On October 15th - Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind. Environment!!! What do you think about it? should we be concerned with what-s happening in the world?
Today in class, we talked about Blog Action Day and the environment..... We all know that Planet Earth is our big house and whatever happens to the planet is important to us. We are responsible for what happens in our house. Since the Earth is our house we should keep it clean and beautiful. Global warming is affecting our house. Ice is melting and the water level in seas and rivers is raising to a point that the weather is going extreme and extreme weather is causing a lot of damage and death all around our big house. What can we do to stop global warming?
- stop polluting
- act, care, be awared
- Saving energy... turning off the lights when we go out a room... for example
Do you have more ideas? let us know by leaving a comment...
In honor of Blog Action Day, Blogger-s people wanted to highlight some of the many Blogger-powered blogs that are focused on the environment, climate change, and sustainability. Want to see more Blog Action Day participants from around the web? Find them on Blog Search.
- Cleantech Blog - Commentary on technologies, news, and issues relating to next generation energy and the environment.
- The Conscious Earth - Earth-centered news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming.
- Earth Meanders - Earth essays placing environmental sustainability within the context of other contemporary issues.
- Environmental Action Blog - Current environmental issues and green energy news.
- The Future is Green - Thoughts on the coming of a society that is in balance with nature.
- The Green Skeptic - Devoted to challenging assumptions about how we live on the earth and protect our environment.
- Haute*Nature - Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle, blending style with sustainability.
- The Lazy Environmentalist - Sustainable living made easy.
- Lights Out America - A grassroots community group organizing nationwide energy savings events.
- The Nature Writers of Texas - The best nature writing from the newspaper, magazine, blog and book authors of the Lone Star State.
- Rachel Carson Centennial Book Club - Considering the legacy of Rachel Carson's literary and scientific contributions with a different book each month.
- Sustainablog - News, information and personal meanderings related to environmental and economic sustainability, green and sustainable business, and environmental politics.
- These Come From Trees - An experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper.


Tiny machines built as part of silicon chips are all around us, and their need for lubrication is the same as large machines such as automobile engines, but conventional lubricants, like oils, are too heavy for these micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), so Penn State researchers are looking to gases to provide thin films of slippery coating.
MEMS today are mostly found in automobile air bags as the sensor that marks sudden deceleration and triggers airbag use. They can also take the form of tiny motors that move mirrors to focus a beam of light, or tiny nozzles that provide minute droplets of ink in ink jet printers.
"Traditionally, the lubrication industry uses viscose liquids to lubricate – oils or oils and additives – to reduce friction and increase efficiency," says Dr. Seong H. Kim, assistant professor of chemical engineering. "However, oil-based lubricant use in MEMS causes a power dissipation that is unacceptable."
Because MEMS are so small, with parts about the width of a human hair, and exert so little force, from almost none to the equivalent of the Earth's gravity on a thousand red blood cells, conventional lubricants simply do not work.
Oil molecules are usually large and relatively heavy. They not only stop the MEMS dead in their tracks, but also cannot infiltrate the microscopic cracks and crevices of the machines.
The current trend in MEMS is to use solid lubricants -- thin-film coatings of diamond-like carbon or self-assembling monolayers of methylated or fluorocarbon compounds.
While solids provide a thin enough layer, they do not always coat the entire mechanism. They are also subject to wear because of their thinness and are not self-healing or replenishing.
"The fact that the solid coatings work tells us that for lubrication, all we need is a thin film," Kim told attendees today (Mar. 29) at the 227th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Kim and Dr. Kenneth Strawhecker, postdoctoral fellow in chemical engineering, investigated delivering a thin coating of liquid lubricant by condensing a gas onto the surface of the MEMS. The researchers investigated alcohols including ethanol, propanol, butanol and pentanol.
The researchers chose alcohols because they are both hydrophilic and hydrophobic, easily combining with water on one end and combining with other compounds on the other. At the incredibly low forces encountered in MEMS, alcohols, which are not generally considered good lubricants, work.
Solubility in water is an important characteristic in lubricating MEMS. Water is always present in the air as humidity and the water does condense on surfaces. For some devices, like the air bag sensor, water is why these MEMS are used only once.
These sensors have two tiny strips of material that come into contact upon rapid deceleration. Any water on the strip surfaces causes the strips to stick in the closed mode.
Surface tension of the water holds the material together in the same way two panes of glass with water between become stuck. However, alcohol as a lubricant would prevent water from causing the strips to attach.
"It might also be possible to use a gas delivered liquid thin film that would regenerate the sensors allowing recycling of the air bag mechanisms," says Kim.
The researchers tested the gas lubricants at various vapor pressures and find that they produce a thin film across a wide range. The small size of the alcohol molecules allows them to coat fine details of the tiny machines and the presence of gas around the MEMS makes the system self-repairing.
As the thin layer wears away, more lubricant condenses to heal the area. The thin films do not interfere with either mechanical or electrical operation.
"The next research issue we have is how to encapsulate the MEMS so we can entrap the gas," says Kim. "A variety of delivery methods exist including possibly using a polymer that emits the alcohol as temperatures increase."
The researchers also want to look at other alcohols and other compounds as potential MEMS lubricants.
Pennsylvania State University
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Carbon Nanotubes With Big Possibilities
Montreal QC - Mar 26, 2004
A scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, working with colleagues at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, has caused an individual carbon nanotube to emit light for the first time. This step in research on carbon nanotubes may help to materialize many of the proposed applications for carbon nanotubes, such as in electronics and photonics development.
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- In 2014 year Father's Day falls on
third Sunday of June
Date calculations are based on your computer's date and time.
Father's Day is a celebration of fathers started in the United States in the early twentieth century. It can be seen as a complement to Mother's Day but the holiday is not as popular as Mother's Day. Partly because it is much younger -- it became official in 1972 while the latter in 1914.
In recent years it is getting more media attention, schools organize activities related to Father's Day and retailers promote buying fathers special greeting cards and male-oriented gifts such as electronics and tools.
A list of Father's Day dates in the following years
Below are the dates for Father's Day in the next 10 years. You can also see on which day of the week the holiday falls and how many days are left until that date.


|Speed||Land: 16 km/h|
The Camel is a large ruminant native to the desert regions of Asia and northern Africa. As commonly known, the humps on this creature's back are stores of flesh and fat, absorbed as nutrition when food is scarce. This provides the Camel with higher health than one normally expects and the ability to subsist without water for several days. When considering strategic combinations with other animals, utilize its high endurance levels as a valuable addition to the creatures with special abilities.


RURAL LIVELIHOODS SECURITY
The rural areas are highly prone to stress and pressures from natural resource exploitation. In this context, schemes for rural development and livelihood programmes are very relevant. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India (MGNREGS), with a budgetary annual allocation of about INR 347 billion (USD 5.5 billion) in 2015-16, aims at enhancing livelihood in the rural areas. A vast majority of works under this programme aim at strengthening natural resource base of the rural economy and are linked to land, soil, and water.
Another important programme of the Government is the National Rural Livelihoods Mission which has the objective to cover 70 million rural poor households, across 600,000 villages in the country through self-managed self help groups and federated institutions to support the rural communities in strengthening their livelihood.
India announces its INDC ahead of COP21 in Paris
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announces India's INDCs
India’s INDC is prepared in a balanced and comprehensive manner to reflect all issues of
mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer and capacity building while simultaneously endeavoring to meet all the developmental challenges that the country faces today.


c1616 by Guido Reni
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Looking at the Spanish realism of The Sacred Made Real exhibition, one is drawn to remember the multitude of realist religious paintings. So many of the schools were meticulous in their depictions, determined to capture the Romanesque or Grecian sculpted body in paint and, more often than not, these techniques were particularly applied to Christ and other religious figures. Capturing Saint Sebastian is Reni, an Italian Baroque painter of the same century, using similar techniques as the Spanish. Like Ribalta’s and Zurbarán’s paintings (postcard seventy-five & eighty-nine), contrast here is emphasised with the centrally lit figure and darkly consuming background. No distraction is given, all focus is to be on the Saint and his state of pain; though emotion is not as convincing, or indeed as captivating, as the Spanish painters, who seemed to portray a genuine empathy with their figures’ state of mind. Reni’s Saint is distinctly Italian, from his Roman nose and jaw line to the rippling torso; what has been inspired by the ancient traditions of the statue has been translated, though perhaps what is beautiful is less believable, as his figure appears frozen and unreal. This is not to denounce Reni’s work, which is incredibly dramatic in composition and the painting flawless, but we are more aware of its idolisation, of the status of a Saint.


Our archives hold a rich assortment of history. From a Yorkshire pharmacist’s diary of patient notes to a written formula said to prevent the spread of plague, there’s a lot to explore.
Writing down recipes was a common practice in many households from the seventeenth century. Many people dedicated considerable time to preparing home-based remedies. The household was often the first resource when dealing with illness. While many still went to practitioners, the home was the primary site for helping health and wellbeing. The usefulness of a recipe was an important aspect of this practice. It reveals why authors often note who they received the recommendation from.
In local parishes and larger cities, hospitals functioned as part of the economy of poor relief. Only the poorest in the community would go. Besides bloodletting and purging, one of the main treatments on offer was bathing. Bathing was thought to influence the body’s humours and allow the excess to escape through the pores. However, excessive bathing was believed to weaken the body by poisoning the blood. As you can see, medicine was always concerned with the body’s precarious inner balance.
The work of seventeenth and eighteenth-century surgeons continued to focus on outward injury. Infected wounds, amputating limbs and broken bones were all part of their daily practice. If you did purchase the services of a barber-surgeon or physician, these interactions were often defined by contracts. If the patient didn’t recover from their ailment within a certain amount of time they often received their money back. Dissatisfied patients often took their practitioners to court for malpractice if they weren’t happy with the results. From the seventeenth century, apothecaries became the major source of healing. This was for most of the population, but especially the lower classes.
18th Century, Culinary recipes & medical prescriptions, Mrs Harves Salve for the Eyes (WYW1352/3/4/7/3)
Mrs Harves Salve for the Eyes
Take 4 Ounces of Virgins Wax 8 scruples of Camphire
2 Ounces of Powder of Tutty: one Pound of may Butter
2 Ounces of white Rose Water: Take y Vergins Wax & Camphire and put them into a pewter bason [basin]: when it is melted put in the Butter
water stir it till it be all melted then put in the Rose water & stir it well together within the ?: then mix them all together still stirring them till it is stife [stiff] then put it into pots
18th Century, Culinary recipes & medical prescriptions, The Best Treakell Water (WYW1352/3/4/7/3)
The Best Treakell Water
Take Dragons angilliac balm mother Time; and Cardus Cowslips borage flowers; mary Gold flowers and clove jelle flowers of Each an Ounce; Roots of Tormenti Piany Scorsonera Gentian Elecopane Cypries and Cittron peal Each an Ounce, a bout 20 green Walnuts beaton, Chop your Hearbs and Chop or beat your rcots; boyle an Ounce of Harts horn in 3 Pints of Cardus water till a pint be Consumed; 3 Pints of Red Rose Water and 4 Quarts of Sack, and a pound of Venice Treakell; mingle all these well and when the Trekell is Dissolved put it into your Still; and past it up Lett it Infuse 24 houers; and then still it of, Tis Good for ur measles small pox fevers Gripes and to strike everything from yr Stomack.


For the fifth year, the Vancouver park board has made a high-definition camera feed available to the public to peek into the nests of one of North America's largest urban great blue heron colonies.
The great blue heron is our continent's largest (up to more than one metre tall) wading bird, and our local subspecies, the Pacific great blue heron, has been returning to the large breeding colony behind the park board offices in Stanley Park (2099 Beach Avenue) for 19 years.
The local variant has been deemed a species at risk in Canada.
Records show that the herons have been nesting in the park for about a century, at least since the early 1920s, and an earlier colony's large twig-and-branch nests, now abandoned, once occupied trees near the Vancouver Aquarium and the former park zoo. Theories for abandonment range from construction noise to bald-eagle predation of eggs and chicks.
The herons also constructed nests near Brockton Point and Beaver Lake, according to a City of Vancouver online history of the park colony.
In its 2018 Stanley Park Heronry Report, the Stanley Park Ecology Society reported that volunteers counted 104 tree nests in the colony area (which stretches from behind the park-board headqurters to the tennis-courts surroundings), with 85 of those nests deemed active. (Go here to download a PDF of the report at the bottom of the page, as well as to access instructions on how to manipulate the Heron Cam remotely.)
Society observers reported "daily eagle attacks" early in the 2018 nesting season, which starts at about the middle of March. The raids stopped after about a month, only to resume when the chicks had hatched. Only two active eagle nests were observed in the park last year.
A March 20 park-board release noted that more than 180,000 people have used the Heron Cam since its launch in 2015. "It’s amazing to be able to get a birds eye view of the nesting, courtship, mating, nest-building, and egg-laying of these magnificent birds,” Stuart Mackinnon, park-board chair, said in the release. “Heron Cam supports engagement by residents with nature in the city as part of our Biodiversity Strategy and Vancouver Bird Strategy and enables our partner the Stanley Park Ecology Society to better monitor and protect the health of the colony.”
This year, according to the release, herons returned to the nesting area on March 11. As well, it notes: "One-third of Great Blue Herons worldwide live around the Salish Sea and the Stanley Park colony is a vital part of the [B.C.] south coast heron population."
Stanley Park Ecology Society representatives will answer questions during a live Facebook Q&A hosted by the board (date to come), and society volunteers will host on-the-ground weekly interpretive sessions in the park for visitors. The society also conducts an "adopt a nest" fundraiser to support its work with the herons.
The annual nesting season ends in August, when most chicks will have left the nests. About 100 fledglings were counted in 2018, which was an increase in numbers from the previous year.
You can view a detailed society timeline of the herons' arrival, breeding, and nesting here.
(c) 2019 Straight.com


Daniels, Jeffery. Drawings by Leonora Ison.
Title ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND.
Publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson (Educational), London, 1968.
Seller ID 23118
128 pp, large 8vo (9 1/4" H), hard cover in dust jacket. ISBN 298762102 B&w drawings, floor plans, elevations. "Illustrated with over 70 line drawings and plans, the text spans over 2,000 years of architecture in England. The account begins with a discussion of the villas, camps and roads of Roman Britain, and shows how this heritage slowly decayed, giving way to the Romanesque imported by the conquering Normans. The soaring Gothic of the middle ages yields in its turn to another E u r o p e a n influence, the Renaissance, which acquires its own English character. The Baroque, Pallandian and Neo-Classic movements are then analysed, and the survey is brought right up to date with the industrial and scientific revolutions of t he n in et ee nt h and twentieth centuries, and their effects on techniques and styles. Dominant architectural styles are fully defined and illustrated, and the many examples given will stimulate a study in depth by means of visits to churches, ho use s, cas tle s, mus eu ms and modern streets and office blocks. The special value of this book for the student of architecture is the care taken by the author to illustrate his text at every point, with examples drawn from every field of arch itec ture - eccl esia sti cal and secular, domestic and institutional." Dust jacket has been price-clipped, has one small closed tear, very light edge wear. Very Good+/Very Good


Microsoft Visual C++
Microsoft Visual C++ is an integrated development environment (IDE) that provides a suite of software development tool. It supports the object oriented Windows application programming a class library (Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC)) and C/ C++ compiler. This programming environment includes ClassWizard, AppWizard and testing features. It provides a great flexibility to developers. Some of the major advantages of Microsoft Visual C++ are
It is competent to combine managed code (executed with the .NET framework or CLR) with unmanaged code (not executed with .NET framework or CLR) in C++.
The execution speed o VC++ is quite fast. This native development language directly interacts with the system or device that makes it faster than other languages.
VC++ based applications require minimal resources that result in smaller size applications compared to those developed by using other .NET compliant languages.
The memory usage is very low as well.
- It’s an ANSI (American National Standards Institute)-compliant language that enables to develop multi-platform applications.
- It uses Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) library that makes it C/C++ applications compatible on different operating systems.
- It offers an Active Template Library that enables to create a variety of Component Based Model (COM) and ActiveX controls.
- The VC++ compiler supports Lambda expressions with a function body that combines the best features of function objects and function pointers.
- The new CLR option allows excluding the default .NET libraries, enabling developers to use a specified version of a specific assembly.
- VC++ has a new PogoSafeMode (Profile-Guided Optimization option) that allows the use of ‘fast’ or ‘safe’ mode, when a developer optimizes the software or application.
- It features a Concurrency Runtime Framework software framework for programming concurrent applications, and supports components and running simultaneously.
- If you want to speed-up your Microsoft Visual C++ development with low size and highly efficient applications, hire Let Us Code’s developers who have vast experience in development industry and possess in-depth understanding of programming languages and technologies.


It is not a stretch to say you ended up here because you somehow discovered the Rundll32.exe process and started wondering what it was. We are glad to tell you that you are at the right place. Here, you would get answers to the following questions and much more:
- What is Rundll32.exe in Windows 10 and older Microsoft operating systems?
- Why is the Rundll32.exe process always running?
- Why does it use up so much system resources?
- Is it safe to disable Rundll32.exe?
- Can I delete this strange file?
- Is it a threat to my PC?
We would like to assume that you are familiar with the presence of DLL files (items that have the .dll extension) on Windows. These files consist of pieces of application instructions or logic, and several programs access their data efficiently through this setup. DLL is short for Dynamic Link Library. Unlike Rundll32.exe, btmshellex.dll is an example of such a file.
As far as we know, there is no direct way of launching DLL files. After all, they are not applications in the perceived sense—they cannot work on their own. Microsoft did not design such items to run on programs like images open in the Photos app, for example.
Pro Tip: It is possible to fix many PC issues by using the PC Repair tool. PC Repair is easy to use and reliable Windows optimization software developed to fix hundreds of system issues.
The Rundll.32.exe is an essential component of the setup that Windows employs to use the functionality in shared .dll files. In simpler words, it assists other programs that have DLL files to run as their developers intended them to work.
When an application on Windows needs to use a DLL file, Rundll32.exe springs into action. These operations usually occur in the background without bothering you. It is doubtful that you (the user) would ever have to run the Rundll32.exe file or similar items.
It is time you understood that Rundll.32.exe lives a simple life in the Windows operating system environment. There is almost always at least one copy of this item running at any given time. The file or process is usually at this location: Windows \ System32 \ rundll32.exe. Or it is supposed to be, at least. The official Rundll32.exe file from Microsoft is harmless. It would never cause trouble on Windows.
Sometimes, viruses or other malicious programs try to disguise themselves as this file to avoid detection. In such scenarios, if you carefully try to find out the actual location of the suspicious Rundll.32.exe process, you might realize that this item in a directory that differs from the stated position above. Such happenings are worrisome.
How to disable the Rundll32.exe process?
We advise that users do not disable Rundll32.exe except in cases where the measure is vital. You must not mess about with this particular process. In fact, any unauthorized removal of this file would result in a severe malfunction of your computer or even a critical Windows crash.
In the scenarios where you have your hands tied, you must open the System Configuration app and continue from there. Follow these instructions:
For users running Windows 7:
- Press (and hold) the Windows button on your keyboard, then tap the letter R key to launch the Run app. After the small window opens, type msconfig into the available text box and hit the Enter key to run the code you just inputted. The System Configuration app should open now
- Navigate to the Startup tab. There, you should see the startup items (processes or executable files). Locate the Rundll32.exe file or any program associated with it and untick the corresponding checkbox to prevent Windows from starting it when your computer boots up.
For users running Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10:
- You can disable the Rundll32.exe process through the Startup menu in the Task Manager program: press (and hold) the CTRL and ALT button on your keyboard, then tap the Delete key to see a list of programs or options. From that menu, click on Task Manager to open the required app
- After the Window opens, navigate to the Startup tab. Find the Rundll32.exe process or the file associated with it. Right-click on the item in view and select Disable
This operation might be a lot more difficult than it should be if you failed to locate the Rundll32.exe file. You will also struggle to identify the object if it is not associated with a startup item. You would have to dig deep to find the source of the process. Some system research is in order here.
How to verify the genuineness of the Rundll32.exe file:
For users using the Task Manager program on Windows 7 and more recent iterations of Microsoft’s operating system, you have the option of seeing the full command line for all applications that are currently on your computer. You can take advantage of the feature to check if the Rundll32.exe you are seeing is the real deal. Here are the instructions you need on carrying out the necessary operations:
- First, you must open the Task Manager application (we provided instructions on doing this earlier). After the required window loads, navigate to the Processes tab. Windows 10 users should go to the Details tab
- You should see the list of processes that Windows is running currently. Locate the Rundll32.exe file. You might see multiple files with this name. No need to panic
- Go to Views or Select Column. In your current location, you should see the option for Command Line. Tick its check box to select it
- Windows should now show you the full path for the items on the list. If it does not, right-click on the object in view and select Open File location from the options that come up. A window showing a particular directory in the File Explorer program should show up now
- Go through the presented information and take note of anything suspicious. Of course, you already know that the Rundll32.exe is supposed to be in the System32 directory. If it is not there, you might have reason to worry. You should also see the base DLL file in the same directory
- To obtain more information about a specific file, hover your cursor around its text. You should see the following details: File description, Company, File version, Date created, and size
- If you feel the presented data was not enough, you can open the Properties window for the file in view and find out even more about the item. There, you can navigate to the Details tab to know the purpose of the object. Regardless, you would surely find whatever it is that you are looking for under the remaining tabs: Digital signatures, Security, and Previous Versions
There is another way of identifying the programs that the Rundll32.exe component is assisting to run currently. This alternative method might be better for some users, especially those running the more recent versions of the Windows operating system (Windows 8.1 and later). Here are the instructions you need to follow:
- Click on the Windows Start icon and input cmd into the available text box. From the search results that come up, you should see Command Prompt (Desktop app). Select this item from the list to open the needed program
- After the window opens, type in the following code and hit the Enter button on your keyboard to run the command: tasklist /m /fi “imagename eq rundll32.exe”
- If Windows carried out the operation successfully, you should see a list comprising of running services with some details about the presented items.
Remember to examine the names of all the items you found very carefully. We know of reports where users stated that they had luckily found a malicious DLL file that had almost escaped detection because its creators (attackers) had given it this name ” rundl132.exe”. Here, note that the number 1 is very similar to the letter l. Not everybody might notice this little detail at first sight.
How to solve problems associated with the Rundll32.exe file
We have compiled reports from users about issues associated with the Rundll32.exe file. If you are experiencing one of the following problems or can relate to any of the events below, then there is a good chance that your system is infected. Note that the list below is far from being an exhaustive one; there are many other symptoms of malware activity.
- You find a suspicious Rundll32.file, and you consider it a virus because the Task Manager program showed you multiple versions of it running at once. If the shady processes you identified are using up ridiculous amounts of your system resources, then your assumptions are even more likely to be correct
- You are experiencing a lot of unexplainable performance issues and system slowdowns
- Your browser applications like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and so on show this disturbing notification while you are on the web: Error code: Rundll32.exe
- The presence of an excessive amount of intrusive ads and pop-ups when you are browsing and even when you remain in the typical Windows computer environment
- Frequent redirects to fishy websites when you are trying to access a correct web address
Now, we would first explore solutions to the problems (involving Rundll32.exe) that came up naturally, and those that are results of accidental user operations. In theory, Windows is supposed to inform you if this file goes missing, suffers corruption, or if something damages it.
- If you accidentally deleted the Rundll32.exe file, then you must restore it to its original location from the Recycle Bin program. For your sake, we hope you have not disabled this Windows utility
- If your antivirus or antimalware application wrongly quarantined Rundll32.exe, you can quickly restore the lost item back to your computer by checking for it in your security program’s quarantine vault and using the Restore option there
- If the file got missing and you cannot figure how, why, or when it happened, then you must run the System File Checker tool to restore lost or corrupted files. You can also check your hard disk for errors and corruption, using the built-in Windows utility for such operations. Otherwise (if all else fails), you must use the System Restore program to go back in time.
If Windows showed you a Rundll32.exe file and you considered it suspicious because you could not understand its purpose, you might be tempted to disable it. We are against such a decision. To be fair, you should know that it is always better to do some research online to be sure that what you are about to do is the right thing.
If Windows led you to a directory in the File Explorer program and you realized that the destination is not the correct location for Rundll32.exe, then all is not as it seems. A malicious program might be working in disguise while using the name of that file to avoid detection.
We recommend you check for viruses, spyware, adware and other forms of malicious programs. Open your security program (antivirus, for example) and run a full (comprehensive) scan on all the directories and files paths on your computer.
How to resolve issues with Rundll32.exe?
If your main security app detected nothing or you feel that the program is struggling to do its job correctly, you should consider downloading and installing an excellent antimalware application like Auslogics Anti-Malware. Use this program to scan for threats to increase the chances of you finding the dangerous items on your system.
Auslogics Anti-Malware is a superb app that does a great job, and at the same time, it does not interfere with operations of your antivirus (regardless of what brand)—well, if your system is running one. The addition of an antimalware program to your security suite provides that significant extra layer of protection that helps to keep your PC as safe as possible.
If you eventually find a virus or malware on your PC after the scans, you should quarantine it. You can even get rid of it permanently. Sometimes, you might lose other essential items if your security app detects an entire folder as a threat.
If you do not have any security program installed on your computer, then you can at least attempt a straightforward procedure to find dangerous items masquerading as the Rundll32.exe file. You must never consider this process a substitute for the search for threats carried out by an antivirus or antimalware app. But, it is something at least. Here are instructions you are waiting for:
- Click on the Windows Start icon (or press the Windows button on your keyboard) and search for “rundll32” without the quotes
- Select the required item from the search results. The only legitimate version of the file should be in the following directory: C: \ Windows \ System32 \
- You can also open the File Explorer program and navigate through the stated path to get to the needed directory. Now you must create a backup of that file in case anything goes wrong. Right-click on the object in the correct folder and select Copy from the list of options that come up
- Store the copied file in a safe and accessible place. Your desktop, for example, is an excellent location. Paste the item there and rename it. The new title should be something you would have no problem remembering and at the same time, it must not differ too much from the original name of the item. For example, rundll32COPY.exe
- Now return to the search results. You can perform the same operation once more if necessary. Whatever you do, take note of all the Rundll32.exe files that are not in the correct directory. Get rid of all of them. In fact, we advise that you empty your Recycle Bin to delete the removed items permanently
- After you have finished eliminating all the threats and suspicious items, restart your PC to let the changes take full effect. We sincerely hope that you made no mistakes while trying to fix your issues. You should no longer experience problems if you got rid of all the harmful files and left only the legitimate one intact.
If you realize that you accidentally deleted the Rundll32.exe file, then you must restore it to its original location by using the backup you created earlier: copy it, place it in the required directory and change its name to back “Rundll32.exe”.
If you are unable to narrow down the infected files, then you must get rid of everything. However disappointing as this occurrence might be, we consider it a small price to pay if your safety is on the line.


Milestones in education are among the many historical and cultural achievements to celebrate during Black History Month. America has come a long way since the Supreme Court unanimously ruled public school segregation unconstitutional in 1954, and the country’s African-American students continue to show they are closing the educational achievement gap.
“African Americans have played a central role in U.S. history,” said Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. “We are blessed in our diversity. When celebrating the contributions of African Americans, we should recognize the gains of our hardworking students and continue working to equip all children with the knowledge and skills they need for success, regardless of their zip code.”
African-American student achievement is especially evident in states like Florida, one of the nation’s most diverse, where students have closed the achievement gap with white students faster than the national average every year since 2003. From 2003 to 2011, the Nation’s Report Card – measuring fourth and eighth-grade reading and math – shows the largest combined achievement point gains for African-American students in states like Nevada (48 points), Rhode Island (46 points), Arkansas (43 points), Florida (42 points), and the District of Columbia (41 points). In fact, in D.C., where a third of students attend charter schools, African-American students scored about a grade level higher in 2011 than they did in 2003.
Help us celebrate African-American student achievement! Copy and paste one or more of these status suggestions in your Twitter or Facebook feed:
- @ExcelinEd is recognizing the gains of students & working to equip all children w/the knowledge they need for success http://bit.ly/XaraDl
- This February, @ExcelinEd is celebrating African-American student achievement http://bit.ly/XaraDl
# # #


- Michelle Krummel
Use the move tool to drag f(x) around the coordinate plane. Describe the relationship between the graph of f (in black) and the graph f-inverse (in blue). Drag point A along the graph of f. What happens to the corresponding point A'? How are the coordinates of these two points related?


(n. p.): 1920. One sheet, printed both sides, folded 3x to form a 6 panel brochure. 4 panels of text. Interior - "Compiled Map Showing Properties of the Eureka Mining District Eureka County Nevada." "From Patent Surveys, Official Records and other reliable data." Map: 11-3/4" x 18-1/2". Brochure: 9-1/4" x 4-1/16". Now housed in an ephemera sleeve with white stiff stock backing board. Age-toning, primarily along fold lines. A VG+ copy. Item #51173
Eureka, Nevada was the nation's first important silver-lead district, and was Nevada's second richest mineral producer during the 1800s. Sometimes called the "Pittsburgh of the West", Eureka was the West's largest and most important smelting center. At the height of activity, xixteen smelters operated just outside town, treating ore from over 50 active mines. However, water in the mines became a problem in 1881, requiring expensive pumping that drove production costs up. The ore was still rich however, and the Eureka mining economy soldiered on until 1885 when the bonanza ore bodies were finally exhausted. Leasers now took over many of the mines, and Eureka's boom years were winding down. In 1890 the district's largest smelters closed. Later, by the time this brochure as published, ore was shipped to a smelter in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Two of the largest concerns in Eureka were the Richmond Mining Company and the Eureka Mining Company. This brochure highlights the concerns of the Eureka Uncle Sam (Hamburg) Consolidated Mining Co. and Eureka Croesus Mining Company.


This is a noble statue, but not everybody agrees with me. There is a movement in the United States to tear down and destroy monuments honoring the memory of who we once were. Some claim the statues are racist because they honor the heroes of the Civil War, but whomever the man on the horse is, he gave up his home and family to support the beliefs of his Country.
This statue happens to be General Lee, but it could represent Everyman. Whether or not, Everyman wore blue or grey, he was a hero and he should be remembered, and honored, as such.
Slavery is horrible, and that doesn’t change just because it was a hundred years ago. But, we have to remember, slavery has been around as long as man. Every race and creed has probably been subjected to slavery at one point or another. It was not right, but it was who we were. It is also not right for us to try to destroy and hide the actions of the past, no matter if we agree with them or not.
The issue, though, isn’t really past slavery as much as some people would have us believe. Every man, woman and child has the right to defend their beliefs. Some people still carry the Slavery Badge, but I can’t help but think it is no longer about slavery but entitlement. Slavery was wrong, but dwelling on the past is a sure path to destruction.
Blacks were considered less than human. So were the Jews in the Holocaust. The mentally ill. Should we tear down all the memorials to the Holocaust? Should we forget what happened?
What about the America Indians? The memorials to Rome? After all, Rome embraced slavery.
If we tear down the memorials and reminders of the past, we will also forget the horrors of the past. And, if we forget, I guarantee you we are bound to make the same mistakes in the future.
There is still slavery in this world for men, women and children. Why is this less horrendous to the modern us than the men and women of yesterday? They fought. Are we? Are we standing in line to save the women and children being trafficked as sex slaves? The men smuggled into our country to spend the reminder of their lives working to pay off the smugglers.
The Civil War is part of who we are and who we will be tomorrow and in a hundred years. Trying to wipe it under the rug doesn’t change the facts.
If we hide the past, we will forget the past. If we forget the past, we will relive the past. If we relive the past, how many more will die?
“A Virginia judge has ruled that statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson in Charlottesville are war monuments that the city cannot remove without permission from the state.
In a nine-page ruling obtained from the University of Virginia School of Law website, Circuit Court Judge Richard E. Moore said neither the intentions of the people who erected the statues nor how they make people feel change the fact that the statues pay homage to the Civil War. Moore cited state code in his ruling that says it is illegal for municipalities to rove such monuments to war.”
(Written Memorial Day 2019)


Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)
Jose Padilla, who has been held as an enemy combatant by the United States for the last three years, was indicted last week on conspiracy charges. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled on a case involving enemy combatants, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004). In this month’s eLesson, students will explore this landmark case on the rights of the accused.
The Afghan security team captured Yaser Hamdi and turned him over to the American military in Afghanistan, 2001. Hamdi claimed to be a relief worker who had been mistakenly captured in a round-up. The military, however, said he had been captured because he was fighting for the Taliban against the United States. Once Hamdi was taken to the United States, officials discovered that Hamdi was an American citizen.
Hamdi was kept in prison without access to a lawyer or the courts. His father filed a habeas petition in court (a petition asking a court to decide if someone’s imprisonment is legal), asking that his son be allowed to meet with a public defender. He claimed the government was denying Hamdi his Fifth Amendment right to due process.
The government said Hamdi’s petition should be dismissed. Hamdi had been caught fighting against the United States, and therefore he was an “enemy combatant.” This meant he did not have the right to speak to a lawyer or to ask a court to review his case. Further, the executive branch claimed it had the power to do this on its own, without oversight by any other branch of government. After several appeals, the case made it to the Supreme Court.
The Court had to consider two questions. First: Can the executive branch unilaterally declare people to be enemy combatants and hold them indefinitely? And, second: did Hamdi have the right to have his case heard by a neutral decision maker?
The Courts decision was a plurality—justices disagreed on important issues and there was no majority. But all but one of the justices agreed that the executive branch alone does not have the power to designate people as “enemy combatants” and then use that designation as a reason to hold them indefinitely without due process. However, a plurality of justice agreed that Congress had authorized Hamdi’s detention when it approved the use of force in Afghanistan. Therefore, the government had the power to detain him as long as the war continued.
But the Court also held that citizens—including enemy combatants—do have rights of due process. The Court held that the Constitution’s separation of powers require that courts review presidential decisions; Hamdi had the right to bring his case before a “neutral decision maker.” Justice O’Connor wrote: “a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation’s citizens.”
Hamdi agreed to renounce his American citizenship and worked out a plea agreement in which he was returned to Saudi Arabia.
Comprehension and Critical Thinking Questions
1. Why was Yaser Hamdi taken into custody?
2. Why did Hamdi claim his detention was unconstitutional?
3. How did the government justify his arrest?
4. How did the Supreme Court rule?
Use the following excerpts from the Constitution to answer questions 5 and 6:
“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” (Article I)
“The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States….” (Article II)
5. Justice Antonin Scalia believed the Constitution offered only two options to the government for detaining Hamdi: for Congress to exercise its power to suspend habeas corpus, or to try him in the criminal court system. Do you agree? Why or why not?
6. Justice Thomas, in his dissent, asserted the President’s powers as commander-in-chief of the armed forces give him the authority to detain Hamdi. Do you agree? Why or why not?


NASA’s initial project piloted X-plane known as X-59 in more than 30 years is cleared for final assembly. For those decades, the agency has developed a list of airplanes and rockets to test out multiple technologies and design advances. Finally, NASA has cleared the newest one, the X-59. Nasa’s X-59 space plane, have more flying faster than the speed of sound without the loud noise is finally nearing completion.
There will be another major review by senior managers at NASA Headquarters of X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) in late 2020 to approve the airplane’s first flight in 2021.
“With the completion of Key Decision Point-D(KDP-D) we’ve shown the project is on schedule, it’s well planned and on track. We have everything in place to continue this historic research mission for the nation’s air-traveling public,” said Bob Pearce, NASA’s associate administrator for Aeronautics, in a statement.
The X-59 is designed to reduce the loudness of a sonic boom touching the ground to that of a gentle thump if it is heard at all. Supersonic passenger flights have been banned over land since the early 1970s because of the noise. X-59 will fly at a height of 55,000 feet at a speed of about 940 mph and could travel from London to New York in just over three hours. The Project of X-59 is estimated at $247.5 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts, and it was partnering with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company to develop the Supersonic plane.
More than one-year Company have been working on X-59 at Lockheed’s Skunk Works in California, are now scheduled for late 2020.NASA has been testing experimental aircraft for more than 70 years, including the X-57 Maxwell the first all-electric experimental aircraft in flights.


Robot Helps Identify the Perfect Cookie
Computers have changed how we do most things, but they’ve also brought changes to the culture as a whole. One example of that shift — the embrace of data analytics in all things — is epitomized by a new invention by computer programmer and science hobbyist Ben Krasnow: the Cookie Perfection Machine.
The Cookie Perfection Machine makes individual cookies according to the user’s specifications, entered by computer, by meting out the specified proportion of every ingredient and dispensing it into a receptacle. A sheet of cookies thus becomes a “flight” of cookie recipes to taste, and the fastidious baker can identify which recipe is best.
The robot chef needs some fine-tuning to make it easier to use, but with, say, an automatic mixer, it could find a market in bakeries as well as with persnickety home chefs.


We have looked at the abolition of slavery, but we have not discussed racism. The image placed at the top of this post shows that slavery is an ancient institution. In classical Athens two to four-fifths of the population were slaves. (See Slavery, Wikipedia.)
Not all slaves were born to slaves. Many slaves were persons held in captivity during a war, ancestors to our prisoners of war. Poet Horace‘s (8 December 65 BCE – 27 November 8 BCE) father was a slave for several years. He had been “taken captive by the Romans during the Social War.” (See Horace, Wikipedia.)
During the Ottoman wars, Christians were enslaved, but once again enslavement was the result of an armed conflict except that the conflict opposed people of different faiths. These religious conflicts have been numerous, the worst being the Crusades. Mercedarians often rescued captive Christians.
Serfdom also constituted a form of slavery. In fact, slavery endures: debt bondage, the sex industry, child labour, etc. but many slaves and most serfs were and are of the same ethnicity as their owner, lord or seigneur, which precludes racial discrimination.
Slavery differs from Racial Discrimination
Slavery differs from racial discrimination or racism. In an earlier post, I noted that the United Nations does not define “racism.” Defining racism is difficult because there has been and there is discrimination between ethnic and religious groups. However, the United Nations does define “racial discrimination.”
“the term ‘racial discrimination’ [a term adopted in 1966] shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.” (See Racism, Wikipedia.)
The above definition of racial discrimination is consistent with Gobineau’s racial theories, in that it combines race and ethnicity.
Joseph Arthur, Comte de Gobineau
Joseph Arthur, Comte de Gobineau (14 July 1816 – 13 October 1882) is the author of L’Essai sur l’inégalité des races humaines (An Essay on the Inequality of Human Races) (1853 – 1855). According to Gobineau, there was inequality between the races: the white, the black and the yellow, the white race being the superior race. However, although the “white” race was deemed superior to the “black” and “yellow” races, Gobineau looked upon some Caucasians, the white, as inferior to other Caucasians. The term Caucasian is still used, but less frequently, to describe members of the white race. As for the word Aryan, it existed before Gobineau. (See Aryan, Wikipedia)
“He [Gobineau] advanced the theory that the fate of civilizations is determined by racial composition, that white and in particular Aryan societies flourish as long as they remain free of black and yellow strains, and that the more a civilization’s racial character is diluted through miscegenation, the more likely it is to lose its vitality and creativity and sink into corruption and immorality.”
Gobineau’s theories may have influenced Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, but Gobineau was not anti-Semitic and cannot be linked, at least directly, to the slaughter of 6,000,000 Jews by Hitler’s Nazis. Gobineau’s Aryans were “the peoples of European and Western Asian heritage,” including the peoples of the Middle East and India, as in Indo-European languages. (See Caucasian race, Wikipedia.) As for Hitler’s Aryan race, it excluded the Jews.
The “allies” fought Germany not only because Hitler was invading other countries, beginning with the Sudetenland and Poland, but because of Aryanism. In other words, ethnicity played a major role in World War II and, once Hitler seized power, no dissent was tolerated in Germany.
Racism: The Black & the Coloured
Atlantic slave trade
Slavery and racism linked
In the case of the lucrative Atlantic slave trade, or Translatlantic slave trade, which took place between the 16th and the 19th centuries, racism, as most of us understand it, i.e. Gobineau’s black, white and yellow races, was a major factor. In this instance, slavery and racism were linked. The slaves were black and the black had been considered a less-than-human race before the Transatlantic slave trade. Ironically, black people often captured black people to sell them to slave traders who would send them to both South and North America. You may remember that Ignatius Sancho’s father committed suicide to avoid being subjected to slavery. (See RELATED ARTICLES.) Black Africans themselves were slave traders and slave owners.
During the 14th century CE, Tunisian scholar Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 CE – 19 March 1406 CE) wrote that:
“beyond [known peoples of black West Africa] to the south there is no civilization in the proper sense. There are only humans who are closer to dumb animals than to rational beings. They live in thickets and caves, and eat herbs and unprepared grain. They frequently eat each other. They cannot be considered human beings.” “Therefore, the Negro nations are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because (Negroes) have little that is (essentially) human and possess attributes that are quite similar to those of dumb animals, as we have stated.” (See Racism, Wikipedia.)
“[D]umb animals!” In the United States, the slaves were also black. Consequently racial discrimination often followed the ignominy of enslavement, especially in the former slave states. But racial discrimination soon extended to people of colour who were neither black nor slaves. They were Amerindians or persons of mixed ancestry (métis). Amerindians were an inferior “race” compared to the white “race,” yet they were not black slaves. They were people of colour.
In a former post, entitled From “Manifest Destiny” to Exceptionalism, I quoted Senator John Caldwell Calhoun (18 March 1782 – 31 Mars 1850) who believed only Caucasians, but which Caucasians, should enter into “our Union:”
“We have never dreamt [sic] of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race—the free white race. To incorporate Mexico, would be the very first instance of the kind, of incorporating an Indian race; for more than half of the Mexicans are Indians, and the other is composed chiefly of mixed tribes. I protest against such a union as that! Ours, sir, is the Government of a white race…. We are anxious to force free government on all; and I see that it has been urged… that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious liberty over all the world, and especially over this continent. It is a great mistake.” (See Manifest Destiny, Wikipedia.)
I suppose it would be difficult to enslave a person one had not first divested of his or her humanity. It remains that being born black is what I have called, in an earlier post but different context, an accident of birth. If one is white and born to an aristocratic family, it is also an accident of birth.
Being rich is also, to a very large extent, an accident of birth. In Russia, serfdom was not abolished until 1861 and it impoverished landowners. In North-America, the loss of slaves—free labour—led to a civil war and contributed to racism. The abolition of slavery had impoverished the slave-owners. Shouldn’t former slave-owners and their descendants be compensated for the loss of their slaves? Why should they pay taxes and promote a decent minimum wage? Why should the children of their inferiors be given access to higher education?
There are people who do not want to attend university or cannot pass the entrance examination. It is best for some people to enter a community college and learn a trade. My plumber once told that he would rather be a plumber than a university teacher. There are many ways of earning a living and a decent living. As President Obama noted, in his State of the Union Address (2015), one cannot survive on $15,000.00 a year.
The United States & …
From Slavery to Racism
As we know, long after the abolition of slavery, racism persists and many citizens feel they should carry a gun to defend themselves. The abolition of slavery did not transform the black into white citizens and it impoverished slave owners and their descendants. Hence the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists, violence by the police and against the police, and, as far as I can see, disrespect towards the President of the United States, who is a man of colour.
Hardline Republicans are the laughing-stock of the world. Yet the world is not exactly innocent. It’s a mea culpa. We’ve all “sinned.”
The truth is that President Obama, the 44th President of the United States, is one a handful of truly superior Presidents of the United States. Not all American Presidents have been qualified to govern a nation. Need I remind anyone of the events of the 2000s? Remember the recession of 2008. The United States nearly went bankrupt and the economy being a global economy, other countries suffered. Was that President Obama’s fault?
I have often wondered whether or not the mental representation of coloured people, expressed by Senator John C. Calhoun a long time ago, has survived. In other words, I have wondered whether or not what we call racism is a built-in mental content. If it is a built-in mental concept, there’s very little room left for reason to lead to a change.
On what valid grounds can anyone sue the President? On what valid grounds can he be impeached? Opposition is acceptable, but systematic obstructionism and scapegoating are not. Doesn’t John Boehner realize that his behaviour is not acceptable. (Scroll down the following link to “This fiasco reveals…” .)
Obviously there is a flaw in the system. Congress should not be in a position to paralyze a duly-elected administration and make it necessary for a president to resort to executive orders and his presidential right to veto “bills” so he can carry out his duties.
So I must agree with the author of The Cold Hard Truth who published the image featured below.
Fortunately, we can end racism. President Barack Obama was elected to the presidency of the United States. President Obama did not buy his position. It is clear, therefore, that racism is waning, but racism remains a major issue.
We, humans, must now fight poverty, violence, terrorism. We have to put an end to flogging and beheading.
However, we could first put an end to racism. It can be a society’s decision. There are white supremacists in Canada!
King regards to all of you.
- The Cold Hard Truth (10 December 2014) by The Cold Hard Truth
- Ignatius Sancho & Laurence Sterne: a Letter (14 December 2013) mw
- From “Manifest Destiny” to Exceptionalism (10 November 2013) mw
- “Manifest Destiny” & the News (18 November 2012) mw
Sources and Resources
- Racism, Wikipedia
- Slavery, Wikipedia
- Horace’s Satires is an online publication
- L’Essai sur l’inégalité des races humaines is an online publication (Bibliothèque nationale de France [BnF])
- The Inequality of Human Races is an Internet Archive publication
- An Essay on the Inequality of Human Races (Wikipedia)
 “Horace”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 05 janv.. 2015
 “serfdom”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 01 févr.. 2015
 “Joseph-Arthur, comte de Gobineau”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 04 janv.. 2015 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/236572/Joseph-Arthur-comte-de-Gobineau>.
 op. cit.
 “The Great Recession of 2008-09: Year In Review 2009”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 31 janv.. 2015
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s)
© Micheline Walker
1 February 2015


Raccoons are easily recognizable mammals, with lots of fur and a number of distinguishing characteristics. If their bandit’s mask doesn’t give them away, their black ringed tail should.
The area around the black markings over their eyes is white, and the rest of their body is a greyish color interspersed with lighter tan accents. Their paws are extremely sensitive and dexterous, and though they lack opposable thumbs they are quite proficient at manipulating objects.
The front paws of the raccoon are extremely nimble and are able to grasp and manipulate objects with great dexterity. They can easily retrieve a dime from inside a shirt pocket. The sense of touch is the most important sense for raccoons. Their front paws have a thin, bony layer that protects them and becomes pliable when wet. The raccoons sense of touch is not affected even after standing in 50 degree water for hours. Their claws are not retractable and do not have an opposing thumb like that of primates.
Raccoons are thought to be color blind though their eyes are well adapted to sensing green light. They have poor long distance vision but an excellent sense of smell which not only helps them see in low light but also helps them distinguish between relations and unfriendly adversarial raccoons.
The raccoons sense of hearing is exceptional and allows them to even hear earthworms underground.
Raccoon range (red original / Blue introduced
Raccoon front paw
Raccoons are omnivirous meaning they will eat just about anything including meat and vegetation. Their diet ranges from earthworms, insects, bird eggs, small fish, to corn, fruits and nuts. Acorns and walnuts are favorites due to the high fat content which aids in winter survival. When there is plenty of food available raccoons can develop specific preferences for one food type over another. During long periods of snowfall that covers up food sources, raccoons may enter a winter rest, a state of inactivity similar to hibernation.
Raccoons that have become used to life near humans, have become very adept at raiding garbage cans and pet food dishes that have been left out. Pick up and store pet food dishes at night and use bungee cords to secure garbage can lids in place.
Why Get Rid of Raccoons?
Getting rid of raccoons becomes necessary when they become a little too familiar around human residences and activities. Raccoons are wild animals and though they may look "cute and cuddly" that is far from the reality of their real disposition.
Raccoons pose a real danger to children who want to get too close and pet them. Raccoons can carry the rabies virus and children should be warned that if they see a raccoon that stumbles while walking or looks like it's "drunk" that the raccoon is "sick" and must be avoided. Children often want to help or comfort these animals but they must keep their distance.
Raccoons can also cause a substantial amount of property damage ranging from holes chewed and clawed into roofs to siding literally being ripped off a house to gain access to attics or crawlspaces. Once inside, raccoons will destroy storage boxes and insulation and modify the area to their own tastes to be used as a nest or den to raise young.
Pest Control and Exterminator Services
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As many civilians in the south braced for impact from Hurricane Harvey and Irma, FAA approved drone pilots were preparing their drones for disaster relief missions.
Unmanned aerial systems are extremely useful during natural disasters for many reasons. An aerial perspective allows first responders to gain critical situational awareness in a fast-paced environment. Drones equipped with thermal imaging can be used in search and rescue missions to quickly locate missing people. Drones can also be used to deliver supplies, like life jackets and water, to areas that ground-based teams can’t reach.
Drones are not only proving their worth during disasters, but in the aftermath as well. According to Wired, the FAA has already issued at least 43 waivers to groups involved recovery efforts, which allow them to fly in otherwise restricted airspace. With these waivers, drone pilots are able to access hard to reach areas and inspect flooding. Drones can also be used to assess powerlines, roads, railroads, and more.
Local government agencies across Texas and Florida are using drones to assess damage caused by the recent storms.
For example, Fort Bend County Emergency Management used their drones to examine a bridge after Hurricane Harvey. Footage from the mission can be seen in the video.
Many insurance agencies, like Farmers’ Insurance and Allstate, are also relying on drones to document damage and quickly process claims. Another bonus of using drones is the precise, real-time data collection. “You can zoom in at your desk to a single shingle and see the characteristics of that particular piece,” Justin Herndon, an Allstate spokesperson, told Wired.
It’s easy to see why drones have become such an integral part of disaster relief. From thermal imaging, to a bird’s eye view, drones are the complete package. With UAS technology rapidly advancing, it will be no surprise when drones become even more useful in future disaster relief efforts.


August 15, 2013 in roman numeral
Here you will see step by step solution to convert August 15, 2013 date to roman numeral. How to write August 15, 2013 as a roman numeral? August 15, 2013 as a roman numeral written as VIII.XV.MMXIII (MM.DD.YYYY), please check the explanation that how to convert 15 August, 2013 in roman number.
Answer: August 15, 2013 in roman numeral
How to convert August 15, 2013 in roman number?
To convert the August 15, 2013 in roman number simply expand the each number from month, date and year from hindu-arabic number to roman numerals, then replace the all numbers of expanded form of date, month and year with respective roman numerals.
Solution for August 15, 2013 to roman numeral
Given date is => 15-08-2013
After expanding number from Month, Date and year, this table provides a simple and explanation of how to convert the date 'August 15, 2013' to its Roman number:
|Expanded Number Values||5 + 1 + 1 + 1||10 + 5||1000 + 1000 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1|
|Roman Numeral Values||V + I + I + I||X + V||M + M + X + I + I + I|
Hence, in order to correct roman numerals date combination of Month, Day and Year of August 15, 2013 is written as VIII.XV.MMXIII or in 15/August/2013 [DD/MM/YYYY] format it is written as XV/VIII/MMXIII.


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Learners study about the Civil War through primary sources used in the PBS production of "Freedom: A History of US" based on Joy Hakim's books, "A History of US", and the companion PBS Web site.
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Origin of pharyngeal
New Latin pharyngeus, from pharyng-, pharynx
First Known Use: circa 1823
Medical Definition of pharyngeal
Learn More about pharyngeal
Medical Dictionary: Definition of "pharyngeal"
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up pharyngeal? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).


In 1916, Kyota Sugimoto filed a patent for his invention of a typewriter capable of printing Japanese Kanji characters. We take so much technology for granted that it’s hard to picture all the energy that went into creating adaptations to make it universally available—such as when a writing system wouldn’t lend itself to easy printing:
In order to really adapt typewriters to kanji, which has a huge number of characters, Kyota Sugimoto carefully considered the nature of this writing system, including the frequency of use of characters used in public documents. The 2,400 characters chosen as a result were arranged by classification on a character carriage, and the chosen character was raised by a type bar that could move forward and backward and left and right. The character was then typed against a cylindrical paper supporter.


Thinking about our work on Narrative Writing Samples, as well as the reading we have done in Calkins' Writing Pathways, please take a few moments and reflect on ideas you have had about using the rubrics, benchmark papers, data, suggested teaching tools, and suggested teaching ideas in your classroom. Please describe what you are planning on implementing and why. If you have already implemented some changes or "tweaked" some practices, please include these.
Choose what you think is most important to share with us.
The writing committee met
on December 14, 2015. Prior to the meeting, teachers collected narrative
writing samples K-12 and chose a high, medium, and low example using the rubric.As a committee, they reviewed writing samples
using Calkins’ rubrics.The trends
identified early on (see below) were concerns throughout the writing we
reviewed, as well as the last two bullets.
Students need to:
be able to write a complete
sentence early on.
be able to create a story with a
beginning, a middle and an end.
be able to write for sustained
periods of time.
be able to revise their
be able to use upper case
and lower case letters correctly.
be able to use transition words.
be able to write using correct
be able to write a paragraph.
Teachers need to:
consider administering the
assessment to small groups so they can scribe as the students write, as
well as observe writing behaviors included in the rubrics.
consider using three pieces of
paper for writing stories – one for the beginning, middle and end of a
story.This might help students
understand the concept.
Use a common vocabulary when
shared high school samples with the committee as well as her first draft of her
rubric for grades 10-12.In response to
the directive to create consistency across the grade levels, she is revising
the rubric.Thank you, Helana.
writing committee will meet on January 21, 2016.
Memory is a complicated thing -- a relative to truth, but not its twin.
On the table where I sit each morning with my coffee --
thinking and dreaming, writing and reading -- is a small stone engraved
with these words:
The biggest lie that I tell myself daily is ”I don’t need to write that down. I’ll remember it.”
It’s a reminder to me of all the good ideas, large and small, I’ve lost because I haven’t written them down.
Beau Biden died tragically young earlier this year, while he
was serving as the attorney general in Delaware. One of the memories
shared at his funeral was of Beau listening intently whenever any
citizen accosted him with a concern, and then pulling out a small
notebook to write it down. I love that image of a notebook always on
hand, a physical reminder that he would literally carry someone’s
concerns with him.
It’s a stress reliever for me to write things down. It takes
any idea or issue out of mental space and into physical space to deal
with later. I keep little notebooks in the car, next to the bed, and in
many coat pockets. But writing ideas down when they come is easier said
than done. The problem is that ideas often come when we are on the move
-- something about getting up and walking across the room, or taking a
shower, or driving in the car shakes and loosens the mind.
It’s this reverie that allows thoughts to mingle in new ways, and
inspiration to emerge. And then we scramble (because we aren’t at a
desk or table) for any scrap of paper to write it down.
That’s why I probably have at least a half dozen notepads and
notebooks in use at any given time -- it’s impossible to keep track of
all of them as they are moving from car to house, coat pockets to coffee
tables. I no longer worry about any kind of order to them, or finishing
one before I start another. What matters most is to tell myself the
truth -- if I don’t write it down when inspiration strikes, it is likely
to be lost forever.
This week we look at ways to energize writing workshops. Plus more as always -- enjoy!
Founder, Choice Literacy
Free for All
[For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra links, follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracyor Facebook:
Ruth Ayres is leading a new Choice Literacy online course on the fundamentals of writing workshops in December. This 12-day course includes readings, videos, webcasts, and personal response from Ruth. Details and registration guidelines are available at this link:
Create a DVD professional library instantly by ordering the 24 DVD Collection and save50% off the list prices of individual titles. The bundle includes over 40 hours of video and features Jennifer Allen, Aimee Buckner, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan
Moser), Clare Landrigan, Tammy Mulligan, Franki Sibberson,
and many other master teachers working in classrooms with children.
Choice Literacy members receive an additional discount of $100 off the


Free Newsletters - Space - Defense - Environment - Energy
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 01, 2013
In the spirit of Halloween, scientists are releasing a trio of stellar ghosts caught in infrared light by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. All three spooky structures, called planetary nebulas, are in fact material ejected from dying stars. As death beckoned, the stars' wispy bits and pieces were blown into outer space.
"Some might call the images haunting," said Joseph Hora of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass., principal investigator of the Spitzer observing program. "We look to the pictures for a sense of the history of the stars' mass loss, and to learn how they evolved over time."
All stars about the mass of our sun will die similarly ethereal deaths. As sun-like stars grow old, billions of years after their inception, they run out of fuel in their cores and puff up into red, giant stars, aptly named "red giants."
The stars eventually cast off their outer layers, which expand away from the star. When ultraviolet light from the core of a dying star energizes the ejected layers, the billowy material glows, bringing their beautiful shapes to light.
These objects in their final death throes, the planetary nebulas, were named erroneously after their resemblance to planets by William Herschel in 1785. They come in an array of shapes, as illustrated by the three highlighted here in infrared images from Spitzer. The ghostly material will linger for only a few thousand years before ultimately fading into the dark night.
Exposed Cranium Nebula
Ghost of Jupiter Nebula
Little Dumbbell Nebula
Spitzer Space Telescope
Space Telescope News and Technology at Skynightly.com
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January 21, 2014
David Wiley, a biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spearheaded development of an app that pinpoints, on digital nautical charts, places where ships might collide with endangered North Atlantic right whales. Only 500 of the mammals remain. Their biggest threat is boats.
To protect the species, NOAA restricts speed limits and boundaries. Those barriers, however, are invisible in the ocean unless mariners have access to dynamic maps. With NOAA’s Whale Alert app mariners can simply swipe an iPad or iPhone screen to see the no-go zones.
“It’s designed to make it easier for the maritime community to comply with the ship-strike rule,” Wiley says. “Obviously, the more compliance, the more likely we are to have a conservation benefit.”
As of Dec. 6, there had been no fatal collisions in the regions charted by the app since its 2012 launch. And with funding from donations, the tool required only a small government investment.
Wiley went through unofficial channels to make all this happen. NOAA never signed off on the app. The field scientist didn’t know about federal Web management rules. But after the fact, no one is likely to deactivate such a life preserver.
For fostering technology that saves lives, money and time, Nextgov honored Wiley with a 2013 Bold Award.
Next up: A universal Ocean Alert app.
“We’re hoping to evolve Whale Alert into Ocean Alert, because there are similar problems everywhere in the ocean,” Wiley says. “For instance, there are some areas where shippers need to burn different fuels because of air pollution regulations, and they need to know where they are relative to those zones as well.”
January 21, 2014


The wiring of a petrol or gas scooter engine involves a few fairly easy steps if all the necessary parts are in place. Most combustion engines that run on gas also incorporate a flywheel and electrical generation system, also known as a stator plate assembly. The stator place is already pre-assembled with the necessary coil-wrapped magnets that generate electricity as the flywheel magnets spin around them in a circle. These parts then attach to wires that stick out of the engine. The only remaining task then is to connect the engine wires to the scooter.
Locate the wiring coming from the flywheel and stator assembly on the engine. Pull the wires gently so that they are fully extended from the engine as far as they will stretch. Check the wiring insulation for any damage. Wrap the individual wire area with electrical tape if damaged. Cut the tape end with scissors for a clean tape cut. Don't pull it apart -- the tape will stretch and deform.
Strip the wire ends ¼ inch if they are missing wire connectors. Press new wire connectors onto the bare wire ends with the wire crimper/stripper tool so they can connect to the appropriate scooter wire. Attach male or female connectors as appropriate to match the connectors on the scooter wiring.
Insert the engine wires with their new connectors into the junction box that is already attached to the engine -- most scooter engines come with a junction box to avoid the wires being pulled while riding. Match the wire colour from the engine to the same wire colour from the scooter wiring. Connect the male and female wire connectors.
Use a wiring diagram for your model scooter to track your wiring connections correctly. Many are posted on the Internet to download for free and some even come in colour-coded version rather than black and white diagrams.
For a more permanent cover of a wire that has a crack in it or bare spot, you can use shrinkwrap tubing. Place the tube section over the bare spot and heat it with a lighter. The tube will shrink tight around the area you want covered when heated. Just be careful not to burn it.
Be careful when using a soldering iron to repair broken engine wiring if you need to do such work. The iron tip is hot and will immediately burn skin. The fumes from the solder are also toxic to breathe.


Milton’s heritage is very diverse and interesting. To the history buff, Milton provides a plethora of avenues down which one may traverse through local and U.S. history. Milton is the birthplace of five governors, a town divided in allegiance during the Civil War, home to many officers who participated in the famous War of 1812, and rich in both agricultural and political facts and figures, Milton can be a fascinating location to research.
Originally settled in 1672, it was once known as “Head of the Broadkill” for its geographic location at the head of the Broadkill River. This location, just a few miles from Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, was ideal for shipbuilding in days of old. Many shipbuilders and sea captains lived and worked in Milton, and evidence of this life is still visible in some of the historic homes and landmarks in town.
Prior to the War of 1812, Milton was so renamed in honor of the English poet John Milton. Education and religion were integral parts of daily life in Milton, and remain priorities of Milton citizens today. Proud of their heritage, Milton residents pay homage to history through events and monuments that help all to remember proud moments past. A walk through local cemeteries in town can be an education in itself, with headstones and markers often denoting which residents were seafarers, perished in Civil War prisons or were notable for other reasons. Residents, through local historical societies and historic preservation efforts, attempt to keep Milton’s history documented and its artifacts and architecture protected.
The American Holly is Delaware’s State Tree – and residents are certainly proud of the role it has played in Milton’s history! Once known as the “Holly Capital of the World”, Milton at one time in history produced more Christmas and holiday holly wreaths and decorations than any other location.
In fact, this was highlighted in old black & white newsreel shorts that ran in movie theaters prior to the main feature of the day – showing how Milton residents grew, clipped, formed and shipped these decorations all over the country! The American Holly grows to a height of 60′ and displays dark green leaves and bright red berries. As you travel some of Milton’s avenues today, these beautiful giants are still a wonder to behold!
Other cottage industries have blossomed in Milton throughout history and following the wooden shipbuilding era, including that of button making! Large mother-of-pearl shells were once shipped to many Milton sites from the South Pacific for just this purpose. A group of enterprising men set up shop in homes and garages throughout town, where they cut and polished the button blanks and then shipped them to the northeast for further decoration and use on garments of all kinds. Dig up the rich dark soil in many a backyard garden in Milton today and you will still find sparkling pieces of mother-of-pearl in all shapes and sizes!
Agriculture too, has always been an important part of Milton’s history, and the fresh fruits and vegetables of local gardeners and farmers can still be purchased on the local streets any day in summer. The area also produces large quantities of soybeans, corn and broiler chickens. An afternoon barbecue is not complete without sweet Milton corn and fresh tomatoes, especially when followed up with some creamy smooth homemade ice cream from the family that has made and sold it here in downtown Milton for decades.
This brief summary of Milton’s history simply highlights some aspects of it. If you are looking for history, research Milton thoroughly. The opportunities for discovery are many. In fact, for history lovers, it’s another “paradise found”.


Since the beginning of the 20th century, children have been educated in person. The traditional learning process involves an educator who teaches or lectures a group of students in a classroom. Over the years, this method has yielded benefits for the people involved. In particular, students enjoy the advantage of interacting with their teachers and classmates.
When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the world had to reimagine how to exist to mitigate the spread of the virus. As such, all schools quickly moved to online education to implement the need for social distancing. This shift was drastic and rapid, but having had two years to adjust to it, both students and educators are now recognizing the convenience and other benefits of remote learning.
For these reasons, this article discusses whether students will ever get back to offline education. It also highlights the challenges involved and ways of overcoming them.
Table of Contents
Returning to School
In 2020 and 2021, it felt like students may never get back to in-person learning. However, things have generally returned to normal globally, with a few exceptions. Currently, most schools that opted for online learning are expected to switch back to offline education in the near future or have already done so. By the end of 2022, most schools will fully resume in-person classes. However, some education institutions are expected to keep some aspects of their online education running. This new policy is due to demand from some learners.
Whatever learning method a student chooses, they will have to diligently complete their theses and projects to graduate from colleges and universities. As such, learners will benefit from the expertise offered by dissertation assistance services. This platform has expert writers capable of creating academic writings in multiple fields. You may want to use this service if you are struggling with assignments due to the switch back to offline classes, or for any other reason.
Challenges Associated with the Return to Offline Education
As students return to classrooms, there are many problems to be addressed. The ability of educators, parents, and students to overcome these problems is essential for a successful return to normal learning. These challenges are discussed below.
Also, Check – How to Track Your Home-Educated Child’s Progress: 5 Tips
Adjusting Back to Normal
Everyone included in a learning process must find a way of adjusting back to normal. Parents must ensure that their children adhere to health guidelines implemented by authorities. On the other hand, educators must strategically implement these rules. Forcing students to comply will usually not work. Therefore, conducive environments must be created to foster the reintegration of students while maintaining public health protocols.
Implementation of a Support System
Social and emotional support is needed for the adjustment of learners. As a result, schools must introduce support and counselling setups to help students re-establish the social skills they lost while attending virtual classes. It is also required to combat anxiety and depression. The ability of schools to support their students will be crucial to their academic, emotional, and social development.
Implement Hybrid Learning
Although in-person learning is now reasonably safe, there are still parents and students that will prefer virtual learning. In particular, some students will want to try a hybrid learning scheme, which allows them to learn both in class and virtually. As a result, learning institutions must have the necessary setup and staff training to allow for such an education.
Upgrade the Offline Classroom
In addition, schools need to be creative with technology to be successful. The use of business marketing tools will be essential to the successful execution of modern learning schemes. Plus, students will be more receptive to the application of evolving technology when learning.
As life returns to normal, so will education. However, learning institutions must make offline classrooms safe and roe technological to meet the current standards. Educators may also deploy a hybrid learning system to accommodate the fondness for virtual learning. In addition, the challenges associated with return to offline learning must be identified and mitigated.
About the Author
Caitlin Ganz is a well-rounded writer with years of experience. She is also a student counselor who likes to cover academic-related topics. As such, she never misses a chance to write about education.
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July 18-21, 2016
The 2016 Republican National Convention will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
July 25th-28th, 2016
The 2016 Democratic National Convention will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
As we near the two conventions for the parties to officially declare their presidential nominees, this political update is information for you on how the political conventions operate.
What is the Purpose of Party Conventions?
Political conventions are not part of the Constitution to elect a president. The founding fathers of American government actually viewed political parties with distrust or outright hostility. Today, we can hardly imagine a government without political parties, and the parties’ conventions are huge, televised media events.
Over time, the nominating function was taken away from the conventions. People wanted more control over their party’s nominees, so the presidential primaries and caucuses came into use. Party members vote in the primaries to choose who they want to represent their party in the upcoming election. By convention time, there is no suspense about who will be the nominee–it typically has been known for months. This is why nominees are referred to as the “presumptive” nominees before the election. They have met the number of votes necessary (2,383 for Democrats, 1,237 for Republicans) for the party nomination. The convention then becomes a formality to nominate, vote, and officially designate them on behalf of their party.
Political conventions serve other purposes beyond nominating the party candidate, which is why they’re still around. The convention offers party members a chance to gather together and discuss the party’s platform. We can expect a lot of discussion at both conventions with unhappiness expressed over super delegates, the role of delegates, and party rules. These issues will be discussed, and the party has the power to revise or change them at the convention after votes. The platform will be discussed–which is the party’s stance on the political issues of the day. The convention is the proper place for political debate over issues and to make changes.
- In 1860, the Democratic Party debated the government’s right to outlaw slavery. When the party adopted the position that the Supreme Court could decide the slavery issue, delegates from several southern states walked out, resulting in the Southern Democratic Party.
- In 1980, Senator Edward Kennedy fought against incumbent Jimmy Carter’s economic plan. Although Carter defeated Kennedy for the nomination, Kennedy’s debate forced Carter to change his plan radically.
Today, even this function of the convention has been largely eliminated. The conventions have been streamlined, with notable events and speeches scheduled for prime-time television hours. The parties work to eliminate any evidence of debate or disunity within the party, although this year has proved to be historically contentious. The political conventions have now been reduced to the status of infomercials, marketing the ideas and personalities of the party to the public.
While the conventions serve to unify the party and generate party pride, the “advertisement for the party” has become the primary function of political conventions today.
The Media Role at the Conventions
In the early 1800s, closed-door conventions were only briefly mentioned in newspapers. When the process became more open, media coverage became more widespread. The convention circus was hard to cover in newspapers … and then along came television. This new media thrust the chaotic conventions into homes across the country. Every floor debate, interruption, protest and delegate squabble was there for public viewing.
This led to the changes in what we see today–no more debates or arguments, no unplanned speeches or interruptions, and protesters are kept miles away from the convention floor. Now, the convention is a media event, attended by almost as many reporters as delegates, and broadcast in carefully selected prime-time viewing slots. Again, this is an unusual year for conventions, and it’s anyone’s guess how it will be played out on the convention floor.
How Are Convention Delegates Selected?
The national political conventions are made up of delegates from each state. Those delegates are selected in different ways, depending on the party and the state. The key here is that the delegates are not only party members; they are supporters of a particular candidate.
The Democrats use a proportional system, in which the percentage of party members for a candidate in the primary or caucus is reflected in the percentage of delegates representing that candidate who will be sent to the convention. For example, if two candidates split the primary vote, then each gets half of the delegate positions for that state.
Republicans favor a winner-take-all system, although they allow states the option of using a proportional system. Under a winner-take-all system, the candidate with the majority of votes in the primary or caucus gets all of the state’s delegate seats.
Deciding how many delegates each state gets is a very complicated process. Essentially, the number is based on the state’s population, as well as how much support that state has given to party candidates in recent elections.
What do today’s delegates do at the convention?
They may discuss party issues, listen to speeches, and participate in party “pep rallies.” There are pledged (to one candidate) and non-pledged delegates. If a nominee had not received the required majority of votes before the convention, there would have been a series of votes to choose the nominee. But for the most part, nothing political happens at political conventions in the 21st century. The convention concludes with a carefully planned speech by the party’s nominee for president.
- Perhaps the most infamous political convention was the 1968 Democratic National Convention and ensuing riots in Chicago, but there have been other significant events at conventions.
- In 1888, abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass became the first African-American to receive a vote at a political convention–a single vote at the Republican convention.
- In 1908, Democrats added legislation to their platform that would separate the interests of corporations from those of Republicans. They felt that corporations and the Republicans were too closely allied–a theme that remains relevant almost 100 years later.
In 1940, two unique events occurred at political conventions.
- First, Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a third term as president. After some debate over his choice of vice president, he accepted.
- Second, the Republicans held the first ever televised convention that year.
The 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles was marked by extensive protests in support of numerous causes.
- Pro-union, gay rights, anti-corporate welfare, pro-environmental and other movements made their voices heard a good distance from the convention site, due to the heavy presence of security fences and police officers. A performance by the politically active rock group Rage Against the Machine was interrupted by police, who used pepper spray and fired rubber bullets at fleeing spectators.
The more you know.
Feminine Collective offers general information on the election, voting processes, and issues on Election 2016. Feminine Collective does not endorse any candidate or political party. Our goal is to provide data to help you make informed decisions.
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