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It is not known how many people are in this situation in Wellington with estimates ranging from 50 to 200, but the issue of homelessness is more complex and a much wider community problem than is generally understood. The NZ Department of Statistics has a definition of homelessness which reflects this complexity: 'Homelessness is defined as living situations where people with no other options to acquire safe and secure housing: are without shelter, in temporary accommodation, sharing accommodation with a household or living in uninhabitable housing.' In New Zealand there are a number of different situations people find themselves in, which can be defined as 'homeless'. People who are sleeping out on the streets are clearly homeless. People who have no security in their housing – such as those staying night by night at a shelter or backpackers – are also homeless. People in this situation have no security of tenure in the same way you would if you were flatting and held a tenancy. This lack of security also applies to people who live in boarding houses. People living in unsuitable housing are also considered to be homeless. Living in a garage or sleep-out without electricity or water would fall into this category. If someone has no fixed address, but is 'couch-surfing' or moving between friends or family members, they also come under the New Zealand definition of homelessness. It is important to consider the factors behind such homelessness. Many people who experience homelessness in New Zealand have multiple issues and complex needs that have contributed to their homelessness. They may have experienced violence and abuse as a young person or be disconnected from family for other reasons, they may have unmet mental health needs or drug and alcohol addictions, they may have limited education and have been unemployed for extended periods, they may have spent time in prison. There is often a misconception that people choose to be homeless and that it represents some kind of freedom. In our experience most people we talk with, express a strong desire to be living in their own home. What are the barriers to achieving housing for all in Wellington? The main barrier is limitations around the availability of social housing. The Wellington City Council and Housing New Zealand provide accommodation and there are some supported accommodation options, but demand outstrips availability at present. We would like to see a wider range of housing options available which would include transitional, specialist accommodation tailored to the needs of the individual. Having appropriate accommodation is a basic human right but some people require further support to maintain a tenancy. There are skills involved with maintaining a tenancy, and a set of rules to negotiate that can be challenging for some people. If you have limited literacy skills, reading and understanding a tenancy agreement can be difficult. Many people who experience homelessness have complex needs – physical or mental health needs, or addictions – and they also may need good support with these health issues to be able to keep a flat. Being homeless can isolate people from Whanau and the wider community while creating a dependence on being part of a homeless or 'streetie' community. Being part of a 'streetie' community can be a barrier to moving out of homelessness. The Soup Kitchen is often the first point of contact with an agency for someone experiencing homelessness. Our historical place in the Wellington community is as an entry point to access a safe community to have some basic needs of food and clothing met. At the Soup Kitchen, we provide people with an opportunity to engage with other agencies, for example around accessing health services and housing support.

Very early reports on the President's visit. This from Tom Scheck of MPR regarding the Prez having lunch at Matt's Bar in Minneapolis. "From pool report: Staff confirm Obama ordered a Jucy Lucy." And a bit more, via WCCO-TV and the AP. "Obama went around the room to shake people's hands, CNN reported. He then sat in a booth with Rebekah Erler, who wrote a letter to the president last March. To her surprise, he responded in person. The White House pool reporter's account of Matt's Bar was as follows: 'Matt's is small and crowded, even without the addition of POTUS and the pool. … The smell of grease hung in the air — in a delicious way.' " Floodwatch … . The PiPress says, "The Mississippi River in St. Paul hit 20.02 feet Thursday morning, 6 feet above flood stage. Minor flood stage is considered 14 feet, moderate stage is 15 feet and major stage 17 feet. The river is expected to rise another half-foot until its predicted crest Thursday evening at 20.5 feet, the seventh-highest level on record. The record crest of 26.01 feet was set on April 16, 1965, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Mississippi is expected to remain at 'major' flood stage for a week … ." Because we can't chew gum and walk at the same time … . MPR's Tim Pugmire reports, "Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson wants the construction of a new $90 million office building for the Minnesota Senate stopped before it starts. Johnson held a news conference Thursday to propose a one-day special session so that DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and lawmakers could halt the project and use the money to instead fund flood relief and road repair throughout the state." MPR's Paul Huttner says, "The forecast for avoiding another shot of heavy multi-inch weekend rains looks a little better than it did 24 hours ago. The latest model trends suggest a more northerly storm track. That may not be good news for the Red River Valley and northern Minnesota, but it may spare the metro another 3-plus inch rainfall in some areas. The next incoming low pressure wave appears to be taking aim more at northern Minnesota this weekend." Cue the "Jaws" theme … Curtis Gilbert, also at MPR says, "Minneapolis residents concerned about the Southwest light rail line are hiring lawyers as the city nears a vote on the controversial project. Mayor Betsy Hodges has received at least two letters this week from lawyers representing groups based in the city's Kenwood neighborhood." Oh, what the heck, it's kinda like they handed it to her … The AP's Scott Bauer covering always interesting Wisconsin politics, reports, "Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke launched a new television ad Thursday that attacks Gov. Scott Walker for being a part of what prosecutors have called a criminal scheme to evade campaign laws. The ad comes less than a week after Burke said she would not make the accusations a focus of her campaign." Meanwhile, a Reuters story says … "Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was not a target of an investigation into possible illegal coordination between his campaign and special interest groups during elections in 2011 and 2012, a lawyer for the prosecutor leading the investigation said on Thursday. Documents released to the public last week outlined the prosecutor's legal theory during the 20-month investigation and did not establish the existence of a crime, Randall Crocker, an attorney representing special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, said in a statement." And then … in "Stuff You Couldn't Make Up," we learn that Walker, a big fan of Voter ID … to prevent rampant voter fraud, you understand … has at least one very committed supporter. For WisPolitics.com Marie Rohde writes, "Robert Monroe, a 50-year-old Shorewood health insurance executive, was charged Friday with 13 felonies related to his voting a dozen times in five elections between 2011 and 2012 using his own name as well as that of his son and his girlfriend's son. … Monroe was considered by investigators to be the most prolific multiple voter in memory. He was a supporter of Gov. Scott Walker and state Sen. Alberta Darling, both Republicans, and allegedly cast five ballots in the June 2012 election in which Walker survived a recall challenge. … According to the John Doe records, Monroe claimed to have a form of temporary amnesia and did not recall the election day events when confronted by investigators." Social media foreshadowing … Tad Vezner and Mara Gottfried write, "Minutes before a 25-year-old was fatally shot in St. Paul on Wednesday, he posted on Facebook that someone was talking about shooting him. Lamar Hale, who turned 25 just over two weeks ago, posted around noon Wednesday that a man was talking 'about when he see me he shooting me down.'" Also in crime: The latest from the Strib and wire

About "She's A Baby" "She's A Baby" is the highly anticipated April 13th release from South Korean Producer and Rapper ZICO with guest vocals from Fanxychild crewmate DEAN. The song overall has the iconic Fanxychild-esque laid-back R&B vibe and aesthetically lit Music Video, with DEAN's adlibs adding an atmosphere-setting echo behind Zico's rhythmic sing-song rapping technique. Three days prior to it's mid-April release in 2017, a teaser featuring TV personality Yoo Jae Suk was posted via Youtube to promote "Dingo Music" and amplify hype for the Single's release. Another Easter-egg in Zico's track is the introductory bird audio effect, also notably used in Coldplay's Hymm For the Weekend.

Donald Trump was reportedly told six weeks ago about a GOP establishment plot to sabotage his campaign, one that came to fruition with the release of the infamous Billy Bush tape last week. Expanding on his earlier comments, Jerry Falwell, Jr. told Fox Business host Lou Dobbs last night that 6-8 weeks ago he received a phone call from, "Someone who is very close to the top establishment candidates and the Republican Party, people who wanted to be president over the last four or five years." "He told me, he said, 'Jerry something strange is going on. They're meeting regularly. And they tell me it is a certainty that Donald Trump will not be the nominee on November 8th.' And I called one of Trump's attorneys and I told him about it. There were no more details than that. So there's nothing anybody could do," said Falwell. As soon as GOP establishment insiders began to abandon Trump within 24 hours of the tape being released, Falwell knew that the whole thing had been planned in advance. "It was just too much of a coincidence….it really tells me it was some sort of conspiracy," he said. "I went to the proper authorities and told them what I was told. It's probably too late to prosecute anybody. It's not only despicable. I think it maybe rises to the level of criminal behavior," he added. Falwell said that the plot was hatched by "very high level" people "who were candidates in the last four years or five years," an obvious reference to Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney. Falwell also indicated that the fact a Bush was involved in the scandal is too much of a coincidence. Rep. Steve King indicated that some Republican lawmakers revolted against Ryan's sabotage campaign during an interview on The Laura Ingraham Show." In the aftermath of the apparent sabotage attempt against his campaign, Trump has declared war on the Republican establishment, lashing out at Paul Ryan as "weak and ineffective," and insisting that "the shackles have been taken off" him. During an interview with Bill O'Reilly last night, Trump asserted that Ryan had to deal with "hundreds" of Congressmen who "practically rioted" on a phone call. SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71 ********************* Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

Congress Capitol Hill privacy advocates launch effort to repeal CISA A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation on Jan. 13 to repeal the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, which hitched a ride on the must-pass omnibus bill that was signed into law in December. "The Cybersecurity Act was negotiated in secret by just a few members of Congress and added quietly to the 2,009-page omnibus to avoid scrutiny," Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) said in a statement. "Most representatives are probably unaware they even voted on this legislation. It's the worst anti-privacy law since the USA PATRIOT Act, and we should repeal it as soon as possible." Amash introduced the repeal bill along with Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ted Poe (R-Texas), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.). While the law "includes information that directs companies to scrub information, companies are only directed to scrub personal information if they actually have affirmative evidence that the information is not relevant to a cyber threat," Polis told FCW on Jan. 14. "That's an unrealistic impossible standard because you are asking the company to prove something that doesn't exist." The legislation increases information sharing between the government and the private sector, something that has always been controversial among privacy groups. Polis, who sits on the Rules Committee, said the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 was "sneaked" into the omnibus along with four to five provisions that had previously passed in the House. He argued that the law's provisions would not have prevented any of the recent high-profile cyber-attacks, such as the Office of Personnel Management breach and the Sony hack. Those incidents, he said, were possible because the people in charge of managing the cyber networks failed to use best practices on cybersecurity. And with the current components of the bill, Polis said, information would be shared with agencies such as the NSA and DHS who "time and time again" have broken privacy rules and overstepped legal authorities. "I have no reason to believe they will abide by the privacy protections of this bill either," he said. Polis said he expects there to be support for the bill to repeal this legislation, but it may not pass as a piece of standalone legislation. "It might take the form of appropriation amendments or other vehicles that are available for us," he predicted.

Flop it out with up to 4 players in a retro, epic narwhal battle in space! The heart-piercing action is furious and unrelenting. STARWHAL will change your life. This Digital Entertainment Object for Home Console Hardware is all about love, respect, and ALL-OUT MAYHEM. Inspired by countless couch-gaming gatherings over the decades, Breakfall developed something competitive, creative, and immediately fun. STARWHAL is the number one local multiplayer couch gaming experience featuring marine mammals in outer space. STARWHAL is a simulation of dreams in an ocean of the mind. Features: 4 player local multiplayer mayhem - duke it out with friends or AI players! 90+ costumes, 25+ arenas, and 4 game modes. 32 single player challenges with leaderboards and achievements. You can be a space narwhal wrapped in a burrito. More

Portland Children's Museum 4015 S.W. Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221 Share, listen, connect, ask and learn about feelings and emotions. Through facial expressions, words, movement, art making and other hands-on activities, XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness provides children and caregivers the opportunity to think about and explore feelings through a variety of activities designed to help them understand, appreciate and express their emotions.

For the Known Occurrence, see The Griller. Griller​ Griller Species Salmonid Height Hair Color Eye Color Age Gender Location Salmon Run Shop Members Grillers are Boss Salmonids that appear in Salmon Run in Splatoon 2 at special occasions. Description A Griller is a giant barbecue grill covered in armor with Salmonids inside, and moves along a path while ink falls beneath its slim body (similar to a Flooder). It chases after a randomly chosen player, designated by a laser pointer on its underside. The Griller will relentlessly pursue the player the tracking laser is pointed at. It is frequently accompanied by Smallfry swarms. In order to destroy a Griller, players must first hit its exposed tail back to stun it, then attack the spinning tails which appear while it is stunned. Anywhere else, and the armored vehicle takes no damage. A player will be instantly splatted upon running into its ink. A Griller is fast and can be unpredictable, so players have to be careful and wary of both the boss as well as its Smallfry escorts. Grillers only show up in certain special wave. If Mr. Grizz talks about Grillers in the dialogue box instead of Boss Salmonids, that means the players are in the special wave. This wave consists of only Grillers and groups of Smallfry. Grillers show up one at a time at the beginning, but later on in the wave they show up in pairs of two. Mr. Grizz will warn the players when the Grillers start spawning in pairs. In-Game Information What Happens Armored vehicles called Grillers spawn one after another. Grillers lock their sights on to a target and will pursue it relentlessly. Smallfry are known for hitching a ride on the Griller and interfering with its targeting. How to Get Golden Eggs Attack the weak spot on the back of the Griller to stun it. Stunning Grillers will reveal further weak points. Attacking these weak points is the key to taking down Grillers and getting Golden Eggs. Using a Sting Ray special, you can aim at the Griller and splat it without having to hit the tail. Advice from Mr. Grizz If the Griller has you in its sights, you're better off running away and letting your friends handle it. Supplementary Information Operating costs for a single Griller would be enough to deploy 100 regular Salmonid fighters. Trivia A Griller has 2200 HP, and dealing 400 damage to its tail will stun it for 5 seconds. For reference, a Cohock has 400 HP. Objects resembling tomato, corn, cucumber or zucchini, and pink Chum-sized Salmonid can be seen inside the Griller when zoomed in. Grillers can only travel on flat surfaces or smooth ramps, and cannot move up or down ledges without making a detour. Grillers cannot land on a propeller platform (such as the lifts in Marooner's Bay and the horizontal platforms in Salmonid Smokeyard). If a targeted player enters a propeller platform, Grillers will either instantaneously target another active player not on said platform, or linger in place with laser sights off, not targeting anyone (if all active players are on a propeller platform). Steel Eels behave in a similar way. Grillers are very similar to Flooders from the Octarian army. They distinguish themselves from Flooders in two ways. Grillers can be destroyed while Flooders cannot, and you can ride on a Flooder but not on a Griller. Tips Since a Griller cannot step on or off ledges like players do, the targeted player should maneuver around walls and ledges to manipulate its path and the direction it is facing, taking care not to lead the Griller in the path of other players, so that the rest of the crew can attack its tail. Players may stay on a propeller platform to get themselves off Grillers' sights in a pinch, such as to heal or to run out the clock. Doing so will cause Grillers to target the rest of the crew not on such platform immediately, putting them at risk. Smallfry have no problem following players on a propeller platform, so make sure to eliminate them. It is advised to activate the Sting Ray when two Grillers line up in front of the Sting Ray holder, as doing so will penetrate and stun both of them. Bomb Launcher can be used on a stunned Griller to damage it further. While staying on a wall when targeted may help the rest of the crew aim at its tail, beware that Smallfry may jump up and splat any player clinging on a wall for too long. Gallery Vegetables seen inside a Gr

Download the MP3 | Watch the Video My Life Coach ruins my Christmas party, a SECRET SKETCH from Sam Hyde, the Jerk-Off Time Warp, the drive to pee outside, thinking like a hot chick, crossing guards, lady-dentists and why they are out to get you, Tequila, how to ruin a Ted Talk, Charity Regret, eliminating all prisons, The Apple Society and The Unix Society, and Sean gets a raise; all that and more this week on The Dick Show! Welcome to The Dick Show: the only podcast featuring the audio stylings of Sean the Audio Engineer! And it's just in time because the stakes have never been higher! The comedy police are out in force with their neck beards groomed and their think-pieces at the ready, virtue signalling harder than they've ever joked in their lives to ruin the career of one man–and it isn't me this week! World Peace itself is on the line and Sam Hyde from Million Dollar Extreme calls in to talk about it, but first… Throwing a holiday party can be stressful. Did I get enough liquor for everyone? Did I get the right kind of food for everyone? Does the grill have propane? Did I invite the neighbors and then tell them no kids allowed so they won't come, but also won't call the cops when the party goes long? Did I invite too many single guys who are going to start wrestling and playing slap dick and pissing outside when it gets late and they realize there's no "strange" at the party to impress? Did I hide all the sex toys? Did I extra hide the already hidden sex toys? Is my Life Coach going to start an altercation with a convicted murderer by hitting on his wife? Whoops! It turns out I forgot to check the last one off my list and true to form, Coach causes trouble in the DickHaus that is as of yet unresolved. Speaking of murderous vendettas, Larry Bleidner stops to talk about lady dentists, and I don't want to sound like a sexist, but I'm terrified of them. I have had not one, but two lady dentists tell me that I didn't need more Novicane and that I "must be imagining the pain". I've also had not one but every girl I've ever dated tell me the same thing about needing more beer. The pain is real. Why would I make this up? Larry also introduces his new podcast, That Larry Show, where it's all velvet all the time. If you want to hear about Charlie Brown's assisted suicide, fire up your clicker and mouse your way over. Infamous comedian Sam Hyde calls in to talk Million Dollar Extreme and the cancellation of their Adult Swim show "MDE: World Peace". For those of you who don't know Sam, don't bother Googling him because you'll just read a bunch of scumbag think-pieces about misogyny and racism written by morons who check under their bed every night for the "alt-right". Instead of reading like a nerd, watch this video where Sam infiltrates a Ted Talk. And here he is butt-fucking a Buzzfeed reporter without consent. If you feel bad for the reporter, don't. They only call to get quotes to fill in the blanks of their pre-written, click-bait hit-pieces. Their job is to end yours. Finally, here's a clip from "Million Dollar Extreme: World Peace" about bullying. If you want to help get World Peace back on the air, call Turner Broadcasting or check out the MDE subbreddit. In perhaps his funniest bit, Asterios sends us "Letters from Sean", a Ken Burns style set of correspondence from Sean whilst he was away reenacting famous World War II events like the Battle of Verdun, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and Waterloo. While I may know my history, what I don't know just who is this angelic siren Asterios has roped into his shit-nanigans. Perhaps we'll find out on the next bonus episode featuring the Boisterous Coconut himself. Or maybe Asterios will keep her all to himself like a shitty Wario. Finally, Izzy Nobre is back as the undefeated champion of the Rage Match, but will the champion be unseated? Only Chronic Apathy has the chance and only you have the vote! Closing theme that you can crawl into and never crawl out of by therm0ptic The final acts of a desperate thumbnail brought to you by Brandon of Maximum! Panic. Watch him draw live every week. Several of Brandon's designs (which he gets a cut of) are also now featured on the Dick Store. Comments comments

OBJECTIVE: Three groups of girls who were sexually abused (by either brothers, fathers, or stepfathers) were compared. The purpose was to identify the differing characteristics of the abuse, the family environments, and the psychosocial distress of these children. METHOD: Seventy-two girls aged between 5 and 16 were assigned to one of the three groups. Subjects were matched between groups on the basis of their actual age. Children completed measures of traumatic stress; their mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL) and other self-report questionnaires on family characteristics. Workers in child protective services completed information regarding the nature and severity of the abuse. RESULTS: Results suggested few differences in the characteristics of sexual abuse between the three groups. However, penetration was much more frequent in the sibling incest group (70.8%) than in the stepfather incest (27.3%) or father incest (34.8%) groups. Ninety percent of the victims of fathers and brothers manifested clinically-significant distress on at least one measure, whereas 63.6% of stepfather victims did. Compared with father and stepfather perpetrators, brothers were raised in families with more children and more alcohol abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that the characteristics of brother-sister incest and its associated psychosocial distress did not differ from the characteristics of father-daughter incest These findings suggest that theoretical models and clinical practices should be adjusted accordingly and that sibling incest should not necessarily be construed as less severe or harmful than father-daughter incest.

A 55-year-old former banker has undergone several surgeries to fulfill her desire to transform completely into a dragon. Eva Tiamat Medusa, formally known as Richard Hernandez, grew up in Texas US, believing he was a woman trapped in a man's body and slowly started his transformation from a man to a woman and eventually into a "human dragon". On her blog titled 'Eva Medusa Tiamat, Transspecieism – Metamorphosis', Tiamat writes: "I am the Dragon Lady, A pre-op M2F transgender in the process of morphing into a human dragon, becoming a reptoid as I shed my human skin and my physical appearance and my life as a whole leaving my humanness behind and embracing my most natural self awareness as a mythical beast." After undergoing several persona changes, Tiamat settled for a dragon and underwent procedures, like nose modification, tooth extraction, ear removal, and eye colouring in the hope of looking more like a dragon. She is almost unrecognisable from what she looked like in 1990 before going through procedures, like her full-face tattoo. Tiamat who lives in New Mexico derived her name from a video gamedragon, has gone as far as getting a forked tongue, horns implanted onto her forehead and the whites inside her eyes stained green. She recently underwent another operation, which involved cutting back both of her ears. Tiamet is 95% covered in snake scale tattoos and prefers to be referred to as "it" rather than he or she. "From the time I began my transformation journey, I have told people to not judge this book by its cover, but then again why not? I think this book cover is beautiful," wrote Tiamet next to her photo on Facebook.

Card Name,Quantity,ID #,Rarity,Set,Collector #,Premium, "Fatal Push",2,62689,Uncommon,AER,57/184,No "Yahenni's Expertise",3,62707,Rare,AER,75/184,No "Ceremonious Rejection",2,61661,Uncommon,KLD,40/264,No "Key to the City",4,62067,Rare,KLD,220/264,No "Summary Dismissal",2,61324,Rare,EMN,75/205,No "Haunted Dead",4,61150,Uncommon,EMN,92/205,No "Stromkirk Condemned",4,61172,Rare,EMN,106/205,No "Voldaren Pariah",4,61396,Rare,EMN,111/205,No "Memory Lapse",2,60923,Common,EMA,60/249,No "Nausea",1,60932,Common,EMA,97/249,Yes "Nausea",2,60931,Common,EMA,97/249,No "Angelic Purge",1,59756,Common,SOI,3/297,No "Apothecary Geist",1,60354,Common,SOI,4/297,No "Dauntless Cathar",1,59812,Common,SOI,11/297,No "Devilthorn Fox",1,59874,Common,SOI,14/297,No "Ethereal Guidance",2,60194,Common,SOI,18/297,No "Expose Evil",1,60100,Common,SOI,19/297,No "Inspiring Captain",1,59956,Common,SOI,25/297,No "Militant Inquisitor",2,60150,Common,SOI,26/297,No "Pious Evangel",1,60396,Uncommon,SOI,34/297,No "Silverstrike",1,60156,Uncommon,SOI,37/297,No "Stern Constable",1,60000,Common,SOI,39/297,No "Strength of Arms",1,60344,Common,SOI,40/297,No "Deny Existence",1,59820,Common,SOI,55/297,No "Drownyard Explorers",1,60158,Common,SOI,56/297,No "Essence Flux",1,59774,Uncommon,SOI,61/297,No "Furtive Homunculus",2,60186,Common,SOI,64/297,No "Nagging Thoughts",1,59953,Common,SOI,74/297,Yes "Pieces of the Puzzle",1,59798,Common,SOI,78/297,No "Pore Over the Pages",1,60110,Uncommon,SOI,79/297,No "Press for Answers",1,60166,Common,SOI,80/297,No "Reckless Scholar",1,60162,Uncommon,SOI,82/297,No "Silburlind Snapper",1,60032,Common,SOI,85/297,No "Stormrider Spirit",3,59802,Common,SOI,91/297,No "Trail of Evidence",1,60286,Uncommon,SOI,93/297,No "Uninvited Geist",1,59822,Uncommon,SOI,94/297,No "Welcome to the Fold",1,60337,Rare,SOI,96/297,Yes "Welcome to the Fold",2,60336,Rare,SOI,96/297,No "Alms of the Vein",1,60310,Common,SOI,98/297,No "Biting Rain",2,60226,Uncommon,SOI,102/297,No "Call the Bloodline",2,60198,Uncommon,SOI,103/297,No "Farbog Revenant",1,60348,Common,SOI,110/297,No "From Under the Floorboards",4,60092,Rare,SOI,111/297,No "Hound of the Farbogs",1,59870,Common,SOI,117/297,No "Liliana's Indignation",1,60342,Uncommon,SOI,120/297,No "Merciless Resolve",1,60208,Common,SOI,123/297,No "Morkrut Necropod",1,59918,Uncommon,SOI,125/297,No "

Santorum's wife authored children's book on good manners, with foreword by Joe Paterno, blurb by Bono This is not a joke. Ethan Persoff, archivist of weirdo ephemera and "comics with problems," tells Boing Boing: In 2011 Rick Santorum insulted the planet by comparing traditional marriage to a napkin. But did you know he ALSO wrote a short piece of fiction about "the birth of the napkin" in 2003? And to add further humor: This same book contains an endorsement of the Santorums from Bono of U2, and includes a foreword on "decent manners with children" by Joe Paterno. Look inside "Karen Santorum's Dirty Book on Manners" at Ethan's website, and you can buy a copy on Amazon. One wonders if future printings will scrub the reference to Paterno (and if the Bono endorsement will stay?)

Saturday, March 30, 2019: 10 AM – 12 PM Expedition Mars Recommended for age 11 and up (age 10 and under require an accompanying adult) Complete a high-risk mission! Set in the future when mission control is established on the Martian moon Phobos, astronauts are on a mission to Phobos to search for evidence of life. Saturday, December 29, 2018: 7 PM – 9 PM Cocktails & Cosmos Adults 21+ only Bring in the new year with a mission to space! Astronauts on the Lunar Quest mission will work with the Orion spacecraft crew to expand the lunar colony on Moon Base Alpha. Cocktails provided for a job well done! *Additional fee applies ($20 per person). Saturday, September 29, 2018: 10 AM – 12 PM Comet Explorers Recommended for age 9 and up (age 8 and under require an accompanying adult) Take a mission to space! Board the spacecraft simulator, launch a probe to gather data on Comet Halley and master space science facts and figures. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION COST The cost is $6 per person per program for registrations received before 12:00 p.m. the day before the program. The cost is $8 per person per program for registrations received after 12:00 p.m. the day before the program. PRE-REGISTRATION The registration form must be completed and submitted before 12:00 p.m. the day before the program to receive the discount ($6). Registration is complete and confirmed on receipt of completed registration form and full payment. Programs are limited in size; therefore, registrations will be processed on a first come, first serve basis. Registration after 12:00 p.m. the day before the program or at the door is also accepted, if space permits, and costs $8 per person per program. CANCELLATIONS/REFUNDS No refunds will be offered for Public Mission programs. For cancellations received at least 48 hours prior to any program, your registration fee may be applied to future Public Mission programs. AUTHORIZED PICK-UP All parents and authorized individuals must present photo identification when picking up your child(ren) and be listed as an authorized individual on the registration form. CONTACT INFORMATION Should you need additional information, please call (850) 645-7777, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. For content/curriculum information, contact our Education Manager at (850) 645-7787. download, complete, and return reservation form at the Challenger Learning Center in person download, complete, and fax (850.645.7784) completed reservation form to the Challenger Learning Center DOWNLOAD RESERVATION FORM HERE OR fill out the online request form below:

Just out of rehearsal in a backstage lounge, Mr. Kartheiser, 34, looked perfectly contemporary in a dark cotton button-down shirt, jeans and expensive high-tops, full sideburns the only Darcyish touch. Sitting near a big picture window overlooking the Mississippi, he enumerated the similarities between Darcy and Pete Campbell — both characters are the result of upper-class backgrounds, for example, and the parents of both are dead. And because of their upbringings, there's "this type of woodenness that Pete Campbell has that I also bring to Darcy." Photo But when it was suggested that neither are well liked, he was quick to take exception. "The thing we have to realize about Darcy is that he's unpopular in a foreign world," he said. "In his own world, Pemberley, he's very popular." He himself is very unlike Darcy, he said, especially in the character's belief in his own sense of authority. Mr. Kartheiser said he was eager for notes and pointers from his cast mates. "I'm not that good of an actor," he continued, "so I kind of like say: 'Yeah? How do I fix it? Was it that bad? O.K. let me try again.' " Low-key and soft-spoken, he mixed actorly pronouncements ("there's a real nurturing environment here") and a courtly speaking manner ("the blessed role of Pete Campbell") with sparing references to his personal life (his fiancée is Alexis Bledel, a guest star on "Mad Men") and self-deprecating asides. Unsure whether he could pull off Darcy, he said that every night backstage he's thinking: "Is this actually happening again? Didn't we just do this seven times last week?" But if the prospect of appearing before 1,100 people a night is nerve-racking, that's part of the point. This Minnesota-born actor grew up in theater here — his family is still in nearby Apple Valley — but between the ages of 15 and 25, he concentrated exclusively on television and film (landing leads in "Masterminds" and "Another Day in Paradise" and a recurring part in the series "Angel," among other credits). By 2005, he realized he needed to "start pushing myself instead of what I had been doing, which was borderline complacency." Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. So he signed up for the part of a British hustler in a dark comedy, "Slag Heap," at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York. He received good notices (he "gives the play's most accomplished performance," wrote Charles Isherwood of The New York Times), and while the play itself didn't fare well, the experience of performing for sparse, unappreciative audiences actually proved inspiring. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "You get off the stage and you go, 'I'm still alive,' " he said. "Pride and Prejudice" isn't his first theater job since "Mad Men" began in 2007. Last summer, he starred in the premiere of a drama, "The Death of the Novel," at San Jose Repertory Theater. But the new show does represent a return to his roots: He started acting here at the Guthrie, playing Tiny Tim in annual productions of "A Christmas Carol" and, as a teenager, in a cycle of Shakespeare's history plays. He also logged significant time at Children's Theater Company, a venerable Minneapolis institution, performing in, by his count, 18 main-stage shows and 3 national tours. Among the performers he got to work with (and study) during that time was Sally Wingert, now the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh and the kindly Mrs. Gardiner in "Pride and Prejudice." Photo "My favorite kid actors are less miniature adults than great, pleasant, open kids, and that was Vinny — sort of a fella, just a guy," she said by phone, adding that children don't get cast multiple times at the Guthrie if they're not good. Mr. Kartheiser also stood out then for another reason. "As a little boy, he had a very rough little sandpaper voice," she said, launching into an imitation that sounded a lot like one of Marge Simpson

Bagel Heads An upcoming episode of National Geographic's Taboo series features Japan's newest body modification trend: bagel heads. Recipients create a bagel-shaped knot on their foreheads by injecting saline solution into the skin, causing it to swell. After reaching its maximum puffiness, the injector uses his thumb to create an indention in the head — kind of like a thumb-print cookie. The modification lasts 18-24 hours. Nat Geo shows how the process is done, but the video does leave a lot of questions unanswered. For example, does the forehead become saggy after repeated use? Did we learn this from the aliens? And what do they think about all of this anyways? Tune in Thursday night at 10 p.m. EST to find out if our concerns are addressed. The video below is graphic, and once you see it, there's no un-seeing it. So, after you're done, watch this GIF music video to make yourself feel better.

Kate Logan, the director of "Kidnapped for Christ," a documentary exposé about a brutal offshore Christian reform school, said that she lost her Christian faith in the course of making the film. In an interview with Raw Story, Logan opened up about how her initial intent was to make a documentary praising the school, but that the façade the Escuela Caribe presented to the world quickly crumbled when she began to interact with the students. SPONSORED She first became interested in the school and New Horizons Youth Ministries at the age of 18 in 2004. "I was a missionary working in the area," she said. Escuela Caribe is located in the Dominican Republic, one of the most impoverished areas of the world. "And I found out about the school because you tend to notice other Americans there." When she first heard of the program, it sounded great. "They told me the school was a place for kids that would either end up in jail, on the streets or dead, kids that were really in trouble," Logan said, "And I thought to myself, what a great program, where kids can learn about another culture and get away from bad influences back home." A few years later, Logan was in film school and thought, "Hey, that would be a good project, to go down and make a short, kind of heartwarming documentary about these rough-and-tumble kids learning about Dominican culture together and getting therapy." "I had no idea what the school was really like or what their history was," she said. But as she began to do research, to film and meet with former graduates of the program, she said, "Slowly the story kind of unravelled about what was really going on at the school and all its dark past and what was still going on at the time." Students at the small school are consigned to life in a rigidly codified set of levels. As former student Deirdre Sugiuchi told Raw Story on Friday, "When you start at zero level, you then had rules about who you could look at. You couldn't talk to members of the opposite sex until you were on second level and you had to fulfill a wide variety of requirements to move up." "At zero level, you'd have to be three feet away from a staff member or a supervisor at all times. You had to ask to go from room to room. It was insane," she said. "Prisoners actually have more freedom than we had." Former students told tales of being prey to every sadistic whim of their superiors, of beatings and punishing exercise regimes, as well as endless work projects that the students were never compensated for. "All of their stories were so similar," said Logan, "that it was clear this wasn't just one person exaggerating or one incident that happened one time. The abuses were systematic." The school's program, she said, hasn't changed, in spite of the fact that it shut down and reopened under a new name, Crosswinds. Crosswinds still works from same charter it used to and maintains the strict level segregation between students. Believing that she was still making a pro-Escuela Caribe film, the school staff gave her full access for student interviews. Very quickly, Logan said, she began to see signs that all at the school was not as administrators promised. "There were just a lot of things that were very obviously wrong right away," she said. Two students spoke particularly honestly to the documentary team: 17-year-old David, sent to Escuela Caribe because his parents thought he was gay, and 16-year-old Tai, who was African-American and outspoken, the latter trait landing her in frequent trouble at the school. "We got really lucky with David and Tai," Logan said. "Because David had only been there four or five weeks, so he wasn't completely terrified yet of the insanity there. He still had hope, I guess?" "Right away it was apparent that this kid should never have been accepted to any type of reform program in the first place," she said. "He was a 4.0 student and he was upset that he couldn't talk to his parents. He was worried what his boss at the store in the mall he worked at was going to think. His concerns were that of a good kid." "Another student was Tai," Logan said. "She would just say what was on her mind and get in trouble for it. She was, like, 'You can have my body, but you can't have my soul.'" The plight of the kids there was so horrifying that ultimately Logan lost faith not just in New Horizons and Escuela Caribe, but in all of Christianity. When Raw Story spoke with Escuela Caribe alumna Deird

Bizarro is brought to you today by My New Mustache. Since I'm way behind on posting cartoons, I'll post a couple each day until I'm caught up. I like both of these a lot, so I wanted to share them with you even though they appeared in the paper a couple of weeks ago. Seriously, have you ever heard someone who has been breathing helium scream in pain? Neither have I, but I think it would be one of those funny/tragic moments, like when your grandmother is knocked out of her wheelchair by your mom's runaway motorcycle. The penguin idea came to me after seeing some old Muslim dudes who live in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. They die their beards bright red , I have no idea why but I'm guessing it identifies them as belonging to a certain sect. There's a mosque a few blocks away where they hang out. I've never asked them about the beard color, I just enjoy it. Posted by Piraro at 8:38 AM

A picture is worth a thousand words…videos are priceless. Here are some videos from YouTube with users unboxing, reviewing and generally frustrated by the OnagoFly and it's abysmal failure. While most are from YouTube, some are other links to other websites. Have some to share? Email me a link at [email protected] or tweet @OnagoLies. Would love to see what else is out there! I apologize if links break. NBC 4 Washington: "Crowd Funded nano-Drone Failed To Deliver" http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Crowd-Funded-Nano-Drone-Failed-to-Deliver-on-Schedule-387539091.html

1 of 10 View Caption Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune A woman grieves after placing flowers at a home next to Roy High school that was the Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Police tape surrounds a house adjacent to Roy High School, the scene of an apparent m Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Roy Police Lt. Kevin Smith speaks with the media about an apparent murder suicide of Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune A woman grieves after placing flowers at a home next to Roy High School that was the s Courtesy | Sheila Lyon-Pruitt Shawna Smith and her children, Tylee Smith and Blake Smith. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Roy Police Lt. Kevin Smith speaks with the media about an apparent murder-suicide of Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Police tape surrounds a house adjacent to Roy High School, the scene of an apparent m Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Police tape surrounds a house adjacent to Roy High School, the scene of an apparent m Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Roy Police Lt. Kevin Smith speaks with the media about an apparent murder-suicide of Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Police tape surrounds a house adjacent to Roy High School, the scene of an apparent m

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump fact-check each other better than journalists, according to CNN's Jeffrey Lord. (Getty Images, Reuters) Jeffrey Lord loves Donald Trump. The former Ronald Reagan aide's job at CNN is to analyze the presidential race through a pro-Trump lens, and he does it with unparalleled dedication. While another of the cable channel's in-house Trump backers, Kayleigh McEnany, recently refused to defend the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's attack on a federal judge — condemned as racist by House Speaker Paul Ryan and others — Lord contended that his candidate was actually calling out racism. Know what Lord doesn't love? Fact-checkers. And if you thought his argument in support of Trump's tirade against a "Mexican" judge (who is actually from Indiana) was convoluted, get ready for Lord's case against fact-checking. He presented it Sunday on CNN's "Reliable Sources." I think the best fact-checkers in a presidential campaign are the opponents, in this case Hillary and Donald Trump. I think they do a better job of countering the assumptions of the other candidate than fact-checkers. I mean, I hate to be the dissenter here, and I'm not saying this because of Donald Trump, but I honestly don't think this fact-checking business — as we're all into this — is anything more than, you know, one more sort of out-of-touch, elitist, media-type thing. I don't think people out here in America care. What they care about are what the candidates say. Let's just note right off the bat that Merriam-Webster's definition of "journalism" reads, in part, "writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts." Reporting facts is literally the definition of journalism. The first principle of the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics is "seek truth and report it." Again, seeking the truth — the facts — is Job No. 1 for journalists. Lord says doing this job is "elitist" and seems to suggest (or at least imply) that reporters ought to be nothing more than stenographers, relaying "what the candidates say," since that's what voters care about. It's not that facts don't matter at all, according to Lord. It's just that "the best fact-checkers in a presidential campaign are the opponents." Apparently journalists ought to let Trump and Hillary Clinton police themselves and just chronicle the back and forth. Lord is right about this much: Americans hold a pretty dim view of the press. Trust in the media is at a historic low — just 40 percent, according to Gallup. Based on that sorry statistic, we can conclude that many voters doubt whether fact checks really contain facts. But we also know voters don't put much trust in Trump and Clinton, either. Fox News regularly polls voters on whether they trust both candidates. For Trump, the average trust level in the last three surveys was 38 percent; for Clinton, it was 34 percent. These are the people who should be responsible for fact-checking each other? We need not guess how Trump and Clinton would perform as fact-checkers; their campaigns are already in the fact-checking business, and the results aren't always great. On Friday, Trump delivered a speech in which he ripped Clinton. His campaign followed up by distributing a 35-page document to reporters that contained the "top 50 facts about Hillary Clinton" from the address, including one he repeats often on the trail: "Fact 19: Clinton was at home sleeping while attacks in Benghazi continued." The first supporting source on this "fact" was ... Donald Trump. Yes, Trump checks his facts with himself. The second source was a FactCheck.org piece which, it turns out, concluded there is "no evidence" for Trump's claim. To review, Trump cited himself and a report that refuted his statement. He seems not to understand how this works. Clinton's team fired back with its own fact check: "15 biggest lies in Trump's speech." The charge that Clinton slept through the Benghazi attacks made the list. But instead of denying Trump's claim directly, Clinton simply referred to the same FactCheck.org story. Then there was this: LIE: "Hillary's Wall Street immigration agenda will keep immigrant communities poor, and unemployed Americans out of work." FACT CHECK: Comprehensive immigration reform would boost economic growth and increase the size of the labor force. Well then, I guess that settles it. Or not. The Clinton campaign linked to a report prepared by advisers to President Obama — a useful reference but hardly the kind of independent research that would end a debate. There is little doubt that journalistic fact-checking efforts are viewed skeptically by many voters. Referees in sports aren't very popular, either. But Trump and Clinton have clearly demonstrated that they

USA Born Professional Pool Player as seen on ESPN & SKY Sports. World Champion – 10-foot table DCC 14.1 Championship 2013. Tunica Pro Bank Pool & 14.1 Champion – 10-foot table. 2013 Pro 9-Ball Champion – Best In The West LA Invitational 2008. Top 5 Pro Tour Mosconi Cup Ranking 2003 & 2004. National Collegiate Champion ACU-I 8-Ball. 1993 & 1994. National Junior BCA Champion, 8-Ball. 1991. Hundreds of titles and exhibitions spanning 33 years.

ANNOYED by all the drivers you see wandering out of lane while texting? It could be the tip of the iceberg – many more are simply daydreaming, according to a poll by the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Forty per cent of drivers admit to not concentrating behind the wheel, with 24% citing daydreaming as the most common reason. Young drivers are the worst offenders, with 50% of 18-24-year olds admitting they do not concentrate 100% of the time, and 30% citing daydreaming as the most common cause. The IAM poll of nearly 1,500 drivers found 73% of over-65s said they concentrated at all times while driving. But 47% of 24-34-year-olds admitted not concentrating all the time. Twenty-two per cent of drivers cited stress as a reason for not concentrating, and 21% said they were thinking about what they would be doing on arrival. Another 21% said their minds were on family, friends and personal relationships. There were also regional differences, with Londoners most likely to be not concentrating. Just as well there's hardly any traffic there. IAM chief executive Simon Best said: "Signs of not concentrating such as missed turnings or uncancelled indicator lights are commonplace. Simply not concentrating is a key cause of crashes yet it is not borne out in statistics because drivers rarely admit to it in police reports or on insurance forms. "These results reconfirm stereotypes surrounding younger drivers and the ease with which they can be distracted away from staying safe. The key is to build up as wide a range of experiences as possible as you learn and to look upon your driving as a skill that needs continuous improvement." Here's how the country was split: Region % who admit not concentrating London 47 Yorkshire and Humberside 46 South West 46 Scotland 46 East 42 East Midlands 40 North West 39

MK 13 Mod 0 Grenade Launcher The MK 13 Mod 0 is a single shot manual pump action grenade launcher that fires 40mm grenades. It is an integral part of the SCAR weapon system that has been selected by SOCOM to replace a number of existing systems, including the M203 grenade launcher. The MK 13 Mod 0 can be fitted to either the MK 16 or MK 17 rifles, using separate mountings, or configured as a stand alone launcher. The MK 13 Mod 0 can fire the same selection of 40 mm grenades as the M203: M406 High-Explosive round (H-E) (H-E) M433 High-Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) (HEDP) M576 Buckshot M670 Smoke Canopy M585 White Star Cluster M651 Tactical CS Grenade The MK13 features a rotating breach loading action that allows for longer ammunition than the M203. It is also designed to be strong enough to fire the new medium velocity of grenades that are being developed. MK 13 Mod 0 Specifications weight : 2.96lbs (unloaded - MK16) 3 lbs (unloaded - MK 17) 5.92 lbs (unloaded - stand alone launcher) barrel length : 9.6 inches rate of fire : 5-7 rounds per minute effective range : 300 meters (low velocity grenade) 600 meters (medium velocity grenade) caliber : 40x46mm NATO MK 13 Mod 0 - Images and Further Info A MK13 Mod 0 launcher mounted on a MK 16 CQC carbine. The MK13 is ambidextrous and can be loaded and fired by left or right hand operators. FNH USA MK13 configured as a stand-alone launcher. Note the telescopic buttstock and flip-up leaf sight. FNH USA « Special Ops Weapons

As you may know, I enjoy trying to predict the future for ballplayers . So, when A-Rod got his 3000 th hit, a thought crossed my mind: could I apply my framework for predicting future Hall of Famers to milestones like 3000 hits? This is the result. What I did was as follows: first, I went through the 29 players with 3000 hits and checked where they all stood hit-wise at each age. Then, I looked at the median mark for the group, and checked how many ballplayers in history had reached that number of hits by the same age. Then, I took a straight percentage of how many of the total number of players at that mark actually wound up over 3000 hits. For an example, say that the 15 th most hits at age 20 among 3000-hit players was 100. I then looked at how many players in history had 100 hits through their age 20 season, and figured out the percentage of that number that went on to 3000 hits. After that, just to get another benchmark, I repeated the process with the lowest hit total in the 3000 hit club by age (and second lowest, since many of the lowest marks were by Cap Anson , who played in such a radically different time that I wasn't sure how useful of a marker he'd be for other players). With the percentage of players at each milestone that went on to 3000 hits, I then looked towards the game today, checking the leaders of each age bracket today against the historical marks. 23: Median-467 Hits (14.02% at this point make it to 3000) Second Lowest- 80 Hits I'm going to include everyone younger than 23 here, since there are so many good young stars in the game today. We only have one 23-year-old at this mark. Mike Trout , with 656 hits (all stats are as of the morning of 6/28) has already reached the median for next season, and should easily be halfway to the age 25 mark by the season's end. I don't have the specific numbers, but I figure being this far ahead of the curve has to give him a significant leg up on his chances of reaching 3000.   However, in addition to Trout, we have 22-year-olds Bryce Harper and Manny Machado . Neither has 467 hits yet, but both are over 400 (436 and 416, respectively), meaning that they should easily cruise by this mark an entire season early as well. No other 23-year-olds will reach this mark in 2015, but check back next season to see how Xander Bogaerts (22, 216 hits) is doing. 23-year-old runners-up include Christian Yelich (285) and Nick Castellanos (200), so they're technically still ahead of where Wade Boggs (who debuted relatively late) was as this point (which really says more about how impressive Wade Boggs was than their chances, to be honest). 24: Median-584 (11.19%) No players above the median here, although leaders Nolan Arenado (334), Yasiel Puig (320), and Marcell Ozuna are ahead of where some 3000 hit club members were at the same point (namely, Boggs, Lou Brock , Honus Wagner, and Craig Biggio ). First among this age group is Starlin Castro , with 923 hits so far. Assuming he's healthy, he might hit next year's 995 mark by the end of the season, although his drop off and the crop of rising Cubs stars might cut into his playing time. No one else is at 807 hits yet, but Freddie Freeman had a pretty good chance (732) before his DL-stint. Assuming he's not making it, our next best chances would be Jason Heyward (714) and Jose Altuve (711), although even if they make it, there's still not even a 1-in-5 chance at this stage. Next on the list is Giancarlo Stanton , but his injury and distance (693) makes it unlikely. 26: Median-995 (20.27%) Elvis Andrus leads the way, with 1027 hits (nearly double second place Mike Moustakas 's total of 516). But given his regression on offense the last few years, I'm not sure how many more seasons we can expect to see him above the 3000-hit median. 27: Median-1175 (23.08%) Justin Upton might make it to 1175 by year's end (he's at 1116), but outside of him, no active 27-year-olds are even to 650 hits. 28: Median-1327 (21.13%) For the second time, we have no players above the cut-off. Andrew McCutchen leads 28-year-olds with 1063 hits and counting, which tops about a sixth of the 3000 hit club, but he's still

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Unique Materials Throughout the history of the world of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and fantasy culture as a whole, metals, materials, and gemstones of all sorts have been invented from the imaginations of authors and game designers. Many of which have powerful, sometimes magical, properties. This collection is an attempt to capture some of the most popular and widely recognized ores and materials and compile them all into one, easy-to-reference document. It is an attempt to create a bit of lore around each substance with ties and references to other existing lores and legends in the D&D world. Reference Table (Yet to be Filled In) Metal Description Value/Pound Value (Multiplier) Rarity (Weapon) Rarity (Armor) Rarity (Other) Adamantine One of the strongest metals in existence. 100gp x2 Uncommon Uncommon - Arjale A form of infernal ice found in the Nine Hells. 300gp x3 Rare Very Rare Rare, Legendary Blacksteel A matte black metal found in the Underdark. 100gp x2 Uncommon Uncommon Rare 1 Adamantine Perhaps the most recognizeable material in fantasy lore, adamantine is commonly known as an incredibly tough and protective metal. Heavy yet sturdy, adamantine is colored anywhere between slate and deep red and is sought after by many adventurers who prefer to depend on trustworthy armor to protect them. Adamantine Armor Armor (medium or heavy, but not hide), uncommon A suit of adamantine armor saves many lives, as any critical hit made its wearer is treated as a normal attack. Adamtine armor also cannot be destroyed by nonmagical means, and is borderline indestructible. Adamantine Weapon Weapon (any bludgeoning or piercing), uncommon Weapons made from adamtine deal one extra damage die of their weapon's damage type. Additionally, a weapon forged from adamantine cannot be destroyed by nonmagical means, such as rust or acid. Arjale (True Ice) Known scientifically as arjale and commonly as true ice or hell ice, this substance is a sort of combination of metal and literal ice. Arjale is found exclusively in the cold layers of the Nine Hells known as Stygia and Cania, making it exceedingly rare and valuable. This substance, although appearing slick and cold like ice, never melts and always retains its shape even when exposed to flame. To even touch true ice would immediately harm you from its sheer coldness, let alone be pierced by it, so spears and tridents of this material are commonly wielded by gelugons, or ice devils, and because of this the ore has gathered a reputation for the its lethality. For most humanoids, to wear amor made exclusively from this material would be suicide, as the wearer would die from cold very quickly. However, one exceptional smith whose name is lost to history once studded leather armor with hell ice and imbued it with additional fiend-smiting properties, and passed it on to a dwarvish warrior named Torria Stonefell who sought to cleanse the Nine Hells. Torria died somewhere in that plane, and legend says that her armor is kept somewhere by the Archdevil that fell her. Arjhale Armor Armor (medium or heavy, but not hide), very rare It would be foolish for most to waste materials to make such a suit of arjale armor as a creature that directly touches it takes 1 cold damage, and a creature that wears it is treated as if it is not proficient in the armor and takes 7 (2d6) cold damage at the beginning of its turns. If worn by a creature who is immune to cold, it functions as a +2 armor and the armor gains a Strength requirement of 15. Additionally, a creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of the wearer or hits the wearer with a melee attack takes 3 (1d6) cold damage. Arjale Weapon Weapon (any melee weapon), rare, can be attuned Simply touching a weapon made from arjale deals 1 cold damage, and melee attacks with arjale weaons deal and extra 10 (3d6) cold damage on a hit. Additionally, if you are attuned to the weapon, it becomes magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunities, and after landing a successful melee attack you can force the target to make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, or for 1 minute the target's speed is reduced by 10 feet; it can take either an action or a bonus action on each of its turns, not both; and it can't take reactions. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature immune to cold damage is unaffected. This property can't be used again until the next dawn. Arjale Ring Ring, rare (requires attunement) While wearing this ring, you are resistant to cold damage and are naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.

A new study of ancient meteorites gave researchers insight into the lifetime of the disk of gas and dust, called the solar nebula, that eventually formed the solar system. Astronomers have established a new timeline for the solar system that is helping to pinpoint when gas giants Jupiter and Saturn likely formed. Approximately 4.6 billion years ago, a swirling cloud of hydrogen gas and dust known as the solar nebula collapsed in on itself, giving way to the birth of the sun. The leftover material from this massive explosion then clumped together to form the planets, in a process called core accretion. A new study suggests Jupiter and Saturn likely took shape within the first 4 million years of the solar system's formation, which further supports the core accretion model, Benjamin Weiss, co-author of the study and professor of planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), told Space.com. [Watch: Our Solar System Built to Scale in Nevada Desert] Weiss and lead author Huapei Wang, a postdoctoral student at MIT, studied the magnetic orientations of four ancient meteorites called angrites. Rare today, they fell to Earth at different times and were found in Brazil, Argentina, Antarctica and the Saharan desert. This type of space rock acts as a good marker for what the cosmic environment was like during the early days of the solar system. "When the solar nebula was present, it generated a substantial magnetic field," which would in turn be recorded in meteorites formed during this time, Weiss said. However, he added, the researchers observed little to no remnant magnetization in the oldest of the four angrites, which formed 3.8 million years. That lack of magnetization suggests the gas and debris of the solar nebula had already dissipated by that time, Weiss said — and thus, that the solar system's large-scale structure, including Jupiter and Saturn, must have already been established. "Solar systems form out of the condensation of a gaseous nebula. We obtained an accurate and precise age for the lifetime of our solar system's ancient [solar] nebula and the magnetic field," Weiss told Space.com. "We found that the [solar] nebula and [magnetic] field had dispersed 3.8 million years after the formation of the solar system." The study, published yesterday (Feb. 9) in the journal Science, offers a more precise estimate of the solar nebula's lifetime and will therefore help to determine when and how other planets formed in the solar system, the researchers said. "Since the solar nebula lifetime critically affects the final positions of Jupiter and Saturn, it also affects the later formation of the Earth, our home, as well as the formation of other terrestrial planets," Wang said in a statement from MIT. Going forward, the researchers said they plan to study other primitive asteroid samples to be collected by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft and NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which are expected to return to Earth in the early 2020s. "I plan to measure the magnetism of these returned materials, which may contain records of the [solar] nebula from times and locations around the sun different from what we have measured in meteorites," Weiss told Space.com. Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

PRODUCTS > FLOWERS & GREENS > Greens Looking to add a lush floral look to your wedding or another special event? Greens are the way to go. This is perhaps the hottest Pinterest trend for weddings these days, because greenery easily incorporates a natural, rustic look into any floral arrangement for an affordable price. Gone are the days when only roses and other classic flowers were used for special occasions. Now, you can add that woodsy and outdoorsy feel to your venue just by incorporating wholesale flowers and greens from Blooms by the Box. Floral greenery tends to hold up well in the sun and heat without wilting or browning, which is why so many summer brides are opting to go green for their wedding floral arrangements. By adding floral greenery to your décor, you can achieve a lush look that is full of vibrancy without going over budget. To take your bohemian wedding theme to the next level, try creating a bridal crown made from a wreath of delicate and feminine greens. In this collection, you'll find a number of attractive green leaves for bouquets, centerpieces and other floral arrangements. Brides and event planners love horse tail, bear grass and other wispy greens for bohemian floral arrangements. Meanwhile, wholesale seeded eucalyptus, ivy, ferns, palm leaves and lemon leaf garland make for lush, romantic vibes. Shop at Blooms by the Box to get lovely fresh greenery to incorporate into your DIY wedding décor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday the United States is renegotiating its trade deal with South Korea as he met the nation's new leader for talks also addressing the nuclear weapons threat from North Korea. Trump welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in for formal talks at the White House a day after they met over dinner. As well as concerns over North Korea's technological progress toward a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the continental U.S., Trump is pushing for a narrowing of the U.S. trade deficit with South Korea. Since his 2016 election campaign, Trump has been critical of a 2012 bilateral free trade agreement and barriers to U.S. auto exports. South Korea had trade surplus of $17 billion with the U.S. last year when including both goods and services. "We are renegotiating a trade deal right now as we speak with South Korea and hopefully it will be an equitable deal, it will be a fair deal for both parties," Trump said alongside Moon in the Oval Office. ""We want something that will be very good for the American worker." Ahead of Moon's visit, the White House official said Trump would call for the lifting of barriers to U.S. auto sales in South Korea and voice concern over steel exports from China that reach the U.S. via South Korea. South Korean companies on Thursday announced plans to import more American shale gas and build new factories in the U.S. that Seoul hoped could help fend off the criticism. Moon said he and Trump had "honest discussions" at dinner on the North Korean nuclear issue and other issues of mutual interest. "It was a great opportunity for us to further the trust and friendship between me and President Trump," Moon said. "It was also an opportunity for us to reconfirm the fact that the United States and Korea are walking together on the same path towards a great alliance." After expanded talks involving other officials, the two leaders will make statements to reporters. On North Korea, Trump said, "we have a very, very strong and solid plan." On Thursday, the Treasury Department blacklisted a Chinese bank accused of conducting millions in illicit business with North Korea as Washington intensified pressure on Beijing to crackdown on its wayward ally. The South Korean leader has sought to make clear to the U.S. that he is also serious about dealing with his neighbor's threat, despite his inclination to restart dialogue with the North. Moon's conservative predecessor, who was impeached in a bribery scandal, took a hard line toward North Korea. In recent interviews, Moon has said sanctions alone cannot solve the problem of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, but the "right conditions" are needed for dialogue. In another point of contention, Moon has delayed the full deployment of a U.S. missile defense system, which is intended to defend South Koreans and the 28,000 U.S. troops based in the country, pending an environmental review. Before Friday's talks at the White House, Moon laid a wreath at the Korean War Memorial monument near the Washington Mall. He was accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, whose father served in the U.S. Army during the 1950-53 Korean War. Under the pale blue morning sky, they observed a moment of silence as a lone trumpeter played "Taps." It was the second occasion during Moon's four-day visit that he has paid tribute to American veterans of that conflict. On Wednesday, he visited a memorial to Marines who fought in rearguard U.S. action in 1950 that enabled a mass evacuation of Korean civilians, including Moon's parents.

Ahead of this weekend's Premier League action, Sportsmail will be providing you with all you need to know about every fixture, with team news, provisional squads, betting odds and Opta stats. Here is all the information you need about West Brom's clash with Chelsea. Chelsea are poised to welcome N'Golo Kante back as they strive for the Premier League title West Brom vs Chelsea (The Hawthorns, Friday 20:00) West Brom Team news West Brom defender Jonny Evans is fit to face Chelsea as the Baggies look to delay the Blues' title party. The Northern Ireland international came off in last week's 2-2 draw at Burnley with an ankle injury but will play, with Chelsea one victory away from winning the Premier League. Matt Phillips (hamstring) is out of the game at The Hawthorns on Friday while Hal Robson-Kanu will be in the squad after his own hamstring issue. Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Nyom, Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Brunt, Marc Wilson, Kane Wilson, Yacob, Fletcher, Morrison, Livermore, Field, McClean, Harper, Chadli, Rondon, Robson-Kanu, Leko. The home side welcome back Jonny Evans who has recovered from an ankle injury Chelsea Team news Midfielder N'Golo Kante is available again when Chelsea go to West Brom seeking the three points required to clinch the Premier League title. Kante missed last Monday's win over Middlesbrough with a thigh injury, but it was just a precaution. Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte may consider tinkering with his personnel to accommodate Cesc Fabregas, who was man of the match after replacing Kante in the starting XI. Provisional squad: Courtois, Begovic, Alonso, Fabregas, Zouma, Ake, Kante, Hazard, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Pedro, Costa, Matic, Willian, Batshuayi, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Luiz, Eduardo, Aina. WEST BROM vs CHELSEA Kick-off: Friday, 8pm Odds (subject to change): West Brom 8/1 Draw 18/5 Chelsea 4/11 Managers: Antonio Conte (Chelsea) Tony Pulis (West Brom) Head-to-head Premier League record: West Brom wins 3 Draws 3 Chelsea wins 15 Recent league form (latest result first): West Brom: DLLLL Chelsea: WWWLW Referee:Michael Oliver Season at a glance Live tables Fixtures Scores Premier League Premier League Championship League One League Two Scottish Premiership Scottish Div 1 Scottish Div 2 Scottish Div 3 Ligue 1 Serie A La Liga Bundesliga Key match stats (provided by Opta) - West Brom have won three of their last five Premier League games against Chelsea at the Hawthorns (D1 L1) – this after losing each of their first five between 2003 and 2011. - The Blues have lost just one of their last eight Premier League games against the Baggies (W4 D3), a 3-0 defeat in May 2015 in a game played after Chelsea had already won the division. - None of the 21 Premier League meetings between these sides have ended goalless – the Baggies have only played more games without a nil-nil against Arsenal and Spurs (22) in the competition. - Diego Costa has scored in three of his five Premier League appearances against West Brom, scoring three goals in total. - Since winning 13 consecutive matches against West Bromwich Albion in all competitions between 1993 and 2011, Chelsea haven't won back to back games in any of their last 10 meetings. They can achieve this with a win in this game, having won 1-0 in the reverse fixture in December. - Chelsea have had a player sent off on their last two Premier League trips to the Hawthorns – John Terry last season and Cesc Fabregas in 2014-15. - The Baggies have only scored a goal in two of their last nine Premier League fixtures, failing to score at all in their other seven matches since the start of March. Antonio Conte's side need just three points to wrap up victory in the title race - Since the start of April, WBA have won only two points from six Premier League games (W0 D2 L4) – the worst record in the competition in this period. - Should Chelsea win this match, they'll have won 42 points away from home in

Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika speaks to the media during their meeting in Moscow, Russia on May 7, 2015. AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel Donald Trump Jr's emails about his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya reference "the crown prosecutor of Russia," a position that does not exist in the country. Donald Trump Jr. released Tuesday what he claims to be the full text of his emails with music publicist Rob Goldstone, who arranged his meeting with a Russian lawyer to allegedly receive damaging information on then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Gladstone works for Emin Aglarov, a Russian pop star whose family has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In one email, Goldstone tells Trump Jr. that "the crown prosecutor of Russia" met with the elder Aglarov and "offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father." There's only one problem — there is no such thing as a "crown prosecutor" in Russia. Goldstone may have been referring to the office of the prosecutor general, who heads Russia's judiciary system and is the highest ranking official in that government branch. Russia's prosecutor general is responsible for overseeing the country's court and legal system and supervising all the highest branches of the law. The title is currently filled by Yury Yakovlevich Chaika, appointed to the role by Putin in 2006. Chaika has ties to Veselnitskaya and is a very high-level official in the Russian government, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," Goldstone wrote in the email. The United Kingdom has an official with a similar name to the crown prosecutor, the Crown Prosecution Service, which is headed by the attorney general. State prosecutors in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth states are typically referred to as crown prosecutors. Goldstone is originally from Manchester, England, which may explain why he referred to the "crown prosecutor of Russia."

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming press secretary blasted BuzzFeed for releasing an unsubstantiated, unconfirmed report regarding Trump and ties to Russia. "It's frankly outrageous and highly irresponsible for a left-wing blog that was openly hostile towards the President elects campaign, to drop highly salacious and flat out false information on the internet just days before he takes the oath of office," Spicer said. "According to BuzzFeed's own editor, there are some serious reasons to doubt the allegations in the report," Spicer added. The executive editor of the New York Times dismissed the report. (RELATED: Morning Joe Attacks BuzzFeed, CNN Report: 'There's No Story Here') "The fact that BuzzFeed and CNN made the decision to run with this unsubstantiated claim is a sad and pathetic attempt to get clicks," Spicer said, adding that the New York Times dismissed the report due to a lack of evidence. "The report was not an intelligence report, plain and simple," the incoming White House press secretary asserted. Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Trump also railed against specific members of the media for reporting the unverified report following Spicer's presentation. BuzzFeed and the Republican National Committee, where Spicer was the communications director and chief strategist, signed an agreement to "spend a significant amount on political advertisements slated to run during the Fall election cycle," in April 2016, according to Politico. BuzzFeed cancelled the $1.3 million advertising contract in June, citing the nomination of Trump as the reason. Trump held his first press conference since his election victory Wednesday morning in Manhattan. Follow Ted on Twitter Send Tips to [email protected]. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox Image Source A Baseball with 216 raised red stitches hits the air and curves right under the batter, and the batter swings. Why did the ball drop? Why did the batter swing? What exactly happens to the ball as it is thrown? What happens to the ball depends on what spin was put on it. What causes the ball to curve, slide or stay in a strait pattern? This all has to do with the fact that there is drag force, or air resistance. A curve ball is created when a ball is spinning. The faster flowing air under the ball creates less pressure, which forces the ball to dive or break. Baseball would be a dull game without drag force because there would be no curves, sliders, or knuckle balls. Image Source Image Source Twisiting Motion of the wrist to cause a curve ball Image Source So how exactly do pitchers throw the curve balls? They grasp the ball with the middle and index fingers on or near the stitching, with their thumb underneath. As they throw the ball, they snap their wrist in a turning motion, like turning a door knob, to make the ball spin in the direction of the throw. The stitching on the ball gathers up air as the ball rotates, creating higher air pressure on one side of the ball. The higher velocity difference puts more stress on the air flowing around the bottom of the ball. That stress makes air flowing around the ball "break away" from the ball's surface sooner. Conversely, the air at the top of the spinning ball, subject to less stress due to the lower velocity difference and can "hang onto" the ball's surface longer before breaking away. Therefore curveballs do most of their curving in the last quarter of their trip. Perception plays a big role in the curve ball: The typical curveball goes through only 3.4 inches of deviation from a straight line drawn between the pitcher's hand and the catcher's glove. However, from the perspective of the pitcher and batter, the ball moves 14.4 inches. This proves that a curve ball really curves. Image Source

New Ellenton Hickory 7 mm Thick x 7-9/16 in. Wide x 50-3/4 in. Length Laminate Flooring (26.80 sq. ft. / case) is rated 3.6 out of 5 by 95 . Rated 5 out of 5 by Fourbee from Looks great, even with a novice installer! I had never installed a laminate floor, but I thought this would look pretty good in my rental house. It took me a couple of rows to get the hang of installing it, but it snapped together very easily. I took my time, with plenty of breaks, and still finished 240 square feet in 4 hours. I was amazed at the difference in the room! It looks amazing and I could hardly believe that a novice installer could produce such beautiful work. I didn't even use the installation kit-just a rubber mallet! It's a beautiful, durable floor that I'll be proud to show to prospective tenants! Heck, I may just go ahead and do the bedrooms, as well! I love it!!! Rated 5 out of 5 by MrFloorman from Great Deal for a Great Floor Breakage - non existent unless you really try to break it. Seams - fits perfectly. not invisible like some people think they will be, but it's not even noticeable Feel - It feels quite like real wood and doesn't stick to your feet. -Tips - -of course your going to need a saw, either a circular saw, table saw, or hand saw will work. I didn't have a jigsaw but it would be really helpful in some places. -Installation kit i got was a little pricey for a block of plastic and a piece of metal but it was invaluable. kit works good with any old hammer. -underlay rolls are good for padding and moisture protection and doesn't raise the price a whole lot like the floors with underlay attached already. This was my first laminate installation and I did it like a pro and you can too. Rated 4 out of 5 by Colten970 from Very happy with this flooring!!! First off all, I have never done laminate flooring so this was a learn as you go kind of thing. I would recommend watching some youtube videos, they help! The first 2 rows from the wall were the hardest to get started as nothing would line up. You learn that your walls are not perfectly straight! However, after you fight those first 2 rows everything goes super smooth and simple! ***Important*** As big of a waste of money those kits with the rubber bumper and pull bar seem, DO NOT SKIP OUT ON IT! You will destroy the planks if you try using anything else! trust me, I learned the hard way! Overall, I am very happy with the outcome! Today is day 5 after installation and its still beautiful! Its fairly durable, We have no scratches so far... Rated 5 out of 5 by KamTX from Good floor, easy install, nice color, and really affordable. Saw this online and found a store that had quite a few boxes in stock local. First thing was I Read the instructions and install went really smooth. Planks Locked in place perfect (I wouldn't tap to hard when locking them in, just tap right until you see the gap close flush and no more) and I maybe had only 2 wood planks out of 18 boxes that were not usable. Its been a few months since I did the install, so far no problems. Has been holding up quite well. Rated 5 out of 5 by acsparkle from Stunning Flooring I recently upgraded my condo with this flooring. I hired a general contractor to install the flooring even though is says diy. Regardless the flooring is magnificent! Everybody that sees the place in person or via pictures says the flooring is amazing. I used a white trim as the shoe and in between the stairs. The quality of the laminate is awesome, don't let the price fool you. This is a great product. Rated 1 out of 5 by Jbuck from Installation was easy really liked the look that is why we choose it. Couldnt get it thru my loca... Installation was easy really liked the look that is why we choose it. Couldnt get it thru my local home depot so drove 110 miles to get it. The store claimed they had enought to do my 1200 square foot + first floor. Well they didnt it took several trips to get it all and a couple that they claimed that it had arrived but it hadnt. Then got first scatch before i was even done installing it. Thans to my 2 year old. Hasnt even been a year and my dogs and kids have scratched this floor all over way to easily. The have even manage to break chips out of it. Havent finshed paying for it and now i have to start figuring out how to replace it. Rated 5 out of 5 by Averagehomeowner from Great product for the money!!!! I

The summers in Sydney invite long evening admiring the harbour, but did you know that Australia's largest rodent calls the harbour home? As a part of Off Track's summer season we're bringing you the coolest of sounds for summer, and that means we're on our way out to search for water rats. We meet on a cool morning in the affluent suburb of Mosman, where the only people out on the street are the cleaners arriving for work in big houses, and intrepid ecologists keen on a rat hunt. We are on the lookout for the water rat, also known as the Rakali. 'It's quite distinct, it's semi-aquatic so it spends a lot of its time in water, and it's filling the same niche as otters,' says Professor Peter Banks from the University of Sydney. Its scientific name is Hydromys chrysogaster, which refers to its golden belly fluff which you may be privileged to glimpse, if you ever get to see a specimen. They are known to be elusive and shy, and it's lucky we've got any water rats at all in the Harbour. When the depression hit in the 1930s the water rat's water-repellent fur was used to substitute for a ban on imported furs. And back even further, in 1900 when the Bubonic Plague hit the shores of Sydney, a bounty was put on rats. We know that water rats were slaughtered, because one appears in a photo like a trophy laid out at the front of a pile of deceased rodents. But these guys are the goodies, says Professor Banks, who is investigating whether the large rodents could be used to help control pest-rats. 'Theory tells us that wherever you've got an intact biodiversity, it's going to be robust to invasive species. So if we can make and understand what makes for a robust native fauna, I think we can understand how we can control these [pest] rats.'

The Commission wants to hear from users, organisations, public bodies, and businesses across all sectors – from telecoms and ICT to agriculture, from education to automotive, from services and industry, especially those that develop applications and services that depend on connectivity. Following the evaluation process, the Commission will present its proposal on how to address the identified challenges in telecoms and broadband. What Internet connection will we need in the future, when many of our objects are connected to each other? Are we still going to use our fixed phones or only our mobile devices? What about apps which connect us to our family and friends over the Internet, do they need to respect the same rules as traditional telecoms operators, such as facilitating switching between services? How do we coordinate spectrum across the Union as radio waves know no border? - These are some of the questions of the two public consultations starting today. The two consultations – one on Europeans' broadband needs and the other focusing on the review of the current telecoms framework - are open until 7 December 2015. Following the evaluation process, the Commission will present its proposal on how to address the identified challenges in telecoms and broadband. Creating the right conditions for digital products, networks and services to flourish is part of the Commission's Digital Single Market Strategy presented in May. Progress has already been made: earlier this year, EU institutions agreed on strong net neutrality rules protecting the right of every European to access Internet content without discrimination and on the end roaming charges by June 2017 (press release). Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said: "The Internet is the oxygen of our digital economy and society. We are more and more connected, at every moment, everywhere. This means that access to high-speed and high-quality Internet has become essential to every European: people, companies, organisations or public bodies. We are asking you about your needs and your expectations regarding your Internet access in the European Union. We are also gathering views on the current telecoms rules and how they should evolve to support the Digital Single Market. Take this opportunity to have your say on Europe's digital future." Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said: "More than ever, Europe needs top-class connectivity. This will ultimately determine the success of the Digital Single Market. We therefore need rules that underpin sustainable, market-based, high-performance fixed and wireless broadband infrastructures for 2020 and beyond. And it is not just about the telecoms sector; every part of our economy and society has a vital stake in these issues. We therefore seek a broad and inclusive public debate, based on the best evidence of future needs." The consultation on the review of the 2009 Telecoms Package will examine to what extent the EU's telecoms rulebook needs to be modernised to address technological and market challenges. It asks about the future of network access regulation, spectrum management, communication services, universal service and telecoms governance. It covers the evaluation of fundamental legislation including the 2002 Framework Directive, the Authorisation Directive, the Access Directive and the Universal Service Directive as modified in 2009 by the Better Regulation Directive and the Citizens' Rights Directive, as well as the BEREC Regulation. The consultation on future Internet speed and quality needs asks what Europeans expect from their fixed and mobile networks beyond 2020. In particular which future products, applications and services will depend on connectivity and what will they require in terms of security, speed, quality, data downloads and uploads and ubiquitous connectivity. Views and inputs will help define technical requirements for future digital infrastructures. They will also influence the decisions related to funding under the European Structural & Investment Funds, the Connecting Europe Facility and the European Fund for Strategic Investment. The two telecoms consultations are a major strand of the Commission's Digital Single Market Strategy to create the right conditions for digital products, networks and services to flourish. Earlier this year, the European Council and Parliament reached political agreement on Commission proposals for strong net neutrality rules protecting the right of every European to access Internet content without discrimination and to end roaming charges by June 2017 (IP/15/5265). These first steps will be followed by an ambitious overhaul of EU telecoms rules in 2016, which will include more effective EU-level spectrum coordination. Respond online on the Needs for Internet Speed and Quality Beyond 2020. Respond online on the Evaluation of the Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications and on its Review. Use #EUhaveyoursay #telecomsEU #broadbandEU Read also: Q&A on the two public consultations: on the review of telecoms rules and on the future needs for Internet speed and quality Vice-President Ansip's blog post: Making the EU work for people: roaming and the open internet Commissioner Oettinger's blog post; how do we future-proof Europe's broadband connectivity? " Digital Agenda blog post: what next for

The Deep Interview In this exciting special episode, Dark Journalist Daniel Liszt welcomes back Former Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Catherine Austin Fitts. Catherine is the President of The Solari Report, a quarterly journal and website that integrates economic trends with a larger geopolitical picture. Ascent of the Black Budget Underworld Catherine sees the forces vying for power in the 21st century as a combination of Black Budget underworld with its covert influence in drug running, money laundering and high finance, and the robotic, transhumanist corporate culture that is attempting to create a new kind of digital slavery. In either case, the public civilization is only vaguely aware of the impact of these forces on their daily lives. In everyday living in modern society, an average person doesn't often get the opportunity to see the massive plan being brought to bear for the global dominance of a worldwide smartgrid capable of cataloging every person according to its harvesting algorithm. Fascinating, informative, alarming and crucial, you don't want to miss this fascinating Dark Journalist episode!

Canadian Grand Prix cancelled for 2004: official Updated The 2004 Canadian Formula One Grand Prix has been officially cancelled because of the Federal Government's ban on tobacco-related sponsorship, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said. This is the first time the Formula One Management Company confirmed information from Canadian Grand Prix officials that the event would not take place next year. "I can confirm though that a letter was written to the Canadian race promoter following a meeting I had with him when I informed him the Canadian round of the FIA Formula One World Championship would not be included in the 2004 calendar," Ecclestone said in a statement posted on the F1 website. "The reason for this is that the Canadian Government has brought into effect a total prohibition on tobacco-related sponsorship. "There is a provision in our contract with the race promoter that should this become effective, we have the right not to include their event in the calendar for the relevant year." Canada had held a Formula One race since 1967 and Montreal has hosted the race since 1978 on an circuit named after the late Gilles Villeneuve, father of 1997 world champion and hometown favourite Jacques Villeneuve. The event, one of the city's biggest tourist attractions with an estimated windfall of more than C$50 million ($US36 million), packs over 100.000 fans around the circuit and is one of the few races to draw sell-out crowds. The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, widely viewed as the world's ultimate racing venue for its countryside surroundings and technical difficulty, was cancelled this season because of similar legislation. A leading Belgian politician said this week the race would be on again next year after a ban on tobacco advertising was postponed. "Our problem is quite simple. The Formula One teams with tobacco-related sponsorship lose part of their revenue when a certain percentage of the events ban tobacco sponsorship. This was the reason the Belgium Grand Prix was not included in the 2003 calendar," Ecclestone said. The A1 Ring in Austria also bade farewell to Formula One this year as Ecclestone last month terminated his contract for next season due to the country's backing of EU legislation against tobacco advertising, which takes effect in 2005. Topics: motor-sports, formula-1, canada First posted

Under heavy police guard, Mahmoud Mansour and Morel Malka held their wedding celebration last evening in Rishon Letzion. Mansour, a young Muslim man and Malka, who was born Jewish and converted to Islam, were surrounded by security guards as they arrived at the Shemesh Aduma (Red Sun) wedding hall. Outside, about 150 meters away from the entrance to the hall at the end of the street, some 200 right-wing protesters demonstrated against what they called "assimilation in the Holy Land." A counter-demonstration was held by the entrance to the hall. Earlier in the day, the court refused to prohibit the protest outside the wedding hall where the mixed Muslim-Jewish celebrated their recent marriage, and ordered protesters to remain at least 200 meters from the venue, which is located in an area filled with supermarkets and other banquet halls. The Rishon Letzion Magistrate's court issued the ruling after the couple applied for an injunction to stop the demonstration organized by Lehava (which is both a Hebrew word meaning "flame" and a Hebrew acronym for Preventing Assimilation in the Holy Land). Each guest at the wedding was asked by police to identify themselves and answer questions posed by police and security guards to prove they had been invited. The protesters attempted to come closer to the hall a number of times while cursing the couple, but the police moved them back to the area set aside for their protest, as per the court's instructions. The protesters shouted racist and threatening slogans such as "Death to leftists," and waved Israeli flags and blew the shofar. They carried signs saying such things as "Daughter of Israel to the people of Israel," and "Assimilation is a Holocaust." Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close At the counter demonstration they held flowers and sang love songs. Their signs said things such as "Love for everyone," "Only love will win" and "1,000 flames will not put out love." A few of the guests thanked them and honked their horns in support. A number of the right-wing protesters complained about being unable to approach the hall and swore at the guests and the counter protesters. Attorney Itamar Ben Gvir, a leading Kahanist who represented Lehava in court, said the court's decision to allow the demonstration near the hall was "a victory for the freedom of speech. Only this morning they tried to prevent us from protesting and I am pleased the court accepted in practice our position and allowed freedom of expression. This is a democratic country," he said. "I think we have the right to protest against assimilation. That is what we have come to do today," said Ben Gvir. The couple lives in Jaffa and have already had a legal Muslim wedding; last night's event was only a celebration. The couple met five years ago and Morel converted to Islam. Mansour said that up until the past few days they had not experienced such blatant manifestations of racism. Malka said her mother, sisters and other relatives were slated to attend; her father, however, is opposed to her marriage to a Muslim and had declared that he would not attend the party. In court yesterday, the representative of the police proposed holding the demonstration in a parking lot about 200 meters from the hall. Judge Iriya Mordechai ruled that the protesters must remain at least 200 meters from the building, even if they refuse the parking-lot space offered to them. She stressed that her ruling was aimed at preventing friction between the demonstrators and the guests at the event, which was held under heavy police guard. "Regrettably, the respondents' actions to prevent the wedding, which have been carried out at a sensitive time for Jewish-Arab relations in any case, have borne rotten fruit and have stirred up a turbid wave of hatred and violence that will peak at a moment that is known and predictable, like its results," wrote attorney Yaniv Segev on Mansour's behalf in his request for the injunction. "It is almost certain that the planned demonstration on the day of his wedding will spill over into violent areas." Segev called the judge's decision precedent-setting, saying it was the first time an Israeli court had approved the request of a private person to prevent a demonstration near a private event. Guy Ronen, one of those behind the demonstration in support of the couple, said he came to protest such gross invasion in private, personal matters. "It is a wedding. The public arena must not interfere in it. The couple has the right to choose their love. They are not a public institution." President Reuven Rivlin commented

In captivity, tortoises often grow faster than their conspecifics in the wild. Here, we document growth (measured as change in body mass) in three individual Geochelone sulcata over an exceptionally long period of nearly 18 years and use growth data (measured as change in carapace length) from the literature on free-ranging animals for comparison. Body lengths almost reached a plateau in the animals due to the long observation period. After transformation of body length to body mass for data from wild animals, logistic growth curves were successfully fitted to all data. The resulting functions yielded a 1.4–2.6 times higher intrinsic growth rate in captive than in wild individuals. The logistic growth model estimated the inflexion point of the growth curve at 6–9 years for the captive animals. This coincided with age at sexual maturity, respectively observations of first egg-laying of a female and the masturbation of a male. The inflexion point of the growth curve for free-ranging individuals was estimated at 15 years. Raising tortoises on intensive feeding regimes in captivity may considerably shorten generation times during the breeding stage of restocking programmes, and slow-growing animals are more likely to thrive after release into the wild. Investigations on the health of offspring from fast-growing parents are lacking. No Reference information available - sign in for access. No Citation information available - sign in for access. No Supplementary Data. No Article Media No Metrics

Cosmos Articles and Discussion Guides See Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey for reviews of other episodes and discussion guides for further study. "The Immortals," episode 11 of Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, exploits the metaphorical value of Noah's Ark in a series of evolutionary themes while, not surprisingly, treating the biblical account as just a spin-off of the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh. Though admitting that evolutionists do not know how life could have evolved from lifeless elements through naturalistic processes, Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson assumes that it did. Then he weaves tales of how primordial life-forms could have found an ark of safety through Earth's presumed history of multiple catastrophic surface-destroying collisions. "Must We Die?" "Must we die?" asks Tyson as the episode opens. The opening words point to the motivation of Gilgamesh in the famous ancient Akkadian epic. Gilgamesh, the hero of the tale that includes one of the oldest flood legends to be written down, searches for immortality. But the question expresses a concern unique to human beings. We humans are aware that we will die, concerned about what will happen to us after we die, and interested in leaving some sort of legacy marking our significance to future generations. Some people blame God for the death and suffering that intrude upon our lives. By understanding our true history we can understand the origin of suffering and death. God created a perfect world but warned Adam that disobedience would result in death. Man rebelled, and therefore we must die ( Romans 5:12–21 ) and face our Creator ( Hebrews 9:27–28 ). However, eternal life is given to everyone who repents and trusts in the sacrificial death of God's Son Jesus Christ ( John 3:16–18 ; John 3:36 ; Romans 3:23; 6:23 ). With the written word we can preserve our thoughts and share them with future generations. Tyson describes this as a sort of immortality. Yet thanks to the written Word of God in the Bible, the good news of how to obtain eternal life is available to people all over the world. Writing and Cities After the global Flood about 4,350 years ago, humans—the descendants of Noah's family—got the opportunity to once again civilize the world. Defying God's command to spread out, they initially confined themselves to Mesopotamia, as described in Genesis 10 and 11. Therefore, after the Lord confused languages and forced the people to disperse from the Tower of Babel,1 civilization already had a head start in the "land between the rivers." In the post-Flood world, the first cities were built in this region ( Genesis 10:10 ). The people descended from Noah's family were intelligent and literate. They left written records of their presence—poems, school exercises, trade notes, and so on. Tyson claims ancient Mesopotamian places "invented" cities and writing. Yet only evolutionary thinking would deceive us to think that the pre-Flood people lacked intelligence, literacy, and complex social structure—yet Adam was even credited with a book that is mentioned by Moses ( Genesis 5:1 ). The book of Genesis, written by Moses under the inspiration of God, reports some pre-Flood history. Moses, as he recorded the early history of man, may well have had access to copies of records of pre-Flood genealogies preserved by Noah. The first recorded city was built by Cain, according to Genesis 4:17 . The Bible records that those early generations made musical instruments, worked iron, and were highly skilled ( Genesis 4:21–22 ). Ancient Mesopotamia was simply the first place where civilization restarted after the global Flood. Gilgamesh and Noah The Epic of Gilgamesh contains one of the hundreds of flood legends that abound in cultures all over the world. These legends are ubiquitous because all people in the world are descendants of Noah's family, the only people to survive the global Flood. The biblical global Flood happened about 4,350 years ago. The Epic of Gilgamesh, which contains a distorted account of the Flood, was written down in Mesopotamia, in the general region from which Abraham came. And it was probably written down on clay tablets at a time closer to Abraham's day than to Moses' time. Moses, inspired by God ( 2 Peter 1:21 ), wrote down the authentic account of the Flood, and it is preserved in the book of Genesis. Tyson asserts that the Akkadian epic, because it was written earlier than the Mosaic account, was the source of the Old Testament account. However, the source was the shared history of a real global Flood, not a shared piece of literature. There is no justification for supposing the true history in the Bible to be a spin-off of the Gilgamesh epic. The biblical historical account, recorded under the

: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age Juliet Nicolson Open Road + Grove/Atlantic , Jun 1, 2010 - History - 304 pages 9 Reviews https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Great_Silence.html?id=7ps0c0cH6lEC This account of British life in the wake of World War I is "social history at its very best . . . insightful and utterly absorbing" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). As the euphoria of Armistice Day in 1918 quickly subsided, there was no denying the carnage that the Great War had left in its wake. Grief and shock overwhelmed the psyche of the British people—but from their despair, new life would slowly emerge. For veterans with faces demolished in the trenches, surgeon Harold Gillies brings hope with his miraculous skin-grafting procedure. Women win the vote, skirt hems leap, and Brits forget their troubles at packed dance halls. And two years later, the remains of a nameless combatant would be laid to rest in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey, as "The Great Silence," observed in memory of the countless dead, halted citizens in silent reverence. This history of two transformative years in the life of a nation features countless characters, from an aging butler to a pair of newlyweds, from the Prince of Wales to T.E. Lawrence, the real-life Lawrence of Arabia. The Great Silence depicts a nation fighting the forces that threaten to tear it apart and discovering the common bonds that hold it together. "A pearl of anecdotal history, The Great Silence is a satisfying companion to major studies of World War I and its aftermath . . . as Nicolson proceeds through the familiar stages of grief—denial, anger and acceptance—she gives you a deeper understanding of not only this brief period, but also how war's sacrifices don't end after the fighting stops." —The Seattle Times "It may make you cry." —The Boston Globe Preview this book »

Hey Everyone, Posting Chapters 58 and 59! Double WOOT also nearing end of the volume… As always chapter 58 is a guaranteed chapter and 59 is sponsored. So please join me in thanking our; Translator:Pumpkin Editors: Robin, Phillip and Kulops Sponsor: James Washington Thank you!! Without further Ado – Chapter 58 Please check the main ST page for donation info Chapters in Queue : 8 and 16/60 Donation info for Pumpkin (Link will be on donation page and ST main page along with Donation queue info on ST main page)

On this page: Overview Under the law, victims of Federal crimes such as antitrust violations are entitled to certain rights. These rights include the right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding involving the crime; the right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding unless the court determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at the proceeding; and the right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding. This page lists named defendants (and products or industries involved) in pending cases prosecuted by the Antitrust Division for which public court proceedings are scheduled and for which the court has approved victim notification through this webpage. Note: Hearing dates and times are subject to last-minute change. Although every effort has been made to provide current information, before attending a hearing you may wish to phone the court directly to confirm. Hearings by Product or Service Customized promotional products Electrolytic capacitors Foreign currency exchange (FX) Heir location services Packaged seafood Real estate foreclosure auctions Residential remodelers Hearing Details Hearings are listed in alphabetical order by defendant name. U.S. v. Akshay Aiyer Product or service: Foreign currency exchange (FX) Hearing Date and Time Location Pretrial conference October 17, 2018 4:30 p.m. Eastern Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse Courtroom 14A Honorable John G. Koeltl 500 Pearl Street New York, NY (212) 805-0222 Related page: Documents associated with Akshay Aiyer U.S. v. Christopher Angeles Product or service: Customized promotional products Defendants: Custom Wristbands, Inc. Hearing Date and Time Location Sentencing hearing November 8, 2018 10:00 a.m. Central United States District Court, Southern District of Texas Courtroom 8C Judge Alfred H. Bennett 515 Rusk Avenue Houston, TX (713) 250-5500 Related page: Documents associated with Christopher Angeles U.S. v. Richard A. Blake, Jr. Product or service: Heir location services Hearing Date and Time Location Status hearing December 12, 2018 9:00 a.m. Central Everett McKinley Dirksen Bldg. United States Courthouse Courtroom 1419 Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. 219 S. Dearborn Street Chicago, IL (312) 435-5573 Related page: Documents associated with Richard A. Blake, Jr. U.S. v. Brandenburger & Davis, et al. Product or service: Heir location services Hearing Date and Time Location Status hearing November 15, 2018 9:30 a.m. Central Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Room 2103 Judge Matthew F. Kennelly 219 S. Dearborn Street Chicago, IL (312) 435-5618 Related page: Documents associated with Brandenburger & Davis, et al. U.S. v. Walter Scott Cameron Product or service: Packaged seafood Hearing Date and Time Location Status hearing; Initial appearance March 27, 2019 2:30 p.m. Pacific Philip Burton Federal Building Courtroom 5, 17th Floor Judge Edward M. Chen 450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, CA 415-522-2034 Related page: Documents associated with Walter Scott Cameron U.S. v. Detloff Marketing and Asset Management, Inc., et al. Product or service: Residential remodelers Hearing Date and Time Location Motion hearing February 12, 2019 9:00 a.m. Central United States District Court DeVitt Courtroom 6B Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer 734 Federal Building St. Paul , MN 651-848-1100 Trial May 15, 2019 9:00 a.m. Central United States District Court DeVitt Courtroom 7D Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson 734 Federal Building St. Paul , MN 651-848-1100 Related page: Documents associated with Detloff Marketing and Asset Management, Inc., et al. U.S. v. Alvin Florida, Jr., et al.

Hi! Thanks for checking out our Kickstarter! We are so excited to finally be gearing up to record the songs we've been writing and working on for the last year and a half! A BRIEF HISTORY OF - The Manx started off as a 3 piece all acoustic folk-punk band in 2010 (banjo, accordion, bass). We had all met while playing in the Los Angeles extreme punk/hardcore/experimental scene and decided to come together and try something different. Something simpler. In 2011, we wrote a handful of songs, recorded our "Storms Thrashing Our Vessel" cd, and played a bunch of shows until the time that we met our mandolin player, Zach Zdziebko. In 2012, we recorded our Blood Chronicles 7" and did a little bit of West Coast touring to support the release. In 2013, we set up a full United States tour all on our own. It was a challenge, it was grueling, it was a hell of a lot of gas money, but it was one of the most rewarding and exciting experiences we had ever been through. Later that year we added our drummer, Max Winston, to the equation. Having a drummer in the band really pushed us to another level and it was THEN that we decided that we would take all of 2014 off from playing shows, etc. to write our first full length album. That's just what we did and that brings us to right now. Adam is a Frog... Sometimes the Shows Get Intense... A Basement in Pittsburgh... THE NEW SOUNDS - Musically, we each come from different backgrounds, and we've all been writing, arranging, and contributing to this project, which has led us to create some really interesting sounds this time around. We've started playing through effects pedals and amplifiers using them to experiment with genres and styles, spanning from doo-wop to black metal to surf rock to math-core and beyond. Our music is inspired by, but not limited to, such themes as Ancient Egypt, Space, Killer Dolls, Puppets, Hell, Puppets From Hell, Puppet Master, Master Of Puppets, Spicy Ramen, Existentialism, Mortal Kombat 2, Killer Instinct, Extreme-Kendama and GWAR... Rockin' the Suburbs... The Manx + GWAR = THE GWANX... THE RECORDING STUDIO - Instead of recording the songs ourselves, back in Tommy's cockroach infested apartment, we have a really amazing opportunity to record in an ACTUAL studio with a professional engineer/producer. Slick Studio Shot #1... OUR PRODUCER - Once we realized that we had written enough new material to finally record our first full length album, we reached out to a handful of producers and engineers, whom we respect and admire. We were excited to receive a response from one of our top choices, letting us know he was interested in working with us! He's worked with several of our favorite bands including The Melvins, Tweak Bird, Big Business, Solar Wimp, Foo Fighters, etc. Once we began to discuss the project with him, we realized just how perfect of a match he is for our unique sound. Floyd, Virginia... WHAT YOU'RE HELPING TO FUND - It's going to cost us $300 dollars a day to record our album. It will take us 10 days to record the entire thing. 10 x $300 = $3,000.00 MK2... REWARDS - We've got a ton of different options for you guys. Here are some pictures of a few of them! T-Shirts!!! Destroy Everything... The audio from the complete MANX discography set to CRAZY visuals from weird, psychotic, funny movies, all on one limited edition VHS tape! Custom Myke Artwork! Custom Tommy Artwork! Custom Max Artwork!

Perhaps it's something your kids already know: Canadians are the architects of amazing children's TV shows. Canuck creators are behind hit TV and streaming programs that are making a splash worldwide. And now, with Canadian distributor DHX Media's $345-million US purchase of Peanuts (which one expert called "the Holy Grail" of children's entertainment) as well as the Strawberry Shortcake brand, our reach is widening. We really don't acknowledge enough our incredible children's industry, which has developed in a very competitive global market, said Charles Falzon, a TV industry veteran and dean of Ryerson University's faculty of communication and design in Toronto. "Shows are not great because they're Canadian," Falzon noted. They're great because Canadian companies have developed a reputation as excellent custodians: managing kids' content with integrity, remaining connected with the audience and respecting the creator and the creative process, he told CBC News on Wednesday. "We can continue to export that capacity on properties that are created here, on properties that we partner with internationally, on properties that we acquire. It really is one of our unique selling propositions as an industry." Strawberry Shortcake is just one of the beloved toys and cartoons from the 1980s that have undergone modern updates. (American Greetings/Associated Press) Peanuts and Strawberry Shortcake will join, for instance, a host of other major kids properties in Halifax-based powerhouse DHX's vast library of content, including established shows Teletubbies, Inspector Gadget, Caillou and Yo Gabba Gabba. Nostalgia rules Strong content endures, finding fresh fans in each generation — just look at Thomas the Tank Engine, Winnie the Pooh or Sesame Street. And while it might sound counterintuitive to some, legacy brands and programs are what's most valuable in today's fractured landscape, said DHX's co-founder and executive chair Michael Donovan. "It's the parent who makes the decision [on what to watch] and they base it on what they recognize, given an infinity of choice," he said, explaining that 72 per cent of programming watched by families with children under six years old is consumed with a parent present. "It's what people recognize and already have an emotional attachment to." Cartoonist Charles Schulz, who died in 2000, poses in his office with a sketch of his beloved Peanuts character Snoopy. (Ben Margot/Associated Press) With Peanuts, DHX has taken on the tricky task of bringing a revered and classic children's franchise forward. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz's family members notably turned down many pitches over the years — before finally agreeing to a recent 3D-animated film — because they didn't want his vision modernized in a gimmicky way. "We take these traditional brands with legacy, that we feel have positive values, and try to reimagine them given new technologies and new audiences. We would like to do that with Peanuts. But it's already fantastic. It's already unbelievably good, so we do that trepidatiously," Donovan said. A creative hotbed Domestic creators are also putting Canada on the global map with original shows that easily cross borders. "People are in awe about what Canada does. I think we punch way above our weight as a nation, in terms of our size," said Frank Falcone, president of Guru Studio, the Toronto-based animation house behind Spin Master Entertainment's massive international hit Paw Patrol. "We're killing it. We're doing an amazing job of telling stories that resonate around the world." Paw Patrol, seen in Canada on TVO and internationally on Nickelodeon and Netflix, is a hit with preschool audiences worldwide. (Spin Master Entertainment) Canadian values like inclusivity and civic duty filter into the stories we tell and how we tell them — a key factor in our success with exporting kids shows abroad, Falcone explained. For instance, Paw Patrol "works in every country [where] it's launched," he said. "[Kids] feel really empowered by the energy that those pups bring and the storytelling and good nature of the show. The civic duty that comes across in the show is remarkable. Doing the best for your community is the message of that show and that works in every country around the world." With today's borderless streaming and video-on-demand technology, fans hungry for Canadian kids' shows now have more access than ever to a wave of new material coming from the Great White North. "Kids want new content. They want to learn more. They want to be exposed to new ideas as fast as we can create them," Falcone said. "There's lots of room for creators to bring new entertainment brands and stories to the market."

Four days around the New Jersey Devils and I'm convinced: This is really a team more people should be rooting for. They're personable. They play hard. They also have a relatively exciting style that relies on a hard, two-man forecheck and creating turnovers that turn into offence. They don't, by the way, block many shots. They have game breakers (Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk) and likeable pluggers (David Clarkson, Bryce Salvador, among others) and, of course, a 40-year-old legend in Martin Brodeur who is somehow looking spry again. They even have a coach, in Peter DeBoer, who is a great success story after grinding out years and years in the OHL in relative anonymity. (Asked about the penalty box getting stuck shut on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, preventing Travis Zajac from going in, DeBoer said, simply: "Yeah, I have [seen that before] I coached junior for 15 years. I've seen just about everything." The Devils are also an underdog, as a sixth seed, and still finding ways to dominate teams like the Philadelphia Flyers through hard work and win games. "We started every series on the road," Brodeur said after the Devils beat the New York Rangers to tie their series in Game 2. "If we don't win on the road, we're in trouble." So why do I get the sense of either (a) apathy or (b) genuine dislike for this team? Probably because of the jersey they wear. Let's face it, the Devils may have been the least popular team in this country over the decade between when they won their first Stanley Cup (1995) and their last (2003), as they became the face of the neutral zone trap and the Dead Puck Era. (What many overlook is how high scoring some of those New Jersey teams really were. They had the second most goals in the league in 1998-99 and 1999-00 and then led the league a year later.) Stylistically, they've changed considerably under DeBoer, but perceptions for franchises are often very hard to shake. To many, the Devils are still this no-nonsense, Scott Stevens led defensive squad that celebrated its three Cup wins in the parking lot -- even though they're now full of personality, led by Parise (who talked at length after Game 2 about how DeBoer pushes them to be aggressive in the offensive zone) and have a beautiful new rink that has a read-and-black pavilion out front to potentially parade around in. Yes, this is another team with financial issues, with the new building not drawing as many fans as they'd like. Yes, they're low on Canadian content, with Clarkson and Salvador two of only five skaters from this country. And, yes, GM Lou Lamoriello has a reputation for being crusty even if, like his team, that perception isn't reality. (Few hockey execs are more reasonable to deal with or beloved by their fan base.) But there's a good argument to be made that, if this roster was dressed up like the Buffalo Sabres or Chicago Blackhawks or Los Angeles Kings (who seem to be this year's darlings), their bandwagon would be filling up right now. Give this Devils team a chance, get to know some of their players like Patrik Elias, Adam Henrique and Dainius Zubrus and watch their games while they're still in the playoffs. They'll likely surprise you. Report Typo/Error

Cost segregation benefits multifamily properties by accelerating depreciation. A cost segregation study identifies and reallocates personal property assets to shorten the depreciation time for income tax purposes, ultimately reducing current income tax obligations. Tangible personal property includes a building's non-structural elements, land improvements and indirect construction costs (e.g. architect's fees, permits, etc.). The primary goal of a cost segregation study is to identify all construction-related costs that can be depreciated over a shorter tax life (typically 5, 7 and 15 years) than the multifamily building (27½ years for residential real property). Tangible personal property assets found in a cost segregation study generally include items that are affixed to the building but do not relate to the overall operation and maintenance of the building (e.g. carpeting, decorative lighting, crown molding, and specialty plumbing, just to name a few). This method of depreciation is called Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System, or MACRS. Land improvements generally include items "outside" a building that are pertinent to the land and do not relate to the overall operation and maintenance of a building. One exception to "outside" would be interior atriums with landscaped areas. Reducing tax lives of qualifying assets results in accelerated depreciation deductions, considerably reduced tax liability, and much increased cash flow. Cost segregation benefits multifamily properties by accelerating depreciation in several ways. First, cost segregation identifies qualifying assets that are specific in nature to a multifamily property. An example would be a clubhouse featuring an elaborate commons area with crown molding, decorative lighting (e.g. chandelier, wall sconces, etc.), chair-rails, decorative window treatments, kitchen cabinetry, specialty plumbing and electrical, business center, high-speed internet, cable TV, recreation room, and much more. These are usually considered 5-year assets. On the exterior, the typical multifamily property would have security fencing, security gate with electronic entry, significant landscaping with architectural features, water fountains, pool w/fencing, significant drainage system, trash collection areas, mailbox centers, lighting, extensive parking, covered parking, curbs, sidewalks, and again, much more. These are usually considered 15-year assets. Multifamily properties include apartments of all sizes down to quadplexes, triplexes, and duplexes. They all qualify for cost segregation studies and can benefit significantly. In addition to providing substantially lower federal and state taxes, cost segregation can benefit multifamily properties in a myriad number of ways…for example: Cost segregation maximizes income tax savings by correcting the timing of deductions. When an asset's life is shortened, depreciation expense is accelerated and tax payments are decreased during the early stages of tangible personal property's life. This then releases cash for investment opportunities or current operating needs. Cost segregation creates an audit trail. Improper documentation of cost and asset classifications can lead to a negative audit adjustment. Properly documented and engineer-based cost segregation studies helps resolve IRS inquiries at the earliest stages avoiding lengthy AND costly litigation. IRC Sec. 481(a) adjustment Cost segregation delivers automatic catch-up of earned but unrealized depreciation through. This is considered Retroactivity. Beginning in 1996, taxpayers can capture immediate retroactive tax savings on multifamily property (or any for that matter) built or acquired since January 1, 1987. Prior rules that provided a four-year catch-up period for retroactive savings have been amended for cost segregation studies. Now, with cost segregation applied, taxpayers are allowed to take 100% of their Sec. 481(a) adjustment in the year cost segregation is applied. This opportunity to recapture unrecognized, yet earned, depreciation in one year represents an amazing opportunity to perform cost segregation studies on older properties to increase cash flow in the current year. This type of cost segregation is called a "look-back" study. Cost segregation delivers other ancillary benefits as well. Cost segregation can reveal opportunities to reduce real estate tax liabilities and identify certain sales and use tax savings opportunities. Additionally, due to cost segregation being applied, property insurance premiums can be lowered since tangible personal property costs less to insure than real property. Cost segregation can reduce the mortgage interest rate. When cost segregation is applied prior to the purchase or construction start, many lenders will lower interest rates up to 100 basis points due to the debt-service reduction. In other instances a lender may reduce or eliminate the need for down payment due to the additional cash flow afforded by cost segregation. Cost segregation is a tax-planning tool that no multifamily property owner should ignore. However, as an aside, let's briefly address a recent news article related to multifamily properties and cost segregation in the news. The recent "AmeriSouth XXXII, Ltd. v. IRS" case appeared to shed some negative light on cost segregation. The tax court ruled in favor of the IRS with the full details shown in T.C. Memo. 2012

Video Pakistan has taken the landmark decision to allow transsexuals to have their own gender category on some official documents. The country's Supreme Court has ruled that those Pakistanis who do not consider themselves to be either male or female should be allowed to choose an alternative sex when they apply for their national identity cards. Aleem Maqbool reports from Karachi.

Food & Drinks Australian food has been influenced by three major culinary traditions. The most evident is British, with its hearty pub food, meats, and pastries. But Australian cuisine has also been deeply influence by the Aboriginals, who settled Australia 40,000 years before the British, and more recently, a large influx of immigrants from the Mediterranean and then Asia. Australian cuisine, like Australian culture, is a melting pot. We like to take the best of all of those rich traditions, and we've created a menu with the freshest and finest ingredients and give you a truly Australian culinary experience. Popular dishes include our home made meat pies and sausage rolls, our pub classics like "The Parma," our fresh kangaroo and barramundi, and our famous lamb roast. Finish it off with some of our great Aussie desserts, like pavlova and lamington. Our Dishes Kangaroo Loin Australian Burger Fish n' Chips Bangers n' Mash Sausage Rolls Traditional Meat Pie Aussie Lamb Roast The Parma Aussie Cheese Plate Pavlova Kangaroo Loin Tender kangaroo loin served with seasonal veggies. Australian Burger Homemade seasoned ground beef with an egg, bacon, beet and a slice of pineapple. Fish n' Chips Crispy beer battered wild Pollock served with homemade tartar sauce. Bangers n' Mash Pork sausages served with mash and old fashioned tomato chutney. Sausage Rolls Trio of mince pork, veal and beef baked in a golden puff pastry. Traditional Meat Pie Diced sirloin steak and ground beef cooked in gravy. Aussie Lamb Roast Seasoned leg of lamb served with roast veggies, cauliflower English peas and mint sauce. The Parma Jumbo chicken schnitzel layered in the house napoletana sauce topped with parmesan and mozzarella. Aussie Cheese Plate King island blue, seal bay triple cream brie and vintage cheddar. Pavlova Fluffy meringue served with whipped cream, seasonal fruit and passion fruit puree. Our Drinks

Buying Reddit upvotes has always been a contentious issue where the public is EXTREMELY split: Some haven't thought about it and don't even know it's a thing. These people will purchase your products or services if they see them upvoted enough. Others believe that Reddit's anti-spam system is unbreakable. They believe that trying to get past it can actually hurt more than it helps. These people will purchase even more of your products or services. Others have used it to create strong, trusted and popular companies that generate profit with a very low customer acquisition cost. The last category is represented by our clients (yep, we sell Reddit upvotes on the main page). The first two categories are people that see a comment recommending something and take it as legit without skepticism. Or they see an upvoted post reviewing a new online tool and they immediately sign up and try it. Examples can go on. In short, they make great purchasers for your products or services. Or an easy to acquire following for your cause. Or fans if you are a music artist. Etcetera. The best marketing is word of mouth and Reddit, Hacker News and Voat are word of mouth on steroids. Reddit upvotes and downvotes can bring a lot of positive cash flow and recognition to any startup or already established business; it does it fast, in less than 24 hours. Combined with strategic comments and posts, they can ruin a competitor. You don't have to use this strategy for direct conversions, which is what we do most. You can take it slowly and first bring a lot of Reddit traffic to your blog. Or get a lot of subscribers for your mailing list, which you'll convert later. The possibilities are really endless. There's a reason we dislike utmost when it comes to why some people won't buy Reddit upvotes: they've been scammed before. Actually at the time when we're writing this, the first few websites that appear on Google when searching for "buy Reddit upvotes" are actually scams. We know because we've tried them ourselves. First off, they're slow. They won't start upvoting as soon as you place the order. They'll wait 24 hours so that moderator traffic goes off the post in cause and they can upvote it with less risk. The accounts that they use are extremely low quality and most of the upvotes won't count. They'll justify it with "you've been downvoted as well, it's out of our control!". Some are even so uninterested in providing a quality service that they are using software like "Reddit Automation Bot", "Reddit Account Creator and Upvoater" or "Reddit Dominator". With all these low quality services, your accounts will generally be banned in less than one week. If you're lucky, it can take up to ninety days. The services on Fiverr and SEOclerks related to this are even worse. Do you actually believe someone will give you 40 upvotes for five dollars? And do it manually? Just one person? No. If it seems too good to be true, it's a scam. There's no putting it lightly when it comes to this subject: over eighty percent of the industry is a scam. Of the remaining twenty percent, most, even though they don't try to cheat you, provide a low-quality service. It's usually just one man having registered a bunch of accounts and upvoting with them through software. It's inefficient and risky. A ticking bomb waiting to be banned with everything that he's got. We are a team of eleven persons which use Reddit ten hours per day. Most of us have been doing this for over five years. Many of the accounts that we use have received gold numerous times and have an amazing reputation in the subreddits that they're targetting. We have moderator access to over 4000 subreddits. Six of the accounts from these lists belong to us. We have the monopoly when it comes to offering a quality service, and not just on Reddit. We've helped a lot of companies become giants. We've helped politicians get elected. We're friendly. We'll keep doing this. We want to help companies succeed without huge marketing budgets. Our most trusted clients also receive access to our backup websites, therefore this can't stop if they're serious about it. Try us! We'll bring qualified traffic where you want it.

"ASL is visual literature, meaning stories are preserved and passed down from generation to generation by the act of signed storytelling instead of spoken or written down. ASL is not a written language but this is not an uncommon occurrence in the world. Languages that do not have a written form produce a specific type of literature called "oral literature." This is true of ASL, the tradition of passing on stories in the Deaf community relies on the act of live storytelling. ASL was originally captured on film in 1913 by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). ASL literature is currently being preserved by video recordings in order to preserve the creativity and beauty of the language. Literature is an important and treasured part of any culture. For Deaf people, this part of Deaf culture helps to explain the Deaf identity, beliefs and the ways of life for Deaf people. It is embraced, enjoyed and shared by the Deaf community and those who support the values and beliefs of Deaf people. ASL storytelling is an amazing art and so much fun to watch." ASL Literature Includes: (1) ABC Stories (2) Number Stories (3) Handshape Stories (4) Classifier Stories (5) Jokes, Humor, Puns (6) Poetry (7) Folktales

The Cubs have withdrawn their offer of face-value World Series tickets to Chicago aldermen after a city ethics board determined that taking the team up on the offer could violate a ban on elected officials accepting gifts worth more than $50. Three aldermen on Monday confirmed that the team had withdrawn the offer after the Board of Ethics on Friday sent out new guidance to aldermen, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city officials on the issue. Some aldermen were upset, contending that the ethics board and its new chairman, William Conlon, were making much ado about nothing. "This whole thing is a circus," said Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, whose North Side ward includes part of Wrigleyville, the area that's home to the team's iconic ballpark. "Rather than celebrate the Cubs, the Cubs now are going to have to comment on something when we as a city should be celebrating going to a World Series. Ticket prices to see the Cubs at Wrigley Field, according to analysts, could make the 112th World Series the most expensive event in recent sports history. Ticket prices to see the Cubs at Wrigley Field, according to analysts, could make the 112th World Series the most expensive event in recent sports history. SEE MORE VIDEOS "Taking attention away from the Cubs and what they have achieved is bizarre," Pawar added. "I just think from the Cubs' perspective it just doesn't make sense to try to figure out how to navigate that opinion. They are trying to plan for a World Series." Cubs spokesman Julian Green said aldermen who asked about World Series tickets were directed to the ethics board's guidance memo, which he said "prevents members of the City Council from purchasing tickets." In the memo, the ethics panel explained that if city officials, including Emanuel, buy the tickets at face value they would have to perform some sort of "ceremonial duty or action," such as throwing out the first pitch or standing on the field with other elected officials. That's because the tickets are worth far more on the secondary market. Friday's memo also stated there must be "a clear and direct connection between the official's attendance and the performance of such ceremonial duty or action and the nature and location of the event itself." It goes on to cite as examples the mayor or alderman whose ward includes the venue — which in the case of Wrigley Field is Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th. Emanuel spokesman Adam Collins said the mayor "hasn't finalized" his plans for the World Series games at Wrigley Field. Tunney spokeswoman Kim Shepherd said the alderman has yet to discuss the issue with the Cubs. Green, meanwhile, declined to answer whether the team had made a ticket offer to Emanuel or Tunney. "We haven't spent much time thinking about the exceptions," Green said. "We've been too busy celebrating. ... Our focus should be on baseball, and this issue has become a complete distraction during one of the most historic runs in Cubs history." For more than a decade, the Cubs have offered playoff tickets at face value to federal, state and city officials, even though the mayor and aldermen determine the rules and regulations under which the team can alter their ballpark and do business. This year, the ethics board took a new stance under Conlon, who was recently appointed the panel's chairman. But the ethics panel also determined the officials could attend under a "hosting exception," thus the new interpretation of city rules that certain officials could attend if they perform a ceremonial duty. The new rules also would apply to regular season games — and offers from other city sports teams — in cases where the market value of the ticket exceeds the face value by more than $50. Public officials are still free to buy tickets on the open market like anyone else. If aldermen were to break the rule as newly interpreted and were found in violation, they could face a fine for each infraction ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. [email protected] Twitter @ReporterHal

Just like the countless innovators, explorers and fine people killed in a Frankensteinian way by their own inventions, the current owner of Segway—not Dean Kamen—died yesterday after he rode off a cliff and into a river in England. Jimi Heselden, aged 62, was found at 11.40am yesterday by the River Wharfe in North Yorkshire, with his X2 Adventure (pictured) by his side. Police believe that it was just a freak accident, with nothing suspicious about the man worth $262m falling to his death. Advertisement It's particularly poignant as his company had only just purchased the Segway company in December 2009. He sounded like a really nice guy according to reports, a chap who left school at 15 to work in the mines, but was fortunate enough to develop some interesting-sounding defense systems which made him millions. He was one of those rare philanthropists who had given away millions to charity but didn't like to talk about it—at least £23m ($36m) in the last few years alone, it's thought. [The Independent and The Daily Mail] Image Credit: Scottslone

In "Prayers for Bobby," Mary Griffith (Sigourney Weaver) is a devout Christian who raises her children with the conservative teachings of the Presbyterian Church. However, when her son Bobby (Ryan Kelley) confides to his older brother he may be gay, life changes for the entire family after Mary learns about his secret. While Bobby's father (Henry Czerny) and siblings slowly come to terms with his homosexuality, Mary believes God can cure him of what she considers his 'sin' and persuades Bobby to pray harder and seek solace in church activities in hopes of changing him. Desperate for his mother's approval, Bobby does what is asked of him, but through it all, the church's apparent disapproval of homosexuality causes him to grow increasingly withdrawn and depressed. Guilty over the pain he is causing Mary, Bobby moves away, yet hopes that some day his mother will accept him. His subsequent depression and self-loathing intensifies as he blames himself for not being the 'perfect' son and is driven to suicide. Faced with their tragedy, Mary begins to question her faith when she receives no answers from her pastor concerning her devastating loss. Through her long and emotional journey, Mary slowly reaches out to the gay community and discovers unexpected support from a very unlikely source. The film is based on the 1995 Leroy Aarons book of the same name.

"I know this place went to extreme measures to have locked doors, locked safes, locked everything else there. This was somebody who really wanted in there bad," Hammontree said. "It really upset me. I really hope that when they are caught and they will be caught, that they will be harshly dealt with."

499. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs ( Mallory ) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs ( Rubottom ) 1 SUBJECT The Decline and Fall of Castro Salient considerations respecting the life of the present Government of Cuba are: 1. The majority of Cubans support Castro (the lowest estimate I have seen is 50 percent). 2. There is no effective political opposition. 3. Fidel Castro and other members of the Cuban Government espouse or condone communist influence. 4. Communist influence is pervading the Government and the body politic at an amazingly fast rate. 5. Militant opposition to Castro from without Cuba would only serve his and the communist cause. 6. The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship. If the above are accepted or cannot be successfully countered, it follows that every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba. If such a policy is adopted, it should be the result of a positive decision which would call forth a line of action which, while as adroit and inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government. The principal item in our economic quiver would be flexible authority in the sugar legislation. This needs to be sought urgently. All other avenues should likewise be explored. But first, a decision is [Page 886]necessary as to the line of our conduct. Would you wish to have such a proposal prepared for the Secretary?2

F.T. Island's main vocalist Lee Hong-gi will host an upcoming episode of "Saturday Night Live Korea," local news reported Sunday. Lee will appear on the late-night comedy show at 9:45 p.m. on December 5 on cable channel tvN. Lee Hong-gi (OSEN) The 25-year-old star, who has appeared in TV dramas and variety programs on the small screen, is expected to deliver a fun and energetic show.Earlier, actor Kim Sang-joong, rock band YB and girl group Wonder Girls appeared on the sixth season of "SNL Korea," which is an adaption of the popular American NBC show "Saturday Night Live."Lee recently dropped his first solo album, "FM302," following his debut with F.T. Island in 2007.By Ahn Sung-mi ([email protected])

Intermediate Cure Urethane Specifications View the Freeman Polyurethane Elastomers brochure (pdf) View the RenCast Fast Polyurethane Specifications (pdf) *Deflection Temperature is the temperature when a 1/2 x 1/2 x 5 bar (supported at both ends) deflects 0.010 of an inch under a 66 psi fiber stress. **Unnotched The maximum service temperature may be far above this value depending on the application and the stress of the plastic at high temperature

'Tragic yet beautiful': Thousands of healthy starfish wash up on Moreton Island off south-east Queensland Updated Thousands of starfish have washed up on Moreton Island off south-east Queensland in a mass stranding spanning kilometres. Tour guide Rhett Ericsen-Miller filmed the starfish at the Ben-Ewa campsite, describing the spectacle "tragic yet beautiful". Stunned tourists walking the beach feared it was "mass suicide" but University of Queensland marine biologist Kathy Townsend said it was a natural phenomenon. Dr Townsend said a combination of a strong north-westerly and rough weather aligned to cause the animals to lose their grip on the seagrass beds in which they live. The starfish, also known as sea stars, did not appear to have wasting disease or lesions. "It is due to a change in the wind, weather, and tides," she said. "All the conditions were in line for that event to occur." Dr Townsend said the strandings usually happened once a year, but it is the second one in several weeks. The population was still healthy, Dr Townsend said, despite the huge number of deaths. "Just two days ago I was out there and there is still a lot," she said. "It doesn't appear to have affected the population overall." She recommended tourists throw the animals back into the sea to give them a chance at survival. "They can survive a certain amount of dehydration," she said. Speculation starfish have come together for breeding School of Biological Sciences Adjunct Professor John Lucas said it was the time of year for starfish to breed. "It is common for marine animals that shed their eggs and sperm into the water to aggregate to improve fertilisation rates," he said. "There has obviously been mass mortality in a dense population." The video of the stranding was posted on Facebook, acquiring more than 32,00 views since Monday. Mr Ericsen-Miller's colleague Terry Howard said the starfish spread in batches for about 10 kilometres across the Island, off Brisbane, from Ben-Ewa to Tangalooma Point. He was not overwhelmed by the sight. He sees it every year. "The tourists are surprised by it but they accept that it's part of what you see on the island." Topics: animals, human-interest, cape-moreton-4025 First posted

CSGL isn't placing the logos according to who is the home team, nor do they claim they do... still its retarded that they have two identical matches on the site with zero info on which you are betting. There was this situation before and in the end the matches were reversed and the underdog happen to win on one of them so there was a lot of rage :P 2014-09-07 16:38

New mother Kelly Barnes is heartbroken and angry. She's heartbroken because she has endured what no mother should have to endure. While pregnant with twins, she lost one of them at 30 weeks. The other baby, Kinsleigh, was born with serious heart problems. But Barnes is angry because her insurance company, Aetna, held up paying thousands of dollars in medical charges. The reason? The insurance company said the newborn might have been suffering from a pre-existing condition. "I don't know how something could be pre-existing in a baby, so it was very shocking to me to see something like that," Barnes told "Good Morning America." "It's a slap in the face. Her medical bills are the last thing I should be worrying about. I should know that my baby is being taken care of." "Under Aetna's own definition, in order to deny for pre-existing condition, there has to be medical advice or care that was rendered or given," Barnes' attorney, Tom Caldwell, said. "And in this case, of course, that would be real hard, given the fact the baby was still in the womb." Barnes said she called Aetna hoping for a resolution. "It's like you're talking to somebody who is reading from a script," Barnes said. "They don't have answers for you based on what you're telling them." Finally, Barnes contacted "GMA." We called the insurance company in September and they claim that the pre-existing condition hold up was a simple coding error and have been paying back Barnes' claims since July. But Barnes said that no one ever told her that and it wasn't until "GMA" got involved that all the costs were finally paid this week. "It is my personal belief that they will -- they do this to you, expecting you not to follow up with it," she said. "And I'm sure most people don't." Consumer expert Deann Friedholm said what Barnes experienced is not uncommon. "It really might be a clerical error, but let's face it, it is in the company's interest to not pay bills. The fewer bills they pay, the better their bottom line is," Friedholm said. Kinsleigh still needs heart operations, but those Aetna said they'll be paying for. Even so, Barnes said she'll never forget the nightmare that Aetna put her and her family through. Following the "GMA" investigation, Aetna apologized to Barnes. CLICK HERE to read Aetna's response to our story. Tips for the Insured The following tips were provided by Deborah Senn, former Insurance Commissioner for the State of Washington and author of an upcoming book called "Survival Insurance." Look at your Explanation of Benefits form very carefully. Question everything and if it doesn't look right, ask. If you have to challenge the companies, don't stop fighting. When you talk to the insurance company, try to do it online. That way, you can get a record of the conversation online. This can be really helpful.

Can you drive snow and winter tires year round? It's an idea that occurs to many drivers who experience winter weather: If I have to mount snow tires every year, why don't I just keep them on my vehicle all the time? Unfortunately, using snow tires year round isn't recommended. In the long run, it will cost more money than changing them out and could compromise your vehicle's performance on the road. That's why tire makers offer different types of tires for different seasons – the best option for you is determined by many factors including climate, driving style, and performance needs. Here are some specific reasons why year-round use of winter tires is not advised. And if it's the hassle of tire mounting, unmounting, and remounting that you're tired of, we've included an idea for simplifying that process, too. First, what is a Winter Tire? All winter tires, whether studless or studded, are made to maintain better traction in extreme cold, and on icy, snowy, or slushy roads. The rubber is able to remain softer, which makes it more flexible, allowing the tire to conform to the road better in extremely cold conditions. This feature, along with deeper tread depths and specialized tread designs, are what make snow/winter tires ideal for inclement winter weather and extreme cold driving conditions. We use this analogy - tennis shoes. Yes, you can wear tennis shoes on the beach or in the snow, but wouldn't it be better to have flip flops on the beach and boots for the snow? Winter tires are like snow boots for your car. Why You Shouldn't Use Winter Tires Year-Round Winter tires are specially designed for cold temperatures and winter precipitation. Once it gets warm, you won't need deep tread depths to handle snow or biting edges for traction on ice. Here are some specific reasons why using winter tires year round is not recommended. Faster wear on warm, dry pavement - the tread rubber of winter tires is considerably more flexible than that of all season and summer tires. That same pliable tread rubber that adds traction in winter will wear down quickly in warm temperatures. Summer and all-season tires are built to withstand warm temperatures, providing long wear life. Decreased performance - In warm weather, winter tires won't provide the same handling capabilities as summer or all-season tires. Imagine if you needed to make a quick maneuver and your tires were soft and squishy. You won't get the crisp response from a winter tire in warm weather. Winter tires need that flexibilitity to handle ice and snow, but it's not as useful in warm weather. The specialized compounds and tread designs of winter tires are not designed for optimal warm climate performance and wear. Generally speaking, the softer tread of a winter tire will wear out faster in warmer temperatures. If you keep winter tires on your vehicle after winter has come and gone, you will have to replace them sooner than had you removed them for springtime. That's why using snow tires year round is more expensive than mounting them seasonally. The sooner they wear out, the sooner you have to replace them. Simplify Tire Re-Mounting Driving on snow tires year-round could compromise optimal tread wear and ultimately be more expensive than just changing tires out for the season. If you were considering year-round use of winter tires because you were tired of having to change them, here's an idea that could save you time and money. Purchase wheels with the same diameter and bolt pattern as your current wheels. Mount your snow tires on those and store them in the garage until winter arrives. Instead of having to change out your tires each season, just have a technician change the wheels. It's a quick, relatively inexpensive alternative to mounting and unmounting snow tires every season.

Everyone has a huge personal goal they want to accomplish--a big, challenging, amazing goal. They think about it, dream about it, obsess about it... but they never accomplish it. That could be because they also talk about it. According to studies like this one, people who talk about their intentions are less likely to follow through on those intentions. Say you want to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, a grueling five- to seven-month trek from Georgia to Maine. (Having completed about 2% of it, I'm not so well on my way.) You're having dinner with friends, and you tell them about it. "Oh, wow!" one exclaims. "That sounds amazing. But won't it be super hard?" Indeed it will, you say, and you share what you know about tent sites, shelters, too-occasional showers, and the cool trail name you'll get. It's fun. It feels awesome to bask in the glow of people who admire you for wanting to take on such a huge challenge. It feels like you're already on the Trail. It also means you're less likely to actually be on the Trail someday, because "when other people take notice of an individual's identity-related behavioral intention, this gives the individual a premature sense of possessing the aspired-to identity." In short, you already got a kick out of people thinking of you as a Trail hiker... so now you're less motivated to actually be a Trail hiker. Sounds counterintuitive, right? Aren't we supposed to share our intentions so other people can help support and motivate us? According to NYU psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, one of the authors of the study, that's not the case. Gollwitzer thinks the issue lies in our sense of identity. Each of us wants to be certain things, and we naturally declare those intentions, even if we have not yet become those things. (Check out Twitter profiles bios if you don't believe me--tons of people are motivated, innovative, creative, passionate, and unique gurus, ninjas, and connoisseurs.) Describing how I plan to run a marathon, and how I bought running shoes and joined a gym and created a training plan, certainly makes me feel good... but it also makes me feel like I'm already part of the way there even though I haven't trained at all. Declaring what we want to be and how we will get there causes us to somehow feel we are farther along the path of becoming who we want to be, and therefore less motivated--even though we've actually done nothing but talk. So try it. Pick a goal. Create a plan to achieve it. Then keep your goal and your plan to yourself. Focus solely on doing the work required to achieve your goal.

Men's Casual Jackets Taking you from casual Fridays at the office to weekend outings, GAZMAN's men's casual jackets are wardrobe staples. Available in a variety of styles and fabrics, they offer much needed functionality and versatility to see you through the seasons. From lightweight bomber jackets to classic pea coats, choose from GAZMAN's selection of men's casual jackets for effortless style points.

slack.el is a client for Slack, the team communication service. Goal The goal of this project is to create a fully functional emacs client for Slack. Progress Currently the program is not functional at all. Now I'm just doing some jobs in lower layer. The progress of this project might be slow because this is being done only by myself. TODOs

Every four years, since 1992, Peace and Dignity Journey participants begin their voyage across the continent. Runners start simultaneously from both ends of the continent in Chickaloon, Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina traversing the Western Hemisphere by foot, from community to community and, joining together for a final gathering in Guatemala. The 2012 run is dedicated to water, reminding those who have forgotten that water is an important and shared resource for all. Since its inception people have informally documented small sections of the journeys with home equipment, and some have produced short documentations of a specific region. This year, we would like to document the journey in its entirety, from Alaska to Guatemala, focusing on the stories and songs of the native communities traversed. Although many people may not be able to run from Alaska to Guatemala, we believe in the importance of documenting and sharing the messages of the elders with everyone. Traditional elders have an important message to share with us about how we can take care of the environment and carry peace and dignity within ourselves. We know that many people believe in this cause and will help make this a possibility. With your contribution we will be able to purchase the necessary technology to record these critical messages. The Peace and Dignity Journeys is a grass roots organization that is fully sponsored by the communities that host the runners. We do not receive sponsorship from corporations. Our efforts are fully funded and supported by people like you. Everyone can contribute to making this journey possible. This run only exists with your generous contributions. Please help us spread the word. Invite your friends and family! Tell them about this incredible run that connects indigenous people from North America to South America by bringing to life an ancient prophecy of peace and the importance of dignity for all. Ask them to support as we invite everyone to learn about the Peace and Dignity Journeys of 2012. Please forward widely by email, tweet or, facebook.

Watch Live TV on Your Computer or Roku Free for 45 Days!  Another great way to watch NFL football games on Roku is to visit the NFL Game Rewind website and subscribe to one of their streaming HD NFL game packages. Then use the Plex trick we show you below to watch full NFL games on your Roku. NFL Game Rewind Packages Pricing: $59.99 Season Plus $29.99 Season  $24.99 Follow Your Team $9.99 Watch for Seven Days Visit NFL Game Rewind to learn more and Subscribe. Use MyPlex to Watch Internet Videos and NFL on Roku On your computer once the game is playing , use the Plex-It button by dragging it to the page which contains the streaming video. This will add the NFL game to your Plex Queue and you can then open the Plex channel on your Roku and watch the NFL game on your large screen television. If you have Plex Media Server installed on a computer you can watch NFL Rewind on your Roku through the NFL Network Channel that is available on Plex. Chromecast can also cast the NFL Rewind game to your TV from your PC, notebook or handheld device. Here are step by step instructions how to install and setup "MyPlex" Currently one of the easiest and best ways we found to watch NFL Games on your Roku. Click Here for our HUGE list of Roku Sports Channels! If you have SiriusXM All Access you can listen to every MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL and PGA game on your Roku, Computer, Smart Phone or Tablet. Add the Sirius XM Roku Channel Where to Stream NFL Games - has some more great NFL resources for cord cutters. Roku Channels • Index • Contact • Disclosure • Privacy © 2018 mkvXstream.com Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners

Despite appearances, Ouest walked out of here with two holes in her ears, and without shedding a tear. She did the same thing a couple years ago, but they kept getting infected that time, so we let them heal and close up. Personally, I would have been happy for her … Read More

Jun 12, 2018 - The woman accused is Monika Caryk, the longtime girlfriend of Senators forward Mike Hoffman. "Monika Caryk has uttered numerous statements wishing my unborn child dead," says Melinda Karlsson's sworn statement to the court. ... Hoffman has been with the Senators since 2010, Erik ...

tsm overwatch update It's no secret at this point that ConnorJ and I have been working with TSM over the past few months to put together an OW roster. Recently we had just closed in our final six after having trialed dozens of extremely talented players, but unfortunately (due to circumstances outside of our control) the team isn't going to come to fruition. After learning more information about the OWL ($$$), TSM decided that it'd be better for the organization to stay out of the competitive scene, at least for now. TSM and I have now mutually parted ways and I hope to be involved again in the scene very soon. I'm officially a free agent. :D P.S. Special shoutout to everyone who put in tons of hours this last month. Really enjoyed playing with you guys, i wish we could of made it work. Happy to see so many of you already join great teams! :D Reply · Report Post

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter] Chapter 69: A Knight In Shining Armor (1) Shen Jingchen noticed that his sister's face was exceptionally red when he bumped into her at the school gate. He eyed her suspiciously before he lightly pushed Zhao Chengning and asked, "What happened to my sister? Why's her face so red?" Zhao Chengning glanced playfully at Shen Jingbin's flushed cheeks and said, "I don't know either." Shen Jingchen noticed that little glance of his and immediately understood what was going on. He broke out into a radiant smile and hooked his arm over Shen Jingbin's neck. "Hey, sis! Are you feeling embarrassed? What did Ah Ning do to make you feel so embarrassed? Come on, tell your big bro!" Shen Jingbin felt disgusted by how ecstatic he sounded at the end. She grabbed ahold of his arm that was draped over her neck, and threw him over her shoulder. "What the f*ck…" Shen Jingchen only had enough time to scream out in alarm, before he landed on the ground with a bang. "Shen Jingbin, are you trying to kill me?! What the f*ck, my waist…" Shen Jingbin crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to the side. "Chatterboxes won't live beyond the first episode. You should be hanged for having lived till now." Shen Jingchen kneaded his waist as he stood up. Gritting his teeth, he glanced at Zhao Chengning who was clearly enjoying the show and said, "Ah Ning, you better take a good look for yourself. This girl is a barbarian! You'll be the one on the receiving end of this if you marry her in the future!" "Shen Jingchen, are you really looking for a beating?!" "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down for a moment. You guys are still at the school gate," Zhao Chengning hurriedly interjected upon seeing the looks of astonishment the students who passed by were giving them. He had no intention of becoming the top story in his school's forum. However, what he didn't know was that they'd already made the headlines of the school's forum. Zhao Chengning hadn't parked his car in B University, instead, he'd left it in the underground carpark of the office next door. Since they still had plenty of time left on their hands after they'd left the school and they didn't know what to do, they decided that they might as well head on over to Starbucks for a cup of coffee while they mulled over what they should have for lunch. After ordering their coffee at the counter, Shen Jingchen stayed behind to collect their drinks while Shen Jingbin and Zhao Chengning looked for a place to sit. It might have been through sheer luck or some other occurrence, but they managed to get a seat by the window. As it was between peak hours, there currently wasn't many people in Starbucks, so Shen Jingchen soon arrived with their coffee. The trio drank their coffee and started to idly chat, which consisted mostly of Shen Jingchen asking questions and Zhao Chengning answering them, with Shen Jingbin silently listening at the side. Zhao Chengning sat opposite Shen Jingbin, while Shen Jingchen sat next to her. Out of respect, Zhao Chengning would look at Shen Jingchen when he spoke to him. However, she had this feeling that he wasn't looking at Shen Jingchen, but rather he was looking at her. Why did she suddenly feel sorry for Shen Jingchen? When they were just about done with their coffee, a group of youngsters suddenly walked through the door. Amongst them was a slightly older looking woman. Her eyes immediately lit up after she swept a glance in their direction. "Zhao Chengning!" After saying a few words to her companions, the woman rushed over to them. The trio simultaneously raised their heads and looked over when they heard a woman's voice. The Shen siblings were sitting with their backs against the entrance. The woman only knew that there were two other people present, but she didn't know what they looked like. When she drew closer and was able to make out their appearances, her legs turned to jelly, causing her to nearly fall down in the process. Using his quick reflexes, Shen Jingchen stretched out his hand and caught her. After steadying herself, the woman thanked him for his help. "Why're you here?" The woman stood in front of their table and asked. "I heard from Xuya that you've recently hooked up with a hot chick? Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you a little too selfish? You didn't even let us take a look at the beauty after getting

Microsoft is rebooting Windows Phone again. After years in purgatory and a Nokia acquisition that didn't exactly lead to anything major, we now have two Lumia phones that are trying it all again: the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. Both were oft-leaked devices — so much so that we came into this event already knowing the big points. They're running a version of Windows 10, which Microsoft is betting will help jump-start their third-party app ecosystems. They have the same basic specs we've seen on a lot of phones lately: Qualcomm Snapdragon processors of varying strength depending on the phone size, plenty of RAM, 32GB of storage, USB Type-C, and your choice of two pretty large screens. Hell, Microsoft even says that they're liquid cooled, which is crazy. But since this is actually an all-new phone platform (that, admittedly, looks really similar to Windows Phone 8 before it), digging into the internal specs is a little beside the point. You never know what those internals mean on a whole new OS until you try it — so we tried it. The result: Windows Phone is just as snappy and fluid as it was before. Even though it has something like the full power of Windows behind it (so much so that you can actually hook up a full-sized monitor and use it as a mini computer), it still feels like the stripped-down and fast UI we've seen before. That's mainly a good thing. You don't have to wait around to do anything, you just have to get familiar with the platform and how it works. You also have to accept that you might not have all the apps you can get on the iPhone or Android — yet. Microsoft has secured promises from a few companies (notably, Facebook) to get universal apps working on Windows Phone. Snapping a couple photos with the 20-megapixel sensor isn't enough to render full judgement, but I will say this: They didn't choke in very low lighting conditions. I'd say that Microsoft has leaned more towards Samsung's philosophy of trying to get a usable image rather than being precisely true to the scene the way Apple is. Either way, the fact that I was getting usable images at all in the space we're in was actually kind of impressive. So far, so good, but I definitely didn't get very far with it just yet. Nondescript looks, but powerful insides As for looks, well, they're about as nondescript as we'e seen in recent memory. The 5.2-and 5.7-inch screens (950 and 950 XL, respectively) sit inside bezels that could stand to be a bit smaller — but they're still plenty acceptable when compared to an iPhone 6s or 6S Plus. The back is plastic (or polycarbonate, if you must), and comes in black, white, or cyan. Microsoft isn't doing anything whimsical or even especially daring with the basic slab design, but there's some kind of honor in simplicity. In terms of features, the two big stories are Continuum and Windows Hello. I didn't get a chance to try out Hello, but I did play with Continuum for a bit. Against all expectations, I feel like it could actually be the real deal. I was super impressed. Continuum is surprisingly good You hook up to an external display using a heavy little dock that Microsoft is selling. You can have a different app running on the display than you do on your phone, which means it's slightly more powerful than what you'll get with Apple's AirPlay or Google's Chromecast features. Actually, you can have several apps running at once. Continuum can't do full windowing with those apps, but I had four of them open and could switch between them fast enough to know they weren't getting put to sleep in the background (Outlook, Edge, Groove Music, and Powerpoint, for the record). There's also the Lumia 550, Microsoft's low end phone. For the past couple years, just about the only widespread success Windows Phone has seen has come from the low end. It makes sense: Windows Phone 7 and 8 both were phone operating systems that still felt fast even if the internals weren't great. So even though we now have two new Windows 10-based flagships, Microsoft needed to make sure it didn't give up on the bread-and-butter. It's only $139, and it has low-end specs to match. But even though it's small, thick, and has a measly 5-megapixel camera, at that price it should do well for Microsoft. The big question is whether the Lumia 950 and 950 XL can do equally as well. Prices start at $549 and though Continuum is impressive, I don't know that it's impressive enough to make me want to give up the apps I know are available right now on other

Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/2172063.html Just a few points, regarding the upcoming 8.7 changes. You'll like them :) - T-50 will NOT apparently lead to MT-25, it will lead to T-34 - MT-25 will be unlockable from KV-1S - current accumulated T-50 XP will be somehow transferred to KV-1S - Panther tanks (apparently both Panther I and II) will be rebalanced, they will lose their top engines, but will recieve a rate of fire buff (amongst other things)

Maintain Your Shine See that glow in the water? Those are dinoflagellates. They're typically microscopic marine plankton, and they emit a blue-green light called bioluminescence. I've been to the bioluminescent bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, one of the most famous dinoflagellate colonies on the planet. Seeing these tiny creature light up the water at night together was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. Over the next four years, many of us are going to feel we're alone. That our solitary voices don't matter. It'll be easy and even understandable to give into the temptation to remain silent. To think the effort you make can't possibly make a difference anyway. Look at that light though. And remember that collectively we do add up to help illuminate the darkness. So don't give up. And don't be afraid to speak up, to interrupt even, to make your case. So together we will continue to make a difference, to make our ideas and our beliefs known even as we embark upon what may well be the most disastrous Presidency of our lifetimes.

American prankster Andrew Hales posted another video of himself pulling off what he describes as a "social experiment" in Chengdu. Click here for the Youtube video This time, instead of nabbing strangers' umbrellas, it's holding strangers' hands. Hales's success rate at getting people to hold his hand doesn't seem to be as high as getting people to let go of their umbrellas, but a few play along good-naturedly — not nearly as many who give him dirty looks, scream, or jump away in horror. Online reactions to Hales's China videos, which are part of his larger body of work, shot in locations around the world, vary: The holding hands video received more than 1 million views on Youtube within the first two days of posting. However, the umbrella video# seemed to garner a number of vitriolic comments. In the meantime, Hales also wrote a blog post about his week-long visit to Chengdu, which details every fresh-off-the-plane-young-white-guy initial reaction to China (everything's so cheap, man! Free booze! Girls worshiping me! Everybody loves us because we're white! Everything's so cheap! Squat toilets! Nobody speaks English!) so exactingly that it almost seems like a spoof laowai-in-China blogs. But not quite.

ABBOTSFORD, BC -- The Abbotsford Heat are coming off of a one win and one loss effort at home against the Lake Erie Monsters over the weekend. Abbotsford won Friday 4-2, but lost on Saturday 3-1, which finished the season series between them at 2-2. Overall, the Heat are 4-4-0-1 through nine games and sit in third place in the West Division and eighth in the Western Conference. HEAT @ COMETS The Abbotsford Heat and Utica Comets (AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks) will begin a new rivalry in the AHL beginning tonight. The two out of division squads will play 12 times this season, which is the most of any opponent the Heat will match-up against. The Comets have struggled out of the gates and have yet to pick up their first win and sit at 0-5-0-1. They played twice over last weekend and lost on Friday 2-1 against Syracuse in a shootout and on Saturday dropped a 3-2 decision to Hamilton. The Canucks affiliate are currently in the midst of a six game home stand and have averaged 3,489 fans at the 4000 seat Utica Memorial Auditorium through their first three home games. The Comets are led by Pascal Pelletier who has registered eight points in five games. HEAT @ BULLDOGS Saturday night will mark the first of eight meetings between the Heat and Bulldogs. Hamilton is off to a solid start as they sit tied for first place in the North Division with a record of 4-2-0-2. Last year the season series was dead even with the Heat earning a 4-4-0-0 record in the eight games with both teams scoring 18 goals apiece. The all-time record has the Heat owning a 14-12-1-1 record against the Montreal Canadiens affiliate, but has struggled at Copps Coliseum at 6-7-0-1. The 'Dogs are led by Sven Andrighetto who has seven points in eight games. Former Heat forward Akim Aliu recently signed a 25 game PTO with Hamilton and has four points in eight games. 2012-2013 Heat vs. Bulldogs season series: 10/28/12- HAM 2 ABB 1 @ Hamilton 01/16/13- ABB 2 HAM 1 S/O @ Abbotsford 11/30/12- ABB 5 HAM 1 @ Abbotsford 03/05/13- HAM 2 ABB 0 @ Hamilton 12/01/12- HAM 3 ABB 1 @Abbotsford 03/27/13- HAM 5 ABB 3 @ Hamilton 01/15/13- ABB 3 HAM 1 @ Abbotsford 03/29/13- ABB 4 HAM 3 @ Hamilton 2012-2013 individual scoring leaders in season series (returning players): ABB: Reinhart (2-2-4), Horak (3-1-4), Street (3-1-4), Jones (0-2-2), MacKenzie (0-2-2) HAM: Holland (1-4-5), Leblanc (2-1-3), Pateryn (1-2-3), Beaulieu (0-3-3) NEWS & NOTES On Monday, the Heat assigned goaltender Laurent Brossoit to the Alaska Aces (ECHL affiliate of the Heat) and have recalled goaltender Joni Ortio from Alaska. Brossoit has appeared in two games with the Heat this season and made his first AHL start on October 20th in Texas in what turned out to be a 9-3 loss. Ortio has started the season on fire in Alaska. He won three of his four starts and only allowed four goals and added a pair of shutouts. With the Heat playing three games in four nights this week, Ortio may see the net at some point. Rookie centre Corban Knight continues to have a fantastic start to the season. He has scored in back to back games and is currently riding a three game point streak. This is the second time this early season that the High River, Alberta native has recorded points in three straight. He is tied for the team lead in points with seven. Brandon Astle will bring all live Heat action this week on 101.7 CIVL FM and on www.teamradio.ca. The pre-game show begins 15 minutes before puck drop. The Heat's next home game will be against the San Antonio Rampage (AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers) on November 5th and 6th and the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) on November 9th and 10th. Saturday November 9th will feature an appearance by NHL Hall of Famer Mike Bossy, who will be available for autographs before the game on the AESC conc

When Rankin Paynter learned that the Kmart in his Kentucky town was closing, he decided to buy everything that remained on the store's shelves -- and give it all away. Four cash registers and six-and-a-half hours after his shopping spree began, the benevolent businessman walked away with $200,000 worth of inventory and gave it all over to Clark County Community Services, a nonprofit that helps families in Winchester, Ky., facing crisis situations, WLEX reports. "It's time to give back," the "Summer Santa" told the news source. Judy Crowe of Clark County Community Services was blown away by Paynter's generosity and told WLEX that it was the single largest donation her organization has ever received. She also said that this is the first year her organization will have enough coats, hats and gloves to provide all the children it serves during the winter. Know an inspiring person you'd like to nominate to be a Greatest Person of the Day? Click on the yellow submission bar at the top of the page. Click through our slideshow below to read more inspiring stories of "Secret Santas" who helped out those in need. SLIDESHOW:

There has been a lot of speculation with regard to the future of Chris "The Killing" Fields since his TUF 19 exit. Claiming a win over Josh Stansbury to secure his spot in the house, Fields later exited the show after Matt Van Buren took a decision win when the two met in the first round of the knockout stages of the competition. Midweek it was revealed that the Dubliner had signed for BAMMA with his first fight scheduled for February 21 against dangerous French striker Cheick Kone, who is currently riding a four fight win streak. With his last competitive outing dating back to June 2013, Fields discussed why he took a step back from the sport after the filming of the UFC reality TV series. "I had two injuries – my knee was pretty bad which I had done nothing about and I had a reoccurring back injury that I had never really fixed," he revealed. "A few different things popped up too, so it basically turned out that I wouldn't be able to fight for six months. "I still went training and stuff but I couldn't go that extra mile, I couldn't be where I want to be. Me being the dickhead that I am, when that 205er pulled out of the (UFC) Dublin card I put myself forward when I really shouldn't have. "This is the first time in a good few years that I'm absolutely injury free. I was just damaging my back more and more the way I was going, so I just needed to give it a proper break. "I was able to compete with it, but I was never 100 percent. I've injured the disk in my lower back two or three times. It's like an office worker's injury, it's the generative disk in my lower back and it's just from wear and tear. "There were days where it would be fine and then if I hurt it I'd go through this week of numb pain. The fear is always that it would end up worse than that, especially with the back." After his stint of the reality show, Fields made no bones about not being interested in competing with other opponents for camera time. Having been around the UFC scene, the former Cage Warriors middleweight champion explained how he now feels like a big weight has been lifted off his shoulders, to the point that he is adamant that he is fighting solely for his own personal satisfaction for the first time in years. "I see on Twitter lads who had a lot of beef in the house, lads who were constantly at each other – now they're meeting up and they're best pals. It's a bit weird it was like they were playing a game or something. It's like the whole thing in there was to get cameras on them, but that's Americans for you isn't it? "For a very long time it became all about those three letters (UFC), as I'm sure it has done for everyone. All I wanted to do was get there and when I did, I don't know if it was all it was cracked up to be. I didn't work out the way I thought. "You're chasing this thing that you've just made so big in your head, I'm sure it's the same whatever line of work you're in, but when you get there it's not as phenomenal as you thought it would be. "Look, I want to fight the best guys and that's where they are, but it's not the be-all and end-all. It's about me, what I'm going to do and what I'm going to leave behind. I'm doing it because I want to do it now rather than anything else. A good few times over the last few years, it's in the back of my head – is this the one? "They (UFC) told me to go off and have a fight, but at the moment I don't really give a shit. When I'm old and I'm smoking a pipe and my grandkids ask me about my fighting days, I want to have one perfect fight so I can say – 'that's the one'. "I want that one perfect performance. I don't want to have to show them a highlight reel of different fights where I did some great things, I want to have one fight that people can watch and go 'oh shit!' I want that finish that makes the Japanese crowds go silent because everyone is scared that the person is dead. That's what I want. "It's been a mad year but I can't wait to start swinging these 'Go-Go-Gadget' legs around the place again," he laughed. Fields also spoke about why he chose to sign for BAMMA and indicated that he is hoping to make history by becoming the first man to win both a BAMMA and Cage Warriors championship: "I

Hike to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and go on a safari. Explore the unique biodiversity of the Galapagos by land and by sea. *Gift cards, taxes, and prior purchases do not qualify toward the minimum purchase requirement and offer cannot be applied to such items. Eligible members must select the Standard Ground shipping option during checkout in order to receive Free Shipping. If you select 2-Day or Next Day premium shipping options additional charges will apply. Offer is non-transferable and subject to change without notice. Not valid on international shipments or outside of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Your items are no longer reserved. Items you place in your cart are reserved for you for 20 minutes. If you do not check out before the timer runs out, they will be removed from your cart and made available for others to purchase. However, your items have been saved so that you may re-add them to your cart. View your items.

On this page, you can read a list of comments of top artists showing love to Lil Wayne in their songs or interviews, which shows more proof that he is one of the greatest and most respected rappers in the hip-hop industry today. I have included messages from the new generation rappers expressing how Weezy F Baby has influenced them in someway, as well as the old-school rappers who show their admiration for Wayne by complimenting him on his rapping skills and work ethic. Of course there are plenty of other people, such as President Barack Obama, sports stars, and other music artists in different genres that have also given Tunechi his props, but I have only included rappers in this list. This is also a great page to show those Lil Wayne haters who are constantly hating on him, but don't know a single thing about him or even hip-hop. It may even make them shut up! Rappers Speak On Lil Wayne: 2 Chainz "Me even being around him, seeing the things you can get from puttin' words together, it kinda kept me inspired." "My nigga, Tunechi. That's my nigga. If it wasn't for Tunechi, I wouldn't be here. If it wasn't for Lil Dwayne Carter, Tauheed Epps wouldn't be here right now. I've been around a lot of things and so many situations, and it wasn't for bruh, I wouldn't be right here right now." Andre 3000 "The rap game has to save itself. Everybody's saving it. People like Lil Wayne is saving it. He's bringing energy to it." A$AP Rocky "Wayne is still fun. Are we forgetting that Wayne made everybody switch their flow up and start using the E's and R's, and 'I'm ir-regul-ar, seg-ular'? Like, c'mon, are we forgetting that Wayne changed hip-hop too? Are we forgetting that he made all these motherfuckers want to have tattoos? Are we forgetting that? It wasn't Wiz, it was Wayne. Wiz did it too, but I'm just stating facts. This is a guy who fucking went from being the youngest underdog in his crew to saving his company and saving his "Daddy". I am not a fucking Lil Wayne dickrider, I'm just speaking facts." Big Sean "Lil Wayne is somebody who I used to ride to school listening to in my car. You know from Tha Carter to Tha Carter II, to Dedication 1 & 2, to Da Drought, his mixtapes. You know you got that for him as him being a rap legend, somebody who you look up to." "Congratulations Lil Wayne, you shitted on everybody again… again. Man congratulations to him. I think that's like beautiful. That's really inspiring to me man. Shit I'm trying to sell a million the first week. Lil Wayne really worked his ass off for that. He been going since he was 13 from the Hot Boys to everything." Bun B "I feel bad [about Lil Wayne going to jail], because I don't think anything like this has happened in music since Elvis got drafted into the Army. Let's just keep it real – Lil Wayne is not just the biggest rapper, Lil Wayne is the biggest pop star right now. Maybe Susan Boyle is on his level. But when you talk about music, nice times out of ten, Lil Wayne's name is gonna come into the conversation." "I love Wayne, I respect his talent. I've watched him grow up." Busta Rhymes "Wayne is probably my top two or top three favorite MCs in the game right now. Wayne is one my biggest inspirations, because Wayne's got a unprecedented work ethic. Wayne's consistency is unparalleled as well. I don't really find moments that I feel disappointed in whatever Wayne is doing. I definitely feel like he's an alien. He doesn't do shit that seems humane, as far as his ability. That man is one of the gifts to the game. I'm a big, big, big Wayne fan. I love working with him everytime." "Me and Wayne, we've been friends for a long time, I'm a big fan of Wayne. He's one of the illest MCs in this rap shit. You know that when you get him on your track, he's going to deliver. I like to connect with artists I've got a good vide with and that I respect. At this stage in my career, I don't want to do anything that doesn't feel good. If I'm fuckin with you, it's because the vide feels right. It's not just because it's cool for you to rock on the record." "We miss you, we love you homie, we salute you general. We salute you king, we salute you god MC."

Most Popular 3 A Woman Can Never Be Likable Enough The largest trade associations have been around for nearly a century, and in the last few decades, many have taken an international scope. For instance, the American Petroleum Institute, which began in 1919 as a trade group for domestic oil companies, is now led in part by a Saudi government lobbyist and has offices in Singapore, Beijing and Dubai. ExxonMobil and Chevron are reportedly among the highest dues-paying members of API, but so is Aramco, the state-owned Saudi oil company. (The American Petroleum Institute, as Bloomberg has reported, now transfers money to attack ad groups like the 60 Plus Association.) Here's the rub. Citizens United allows trade associations, for the first time, to dip into their general treasuries—made up in many cases of both foreign and domestic money from businesses—and spend unlimited amounts on American elections. Before the Supreme Court began taking an axe to campaign finance, if a trade association wanted to spend on a federal election, it had to spin off a regulated and disclosed political action committee. Though foreigners can't manage a PAC, they are more than welcome to manage major trade associations like the American Petroleum Institute. Here's how it plays out this year. Chemical companies do not want Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic Senate candidate in Wisconsin, to win. In addition to voting to move our energy system towards a clean economy and away from petrochemicals, she's a strong advocate for regulating carcinogens in household products, like cosmetics. But instead of beating her with an ordinary PAC or a campaign contribution to her opponent, the trade association for the chemical industry has chosen to take advantage of the Citizens United loophole to use undisclosed general treasury funds against Baldwin. The American Chemistry Council made one of the biggest media buys in the Senate race in August by purchasing $648,600 worth of ads supporting Baldwin's opponent, former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson. Here's the ad: The American Chemistry Council used its 501(c)(6) fund rather than its PAC, so it does not have to disclose where it got that money. The council has also used its 501(c)(6) to air ads in support of Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and other pro-chemical industry politicians of both parties. Where does the Chemistry Council's general treasury, otherwise known as its 501(c)(6), receive its funds? Well, according to its website, the largest foreign chemical companies in the world—Saudi Arabia's state-owned SABIC, the Chinese-owned Sinopec corporation and Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation—are dues-paying members, alongside American giants like DuPont and Dow Chemical. The American Petroleum Institute also used its foreign-funded 501(c)(6) to air its own ads against senators like McCaskill. In some rare cases, subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations have decided to skip the trade association route and spend disclosed dollars on US elections. Recently, OdysseyRe, a subsidiary of a Canadian financial services company, gave $1 million to the pro-Romney Super PAC. As I reported earlier this year, 7-Eleven Corporation, which is owned by a Japanese holding company, gave to a Super PAC supporting Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) during his primary. When the next Congress is gaveled in this January, a good number of lawmakers will owe their seats to groups financed in part by foreign-owned corporations. In the case of the American Chemistry Council and American Petroleum Institute, two Saudi-funded pro-oil lobbies active in the election, that could have wide ranging ramifications for our energy security. For more on the plutocratic consequences of Citizens United, read Lee Fang on who's running the pro-Romney Super PACs.

Charles Baker Birth Date Febuary 27, 1971 Birth Place Washington, District of Columbia, USA Role Skinny Pete Appearances Breaking Bad Better Call Saul Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 —— External Links Charles Baker is an American actor who portrays Skinny Pete on Breaking Bad.

MOSCOW -- Ukrainian forces launched an "anti-terrorist operation" in the city of Slavyansk on Sunday morning after pro-Russian separatists seized buildings in the eastern area of the country, acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook account. "Units from all law enforcement agencies of the country are being used [in the operation]," Avakov wrote. "God is with us!" Armed men in masks and unmarked camouflage uniforms stormed and seized administrative buildings and police stations in Slavyansk and at least two other towns in the coal-mining region of Donetsk on Saturday. In Slavyansk, they captured scores of weapons in the police station and distributed them to local separatist activists, the UNIAN news agency reported. A Russian national flag was raised over the police station, the report said. [Updated, 2:30 a.m. PDT April 13: In the course of the ongoing operation in Slavyansk there were casualties on both sides, including one law enforcement officer killed and five officers injured, Avakov said.

These are the facts. At some point, someone somewhere in the US government had an amazing idea: why not build a compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station in Afghanistan? Forty-three million taxpayer dollars later, the city of Sheberghan, in the far north of the country, got its gas station. But, according to the watchdog agency probing Afghanistan reconstruction spending, nobody seems to know — or wants to admit — who signed off on the project or how its costs spiraled so completely out of control. The whole thing is so strange and wrongheaded that the crazily high price tag — more than 100 times what a similar facility would cost in neighboring Pakistan — is not even the worst thing the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found. Natural Gas? For what Cars? Even more troubling than the high price tag is that there was no point in building the gas station in the first place. While Afghanistan has vast natural gas reserves, it does not have a sufficient number of cars that run on natural gas, and converting a vehicle literally costs as much as the average Afghan earns in a year. Had a feasibility study been conducted, somebody probably would have figured this out, but SIGAR found no evidence of such a precaution having been taken. You might think the Department of Defense (DOD) would want to get to the bottom of this waste of money. After all, the project was part of the Task Force for Stability and Business Operations (TFBSO), which was created by the Deputy Secretary of Defense and reported directly to the Office of the Secretary. Instead, DOD stonewalled. "One of the most troubling aspects of this project is that the Department of Defense claims that it is unable to provide an explanation for the high cost of the project or to answer any other questions concerning its planning, implementation, or outcome," SIGAR John Sopko wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Did the Dog Eat the Records? DOD's excuse for its lack of cooperation is that TFBSO, an $800 million program, was shut down in March of 2015 and now nobody is around to address SIGAR's questions. That didn't sit well with Sopko, who recently gave an exclusive interview to WhoWhatWhy in which he discussed the staggering amount of taxpayer funds wasted in Afghanistan. "Frankly, I find it both shocking and incredible that DOD asserts that it no longer has any knowledge about TFBSO, an $800 million program that reported directly to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and only shut down a little over six months ago," he wrote to Carter. Sopko vowed to continue the investigation to determine "whether any conduct by TFBSO staff or contractors was criminal in nature" — as opposed to just crazily lucrative — for some well-connected insiders. Related front page panorama photo credit: CNG Pump Nozzle (Andreas Geick / Wikimedia). Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Please help us do more. Make a tax-deductible contribution now. Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary. Related print

It might feel like deja vu all over again for Josh Thomson and Scott Coker. Thomson, a San Jose, Calif., native, has been here before. As the former Strikeforce Lightweight champion, SAP Center was his home away from home, the site for his historic set of trilogy of matches against "El Nino" Gilbert Melendez. Expectations were certainly high for Thomson when Strikeforce was acquired and he officially became a part of Ultimate Fighting Championship. And his second round technical knockout of Nate Diaz certainly suggested he was primed to make a run for the gold again. However, two controversial split decisions and a decision loss to Tony Ferguson later, plans changed. And it suddenly seemed like the pastures might be greener on the other side, where his former Strikeforce boss, Coker. was now the man in charge at Bellator MMA. MMAmania.com recently spoke with Thomson about his decision to turn down UFC's offer and join Bellator and what his plans are for his promotional debut against "The Greek" Mike Bronzoulis at Bellator 142: "Dynamite 1" this Saturday night (Sept. 19, 2015). For Thomson the most important thing coming into Bellator was getting an offer on paper that wouldn't damage a long-time friendship. "Look you can be friends with somebody, but when you do business with friends, you get a little concerned. You don't want to step on each others toes, you don't want to piss each other off, you don't want to slap them in the face. The relationship that him and I have, it's not just fighting, it's not just he's my promoter -- there's a friendship there. It's like, 'Hey let's get some coffee, let's go play golf.' You don't want to ruin that ... especially over business." Thomson didn't just want to join Bellator to reunite with an old friend, though, and he wasn't afraid to show us the math on how he does better financially without the Reebok apparel restrictions. "When you look at what I made for the last fight right? I made $5,000 from the Reebok deal. (This time) I haven't even fought yet and I'm already at about $35,000 for this fight. It makes it a lot easier to go ahead and move forward, and that's only with just a couple of sponsors. That's not counting the other sponsors that are potentially going to come with. Regardless, I'm still already $30,000 ahead. On top of my fight purse is going to be a lot more money." To Thomson age is just a number once the cage door shuts. "Of course I'm going to be 37 like a day or two after the fight. There's no secret that I'm getting older, but the will to win is definitely still there. Anyone that's seen my Benson (Henderson) fight or my last fight -- there's no doubt that I still want to win. I have too much pride not to want to go out there and lay it all on the line." "Punk" doesn't get his feathers ruffled too easily after being around for so long in this sport, but he does scoff at the notion from Bronzoulis that a win would elevate him to Lightweight contender status ... or vice versa. "I think the talent that's in the organization, from (Michael) Chandler to (David) Rickels to Will Brooks -- I don't even think it's even in the conversation to be honest. And I'm being very up front. There was never an expectation I was going to come into this organization, fight Mike Bronzoulis or fight Chandler, and not have to still fight Rickels or somebody else to even get to Will Brooks. When I negotiated the contract, that was never even the conversation." It's not a coincidence that Rickels' name came up at the same time Thomson shot down the idea of an instant title opportunity. "I honestly believed that Rickels was going to be my first fight. It just so happened that he had booked a vacation, and he was just on the first day of his vacation when we called to see if he was interested in the fight, so that fight fell through. I'm definitely excited to fight these guys. I have nothing but respect for them." Thomson also has a healthy respect for Bronzoulis, but he still plans to collect that aforementioned winner's purse. "I'm excited about it all, I'm excited to be a part of it, but I have to win fights. By winning fights, that'll kind of answer everything. Right now, it's about getting past Mike. And the fact that he thinks that way, man I don't know whatever! He can think that way. That

Jurgen Klopp is expected to bring the likes of Zeljko Buvac (left) with him to Merseyside if he becomes Liverpool manager With Liverpool closing on a deal to make Jurgen Klopp their new manager, we look at the backroom team the German may bring with him to Anfield. Liverpool's owners, the Fenway Sports Group, are expected to allow Klopp to hire his own assistants, likely to comprise of those who worked alongside him during his seven years at the Westfalenstadion. MAIN ALLIES These are Klopp's most trusted lieutenants who could follow him to Merseyside if he becomes Liverpool boss: Peter Krawietz Peter Krawietz is Klopp's video analyst and chief scout Krawietz would be one of Klopp's two main assistants at Liverpool having worked alongside him at both Mainz and then Borussia Dortmund. The 43-year-old - who never played professional football - specialises as a video analyst concentrating on his own team, as well as the opposition, while he has also been Klopp's chief scout during the course of the last 14 years. Described by former Dortmund midfielder Paul Lambert as being "very good" at his job, Krawietz was promoted to be Klopp's assistant coach at Dortmund. "Peter is a big part of his team and he was at Mainz with him. He knows him really well and is someone who he trusts to be very analytical about the game. He's someone he'll lean on," the Scott added. "I also liaise with the amateurs and youth squad, and tell the people in charge what's important to the head coach," is how he described part of his job at the Westfalenstadion. Zeljko Buvac Klopp and his trusted right-hand man Zeljko Buvac, aka 'The Brain', during their time together at Dortmund Buvac is Klopp's other key coaching ally, with the pair having known each other since 1992 when they were team-mates at Mainz. Buvac hung up his boots in 1998, managing SC Neukirchen with little success for three years until Klopp appointed him as his assistant when he took over at the Coface Arena in 2001, before then following him to Dortmund seven years later. The Bosnian - currently head coach of the Republika Srpska national team - is Klopp's right-hand man in charge of training sessions and is known as 'The Brain' due to his expert tactical knowledge of the game. "Zeljko is a football genius, a master of every practice drill," Klopp says of his close friend, while Lambert called the 54-year-old: "Very quiet, but excellent. I can understand why Jurgen calls him that ['The Brain']. I have seen him working; he does not say much, but is very astute on the game." Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin, who also spent a period on loan at Liverpool, says the duo have a telepathic relationship. "Zeljko Buvac is basically Klopp's twin," Sahin told the Bundesliga website. "Both of them see football in exactly the same way." Nuri Sahin spent five months at Anfield in the 2012-13 campaign Klopp, Krawietz and Buvac have formed a hugely successful partnership at Mainz and Dortmund since 2001, with Lambert saying of the trio: "They work really well and are an excellent team. You can see on the pictures just how close they are. If the three of them come over - I would be shocked if these two don't come with him to Liverpool - then I think they will be a great fit for Liverpool." RAIDING THE WESTFALENSTADION However, Klopp may also want to try and persuade two other members of his coaching setup at Dortmund to join him should he agree to take the vacant manager's position at Anfield: Wolfgang de Beer Wolfgang de Beer is Dortmund's goalkeeping coach De Beer kept goal for Dortmund for 15 years before a serious knee injury forced him to hang up his gloves in 2001, with the German going on to become the Bundesliga club's goalkeeping coach a year later. The 51-year-old stayed at the Signal Iduna Park following Klopp's departure at the end of last season, so it is not known whether he would follow him to Merseyside or not. Andreas Beck Andreas Beck is currently one of Dortmund's fitness coaches Klopp brought Beck to Dortmund as one of the club's three main fitness coaches in 2012, a position he had held for the previous five years at 1.FC Nurnberg, with his main responsibilities being to warm the players

Negotiators at key UN climate talks in Paris that open next week are being told by the French government they must iron out their main differences six days before the end of the talks, according to the foreign minister, Laurent Fabius. The Central Valley is sinking: drought forces farmers to ponder the abyss Read more World leaders including Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel and David Cameron are preparing to fly to the French capital to open the COP 21 negotiations, which begin on Monday and aim to produce an international deal to reduce carbon emissions that will kick in from 2020. The highly unusual demand by the French hosts is a sign of their confidence that they believe a deal is within sight and that the huge diplomatic push they have made to ensure the talks succeed has not been knocked off course by the terrorist attacks two weeks ago. But Fabius's request to have the final version of the negotiating text signed off by next Saturday will be met with scepticism among some observers of the talks. Frequently, previous incarnations of the UN talks have finished one or even two days after deadline. Fabius vowed in an interview to forge an agreement that would be "universal, legally binding, durable and dynamic". In the wake of the attacks, Fabius confirmed that security would be tightened around the conference centre, which is on the outskirts of Paris, near the airport where a planned attack was foiled and not far from the St-Denis district where the attacks were planned. There will be a total lockdown on the area of Paris surrounding the conference centre on Sunday afternoon, when many of the heads of state and government are expected to arrive, in time for the first official day of talks on Monday. Fabius praised the climate activists who had agreed to call off their planned march through Paris as a result of the attacks. "I have to salute the responsibility of the organisations who would have liked to demonstrate but who understand that if they demonstrate in a public place there is a security risk, or even a risk of panic." He said: "The first week [of the fortnight-long talks] will be devoted to reducing the number of options in the text," in which delegates have suggested multiple alternatives in wording on certain issues. "I will ask that by [next] Saturday midday the text will be transmitted to me, the president of the COP, and at that moment everyone will know where we are and the procedure to follow. Obviously, I hope a maximum number of options will have been lifted but I will have to take into account the situation at that moment." In a veiled reference to the situation at the last climate summit in Copenhagen, when negotiations were thrown into chaos by rumours of a draft text that had been circulated to some governments, he added: "I don't have a text in my pocket that I can pull out. I have found with the delegations that there is a real willingness to move forward, a willingness to be transparent. "If there is no agreement by Saturday, of course I will take the initiative. I will see the different groups with the facilitators," he said. "Success is at our door, but it is not yet won." Fabius, speaking in his resplendent office in France's foreign ministry, was in ebullient mood. Amply gilded and frescoed, with French windows looking out on to ornamental gardens on the banks of the Seine, the ministry was built with the intention of impressing France's many allies, and potential enemies. The French are hoping that the discord that has marked previous talks, preventing a legal agreement at the last climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009, will be averted by meticulous planning. Fabius, despite his punishing schedule since the atrocities in Paris, has been habitually squeezing questions on climate change into every meeting with his foreign counterparts and heads of state, as has the French president, François Hollande. Before the talks, governments responsible for more than 90% of global emissions – including all major developed economies and most of the biggest developing nations, such as China and India – have laid out plans for cuts or curbs to their emissions. These will form the centrepiece of any deal, and even if a deal is not reached, these commitments will be hard for governments to renege on. Fabius said the COP 21 talks were "a success in terms of numbers and actions" pledged by countries on emissions reductions. "If we add together all these contributions, we avoid catastrophe, in the form of the consequences of inaction, a world four, five or six degrees [warmer]. But we are still not at 2C or 1.5C, which is the goal of Paris." Paris climate summit: the climate circus comes to town | Suzanne Goldenberg Read more Scientists estimate that if the world warms by more than 2C on average above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century, the effects of climate change will become catastrophic and irreversible

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2011 January 2

Submitted by Martin Armstrong via ArmstrongEconomics.com, Spain has shown that it is fully on board with the Brussels authoritarian direction of ending democracy. Those in power have simply convinced themselves that the people do not understand what is good for them so they must impose their will upon the people but raw force. How does this differ in any what from the justification of imposing communism? This is the death of all freedom and it is upon our doorstep. Here are the new laws in Spain: 1. If you photograph security personnel and then share these images on social media: up to €30.000 fine (particularly if photo exposes violence used against a member of the public). This fine could increase depending on the number of Instagram or social media followers you have. 2. Tweet or retweet information or the "location of an organized protest" can now be interpreted as an act of terrorism as it incites others to "commit a crime" (now that "demonstrating" in many ways has become a crime). Sound "1984"-ish? Read about Orwell and his time in Spain. 3. Snowden-like whistle blowing is now defined as an act of terrorism. If you write for a local publication, be careful what you print, whom you speak to, and whether the government is listening. 4. Visiting or consulting terrorist websites – even for investigative purposes – can be interpreted as an act of terrorism. Make sure you use "Tor" browser, reject cookies, and don't allow pop-ups. Not to mention, don't post it on your Facebook timeline! 5. Be careful with the royal jokes! Any satirical comment against the royal family is a new crime "against the Crown". For example, "What did Leticia and the Bishop have to say after they ––" (SORRY CENSORED). 6. No more hassling elected members of the government or local authorities – even if they say one thing in order to be elected, but then go and do the exact opposite. Confronting them about this hypocritical behavior. Even if you see them in the street chatting to a street cleaner, dining at their favorite expensive restaurant, or having their shoes shined by that physics graduate who cannot find a decent job in the country, hassling them about their behavior is now a criminal offence. 7. Has your local river been so polluted by that plastic factory along the edge that all life has extinguished? Well, tough! Greenpeace or similar protests are now finable from €601–€30.000. 8. Protests in a spontaneous way outside Parliament are now illegal. For example if Parliament passes a hugely unpopular bill, or are debating something extremely important to you or your community, it is now finable from €601 – €30.000. Tip: Use Google Maps to protest just around the corner – but don't tweet the location! 9. Obstructing an officer in the course of their business, "resisting arrest", refusing to leave a demonstration when told, or getting in the way of a swinging baton are all now finable offences from €601 – €30.000. 10. Showing lack of respect to officers of the law is an immediate fine of €100 – €600. Answering back, asking a disrespectful question, making a funny face, showing your bottom to an officer of the law, or telling him/her that their breath reminds you of your dog's underparts is now, sadly, not advisable. 11. Occupying, squatting, or refusing to leave an office, business, bank or other place until your complaint has been heard as a protest is now a €100 – €600 fine (no more flash mobs). 12. Digital protests: Writing something that could technically "disturb the peace" is a now a crime. Bloggers beware, for no one has yet defined whose peace you could be disturbing.

On October 10 2016 at 11:12:43 AM Jennifer answered: Live, Neutral and Ground terminals are for the voltage inputs in AC 12 and 5 Volts are DC output voltages. In general layout the sequence would be Live,Neutral and Ground; thus the live goes on the far left end followed by Nuetral and Ground.

Recent studies have found a significant association between PTSD and low heart rate variability (HRV), a biomarker of autonomic dysregulation. Research indicates that respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) biofeedback increases HRV while reducing related pathological symptoms. This controlled pilot study compared RSA biofeedback to progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) as adjunctive interventions for 38 persons with PTSD symptoms in a residential treatment facility for a substance use disorder. Both groups were assessed at pre-intervention and 4-week post-intervention. Group x time interactions revealed significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms and increases in HRV indices for the RSA group. Both groups significantly reduced PTSD and insomnia symptoms and a statistical trend was observed for reduced substance craving for the RSA group. Increases in HRV were significantly associated with PTSD symptom reduction. Overall, these results provide preliminary support for the efficacy of RSA biofeedback in improving physiological and psychological health for individuals with PTSD.

This weapon drains a tiny portion of the targets life force whenever it does damage. Provides 1 hp of healing per hit. This weapon has a chance to drain 1 to 3 levels from is target on a critical hit. This weapon is pulsating with negative energy. It deals an extra 2 to 12 points of negative energy damage on a successful hit. This weapon is dripping with poison, and deals 1 to 6 poison damage each hit. Critical hits deal an additional 1 to 10 poison damage for weapons with a x2 critical multiplier, 2 to 20 for a x3 multiplier and 3 to 30 for a x4 multiplier. Tips

Coming off a total collapse at LSU last weekend, the Auburn Tigers did exactly what they set out to do in Fayetteville on Saturday night, trouncing Arkansas 52-20. For coach Gus Malzahn, it was a much needed victory to take some of the heat off himself after his Tigers blew a 20-0 lead in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are now 6-2 overall and are still alive in the SEC West race at 4-1. However, just because the Tigers won big Saturday doesn't mean it was a clean game, as Auburn still has plenty to work on moving forward. With games still remaining against Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama in the next few weeks, Malzahn and his staff need to make a few changes and shore up a few areas. Here are three big things that Auburn needs to fix: The defense is susceptible to big plays The Tigers played well on defense, holding the Razorbacks to 20 points (seven of which came on a kickoff return). However, Auburn still allowed 10 plays of 15 yards or more. Against a team like Arkansas, that's worrisome, as there are squads with better offenses remaining on the Tigers' schedule. If defensive coordinator Kevin Steele can't shore up the holes, Georgia and Alabama are going to torch the Tigers. The kick coverage team needs to be better Fortunately, the Tigers have Daniel Carlson as their kicker, otherwise kickoff coverage might be an even bigger problem. The Razorbacks only attempted one kickoff return, and De'Vion Warren went 100 yards for a touchdown. Carlson can't kick every ball out of the back of the end zone, so at some point, the Tigers are going to need to make some tackles on kickoffs against some talented returners. The lapse didn't hurt the Tigers on Saturday night, but it did take some of the shine off of the preceding Auburn touchdown, which came on an incredible reverse pass by WR Ryan Davis to WR Darius Slayton. Chip Lindsey's play calling is still too predictable Though first-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey had a better effort against the Razorbacks than he did against LSU last week, his play-calling still left a lot to be desired. After running it 17 straight times on first downs in the second half of last week's loss, Lindsey did an incredibly predictable thing by throwing it on Auburn's first play of the Arkansas game (an incompletion, naturally). Even when things were working against the hopeless Arkansas defense, they weren't working because of the defenders being fooled — Auburn is just better than Arkansas. Other than the trick play mentioned above, the Tigers' offense wasn't exactly creative in Fayetteville. Down near the goal line late in the first half, Lindsey dialed up a couple of runs for star RB Kerryon Johnson — which is normally a good idea. However, having Johnson plunge straight into the heart of the Arkansas defense twice in a row is the sort of unimaginative play-calling that's going to hurt the Tigers down the stretch.

In Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the treasure-hunting series is jumping into new territory, with protagonist Chole Frazer taking the reins on an excursion to India. Tate Mosesian, art director for Naughty Dog's hotly anticipated new DLC, says that some of the design goals for The Lost Legacy were relatively straightforward. For instance, they wanted to stick to the visual look of the Uncharted series, including the expressive use of colors. But they also had to tackle a challenge that the team didn't have to face on past Uncharted titles: this DLC was only taking place in one location, instead of spanning several continents. In a sense, the country-hopping in the other games made it easy to create what they call a "progressions of looks." For The Lost Legacy, the team had to try to make one single area feel much more diverse. The location gave the team a gift however, in the form of the real-world reference point: what Mosesian calls the "really beautiful and intricate and stunningly awesome" Dravidian architecture style that developed thousands of years ago in South India. The game's memorable structures and artifacts and obstacles are the result of carefully studying real world referents...but also knowing when to take liberties. *** The team drew from the several distinct Dravidian empires from different historical eras: Pallava (AD 600-900), Chola (AD 848–1280), and the Hoysalas (AD 1100-1343). "We could use it, but we could also get variety out of it, and even move the story forward by utilizing the different variants of this particular architectural style," Mosesian says. While their sources of inspiration were the cultural products and aesthetics created by real ancient empires, that's not to say that the in-game creations are a model of historical accuracy. "There are no actual massive twin Ganesha statues anywhere in the world. But there is in our game world." "There are no actual massive twin Ganesha statues anywhere in the world (that I'm aware of), but there is in our game world," Mosesian says. "We take those artistic principles and apply them to whatever is it we're trying to do ... as long as there's consistency there, then generally speaking, the player will accept it as being plausible." That trade off with reality also comes into play in another area of Uncharted games, as well: the decay and wearing of the ancient ruins that players explore. If everything was accurate to how the natural elements would interact with a structure, there might not be a whole lot left. "It's good to have portions of a level that are accurately weathered," Mosesian says. "But you have to throw a little bit of that out for the sake of the visuals." "Mosesian recalls getting feedback after the first Uncharted from somebody who was angry that the metal bars in prison should have long ago eroded away." Mosesian recalls seeing feedback after the first Uncharted from somebody who was angry that the metal bars in an ancient prison would have long ago eroded away. "OK fine, that's fine, but then...how do we keep Drake in prison?" Mosesian told them. "It's those little things where you're like, some bizarre circumstance meant that this particular bar did not rust out, and you just kind of have to let go of those things and go with the suspension of disbelief," Mosesian says. "Just play the game and have fun." Besides, he insists, "everything starts looking the same after 1000 years." The Lost Legacy — which is releasing roughly 15 months after Uncharted 4 — had "little to no" pre-production time, something that Mosesian claims was the project's biggest challenge. Another limiting decision, however, actually worked in The Lost Legacy's favor. "It just doesn't feel right to throw old assets into a new game." "One of the reasons why we were able to make this game to the same quality of Uncharted 4, and visually speaking, even a little bit better in some cases, was that we said there would be no new tech on this project," Moresain says. One of the great things about DLC, from a developer's point of view, is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can re-use technology, mechanics, locales, and characters that were created for the original title. But the art team on The Lost Legacy didn't lean too heavily on recycled assets. "We're crazy, we're nuts, so the majority of the stuff in The Lost Legacy is all made for this project," Mosesian says. "It just doesn't feel right to throw old assets into a new game." The team did reuse some elements, including a lot of Uncharted 4's foliage library. But even then, they had to

The Moto 360 is a great looking device and is easily the prettiest smartwatch we've seen to date. However, one theme has come up in early reviews of the device that should give anyone preparing to shell out $250 for it pause: It apparently has subpar battery life. FROM EARLIER: Motorola's gorgeous Moto 360 smartwatch goes on sale today at noon Two early reviews of the device, from The Wall Street Journal and The Verge, both call out the Moto 360's battery life as a significant problem. "Even this big, honking model had to be charged twice a day," writes the Journal's Joanna Stern "Most days, after charging it overnight, I had to put it back on its wireless charging cradle by 4 p.m. If only the large black circle could also work as a sundial so I could still tell the time when the battery dies." "Motorola says the 360's battery lasts a day, but I haven't seen it last that long yet," writes The Verge's David Pierce. "I don't expect a smartwatch to last weeks or years, but it ought to be able to last a day and a night no matter how much I use it. My watch now dies before my phone does, and that's unacceptable." Because smartwatches are such a new technology, companies are still struggling to figure out what tradeoffs are necessary to optimize the user experience. This is particularly tricky with smartwatches because they can't be too big or they'll look silly on your wrist but they can't be too small either because they need to be mobile computers as well. None of this means you shouldn't buy the Moto 360 but if you value a device that delivers really good battery life then it's certainly something to think about.

For an overview of super mutants in the Fallout series of games, see super mutant. Mariposa super mutants or West Coast super mutants are a variety of super mutant living in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281. Contents show] Background Edit Super mutants were first created on the West Coast by Richard Grey, also known as "The Master". He decided that he would have to force humanity to evolve beyond its innately destructive tendencies by turning them into super mutants. In 2162, a person known to history only as the Vault Dweller destroyed the Master's mutant army by causing an explosion in the FEV vats at Mariposa, which collapsed the entire base, after which he proceeded to The Cathedral in the ruins of Los Angeles and killed the Master. In 2236, the Enclave discovered the remnants of the Mariposa Base. Soon, Enclave assault squads combed the desert for slaves they could use to excavate the military base and get to the FEV vats. In 2237 the Enclave abandoned the site after mutations occurred among Enclave personnel and slaves exposed to the FEV remnants in the facility, causing a second generation of Mariposa super mutants to arise. By 2281, some super mutants from both generations have established a community called the State of Utobitha in Black Mountain near New Vegas under the leadership of Tabitha. The smarter and more organized Master's Army remnants are in charge of the dumber second generation mutants. Some other, more peaceful mutants reside in Jacobstown, led by Marcus. Characteristics Edit Biology Edit Super mutants are mutated humans, products of infection by the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). The super mutants found in the Mojave Wasteland are of the variety that originated from the Mariposa Military Base in California. They are much taller, bulkier and muscular than pure strain humans, have (mostly) green, gray, or yellowish skin, are immune to disease and radiation, and are gifted with superhuman strength and endurance. Although they are completely sterile, the rapid regeneration of their cells caused by FEV makes them biologically immortal (but not immune to death from injury). Average super mutants stand approximately 10.4 feet tall (although they typically stand with hunched backs that reduce them to about 7.8 feet) and weigh around 800 pounds, possibly even more. Their skin is extremely tough, and their muscle and bone structure are enhanced well beyond the normal human genetics. Super mutant intelligence varies greatly throughout super mutants. Though generally "lacking" in the mental aspect of life some super mutants retained some (if not all) of their intelligence from before they were changed into super mutants. Gameplay attributes Edit Super mutants often use heavy guns and melee weapons such as heavy incinerators and super sledges. The melee variants rush the player after throwing their frag grenades and the ranged mutants will shoot at the player from a distance while they slowly advance, relying on their armor for protection. Some super mutants will have centaurs to aid them. All regular super mutants wear armor which gives them a Damage Threshold of 15, equal to a suit of combat armor. Nightkin do not have any armor, but benefit from an innate 30% Damage Resistance. Variants Edit Super mutant Edit The weakest of the three basic types of super mutant. These mutants attack by rushing the player if utilizing a melee weapon or standing in place shooting the player with a hunting rifle, relying on their superior health and armor for protection from attacks. Standard super mutants appear at lower levels, and will be replaced with brutes and masters at higher levels. Super mutant brute Edit Brutes are the mainstay powerhouses of the super mutant forces. They are typically armed with assault carbines or incinerators for ranged combat, or sledgehammers and frag grenades for melee combat. They can be distinguished by their Trojan-like helmets and crude metal armor. A dead one can be found in the Ruby Hill Mine carrying various loot such as a multiplas rifle. Brutes appear at medium level, and will be replaced by Masters at high player levels. Super mutant master Edit The strongest mutant players will encounter. They use light machine guns or miniguns for long range combat and super sledges for close range. They are distinguished from the other two types because they wear a black suit of full body armor and some sort of optical augmentation on their left eye. Masters appear at high levels wherever super mutants normally appear. Masters in Jacobstown speak clearly and show more intelligence than the standard super mutants around them. Nightkin Edit Blue mutants made from the most untainted humans, these dangerous creatures utilize Stealth Boys to sneak up on their victims. They often prefer melee weapons such as the super sledge, rebar clubs or the bumper sword though some can be seen using firearms. Their skin tone is deep purplish blue in color.

The Stanley Cup Final heads to Nashville for the first time ever as the Pittsburgh Penguins look to take a stranglehold on the series. Starting at a possible 3-0 series deficit, the Predators cannot afford to lose game three on their home ice. The Bridgestone Arena is absolutely rocking for its first ever Stanley Cup Final game. Here is how game three played out. As expected, the fans in Nashville are into it as the puck gets dropped, however, the crowd is quickly silenced just 2:46 into the game as, who else, Jake Guentzel slides the puck under Rinne's pads and gives Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. This is Guentzel's 13th goal of the playoffs. Another look at Guentzel's goal pic.twitter.com/rjcMtZ7xcO — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2017 The Predators would respond to the early goal with a solid push throughout the rest of the period, however, Murray was standing tall in net. The Guentzel goal would be the lone tally in the first period, so after 1 it was Penguins 1, Predators 0. The second period started and Nashville came out like it was the last period of their season. They were absolutely flying around the ice, and the crowd loved it. Justin Schultz would take a minor penalty for holding, putting Nashville on the power play, and they took advantage. Roman Josi would fire a slap shot that would deflect off of the Penguins' defender and just go over Murray's pad. The Bridgestone Arena would erupt as Nashville ties the game 1-1 5:51 into the second period. The goal was Josi's 6th of the playoffs. Josi ties it up on the power play pic.twitter.com/3GcaHs81r6 — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2017 But Nashville was not done there. Under a minute after Josi's goal, Frederick Gaudreau would walk into the slot and whistle a wrist shot over the glove of Murray and give Nashville the lead, 2-1. The goal came at 6:33 and was Gaudreau's 2nd of the playoffs. Freddy Hockey gives Nashville the lead pic.twitter.com/eMdVTIIGBr — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2017 The second period would continue to be Nashville's up until defenseman Ryan Ellis would get called for a boarding penalty. The boarding was a minor penalty and gave Pittsburgh an opportunity to tie the game up. They could not capitalize on the chance and shortly after Nashville would strike again. With less than 30 seconds to go in the second period, James Neal would find an opening on the left side of the net and bank the puck in off of an unsuspecting Murray. The goal once again sent the crowd into a frenzy and also gave Nashville a 3-1 lead. The goal came at 19:37 of the period and was Neal's 6th of the playoffs. James Neal scores, makes it 3-1 Preds pic.twitter.com/nASoa1rTHI — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2017 The third period would start much like the second period, with Nashville putting a goal on the board. Nashville's Craig Smith would take advantage of a gift wrapped break away chance after Chris Kunitz tried to deke around teammate Phil Kessel. The puck would deflect off of Kessel's skate, leading to the great chance for Smith. Bad luck for Pittsburgh, as Nashville would take a commanding 3 goal lead in the third period. The goal was Smith's first of the playoffs. Kunitz skates into Kessel, gives Craig Smith a breakaway…4-1 Predators pic.twitter.com/pLuwo1Ra52 — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2017 The Penguins would try to claw their way back into the game, but this night belonged to the Predators as Rinne stood tall and gave Pittsburgh no opportunity of making a comeback. Rinne desperately needed to put on a good performance, as he had been the scapegoat for Predator fans so far in this series after the first two games. Not tonight, however, as he would stop 27 of 28 shots, leading to a .964 save percentage. Nashville would tally another goal late in the third period to seal the deal in game three. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm would skate uncontested down the slot and rifle a slap shot past the blocker of Murray, making it 5-1 Nashville. It was Ekholm's first goal of the playoffs. Ekholm hammers one and it's 5-1 Preds pic.twitter.com/8PA1w1jBmJ — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2017 The horn would sound seven minutes

Over a century ago, the RMS Titanic's fate became one of the most tragic incidents of modern history, as it descended into the ocean with more than 1500 passengers and crew on board, the unfortunate story was once again narrated in a 1997 film. More than hundred years after the deaths of thousands in the catastrophe, an exact replica of the historic vessel recreated by Blue Star Line, will set sail from China towards Dubai in 2018. RMS Titanic | Source: Reuters Titanic II built by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer will be slightly larger than its predecessor as it will be two feet longer and 13 feet wider than RMS Titanic, according to New York Post. It will accomodate 2400 passengers, as many are ready to pay as much as $900,000 to be on the maiden trip. The new Titanic which hopes to complete a historic journey has been captured in these spectacular pictures. Source: Blue Star Line The memorable grand staircase under the majestic dome. Source: Titanic-ii.com Source: Titanic-ii.com The smoking rooms bring back memories of leisurely evenings. Source: Titanic-ii.com The pool to complete a soothing experience. Source: Titanic-ii.com First class and third class cabins. Source: Titanic-ii.com Source: Titanic-ii.com A nostalgic dining experience. Source: Titanic-ii.com The Turkish bath stands out among spas in modern cruise-liners. Source: Titanic-ii.com Elevators. Source: Titanic-ii.com The radio room captures an old world charm. Source: Titanic-ii.com The bridge wheel house combines modern technology while retaining the historic appeal. Source: Titanic-ii.com Meanwhile a report from The Telegraph mentioned how Palmer's own yacht almost collided to a wall as he narrowly escaped an incident similar to the RMS Titanic, hopefully the upcoming expedition will bring good luck to the tycoon.