O'Connor in hot water over no-show
August 20, 2011
Wallabies wing James O'Connor is reportedly in hot water © Getty Images
James O'Connor is reportedly facing the axe for next weekend's Tri-Nations showdown with the All Blacks after missing the Wallabies' World Cup squad announcement on Thursday.
The 21-year-old winger failed to show up for the event in Sydney and his non-appearance was initially put down to "personal reasons". However, according to the Daily Telegraph, O'Connor was spotted out drinking with a number of his international team-mates on Wednesday night and it is believed that he slept through his alarm the following morning. As a result, he missed a scheduled team meeting at 8am, the team photo shoot and the official squad announcement.
An Australian Rugby Union (ARU) spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: "James informed us on the morning of the squad announcement he was unable to be present. We have requested James provide us with a full explanation for his non-appearance. Until such time (as) we have received that explanation, we are not in a position to comment further."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
The latest Week in Pictures brings you a selection of the best snaps from around the rugby world with scantily clad ladies, O'Driscoll and snow all featuring
"If I miss the first kick of the match, it shouldn't have any impact on the second. They are different entities." Tom Hamilton talks to Northampton Saints' Stephen Myler
It's time for those running Welsh rugby to stop trying to prevent its players heading to France and to start planning a future without them, writes Martin Williamson
Paul Eddison explains how the French sold English clubs down the river and why their domestic game will go from strength to strength


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The Battle of the Hawks
Out of the two candidates, Clinton is clearly the number one pick of the establishment. Clinton is one of the most hawkish individuals in Washington, and she has supported every US military venture in recent decades. Clinton has received over$300,000 from war contractors in her presidential bid so far, the second highest amount (after Bernie Sanders) out of all the candidates who initially ran for the White House. There is not one thinking person on earth that disputes Clinton’s hawkishness, as the evidence is too insurmountable to challenge.
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domain: news


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- få varen levert rett hjem!
Sendes normalt fra oss i løpet av 10 virkedager
Om Civilizing the Urban
Early industrial Merthyr is synonymous with the darker side of the British urban experience. This work considers the efforts of dedicated civic "boosters" to civilize the town's public spaces and its inhabitants and shows how this vision of Merthyr depended on the taming of popular culture.

domain: sociology


This page provides information on the VRayLightSpot node.
The V-Ray Spotlight is a light source that can be used to create physically accurate lights.
UI Path: ||Toolbar|| > V-Ray menu icon > Lights > VRayLightSpot
The VRayLightSpot node has three input nodes.
look – Automatically rotates to face towards the node connected to this input.
tex – Use this input to feed the environment texture that is going to be used to illuminate the scene.
axis – Used to apply transformations to the Spot Light.
Color – Controls the color of the light. When using photometric units, this color is normalized so that only the color hue is used, whereas the light intensity is determined by the Intensity.
Intensity – A multiplier that controls the strength of the light color; this is also the light intensity in the units chosen by the intensity Units parameter.
Units – Specifies the light units. Using correct units is essential when you are using the VRayCamera. The light will automatically take the scene units scale into consideration to produce the correct result for the scale you are working with.
default – The color and intensity directly determine the visible color of the light without any conversion. The light surface will appear with the given color in the final image when seen directly by the camera (assuming there is no color mapping involved).
Lumens – The total emitted visible light power is measured in lumens. When this setting is used, the intensity of the light will not depend on its size. A typical 100W electric bulb emits about 1500 lumens of light.
lm/m/m/sr) – The visible light surface power is measured in lumens per square meter per steradian. When this setting is used, the intensity of the light depends on its size.
Watts – The total emitted visible light power is measured in watts. When using this setting, the intensity of the light does not depend on its size. Keep in mind that this is not the same as the electric power consumed by a light bulb for example. A typical 100W light bulb only emits between 2 and 3 watts as visible light.
w/m/m/sr – The visible light surface power is measured in watts per square meter per steradian. When this setting is used, the intensity of the light depends on its size.
Cone angle – Specifies the angle of the light cone formed by the spotlight.
Penumbra angle – Specifies the angle within the light cone at which the light begins to transition from full strength to no lighting. When set to 0, there is no transition and the light produces a harsh edge.
Falloff type – Specifies the type of transition from full strength lighting to no lighting within the penumbra angle.
Linear – The light will fade in a straight linear progression.
Smooth cubic – The light will fade in a realistic progression.
Drop off – Controls the drop off rate of the light intensity.
Decay – Controls the behavior of the light intensity from the distance of the light source.
Barn door – Enables or disables the barn door effect. Barn doors restrict the light cone on the four sides of the light to produce a rectangular light shape. In the real world, barn doors are four planes attached in a square around the light.
Top/Left/Right/Bottom – Controls the angle of the specified barn door, enabling it to be opened or closed.
Use decay regions – Enables decay regions to be used with the V-Ray Spotlight.
Start distance – Specifies the distance of the decay region's starting point.
End distance – Specifies the distance of the decay region's ending point.
Light cut-off Threshold – Specifies a threshold for the light intensity, below which the light will not be computed. This can be useful in scenes with many lights, where you want to limit the effect of the lights to some distance around them. Larger values cut away more from the light; lower values make the light range larger. If a value of 0.0 is specified, the light will be calculated for all surfaces.
Override Motion Blur Samples – When enabled, overrides the default number of samples that will be used to sample the current light for motion blur.
Motion blur samples – When the Override Motion Blur Samples is enabled, this value will be used when sampling the motion blur created by the current light.
Shadows – When enabled (the default), the light will cast shadows. Disable this option to turn off shadows for the light.
Shadow radius – Controls the size of the light. Where 0.0 is a point light, larger values produces soft (area) shadows.
Shadow Bias – Moves the shadow toward or away from the shadow-casting object (or objects). If the value is too low, shadows can "leak" through places they shouldn't, produce moire patterns or create out-of-place dark areas on meshes. If the value is too high, shadows can "detach" from an object. If the value is too extreme in either direction, shadows might not be rendered at all.
Shadow Color – Controls the color of shadows cast by the light. Note that anything different from black is physically incorrect.
Affect Diffuse – Determines whether the light affects the diffuse properties of the materials.
Affect Specular – Determines whether the light affects the specular of the materials to create glossy reflections.
Diffuse contribution – Specifies how much the light affects the diffuse.
Specular contribution – Specifies how much the light affects the specular.
Caustics Subdivs – Used by V-Ray when calculating Caustics. Lower values create noisy results, but will render faster. Higher values produce smoother results but take more time.
Caustics multiplier – A multiplier for the generated caustics by the selected object. Note that this multiplier is cumulative - it does not override the multiplier in the Caustics settings.
Locator scale – Controls the size of the light locator in the UI.
Show cone – When enabled, displays the cone of light created by the spot light in the UI.
Target distance – Controls the distance of the the spotlight target in the UI.


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Published on May 8th, 2012 | by Charitarian2
Tomorrow’s Leaders Today
The Apprentice/Dragons Den Beijing Branch
At the weekend (5 and 6 May) Wang invited me to act as a judge at the OVAL “Business” competition at Beijing Foreign Languages University. The competitors were 1st and 2nd year students from Japan, Korea and China. The role of the company representatives was to choose the best business plan as presented by groups of three students. All presentations were made in English and in some cases the students were skyping in to join their team mates from across the globe. Before I joined the competition I thought that I was doing Wang a favor. However, by the close of the day’s sessions on Saturday, I realized that I had learned a lot from listening to this cosmopolitan group of young leaders. Also I met students that any company would be keen to hire. Confidence and charisma were the USP’s that singled out the winners.
The products that they presented were very varied. One group had invented an ‘app’ that measured heart rate; another group had designed an organic farm and produce service to avoid health-food scares; but the group that I liked best were running “Silver-love” – a dating agency for the aged. Their ideas were professionally presented. The judges were generally C-suite and media representatives from companies in Beijing. Deloitte and KPMG were sponsors. Other judges included the country manager for Lamborghini, a Korean Government member and an academic from Beida. Hong Kong University gave a very strong presentation after which one of the judges asked the students where they were from. Two were Mainland students and one was from Taiwan. In fact the notable ‘leaders’ of the pack were generally business savvy Shanghainese living abroad e.g. UK or Hong Kong. They had an edge in language, connectivity and content. It was hard to believe that these ‘kids’ (only 19) had such an incredible grip on how to approach the Chinese tier 2 market then globalize.
As well as the “Mainland China” dominance of the competition, I was struck by the significant proportion of female entrants. One group of three young ladies presented what could easily become a successful business. Their theme was ‘ageing China’ and they had produced some amazing hard copy and online ‘Memory Books’ for rich second generation kids to buy for their Grandparents. By research, interview and collation of family pictures they had produced online and hard-copy albums that were not only emotionally engaging for family but had broader appeal in educational terms for overseas academics interested in 1960′s/70′s China. The girls presented with such flair; the chemistry of real friendship was so refreshing compared with the internal competition common in most companies. What happens when these young women go to work I wondered? Where do these shiny young women go before reaching the boardroom? Today I meet with Yimeng to discuss a mentor program for fledgling female businesses in China. Watch this space!
Pictures: Students competing in the OVAL business competition in Beijing

domain: economics


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(Northbrook, Illinois - April 6, 2012) – The Boulder Group’s Research Department has released a new research report providing comprehensive numbers and analysis of the 1st quarter activity in the National Net Lease Market.
Highlights from the report are as follows:
- Net lease property cap rates compressed in the office and industrial sector
- Retail cap rates increased as supply increased sharply during the quarter
- Drugstore, Auto Parts and Ground Leased properties remain sought after assets
The full report can be viewed online at http://www.bouldergroup.com/research.html
About The Boulder Group
The Boulder Group is a boutique investment real estate service firm specializing in single tenant net lease properties. The firm provides a full range of brokerage, advisory, and financing services nationwide to a substantial and diversified client base, which includes high net worth individuals, developers, REITs, partnerships and institutional investment funds. Founded in 1997, the firm has arranged the acquisition and disposition of more than $1.2 billion of net lease real estate transactions through several real estate cycles. The Boulder Group is headquartered in suburban Chicago. More information on the firm can be found on The Boulder Group’s website at www.bouldergroup.com

domain: finance


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* please include chapter number in details for faster repair.
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Read Online Class Maid
Read isekaiscan is where you can read full updated chapters of Class Maid. Class Maid is Manhwa/Manhua/Manga updated regulary. Free reading Class Maid in english translated online. Read your favorite Japanese manga, comics, manga for all online.
Otaku schoolboy Arise Riku, who is solely interested in female anime characters, is a fan of Yu-Tan from the maid cafe. However, he comes to find that Yu-Tan is actually Maejima Yuuko and sits next to him in class. He decides to give up his feelings, but…

domain: hobby


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PSA: Chrishell’s music video with G Flip has just come out and it’s iconic
I’m screaming, crying, throwing up rn
G Flip has just released their latest music video, for song Get Me Outta Here – the one with Chrishell Stause from Selling Sunset! Just a little bit iconic x
G Flip and Chrishell are dating, and met when the Selling Sunset star was asked to be in the non-binary Australian musician’s music video.
Speaking about it at the Selling Sunset reunion, Chrishell said: “[Dating G Flip] started because I was just going to be in their video, it’s about this chaotic love story. I come from soaps, I love acting, and with the job that we have I don’t always get to do it. At first of course I was like ‘yes let’s do that’.”
You can watch the video for Get Me Outta Here, with both G Flip and Chrishell, here:
Chrishell said G Flip had “made the first move”. For pretty much this whole year, G Flip and Chrishell have been liking and commenting on each other’s Instagrams. Fans clocked on to this “Insta flirting”, as one TikTok user put it, very quickly.
On one of G Flip’s posts promoting their song called Gay 4 Me, Chrishell said: “How do you make us emotional and horny at the same time?? Your power 🤯😉👏❤🔥”. G Flip was also commenting on loads of Chrishell’s pics, including “Hot damnnn 🔥” on one of Chrishell’s magazine photoshoots.
Fans spotted Chrishell at a Fletcher concert in LA – and G Flip was the warm up act. Chrishell even commented on G Flip’s Insta at the start of March about the show, saying: “I’m sad it’s over😩You KILLED IT ❤🔥🔥❤🔥🔥👑 “. G Flip replied: “thnx baby 😘”. There were also several pics showing the two hanging out, including at a screening for the new Bridgerton series and on holiday together in Denver.
They were apparently pictured in Denver, holding hands. You can see the pic in a TikTok video here – it’s of two people from behind and doesn’t show their faces, but fans were CONVINCED it showed Chrishell and G Flip.
G Flip has met Chrishell’s close mate, Selling Sunset co-star Emma Hernan. Speaking at the Selling Sunset reunion, Chrishell said “life is really good” and she’s “in a much happier place”.
Chrishell then confirmed the G Flip dating rumours: “You don’t get to choose where you meet someone. You don’t get to choose when you meet someone in their life. Recently I’ve met someone that is in a different place in their life as well.
“I recently have been spending a lot of time with someone that’s very important to me. Their name is G Flip. They’re non-binary so they go by they/them and they are an extremely talented musician.”
Related stories recommended by this writer:
Featured image via YouTube

domain: celebrity


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Porcelain, approx 10cm x 6cm x 2.5cm, unglazed interior, pale blue glazed exterior
Daniel Reynolds produces a range of ceramic work which has brought him international acclaim. These pieces are made using handmade moulds – Daniel also creates other forms in this way, including melons, onions, electric kettles, hot water bottles, cocoa pods and gourds.
Read more about Daniel, his background, awards and previous exhibitions.
We have these in stock currently, delivery should take 2-5 days.
You may also like…

domain: artistic


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The building on Munn Park where BB&T Bank does business started life in 1927 as the Autotel, Lakeland’s first parking garage. A variety of services were available for your car such as battery and tire replacement. You could park your car out of the weather, which had its advantages when you’re driving an open touring or roadster auto as was the norm in the 1920s.
Over the years the building at 114 N. Tennessee Ave. underwent many changes. Sometime in the 1950s the lower levels were closed in. The building was converted and subdivided into retail and dining establishments.
Long-time Lakeland residents might remember when Morrison’s Cafeteria was in this building or perhaps shopped for clothes or had an ice cream sundae when the Fox & Hound clothing store occupied the structure in the late 70s and early 80s.
Currently the building houses BB&T Bank, along with other businesses on the upper levels. In the lobby of the bank is a small shadow box featuring items such as an old liquor bottle and a rusty revolver found during the latest renovation of the building.
Where folks once parked their Model A Ford, people today conduct their banking and other business.
Richard W. Snell, an amateur local historian, is from a pioneer Lakeland family. In addition to local history, he enjoys restoring vintage cars.
SEND CORRECTIONS, questions, feedback or news tips: email@example.com

domain: history


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1. Beautiful Beaches
Everywhere you go in Thailand, you are surrounded by beautiful beaches. The white sand and warm turquoise water is the perfect location to chill out on a hammock and soak up the sun. The waters are filled with colourful fish and coral reefs, perfect for snorkelling or learning to scuba dive. You can stay on the beaches in beautiful little huts and pass the time with a beer/cocktail in hand and fresh pineapple from a local beach vendor.
2. Amazing Food
With strong aromatic blends of spices, lemongrass, kaffir lime and ginger, Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines. Eating out is cheap too, my top recommendation is to try the local restaurants off the beaten-track. They may not look the most appealing but it’s where the locals eat and you’ll find the tastiest most authentic tastes at a snippet of the tourist price. Also try Mango Sticky Rice, a traditional Thai dessert – amazing.
From beautiful shimmering temples to bustling markets, there is so much to see and do. Thailand is just bursting with culture, there really isn’t a dull moment. I loved visiting the Wat Phra Yai (the Big Buddha temple, pictured above) where I was able to join the Buddhist monks lighting incense and candles in front of the largest Buddha statue I’ve ever seen.
4. Kind & Fun loving people
One of the main things anyone will notice who has travelled to Thailand is how friendly the people are. They are one of the warmest, kindest nations and will go out of their way to welcome you and treat you like family instantly. They are also highly spiritual people with an amazing attitude to life. It’s all about sanuk, which means putting fun first – they would rather smile than ever argue or feel sad about something. They take life lightly at all times, are respectful to others and laugh often, a quality I think we could all learn something from.
*Image Source: Pinterest*

domain: travel


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Victoria Odintcova Raised the Temperature With This Hot Video
- 40590 views Share min read
The Russian beauty Victoria Odintcova shared a smoking hot video on her Instagram account and left the fans stunned.
The gorgeous model has shared an eye-popping clip in which she can be seen dancing in a bathrobe and then suddenly transforming into a hot lady in all black. The breathless fans have flooded her Instagram with comments admiring her. The video has gained thousands of views within only a few minutes of it being uploaded.
The diva knows how to handle herself. She even had reportedly turned down famous Ronaldo when he messaged her through his account on the social media platform. This beauty cannot be impressed so easily. Her admirers must try harder to make an impression.


How to be a Neighborhood Association in Golden
Formal and informal neighborhood associations are one of the many ways you can be involved in the community, and also one of the ways that the City can maintain two-way communication with groups of residents. To that end, compiling a list of the informal associations in the community as well as the formal HOAs that need to register with the state can help improve communication. Download the latest HOA list .
Please also remember to update the information for your group and advise us if you see out of date contact information for other associations.
How will the City use the Association information?
- Associations and contact persons will be listed on the downloadable HOA list, available above.
- The City will periodically send updates we believe are of interest.
- The City may highlight efforts reported by the Association, or neighborhood grant projects in the Informer or on the city website.
- No other use of the association information will be permitted.
What opportunities will be available to Associations?
- Associations can receive updates on City projects and land use case applications.
- Associations will be invited to events where associations can share their activities and best practices.
Registering Informal Neighborhood Associations
- Identify the approximate boundaries of the area considered.
- Set up a neighborhood communication system. One option is to set up email groups of various types.
- Notify the City Community and Economic Development Department at firstname.lastname@example.org that your association has been established.
- Update your association contact information with the City annually. Identify the approximate boundaries of the area considered.
Registering Formal Homeowners Associations:
- Formal HOAs are defined and governed individually and according to legal requirements. The City is not involved in establishing or operating such groups.
- The only City requirement of such groups will be to submit a copy of your HOA declarations or Bylaws including property boundaries one time, and to try to keep us informed when officers and contact persons change.


RespectAbility Entertainment Professionals Lab, Summer 2021
Sarah Granger is a writer and producer with a background in technology and media. She studied computer science, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Michigan before gravitating to California, where she spent her early career in high-tech. In 2006, Sarah sustained pelvic nerve damage while delivering her daughter, leading to permanent neuralgia and a pivot to writing — first as a journalist and author, then later as a screenwriter.
Sarah now writes dramatic features and series, including science fiction and supernatural. All of her scripts include at least one character with a visible or invisible disability. Her feature screenplay, The Pain-Free Day, was selected as one of 8 juried scripts on the 2020 Disability List curated by The Black List and the WGA Writers With Disabilities Committee as part of the annual Media Access Awards. Sarah’s scripts have been named semi-finalists in Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope and Final Draft’s Big Break competition, finalist in the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab, runner-up in the Stage32 TV Writing Contest, and winner of Best Feature Script in the Bloodstained Film Festival.
As a producer, Sarah strives to amplify underrepresented voices. She is involved with three upcoming short films slated for festival runs in late 2021-2022 and she is executive producing the feature film, Stay With Me, about a woman’s struggle with borderline personality disorder, set to premiere in early 2022. She is also credited with writing, directing, and co-producing Invasion of Cyberspace, the first cyberpunk stage play.
In 2014, Sarah’s book, The Digital Mystique, was published by Seal Press and became an Amazon bestseller. Her articles have been published in Slate, LA Weekly, The Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review, and SFGate. She has been credentialed press at The White House and she has interviewed global leaders in government, technology, media, and entertainment. Sarah has also been a speaker at South by Southwest, the California Leadership Forum, and the Writing for Hollywood Summit and a guest on Good Morning America, CBS, NBC, and NPR.
After an extensive search and interview process, 30 individuals were invited to participate in RespectAbility’s Summer 2021 Lab for Entertainment Professionals. This 8-week, 24-session virtual summer Lab series for people interested in – and with experience in – development, production and post-production, including careers as writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, animators and other production roles, will take place June 22 – August 12, 2021. Participants include diverse people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health and other disabilities. This Lab is a recipient of The Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award. Learn more: www.respectability.org/respectability-la-lab.
This program, which continues building the talent pipeline of young professionals with disabilities looking to work behind the scenes, is made possible with support by:
- Platinum Sponsors: Murray/Reese Foundation, The Harnisch Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, Sony Pictures Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company
- Gold Sponsors: A&E and Final Draft
- Silver Sponsors: NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS


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Jan Schulte had been dreaming of the jungle for years. The Dusseldorf-based electronic musician (often recording under the name Wolf Müller) most recently channeled these dreams of exotic lands into an acclaimed compilation called “Tropical Drums of Deutschland,” a collection of German tracks, mostly from the 80s, which live in the misty, exotic realms some call the Fourth World. Many of the compilation’s tracks have signifiers of exotic musical Others (hand drums, gongs) swimming through synths and drum machines. The artists, it is clear, had little connection with the farflung places from which they were seeking inspiration. Schulte describes his inspiration for the collection as being “a general fascination for music that describes places where the artists have never been.” The cheeky album cover drives it home: a lush jungle of ferns and palms spread out under the safe shelter of a European greenhouse.
Earlier this year, the Brussels-based Europalia International Arts Festival sent Schulte on a journey to Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) for an artist's residency with me as his guide. The aim was to send Schulte out into this mythical place and see what inspiration he could find. Would the reality match those fern-filled dreams? What would the resultant tracks sound like if they described places the artist had been?
I warned Schulte right off the bat: we wouldn’t be trekking into deep jungle and meeting with primitive cannibals. The alternative, I hoped would be more interesting: a world which might dash exotic but shallow visisons but would hopefully replace them with a more grounded, complex reality. The first leg of the trip would be in search of something near and dear to Schulte’s heart (and sound): mouth harps. Schulte often fills his own tracks with the psychedelic flange of mouth harps (often called jew’s harps, but I tend to avoid that name) which he plays himself. Such instruments are now rare in Kalimantan, but I had a lead from my friend Nursalim Yadi Anugerah, a young Pontianak-based musician and composer who specializes in music of the various Dayak peoples of his province.
We became a gang of four not-so-intrepid adventurers: Me, Yadi, Europalia curator Christoph, and Jan (from here on, we're on a first-name basis!) Flying into the steamy interior city of Sintang, we rented motorbikes and set off into the countryside. As I’d warned Jan, we did not hack our way through dense jungle with machetes. Rather, we followed dusty pothole-filled roads past gas-belching trucks, quiet roadside villages crumbling in the tropical heat, and palm oil plantations which stretched to the horizon. The most adventurous moments came when the road would dead-end into a placid blue river, and we’d have to load our motorbikes onto narrow motorboats and ferry them across.
We stayed in the village of Engkurai for a few days with Pak Bunau, a Dayak Kebahan artisan who not only makes kadedek mouth organs but also the taruntung mouth harp Jan was eager to hear and play. Jan and Pak Bunau swapped mouth harp lessons: Jan pulled at the taruntung’s string, trying his best to get the palm fiber harp to sound, while Pak Bunau cautiously put Jan’s European-style harps to his teeth, equally clueless how to make a sound. I was happy to see these relationships emerging: Borneo would no longer be just a mythical place for Jan. Rather, it would become a locus of real relationships between musicians. Nothing would be appropriated, simply shared with consent, understanding, and respect.
Those dreamy days in Engkurai soon came to an end as we packed up our bags full of taruntung and kadedek and waved smiling goodbyes to Pak Bunau and family. The next few days were a testament to the difficulty of travel in this corner of Indonesia: we slid through sticky mud puddles on motorbikes, dozed for hours (and hours and hours) in cramped, humid buses, and got stranded in far-flung market towns on more than one occasion. Jan took it all in stride, simply happy to be in a place that was greener and smilier than Dusseldorf.
The second leg of the trip was in Kapuas Hulu, a deep corner of West Kalimantan known for still having pockets of pristine jungle and traditional culture. Yadi led us to the area called Kayan Mendalam, a gorgeous river-side collection of communities where the local Kayan people hold proudly to ancient musical traditions even as their worlds continue to shift. For a few days, the Kayan musician and shaman Ibu Ana gracefully shared her home with us, a stilted wooden house full of pictures of Jesus and the sounds of buzzing cicadas. We spent our days taking lazy baths in the river, with Jan disappearing every once and a while into the forest behind Ibu Ana’s house to record those insectoid buzzings.
We ended our trip with an excursion to Sungai Utik, a community near the border with Malaysia which is known for fiercely protecting their native jungle against greedy land developers and shady government types angling to transform the land off which they live into another homogeneous palm oil plantation. Finally, Jan could see the jungle of his dreams. It was lovely, but must have been a bit of an anticlimax. The real beauty was in the people we met there, the tattooed men who climbed palms to harvest fresh palm wine for us and who later dined on civet meat with us in their longhouse as thunder boomed in the distance.
The man called Wolf Müller has been back in Europe for months now, trying, I imagine, to find a way to process the experiences and sounds he met in Borneo and capture them in something that does them justice. I’m sharing a preliminary track with you here: in it, you can hear Pak Bunau’s taruntung mouth harp setting the moody drone, with echoes of kadedek melting into minimalist xylophone straight from Ibu Ana’s house. These are not sounds simply sprung from a Teutonic imagination; rather, they are documents of real moments, real relationships, music humbly shared with curious foreigners in the understanding that their music will be shared with whole new audiences, their sounds transformed but unmistakably real. The resultant sound is, to flip Schulte’s quote around, music that describes places where the musician has been, where the musician has shared, and laughed, and river-bathed, and listened. It describes a place called Kalimantan, a place which has none of the pruned order of that European greenhouse, but is all the more beautiful for it.
Jan Schulte (Wolf Müller) has a handful of upcoming Europalia tour dates where he'll be playing brand new music from this Kalimantan project. The dates are:
10 11 '17 @ BOZAR NIGHT with Ellen Allien, Paula Temple and more, Brussels
11 11 '17 @ Meakusma & Amer Lab. pres. Europalia Indonesia, Eupen
11 01 '18 @ Kunstencentrum Vooruit, Gent
This post was commissioned by Europalia International Arts Festival.


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We were told that after the General Election we would see a different kind of politics. Yet last week’s Newton News on page 4 was full of hypocrisy, contradiction and falsehoods from Labours political opponents.
With reference to the article from Michael Stead where he stated that he has lived in Woodham for 17 years, he clearly doesn’t know the area as can be seen by the distribution of election material in wards outside of the election boundary! He says he is a successful businessman and accountant but has stated, and I quote: “I will never back another council tax rise…”; is this sound business management and accountancy practice?
Our Town Council is recognised as efficient, effective and value for money, and residents, in a latest survey, confirmed their satisfaction with the service it provides. Also, Professional Auditors; Mazars LLP, gave GATC a clean bill of health and stated in their annual report to Council: “the Annual Governance and Accountability Return is in accordance with Proper Practices and no other matters have come to our attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislative and regulatory requirements have not been met”.
Contrary to Michael Stead’s leaflet claims of wasting money and poor services, in fact the Town Council’s current Medium Term Financial Plan indicates the Council will be able to retain its activities and services for the next 5 years and also maintain our assets for the next 10 years, demonstrated through improvements and a Capital spend of £269,000. Woodham North residents can judge for themselves whether a council tax rise of 7p a week at band A is value for money when based on the wide range of services and facilities that their Town Council provides year on year.
Mr Stead has also claimed that our council tax costs us more than almost everywhere else in England, again claims he has not substantiated. Great Aycliffe residents pay a lower council tax than a number of towns in the county, even though they are smaller and provide fewer facilities. This constant false reporting only demonstrates Mr Stead’s inability to provide the real facts and anyone who has seen his posts on social media will know that he is mainly interested in cutting services to keep his own council tax low. As one of the most deprived areas in the country, County Durham has low property values and high social need, and Mr Stead is misleading you if he claims to be able to do anything about that as a Town Councillor. However, Aycliffe’s Labour run Town Council provides high value services at a relatively low cost to the rate payer.
This by-election offers the residents of Woodham North the opportunity to elect as its Town Councillor Brandon Fleet, who offers fresh ideas with real potential to make a difference. The future belongs to the young people of today, so please give him an opportunity to deliver a new tomorrow.
Cllr Eddy Adam

domain: politics


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Feeling unlucky? The artists over at Vagabond Comic Collective, Cleveland’s self-described independently published, all-ages comic anthology, may be inclined to concur.
The collective’s new issue, dubbed the “Unlucky Issue,” is a 90-page collection from 20 authors (featuring a lineup that includes Brendan Tobin, Leigh Gonzalez, Lindsey Bryan, Allison Gajewski, Seb Ortiz, Serena Fantozzi, and Theo Bosak) that shows what it means to be down on one’s luck.
Along with the stories that feature hilariously existentialist black cats, mummies and lottery tickets, Bostick says the high points of this issue’s production were the matte cover art from Quill Kolat and the artists’ character development from pervious issues. “The stories that came out of [our bad luck] were amazing,” says Vagabond co-founder Sequoia Bostick. “My favorite part is how everyone chose to interpret what the unlucky issue was to them.”
Bostick co-founded the collective with Amalia DeGirolamo. To be a vagabond is to be a wandering worker and Bostick and DeGirolamo are at the helm of Vagabond Comics’ wayfaring ship, as the duo work as the collective’s editors, illustrators and social media managers. Think of them as a pair of do-it-all artistic drifters.
But they’re not alone.
Bostick says she envisions the group’s aesthetic, and their mission, to be similar to stories told over a trash bin fire — everyone contributing what they can when they can to keep the light they put out into the world burning.
Nine years ago, she and five of her friends emerged from their studies at the Cleveland Institute of Art and their respective lives into a world they worried would be unforgiving. By July of 2015, they created a place where they could be themselves and encourage Cleveland’s budding comic community to grow.
“We started to give others more freedom to create and put out the work [they] want to put out,” Bostick says.” She estimates that the team has grown from just their group of six friends to around 20 contributors consistently over the past seven years. Issue one included work from Sequoia Bostick, Amalia DeGirolamo, Fabienne Duteau, Luke Graber, Salem Powell and Hazen Becker.
After a two-year pandemic-related hiatus, the collective is back and bringing their storytelling to Cleveland. But between rising printing costs, all-virtual formats and tough decisions to make on submissions, the group has had its fair share of challenges.
“Everything that could have gone wrong with this issue went wrong,” Bostick says.
To help support the collective and get your hands on your very own jinxed copy of this latest issue, visit their online Storenvy site or buy a digital download at their Gumroad site. You can also find Vagabond’s print copies by visiting local shops like Superscript Comic, Mac’s Backs - Books on Coventry, and Carol and John’s Comic Shop.

domain: literature


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Olivia Rodrigo Is Stepping Back From High School Musical: The Musical – The Series
9 March 2022, 13:29
Olivia Rodrigo is taking a step back from Disney series High School: The Musical – The Series after her music career took off last year.
Listen to this article
Olivia Rodrigo is heading on tour in April whilst also working on her second album, so it’s no surprise she’s had to take a step away from High School Musical: The Musical – The Series ahead of season three.
Instead of a main role in the new HSMTMTS, Olivia will have a recurring status throughout the series.
Olivia Rodrigo Sharing Unheard ‘Sour’ Song On ‘Driving Home 2 U’ Film
It comes after Olivia made a huge name for herself in the music industry last year, after her debut single ‘Drivers License’ went viral, leading to her first album, ‘Sour’ to break records in the week it was released last May.
Watch Olivia Rodrigo’s Driving Home 2 U - A Sour Film trailer
She also recently left her management company for Lighthouse Management, who look after stars like Selena Gomez and Jennifer Aniston.
According to ET Online, Olivia has ‘recurring status’ throughout the season, meaning she won’t appear as frequently as she did in the first two seasons, while three new actors have been cast to join the series regulars.
It could also be that Olivia wants to distance herself from rumoured ex-boyfriend Joshua Basset, who ‘Drivers License’ and much of her debut album is said to be inspired by.
The 18-year-old plays Nini in the series, a central character of the first two series thanks to her songwriting talent and relationship with Ricky [Bassett].
Season 3 follows the pupils at East High to Camp Shallow Lake for a summer camp experience, filled with romance, ‘the great outdoors’ and ‘curfew-less nights’ according to the show’s creator Tim Federle.
"I've always wanted to do summer stuff because I think summer is a time of letting go and not having a curfew, and the rules kind of change," Federle teased.
Whether fans will see Nini make an appearance at the camp remains to be seen.
> Here Are All The Ways You Can Listen To Capital

domain: entertainment


PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LA – If you are looking for a job opportunity, mark your calendar to attend the “Plaquemines Parish Getting Back to Work” free job fair on Thursday, September 23rd from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belle Chasse Auditorium.
Tri-Parish Works is presenting this event in collaboration with the Plaquemines Parish Government, Plaquemines Association of Business & Industry, Louisiana Workforce Commission, and American Job Center. This event provides job seekers with numerous opportunities for advancement can connect with employers who are looking for entry-level, mid-level, and professional candidates in a variety of fields.
Interviews and offers may be made during the event, job seekers are required to dress professionally and bring multiple copies of their resumes. For more information and to register as a job seeker, go to triparishworks.net, or contact Nikki Bartholomew at firstname.lastname@example.org or 504-278-6209.
Tri-Parish Works, a partner of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, manages the public workforce centers in St. Tammany, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes. The agency's goal is to foster a thriving and inclusive regional economy, resulting in increased economic opportunity and prosperity for the entire region.
Don Shea, Director of Business Services, describes Tri-Parish Works' multi-tiered assistance to both employers and job seekers in the region. He stated that Tri-Parish Works is pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with these organizations to host this job fair. “As the workforce development agency serving our region, Tri-Parish Works connects talent to opportunity. We invest substantial funding every year to train, educate and certify job seekers across all industry sectors, and we work closely with area employers to understand their workforce needs and provide them with financial support to offset the cost of providing on-the-job training that upgrades the workforce”, he added.
This is original content from NewsBreak’s Creator Program. Join today to publish and share your own content.


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"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
~ Elliot Erwitt
Nice shots. My complimentsMorris
Hello, gorgeous scenes and beautiful blues. Lovely post, enjoy your day!
Gorgeous views and beautifully captured! It makes me long for the warm days in shorts and sandals! Here it has been 41 degr. F. this week.
They are all stunning images.
I enjoyed watching the sea slap against boulders where calm water sits.JM, IL-U.S.A.
Those seascapes are so beautiful, and i thought it is a very tropical setting just like ours! Then i realized it is Queensland, yes!
wow. What a great place. If I visit Queensland again I´ll make sure to go to this beach :) Thanks for sharing :)
OH so beautiful. The colors of the water are amazing and I would love to be on that beach right now.
Gorgeous, gorgeous shots, Liz!
What an array of beautiful blues!
expansive views and pretty hues! :)
A beautiful sunny day filled with gorgeous sea scape.
Such beautiful seascapes!
It doesn't get any better than this!! Is that a man-made pool carved into the rocks? A really beautiful beach.
What incredible colours!
I could use some of that sun and sand right now. Winter dull skies and short days can take their toll. - Margy
Just beautiful. I can almost hear the waves crashing on the breakers.
Post a Comment

domain: geography


Capital Eye Opener, Oct. 23: Defense Spending Deadlock, Romney’s Mourdock Ad, and More
Your daily dose of what’s happening in money and politics:
DEFENSIVE DEBATE: There were plenty of mentions of the military in last night’s foreign policy debate, such as when President Obama needled Mitt Romney by informing him that we have fewer “horses and bayonets” than we did 100 years ago. Romney once again blamed Obama for the looming sequester that could require deep cuts in defense spending. And both nominees, it appears, like drones.
While our updated story from yesterday shows that Obama continues to receive more contributions from the military than Romney, the candidates are virtually deadlocked when it comes to contributions from the defense sector, according to Center for Responsive Politics data. The defense sector includes defense aerospace, defense electronics and other miscellaneous defense companies. Since April 2011, Obama has received $880,000 to Romney’s $829,000 from donors linked to these corporations.
Last month proved to be no different, with Obama raising $199,000 and Romney raising $193,000 from the sector. While defense isn’t one of the top contributors, it still manages to make a dent in the fundraising race.
PRICE FROM THE PUMP FALLS FOR ROMNEY: Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s contributions from the oil and gas industry fell to a four-month low, according for Center for Responsive Politics data. After bringing in more than $700,000 in both July and August, he reported receiving $525,000 in September.
Conversely, President Barack Obama had his best month with the oil and gas industry in September — at $125,000, he pulled in triple or quadruple what he was getting from the industry each month through May, and double what he received in June and July. Still, his take was less than a quarter what Romney collected from the industry. The oil and gas industry ranks ninth in contributions to Romney, giving $4.2 million in total. The industry has given Obama $522,000.
ROMNEY’S NEW SENATE AD: Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney appears in a new ad for senatorial candidate Richard Mourdock, the Indiana tea party Republican. In the ad, Romney says that Mourdock worked as treasurer with Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) to balance Indiana’s budget.
Mourdock, who won the Republican primary against Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who has been in office 36 years, finds himself in a tie with Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) according to a September poll by Howey/DePauw University. Donnelly has outraised Mourdock by $136,000, or about 2 percent of what they have both raised, according to Center for Responsive Politics data. Donnelly reported having $936,000 on hand as of Sept. 30, while Mourdock reported having $891,000.
Got a news tip or a link to pass along? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected].
Photo courtesy of mayhem, Flickr.


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Here are the newest additions to Part Two of my “The Best…” list on the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (you can see Part One here):
Japan observes a minute of silence as the search for missing people goes on is a slideshow from The Telegraph.
Japan’s History of Massive Earthquakes is a TIME Magazine slideshow.
Found In The Rubble of The Japanese Earthquake is another slideshow from TIME.
Teachers Respond to the Crisis in Japan is from The New York Times Learning Network.
The Wall Street Journal has put all their Japan interactives on one page now.
Here’s a wild video of when the tsunami hit:

domain: library


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To save up to 48% on this flight, we recommend booking at least 61 days prior to travel. The price may fluctuate and will likely increase closer to your departure date. Users on Cheapflights have found tickets from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport from £358 1-2 weeks out and tickets from £385 for flights departing within the next 72 hours.
When flying from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport, the time of day you decide to fly out makes little to no difference towards the overall price you’ll pay on tickets.
Our data shows that April tends to be the cheapest month to fly to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport from Scotland. Users have commonly found prices around £259 for the month, but tickets can be as low as £206. Due to multiple factors, prepare for potentially higher prices in March.
Most people fly into Lerwick Sumburgh (LSI) if they book a flight to Lerwick from Scotland. Sumburgh is conveniently located just 19.7 mi from Lerwick’s city centre.
Some of our airline partners flying from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh have new flexible policies in place due to COVID-19. Loganair is one of the carriers where you may find flexible change policies. You can use our site to filter for airlines like Loganair with this kind of flexibility.
Yes, there are multiple flights from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport for under £200. The cheapest flight booked recently is on Loganair for just £167, but on average you can expect to pay £203.
Cheapflights has 20 direct flights from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport under £200. A good price for a direct flight from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport is less than £203.
Most travellers choose Edinburgh Turnhouse - Lerwick Sumburgh, Glasgow Intl - Lerwick Sumburgh or Aberdeen Dyce - Lerwick Sumburgh when deciding on the best route from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport.
While on average a flight from Scotland to Lerwick Sumburgh Airport is generally £465, our data shows the cheapest flight currently is £351. When looking at the most popular route, (Edinburgh Turnhouse - Lerwick Sumburgh), you can expect to pay £224 for that flight.


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You need to understand that process of locating a suitable Middle Eastern snail mail order star of the wedding is different for all. However , there are a few things you have to know in order to get the right one for you. To start with, you should understand the needs from the woman who may have decided to have matters in to her very own hands. There are several women who will be in the United States and also other parts of the earth, but they don’t have a your life that belongs to them in these locations. A good way to figure out the woman is usually at ease with her your life in America or abroad is normally to inquire her how she feels regarding going to a further country.
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Should veganism be recognised as a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010?
A discrimination claim raised by a vegan who was dismissed by the charity which he worked for has led to an Employment Tribunal being asked to determine whether veganism should be recognised as a “philosophical belief” and therefore protected under the Equality Act 2010 (“the Act”).
What is a philosophical belief?
Under the Act it is unlawful to discriminate in the workplace because of religion, religious belief, philosophical belief or lack of religion or belief (click here for more information on discrimination in the workplace). Whilst the Act does not define precisely what a philosophical belief is and which specific beliefs are protected, through the development of case law there are certain criteria, set out below, which must be met in order for any belief to fall within the ambit of the Act.
- A belief must be genuinely held, although it doesn’t need to be shared by others;
- It must be a belief, not just an opinion or viewpoint based on the present state of information available;
- It must relate to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour;
- It must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance;
- It must be worthy of respect in a democratic society, not be incompatible with human dignity and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others;
- It must have a similar status or cogency to a religious belief, but it doesn’t need to allude to a fully-fledged system of thought.
These criteria are judged on a case by case basis, depending on the nature and extent of an individual’s belief, including the impact and affect the belief has on how they live their daily life. Beliefs which have been deemed to be capable of protection under the Act include humanism and the belief in man-made climate change.
What constitutes veganism?
Veganism is defined by the Vegan Society as: “A philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans; animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”
The claimant in this case is arguing that he is protected against discrimination as an ‘ethical vegan’: and that his beliefs affect all aspects of his life, not just his diet.
The employment tribunal claim
The claimant was a zoologist working as head of policy and research for the League Against Cruel Sports. He argues that he was dismissed after raising concerns that his employer’s pension fund was investing in companies that tested on animals. His employer’s position is that he was dismissed for gross misconduct after failing to follow express management instructions.
The Employment Tribunal will decide whether veganism is a protected philosophical belief and if it is, the discrimination claim will proceed to a full hearing.
If ethical veganism is given protected status, it will be significant for the steadily increasing vegan population in the UK (estimated figures currently stand at 600,000) and their employers. Employers will have to carefully consider whether their current policies and practices are suitable for employees with ethical vegan beliefs and make any necessary adjustments to ensure they are not discriminatory.
Human rights and veganism
Interestingly veganism is already considered as a protected belief under human rights legislation. In terms of the Human Rights Act 1998 all public authorities and other bodies carrying out public functions have to act in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 9 protects an individual’s right to freedom of thought, conscious and religion, including both the freedom to change religion or belief and a qualified right to manifest that belief. Currently a wide range of philosophical beliefs are recognised under Article 9 including veganism, humanism, atheism and pacifism.
In the meantime, Workbox users can find more information on religion or belief discrimination here.
If you would like to discuss anything raised in this blog, please get in touch with your usual Brodies contact.
See our latest blog on the case here, following the Employment Tribunal’s decision that ethical veganism was a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010.
The post Should veganism be recognised as a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010? appeared first on Brodies Blog.

domain: law


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Take a half-day tour of Belize City for a fascinating mix of old and new. From the mystic Mayan city of Altun Ha to the resurgence of modern Central America, much has happened in Belize City. More than 1,000 years of history has taken place here, and you'll see all the highlights in just a few hours.
This half-day tour focuses on the contrast between the ancient Mayan city of Altun Ha and modern-day Belize City, highlighting 1,000 years of development in this former British Colony. Altun Ha (Maya for "Rock Stone Water") thrived as a trading post to the Maya World during the Post-Classic and Classic periods.
Today, Belize City today is home to about 35% of the country's population and remains the commercial capital of the country though the official capital was moved to Belmopan in the interior in 1971.
Your city tour includes historical sites such as the redbrick St. John's Cathedral and the colonial mansion once occupied by the British Governors. You'll also notice the colonial wooden architecture of many of the houses during the tour.
Select a month to view a calendar of availability and departure details.
Tour departs from most Belize City hotels, the Domestic (Municipal) Airport in Belize City or the San Pedro-Belize Express Water Taxi Terminal in Belize City
Hotel pickups commence prior to this time, you must contact the local service provider to verify your exact pickup time.
Click the link below to check pricing & availability on your preferred travel date. Our pricing is constantly updated to ensure you always receive the lowest price possible.
Departs at 8:30am
USD $74.99Pricing details
Departs at 1:30pm
USD $74.99Pricing details
Altun Ha and Belize City Half-Day Tour
- Hotel pickup and drop off from select Belize City hotels
- Bottled water
- Entrance fees
- Local taxes
- Gratuities (optional)
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant rates apply provided they do not occupy a seat
- Cruise port pickup and drop off not available
If you cancel between 3 and 6 day(s) in advance of the scheduled departure, there is a 50 percent cancellation fee.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.
Reviewed by: Priscilla K. B, June 2014
An excellent tour. We enjoyed it very much. My only complaint, I thought that we were supposed to see some parts of Belize City.
Reviewed by: lawrence p, January 2013
To my great and well appreciated surprise, Rudi Thompson was the tour guide for this trip as well. I was thrilled when he walked through the hotel tours. He is a treasure!!!
Book him or request him in advance.


Tests are carried out as an atom bomb is dropped on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Thought to be Selected Originals from late 1940s material. 18/07/1946?
Title reads: "Experiment With Death". American voiceovered newsreel material.
Bikini, Marshall Islands.
C/U as a metronome ticks away the last few seconds on board the battleship "Pennsylvania", before the exploding of the atom bomb (number 4). A map shows the Bikini Atoll where the experiment is taking place. The aeroplane "Dave's Dream" starts up and takes off. M.P. Raymond Blackburn narrates the events as we see C/U's of the crew looking tense. M/S elevated shot of U.S. sailors on board a ship, sitting on deck, shielding their eyes against the rays of the atom. C/U sailors adjust antiglare glasses over their eyes. VS onboard plane. A map shows an animation of the explosion. M/S of sailors onboard ship, they turn their backs to the glare as the bomb explodes. L/S of sailors lining the rails of the ship and watching the smoke as it rises. Various good shots of the explosion and mushroom cloud. More shots of the plane and the mushroom cloud.
Various shots of fire fighting ships, they play hoses onto the burning ships in the Bikini lagoon. C/U of the American submarine "Skate", totally wrecked. M/S of the explosion again.
Possibly connected with 46/57 - MD.


text: BACKGROUND: Trials of weight-loss drugs indicate some benefits on lipids, blood glucose, or blood pressure levels. Since obesity is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) medication use and pharmaceutical costs, weight-loss drug use could beeficially impact CV medication use. OBJECTIVE: We examined the temporal associations between CV drugs use 3 years before and after the initiation of orlistat, a weight-loss drug. DESIGN: An historical cohort study in the PHARMO pharmacy registry among new users of orlistat, who were in the database at least 3 years before and after such drug initiation. We assessed the prevalence of use of antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and lipid-lowering drugs within a 6-month period before and after orlistat initiation. Slopes and changes in slopes between these two periods were calculated using logistic generalized estimating equations and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are presented. RESULTS: A total of 6139 subjects had a prescription of orlistat between January 1992 and May 2009. Mean +/- SD age was 46.5 +/- 12.5 years, with a majority of female (88.7%). Use of antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and lipid-lowering drugs increased over time, but after start of orlistat the slopes levelled-off.Initiation of orlistat resulted in a significant change in slope for antihypertensive (OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.77-0.81), antidiabetic (0.86; 0.83-0.90), and lipid-lowering drugs (0.84; 0.81-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest a potential cost-effectiveness oforlistat, with a reduction in any cardiovascular comedication use over time. By potentially reducing costs of other medications use, orlistat remains as a unique option for tackling the obesity epidemic.


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It was hard to get excited about the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, but give the South Koreans credit for overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to pull the games off — and pull them off exceptionally well.
The odds were stacked against them. Few people know where Pyeongchang is and the Korean mountains lack the ambiance of Europe’s Alps and North America’s Rockies. The northern coastal range is known for its frigid Siberian winds and subzero temperatures. Both arrived in the first week of competition and disrupted skiing and snowboarding.
A month ago, the world’s attention was on the growing North Korean nuclear threat and whether its unpredictable dictator Kim Jong-un would disrupt the games. The saber-rattling on all sides was unnerving. Who would want to go to the Olympics which were a mere 50 miles south of the demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea?
But the Seoul government was creative. It invited all Korean athletes to march in the opening ceremonies under a new unified flag — and even offered to put hockey players from the north on a combined team. It was a deal even Kim Jong-un could not refuse.
Pyeongchang, a city of 43,700, was the smallest community since the Lillehammer, Norway, (1994) to host the games. It stretched its resources, but from all reports the fans, athletes and dignitaries loved the warmth and friendliness of its people.
Interestingly, while many nations are rethinking whether to bid on the Olympics, the Koreans welcomed the opportunity. They cost billions. For example, the Russians spent over $50 billion to put on the 2014 Sochi games. Today, many of Sochi’s Olympic buildings are unoccupied and rotting. By preliminary estimates, Pyeongchang spent $12.9 billion.
The competition results were bittersweet for America. We were fourth in the medal count behind Norway, Germany and Canada.
Our snowboarders did predictably well, while our skaters struggled. Cross-country skiers Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins were the first Americans to win Nordic gold and our men curlers, facing elimination, caught fire and beat Sweden in the finals — another first-time gold.
The frosting on the cake was the women’s U.S. hockey team knocking off Canada for gold. It brought back vivid memories of the 1980 men’s team beating the Russians and Czechs at Lake Placid in what became known as the “Miracle on Ice.”
NBC’s Tom Brokaw narrated a special report talking about the “Korean Miracle” starting with the Korean War (1950-1953) in which three million people died. The nation was leveled much as Poland was destroyed by German and Russian forces in World War II.
Brokaw talked about the Korean people’s hard work, entrepreneurship, educated and skilled workers, and determination which made it the world’s top manufacturer of semi-conductors and high-tech devices. That technology was showcased in the very creative opening and closing ceremonies.
South Korea, which is about the size of Indiana, has 51 million people and is the world’s 11th largest economy ($1.383 trillion).
In 2015, more than 56 percent of Washington’s $2.4 billion exports to South Korea were aircraft, engines and parts. Washington shipped $44 million in fresh cherries to Korea — 23 percent increase since the trade agreement between our two nations was adopted.
According to Brokaw, a key driver in the “Korean Miracle” is its strong education system in which students must work hard to pass comprehensive examinations to advance and be accepted into college. “They get only one chance to pass the exams and that’s it!”
While America struggles with student learning in its K-12 system, Korea’s highly educated and trained students are rapidly propelling their economy.
South Korea’s success goes far beyond the Olympics and hopefully, the goodwill from the games fosters a new spirit of peace.
Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He recently retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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1. What is biodiesel and how is it made?
Biodiesel is a renewable source of fuel, and is an alternative to petroleum. It's base is vegetable oil, and it runs in diesel engines. Usually made from soy, rapeseed, fryer, or canola oil, it can also be made by various other plants or seeds that produce oil. These are all grown domestically, and would greatly reduce dependence on Arab countries for oil. It order to make it proper for use, it must go through a production process which takes out extra fatty acids and turns the oil into esters, which are certain chemical compounds. After this proce…
- American Medical Association
- Basic Essay on Computers from PC to Mainframe with Case Study on Networking
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domain: chemistry


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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2017 at 5:03:52 pm and is filed under Love without Borders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Love. No Boundaries: A Film by The Photo Diary
Love without Borders - Nov 29, 2017
For India’s LGBTQ community, the journey to acceptance and recognition is still a long road ahead. True equality and approval, whether at the societal level, the political or the judicial, is patchy, superfluous or in many cases, simply non-existent. But all journeys, however tough, start with a single step. And these steps turn into strides.
As a fellow traveller in this journey and as part of the LGBTQ community, Monisha Ajgaonkar, founder of The Photo Diary, brings us a video that offers a snippet into the representation of lesbians, the struggles they face at important junctures in their lives and the promise of hope and happiness.
The video opens to a bride, lost in thought, getting ready to say ‘I do’. Like any other bride, she’s getting her make up done, the marked absence of any other people around barely noteworthy. Until her phone rings and the word ‘Mom’ flashes. And then you know. Her family isn’t with her on this, one of the biggest days of her life!
The reassuring voice of a matriarch comes on, offering comfort and support, exactly what a bride wants on her big day. She acknowledges her standing firm on her decision of getting married to the love of her life. It is a crucial point in the film when her mother tells her that she could not be a part her wedding because it was against her father’s wishes, but she encourages her by telling her that she is doing the right thing.
Alone, she walks to the aisle and in the distance, we see her partner. It is a poignant moment – heavy with multiple layers of meaning and emotion. And suddenly, her fiancé wolf whistles at her, immediately brightening the bride’s face and drawing smiles from the guests. Suddenly there is joy and laughter. We see two women yes, marrying each other, yes but we also witness the timelessness of love rising above mere human boundaries.
An advocate of free expression of one’s sexuality, Monisha Ajgaonkar made this video with an aim to shine the light on the lesbian community. “The transgender and gay communities have been exceptional at promoting and bringing light to their communities and at making them heard, however, there is not much done for the lesbian community,” she says.
She points out how lack of knowledge makes it more difficult for women in India to come out of the closet and as a result, many remain unhappy. She says, “The little literature that is out there about the lesbian community in India, brands women who are tomboyish and have a manly character as lesbian, however that is not true. Sexuality is not confined to appearance, it is innate.”
Through this project, Monisha hopes to raise awareness and believes people in India will soon overcome the stigma associated with homosexual relationships and marriages. She concludes by saying, “A marriage is the union of two souls that love each other. It has nothing to do with gender. I would like people of all ages and genders in India to watch this short film and understand that same-sex marriage is no different from a heterosexual one.”
Cast: Deeptii Mohan, Monisha Ajgaonkar
Director: Archana Thapliyal
Shot by: Manish Usapkar
Script: Rajdeep Ghosh
Voice Over: Komal Chhabria
Post production: Magic Farm Studio (Mumbai)
Planner: One Stop Entertainment (Mumbai)
Set design and styling: Altair Décor (Mumbai)
Florals: Floral Art by Srishti (Mumbai)
Costumes and Styling: Label D by Dimple Shroff
Hair and Makeup: Shamlee Bhagat (Mumbai)
Jewellery: MK Jewels (Mumbai)
Location: Jade Garden (Mumbai)
Video: The Photo Diary


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Author(s): DARIUSZ BORUCZKOWSKI1, KATARZYNA PAWELEC1,2, MACIEJ BORUCZKOWSKI3,DOMINIKA GÅADYSZ1
Cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells have been used in the clinic for more than 25years, and right now another source of neonatal stem cells, cord tissue, comes into spotlight.A part of umbilical cord, called Wharton’s jelly, is an abundant source of mesenchymal stemcells which hold promise for regenerative medicine. Their high proliferation and differentia-tion capabilities as well non or weakly immunogenic characteristics makes them good can-didates even for an allogenic use. Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells have been widely usedin treating Graft-versus-Host Disease. Worldwide they have been already used in therapy ofvarious gynecological (i.a. urinary and anal incontinence) and neurological disorders (i.a.cerebral palsy) with preliminary promising results. First neurological patients currently under-go stem cell treatment as experimental therapy after individual bioethical committee approval.

domain: biology


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County Executive Chris Abele Endorsed by Local Elected LEaders
“I am honored to have this support and look forward to continuing to collaborate with every level of government to improve our community.”
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele today announced the endorsement of more local elected leaders.
Endorsing leaders include:
Congressman Mark Pocan
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca
Former Greendale Village President John Hermes
Milwaukee Alderman Ashanti Hamilton
Milwaukee Alderman Jim Bohl
Oak Creek Alderman Daniel Bukiewicz
Former Milwaukee Alderman Willie Wade
Milwaukee School Board President Michael Bonds
Upon receiving the support from this distinguished group of leaders representing every corner of Milwaukee County and those who want to see Milwaukee County succeed, County Executive Abele released the following statement:
“I am honored to have the support of current and former elected officials that are working everyday to make sure that every individual in Milwaukee County and Wisconsin gets high quality services and amenities. I am honored to have this support and look forward to continuing to collaborate with every level of government to improve our community.”
For more information on Chris Abele or his campaign for County Executive, please visit www.chrisabele.com.
Chris Abele for County Executive
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by County Executive Chris Abele
County Executive Abele Announces New Dedicated Revenue for County Parks and Transportation in 2018 BudgetSep 22nd, 2017 by County Executive Chris Abele
Public Input Received Through Engage MKE Initiative Prioritizes New Revenue Over Service Cuts
Abele Appointee to County Office on African American Affairs Wins Unanimous Support from County Board’s Economic Development CommitteeSep 18th, 2017 by County Executive Chris Abele
OAAA Poised to Continue Important Workforce Development Work Under Director Nicole Brookshire
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele announced today that the world-class Chinese lantern festival, China Lights: The Magic Returns, will open to the public Sept. 22 at Boerner Botanical Gardens.

domain: news


Configure GlobalProtect to Facilitate Multi-Factor Authentication
To protect critical applications and stop attackers from using stolen credentials to conduct lateral movement throughout your network, you can configure policy-based multi-factor authentication (MFA). This ensures that each user responds to multiple authentication challenges of different types (factors) before they can access highly sensitive services and applications.
If a user session matches the Authentication policy, the type of application or service determines the user experience for notifications about the authentication challenge:
- (Windows or Mac endpoints only)Non-browser-based applications—To facilitate MFA notifications for non-HTTP applications (such as Perforce) on Windows or Mac endpoints, a GlobalProtect client is required. When a session matches an Authentication policy rule, the firewall sends a UDP notification to the GlobalProtect client with an embedded URL link to the Authentication Portal page. The GlobalProtect client then displays this message as a pop up notification to the user.
- Browser-based applications—Browser-based applications do not require GlobalProtect to display notification messages to the user. When the firewall identifies a session as web-browsing traffic (based on App-ID), the firewall automatically presents the user with Authentication Portal page (previously called the Captive Portal page) specified in the Authentication policy rule. For more information, see Configure Multi-Factor Authentication.
To configure GlobalProtect to display MFA notifications for non-browser-based applications, use the following workflow:
- Before you configure GlobalProtect, configure multi-factor authentication on the firewall.If you are using two-factor authentication with GlobalProtect to authenticate to the gateway or portal, a RADIUS server profile is required. If you are using GlobalProtect to notify the user about an authentication policy match (UDP message), a Multi Factor Authentication server profile is sufficient.To use multi-factor authentication for protecting sensitive resources, the easiest solution is to integrate the firewall with an MFA vendor that is already established in your network. When your MFA structure is ready, you can start configuring the components of your authentication policy. For more information, refer to Configure Multi-Factor Authentication.
- Enable Captive Portal to record authentication timestamps and update user mappings.
- Create server profiles that define how the firewall will connect to the services that authenticate users.
- Assign the server profiles to an Authentication profile which specifies authentication parameters.
- Configure a Security policy rule that allows users to access the resources that require authentication.
- (External gateways only) For GlobalProtect to support multi-factor authentication on external gateways, you must Configure a response page for the ingress tunnel interface on the firewall:
- Select.DeviceResponse PagesMFA Login Page
- Select and thenExportthePredefinedtemplate to a location of your choice.
- On your client system, use an HTML editor to customize the downloaded response page and save it with a unique filename.
- Return to theMFA Login Pagedialog on the firewall,Importyour customized page,Browseto select theImport File, select theDestination(virtual system or shared location), clickOK, and clickClose.
- (External gateways only) EnableResponse Pagesas a permitted service on theInterface Mgmtprofile:
- Selectand then select the profile.NetworkNetwork ProfilesInterface Mgmt
- In thePermitted Servicesarea, selectResponse Pagesand clickOK.
- (External gateways only) Attach theInterface Mgmtprofile to a tunnel interface:
- Select, and the tunnel interface on which you want to use the response page.NetworkInterfacesTunnel
- SelectAdvanced, and then select theInterface Mgmtprofile you configured in the previous step as theManagement Profile.
- (External gateways only)Enable User Identificationon the Zone associated with the tunnel interface ().NetworkZones<tunnel-zone
- Configure GlobalProtect clients to support multi-factor authentication notifications for non-browser-based applications.
- Selectand select a portal configuration (orNetworkGlobalProtectPortalsAddone).
- SelectAgentand then select an existing agent configuration orAddone.
- In theApptab, specify the following:
- SetEnable Inbound Authentication Prompts from MFA GatewaystoYes. To support multi-factor authentication (MFA), a GlobalProtect client must receive and acknowledge UDP prompts that are inbound from the gateway. SelectYesto enable a GlobalProtect client to receive and acknowledge the prompt. By default, the value is set toNomeaning GlobalProtect will block UDP prompts from the gateway.
- InNetwork Port for Inbound Authentication Prompts (UDP), specify the port number a GlobalProtect client uses to receive inbound authentication prompts from MFA gateways. The default port is 4501. To change the port, specify a number from 1 to 65535.
- InTrusted MFA Gateways, specify the list of authentication gateways a GlobalProtect client will trust for multi-factor authentication. When a GlobalProtect client receives a UDP message on the specified network port, GlobalProtect displays an authentication message only if the UDP prompt comes from a trusted gateway.
- Configure theDefault Message for Inbound Authentication Prompts. When users try to access a resource that requires additional authentication, GlobalProtect receives a UDP packet containing the inbound authentication prompt and displays this message. The UDP packet also contains the URL for the Authentication Portal page you specified in Configure Multi-Factor Authentication. GlobalProtect automatically appends the URL to the message. For example, to display the notification shown in the beginning of this topic enter the following message:You have attempted to access a protected resource that requires additional authentication. Proceed to authenticate at:
- Save the agent configuration (clickOKtwice), and thenCommityour changes.
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THE WRECK SLEEPS in darkness, a puzzlement of corroded steel strewn across a thousand acres of the North Atlantic seabed. Fungi feed on it. Weird colorless life-forms, unfazed by the crushing pressure, prowl its jagged ramparts. From time to time, beginning with the discovery of the wreck in 1985 by Explorer-in- Residence Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel, a robot or a manned submersible has swept over Titanics gloomy facets, pinged a sonar beam in its direction, taken some images—and left.
In recent years explorers like James Cameron and Paul-Henry Nargeolet have brought back increasingly vivid pictures of the wreck. Yet we’ve mainly glimpsed the site as though through a keyhole, our view limited by the dreck suspended in the water and the ambit of a submersible’s lights. Never have we been able to grasp the relationships between all the disparate pieces of wreckage. Never have we taken the full measure of what’s down there.
Until now. In a tricked-out trailer on a back lot of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), William Lange stands over a blown-up sonar survey map of the Titanic site (see poster)—a meticulously stitched-together mosaic that has taken months to construct. At first look the ghostly image resembles the surface of the moon, with innumerable striations in the seabed, as well as craters caused by boulders dropped over millennia from melting icebergs.
On closer inspection, though, the site appears to be littered with man-made detritus—a Jackson Pollock-like scattering of lines and spheres, scraps and shards. Lange turns to his computer and points to a portion of the map that has been brought to life by layering optical data onto the sonar image. He zooms in, and in, and in again. Now we can see the Titanic s bow in gritty clarity, a gaping black hole where its forward funnel once sprouted, an ejected hatch cover resting in the mud a few hundred feet to the north. The image is rich in detail: In one frame we can even make out a white crab clawing at a railing.
Here, in the sweep of a computer mouse, is the entire wreck of the Titanic—every bollard, every davit, every boiler. What was once a largely indecipherable mess has become a high-resolution crash scene photograph, with clear patterns emerging from the murk. “Now we know where everything is,” Lange says. “After a hundred years, the lights are finally on.”
Bill Lange is the head of WHOI’s Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory, a kind of high-tech photographic studio of the deep. A few blocks from Woods Holes picturesque harbor, on the southwestern elbow of Cape Cod, the laboratory is an acoustic-tiled cave crammed with high-definition television monitors and banks of humming computers. Lange was part of the original Ballard expedition that found the wreck, and he’s been training ever more sophisticated cameras on the site ever since.
This imagery, the result of an ambitious multimillion-dollar expedition undertaken in August-September 2010, was captured by three state-of-the-art robotic vehicles that flew at various altitudes above the abyssal plain in long, preprogrammed swaths. Bristling with side-scan and multibeam sonar as well as high definition optical cameras snapping hundreds of images a second, the robots systematically “mowed the lawn,” as the technique is called, working back and forth across a three-by-five mile target area of the ocean floor. These ribbons of data have now been digitally stitched together to assemble a massive high-definition picture in which everything has been precisely gridded and geo-referenced.
“This is a game-changer,” says National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) archaeologist James Delgado, the expedition’s chief scientist. “In the past, trying to understand Titanic was like trying to understand Manhattan at midnight in a rainstorm—with a flashlight. Now we have a site that can be understood and measured, with definite things to tell us. In years to come this historic map may give voice to those people who were silenced, seemingly forever, when the cold water closed over them.”
Why, a century later, do people still lavish so much brainpower and technological ingenuity upon this graveyard of metal more than two miles beneath the ocean surface? Why, like Pearl Harbor, ground zero, and only a few other hallowed disaster zones, does it exert such a magnetic pull on our imagination? For some the sheer extravagance of Titanic’s demise lies at the heart of its attraction. This has always been a story of superlatives: A ship so strong and so grand, sinking in water so cold and so deep. For others the Titanic’s fascination begins and ends with the people on board. It took two hours and 40 minutes for the Titanic to sink, just long enough for 2,208 tragic-epic performances to unfold, with the ship’s lights blazing. One coward is said to have made for the lifeboats dressed in women’s clothing, but most people were honorable, many heroic. The captain stayed at the bridge, the band played on, the Marconi wireless radio operators continued sending their distress signals until the very end. The passengers, for the most part, kept to their Edwardian stations. How they lived their final moments is the stuff of universal interest, a danse macabre that never ends.
But something else, beyond human lives, went down with the Titanic: An illusion of orderliness, a faith in technological progress, a yearning for the future that, as Europe drifted toward full-scale war, was soon replaced by fears and dreads all too familiar to our modern world. “The Titanic disaster was the bursting of a bubble,” James Cameron told me. “There was such a sense of bounty in the first decade of the 20th century. Elevators! Automobiles! Airplanes! Wireless radio! Everything seemed so wondrous, on an endless upward spiral. Then it all came crashing down.”
THE MOTHER of all shipwrecks has many homes—literal, legal, and metaphorical – but none more surreal than the Las Vegas Strip. At the Luxor Hotel, in an upstairs entertainment court situated next to a striptease show and a production of Menopause the Musical, is a semi-permanent exhibition of Titanic artifacts brought up from the ocean depths by RMS Titanic, Inc., the wrecks legal salvager since 1994. More than 25 million people have seen this exhibit and similar RMST shows that have been staged in 20 countries around the world.
I spent a day at the Luxor in mid-October, wandering among the Titanic relics: A chef’s toque, a razor, lumps of coal, a set of perfectly preserved serving dishes, innumerable pairs of shoes, bottles of perfume, a leather Gladstone bag, a champagne bottle with the cork still in it. They are mostly ordinary objects made extraordinary for the long, terrible journey that brought them to these clean Plexiglas cases.
I passed through a darkened chamber kept as cold as a meat locker, with a Freon-fed “iceberg” that visitors can go up to and touch. Piped-in sighs and groans of rending metal contributed to the sensation of being trapped in the belly of a fatally wounded beast. The exhibits centerpiece, however, was a gargantuan slab of Titanic’s hull, known as the “big piece,” that weighs 15 tons and was, after several mishaps, hoisted by crane from the seabed in 1998. Studded with rivets, ribbed with steel, this monstrosity of black metal reminded me of a T. rex at a natural history museum: impossibly huge, pinned and braced at great expense—an extinct species hauled back from a lost world.
The RMST exhibit is well-done, but over the years many marine archaeologists have had harsh words for the company and its executives, calling them grave robbers, treasure hunters, carnival barkers—and worse. Robert Ballard, who has long argued that the wreck and all its contents should be preserved in situ, has been particularly caustic in his criticism of RMST’s methodologies. “You don’t go to the Louvre and stick your finger on the Mona Lisa,” Ballard told me. “You don’t visit Gettysburg with a shovel. These guys are driven by greed—just look at their sordid history.
In recent years, however, RMST has come under new management and has taken a different course, shifting its focus away from pure salvage toward a long-term plan for approaching the wreck as an archaeological site—while working in concert with scientific and governmental organizations most concerned with the Titanic. In fact, the 2010 expedition that captured the first view of the entire wreck site was organized, led, and paid for by RMST. In a reversal from years past, the company now supports calls for legislation creating a protected Titanic maritime memorial. Late in 2011 RMST announced plans to auction off its entire $189 million collection of artifacts and related intellectual property in time for the disaster’s hundredth anniversary—but only if it can find a bidder willing to abide by the stringent conditions imposed by a federal court, including that the collection be kept intact.
I met RMST’s president, Chris Davino, at the company’s artifacts warehouse, tucked next to a dog grooming parlor in a nondescript block on the edge of Atlanta’s Buckhead district. Deep inside the climate-controlled brick building, a forklift trundled down the long aisles of industrial shelving stacked with meticulously labeled crates containing relics—dishes, clothing, letters, bottles, plumbing pieces, portholes—that were retrieved from the site over the past three decades. Here Davino, a dapper, Jersey shore-raised “turnaround professional” who has led RMST since 2009, explained the company’s new tack. “For years, the only thing that all the voices in the Titanic community could agree on was their disdain of us,” he said. “So it was time to reassess everything. We had to do something beyond artifact recovery. We had to stop fighting with the experts and start collaborating with them.” —>PAGE 2