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by Jennifer Hurst
June 26, 2018
Boeing unveils hypersonic 4,000mph airliner capable of New York to London in TWO HOURS
Aerospace firm Boeing has joined the race for a new Concorde as they announced the development of the aircraft at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a new hypersonic airliner capable of flying from New York to London in two hours – and that is nearly three times faster than the Concorde.
The unnamed aircraft is theoretically capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5 – which is nearly 4,000mph. And this is almost three times faster than the legendary supersonic Concorde, which was decommissioned in 2003.
Boeing’s new plane would be able to cruise at 95,000ft, which is also 30,000ft higher than the Concorde. It is estimated the aircraft would be able to cross the Atlantic in two hours, and the Pacific in just three.
Kevin Bowcutt, Boeing’s chief scientist for hypersonics said: “When you look at the problem of getting from Point A to Point B anywhere in the world, the question is how fast do you want to go and how fast is fast enough? Supersonic isn’t really fast enough to go overseas and back in one day. For the business traveler or the military, where time is really important, that’s an interesting point. Mach 5 is where you can do that.” — Daily Star
Video Shows True Size of SpaceX Rockets
Elon Musk has shared a video that helps visualize the sheer scale of SpaceX’s rockets, and the results are awe-inspiring. The CEO retweeted a video on Wednesday from YouTube channel Corridor Crew, which uses visual effects to show the size of the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and BFR rockets in real-life situations. The video, which uses 3D models produced by Reese Wilson, shows the sheer scale of the company’s rockets that it’s using to fulfill its space exploration ambitions. — Inverse
Virgin Orbit Readies LauncherOne Rocket for Maiden Flight
Virgin Orbit is just months away from the first launch of its LauncherOne rocket. The company is currently undergoing an extensive test campaign to ensure that the vehicle will function correctly on its maiden flight. One major hurdle remaining in the test campaign is a captive carry test. This milestone will see Cosmic Girl carry a LauncherOne rocket during a flight. This test will validate that all systems work as expected when in the launch configuration. Preparations for the test are currently underway, and it is expected to occur in the coming weeks.
Cosmic Girl will carry the rocket beneath her left wing. 747’s were originally designed with the ability to ferry a fifth engine. Virgin Orbit has modified that location to support the rocket. During a mission, the fuel onboard the 747 will be redistributed to balance the aircraft, as LauncherOne is offset to one side. Once Cosmic Girl is ready to launch LauncherOne, she will bank upwards to at least 25 degrees. Then, Cosmic Girl will release the rocket. LauncherOne will fall for approximately 4-5 seconds before igniting the first stage. — Nasa Space Flight
What Would the Mission of the United States Space Force Be?
Going beyond protecting American space assets and attacking those of an enemy, a number of other missions for a USSF present themselves. For example, the problem of cleaning up space junk, which would become a major problem in the event of a space war, would constitute a good peacetime task. Cleaning up the debris left by dead satellites would not only ensure that near Earth space remains navigable; it would constitute excellent practice for operating in space.
Farther down the line, with the United States and other countries as well as private industry heading back to the moon, a Space Force could take on the functions of a space-faring version of the Coast Guard, providing rescue services, enforcing the law, and helping to arbitrate disputes among nations and private entities beyond the Earth.
Finally, a United States Space Force could provide the ultimate defense against a threat that could arrive from deep space that could end civilization, if not the human species. Sixty-five million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth in the region of the Yucatan, ending the reign of the dinosaurs and ensuring the rise of mammals as the dominant species on Earth. — Space News
Solicitation Readied for Lunar Gateway Component
NASA has issued the draft solicitation for the first element of its planned Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. The solicitation for the Power and Propulsion Element follows the guidance the agency had previously offered for the vehicle, including the use of a public private partnership to develop and procure the spacecraft. The element is designed to produce 50 kilowatts of power and be equipped with electric propulsion to maneuver the Gateway in cislunar space. An industry day is scheduled for July 10 at the Glenn Research Center, and a final solicitation is expected to be released later this summer. — Space News
Long Held Theory About the Moon Holds Water
A team of Japanese scientists led by Masahiro Kayama of Tohoku University’s Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, has discovered a mineral known as moganite in a lunar meteorite found in a hot desert in northwest Africa. This is significant because moganite is a mineral that requires water to form, reinforcing the belief that water exists on the Moon. — Tohoku University
Blue Origin Suborbital Tickets On Sale Next Year
Blue Origin plans to start selling tickets for commercial suborbital spaceflights next year. In a speech earlier this week, Rob Meyerson, a senior vice president at the company, said test flights of Blue Origin’s New Shepard would start carrying people “soon” with the company beginning ticket sales next year. New Shepard has flown eight suborbital test flights to date, most recently in April. The company has offered few details about when it would sell tickets for flights on the vehicle or an estimated cost. — Space News
SpaceX’s Dragon: First Private Spacecraft to Reach Space Station
The Dragon spacecraft, operated by SpaceX, carries cargo to the International Space Station under commercial agreements the company has with NASA. It was the first private spacecraft to berth with the ISS. SpaceX is also developing a human-rated version to eventually bring astronauts to the space station.
The company made its first cargo demonstration flight to the station in May 2012, and then began commercial fights that fall. SpaceX is currently contracted with NASA to do 12 robotic supply flights to the station.
While SpaceX is busy ferrying cargo to and from the station, the company is also working on a plan to put astronauts on the Dragon spacecraft. In 2014, the company received $2.6 billion from NASA for the latest phase of the Commercial Crew Program, which aims to fly astronauts on American spacecraft. SpaceX currently plans to run its first test flight in late 2018. — Space.com
Smart Robots Are the Secret to Spaceflight’s Future
Smart robots building space stations in orbit may be in the future, but there are plenty of other examples of how smart robots and automation are becoming critical to the future of spaceflight. The nation’s busiest launch centers in Florida and California are expecting exponential increases in launch tempo as communications companies loft constellations of small satellites and new generations of air-launched rockets and spaceplanes come of age.
This steady increase of space launches is about revolutionize Cape Canaveral, but there’s one place where it’s prompting hair-pulling and hyperventilation: the Federal Aviation Authority. FAA manages America’s airspace, and airplanes must be rerouted to avoid space launch or reentry operations. Currently, plotting the closures is done manually. It’s a lot to account for, and all this can cause mistakes and delays.
The FAA sees automation as a critical tool in navigating a future with more launches. Such an automated system would automatically determine and carve out the appropriate airspace, and transmit that to the community of air traffic controllers. It would be as easy as filing a flight plan. — Popular Mechanics
This Floating Robotic Factory Will Build Satellites and Spaceships in Orbit
The founders of Made in Space say 3-D printing is the key to colonizing space. That’s why they are developing the Archinaut, a floating factory to manufacture heavy equipment, even full satellites, in orbit.
The Archinaut is comprised of an industrial sized 3-D printer, cartridges full of plastics and alloys, and robotic arms programmed to assemble the big items extruded by the printer without any human supervision. All of the Archinaut’s components are rugged enough to survive in microgravity and harsh conditions like lunar dust storms and extreme temperatures. — CNBC
Has This Startup Cracked the Secret to Fusion Energy?
The ongoing joke in the world of physics is that commercially viable fusion energy has been just on the horizon — 30 years away at most — for the past eight decades. Now, a new Washington-based startup, Agni Energy Inc., has a plan for a fusion reactor the company said could be closer than “just on the horizon.”
Existing nuclear reactors use a process called fission, which releases energy by breaking atoms apart. But fission creates radioactive byproducts that must be collected and stored. Fusion, the opposite of fission, means joining things together — in this case, atoms.
Fusion reactors slam atoms together and thereby release energy. But scientists haven’t yet been able to create a useful fusion reactor — one that creates more energy than is put in. If scientists ever reach “the horizon” of fusion energy, these reactors would create a whole lot more energy than fission, without the harmful byproducts. After all, this process is what powers the sun. — Space.com
CubeSats: Tiny Payloads, Huge Benefits for Space Research
CubeSats reduce launch costs in two fundamental ways. They don’t weigh that much, which means a rocket doesn’t need a lot of fuel to heft them. In most cases, they also share a rocket with a larger satellite, making it possible to get to space on the coattails of the heavier payload.
There are some design challenges with CubeSats, however. The electronics are smaller and are therefore more sensitive to radiation. Because they are small, they cannot carry large payloads with them. Their low cost also means they are generally designed to last only a few weeks, months or years before ceasing operations (and for those in low Earth orbit, falling back into the atmosphere.) — Space.com
Lunar Eclipses: What Are They & When Is the Next One?
Lunar eclipses occur when Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light, which otherwise reflects off the moon. There are three types — total, partial and penumbral — with the most dramatic being a total lunar eclipse, in which Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon. The next lunar eclipse will be a total lunar eclipse on July 27, 2018.
Throughout history, eclipses have inspired awe and even fear, especially when total lunar eclipses turned the moon blood-red, an effect that terrified people who had no understanding of what causes an eclipse and therefore blamed the events on this god or that. Below, you’ll find the science and history of lunar eclipses, learn how they work, and see a list of the next ones on tap. [See also our guide to Solar Eclipses.] — Space.com
Launching Plants Into Orbit May Yield New Medicines
The test tubes didn’t look much like planet Earth. There were four of them stuck into a white, 3-D printed frame, each one home to a spindly plant sprouting from a dab of lab-made jelly. It was to a garden what Soylent is to confit de canard with fingerling potatoes and mesclun greens.
But once inserted into an aluminum metal box, propelled out of our atmosphere, and plugged into the International Space Station, this arrangement was supposed to mimic everything about our world — except for one important detail. There would be almost no gravity. A team of biologists and chemists hopes that this alien environment might prod these floral cosmonauts into producing new and improved molecules for drugs. — STAT


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An alleged case of on-campus sexual assault and deeply deficient follow-up leave the International University of Japan (IUJ) looking troublingly unaware of its social responsibilities and curiously at odds with its own aspirations
On 16 July 2016, the Asahi Shimbun’s digital edition published an article about a December 2015 incident involving two students at the International University of Japan (IUJ) (English translation strictly my own):
“‘President’s E-Mail Abuse of Authority’, Say IUJ Professors, Demanding Rescindment — Niigata”
*The actual expression used in the title and article is “power harassment”, Japanglish for “abuse of authority” or “abuse of power”
Investigation has revealed that an incident involving students at the International University of Japan (IUJ), Kokusai-cho, Minamiuonuma-shi, Niigata Prefecture, occurred in December last year, and the university president sent e-mail to all students alluding to the possibility of dismissal if they spoke about it. Some IUJ professors demanded that the president rescind the e-mail, alleging that this amounted to serious abuse of authority.
According to university officials, in mid-December last year, an Afghan student in his twenties broke into the dormitory room of a female Indonesian student in her twenties. Later that month, the university set up a fact-finding committee consisting of teaching and administrative staff. The female student reportedly told the committee that she was almost forced to undress; the male student reportedly stated that he “did not recall the event well as he was drunk at the time”, and that he “was seduced”.
The president was not on the fact-finding committee, but he nevertheless interviewed the male student. An e-mail message sent to committee members and others by the president afterwards noted “extenuating circumstances” in view of the seduction allegedly involved and “his impression that it was foolish of the female student to egg the male student on”.
The female student objected, citing “the investigation’s lack of fairness and denigration of women”. Together with friends and others, she began collecting signatures demanding the male student’s expulsion and petitioned the fact-finding committee to re-investigate the incident. The committee did not do so, however, and the male student was suspended for three months. On 10 January this year, the president sent an e-mail to all students in which he announced the disciplinary measure imposed on the male student and stated that “no spreading rumors, name calling or retaliation of any kind shall be permitted” and that “anyone found to have engaged in such behavior risks immediate ejection from the university”.
The petition stopped, following the president’s e-mail. One male student who signed the petition told the Asahi Newspaper: “I was very scared. I am unhappy with the investigation that has left the facts unclear and the victim feeling blamed for the incident, but my life will be adversely affected if I cannot graduate”.
In March, several professors argued that the e-mail amounted to abuse of authority and demanded that the president rescind it. The female student is now on leave of absence and planning to withdraw from the university. “The university one-sidedly branded my conduct ‘seduction’ without proper investigation. They owe me an apology”, she said.
A lawyer acting as the university’s auditor responded in writing to the Asahi Newspaper’s request for an interview with the president. According to this reply, the e-mail in question “does not amount to abuse of authority. Rather, it was a warning issued in order to prevent further harm from being inflicted on the parties involved”. As regards the incident itself, the reply says that “the male student did not enter the room intending to commit sexual violence”, and that “the female student was unwise to act provocatively (creating the impression that she had invited him)”.
IUJ, Japan’s first all-postgraduate university, opened in 1982 with donations from industries. Almost all of its 380 students are foreign students and receive instructions in English. (Kohei Kano)
Four things that become apparent from the Asahi Shimbun article
Assuming that the article is accurate in what it reports -
1. IUJ apparently sought to blame the victim for her alleged ordeal, as shown in the president’s e-mail to the committee and the university lawyer’s written reply to the newspaper.
2. IUJ apparently intimidated its students into silence with threats of immediate expulsion, as indicated in the president’s e-mail to all students sent out on 10 January. Significantly, the IUJ lawyer’s reply does not deny the fact that the intimidation as described in the article took place. Instead, the reply simply purports to justify it on account of “prevent[ing] further harm from being inflicted on the parties” involved.
3. There is no indication that IUJ either reported the incident to the police on its own, or actively assisted the victim in deciding to do so. To be fair, it is possible that the article simply omits this particular detail.
4. IUJ’s president interfered in the work of a faculty committee set up to investigate the incident, as may be surmised from the description of his action and e-mail sent subsequently to committee members.
Then, today, on 19 July, IUJ issued a communiqué on its website (here, too, English translation strictly my own):
On 16 July, the Asashi Shimbun’s morning edition for Niigata Prefecture as well as its digital edition published an article concerning our university.
Having deliberated the reported incident, the university, based without subjectivity and exclusively on elements that can be regarded as facts after an investigation, determined disciplinary measures with due regard to fairness and educational considerations, and, pursuant to that determination, final decisions were made in the name of the university president.
At the same time, throughout the process of investigating and deliberating this incident, the university’s teaching and administrative staff concerned did their utmost to safeguard a safe study and research environment for students, including the protection of the parties involved [in the incident].
The International University of Japan is resolved to ensure health in its management and the development of its educational and research environment, and to bring its teaching and administrative staff together in their endeavour to raise global leaders. We kindly request your continued support.
Three problems with IUJ’s communiqué
Even if we were to take the announcement entirely at face value -
1. If we treat claims of sexual assault “without subjectivity and exclusively on elements that can be regarded as facts”, we are bound to engage in victim-blaming. This is especially so where there is no witness, as it appears to have been the case here. Removing the subjectivity of victimhood from sex crimes renders the whole process effectively futile. Oddly, the male student’s allegation that the female student “seduced” him, an eminently subjective claim in my view, appears to have mattered very much.
It would only get worse if looking exclusively at “elements that can be regarded as facts” meant accepting objectively observable elements such as being seen drunk by others prior to the incident. Under no circumstances should drunkenness, even if true, ever be held against a victim of sexual assault as a valid reason for overlooking the absence of his or her genuine consent.
2. Ensuring “fairness” and “protection of the parties involved” can prove deeply unjust when it comes to alleged criminal conduct. At the end of the day, the only fairness and protection that is truly due to one of the parties involved in this case, i.e., the alleged offender - a fully grown adult male in his twenties pursuing a master’s degree - is due process under law, including his presumed innocence.
That, however, is a matter for law enforcement. Importantly, upholding a person’s presumed innocence does not in any way warrant shielding a criminal suspect from the reach of law. The latter has a different name, or names. It is called “cover-up” and “obstruction of justice”.
In contrast, fairness and protection for victims of alleged crimes, especially sexual assaults, mean completely different things. Active support, assistance and care are obvious examples. What is not an example of “protection”, in Japan at least, is any attempt at discouraging the victim from contacting the police. It is one thing to show understanding if the victim wishes not to contact them. It is a different matter altogether if one were to counsel a crime victim against contacting the Japanese police. Claiming to protect the victim against intrusive interrogations, potential loss of anonymity, and so on, would be misguided at best and suspicious at worst.
The point here is that IUJ should not be speaking about “fairness” and “protection of the parties involved” as if it were dealing with a fight between pupils in a schoolyard.
3. One is left wondering what paying “due regard to ... educational considerations” means in the context of this incident. Letting the alleged offender enjoy the benefit of a quiet exit - no police investigation, nor prosecution, nor appropriate punishment if convicted - cannot possibly be among the “educational considerations” that the communiqué refers to.
(It is difficult to resist the comparison between this incident at IUJ and the on-going scandal engulfing the Catholic Church where paedophile priests have been quietly re-assigned.)
Nor, I hope, does IUJ mean to suggest that “educational considerations” include showing the alleged victim how she should have behaved in the first place - don’t drink too much, don’t act provocatively, and so on, otherwise the sexual assault you may suffer will be a consequence of your own making. We live in the 21st century.
Unless I missed something, this episode seems to be signalling all kinds of misplaced “educational considerations”. Would IUJ seriously wish to show its students - tomorrow’s “global leaders” as it likes to call them - how they should hide scandals, interfere with processes of self-correction, keep law enforcement out, and suppress dissent?
Damaging material is leaking
Much additional material has already been leaked onto Facebook and YouTube. Since I am not a journalist, I cannot prove or disprove its authenticity, or the veracity of its content for that matter. If what the material shows is true, however, it is extremely damaging for IUJ given its acts and explanations so far. It only serves to fuel concerns that the three problems I noted earlier are real.
I would urge IUJ to help dispel the uncertainties created through such material. One option would be to disclose, with appropriate redactions if necessary, the material’s authentic versions, or to disclose such other material as may be in IUJ’s possession to show that facts are in fact otherwise.
At a very minimum, IUJ should clarify its position vis-à-vis the leaked material itself. It is important to keep in mind, for our purposes here, that the point of this exercise should be about the facts alleged, not about indulging in ad hominem attacks against the leaker(s) or whistleblower(s).
In fairness, much of what I have said in this blog remains mere conjecture at this point. Unfortunately, however, I cannot say my conjecture is unreasonable, in view of the information provided through the only two publicly available sources, namely the Asahi Shimbun article and IUJ’s communiqué.
This also shows why the latter is so deficient. A more honest, open, expeditious, diligent and, above all, professional response would have been so much more effective, making none of this really necessary.
I taught public international law, international humanitarian law/international criminal law, and the international law on recourse to force, as visiting professor at IUJ from 2005 until 2015. IUJ declined to engage me for the 2015–2016 academic year, an offer I would have been unable to accept in any case for overriding family obligations.
I do not know any of the parties involved in the incident itself, nor any of the university officials involved in the wider episode (at least to the best of my knowledge). As a former visiting faculty member, I am now simply a very concerned third party.

domain: news


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Objectives: The objectives are to determine how medical faculty members use scholarly journals, whether print or electronic journals are read more, whether there is a pattern among types of users, and what similarities and differences there are between the use of journals by medical faculty and faculty in other disciplines.
Methods: Medical faculty of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) multi-campus system were surveyed, and their responses estimated using critical incident technique to characterize the different aspects of their use of print and electronic journals.
Results: Medical faculty read a great deal, especially compared to scientists. The most frequently reported principal purpose of reading is to support their primary research (30% of reading). The majority of reading comes from recently published articles, mostly from personal subscriptions. Medical faculty continue to rely on print journals (approximately 70% of readings) versus electronic journals. Age of faculty does not appear to influence the choice of print or electronic format. Medical faculty read more articles than others on average and need information digested and verified in a way to save them time. Convenience and currency are highly valued attributes.
Conclusions: It can be asserted that librarians and publishers must find ways to provide the attributes of convenience and currency and match the portability of personal subscriptions in an electronic journal format for medical faculty.

domain: library


If we look at Rae's solo albums only, I think we have been spoiled by Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and its 2009 sequel, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2. This is the reason why, in my opinion that Immobilarity and Lex Diamond Story didn't do too much for me. Raekwon's skills have always been respected by his work on Wu Tang albums, Ghostface albums and various guest appearances, but if you don't see the words Cuban Linx on the CD cover, you're normally going to be skeptical of what to expect. When I heard the track "Butter Knives", I was definitely pleased with what I heard. Rae released the title track of the album shortly thereafter and I knew that this effort would be pretty good. "Shaolin Vs Wu Tang" was released on March 8th, 2011. I wasn't too pleased that RZA wouldn't have any involvement but once I saw the tracklisting, I was satisfied. My favorite track on the CD is clearly "Masters Of Our Fate" which features Black Thought of The Roots. It closes the album off nicely and it's good to hear Black Thought outside of his Roots clique. His collaboration with Ghostface from "Apollo Kids", "In The Park" was my favorite from that CD as well. It's not RZA production but Tommy Nova does his best RZA impersonation on the track. "Every Soldier In The Hood" features Method Man and keeps things going after the title track. "Shaolin Vs Wu Tang" features a lot of short, 2 to 3 minute tracks that may be disappointing some listeners but because the majority of the material is pretty good, I don't have a problem with it personally. "Silver Rings" is the first track that features Rae & Ghost. It's very short in length and not as good as some of their Cuban Linx 2 collaborations but it's still a pretty good track. The only RZA contribution is featured on this track, which is an excerpt of "As High As Wu Tang Gets" from "Wu Tang Forever". "Chop Chop Ninja" is another pretty good track. It features Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Estelle. The lyrics are pretty good but half of the track is taken up by Estelle's singing, which to me is a little excessive. "Snake Pond" & "Crane Style" w/Busta Rhymes all could have been longer tracks but they are still 2 of the best tracks on the album. Busta clearly steals the show on "Crane Style" and he seems to have received a new rejuvenation on the microphone. "Rich & Black" features Nas and while it's not "Verbal Intercourse" it's still one of the best tracks on here. I know Rae wanted Nas on Cuban Linx 2, so it's good to see Nas show up this time around. The Alchemist provides a banger in "Ferryboat Killaz". It's another short track that could have easily be extended with a Ghostface verse but the 2 minutes of the track will just have you wanting more Rae & Alchemist collaborations. "Molasses" has Rick Ross joining in with Raekwon and Ghostface and surprisingly everything works well. Rick Ross has a verse that is just about as good as his contribution on Kanye's latest CD on the song "Devil In A New Dress". "Last Trip To Scotland" features Lloyd Banks and is produced by Scram Jones, who produces the most songs on "Shaolin Vs Wu Tang, with 3. They both provide good verses and it's good to see Lloyd Banks making a quality contribution in 2011.
The only song that I think is skip worthy is "Rock & Roll". I am not sure why Jim Jones is on the track and the singer Kobe adds nothing to the track at all. Rae & Ghost give good contributions but they get lost in between everything else on the track.
Overall, it's good to see Raekwon finally make an album that shows a median between the highs of both Cuban Linx CDs and the lows of Immobilarity and The Lex Diamond Story. Cuban Linx 3 is coming soon and that can only be a good thing.
James' Top 5
1) Masters Of Our Fate
2) Butter Knives
3) Rich & Black
4) Ferryboat Killaz
5) Snake Pond
Shaolin Vs Wu Tang
Every Soldier In The Hood
Silver Rings (and several others)


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If you’re from the south, fan of hip hop or from Georgia then you know all about Pastor Troy. Pastor Troy has been putting out music since 1999. Many people know of him because his beef with Master P and No Limit Records. 20 years ago today, Pastor Troy released his fourth album, Face Off. Face Off put Troy on the map as it was his first joint with a major label. Troy signed with Universal Records so now he started getting some publicity. Before the album was released, No Mo Play in GA was heard on so many mixtapes during that time. We all know that track was directed at Master P and it was a crazy club banger also. The first single for Face Off was This Tha City. This Tha City was a dope track and another banger from Troy.
Vica Versa was the second single released off of Face Off. Vica Versa is probably my favorite track ever from Pastor Troy and that says a lot. Overall, this is probably my favorite Pastor troy album and it’s hard to believe its 20 years old. No Mo Play in GA, Vica Versa, This Tha City, Can You Stand the Game and Oh Father are my top 5 tracks. Check out the track listing and stream links below for Face Off.
- Face Off- Intro
- This Tha City
- Frame Me
- My Niggaz is the Grind ft. Nature Boy & Nino Storm
- Move to Mars
- I’m Made
- Can You Stand the Game ft. Co-Ed
- Throw Your Flags Up
- Vica Vesa ft. Peter the Disciple
- No Mo Play in GA
- Eternal Yard Dash
- Oh Father

domain: entertainment


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domain: travel


Hillary and Bill Clinton earned $10.6 million last year, according to a tax filing released by her campaign Friday that sought to pressure presidential rival Donald Trump to disclose his tax returns.
The filing shows that the Clintons paid a federal tax rate of 34.2 percent in 2015. The bulk of their income — more than $6 million — came from speaking fees for appearances made largely before Hillary Clinton launched her campaign in April 2015. They gave more than $1 million to charity.
The Clintons' income puts them well within the ranks of the top 0.1 percent of Americans, though they pay a higher tax rate than many of their elite peers, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation based on 2013 data.
The release is part of an effort to undercut Trump's character by questioning the celebrity businessman's record. Trump has refused to make his filings public, saying they're under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and that he'll release them only once that review is complete. All major U.S. presidential candidates in modern history have released their returns.
The Clintons have disclosed returns for every year dating back to 1977, in part due to laws requiring public officials release returns. She put out her most recent eight years of tax filings last summer and several years during her first presidential bid.
Seeking common ground with blue-collar workers who have been attracted to Trump's message, Clinton frequently mentions Trump's returns as a way of underscoring how his economic plans would benefit his personal interests and questioning whether he's as wealthy as he claims.
Democrats believe Trump's returns could be treasure trove of politically damaging information. They want to see his tax rate, charitable giving, and business dealings with foreign governments.
"Here's a pretty incredible fact: There is a non-zero chance that Donald Trump isn't paying (asterisk)any(asterisk) taxes," Clinton tweeted, just minutes after releasing her own returns.
Protesters at Trump afternoon rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, held up signs reading "Tax Forms" before being escorted out by security.
Clinton's strategy is borrowed from President Barack Obama's winning playbook against Mitt Romney in 2012. Obama repeatedly used Romney's business dealings against him and seized upon the former Massachusetts governor's reluctance to release certain tax records.
Clinton's campaign also released 10 years of returns from running mate Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton. Over the last decade, the couple has donated 7.5 percent of their income to charity, the campaign said, and paid an effective tax rate of 25.6 percent last year.
Kaine, the Virginia senator who's spent much of his life in public service, reported a far lower income than the Clintons. Over the past decade, he and his wife earned the most in 2014, more than $314,000 in adjusted gross income. The Clintons made about 90 times more, reporting nearly $28 million for the same year.
Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, has yet to say if he will release his taxes, which he has not done as governor of Indiana. A spokesman for the governor's office referred all tax-related questions to his vice presidential campaign. The campaign did not respond to messages about whether Pence will release his returns.
Clinton has tried to paint Trump has an out-of-touch business mogul but her substantial wealth has caused headaches. Republicans have seized upon the millions in speaking fees and a tone-deaf comment by Clinton in a 2014 interview that she was "dead broke" after leaving the White House in 2001. The couple owed millions in legal fees, but quickly generated far more from book deals, paid appearances and consulting fees.
Please click to read our informative text prepared pursuant to the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 and to get information about the cookies used on our website in accordance with the relevant legislation.
6698 sayılı Kişisel Verilerin Korunması Kanunu uyarınca hazırlanmış aydınlatma metnimizi okumak ve sitemizde ilgili mevzuata uygun olarak kullanılan çerezlerle ilgili bilgi almak için lütfen tıklayınız.


text: Give your pet the best care possible-bring them to Canton Road Veterinarian Hospital. We offer preventative medicine, blood work, small animal surgery, pet grooming and boarding, and general medicine. Though she specializes in dogs and cats, our veterinarian can handle other small animals. Contact us to schedule an appointment. Bring your pet to our veterinarian in Jackson, Mississippi, for blood work and to be neutered or spayed.

domain: pet


text:
Those who study workplace injuries in the U.S. had both good and bad news to report this past week. There are fewer occupational injuries today; but the bad news is those who are hurt now get far less help.
This data comes from an important report just released on how the system is failing to provide adequate treatment and support for people who suffer from workplace accidents — both because of the changing economic climate in which people are getting injured, and because of the disintegration of programs that once paid for them.
Adding Inequality To Injury: The Costs of Failing To Protect Workers Injured On The Job is a 20 page, well-researched, well-sourced paper, complete with 37 endnotes. Here the DOL names the prime culprits in this growing workers compensation crisis: employers who evade workers’ comp responsibilities by misclassifying workers, labeling employees as independent contractors when they really ARE employees, outsourcing high-risk jobs and drawing labor from temp agencies. The injury and benefits statistics that have arisen from this scenario are jaw-dropping: workers’ compensation covers only 21% of the costs of injuries for U.S. employees, while 50% is borne by workers out-of-pocket.
One of the report’s more serious charges, among many, is made in this statement:
Moreover, only a fraction of injured workers receive any workers’ compensation benefits through state workers’ compensation programs. Several studies have found that fewer than 40 percent of eligible workers apply for any workers’ compensation benefits at all. Indeed, recent BLS-supported analyses that match cases reported to workers’ compensation carriers with those cases recorded by their employer on OSHA logs, treated in emergency rooms or admitted to hospitals, found a sizable proportion of injured workers receive no benefits through the workers’ compensation system. For example, a review of all recordable work-related amputations in Massachusetts found that less than 50 percent of the cases received any workers’ compensation benefits.
Much of the focus of the report, then, zeroes in on the growing national issue of economic inequality. In an overview of research on the issue, the Labor Department found that low-wage workers (especially Latinos) suffer disproportionately high injury rates, and that getting hurt can reduce a person’s earnings by up to 15% over 10 years following an accident. In other words, people already at the bottom of the economic latter are MOST at risk of sliding further down after an injury.
“Injuries are knocking many families out of the middle class, and block many low-wage workers from getting out of poverty,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA).
There are two key aspects to the financial implications of a workplace injury. The first concerns the legal status of a worker who is injured. A stunning number of construction workers are misclassified as independent contractors, which makes them ineligible for workers’ compensation payments. Also, more workers get job placements through temporary staffing agencies, and not only receive less training, but also are less likely to report their injuries because of their vulnerable status. In fact, businesses often contract out the most dangerous tasks at a job site, enabling them to keep their own workers’ compensation premiums to a minimum.
The second problem is the degradation of workers’ compensation system itself. That issue is addressed by the second report out from this week, published by ProPublica and NPR. This study looks at ways employers have lobbied their state legislators to get out of paying the same rates they used to pay for workers’ compensation. As a consequence, workers are left with a bigger chunk of the bill, and when injured, they often receive inadequate treatment.
“The cutbacks have been so drastic in some places that they virtually guarantee injured workers will plummet into poverty,” write authors Henry Grabell and Howard Berkes. “Workers often battle insurance companies for years to get the surgeries, prescriptions and basic help their doctors recommend.” (We urge any worker in this situation to seek the help of a workers compensation attorney!)
This comprehensive study found that over the past 12 years, 33 states have cut back on workers’ compensation regulations, or reduced/eliminated procedures that would have formerly been covered from an injury, along with the duration that benefits last. In addition, while businesses have argued that reforms are needed because workers’ compensation costs are too high, the data shows that premiums have dropped to lower levels than at any point since the early 1990s.
Yet of course somebody still has to pay for those injuries: and it’s increasingly taxpayers.

domain: sociology


text:
New Delhi: She is young, cute and bubbling with energy. Bollywood hottie Alia Bhatt celebrated her 23rd birthday on March 15 amidst the company of her family members.
However, an emotional video was shared by her half-sister Pooja Bhatt on Instagram which showed Alia's grandparents playing 'Happy Birthday' for her in a rather musical way.
You have to see the video, and feel what Alia felt that day...
Happy Birthday Alia!! A glorious rendition of Happy Birthday for @aliaabhatt by her dazzling grandparents! Naturally there was not a dry eye in the house.. Not that there ever is a shortage of waterworks at a Bhatt family do but this one was truly special!#Birthdays #family #grandparents #Bhatts #legacies #giftsthatkeepongiving #memories #waterworks

domain: celebrity


Xiaomi Mi MIX White Unveiled At CES 2017
Xioami has now unveiled White Xiaomi Mi MIX at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas by the Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra. The Xiaomi Mi Mix comes in pearl white finish with the same ceramic body. The White Xiaomi Mi MIX will go on sale later this year in China only. No other details of the smartphone were offered at the Xiaomi CES 2017 event.
To recall, Xiaomi had launched the smartphone in China last year, but it was only available in black colour variant. Xiaomi Mi MIX was launched in two variants – 4GB RAM/ 128GB storage priced at CNY 3,499 (roughly Rs. 34,500), and 6GB RAM/ 256GB storage priced at CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 39,500).
Xiaomi Mi MIX’s key feature is its near bezel-less display with curved edges on top, and 91.3 percent screen-to-body ratio. The Xiaomi Mi MIX also bears a ceramic body.
Xiaomi Mi MIX features a 6.4-inch display which bears a 17:9 aspect, with a 1080×2040 resolution, a pixel density of 362ppi, and a 94 percent NTSC colour gamut. Xiaomi Mi MIX is powered by a 2.35GHz quad-core Snapdragon 821 SoC, coupled with 4GB/ 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The Mi MIX smartphone sports a 16-megapixel rear camera with PDAF, an f/2.0 aperture, and dual-tone LED flash. It bears a 5-megapixel front camera.
On the connectivity front, the device offers 4G with VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS with AGS/GLONASS and USB Type C. The Xiaomi Mi MIX smartphone bears an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, electronic compass, and gyroscope. It bears a 4400mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support. Xiaomi Mi MIX ships with a leather case in the box. The handset measures 158.8 x 81.9 x 7.9mm and weighs 209 grams.


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domain: psychology


text:
Gently and effectively removes dirt and quickly dissolves wax build-up in your dog's earsNon-irritating, soothing formulaNarrow tip bottle makes it easy to administerHaving a routine ear-cleaning regimen will keep your pet's ears in good health
Customer Reviews for Petco Ear Cleansing Liquid for Dogs
Review 1 for Petco Ear Cleansing Liquid for Dogs
PostedJune 18, 2012
from Coral Gables, FL
I guess the product did a good job cleaning the ear but my puppy's hair is way too greasy in the surrounding area. It has been more than 24 hrs that I applied it and the hair is still oily.... Will look for a non-grease formula.


Total Quality Systems was recently awarded Option Year 3 to provide continued sustainment of the Defense Repair Information Logistics System (DRILS), or G200. TQS functions as a subcontractor to the Prime awardee, ARRAY Information Technologies for this NETCENTS II Task Order. DRILS captures detailed, serialized maintenance history at depot, intermediate and contract repair activities. It has been used by the Air Force since 2000 to provide specific asset repair history for root cause analysis and diagnostic assistance at repair facilities and provides unique performance analysis reports for supply chain managers, analysts and engineers. Option Year 3 has a period of performance of March 25, 2016 through March 24, 2017.


When your running lacks vision, this men's Stance Cavolo Eye sees all. We’ve placed the art of Ricardo Cavolo on our premium Run canvas to inspire you through every mile, both body and soul.FEATURES
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text:
Heart of a Dog
Sunday, March 15, 2020 – 3:00 pm
Meridian Arts Centre
Saman began his career as a graphic designer in 2002. He has collaborated with many publishing companies, magazines and advertising companies, such as Behnegar, KarnameyeKetab, Saghi, Roudaki, Hamshahri, Alef, and MAAT advertising company. He has designed the poster for NOWADAYS THEATRE’s productions of Dance of Torn Papers , The Only Possible Way, Swim Team, and Winter of ’88.

domain: design


New research has deepened, rather than dispelled, the mystery surrounding the origin of the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19. Bats, wildlife markets, possibly pangolins and perhaps laboratories may all have played some role, but the simple story of an animal in a market infected by a bat that then infected several human beings no longer looks credible.
A study published in early May by scientists at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass., and at the University of British Columbia has uncovered an unusual feature of the virus’s recent development: It has evolved too slowly. The genomes of viruses sampled from cases during the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003 showed rapid evolutionary change during the early months of the epidemic, as the virus adapted to its new host, followed by much slower change later. By contrast, samples taken from recent cases of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, have comparatively few genetic substitutions compared with an early case from December.
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text:
they do not recognize a stranger’s voice…(John 10:5).
Have you ever played the game, Minefield? It’s some wacky youth group game where students are challenged to put on a blindfold as they maneuver their way from one end of the room to the other dodging chairs and other things along the way that mimics a minefield.
The only way they can get from one side of the room to the other is to listen intently for their partner’s voice. The challenging thing is that there are many other voices going off at the exact same time. Therefore, they must first listen very carefully for their partner’s voice before moving forward. If they don’t, they’ll be sure to hit a “mine” and be sent back to the beginning.
I have spent a lot of my life walking through a minefield of my own thoughts. Some thoughts have caused great destruction in my life where others have caused effects that haven’t been as catastrophic but still have brought their own pain and consequences.
You see, my problem was that I didn’t listen intently for God’s voice before I started stepping forward. Honestly, in my own immaturity, I took steps convincing myself that this has to be what God wants. All the while, the Lord is shouting, but I’m not listening to His voice. Instead, I listened to the crowd of voices in my heart and mind.
Now, I have to challenge myself, daily, to take a step back and ask myself some very important questions. Where are these thoughts coming from? Are they rooted in things like fear, control, pride or shame? If that’s the case I have to stop myself and yield once more to the voice of God. Can I be really honest, sometimes it’s hard to hear His voice when you’ve been following the wrong ones for a long time. Yet, the more I yield, persevere, and memorize Scripture, the more I hear His voice amongst the crowd of my own thoughts.
I really think God wants to take us on this grand adventure, but we’ve settled for our own idea of what God’s story is supposed to look like. Therefore, we miss out on the blessing and the opportunity for God to make something beautiful out of our story. Now, I want nothing more than to hear His voice and allow it to guide me as I navigate my way through life. You see, only Jesus can take someone like me, with a messy life and a daily need for grace and use me for Kingdom work. He’s just that awesome, so today, I’ll go in blindfolded and won’t take a step until I hear my Father say, “come.”
Lord, I long to hear your voice among the crowd. Forgive me for how I have strayed. Forgive me for the times I didn’t follow you because I was afraid or prideful. Lord, please grow up my heart and my strength in you. I long to hear your voice and then walk in obedience to it, in Jesus name, Amen.

domain: literature


text:
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text:
Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort
by Jack Corbett
Located on Wongamat Beach, the 550 room Pattaya Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort fully deserves its 5 star rating.
So much so that along with Central group's Central Festival shopping mall the two developments alone elevate Pattaya to an entirely different level. At 4500 baht ($150) for the standard room, it's pricy by Southeast Asian standards where you can get a nice hotel room in downtown Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi including breakfast for $50.00 U.S or less. But there's nothing else that quite measures up to it. And considering it's flanked by two stunning new condominium developments, Northpoint and the Cove, it becomes clear that Wongamat Beach is leading Pattaya to unprecedented heights.
I am fortunate to live less than half a mile from Centara where I can leave all the traffic and noise behind me and enter an entirely new world. The entryway is spectacular with its high arched ceiling and fresco of three sculpted elephants. There is a large gap underneath the two elephants through which one can view the Gulf of Thailand, and an open bar just beyond the fresco with a spectacular view of the ocean, the Cove Condominium to the South, and the Centara's extensive array of gardens, restaurants and pools.
It's Disneyland, Las Vegas, a Roman palace, and the Hong Kong skyline all rolled into one. Words alone cannot describe the view or the feeling of ambience one gets by simply strolling through Centara's grounds. There's a broad staircase from the main area upstairs to the gardens below. The sound of a waterfall can be heard from water cascading over a 2.5 meter high section of large boulders alongside the staircase. At the bottom of the stairway there's one or two restaurants extending to the right and just beyond those is Centara's exercise room. There must be thirty machines in it, most of them state of the art and quite expensive Life Fitness stair climbers, elliptical trainers and treadmills. A commercial Life Fitness elliptical trainer suitable for hotels and condo communities where they are subject to continuous use will cost $5000 and up. But the room's full of such machines and most of them are equipped with their own television screens. The locker rooms have their own Jacuzzis.
It is difficult to describe the swimming pools at Centara other than to say they resemble a maze. There's a large main pool and then there's several smaller ones all interconnected by small canals and lagoons. Here one can also find several waterslides. Children and adults alike can be found floating down the canals and lagoons in inner tubes and plastic rafts. Interspersed between the swimming pools are lounging areas, several of them secluded, the largest, the one next to the main pool, large and very public. There are several small suspended bridges crossing the canals. Crossing them one gets the sensation of walking out onto a floating platform. But the floating sensation arrives with each step since the bridged walkways are suspended from small towers of stone.
There's a handful of large lighted torches or lamps that with flames lighting up the night that are no doubt powered by natural gas. Looking at them one imagines them lighting up the palace grounds of ancient Greek and Roman cities. There are several more restaurants aside from the ones in the main building. There's one on the South side of the gardens that specializes in Thai and Japanese food. My favorite's the one on the Northwestern corner close to the beach. It's on the second floor. To get there I normally go through the main entry way of the main building, descend the staircase past the waterfall, then I got up a another flight of steps and cross over to the restaurant on one of the suspended walkways. I can see all over the gardens and pools from the little bridge while looking out at the Cove lit up in the night silhouetting the sky to the South.
Most of the dishes at the restaurant are too large and expensive for my tastes. Unlike most, I'm not on a two week holiday when I feel like I can splurge so the ideal of paying twenty-five to thirty dollars for dinner no matter how terrific it might be, just doesn't fit into my daily budget. I live here, full time. Both my girlfriend and I like the chicken breast for 320 baht because with it we can take advantage of Centara's magnificent salad bar. The service at this restaurant is nothing short of being absolutely terrific, the view is stupendous and one can hear the surf flowing out onto the beach below us.
By 3:00 p.m. Centara only had 50 rooms left of its total 550 and it's not even a weekend. And when I went to its web site checking room availability for several days from now, on one of the days Centara was sold out, on the other day the only availability was a 16500 baht suite ($550). I had to know who was forking over the big bucks. At the front desk I was informed that during the high season 80 % of the hotel's guests are Russian with 20 % being Thai, but during the low season these figures were reversed with 20 % being Russian and 80 % being Thai. Such figures do not count for discounted rates given to tour groups, however. For instance at agoda I found a rate for $105
As to those figures for where most of Centara's guests are coming from, I found them to be approximate because on closer examination of the desk clerk, the man said Europeans accounted for a very small percentage of the total (around 7 %) Nevertheless they revealed that Wongamat is increasingly being targeted by rich Russians and wealthy Thais. Luckily I live just down the street from this absolutely peerless hotel which means that in five minutes I can be walking through its front entrance on my way to having a beer overlooking the beach or enjoying the salad bar. Speaking from past experience booking hotels both in Thailand and Vietnam I can strongly recommend Agoda. But whichever way you go, Centara represents an experience that should not be missed.


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Columbia Gateway, owned by the Port of Vancouver, is nearly 1,100 acres on the Columbia River and is the single remaining industrial-zoned parcel of significant size in the Portland metropolitan area. The Port asked BergerABAM to provide State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) compliance and a subarea plan for viable site development and to comply with federal, state, and local permitting requirements. The firm developed the draft environmental impact statement, the subarea plan, and the various environmental studies necessary for developing the area. Staff also coordinated the work of the subcontractor teams, devised and performed innovative wetland and wildlife studies, and developed communications to inform the public of project activities. As part of a team now providing consultant services for National Environmental Policy Act compliance, BergerABAM is responsible for project coordination, consistency with SEPA, and local permitting.


text:
CELISTICS Group is composed of three companies: CELISTICS, Movilway, and Sure Destiny. The Group started operations in Madrid, Spain in mid-2008, and was eventually established in Latin America with operations in 17 countries and composed of more than 2,500 employees.
CELISTICS Group and its business partners possess unique visibility of the end-to-end supply chain, which enables our customers to become more efficient, more profitable, and more agile in dynamic industries, such as IT and Communications.
Together with our partners, we provide intelligent logistics and distribution, sustained by our management experience with a network of more than 1,500 commercial routes in Latin America.
CELISTICS Group has become a strategic partner to technology companies operating in the Latin American market. We work to help our customers find new business and reach new markets with the latest mobile technology, through our world-class service.
CELISTICS is the leading distribution and intelligent logistics solutions company for the consumer technology industry.
CELISTICS, is a leader in the industry and differentiates itself through continuous development and technology innovation, and possess a team of excellent professionals in each strategic business area, who work to improve the customer experience in the end-to-end supply chain.
CELISTICS, through distribution and intelligent logistics solutions, enables its customers to focus on their business and has transformed itself into the link that connects the mobile ecosystem in Latin America. With operations in 17 countries in Latin America, CELISTICS is a strategic partner to technology companies throughout the region. The company spans more than 30,000 distribution points in Latin America and has 100.000 m2 of warehouse space.
Movilway is the leader in geographical coverage for electronic payment services in the Latin American region. The quality of it services, commitment to customers, continuous technological innovation, and its ability to adapt to the needs of each market are the basis of its successful business model, extending to 10 countries in the region and reaching more than 100,000 points of sale.
Movilway, a pioneer in the electronic transactions industry, promotes a culture of service based on a model of integration and transparency, which aims to improve the quality of life for communities without access to banking services in Latin America.
Sure Destiny, offers international logistics services and is in charge of moving and transporting mobile devices from manufacturing locations anywhere in the world to their final destination in Latin America.
Sure Destiny operates and provides strategic analysis and development to obtain competitive market rates, achieving the best, most efficient results in the operation of each shipment. Sure Destiny handles and tracks shipments from the moment they are received in the country of origin until they are delivered safely and in perfect conditions at their final destination. All while taking into account potential incidents, casualties, and other unexpected situations in the supply chain during the operation.
Sure Destiny offers a broad network of international logistics with decades of expertise, state-of-the-art tracking software, and highly-customized customer service, to enable our customers to focus on what they do best – their business.

domain: geography


text:
Blossoms for the Blind
"I'm heading to the market today, Aoshi-sama," Misao told him as she refilled his cup with steaming tea. "It'll be good weather this morning, I think. Do you need anything?"
"Your usual? Green tea and lemon?"
"Aa. If it's not too much trouble."
She sipped at her own cup, beaming. She liked early mornings in the Aoiya, when everybody else was fast asleep; the rest of the world simply seemed to melt away in these hours, and there was only them, with their pot of bitter tea and china cups warm in their hands.
"None at all, Aoshi-sama! I was planning on doing a personal run anyway. Okon's asked for some good sake -she's going up to the mountains again- and I need to pick up some honey and string."
"Misao," he said, a tinge of exasperation in his voice, "No more pranks."
"Oh, okay, if you say so. Though I'd bet my best blade that you enjoyed them more than you let on." She leant in to observe his reaction more carefully; if she wasn't mistaken, there was genuine amusement glinting in his eyes, and not just a trick of the light. Four years had passed, and she still hadn't given up on making good on her promise to Himura. One day, she'd make Aoshi-sama smile for sure- she just hoped she wouldn't be an old maid when that day came.
She pressed on. "Come on, Aoshi-sama! What about the one with the feathers and bucket of tar? Only a Makimachi could pull that one off- Kuro never saw it coming!"
"It was funny, right? It's not my fault nobody in the Aoiya would recognise comedic genius even if it smacked them in the face. Which it has."
"Sano would've appreciated it," she grumbled. "It's too bad he's off gallivanting around the continent. Who knows when we'll hear back from him again? He's probably racking up debts all across the mainland about now, and a wanted man by all the local authorities." A slow smile came to her face. "Speaking of freeloaders, I should probably write back to Himura's lot soon. I hear that up in Tokyo, the brat's finally confessed to Tsubame. About time, hmm?"
Could she hint any harder? She wasn't sure, but tact had never been her forte so she carried on, blithely. "They say little Kenji's growing up to be just like his dad, and that he's inherited his hair, and his good nature."
Far away, Aoshi looked cold and untouchable as ever, but up close, when she could see every contour of his stern face, every fleck of vivid colour in his eyes, he seemed somewhat warmer, more human, and she would be reminded of exactly why he occupied such a very large space in her heart.
It was almost enough. Almost enough for her to resign herself to a lifetime of watching him, close but never touching. But she was still longing, still caught half-way between dreams and reality; and she wanted more.
Eat, sleep, train, love Aoshi-sama. It was as easy as breathing.
He occasionally sought out her company, if only to hear her chatter on about this and that, and occasionally his eyes would soften, so that she might even think that he treasured these moments as much as she did. But did he see her? She was a woman now, no fragile thing of tender years, and he ought to know it.
"Kaoru says that she might be pregnant with her second child," Misao informed him. He nodded, somewhat absently; her eyes narrowed, and sudden courage flooded her. "Maybe in a couple of years, I'll be awaiting a child of my own. What do you think, Aoshi-sama?"
There was a sharp, almost imperceptible intake of breath through his lips.
He would not look at her.
Well, looks like we've reached a stalemate, Misao thought, determined.
But not for much longer.
Things are about to change.
And into motion went Misao's grand plan.
On Monday, she began to sing outside of Aoshi's window: short, simple ballads that she remembered hearing Shikijo hum long ago, when she was young. Misao was under the impression that serenading a lover was terribly romantic, and though it was true that Aoshi was not a terribly romantic man, she had a sweet voice and was certain that she had enough romance in her for the both of them. He barely raised an eyebrow at her performance, and after the first song, returned to completing the paperwork that the current Okashira was presently neglecting in favour of singing outside the former Okashira's window. When he was finished, he asked her if she wanted to come with him to feed the ducks; she did, and so music was quickly abandoned for squawking birds and stale bread. So much for romance, she thought, trying to wipe the grin from her face and failing spectacularly.
She bought him a new pen and a wooden box full of sweet cakes from the market on Tuesday, and presented them to him dressed in her finest silk kimono. His gaze lingered on her for a second longer than usual, and he ate a sweet from courtesy, then left the rest of them for her to finish, knowing her insatiable sweet tooth- and to her, that was quite as good as if he had bought the sweets himself with her in mind. The pen had been ever in his hand since; she derived a huge amount of irrational glee from having a piece bought and chosen by herself so close to him at all times. A success, she declared to herself, and made sure to send plenty of paperwork his way.
Wednesday morning was passed writing a sheaf of failed sonnets and poems, which she eventually tore apart and tossed. She settled instead on cooking Aoshi-sama a romantic dinner for two, which quickly turned into four, when Kuro and Shiro barged in, both eager for a good, hot meal after a mission completed early. The candles was wasted on them, Misao thought, so invited Omasu and Okon to join them, thus making up the usual party of six. However, she did not lose heart, though she had lost her appetite by the time she'd watched her dishes made with love wolfed down by two hungry men that held none of her romantic affections whatsoever.
On Thursday, she bought a bunch of flowers from the local florist, with the few coins still left in her purse. She hummed and hawed over various brightly coloured blossoms, changing her mind once, and twice, and thrice, before settling on a beautiful, bold bunch. They were a brilliant crimson, soft to the touch and sweetly scented.
And on Friday, she confessed in pen and ink.
Night had fallen by the time Aoshi escaped from the veritable mountain of paperwork in his office and wandered out of the Aoiya. Warm air rushed to greet him as he stepped out into the garden. It was a beautiful night, indeed.
He wondered how many years had passed in which he was blind to the majestic Kyoto skies, so vast that he could not perceive their end, so dark and clear. A certain contentment settled over him, a feeling becoming increasingly common in recent months. Yesterday's sins and sorrows were sinking into the depths of the past, where they belonged; and he, he was striding ever forward.
He walked along the side of the Aoiya, drawing his gaze over the horizon, then turned the corner.
Because there, on the porch outside the hallway that he shared with Misao, was a bouquet of camellias. Lovely and fresh and fragrant and like a knife to the gut.
Red for passion, for romance, and for love.
Had Misao been receiving gifts from a suitor? His heart clenched painfully, but he checked himself immediately. Misao was a pretty girl, and whatever was to be said about her mannerisms, she was an easy person to admire. This should have been foreseen.
So why was he feeling so startled, so perturbed? Well, he knew the answer to that question, though it was not one he particularly liked. His years of denial and obstinance were finally catching up with him.
He'd always thought...
His selfishness was deplorable. He'd always thought they knew she belonged to him.
Clearly that was not so, and it was a mistake to have been wallowing in false security for so long.
He should have seen the signs. Misao had been acting so strangely as of late. Singing strange songs outside his window, buying him little gifts and knick-knacks; he had initially shrugged it off as Misao being Misao, but now it was becoming painfully clear that it was the happy manner of a girl who was being pursued.
She had even donned the kind of kimono she had once scorned, and cooked a meal, something she had previously had avoided at all costs in favour of honing her onmitsu skills.
And she had been hinting about marriage for some time now...
A pink card poked out of the bouquet, and instinct told him to snatch it up and find out who trying to win the girl's heart. He stared at it for a moment, thought of Misao's smiling face.
It's none of my concern.
But still he could not bring himself to turn away, and for a split second, he was gripped by a sudden and dark urge to burn those terrible flowers, burn them up so that Misao would never know her suitor, so that she would never consider another man, younger and undoubtedly more deserving of her than-
And all his sins came flooding back to him, and he was stained again.
For a fleeting, unguarded moment, his masochistic tendencies kicked in and he imagined it all; a man, a good man, at her side, taking care of her, kissing her. Wedding her, fathering her children, growing old with her. The thought twisted his innards and left a poisonous, bitter taste in his mouth.
Aoshi had lost many things, and thrown away more, but Misao, Misao-
What did he have left, except from her? When he closed his eyes, he only saw her bright smile again, and his chest ached.
He stepped away, and left the flowers at the porch.
I think I'll burst into a thousand million million little pieces if I don't write this down right now, and I'm sorry because I know you hate cowardice over all else but I just can't seem to summon the courage to tell you in person. I hope you understand.
And so here it is:
I love you.
I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
I love you, and these aren't the words of an insincere little girl, I promise. It's the vow of a soul who has been searching for you for as long as memory can serve, and then further back still. You have my heart in your hand; you always have, Aoshi-sama.
I will be
Sincerely Yours, forever and always,
Okon and Omasu were like sisters, in that sometimes Misao loved them more than life itself, but more often, she just wanted to bash their skulls in.
"Oh dear, Misao, has he still not said anything?" Misao dearly wanted to say something sharp to silence Okon's haughty amusement, but her mind was weary, and she could not think of a suitable retort.
"When you started singing to him, I thought he was going to choke on his tea!" Omasu tittered.
"Did he at least thank you for the meal? Granted, Misao, you aren't much of a cook, but still, it's only common courtesy."
"And those flowers have been out there for how long now? Such a shame, Aoshi hasn't even glanced at them. He's as icy as ever."
"Most frigid man I've ever made acquaintance with. I'm sorry to say that I doubt he's even noticed any of your efforts, as enthusiastic as they were. Romancing Aoshi was a bit of a silly idea, hmm, Misao?"
"It was yours, Okon," Misao reminded her tiredly, but she wasn't in the mood for pointing fingers or shifting the blame. What had happened had happened; it was Aoshi's reaction, or lack thereof, that had delivered the wound, not Okon, not Omasu.
Misao gazed at the flowers, a hard lump forming in her throat.
She'd seen Aoshi walk past them, ignoring them so completely that it was as if he'd never seen them at all. They were dying now, drooping and dejected. Beautiful not so long ago.
"He'll come around," she told them, but even she could hear the quavering note of uncertainty in her voice. Okon and Omasu exchanged glances, suddenly looking worried.
"Of course," Okon quickly interrupted. "We were just teasing. Of course he will."
"He's probably just confused, Misao. You mean everything to him, you know," Omasu soothed, sounding so much like a mother that Misao began to long for her own. She missed her parents and their soft laughter, missed Jiya and his dirty jokes, missed Hannya and Hyottoko and Beshimi and Shikijo like she missed a lost limb. And when she thought about Aoshi, she missed him too. It was true; he had been distant and cold ever since he had seen the flowers, and it felt like he was slipping away through her fingers, like the rest of them.
A sinking feeling in her gut told her that she'd messed everything up. She fell into Omasu's embrace, let her hair be smoothed down by soft hands and closed her eyes so she would not have to look at the flowers, dying on the porch.
When her pride was in scraps and she could take no more, Misao decided that the flowers had to go. She stole outside, and scooped up the flowers with both hands, humiliation and dejection pooling in her stomach. She resolved to take the bouquet to her room and destroy it all so there was no trace of her failed confession left.
Unfortunately, her plan was foiled when she encountered the very source of her desire and distress in the hallway.
"A-Aoshi-sama!" she spluttered, halting abruptly, burning face level with his chest. No, no, not now. I don't need this.
He wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the flowers in her arms with the intensity of an opponent in battle; it looked very much like he wanted them to spontaneously combust and collapse into ash.
Not that she blamed him. It was an embarrassing affair for both of them.
"Misao," he greeted after a moment, voice level.
For a moment, she thought he'd drop the issue, and walk on by, but instead he stood his ground, in her way. She scanned his face, and found him even more tightly lipped than usual.
"Excuse me-" she began to say, but he cut in, voice carefully controlled.
"Are you planning on keeping those flowers? They have been on the porch for some days now... I thought that you might be intending to throw them out."
A rush of indignation filled her. So it was true- he'd been ignoring her confession for days and days on purpose. And now he was mocking her.
She'd never imagined that Aoshi would be so spiteful, but perhaps she didn't know him as well as she thought she had. After all, a week ago she'd believed him to love her.
"What does it matter to you?" she spat.
He blinked, as if surprised at her sudden anger.
"Why should it not matter to me?"
"You've made your answer perfectly clear."
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Misao."
"Feigning ignorance, Aoshi-sama?" she bit out. "You know, of course you do! After all I've tried, and tried. Do you know how embarrassing it was to serenade you? Did you even notice? What about the gifts, the meals I cooked? Though I've done all I can, you still look past me." She was flushed with emotion, glaring up at him. "And to think I could have spared myself all the pain, if only I wasn't cursed with the damnable inability to give up; wasn't witless enough to hope, or stupid enough to believe that I could ever win you over."
A moment of silence. She would've worried about making Aoshi uncomfortable if she hadn't been so mad at him right then.
"...You were attempting to woo me?" He sounded faintly disbelieving, but her incensed glower gave him his answer. He stared at the flowers, recognising the scruffy scrawl over the piece of pink card as Misao's hand. Then he stared at her.
And for the first time in her twenty years, she heard Aoshi Shinomori laugh.
Misao's anger evaporated as quickly as it came, to be replaced by shock, and she clung to the dying flowers like a lifeline. She was dreaming, or delirious. But surely this was beyond the scope of her imagination. His head was angled back, his eyes closed, his chuckles low and throaty and the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.
Why hadn't she a recording device, so that she could save this moment and play it back over again and again? Then she could believe that Aoshi-sama was forever happy, that he'd have no more sorrows creasing his brow or guilt weighing down his soul.
This was all she wanted. To stand here and listen to the sound of his laughter until she grew old and her bones turned to dust. She'd be happy. She'd be happy.
But her captivation only lasted as long as his humour did; that is to say, little more than a few seconds.
Mere specks on the canvas of forever, and always.
Hopelessness slammed into her gut, harder than ever, followed by the agony of realisation, ripping through her body. Suddenly, it was difficult to breathe, let alone stand. She'd handed her heart to him and he had laughed.
To her horror, Aoshi was blurring behind a film of burning tears- and perhaps it was just as well, because she couldn't bear to meet his clear blue gaze, look at the mouth that had just a moment ago been spurning her in the cruellest of ways.
"Misao?" the mirth had vanished, replaced by something touching concern. He reached out for her, but she stumbled away from his touch, flowers slipping from her arms and crumpling to the floor.
"Don't touch me!" she hissed, clutching at her chest. There was hurt in his eyes, but for once, Misao could not bring herself to tend to Aoshi's injuries- not when he had just cut her down, and she was bleeding out, everything she had, everything she was-
"I get it. I understand. I..." hate you I hate you hate your voice your eyes your hands your stupid stupid beautiful laugh and I love you I love you love everything you are and it hurts you're ripping me to shreds but I can't stop any more than I can stop my heart from beating god knows I've tried if I could stop loving you don't you know I would-
She she drew a fist across her eyes, to try and stop the tears from falling, but all in vain. Her body, like her heart, was traitorous, now heaving a silent sob, eyes overfilling, leaving hot trails down her cheeks.
She thought about pride, and decided that she might still have some intact if she left now, and did not look back. Perhaps it would not hurt so much. Blindly, she spun on her heel and made for the door, paying little mind to the flowers crushed underfoot.
"Misao." Was that a note of desperation in his voice? Well, no matter. She didn't care.
Only she did. She did, terribly, horribly. She cared too much, loved him too hard, gave him everything too willingly. And the worst of it was that she knew she'd happily be mocked, scorned by the man she loved once more, if only to hear him laugh again.
She hastened her step
-but he was faster. A large hand encircled her wrist, tugging her back.
"Don't cry," he pleaded, voice dipping into a low, lost tone, and a fresh wave of fury crashed over Misao's head because how dare he sound so sorry?
She tried to wrench her hand free, but his grip remained firm. "Let me go!" she cried. "Haven't you done enough? Just let me go!"
When she turned to him, he looked at a loss for words, and in a fleeting instant, Misao bitterly thought that today was a day of firsts, indeed.
"I can't," he said finally, sounding pained.
They stood for a moment in silence, Misao with hot tears streaking down her face and Aoshi's steady, imploring gaze boring right into her. She could barely dare to hope.
"Why?" she asked, shakily. He did not answer, and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to.
Aoshi ran his free hand through his hair, looking more agitated than she had ever seen him. "I don't know," he admitted. "Perhaps because I have never had a suitor quite so bold as you... perhaps because I am finding it difficult as of late to control the direction of my emotions." He looked away. "Or maybe it's simply that you make me happier than I ought to be."
Her breath caught in her throat. "Then..."
"I misunderstood some things. My deepest apologies. It was not at all my intention to offend you. I only found it absurd that you thought you should have to woo me. I believed you understood that I-" he halted, took a slight breath before resuming. "I am already won."
She barrelled into him, crying and pounding at his chest with a vengeance, and he stood, already forgiven, steadying hand on her narrow shoulders.
"Did you read the note?" Misao demanded, raising bright, watery eyes from the ground. "Because it said that I love you. And I fully intend to court you."
Aoshi leant down to press his mouth to hers, and through the salt of her tears she swore that she could feel his lips curving upwards against her own.
Forever and always, Misao.
He found an old vase, filled it with cool water and placed the wilting camellias in it.
Delighted, she kissed a crushed, withering blossom, then spun around to bestow her kisses on something altogether more beautiful. His smiles were not so unusual these days.
And though the flowers died soon after, they lived on.
Reusing an old prompt, with a few others picked by a friend: red flowers, death, blindness, reversal and love letters. This edged perilously close to the usual angst somewhere in the middle, but it doesn't quite make it there, I hope. I'm sorry for the sap, I really am, but after I wrote it I didn't have the heart to cut it out. If I have time later, I'll redo the sloppy bits.
Thank you to all the A/M writers still out there, whose stories have reminded me how much I loved this pair when I first read RK, years ago.

domain: artistic


Alberta Transportation and Canadian Pacific Railway will be doing an urgent repair on Highway 3 (Crowsnest Trail) between 28 St and 30 St that could cause significant traffic delays this week.
As part of the provincial highway network, Crowsnest Trail is maintained by Alberta Transportation.
They have asked the City of Lethbridge inform residents of this construction and request that they consider alternate routes during this time to help reduce congestion.
Weather permitting, the project schedule is expected to go as follows:
- Eastbound lanes will be closed on Wednesday, October 9
- Westbound lanes will be closed on Thursday, October 10
- Both closure will reduce traffic to a single lane from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Contractor Volker Stevin will be doing the traffic control for this project. Signage will be in place to notify motorists and reduced speeds will be in effect.
(From City of Lethbridge)


Family Dollar Stores saw its shares fall nearly 1% in midday trading in the stock market todayafter the variety discounter issued guidance below Wall Street's expectations.
Family Dollar (FDO) saw second-quarter earnings rise 5% to $1.21 a share, slightly below forecasts from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $1.22 a share. Same-store sales rose 2.9% vs. a year ago, short of estimates by Retail Metrics for a 4% gain.
Sales increased 17.7% to $2.89 billion, in line with analysts' forecasts. But the company gave full-year fiscal 2013 guidance of between $3.73 and $3.93 a share vs. analysts' estimates for $3.98 a share.
"As we move into the second half of fiscal 2013, our discretionary sales continue to be challenged by both the financial pressures facing our customers as well as unseasonably cold spring weather," said CEO Howard Levine in a press release reporting results. "Given this uncertainty, we have adjusted our plans to reflect lower than anticipated home and apparel sales as our customers' discretionary spend is expected to remain constrained."


text:
Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, Delta State chapter, has honoured Mr Ovie Ossai, political aide to the Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, for his support and commitment to service delivery in the state.
The guild described Ossai as a young man that is passionate, dedicated and focused, and an inspiration to youths in the state.
Presenting the award, the state chairman of the Guild, Ovie Alex, urged youths to be courageous and exemplary wherever they find themselves.
Receiving the award in Asaba, venue of the gala and award nite, Ossai expressed gratitude to God, Governor Okowa and the guild for finding him worthy.
He told the gathering that he was surprised at the recognition but humbled and determined to continue to shine as a model to the youths.
He said: “This award is a testimony to the fact that no matter what you are doing and where you are, people are watching. Hence, it’s imperative that we create good name and be passionate with whatever we are doing. I am also using this opportunity to advise the youths to desist from violence and to embrace peace n dialogue for a better tomorrow.”


- Nichols Court, Linton
Construction of 41 extra care self-contained flats (32 one bed, eight two bed and one one bed guest flat) with associated communal areas.
- Millbrook House, Soham
92 unit extra care scheme with associated communal facilities and external works.
- Wimborne House, Gravesend
70 extra care/LD self-contained flats (39 one-bed and 31 two-bed) and associated communal areas.
- Doddington Court, Doddington
Construction of 50 extra care self-contained flats, nine intermediate care self-contained flats and associated communal areas.
2011-15 Affordable Housing Programme
Projects included general needs housing, extra care housing, supported housing and housing for the homeless.


text:
Shot in one take with Canon 5d MKII // Tamron 28-75MM 2.8 // Handheld // FCP w/ MBL Blockbuster modified //
Didn't have access to stage shooting, but I thought it turned out nicely after matching the live recording to an old studio recording.
Hear more of their music at:
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text:
Australians treated to rare full solar eclipse
CAIRNS, Australia (Reuters) - A rare full solar eclipse plunged north Queensland into darkness for two minutes early on Wednesday, delighting the thousands of people who had gathered on the Australian state's beaches.
In Cairns, the main city in north Queensland and a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, cloudy skies and occasional rain partly obscured the view, but elsewhere viewing conditions were more favourable.
North Queensland's tourism body and NASA provided a live stream of the eclipse, which was expected to give a A$75 million boost to the region's tourism industry with many people travelling from around the country and overseas to catch the best view of the celestial show.
Authorities warned spectators to wear safety goggles, noting the sun remains incredibly powerful even when hidden behind the moon.
While north Queensland was treated to a full eclipse at around 6.39 am local time (2039 GMT Tuesday), a partial eclipse was visible in other parts of Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Antarctica.
The last full solar eclipse visible from Australia was in 2002, an event that was only visible in the nation's south. The next one, to be visible from Sydney, is not due until 2028.
(Reporting by Tim Wimbourne in Cairns and Jane Wardell in Sydney; Editing by John Mair)
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