text:
As regular readers of Black Gate are fully aware, the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons has had a huge influence upon post-1970s fantasy writers and fans. A case in point, Tor.com is currently delivering a series of posts exploring Gary Gygax’s (the original creator of Dungeons and Dragons) suggested readings in Appendix N of the first edition Dungeon Masters Guide (the first two are here and here). The authors in this list are the usual suspects in fantasy literature: Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, etc. But one author that Gygax includes, that may be a surprise to some, is the horror writer Howard Philips Lovecraft.
However, veteran fantasy and other genre fans will likely see no incongruence here. For example, as a 13-year old intently reading the original Dungeons and Dragons book Deities and Demigods, I found the Cthulhu mythos section, based on Lovecraft’s horror fiction, to be just as inspiring for fantasy role-playing as the Greek and Norse mythos sections. I believe many others will agree that Lovecraftian horror has been a part of the sundry smorgasbord of fantasy for some time.
As veteran genre fans also well know, Lovecraft has spawned a cadre of authors who can be clearly identified as “Lovecraftian.” Such authors, in my opinion, fall into two broad and general groups. One group imitates Lovecraft by using the same sorts of tropes that he did: forbidden eldritch books, gibbous moons, tentacled monsters, mad cultists, etc. The second group writes more in the mood of Lovecraft, giving a general sense of nihilistic dread, sometimes called “cosmic horror.” I personally favor the latter group though there are some fine examples of the first.
Laird Barron is a fairly new horror writer who fits the squarely into the latter Lovecraftian group. His short story collections The Imago Sequence and Occultation are both often heralded as must-haves for horror fans, receiving the 2007 and 2010 Shirley Jackson awards, respectively. Barron’s stories range from eerie to the utterly terrifying, presenting a universe that gives small peeks into entities and realities that are at best indifferent to Earth and humanity’s fragile existence and sanity.
With such a terrific track record of horror short stories, many were wild with anticipation for the 2012 release of Barron’s first horror novel: The Croning. This book does not disappoint. I believe Barron successfully stretches his cosmic horror skills to the novel length. I’ll give a brief synopsis and highlights in the following.
The Croning starts with the re-telling of a fairytale that I personally was not very familiar with — the story of Rumpelstiltskin — though I believe Barron has taken some liberalities by adding some grisly details of his own. From this old medieval story, the book quickly shifts to the present day focusing upon a retired academic couple, Donald and Michelle. Barron relates most of the book from Donald’s point of view, who seemingly fits the somewhat comical absent-minded professor stereotype.
However, as the book progresses, Donald’s memories begin to coalesce, giving him insights to some of his wife’s goings and doings throughout the years. In typical Lovecraftian fashion, accumulated knowledge does not end up being a good thing as Donald regrettably discovers. Eventually as readers, we are shown glimpses of a connection between the horrors that Donald discovers and the original Rumpelstiltskin story, which unfortunately turns out not to be a fairytale after all. It should go without saying that things do not end exceptionally well for Donald.
Many horror fans have noted that the genre of horror often seems at its best in short story or novella length. Many agree that the emotion of art-horror (see Noël Carroll’s The Philosophy of Horror) seems harder to sustain well in longer works. Barron overcomes this setback by giving short episodes throughout The Croning that give peak tease to this emotion.
For example, at one point Donald’s family is around the homestead fireplace at night telling stories. One particularly frightful story is Donald’s son Kurt re-telling a “real life” experience with a ghost or witch when he worked at a department store in high school. You get the sense that the story will be corny, but it turns out to be very chilling scene. (I’ve read The Croning twice and both times this scene gave me goose bumps — excellente!) There are several such episodes throughout the book.
Barron is also highly adept at just hinting at the horrible—something that somehow makes the horror even worse. One example, in the Rumpelstiltskin section at the beginning of The Croning, a character is sharing a cave, and some suspect smoking material, with a stranger who happens to be a dwarf:
An exceedingly odd thing disquieted the Peddler. Perhaps his senses were distorted by whatever powerful herb was percolating in the hookah barrel; nonetheless, he’d received a fright when at one point it appeared the Dwarf’s face was melting . . . the Peddler collapsed unconscious . . . (p.21).
Creepy! Was it just the effects of the drug? Or did the Peddler get a quick glance at reality? Though such experiences are ambiguous for Barron’s characters, as readers Barron clearly hints at more horrible implications.
Lovecraftian horror is widely recognized as part of the milieu that makes up the fantasy genre. Laird Barron’s style of Lovecraftian horror is, in my opinion, the best and most chilling instantiation of such horror. And The Croning is a great introduction to Barron’s work.

domain: entertainment


The new Signature Series from Antec is a premium power supply line, which means that products from this series (so far 650 W and 850 W models were launched) have tighter specs. For example, voltage regulation is set at 3% instead of 5% (7% instead of 10% for the -12 V output). Between the lines the manufacturer says this line has a very high efficiency, although on the specs table they list efficiency as “80% minimum.” Signature 650, also known as SG-650, features a half modular cabling system and only one 80 mm fan, which the manufacturer says is quieter than other 80 mm solutions. Let’s see what is really inside this power supply and why it is so much more expensive than other units.
Of course this power supply features active PFC, what enables Antec to sell this product in Europe. Because of that it also has auto voltage selection.
Signature 650 comes in a fancy hard box, as you can see in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Antec Signature 650 box.
Figure 2: Antec Signature 650.
This power supply is a bigger than other products on the same power range, being 7 3/32” (180 mm) deep instead of 6 19/64” (160 mm) or even 5 ½” (140 mm).
As mentioned, this product has only one 80 mm fan on its rear side, just like older power supplies. We like better when power supplies have a 120 mm or bigger fan on its bottom as bigger fans provide higher airflow (meaning lower temperature) and lower noise level (as they can rotate at lower speeds to achieve the same airflow level of smaller fans). Antec, however, says that the fan used is quieter than normal, as it uses a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) circuit to control it. In fact this proved to be true. During our reviews we could only hear the fan working when the power supply was delivering its full labeled power or more. The power supply worked very cool as well (only up to 5° C above room temperature), as we will show you in more details later.
But what is somewhat strange about this power supply is the fact that it uses a “half” modular cabling system, to be used only if you need more cables. Signature 650 comes with the main motherboard cable, ATX12V cable, EPS12V cable, SATA power cable (with three connectors), peripheral power cable (with three standard connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector) and video card cable (6/8-pin connector) coming from inside the power supply. Then it has three connectors on its modular cabling system if you need more peripheral, SATA or video card power cables.
It comes with two SATA power cables (three SATA power plugs each), two peripheral power cables (three standard peripheral power plugs each) and one video card power cable (one 6-pin plug). If you pay attention, the power supply comes with five extra cables, but its modular cabling system has only three connectors, so you can only use three of them at the same time (one of the connectors is reserved for the additional video card power connector).
Figure 3: Antec Signature 650.
Figure 4: Cables for the modular system.
All wires are 18 AWG, which is adequate for a power supply on this power range.
On the aesthetical side all cables use a nylon sleeving, but they don’t come from inside the power supply, so the wires are exposed on the hole on the front side of the power supply.
This power supply is manufactured by Delta Electronics.
Now let’s take an in-depth look inside this power supply.
[nextpage title=”A Look Inside The Signature 650″]
We decided to disassemble this power supply to see what it looks like inside, how it is designed, and what components are used. Please read our Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies tutorial to understand how a power supply works and to compare this power supply to others.
Disassembling Signature 650 it was clear why Antec decided to use an 80 mm fan instead of a bigger one: this power supply has two printed circuit boards. The upper board has its component side facing the component side of the lower board, so we have all components located in the middle with a lot of space for the airflow provided by the 80 mm fan. We could see that this fan is really a PWM model, since it had four wires and not only two as usual.
This is the second power supply we’ve seen with this kind of design. The first one was OCZ ProXStream 1,000 W, which proved to have very noisy and inefficient fans (they aren’t PWM) and to heat a lot. This model from OCZ, however, is physically smaller, which made all components to be squeezed in a very small space causing the excessive heating. This does not appear to be the case with Signature 650, where the components are well spread and there is a lot of empty space between the two printed circuit boards when the unit is assembled.
The top printed circuit board features part of the primary (transient filtering stage and active PFC) and the entire +5VSB power supply and the bottom printed circuit board features part of the primary (switching and transformer) and the whole secondary.
Figure 5: Overall look.
Figure 6: Upper printed circuit board.
Figure 7: Upper printed circuit board.
Figure 8: Lower printed circuit board.
Figure 9: Lower printed circuit board.
[nextpage title=”Transient Filtering Stage”]
As we have mentioned in ot
her articles and reviews, the first place we look when opening a power supply for a hint about its quality, is its filtering stage. The recommended components for this stage are two ferrite coils, two ceramic capacitors (Y capacitors, usually blue), one metalized polyester capacitor and one MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor). Very low-end power supplies use fewer components, usually removing the MOV and the first coil.
This power supply is flawless on this stage, having one more ferrite coil, two more Y capacitors (two of them are soldered directly to the main AC connector) and two more X capacitors than necessary.
Figure 10: Transient filtering stage.
In the next page we will have a more detailed discussion about the components used in the Signature 650.
[nextpage title=”Primary Analysis”]
On this page we will take an in-depth look at the primary stage of Signature 650. For a better understanding, please read our Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies tutorial.
This power supply uses one D25XB60 rectifying bridge in its primary, capable of delivering up to 25 A at 95° C when a heatsink is used, which is the case. This bridge has a very high current limit, as bridges usually used on PC power supplies have a limit between 6 A and 15 A. This component is clearly overspec’ed: at 115 V this unit would be able to pull up to 2,875 W from the power grid; assuming 80% efficiency, the bridge would allow this unit to deliver up to 2,300 W without burning this component. Of course we are only talking about this component and the real limit will depend on all other components from the power supply.
The active PFC circuit uses two 20N60C3 power MOSFET transistors, which are probably the most popular transistors for this function. Each one is capable of handling up to 300 A @ 25° C in pulse mode (which is the case) or up to 45 A @ 25° C or 20 A @ 110° C (note the difference temperature makes).
The active PFC circuit uses two Japanese capacitors labeled at 105° C connected in parallel, one from Rubycon and the other from Chemi-Con. When capacitors are connected in parallel their capacitances are added. This is a very common trick to achieve a higher capacitance without using a capacitor that is physically bigger and would not fit the form factor proposed by the manufacturer. The capacitors are from different vendors because they are not identical, the Rubycon one is of 270 µF and the Chemi-Con one is of 220 µF. Thus together they are equivalent to a bigger 490 µF cap.
Figure 11: Active PFC circuit and rectifying bridge (component on the right).
While the transient filtering stage, the rectifying bridge and the active PFC circuit are located on the upper printed circuit board (along with the +5VSB power supply) the switching transistors and the transformer are located on the lower printed circuit board.
This power supply uses two other 20N60C3 power MOSFET transistors on the traditional two-transistor forward configuration on its switching section. The specs for these transistors are published above.
Figure 12: Switching transistors and transformer.
Since the active PFC circuit and the switching transistors are located in different printed circuit boards, the manufacturer used separated controlling circuits, instead of just one combo integrated circuit. The active PFC circuit is controlled by an ICE1PCS02 integrated circuit, while the switching transistors are controlled by a UC3845B integrated circuit.
Figure 13: PWM controller.
[nextpage title=”Secondary Analysis”]
Antec Signature 650 uses five S60SC6M Schottky Rectifiers on its secondary, each one able to handle up to 60 A at 110° C (30 A per internal diode). Because of the color used on the lacquer layer from the printed circuit board (the foreground and the background had the same color: brown) it was almost impossible for us to follow the traces for a precise analysis of the circuit. From what we could understand, they are all in charge of the +12 V rectification, with the +3.3 V and +5 V outputs being produced by lowering +12 V to +5 V or +3.3 V using two individual voltage regulator circuits (each one also based on switching technology) based on ISL6540ACRZ integrated circuits. This is what Antec refers to “DC to DC voltage regulator modules which ensure greater system stability” on their website.
We can do a quick exercise to see the maximum theoretical power this unit can deliver. The maximum theoretical current the +12 V line can deliver is given by the formula I / (1 – D), where D is the duty cycle used and I is the maximum current supported by the rectifying diode (which in this case is made by five 30 A diodes in parallel). Just as an exercise, we can assume a typical duty cycle of 30%. This would give us a maximum theoretical current of 214 A or 2,571 W for the main +12 V bus, which is also used to produce the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs, as explained. As you can see, the rectifiers are clearly overspec’ed, which is always something nice to see.
Figure 14: Rectifiers.
Figure 15: Voltage regulators for the +3.3 V and +5 V outputs.
The -12 V output is produced by one LM7912 voltage regulator integrated circuit, which has a current limit of 1.5 A.
All the electrolytic capacitors from the secondary are Japanese from Chemi-Con and labeled at 105° C.
[nextpage title=”Power Distribution”]
In Figure 16, you can see the power supply label containing all the power specs.
Figure 16: Power supply label.
As you can see this power supply has three +12 V rails, which are distributed like this:
- +12V1 (solid yellow wire): Main motherboard cable, peripheral power connectors and SATA power connectors, including the ones from the modular cabling system.
- +12V2 (yellow with black stripe wire): ATX12V and EPS12V connectors.
- +12V3 (yellow with blue stripe wire): Video card auxiliary power connectors, including the one from the modular cabling system.
If the three rails had the same current limit we would complain for the fact that +12V3 is more loaded than the other two rails. However if you pay attention to the label this rail has a higher limit. Thus we don’t think this will be a problem. Just to remind, power distribution is important because what defines a +12V rail is the presence of an individual over current protection (OCP) circuit and we are trying to avoid this circuit from shutting down the power supply under normal working conditions because you have power-hungry components.
Now let’s see if this power supply can really deliver 650 W.[nextpage title=”Load Tests”]
We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology.
First we tested this power supply with five different load patterns, trying to pull around 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of its labeled maximum capacity (actual percentage used listed under “% Max Load”), watching how the reviewed unit behaved under each load. In the table below we list the load patterns we used and the results for each load.
If you add all the power listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can vary slightly (e.g., the +5 V output working at +5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. On the “Total” row we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.
+12V1 and +12V2 are the two independent +12V inputs from our load tester and during our tests the +12V1 input was connected to the power supply +12V1 (main motherboard connector and peripheral power connectors) and +12V3 (video card power connector) rails at the same time, while the +12V2 input was connected to the power supply +12V2 rail (EPS12V connector).
|Input||Test 1||Test 2||Test 3||Test 4||Test 5|
|+12V1||5 A (60 W)||10 A (120 W)||14 A (168 W)||19 A (228 W)||26.5 A (318 W)|
|+12V2||4.5 A (54 W)||10 A (120 W)||14 A (168 W)||19 A (228 W)||22 A (264 W)|
|+5V||1 A (5 W)||2 A (10 W)||4 A (20 W)||5 A (25 W)||6 A (30 W)|
|+3.3 V||1 A (3.3 W)||2 A (6.6 W)||4 A (13.2 W)||5 A (16.5 W)||6 A (19.8 W)|
|+5VSB||1 A (5 W)||1.5 A (7.5 W)||2 A (10 W)||2.5 A (12.5 W)||3 A (15 W)|
|-12 V||0.5 A (6 W)||0.5 A (6 W)||0.5 A (6 W)||0.5 A (6 W)||0.5 A (6 W)|
|Total||134.2 W||271.4 W||386.3 W||516.4 W||652.9 W|
|% Max Load||20.6%||41.8%||59.4%||79.4%||100.4%|
|Room Temp.||49.8° C||48.4° C||49.8° C||46.8° C||49.3° C|
|PSU Temp.||49.6° C||50.1° C||51.4° C||48.9° C||53.5° C|
|Ripple and Noise||Pass||Pass||Pass||Pass||Pass|
|AC Power (1)||153 W||300 W||429 W||578 W||748 W|
|AC Power (2)||163.0 W||315.3 W||447.2 W||603.1 W||773.0 W|
|AC Voltage||113.4 V||112.0 V||109.7 V||108.1 V||105.8 V|
Updated 06/25/2009: We re-tested this power supply using our new GWInsteak GPM-8212 power meter, which is a precision instrument and provides accuracy of 0.2% and thus presenting the correct readings for AC power and efficiency (results marked as “2” on the table above; results marked as “1” were measured with our previous power meter from Brand Electronics, which isn’t so precise as you can see). We also added the numbers for AC voltage during our tests, an important number as efficiency is directly proportional to AC voltage (the higher AC voltage is, the higher efficiency is). Also, manufacturers usually announce efficiency at 230 V, which usually inflates efficiency numbers. We added power factor (PF) numbers as well. These numbers measure the efficiency of the power supply active PFC circuit. This number should be as close to 1 as possible. The active PFC circuit from this power supply is outstanding, as power factor was always above 0.996.
Efficiency is one of the highlights of this product. If you pull between 40% and 80% from this power supply maximum labeled wattage (between 260 W and 520 W) you will see an efficiency of at least 85.6%. At full load – traditionally the Achilles’ Heel for efficiency – efficiency was of 84.5%, which is outstanding. Only at light load (20% load, i.e., 130 W) efficiency was relatively low, at 82.3%.
Voltage stability was great with all voltages within 3% from their nominal value, including the -12 V output, which is usually outside the 3% range.
Ripple and noise is another highlight from this product. When pulling its full labeled power – which is when power supplies usually show their worst noise levels – the +12V outputs were still at only 1/5 of the maximum admissible noise level and the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs were still below half of the maximum allowed. Ripple on -12 V output was also very low, at 33 mV when we were pulling 100% load.
Below you can see noise level when we were pulling 653 W (test number five) from this power supply. Just to remember, the maximum allowed for the +12 V outputs is 120 mV peak-to-peak and the maximum allowed for the +5 V and +3.3 V outputs is 50 mV peak-to-peak.
Figure 17: Noise level at +12V1 input from our load tester with the reviewed unit delivering 653 W (22.6 mV).
Figure 18: Noise level at +12V2 input from our load tester with the reviewed unit delivering 653 W (23 mV).
Figure 19: Noise level at +5 V input from our load tester with the reviewed unit delivering 653 W (24 mV).
Figure 20: Noise level at +3.3 V input from our load tester with the reviewed unit delivering 653 W (19.4 mV).
Now let’s see if we could pull even more power from Antec Signature 650.
[nextpage title=”Overload Tests”]
Before overloading power supplies we always test first if the over current protection (OCP) circuit is active and at what level it is configured.
In order to do that we configured our load tester with a low (1 A) current on its +12V1 input and increased current at +12V2 (which was connected to the power supply +12V2 rail) until the power supply shut down. This happened when we tried to pull 30 A or more from +12V2.
Even though OCP was clearly active, we think that it was configured at a value that is little bit high, since the label states a 22 A limit for +12V2 rail.
Over power protection (OPP or OLP) was active, which is terrific. So we maxed out all the power supplies outputs until it shut down. The values we could pull from this unit with it still working you can see below.
|+12V1||29 A (348 W)|
|+12V2||29 A (348 W)|
|+5V||19 A (95 W)|
|+3.3 V||19 A (62.7 W)|
|+5VSB||3 A (15 W)|
|-12 V||0.5 A (6 W)|
|% Max Load||133.6%|
|Room Temp.||47.5° C|
|PSU Temp.||51.9° C|
|AC Power (1)||1,038 W|
|AC Power (2)||1,084.0 W|
|AC Voltage||99.5 V|
As you can see we could pull practically 870 W from this power supply at a room temperature between 45° C and 50° C and it was working perfectly with very low noise levels (33 mV maximum at +12V1) and efficiency still above 80%. Really amazing.
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
Antec Signature 650 W power supply specs include:
- Nominal labeled power: 650 W.
- Measured maximum power: 868 W at 47.5° C.
- Labeled efficiency: 80% minimum.
- Measured efficiency: Between 82.3% and 86.4% at 115 V.
- Active PFC: Yes.
- Modular Cabling System: Yes (partial).
- Motherboard Power Connectors: One 24-pin connector, one EPS12V connector and one ATX12V connector.
- Video Card Power Connectors: One 6/8-pin connector coming from inside the power supply and one 6-pin connector on the modular cabling system.
- Peripheral Power Connectors: three on one cable coming from inside the power supply and six on two cables on the modular cabling system. The modular cabling system only allows up to two peripheral or SATA cables to be used at the same time.
- Floppy Disk Drive Power Connectors: One.
- SATA Power Connectors: three on one cable coming from inside the power supply and six on two cables on the modular cabling system. The modular cabling system only allows up to two peripheral or SATA cables to be used at the same time.
- Protections: over voltage (OVP, not tested), over power (OPP, tested and working), over temperature (OTP, not tested) and over current (OCP, tested and working).
- Warranty: 5 years.
- Real manufacturer: Delta Electronics.
- More Information: https://www.antec.com
- Average price in the US: USD 179.00.
* Researched at Shopping.com on the day we published this review.
This is a great power supply. It can not only deliver its labeled power at 50° C, but you will be able to pull up to 870 W from it. Efficiency is one of the highlights from this product, achieving 84.5% efficiency at full load. With loads between 40% and 80% (between 260 W and 520 W) you will see efficiency between 85.6% and 86.4%. Only under light load (20%, i.e., 130 W) efficiency was “low”, at 82.3%.
Voltage stability and noise and ripple levels were outstanding.
We were impressed by its low noise level and temperature. We thought that because it uses an 80 mm fan it would be noisy and would heat, but temperature was at the worst case only 5° C above room temperature and noise level only bothered when we pulled 650 W or more from it.
This is a flawless power supply. The only negative point we can think of is its price, higher than competing products. It is clearly targeted to users that want “the best”. It deserves our Golden Award seal, however the savvy user may want to look for a product with a better cost/benefit ratio.


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Rafael Nadal was a player to beat in 2019, securing two Major titles and his fifth No. 1 of the year ahead of Novak Djokovic. Rafa had 58 wins that season and one of his most prized came in the Roland Garros semi-final against his old rival Roger Federer.
It was his fourteenth meeting at the Majors (the fifteenth was just around the corner at Wimbledon). Rafa got the tenth victory after a triumph by 6-3, 6-4, and 6-2 in two hours and 25 minutes. Nadal had lost all five of his previous matches against Federer and was keen to change that on his favorite court, facing Roger in Paris for the first time since 2011 final.
Rafa advanced to his 12th Roland Garros final after hitting 33 winners and 19 unforced errors. He faced four break chances and was only broken twice to mount the pressure on the other side. It took much more than that for Roger to challenge the best clay court player in his first semi-final in Paris since 2012.

domain: news


text:
The latest amendments to the rules of exercise in South Africa were published on Sunday evening. Thankfully for those of us keeping fit and active, not too much has changed – but there are still some new directives to take note of, as lockdown restrictions tighten in South Africa.
Although the nation has not been relegated to a lower Alert Level, plenty of civil liberties have been curtailed. The shock return of the alcohol ban and the implementation of a seven-hour curfew from Monday shows that President Ramaphosa and his colleagues really aren’t playing about here.
Lockdown restrictions: What the exercise laws says
We are expecting a further announcement of the recommendations for exercise, but Sunday’s update confirms:
- Those exercising in public must keep a ‘three-metre distance’ from others.
- No exercise will be allowed in public parks, despite their reopening.
- Interestingly enough, the definition of ‘vigorous’ will be decided by Cabinet. According to the published laws:
“[People are allowed to] undertake vigorous exercise in a public place, provided that the person maintains a distance of at least three metres, and subject to directions on what is considered to be ‘vigorous’, issued by the Cabinet member responsible for health. Public parks can open – except for exercising and subject to health protocols.”Government Gazette on Sunday 12 July
Critics concerned about ‘legal definitions’
However, despite exercise regulations largely remaining the same (at least up until the National Coronavirus Command Council’s media briefing on Monday), some remain suspicious of the wording in the Gazette.
Leon Schreiber, the shadow public services minister, is particularly concerned that the government will now decide what constitutes ‘vigorous exercise’. The DA representative claims that the ‘power move’ will only lead to more chaos when it comes to policing each citizen’s workout routines:
Cyril Ramaphosa has now given his government the power to decide for you what constitues “vigorous exercise.” Get ready for more chaos. pic.twitter.com/bKHI4yGxGC— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) July 12, 2020

domain: law


The Sineax DM5S is the first device of the new DM5 series of free-programmable universal measurement devices for heavy-current systems: A classical high-accuracy transducer, suited for monitoring tasks and retrofit applications in energy distribution and industry.
The device can be adapted fast and easily to the measurement task by means of the CB-Manager software – even if there is no auxiliary power available. Depending on the device version measured quantities can be mapped proportional to analog DC current outputs or to Modbus.
The measurement is done uninterrupted in all four quadrants and can be adapted optimally to the system to be monitored. Both the average time of the measurement and the expected maximum signal level can be configured.
Commissioning is very easy and is supported by means of service functions, such as nameplate printing, connection check, measurement acquisition as well as simulation and trimming of the analog outputs.
- System state monitoring: class 0.2
- Energy metering: class 0.5S, up to 16 tariffs
- Remote communication via Modbus
- Assisted commissioning
- Configuration without power supply
* USB-Cable + Docu-CD (incl. software CB Manager)
CLICK HERE for more information
DC-signal duplicator (current/voltage)
- Input: Current and voltage
- Outputs: Selectable in current or voltage
- Accuracy: 0.2%
- 3-way galvanic isolation
- Screw-fit terminals removable
- DIN rail mounting
- Power supply: 19…40 V DC, 19…28 V AC
CLICK HERE for more information
New Camille Bauer electrical distribution measurement system with Modbus/TCP or control system connection via IEC 61850
SINEAX CAM-POWER is designed for measurements in electric distribution systems or in industrial facilities. Its modular design allows it to be adjusted to individual applications and information requirements in an optimum fashion.
The high-performance measuring system is capable of determining the current network state, additional load by non-linear consumers as well as the overall load of the supply system. Consistent measurement also guarantees that every network change is reliably acquired and included in measured data and extreme value storage. The basic accuracy amounts to 0.1% (U, I) or 0.2% for other variables.
The programmable acquisition period and the high sampling rate make the device also suitable for the acquisition of special input signals with variable sampling intervals (e.g. zero-crossing controls), altered sine shapes (e.g. phase-angle controls) or strong distortions.
The optional I/O interface may be individually adjusted to all requirements. Up to 4 groups of terminals are available. One of 5 possible functions may be assigned to them respectively.
- Consistent measurement (without interruption)
- Adaptation to the measuring task by configurable sampling intervals and adjustable overriding ranges
- Suitable for strongly distorted networks, full wave or phase angle controls
- I/O interface adaptable to individual requirements
- Configuration and measured value acquisition via USB and Modbus interface (RS485)
- Acquisition of minimum and maximum values with time stamp
- Internal energy meters for the measured network or external variables


NetKey 1-fiber OS2 LC to pigtail with 900µm buffered cable, 1 meter (12-color pigtail set).NetKey Fiber Optic Patch Cords include duplex LC, SC, and ST connectors on both ends and pigtails include simplex LC, SC, and ST on one end, and open (un-terminated) on the other end. Patch cords and pigtails meet requirements of TIA/EIA-568-C.3-1. The fiber connectors are FOCIS compliant or compatible and meet the requirements of TIA/EIA-455-21A. Quality control reference label provides lifetime traceability of test data. NetKey Fiber Optic Patch Cords provide interconnect and cross-connect of applications in entrance facilities, telecommunications rooms, data centers, and at the desk. Support network applications to interconnect pre-terminated cassettes in main distribution, horizontal distribution, and equipment distribution areas. Riser rated patch cords support installations that require this flame rating in specific environments.


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More announcements have been made about how the cuts put forward by Newcastle City Council will be made.
Arts and culture will be hugely affected as the Laing and Discovery museums will lose a third of their budget and smaller art galleries like the Side gallery may face complete closure.
It has also been announced that up to ten libraries will close, although the council is keen to stress that there will still be a library within a mile and a half for most people.
Up to six pools, including Newcastle's City Pool, may close down over the months to come.
Newcastle City Council's new budget comes as thirty million pounds of cuts have been handed down from central government - which the government says are needed to fix our economy.
The budget from Newcastle City Council is seen to be a precedent for other councils in the region.
More top news
Read our football blog with Robert Nichols after Middlesbrough's home defeat to Tottenham Spurs.
Emma brings you Sunday's weather forecast for the Tyne Tees region
Speaking after Sunderland's 3-2 defeat, Moyes said: "It can't always be me leading them by the hand and showing them what they should do".

domain: politics


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Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
In the year 1607 the first Englishmen came sailing across the ocean to settle the part of the new world which they called Virginia after their virgin queen Elizabeth. They might all have perished if it had not been for the help they got from the Indian Princess Pocahontas. This is her story...
Previously read but like new
Out of Print
Originally published 1946
This a later 1998 edition

domain: library


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I will die ugly as my mother,
her Donna Reed can-do pearls
fallen as tears, as ethnic variations
on her soiled pastel bib.
I will die hopeless as my father,
pale cataract stars haloing his eyes, my eyes,
moss of decades filtering out good,
only allowing black forest breaks
to enter his juniper brain.
This is how I protect them in the meantime:
I wear plenty of eye shadow when I visit,
not metallic sticks of grape or parsley
I favored in 7th grade,
lashes defined by weight and volume.
I cloud the blue cast under the whites,
bags another genetic inheritance
enhanced by short nights and long sighs.
I dress to disguise pots of sorrow
I accumulate across the architecture
of my soft bones, scenarios without finale.
I discuss my art a little,
send them my books when they are
hungry for resolution,
when they want proof we’re related.
I suspect the contents always confirm this,
Irish gloom and Polish heat
combined into a broth of clouds,
occasional sun disturbing that comfort,
familial landscape of enterprise thwarted,
middle-class dreams dissolved to
puddles of swiss-holed attack.
The flavor remains, generations after.
I do what I can to shut the door,
knock from the outside,
air my grievances on the side of caution,
understanding rules we were all
issued meant nothing outside
the womb of the universe.
Cheryl A. Rice’s poems have appeared in Home Planet News, Rye Whiskey Review, Up The River, and Misfit Magazine, among others. Recent chapbooks include Until the Words Came (2019: Post Traumatic Press), co-authored with Guy Reed, and Love’s Compass (2019: Kung Fu Treachery Press). Her blog is at: http://flyingmonkeyprods.blogspot.com/. Rice lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.

domain: artistic


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- ABOUT IMC
- IoT LIBRARY
AIT acquires Intelligent Logistics
- August 9, 2021
- Steve Rogerson
Illinois supply chain company AIT Worldwide Logistics has acquired Texas-based Intelligent Logistics, a firm with expertise in freight forwarding, cartage, warehousing and truckload brokerage.
In business since 2002, Intelligent Logistics also manages the Spur Freight brand and serves a range of specialised sectors, including technology, food and beverage, automotive, manufacturing and ecommerce reverse logistics, handling nearly 40,000 shipments annually.
The acquisition augments AIT’s growing list of global facilities and resources with 70 employees as well as 13,000 square metres of warehouse space and 40 dock doors across two facilities in Austin and San Antonio.
“The experts at Intelligent Logistics treat all freight as time-definite, with a focus on proactive communication that aligns well with AIT’s core value of earning our customers’ trust,” said Ray Fennelly, AIT’s chief information officer. “With that solid foundation, it’s been great getting to know our new teammates, and I’m thrilled to welcome them on board.”
Intelligent Logistics’ leader Tim Miller agreed the companies’ cultures were a tight match and said his team was excited to leverage AIT’s global reach and technology to provide greater value as they helped their customers succeed.
“Since we started almost 20 years ago, we’ve aimed to make cargo transportation simple and reliable so our clients can focus on growing their own businesses,” Miller said. “So, we’re really happy to join forces with an organisation like AIT, because they’re not just a global industry leader, but also a company that shares our dedication to clients.”
The Intelligent Logistics deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions by AIT including Multimodal International. earlier this year, Panther Logistics and Fiege Forwarding in 2020, Los Angeles-based freight forwarder Unitrans in 2019, and food logistics firm WorldFresh Express and UK-based Connexion World Cargo in 2018.
“With strategic acquisitions like Intelligent Logistics, AIT continues to implement our plans for global growth, adding valuable expertise and facilities to our expanding worldwide network,” said AIT executive vice president Greg Weigel. “I’m happy to welcome our newest transportation logistics professionals to the team and looking forward to all we’ll accomplish together.”
Terms of AIT Worldwide Logistics’ agreement to acquire Intelligent Logistics have not been disclosed.
For more than 40 years, Chicago-based AIT Worldwide Logistics has relied on a consultative approach to build a global network and partnerships in nearly every industry, including aerospace, ecommerce, food, government, healthcare, life sciences and retail. Backed by scalable, user-friendly technology, AIT’s flexible business model delivers tailored supply chain options for sea, air and ground freight. With employees at more than 85 locations in Asia, Europe and North America, its full-service options also include customs clearance, warehouse management and white glove services.


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Arrive Delhi by flight in the evening.
Delhi is the capital of India- the largest democratic and 2nd most populous country in the world and the city has seen its rise and fall several times. New Delhi is the 8th city built by British. Delhi is famous for its beautiful monuments built by different emperors, which can be seen during the city tour.
You will be well received on your arrival at the Delhi airport and transfer to hotel.
After check- in formality, you will check in to the room.
Overnight in Delhi.
After breakfast at hotel, drive towards Agra.
Agra is famous for world’s most beautiful monument of love- Taj Mahal. The history of Agra is much older than the times of Mughals but during the Mughal Empire, Agra had become one of the great centers of art, culture, learning and commerce. All the great monuments with magnificent work of art and craft are still flourishing in the city including leather work and pietra dura marble-inlay work. Agra is famous for its marble work like tabletops, vases and trays, inlaid with semi precious stones or gems in ornate floral designs, an imitation of those found in the Taj Mahal. Agra is also an excellent place to buy leather, as it exports shoes, bags, briefcases and jackets.
Arrive Agra and check in to your hotel.
In the afternoon, proceed for city tour of Agra, visiting the massive Agra Fort- constructed out of red sand stone by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and containing the Halls of Public and Private Audience. Later, visit the world famous Taj Mahal, which was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the mausoleum of his beloved Queen Mumtaz Mahal, after her death in 1631. The Taj Mahal is recognized worldwide as a symbol of eternal love. Taj Mahal remains closed on Fridays.
Overnight in Agra.
Wake up early in the morning and proceed to visit the famous TAJ MAHAL at sunrise.
Return to hotel for breakfast.
After breakfast at hotel, proceed to visit Fatehpur Sikri (40Kms & 1hrs drive).
Fatehpur Sikri, was built by Mughal Emperor Akbar between 1569- 1585, when he shifted his capital from Agra. But after a few years, the water supply was incapable of sustaining the population and the capital was shifted back to Agra. Now it is a deserted city and also called a ghost city but it is perfectly preserved. Akbar was a very tolerant ruler and the buildings at Fatehpur Sikri blended both Islamic and Hindu architecture. One of the buildings even reflects the new religion or faith founded by Akbar’- “Din-e-ilahi”, which was very short-lived. He abolished much hated poll- tax on non- muslims (Jizya) and was the first Mughal ruler to marry a Hindu (Rajut princess from Jaipur). It is a beautiful palace complex with Hindu and Muslim artistic buildings. You can visit Birbal’s Palace (Hindu building), Jodhbai’s Palace (Hindu building), Jami Masjid, Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti and Buland Darwaza etc. Buland Darwaza is also called “Gate of Magnificence’. It is the highest gateway in the world. One has to climb 42 steps to reach this gateway, which is 40mtr high and 35mtr wide.
Return to hotel in the afternoon.
Later, proceed to visit the Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah, one of the most beautiful of Mughal tombs, stands across the river Yamuna. It was built by Empress Nur Jehan in the memory of her father. Though small, it is perfectly resembles and regarded as the forerunner to the Taj Mahal, being the first Mughal building all in white marble.
In the evening, proceed towards Mehtab Bagh to see the famous Taj Mahal from across river Yamuna at sunset.
Mahtab Bagh was built between 1631- 1635 and situated on the sandy bank of river Yamuna just opposite the beautiful Taj Mahal. Mahtab Bagh is an ideal spot to take picturesque view of Taj Mahal. Mehtab Bagh means 'Moon Light Garden', as it gives a perfect view of Taj Mahal and the stunning reflection of Taj Mahal can be seen here in the pool at night. It is said that the great emperor Shah Jahan who built the famous Taj Mahal for his beloved queen also wanted an identical one for himself as well across river Yamuna at Mehtab Bagh but unfortunately he could not do it. It is really a beautiful garden and worth to visit.
Overnight in Agra.
OPTION: Wake up early in the morning and proceed to visit the famous TAJ MAHAL at sunrise.
Return to hotel for breakfast.
After breakfast at hotel, drive towards Delhi.
Arrive Delhi and proceed for city tour of New Delhi.
The city of Delhi can be divided into two parts, Old Delhi and New Delhi.
Old Delhi was earlier ruled by Muslim Sultans for about 700years and later, it became the capital of the Mughal Empire between 17th & 19th centuries. Whereas New Delhi is an imperial and modern city, built by British, when they decided to move their capital from Calcutta in 1911.
Sightseeing of New Delhi includes a visit to India Gate- built in memory of Indian soldiers killed during the First World War. Rashtrapati Bhawan (from outside)- built in the early 20th century as the Imperial residence of the Viceroy, today the official residence of the President of India. Parliament House- an unique circular building with huge colonnades, which houses the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. Humayun's Tomb- is the first Mughal garden tomb, which looks like the famous Taj Mahal and finally Qutab Minar- one of Delhi’s most striking monuments, which is the world's tallest brick minaret with a height of 72.5 meters.
Later in the evening, you will be transferred to Delhi International airport to board your flight back home with sweet memories of your Trip with Dependable Travel Solutions (India) !!
OPTION 01: Based on staying in 2* Hotels: USD 240 PER PERSON on TWIN SHARING.
OPTION 02: Based on staying in 3* Hotels: USD 290 PER PERSON on TWIN SHARING.
OPTION 03: Based on staying in 4* Hotels: USD 360 PER PERSON on TWIN SHARING.
OPTION 04: Based on staying in 5* Hotels: USD 450 PER PERSON on TWIN SHARING.
We can Offer Better Price for Small/ Large Groups...
NO HIDDEN COST....

domain: geography


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CHENNAI, INDIA – On 7 March 2022, the Vellore Range police department presented IJM with an award to “recognise the diligent efforts taken to eradicate the bonded labour system” in the state of Tamil Nadu and to publicly honour IJM as a credible partner in the fight against human trafficking.
The Vellore Range region covers four districts in the northern part of Tamil Nadu state (Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupathur, and Ranipet). IJM and our partners have helped the government combat bonded labour in this area since the early 2000s, working closely with these police units to rescue more than 1,400 victims and to hold perpetrators accountable.
This first-of-its-kind award was presented at a special event by Dr. Annie Vijaya IPS, the Deputy Inspector General of Police—one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officials in Vellore Range. IJM has partnered with Dr. Vijaya on numerous projects to protect the community, including an awareness campaign on violence against women and children.
One IJM staff member shared joyfully
“In comparison to the early stages of our attempts to establish a relationship with police, this is a remarkable change. Today, police officials work alongside us, view us as experts on the subjects of human trafficking and bonded labour, invite us to train newly recruited officers and partner with us on the mission to eradicate bonded labour in Tamil Nadu.”
At the event, more than 100 police officials were trained on strategies to combat human trafficking in India. The DIG also formally launched a months-long awareness-raising campaign called “Udhayam Project,” which included a special campaign vehicle and participation from a survivor-led theatre troupe, run by the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA). This campaign will help create awareness and provide support to people living in vulnerable communities across Vellore Range.
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“MEDIA RELEASE: World-first Online Safety Codes Welcomed by IJM Australia”
Friday 2 June 2023 International Justice Mission (IJM) Australia welcomes the eSafety Commissioner’s decision in the establishment of world-first, enforceable online safety industry codes – and supports her refusal to register draft safety codes not deemed tough enough to deter illegal online content. New mandatory codes will cover five sections of the online industry and
“Government Rescues Ten People Trafficked into Road Construction”
19 April 2023 TAMIL NADU & TELANGANA, INDIA — Government officials rescued ten people who had been trafficked and forced to build roads for almost six years. Trafficked from Telangana state, these labourers had been shuttled repeatedly between two states unfamiliar to them—Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. They knew neither the language nor the locality, leaving
“MEDIA RELEASE: Latest modern slavery figures released”
Thursday 25 May 2023 There are 41,000 people in Australia living in modern slavery, according to the latest Global Slavery Index released by international human rights group Walk Free. This figure has more than doubled in the past four years in Australia – revealing that while Australia has strong modern slavery protections compared to other
“MEDIA RELEASE: IJM Australia welcomes budget commitment to Anti-Slavery Commissioner”
International Justice Mission (IJM) Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s $8 million commitment in the 2023 Budget to establishing a federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner, as well as funding to combat online scamming. IJM is a leading anti-slavery charity with frontline operations around the world. IJM Australia CEO, Steve Baird, said he was pleased to see the


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Africa, we’re going live: Join Richardine Bartee for a live Zoom session to play your music
Are you an artist based in Africa that makes music? Do you make Afrobeats, Amapiano, or African Drill? You are welcome to join Richardine Bartee on Zoom to play one song of your choice. If you’re a manager, you are welcome to join Zoom and play music on your artist’s behalf. We will be live with you for two hours.
We encourage you to say your name, where you’re from, and the song’s title before you play it. If you have a question for me, please, hold it until after you play your music. I want to get to as many people, so please, be mindful of our time together.
If you aren’t a musician, that’s okay. You are also free to join us. People may record the Zoom session, so please, do not play or say anything you aren’t ready to share with the public.
What: Play your music for me without interruptions
When: Monday, April 5, 2021, at 8-10 PM WAT; 12-2 PM PST; 3-5 PM EST
Please, find the details for the Zoom session below.
Meeting ID: 840 0873 8393
See you there!


Electric-current–induced heat generation in a quantum dot coupled to a normal and a superconducting lead
1 Institute of Theoretical Physics, Shanxi University - Taiyuan 030006, China
2 Institute of Solid State Physics, Shanxi Datong University - Datong 037009, China
Received: 2 December 2012
Accepted: 8 February 2013
We theoretically study the heat generation induced by the electric current in a quantum dot coupled to a normal and a superconducting lead with weak dot-leads coupling. We find that the heat generation presents quite different properties from the current and can be controlled by the gate voltage, bias and temperature. At zero temperature, there are many ideal regions for device operation with large electric current and small heat generation. Interestingly, at high temperature, the heat generation can become negative in the regions where the phonon-assisted Andreev tunneling and phonon-assisted direct tunneling with absorbing a phonon can occur. This means such a device can serve as a refrigerator.
PACS: 73.63.Kv – Quantum dots / 71.38.-k – Polarons and electron-phonon interactions / 74.78.-w – Superconducting films and low-dimensional structures
© EPLA, 2013


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I've finally had some time to go through our photos and make an album. So amazing to re-live the day through all the amazing shots the photographers took. Here is a clicky
to the full album.
ETA: The clicky above doesn't seem to be working... so I've posted a new link in a reply below that does! Thanks


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Makes 15 Small Tamales
1Tbsp. any Liquid Gold Chili Oil (recommendation: Aji Verde for mild heat/fruity flavour, Harissa for stronger heat/bolder flavour)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 can lentils, drained (can omit if using chicken)
1 organic veggie broth cube
3 cups shredded mixed mushrooms or pulled organic chicken
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 (16 ounce) can green chili salsa
1/2 cup fresh sweet corn & 1/2 cup green peas
For the Tamale Dough:
4 cups fine cornflour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup any Mild or Medium Polyphenol LG Pure Cultivar EVOO
3 organic veggie cubes dissolved into 3 cups of water
**Parchment paper squares for wrapping
-Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
-In a large skillet, heat the chili olive oil over medium high heat. Toss the garlic into the hot oil, then add the onion and cook for about a minute. Toss in the lentils, mushrooms or chicken, bouillon cube and cumin. Stir to mix well. Add the green chili and corn.
-In a large bowl, mix the masa (corn flour), baking soda, and salt together. Add the oil. Stir well. Add the bouillon flavoured water to the mix. Add more water, if needed, to make the masa a soft, spongy dough.
-Smooth the masa onto your parchment squares until about 1/4"-1/2" thick. You want it to cover about a 3" square of the paper, if possible. Place 1-2 tablespoons of the mushroom & lentil filling (or chicken) into the centre of the masa dough.
-Fold the sides of the parchment, then fold the top and bottom of each parchment down. Set the tamale bottom-side-down in a large roaster pan, fitted with the rack on the bottom of the pan.
-Once all of your tamales are ready, pour approximately 2 cups of water into the bottom of your roasting dish. Make sure the water doesn't touch the tamales, they should be propped safely on the rack. Cover the pan tightly with several sheets of aluminum foil, then place in your preheated oven and cook 35-45 minutes, or until the tamale dough appears to have cooked. Remove the tamales from the oven and allow them to set untouched for 15-20 minutes before serving.
This recipe was created by Chef Lauren Marshall from Coastal Healing during the Belize Bliss Cooking Class

domain: food


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Good dental habits play an important part in our overall health throughout our lifetimes and there’s no better time to get started than when your children are young. Here are some things to consider to help with your child’s dental hygiene.
Your dentist is your friend. The American Dental Association suggests scheduling your child’s first visit within six months of his or her first tooth’s arrival, or no later than the first birthday. This first trip will allow your dentist to examine your child’s jaw and teeth development, look for early signs of cavities and tooth decay, and to set the tone for positive visits in the future. Consider reading books or watching videos about trips to the dentist with your child, in order to make this first visit worth looking forward to.
Keep ’em clean. As soon as your child’s baby teeth begin to break through, make twice daily brushing a part of your routine. Use a child’s toothbrush and a small amount of fluoride toothpaste. ADA guidelines call for a rice kernel-sized amount for children under 3, and a pea-size amount for 3-to-6 year olds. Cavities can start with children as soon as their teeth are visible, so teeth brushing is essential.
Flouride flourishes. In many communities, fluoride — a natural occurring mineral that helps to strengthen tooth enamel — is added to tap water. Most toothpastes and mouth washes have fluoride as well. It’s a good idea to make sure your child is exposed to fluoride on a daily basis, to decrease the likelihood of tooth decay.
Self-service. When is it appropriate to allow children to brush their own teeth? Many pediatricians believe that when children are able to tie their own shows, they also will have the motor skills and maturity to begin teeth brushing. As an adult, monitor closely at the outset, to make sure the proper amount of toothpaste is being used, that the brushing covers every portion of the mouth, and that your child is doing so twice a day.
This infographic from the ADA provides 5 ways to prevent tooth decay in children.

domain: medical


Asian Markets Mostly Higher
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Tuesday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid optimism about a quick economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced setback.
Investor sentiment also received a boost after White House trade advisor Peter Navarro clarified that the U.S.-China trade deal remains in place. Stocks had dropped earlier after media reports quoted Navarro as telling Fox News in an interview that the U.S. trade deal with China was “over”.
The Australian market is rising. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 36.70 points or 0.62 percent to 5,981.20, after touching a high of 5,999.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 41.10 points or 0.68 percent to 6,099.10. Australian stocks closed flat for a second straight day on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are all advancing more than 1 percent each.
In the oil sector, Oil Search is advancing almost 1 percent, while Santos and Woodside Petroleum are adding 0.6 percent each after crude oil prices gained almost 2 percent overnight.
Gold miners are mixed even as gold prices rose overnight. Evolution Mining is lower by almost 1 percent, while Newcrest Mining is adding 0.2 percent.
The big four banks – Westpac, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking – are lower in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent.
Woolworths Group said it expects full-year earnings to be slightly lower than last year and noted that trading so far in the June quarter continued to be strong. Shares of the retail giant are down 0.4 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local unit was quoted at $0.6927, compared to $0.6858 on Monday.
The Japanese market has recovered after sliding into negative territory earlier following news that the U.S.-China trade deal was over.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 184.57 points or 0.82 percent to 22,621.84, after touching a low of 22,257.14 earlier. Japanese shares closed slightly lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is rising more than 2 percent and Fast Retailing is adding 0.5 percent.
The major exporters are higher despite a stronger yen. Panasonic is higher by almost 2 percent, Canon is advancing more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding 0.5 percent and Sony is up 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is rising 2 percent and Advantest is advancing almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota and Honda are adding more than 1 percent each.
Toyota said it expects its domestic production volume in July to recover from the projected June volume as economic activities in the country resume.
In the oil sector, Inpex is higher by 0.4 percent and Japan Petroleum is edging up 0.1 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Drugmaker Shionogi & Co. said it will collaborate with universities in Japan on a new testing method, the SATIC method, for the novel coronavirus that may significantly boost the country’s testing capacity. However, shares of Shionogi are losing almost 2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, GS Yuasa is rising more than 6 percent, Denso Corp. is higher by almost 5 percent and Fujikura is advancing more than 4 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in June, and at a faster rate, with a manufacturing PMI score of 28.9. That’s down from 30.3 in May, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 106 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also rising, while Shanghai, New Zealand and Indonesia are edging higher. Meanwhile, Singapore and Malaysia are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Monday as traders continued to express optimism the U.S. economy will quickly recover from the coronavirus-induced setback. Traders shrugged off a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a continued nosedive in existing home sales in May, as the group’s chief economist was confident sales would rebound in the coming months.
The Nasdaq jumped 110.35 points or 1.1 percent to 10,056.47, the Dow climbed 153.50 points or 0.6 percent to 26,024.96 and the S&P 500 advanced 20.12 points or 0.7 percent to 3,117.86.
Meanwhile, the major European markets closed lower on Monday. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both fell by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil prices rose on Monday as traders continued to bet energy demand will increase despite reports showing a surge in new coronavirus infections in several U.S. states and in quite a few countries across the globe. WTI crude for July expired at $40.46 barrel, gaining $0.71 or 1.8 percent for the session.
Source: Read Full Article


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Hydropower dams, road construction and mining along the rivers, extraction of sand from the riverbed and introduction of exotic or alien species for harvesting pose serious threat to fishes, a researcher Gopal Prasad Khanal said.
Gopal Prasad Khanal, who works as a livestock production officer in the National Research Centre for Riverine and Lake Fisheries, is conducting a research on mahseers, a species of fish.
He said fish is one of the least studied and threatened fauna in the country. “It is under threat because of the rapid decline of its population in the Himalayan region from pollution, habitat loss and fishing.”
Fish is protected in Bhutan by the Forest and Nature Conservation Act of Bhutan 1995 and Forest and Nature Conservation Rules of Bhutan 2016.
Gopal Prasad Khanal said dams lead to obstruction of fish migration within feeding, spawning and refugee habitats and dam water favours environment for the establishment of other non-native species.
The physical consequences include accumulation of sediments and alteration of natural flow of water.
The livestock production officer said the cleaning of sediments through rapid flushing of water from dams will not only bring changes downstream but will also devastate downstream flora and fauna.
He said the soil and debris from road construction and mining mostly land up in rivers and streams, thereby, increasing suspended solid and sediment loads.
“The turbidity from the suspended solids will have direct impact on fish either by killing them, slowing their growth, reducing resistance to disease, or by altering the natural movement and migration,” he said, presenting the country’s fishery resources and their threats and opportunities at the national water symposium last week.
“When the quantity of extraction exceeds replenishment limits due to increase in population and developmental activities it will be a major problem to the river system,” he said.
Preliminary research findings on mahseer in Chamkharchu and Drangmechu revealed that both the Golden and Chocolate mahseers migrate long distances of more than 25kms in two days.
Gopal Prasad Khanal said that the research also showed that not all Mahseers migrate to India in winter.
The study began in April 2015 and it has surgically implanted 100 fishes, 70 golden and 30 chocolate mahseers, with a radio transmitter so far. The fishes were released in the Drangmechu.
Brown trout was the first exotic fish species introduced in the country during the 1930s. Eight species of fish have been introduced so far since the 1980s to promote fish farming.
Gopal Prasad Khanal said invasive alien species like African sharptooth catfish was introduced through tshethar a project dedicated to saving lives and Mozambique tilapia is also reported from Crocodile Rehabilitation Centre, Phuentsholing.
“In freshwater habitats, invasive alien species are considered to be the second leading cause of species extinction along with habitat destruction,” he said.
The researcher said that there is a prompt need to further strengthen the study on freshwater biodiversity for proper management in future.
The conservation status of fishes in Bhutan is yet to be evaluated at the national level and most of the information pertaining to conservation status are being adopted by International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
There are 104 species of fishes recorded in the country so far, of which 93 species are indigenous and 11 species are exotic imported species.
Bhutan ranks 6th in terms of per capita internal freshwater resources with 0.102 million cubic meters including five major and five minor river system stretching about 7,200 km.
“Adequate assessment of lakes and marshlands in other parts of the country is yet to be done,” Gopal Prasad Khanal said.


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Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was arrested in Newport Beach, a city 30 kilometers east of Los Angeles downtown and charged with driving under the influence (DUI), the local police said Sunday.
Rachel Johnson, Area 3 Commander in the Patrol Division of Newport Beach Police Department, was quoted by local media as saying that the 56-year-old Hall of Famer was pulled of for a traffic violation then failed a breathalyzer test given on scene.
Rodman was arrested and spent the night in jail before he was released early Sunday.
Rodman, who has a history of alcohol abuse, was required to attend an alcohol program in July 2000 after he pleaded guilty to DUI and was also checked into a rehabilitation facility in January 2014.
last February, Rodman was sentenced to three years of probation for misdemeanor charges stemming from going the wrong way onto highway in Santa Ana of Southern California.
In this case, Rodman drove an SUV onto an exit ramp for a carpool lane for Interstate 5 highway, causing another driver who had to swerve to avoid hitting him to crash into a center divider.
Rodman is an American retired professional basketball player, who played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks of NBA. The five-time NBA championship winner was nicknamed "The Worm" and was known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities.
Apart from basketball, Rodman also attracted international attention for his visits to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and his friendly relationship with the DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un.


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French banks and the benefits of rising rates: the risk of slow-motion 2023
“Performance was positive in 2022. French banks benefited from supportive lending dynamics, a strong contribution from capital market activities and controlled cost of risk,” said Nicolas Hardy, deputy head of Scope’s financial institutions team, “although return on average equity, ranging from around 4% to below 9%, remains in the lower range compared to European peers.”
The first headwind the banks face this year is that interest revenues are rising more slowly than banks in other European countries because of characteristics specific to France. Retail customers, which represent a significant portion of French bank balance sheets and P&Ls, have legal protections against rising interest rates in the form of a rate cap. The formula to reset maximum acceptable rates (so-called usury rates) is a backward-looking measure based on recently observed rates.
Mortgages are mainly fixed-rate for life. When rates go up, repricing can only happen when a new mortgage is granted. The return on regulated savings such as Livret A (EUR 343bn, 19% of total bank deposits) is inflation-linked and adjusts more quickly than normal (usury) rates. These characteristics can significantly delay the benefits of higher interest rates for banks. Rates in this context move slowly in comparison to inflation.
“Slowly adjusting rates combined with falling new lending volumes would be an issue for banks, although so far, there is no indication that tightened financial conditions are having a massive effect on new loan production,” Hardy said.
In fact, corporate and household loan production remains steady, rising by 7% and 5% respectively in 2022. Mortgage origination has slowed since June 2022 but net flows are resilient. Consumer loan production is also resilient. Mortgage rates are getting back to 2015 levels. This will result in affordability issues but only at the margins.
A second headwind arises from the the challenge of maintaining cost discipline in an inflationary environment. “French banks already have above average cost-to-income ratios, and better cost efficiency was a broad-based strategic focus in the low interest-rate environment. Progress made so far has been modest, however. In 2023, in the context of persistent inflationary pressure and potentially lower revenues, growing operating revenues more rapidly than operating expenses will be a challenge,” Hardy cautioned.
Weakening asset quality is another potential headwind, although this will be contained. And it is less of a major concern to French banks because of their ongoing efforts to improve balance-sheet quality. “Cost of risk was satisfactory in 2022 and guidance for 2023 is conservative, only slightly up and in line with long-term averages or medium-term strategic objectives,” said Hardy.
Still average cost of risk (EUR bn)
Crédit Agricole: Crédit Agricole Group; BPCE: BPCE Group; CMAF: Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale (part of Crédit Mutuel Group).
Source: banks, Scope Ratings
Problem loans (Stage 3) are below the 3% mark for all banks while Stage 2 loans, about 10% of customer loans, fell in 2022 and are in line with the European average. Banks have also kept large buffers of unallocated credit provisions.
Scope has subscription ratings on:
- Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel
- BNP Paribas S.A.
- BPCE S.A.
- Crédit Agricole S.A.
- Société Générale S.A.
Access all Scope rating & research reports on ScopeOne, Scope’s digital marketplace, which includes API solutions such as for Credit Sphere.


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The last of three local women involved in a Thursday afternoon strong-arm robbery was taken into custody and charged today (September 9th).
According to law enforcement sources, the three local women met up with and robbed the victim at the Best Western hotel in New Albany, then escaped from the premises. Christina Baldon, age 23, and Jariel Boles, age 20 were arrested on September 7th; Bennechia Cook, age 33, was arrested on September 9th. All of the women are from New Albany, and were in the Union County jail at the time of this posting, charged with robbery.
The male victim of the Best Western robbery, who resides in a nearby Mississippi county, was relieved of $2000, some of which was recovered, and other personal possessions. The victim’s cell phone, wallet and shorts were also recovered. Law enforcement sources said the victim had reportedly been giving sums of money to one of the women for several months. It is not known what, if any, goods or services he had received for his money.
The woman who had been receiving money is believed to have arranged to meet the man at the Best Western and had represented to him that she would bring a couple of her female friends to the meeting.
The three women are believed to have blind folded their naked victim, then doused the cloth of the blindfold with pepper spray before they left the Best Western.


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Included In These Groups
Who can forget Angela Bassett as Tina Turner or Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles? Do you remember who played Billie Holiday? Or who Beyoncé performed as in the film Cadillac Records? More recent African-American biopics include the Lifetime original movie Betty & Coretta (2013), starring Angela Bassett as Coretta Scott King and Mary J. Blige as Betty Shabazz, and The Butler (2013), starring Forest Whitaker and based on the life of Eugene Allen.
View our photos of African-American biopics to compare these famous figures to the actors and actresses who have portrayed them.
African-American Biopics 39 people in this group
Soul Train Guests 110 people in this group
presented by Soul Train Guests
Dance pioneers like Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly—remembered for his groundbreaking performance in 1952's Singin' in the Rain—truly set the stage for Hollywood's dance-film genre. John Travolta, Jennifer Beals, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey and Natalie Portman are some of the performers who took up where Astaire, Rogers and Kelly left off, repopularizing dance on film for later generations. Biography.com's Famous Movie Dancers group examines the lives and careers of these high-stepping performers who will always be remembered for their unforgettable moves.
Famous Movie Dancers 16 people in this group


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In Compton, a runway from the past with an eye on the future
Walking into the 85-year-old Compton Airport is like coming upon a secret. There is no massive landmark like the Theme Building at LAX, or lighted letters pointing out the entrance. There aren’t even signs on the freeway directing people to the oldest airport in the Los Angeles Basin.
“It’s a hidden gem. It’s also a very important asset to the city,” said Dennis Lord, a Los Angeles County aviation commissioner. “Most cities don’t have airports. Compton does.”
Compton/Woodley Airport is one of the survivors in a county that had as many as 75 airports in the late 1950s, when general aviation was hitting its stride. But if the airfield seems to have disappeared as the city has swelled around it, veteran pilots can spot it easily enough from the sky.
With his eyes focused on the control panel, Lord cuts through the sky above Los Angeles in his Cessna 182. Although he’s been flying for more than three decades, the 62-year-old doesn’t indulge in idle chatter as he prepares for landing.
He lowers a visor to shield his eyes from the sun as he slows from 160 mph to 70 mph. High above the streets of Compton, it feels like a jarring halt. His hands operate quickly, but in unison. He is focused as he pushes in on the yoke and glides past the city courthouse on his descent. The landing is bumpy and the plane bounces on the asphalt runway before coming to a stop.
As Lord climbs from the plane, the airport at Alondra Boulevard and Wilmington Avenue is nearly as silent as a ghost town. The airport is home to more than 200 planes, most of them hitched to the pavement as if waiting for their owners to point them skyward. A mechanic rides his bike near the runway, the wind whipping through his red flannel shirt. A small plane takes off but the only other sounds are rap music blaring from the cars whizzing by on the other side of the airport’s concrete walls.
Andrew Marino, manager of the airport, said he’s surprised more people don’t know the airport exists.
“Every time I tell people I work at Compton Airport they are like, ‘I didn’t know Compton had an airport,’ ” Marino said with a laugh. “I hear that twice a week.”
Marino said the airport, which opened in 1924, is often used by local law enforcement and the federal government. There is also an annual air show hosted by the California Black Aviation Assn.
A substantial chunk of the airport is Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, a nonprofit organization that provides children as young as 8 the opportunity to learn about aviation, Marino said. And although the rest of the airport is quiet, the sounds of children echo inside one of the classrooms with flight simulators.
Maurice Andrews, youth coordinator for the organization, said the program provides youngsters with a rare opportunity.
The students perform community service in exchange for flight time on a simulator -- 30 hours of service for every hour of flight time. They can also get credit for being tutored in their school subjects.
“A lot of the kids think it’s impossible to get the hours,” Andrews said. “But you have to be 17 to get your license so those hours accumulate.”
Lord said he always felt the airport wasn’t getting its fair share of resources, which could have something to do with the perceptions of the city.
“Compton was the stepchild of county airports. Some of the others were getting more attention,” Lord said.
Lord said programs like Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum will bring more visibility to the airport, especially because a handful of youngsters in the program are record holders, such as a 15-year-old who is the youngest African American female to complete a cross-country flight.
For the time, however, the airport remains a secret for those inside its walls.
“There’s such freedom to flying. It’s the passion in us aviators,” Lord said. “You can’t always describe it to the average person outside the fence.”


Wasabi (Eutrema japonicum syn. Wasabia japonica) is in the brassica family, related to rocket, mustard and watercress. However, wasabi ‘roots’ are actually above-ground rhizomes that grow over 12–30 months.
The wasabi plant’s natural habitat is along moist, shady creek banks in the mountainous valleys of Japan – a pointer to how to treat them. Commercially, they’re grown in gravelly riverbeds with shade cloth overhead, while smaller crops are in soil.
Two varieties are commonly available here. Bright green ‘Daruma‘ is more disease-resistant and tolerates warmer climates, whereas ‘Mazuma’ has purple tints and takes a little longer to mature but stores longer.
The right spot
Choosing the right microclimate for your wasabi is crucial, and that depends on local conditions. If a little spring burbles in a shady corner of your garden, you have the perfect spot, but few of us are that lucky! Wasabi prefers dappled shade, or at least 75 per cent shade cloth. The warmer your climate, the less sun plants tolerate – once young plants wilt, they die; older ones may recover but are set back.
To determine the best microclimates in my garden, I placed pots with young offsets in several locations. I lost those in solid shade from a building, where it was cool but too dark. A shady site exposed to wind failed, too. My goldilocks spot is under an oak beside a shed, providing shade in summer, bright indirect light in winter, and complete protection from wind.
Unsealed terracotta that cools roots through evaporation is ideal. Ceramic and concrete also work well: my plants thrive in an old concrete laundry trough that stays cool throughout summer. Plastic pots are fine for propagating offsets, before transplanting them into larger containers.
A large container is most convenient. Wine barrels dry out and disintegrate when used for the average pot plant but they are perfect for wasabi, which is kept moist year-round. About eight plants fit in a barrel.
Some people stand pots in water, but wasabi prefers flowing, not standing, water. Wicking beds with free-draining media reportedly work very well, as do hydroponic systems.
Growing media and fertiliser
Many people grow wasabi in free-draining potting mix with a neutral pH, but it must hold sufficient moisture to stay wet between waterings. This is the simplest way.
However, I grow mine in an old laundry trough with a 3:1 mix of fine coir:perlite. At the bottom of the trough is a long, plastic grate to maximise drainage and prevent the potting media blocking the small plughole. For containers with plentiful smaller holes, this won’t be necessary. Above the grate is a 5cm layer of expanded clay balls, also to improve drainage.
I then fill the trough with the coir/perlite mix. A final 5cm layer of expanded clay balls covers the surface of the mix to reduce disease.
Although a fertiliser with equal parts nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium is recommended for wasabi, I’ve used balanced organic fertilisers slightly higher in nitrogen than potassium, and lower in phosphorous. Pelletised or well-rotted chicken manure, supplemented with a little sulphate of potash works, too. I generally sprinkle a little of whatever is on hand into the trough in early spring, summer and autumn at about half recommended strength: wasabi is very efficient at extracting nutrients.
Perlite, coir and fertilisers are readily available at garden centres, while expanded clay balls can be found at hydroponics shops and online.
Planting and watering
In any but the hottest season, plant out potted specimens to the same level as in the pot. Plant offsets 30cm apart and just deep enough to be secure. Water in well, rather than firming or compacting the potting mix around them.
I set watering for these plants daily between spring and autumn, and completely off during winter when it’s wet – alter to suit your climate. Adjustable microjets or drippers are preferable to sprays, so foliage stays dry and to minimise fungal disease. Set irrigation so that water runs out of the bottom drainage holes for about 20 seconds: this helps flush and oxygenate the medium.
To find our more about growing your own wasabi, including how to use it in your kitchen, get our Autumn 2022 issue (OG 133), click on cover to find out how to get your copy.
By: Helen McKerral
First published: April 2022


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Alavian dome This dome is an unparalleled and unique example of Islamic-Iranian architecture. It goes back to the late Seljuk, about 1106 . it was built by the order of Alavian family as a mosque and later was used as family tomb. In the distant past there was a dome but in the passage of […]
Hamadan province is located in the western part of the country with an area of more than 19000 square kilometers. It is bounded on the north by the province of Zanjan, on the south by lorestan, on the east by the central province and on the west by Kermanshahan and Kurdistan.
The pool is somewhat flanked on the east side by the Masjid Sheikh Lotfollah and on the west side by the Ali Qapu Palace. The latter offers wonderful high vantages of the Imam Khomeini Square from above. The square’s main attraction is undoubtedly the Masjid Imam, more commonly known as the Shah Mosque.
Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and carpets. Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists 207 sites of historical and cultural significance in the city of Hamadan alone.
The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai (Persian: بقعه استر و مردخای , Hebrew: קבר אסתר ומרדכי ) is located in Hamadan, Iran.Believed by some to house the remains of the biblical Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai, it is the most important pilgrimage site for Jews in the country

domain: history


text: After months and months of waiting the Fifty Shades of Grey casting choices have finally been announced! In case you didn’t hear Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) will be playing Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson (The Social Network) will be playing Anastasia Steele. I’m a huge fan of Sons of Anarchy, and Hunnam does such a good job at playing a bad boy biker, it will be interesting to see him play such a different role. As for Dakota Johnson I don’t really know a lot about this actress, but all of the pictures I’ve seen of her she’s been blond. After Johnson dyes her hair brown to match Anastasia, I think Johnson will fit the role well. Some fans are extremely upset over the casting choices, and have began to petition for Matthew Bomer (White Collar) and Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) to play the main roles. The petition already has 23,666 signatures. I do agree with the fans that Alexis Bledel seems like a better choice, but this may be because her role on Gilmore Girls was like the younger version of Anastasia Steele. Overall, a lot goes into choosing the cast not just looks, and I’m excited to see how well Johnson and Hunnam do with these roles!

domain: celebrity


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Accommodation parking in Nottinghamshire. Accommodation with car parking hotels, B&B accommodation and self catering holiday cottages in Nottinghamshire. Accommodation with free parking in Nottinghamshire UK.
For a short break, getaway or holiday in Nottinghamshire, book hotels, bed and breakfast rooms or rent cottages in Nottinghamshire region. Find cheap accommodation, luxury accommodations and great places to stay in Nottinghamshire. Find Parking Accommodation in Nottingham, Rufford, New Balderton, Averham, Cropwell Bishop, Worksop, Edingley, Epperstone, Mansfield, Newark, Redmile, Walesby, Plungar, Askham, Retford, Near Newark, Perlethorpe, Ruddington, Hucknall, Daybrook, Nottinghamshire.


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|Other books with Delano railroad photos.|
John Gruber, the editor of The railroaders, found an ideal way of connecting Delano's photos from over seventy years ago to contemporary times by finding the decendents of the workers in the original pictures and photographing them, intriguingly by Delano's son Pablo. I think this idea has only been done once before with Bill Ganzel's Dust Bowl decent published in 1984. His photo essay book took the original FSA work and he found the same locations and people to photograph in the seventies. This included Florence Thompson the Migrant mother from Dorothea Lange's famous 1936 photo and Darrel Coble the little boy in Arthur Rothstein's Dust storm in Cimarron County.
The strength of Delano's photos in the book are the semi-portraits of railroad folk. Rather than just have shots of freight and military transports out on the main how much better to show the men and women of this industry in their work environment all pulling together in wartime. The photos must have been reproduced extensively across the country in papers and magazines (they were free to print media). Chicago, as the center of railroad activity had it all as the Contents reveal: On the trains; At the station; Around the yards.
Throughout the pages the text provides plenty of detail about how the industry worked in wartime and what the forty-nine featured railroaders jobs involved but there is also extensive coverage of their domestic life. While some of this away from the job copy is interesting so much of it is very typical of the average worker's life whether they were making tanks, planes or ships but each industry has specific work practices and in the case of railroads it's this description I found much more informative than a typical worker's home life.
Railroaders is a fascinating look back to a tough time illustrated with powerful images and some of Pablo Delano's photos of the descendants have an extra bit of magic too, because it shows them proudly holding a copy of a photo taken by his father.


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Welcome to STACI Germany
Staci is a third-party logistics service provider specialized in marketing logistics with 1.900 employees spread over 46 logistics sites in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, USA and Germany with a total of 530.000 m² of storage space.
We offer professional fulfilment and customized value-added-services to optimize your marketing and sales processes.
In addition, for more than 20 years we have been offering individual outsourcing solutions for qualified sales and merchandising service teams at the point of sale.
Due to acquisition of move:elevator GmbH & Co. KG in the middle of this year, Staci Germany comprises two strong logistics partner:
Callius GmbH is based in Bergheim & move:elevator GmbH & Co. KG is based in Munich and Dresden.
Currently www.staci.de is still under construction and will be released soon. We would like to refer you to the websites of our two subsidiaries in Germany:

domain: economics


Another reader weighs in:
The theory in Iraq was that we would not need to occupy the nation, not need to impose martial law, not need to do the things that we did in both Germany and Japan because it wouldn't be necessary. Iraqis were going to do by themselves and for themselves what Germans and Japanese did guided by the firm hand of occupation forces which dominated every aspect of their post-war civil life.
If you wish to cite Germany and Japan as the examples, you'll have to explain why our leaders believed, and repeatedly affirmed, that the aftermath of Iraq would require so much less time, effort and manpower than our occupations of those Axis powers. America and its coalition partners never lacked the competence to occupy Iraq, we embraced a theory that said occupation would be unnecessary.
As for the Soviet Union are you seriously suggesting that toppling Saddam could possibly have the same effect on his neighbors, some of whom were sworn enemies, that the collapse of the Soviet Union had on its component and client states? The similarities between the two are limited to the term 'change of government.' You're better than this sophist argument.
The point still stands. The philosophy behind our effort Iraq doomed it, not an incompetent implementation of that philosophy.
It was conservative members of the US government who predicted that Iraq would take longer, cost more, and require hundreds of thousands more troops to turn out the way Germany and Japan turned out. Their opinions were dismissed out-of-hand as 'old thinking.' Neo-conservatives predicted that we'd be pretty much done militarily in Iraq within a few months, that our efforts would cost next-to-nothing, and that the entire region would then change for the better.
You say that we were just being over-optimistic. Optimistic thinking would be that it would only take 3 years, 300,000 troops and $300 billion dollars to succeed. The pre-war predictions of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz weren’t 'over-optimistic,' they were magical thinking enshrined as policy. Our nation acted upon those sunny predictions as if they bore any relationship with reality, and reality is now kicking our behinds.
Thanks. For my part (although I should go back and read my blog to make sure of this), I always believed that Iraq would be an enormously difficult endeavor, taking years of occupation and billions of dollars. But looking back, I think I didn't fully realize the radical utopianism of some of the people I was backing. I also wrongly believed that the WMD threat was so real we had no choice; and I felt that the danger of radical Islam so profound that some space for democratic change in Iraq was essential to winning the long war. Part of me still believes that. On this book tour, I don't have time right now to say more. But I hope to synthesize some of your points into a real piece soon that grapples with this deep question - and what it means for what we do now.
(Photo: Franco Pagetti.)


Roscommon is one of the nine poorest counties in the country in terms of disposable income, according to figures recently released from the Central Statistics Office. The disposable income per person in County Roscommon in 2005 was €18,038, compared to €17,879 in Mayo and €19,355 in Galway. The figure for Roscommon was lower than that for Longford, Offaly and Westmeath, and also lower than Leitrim and Monaghan, all of which were in the €18,000 – €19,000 bracket. Disposable income in Dublin was set at €22,793, while that of Kildare was €21,186. The three lowest counties recorded were May €17,879, Carlow €17,733 and Kerry €17,364. The figures for Roscommon have shown a considerable increase since 2000. In 2000 the disposable income was €12,278, in 2002 it rose to €15,176, and was up to €16,689 for 2004, before reaching €18,037 in 2005. The 2000 figure was 87.8 percent of the national average, while the 2005 figure is 89.5 percent. When rent is excluded from the equation, the figures for Roscommon in 2005 are 90.6 percent of the national average. In 2005 the disposable income per person in the Southern and Eastern region was three percent above the State average while the corresponding figure in the Border Midland and Western NUTS 2 region was 8.3 percent below the State average. The Dublin region had the highest disposable income per person of the eight regional authority areas, being 13.0 percent above the State average in 2005; the comparable figure in 2000 was 16.5 percent. The disposable income per person of the Border region was 9.4 percent below the State average in 2005 and was the lowest of the eight Regional Authority Areas; the relative position of the region has improved since 2000 when it was 12.6 percent lower than the State average. At county level, the only counties, with an average disposable income per person in excess of the state average were Dublin, Limerick, Kildare and Wicklow. At the lower end of the scale there were nine counties with disposable incomes per person below 90 percent of the State average and seven counties between 90 percent and 95 percent of the State average.


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Reel Tech, exclusive Hannay partner in Australia and New Zealand, has launched a new stainless steel washdown system for food, beverage, dairy and pharmaceutical plants
Despite living in an age where foods are increasingly imported from overseas retailers alongside noticeable international brands, the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research show most consumers prefer Australian-grown foods.
Researchers have identified a hormone that can suppress sugar and alcohol cravings in mice
Frutarom Health BU offers a new approach to tackle iron deficiency in vegan and vegetarian diets.
Dairy Australia has launched its free Cheese Please guide just in time for the festive season.
What are the motives behind Unilever dropping the unit price of Cornetto and what it could possibly means for the local impulse ice cream market?, asks Lianne van den Bos, Senior Food Analyst, Euromonitor International.
The ongoing strength of Queensland’s food industry has resulted in the announcement of two state specific food events to take place in 2016, both to be staged by Diversified Communications, leaders in food industry events.
Over 160 members of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), the Supply Chain & Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA) and the Queensland Supply Chain and Logistics Conference (QSCLC), spent their annual Christmas party for the sixth consecutive year with a twist.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Woolworths Limited, alleging the supermarket giant engaged in unconscionable conduct in dealings with a large number of its supermarket suppliers, in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law.
IGA Romeo’s Food Hall at the MLC Centre will today open its doors to customers, providing a shopping option in the heart of Sydney’s business district.
Following the frozen berries Hepatitis A breakout in 2015 that affected more than 30 people and slashed the food manufacturer’s earnings, Patties Foods has said that it is selling its Creative Gourmet brand and also removing the frozen berries range from its Nanna’s brand.
Freedom Foods Group has completed the acquisition of Popina Foods, a major Australian manufacturer of oat-based cereals and snacks.
Noble Spirits have included a new premium brand within their portfolio – Sassy Ciders.
Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, Australia’s oldest dairy operating since 1888, has acquired Lion Dairy and Drinks’ everyday cheese brands – Coon, Cracker Barrel, Mil Lel and Fred Walker and now will be focussing its energies on its Foodservice business.
IBISWorld has released its annual list of the Top 100 food and beverage companies in Australia. The list offers detailed insight into the largest companies in two of the nation’s most diverse subdivisions.
The Vege Chip Company has recently introduced a new range of Super Food Crisps to its Deli Crisp Range, aimed specifically at adults wanting a healthier, gourmet tasting snack.
Well-known Australian producer of all things ginger has just introduced new packaging for two popular snacking and cooking products: Buderim Ginger’s Naked Ginger (Uncrystallised) 200g pack and Crystallised Ginger 250g pack.
Australian company, Amazonia, is using Unleashed Software’s inventory management software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to support what it said was a 60 per cent year-on-year sales growth by providing its expanding and dispersed workforce with better visibility and control of the supply and sales data of its health food products.
As agriculture and farmers around the world work to mitigate and adapt to the complex challenges posed by climate change, Monsanto Company today announced plans to make its operations carbon neutral by 2021 through a unique program targeted across its seed and crop protection operations, as well as through collaboration with farmers.
Cadbury TimeOut is getting creative on Snapchat in a campaign to engage young consumers in the next installment of Mondelez and Carat’s Media Innovators program.


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June 11, 2019
2019 Celebrity Babies
Baby fever has broken out in 2019, and this is a good excuse to catch up with our favourite celebrities and their new arrivals. Also, we can find out who else is awaiting their newest family members in the coming months. If you’re thinking that last year was a big year for celeb’s babies, then brace yourself for the latest batch of stunning cuties!
So far this year, we’ve seen Meghan Markle and Price Harry bring home their first bouncing baby boy. It’s also the year that Hugh Grant and Wayne Rooney became dads once more. But the list of mums and dads for 2019 isn’t going to stop here… Let’s take a look at some celebrity couples who are still looking forward to their little bundles of joy.
Alesha Dixon set the Twittersphere on fire by announcing that she is expecting her second child live on Britain’s Got Talent. During the semi final of Britain’s Got Talent, she told the audience that she “was over the moon to be carrying her second baby”.
Myleene Klass and her husband Simon Motson are also expecting their next baby later this year. The new addition to the Klass household was announced on Instagram in February this year using a pic of Myleene’s baby bump.
Actress Keira Knightley announced in May that she will be also expecting baby number two. She has been seen out and about sporting stunning cocktail dresses – revealing a baby bump. Keira and her husband James Righton are already parents to 4 year-old Edie.
Other celebrities who will be new mummies and daddies include Oscar winner Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter. The couple will be welcoming their third child in four years. The pair were spotted at the Emmy’s, where the mum-to-be was seen cradling her baby bump. Awwww!
Even Deadpool himself is getting in on the baby action! Ryan Reynolds is set to become a dad again, with baby number three. Reynold and his wife Blake Lively were seen attending the premier of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu in May. We’re hoping that his Deadpool days are now well behind him…
We hope you enjoyed our little rundown of celebs and their little ones. Just remember 2019 isn’t over yet, so we’re sure the year will bring us many more surprises!