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“Shhhh!” Johnathan urgently whispered. “There’s a fake man sleeping in my room!”
My then-four-year-old caught me off-guard with his instructions. On the one hand, he was adamant that everyone in the house conform to his imaginary world; on the other hand, his own words betrayed him when he described the man as “fake.”
I miss the quiet, simple days of imaginary play. Life is incredibly noisy and complicated right now. Exhaustingly so, even. Gone are the peaceful school-day hours when I had the house to myself. Gone is the solitude of enjoying my morning coffee, or a few minutes here or there where family members were out of the house doing other things. Gone are the trips to a coffee shop or diner where I’d tap away at my laptop while eating brunch. We’re all stuck in the house, pretty much all the time. Television shows, music, video games, talking, bickering, laughing, appliances running, cabinets closing, dishes clanking … it’s loud up in here.
And then there’s social media. Full stop. Everyone is shouting their opinions at the top of their lungs with every meme, statement, cartoon, post, and picture. COVID statistics, instructions, politics, racism, and more at every turn. I can’t process it anymore. I literally cannot. Overwhelmed is an understatement. My brain never shuts off, yet I’ve found it incredibly difficult to put thoughtful sentences together. I procrastinate writing because that means meditating on ideas, unpacking concepts, dealing with emotional pain, and pondering truths. I feel incapable at the moment. Unqualified. Unworthy of saying anything profound or meaningful in these never-seen-before circumstances.
The deepest truth: I am desperate for peace — peace in our world, peace in our government, peace in our society, peace in my home, peace in my own mind.
I cannot imagine more comforting words in this present time. Despite everything we currently face, Jesus has already won the battle. He has overcome this world. And the gift He left us? True, honest-to-goodness peace.
Are you troubled, afraid, anxious? I have my moments, to be sure. These are not emotions Jesus wants for us, though. When your own child or someone you love feels this way, how do you respond? I just scoop them up into my arms, speak comforting words, and often pray with them. I imagine this is what God wants to do with us, His children. He wants to take us in His arms, reassure us, and hold us until we feel secure again.
I feel pretty helpless, and definitely child-like because of it. So much is out of our hands right now. The weight of our current problems is a burden too great for any person to bear. So today, I want to encourage us all to climb into our Heavenly Father’s arms. Cry out to Abba, Father. Open the Bible and allow Him to speak consoling and encouraging words to you. Rest in His presence.
4 thoughts on “PEACEFULLY His”
i love it mom
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I love YOU, kiddo!
Very good helpful tips!!’
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Want to experience snorkeling without getting wet? The Driftsun transparent kayak boasts a clear, see-through hull through which you can watch the marine world beneath you as you paddle. The post Go snorkeling while you paddle in the transparent Driftsun kayak appeared first on Digital Trends .
Researchers at the U.K.’s University College London and Oxford University have developed a new approach to dealing with so-called “dancing eyes” syndrome, using magnetic implants in the eyes. The post Magnetic implants in the eye could help cure flickering vision disorder appeared first on Digital Trends .
So much is happening as we approach the end of Q2 — our industry’s busiest quarter by some measures. I’m flying around seeing things but not always able to comment from a middle seat on a red-eye
To clean up space junk, Stanford and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have teamed up to invent a robot gripper, based on the gripping mechanism of the gecko lizard. Here is how it works.
HTC’s U11 has squeezable sides, is fast as hell and now costs just under $600.
The ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor intelligently tracks your tire’s pressure and temperature to give an early warning for slow leaks that could become bigger issues. The post ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor hands-on review appeared first on Digital Trends .
It takes work to cultivate a beautiful garden and grow your own food, so you need all the help you can get. Thankfully, the best gardening apps will allow you to identify pests, schedule plantings, and more.
Also today: Petya/NotPetya ransomware attack may be hiding something, Monster Energy pours out some exoticar drifting action. The post Facebook’s huge but delicate Aquila drone returns to the skies in 2nd test flight appeared first on Digital Trends
An old friend stops by the studio to talk about Super NES Classic hysteria and how to find one. Plus, a story of sweet, sweet relief.
Google’s Triangle app, which launched in the Phillippines in late June, gives you granular control over how your phone’s apps use data.
Porsche has revealed its 2018 911 GT2 RS with a 700 horsepower version of its 3.8-liter flat-six engine. The most powerful production 911 is here, and you’ll need almost $300,000 to get behind the wheel. The post Bow down before your new 911 king — the 700hp 2018 GT2 RS is here appeared first on Digital Trends .
Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) will have plenty of distractions to contend with as the series makes the move from South Beach to Sin City for the upcoming third season. The post ‘Ballers’ season 3 trailer takes Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to Sin City appeared first on Digital Trends .
Friday’s Amazon Gold Box deals feature a UBS-powered desk fan, a portable charger, and a wireless headset. Score savings up to $45 and discounts as deep as 66 percent
Apple will donate $1 to the National Park Foundation for purchases made with Apple Pay at the company’s stores, website or app store.
Ron Dennis is stepping away from McLaren after more than 30 years with the company. Dennis is largely responsible for McLaren’s emergence as a top Formula One race team and automaker
The man behind SpaceX and Tesla tweeted this week that the machine has started to create underground tunnels.
Companies must remove or block “unlawful content” within 24 hours or face fines, according to a new law.
On his show “Infowars,” conspiracy peddler Alex Jones discusses claims of an interplanetary child slave trade. When asked, NASA has something to say about it.
It’s the first bus in the world to do so.
We look back on ten years of iPhone, get excited for the next generation of supersonic travel and explain why Google has been fined billions.
- Oh, it’s that guy! You know these actors’ faces, we’ll tell you their names
- Facebook suspends Cambridge Analytica for misuse of personal data
- Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi offers internet service to developing countries
- A typo in ‘Civilization VI’ game code can ‘yeild’ some strange A.I. behavior
- Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and Trump: What you need to know – CNET
- Do more with your drone: 5 things you can do with a UAV (aside from taking photos)
- Data of 50M Facebook users obtained by Trump-linked firm – CNET
- US Navy launches submarine maneuvered by Xbox controller – CNET
- Industry insider advises Spotify to look to Netflix for inspiration
- Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs. Apple iPhone X: Tough competition at the top
- Severe solar storms could stop self-driving cars dead in their tracks
- In bid to compete with Amazon, Walmart files patents for farming drones
- Shure’s $3,000 KSE1500 headphones make for an ear-opening experience – CNET
- NASA’s planet-hunting deep space telescope is about to run out of fuel
- NCAA upset kings UMBC share close relationship with Fortnite – CNET
- Computers can’t keep shrinking, but they’ll keep getting better. Here’s how
- New Windows 10 Skip Ahead build forces Mail app users to open links in Edge
- Cosmetics giant L’Oreal buys AR beauty company ModiFace
- Video of skilift malfunction shows skiers being violently flung into the air
- What is USB OTG? Here’s how to use USB drives and more on your Galaxy S9
- What is RAM?
- VW electric Pikes Peak race car has shades of I.D. – Roadshow
- How to make GIFs with Photoshop (or these free alternatives)
- How to make coasters that connect guests to your Wi-Fi with a single tap
- March Madness indeed! UVA goes down and all brackets go bust – CNET
- Facebook bans Trump-linked campaign data firm – CNET
- CNET Asks: Are you excited about the new Fitbit Versa? – CNET
- It’s only business: BlackBerry Motion vs. LG G6 camera shootout
- SmartThings ADT Home Security Starter Kit Review
- Boeing’s new 737 MAX 7 airplane completes first test flight – CNET
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It was this day 22 years ago that a very special little girl came into our lives....
we welcomed, our second daughter, sweet Maggie into the world....
Happy Birthday, Maggie!
I had three girls in about 3 1/2 years.....it was a lot of fun! They are wonderful friends and have a lot of fun together. I do miss the endless hours of Barbie!
And for some quilty LOVE....
I want to share with you some pictures from our quilt class last night....
the quilts are simply amazing works in progress!
What a talented bunch!
How adorable is this Penguin and Fish fabric! Rita's quilt is on-point with lots of bright color and spots!!!
Jennifer is working on a wonderful log cabin! Very sophisticated and perfect as a wall hanging for her home.
Jenny is working on a bow-tie quilt....just fantastic....even a mini!!!
Felisha's wonky log cabin! No borders yet in this pic, but this is for a new big girl bed!
Isn't it sweet?
Peggy was working on her quilt when I took the picture, but you can see what a vibrant quilt this will be. And to top it off she will be trimming it in a border of red corduroy! How perfect is that?
It warms my heart that they have all decided to hand quilt their quilts - so in a couple of weeks I will bring you a new set of quilted pictures!
Happy Valentines Day!

domain: artistic


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The Johnston County Democratic Party will be hosting a debate watch party on Thursday, 9/12 and Friday, 9/13. We are yet unsure if there will be two nights of debate, as the past two events, or only one night. As we hear the details of the debate through the news media, ABC, we will post details here!
Plan to join us for this debate! With possibly fewer candidates than the previous two, this should promise to be most interesting! It will be great to hear these candidate’s responses and discuss among fellow Democrats.
Tentative Location: Cleveland Draft House, Clayton, NC

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Elisha A. Hoffman gave his heart to Jesus at an early age. First, as a publisher for the Union Seminary of the Evangelical Association, then as a Pastor, then as a prolific songwriter. But it would take the inspiration of a woman in distress to pen his most famous hymn and the subject of today’s Hugs From Heaven.
- The Pen is Mighty. Elisha A. Hoffman is credited with writing over 1000 hymns.

domain: library


A prominent Hillary Clinton surrogate slammed rival Bernie Sanders for his "newfound advocacy" on immigration reform as both Democratic presidential candidates vie for the support of Latino vote ahead of the crucial Nevada caucus.
In a series of Wednesday posts on Twitter, Rep. Xavier Becerra of California called out the Vermont senator “to explain his spotty record” when it comes to immigration and “how he’ll get [immigration reform] done.”
Becerra, while not a household name, is the head of the House Democratic Caucus and exerts a certain amount of clout within the party.
"We've been hearing a lot from @BernieSanders about supporting immigrant families of late,” Becerra stated in one tweet. “Where was he before he ran for president?"
Becerra brought up Sanders’ vote against late Sen. Ted Kennedy's comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2007, and his vote in favor of giving protection to the anti-immigrant Minutemen group.
He also said that immigration reform is "tough, serious biz" and that "high-flying talk [without] a track record of action deceives those who need us most."
Sanders, who is locked in a dead heat race with Clinton in polls leading up to Saturday's Nevada caucus, has recently been focusing his campaign speeches in the heavily Latino state on immigration. Speaking at a rally last week, Sanders said that if Congress does not address the problem, "We will use the executive powers of the White House."
Since the presidential campaign season began, Clinton has been seen as the prohibitive favorite to win the Latino vote, but recently Sanders has been making inroads into that support, especially in Nevada.
Mirroring the divide among the overall U.S. public, the Latino vote in Nevada appears split between age groups.
"The leadership that is older is all Clinton, but the younger Latinos, they're with Sanders," Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, told the Los Angeles Times.
Latinos and African-Americans – another minority base that Clinton was presumed to have all but locked up – are expected to make up about a third of the Silver State's voters. There are about 328,000 Latinos in Nevada – or about 17 percent of the state – and their votes are expected to play a crucial role in who wins Clark and Washoe counties – home to Las Vegas and Reno respectively – which are home to more than two-thirds of the state's residents.
The Nevada Democratic caucus takes place on Saturday, the same day as the GOP primary in South Carolina. The Republican caucuses in the state will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 23.


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Originally Posted by terrapro
Well guys I am cusping on my 29yr of life. Tomorrow is my bday and I think I might do some work in the morning then take the rest off. I think I might go mushroom hunting in the afternoon and maybe hit some bluegill beds afterwards. Then grill some steaks for dinner and maybe sautee morels with them(if we find any). Hope your day will go as good as mine!
Aww where do you find them aroound here? I thought you had to go up north? Happy Birthday!!
Posted via Mobile Device

domain: hobby


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Dark, sweet Bing cherries are my favorite.
I live in the high desert. Who knew cherries could grow here? A while back they were selling Black Tartanian cherry trees so we wagged one home and plopped it into the ground. It turns out they don’t grow here. After struggling for an entire season it died. Too hot.
We pulled it up and replaced it with an apricot which is doing well. The birds are happy about this. Very happy. Almost as happy as they are about the grapes.
Of course I had to paint the tree’s root ball. I wasn’t as interested in the dirt and those crazy roots but I was mesmerized by the subtle violet hues on the trunk and all those little grey eyes.
Much of my work is inspired by nature and by how we relate to it or not, and how that provides a metaphor for our relating, or not, to our deepest selves. This painting is somewhat different than my usual approach and more straight forward. Still, it relates to memento mori which is a big area of interest for me.
I knew this study (and memento mori in general – let’s face it, who wants to think about death?) might hold little appeal for anyone else, and that perhaps no one would ever want to want to hang it on their wall. But I had to paint it none the less. It was a compulsion.
This raises questions about what we choose to paint and why.
Why do you paint what you do?
How much of what you do as an artist is born of compulsion, of a need to paint a certain thing, of a desire to communicate ideas? How concerned are you that others will relate to what you’ve done? How closely does what you paint align with why you paint?
I’d love to hear your answers to these questions and hear about your approach to your work. Please share your thoughts in the comments.


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Shoop's Stoop - March 2021 Newsletter
POSTED ON: March 30, 2021
Welcome back to Shoop’s Stoop! Thank you for joining me as I provide a brief glimpse into some of the exciting things that are happening in the School of Engineering.
Recall that in the fall semester we launched several new curricular initiatives. We launched a new type of course structure known as Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP), offering three VIP courses in both fall and spring semesters: one on the topic of Smart Cities, another focused on Solar Decathlon and the final one is Cooper Union Motorsports. I am pleased to share that our Solar Decathlon team has qualified as one of the 63 Finalist Teams in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2021 Design Challenge. The Finalist Teams will present their projects to juries during the virtual Competition Event, April 15‒18, 2021. Additionally in curriculum innovations, a group of faculty reimagined EID101, Engineering Design and Problem Solving, integrating a consistent design process across all six-sections, with common milestones, deliverables and rubrics and the addition of 18 student mentors for project teams to help with community building and student support as well as technical assistance on the projects. I encourage you to read the details of this exciting initiative in an article in this newsletter.
The composition of the engineering faculty continues to change as we hired four new full-time, tenure-track faculty who will join us in the fall semester of 2021. Kamau Wright will join the Department of Mechanical Engineering and comes to us with an undergraduate degree from Howard University and Ph.D. from Drexel. He was previously a Visiting Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and is completing nearly five years teaching experience at the University of Hartford. Michelle Rosen also joins the Department of Mechanical Engineering from Harvard University where she received her Ph.D. and completed three years as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering Design. I would be remiss if I did not note that in addition to her focus on bio-inspired robotics, Michelle was the Season 34 Jeopardy! Champion. Abigail Raz joins the Department of Mathematics with an undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and Ph.D. from Rutgers University after completing three years as the Edith T. Hitz Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Abigail is also a Mathematical Association of America Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) Fellow. Additionally, we are in the final stages of hiring a physics candidate to fill the new joint faculty position between the School of Engineering and the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) of the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute. I will share this result in our next newsletter.
On February 10, 2021, several of our engineering alumni were recognized at the CUAA Founder’s Day Award Ceremony: Jennifer Fenton Weishaupt ChE’95 received the Peter Cooper Public Service Award, Stephen P. Welby ChE’87 the Gano Dunn Award, and Anna Brook BSE’04 the Young Alumna of the Year Award. Their backgrounds, accomplishments and contributions are highlighted in an article in this newsletter.
Our students continue to strive for and achieve excellence. Yuval Philipson, a senior mechanical engineering student, won first place in the Physical Acoustics Technical Committee student paper competition with his paper “Application of a dual stage exhaust system using expansion chambers for Formula SAE” which was published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Yuval was advised by Visiting Professor Martin Lawless ME'13. Additionally, six electrical engineering students, comprised of two teams, competed in the annual, regional Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Programming Contest. The six comprised a combination of junior, senior, and graduate students included Andrey Akhmetov, Zachary Friedman, Chanoch Goldfarb, Jonathan Lam, Derek Lee, and Zhihao Zhang. The students were advised by Professor Carl Sable. Most schools that participate in this competition have computer science departments, including computer science majors and computer science graduate students. The two Cooper Teams ranked 8th and 16th out of 54 competing teams. Finally, just prior to publishing this newsletter we were notified that Alexa Jacob, a junior electrical engineering major, received the 2021-2022 Goldwater Scholarship, which is a prestigious undergraduate scholarship award for engineering, mathematics and natural science research. Our students Rock!
In another dimension, the scholarly efforts of Professor Robert Q. Topper and Cooper alumna Anna Joselle Lomboy ChE’18 MChE’20, have been accepted for publication. Using computational quantum mechanics software and high-performance computing platforms, they completed and released a study entitled “Nonuniform Proton Transfer and Strong Hydrogen Bonding within Cation, Anion, and Neutral Clusters of Ammonia and Hydrogen Fluoride” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A.
Thank you for sharing some of your valuable time! You should know that these are just a few of the highlights – the tips of the waves. There are many more great things happening in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. I look forward to sharing additional updates in future editions of Shoop’s Stoop!
Barry L. Shoop, Ph.D., P.E.
Dean of Engineering
Albert Nerken School of Engineering


Mookie Betts joined the hit parade as the Dodgers crushed the Braves in Game 5, so don’t count out Dave Roberts team just yet
Facing elimination, Dave Robert’s team was able to force another game as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 11-2 in Game 5.
The Braves now lead 3-2 as the series shifts back to Atlanta.
After going hitless in Game 4, our MLBbro Mookie Betts went 1-for-5 at the plate with a run scored, and his teammates stepped up in a big way this game.
Trea Turner almost nails Mookie Betts in the head.#Dodgers pic.twitter.com/f8b0fllPIo
— Justin (@hobokenjustin) October 22, 2021
Going into Game 4, Betts talked about how the team needed to turn things around.
“Sometimes you don’t get hot,” he said. “ I feel like we haven’t gotten hot as a unit. It makes it really hard to win like that. We have to find a way to get hot.”
Well the Dodgers certainly found a way to get hot in this crucial game.
Chris Taylor hit a pair of two-run homers and a solo shot to propel the Dodgers offense to a key victory.
“I don’t know…. I never look cool doing anything!” – Chris Taylor on his curtain call
We beg to differ, CT3! You look cool hitting homers!!!! pic.twitter.com/qNjenhnvdZ
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 22, 2021
He finished the game with four hits (three home runs) and six RBI.
The Dodgers knew what was at stake going into Game 5 and did not want their season to end just yet.
Unlike Game 4, they dominated throughout the game both on offense and defense.
Even though the Braves jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game, the Dodgers quickly responded and never looked back.
Seven players in the Dodgers lineup all had hits and five of them had multiple hits. This Dodgers offense has been one of the best all season and that’s a big reason why they are still playing right now.
With Betts being the leadoff hitter on a loaded team, he’s in a good position to give that team the spark they need, especially when the bats aren’t hot.
He’s been a spark all postseason and the few games he hasn’t, his teammates have had his back.
Dave Roberts had faith in his team coming into this game despite facing elimination and they certainly did not disappoint him.
One thing about the Dodgers is that they have multiple weapons on offense and on the mound and can beat you in many ways.
If one player is struggling, you better believe that another player is going to step up.
This is now seven consecutive elimination games that the Dodgers have won.
“I guess when our backs are against the wall we play our best and fight,” Roberts said after the game. “It’s not an ideal spot to be in, even right now, an elimination game on Game 6, but I guess it brings out the best of us.”
Dave Roberts discusses calling in Andy Burns to replace Justin Turner and the mentality of the #Dodgers heading into a must-win Game 5 vs. the Braves. pic.twitter.com/CnznhbqrNB
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) October 21, 2021
Now it’s on to Game 6 of this exciting series. These two teams will square off on Saturday, October 23rd at 5:08 p.m. EST.


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The Christmas party is over and 2016 will soon be ending with a blissful journey. It’s time to enter 2017 with a wide sunshine and a ray of hope to capture your dreams. A contended home and the surroundings guide you through the positive energy. It’s unbelievable how the most strenuous task of furnishing a house can become so smooth, consoling and exciting. So here we bring you our breathtaking and very refreshing collections by IDUS furniture exclusively made to delight you.
This exclusive upholstery is finely made by the skilled artisans in a perfect delicate manner to provide our customers with a wunderbar experience on using it. All the efforts have been made to enhance it with typical buttons tufted on a diamond shaped quilt that covers the entire sofa. The exceptional seat cushions are embellished by a piping trim that further highlights its shapes.
2. Big Firenze
This dining table is supported by two wooden legs in a cervical staircase that makes it differentiated and gives a regal look. The steel base is specifically made to reflect light and shine from the bottom. The stiff glass at the top has enough space for all your keepings and round shape at the corner provides enough space to keep the chairs around it without any hassles.You will fall simply in love with this furniture as it complements nearly all types of decor, constituting a lively space to charm and entertain.


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Last year’s Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series runner-up Dennis Olsen will return to the series in 2015 with the aim of going one better, and has switched from Prema Powerteam to Manor MP Motorsport.
The eighteen-year-old Norwegian won twice during the 2014 season at Spa-Francorchamps and the Nurburgring, but was forced to seek new employees after Prema pulled the plug on their Eurocup team to focus on European Formula 3 and Italian F4.
“I am aiming for the championship for sure”, said Olsen. “The plan was to try and move into Formula Renault 3.5 this season but we couldn’t find the budget, then we had a great chance to join Manor MP Motorsport for Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.
“When I tested with the team it was very good, it rained so I didn’t get chance to try the car in the dry but it was a really great day anyway.
“I really like the atmosphere in the team and the way it works. I’ve spoken with guys like [Oliver] Rowland, [Andrea] Pizzitola and Steijn [Schothorst] and they all say how good the team is.
“The only way this year is to win the championship, there’s quite a lot more pressure on me this year but we definitely have a big chance to win.”
Team Principal Sander Dorsman was happy to be able to announce Olsen to his team with such a long time before the season begins in April, and hopes to announce who will be the Norwegian drivers’ team-mates in due course.
“Dennis is a fantastic young driver with a huge amount of talent, we’re delighted he’s joined us at Manor MP Motorsport for 2015 and confident he’ll be challenging at the front from the start”, said Dorsman, “It’s perfect to have our first Eurocup driver confirmed so early in the New Year and we plan to make further announcements soon.”
Manor MP Motorsport’s Tony Shaw is hopeful that Olsen can bring the form he had in 2014 to the team in 2015 and go one better than his runners-up spot.
“Dennis had a really great first season in Eurocup, finishing second in the championship was an incredible performance,” insisted Shaw. “The title is definitely the aim this year, we know he has what it takes and we also know we have a car capable of winning. It should be a great season.”


REDLANDS Floral Art Club members have used flower arrangements as the inspiration to transform the Ormiston rail bridge from dull concrete gray to a spray of myriad colours.
Led by club president Val Decker and Sunshine Coast-based artist Sarah Sculley who designed the bridge artwork, a team of about 20 people used stencils to paint the high bridge walls.
Redland City Council's Wendy Boglary said she had first contacted Queensland Rail about the idea in 2011.
"I've written to QR every year since," she said. "It's finally here but it did take eight years to deliver.
"It's very exciting."
The artwork is part of Queensland Rail's Positive pARTnership program to reduce graffiti and vandalism and foster pride in rail infrastructure.
The club's involvement comes more than a year after their property, including donated books, was lost when the Scout hall at Ormiston burnt down.
Club president Val Decker said members were keen to take part in the QR program.
Ms Sculley studied some of the clubs floral pieces before converting them into stencils which were then spray painted.
Ms Sculley said she hoped the project would give club members skills and confidence in stencilling and spray painting.
"I hope the mural gives the community a sense of ownership and pride in the space," she said.
Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.


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Aarambh Activity Center
A journey of Thousand Miles begins with single step. "AARAMBH" Since 2002
FUN CLUB :-
A galore of fun-filled activities for children in the group of (2 ½ - 3 ½ yrs) includes fun with blockS & puzzles, art, aerobics, clay modeling, paper craft, Puppet show & audio visual presentation.
Building conversational skills & improving the vocabulary through flash cards, work sheets, picture talk, story sessions and role play
Young ones are introduced to the world of colours. Scribbling, colouring a natural gateway to muscle control and co-ordination. Stimulates your child’s imagination, and helps express his creativity
Develops the correct writing skills at an early age with worksheets on tracing, pattern writing. Letter formation, graded word formation and eventually leading to sentence formation
Teaching the you ones the letter recognition (beginning and ending sounds of each letter. The blends, the vowels, the consonants that builds up to make words and help the child to read effortlessly.
YOGA & SHLOKA:-
The different yougasanas specially adopted for young children to increase mental focus concentration and awakens their creativity along with shloka and mantra recital


MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Composites
Could you see yourself designing high performance bikes, working with racing car teams or producing ground breaking medical components? You could follow in the footsteps of some of our graduates and begin shaping your own exciting career in mechanical engineering.
You will distinguish yourself professionally with a degree accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) for Chartered Engineer status.
Other courses like MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Composites...
The Plymouth Engineer Scholarship: Mechanical engineering and marine technology degrees
Up to £1,000. Students are automatically paid £500/£250 for an A / B in Mathematics A level and/or one further sum of £500/£250 for an A / B in a relevant science or technology subject. This is awarded to home/EU applicants who put us as their firm choice before the 1 August 2019. The scholarship is paid during the first semester of the first year.
There are additional prizes and awards to reward high achievement in later years of the degree.


I am quite happy about the way Indian iron & steel industry is recovering from the global pandemic of covid-19. As we all know, ‘steel’ is one of the core sector of the economy and is important input to many important industry sectors like infra, construction, white goods, auto, engineering, etc. Thus the performance of steel sector affects so many industry verticals and finally has a big impact on overall economy of the country.
In the first few months of unlocking, the steel production was superseding the demand. This was natural as the steel producers were running the plants where as the construction activity was almost closed, infra projects were completely halted and hardly any vehicle was being sold. In fact many automakers were themselves involved in the noble work of manufacturing safety equipments for the people. The exports surged during this period. But now gradually the steel demand is moving up and the industry balance is getting restored.
Now that the industry is back on recovery track and cruising ahead decently, there are few other challenges peeping in. Firstly, even if the demand is recovering fast, the supply chain which was disrupted at many places has not been healed properly. Many points including the logistics has to be improved further. Secondly, this pandemic has created lot of stress and pressure within global economy and has tremendously increased the competition. This necessitates the need to produce better quality at competitive prices. Thus the producer has to adopt smart manufacturing techniques, or Industry 4.0 as is commonly referred to in India, to enhance efficiency, productivity and thus improve the bottomline of the company. Mind you, Industry 4.0 is not a just a fashionable word but the smart way of inducting the sustainability in the organisation. Sooner or later, everybody has to adopt it.
Another important outcome of covid-19 is the total change in the mindset of individuals as well as the corporations. Now, going to office everyday looks unnecessary. Instead, working from home throughout the week and going to office may be once a week looks normal. Also, planning a business tour for fewer meetings may not look professional. Video meeting or conversation completely serves the purpose. Although, most of the restrictions imposed during the lockdown are now lifted, the local trains in Mumbai and public transport systems in many metros are not fully on track. This has forced many corporations to outsource many of the professional functions which is going on smoothly. This situation has drastically reduced the need to have big number of permanent employees and also of a big office premises.
Indeed, the post covid world is different, interesting and off course challenging. One has to face it with a smiling face !


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I was having an interesting chat with one of my girlfriends earlier and we spoke about things we could have done in the past but we didn’t because of our partner’s resistance towards it. Lately, I have been giving this a lot of thought seeing as I see a lot of people around me who lessen, squash or subdue themselves because they are in relationships and Lord knows I was the poster child for this in both of my long term relationships (who I found out and learned about were narcissists, after the fact.. so, that explains a lot and is perhaps a story for another time.)
So, what am I talking about here. Let me start with an example from my own experience. My first long term relationship was nearly 7 years long. During this time, I was very young and just learning and growing into the woman I was to become. If you’re with the right person.. this can be quite beautiful and your potential is endless. If you’re not.. well, that’s an entirely different story. It will impede your growth and stomp out your potential and dreams and the most devastating part, it will crush your spirit. Nearly 20 years ago, I was in modelling school and about 100lbs lighter and had the opportunity to go to New York city for a show. It was really exciting and scary!! I couldn’t wait to tell my partner. His response? He shut it down immediately. He clearly vocalized his disapproval towards my decision and proceeded to cut me up and tell me that since I have been into the modelling thing, I have been nothing but full of myself with a huge attitude problem. Needless to say, I did not go. I did not want to receive the push back from him and I was incredibly disheartened and lost what little confidence and assertiveness I gained in that short time. Fast forward to the end of that relationship. I started doing things for me. I quit my job, I went to Europe for 5 weeks, I enrolled myself into University. Things were SO great and I was finally doing things for ME! I was happy, expressive, living my life and growing in the direction that I wanted to. I felt free. I felt good.
Then I did that thing that some of us often do.. because we fall back into emotions and old patterns quite easily. I got back together with him.. And it was it incredibly shit. Not only that, but I was already in a fragile state in that moment and it sent my self esteem crashing to the ground. It didn’t help when in the end, he cheated on me and got some young girl pregnant. So, here is me.. thinking “Fuck that guy and his grossness! I am a strong WOMAN!!” and I did things that I thought were strong and independent. That was just an illusion… because those wounds that allowed me to choose someone like him were still there. I was insecure, vulnerable, had zero boundaries, self worth, the list goes on and on. If you asked me this back then, I would have laughed in your face. I believed I was strong, self confident, independent and that I valued myself. And maybe part of me started to wake up and stick up for myself because by 30, I started shutting people out of my life who were not contributing to my growth and only caused me pain and heart ache… but not enough, because I let someone in who destroyed me in so many ways I never even knew were possible. You know when they say when one door closes another one opens? Well, it was very true in my case. I slammed the door shut on one thing and the door opened literally a week later. Universe was probably punishing me for my stupid decisions.. haha but that’s okay. I don’t regret it for it was in my destruction that I truly learned the most and was able to be at the bottom and SEE all the problems. They were there staring straight at me and I could no longer hide. I could sit here and blame someone who was the most vile and hurtful monster towards me.. but the truth is, you have to stop and think, what’s wrong with me to ALLOW someone to treat me in such a way? Yes, I am fully aware of gas lighting and trauma bonding, etc… and all those wonderful things as to the reasons why we “stay” in such toxic and abusive relationships, and I will never victim blame someone who is in this situation. I understand fully and completely why you’re still there. (On a side note, if you are in a situation like this, please know that there is help and there IS a way out and I promise you it gets better. Feel free to message me if you need to talk or need support and resources.) …. but that isn’t what we’re talking about here. I’m talking about the beginning. The start. The red flags were all there. I didn’t spot them. I didn’t know them. I wasn’t schooled in narcissism and didn’t understand the importance and relevance of deal breakers and how to spot them and weed them out. You see… I was so much in need of love that I ignored every single one of them and was completely pulled in by the love bombing stage. For those who have been with these disordered types, you know the drill. The idealization phase. They dedicate every minute of their days to you. Spend every minute with you, they want to dominate your time. It’s a complete take over. Texts all day, they chauffeur you all over, fill you with compliments, gifts, notes, etc. and put you high on a pedestal.. etc etc. Then they pull some stunts.. disordered stunts.. to see how much you will tolerate and test your boundaries, etc. They will prey on your empathetic nature. You, naturally, want to help them.. you want to save them and have zero boundaries. This is a green light for them. Hook, line and sinker.
Anyway, fast forward to this shit show I got snagged into SO quickly that I literally had NO idea what was happening, until it was too late. What happened then? Well, I gave up studying, I gave up learning, I gave up on sports, I gave up on travelling and reading and meeting new people and doing so many things. I gave up on me. When you’re with people with such wounded egos, make no mistake, there is literally zero space for you. You can definitely do your own thing so long as it fits into their schedule and constraints and god forbid you want to compromise. Compromise is a word that simply does not exist their lexicon.
Why am I sharing all this? Well, whether you are in a relationship as toxic as I was or only mildly toxic or perhaps it is a job or your family or your circle of friends. Whatever it is, when we do not focus and heal our inner shit, we will continually allow these things to mute us. We will never ever live authentically and true to your soul’s calling and inner desires, needs and wants because we will always be side stepping our own selves for the other cause. That does not make you a martyr. Let me say that again.. with more conviction.. in case you didn’t grasp that the first time around. That does not make you a martyr. Nope. It makes you complacent in your own story. It makes you the supporting actor in your own life when you should be the protagonist. You will follow the leader and do things that others do. Hop from one thing to another, not finding your space. You will cut out things from you life because of other things that suddenly take up more space in your life. Don’t get me wrong.. sometimes that will happen. When is it okay for this to happen? When the thing that happens is important to you. Truly important, meaningful and intrinsic to who you are to your very core. This can be anything from someone falling ill or the birth of a baby. Etc.. Sometimes life happens and great grief or great joy can carry such responsibilities as is expected. Though these things will require you to put your own needs aside from time to time, you are still required to put yourself FIRST and meet your own needs. SELF CARE IS NOT SELFISH. Remember that. It is truly the most important thing you will ever learn and know.
But these are not the things I speak of. How many times have you made plans or bucket lists that you really wanted to do and were super important to you.. maybe they’re your dreams, your hopes, achievements you want to add to your résumé.. whatever it may be, are you putting them aside for someone else’s plans that were never your plans to begin with? Things just don’t pop up (Illness excluded). We allow things to pop up. We allow them to kibosh our plans, we allow our dreams to be halted or put on hold indefinitely. We let this happen. Why do we let this happen? I’ll tell you why.
Because you are not choosing you.
Every day we are inundated with choices. What are you going to wear? Eat? What route will you take? Should I read this? Buy this? Listen to this? Hrmm.. SO many choices!! Some may be more difficult than others but throughout all of this, one of those choices should always be a constant. You should always be choosing you. Every single day, choose you. When you’re unsure of what the outcome will be, choose you. If you’re scared and wavering, still choose you. Especially then. Choose you. You must choose you if you want to contribute to your growth and true happiness.
We are taught that being selfless and giving is what makes you a kind and good person. That you need to be kind and compassionate and that if someone is bad, our love and compassion can save them. Which I’m here to tell you is a bunch of bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE supporter of kindness and compassion and advocate for it all the time. I think it is vital and encoded in our souls in order for us to succeed, grow and exist. Love is the answer! I firmly believe this with all of my being. BUT.. and there is a huge but, discernment is ALSO very important. Without discernment, we might as well all be lemmings and jump blindly off a cliff. Discernment is important for self preservation and your ability to judge whether something is beneficial to you or not, is extremely important. If there is a flame, you can sit here and say “Gosh, this flame is beautiful .. it warms my hands and the light is nice to look at.” but if that flame burns your hand, do you take your hand out of the flame or do you continue to keep your hands in the flame? We are often taught to withstand pain, humiliation, torture and all sorts of bad things as if they’re good things and good aspects of us. This could be because you was raised Roman Catholic like myself, or perhaps because of a parent… could be a variety of reasons. The truth is, NONE of that is true or healthy.. or okay.. or acceptable. Living your life in one giant act of self flagellation is completely horrendous, painful, sad, oppressive, stifling and abusive to your own self.
The problem is, we aren’t always necessarily aware that we’re doing this. We like to think we are good people. We were programmed or predisposed to this kind of wiring and behaviors because of our upbringing. The first step to fixing this is to recognize it. You know exactly how to do this. For every time you’ve minimized yourself for someone or something else, that feeling you had in the pit of your stomach that you were not standing in your truth. You know that feeling. You know it well. I do not need to explain it to you or describe it. You already know what I’m talking about. But we aren’t taught to listen to those feelings and our intuition, which is our first mistake. Listen to it, my beautiful souls. Listen to it, for it is your most important compass.
Then the next step is to pause.
You need to take a moment to be still. In your thoughts. Being alone is super important and conducive to your own healing. In some cases, it may not be possible but do make time to be alone to retreat into you so that you can focus and listen. For it is in this quiet and time of solitude that you can finally hear you. You can see clearly. Then you can act. Find your wounds. Stick your hands so deep inside of them and squeeze them so tight.. see them for what they really are. Honour them. Love them for shaping you into who you are… and then take the time to heal them, and then let them go. It is imperative that you do the self work if you want to overcome this. This requires you to go within. The answers are not out there. The answers are not in another diet, another job, another boyfriend or girlfriend, a baby, a new dress, another home, or any other thing you can conceive. The answers lay within. And I’ll warn you.. it will be messy. It will be HARD. It will be full of grief and so many other unpleasant and extremely uncomfortable things. But one thing is for sure. It will be worth it. It will be the most worth it thing in your entire life. I promise you this. You will find true joy within. For you will finally find you. It will be a time to celebrate you. What others say or do won’t matter anymore. You will finally learn and feel what autonomy is. Most importantly, you will finally choose you in your decisions. You won’t compromise or reduce your self for anyone else ever again. It will feel great. It will feel empowering. It will feel right. It will feel SO much lighter. It will feel freer. It won’t just feel all those things… it will BE all those things. because you will finally BE YOU. and that’s a pretty damn great thing to be! 🙂
In a world where we have to pay for constant needless distractions incessantly, not choosing you comes at too high of a cost.
I love you all so much. Peace, love & light my dear souls. :)))

domain: psychology


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Biometric screening is expanding to the rental car industry. Hertz said Tuesday it is teaming up with Clear, the maker of biometric screening kiosks found at many airports, in an effort to slash the time it takes to pick up a rental car. Clear hopes it will lead more travelers to its platform, which has 3 million members in the U.S. It's the latest place consumers will find biometric technology, which has migrated over the last 50 years from secure government facilities and banks to airports, stadiums and even smartphones that unlock with the touch a fingerprint. Hertz is the first rental car company to use the technology. Improvements in cameras and other technology have made it cheaper to install scanners that can read fingerprints, faces, and irises. More than 100 airports worldwide use biometric readers from Clear, Vision-Box and other companies to scan passengers. Walt Disney World verifies visitors' identity by scanning fingerprints. And the advancements will likely keep coming. … [Read more...] about Hertz, Clear partner to speed rentals with biometric scans
Returning a rental car
Research into the electric scooter business quickly turned up a piece by technology columnist Troy Dreier, writing for the Jersey Journal newspaper in New Jersey. He wrote how surprised he was to see “litter on the street” over the Thanksgiving weekend when he visited his Midwestern hometown, which he remembered as “a pretty tidy town.” He was writing about all the electric scooters he saw littering downtown St. Paul. Yes, even unfashionable St. Paul had a scooter blight problem. “Nobody washes a rental car” is an old truism you have maybe heard, and it’s apparently true that there’s also not enough incentive to see to it that a rental scooter gets parked out of the way. Scooters just left the region at the end of the scootering season, but they are clearly coming back in the spring, maybe just weeks before another nuisance, the mosquitoes, make their reappearance. Maybe it’s time to make our peace with scooters. We don’t have … [Read more...] about Scooter blight is a feature, not a bug, of startups’ business model
Antonia Noori Farzan, The Washington Post Published 5:00 am PST, Wednesday, December 5, 2018 7 Turtles nesting at Ostional Beach in Costa Rica. 7 Turtles nesting at Ostional Beach in Costa Rica. Photo: Sean Norton Photo: Sean Norton Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 7 Turtles nesting at Ostional Beach in Costa Rica. 7 Turtles nesting at Ostional Beach in Costa Rica. Photo: Sean Norton Florida woman who failed to return home after her Costa Rican birthday trip is confirmed dead 1 / 1 Back to Gallery One of the last photographs taken of Carla Stefaniak in Costa Rica shows the 36-year-old Florida woman wearing a white spa robe and dark sunglasses, her hair loose and slightly … [Read more...] about Florida woman who failed to return home after her Costa Rican birthday trip is confirmed dead
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Business Subscribe Log In Log In Today’s Paper Supported by ByShivani Vora Nov. 12, 2018 Perry Morgan, a sales representative from Ocala, Fla., said the part of a recent business trip to Oakland, Calif., he dreaded most was lugging four heavy suitcases on a shuttle bus back and forth from the airport terminal to the car rental center. Not only that, he also expected that he would have to allot at least an extra half-hour on his return journey to drop off the car to Avis, the rental agent. But the Avis employee who helped Mr. Morgan when he arrived in Oakland told him about the company’s new curbside delivery program, introduced in September, available to customers returning their rentals. For an extra $25, Mr. Morgan could drive the car to the Avis lot as usual, but instead of unloading his bags and taking a shuttle bus, he could hop in the passenger seat and an Avis … [Read more...] about In the Race to Catch a Flight, Smoothing a Big Bump: The Rental-Car Return
By Christopher Elliott, King Features Syndicate, Inc. | PUBLISHED: November 11, 2018 at 9:00 am | UPDATED: November 12, 2018 at 3:19 am Dear Travel Troubleshooter: I need your help with a Priceline car cancellation. Earlier this year, I logged on to AutoSlash.com to find a rental car. I have used AutoSlash several times in the past. When AutoSlash accepts your reservation, the site tries to find a better rate. Then it cancels your first reservation and books the less expensive one. I received my first reservation through Priceline. I assumed that AutoSlash had an agreement with Priceline, where the process would be the same — make a reservation, then cancel. So I thought I had signed up with AutoSlash for a temporary contract through Priceline. But I hadn’t. When I called Priceline and asked to cancel the reservation, a representative refused. A representative said my reservation was “noncancellable and nonrefundable.” I then exchanged several emails with … [Read more...] about Travel Troubleshooter: After a Priceline car cancellation, don’t I deserve a refund?


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Carlos A Celis-Morales, Donald M Lyall, Paul Welsh, Jana Anderson, Lewis Steell, Yibing Guo, Reno Maldonado, Daniel F Mackay, Jill P Pell, Naveed Sattar, Jason M R Gill (United Kingdom) - Research Article
828. Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study
Find out about the long term links between walking and cycling and the risk of heart disease in new research from the UK Biobank Study.
Ambarish Pandey, Michael LaMonte, Liviu Klein, Colby Ayers, Bruce M. Psaty, Charles B. Eaton, Norrina B. Allen, James A. de Lemos, Mercedes Carnethon, Philip Greenland, Jarett D. Berry (United States) - Research Article
823. Relationship Between Physical Activity, Body Mass Index, and Risk of Heart Failure
Find out how physical activity is linked to heart failure in this new study, using data from 3 cohort studies (WHI [Women’s Health Initiative], MESA [Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis], and CHS [Cardiovascular Health Study.
Gary O’Donovan, I-Min Lee, Mark Hamer, Emmanuel Stamatakis (United Kingdom) - Research Article
819. Association of “Weekend Warrior” and Other Leisure Time Physical Activity Patterns With Risks for All-Cause, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer Mortality
Discover how the timing of physical activity participation affects the risk of developing chronic disease.
Philipe de Souto Barreto, Matteo Cesari, Sandrine Andrieu, Bruno Vellas, Yves Rolland (Brazil) - Research Article
809. Physical Activity and Incident Chronic Diseases: A Longitudinal Observational Study in 16 European Countries
Discover just how much physical activity is required to have an impact on chronic disease.
K Perreault, A Bauman, N Johnson, A Britton, V Rangul, E Stamatakis (Canada) - Research Article
804. Does physical activity moderate the association between alcohol drinking and all-cause, cancer and cardiovascular diseases mortality? A pooled analysis of eight British population cohorts
Explore new data on the links between physical activity and alcohol consumption.
Carlos Celis-Morales, Carlos Salas, Cristian Álvarez, Nicolás Aguilar Farías, Rodrigo Ramírez Campillos, Jaime Leppe, Carlos Cristi-Montero, Ximena Díaz Martínez, Eliana Duran, Ana María Labraña, María Adela Martínez, Ana María Leiva, Naomi Willis (Chile) - Research Article
780. Un mayor nivel de actividad física se asocia a una menor prevalencia de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en Chile: resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2009-2010
Find out how higher physical activity levels are associated with lower prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in this new national study from Chile.
Ravi V. Shah, Venkatesh L. Murthy, Laura A. Colangelo, Jared Reis, Bharath Ambale Venkatesh, Ravi Sharma, Siddique A. Abbasi, David C. Goff Jr, J. Jeffrey Carr, Jamal S. Rana, James G. Terry, Claude Bouchard, Mark A. Sarzynski, Aaron Eisman, Tomas Neilan, Saumya Das, Michael Jerosch-Herold, Cora E. Lewis, Mercedes Carnethon, Gregory D. Lewis, Joao A. C. Lima (United States) - Research Article
750. Association of Fitness in Young Adulthood With Survival and Cardiovascular Risk The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study
Learn how young adults' fitness leads to reduced cardiovascular disease and mortality later in life.
Sarah J. Nechuta, Xiao Ou Shu, Gong Yang, Hui Cai, Yu-Tang Gao, Hong-Lan Li, Yong-Bing Xiang, and Wei Zheng (China) - Research Article
732. Adolescent Exercise in Association with Mortality from All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Women
Examine long term links between being physically active in youth and chronic disease mortality in later life.
Iffat Rahman, Andrea Bellavia, Alicja Wolk, Nicola Orsini (Sweden) - Research Article
734. Physical Activity and Heart Failure Risk in a Prospective Study of Men
Find out what types of physical activity are linked to heart failure in this new Swedish study.
Nikola Drca, Alicja Wolk, Mats Jensen-Urstad, Susanna C Larsson (Sweden) - Research Article
716. Physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of atrial fibrillation in middle-aged and elderly women
Take a look at how physical activity can improve heart health.

domain: medical


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Watch Sports Insider on cleveland.com live Thursday at 11:30 a.m. as we talk about the Indians' playoff chase, recap the Browns' first game of the year and preview the Browns' home opener against the New Orleans Saints.
Mary Kay Cabot talks about the injuries to the Browns, what she took away from the first game and feeling around the team heading into the second game. She will join the show at 11:40 a.m.
Finally, Paul Hoynes calls in from Progressive Field to talk about the Indians' doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at 11:50 a.m.
Click play above to watch live at 11:30 a.m. Stick around to watch Fantasy Football Insider at 12:30 p.m. Post your questions and remarks in the comments section below.


Libraries. Not a photographic subject I ever thought I’d be getting excited about. But one landscape photographer has released an undeniably beautiful series featuring some of the most structurally complex buildings from around the world.
Thibaud Poirier, a French photographer based in Paris, specializes in landscapes. One look at his website tells you he has travelled all over the world, photographing everything from remote islands to cityscapes and interiors.
In our current digital era, it’s easy to overlook libraries. Poirier, however, has traveled extensively throughout Europe for the past year in order to capture a total of 25 (so far!), many of which still uphold architecture that is indicative of the period in which they were built, be it historic or contemporary.
Like fingerprints, each architect crafted his vision for a new space for this sacred self-exploration. These seemingly minute details are everywhere, from the balance of natural and artificial light to optimize reading yet preserve ancient texts to the selective use of studying tables to either foster community or encourage lonely reflection.
Meanwhile, I think I’ll be going to write my next article in my local library.
All images used with permission of Thibaud Poirier.


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Further to the HM Treasury announcement on Friday, Teamspirit is delighted to announce that we have pledged to support gender balance across Financial Services by signing up to the Women in Finance Charter. This is a commitment by HM Treasury and signatory firms to work together to build a more balanced and fair industry.
Last year the government commissioned a review into the representation of women in senior managerial roles in financial services. This work complements the government’s wider programme of work to tackle gender inequality and support women in the workplace. Financial services is the highest paid sector in the UK economy, where the gender salary gap for full-time employees is at its most stark. The review looked at the issue of unequal gender representation in the financial services sector that worsens as employees rise into more senior positions.
Over the next year Teamspirit have committed to the following specific gender diversity targets:
- 50/50 split of male and female employees within Teamspirit (currently 58% female)
- 50/50 split of women to men on the Board (currently 55% female)
- Maintain gender parity on pay
- Develop our working practices to enable women and men to support their families whilst working
- 50/50 split of male/female attendance at developmental events and training
- Commitment to training on unconscious bias for all our teams, so that the communications we develop for our clients help address negative gender stereotypes
This announcement is part of Teamspirit’s overall commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. Our vision is to foster an inclusive culture that leverages the contributions of associates with many backgrounds and perspectives to shape the strategic advice and work we do for financial service clients across the sector.
We are committed to ensuring equality and we will seek to promote the benefits of diversity in all our business activities. Our goal is to ensure that commitments, reinforced by our values, are embedded in our day-to-day working practices with our clients, employees and partners and will provide equality of opportunity for all.
Currently Teamspirit is:
- Female 58%, Male 42%
- Part time roles: 7% of workforce
- BAME: 11% of workforce
We embrace diversity. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We are proud of our rich diversity and inclusivity but know we can do more.

domain: economics


text:
A disproportionate tall stature is the most evident manifestation in Marfan syndrome (MFS), a multisystem condition caused by mutations in the extracellular protein and TGFβ modulator, fibrillin-1. Unlike cardiovascular manifestations, there has been little effort devoted to unravel the molecular mechanism responsible for long bone overgrowth in MFS. By combining the Cre-LoxP recombination system with metatarsal bone cultures, here we identify the outer layer of the perichondrium as the tissue responsible for long bone overgrowth in MFS mice. Analyses of differentially expressed genes in the fibrillin-1-deficient perichondrium predicted that loss of TGFβ signaling may influence chondrogenesis in the neighboring epiphyseal growth plate (GP). Immunohistochemistry revealed that fibrillin-1 deficiency in the outer perichondrium is associated with decreased accumulation of latent TGFβ-binding proteins (LTBPs)-3 and -4, and reduced levels of phosphorylated (activated) Smad2. Consistent with these findings, mutant metatarsal bones grown in vitro were longer and released less TGFβ than the wild-type counterparts. Moreover, addition of recombinant TGFβ1 normalized linear growth of mutant metatarsal bones. We conclude that longitudinal bone overgrowth in MFS is accounted for by diminished sequestration of LTBP-3 and LTBP-4 into the fibrillin-1-deficient matrix of the outer perichondrium, which results in less TGFβ signaling locally and improper GP differentiation distally.
|Number of pages||9|
|Journal||Human Molecular Genetics|
|State||Published - 29 Sep 2022|


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Yesterday South Dakota’s ban on breed specific legislation went into effect, leading citizens to call July 1st Dog Breed Independence Day.
“July 1 is a declaration of independence for dogs in South Dakota,” said Ledy VanKavage, senior legislative attorney for Best Friends Animal Society.
South Dakota became the 18th state to outlaw bsl when Governor Dennis Daugaard signed the bill into law in March. The law states that no local government “may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance, policy, resolution, or other enactment that is specific as to the breed or perceived breed of a dog. This section does not impair the right of any local government unit to enact, maintain, or enforce any form of regulation that applies to all dogs.”
Last month, Ray the Vicktory dogs (one of the survivors of Michael Vick’s torture) had it posted on his Facebook page that he would be celebrating the day at the South Dakota Capitol Building in Pierre.
“To all my South Dakota family and friends…and especially my animal loving friends…and more importantly, my dog loving friends ……please come join me, Ray the Vicktory Dog on the steps of the South Dakota Capital Building on July 1st at 1:00 as we gather to celebrate SB75, the anti-breed discrimination bill, becoming law. Please leave your canine friends at home, as I am uncomfortable around other dogs. But we would love all the human supporters to join us as we celebrate dogs and the freedom to own the breed of your choice! And bring a friend!”
Best Friends representative Jacque Johnson, who adopted Ray on Valentine’s Day, hopes this will spur on similar legislative changes in neighboring states.
“We are kind of hoping that it sets the tone for the rest of the Midwest states,” she said. “If you’re a responsible owner then you should be able to own any breed of dog that you choose.”

domain: pet


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It’s been a few weeks since the Duke, Duchess and Bundle of Joy of Cambridge concluded their Australian tour, thus ending the three-week period of seemingly constant Kate Middleton wardrobe updates. After 20-plus outfit changes and nary a hair out of place, being on Middleton Watch became a fixture in our daily routine—a practice which is sorely missed.
Until today, that is! The 32-year-old princess arrived in Scotland this morning—sans Wills and baby George—to pay a visit to the Strathearn Community Campus in the town of Crieff, clad in a red striped coat by Jonathan Saunders.
The Duchess has always been one to pay homage to her hosts by choosing designers, colors or patterns that appropriately reflect her people. Remember her custom-made Jenny Packham gown that saluted New Zealand’s national symbol, the fern? In this case, she’s giving Scotland a subtle nudge-nudge by opting to wear Jonathan Saunders, who hails from the Scottish city of Glasgow.
That Duchess, always so thoughtful.

domain: geography


January 28, 2022
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron will try to assess whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants “consultations or confrontation” over Ukraine when they speak by phone on Friday, France’s foreign minister said.
Moscow has massed troops near Ukraine and sought security guarantees from the West, including a promise that NATO will never allow Russia’s former Soviet neighbour to join.
Speaking to RTL radio, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the West still considered dialogue possible, but the ball was in Putin’s court.
“It is up to Vladimir Putin to say if he wants consultations or confrontation,” Le Drian told RTL radio, asking whether the Russian leader wanted to be a “destabilising power” or would seek de-escalation.
Throughout his five years as France’s president, Macron has sought dialogue with Putin, at times to the irritation of his European Union allies.
Western countries are worried Russia might invade Ukraine though Russia denies planning to do so. Macron said on Tuesday he would seek a clarification of Russia’s intentions towards Ukraine.
Weeks of dialogue between the West and Moscow have produced few results but both sides have left the door open https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-sees-some-room-dialogue-after-us-security-response-2022-01-27 to dialogue although Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address its main security concerns.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and John Irish; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)


text:
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Main genre: Rock / Pop
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Jimi Hendrix's Hey Joe cover of Tim Rose's Hey Joe (You Shot Your Woman Down)
James Blake's Limit to Your Love cover of Feist's The Limit to Your Love
Scorpions's White Dove cover of Omega's Gyöngyhajú Lány
Lawineboys and DJ Jerome's Sex Met Die Kale cover of Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire
Adele's I Can't Make You Love Me cover of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me
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domain: entertainment


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- Up to $250 advance loan on your income and a credit-building loan as much as $1000
- Bring a checking account without any costs, maintained investing, credit score monitoring and a lot more
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- Demonstrated bank checking account at the very least two months outdated
- Typical income deposits
- Bank account reveals a frequent positive balance
- Fee-free cash advance with elective tipping
- $/month membership for advanced features like credit-building debts
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Many banking companies, credit score rating unions and cash loan apps give you use of borrow cash as it’s needed. Advance loan apps have banking account and employment criteria, that can restrict what you could withdraw as an earlier user. Distributions typically get several days to plan, you can usually see cash instantly for a charge.
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By James C. Kennedy
Read Online or Download A Concise History of the Netherlands (Cambridge Concise Histories) PDF
Best european history books
In 1945 Germany's towns lay in ruins, destroyed by means of Allied bombers `hat left significant architectural monuments badly broken and masses of the housing inventory lowered to rubble. on the war's finish, observers notion that it's going to take 40 years to rebuild, yet by way of the past due Fifties West Germany's towns had risen anew.
The Malleus Maleficarum is without doubt one of the best-known treatises facing the matter of what to do with witches. It used to be written in 1487 via a Dominican inquisitor, Heinrich Institoris, following his failure to prosecute a couple of girls for witchcraft, it truly is in lots of methods a hugely own rfile, packed with frustration at professional complacency within the face of a religious probability, in addition to being a pragmatic advisor for law-officers who've to accommodate a crafty, risky enemy.
Whilst in 1821, the Greeks rose in violent revolution opposed to the guideline of the Ottoman Turks, waves of sympathy unfold throughout Western Europe and the us. greater than one thousand volunteers got down to struggle for the reason. The Philhellenes, whether or not they got down to recreate the Athens of Pericles, commence a brand new campaign, or generate income out of a warfare, all felt that Greece had certain declare at the sympathy of the area.
Whereas the "Valkyrie" plot by means of Nazi officials to kill Adolf Hitler is the simplest identified example of German competition to his dictatorship, there have been many different major acts of resistance. in the back of Valkyrie collects records, letters, and tales of Germans who fought Hitler from inside of, making a lot of them on hand of their entirety and in English for the 1st time.
- Harmful and Undesirable: Book Censorship in Nazi Germany
- The Formation of Christian Europe: The Carolingians, Baptism, and the Imperium Christianum
- The Impact of the Domestic Linen Industry in Ulster
- The Rescue of the Prague Refugees 1938/39
Additional info for A Concise History of the Netherlands (Cambridge Concise Histories)
A Concise History of the Netherlands (Cambridge Concise Histories) by James C. Kennedy
- Get Design Your Ultimate Fitness Program - Walking: Learn How to PDF
- Download e-book for iPad: Encyclopedia of Epidemiology by Sarah E. Boslaugh


Historic 1st Electric Helicopter Flight
By S.L. Fuller
September was a successful month for Tier 1 Engineering as its battery-powered manned helicopter reached three milestones, according to a company news release. On Sept. 13, the modified Robinson Helicopter R44 performed its first hover; the next day saw its first hover taxi; and a record 5-min cruise flight to 400 ft with a peak speed of 80 kts occurred on Sept. 21.
These flights took place at the Los Alamitos Army Airfield in southern California under a contract with Lung Biotechnology PCB. The goal of the project is to produce an electrically powered semi-autonomous rotorcraft for organ delivery. To Tier 1 Engineering's knowledge, this is the first rotorcraft in its weight class to fly solely on electricity.
Subsystems in the modified R44 include 1,100 lb of Brammo lithium polymer batteries, twin electric motors and a control system from Rinehart Motion Systems. Approximately 20% of the battery was drained during the helicopter's Sept. 21 flight. Glen Dromgoole, president of Tier 1, led design, build and installation efforts.
Designing started in January of this year, with installation processes completed by July. The company said that the biggest challenge was designing around the need for a takeoff weight of 2,500 lb. The R44 was chosen for its heavy engine, even though the internal engine was removed. The retrofit with electric motors, which weighed 100 lb provided useful load for batteries, according to Tier 1. The batteries, supported by a composite panel, are attached to the landing gear.


PAMDI is an electromechanical music controller based on an expansion of the common metal music boxes. Our system enables an augmentation of the musical properties by adding different musical channels triggered and parameterized by natural gestures during the “performance”. All the channels are generated form the original melody recorded once at the start. To capture and treat the different expressive parameters both natural and intentional, our platform is composed of a metallic structure supporting sensors. The measured values are processed by an arduino system that finallysends the results by serial communication to a Max/MSP patch for signaltreatment and modification. We will explain how our embedded instrument aims to bring a certain awareness to the player of the mapping and the potential musical freedom of the very specific – and not that much automatic — instrument that is a music box. We will also address how our design tackles the different questions of mapping, ergonomics and expressiveness while choosing the controller modalities and the parameters to be sensed.


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A multi-sensory journey amongst beauty and luxury, which encapsulates craftsmanship and elegance, in perfect Italian style. Introducing to you, the gorgeous, Art Deco inspired Charisma Collection, synonymous with charm and magnetism. It is the exclusive details that distinguishes this Collection to any other.
The Charisma Buffet is skilfully crafted with a combination of special elements such as an exotic species of Black Bubinga Burl timber and stunning beveled Alpi Grey marble. Light GOLD chrome plated details add pure luxury to this piece.
The interior houses 1 full extension drawer with front in Black Bubinga Burl timber and bottom lined in velvet, as well as 3 adjustable glass shelves.
A stunning variety of 10 rare marbles are offered in this range, presenting a contemporary take on the classic Art Deco style.
Size – cm. 180W x 60D x 89H
Size – cm. 230W x 60D x 89H

domain: design


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John Helmiere is a United Methodist pastor (also known as "convenor") with the Valley and Mountain spiritual community in the hillman City neighborhood in southeast Seattle. Helmiere believes strongly in uniting inner spiritual growth with outer social engagement and action. He was severely beaten by Seattle police during a 2011 Occupy protest at the Port of Seattle in solidarity with the dockworkers. He has recently filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the incident. He was also arrested last month along with Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant and two air0port workers at the headquarters of Alaska Airlines over their lawsuit attempting to block the $15 an hour minimum wage passed by the City of SeaTac. 56:56 minutes (52.12 MB)
Tom Becker hosts this show dealing with several struggles for freedom and respect against forces of repression and exploitation.
To hear the whole show, click on the play button below. For individual segments, follow these links:
With the recent Senate report on the use of torture by the CIA and today'sNew York Times editorialcalling for the prosecution of "anyone responsible for the torture of terrorism suspects," there is no longer any way to believe that the US uses torture only to protect Americans. Here our Left and the Law crew, Jan Haaken and Mike Snedeker, discuss the case for pursing criminal charges against the Bush administration under international human rights laws.
In commemoration of Nelson Mandela, one year after his death, Alan Wieder presents his comments on a televised town meeting from his first trip to the United States after he was released from prison in 1990. In the meeting, he responded to reactionary comments from politicians and newsmen.
6:51 minutes (4.7 MB)
Early in December, residents of Arivaca, Arizona marked the one-year anniversary of their campaign calling for the removal of the inland Border Patrol immigration checkpoints that have come to circle their small rural community. Residents held a 24-hour candlelit vigil at the checkpoint to protest the thousands of deaths of migrants resulting from border security policy in the desert corridor. Sophie Smith talks with Jan Haaken about the vigil, and the results of the community-based checkpoint monitoring effort.
Smith works with People Helping People, formed in 2012 by a core group of Arivaca residents involved in providing humanitarian aid on the US/Mexico border.
12:07 minutes (8.32 MB)
Since 2003, Martha Sellers has worked at the Walmart store in Paramount, a working class suburb east of Los Angeles. She the lead Our Walmart organizer in her store, has been twice arrested in protests. Here she talks with Bill Resnick about Walmart’s responses to the protests and the company’s practice of hiring temps with false promises to make them full time.
18:03 minutes (12.39 MB)
Mic Crenshaw, Portland OR., U.S.
Khusta, Cape Town, South Africa.
Diwi, Arusha Tanzania, beat production and emcee.
Emodizzo, Ausha Tanzania, beat production and emcee.
Ima Maasai, Arusha Tanzania.
Mama C, Arusha Tanzania.
Guim, Canada on the flute.
Here's some rough info about the song: 5:22 minutes (7.37 MB)
The Independent Police Review Commission of Portland (IPR) has released the findings of its report on the alleged targeting of hip hop shows for code violations and police presence.
The Commission said that there is an appearance of discrimination, but stopped short of accusing the city of actually discriminating against hip hop performers and venues.
One of the artists interviewed for the investigation was Glenn Waco, a rapper from Saint Johns, who has also been active in the recent protests in Portland against police brutality and the grand jury decision in Ferguson Missouri and New York City.
KBOO's Sam Bouman spoke to Glenn Waco this afternoon about the IPR’s report. 9:38 minutes (8.82 MB)
Here's the quote of the day from the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Larry Birns is the director of Council on Hemispheric Affairs, which today released a statement: "Alan Gross was working in Cuba as a subcontractor of the United States Agency for International Developments (USAID) in 2009, when Cuban authorities arrested him. A Cuban court convicted Gross for smuggling illegal satellite equipment into the island, which in Cuba is considered a crime against the state.
13:27 minutes (9.23 MB)


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Nintendo announces a round of sales on a variety of The Legend of Zelda titles for the European Nintendo eShop, with discounts available on a number of classic games from the series.
Finding a great gift for a gamer can be a complicated task, especially when they’re a fan of a 30-year-old series. Check out this list of the top gifts for Legend of Zelda fans.
Nintendo artist Satoru Takizawa reveals how early plans for a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker eventually morphed into Twilight Princess.
Nintendo has a lot of faith in its revamped HD offering, ‘The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD’, and believes the game will help the company see sales of the Wii U lifted significantly.
Nintendo has officially lowered the price of the Wii U – and unveiled a new mobile console: the 2DS.


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domain: literature


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Afghanistan On the Long Road to Trust and Reconciliation
By Rita Joshi
BERLIN (IDN) – As a friend to Afghanistan, Germany has supported efforts to achieve peace in the country for many years. After 40 years of almost constant violence, the main prerequisites for peace, according to the German Foreign Office, are “a willingness to engage in dialogue and a certain level of trust across deep divides.”
With the aim of building confidence between the various parties to the conflict and groups, Germany and Qatar co-hosted an intra-Afghan dialogue conference in Doha on July 7 and July 8, where over 60 Afghans met to discuss an end to the conflict and the future structure of their country.
The participants attended the conference as members of the public, and not in an official capacity. However, they represented a wide spectrum of Afghan politics, society and regions because, according to the German Foreign Office, “a lasting peace agreement in Afghanistan can only be achieved if all relevant political groups, civil society and hitherto disadvantaged sections of the population, such as women and ethnic minorities, are included and taken into account”.
The willingness of the various participants, who included members of the Taliban, the Afghan Government and civil society, to take part in this type of dialogue is considered “an encouraging sign”.
The in‑depth exchange chaired by Germany’s Berghof Foundation addressed topics such as the rights of women and minorities, the prospects for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops and the political future of the country as a whole.
There was consensus among the participants on various issues, including the need for measures to curb violence against civilians and to reduce the number of civilian casualties. Furthermore, in their joint declaration at the end of the event, the participants expressed their support for the ongoing peace talks between the United States and the Taliban which were continued on July 9.
“This start of an inclusive dialogue between Afghans on the prospects for lasting peace in their country means that an important first step has been taken. It is now important to continue this dialogue and to actually put what has been agreed into practice,” said the German Foreign Office.
In addition, direct talks will be needed between the Afghan Government and representatives of the Taliban, it added. So far, the Taliban has refused to enter into such talks. Moreover, guarantees are needed to ensure that major achievements of the past years, for instance in the field of protecting human rights, setting up democratic institutions and providing equal access to education, do not fall by the wayside.
The European Union (EU) praised in a statement the success of the Intra-Afghan Dialogue in Doha, saying it “marks an important step towards achieving the peace the people of Afghanistan deserve and have long demanded”.
The statement reads: “The European Union will continue to concretely support, politically and financially, an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process that preserves and builds on the political, economic and social achievements of the people of Afghanistan since 2001.”
To this aim, the EU is working with the Afghan Government and all other interlocutors to ensure that peace negotiations are inclusive and respectful of the wish of Afghans to live in a peaceful, secure and prosperous country, where rights are upheld and vulnerable groups protected, the statement reads further.
In a statement issued by Qatar, Dr. Mutlaq bin Majid Al-Qahtani, the Qatari Special Envoy for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution, announced the “success” of the talks, stating: “We are very pleased today to reach a joint statement as a first step to peace.”
Tufail Ahmad, a fellow at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), however is of the view that the “success” and the “first step to peace” which Al-Qahtani spoke of belong to the Taliban and shari’a, not to the democratic government in Kabul, not to Afghan women who suffered under the Taliban’s shari’a rule during the 1990s, and not to common Afghans whose civil liberties are at stake in Doha.
He adds: “The Afghan Taliban – as a result of the Doha talks – marched closer to their stated objectives of enforcing Islamic shari’a rule in Afghanistan and of restructuring the Afghan government institutions, including the military, to their liking.” [IDN-InDepthNews – 14 July 2019]
Photo: The July 7-8 talks between the Taliban and Afghan delegates in Doha. Credit: MEMRI
IDN is flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate.
facebook.com/IDN.GoingDeeper – twitter.com/InDepthNews

domain: politics


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What pros and cons of cash flow reporting versus accrual income reporting?© BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com April 3, 2020, 3:13 pm ad1c9bdddf
Please see response attached (part of which is posted below).
Briefly, for accounting purposes, the best method regardless of the type of business (except possibly a doctor) is the accrual-based method.
Cash-based accounting can distort the true operations of your business and incorrectly reflect income. Cash-based accounting recognizes income when money is received. Accrual-based ...
This solution discusses the pros and cons of cash flow reporting versus accrual income reporting.

domain: finance


Only months before the next general election the Italian minister for health, Francesco Storace, has said that Italys mental health laws need revising. The controversial law, which was passed in 1978, brought about the closure of mental asylums to replace them with a network of external services to treat people suffering from psychiatric problems. Families in Italy now care for the mentally ill, often with very little or no support from the state. More than 600,000 families look after a family member with severe mental problems and one in ten Italians suffer from some form of mental disturbance, from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia. Storace has been accused of electioneering by his opposition predecessor, Rosy Bindi, who has said that there was no question of the law being discussed in the present parliament.
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