and quiver on his shoulder, and the arrows rattling on his back as the rage shook him. He settled down far from the ships, his face as dark as night, and his silver bow rang out as he shot the arrows of death into their midst. First he shot down their mules and dogs, but soon he took aim at the Greeks themselves, until pyres burned all day long with the bodies of their dead.

For nine long days Apollo shot the deadly arrows of pestilence down upon the Greek army, who were encamped on the beaches of Troy. Achilles complained “we are being cut down by war and pestilence at once” — a plight Rome shared during the first few years of the Marcomannic War. According to Homer’sepic, it was only when the girl was set free and enough ritual sacrifices were offered to Apollo by the Greeks that the plague finally began to relent. Throughout the empire, people were impotent in the face of the current plague. Sacrificing to the gods was virtually all they could think to do. And whatever its origin, it was just like the wrath of a god in its power to overwhelm great nations.

Apollo’s Deadly Arrows

It was certainly true that the plague first infected the Roman army who looted Seleucia. Cassius turned back and marched for over thirty days to his base at Antioch, his troops laden with the spoils of their victory. However, he lost many hundreds of his men to plague and famine along the way. Once


Vologases finally conceded defeat and the war ended, Lucius’ armies dispersed back to Rome, Italy, and their provincial bases throughout the empire. Along with Parthian gold they unknowingly brought home the plague. It was carried from Parthia back into the Roman provinces of Syria and Egypt, into Italy and Spain, along the Danube and the Rhine, into Gaul and even across the sea to the distant island of Britain.

The worst affected place was, of course, Rome itself, the destination for thousands of travellers from around the empire. With so many people, from so many parts of the world, living in such proximity, infectious diseases spread through the city like wildfire. As the epidemic peaked there, between 166 and 168 AD, the bodies of Rome’s citizens were being cartedout by the wagonload, as many as two thousand per day. The weak fared worst, of course: infants, slaves, the sick and elderly. In Rome alone, perhaps about three quarters of the population contracted the plague, and about one quarter of those died as a result. For a time it was as though the city was turning into a vast necropolis. The infection rate was significantly lower outside the densely-populated major cities and army bases. The pandemic would last fifteen years altogether and at least five million people would die throughout the empire.

Many towns throughout Italy and the provinces were completely depopulated. The army was reduced by one tenth and for several years greatly diminished in its fitness for battle, which left the empire perilously vulnerable to fresh


incursions by tribes on the northern frontier. As well as the impact on ordinary citizens, slaves, and soldiers, many Roman politicians and officials were lost to the plague, and Marcus often erected statues in honour of the distinguished men who died at this time. The deaths of so many senators left the Roman elite reeling and it meant that some official positions changed hands more frequently than before. The plague destroyed families, often leaving bereaved survivors lonely and depressed. Loved ones, especially children, often could not approach the dying victim’s deathbed because of the risk of contamination.

Sickness and loss of life on this scale, lasting many years, was also slowly wrecking the economy, by damaging transportation, hampering trade, and weakening the labour force throughout the empire. Many cattlethe one with which Homer’s Iliad opened, was a punishment sent against them by Apollo. However, Marcus knew that could not be true. The plague had, inevitably, spread beyond the northern frontier and infected the barbarian tribes they were fighting. It was probably also spreading through Parthia. If the gods punishing Rome then why infect her enemies as well? No, these were merely superstitions; the evidence contradicted them. After Cassius had taken Seleucia, he then penetrated deep into Parthia, as far as Media. Marcus thereby managed, for the first time, to get emissaries all the way to the far east. There they met the mysterious Seres people, who sold their raw silk to the traders of the Silk Road. The oriental merchants made a positive impression on Marcus’


ambassadors but disappointingly they showed little interest in Roman wares. The Romans also learned, however, that even far beyond Parthia in the distant and exotic land of silk, there were reports of the same plague that blighted Rome.

Nevertheless, every day more charlatans and madmen appeared in Rome, preying on the gullible. One of the most notorious ones had been constantly preaching to the crowds from atop the wild fig-tree on the Campus Martius. He was on the verge of starting looting in the streets of Rome by prophesying that any day the gods were about to send down fire from the heavens to engulf the city and that the end of the world was nigh. He predicted that he would be transformed into a stork when the apocalypsewas upon them and tried to dupe the crowds by falling from the tree and releasing a bird concealed beneath his cloak. They saw through this hopeless ruse, though, and he was brought before the emperor for judgement. Marcus quickly surmised that he was touched by madness, and pardoned him without a fuss. The last thing he wanted was to make martyrs out of these religious lunatics.

One of the most bizarre cults had become surprisingly influential. A handsome and charismatic conman called Alexander of Abonoteichus founded a shrine hosting a human-headed snake-god he’d invented called Glycon. Alexander received visitors in a dark room, where he sat with a large serpent, whose head he concealed, exposing only the body to view. He’d constructed a life-like human head for the


snake, with long flowing locks, which delivered cryptic oracles. In reality, his assistants made “Glycon” appear to talk by speaking through hidden tubes attached to the glove puppet. Alexander became very wealthy and powerful as a result of receiving payment for his prophecies and magical charms. Coins were even cast in honour of the god “Glycon” and statuettes made of him. During the height of the plague, Alexander was claiming to heal the sick with incantations. A crude verse from his oracle was used on amulets and inscribed over the doors of houses as a protection against the plague: Phoebus, the god unshorn, keepeth off plague’s nebulous onset. He survived the plague but died of gangrene, an old man, around 170 AD. However, his ridiculous cult lived onfor many years, exploiting the widespread belief that the sun-god Apollo, also known as Phoebus, was inflicting the plague on the empire.

Marcus had no interest in superstition but it was nevertheless his duty as emperor, and high priest, to enact the outward rituals of the state religion. When the barbarians invaded from the north, at the height of the plague, Rome was gripped with panic. Marcus delayed setting out for war while he summoned foreign priests from all over the empire to purify the city through all manner of religious ceremonies, as a concession to the masses. He was even persuaded to perform the ancient Roman ceremony of the feast of the gods, called the lectisternium. This elaborate ritual, lasting seven days, was first carried out by Romans


deaths. In short, the plague had become a fact of life for Romans. With daily practice, the emperor had learned to respond as philosophically as could be expected under the circumstances. If this had any meaning it was not as some vengeful punishment but as a daily lesson, from which the gods were challenging him to learn something about the meaning of mortal life.

Every day, he tried, as a Stoic, to accept the hideous reality before him as if it were the prescription of a sage-like physician, necessary to develop his own health and that of the empire, not unlike some bitter medicine or painful surgical procedure. What lessons could he learn from it? That death lurks even in Arcadia, and that the bones of Alexander the Greatfind motivation to live honourably in the present moment, at all costs.

The Symptoms

Marcus and Galen had one thing in common. They both sought to understand the plague rationally and objectively, as a natural phenomenon. Galen as a physician, and Marcus as a philosopher. The plague was spread mainly by coughing and sneezing. The first symptoms were a raging internal fever and painful swelling in the back of the throat, probably also headaches and muscle pains similar to influenza. By around the ninth to twelfth day, according to Galen, the other symptoms would erupt, and the fever would presumably break. A few individuals died even during this initial stage. Galen described how some victims initially developed catarrh and a slight cough, which became severe as the infection progressed, until


visibly scarred with pockmarks. In many cases the blisters actually spread onto the surface of their eyes and victims were left blind, or partially sighted, as a result. In a few cases, the joints were left arthritic, which could lead to permanent limb deformities.

Marcus observed these symptoms carefully in others and discussed them with Galen and the rest of his court physicians. Everything that befalls a philosopher is potentially an opportunity to move one step closer toward wisdom, self-mastery and freedom. Marcus regularly contemplated his own death, every day, and whenever events seemed to prompt him to do so. The plague certainly made it easy to imagine death and suffering. His duty as a Stoic was to anticipate the worst that could happen to him, as if itEpictetus

Marcus had often imagined the fever spreading through his own body, leaving him frail and bedridden. He closed his eyes and pictured it once again… The raw pain developing in his throat, as he struggled to breathe or to speak. The itchy rash creeping over his flesh, day by day, breaking out in clusters of hideous pustules as he watched helpless, slowly turning into patches of black crust all over his face and body. The nausea, pain, and discomfort. Not knowing if you’ll live through the night, as your body slowly bleeds into your bowels. This was how he had learned to contemplate his own death. Not as an abstract concept but as if he could almost reach out and touch it, as if he could even taste


nailed inside two wooden boats, one on the top of the other, with their head and limbs protruding. Then they were set afloat in a marsh, under the blazing sun, and force-fed milk and honey each day, which was also smeared on their face and body to attract swarms of insects. The prospect of his own death, however, troubled Marcus less with year that passed.

In the Phaedo, as he awaited execution Socrates was asked by his friends to speak to them as though a little child remained within their minds, fearing death like it was a scary bogeyman. Reassure us there is nothing to fear, they asked. Socrates replied: “You should sing a charm over that child every day until you have charmed away his fears”. The Stoicsof dying. And to learn how to face death is to unlearn how to be a slave.

Galen and the Physicians

Galen, the most exceptional physician of the period, was in Rome from the first outbreak of the plague there in 166 AD and he studied it at its peak during the following two years. He was one of the few brave souls who observed the dying closely and tried to understand the disease rationally. At the very time when they were most needed, many good physicians were among the first to be lost, as they naively exposed themselves to those contaminated. However, Galen, who believed himself chosen by the gods, was among those who proved immune and as a result he rose to prominence as one of the leading


length about this complex, ancient panacea. It contained dozens of supposedly medicinal ingredients, from myrrh to viper flesh. However, it was not entirely a placebo as it also included varying amounts of opium poppy juice, which would at least have alleviated the symptoms of pain, coughing and diarrhea from plague sufferers, and they may also have obtained relief from other ingredients. However, it was too expensive for most ordinary Romans because it contained so many obscure ingredients, and was fermented for up to twelve years before being eaten in chunks or sometimes applied as a salve to the body.

Many doctors advised those remaining in Rome and other infected areas to smear their nostrils and ears with scented oils. Incenses like myrrh hung in the air and bonfires werefrequently lit in the towns and cities because it was widely believed that the smoke could purified the atmosphere of pestilent vapours. Of course, this did nothing. Some degree of discomfort was alleviated by applying herbal remedies externally to the pustular rashes of victims. However, ensuring proper burial of the dead was one basic measure the state could take to try to limit the spread of disease. Marcus insisted that funeral ceremonies should be performed for the poor, at the public expense if necessary. The emperors also jointly ratified stringent new laws regulating burial, which prohibited building tombs above ground on country estates. Those who survived, and acquired immunity, were encouraged to tend other sufferers and assist with funerary rites.

Some people believed that certain philosophers were resistant to


disease because of their moderate habits and healthy lifestyle. Socrates was said to have been so disciplined in his way of life that when plague broke out among the Athenians, on several occasions, he was the only man who escaped infection, including during his military service in the siege of Potidaea. Since he was a young boy, Marcus had embraced the philosophical way of life, eating and drinking plain food in moderation, taking appropriate daily exercise, sleeping in moderation on a crude military camp bed, and so on. Certain aspects of his Stoic lifestyle, combined with the privileges of his status, probably helped him to survive to the age of nearly sixty, at a time when the average life expectancy at Rome was more like thirty-five, at best.However, others were not so fortunate.

Marcus’ Bereavements

Marcus was surrounded by death and disease, on an almost unprecedented scale. He wished that he could have done more as emperor to alleviate the suffering of the Roman people. He lost many loved ones himself in a short space of time, during the initial spread of the plague. In the winter of 166–167 AD, when the first outbreak at Rome was reaching its peak, his close friend and former Latin rhetoric tutor died, Marcus Cornelius Fronto. Marcus may not have sought to emulate Fronto’s character, the way he did those of his philosophical tutors, but he trusted him, and loved him very dearly. He was old and sickly, so Marcus was prepared for his death, but with the most affectionate of


his childhood mentors now gone the emperor was left feeling more alone than ever before.

However, the most publicly conspicuous of all the deaths from plague was that of his adoptive brother and junior co-emperor, Lucius Verus. Marcus and Lucius were returning to their winter base at Aquileia from the initial expedition of the Marcomannic War when news reached them that plague had now also broken out there. They changed course to nearby Altinum, where Lucius soon died of the fever. Lucius had been expected to outlive Marcus, who was prone to chronic health problems and nine years his senior. However, when the plague took Lucius unexpectedly, aged thirty-nine, Marcus was suddenly left sole emperor, and another important piece of his family, another link with his childhood, and hisown sense of identity, had been torn away.

Shortly after Lucius, Marcus’ youngest son, Marcus Annius Verus, also died. Aged seven, he had been appointed Caesar three years earlier along with his brother Commodus, his elder by one year. Young Marcus Annius was the sixth of Marcus’ sons to die. Marcus certainly did not have a heart made of stone or iron and Stoics were not taught to suppress natural emotions. He could be moved to tears by bereavement. On one occasion, reminded of his own loss, he was overcome with grief and wept in public when he heard an advocate say in the course of an argument “Blessed are they who died in the plague.”

In his notes to himself, Marcus referred several times to ways of coping with


the feared or actual loss of one of his children, clearly a preoccupation with him. Marcus and Faustina had already lost six of their thirteen children before the plague even appeared. He quotes a line from Homer’s Iliad: “Such are the races of men as the leaves that the wind scatters earthward.” Marcus reminded himself to think always of his children in the same brutally honest way, as leaves in the wind, accepting the fact that they are mortal, their lives are transitory and beyond his ability to control. Not to take their lives for granted but to face the stark reality of their vulnerability, and the possibility of losing them, especially during the plague.

Many grains of frankincense on the same altar: one falls before, another falls after;but it makes no difference.

Under the shadow of the plague, the air in Roman towns and cities remained heavy with the smell of medicinal incense, particularly frankincense and myrrh.

The only male child Marcus now had left as heir was Commodus. He was bound to worry that Commodus’ life could be snatched away from him at any moment. He wrote in his notes, “Stick with first impressions. I see that my little boy is sick. That his life is in danger? That I do not see.” His ongoing battle with worries over Commodus’ safety were carefully worked through in writing, in his philosophical journal, and in his daily Stoic meditations.

At that time, with Lucius suddenly gone, Commodus was aged eight and too young to safely take the throne if


from Epictetus via Junius Rusticus.

“Remember thou must die”, the slave had whispered to Marcus as the crowds cheered. The statue of Apollo, seized from Parthia, followed behind them, draped in other looted treasures. Marcus had been persuaded by Lucius to follow him in taking the title Parthicus, conqueror of Parthia. As the plague crippled Rome’s legions, though, King Vologases soon took back most of the Parthian territory he’d lost to Avidius Cassius. Not long after the plague took Lucius, as the Roman hold on Parthia slipped, Marcus chose to drop the title Parthicus from his own name. It seemed dishonest. The legacy of Lucius’ war was death.

The year after he lost his co-emperor Lucius and his son, the young caesar Marcus Annius, Marcus most cherished philosophy tutor, theStoic Junius Rusticus, also died at Rome. Rusticus was also Marcus’ right-hand man in Rome, where he had served as the urban prefect during the first few years when the plague was at its height. Rusticus was an older man, around Fronto’s age, but his loss still came as a heavy blow, and signalled a kind of death within Marcus himself. Fronto and Rusticus had been rivals, vying to win the young Marcus over to rhetoric and philosophy respectively. Rusticus finally succeeded in converting Marcus to Stoicism in his twenties, and set the pattern for the rest of his life. Having lost his two most beloved tutors in close succession, both close friends and advisors since his childhood, Marcus was now cut adrift, and found himself facing a


major change. A new phase of his life would have to begin in which he was more independent, both emotionally and intellectually. He would need to find the inner strength to continue on the same course, without his mentors and allies. Increasingly, he turned to his new friends in the military, and the legionary bases became his home instead of Rome.

Marcus wrote in his notes that he should contemplate his life in terms of distinct stages, and the transition from each to the next, each step in the ladder of change, as a kind of death. As we grow from infants, into children, adolescents, and go through various stages of adult life, many things cease or change for us. The child dies when the man is born. Weshould repeatedly ask ourselves: “Is there anything catastrophic here?” Marcus the student of philosophy and rhetoric had died, to some extent, along with his childhood tutors. Marcus as sole emperor had been forced to become increasingly self-reliant as he matured into the role of philosopher-king and supreme military commander. The great crisis of Marcus’ reign, the Marcomannic invasion, followed close on the heels of the plague’s initial outbreak, and tested Marcus’ Stoicism even more profoundly.

Author: Donald J. RobertsonDonald J. Robertson is a writer and cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist. Donald Robertson is the author of six books including How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius.
He is a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, writer, and trainer, specializing in the relationship between philosophy, psychology, and self-improvement. He's particularly known for


Mountain View Real Estate

Named for its sweeping views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mountain View is located in beautiful Santa Clara County. The town's forward thinking urban landscape boasts some of the top Fortune 1000 companies including Google, Symantec and Intuit. Mountain View has developed into a cultural destination, attracting visitors from far and near. From its award winning restaurants, including Michelin Guide rated Chez TJ, to its renowned Performing Arts Center, it has something to please everyone. Its own Shoreline Amphitheatre attracts musicians from around the world and is one of Northern California's top concert spots. Mountain View has a young, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly downtown. Adorned with specialty shops, sidewalk cafes and art galleries, Castro Street is closed down once a month for festivals, car shows and livein the Paris suburb of Saint-Nom-la-Breteche.

Nestled away from the light, the spores of mushroom mycelium fungus—a key food source for many soil invertebrates and which can also help to clean polluted soil—rapidly spread as they would beneath the roots of a tree.

After incubation, the bags containing the grounds and spores, by now completely white, are transferred to a different room for "fructification".

Cue the lights

There, the lights are switched on and humidity reduced. Cuts are made in the bags, allowing the mushrooms to emerge.

"The mushrooms are 'stressed'—which makes them want to reproduce and free up their spores, leave the bags," says Ulrich. "It simply remains to harvest them."

Ulrich says urban agriculture is first and foremost about recycling organic waste from cities as a means of expanding the move towards


a regenerative, 'circular economy' making more judicious use of finite resources.

"Thirty percent of urban waste is useful biowaste and today, only five percent of this organic matter is recycled," he notes.

"We are just doing what they did in the 19th Century, but with modern methods," he said.

Coffee-nourished mushrooms sometimes make it onto the menu of cafes that earlier provided the grounds to help grow them

At that time, "Paris mushrooms" were also born from the idea of recycling organic matter.

Market gardeners cultivated their produce in quarries on the perimeter of the capital making use of the droppings of the thousands of horses who helped to deliver vegetables to the market at Les Halles in central Paris.

Smell that coffee again

Today, some 20 tonnes of coffee grounds are collected each monthin and around Paris, the bulk from large firms' restaurants in the west of the city. From that can be produced around two tonnes of oyster mushrooms.

At 15 euros ($17) per kilo that equates to a 30,000 euro 'harvest' and a campaign is under way to encourage more Parisian cafes to get in on the act.

"It's a virtuous undertaking—we are producing between 20 and 30 kilos of grounds a week," says Romain Vidal, 30 and the owner of Le Sully brasserie in Paris and a pioneer of the recycling technique.

"And our chef puts the oyster mushrooms on the menu for the brasserie's customers," he adds.

The chef concurs, saying he is "delighted," describing the mushrooms as thick and juicy.

After every expresso, every cappuccino, Le Sully's waiters bag the used


according to an April list from Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, a California-based nonprofit. The only Tennessee town on the list is Johnson City.

"Tennessee is much more far behind the country on the rest of this issue," said Bronson Frick, associate director of the nonsmokers' rights group.

The Tennessee Non-Smoker Protection Act of 2007 also banned smoking in most enclosed public places.

State law doesn't allow cities to enact tobacco regulations, but a city does have the right to regulate use of its property, City Attorney John Anderson said.

hot topic

A growing number of cities in Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina are adopting such ordinances, Frick said.

"Sometimes it's concern around keeping the park clean, or about secondhand smoke around ballfields. It's questioning the role of tobacco in a greenspace that's dedicated toearly July. His debut album, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon is scheduled for release on August 24, 2013 (Krule’s 19th birthday); a North American tour starts in New York in September. See more: http://kingkrule.co.uk


Britney Taylor, the woman who accused Antonio Brown of rape in a civil lawsuit, is scheduled to meet with NFL officials on Monday, according to multiple reports.

Taylor, a former personal trainer of Brown’s, filed the suit in Florida on Tuesday and in it alleges that Brown sexually assaulted her three times, twice in 2017 and once in 2018.

Taylor has given the NFL information ahead of the meeting, according to ESPN, which reports neither Brown or any of his representatives are expected to be present at the meeting.

The suit was filed three days after Brown was released by the Oakland Raiders and hours later signed with the New England Patriots. Brown, 31, is eligible to play for the Patriots Sunday and he will be active, ESPN reports.

Brown could beenvironment. Once available for adoption, felines spend an average of seven days in the shelter waiting for adoptive families.

Cats admitted between 6 January 2012 and 16 June 2012 were eligible for this study and randomly assigned to one of two research groups (Original Assessment Group (OA group) or Modified Assessment Group (MA group) at the time of intake at the HSBV. At intake, the cats received a brief health exam and vaccinations, in accordance with the Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters \[[@B22-animals-05-00071]\], and were placed in a holding cage where they remained until their behavior assessment(s) as determined by their assigned group. After completion of the behavior assessment(s), HSBV completed all other medical care, including sterilization, prior to the cat being made available for adoption.


door is opened. Only at the first Data Card collection, was an observation made of the cat's food consumption overnight.

After completion of the third Data Card observation, the cats were assessed for Item 1 of Feline-ality™ in their cage before being removed from their cage and taken for their assessment in the novel room as early as that same afternoon or on the following day (the third day after intake), at approximately 36--48 h post-intake. The Original Feline-ality™ assessment consisted of eight Items; Item 1 was conducted in the cat's cage, while Items 2--8 occurred in the novel room.

Upon completion of the eight assessment Items, the scores from the Data Card and the assessment Items were compiled to calculate the cat's Valiance (response to novel stimuli) and Gregariousdata collection.

While exploring the validity of our OA group and the strength of our MA group, we found that both assessments identified behaviors in cats that remained stable once the cat was adopted and placed in the home. Overall, the MA group assessment was just as predictive as the OA group assessment.

The age, sex and intake type of the OA and MA cats were very similar. This suggests that there were not substantial differences between the groups among the variables we were able to measure. The three most common Feline-alities were the same for the OA and7 MA groups with "Personal Assistant" as the most common. The order was slightly different with "Leader of the Band" as the least frequent of the three for the OA group compared


Q:

What is a "win in last at-bat"?

On a baseball broadcast tonight, the team statistic "wins in last at-bat" came up.  What's the definition of this term?
The announcer was careful to point out that such a win "doesn't have to be a walk-off", and gave as an example San Francisco at Milwaukee, June 8, 2017.  This was an extra-innings game in which the visiting Giants scored four runs in the top of the 10th, then held the Brewers scoreless in the bottom of the 10th to win.  But the Giants' last at-bat in the top of the 10th didn't score a run at all (it was a ground ball into a double play) so it's not clear to me in what sense they won on theirTwitter and Facebook suspended almost 1,000 accounts that were tied to a Chinese disinformation campaign that targeted pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

On Monday, Twitter announced that it had suspended 936 accounts that were related to the disinformation efforts. In a blog post, the company said the "coordinated state-backed campaign" was intended to "sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement on the ground."

The Jack Dorsey-led company said it had conducted "intensive investigations" into the suspicious accounts, which were taken down due to violations of Twitter's policy against platform manipulation.

BERNIE SANDERS WANTS TO BAN POLICE USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION

Facebook conducted its own investigation, based on a tip from Twitter, and removed seven pages, three groups and five accounts involved in


law enforcement, security experts and other companies."

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets in Hong Kong to protest against police brutality and a now-suspended extradition bill. The demonstrators, who have been mostly peaceful, have also clashed with local police and brought Hong Kong's main airport to a standstill recently.

HATE SPEECH ALGORITHMS ARE BIASED AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE, RESEARCHERS FIND

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Both Twitter and Facebook have faced increasing scrutiny over their response to disinformation campaigns in the wake of Russia's manipulation of social media during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.Tottenham 18-19 Away Kit

The new Tottenham Hotspur away kit was launched today, together with the new home kit This image shows the Tottenham 2018-19 away shirt.Just like in the Nike debut season, the Tottenham 18-19 away jersey is navy, with white being used for the Swoosh on the right chest. While some might be disappointed at the lack of variation from Nike, it's safe to say that dark blue is easily Spurs' most iconic away color.Despite sharing the base color, the Tottenham 2018-2019 away kit looks nothing like its predecessor. This is thanks to the fact that the Nike Tottenham Hotspur 2018-2019 away shirt prominently features turquoise / teal in the form of a bold graphic on the sleeves.Finally, the shield around the club crest found on this


Image copyright Plos One Image caption The individuals appear to have been buried in accordance with Islamic rites

Researchers have identified what may be the earliest Muslim burials in France.

The three skeletons unearthed at Nimes show indications of Islamic burial rites and are thought to date to the eighth century AD.

A team used DNA, radiocarbon dating and archaeological analysis to show the individuals may have been North African soldiers from a brief occupation of southern France by an Islamic army.

Details of the analysis are published in the journal Plos One.

In each of the three graves, the bodies were placed on their right-hand sides facing south-east - in the direction of Mecca. The way the burial pit was dug, with a lateral niche closed off by slabs or stones alsocorresponds to a traditional Islamic burial practice.

Analysis of the skeletons reveals that two of the three males were in their late twenties or early thirties, while the other was about 50 years of age.

Radiocarbon dating of all three burials gave age ranges within the 7th and 8th centuries.

The scientists also carried out genetic analysis on the remains. They found that the Y chromosome DNA from all three males belonged to a type very common in Berbers from North Africa, but largely absent from Europe, including France.

Mitochondrial DNA - which is passed down from a mother to her offspring - from one of the younger males also belonged to a specifically African lineage. But mitochondrial DNA from the other two burials belonged to types that are found both in


Europe and North Africa.

In their Plos One paper, the team from the University of Bordeaux and France's Inrap archaeological centre, propose how the apparently Muslim individuals came to be in southern France at this time.

In the early 8th Century, Nimes was part of the Visigothic Kingdom, comprising the territory of present-day Spain, Portugal and south-eastern France (Septimania).

But in 711, Muslim troops invaded the Iberian Peninsula and rapidly conquered the territories held by the Visigoths, crossing the eastern Pyrenees into what is now France in 719.

This army, representing the medieval Umayyad Caliphate may have established alliances with the local population against a common enemy from the north: the Franks, a Germanic people who later gave their name to France.

Co-author Yves Gleize and colleagues propose that the three individuals weretroops in this conquering Umayyad army, possibly as part of a local garrison.

"The joint archaeological, anthropological and genetic analysis of three early medieval graves at Nimes provides evidence of burials linked with Muslim occupation during the 8th Century," said Dr Gleize.

The next earliest Muslim burials in France are from the 13th Century in Marseille.


Inside a Century-Old Grand Rapids Home

Four years ago, Kelley of Hunt & Gather and her husband, Troy, were both done with grad school and ready to settle down. Grand Rapids, MI was the clear choice, as it would not only provide the inspiration Kelley needed to run her shop, but it would also allow Troy to make his mark at a local nonprofit group. “I wanted a home that had at least one special characteristic, and in this house we found a lot of gems,” Kelley says. The 1915 home located in the historic Heritage Hill district of the city had great bones. The stained-glass windows, tall ceilings, wood floors and a fantastic yard were what immediately bewitched the couple. It did take some work, though, to bringArsenic distribution in waters and its geochemical behavior in sediment of Mahanadi estuary in India.
Distribution of arsenic in the marine environment is associated with its biogeochemical behavior. Indeed, very few studies have been conducted along the seasonal cycle to show its non-conservative behavior in the tropical estuary. The Mahanadi River, one of the major tropical rivers in the peninsular India, drains densely populated and industrialized region of Paradeep port. Over this 1-year study, the variations of inorganic arsenic were examined along the salinity gradient of the Mahanadi estuary, with the aim to provide some insights into the mechanisms that control arsenic concentrations and behavior under estuarine mixing. Arsenic in the estuary was derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources, and it displayed partial removal from the water in


Potent But Unpredictable: How Special Counsels Have Posed A Special Threat

Enlarge this image toggle caption Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

All official Washington — and indeed a wide swath of citizens from coast to coast — waits with great anticipation for the report from Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller, the former director of the FBI, is the war hero and Republican who was designated 22 months ago to investigate whether any Americans were involved with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Mueller's operation has had a hand in more than 30 indictments and obtained a remarkable number of guilty pleas. It also has spun out a number of other investigations that could wear on long after his report is filed.

But Mueller's probe, while far from the onlyto appoint a special counsel wound up firing him when the investigation got too close to the White House itself. That was in 1875, when President Ulysses S. Grant named a special prosecutor to investigate a ring of corrupt officials in the Midwest.

Over the next several decades, the special prosecutor tool was used rather sparingly. During James Garfield's presidency, a special prosecutor looked into corruption in the Post Office, a probe that lasted several years — and outlasted Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881.

A pair of special prosecutors was also the order of the day when President Calvin Coolidge wanted to limit the damage from the "Teapot Dome" scandal. Several associates of Coolidge's White House predecessor, Warren Harding, were found to have profited personally from sweetheart deals with


oil companies. Coolidge found two men without ties to the administration and their work sent several former officials to jail.

Almost three decades later, President Harry Truman was pressured to name a special prosecutor to answer questions raised about corruption in the IRS (then called the Bureau of Internal Revenue). Instead, the sitting attorney general named a special assistant to report to him. That got complicated when the "assistant" named Newbold Morris sent an exhaustive questionnaire to administration officials.

For that aggressive move, Morris was fired by the attorney general – who was in turn fired by Truman. None of this helped the Democrats' case in the election year of 1952 that brought Dwight D. Eisenhower to the White House.

Watergate

The modern history of the special prosecutor really begins with theWatergate burglary in 1972.

The connection between the burglary of the Democratic National Committee and President Richard Nixon's campaign was first revealed in a legendary series of stories in The Washington Post.

Those stories, like the early allegations regarding Russian interference in 2016, had little discernible effect on the presidential election in progress at the time. But soon thereafter, the investigative forces of the government took over, and Nixon found himself unable to stop them.

It was not for lack of trying. During his 1973 confirmation hearing to be attorney general, Elliot Richardson promised to appoint a special prosecutor to see what Watergate was all about. That special prosecutor, law professor Archibald Cox, was soon learning a great deal about Watergate and issuing a subpoena for the tape recordings Nixon had


made of his Oval Office conversations.

The confrontation over those tapes led Nixon to direct Richardson to fire Cox, which Richardson refused to do and instead resigned. Richardson's deputy also resigned. The series of weekend departures came to be known as the "Saturday night massacre."

Public outcry eventually forced Nixon to name a new special prosecutor to replace Cox, a conservative Texas Democrat who had been a Nixon supporter and a Watergate skeptic.

Nonetheless, Leon Jaworksi wound up charging a slew of high-level White House actors and naming Nixon himself an "unindicted co-conspirator." That phrase, along with the hearings held by the House Judiciary Committee in the spring of 1974, moved impeachment from a long shot to an inevitability.

Nixon resigned in August of that year.

Whatever feelings lingered about Nixon within Washingtonthereafter, the feeling around the special prosecutor statute was decidedly cool. It seemed too deadly a weapon, too easily wielded against a president, even one who had carried virtually every state in winning re-election, as Nixon had.

Iran-Contra

The law was still available in 1986, when news stories reported the administration of Ronald Reagan had sold American weapons to its regime to facilitate the release of U.S. hostages. The revelations included the stunning fact that money realized in the transaction had been used to fund a covert guerrilla operation in Central America aimed at overthrowing the government in Nicaragua.

The so-called Iran-Contra scheme prompted a protracted congressional investigation, which complicated and hindered the work of an independent counsel named Lawrence Walsh.

A former federal judge and deputy attorney general under President Eisenhower,


Walsh would eventually indict the former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, former national security adviser John Poindexter and National Security Council staffer Oliver North. Weinberger eventually received a pardon before trial from President George H.W. Bush. Poindexter and North were initially convicted but had their convictions reversed.

The Clintons and Whitewater

The independent counsel law was still on the books a few years later as Democratic President Bill Clinton came under scrutiny. Clinton had defeated Republican George H.W. Bush in 1992 but had garnered only 43 percent of the popular vote in doing so. His first two years in office had left him below 50 percent approval with the voters and led to the GOP takeover in Congress in 1995.

More to the point, Clinton had never cleared up a controversystemming from investments he and his wife, Hillary, had made in an Arkansas real estate venture known as Whitewater. A deal had gone bad, bankrupting a savings and loan association. The story was an issue in the 1992 campaign, but ultimately did not prevent Clinton's election.

After Clinton took office, the controversy continued. So he asked his attorney general, Janet Reno, to appoint an independent counsel. She named Robert Fiske, a respected Republican litigator, who built a case against several Arkansans involved in the deal but not the Clintons.

In 1994, under what became a hyper-partisan battle, a panel of three judges on the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia named a new independent counsel. The judges picked Kenneth Starr, a former judge and Bush administration solicitor general,


to take over Fiske's investigation.

Independent counsels are allowed to pursue criminal matters they discover in the course of carrying out their original mandate. So while Starr never indicted the Clintons for their role in Whitewater, he became aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by the president from the time when he was governor of Arkansas. This led to information about a young woman who, while an intern in the White House in the mid-1990s, had a sexual affair with Clinton during the time he was president.

That woman, Monica Lewinsky, became a household name, and the president's efforts to deny the accusations became a case of perjury and obstruction of justice – leading to his impeachment by the House of Representatives in late 1998.

Clinton was tried by the Senatein early 1999. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist presided over the proceedings. But in the end there were not nearly enough votes to meet the two-thirds vote required for removal.

Moreover, during the worst days of the Starr-Clinton confrontation, the president's approval in the Gallup Poll generally went up – signaling a lack of popular support for the proceeding. Democrats did surprisingly well in the midterm elections of 1996, holding their own in the Senate and actually gaining seats in the House in defiance of the usual second-term midterm curse for the party holding the White House.

Once again, the application of the independent counsel law had proven potent — but unpredictable.


and reports from advocacy groups. There is a seven page index. The book as a whole is highly recommended for the issues it raises, whether or not one agrees with all the author’s points or her proposed solutions.

After a few years in industry, Robert W. Hayden (bob@statland.org) taught mathematics at colleges and universities for 32 years and statistics for 20 years. In 2005 he retired from full-time classroom work. He now teaches statistics online at statistics.com and does summer workshops for high school teachers of Advanced Placement Statistics. He contributed the chapter on evaluating introductory statistics textbooks to the MAA 's Teaching Statistics.Thursday, 21 January 2016

The Watchmen Title Sequence Analysis As another area of reference for my title sequence, I decided to study the movie The Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009) title sequence, co-produced by Yu-CO and the film director. The Watchmen title sequence could again be considered as revolutionary to the film industry, experimenting with a new style of titles never used before. The title sequence experimented with a variety of different editing techniques to create a stylish and retro sequence. Slow motion is used throughout the entire sequence to introduce the audience to the characters seen in the movie, as well as the time period it is set in. The slow motion also emphasises how time has passed, showing the progression of historical events leading up to when the


movie is set. These historical events are also used to introduce the main plot of the movie, featuring the main characters in events such as the JFK shooting.

The non-diegetic soundtrack of the title sequence is a song written by Bob Dylan. This is a prime example of contrapuntal sound as the music sounds quite happy, contrasting to the constant violence and death featured in the title sequence. The music is also acoustic and uses harmonica, which suggests that the film will either take place in or reference older times before extensive use of electricity and technology. The artist of the song is also incredibly popular amongst an older generation, so appeals to those who feel a sense of nostalgia towards the music. It is also again sets aDisturbing claims have emerged that an 11-year-old Tasmanian student with autism was allegedly left isolated and unsupervised in a classroom every day for two weeks.

Seika Purdy went to collect her daughter Jordan, who has autism, from her primary school in Tasmania's south earlier in the week, but claims she found her asleep, unsupervised and alone.

She said it had been happening for two weeks, after her daughter was bullied by another student.

"I cannot believe that in today's day and age it is this bad," she said.

Ms Purdy believes being isolated from other students is impacting her daughter's mental health.

"Jordan has become very isolated from the other students and she can't figure out why, and she's very depressed at home," she said.

"The impact there has been dramatic for her and


Miley Cyrus Closes Door on 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel'

Miley Cyrus, the star of 'Hannah Montana: The Movie', has slammed rumor suggesting she would fill in the voice of Brittany the Chipette in 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' sequel.

Miley Cyrus won't be heard sounding a high-pitched voiceover in "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel". Responding to the flying speculation that she will be providing voice to Brittany the Chipette in the sequel of 2007 comedy "Alvin and the Chipmunks", the 16-year-old claimed that she is looking for an edgier role than the CGI cartoons.

"I want to get some edgy roles, not 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'," the star of Disney TV series "Hannah Montana" explained to MTV, before revealing that she also won't star in the re-imagining of '80sclassic "Adventures in Babysitting". She then stressed, "I'm definitely going for more edgy roles right now."

Denying the casting report, the starlet, who will be seen in theaters when feature comedy "Hannah Montana: The Movie" hits U.S. theaters on April 10, furthermore pointed out that she herself hasn't heard about the rumor. "Everyone's said that today," so she claimed. "No, I hadn't even heard that rumor yet."

A sequel to "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" will see the harmony singing chipmunks going to school and trouble coming in the form of their female counterparts, the Chipettes. The Chipettes consist of Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor Miller. Targeted for U.S. release on December 25, the movie is expected to hear Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse


On June 2, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that revealed various concepts behind a newly advanced next generation camera system that could employ infrared technology. On one side, the new system would go a long way in assisting the music and movie industries by automatically disabling camera functions when trying to photograph or film a movie or concert. On the other hand, the new system could turn your iOS device into a kind of automated tour guide for museums or cityscapes as well as eventually being an auto retail clerk providing customers with price, availability and product information. The technology behind Apple's patent application holds a lot of potential.

The Problem to Solve

Many electronic devices include cameras designed to detect images.released but, prior to his guilty plea, his release was revoked because of his use of illegal drugs. In spite of that detention, this Court granted Carmon a two week furlough from custody pending sentence to allow Carmon to attend to personal matters. Carmon then fled the jurisdiction and was arrested approximately six months after his scheduled sentence date in Texas.
At sentencing, the Court sentenced Carmon principally to a term of 120 months which was the maximum sentence by statute. Based on Carmon's significant criminal *150 history and the several enhancements recommended by the probation department, his Guideline range was a Criminal History Category of IV and a Net Offense Level of 30. This resulted in a range of 135 to 168 months which was, of course, in


of his flight, the Government properly declined to make a 5K1.1 motion for his prior cooperation. At the final sentencing hearing, a Deputy United States Marshal testified concerning defendant's flight and the efforts the Marshals took to apprehend him. Carmon and his wife used an alias and lied to officers when arrested. At one point during the flight trip, Carmon and his wife left Mrs. Carmon's child by a prior marriage alone as the couple continued their flight. When Carmon was arrested and transported to the Courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, he tried get the transporting officers to tell the judge that he had turned himself in and not that he had been arrested.
Enhancements were made under the Guidelines because of the number of guns, the fact thatLambert's Point issued a warehouse receipt for these beans to their owner, Volkart Brothers.  This receipt indicated that the bags of beans were received "in apparent good order, except as noted hereon (contents, condition and quality unknown)."    No exception was noted concerning the condition of the outside of the bags.

4
On May 26, 1981, cocoa beans from the vessel PETER WESCH were discharged and were also stored in Warehouse Q in a bay adjacent to that containing the beans owned by Volkart Brothers.  On May 29, 1981, Otto Gerdau purchased from Volkart Brothers 1,860 bags of the cocoa beans stored in Warehouse Q.  The defendant's warehouse receipt memorializing this transaction is dated June 8, 1981.  It also states that the bags of


cocoa beans were received "in apparent good order, except as noted hereon (contents, condition and quality unknown)", and no exception was noted concerning the condition of the bags.

5
On June 1, 1981, Otto Gerdau issued orders to deliver 1,395 bags, or approximately 75%, of the beans to two chocolate manufacturers.  These beans, which, on May 20, 1981, had been sampled to evaluate their quality, were accepted by their purchasers without complaint.

6
Lambert's Point conducted weekly inspections of the beans and once a month the beans were inspected by a representative of Western Termite and Control ("Western").  Otto Gerdau received reports of the inspections conducted at Lambert's Point.  The first evidence of cocoa moth infestation in Warehouse Q was noted in Western's report of June 19, 1981. According to this report, there were light moth flyers throughout the warehouse.1   Western's report dated July 29, 1981, noted a light larvae condition and medium moth flyers throughout the warehouse.  In early August, 1981, Lambert's Point fogged Warehouse Q with an insecticide to prevent further infestation.  Inspection reports continued to indicate the presence of moths, larvae, and cocoons, and Lambert's Point again fogged the warehouse on August 21, 1981, and September 7, 1981.

7
On October 19, 1981, plaintiff's remaining 465 bags of beans were released in "apparent good order and condition" to Wyatt Transfer Co., where they were fumigated and eventually delivered to General Foods in Canada.  Because of the infestation, however, General Foods rejected most of the beans as substandard, even after they


evidence attempting to demonstrate that its cocoa beans were in good condition on their arrival at defendant's warehouse and were subsequently infested, while stored in the warehouse, by the beans from the PETER WESCH.

10
Following the bench trial, the district court concluded that plaintiff's action sounded in tort and that plaintiff had failed to carry its burden of affirmatively proving negligence on the part of Lambert's Point, the bailee.  In so holding, the trial court rejected Otto Gerdau's contention that it had established a prima facie case of receipt in good condition and subsequent delivery in an infested condition, after which the burden shifted to the defendant bailee to prove that infestation occurred before the beans were delivered.

11
According to the district court, the burden-shifting rule which plaintiff advocatesbe reintroducing himself to the nation at the Republican convention, viewers are likely to see ‘up close and personal’ segments on NBC about the Romneys and dressage, a sport of six-figure horses and $1,000 saddles. The Romneys declared a loss of $77,000 on their 2010 tax returns for the share in the care and feeding of Rafalca.”

But several media outlets, including the Times, CNN and the British newspaper The Telegraph have reported that Mitt Romney will in fact take time from the campaign to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with his wife on July 27 (the Romney horse’s event begins Aug. 2). He was, after all, head of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. And an appearance at the opening, filled with extravagant special effects,


Thais head to polls to vote on contested constitution

Voters in Thailand are heading to the polls on Sunday for the first time since the army grabbed power in 2014.

They are voting in a referendum on a contentious new draft constitution, which the military says will curb political corruption, bring stability and heal more than a decade of bitter political division.

If people vote to accept the military-approved constitution, the critics say, it will cement the role of the armed forces in Thailand politics for decades, and constrain the populist forces that have arisen in recent times to challenge the country's powerful generals and their allies in the royalist establishment.

Listening Post - Thailand: the military and the media

Despite the importance of the vote, public debate has been muted.

Many have yetto capture a stunning picture of the British Museum’s architecture at its best.

#5 Oxford Street & Regent’s Street

The most famous shopping street in the UK is that of Oxford Street, located in the City of Westminster in London’s West End. Originally constructed as a Roman road two millennia ago, it has since become a hub of shopping and welcomes tens of thousands of national and international visitors on a daily basis. In the winter, Oxford Street and its nearby neighbour, Regent’s Street, are both decked out for Christmas with fairy lights, providing the perfect photo opportunity.

#6 Notting Hill

From the cute London cafés in the area to the iconic locations used to film 90s Rom-Com Notting Hill, if there’s one area you should add to your London bucket list,


days after business mogul Donald Trump won the Nevada caucuses in his third consecutive victory. With former Florida Governor Jeb Bush no longer on stage, the five remaining candidates were Trump, Rubio, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Much of the debate focused on immigration. We play highlights from the fiery debate and get reaction. "You look at the two Hispanic candidates for president who are trying to out-Trump Trump. … Given their own immigration history in this country, where is compassion? Where is empathy? Where is a sense of humanity when it comes to talking about this issue?" says Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, founder and editor of #EmergingUS and founder of Define American. Vargas is also critical ofto the late Whitney Houston, had been sentenced to a day in jail and three years’ probation for the March 26, 2012, arrest, which took place in the San Fernando Valley after officers with the California Highway Patrol spotted him talking on his cellphone while driving.


Court of the United States for the Northern District of West Virginia, and before the trial, Phillip A. Holman, as receiver of said bank, was substituted in the place of H. A. Graham, resigned.
James E. Brandon had been for a number of years cashier of the First National Bank of New Cumberland, W. Va., and, as such cashier, gave bond with the American Surety Company of New York as surety, which bond was conditioned "to pay First National Bank of New Cumberland, West Virginia such pecuniary loss, not exceeding Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars, as the latter shall have sustained of money or other personal property (including that for which the Employer is responsible), by any act or acts of fraud, dishonesty, forgery, theft, embezzlement, wrongful abstraction or willfulyears old, and had been for a number of years cashier of the bank; that he was active in the discharge of his duties and was in the bank practically every day; that the bank was run by said Brandon, his two sons, and a daughter; that the said Brandon and his two sons were active in the management of a corporation known as the New Cumberland Glass Company; that the bank sustained a loss of over $90,000 by misuse of its funds by the Brandons for the profit of the glass company; that there were a number of shortages of cash in the bank on various occasions, shown by the fact that the cash deposit slip, made up by the elder Brandon as cashier, did not check


with the general ledger of the bank; that the elder Brandon paid out large sums of money on the order of the glass company, when there was no money in the bank to the credit of said company; that a number of notes in the bank, executed by the elder Brandon and two sons, aggregating over $20,000, were exchanged for bonds of the glass company, which bonds were worthless, and that the bank was wrecked by the misuse of its funds by the Brandons in an effort to help the said glass company.
It is contended on behalf of the defendants that the conduct of J. E. Brandon, as cashier of the bank, did not bring the loss sustained by the bank within the meaning of the language ofit is only appropriate that this newsletter starts off the new year with another article on the Watchtower Society and the Illuminati. Because of numerous problems within the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses with Satanic Ritual Abuse, the Watchtower Society put out an article in the Oct. 8, 1991 issue of the magazine. Lee Waters of Bethel Headquarters kept a file on his computer of Jehovah’s Witnesses who were reported to be victims of SKA. It is possible headquarters has told him to delete the file. Another man who was at headquarters who is now believed out of the Society was also well informed of SRA among the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In fact, two J.W.s who had actually been in the Illuminati while J.W.s but had broken free,


the Illuminati and the Watchtower Society could be tracked by an understanding of Enochian magic. Readers may want to refer back to that chapter after reading this paragraph. The Illuminati operating within the Watchtower Society use the Enochian Language which has its own language and its own Enochian alphabet (letters in boxes). According to eyewitnesses who have left the J.W. part of the Illuminati, the Enochian alphabet is known and used as the cult language by those Illuminati operating in the high levels of the Watchtower Society. In other words, their ceremonies are done in this ritual Enochian language. Sir William Sinclair in the 16th century was one of those who introduced Enochian Magic to Scotland. The Scottish connection in the Watchtower Society is overpowering. Both the RussellSociety is working with the New World Order. This implies that at some point the Society began cooperating with the New World Order. Russell seems to be the likeliest starting point.

UNDERSTANDING CHARLES T. RUSSELL

As with all occult organizations a veil of secrecy is maintained by requiring initiates to take secrecy oaths on penalty of death. As in Witchcraft, Masonry repeatedly demands secrecy oaths at every new level. Charles T. Russell began participating in this secrecy when he took the Entered Apprentice (first Masonic degree) oath on penalty of mayhem and violent death, "I ... do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that I will always hail, ever conceal and never reveal any of the arts, parts or points of the secret arts and mysteries


is a very ingenious scheme to enslave the American people, and destroy all their civil rights. The first rumblings of the Drug War part of The Plan seem to stir from the occult, so it is highly possible the Drug War originally was first developed by Satanists, perhaps even given during one of the Feasts of the Beast. The Drug War seems like the perfect plan, with no way for the Power to lose. First, the Power creates a drug culture in America. The Drug Culture would and did give many their first step into the Aquarian (New Age) conspiracy.6 The Power would make billions of dollars by running drugs, to further finance other nefarious schemes, and could use their world-wide power to crush all their competitors. Whenhistory of the New World Order as this author went about his research. To summarize, these various Russells (who until the genealogy work is done to show the connections should be viewed as individuals -- not a group) have been prominent members of the Illuminati, the Masons, the Fabians, the Mormons, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Jesuits, the Royal Society, and the Media controlled by those of the New World Order, and a deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve. Typically they have been merchants and lawyers, with a fair share of them also as Christian heretics. It will be easier perhaps to illustrate how the Russells keep popping up in the New World Order story line by listing a good sampling of them.

I find this web site to be


legality of the assessment by the Commission. Sanders contends that each barber is engaged in an independent trade or profession, while the Commission asserts a status of employer-employee.
Introduced into evidence was a written agreement between Sanders and the barbers which was designated and styled as a "Lease." Each agreement provided for the lease of a particular chair to the barber in one of the shops for a term of three years. In addition to furnishing each barber with a chair, the lease also required Sanders to furnish all necessary equipment and supplies, except each barber was to supply his own "hand tools" such as combs, brushes, clippers and razors. In return, the barbers paid Sanders thirty percent out of their earnings.
Sanders testified that each barber is engaged ina commission out of the receipts.
In the case of Unemployment Compensation Commission v. Harvey, 179 Va. 202, 18 S.E.2d 390, the defendant owned and operated three beauty salon establishments at three separate addresses in the City of Richmond. Each beauty operator paid a rental for a booth in the salon under a lease agreement. In upholding the validity of the employer's contribution to the unemployment compensation fund under an act similar to Oklahoma, the court said:
"Even at common law the existence of the relation of master and servant does not depend upon the payment of wages or a salary by a master direct to the servant. The compensation of the employee may consist of commissions or a share of the profits of the employer's business. [citations] Moreover, the


computerised novels are becoming more sophisticated.

A computer writes "True Love".

One of the first computer-generated works of fiction was printed in 2008. The St. Petersburg Times reported at the time that "True Love", published by the Russia's SPb publishing company, was the work of a computer program and a team of IT specialists. The paper says the 320-page novel is a variation of Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", but worded in the style of a Japanese author called Haruki Murakami. It hit Russian bookstores in the same year. Here is an extract:

“Kitty couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Her nerves were strained as two tight strings, and even a glass of hot wine, that Vronsky made her drink, did not help her. Lying in bed she kept going overback safe from the blue. And all this while the man scooped shovels of dirt and trampled from front to back front to back. The other and the clay sighed for something of red. The irritant lay in something of red and laughed.”

The "breakout" computer novel of 2013.

Indeed, 2013 was a big year for AI novels. The Verge reports Nick Montfort's "World Clock" was "the breakout hit of last year". He's a professor of digital media at MIT, and used lines of a code to arrange characters, locations, and actions to construct his work. It was printed by Havard Books. Here's the opening from Montfort's website preview:

It's not bad, but it's unlikely anyone would go out and buy the book for literary appreciation over curiosity. We'll check out


India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wants to make white-ball return

Despite not having played an ODI for nearly a year, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin still harbours ambitions of returning to the one-day fold ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Ashwin, who has played 111 ODIs, hasn’t featured in the one-day format for India since their clash with the Windies on the 30 June 2017.

Since that date he’s continued to impress in Test cricket, and currently sits fifth in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Bowling Rankings, having 316 wickets to his name in the longer form of the game.

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales on the horizon, a return to the ODI side remains an ambition for Ashwin, who has played at two World Cupsfor his country, taking 17 wickets.

Ashwin , 4-25 vs United Arab Emirates Ashwin , 4-25 vs United Arab Emirates

Ashwin captains the Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). At the launch of their new kit, he spoke about the possibility of an ODI recall.

"It entirely depends on what other people (team management and selectors) perceive of my cricket,” said Ashwin.

“It's definitely not in my control. Like any other cricketer, I want to wear the blue jersey and represent India at the World Cup. That's obviously there deep within.”

Since making his India debut in the one-day format in 2010, Ashwin, now 31 years old, has gone on to make 215 international appearances.

Ashwin has played at two World Cups, taking 17 wickets

"At this stage of my career, physically


Measurement of the normal lumen diameter was provided useful information for choosing the stent size and model. Considering the severe fibrous hyperplasia in the RCA, a cutting balloon was applied to dilated stenotic coronary artery before the stent implantation. Drug-eluting stents were implanted in the RCA and LAD to cover the culprit lesion and re-angiography revealed that the blood supply had improved. OCT was performed after the implantation, and the stent malposition was found. High-pressure balloons were applied until good the stents adherence was obtained.

The patient was discharged from the hospital three days later, and was prescribed aspirin and ticagrelor along with lipid-lowering drugs were. He didn\'t complain of severe chest pain or chest tightness and regained the ability to perform mild to moderate labor activities when heFake login page for Lancaster University – one of the institutions targeted

The hacking group has targeted at least 18 British universities, according to researchers. The list includes top-flight institutions. But it also includes less well-known destinations which are notable for being among a select group certified by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to provide degrees in cybersecurity.

It is not known whether the universities were singled out because of their affiliation, but half of those targeted by the hackers are on the NCSC-certified list, including Warwick and Lancaster. The attacks are believed to be linked to a previous campaign which US officials blamed on Iranians, in which dozens of universities were hacked and their research published on two Iranian websites.

People with U.K. university log-ins were sent phishing emails


National Cyber Security Centre, but will likely end up occupying senior positions protecting the UK’s largest companies and institutions from cyberattack.

The hackers sent their targets a fake email to trick them into logging in, thereby revealing their passwords. To make the emails look genuine the hackers created spoofed websites similar to the genuine universities’ sites.

The registration of the websites shows the hackers have been active in the last few months. A fake site for Warwick University, where cybersecurity masters courses are NCSC-certified, was set up in June. A fake Lancaster University site was created in May.

This is despite the US Department of Justice charging nine Iranians with hacks on universities in March, claiming the “Mabna Institute” group had stolen 31 terabytes of academic information universities in 22 countries.data on what it said were 693,665 individuals, for whom credit protection services were offered. The compromised credit information dated from 2011 to 2016, the company said.

More than a month ago, Equifax first revealed it had been the target of a massive data breach which hit around 143 million people, mostly in the United States. It acknowledged at the time an unspecified number of Canadian and UK residents were hit. It later updated the total number of victims to 145.5 million.

Equifax did not respond to requests for further comment.

U.S. consumers started being notified by Equifax after it disclosed the incident on Sept. 7. Equifax Ltd, its British unit said on Tuesday it had begun notifying UK consumers by post after receiving data on potential victims from its U.S.


parent.

CROSS-BORDER DATA TRANSFERS

Equifax said last week a probe by computer forensics firm Mandiant had concluded that, while its UK business had not been breached directly, large amounts of data on British consumers stored in the United States had been compromised.

The breach occurred in May and continued until it was discovered in July of this year, the company said.

In Britain, Equifax is licensed as a credit reference agency and broker by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which said it has been discussing all aspects of the incident with it, but declined to comment further.

Commons Treasury Chair Morgan also demanded to know from the FCA whether Equifax's decision to store sensitive data on UK consumers in the United States broke any rules on intra-company, transnational data transfers.

Separately, the UK Information– Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Malana is an ancient Indian village in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This village is isolated from the rest of the world as the peaks of Chandrakhani and Deo Tibba shadow the village. The residents of this village believe that they are the predecessors of Alexander.

The village is governed by a bicameral parliament, consisting of a lower house called the Kanishthang and an upper house called the Jayeshthang. When in Malana, be sure not to touch the walls or belongings of the natives unless you want a fine imposed. The fine amount varies from ₹1,000 to ₹2,700. This is the only village in India, where the villagers consider emperor Akbar as God.

3. Dhokda

This village in the Kutch district of Gujarat is known for


village has not been through the usual challenges like drought or untimely rains, but they have prepared themselves to tackle with all these challenges. It all began when Popatrao Pawar was elected as the sarpanch of the village in 1990. Popatrao’s first step towards the success of the farmers was to ban all addictive substances in the village which was a big reason for their failure. He also encouraged the villagers to invest in rainwater harvesting and cattle farming. Today, the village never runs out of water, even during droughts. In comparison to the monthly per capita income of ₹830 in 1995, it rose to ₹30,000 till 2012, resulting in 60 millionaires in the village.

6. Punsari

Promotion

Photo source – Facebook

What do you visualise when you think of a village?and Tai was stuck with the business, which he had already shuttered, and the remainder of a two-and-a-half-year lease on the space. He had no staff and no idea what to do.

His only option, he decided, was to re-open and figure it out as he went.

He hired back most of his servers and lured Jensen Hirota, one of the owners of Underdogs Sports Bar & Grill in Kalihi (an Alan Wong’s alum and one of the partners at Kanpai), to run the kitchen and update the menu.

After almost two months, on May 1, Tai reopened Home Bar & Grill. This week Hirota unveiled some new menu items, some of which are updated versions of Home classics.

“Honestly, I think we needed a change,” Tai says, wearing a string of


Gov. Scott Walker spoke at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Lake Geneva last week. Credit: Mike De Sisti

SHARE

By

I come from a mixed-race background: My mother was Mexican; my father was white. I am also a member of the disabled community, having to live my life in a wheelchair. And the love of my life, my wife, is African-American.

We recently started talking about having children, but the past few years have given us pause as to whether Wisconsin is the right place for us. And it's worse than that. From what we've seen, we are beginning to question whether Wisconsin hates us.

It was only a few months ago that Taylor Palmisano, Gov. Scott Walker's then-deputy campaign finance director, whom he praised in his book, "Unintimidated: A Governor's Storyand a Nation's Challenge," was found to have tweeted racist statements. She referred to Hispanic people as "illegals" and described people like me as "half breeds." And this came to light only a few months after Steven Krieser, then the No. 3 official at the state Department of Transportation, on Facebook likened undocumented immigrants to Satan.

In the recently released John Doe emails from Kelly Rindfleisch, Walker's deputy chief of staff when he was Milwaukee County executive, there are more examples of staff members holding virulently racist opinions. In one email, welfare recipients are described as "mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging clue who the r (sic) Daddys (sic) are." Rindfleisch describes it as "so true."

In another example, Walker's then-chief of staff at


Philippines central government on solving plastic trash problem: 'We've done all we can'

Claiming it has done all it can to stop plastic waste from choking the oceans, the country's central government pushed the responsibility of solving the problem to local governments and the people.

Single-use consumer product packaging comprised the bulk of the waste collected during the garbage audit at Freedom Island in Metro Manila last year. Image: Greenpeace.

By
Bong Sarmiento, Mongabay.com

Oct. 12, 2018

Share

Freedom Island is drowning in garbage. The last coastal frontier in the Philippine capital provides refuge to migratory birds and a thick mangrove forest there serves as a natural typhoon barrier for millions of city dwellers. Yet empty plastic water and soda bottles protrude from the sand, tattered clothes and plastic sheets hang over mangrove branches, andWe must be vigilant and united so that the coup plotters never return to our region.”

Also on rt.com WATCH tear gas fired on highway near Caracas air base where Guaido appeared in video with soldiers

Morales has been vocal in his opposition to US interference in Venezuelan politics, previously calling aid sent by the country a “Trojan horse to invade and provoke a war.” Bolivia is not the only Latin American country that has stood by Maduro in the ongoing struggle for primacy. Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and Nicaragua have remained firm in their recognition of Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader.

Colombia's president, Ivan Duque Marquez, joined Morales in his criticism of the "coup", tweeting: "We call the military and the people of #Venezuela to be on the right side of


1. Introduction {#sec1-ijerph-16-04419}
===============

Until the 1970s, most Western countries were characterized by a simple division of labour. Men acted as breadwinners for the whole family and did most of the paid work in the labour market, while women acted predominantly as mothers and housewives, taking care of the children, all kinds of household chores and, if necessary, also looking after members of the extended family in need of care. If women were active in the labour market, it was often before they got married and had family responsibilities, and in typical female jobs like that of a secretary, behind the counter as a shop assistant or in a factory performing different sorts of repetitive tasks. The last quarter of the 20th century welcomed the emancipation of women and theIsabel "Izzy"?" "Everyone did." "No one ever called her "Itsy"?" "Dear Lord, Itsy and Bitsy." "I haven't thought about her in years." "Who was Bitsy?" "A neighbor girl down the street." "Isabel's best friend." "It was Bitsy for Bess." "Bess Maclntyre." "Did Bess ever live with you?" "No, no." "But sometimes she'd sneak over in the middle of the night." "Poor thing, cry herself to sleep." "She would wake up your whole family in the middle of the night?" "Oh, no, no, she'd sneak in through a window." "Why was she crying?" "I was too young to understand at the time, but Bess had what we used to call a "funny uncle. "" "Mother never let us play at her house the whole time he lived there." "I


a Vegas showgirl and singer in an Italian rock band, not until the fall of 1981 did Cassandra Peterson really hit her stride with the birth of the vampish Elvira character.

How did she come up with the character? A local Los Angeles TV station was looking for someone to host a show called Fright Night, which would later become Movie Macabre. Her low-cut slinky gown, sensual poses and bawdy wisecracks were an instant sensation. George Barris sums up her character as a "Seesaw . sexy, with those big breasts and cleavage, but a Mistress of the Dark."

Elvira's George Barris Kustom '58 Thunderbird.

From there, Elvira crossed over into movies. For her first film, the namesake Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Elvira needed a spooky ride in keeping with herominous yet alluring image. She spotted a black '58 Ford Thunderbird on Melrose Avenue. "That's it!" she cried.

But it was a hardtop, and she wanted a convertible, so Barris and his "kustomizing" crew used a chainsaw to chop off the top. (Sounds like the makings of a massacre movie!) Then they added all sorts of ghoulish embellishments: a spider web in the grille, batwing nose emblem, eyeballs on the fenders, skull-and-crossbones hubcaps, leopard-print velour upholstery, mini-caskets on the center console and trunk lid, skeleton hands, and a chain-link steering wheel with a skull in the center. The one item that Cassandra supplied was a metal hood ornament, a crouching, winged banshee sculpted with her profile.

Signature Cassandra.

Once filming was done, the movie's producers offered this mechanically plagued movie prop


to her, and she sold it to a photographer, Lynn Goldsmith, who fixed it up and drove it for several years. About 10 years later, Cassandra bought it back, "real cheap" and keeps it at her house in Ojai, California, to this day.

Now here's the kinda creepy part: While there's only one Elvira, the killer queen of pop kulture, there's actually more than one Macabre Mobile. It was reproduced like one of those seedpods from the horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, starring Kevin McCarthy.

Haunting Interior.

When we pressed Mr. Barris about the second Macabre Mobile, he notes that there was a need for another one to promote her. Given Elvira's enormous popularity, just one car was not enough. (Consider, too, that there are numerous copies of theBatmobile, plus several Dukes of Hazzard General Lee Chargers and Nash Bridges' Hemi Cuda convertibles).

While the Thunderbird at the Petersen Automotive museum is a knockoff and based on a '59 model instead (the '58 and '59 are very similar, except for a few trim items), it's still legit, since Barris built it, and newspaper photos attest to the fact that Elvira did appear with the car at a Halloween show she did at Knotts' Berry (Scary) Farm. So think of the second car as a genuine tribute to her enduring popularity.

Custom Cobweb Grille.

While she's known for skewering B-grade monster movies with a rapier wit on her TV shows, what's her most hated film? Surprise: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! "It drives me crazy," Cassandra complains. "It's already a


parody, so I couldn't poke fun at it."

How about her automotive interests? Another surprise: She actually once dreamed of becoming a racecar driver. (Imagine her in an Indy car instead of Danica Patrick!) But she settled for owning an odd mix of cars over the years, such as a VW Beetle, '69 Firebird, and BMW 740i. Today, she pilots a Prius, and loves it, being the environmentally conscious type in her private life.

More TV shows and movies are in the works, and she's still drawing big crowds at public appearances, where she breezes along in a badass Barris T-bird while the wolves howl at the full moon and she disappears into the night. Now that's one smokin', spooky ride.when she probated her father’s will as a
muniment of title in Kaufman County, Texas.
Hatchel testified that her husband (Ashley’s father) bequeathed real
property to her in the will, but there was a contingency that if the real property
was ever sold, twenty-five percent of the proceeds would go to Ashley.  Hatchel testified that she did not want to
deal with probating the will but that Ashley had contacted Wood and hired him
to probate the will as a muniment of title because she had an interest in the
real property.
            Hatchel also testified that Wood had represented Wesley
Weaver in 2001 in two Child Protective Services (“CPS”) cases filed against
Ashley by the State of Texas.  Hatchel
testified that Weaver is now married to Ashley, but was not in 2001.  However, he was a party to


to the monastery where they looked after him as a offering to a most unsurpassed field of merit. This was the reason that the last 10 years of his life was relatively peaceful and safe.

“Benza Guru Druptop” was not born blind. It is said that his visual impairment was the result of curses wrought by mantras which his enemies had inflicted upon him. Before he went blind, he was just a common farmer who belonged to the Bon religion. At that time, the farmer did not understand the vast qualities of Padmasambhava and had even entertained sacrilegious views towards Guru Rinpoche and slandered him with negative speech.

To recover his sight, the farmer had approached many doctors who were unable to help. With no other resort, he asked severalspiritual friends and masters for advice on what spiritual practice to do in order to recover his sight.

Finally, he listened to some masters’ advice and decided to start reciting the Vajra Guru mantra (OM AH HUNG BENZA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG), relying on it as his sole practice, and eventually he went on to achieve an astounding level of realisation.

When “Drubtop” started to recite the Vajra Guru mantra, his faith in Padmasambhava began to ripen and increase. Due to his blindness, day or night was not much difference to him and he began to recite the mantra diligently day and night without distinction.

When he completed a hundred million recitations, “Drubtop”’s prayer-wheel, which he rotated as he recited the mantra, began to drip inconceivable nectar. It is well known


poverty and suffering as not being any obstacle or problem impeding him.

What did not change was that he continued supplicating Guru Rinpoche day and night, reciting the Guru Rinpoche mantra respectfully and so when he passed into parinirvana, a conservative estimate of the number of Guru Rinpoche mantras he had recited in his life amounts to more than 600 million.

Unlike others, he was not interested in promoting his own diligent efforts at practice or his miraculous responses , instead “Benza Guru Drubtop” benefitted beings in a spontaneous and extemporaneous way. Thus, most of the people who knew him did not know how profound his inner realisation was.

Most people only regarded his external style and occasional obstacle-averting rituals as a sign that he was merely a practitioner with someachievements. Most of his secret conduct and responses, he would only tell to Urgyen Lama and a few close friends who had faith.

Although he was a siddha, he did not alter his clothes or appearance, but remained like a beggar, allowing others to make offerings and making-shift of whatever they offered to wear. Although he was invited to stay at Sangngak Thegchog Osel Ling Monastery, and could have chosen to have better living premises and conditions, he only preferred to live in a dilapidated corner of the monastery and sleep in his own old covers, using yellowed and hole-ridden blankets and pillow.

“Benza Guru Drubtop” would only accept others’ clothing and food. If someone offered his cash notes or coins, he will recite mantras and blow on them as


two years of United States History; three years of Mathematics; three years of Science; two years of World Languages; two years of Career Education & Consumer, Family, and Life Skills, one semester of which is Contemporary Business Technology, one semester of a Financial Literacy course; two years of Visual and Performing Arts; and a year of Physical Education and/or Health for each year a student is in attendance at Northern Highlands.

Elective offerings in Visual and Performing Arts include: all art and music classes, Acting I, Actors' Workshop, Creative Writing I and II, Journalism, TV Production I and II, and Film Studies. Semester courses include: Digital Multimedia and Web Page Design, as well as Mass Communications, Introduction to TV and Film, and Public Speaking. Elective offerings in Family andStatistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP French Language, AP Spanish Language, AP Latin Literature, AP Macroeconomics, AP Art History, AP Studio Art, AP United States Government and Politics, AP Computer Science and AP Music Theory. AP courses are available to juniors and seniors and sophomores, although sophomores are only allowed one.

Extracurricular activities
The school newspaper is called The Highland Fling.

The Northern Highlands Regiment, the high school marching band under the direction of Kyle Kubicki, is a top program in the region, having won the USSBA New Jersey Division 4A state championship in 2004 and 2010 as well as the Group 3A State and National Championships in 2012. They also won the Group 4A National Championship in 2013 and 2014.

Athletics

The Northern Highlands Regional High School Highlanders compete in


Conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535 after he eradicated the Incas and made the city his capital. Lima has many fine colonial buildings and some of the best museums in South America including the Gold Museum, Museum of the Inquisition and the Catacombs below the San Francisco Church. Peru's capital has much to offer and many of the sights, including the city's two main squares the Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martin, boast some fantastic sightseeing opportunities. The Plaza de Armas houses the Cathedral, Municipal Palace and Presidential Palace where the changing of the guard can be seen every day at 12 noon. There are also many markets in Lima, possibly the best being in the central district.

Please note: On arrival at your Lima hotel, a hotel representativeof around 300,000, most of who are indigenous. This marvellous colonial city is situated 3,310 metres above sea level and has numerous churches, some of which were built using recycled Inca masonry, as were many other buildings in Cusco. The main square is called the Plaza de Armas, which has the beautiful cathedral on one side, which took a century to build, and the Church of La Compañia de Jesus on the other. The colonial arcades, which occupy the remainder of the plaza, are full of restaurants and shops. If you're in the mood for a cultural experience, take a peek inside the 14th-century Inca palace which was later converted into the city's Museo de Arte Religioso (Museum of Religious Art). Well worth exploring during your time here


guided tour around the site before getting the train back to Ollantaytambo and arriving back in Cusco at approximately 10pm.

The lost city of Machu Picchu (Old Mountain) was originally completely self -contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs. Located high above the fast flowing Urubamba River, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation that will simply take your breath away. The ruins were only discovered by the outside world in 1911, when American explorer Hiram Bingham found them while looking for another “lost city” called Vilcabamba. Due to their isolation many of the buildings are still quite intact and you can't help but admire Huayna Picchu6438m-high Mount Illimani watching over the whole scene in the background. Our hotel is very centrally located and is just around the corner from the city's colourful indigenous street markets including the fascinating and suitably named "witches market'' where bowler hat wearing women in their flared skirts sell such items as dead cats and llamas foetuses said to ward off evil spirits. The main square, Plaza Murillo, is also within walking distance. The square still retains its colonial buildings including the Presidential Palace. La Paz is possibly the best place to experience a traditional peña show of Andean music and dance where local bands play time -honoured instruments such as zampoñas (pipes) and charangos (ukulele).

There are also many optional excursions available. You might like to visit the Moon


can compare our photos!

Accommodation

1 night(s) in hotels

Meals

1 Breakfast(s)

Day 15 to 15 - Potosí

Travelling along scenic passes by public bus we come to the mining town of Potosí. The city was established by the Spanish in 1545 soon after the discovery of a rich vein of silver in a nearby hill, the Cerro Rico (or “rich hill”). It soon became the world's largest silver producer and silver from Potosí underwrote the Spanish economy, particularly the monarchy's extravagance, for over two centuries. In Spanish there is still a saying ‘valer un potosí’ (to be worth a fortune).

Millions of the indigenous population, and later, African slaves, worked in the mines in appalling conditions. You have the option to visit the mines, stopping first at the miners market to buy gifts suchan overnight train to the Pantanal.

Santa Cruz is Bolivia's most populous city, and produces over a third of the country's gross domestic product. It is an important business centre and is classed as one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Despite the city's rapid growth, Santa Cruz has managed to preserve much of its local traditions, culture and cuisine, and there are many interesting cultural institutions to visit, ranging from the Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The city's main square, Plaza 24 de Septiembre, is surrounded by attractive colonial-style buildings and is a nice play to enjoy a coffee and people-watch.

Optional Excursions

Biocentro Guembe – US$25

Accommodation

2 night(s) in hotels

Meals

2 Breakfast(s)

Day 20 to 20 - Overnight train to the Pantanal

We take


an overnight train to the Bolivian border town of Puerto Suárez before travelling by road for a short trip over the border to the Brazilian town of Corumba, a port city on the Rio Paraguay and the southern gateway to the Pantanal.

Accommodation

1 night(s) on overnight sleeper trains

Meals

1 Breakfast(s)

Day 21 to 22 - Pantanal

We enter the Pantanal National Park for sightseeing and a range of activities in this fantastic region. The Amazon may have all the fame and glory, but the Pantanal certainly gives it a run for its money in terms of opportunities to spot wildlife. The area is a huge wetland in the centre of South America and is truly a birdwatchers paradise, but is also home to a multitude of other animals. The ecosystem is knownto be home to at least 3,500 species of plants, 650 species of birds, 400 species of fish, around 100 species of mammals, and 80 species of reptiles, with an estimated 10 million caimans alone. Giant river otters, anacondas, iguanas, jaguars, ocelots, cougars, crocodiles, marsh deer, armadillos, giant and lesser anteaters, black howler monkeys and zebu bulls are all known to inhabit the region, although seeing all these wildlife species is unlikely due to the sheer size and immensity of the Pantanal ecosystem.

We stay in the Miranda Province, deep in the Pantanal with our ranch being set on over 800 hectares of protected land. Where three different ecosystems meet, the area surrounding the ranch contains many natural water springs which help to sustain and nourish the surrounding flora


with a toucan!

Accommodation

3 night(s) in hotels

Meals

2 Breakfast(s)

Day 31 to 31 - Buenos Aires

We fly to the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, known as the "Paris of South America" due to its lovely green parks, plazas and wide boulevards. Explore the quirky neighbourhoods and artistic markets of the city, where European and Latin American influences have mixed together to create a city like no other. Stroll down Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world, spotting the Obelisk of Buenos Aires, which was built to commemorate the fourth centenary of the city, and the impressive Teatro Colón, one of the world's best opera houses. You can also visit the famous Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential palace, from where Juan and Eva Perón famously addressed the crowds gathered onof Iraq and Syria a year and a day ago, including civilians and forces loyal to and opposed to Assad, according to the observatory.

It said nearly 1,800 of those executed were civilians, including 74 children. Isis has previously executed women for offences including adultery, by stoning them to death or by firing squad.

The killings came as the terror group broadened its assault on Shia Muslims in the Middle East, claiming responsibility for a car bombing in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, that targeted mourners at a funeral.

Late last week Isis claimed a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the Gulf state of Kuwait that killed more than two dozen worshippers. It was the latest in a string of attacks targeting Shias in the Gulf, including in Saudi Arabia’s


province of Qatif, home to many from the sect.

In Yemen, Isis claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed 28 people at a funeral attended by Houthi commanders, the latest in a series of attacks aimed at Shias in an attempt to sow further sectarian tensions.

Isis has been ramping up its assaults in Yemen, which is reeling after months of Saudi air bombardment targeted at the Houthis, members of the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam, who seized control of Sana’a last year and exiled the president.

Two coordinated suicide bombings at Shia mosques in Sana’a in March killed 137 people and triggered an escalation in the conflict, pushing the Houthis to advance on the president’s stronghold in the port city of Aden, a development that in turn pushed the Saudise.g. as in the NFL™), for example, position-players such as running-backs, safeties, and linebackers receive and deliver forceful tackles and blocks. In such maneuvers it is essential that a player keep their head up and not down, or else suffer the risk of spinal injury upon impact. Young and/or inexperienced football players must be taught to keep their heads up relative to their bodies, as it is the natural tendency for inexperienced players to lower their heads.
In a similar example, during the game of hockey a player that tends to tilt his head downward relative to his body, might suffer a serious injury during a collision that he was unprepared for because he was unaware of the game around him. The unsafe head position, at the moment of