Back in 1994 the voters of Oregon passed a ballot initiative to establish the first ever legal assisted suicide law in the nation. The Oregon law allows adults with incurable diseases who are likely to die in six months to obtain lethal drugs from their doctors. The doctors may prescribe but not administer the drugs, and they are granted immunity from liability.
In 1997, while he was still just a senator from Missouri, John Ashcroft wrote then Attorney General Janet Reno requesting she declare that physician-assisted suicide involving doctors violated federal law. She declined, saying that individual states should be allowed to regulate their own doctors. When Mr. Ashcroft became attorney general in 2001, he reversed Ms. Reno's position and issued a directive saying that doctors who prescribe lethal drugs to patients under the Oregon law could face federal sanctions and prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act.
A challenge to Ashcroft's directive was brought in 2001 by a doctor, a pharmacist, several terminally ill patients, and the State of Oregon. Yesterday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case and said in effect that Ashcroft is apparently for limited federal powers except when he's AGAINST limited federal powers, like in this case, where he thinks he should be able to tell everyone what's morally right because he's a sanctified born-again.
The majority of judges on the Ninth Circuit used unusually pointed language to rebuke Ashcroft, saying he had overstepped his authority in trying to block enforcement of Oregon's Death With Dignity Act.
"The attorney general's unilateral attempt to regulate general medical practices historically entrusted to state lawmakers," Judge Richard C. Tallman wrote for the majority, "interferes with the democratic debate about physician-assisted suicide and far exceeds the scope of his authority under federal law." (New York Times coverage here.)
The case was simply about who gets to decide, and the court ruled that it ain't Mr. Ashcroft (who's also been angling, you might know it! to get his hands around every uterus in the land too).
Judge Tallman, who wrote the majority opinion for the Ninth Circuit, is considered one of the conservatives on that court, which might have some impact on whether Ashcroft decides to appeal to The Supremes.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Appeals Court Chastises Ashcroft
Posted by J.W. Williamson at 5/27/2004 10:15:00 AM
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A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) has called for more sensitization on women menstrual hygiene management and the provision of sanitary facilities in schools.
Water Aid representative Giyani Sakala made the appeal in Mwense yesterday during the orientation meeting for District Water Sanitation Health Education (D-WASHE) committee members on School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) programme.
Mr. Sakala said menstrual hygiene management can be achieved through the provision of adequate facilities and sanitary products especially in schools.
He said lack of sanitary facilities and affordable sanitary products in schools have contributed to some girls dropping out of school and increased susceptibility to infection.
And speaking during the same meeting, Mwense District Council director of works Patrick Chishimba said government recognizes that good sanitation and hygiene practices are important for good health.
Mr. Chishimba said most children spend significant time in and around their schools adding that lack of appropriate facilities may discourage them from attending school.
He added that poor sanitation can also result in increased incidents of disease which can lead to poor attendance and performance at school
He further emphasized the need for hand washing as it was the first line of defence against many illnesses.
Mr. Chishimba said hand washing reduces the spread of infectious diseases, reinforces healthy behaviours and results in a more productive and healthy school population.

domain: health


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JDE Peet’s plans to roll out a new programme to assess and address coffee-related deforestation globally in collaboration with Enveritas.
It will help measure the extent of coffee-related deforestation, allowing local operators, governments, NGOs, and farmers to mitigate their deforestation risks.
Fabien Simon, CEO of JDE Peet's commented, “At JDE Peet’s, we are committed to delivering sustainable growth that creates both shareholder return and societal value.[...].
“I am excited that this innovative new programme, which is fully aligned with the EU's regulation on deforestation-free products, will ensure continued access to the EU market for the millions of smallholder farmers we work with around the world.”
JDE Peet’s has completed a successful pilot in Vietnam and has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The company expects to sign MOUs with additional coffee producing countries over the next several months.
These agreements aim to ensure that coffee producers export coffee grown on land that was not deforested after 2020.
If the coffee does not meet these requirements, JDE Peet’s will support local authorities, NGOs, and farmers to reforest the land, it added.
David Browning, CEO of Enveritas commented, “Millions of smallholder farmers around the world rely upon coffee income to pay for their children’s health, education, and nutritional needs. The new EU regulation risked significant new complexities and processes in the coffee supply chain, which could mean new costs for vulnerable populations least able to afford it, and also risk market access.
“We are honoured to be a part of this innovative collaboration with JDE Peet’s which brings together public, private, and philanthropic organisations to address deforestation in a manner which also protects smallholder farmers.”

domain: agronomy


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06-01-2003 Belgium legalizes same-sex marriage. It becomes the second country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands. “Statutory cohabitation,” open to any two persons living together was possible since January 1, 2000.
06-01-2014 All counties in Illinois begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses under legislation signed into law in 2013. Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Illinois since a law signed by Governor Pat Quinn on November 20, 2013 took effect on this day in 2014.

domain: news


Wheel Stops - Truck & HGVTruck and HGV wheel stops offer an effective solution to prevent large vehicles from backing into walls, fences and other vehicles. Parking a large vehicle can be very difficult especially when doing it in reverse. The risk of backing up into objects is high when parking a truck as it has more blind spots than smaller vehicles. Such a collision could result in your property being damaged and the fee of repairing those damages can increase your operating costs.
Applying Truck and HGV wheel stops to areas such as loading and parking bays dedicated to trucks and other large vehicles will greatly reduce the risk of your property being damaged, as these kerbs either stop the vehicle from proceeding or the impact between the wheels and the wheel stops alerts the driver that he/she is parking too close to objects. We have a wonderful selection of wheel stops designed to assist you regulate the parking of vehicles in and around your property. They are easily installed into both concrete and tar and can be bolted in for extra endurance.
Some of our Truck & HGV wheel stops are made from recycled and reinforced rubber that will not break or disintegrate like similar products that are made from plastic or concrete would do. This gives our wheel stops longevity and makes them suitable for installation outdoors where they are also exposed to harsh elements such as the weather and physical abuse.
Avoid unnecessary accidents associated with parking large vehicles by getting your very own truck wheel stops. We offer a safe and secure shopping system and swift delivery of all orders in and around the UK, ensuring that you have your product within days of your purchase.
Get your Truck & HGV wheel stops online from Pittman today and enjoy the benefits they provide.


Purple Mattress Making People Sick
Entering 2019, the mattress industry is flooded with many different brands. The post below has the top 8 mattresses of 2018. They are detailed in no certain order. Purple Mattress Making People Sick
If you get on the search for the best mattress, then you can’t fail if you choose among the mattresses below.
- Many individuals claim, that Puffy Mattress is without a doubt, one of the most comfortable mattresses available. They say that is is comparable to sleeping on a cloud.Also, customers suffering from back pain, say that they feel relief with Puffy’s Adaptive Flexible Cloud Technology. One of the things that make Puffy mattress stand out, is that you not only get a 101 night sleep trial. but, also a life time warranty.
- For your money, this is one of the best mattresses available.Very high quality mattress. Puffy is made-to-order so it does take 2 days until it’s shipped to you.
- The top layer of Puffy mattress is made of Cooling Cloud Relief Foam; which is CertiPUR-US Certified.The Cooling Cloud Relief foam layer is responsible for making you feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud.The bottom layer of Puffy is made of Firm Core Support Foam, which is also CertiPUR-US certified.
- DreamCloud mattress is another fantastic mattress choice.DreamCloud has a very good bounce, for better contouring. This is due to it’s hypoallergenic natural latex coating.
- Some of DreamCloud’s best features are it’s cashmere and flax yarn blend; along side it’s stitched handles. With a price of $1199 for a Queen, you can’t go wrong.
- DreamCloud is a luxury hybrid mattress, offering an entire year sleep trial; versus the typical 100 night trial. DreamCloud uses a new pocket coil technology. This makes production costs much cheaper than other luxury brands. Because of that, the customer has the savings passed on to them.
- The double-sided Layla mattress that allows sleepers to choose between different firmness levels, depending on which side they choose to face up. The feeling of this product is different than any other you have really felt. This helps you to not only spring back really quickly, but also allows you to stay cool. Purple Mattress Making People Sick
- The comfortable layer for the milder side of the mattress consists of 3 inches of copper infused memory foam (3.5 lb density). This is a pretty thick layer of memory foam, which is a soft cloth that will allow the sleeper to sink in for pressure relief.
- Layla offers a four month sleep trial period, along with a lifetime warranty. This is a huge selling point, because a 10 year guarantee is offered only by companies.
- Nest Bedding actually holds the award for both the Top Rated and Top Ranked brand online. They really thrive off of their customer satisfaction. They offer a lifetime warranty, as well as a lifetime comfort guarantee.
- With Nest Bedding, their models can all be found with different firmness options. With the lineup consisting of 2 memory foam beds, 1 latex and 3 hybrids, you are sure to find the mattress that is the right fit for you.So it doesn’t matter if you’re lighter, heavier, sleep on your side, or you deal with chronic pain. Nest can fit your own preferences.
- Nest Bedding was also one of the first companies to sell mattresses online. With a lineup of six beds that were different, Nest mattresses are made with each sleeper in mind.
- The Nature’s Sleep mattress differs from many mattress brands on the marketplace, as it is made with 4 layers of foam.Nature’s 4 layers provide support for individuals who are heavier. It also helps out by decreasing motion transfer.
- One of Nature’s layers is comprised of Vitex Memory Foam.. This layer not only helps assist the sleeper. It also provides them with pressure relief. This helps you get a great nights rest.
- The Nature’s Sleep mattress includes a 20 year guarantee, compared with the vast majority of mattresses having a 10 year. This mattress is a little more costly than some.Butthis warranty, as well as being made out of emerald gel makes this mattress well worth the additional price.
- Plushbeds mattresses are toxin free, and are certified with GreenGuard Gold status. This ensures each mattress is not only comfortable, but safe as well.
- PlushBeds offers latex mattresses with a focus on natural, organic substances. There are 3 mattress models in Plushbeds lineup: There are a total of six different firmness for each mattress, with a split firmness option available for King and Cal King sizes.
- Plushbeds offers free shipping on their mattresses. This along side a 25 year warranty and a 100 night sleep trial. Purple Mattress Making People Sick
- The Loom & Leaf mattress by Saatva is a memory foam mattress that takes on the luxury memory foam players like TEMPUR-Pedic. Unlike most online mattress brands, Loom & Leaf is one of very few brands that is not compressed in a box during shipping.
- Loom & Leaf are comprised of high density memory foams. This includes a convoluted memory foam with cooling gel in the top layer. A high density bottom layer supports this. Add this all up, and you have a very supportive and pressure relieving feel.
- With Loom & Leaf offering both firm and relaxed models, they cater to stomach sleepers of any weight.
- Loom & Leaf mattresses all come with a 120 night sleep trial, along with a 15 year warranty. If you’re not satisfied they offer a full refund.
- Nectar offers excellent comfort, and is quite potentially among the most prominent mattress offered at this time. Nectar offers fabulous support, along with a sinkage that is just right.
- Many mattress brands come with a 10 year warranty, nevertheless the Nectar has the Forever Warranty.
- Nectar’s top layer is comprised of Quilted Gel Visco Elastic Memory Foam. The mattress also consists of Polyurethane Support Foam, in addition to gel memory foam.
- While most brands offer a 100 night sleep trial, Nectar offers a 365 night sleep trial.
If you are in the marketing for a new mattress, it is important to consider the following….Purple Mattress Making People Sick
Support and Comfort
When you are looking to buy a new mattress, the two biggest things are comfort and support.There are a few things that should take place when you lie down. You want the sinkage and contour to be right, for proper spine alignment. You also want a mattress to correctly support your body, as you sleep at night. It is imperative to have proper alignment from top to bottom as you sleep. This is necessary to make sure you get a healthy rest, and to ensure you are reducing your back and neck pain. A mattress should provide you with stress relief, while at the same time being supportive all around of your body. Your stress points are responsible for you having a rough nights sleep, if you move around at night a lot. Since memory foam does such a great job of being supportive and comfortable, they have became really popular lately.
Should You Choose Stiff or Soft?
This goes hand in hand with comfort and support. A mattress should neither be too hard or too soft.A mattress should be as neutral as it can be, to ensure both your body and spine stay in a neutral position.If a mattress is too rigid, it will irritate your stress points, causing pinched nerves and stopping adequate blood flow. If you commonly get up with the sensation of pins and needles on your body, it’s most likely from the mattress being as well rigid. And when the contrary occurs, with a bed that’s also soft, you can get a concaving”hammock” effect, which will certainly create back pain from improper positioning of your spine. This is why it’s so important to choose a mattress that is sort of neutral. It provides support with being too right, and it’s just soft enough in the right places of your body.
Appropriate Temperature Level
One of the most typically missed over features of a mattress is the breathability or temperature neutrality of the mattress material. One of the best features of memory foam mattresses, is their ability to conform to your body.Foam mattresses that have reduced layers are notorious for having the oven result. Essentially,a mattress grabs your temperature,forcing you to rest also hot.|What happens in a nutshell, is that a mattress absorbs your body heat; causing you to sleep hot.} The majority of mattress companies nowadays utilize modern technology to design special materials. The purpose is to provide breathability, and also to distribute your body warmth equally.Some brand name companies handle this a lot better than some of their rivals. Purple Mattress Making People Sick
It’s no secret that if you want a high quality mattress, that they don’t really come cheap.It’s quite an investment to make. So, it’s important that when you make that decision, you find a mattress that lasts for years to come.It is imperative to find a mattress, that has been built to last for a very long time. If you decide you are going to purchase a mattress, at least invest your money into a mattress that offers at the least, a 10 year warranty.
Quick Links to Other Top Mattresses:


Facebook F8 has made clear that the digital world is now powered by social operating systems. It’s all changed. The below post was previously published at paidContent, and is republished here for DigitalQuarters readers.
SOS – The Social Operating System
How the Social Web Has Rewired the Digital World From the Ground Up
In the wake of Facebook’s F8 mega-event, with its parade of product, feature, and platform announcements, I’m struck by the recent major inflection that has social networking penetrating more and more completely into our digital lives.
Indeed, social networking has moved from something that’s a destination activity, to something that is ever-present throughout every digital experience. And, no doubt, Facebook will continue this rapid progression.
My awareness that social networks have seriously and profoundly journeyed into our lives began with the startling statistics that I published in June: the searchable Web is shrinking (by 9% in consumers’ monthly time spent over a recent one year period); while the social Web is growing (with a matching 69% increase in time spent on Facebook specifically).
But the change has since intensified, as Facebook’s share of consumer attention has increased even further, and as Web sites the world over race to recruit Facebook “fans” and “likes.”
In addition, the trendline has also become increasingly clear and sharply etched in recent months with the LinkedIn IPO; and with the Google+ Project, as even mighty Google vies for relevance as a social fabric that helps weave our world together.
Putting it all together, I’m seeing a restructuring of the stack: a new layering of how media is created, distributed, and experienced, different from the first generation of the Internet.
It’s the rise of what I’ve come to view as the “social operating system (Social OS).” And I think it changes everything for media and other companies online.
The New Way News Travels
Unlike the analog world, where content and distribution companies have largely fixed channels (licensed spectrum; contracted cable distribution; stable subscription bases; theater outlets; and other distribution power), digital content isn’t channelized. It’s itemized.
That means digital content has to earn an audience – item by item. The first generation of digital media publishers turned to search engine optimization to solve that, with an endless and constantly escalating set of editorial and technical tricks to bait search algorithms to rank them highly. This became de rigeur for every digital publisher; even as it spawned an arms race to find an audience.
But now that social is ubiquitous, the nature of distribution changes for media companies. And now, instead of having to reinvent the distribution wheel every day for every page, publishers can rely on a system far more powerful than the search engine to sort, select, and rank content. That system is part human, and part technology – but it is 100% social.
The Social OS sits at the boundary between content and the people who consume it. It provides a layer of functionality that lets Web companies focus on their unique content and the experiences that they offer – while earning distribution, not via channels, but via people. And, in the process, they earn, not a mechanistic relationship with an algorithm, but a real relationship with their audience.
None of this was possible until very recently.
The Internet was too immature: both in terms of technology, and audience. Indeed, it’s only since this decade started that we’ve had the social network and mobile technology in combination with literally billions of users online; this mix lets people connect to each other, and allows content to flow effortlessly from one consumer to the next.
And it’s this combination of technology (networks like Facebook and Twitter); content (with providers like Apple, NetFlix, and YouTube, not to mention the hundreds of blogs and media companies); and, most significantly, real people online to spread all that goodness, which makes the Social OS work.
The New Common Medium For Transmission
That’s why each Social OS is defined, first and foremost, by who’s on it, and what the connections mean. But beyond that, each social operating system can make identity, personal information and interests, relationships, and other data and actions available to applications. And third, and most importantly, is the role of the Social OS as distributor. Because Social OS’s have transformed the primary navigational coordinates of the Web from document-to-document links to person-to-person, the Social OS becomes the medium for propagation.
As recently as a few years ago, large media companies saw some parts of this wave coming, and they thought the answer was for each of them to build their own proprietary social network. But relationships between people aren’t proprietary to media; rather, they are the conduits through which all media travels.
And that puts in perspective what Mark Zuckerberg recently said, about how media is the next big application for his Facebook Social OS:
“Some of the earliest examples we’ve seen are with games. It just leads to massive disruption. And I think, over the next 2, 3 years, we’re going to start to see that in more and more industries, and the next ones I would expect are going to be media-type industries.”
Or, as we say at my company, Wetpaint, we are becoming the Zynga of publishing, leveraging social operating systems like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to build a powerful media business on top of them.
Reinventing the Media Industry For a Social World
The rise of the social operating system has two implications for old (and even some new) media companies, who are mostly still trying to figure out what to do with all this. If the idea isn’t to be a social network, then how do they use Social OS’s to make their business more successful?
Social maven Jonah Peretti, co-founder of Huffington Post and CEO of BuzzFeed, points out that different social networks specialize in different content: Facebook users share “what you want your friends to think you like … content you can wear as a badge of honor,” while Twitter is a platform for topic curators and wholesalers in the information trade, and LinkedIn has a strictly professional domain.
For its part, YouTube has its own character: with most consumption anonymous, it’s largely an open public repository, and much of the networking that forwards YouTube videos from person to person happens via email, Facebook, and other networks.
And, as Google gets into the fray with its Google+ Project, presumably it is meant to specialize in closed groups, when full public exposure isn’t in order. If it works, it will likely find its best traction in topics like health & wellness, parenting, or certain hobbies.
For media companies, the key is knowing which Social OS’s to bet on; and then tuning content, packaging and distribution for them.
For celebrity entertainment and gossip at Wetpaint, we know Facebook is a natural match for mass consumer promotion. On the other hand, for industry analysis, like my blog posts, I’m not surprised that Facebook is relatively unimportant: for most of my readers, my posts wouldn’t fit in among family photos and Farmville accomplishments. Twitter and LinkedIn do far better for heady topics like the future of media.
High Stakes: The Future of an Industry
The last decade of audience fragmentation and content de-bundling on the Internet has ravaged media, particularly in a world characterized by fierce competition for the love of Google’s robots.
When Mark Zuckerberg recently spoke at a Facebook event in Seattle, he said:
“The last 5 years have been about connecting all these people. The next 5 years are going to be about all the crazy things you can do now that these people are connected, and I think it’s going to be cool.”
In a world powered by social operating systems, the prize is that, when we execute well, we get to be hooked into people’s lives. Media companies can earn constant places in consumers’ newsfeeds, along with a button asking them to consider sharing their experience every time they see us. I think that’s going to be cool.


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If you find yourself requiring more hotels close to Belvedere Palace, consider Hotel Bristol - A Luxury Collection Hotel and Vienna Marriott Hotel. In Vienna, there are 67 hotels near the landmark for you to choose between. Novum Hotel Prinz Eugen and Nh Wien Belvedere are within a short walk of Belvedere Palace. Hotels near Belvedere Palace in Vienna offer prices at 81US$ per night.
Hotels near Belvedere Palace in Vienna
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Hotels close to Belvedere Palace in Vienna
Luxury Vienna hotels near Belvedere Palace
There are 147 luxury hotels near Belvedere Palace if you wish to have an unforgettable stay. Intercontinental Wien is a luxurious and upscale option in Leopoldstadt district of Vienna. Also be sure to have a look at Mercure Grand Hotel Biedermeier Wien in Vienna. Do&Co Hotel Vienna is an upscale chain hotel situated 650 feet from the heart of Vienna. Radisson Blu Style Hotel Vienna and K+K Hotel Maria Theresia are elegant choices of boutique hotels in Vienna.

domain: geography


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Anne Maria Pratt married Sir Henry Barkly* in 1860, three years after the death of his first wife, thus becoming the second Lady Barkly. At that time Sir Henry was Governor of Victoria, Australia. From 1863 to 1870 he was governor of Mauritius and during that time Anne corresponded with Sir J.D. Hooker* at Kew Gardens about the plants of the island. She accompanied him to South Africa when he was appointed governor of the Cape of Good Hope in 1870, and left with him in 1877. During these years she and Sir Henry's daughter from his first marriage, Emily B. Barkly, made drawings of the plants that he collected. Copies of their drawings of Stapeliae were sent with Sir Henry's descriptions of the living plants to Kew Gardens. Anne also collected some plants herself, mainly pteridophyta, and a set of her ferns were arranged at the Albany Museum in 1890. In 1875 she published "A revised list of the ferns of South Africa ..." in the Cape Monthly Magazine (new series, Vol. 10, pp. 193-207), which was also reprinted as a pamphlet.
After Sir Henry's death in 1898 Anne received a small civil pension in 1900 and was still living in London in 1925. In 1927, at the age of 89, she was reported as still having an excellent memory and looking back on her happy years in South Africa.

domain: library


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14 Indoor Plants for Low Light. ZZ Plant. ZZ plant grows well in a dry environment and pushes the low-light limit to its extreme. Snake Plant. Snake plant performs well in dry spells and handles moderate to low light with ease. Staghorn Fern. Ivy. Pothos. Ferns. Dieffenbachia. Philodendron. Shade-Loving Indoor Ferns And Ivy. 18. Asparagus fern, fox tail asparagus, emerald feather (asparagus densiflorus ‘myers’): This is a cool looking plant that grows to about 2′ tall and 3′ wide.
Some of the most colorful and easy-care indoor plants thrive in low-light conditions. … Although they grow well in dark rooms, they do prefer some bright, indirect. Easy Care Indoor Plants for Shade. Lucky bamboo. Areca palm. Spider plants.Golden pothos. Peace lily. Philodendron. Plants grow in dark places all over the world, generally inhabiting the under canopy of forests. These plants are fantastic for the difficult north facing rooms that …
If you’ve ever wondered: “What low light houseplants can I grow in my indoor gardening space?” Then this list is fo (Diy Garden Apartment). A list of house plants that will happily thrive in the shade. … PlantsIndoor House Plants. 11 Plants That Will Grow In the Bathroom – Bees and Roses. 20 Indoor House Plants That Simply Adore Shade … This potted plant looks like a fan and comes from China, Taiwan. Direct and powerful sun.
I see articles that say “houseplants that grow in no light or houseplants that grow in the dark”. Not true. All houseplants require some light to grow, even if it’s. Flowers that look like odd, narrow calla lilies form on mature plants. … see them among the house plants at the nursery, look among outdoor shade-loving plants. If you’re not sure what indoor shade plants to grow at home, check this … Plus, if you are like me and love variety, this plant is a great choice.
If your yard is full of trees and shade, these are the plants that will thrive in it. … all of which prefer a shady spot next to the house or under a tree. Most houses don’t get a ton of direct sunlight, and many rooms don’t get any at all

domain: hobby


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Articles & Testimony
Putin’s Russia and the West have never shared the same goals or threat perceptions regarding terrorism and other regional issues, so Washington should craft its Syria policy accordingly.
Sep 10, 2020◆
- Anna Borshchevskaya
Never miss a breaking event on U.S. policy interests in the Middle East. Customize your subscription to our expert analysis, op-eds, live events, podcasts, and special reports.


In today’s rapidly evolving lighting landscape, solar flood lights have emerged as a beacon of innovation and practicality. These lights, harnessing the inexhaustible power of the sun, have transformed the way we think about outdoor illumination. No longer tethered to the constraints of traditional electrical sources, solar flood lights offer unparalleled flexibility in placement and operation. Their rise in popularity isn’t just a trend; it’s a testament to a global shift towards sustainable solutions. As homeowners, businesses, and public spaces seek lighting options that are efficient and versatile, solar flood lights have become the go-to choice, illuminating everything from driveways and gardens to stadiums and public parks.
Basics of Solar Lighting
Solar lighting has emerged as an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional electrical lighting. Harnessing the power of the sun, solar lighting systems can operate independently of the electrical grid, making them ideal for remote locations and reducing energy bills. To understand the basics of solar lighting, it’s essential to delve into how solar panels work and the primary components of a typical solar lighting system.
How Solar Panels Work: Photovoltaic Cells and Sunlight Conversion
Solar panels, also known as photovoltaic (PV) panels, are designed to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. Here’s a simplified explanation:
- Photovoltaic Cells: Each solar panel is made up of many photovoltaic cells. These cells are typically made from silicon, which has semiconducting properties.
- Sunlight Absorption: When sunlight hits a PV cell, it releases photons. These photons carry energy that can dislodge electrons from the silicon atoms in the cell.
- Electric Current Creation: The movement of these dislodged electrons creates an electric current. This process of converting light (photons) into electricity (voltage) is called the photovoltaic effect.
- Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC): The electricity generated by solar panels is in the form of direct current (DC). However, most homes and devices use alternating current (AC). Therefore, an inverter is used to convert the DC into AC for practical use.
The components: Solar panel, battery, LED lights, and motion sensors.
- Solar Panel: As discussed, the solar panel is responsible for capturing sunlight and converting it into electricity. The efficiency of a solar panel determines how much sunlight it can convert on any given day.
- Battery: The battery plays a pivotal role in storing the electricity generated by the solar panel. This stored energy is particularly crucial during nighttime or cloudy days when the solar panel isn’t generating electricity. Modern solar lighting systems often use lithium-ion batteries due to their longevity and efficiency.
- LED Lights: Once a niche technology, LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights have become the standard in solar lighting due to their energy efficiency and long lifespan. When the stored energy in the battery is released, it powers the LED lights, providing illumination. LEDs offer bright, consistent lighting while consuming a fraction of the power of traditional bulbs.
- Motion Sensors: Many solar lights come equipped with motion sensors to enhance energy efficiency further. Instead of being continuously on after dark, these lights only illuminate when they detect motion, conserving stored energy and extending the duration of the light during the night. This feature not only saves energy but also adds an element of security, as the sudden illumination can deter potential intruders.
Advantages of Solar Flood Lights
Solar flood lights have gained popularity in recent years due to their energy efficiency, sustainability, and ease of use. Here are some of the primary advantages of using solar flood lights:
- Eco-friendly: Solar flood lights harness energy from the sun, reducing the reliance on non-renewable energy sources. This makes them an environmentally-friendly lighting option that contributes to a reduction in carbon emissions.
- Cost Savings: After the initial investment, solar flood lights lead to significant savings. They eliminate electricity costs associated with lighting, and because they often use LEDs, they have lower maintenance and replacement costs.
- Easy Installation: Unlike traditional flood lights that require wiring and connection to the electrical grid, solar flood lights are typically easier to install. Most units are self-contained and can be installed in a variety of locations without the need for extensive wiring or professional assistance.
- Low Maintenance: Solar flood lights have fewer moving parts than traditional lights, and with the use of LEDs, bulb replacements are infrequent. This results in minimal maintenance over the lifespan of the light.
- Energy Independence: Solar flood lights operate independently of the grid. This makes them particularly useful in remote locations where accessing electricity is challenging. It also means they continue to function during power outages.
- Safety: Since solar flood lights don’t require electrical wiring, there’s a reduced risk of electrical accidents, such as short circuits or electrocution during installation or maintenance.
- Versatility: Many solar flood lights come with adjustable solar panels and mounting hardware, allowing them to be placed in optimal locations for sunlight exposure. They can be used in a variety of settings, from gardens and patios to parking lots and billboards.
- Integrated Features: Modern solar flood lights often come with added features like motion sensors, which allow the light to turn on only when movement is detected. This not only conserves energy but also adds an element of security.
- Sustainability: Using solar flood lights promotes a sustainable approach to energy consumption, encouraging the shift from finite fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
- Decreased Light Pollution: Many solar flood lights are designed to provide targeted illumination, ensuring light is directed where it’s needed. This can help reduce light pollution, which is beneficial for both the environment and human health.
Solar flood lights have emerged as a frontrunner, championing both environmental responsibility and user-centric benefits. Their ability to harness renewable energy, reduce carbon footprints, and offer significant savings on electricity bills makes them an attractive choice for the modern world. Coupled with their low maintenance requirements and independence from the traditional power grid, they represent a fusion of innovation, sustainability, and practicality. As we move forward, seeking solutions that align with our planet’s needs and our own, solar flood lights stand as a shining example of how technology can light our way to a brighter, greener future.


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“Today, we’re going to make history,” said 18-year-old Eric Ramos on the day UT Southwestern Medical Center doctors operated on his ailing heart.
Eric, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is one of only three patients in the United States with the condition to receive a battery-operated left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to keep his weakening heart pumping blood through his body. He is the first patient in the country to be given a specific, smaller LVAD, which means doctors would not need to manipulate his diaphragm, which could compromise his already limited pulmonary function.
Dr. Pradeep Mammen, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the division of cardiology, holds the same LVAD, Eric Ramos has to help keep his heart pumping blood through his body.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a recessive X-linked form of the disease, affects around 1 in 3,600 boys. Diagnosed at age 6, Eric has used a wheelchair for the past seven years because his muscles, including his heart and lungs, are rapidly degenerating. Nevertheless, Eric has the heart of a champion. He views his latest challenge as an “unreal accomplishment” and says he is honored to be part of history, paving the way for other Duchenne patients with advanced heart failure.
Lead surgeon Dr. Dan Meyer, Professor of Cardio Thoracic Surgery and Director of Mechanical Assist Devices, says it took a team to pull Eric through this historic feat. “We had cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, LVAD coordinators, neurologists, pulmonologists, social workers, nutritionists, and a host of nurses and others excited to be a part of this unique opportunity,” Dr. Meyer said. “Delivering advanced medical care to patients like Eric is something you can only do at an institution like UT Southwestern, where we have the experience and the specialized care to perform higher-risk surgeries that other hospitals would not even entertain.”
The decision to operate, however, was not easy. The team members recognized the severity of the situation, but they were put at ease the moment they met Eric. A senior in high school, Eric spends his free time playing video games, tinkering with computers, and hanging out with his friends, just like most teenage boys. But Eric exudes maturity well beyond his years.
“We could see that Eric is a vibrant young man, despite the fact that he is bound to a wheelchair,” Dr. Meyer said. “The tough part was making sure we would increase his quality of life and that undergoing surgery was worth the risks.”
Because of his faith, Eric says he was cool, calm, and collected the day of his surgery. “Hope canceled out my anxiety and fear,” Eric said. “I knew that I was making history, and that one day people were going to read about my case, and to me, it felt good to be a trailblazer.”
Another person in Eric’s corner is Dr. Pradeep Mammen, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the division of cardiology and Medical Director of the Neuromuscular Cardiomyopathy Clinic at UT Southwestern.
Dr. Mammen is one of Eric’s biggest advocates. A heart failure/transplant cardiologist with special expertise in the cardiovascular complications that can occur in patients with neuromuscular disorders, Dr. Mammen spent countless hours conducting background research on all the key components needed to ensure Eric would thrive pre- and post-LVAD implantation.
“For me, working with Eric and advocating on his behalf has been one of the highlights of my career,” Dr. Mammen said. “This is a paradigm shift in how we approach the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, as well as patients with other forms of muscular dystrophy. We clearly have moved the field forward in terms of how we treat patients with muscular dystrophy and subsequent heart failure.”
To Dr. Mammen, Eric is proof of the principle that LVADs can help prolong the lives of muscular dystrophy patients. “This procedure has to be done for the right patient, by the right team,” Dr. Mammen said. “Our team flawlessly executed this endeavor for Eric.”
Eric is happy to have a team of health care professionals working hard to make his life better and, of course, for the support of his family and friends at home in Rowlett, Texas.
Today, when Eric looks in the mirror, he says it is “thrilling to see the torque of the pump pushing blood through my body. My whole body pulsates.” He likens this to the body’s response when a sports car accelerates. Eric looks forward to a bright future, including graduating from high school this spring, and he hopes someday to receive a healthy heart via transplantation.
UT Southwestern has played an integral role throughout the relatively short history of LVAD therapy and in the devices’ rapidly evolving technology. UT Southwestern participated in the landmark clinical trial (REMATCH) that led to FDA approval of the first LVAD for destination therapy and was the only North Texas center to participate in the HeartWare Bridge-to-Transplant trial, which was completed in 2012 and led to FDA approval of the device.
To obtain more information on clinical trials and treatments for advanced heart failure at UT Southwestern, contact the University Hospital Heart and Lung Clinic at 214-645-5505.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty includes many distinguished members, including five who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. Numbering more than 2,700, the faculty is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to nearly 91,000 hospitalized patients and oversee more than 2 million outpatient visits a year.
Media Contact: Lisa Warshaw
Lisa Warshaw | EurekAlert!
Innovative device allows 3-D imaging of the breast with less radiation
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The vascular bypass revolution
13.06.2016 | Université de Genève
R2D2, a joint project to analyze and development high-TRL processes and technologies for manufacture of flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has been successfully completed.
In contrast to point light sources like LEDs made of inorganic semiconductor crystals, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are light-emitting surfaces. Their...
High resolution rotational spectroscopy reveals an unprecedented number of conformations of an odorant molecule – a new world record!
In a recent publication in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter...
Strands of cow cartilage substitute for ink in a 3D bioprinting process that may one day create cartilage patches for worn out joints, according to a team of engineers. "Our goal is to create tissue that can be used to replace large amounts of worn out tissue or design patches," said Ibrahim T. Ozbolat, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics. "Those who have osteoarthritis in their joints suffer a lot. We need a new alternative treatment for this."
Cartilage is a good tissue to target for scale-up bioprinting because it is made up of only one cell type and has no blood vessels within the tissue. It is...
Physicists in Innsbruck have realized the first quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories, building a bridge between high-energy theory and atomic physics. In the journal Nature, Rainer Blatt‘s and Peter Zoller’s research teams describe how they simulated the creation of elementary particle pairs out of the vacuum by using a quantum computer.
Elementary particles are the fundamental buildings blocks of matter, and their properties are described by the Standard Model of particle physics. The...
A year and a half on the outer wall of the International Space Station ISS in altitude of 400 kilometers is a real challenge. Whether a primordial bacterium...
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28.06.2016 | Life Sciences
28.06.2016 | Physics and Astronomy

domain: medical


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August 24, 2016 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School
4431 Nuhou St, Lihue, Hi 96766
(808) 241 3200
As an important follow up to the Hawaii Education Summit held on July 9, 2016 at the Hawaii Convention Center, the Governor’s ESSA Team will be hosting neighbor island town Hall meetings to discuss opportunities for schools under the Every Student Succeeds Act, with the purpose of:
1. creating a shared vision for public education in Hawai’i,
2. learning about the opportunities provided by the new ESSA law,
3. discussing a future-focused education system for Hawai’i, and
4. collecting input, feedback, and advice for a new blueprint for public education in Hawai’i.
The Kauai Town Hall Meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Cafeteria – 4331 Nuhou Street, Lihue, HI 96766. You can register for the meeting https://www.eventbrite.com/e/every-student-succeeds-act-ess…
Feedback collected by the ESSA Team will also be used in crafting a final update to the Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the BOE in December. All students, parents, teachers, principals, staff, community members, SCC members, and PTSA members, etc. are encouraged to attend and share their input and feedback.
To learn more about the Every Student Succeeds Act please visit the Governor’s website, http://governor.hawaii.gov/essa-team


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42″ Wide Cross with Crest Fireplace Screen | 162755
A stunning design defines this decorative firescreen. Hand Forged Iron Scrollwork with a Cross with Crest profile are featured in a Cajun Spice finish. Custom crafted by highly skilled artisans in our 180,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Yorkville, New York. Metal finishes, designs and sizes can be customized to your needs.

domain: design


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African national tied to pole, beaten with sticks in Delhi
A shocking video of brutal attack on a Nigerian man accused of theft and drugs being beaten up by a mob after tying him up to a pole in Delhi's Malviya Nagar emerged on Monday.
The incident took place on September 24 in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi. After being beaten brutally, the man was jailed.
In the video, a Nigerian whose name and nationality are yet to be identified, could be seen being tied to a street light post and thrashed with sticks and iron rods by the mob.
The man is seen with feet tied to a post, begging for mercy as locals keep hitting him with sticks.
A case has been filed by a local resident after the incident reportedly claimed that the man was involved in a theft.
Last year, a Congolese national was killed in the national capital, triggering a massive outrage.
OneIndia News (with agency inputs)


Cardinals' defense stands tough, keys comeback victory in Tampa
"We made enough dumb plays to lose the game, but we made enough good plays to win it," Bruce Arians said.
A lot of those good plays came on the defensive side of the football.
Despite notable players -- Sam Acho, Lorenzo Alexander, Alex Okafor and Rashad Johnson -- inactive Sunday, Todd Bowles' unit was fantastic.
The Cardinals' defense held Buccaneers running back Doug Martin, who rushed for 1,454 yards in 2012, to 45 yards on 27 carries Sunday.
And with Martin virtually a non-factor, Arizona tried to make rookie quarterback Mike Glennon win the game in his NFL debut.
"I think the big thing for us was to stop the run and to make them one dimensional," said Arians. "Then we could get exotic and blitz [Glennon] and sack him. We were able to do that early and often.
"He's a tough kid. He hung in there strong right down to the wire. We confused him on the last play and he threw it right into coverage."
The last play -- Patrick Peterson's second interception on the day -- was the third turnover committed by the NC State standout in the fourth quarter and sealed the victory for the Cardinals. And while Glennon looked comfortable in the first half (115 yards passing and a touchdown), over the final 30 minutes of play he saw an increasing number of blitz packages thrown his way and subsequently struggled to manufacture much of an offensive attack (73 yards passing).
With a shaky quarterback behind center and no threat of a run game, Tampa failed to score a single point in the second half.
The second-half shutout marks the second time in three weeks, Arizona has blanked a team over the final 30 minutes of play.
Dave Dulberg, Web Content Editor - ArizonaSports.com
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- Tom Flores, Oakland Raiders radio color commentator - Tuesday March 11Tom Flores discusses Cardinals signing of left tackle Jared Veldheer.
- Mike Sando, ESPN NFL insider - Tuesday March 11Is Jim Harbaugh still welcome in San Francisco?
- Kent Somers, AZ Central Sports Cardinals beat writer - Monday March 10Kent Somers talks all things Cardinals free agency.
- Kent Somers, AZ Central Sports Cardinals beat writer - Thursday March 6Kent Somers discusses the Cardinals' efforts to sign Karlos Dansby.
- Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com NFL writer - Thursday March 6Pete Prisco of CBS Sports discusses the NFL offseason and the NFL draft.


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- ROUNDTABLE: Improving patient outcomes, controlling costs with OTCs
- ROUNDTABLE: Pharmacy’s future in sync with technology
- Study from NCPA sheds new light on med synchronization programs
- Generic drug prices spike, but PBMs' reimbursement rates don't keep up, NCPA study finds
- 21 health industry groups address FDA on proposed changes to generic drug label rules
PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals is challenging the patent protection on a drug for acne and a drug for bronchospasm, the company said Monday.
Watson said it had filed a regulatory application with the Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of Galderma Labs' Epiduo Gel (adapalene and benzoyl peroxide), a topical ointment for treating severe acne in patients ages 12 years and older. In response, Galderma filed suit against Watson on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division to prevent Watson from commercializing its product before the expiration of Galderma's patents. Epiduo Gel had sales of about $199 million during the 12-month period ended in March, according to IMS Health.
The generis drug maker also filed an FDA approval application for legalbuterol tartrate inhalation aerosol, a generic version of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals' Xopenox HFA, used to treat bronchospasm in patients ages 4 years and older with reversible obstructive airway disease. Sunovion filed suit against Watson on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to prevent Watson from commercializing the drug. Xopenox HFA had sales of about $148 million during the 12-month period ended in March, according to IMS Health data.


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We believe everyone on Whidbey Island deserves local access to high-quality healthcare.
WhidbeyHealth provides progressive, patient centric healthcare, a safety net when emergencies happen, and peace of mind knowing our team is standing by 24/7 to respond to your needs.
Our dedicated team of caring, compassionate and competent healthcare professionals is continually finding new ways to meet the evolving needs of our diverse community.
WhidbeyHealth is our island's comprehensive healthcare system with certified trauma and cardiac emergency centers, an award-winning cancer center, plus walk-in and specialty clinics located conveniently throughout the island.
The WhidbeyHealth Executive Leadership Team released their 2021 Strategic Plan, defining the organization’s mission, vision and both long- and short-term goals. The complete strategy document is available here.
You can view our Live Streamed Town Hall meeting presenting our Strategic Plan here.
Hear what's happening with the heroes on the front line at WhidbeyHealthLEARN MORE
Exceptional Healthcare for over 50 years.LEARN MORE
Vision and CommitmentLEARN MORE
To be your healthcare provider of choice.LEARN MORE
Leaders for HealthcareLEARN MORE
Stay up-to-date pandemic related policies and services changes at WhidbeyHealthLEARN MORE
The Community BridgeLEARN MORE
Focused on keeping you safe and healthy.LEARN MORE
Your chance to recognize the exceptional nurses at WhidbeyHealthLEARN MORE


|Abstract:||Due to the widespread use and importance of crowdsourcing in gathering training data at scale, the data management community has devoted its efforts in understanding and optimizing fundamental primitives like filters and joins. These primitive boolean operations, where the human responses come from a small, finite space of possible answers, are inadequate for a number of data analysis tasks, especially those involving images, videos and maps. There is, thus, a need for open-ended crowdsourcing in order to get more fine-grained information from humans that can be used in developing sophisticated AI systems. In this thesis, we study two popular open-ended crowdsourcing problems. The first, clustering, is the problem of organizing a collection of objects (images, videos) by allowing workers to form as many clusters as they would like and organize items across them. The second, counting, is the problem of counting objects in images. In this thesis, we develop models to reason about human behavior for both problems, and use these models to design provably cost-efficient algorithms that provide high-quality results, as compared to currently available approaches.


Super Mario Run: Welcome back to the Mushroom Kingdom
It’s hard to overestimate the impact that the Nintendo corporation has had on the video game industry. They were the ones that brought video games back into the public mind after the industry tanked in 1983. They led the way during the famous “console wars” of the 1990s and they showed the world that video games could be a fun, profitable, family-friendly business. As such it is heartening to see them make such a meaningful push into the most popular realm of modern gaming — mobile.
It started with “Pokemon Go” and the instant success it created. Nintendo, hoping to ride that wave a little longer, has followed it up with “Mario Run.” A hybrid between a 2D, platform game and a never-ending runner, the object of this game remains true to the Mario formula established back in 1985. Bowser has stolen Princess Peach and it’s up to Mario to traverse levels of dangerous landscapes to free her. Nintendo’s innovation on the original gameplay mechanics, however, comes in the form of a ‘constant run’ feature. Mario will always be running and you control when he jumps. Jump at certain times and you will perform a slick move to boost you higher. In addition to the regular levels there is also a gameplay mode called “Toad Rally” where you go head to head with other players in an attempt to collect the most coins and grow your own mushroom kingdom. Different challenges (such as coins for a high score) give the game high replay value.
The most difficult thing to get used to, and where this game is likely to be the most divisive, is the “always on” running feature. On numerous occasions a secret room, special coin or other gift would be floating just out of reach while I jumped off walls like a madman desperately trying to go back just a little further so I wouldn’t have to replay the level for the fifth time. However, after getting slightly more used to it this added mechanic became a welcome challenge which forced me to un-learn my Mario lessons of the past and enjoy the constant attention the game demands. I was left, then, with only the slight dissatisfaction at having to pay $10 for access to all the levels: a one-time fee that is undoubtedly worth it in the end as the free version only grants access to the most basic and, frankly, less fun levels. After a few minutes the game had me happily tapping the screen and my foot to the music, enjoying a nostalgic and challenging hour.
There is no objectionable content.
Nathan Snow is a freelance writer for Where It’s @. Follow him on twitter @nathanssnow
“Super Mario Run”
“Mario Run” brings back a portion, if not all, of the franchise that made Nintendo what it is. Full version available on most mobile devices for $9.99.


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I've come across a bit of a problem. I'v decided to use photoshop to create a website for a friend (design the layout, then cut and place as backgrounds in 'div' tags). I understand this isnt the best way to go around it and have never tried it before, but would like to give it a shot.
Anyway, the problem is that i have a background image but in photoshop i dont know how big it should be, the aspect ratio ect..
Different people have different screen sizes, if i made the background for my screen, it wouldnt fit others?

domain: artistic


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A new study shows that toilets contaminated with C difficile spores are a persistent source of environmental contamination over an extended number of flushes.
A flushometer toilet was seeded with C difficile spores in a sealed chamber. The toilet was flushed 24 times, with postflush bowl water samples and surfaces sampled periodically to determine levels of C difficile spores. Air samples were collected after each of 12 flushes. Results showed that spores were present in bowl water even after 24 flushes. Large droplet spore deposition accumulated over the 24-flush period. Droplet nuclei spore bioaerosol was produced over at least 12 flushes.
The report can be found at https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(18)31098-8/fulltext#.XBeyfxQzeJk.twitter


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Dennis Taylor's Hour of Soul - 10/27/11
LIVE broadcast of "Dennis Taylor's Hour of Soul"
Papa's 60th Birthday Celebration/
MOTOWN DAY!!! Uploaded 1 year ago -
Featuring tracks by Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Jackson 5, The Commodores, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Tarrell and more
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domain: entertainment


The South African National Assembly on Tuesday passed the Cybercrimes Bill in a bid to curb the increase in cybercrimes…
The general purpose of the Cybercrimes Bill is to criminalise the distribution of data messages which are harmful, parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said.
The bill provides for interim protection orders in cybercrime cases and seeks to regulate the powers to investigate cybercrimes, said Mothapo.
When tabling the bill last year, the Department of Justice and Correctional Service said the bill aimed to stop cybercrime and improve the country’s security.
The bill was first initiated in August 2015, updated in January 2017 and was introduced in Parliament in February 2017. There were extensive comments on the bill during public hearings, and particularly on onerous aspects of the bill. Those comments were considered and incorporated into the latest version of the bill that was published in October 2018.
The enacted bill creates many new offences in relation to data, messages, computers, and networks such as hacking, unlawful interception of data, ransomware, cyber forgery and uttering, or cyber extortion.
1-15 years in prison
Under the bill, if somebody is convicted of a cybercrime, he or she could spend between one year to 15 years in prison, depending on the cybercrime.
The bill gives the courts jurisdiction to try these offences in some cases where there is uncertainty. It also enables the Minister of Justice and Correctional Service to make regulations on information sharing, including sharing information on cybersecurity incidents, detecting, preventing and investigating cybercrimes.
South Africa has the third highest number of cyber crime victims worldwide, resulting in a loss of about 2.2 billion rand (about 159 million U.S. dollars) each year to cyber attacks, according to the South African Banking Risk Information Center (SABRIC).
This means that every time a user logs onto his or her smartphone, computer or opens an email, he or she is at risk of being exposed to cyber crime, the SABRIC said in a report released earlier this year.
Globally, 978 million consumers were affected by cyber crime in 2017, with a total of 172 billion dollars stolen, cyber security firm Norton said in its latest report.
Author: ANA Newswire


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Coupons Make it Free Blog: Easy Creme Brulee Recipe
Easy Peppermint Creme Brulee Recipe | ASpicyPerspective... #peppermint #recipe #christmas
easy banana creme brulee; no torch required! Simple ingredients... Chocolate graham cracker crumbs bananas, French Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and chocolate syrup
Vanilla Infused Pumpkin Crème Brulee - yuummm, any kind of creme brulee! I need me a torch for my kitchen....
Creme Brulee Cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy (Provo & Draper, Utah) by projectdomesticationblog, via Flickr
Easy Faux Chocolate Creme Brulee
Creme Brûlée...I'm pinning this because I love it and with not one intention of ever attempting to make but just look at that pic...oh my!!!
Quick and Easy Creme Brulee Recipe with great Video Tutorial from natashaskitchen
Creme Brulee Recipe | Cooking | How To | Martha Stewart Recipes
Easy Creme Brulee Recipe
Fudge 3: Dreamy, creamy and reliable White Chocolate Fudge - - evaporated milk, butter, sugar, white marshmallows, and white chocolate chips
Creme Brulee...of all the creme brulee's I have eaten in restaurants or made at home, this is my hands down favorite and go to recipe when I want an impressive dessert.

domain: food


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As the country comes down from a federal election high, union leaders and supporters will spend the week brainstorming ways to raise the profile of the labour movement at a time when Canada’s political landscape offers new hope, but potentially new hurdles as well.
There will be some soul-searching as the Canadian Labour Congress holds its annual convention in Vancouver this week, focusing on ways to draw new workers into the union fold.
“Employers today are much smaller than employers of the past — we have to find new and different ways to organize them (the workers),” CLC President Ken Georgetti told The Canadian Press Sunday.
“We also have to look at ourselves and our structures of organizing,” he said. “We might have to use different methods to organize and offer different services to working people.”
Last week, Statistics Canada reported the economy pumped out 58,300 jobs in April, which brought the unemployment rate down to 7.6 per cent.
But according to Georgetti, most of the jobs being created are part-time, suggesting businesses aren’t making full use of tax breaks they’re receiving to create full-time employment “of significance.”
While talk of the economy and job creation will be woven into most discussions, the convention is emphasizing the need to engage with workers nationwide by moving its outreach operations fully into the digital age.
“We have a real opportunity to put the real face of the labour movement in front of working Canadians,” said Georgetti.
“The key to this convention is that we’ve recognized we have a real advantage going forward with the use of electronic communications.”
Meanwhile, the change in the political landscape — a Conservative majority and the New Democrats in opposition for the first time — will be front of mind as the 2,500 unionists at the convention draft a plan to continue to be heard on Parliament Hill.
“I’m sure we won’t have to spend a lot of time educating the NDP on the issues of concern to working families,” said Georgetti, adding that many of the CLC’s key issues were featured in the New Democrats’ campaign platform.
“Hopefully across the room in Parliament the NDP will educate some of the Conservatives about the real issues facing ordinary hardworking Canadians.”
The CLC’s enthusiasm for the NDP is obvious. Party leader Jack Layton is one of the convention’s key speakers and many delegates hope he will infuse new life into debates on key issues, including that of retirement initiatives.
“We want to make sure that hard-working Canadians can retire with dignity and not have to live in poverty,” said Georgetti, adding the CLC is pushing for change to the Canada Pension Plan and the employment insurance program.
There are also concerns Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s campaign promise to cut $4 billion dollars in federal spending will be achieved by slashing government services to Canadians, said Georgetti.
“We think Mr Harper’s real motive is he wants to eliminate the services Canadians have come to rely on,” he said.
But despite the changes on the political scene, at least one expert points out the New Democrats won’t necessarily hold more sway on labour issues than they did before.
Kevin Milligan, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia, said as the third federal party in the past, the NDP was able to ask for key concessions from the ruling party when it came to budgets being passed.
“With the current situation, that simply won’t happen anymore,” said Milligan, who studies labour issues.
At the same time however, as the official opposition, Milligan said the NDP will be able to dominate conversation in the House of Commons more than they did before and could bring labour issues to the top of the agenda if they so wished.
As for the new majority Conservative government, it’s unlikely Harper would deliberately try to raise the ire of unions in the near future, said Milligan.
“The signals that we’ve seen since the election seems to suggest there will be no surprises,” he said. “They’re not out to pick fights.”

domain: sociology


"These are unbudgeted expenses that the school district faces."
Some parents and caregivers were caught off guard this week when G.C. Hawley Middle School said in an email that unless a student's lunch bill is paid, they will be excluded from certain end-of-year "fun" school events.
"It's teaching the kids that they don't get to participate if they don't have money," Stephanie Gerardi said.
Principal Dr. Kerry Chisnall said the school has 40-50 students that owe unpaid lunch funds.
"These amounts vary from $1 to $241 in some instances," Chisnall said. "However, the sum total owed is large and unfortunately the cafeteria folks bill the school, meaning I have to use funds intended for supporting staff and students to pay student lunch bills."
Although the school can exclude students with unpaid lunch funds from participating in end-of-year school events, that's not the desired outcome, according to Granville County Schools associate superintendent Stan Winborne.
"We may, in fact, exclude some children from participating in some of these fun activities into the year until we've heard from parents," Winborne said. "It's just an effort to try to encourage our families to help us take care of these bills so that our local taxpayers don't have to rely on clearing this up. These are unbudgeted expenses that the school district faces."
Durham Public Schools said they have a district-wide outstanding balance of $343,000.
"It's not as concerning because it's where we've been in the past and we're pretty standard," director of school nutrition services James Keaten said.
While the school district is capable of covering negative balances for the school year out of general funds, Keaten said they'd like to keep the balance as low as possible.
"We don't want that to have to impact things such as the needs that the district has just use that support money in other areas," Keaten said.
In Wake County, the school system said if a student reaches their allowable maximum charge limit, an official finds a way for the student to be able to take their chosen breakfast/lunch.
"If the school has funds in an "Angel" account, they will use that fund to pay for the meal for the student and when necessary, the student will instead be given an alternate meal that consists of nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables, at no cost," WCPSS said.
Faith-based organizations across the Triangle have also chipped in with donations to help take care of some of these accounts, including in Granville County.
Winborne said they're happy to accommodate, such as waiving some fees for hardships or offering payment plans to families in need.
"I know that it's difficult making the family budget work and we are always willing to work with families and try to help them through these times," Winborne said. "We want to make sure that our children are happy and well-fed and able to finish the school year strong.


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What makes American Samoa “American?” The nation—a collection of five volcanic islands and two coral atolls in the middle of the South Pacific—is a territory of the United States. Although unincorporated and functionally self-governing, it is still technically “American.”
What makes American Samoa “Samoan?” The answers span many centuries of rich human culture on the islands. Inhabited as early as 1000 B.C., the islands of what is now known as American Samoa were once ruled by female chiefs, the most famous of whom are Nafanua and Queen Salamasina, the ancestor of the present monarch. Society on the islands still operates on principles instituted by these legendary women, through the faamatai chief system and through strong family connections.
European contact with American Samoa began in the 18th century; its repercussions have been wide-ranging. The Samoan islands were at one point divided between Germany and the United States; the western islands are now the independent state of Samoa, and the eastern islands are American Samoa. During World War II, U.S. Marines in American Samoa outnumbered the local population. As they had in World War I, American Samoans served once again in the American army as combatants, medical personnel, code personnel and in many other capacities.
The people of American Samoa have resisted incorporation into the U.S., and indigenous heritage and language are celebrated. Ninety percent of American Samoans speak Samoan, though most are bilingual in English.
American Samoa is home to the oldest indigenous Christian church in the South Pacific, the Samoan Congregational Church, founded in the early 1800s. About 96% of the people are Christian. Congregationalist missionaries worked on the first Samoan Bible translation; revised in 1969, the translation is still in use today.


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Top network posts
- 25 What's the justification behind having a minimum age for politicians that is higher than the minimum age for voters?
- 24 Why is the structure of the US Code so poor? (And would it even be legal to reorganize it?)
- 15 Law case title convention: Why sometimes not "Plaintiff v. Defendant"?
- 14 Impeachment and Removal from Office
- 14 How did political participation change after Watergate?
- 12 What happens if the President of the United States is deemed a risk to US national security?
- 10 When was the last time that 19 Republican senators cross-the-aisle with a unified Democratic party on anything not bipartisan?
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8 Be more responsible with your votes Jun 3 '17
1 Why has this answer been deleted? Jun 1 '17

domain: politics


In a barrage of innovation and advanced technology, CES 2024 has settled, leaving behind a trail of high-tech breadcrumbs for consumers to feast on later in the year. This wave brought to us the most ingenious gadgets tailored for an array of professional and personal needs.
These are TechWafer’s favourites and best picks from CES 2024, hope you’ll love these too.
Table of Contents
Samsung’s S95D OLED TV
Samsung’s S95D OLED TV stood out as the paragon of television engineering. Its glare-free display is not just an incremental upgrade but a significant enhancement in display technology. OLED TVs have long suffered from usability issues in bright environments, but the S95D’s new anti-reflective screen dispels this limitation with flying colors — literally. With a projected price tag of around $2,500, this TV is not only poised to elevate the home viewing experience but also to set a new standard when it launches this spring.
TimeKettle’s X1 Interpreter Hub
On the AI front, TimeKettle’s X1 Interpreter Hub promises seamless communication across language barriers, catering to a future where language diversity in workplaces and classrooms is no longer a hurdle. Meanwhile, MSI has taken the gaming world by storm with its Claw handheld — a device jam-packed with both power and ergonomic design.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid
Lenovo, not far behind, unveiled the world’s first dual-OS 2-in-1 device — the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. This game-changer automatically transitions from a Windows PC to an Android tablet upon screen detachment. Innovative, indeed, and with the versatility of connecting it to an external monitor, Lenovo has essentially provided consumers with a two-for-one deal in productivity.
And for those looking forward to science fiction made real, Holoconnect’s Holobox garnered the ‘Best Innovation Overall,’ despite its currently prohibitive cost and size. It’s a look into the future where our conversations can be as close to “tele-presence” as we’ve imagined in our wildest sci-fi dreams.
TCL 115-inch QD-MiniLED TV
TCL introduced an exciting entrant into the market with its massive 115-inch QD-MiniLED TV, targeting home cinema enthusiasts wanting to blend large-scale viewing with QLED technology.
Lastly, but significantly, Rabbit’s R1, touted to be more than a mere AI assistant, could redefine the concept of virtual help with its proactive capabilities in routine tasks.
Here’s a snapshot of the best that CES 2024 had to offer:
|Samsung S95D OLED
|Glare-free display with OLED quality, ideal for bright rooms
|Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid
|2-in-1 Windows PC and Android tablet
|Best AI Device
|TimeKettle X1 Interpreter Hub
|Real-time translations in up to 40 languages
|Best Gaming Device
|Portable gaming with Intel Core Ultra processor
|Later this year
|Best Tech Accessory
|Minitailz Smart Dog Collar
|Activity and health monitor with location tracking
|$99 + subscription
|Holographic calls with near-zero latency
|Available for order
|Best TV Innovation
|TCL 115-inch QD-MiniLED TV
|Ultra-bright 5,000 nits display with 20,000 local dimming zones
|Available at Best Buy
|Best AI Innovation
|AI assistant capable of practical tasks like online shopping and bookings
CES 2024 has indeed set a high bar for future consumer electronics trade shows. It has showcased how tech can seamlessly blend into our everyday experiences — be it entertainment, work, or personal care — and sometimes, even in the way we choose to communicate with those we cherish.


Dallas-based musician Larry g(EE) is soaking up the spotlight with high-energy appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and at famed Texas festivals like South By Southwest and Austin City Limits. Coupled with a recent GQ Magazine nod for his sartorial style, the soul singer-songwriter is undeniably hot right now.
Today, g(EE) confesses an obsession to DFW Style Daily that leaves him star struck. Taking a break from prepping for his upcoming show with Tim Halperin and the Boom Bachs at Big D’s GrowSouth Jams in October, he fills us in on the digital drama behind his current fashionable media fixation. Click here to read more Obsession Confessions!
The Obsession: Larry g(EE) cops to a little social media stalking of fellow entertainers and fashion-forward designers on Instagram.
The Confession: “Before social media was a big deal, I was fixated on fashion, entertainment, and music magazines,” the performer notes. “In the Instagram era, I now have easy access to inspiration.”
The Rationalization: Explaining his penchant for Instagram’s style stars, g(EE) adds, “Social media sites are instant fashion gratification! In today’s creative environment, they’re the key to staying on top of diverse cultures and trends.”
The Collection: From publications and designers, to stylists, celebrities, and bloggers, g(EE) follows more than 100 creative Instagrammers. A few of his current favorites include Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) and online shopping sites Mr. Porter (@MrPorterLive) and Public School (@PublicSchoolNYC).
Shop It: After recently capturing GQ’s attention, g(EE) shares the secret to snagging his How GQ Are You? look through three key pieces. Shown above: Blazer by Public School, $1,450; Sunglasses by Ray-Ban, $175; Oxfords by Alexander McQueen via Mr. Porter, $595.
Headshot by Will Von Bolton and Instagram image from @Pharrell. Product images via individual retailers.


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Technical glitch hit Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line, services resume
| Friday | 21st June, 2019
New Delhi: Services on a section of Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line was briefly affected due to a technical snag, officials said.
The Yellow Line is one of the busiest lines in the Delhi Metro network and connects Samaypur Badli in north Delhi to HUDA City Centre in Gurugram.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted that there was a “slow movement of trains from Kashmere Gate towards Rajiv Chowk”.
Later, the mass transit operator said that normal services were resumed on the Yellow Line.
Earlier in the day, normal services on the Magenta Line were halted temporarily after a fire broke out at a furniture market near the Kalindi Kunj metro station.
Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.
Stay updated with all the Delhi Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.


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JOINTS are the connection between bones. They provide support for the skeleton framework and movement of body.Joints are fixed by ligaments,muscles and fascia tissue.All joint spaces are covered by a thin,silky but very strong synovial membrane.This joint space is filled with synovial fluid that acts as a lubricating cushion for smooth movement of bone ends over each other without causing any friction or injury.
Any damage to the joints from diseases/injury can interfere with your movement of body.This may cause pain , stiffness and dificulty in function of that joint.
Parts most commonly affected:- KNEES
JOINTS OF VERTEBRAE ( SPINE )
SMALLER JOINTS ( fingers,wrist etc )
AYURVEDIC VIEW:- Vitiation of vata dosha is the main cause of joint pain. In case of arthritis, gout etc formation of ama is the reason behind problem.
TREATMENT:- PANCHKARMA THERAPIES- Abhyangam
MEDICATIONS:- Lakshaadi Guggul, Vatkulantak Ras, Vatgajankush ras, Raasnaadi kwath, Aamvatari vati
LOCAL TOPICAL TREATMENT: Mahanarayan tail, Panchgun tail
HERBS:- Laksha, Ajwain, Nirgundi, Raasna, Guggul, Shunthi, Giloy, Bathu, Turmeric
HOME REMEDIES:- 1- Take mixture of powder of Dalchini,Blackpepper,Saunth,Mullathi and Triphala,2 spoon with one spoon of Ginger juice,morning evening daily for 3 months.
2- Turmeric and milk are the best combination to relieve any kind of pain.
3-Hot sponging with medicated oil over affected joint.


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In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by six persons, including three minors, for over 5 days in Andhra Pradesh's Ongole town. The matter came to light after the girl, hailing from Guntur district, managed to escape from the room where she was locked up.
The girl had come to the town on June 16 and was waiting for her friend at the RTC bus station when one of the accused befriended the girl and took her to a room where he and five of his friends allegedly took turns to rape her and it continued for five days.
The girl managed to escape from their clutches on Saturday and reached the bus station. An on-duty home-guard Venkateswarlu and Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Babu Rao found her crying and took her to the police station where she revealed the shocking story.
Based on her complaint, police launched a manhunt for the accused and nabbed them from different parts of the state.
One of the accused was nabbed at Bitragunta in SPS Nellore district while he was trying to board a train, Prakasam District Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal.
Four of the accused are engineering students, he added. All the accused have been booked under POCSO Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Meanwhile, the girl has been shifted to RIMS Hospital in Ongole for treatment and her condition was stated to be stable.
The incident has stirred up a row over the safety of women in the state with Home Minister M Sucharita promising stern action. Minister B Srinivas Reddy visited the hospital and assured that the government would ensure early and stringent punishment to the accused.


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When the University Pension Plan officially launched in July 2021, it did so with Barbara Zvan as its inaugural president and chief executive officer.
Fresh from a 25-year career with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, she was appointed by the UPP’s board of trustees in July 2020. While most of the foundational work had been done by the time she joined, it would be up to Zvan and a team of full-time employees and contractors to carry the project over the finish line.
“It’s been an interesting experience. Most of the people haven’t met one another in person. We don’t have an office yet. We needed to find people with expertise who knew what to get done, people who are flexible and excited about being part of a startup.”
It’s not difficult to see why Zvan was seen as the ideal candidate. At the Ontario Teachers’, she rose from an assistant portfolio manager to chief risk and strategy officer. She also has a track record of working well in uncharted territory — something she credits to experiences gained early in her career.
“When I started, the CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ was Claude Lamoureax. He had a novel approach to running a pension plan — he treated it like a business. He was also a great leader, who, alongside the plan’s inaugural chief investment officer, Bob Bertram, made it a pretty special place to work. I felt very supported. They were open-minded, innovative and welcomed good ideas. It was a great way to start a career.”
Around the time Lamoureaux and Bertram left the Ontario Teachers’, the 2008/09 financial crisis was sending shockwaves through the financial sector. Since Zvan had recently been promoted to senior vice-president of asset mix and risk, she found herself on the frontlines of the economic downturn.
“Post-[financial crisis], it was all about bringing more institutional strength to the risk function and I spent many years doing that. I ended up looking at best practices at other financial institutions and bringing over what was relevant to a pension plan.”
After the financial crisis, Zvan started to rethink asset allocation and risk management by encouraging the integration of responsible investing, including environmental, social and governance policies, into the plan’s decision-making.
All of these lessons would be valuable in setting up a brand new pension fund from the ground level. The UPP was founded as a defined benefit plan tasked with managing the pension needs of Ontario universities — with three initially signed up to join. Unlike most of Canada’s other public plans, it’s jointly governed by employers and employees, with both groups having a say on critical issues and in the election of trustees.
Upon her appointment last summer, Zvan was facing a ticking clock. The UPP had agreed to take control of the assets of the Queen’s University and Guelph University pension plans on July 1, 2021, with the University of Toronto assets to be handed over just nine months later. In total, it was set to become responsible for about $10.5 billion in assets.
With no intention of waiting for an end to social distancing, it fell to the UPP team to figure out how to pull off the launch. “Having a small team with lots of experience is helpful,” says Zvan. “You can get pretty innovative on Zoom, especially when you let other people bring the ideas to the table.”
One idea generated via virtual meetings was to open the organization up to its future stakeholders. “We are leveraging the fact that many of our members are part of the faculty of universities and are experts in their field. If you want people engaged in your pension, you have to open the way
In the spring of 2021, the UPP team reached out to future plan members, hosted virtual listening sessions and a town hall discussion on members’ hopes for their pension funds. It’s also planning to conduct an online survey of members’ hopes for their pension funds. What emerged from these intelligence-gathering exercises was a clear picture of what members wanted from the UPP.
“First and foremost, they want retirement security. They want us to invest responsibly. They want us to think about the impact it will make on the people around the world. They want to have an opportunity to provide input along the way. They want transparency and the ability to feel informed.”
The knowledge that the UPP’s future members were supportive of the idea of socially responsible investing bolstered Zvan’s resolve to bring some of her considerable ESG investment experience to the new pension fund. Beyond her work at the Ontario Teachers’, she also served on Canada’s expert panel on sustainable finance, is a board member of the Responsible Investment Association and is on the advisory board of the Institute for Sustainable Finance.
On July 1, just a few weeks after Trent University announced its pension would be absorbed by the UPP in 2022, the team held a socially distanced celebration. “Day one went well — and we’re thrilled about that,” says Zvan. “Now, we’re turning to longer-term planning and getting to know the portfolio. There’s still a lot of build to do.”
Gideon Scanlon is the editor of the Canadian Investment Review.


A big theme in the keynotes and conversation during Velocity Conf in NYC a few weeks ago was the role of ops in an "ops-less" and "server-less" world. It's also been a big feature in discussions on twitter and in conversations I've had with coworkers and friends in the industry. There are several things that stand out to me in these conversations: first, that some ops engineers (sysadmins, techops, devops, and SREs) are worried that they will be phased out if developers and software engineers are responsible for the operational tasks in their systems; second, that developers and software engineers do not have the skills needed to take over responsibility for operational tasks; and third, that building reliable systems is impossible without an operations organization.
I'm considered by many to be an ops engineer by trade, because I'm a site reliability engineer (SRE) at Uber. At most companies, SREs are just like any old ops engineers: they're viewed by developers as the engineers who are responsible for running the software after the developers build it. At other companies (like Uber), SREs aren't supposed to be your typical ops engineers - the majority of them aren't on-call for the microservices (the development teams are), they don't deploy the code (the developers do), but they do build tools to enable and empower developers to run their own services, and they are there to make sure that systems are built and run with reliability in mind. Even so, there's not that much that differentiates an SRE from a SWE (software engineer), and when people talk about an ops-less world, SREs (myself included) wonder where we fit into the picture.
Let's start with a simple question: do we really need operations engineers? My answer is a very loud and firm "no". We don't need operations engineers. We don't need a separate organization whose responsibility it is to deploy all the code, to be on-call for all the services, to monitor everything, to do all of the debugging and troubleshooting and mitigating and resolving every time something breaks. As I've argued before, these tasks are best accomplished when they are the responsibility of whoever knows the application, service, or system best, and, in the majority of cases, the developers are the best engineers for the job. If developers are ready, willing, and trained to take over the operational tasks for their systems, then there's no reason to have a separate operations organization - but in the industry today, that's not the case: many developers aren't ready (they haven't been on-call before, they don't know anything about systems debugging and troubleshooting), they aren't willing (after all, who wants to get paged at 2:00 AM when their code causes the system to fail?), and they aren't trained (they don't know best practices for deployment, for logging, for monitoring, etc.). In short, if developers are responsible for running their own applications, services, or systems, then no, you don't need a separate operations organization - but if they aren't, then you most certainly do.
To explain my reasoning behind this, I'm going to dig into each of the concerns I listed above. Let's start with the first concern: the fear that ops careers will be phased out. If we get to the point within a company where operational engineers are no longer needed, because developers are responsible for running and maintaining their own software, then we've done our jobs. One of the things that senior ops engineers have always told me is that ops should strive to automate themselves out of their jobs - automate monitoring, automate deployment, automate rollbacks when deployments go badly - and if you find yourself at a point where everything is automated, then it's time to either figure out how to make it even better (if you can), or move on to another company and set them up for success. Automating everything away isn't enough to justify running an ops-less organization, however: developers will need to become responsible for running the deployment systems, for understanding monitoring, for learning how to debug and troubleshoot complex systems problems. To run a successful ops-less organization, developers need to become experts in operations.
Let's imagine that we find ourselves in a company where the developers are experts in operations, every operational task has been turned into a self-service tool that is maintained by developers, and there are no traditional operational tasks left for the ops engineer to work on. What happens to the operations engineers? The first possibility is that the operations engineer moves on to another company where developers aren't responsible for operations - if you love ops work, then this would be the right move. The second possibility is that operations engineers become the software engineers responsible for internal self-service tools and the application platform, and they build centralized systems that all development teams can use for logging, for monitoring, for debugging, for deployment, and the like. This second possibility requires that ops engineers be strong and capable programmers (if you've automated yourself out of operations, then you're likely a pretty competent programmer), and it comes with work that will never end nor be phased out: there will always be new and improved infrastructure tools that you can adopt and migrate your systems to, there will always be new challenges you will meet. In this second picture, there is practically no difference between a software engineer and an operations engineer - they both build and run their own systems - other than the domain: the software engineer builds and runs the top-level applications, while the (ex-)operations engineer builds and runs the infrastructure and tooling underneath the applications.
Now for the second concern: that developers and software engineers (some places use the terms interchangeably, some do not, so I'm including both terms here) simply don't have the skills, knowledge, and/or expertise needed to take over operational tasks. There is a little bit of truth to this, because many developers work in organizations where they've never had to do any operational tasks. If they were told they were responsible for their own operations, many of them would have no idea where to start or what to do. However, the majority of developers are very capable and competent engineers who know the fundamentals of software engineering and computer science - if they can write an application, they can definitely debug, monitor, deploy, and be on-call for that application. Like anything else, learning how to handle operational tasks just takes time, training, and help.
There are three domains of expertise that experienced operations engineers tend to have. They have a lot of low-level systems knowledge: they know how to debug low-level systems problems, they understand the fundamentals of networking, they know the intricacies of the Linux kernel and they know every Linux command on this earth. They also have a lot of high-level distributed systems knowledge: they know how entire production systems fit and work together, they know how to design for scalability and reliability, they know how things should be deployed and monitored and logged. They also have solid programming skills: they know multiple languages quite well, and can easily write applications and tools for developers to use. The tricky thing about replacing operational engineers with software engineers is that software engineers tend to only be experts in the latter domain. In an ops-less organization, developers need to have the skills and experience in the two former domains as well. Again, this isn't impossible, and I've met many, many software engineers who are extraordinarily skilled in all three areas.
Finally, the third concern: that building a reliable system is impossible without an operations organization. This is, once again, something that is true in organizations where developers aren't responsible for operational tasks and lack the systems and best practices knowledge that operational engineers bring to the table. If you build a system without engineers that have (i) deep understanding of computer systems at a low-level, (ii) knowledge of operational best practices, and (iii) experience with building and running large-scale production systems, then yes, you are going to have a really horrible experience trying to build a reliable system. But if your developers are trained and have experience in these three areas, then you will be just fine.
I think the identity crisis in ops is justified. Ops roles have been around for many, many years, and recently the conversation in the industry has shifted so much that industry leaders are beginning to ask if having a separate operational organization even makes sense. In organizations that train and expect their developers to run what they build, the operations roles will change dramatically - in my opinion, they will change for the better, and we'll be building large, complex systems and self-service tools and application platforms and all kinds of wonderful, exciting, cool things. However, I think that the majority of operations engineers will find that the their roles will stay the same for a very long time: there will (probably) always be organizations that prefer to split their engineering resources between those who build (developers) and those who run (operations), and there will always be new organizations who are moving toward ops-less but need operations engineers to pave the way, to train the developers, to build the systems and automate things to the point that developers can begin taking on the operational responsibilities.
In summary: the identity crisis is real, and it's here, and it's unavoidable, but I don't think that it's a sign that things are getting worse for operations and for the tech industry. It's a sign that things are getting better. It's an exciting sign that the field is changing, evolving, growing. It's a sign that responsibility is (finally!) valued in the world of software engineering.