC).
Figure 1. Schematic design showing the production of fresh pasta at the semi-industrial factory and the analyses performed.
In 2MA-BC, a commercial freeze-dried multi-strain probiotic mixture commercially available was used. The mixture contained Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (basonym Lactobacillus paracasei), Lacticaseibacillus casei (basonym Lactobacillus casei), and Bacillus coagulans (Montefarmaco OTC SpA, Bollate, Milan, Italy). Freeze-dried BCs were added to semolina (final cell density for each strain ∼7 log CFU/g). BCs were prepared by dissolving lyophilized microorganisms in a liquid contained in the provided bottle immediately before using, as recommended by the manufacturer's instructions, and added to semolina and water during pasta dough-making (final cell densities ∼7 log CFU/g dough).
For 1MA batches, the sampling was performed at 0, 30, 60, and 90 days (actual shelf-life) of storage at 4 ± 2°C. For both 2MA (2MA and 2MA-BC) batches, the sampling was performed at 0, 90, 110, and 120 days (expected shelf-life) of storage at 4 ± 2°C. All samples were shipped to the laboratory under refrigerated conditions (∼4°C) and immediately chemically and microbiologically analyzed. An aliquot of each sample was frozen (-80°C) until metagenomic and metabolomic analyses were performed.
Chemical characterization
Lipids, proteins (total nitrogen × 6.25) (Reg. CE 1169/2011), ash, and total dietary fibers were assessed according to AOAC methods 945.38F, 979.09, 923.03, and 991.43 (AOAC International, 1990, 2006), respectively. Moisture content was determined by an automatic moisture analyzer at 105°C (Mod. MAC 110/NP, Rodwang Wagi Elektroniczne, Poland). The carbohydrate content was determined by difference [100 − (moisture + proteins + lipids + ash)]. The energy was determined by multiplying the protein and carbohydrate contents by their calorific value (4 kcal/100 g), while the fat amount by its calorific value (9 kcal/100 g). Water activity in fresh pasta samples was determined according to ISO 18787:2017 method.
Headspace changes of O2 and CO2 concentrations were measured in packaged samples according to L-MI056 rev.0 Ed.2018 internal method. In detail, the LMI056 method was based on measurements with electrochemical cells of the packaging headspace in terms of gas (percentage) concentrations by a DANSENSOR instrument (Ametek MOCON, Inc., Brooklyn Park, MN, USA). Additionally, total aflatoxins (AFTs), deoxynivalenol (DON), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEA) were assessed according to the L-MI067 rev.0 2020 method, which was previously accredited by the Italian certification organization Accredia, based on measurements with SCIEX model 5500 + HPLC-MS/MS (AB Sciex LLC, Framingham, MA, USA) using an isotopically labeled internal standard.
Cultivable microbiota characterization
Microbiological analyses enumerated total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (UNI EN ISO 4833-1:2013 method), mesophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (ISO 15214:1998), Bifidobacterium spp., spore-forming bacteria (SFB), presumptive B. coagulans, coliform bacteria (ISO 4832:2006 method), beta-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli (ISO 16649-2:2001 method), Enterobacteriaceae (ISO 21528-2:2017 method), Salmonella spp. (AFNOR BIO 12/32-10/11 method), coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (UNI EN ISO 6888-2:2004 method), Listeria monocytogenes (AFNOR BIO 12/27-02/10 method), Clostridium perfrigens (ISO 7937 method), yeasts, and molds (standard method ISO 21527-2:2008 method). The sample preparation was performed in accordance with UNI EN ISO 6887-1:2000 and UNI EN ISO 6887-4:2012. Aliquots (10 g) of semolina and fresh pasta were aseptically removed from each package and homogenized [90 ml of Buffered Peptone Water (BPW)] for total counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria at 30°C, LAB, bifidobacteria, SFB and Bacillus, coliforms, β-glucuronidase-positive E. coli, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, L. monocytogenes, sulfite reducing clostridia, yeasts, and molds. The determination of Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella spp. was carried out in 25 g of sample homogenized in 225 mL BPW. For each sample, appropriate dilutions were performed. Bifidobacterium was enumerated according to Tharmaraj and Shah (2003), using MRS agar which is added 0.05% L-cysteine hydrochloride, 0.1 g/L neomycin sulfate, 0.15 g/L nalidixic acid, 3 g/L lithium chloride, and 0.2 g/L paromomycin sulfate, and then plates were anaerobically incubated (37°C for 72 h). To determine SFM densities, dilutions were heat-treated (90 °C for 10 min in a water bath) and spread-plated on nutrient agar plates, then incubated (at 37 °C for 48 h). For the enumeration of presumptive B. coagulans, dilutions were heat-treated (75 °C for 30 min), spread-plated on glucose yeast extract agar, and incubated (40 °C for 48–72 h) as described by Konuray and Erginkaya (2020). Except for bifidobacteria, SFB, and Bacillus, all used methods were validated and accredited by the Italian certification organization Accredia. All used culture media were previously controlled in accordance with the UNI EN ISO 11133:2014. For each of the following parameters, productivity, selectivity, and specificity scores were considered.
DNA extraction, sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis
Total genomic DNA was extracted from 1MA, 2MA, and 2MA-BC pasta samples at different time points. About 5 g of each pasta sample was homogenized with 45 ml of sterile saline solution (Minervini et al., 2010). Pellet was treated with FastPrep (BIO 101, C lsbad, Canada) and DNA was extracted using the FastDNA Spin Kit for Soil (MP Biomedicals, Illkrich, France), following the manufacturer's instructions. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the extracted DNA were performed using agarose gel (1%) electrophoresis and the Quant-iTTM PicoGreen® dsDNA Assay Kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA), respectively. The V5–V6 hypervariable regions of the 16S rDNA and the ITS1 (Internal Transcribed Spacer) region, within the ITS region of the gene locus for ribosomal RNA, were chosen as targets for prokaryotic and fungal characterization, respectively (Chakravorty et al., 2007; Bokulich and Mills, 2013). Amplicon libraries strategy agreed with Manzari et al. (2015). In the first PCR round, the overhang primer pairs, BV5 (Next For), and AV6 (Next Rev) (5′-TCGTCGGCAGCGTCAGATGTGTATAAGAGACAG[ATTAG ATACCCYGGTAGTCC]-3′/5′-GTCTCGTGGGCTCGGAGAT GTGTATAAGAGACAG[ACGAGCTGACGACARCCATG]-3′) were used for the analysis of the V5–V6 regions (Manzari et al., 2015), while BITS (Next For) and B58S3 (Next Rev) (5′-TCGTCGGCAGCGTCAGATGTGTATAAGAGACAG[ACCT GCGGARGGATCA]-3′/5′-GTCTCGTGGGCTCGGAGATGT GTATAAGAGACAG[GAGATCCRTTGYTRAAAGTT]-3′) were used for the ITS1 region (Bokulich and Mills, 2013). Finally, equimolar ratios of the purified amplicons were pooled and subjected to 2 × 250 bp paired-end sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. To increase the genetic diversity, the phage PhiX genomic DNA library was added to the mix and co-sequenced (Kozich et al., 2013). The V5--V6 hypervariable regions and ITS1 raw sequencing data were initially quality checked by using FastQC1 and multiQC (Ewels et al., 2016). Illumina adapters and PCR primers were removed from raw reads by applying cutadapt (Martin, 2011). The 16S rRNA and ITS1 data were analyzed by using two different pipelines: QIIME2 (Bolyen et al., 2019) and BioMaS (Fosso et al., 2015). The first one relies on ASVs (Amplicon Sequence Variants) estimation and classification, and the latter one performs the taxonomic classification of Illumina data, especially for barcodes characterized by a wide variation in length (i.e., ITS) that may not properly be profiled by using ASV-based approaches. Trimmed V5-V6 data were analyzed by using the QIIME2 suite (version 2019.7). Fastq files were imported as QIIME2 artifacts by using the tools plugin and denoised into ASVs (Callahan et al., 2017) by applying DADA2 (Callahan et al., 2016). The obtained ASVs were taxonomically annotated by using the fit-classifier-sklearn (Pedregosa et al., 2011) plugin and the release 132 of the SILVA database (Pruesse et al., 2007) as the 16S rRNA reference collection and taxonomy. Trimmed ITS1 paired-end reads were merged into consensus sequences using PEAR (version 0.9.6) (Zhang et al., 2013) and then dereplicated through VSEARCH (version 2.15) (Rognes et al., 2016). The unmerged reads were trimmed of low-quality regions (Phred score cutoff of 25), and paired ends containing reads shorter than 50 nt were removed. Both the merged and the unmerged sequences were mapped against the ITSoneDB database (release 141.1) (Santamaria et al., 2012, 2018) by using Bowtie 2 (version 2.3.5.1). The mapping data were filtered according to query coverage (≥70%) and similarity percentage (≥97%) and taxonomically classified by applying TANGO (Alonso-Alemany et al., 2014; Fosso et al., 2018) on the NCBI taxonomy (Kim et al., 2013).
Protein characterization
Protein fractions (albumins and globulins, gliadins, and glutenins) were extracted from pasta following the method originally described by Osborne (1907) and further modified by Weiss et al. (1993) and Rizzello et al. (2007). All extracts were stored at -80°C until they were used. The protein concentration of the various fractions was determined by the Bradford method (Bradford, 1976).
Aliquots of ca. 15 μg of protein from extracted fractions were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) according to the Laemmli protocol (Laemmli, 1970).
Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) of ca. 30 μg of proteins was carried out with the Immobiline-polyacrylamide system as previously described (Bjellqvist et al., 1993). The second dimension was carried out in a Laemmli system (Laemmli, 1970). Gels were silver stained, and spot intensities were normalized (Bini et al., 1997). Three gels from each sampling time were analyzed.
Profiles of volatile organic compounds
To profile volatile organic compounds (VOC)by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses, 7.25 g of crushed fresh pasta was placed into a 20-ml vial with 5 μl of internal standard 4-methyl-2-pentanol (final concentration of 0.67 μg/g) (Cavallo et al., 2017). A PAL COMBI-xt autosampler (CTC combiPAL, CTC Analysis AG, Zwingen, Switzerland) was used to standardize the extraction procedure. To optimize the headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME), a divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CARB/PDMS) (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) fiber was exposed to the sample headspace for 60 min at 75°C (Giannetti et al., 2021). Adsorbed molecules were desorbed in the injector with the analytical conditions reported by Montemurro et al. (2020), using a Clarus 680 (PerkinElmer, Beaconsfield, UK) gas chromatography equipped with an Rtx-WAX column (30 m × 0.25 mm i. d., 0.25 μm film thickness) (Restek Superchrom, Milano, Italy) and a single-quadrupole mass spectrometer Clarus SQ8MS (PerkinElmer) detector. Each chromatogram was analyzed for peak identification by comparing (i) the retention time (RT) of the detected compound with those of pure standard for HPLC (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) and (ii) experimental mass spectra with those of the National Institute of Standards and Technology database (NIST/EPA/NIH Mass Spectral Library with Search Program, data version NIST 05, software version 2.0 d). Quantitative data for the identified compounds were obtained by the interpolation of the relative areas versus the internal standard area, expressed as μg/g of 2-methyl-4-pentanol.
Two-way ANOVA was applied on the means of data obtained from three biological replicates (analyzed in duplicate), using the statistical software Statistica 12.5 (TIBCO Software Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA) for Windows. GraphPad Prism version 8.0.1 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA) and Permut-MatrixEN software have been used to display bacterial and fungi abundances. Principal Components Analysis was performed through Xlstat 2014 (Addinsoft, New York, NY, USA).
1MA pasta was produced using T. durum flour and tap water by conventional protocol, packaged in CO2:N2 = 20:80 PACT30 PE50 MAP system, and used as control. 2MA and 2MA-BC pasta samples were packaged in CO2:N2 = 40:60 PA15/PEEVOH5/PE60 MAP system. 2MA-BC pasta was produced using the commercial spray-dried probiotic bioprotective cultures (BCs) added to pasta dough.
Pasta packaged in experimental MAP with or without the addition of BCs were not different in terms of energy value, proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, fats, and ashes content than 1MA samples (Table 1).
Table 1. Chemical composition during storage at 4°C of fresh pasta "trofie."
Compared to the control 1MA, 2MA, and 2MA-BC pasta showed similar levels of moisture content at T0 (31.6, 30, and 30.8%, respectively).
The aw was similar (ca. 0.92) between 2MA and 2MA-BC samples and no differences were found during storage. In contrast, in 1MA, the aw was lowest at the beginning of storage (0.92) while it increased (p < 0.05) up to 0.95 at 90 days.
At T0, 1MA, 2MA, and 2MA-BC had pH values of 6.00 ± 0.14, 5.99 ± 0.02, and 5.92 ± 0.12, respectively. No statistical differences (p > 0.05) were found during storage.
The headspace gas analysis in 1MA samples showed some changes during storage. In particular, the O2 concentration increased from 2.3% (at T0) to 20.1% (at T90) while, concerning the same mentioned time-points of storage, the CO2 decreased from 21.1% to 2.2%. Compared to 1MA samples, both 2MA (with or without the addition of probiotic BCs) showed the same percentage (p < 0.05) of gas concentration during 120 days of storage, and non-significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between samples.
In all pasta samples, values of mycotoxins (AFTs, DON, OTA, and ZEN) were below the safety limits according to the Regulation (CE) N. 401/2006, and non-significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between sample types as well as based on storage.
Cultivable microbiota of fresh pasta
The baseline cell densities of semolina flour used for pasta manufacturing were higher than final products, mainly due to total aerobic mesophilic microorganisms at 30°C (ca. 3.80 log CFU/g), coliforms (ca. 2.5 log CFU/g), and Enterobacteriaceae (ca. 2.76 log CFU/g). Moreover, in the used semolina flour LAB were 1.6 log CFU/g, whereas Salmonella and L. mononocytogenes were absent in 25 g of samples. Beta-glucuronidase-positive E. coli, sulfite-reducing clostridia, and coagulase-positive Staphylococcus densities were below the detection limit (<1 log CFU/g). Yeasts and molds were <1 and 2.08 log CFU/g, respectively.
In the experimental trial, the use of experimental MAP conditions with or without the addition of BCs (2MA-BC and 2MA, respectively) was carried out and compared against the 1MA product at the beginning and during 90 or 120 days of storage at 4°C.
Pathogens (Salmonella and L. monocytogenes) were absent in all samples. Beta-glucuronidase-positive E. coli, sulfite-reducing clostridia, and coagulase-positive Staphylococcus densities were below the detection limit (<1 log CFU/g) in all samples. Coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae densities were below 1 log CFU/g in all samples during the monitored 120 days.
In 1MA, total aerobic mesophilic microorganisms at 30°C grew from 3.00 to 4.34 log CFU/g after 90 days of storage (Table 2). When 2MA condition without BCs was used, aerobic mesophilic cell density was ca. 2.52 log CFU/g and remain almost constant until 120 days of storage. In 2MA-BCs, total aerobic microorganisms were <2.0 log CFU/g during storage.
Table 2. Viable cell counts (log CFU/g) of different microbial groups during storage at 4°C of fresh pasta "trofie.".
The LAB cell densities in 1MA at the beginning of refrigerated storage was ca. 1.95 ± 0.1 log CFU/g. In 1MA, LAB increased during 90 days of storage and reached 3.47 log CFU/g, while for samples stored with the innovative gas concentration and film (with or without the addition of BCs), it was <1 log CFU/g until the end of 120 days of storage, without significant differences (p < 0.05) between samples (Table 2). Bifidobacteria were not detected in all samples.
The range of counts for SFB and Bacillus spp. were similar in all samples analyzed (Table 2). 1MA and 2MA showed low counts of aerobic spore-forming bacteria (1.5 and 1.7 log CFU/g, respectively), without significant differences (p > 0.05) during storage, whereas 2MA-BC showed higher (p < 0.05) counts of spore-forming bacteria than both 1MA and 2MA.
Yeast and mold densities were below the detection limit (1 log CFU/g) in 2MA and 2MA-BC without significant differences (p > 0.05) driven by the addition of BCs. In the 1MA, yeasts and molds grew up to 3.09 and 1.6 log CFU/g, respectively, at 90 days of storage (Table 2 and Supplementary Figure 1). 2MA and 2MA-BC samples did not report either signs of spoilage or microbial alterations until 120 days of storage.
Proteomic characterization of fresh pasta
No differences (p < 0.05) were observed for the concentration of protein fractions in pasta samples, whose levels were stable during storage (data not shown). 1MA pasta protein fractions were separated and visualized in triplicate by SDS-PAGE (Supplementary Figure 2). The intensities of the albumins, globulins, and gliadins bands were similar between the sampling times (Supplementary Figure 2). Protein fractions were also separated and visualized by 2DE. The reproducibility of the 2DE gel performance was analyzed by comparing samples in triplicate (data not shown). Based on SDS-PAGE, no differences were found for the total number of spots and protein expression between samples of 1MA profiled at different times of sampling, indicating the absence of substantial differences or protein degradation on wheat protein fractions of pasta affected by storage. Therefore, no additional samples were investigated in terms of proteomic profiling.
Study of microbial community dynamics through amplicon sequencing and metagenomics
Profiling the prokaryotic microbiota, nine libraries of dual indexed amplicons of 420 bp related to the V5–V6 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene were successfully sequenced on the MiSeq platform, using a 2 × 250 bp paired-end (PE) sequencing strategy. No amplicon has been obtained and sequenced for 2MA-BC-T120 pasta samples. All sequenced samples generated reads of high quality with the expected length of 250 bp. Raw sequencing data are available in the SRA repository under the BioProject PRJNA782807. About 88.8% of PE reads were retained as ASVs (Amplicon Sequence Variants), following the denoising procedure, and were subjected to the taxonomic analysis.
The identified taxa at phylum and genus levels showing a relative abundance higher than 0.1% were reported as stacked bar plots for each analyzed sample (Figure 2). At the phylum level, Firmicutes were dominant in all the samples during storage. Compared to 1MA, 2MA samples with or without the addition of BCs showed a slight increase of gamma-Proteobacteria during storage. Among phyla, 2MA-BC exhibited the presence of Actinobacteria for a relevant proportion of the total microbiota (average abundance of 18% of ASVs from the beginning until the end of the storage). Taxa of the Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria were detected in all the samples even though the total relative abundance was lower than 1%.
Figure 2. Bacterial community composition at phylum (A) and genus (B) level for fresh pasta samples by 16S rRNA gene V5–V6 region sequencing. 1MA, control fresh pasta obtained by protocol and packaging MAP conditions used at plant level analyzed at the beginning and the end of the actual 90 days of shelf life (1MA-T0, 1MA-T90); 2MA, fresh pasta obtained by conventional protocol and packaged in experimental MAP conditions analyzed at the beginning and the end of the actual and expected 90, 110, and 120 days of shelf life (2MA-T0, 2MA-T90, 2MA-T110, 2MA-T120); 2MA-BC, fresh pasta obtained by the addition of bioprotective culture onto semolina and packaged in experimental MAP conditions, analyzed at the beginning and the end of the actual and expected 90, 110, or 120 days of shelf life (2MA-BC-T0, 2MA-BC-T90, 2MA-BC-T110, 2MA-BC-T120).
Leuconostoc and Weissella were the dominant genera (93.87 and 3.96% of ASVs, respectively) in 1MA-T0 (Figure 2B). Leuconostoc was the most relevant genus in 1MA until 90 days of shelf life despite its relative abundance decreasing to 24.7% in 1MA-T90. Instead, Weissella increased up to 51.25% in 1MA-T90. Staphylococcus and Enterobacteriaceae (not assigned at genus level) were ca. 1% till 90 days of storage.
The use of the experimental gas concentration and barrier film combined with the addition of BCs changed the quantitative composition of the prokaryotic microbiota at the genus level. Weissella was the most relevant genus despite its relative abundance being ca. 87.5 and 27% of ASVs in 2MA-T0 and 2MA-BC-T0, respectively. The relative abundance of Weissella significantly decreased in 2MA-T120 (58.7% of the total ASVs) while increasing up to 37% in 2MA-BC-T110.
In 2MA-BC, the ASVs detection of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Bacillus confirmed the presence of the BCs, and these on average were 17.5, 6.12, and 2.55% of the ASVs, respectively, without significant differences determined by storage.
During 120 days of shelf life of samples packaged in 2MA, Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, Pediococcus, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas, and Enterobacteriaceae (not assigned at genus level) were found each at a lower abundance than 2.85% without significant differences determined by storage.
To profile the fungal microbiota, ITS1 sequencing was performed. No amplicons were retrieved from the total DNA of 2MA and 2MA-BC. Therefore, the ITS1 sequencing was performed only for 1MA samples at the beginning and 90 days of shelf life. Wickerhamomyces was the genus more present (94 and 91.7% of the ASVs in 1MA-T0 and 1MA-T90 samples, respectively) (Figure 3A). Besides Wickerhamomyces, Torulaspora was most represented (3.18 and 1.93% of ASVs in 1MA-T0 and 1MA-T90, respectively) followed by Saccharomyces (1.08 and 1.27% of ASVs in 1MA-T0 and 1MA-T90, respectively). Cyberlindnera, Malassezia, Alternaria, Theobroma, Fusarium, and Cladosporium genera had a relative abundance lower than 1% even though a slight increase in their relative abundance was found at T90. The heatmap with normalized values of fungal species' relative abundance (Figure 3B), including those poor-representative species (0.01–0.1%), showed a more heterogeneous fungal microbiota at T90 than T0.
Figure 3. Fungi microbiota (yeasts and molds) composition in fresh pasta samples by ITS1 region sequencing. 1MA, control fresh pasta obtained by protocol and packaging MAP conditions used at plant level analyzed at the beginning and the end of the actual 90 days of shelf life (1MA-T0, 1MA-T90). (A) Fungal genera with a relative abundance >0.1% in at least one sample. To note, the scale values started from 90% due to the relative abundance of Wickerhamomyces that was >91%. (B) Heatmap based on relative abundance (normalized for row) of the top 20 abundant fungal species. Colors correspond to normalized mean data levels from low (green) to high (red).
Profiling the volatile organic compounds of fresh pasta
Volatile organic compounds of fresh pasta samples at the beginning and the end of 90 days of refrigerated storage have been investigated by HS-SPME/GC-MS. Forty-two VOCs were detected (Supplementary Table 1). Overall, after 90 days of storage, the total amount of fatty acids and aldehydes in 1MA-T90 was higher compared to 2MA and 2MA-BC pasta samples. The highest concentration of hexanal (p < 0.05) was found in 1MA-T90. The highest concentration of total alcohol was observed in 2MA-BC samples. Comparing the different fresh pasta samples, 24 out of 42 VOCs were statistically different. 1MA-T90 showed the highest (p < 0.05) amount of hexanal, 2-methylpentanoic anhydride, nonanoic acid, hexanoic acid, 2H-pyran-2,6(3H)-dione, and other hydrocarbons. Both 2MA samples reported a higher concentration (p < 0.05) of hexanol and octanoic acid compared to 1MA. Aromatic compounds, benzyl alcohol, and propanedioic acid-diethyl ester were found only in 2MA-BC (Supplementary Table 1). VOC profiles were plotted based on a principal component analysis (PCA) (Figure 4). The PCA plot of samples (score plot) and variables (loading plot) accounted for 68% of the total variance (PC1: 52.9% and PC2: 15.1%). According to PC1, a different VOC profile was observed between 1MA and both 2MA fresh pasta samples. Differently, the PC2 discriminates samples based on both the time of storage and the use of 2MA combined with BCs.
Figure 4. Principal component analysis (PCA) of 24 volatile organic compounds that significantly differed (p < 0.05; one-way ANOVA) between fresh pasta samples. ▲, 1MA, control fresh pasta obtained by conventional protocol and packaging MAP conditions used at the plant level; □, 2MA, fresh pasta obtained by conventional protocol and packaged in experimental MAP conditions; ⋄, 2MA-BC, fresh pasta obtained by the addition of bioprotective culture onto semolina and packaged in experimental MAP conditions. Three biological replicates were analyzed at the beginning (0 days, green color) and the end (blue color) of the actual 90 days of storage.
Homemade, artisanal, or industrial fresh pasta products, for example, filled pasta or one heat-treated, are vulnerable under a microbiological point of view based on values of moisture and aw. When values of these parameters were too high, they favor the growth of pathogenic or potentially pathogenic microorganisms limiting, therefore, both the healthiness and shelf life of products (Ricci et al., 2017). To preserve fresh pasta and extend its shelf-life avoiding food loss and waste, double-time pasteurization, packaging, temperature of refrigeration, and the use of preservatives are the most studied approaches (Del Nobile et al., 2009a; Costa et al., 2010; Zardetto et al., 2021). With this purpose, the present study describes a "clean-label" approach that uses MAP combined with and without bioprotective cultures (BCs) to increase the shelf life of fresh pasta from 90 to 120 days of storage at 4°C. During storage, several chemical, microbiological, and metabolomic characteristics can be affected by the different technologies that have, in turn, an effect on pasta properties to extend/limit its shelf-life (Costa et al., 2010; Sanguinetti et al., 2011; Tabanelli, 2020; Zardetto et al., 2021). We discovered the suitability of a multi-omics approach to microbial community (bacterial and fungal) profiling through culturomics and metagenomics (amplicon sequencing-based), proteomics, and metabolomics techniques.
First, the influence of the innovative sealed bags and MAP conditions, used in this research, lead to a different O2 and CO2 concentration during storage being a strong deliverable of the present work, since previous evidence allowed for extended storage thanks to increased concentrations of CO2 (Zardetto et al., 2022). Visible molds were found in control fresh pasta packaged under routinary CO2:N2 (20:80) ratios in PACT30-PE50-bags, in which a decreasing CO2 was found after 90 days of storage. Hence, we hypothesized that a gas diffusion between the packaging headspace and the environment was affected by sealed bag characteristics (e.g., mechanical resistance), as suggested by previous works (Lucera et al., 2014; Chaix et al., 2015; Zardetto et al., 2022). In turn, the altered gas composition harbored mold growth on the pasta surface before the use-by date. On the contrary, the experimental CO2:N2 (40:60) concentration combined with PA15/PEEVOH5/PE60 films for packaging was more stable during storage. Values of WVTR and OTR (Appendix A) of the two films were considered and, as reported in technical sheets, results from permeation tests showed substantial differences. The OTR values particularly differed in terms of magnitude order; the 1MA film being more permeable to O2 than bags used for 2MA.
Culture-dependent and -independent approaches allowed for obtaining an integrated overview in terms of microbial dynamics during storage. Microbial cell densities increased during the storage of 1MA samples, which are products no longer marketable after 90 days. A microbial inhibition was found in 2MA based on MAP with 40% CO2 in line with previous results (Zardetto, 2005a; Kimbuathong et al., 2020). The CO2 permits prolonging of both the lag phase and the time for spoilage inhibiting pivotal enzymatic activities in Krebs's cycle of microorganisms (Daniels et al., 1985). Instead, in control samples, culturomics seems to indicate a survival rate of several microbial groups despite the heat treatment. Hence, the effectiveness of pasteurization can not be absolute due to the intrinsic and specific characteristics of foods and, as recognized, the shelf life is affected by both the number of surviving microorganisms and textural/structural changes deriving from thermal treatments (Lopez et al., 1998; Tabanelli, 2020). Nonetheless, all used pasta variants were suitable under the hygienic profile, as emphasized by the absence of pathogenic microorganisms (e.g., Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes). These outcomes, indeed, are related to the strictness in observing hygienic practices during the manufacturing, as well as to the use of raw materials with good quality and, overall, the effectiveness of the thermal treatment (Aureli et al., 1989; Alamprese et al., 2008; Ricci et al., 2017). No fungi growth and, indeed, no ITS amplicons were retrieved from 2MA pasta samples. As already reported for fresh-filled pasta, molds can be responsible for spoilage, but their multiplication can be inhibited using a concentration of CO2 higher than 15% in MAP packaging (Zardetto, 2005b; Tabanelli, 2020). Consistent with these results, AFTs, DON, OTA, and ZEA fungi mycotoxins did not exceed during storage, as they were below the maximum limits established by Commission regulation (No. 401/2006). Mycotoxins are natural food contaminants and the quality and safety of the final pasta depend on the flours, the technological process (thermal treatment and drying process), and the conditions used during preparation (de Nijs et al., 2016; Bouafifssa et al., 2018). The metagenomics explored mycotoxins-producers' fungi such as Penicillium, Alternaria, and Fusarium being below the 0.1% of relative abundance. The present technological process did not avoid the presence of mycotoxigenic fungal taxa even though mycotoxin production was always under the safety limit confirming the inhibitory effect of MAP toward these important chronic dietary risk factors (Bouafifssa et al., 2018). Living microbes were macroscopically found in 1MA-T90; however, chemical and proteomic analyses did not emphasize a considerable metabolism of macronutrients and proteins for which microbes are well known (De Angelis et al., 2021). The proteomic profiles of all 1MA samples overlapped for both the presence and intensity of gel bands, as well as, albumins, gliadins, and glutenins spots. For this reason, 2MA samples were not profiled with respect to the proteomic field. According to the ITS1-seq, the time of storage determined an increase in alpha diversity in 1MA samples. On the contrary, samples of 1MA were characterized by lower alpha diversity scores of bacteria domains due to the main presence of Leuconostoc (at T0), while Weissella (at T90) in relative microbiota. Probably due to lower microbial competition, the presence of only these two bacterial genera was not sufficient to avoid mold overgrowth. The presence of ASVs belonging to Lactobacillus, Bacillus, and Bifidobacterium confirmed the addition of BCs (L. acidophilus, L. casei, Bifidobacterium spp., B. coagulans) and that these taxa were detectable till 110 days of storage. Therefore, this result confirms the previously stated evidence that probiotic multistrain cultures used for bioprotection are metabolically active preparations applied to inhibit undesired microbes (Spanu et al., 2017). Herein, culturomics highlighted the thermal treatment effectiveness in decreasing cell densities of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, whereas the spore-forming B. coagulans preserved its viability during pasta production and storage as previously discussed (Konuray and Erginkaya, 2020). In the present study, the addition of BCs reduced the growth of autochthonous microbes allowing for improved stability of pasta during storage. This may be attributed to the release of heat-stable bacteriocins synthesized by BCs, which represent an extra hurdle against spoilage and/or pathogen microorganisms during the processing and/or storage and/or selling of the foodstuff (Baka et al., 2014). Antimicrobials could be present in 2MA-BC fresh pasta independently of the viability of the producing microorganisms while contributing to inhibiting the growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria and allowing for extending the storage of pasta up to 120 days.
Concerning VOCs, 42 compounds were overall detected in fresh pasta samples. As shown by the multivariate analyses of VOC profiles, samples were mainly differentiated based on the production process (Figure 4). The main differences were related to aldehydes, fatty acids, and alcohols derived from lipid oxidation. Nonanoic and hexanoic acids, both deriving from autoxidation (Giannetti et al., 2014), were significantly abundant in control pasta (1MA-T90) rather than in 2MA-T90 and 2MA-BC-T90 samples. Hence, the experimental MAP substantially extended the shelf-life, probably also delaying lipid oxidation as a result of a reduced O2 content (Kimbuathong et al., 2020). Lipid oxidation processes are one of the most important parameters influencing the shelf-life of products affecting their quality through deteriorative events (Calligaris et al., 2007; Difonzo et al., 2018). Microorganisms can synthesize lipase and phospholipase contributing to an increase in free fatty acids, molecules that are susceptible to oxidation, such as aldehydes (Nirmal and Benjakul, 2011). In a similar line, hexanal, which is known as a low-quality marker for artisanal and industrial pasta being responsible for fresh pasta off-flavors, decreased when the CO2:N2 = 40:60 MAP system and BCs were used (Giannetti et al., 2014; Hong et al., 2021). It is also well known that fungal growth leads to VOC metabolism (Sunesson et al., 1997). With this respect, 2-methylpentanoic anhydride, being a recognized fungal metabolite, was only found in 1MA samples that, in turn, were characterized by the greatest fungal spoilage (Ewen et al., 2004).
This research highlights the novel exploitation of MAP with or without the addition of BCs to produce fresh pasta. The results indicate that the MAP (40:60 CO2:N2), high barrier packaging, and BCs and their metabolites acted in a synergistic way to control the microbial spoilage of fresh pasta during refrigerated storage at 4°C and can be introduced at the industrial level giving an increase of 30 days in shelf life compared to low barrier conventional MAP packaging, with potential benefits on the economy and on the environment, spurring innovation in existing production models. The microbial assembly and function varied depending on gas concentration, affecting the microbial stability of fresh pasta. The multi-omics approach used in this study can be applied, combined with traditional protocols, to evaluate which of the studied factors is the most influential to drive the shelf-life of fresh pasta. Even if the added BCs were not all detected by traditional protocols during storage of fresh pasta, their antimicrobials and/or fermentation products leads to quantitative and qualitative effect on the bacterial and fungal microbiota associated with pasta. Data herein reported are encouraging additional tests aimed at setting up new protocols for the use of BCs also in other types of cereal-based products, considering the possible implication that viable microorganisms resting in foods can exert potential positive effects on the gut microbiota of consumers, with consequences that remain to explore.
The data presented in this study are deposited in the SRA repository, accession number BioProject PRJNA782807 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA782807).
MM, GP, FD, and MDA: conceptualization. MM, MC, GP, FD, and MDA: methodology. MM and MC: validation. MM, MC, GC, GRC, BF, and MV: formal analysis. MM, MC, GRC, GC, BF, DD, MV, and EN: investigation and writing—original draft preparation. FD, GP, and MDA: resources. MM, MC, GRC, GC, BF, DD, and MV: data curation. MM, GRC, GC, BF, and MV: visualization. GP, FD, and MDA: supervision and funding acquisition. GP and FD: project administration. All authors: writing—review and editing.
This project has received funding from Regione Puglia Asse 1 - Azione 1.6 Bando INNONETWORK "sostegno alle attivita' di r&s per lo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie sostenibili, di nuovi servizi e prodotti" under grant agreement No: 1JLZKD0 (OMICS4FOOD). This work was also supported by ELIXIR-IT, the research infrastructure for life-science data, under grant agreement No: 871075 (ELIXIR-CONVERGE) and by the Rete LAIFF-Rete di laboratori per l'innovazione nel campo degli alimenti funzionali.
We thank Tommaso Depalma and Pasta Apulia srl for the fresh pasta used in this study.
Author DD was employed by Food Safety Lab s.r.l.
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1003437/full#supplementary-material
^ http://www.bioinformatics.babraham.ac.uk/projects/fastqc/
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After dough making, the 1MA, 2MA, and 2MA-BC fresh pasta samples were conveyed in a steel chamber equipped with a perforated steel conveyor belt. By steam injection at 110 ± 1°C for 90 s, the first step of pasteurization (SARP srl, Padua, Italy, model SST200/V) on the loose product was carried out. After pasteurization, the product was conveyed on a second perforated steel conveyor belt, eliminated from the condensed vapor on the surface, and then cooled to 4°C. Two modified atmospheric conditions and polymeric films with different characteristics as packaging bags were used. In the first, fresh pasta samples obtained by the conventional protocol were packed under MAP and film conventionally used in the semi-industrial factory (1MA). To realize the 1MA headspace conditions, the following gas concentrations were used: 20% CO2 and 80% N2 (CO2:N2 = 20:80), using sealed plastic bags polyamide/polyethylene (PACT30/PE50) (Carton Pack, R&D LAB, Rutigliano, Bari, Italy). The film was characterized by a water vapor permeability (WVTR) of 10 g/m2/24 h (38°C, 90% R.H.) and oxygen permeability (OTR) of 20 cc/m2/24 h (23°C, 0% R.H.). In the second MAP condition (experimental), fresh pasta samples obtained by the conventional protocol (2MA) or by the addition of the bioprotective mixture (2MA-BC) were packed in PA15/PEEVOH5/PE60 film (Carton Pack) under a modified atmosphere (CO2:N2 = 40:60). The film was characterized by a WVTR <5 g/m2/24 h (38°C, 90% R.H.) and an OTR <2 cc/m2/24 h (23°C, 0% R.H.).
Keywords: fresh pasta, modified atmosphere packaging, bioprotective cultures, multi-omics approach, metagenomics, shelf-life
Citation: Marzano M, Calasso M, Caponio GR, Celano G, Fosso B, De Palma D, Vacca M, Notario E, Pesole G, De Leo F and De Angelis M (2022) Extension of the shelf-life of fresh pasta using modified atmosphere packaging and bioprotective cultures. Front. Microbiol. 13:1003437. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1003437
Received: 26 July 2022; Accepted: 05 October 2022;
Published: 02 November 2022.
Fausto Gardini, University of Bologna, Italy
Stefano Zardetto, Voltan Spa, Italy
Pablo Fuciños, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), Portugal
Copyright © 2022 Marzano, Calasso, Caponio, Celano, Fosso, De Palma, Vacca, Notario, Pesole, De Leo and De Angelis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Francesca De Leo, f.deleo@ibiom.cnr.it; Mirco Vacca, mirco.vacca@uniba.it | {
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