In 2006, US diplomats in Mongolia (the world's most sparsely populated country) spent nearly 1,000 words describing how the Rolling Stones were not, after all, to play a gig in the capital. Officials apparently found it appropriate to tell Washington, at length, how the Mongolian trade and industry minister, Bazarsad Jargalsaikhan, had tried to persuade UK embassy staff to help him book the Stones for the 800th anniversary celebrations. But Mick Jagger wasn't kidding when he sang 'You Can't Always Get What You Want': negotiations with the Brits proved fruitless. Fortunately, the cable continued, the German embassy proved more obliging, helping line up a replacement: German rockers Scorpions, whose lyrics the cable then proceeds to quote. The decision proved very popular with several US embassy staff: a numberof them, the cable-writer sees it fit to report, were present at the gig. One "dug out his 1984 Scorpions world tour T-shirt".

It is sometimestempting to conclude the diplomats in these minnow states have nothing more to do than wax lyrical and extensively about nothing much in particular. But while it's a mystery that diplomats have the time to write these lengthy missives, it's even more perplexing anyone in Washington would find the time to read them; something some diplomats are clearly aware of themselves. One cable, from the Italian embassy in 2002, barely disguises diplomats' anger at the way the state department has ignored previous requests for help. "IN THE ABSENCE OF THE GUIDANCE REPEATEDLY REQUESTED, WE WERE FORCED TO 'WING IT'," the cable reads, suggesting the


Patrick Spanked on the PlankPatrick Dixon12/10/2018Today we introduce another new position. It involves the boy lying flat on a scaffolding plank in the prone position, arms stretched out in front of him. His body is then strapped to the plank with several leather belts and his wrists put in restraints pulled tight as far as his arms will go. The result...Social Sector

Earned income is growing in importance as a source of funding in the social sector: Today, more than half of the average social sector income is generated through market activities, such as membership dues, fees for service and product sales – most organisations offer products and services to diversify their income streams, despite some public scepticism about any funding beyond grants and sponsorship.

With greater competition from private players and a growing need for planning reliability, organisations in the social sector are required to adapt to best practices of the private sector. Likewise, it is increasingly important to demonstrate social returns on investment to and be accountable towards funders, such as foundations, governments, and major donors. As this process of professionalisation continues, the need for expert knowledge to


Troy

Talha Anwar hasn't seen his parents in a year.

Now in his third year of graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the 24-year-old was recently contemplating a visit back home to Lahore, Pakistan — until Friday, that is, when news came that President Donald Trump was barring individuals from seven predominantly Muslim countries and all refugees from entering the U.S.

Pakistan was not one of the countries listed in the ban. Yet Anwar's first thought was whether it would be wise for him to leave the country, as he is here on a student visa. He also said he feels targeted because of his Muslim faith.

"I'm afraid if I go I might not be let back in," he said, "and I want to continue my education."

This concern has been echoedby students nationwide, and on Wednesday it prompted roughly 200 RPI students, faculty and community members to march from the campus on the hill through downtown Troy in a "show of support" for international students, Muslims, and any others who may feel threatened by a Trump presidency.

Around 200 @RPI students, faculty and community members attend a rally in Troy today in protest of anti-immigrant rhetoric, policies pic.twitter.com/bqMFmahqHe — bethany bump (@bethanybump) February 1, 2017

The march began at the '86 field on campus and proceeded down the winding granite staircase known as "The Approach," crossed 8th Street and 6th Avenue, attracted attention from restaurant and business patrons along Broadway, before ending at Monument Square near River Street. Students chanted "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" and held


there were things said about women and Mexicans and other groups. Who might it be tomorrow? So I'm saying, let this struggle be everybody's struggle."

The crowd — which included many first-time protesters, as well as students from the University at Albany, Sage Colleges and Hudson Valley Community College — was urged to continue resistance efforts over the next four years of Trump's term.

In a statement issued Sunday, RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson said the university would be reaching out to students, faculty and others it believes may be affected by the travel ban, and encouraged these individuals to postpone international travel until more information is available.

University officials have not yet released a figure for how many students are directly affected by the ban. About 11 percent of undergraduateBell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo is shown in this undated file photo. City of Bell Gardens

BELL GARDENS, Calif. (KABC) -- Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo was fatally shot by his wife Tuesday afternoon in what appears to be a domestic dispute, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said. His wife, Lyvette Crespo, 43, was briefly detained for questioning, but was not arrested.The 45-year-old mayor was shot at a townhome in a gated complex in the 6300 block of East Gage Avenue shortly after 2:30 p.m.Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lt. Steve Jauch says the mayor got into an argument with his wife, and their 19-year-old son tried to intervene. Daniel Crespo and his son, Daniel Crespo, Jr., began fighting. That's when Lyvette Crespo got a gun and shot her


husband several times in the torso.He was transported to a local hospital, where he was shortly pronounced dead.Authorities questioned both Lyvette Crespo and her son, who went to the station voluntarily. No arrests were made, but both were voluntarily staying at the Bell Gardens Police Department.The sheriff's department is expected to present its case to the district attorney, who will determine if charges will be filed.Crespo had been a county deputy probation officer for the past 15 years. He was elected to the City Council in 2001.The city website says Crespo married his high school sweetheart, Lyvette Crespo, in 1986. He had been married ever since.The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with further information was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.Her movie career began with the 1945 film, Junior Miss, a movie based on her popular radio show by the same name. This was followed by nine other starring roles until she married and retired. On television, she hosted the show Those Whiting Girls on CBS, along with her sister, Margaret Whiting.


This invention relates to a novel nucleoside analogue and a novel nucleotide analogue, and more particularly, to a nucleotide analogue suitable as an antisense molecule.
In 1978, it was reported for the first time that an antisense molecule inhibited influenza virus infection. Since then, reports have been issued that antisense molecules inhibited the expression of oncogenes and AIDS infection. In recent years, antisense oligonucleotides have become one of the most promising pharmaceuticals, because they specifically control the expression of undesirable genes.
The antisense method is based on the idea of controlling a unidirectional flow called the central dogma, i.e., DNAxe2x86x92RNAxe2x86x92protein, by use of an antisense oligonucleotide.
When a naturally occurring oligonucleotide was applied to this method as an antisense molecule, however, it was decomposed with various nucleases in vivo, or itswhy the "recipe was lost" was that a part of the recipe
resided in the hands of Indian suppliers of wootz. The Indian suppliers were
managing to put trace amounts of vanadium into the steel, but then somehow
changed their process so that this stopped. After that point, no one could
make Damascus blades anymore.

Contrast this with Japanese swordsmiths, who maintain close relationships with
their smelters. (Supplier relationships were supposed to be one of the keys to
the modern Japanese economic success.)


Europe rejects Ukraine’s famine claim

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has rebuffed Ukraine’s efforts to have the famine of the 1930s recognised solely as a tragedy of the Ukrainian people. The body says the event was an international tragedy.

Moscow’s representative to PACE has reaffirmed Russia’s position that other nations were affected by the famine.

Holodomor, or the Great Famine, was one of the largest catastrophes to hit Ukraine during the Soviet era. Joseph Stalin's agricultural reforms affected all the grain-growing regions of the Soviet Union, such as the Urals and Kazakhstan. However, Ukraine bore the heaviest toll.

Ukrainian historians say up to ten million people died during the famine in the early 1930s.

The famine is thought to have been instigated by Stalin's campaign to force peasants toartificially engineered by the Soviet rulers and treats the actions taken by authorities at the time as criminal. However, it denies it was an early attempt at ethic cleansing.

TV presenter and journalist Dmitry Kiselyov makes the point that Holodomor is an American term created by James Mace, an American historian, to justify the ethnic genocide of Ukrainians.

“The ethnic selectiveness during Holodomor has no proof. Some seven to eight million died back then, 3.5 million of them lived on Ukrainian territory, but there were also Jews, Poles, Russians and Georgians among them,” Kiselyov said.

The famine is a sore point between Russia and Ukraine. Russia continues to stress the Ukrainian famine wasn't genocide and shouldn't be used as a political tool.


Architecture in New York

New York is the land of the skyscrapers, the symbol of American innovation and prosperity, although it is only a part of the immense architectural treasure that New York hosts. The City filled with exciting and original buildings, each one representing different architectural styles such as Art Deco Style, Beaux-Arts, Federal Architecture, French Renaissance and Modern Architecture.

Visitors will love a visit to the Municipal Arts Society, commonly known as the MAS, a entity responsible for the preservation of architecture in NYC. The MAS offers exhibits, classes about architecture, and tours which includes walks around the World Trade Center for discussions about Ground Zero, the progress of the Freedom Tower and the already completed World Trade Center 7.

In the earliest 1920, skyscrapers began to be builtin the Art Deco Architecture; three of the finest examples of this style are the Chrysler Building at Lexington Avenue, the Empire State Building (once the tallest building in the world) and the iconic 30 Rock or GE Building at the centre of Rockefeller Plaza.

The Dakota Apartments, built by Henry Hardenbergh, are a splendid paradigm of a building designed in the Beaux Arts Style, another example of Beaux Arts is the Ansonia Hotel. The New York Public Library and the star-studded ceiling of the Main Concourse of the Grand Central Terminal (between Vanderbilt and Lexington Avenues) are other stunning examples of Beaux-Arts architecture.

The Catholic St. Patrick’s Cathedral (between 50th and 51st Streets in Manhattan) is an excellent example of Neo-Gothic architecture; the Cathedral of St. John the Divine


(at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue) is the world's largest Gothic-Style cathedral and even is still in construction process.

The most famous examples of International Style are the Lever House (at 390 Park Avenue), the Seagram Building (at 375 Park Avenue), and the United Nations Headquarters (on the east side of Midtown Manhattan). Examples of post modern architecture are the Sony Building (at 550 Madison Avenue, originally AT&T Building) and the Lipstick Building (at 885 Third Avenue, a design by Philip Johnson), among others.

One of the most important architectural landmarks in New York is, definitively, the Guggenheim Museum the last major work of the famous designer and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Brooklyn Bridge; the world’s first steel suspension bridge; is an authentic architectural feat. Central Park is a main architecturalThe Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine, occupies the former site of the First Temple, built by Solomon, the Second Temple (520-515 B.C.), and the Third Temple, known as Herod's Temple (1st century A.D.). 685-691 Old City, Jerusalem, Israel


Food, Literature, Philosophy

Thursday, March 29, 2012

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have been exploring my interest in sci-fi, and particularly the dystopian novel. This interest began for me in high school when I read books such as Farenheit 451 and 1984. For many years I followed other pursuits and it has only been recently that I have begun to go back to this area of interest. The book that I am reading now, The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson, is something of a departure for me. Although KSR is well known for his sci-fi writing, this novel would more accurately be called a speculative or alternate history. The novel consists of ten books which recount the history of the world, but a worldin which the black plague wiped out almost all of the population of Europe and Asian cultures took a place of dominance instead of Western Christianity. KSR uses the concept of reincarnation to provide a sort of continuity in the novel. Each book features a reincarnated version of the same two central characters who are inextricably bound together in a karma group. This device helps to convey the arc of history that KSR builds over the course of the novel because each individual book is tightly encapsulated: the narrative begins at some point in the lives of the characters -- sometimes detailing how they met, other times not -- and ends with their deaths. The result is that the overarching revised history is left largely implied.

KSR finds inventive


ways of restating this large theme within the episodic narratives of the individual books. For example, the third book titled "Ocean Continents" focuses on a fleet of Chinese treasure ships that have gotten lost at sea and come across an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that has not been encountered before. The sailors, having brought small pox with them to the island, infect the islanders and end up taking a young girl with them for their return to the mainland. Kheim, one of the recurring characters wonders if they are justified in taking the girl away from her home even though this means saving her from the certain death that many of her family will face. Kheim considers the speed with which the girl, whomthey call "Butterfly," adjusts to life on the ship, which parallels the reader's experience of reorienting, or adjusting, to each new life that the characters appear in. The reader is put into the paradoxical position of knowing more and less than the central characters. The reader knows more because he/she sees the broad arc of the novel, but knows less because the individual lives within each of the books is very minimally glossed. The reader is then forced into a position from which they can see the big picture, the broad historical perspective, but miss out on the intricacies of the lives of the characters presented. This contributes to KSR's purpose because the characters are in tune with reincarnation and often recognize that a single lifetime is a


small aspect of the entire "life" of a soul.

The book is fascinating so far. I found it a bit jarring to read at first but it only took the first couple of transitions between historical ages and characters to catch on to the conceit of the novel. The two concepts that interest me the most in the novel are the treatment of character and the treatment of history. KSR develops a complex reimagination of history through his inventive use of "character" in a completely non-traditional way.

Friday, March 2, 2012

The forecast of bad weather held us back from making a trip to the east today; after last year's hail storm (with larger-than-golf-ball-sized hail), I am more cautious. Nothing much has happened yet, but nonetheless--the day has been good forlife
by the road that day in March
and never knew till now.
Phone lines hold their breath.
Above the neighborhood
a hammer is lifted.
Swifts fall silent in the chimney.
Children on the lawn
are blurred, their faces
delicate as cups.
In the market aisle
a secret waits half-told.
A doorknob turns.
Cars intent on evening
as supper cooks.
Watch hands.
The smell of bread.

As the bus pulls away
in a black roar of diesel,
from its window
you smile at me and wave.
We are fifteen.
My face is cold.
The mud smells warm
with spring and rotten grass.
Four o'clock.
The potholes shiver with rain.

In glass dark and shifting,
clouds rush across your face
like faraway countries
taking you, faster now
until you are dust,
a metal frame of sky.

I never heard the hammer fall,
a garage door shut, the eyes
complete their journeys.
I thought I could always find you there
in the same green coat,
though it's we


Island 37, and also the old river bed between Brandywine Island and the Tennessee shore. They found and recommended a line indicated by courses and distances set out in, and shown on a map attached to, their report. The defendant filed numerous exceptions which need not be quoted at length. The substance of its contentions is sufficiently indicated below.
Defendant asserts that the commissioners established the boundary line before its witnesses were heard and before cross examination of any witness for the plaintiff. But the record does not support the contention. In July, 1918, the commissioners examined the territory involved. In October, 1919, they took a survey party to the place to commence work. In 1920, they completed their surveys, including the line, then only provisional, which later wasrecommended in their report. The making of these surveys in advance of hearing the testimony was an appropriate step in the investigation. While the field work was in progress, the commissioners spent most of the time in the field, assisting, and examining the topography and comparing the evidence. Facts disclosed by the survey and so gathered well might be deemed to be useful to enable the commissioners the better to understand and determine the value of other evidence. The report states that the commissioners spared no effort to secure maps and evidence indicating the course of the channel from the earliest record down to the time of the investigation. And that statement seems well supported. There is nothing to justify the suggestion that the commissioners established the line


in 1783 subject to subsequent changes occurring through natural and gradual processes. In 1823, the location of the river was substantially as indicated on a map referred to in the record as Humphrey's map, and there has been no map or survey, which tied the channel to any fixed monument, showing the location of the river as of any later date. The evidence shows that such channels are liable to change substantially from time to time. And the parties stipulated that from 1823 to 1876 the river and land lines had been altered as shown in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Tennessee in the case of State v. Pulp Co., 119 Tenn. 47, 59. The Humphrey map is on page 60 and the Suter map onpage 62 of the opinion. The changes found to have taken place in this period need not be specified. There is nothing to indicate that the 1823 map is useful as a guide to the boundary line as established by the interlocutory decree. The reconnoissance of 1874 was made pursuant to an Act of Congress approved June 23, 1874, c. 457, 18 Stat. 237, 242, providing for surveys and estimates for the improvement of certain transportation routes to the seaboard. Major Suter was assigned to make examination of the Mississippi River from Cairo to the Gulf. His party had a government steamboat and, in the performance of the work, passed over the part of the river here involved four times. The courses of the channel were taken by


compass. Distances were determined by the speed of the boat. Widths of the river were *156 estimated, and to some extent these estimates were checked by triangulation. The purpose was to ascertain the appearance of the river and to get a general idea of the shape and location of the channel. No survey by actual measurements was made, and accuracy was not attained. From the evidence and a stipulation of the parties, the commissioners found that there had been no material change in the river between the time of the reconnoissance in 1874 and the avulsion in 1876. While not made according to actual measurements, the Suter map may be said to present the general situation as it existed immediately before the avulsion. The commissioners did not followthe map at all places and did not take it as their sole guide for the ascertainment of any part of the line. On satisfactory evidence that was not contradicted, the commissioners found that Island 37 was on the Tennessee side of the main channel as it existed in 1876, and not on the Arkansas side, as shown by the Suter map. The commissioners also found that the United States township plats show that Island 39 at the foot of Brandywine was included in the public surveys of Arkansas, and that the old maps which were used as guides for the navigation of the river show that island very close to or against the Arkansas side. They report that they could not find any evidence to the contrary.


as a frequent traveler has prepared me well to absorb such shocks! I am a firm believer in cause and effect. What those hateful politicians, preachers, radio and TV talk show hosts have been spreading is bound to reveal its ugliness through actions here at home and abroad. These executioners of violence owe it to their evil mentors and preachers that have taught them to hate others.

Trayvon was a 17-year old Afro-American high school student who was shot to death on February 26 by a neighborhood watch volunteer, or more correctly, a trigger-happy vigilante. This tragedy happened in Sanford, a small city north of Orlando, Florida, that houses the Disney World, a tourist spot for families with children. Trayvon was returning home at night after buying a bagthey’re savages.” One photo shows a hand missing a finger. Another depicts a severed head being maneuvered with a stick, and still more show bloody body parts, blown-apart legs, mutilated torsos. Several show dead Afghans, lying on the ground or on Stryker vehicles, with no weapons in view.” (March 27, 2011)

The recent massacre of Afghan civilians is part of a much broader trail of war crimes that has allowed brain-washed hateful soldiers to commit the so-called collateral damages, bombing ‘mistakes’, drone attacks, the urination on dead Afghans, the collection of body parts from their victims as souvenirs and the burning of the Qur’an, and has given them a sense of immunity knowing from past records that the perpetrators of such heinous crimes may not even serve time behind


the bars. And these criminal soldiers cannot be blamed for entertaining such thoughts when we know that not one of the eight Marines charged in the 2005 massacre of 24 people in Iraq, including women, children and a man in wheelchair, was imprisoned. One was acquitted and the charges against six others were dropped. The Sergeant who admitted ordering his men to ‘shoot first and question later’ was given a plea bargain, serving no time behind the bars. Similarly, the United States military has recently decided that no service members will face disciplinary charges for their involvement in a NATO airstrike in November 2011 that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Like pornography, violence is an addiction. And America is addicted to violence. It is this culture that glorifies violence througha former executive at her family's food manufacturing company, Chef America, which made Hot Pockets before being bought out by Nestle for $2.6 billion in 2002. She is accused of paying at least $100,000 to help her two daughters cheat on their college admissions exam and get into the University of Southern California as beach volleyball recruits.

William McGlashan, a 58-year-old former executive for the private equity firm TPG, is accused of paying bribes to get his son into USC as a recruit for the college's storied football team, even though his son didn't play football and his high school didn't field a team.

And 53-year-old Agustin Huneeus, whose family owns vineyards in California's Napa Valley and in Oregon, is accused of paying at least $50,000 to have SAT administrators


correct his daughter's college entrance exam and to have USC officials designate her as a water polo recruit to improve her chances of getting into the college.

Agustin Huneeus Jr. leaves the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., March 29, 2019. BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS

The initial court appearances are largely a formality.

Defendants weren't asked to enter a plea Friday. Court officials simply recited the charges and maximum sentences while the judge informed the defendants of their rights and considered any special requests, such as Abdelaziz's travel request.

The other defendants appearing Friday include prominent Miami developer Robert Zangrillo; Gregory Abbott, the founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corp. and his wife, Marcia Abbott; and Marci Palatella, who founded bourbon maker Preservation Distillery in Kentucky.

Rick Singer, the admissions consultant at the center ofthe scheme, has pleaded guilty in the case. On Thursday, former Yale University women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith became the third person to plead guilty. Meredith gave bogus athletic endorsements to two students, one of whom was admitted to the school. Meredith was charged with taking $400,000 in exchange for facilitating the admission of the student.


Q:

What happened to Soviet POWs taken by non-German armies on WW2 Eastern front?

I have initially posted this question in relation to the Romanian army, which was second to the German on the Eastern front, but I have updated the title to include all other non-German armies on that front.

On Wikipedia I see an article on Romanian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, but not one on the reversed situation.
I find the same situation when searching on Google "Soviet prisoners in Hungary".
I know the treatment of Soviet prisoners by Germany was very harsh, amounting to extermination.
I know Romanian forces participated in the initial success of Germany on the eastern front and took some prisoners (like those mentioned here, here, here, and in other articles on the same website,first developed these processes for latent print detection in the late 1970s, with the introduction of argon ion lasers. Building off of discoveries made using argon ion lasers, alternate light sources (ALS) were introduced in the early 1980s. These operated on the same principles as the lasers but used a strong white incandescent lamp that was filtered to produce a specific band of wavelengths. In the 1990s, light emitting diode (LED) technology was introduced into the forensic field. These LED light sources could efficiently produce specific bands of wavelengths without the need for filtering out the rest of the spectrum. Both ALS systems and LED light sources provided a more portable and cost effective way to fluoresce evidence. However, recent advancements in laser technology have enabled forensic lasers


fall. The Wal-Mart safety team leader testified that shortly after the fall
Ms. Wittke acknowledged, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been running in the rain." The
jury also viewed surveillance video of the area where the fall occurred showing two fans
and a large yellow warning cone marking the area of the wet floor where the fall
occurred.
              3
                 We decline to address Wal-Mart's claims regarding the formal charges
brought by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission against the trial judge with
regard to the judge's request for and acceptance of Major League Baseball tickets from
the firm representing Ms. Wittke during the pendency of trialThis morning news has come out of a couple possible future characters who have been trademarked by Lucasfilm. The website Stitch Kingdom, which was the site originally responsible for reporting the trademark on Captain Phasma, has discovered two new names that have showed up for trademark.

First up is the name Valara. Stitch Kingdom speculates that this could be Valara Saar, a character originally created for the Star Wars role playing game.

From Stitch Kingdom:

Valara (or Valara Saar as she is defined in the Wookieepedia) is an interesting character. Originating in the Star Wars role playing game, she is the descendant of a human Jedi who seeks out to join the Jedi Order and is initially welcomed after proving her usefulness, but ultimately fails to join for reasons unexplored. With


the force in her blood, she continued to practice and teach the way of the Jedi upon returning to her home planet of Yashuvhu.

The second name trademarked is Mon Destra. Stitch Kingdom here proposes a connection to a fanfic created Darth Destra, presumably off the idea that Phasma was also a name originally taken from a work of fan fiction as well. Mon Destra could also be a relation to Mon Mothma (assuming the possibility that the de-canonization of legends could lead to a biography for Mon Mothma where she is of a race that uses the family name first in their naming conventions). Mon Destra could also be a planet or species with a similar naming convention to Mon Calamari.

What these names could mean and what theyCouncil. It is a pleasure to meet such an expert on this issue.

Dibao was implemented in China in 1999, first in the urban areas. Later in 2007 it spread to the rural areas of China. Describe how the program works.

QIN GAO: Thank you. Dibao's English name is "minimum livelihood guarantee," so the purpose is to guarantee a minimum level of livelihood for the very poor and the very needy.

It started in 1993 in Shanghai as an experiment because back then there were huge state-owned enterprise reforms, so many workers were laid off, and the Shanghai government didn't know how to deal with these vast groups of laid-off workers. They had the money and they had some political autonomy, and they said, "We will try this welfare program." They


research and consensus now about the importance of zero-to-five education and health. Two main focuses of your research are the importance of providing that. In China is there general access to basic health care and education, especially in rural areas today?

QIN GAO: In terms of education, there is a compulsory education law which says every child starting from age six is entitled to go to compulsory public education for elementary school and middle school. However, before age six there is no such law. Rural children would really suffer more than urban children. With urban children also there is inequality. There are urban poor children, but there are a lot of educational facilities and entities in urban areas. In rural areas there are fewer.

Actually, some of my friends areDermatology in hospital practice.
Modern hospital facilities have proved of great value in the management of the more difficult problems presenting to dermatologists. In a series of 100 consecutive patients admitted to hospital, four died, at least one out of every three was found to have undiagnosed internal disease and the average time to gain a remission was three weeks after outpatient treatment had proved unsuccessful over an average of six months.


An international team of botanists led by Dr Thomas Couvreur from the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement in Montpellier has described a new genus in the custard apple family Annonaceae.

The new genus was in fact erected to accommodate a new plant species, Sirdavidia solannona, found in Monts de Cristal National Park, Gabon.

The generic name Sirdavidia honors Sir David Attenborough, for his influence on the life and careers of the scientists who discovered it.

“Sir David Attenborough has been such a wonderful and important influence in my life and the life of so many,” said Dr Couvreur, the first author of the paper published online in the journal PhytoKeys.

“”I was really surprised when I realized that no one has named a genus after him before, so I found thisunderlines once again the importance of the Gabonese national parks for conserving the wonderful yet incompletely known biodiversity for the country and Africa,” said co-author Dr Raoul Niangadouma of the Herbier National du Gabon, Libreville.

With its unusual flower structure characterized by red petals contrasting with its bright yellow loosely arranged stamens, the flowers of Sirdavidia solannona did not quite fit any of the previously described genera.

According to the team, its flowers are probably ‘buzz pollinated,’ a very specific type of pollination whereby bees use the vibration of their wings to extract the pollen grains onto their bellies.

“The flowers of Sirdavidia have a striking resemblance with those of the nightshade or Solanaceae family – champions of buzz pollination. This resemblance with Solanaceae inspired the name of the new species.”

“What


In an en banc order on Tuesday, August 16, the Supreme Court also directed the respondents in the case – Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as well as former First Lady Imelda Marcos – to attend a preliminary conference at 2 pm on Monday, August 22.This invention relates to laminate type evaporators for use in air conditioning systems, and more particularly to improvements in or to refrigerant inlet and output pipes of an evaporator of this kind and fitting means therefor.
A laminate type evaporator for air conditioning systems for automotive vehicles generally has a laminated or superposed structure comprising a plurality of flat hollow bodies each composed of two stamped plates, each of which has opposite end tank-forming portions and an intermediate passage-forming portion, the two stamped plates being joined together in an abutting manner, wherein the tank-forming portions of the joined plates define tanks at opposite ends, and the passage-forming portions an intermediate passage, respectively, a plurality of fins, typically corrugated, the hollow bodies and the fins being superposed one upon another


NEW DELHI: Nationals of Pakistan and Afghanistan belonging to the minority community, who have sought refuge in India fearing religious persecution back home, may now apply for Indian citizenship manually. The government has relaxed the norm mandating online submission of applications in view of the difficulties faced by such applicants.

"Union home minister Rajnath Singh has considered the difficulties being encountered by the minority community nationals of Pakistan and Afghanistan for submitting their applications (online) for grant of Indian citizenship... (He) has permitted the manual acceptance of applications... (by) such individuals who had entered India prior to 31.12.2009," the home ministry said on Thursday.

The eligible applicants, mostly Hindus from Pakistan and Afghanistan, can now submit their applications offline with their passports. However, the long term visa (LTV) of theJustine Screening and Discussion

Justine doesn’t speak. She communicates through looking, gesture and the body language of her movement and interactions. Justine observes the rhythms of her day giving a unique portrait of the experience of a vivacious young woman living with severe neurological disorders in the run-up to her milestone birthday.

A screening of Pratap Rughani’s award-nominated documentary exploring the world of unspoken communication between people of different neurologies. The film was debated at the 2015 London Human Rights & Cinema Conference, is selected for the World Cultures ‘Poetics and Politics’ of documentary seminar at the University of California and is screening at festivals, including the 2015 London Short Film Festival. This screening is followed by a discussion, led by Head of College, Natalie Brett and Dr Pratap Rughani,


Imagine going on a hike and being able to step back in time, visiting places you'd only read about. It's an itinerary ripped not from a history book – but from the Bible. The "Jesus Trail," a hiking trail in Israel, attracts thousands of tourists from around the world every year, especially during the holiday season. CBS News correspondent Seth Doane laced up his shoes to embark on an adventure of biblical proportions.

Many of the places mentioned in the Bible can actually be seen from the trail, like the Sea of Galilee. The River Jordan runs into it and in the distance is the Mount of Beatitudes, where it's said Jesus delivered his most famous sermon.

Mark Gordon – a spiritual outdoorsman – introduced Doane to the breathtaking 40-miletrail which winds through northeastern Israel, drawing about 3,000 hikers annually.

"Because all of this happened pretty much around the Sea of Galilee, it's where he walked on water… where he performed many miracles," Gordon said. "Basically the trail is meant to connect the sites relevant to the journey of Jesus."

Gordon works for Abraham Tours, which sees interest from a range of visitors.

"You have religious people – for them it's a pilgrimage, it's a spiritual journey. And also we have hikers that, they just like to come see the nature and see this land and this country, which is not something usual," Gordon said.

Dan Dragland, from Sacramento, is traversing Israel partly on the Jesus Trail.

"It's a good mixture of terrain, so it's some flats and some peaks," Dragland said.


"There's a lot more history on the Jesus Trail than on your average trek. Most places, it's just the vistas. With the Jesus Trail it's the views and the historical sites."

One of those sites includes the ancient ruins of a synagogue that Gordon said dates back to the time of Jesus.

Unlike another trail created by Israel's government, which avoids Arab villages, the Jesus Trail takes travelers though sites significant to various religions, including the town of Cana, where Jesus is said to have turned water into wine. A modern church marks the spot where Christians believe that miracle took place. Not far away is a mosque.

"Just to make the hiking package work – it depends on Muslims, Jewish and Christians working together, cooperating, providing services. It doesn't mattereven Hillary, only had three; Jackie Kennedy one; Laura Bush one; and prior to Mamie Eisenhower social help came from the President's own pocket.

Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and "First Hairstylist" Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom travelled aboard Air Force One to Europe .

Here are the fifteen of them with 'first lady' in the actual job title:

McBride, Anita B. Assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first ladyHarder, Cherie S. Special assistant to the president for domestic policy and director of project of the first lady Niemiec, Sally M. Press secretary to the First Lady Miller, Sonja M. Deputy chief of staff to the first ladyBallard, Deanna M. Director of scheduling for the First LadyUnderwood, Carrie P. Deputy director


of policy and projects for the First LadyWallace, Charity N. Director of advance for the First Lady Marshall, Misty C. Director of correspondence for the first ladyEtter, Marisa L. Deputy director of scheduling for the First Lady King, Kristin N. Deputy director of advance for the first ladyLineweaver, Lindsey Special assistant and personal aide to the first ladyRawson, Kimberly D. Executive assistant to the chief of staff to the First LadyDonoghue, Tarah C. Deputy press secretary to the First LadyVogel, Campbell B. Deputy director of correspondence for the First LadyBlock, Jonathan F. Assistant press secretary to the First Lady

What a surprise! There were fifteen staff White House staff members with 'first lady' in their job title under Laura Bush - just like under Michelle Obama!!!

Powered by DCForum+ Versiontranslational continuum of bipolar research will enhance opportunities and strengthen connection for these budding scientists. In the spring of 2005, a pilot Career Development Institute (CDI) for Bipolar Disorder was carried out with great success, leading to the development of a revised CDI for Bipolar Disorder. The proposed Research CDI for Bipolar Disorder is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh, investigators at the NIMH, and core faculty who represent multiple academic institutions across the country. This training program is designed to improve and augment the research training for promising junior investigators, including those interested in basic and neuroscience, academic psychiatrists and psychologists, and health services researchers. The goals of the CDI for Bipolar Disorder are to enhance their repertoire of research "survival skills," providing continuing support in their


yard signs, t-shirts and hats - are for sale on the website.

If he's serious about the run, Rock would face incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow for the Michigan seat that's up for election in 2018. Stabenow has been in the Senate since 2000. The state's other Senator, Gary Peters, is also a Democrat.

Rock's website doesn't confirm he'll be running as a Republican but he's endorsed GOP candidates - including President Donald Trump - in the past. Rock, along with fellow musician Ted Nugent and former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, visited the White House in April.Today, in the morning, leave by road for Agra. Upon arrival in Agra, check into the hotel. Thereafter, enjoy sightseeing tour of Agra covering Agra Fort, Itmad-Ud-Daulah and Taj Mahal. Stay overnight in the hotel.

Day 4: Agra - Jaipur

In the morning, leave by road for Jaipur. On the way, halt at Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned Mughal town. The attractions you will cover include Jama Masjid, Jodha Bai Palace, Birbal Bhawan, Panch Mahal and the Buland Darwaza. On reaching Jaipur, check into the hotel for night stay.

Day 5: Jaipur

Today, in the morning, enjoy an elephant ride to Amber Fort. In the afternoon, take a road trip to the Jaipur city covering City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Nawab Sahab ki Haveli and the local bazaars etc. Post sightseeing, return to the


put the pedal to the metal right off the bat and establish presence right from the beginning."

Scoring so quickly and so frequently means Alabama has been ahead in 94 percent of its snaps so far this season. The 49 plays where the Tide have been trailing or tied are the fewest in FBS this season (Georgia is second at 62).

Efficiency and volume

It's one thing that Alabama has scored 60 points in two conference games this season. That's only happened twice in SEC history.

It's another thing that Alabama is outscoring opponents by 240 points through six games. That's the most in SEC history, period.

Tua Tagovailoa (13) and Alabama had another easy win on Saturday. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

But don't get hung up on the big totals. It's the efficiencywith which Saban's squad is playing offense that's truly remarkable.

Alabama leads the FBS with a 98.8 offensive efficiency, which would be the highest of any FBS team in the 14 seasons that the metric has been tracked.

The easiest job at Bama? That belongs to punter Skyler DeLong, as the Tide haven't punted in the past two weeks.

Tua time

Tagovailoa has been nothing short of a revelation this season. Winning the starting job from Hurts was one thing. But doing that and playing even better than he did when he was the hero of the national championship game last season is difficult to comprehend.

It's why he's the Heisman favorite today. His 98.3 QBR is the highest through six games of any quarterback in the 15 seasons the metric has been


(332) as he had all of last season. He and Hentges have combined for five touchdown catches.

Last season, Calvin Ridley dominated the receiver position, accounting for roughly 30 percent of all completions. Jerry Jeudy was next closest receiver at 6 percent.

Now, though, it's far more balanced with Jeudy at 21.3 percent, Henry Ruggs III and DeVonta Smith each at 15.7 percent and Jaylen Waddle at 13.9 percent. The sophomore trio of Jeudy, Smith and Ruggs already has six more touchdown receptions (17) than they did all of last season.

"That's how Tua rolls," Hentges said following the Texas A&M win two weeks ago. "He's a really good player. He understands the field extremely well and finds people if they're open. And if you're not open, he can make youopen."

He added: "I don't think it's any secret that we move the ball extremely well. We have an electric quarterback, really great wide receivers and some playmakers elsewhere, too. It's to be seen how good this offense can really be."

Alabama has had multiple 100-yard receivers in each of its past two games. Prior to this season, that had happened only once under Saban (2014 Sugar Bowl vs Oklahoma).

Playoff payoff

Armed with one of the best offenses and defenses in college football, Alabama seems like a foregone conclusion to reach the playoff. No other team in the past decade has had better odds to win the national championship than the -200 Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has the Tide pegged as.

ESPN's Playoff Predictor says Alabama could lose any one of the


six remaining games on its schedule and still have at least a 63 percent chance to make the playoff.

But remember that the real meat of Alabama's schedule hasn't even begun, and likely won't until November when the Tide go on the road to No. 13 LSU and host No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 21 Auburn. Survive that and it's on to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta where No. 2 Georgia is likely to be waiting.

Alabama hung 45 points on a Texas A&M defense that ranks 21st in the FBS in yards per game, but their other wins have come against defenses ranked 77th, 84th, 93rd, 117th and 124th. Meanwhile, Georgia and Mississippi State are both in the top 10, Auburn is 20th and LSU is 34th.

TheBEND, OR -- a man accused of punching Bend's Police Chief, last month, is now wanted for failing to appear at a court hearing on assault charges. Chief Jim Porter says he was getting coffee at the Dutch Bros on NE Third Street, on his way to a meeting, when he encountered Nicholas Pearson, "At first he was on the sidewalk, very animated and yelling. He then started jumping out into traffic and people were having to leave their lane to go around him. As one vehicle passed, he threw a cup, a container at them, that had liquid in it; it hit the back of the vehicle and splattered all over."

Porter says he approached the man and tried to calm him down, saying, "‘It looks like you’re


shirt with an embroidered badge, along with his badge attached to his hip.

He says he wasn't able to call for backup sooner, because dispatchers had called for halt to non-emergency radio traffic while officers dealt with an emergency situation across town. "[I] Took him into an escort hold, took him into the ground and held him in place on the curb until I was able to call for assistance; and picked my sunglasses up that he’d knocked off my head." Porter believes the man was suffering from a mental problem, just like many people, he says his officers deal with everyday.

The incident is now under investigation by the Bend Police Department. Porter says that's standard procedure, "I fill out a use of force, just like any other officerObama's drone crimes

FOR 14 years, America has relied on drone warfare as a key method for carrying out the so-called "war on terror." But aside from occasional news stories about another botched bombing that killed civilians instead of the intended targets, little information has ever been made available about the inner workings of the drone warfare program.

Until now.

Last week, the Intercept website published a series of articles titled "The Drone Papers," based on a trove of leaked documents from an unnamed whistleblower who is reportedly a member of the intelligence community and worked on the programs described in the files. As journalist Jeremy Scahill, one of the lead authors, explained:

The series is intended to serve as a long-overdue public examination of the methods and outcomes of America's assassination


- - - -

THE DOCUMENTS obtained by the Intercept--which focus on the U.S. drone program between 2011 and 2013--show that the Obama administration's claims about drone warfare are a fabrication.

One set of briefing slides to which the Intercept gained access included an assessment of "Operation Haymaker," an effort to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan from January 2012 to February 2013. According to the documents, an astonishing 90 percent of those killed weren't intended targets. The U.S. military killed 35 of its direct intended targets with air strikes, but 219 other individuals died in the attacks--and all were labeled "enemy killed in action."

In other words, the reality is a far cry from the words of Secretary of State John Kerry, who said in 2013: "The onlyemerges to prove otherwise.

Currier's report adds: "The [2013 Pentagon] study does not contain an overall count of strikes or deaths, but it does note that 'relatively few high-level terrorists meet criteria for targeting' and states that at the end of June 2012, there were 16 authorized targets in Yemen and only four in Somalia."

Yet Currier points out that in 2011 and 2012, there were "at least 54 U.S. drone strikes and other attacks reported in Yemen, killing a minimum of 293 people, including 55 civilians, according to figures compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. In Somalia, there were at least three attacks, resulting in the deaths of at minimum six people."

She concludes that "there were multiple well-reported, high-profile incidents in which reported JSOC strikes killed the wrong


people" during the period of the study. These include the killing of 16-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki and his two cousins in a drone strike just two weeks after his father, Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed in a similar strike.

As the anonymous source told The Intercept:

This outrageous explosion of watch-listing--of monitoring people and racking and stacking them on lists, assigning them numbers, assigning them "baseball cards," assigning them death sentences without notice, on a worldwide battlefield--it was, from the very first instance, wrong. We're allowing this to happen. And by "we," I mean every American citizen who has access to this information now, but continues to do nothing about it.

Particularly in Yemen and Somalia, drones that target remote areas can spend up to half of their time in the air inthe phone."

This is another reason why drone strikes inevitably produce civilian casualties. Joe Pace, an attorney for the legal charity Reprieve, represents Faisal bin Ali Jaber, a Yemeni man whose nephew and brother-in-law were killed in a 2012 drone attack on the village of Khashamir. Explaining the way the Obama administration lied to the public about drone warfare, Pace told Common Dreams following the release of "The Drone Papers":

We were told that the drone program was "safe" and "effective." When we raised concerns with the administration that it was anything but, we were told, "Trust us."

These leaked reports confirming the staggering inaccuracy of the U.S drone program may be news to the American people who have been lied to by this administration, but there's nothing revelatory for [Jaber]


he is halting troop withdrawals from Afghanistan after the Taliban's capture of the city of Kunduz, thousands of U.S. troops will be kept in the country through the end of Obama's term in 2017--indefinitely extending the American role in a war that has already lasted the better part of 14 years. It's a sure bet that the Obama administration will continue to escalate the drone war, seeing it as an easy way to prosecute the war on terror around the globe without having to put more American boots on the ground.

That's why the whistleblower who leaked the drone war documents--and the team at The Intercept who have reported on them--should be applauded for giving us insight into the actual workings of the U.S. military machine and the horrorexception of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5) as being in the nature of alimony, maintenance or support. The entire pension plan was listed as an asset in his bankruptcy schedules and claimed exempt pursuant to the Wisconsin exemptions. Wis.Stat. § 815.18(31).
The debtor also asks that his contribution to his wife's attorney's fees, payment of which was ordered by the divorce judgment, be discharged, again because the award does not qualify for the exception to discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5).
Finally, the debtor requests sanctions against his former wife and her attorney for actions taken in the divorce court in violation of the automatic stay and the discharge injunction. 11 U.S.C. §§ 362(a), 524(a).
The debtor previously requested and received a temporary injunction prohibiting the former wife from collecting any portion


of the disputed pension plan until the rights of the parties are decided by this court. The funds were withdrawn from the plan and are now being held in the wife's attorney's trust account.
For the reasons stated in this decision, the court finds that the wife was awarded a portion of the debtor's pension plan prior to the bankruptcy, and that portion did not constitute the debtor's property after the judgment of divorce. The wife may recover her share, and the balance shall be turned over to the husband.
Post-judgment proceedings in the divorce action were instituted in willful violation of the automatic stay and are void to the extent they modified the property division of the parties. Accordingly, the debtor is entitled to sanctions against the wife andher attorney for such actions.
The award of fees to the wife's attorney is part of the property division and is not excepted from the discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5).

FACTS
Peggy and Brian Zick (the debtor) were divorced on December 13, 1988, in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. The Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment of Divorce were signed by the judge on May 9, 1989, nunc pro tunc December 13, 1988. The judgment awarded joint custody of the minor children to both parents and physical placement with the husband for nine months of the year and with the wife for three months. Payment of child support by the wife was provided.
Property division was determined in accordance with the decision of the court dated March 23, 1989, for


which a separate hearing was held, and a copy of that decision was appended to the judgment. The March 23, 1989 decision provided for the distribution of a number of items of personal property and determined that Mr. Zick had a pension fund with his employer that at the time of the divorce had a value *827 of $39,320.70. The following provisions were also included:
As to the outstanding debts. The Court again has not been furnished with a written summation from which to work. The Court has already covered the issue of the real estate, mortgage, taxes, and the judgment. There were additional bills owed such as an account at the Del Monte Credit Union, Sears for appliances, a loan at the Farmers State Bank for attorneys feescourt to divide the personal property of the parties because they were unable to work out the division as the court had suggested in its December 13, 1988 decision. It is not clear if a hearing was held.
On June 9, 1989, the attorney for the wife wrote a letter to the state court judge informing him of the husband's bankruptcy and stating, "We believe that his filing bankruptcy is a basis for a modification of the divorce decree and property division." He also stated he needed clarification of the award of attorney fees and apparently a determination of dischargeability of those fees. There was no formal motion made at that time the letter was written, but he asked for a "conference hearing" on those matters.
It appears that there


was no informal conference because the wife's attorney filed a motion on June 15, 1989, requesting "a modification of the property division," citing the husband's bankruptcy as a "change of circumstances, justifying a modification of previously ordered property division." The hearing was scheduled for July 19, 1989, and the court issued its decision on November 15, 1989. That decision stated in pertinent part as follows:
The issue before the Court is the property division in this divorce. The Court has already ruled, March 23, 1989, on the values of most of the items and assigned most of the property. The final details were left to the parties.
Now it appears that the parties cannot agree even as to those small items. Therefore, the court orders the following as distribution ofcourt intended to divide the entire estate, including debts, as of the date of the divorce. All that was left to do was to assign dollar amounts to the assets and liabilities awarded to each party. When the bankruptcy was filed, the former husband owned nothing more than the one half of the parties' previous aggregate estate.
The court's statements in its November 15 and 30, 1989 decisions confirm its original intent that there be a 50/50 division of the entire estate. On November 15, 1989, it stated, "The court has already ruled, March 23, 1989, on the values of most of the items and assigned most of the property. The final details were left to the parties."
The property division established rights in the parties' aggregate marital estate that


treated separately and addressed in a separate paragraph from her father's $9,140.87 judgment lien) and the husband's attorney's fees were assigned to each of them in the March 23, 1989 decision but were not valued and were not considered in the total property division. These debts were likewise not a part of the November 15, 1989 decision.
The difference between the calculations of this court set out above and the calculations of the divorce court in its November 15, 1989 decision is attributable to the assignment of the judgment debt of the wife's father, Leroy Rosenthal, to the wife. This was not assigned to her in the original property division. The home was awarded to the husband subject to that judgment lien, which presumably meant that the court intendedthat he pay it. The bankruptcy schedules indicate that this judgment represented a loan for the down payment on the house, which was awarded to the husband. Why this liability was shifted to the wife after the husband's bankruptcy, this court will not speculate. However, the effect was to award the wife additional cash from the pension plan to compensate for assigning her the judgment debt, now discharged by the husband. This court is mindful that the homestead exemption probably makes the judgment ineffective to create a lien, and she is now solely liable on the debt. However, to the extent the modified property division awarded her this additional cash, it is void.
The $500 debt of the husband to the wife's attorney was obviously included as part of


can head for the Brandenburg Tor building, only 1 kilometre from the hotel, or Checkpoint Charlie (3 kilometres). Berlin-Tegel Airport is 18 kilometres or approximately 30 minutes' drive from the hotel.

Driving Directions: Taxis are readily available outside the terminal. An airport bus is available that connects to the underground system. There is also a jet express airport shuttle serving central Berlin. From Tegel Airport take the A100, exit Tempelhofer Damm towards city centre, in the direction of Potsdamer Platz via Tempelhofer Damm, Mehringdamm and Wilhelmstrasse, turn right into Anhalter Strasse.6,800 people every day who successfully use firearms to defend themselves, or prevent a criminal attack. In the majority of those incidents, no shots are fired, and nobody is injured or killed. In some cases where shots are fired by armed citizens, several lives are saved."

CCRKBA has teamed up with the Second Amendment Foundation, which is producing educational materials on firearms rights, the number of lives saved and the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Last year, SAF won a landmark Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago, ending that city's handgun ban.

"While Bloomberg is shooting blanks," Gottlieb explained, "CCRKBA is hitting the bull's eye with information Americans need to protect their civil rights. What better place to do that than in Pittsburgh when


tens of thousands of gun rights activists will be in town?"

"Bloomberg's campaign is a smokescreen," he continued. "America needs to look behind the facade to see that his ultimate goal is to convince Congress to implement New York-style gun control laws, ban most semiautomatic firearms, stretch background checks out to between six and nine months, and to put gun shows out of business.

"No mayor, regardless how wealthy he is, should dictate to Congress, the citizens of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia or anywhere else the terms of their civil rights," Gottlieb said. "Michael Bloomberg is spreading hysteria about gun rights. We're spreading the truth."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premiergun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

SOURCE Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms


When Seve Gat's boarded the plane for her dream holiday to China, she actually did so in the comfort of her own home.

The Kenyan resident had her friends Photoshop her on to the tarmac, and she proceeded to take a virtual tour of the country, fulfilling one of her life dreams.

Their crude editing skills saw Seve plonked on to the Great Wall of China, placed bare-foot on the world's most dangerous hiking trail, and stand awkwardly with a group of tourists in front of a temple.

The hilariously bad photo-edits saw Seve skyrocket to Internet fame, but it also attracted the attention of a generous entrepreneur.

'Wow enjoying everything here': Kenyan woman Seve Gat's had her friends Photoshop her in China

'I have left the country to China': The hilariously badphoto-edits saw her standing on the tarmac in front of a Kenya Airways plane

'China... Nice place indeed': One photo saw her plonked barefoot on to the would's most dangerous hiking trail on Mount Huashan

Sam Gichuru, who described himself as a 'dreamer', saw Seve's plight and decided to make her travel dream a reality.

By 'harassing' his friends Sam was able to arrange travel, four-star accommodation, insurance and pocket money for a holiday to China, before contacting Seve to tell her the news.

'Talked to Sevelyn (Gat's), she is a nice ambitious humble farmers daughter, who asked her friends to photoshop her in China because she felt like she was there on those photos,' he wrote on Facebook.

'Trip being planned for summer 2016. So, now it's all up to you Seve


Gat's.'

'Last day of visit. Bye China': A Kenyan man saw Seve's photos and arranged an all-expenses paid trip for her to fulfill her dream of visiting the country

Seve had shared the Photoshopped photos on her Facebook page, alongside a series of tongue-in-cheek captions.

'I have left the country to China,' she wrote as her Photoshopped figure boarded the virtual plane.

'Woow enjoying everything here,' [sic] she continued, from atop the Great Wall.

'Last day of visit. Bye China,' she finished, from a Photoshopped group shot of a temple visit.

The epic Photoshop fails has prompted the Internet to join in, with the hashtag #WhereIsSeveGatsNow active on Twitter.

World traveller: The Internet has picked up the bad photo edits and placed Seve in a series of remarkable places

The Big Apple: One person Photoshopped Sevein to Time Square, New York

Photoshop fails: One person even went as far as to place her next to Donald Trump

People have taken Seve's photo and stuck it on to various travel scenes, including a skydiving shot and New York's Time Square.

One Internet user even went as far as to place Seve alongside a photo of Donald Trump making a speech.

But while the Internet made Seve's travel dreams come true, Sam Gichuru made it clear he would not do the same for anyone else.

'To the rest, please don't photoshop yourself,' he said.


Its arms arranged in a gesture of prayer, the figurine at right probably depicts a living queen worshipping the statuette of a dead royal, left. (Courtesy Maura Sala)

It's been more than 30 years since Italian archaeologists found a vast archive of 17,000 cuneiform tablets at the Bronze Age site of Ebla in northern Syria. But the ancient city is still surprising those who work there. Last year archaeologist Paolo Matthiae's team discovered two almost perfectly preserved figurines that confirm textual evidence for a royal cult of the dead focused on the city's queens. They also found an unusual tablet that allowed scholars to reconstruct the political climate that led to Ebla's destruction in 2300 B.C., when it was sacked by Sargon of Akkad.

"We made the finds in twoperipheral rooms of the great Royal Palace, where we discovered the cuneiform archive in the 1970s," explains Matthiae. "They were part of the zone behind the Court of the Audience Hall, a sort of storage area which must have held the treasures of the king of Ebla."

Initially the team avoided the rooms, assuming they had been emptied when Sargon ransacked the city. "But we were wrong!" says Matthiae. "Evidently the two statues were crushed into the ground and miraculously escaped the pillage."

Both figurines are intricate representations of women, which are rare in Near Eastern Bronze Age art. One, made of steatite and wood, is depicted with her arms arranged in a gesture indicating prayer. The second figurine holds a goblet and wears an ornate gold dress. Both seem


to have been used in a ritual mentioned in a tablet from Ebla that describes how the city's dead queens became female deities who were then worshiped privately by their successors. Matthiae suspects the steatite figure depicts a living queen who would have prayed to the gold-covered figurine, itself
a representation of a dead queen who had become
a goddess.

In the same area, Matthiae found a cuneiform tablet which accounted for weapons distributed from Ebla to allied cities during a war sometime before 2300 B.C. "The military campaign the tablet mentions is possibly the one Ebla waged against the state of Mari," says Matthiae. Records indicate that Ebla defeated Mari, its great commercial and political rival, just before it in turn was destroyed.

Matthiae thinks Ebla's military aggression alarmed the powerfulstates of southern Mesopotamia, such as Akkad, because soon after its conflict with Mari, Sargon launched his campaign against the city.

The tablet lists the number of spear points Ebla sent to each of its allied states, a stark expression of the political influence and military prowess the southern states feared. Nagar, today known as Tell Brak (see "LINKLINKLINK"), was the biggest client, receiving 2,000 spear points. According to Matthiae, this proliferation of weaponry may have impelled Sargon to launch the preemptive strike against Ebla, which ended the state.


NUS on the sexual misconduct case were "manifestly inadequate". "Two strikes and you are out cannot be the standard application," Mr Ong said in a Facebook post, adding that NUS will review its discipline and sentencing framework "swiftly and decisively".

Ms Baey, 23, a third-year NUS communications and new media undergraduate, took to her Instagram account last week to share that she had noticed an iPhone being held underneath the door after she finished showering at the hall on Nov 25 last year.

According to her, NUS had asked the perpetrator, whom she revealed to be a chemical engineering student, to write an apology letter to her and undergo mandatory counselling.

He was also banned from entering Eusoff Hall and suspended from school for a semester.

Related Story NUS to hold townhallfollow-up actions in the new academic year, which begins in August.

Related Story Yale-NUS College raises awareness of sexual misconduct

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees, said in a statement on Monday that the committee will be chaired by Madam Kay Kuok, a member of the board and chairman of its nominating committee.

The committee's initial members are: Singapore Management University president Lily Kong; law firm WongPartnership managing partner Ng Wai King; NUS president Tan Eng Chye; and a representative from the NUS Students' Union.

"We note the strong public interest in this matter. The committee will proceed swiftly and decisively," Mr Hsieh said.


At 3:59 p.m. he was on a plane to Florida; 2 minutes later, it crashed into the Potomac River

It was a snowy afternoon in 1982 when a plane taking off stalled mid-air during and began hurtling towards the Potomac.

Author:
Samantha Kubota, Jesse Burkett-Hall, Josh Bernstein

Published:
6:58 PM EST February 11, 2019

Updated:
11:41 AM EST February 13, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — It was snowing when Joe Stiley woke up on the fateful morning of Jan. 13, 1982.

He knew he had to fly to Florida for work that day. He was tasked with the unfortunate duty of announcing layoffs and was not thrilled to be leaving town. It was his son’s 13th birthday.

Unexcited about his work ahead, he went to the airport with an eye on the forecast. He was not sure theywould even be able to get a plane out that day.

Boarding the flight, he noticed a variety of folks heading to the warmer climate. There were military men, college students, and families on board. He spent a moment talking to a pair of students heading back to school in Florida after spending their winter break in Washington D.C.

Little did he know, his split-second decision to sit in the smoking section of the plane -- at that time, smoking sections were allowed on aircrafts -- with his assistant Patricia Felch would impact the rest of his life.

After several delays due to the heavy snowfall, the plane was cleared for departure.

Stiley was not a nervous flier. He was a pilot himself and trained students to fly in and out of


people lost their lives in the crash that day, including three infants. Only five survived.

“I found myself on the verge of blacking out,” Stiley recalled. “I said a brief prayer, ‘Please God take care of my son,’ and I didn't expect to regain consciousness.”

It took a few moments for the plane to sink to the murky bottom of the river, and Stiley awoke to icy water splashing him. He realized he was alive as was his coworker, but his feet were trapped and he was still buckled in. He wrought his feet free from the crushed metal, then helped Felch.

Despite the darkness, they could see a little bit of light from the surface. The two swam toward it, crawling over the two students with whom they had beenthe floating piece of the plane.

“At some point I heard whoomph whoomph of a helicopter approaching us and I knew somebody was on their way there,” Stiley said.

The U.S. Park Police helicopter first picked up a flight attendant who had survived, Kelly Duncan.

At one point, two ropes came down for Stiley and Felch. Another woman, Priscilla Tirado, had surfaced but was struggling. Stiley knew he had to help her.

Felch took one of the ropes, while Stiley did a half hitch around his body with the other. He grabbed Tirado, and they started to tow them toward the shore.

“They towed me in and all these big chunks of ice and I kept getting it in the chest,” he recalled. His ribs were breaking. “After four or five such impacts,


as a banker than as a friend to some people.”

But he is thankful to have survived.

“I’ve seen my children grow up and become parents and grandparents and I wouldn’t want to do it again,” he said.

In his eighties, Joe Stiley now lives in a remote part of Mexico called Puerto Escondido. He runs a small bed and breakfast and spends his days relaxing at the beach. But the chronic pain from his injuries stays with him, as well as the terrible memory.

“I took a cold dip in a frozen river once and that was enough cold for me,” he said dryly.

HOW THE CRASH IMPACTED THE AVIATION INDUSTRY

The Air Florida crash had a profound impact on the aviation industry.

The crash marked the beginning of the end for Air Floridaas a carrier. Company executives filed for bankruptcy in 1984.

According to an NTSB report, several factors contributed to the Air Florida crash of 1982. The plane was not properly de-iced during the snowstorm that blanketed Washington D.C. in a reported 6.4 inches of snow. As a result, the FAA changed de-icing regulations.

The pilots were found to have little experience flying in the snow and did not communicate properly when an error was noticed on one of their instruments. The Air Florida crash is oftencited as contributing to the formalization of a concept known as “crew resource management,” which means if any subordinate flying spots trouble, they should voice their concerns loudly and be heard by management. An NTSB report on the crash indicates the first officer had pointed


out incorrect readings from an instrument only to be dismissed by the captain.

According to the NTSB and FAA, Boeing changed the thermal de-icing system in the 737 models after crash so less ice would build up on the wings.

A sixth victim, later identified by the U.S. Coast Guard as Arland D. Williams Jr., refused help so the others be rescued from the icy river. He drowned before emergency responders could go back for him. The District of Columbia later renamed the 14th Street Bridge in his honor.

‘In an Instant’ is a new series that features people who unexpectedly had their lives changed in one moment and how it impacted them going forward.

Episode three features two women who miraculously survived being completely run over by a car and howFriday, May 8, 2015

Clay Muddies Waters on NY Times Rubio Story

MRC Watch Dept. - Most of the items on this blog deal, in one way or another, with the fundamental irrationality of the "media criticism" offered by the Media Research Center. The mailman who flew his gyrocopter into the capitol in an effort to raise awareness about money in politics posed no danger to anyone but the MRC's writers described him as having pulled a reckless stunt that endangered everyone in its path. Days later, Pamela Geller, who endangered everyone around her by holding a Muhammad art contest aimed at poking the hornet's nest of violent right-wing Islamist extremists, is praised by the same writers for standing up for "free speech" (a thing in which Geller doesn't even


conservative audience -- reactionary confirmation bias as commerce.

Today, the New York Times ran an article about Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio and his place in a changing Republican party. It was co-authored by former National Review writer Jonathan Martin, it was quite favorable to Rubio and it appeared on the front page above the fold.

If you think this doesn't leave the advocates of the "liberal media" myth much cause to complain, you haven't met the MRC's Clay Waters. While conceding that the article was "rather positive toward Rubio himself," Waters griped that "the report and the surrounding headlines came down hard on the GOP as an old, stodgy, white party." Martin and co-author Ashley Parker wrote:

Republican voters are overwhelmingly white: The composition of the electorate in almost everycontested state during the 2012 party primary was about 90 percent or more non-Hispanic white, according to exit polls.

Waters characterized these uncontroversial facts as "Martin rubbed in the GOP's demographic doom" and continues:

Back in March, Martin played the same theme of stick-in-the-mud Republicans by embracing moderate Jeb Bush, whom he viewed as helpfully lecturing his party that it 'must accept a changing country: that the path to the presidency will be found through appealing to voters who may not look like them.'"

Jeb Bush, the current front-runner in the 2016 Republican presidential race, has become a hate-figure on the far-right solely as a consequence of his refusal to race-bait on the immigration "issue" -- Bush's wife is Hispanic. This single departure from orthodoxy has led to his being denounced


At the State Courts on Thursday (11 April), the man was jailed 30 months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of having sex with a minor and one count of aggravated molest involving the girl’s younger sister. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

SINGAPORE — After getting to know her through an online game, the 22-year-old man brought the 13-year-old girl to a sports centre toilet to have sex with her.

At the State Courts on Thursday (11 April), the man – now aged 25 – was jailed 30 months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of having sex with a minor and one count of aggravated molest involving the girl’s younger sister.

The man was also fined $15,000 for advertising and selling e-cigarettes over the Instagram app. Another sevencounts of a similar nature were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

In mitigation, the man told the court that he was remorseful over his actions and that he had gotten married last year.

“(I have a) wonderful marriage now and am waiting for keys to my flat with my wife,” he said. He pleaded for a lighter sentence due to financial issues, adding that he would be collecting the keys to his flat in a year.

Met 13-year-old through online game

He first met the older girl through an online game in late 2014. They began chatting outside of the game, during which time the learnt each others ages.

The man asked the girl to be his girlfriend but the she initially refused due to their difference in age. She eventually relented


and later sent him nude videos of herself at his request.

In July 2015, the man brought the girl to a handicapped toilet on the sixth floor the Jurong West Sports and Recreation Centre to have sex with her. At the time, the girl had been unaware of the man’s intentions.

At first, the girl did not want to enter the toilet and playfully tried to evade the man. However, she did so after he became angry as she did not want to disappoint him, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lim.

While she initially refused the man’s request for sex, she later undressed herself so as not to upset the man. The pair then had protected sex of the toilet floor.

They returned to the same spot on 20 September that yearto have sex for the second time.

Molested girlfriend’s younger sister

Eight days before their second sexual encounter, the girl brought her sister over to the man’s house. She left her sister in the man’s living room and entered his bedroom.

After some 10 minutes, the younger girl began feeling scared and lonely. She knocked on the bedroom door and attracted the man’s attention.

He then brought her to another room, where he forced a kiss on the 11-year-old. The girl was disgusted by the man’s actions and wanted to throw up after the act, said DPP Lim.

The elder girl called off the relationship in late 2015 as she felt that the man was using her for sex.

Her mother later discovered their chats and nude videos. She then confronted her daughter, who


admitted to having had sex with the man. The mother then took her daughter to lodge a police report.

Caught in HSA ambush

On 7 September 2017, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) discovered that the man had been selling e-cigarettes along with their related liquids and accessories, though a public Instagram account.

HSA officers then set up a trap for the man by offering to buy e-cigarette components from him on 9 October that year. The man – who began advertising his wares in March 2016 – had made about $100 from his sales to nine buyers.

After he was apprehended, the man claimed that the Instagram account had been run by another man, with whom he had served national service. The false claim led to the other man being investigated byEp. 56 – The Blackout Ripper

The story of the serial killer known as the Blackout Ripper who terrorized London during World War II

During World War II, the German Luftwaffe began a massive bombing campaign over London and the surrounding British countryside known as The Blitz. By night, London began turning off all the lights in order to make it more difficult for German bombers to locate targets. But this also allowed a brutal serial killer to begin stalking London’s streets under cover of darkness.


  Olsen v. Department of Commerce, 732 F.2d 167 (Fed.Cir.1984).  We grant the application.I

2
The petitioner was employed in a position the description of which originally stated that capability in French was "highly desirable" but which at the time of the RIF required fluency in that language, which the petitioner possessed.  In preparation for a large RIF, the agency erroneously modified petitioner's job description to state that fluency in Spanish was required.  As a result, another employee who was fluent in Spanish but had little knowledge of French was able to "bump" petitioner from her position.

3
Both in its response to the petitioner's appeal to the Board and in a stipulation at the Board hearing, the agency admitted that at the time of the RIF thewho "bumped" her lacked.  In short, by the time the case reached the Board, it was undisputed that the petitioner was "bumped" from a position by someone who was not qualified.  Moreover, since it is undisputed that nobody in a position for which fluency in French was required was affected by the RIF, the conclusion is inescapable that petitioner would not have been "bumped" had it not been for the agency's erroneous classification of her position.

21
In these circumstances, we cannot find that the position of the United States before the court was substantially justified.

III

22
A. As noted, the application for attorney's fees also covers the services rendered before the Board.  Our authority to award such fees involves other provisions of the Act.

23
The Equal Access to Justice


taking the
lead. Things still somehow feel a bit empty when it kicks back in
towards the end, and the strings don't come off realistic by any
means, but it's still an enjoyable listen.

Great rhythm on the left-side synth, it immediately caught my
attention. The lead melody is catchy too, and the chunky rhythm
guitars that come in have power but leave plenty of space for the
track to breathe.

The beats are nice and the piece has a funky and
effortless-sounding cool to it. The breakdown with the pan flute
or whitever was great, and then back to the rock.

The production seems a little muddy in a few spots, maybe a bit
heavy on the low-mids, but it's still clear enough to hear the
different parts, and the song is both varied and groovin'. A
really nice collab, goodis used to modulate the duty cycle of the power supply controller or used to allow or disallow cycles in order to control the secondary output.
In the event of a short circuit condition, an overload condition (may be caused by either an overload at the output secondary winding or an under voltage condition at the power supply input) or an open in the feedback loop, the power supply controller detects the loss of feedback signal and goes into a mode called “auto-restart.” In the auto-restart mode, the power supply controller tries to start the power supply periodically by delivering power for a period of time, also known as the on-time, (greater than needed for start up) and turns off the power supply for another period of time, also


known as the off-time. As long as the fault condition is present, the power supply controller remains in this auto-restart mode limiting the average output power to a safe, low value. When the fault is removed, auto-restart enables the power supply to start automatically.
The operating principle of auto-restart is to reduce the average power delivered to the power supply output during fault condition to a safe level by running the power supply alternately between a first predetermined time period (also known as on-time) and a second predetermined time period (also known as off-time). During on-time power supply is on delivering energy to output while during off-time power supply is off delivering no energy to output. To make auto-restart protection effective, the off-time is set significantly longer than thehe was intimidated by the power and wealth of the ruling elite.
Gross said he simply could not explain why Mazuz had changed his mind so radically.
The fact is that Mazuz has failed to provide a satisfactory answer to the question.
On January 23, 2007, Mazuz announced that he was ready to file an indictment against Katsav for his conduct toward four women who had worked for him. The charges included rape (maximum sentence of 16 years), committing an indecent act using force, forbidden intercourse by consent by exploiting his authority in employment or service, committing an indecent act without consent, committing an indecent act by exploiting his authority and sexual harassment.
The final version involves charges against only two women. Most of the charges, including rape, were dropped.
At his press


conference on Thursday, the attorney-general implied that the hearing he granted Katsav's lawyers, Avigdor Feldman and Zion Amir, had changed his mind about the charges he could successfully pursue in court.
He did not explain how the hearing had influenced his decision.
However, there are only two possibilities. The first was that Feldman and Amir provided new evidence that altered the picture that the prosecution had before it in January when it drafted the harsh original indictment.
One of the two most prominent women in the draft indictment was the "first Aleph." The state planned to file several charges against Katsav regarding his conduct toward her. In the end, the first Aleph was totally omitted from the final version.
Did Feldman and Amir provide new information regarding her that changed Mazuz's mind?on defense space priorities for the

Trump Administration (April 20).

And on Saturday, April 22, a March for Science rally will take place. Actually, there several hundred taking place around the world according to the Earth

Day Network website, which says it is the lead organizer. Washington, D.C. will be the site of a “rally and teach-in” on the National Mall (north

side of the Washington Monument, South of Constitution Ave NW, between 15th and 17th Street, NW) beginning at 9:00 am ET. No tickets are needed,

but organizers hope people will register to attend any of the rallies. Earth

Day itself has been held every year since 1970 to focus attention on the fragility of Earth’s environment. (The iconic Earthrise photo taken by the Apollo 8 crew — the first crew to orbit


Sunday, December 30, 2012

What I’m reading #91

Just back from five days on a high-country
sheep station (Lake Heron, a lovely place and totally
recommended to anyone looking for a terrifying 4WD drive across river beds),
just a range away from the setting of Mona Anderson’s A River Rules My Life. Yes, that is us
above.

A Financial
Timesprofile of German chancellor Angela Merkel. Quote unquote:

She went into politics, she says, because
she was convinced that eastern Germany needed more people in parliament who had
never been politically active.

Toby Manhire in the Listenerouts
Alan Bollard, former governor of the Reserve Bank, as a novelist. The Rough Mechanical: the man who could
is available
as a download from Amazon. Stephen Franks likes it. So do I, having
read it in manuscript a few years ago: when I met Alan subsequently I badgered
himstill years away, but local artist Pete Majendie
took the initiative and presented a more spontaneous and low-budget one. He
collected 185 chairs, one for each of the dead, painted them white, and put
them in rows on the grounds of the Oxford Tce Baptist Church.

You could read it either of two ways.
Either the chairs had been recently vacated by the 185 people who lost their
lives last year or the empty chairs waited for the people to return, perhaps in
a kind of general resurrection of the dead. Or, as Majendie said, you could
simply sit in one of the chairs and contemplate.

The poor will always be with us. Let them see
trees. From the same source, why recycling paper doesn’t
work.

The soul/gospel singer Fontella
Bass died on Boxing Day. She is best known for “Rescue


Monthly Archives: November 2012

The weather has changed, winter has finally come to the West Bank, it’s pouring cats and dogs. The protesters gather and the mood is warm and welcoming as usual, but there is a more sombre atmosphere today as the demonstration is commemorating the deaths of Rusdhi Tamimi, shot by an Israeli soldier at last Friday’s demonstration, and from the same family Mustafa Tamimi, killed in Nabi Saleh on December 10 2011 when a tear gas canister was shot at his face.

The Israeli activists have come in force this week, defying the Military Orders recently served at 3am at their homes in Israel, forbidding them to come to ‘closed military zones’ in the West Bank. This is what the village becomes on a Friday…..totally disallowing theit can be living under occupation). The highly trained Israeli army have returned for Shabbat, having proved, once again, they are really good at suppressing the village’s non violent demos but not their spirit.

(A short journey through the ethically cleansed landscape of the Jordan Valley)

16th November, 2012

The one day trip was organised by the Jenin Freedom Theatre Bus Tour and is a snapshot of what happens in the Jordan Valley. It focusses on water rather than land confiscation. Full reports can be found in the references below.

A brief overview of the area

The Jordan Valley comprises 30% of Palestinian territory and approximately 87% of it is in Area C – meaning that Israel has full administrative control. In 1967, 360,000 Palestinians, mainly Bedouin, lived in the Jordan Valley now


less than 60,000 live here, the majority in Jericho, a large urban area.

How has this happened? – by the stealth of creeping ethnic cleansing.

The Jordan Valley is considered to be Palestine’s bread basket. Since 1967, Israel has implemented: the confiscation of its fertile land; closed military and firing zones; movement and building restrictions; demolition of farms and dwellings; control of Palestinian access to local, Arab and world markets. At the same time Israeli governments have encouraged, with subsidies, Jewish couples to colonise the area and there are now 35 settlements and 7 outposts on confiscated Palestinian land – a total 97% of the valley is off limits for the Palestinians for cultivation.

As we travel along the highway 90 there is plenty to see of intensive settler farming andis the Lajee (meaning refugee) Centre focussing on training young people in arts and media skills and human rights workshops. They too have travelled abroad with their cultural shows and hope to go to Canada next year! At present they have a brilliant photography exhibition, the photos taken by teenagers, the youngest aged 11.

Anasta’s Guest House

We stayed in Anasta’s, slap bang in front of the Wall. The Christian Palestinian owners Johnny and Clare are determined to make the best of it.

Clare has harrowing experiences to tell especially from the 2nd Intifada. The guest house was going to be completely surrounded by the Wall with an electronic gate entrance, but when the diggers turned up (totally unannounced) they discovered a sewage pipe …..so the Wall had to be re-routed


and the guest house is only surrounded on three sides!!

Her well-stocked shop includes traditional embroidery produced by women in the refugee camps – including one aged 80!

A vibrant fighter (non-violent!), she says that her faith keeps her going. Her children are still harassed by the army and the threat of eviction hangs over the whole extended family in apartments in the rest of the building.

Claire, opposite the guesthouse/shop

The Shop

*The Aida Refugee Camp was established in 1950 on 16 acres of land between Bethlehem and Beit Jala. Its name originates from a popular coffee shop of the same name located nearby. The camp’s 4,000 residents came from 17 destroyed Palestinian villages, largely from the western Jerusalem (Beit Natif, Deiraban, Ras Abu Ammar, Allar, Malha) and western Hebron (Beit Jibrin,INDUSTRY

The olive crop is the main source of income for famers in the West Bank. Nearly half (48%) of the agricultural land in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) is planted with 8 million olive trees; the vast majority are in the West Bank.The olive oil industry makes up 14% of the agricultural income for the oPt and supports the livelihoods of approximately 80,000 families.

Settlers, probably from the Rechalim settlement, have destroyed olive trees belonging to farmers from Yatma, in the West Bank, near Nablus. The attacks on trees are part of an escalation of attacks on Palestinian property throughout the West Bank this year. Some of the attacks have been part of the ‘Price Tag’ programme, some are unattributed.

” Israel says it is pushing forward with the construction


of more than 1,200 new homes in Jewish settlements, in an apparent warning to the Palestinians to rethink their plan to ask the United Nations to recognise an independent state of Palestine.”

So it is safe to build if you are an Israeli, but not so for the Palestinians.

Our group of the International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS)were called to our neighbouring village of Hares yesterday because the Israeli army and two bulldozers had appeared, to knock down three homes. The families had built houses on land they owned and needed to build for their growing families. (Traditionally village families are large and live in extended homes).

Palestinian house being demolished by Israeli forces

The whole village was distraught, large crowds protested and were met with tear gas, sound bombs and eventuallyWhen Obama made another TV appearance earlier this week, taking credit for the Fed's reflation of the stock market as somehow indicative of an economic "recovery" ("fiction peddlers" not allowed in the crowd), he once ignore the underlying "facts" behind said recovery: here is another way of showing the unprecedented transformation in the US labor pool: since December 2014, the US has added 455,000 waiters and bartenders, while losing 10,000 manufacturing workers.

Behold: "Obama's recovery."

... which we find curious in light of all the recent "hirings" of robots to replace minimum-wage workers who are demanding higher wages. Something tells us the BLS' goalseeking model will be in for a major shock one day when it finds just what the underlying picture behind the US "water and bartender recovery" truly


BAGHDAD  Iraq announced on Tuesday the return of hundreds of looted antiquities that had ended up in the United States, even as a senior official disclosed that 632 pieces repatriated last year and turned over to the office of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki were now unaccounted for.

The latest trove reflects not only a history dating from the world’s oldest civilizations but also a more recent and tortured history of war, looting and international smuggling that began under Saddam Hussein, accelerated after the American occupation and continues at archaeological sites to this day.

The returned items include a 4,400-year-old statue of King Entemena of Lagash looted from the National Museum here after the American invasion in 2003; an even older pair of gold earrings from Nimrud stolen inthe 1990s and seized before an auction at Christie’s in New York last December; and 362 cuneiform clay tablets smuggled out of Iraq that were seized by the American authorities in 2001 and were being stored in the World Trade Center when it was destroyed.

There was also a more recent relic: a chrome-plated AK-47 with a pearl grip and an engraving of Mr. Hussein, taken by an American soldier as booty and displayed at Fort Lewis, Wash. Kitsch, certainly, but priceless in its own way.


as a propaganda office.

A new document on freedom
of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the
European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration
from international human rights norms as well as from the EU's treaties and its
charter of fundamental rights, the document reaffirms the role of freedom of
opinion and expression as "an essential foundation for democracy, rule of law,
peace, stability, sustainable inclusive development, and participation in
public affairs." It also makes a strong case for free and independent
journalism. The ministers committed the EU and member states to the defense of
journalists' freedom and safety, and endorsed watchdog journalism as a decisive
factor in "uncovering abuses of power, shining a light on corruption, and
questioning received opinion."

In the stairwell between the newsroom and studios of Nalia
Radioand Television (NRT) stand a charred monitor, a burnt vision mixer, and
smashed camera lens. They make up a display of equipment damaged when armed men
set fire to the station in Sulaymaniyah, a city in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan
which is home to much of the Kurdish media.

"Not
sure I can talk about my 'career' just yet--I'm still just getting started!"
freelance photographer Camille
Lepagetold
the photography site Petapixel in
October 2013.

Less than a year later, Lepage's body was found in a car in the Central African Republic, according to news reports citing the French government. She had been traveling with fighters of the anti-Balaka Christian militia and was killed in an ambush, the reports said.

Late last October, as I accompanied Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez in a cab
ride from LaGuardia Airport to her hotel in Manhattan,