|Type||Public (Societas Europaea)|
|Predecessor||Volkswagen Group's heavy vehicle operations|
|Founded||June 6, 2013|
|Christian Levin (CEO)|
|Revenue||€30.62 billion (2021)|
|€393 million (2021)|
|€470 million (2021)|
|Total assets||€55.12 billion (2021)|
|Total equity||€13.45 billion (2021)|
Number of employees
|97,235 (December 31, 2021)|
|Parent||Volkswagen Group (89.7%)|
Traton SE, known as the Traton Group (formerly Volkswagen Truck & Bus AG), is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with its MAN, Scania, Navistar, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus brands. The company also has digital services branded as RIO. In 2020, the group sold around 190,200 vehicles. The range of products includes light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, as well as vans and buses. As of December 31, 2020, Traton employed around 82,600 people in its commercial vehicle brands.
In 1979, Volkswagen AG held a 67% share in Chrysler Motors do Brasil Ltda., a Brazilian commercial vehicle manufacturer. In 1980, Volkswagen acquired the remaining shares in Chrysler, renamed the company Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus Ltda., and assigned it to the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles division.
In 2000 Volkswagen contributed 3 billion German marks to Swedish Scania AB, controlling 34% of the voting rights and holding 18.7% of the share capital. In 2006, MAN SE presented Volkswagen and the other Scania shareholders with a takeover offer in the amount of 9.6 billion euros. A few days later, Volkswagen rejected the offer, and broached the subject of a potential truck alliance for the first time.
In October 2006, Volkswagen AG announced that it had acquired 15% of MAN SE, but did not intend to take over. On October 12, 2006, MAN SE increased its takeover bid to Scania by 400 million euros, bringing it to a total of 10 billion euros. At the same time, it bought additional shares, giving it control of about 14% of Scania AB. After the partners also rejected the revised offer, MAN withdrew the offer in January 2007, and began talks about a possible alliance between the three companies. To further consolidate this alliance, Volkswagen acquired another 14.9% of MAN. Shortly afterwards, Volkswagen announced that it now held 35.3% of the Scania voting rights. Volkswagen acquired a further 30.62% of the voting rights from the Swedish Investor AB and the Wallenberg foundations in March 2008. Volkswagen had already controlled this share in the past by means of an agreement with the existing shareholders.
In December 2008, Volkswagen AG sold the Brazilian subsidiary Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus Ltda. to MAN SE for 1.2 billion euros. The company was incorporated into MAN Latin America Ltda. under a new name, selling the majority of its heavy trucks and buses under the Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus brand, alongside MAN Truck and Bus products. Volkswagen acquired further MAN SE shares at the beginning of May 2011 and was obliged to submit a takeover offer, which it did at the end of the same month. Volkswagen held the majority of voting rights at 55.9% at the end of the acceptance period. As part of further share purchases, Volkswagen announced voting rights of 75.03% on June 6, 2012. Due to the resulting statutory blocking minority of 25%, Volkswagen was given sole control of MAN SE. On April 16, 2013, Volkswagen AG applied for “Truck & Bus GmbH” to be entered into the commercial register of the city of Wolfsburg. On forming this new subsidiary, Volkswagen transferred the shares it held in MAN SE, with which Truck & Bus GmbH signed a control and profit transfer agreement on June 6, 2013. Volkswagen AG held more than 89% of the Scania AB voting rights as a result of the shares in Scania held by its subsidiary, MAN.
In February 2014, Volkswagen issued a voluntary public takeover bid to the remaining shareholders of Scania. At the end of the acceptance period in June 2014, Volkswagen held 99.57% of the voting rights. Following the squeeze-out under Swedish law, Volkswagen AG became the holder of 82.63% of the voting rights directly and another 17.37% via MAN SE.
At the beginning of July 2015, the shareholders' meeting of Truck & Bus GmbH decided to rename it Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH, a company based in Braunschweig. Andreas Renschler, at that time responsible for the commercial vehicles on the board of management of Volkswagen AG, became CEO. Martin Winterkorn was appointed as chairman of the supervisory board. The shares Volkswagen held in Scania were transferred to the renamed holding company. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles remained part of Volkswagen AG.
In 2016, Volkswagen Truck & Bus acquired a 16.6% stake in U.S. commercial vehicle maker Navistar International Corporation. Both companies entered into a strategic technology and supply cooperation initiative and established a purchasing joint venture.
On June 20, 2018, Volkswagen Truck & Bus was announced as being renamed Traton, effective from the third quarter of 2018.
In August 2018, Volkswagen Truck & Bus was renamed Traton AG. The company used this new name at the IAA 2018 press conference with the tagline "Transforming Transportation". Followed by the transformation into a European company (Societas Europaea or SE) in December 2018, the company was renamed Traton SE. The name stands for TRAnsformation, TRAnsportation, TRAdition, TONnage and always “ON”.
On June 28, 2019, Traton was listed at the Frankfurt and Stockholm stock exchange. The placement price for the dual listing was set at 27.00 euros per share. About 57,500,000 ordinary bearer shares from Volkswagen AG's holdings were placed with investors, 11.5% of Traton's share capital. Volkswagen raised 1.55 billion euros.
In 2018, Volkswagen Truck & Bus and Hino Motors announced a wide-ranging strategic partnership for activities including procurement, technologies, and logistics. In November 2019, they established a procurement joint venture called Hino and Traton Global Procurement, with 51% of it owned by Traton and 49% by Hino.
On January 30, 2020, Traton announced a proposal to purchase all outstanding shares in Navistar.
In February 2020, Traton announced that it intended to absorb MAN SE by merging to simplify Traton's overall structure. As a result of the merger, MAN Truck & Bus SE, Scania AB, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus were to become wholly owned direct subsidiaries of Traton. The merging of the MAN company into Traton was completed in August 2021.
In September 2020, Traton formed a partnership with TuSimple, a self-driving trucking technology company, to co-develop level-4 autonomous trucks by equipping Traton's Scania trucks with automated vehicle technology. As part of this new partnership, Traton has invested in TuSimple.
On July 1, 2021, Traton successfully completed its takeover of Navistar.
On May 18, 2022, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus announced it was changing its corporate name to Volkswagen Truck and Bus, one of its parent's former names.
According to the company, teams of MAN and Scania engineers will jointly develop the core components of the powertrain. The management of the cross-brand project groups will be taken over by one of the two companies. Scania is responsible for large engines with 13-liter capacity, whereas MAN is in charge of smaller units with 5- to 9-liter engines. The breakdown for exhaust systems and gearboxes is similar.
Integration into the Volkswagen Group
Traton forms the Commercial Vehicles Business Area of the Volkswagen Group, which owns a 89.7% majority shareholding. The Commercial Vehicles Business Area formerly included the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, but following changes in the management structure of the Volkswagen Group, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand was reallocated to the Passenger Cars Business Area from 1 January 2019.
MAN Truck & Bus
MAN Truck & Bus has medium- and heavy-duty trucks for long-haul and distribution transport, as well as for construction sites and special applications. In addition to urban, intercity, and touring coaches of the MAN and Neoplan brands, the TGE light transporter completes the range of models on offer. In 2020, MAN sold 81,673 vehicles, including 76,333 trucks and 5,340 buses. In 2020, sales revenue of the MAN Truck & Bus operating unit was 9.659 billion euros.
Scania AB makes trucks for long-distance and distribution traffic, construction sites, and special areas, including autonomous trucks for enclosed areas. City and intercity buses, and coaches complete the product portfolio. In 2020, the brand sold 72,085 vehicles – 66,899 trucks and 5,186 buses.
Volkswagen Truck & Bus
Volkswagen Truck & Bus specializes in developing markets. It has light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks for long-distance and distribution transport, construction sites, and special areas. City and intercity buses and coaches are also available. In 2020, it sold a total of 36,974 vehicles.
Navistar produces heavy trucks under the International brand, and buses under the IC Bus brand. On July 1, 2021, Navistar became a wholly owned subsidiary of Traton SE, and therefore part of the Traton Group.
RIO is the digital services brand of Traton.
- Rawald, Christoph (2020-07-07). "Volkswagen Management Tumult Spills Over to Truck Subsidiary". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- "Annual Report 2021" (PDF). Traton. pp. 5, 104–108. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- "Strategy update: Traton – 2019 edition – a new Automotive World report". Automotive World. 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- Nicolai, Birger (23 May 2000). "Aktionäre mit VW-Chef Piëch unzufrieden". Die Welt.
- "Volkswagen takes control of Scania". The Economic Times. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- Joseph, Noah (2015-05-05). "Volkswagen Group launches Truck and Bus GmbH". Autoblog. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- Yerak, Becky. Volkswagen buying $256 million stake in Navistar. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
- Taylor, Edward (2018-06-20). "Volkswagen Truck & Bus to be renamed Traton". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- Volkswagen Truck & Bus completes transformation into a stock corporation. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
- "Traton is a company for a new era of transportation. An Interview with Andreas Renschler".
- "IAA TRATON 23.08.18 - Traton @ IAA_18".
- Schweiger, Andreas (2018-12-20). "VW stellt Nutzfahrzeugtochter Traton neu auf". Braunschweiger Zeitung. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- "A new Champion for a new era: Volkswagen Truck & Bus to become TRATON GROUP".
- Costello, Patrick (2019-06-28). "Volkswagen sets Traton IPO price at EUR27 a share". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- Rauwald, Christoph (2019-06-28). "Volkswagen's Truck Unit Opens Flat in Frankfurt Trading Debut". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- Williams, Marcus (2019-11-05). "Traton and Hino sign procurement JV". Automotive Logistics. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- Miller, Joe; Campbell, Peter (2020-01-30). "VW offers $2.9bn for control of US truckmaker Navistar". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- "Traton seeking to execute a squeeze-out of the non-controlling shareholders of MAN SE in accordance with merger law" (Press release). 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
- "Traton successfully completes merger squeeze-out of MAN SE" (Press release). 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
- "VW's Traton Group strikes a deal with TuSimple to develop autonomous trucks". TechCrunch. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- Ohnsman, Alan. "Volkswagen's Truck Unit Ties Up With TuSimple On Robot Big Rigs". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- "TRATON GROUP Successfully Completes Navistar Merger and Ushers in a New Era". Navistar. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- "Volkswagen Truck & Bus is the new corporate name of Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus". VW Truck and Bus Press Room. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- VW Trucks Unit Allocates Development Projects Within Scania, MAN. Bloomberg.com. 2016-09-28. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
- "Interim Report January - September 2019" (PDF). Volkswagen AG. 2019-10-30. p. 50. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- "MAN SE Company Presentation" (PDF). www.corporate.man.eu. 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- Straight, Brian (2019-02-10). "Traton charges ahead with €2 billion investment in electric, autonomous vehicles". Freight Waves. Retrieved 2019-11-28.


text:
Recap: At Westminster, McDaniel outscored Hood 25-7 in the second quarter en route to victory on the first day of the 2015 McDaniel Tipoff Tournament. Karli Zeps recorded a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Green Terror (1-0), who advanced to Sunday's championship game and will face Juniata at 4 p.m. Lindsey Nichols added 18 points while freshman Halle Burgess debuted with 11. Brittney Davis handed out eight assists to go with her eight points and five steals.
Oneonta 3, McDaniel 1
Recap: At Pittsburgh, Oneonta built a 2-0 lead early in the second half and beat the Green Terror in the first round of the NCAA Divsion III tournament. Erin Brinley) scored for the Terror (15-3-2) in the program's first NCAA tourney appearance.

domain: news


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Fraudio raised $3.3 million in seed funding.
Fraudio, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based cybersecurity SAAS company, announced completing a $3.3 million seed funding round.
Fraudio, founded in 2019 in Portugal by João Moura and Nathan Trousdell, developed a cloud-native centralised AI-powered payment fraud detection system. Aiming to take over from the rules-based fraud prevention systems still prevalent today, Fraudio's technology is designed for all parts of the payments ecosystem: payment-service-providers, acquirers, issuers, processors, card schemes and large merchants that run their own checkouts or gateways.
Business cases include using Fraudio's tech for three products: payment fraud detection; merchant initiated fraud detection; and money laundering detection. Customers include Viva Wallet, Borgun, Novalnet, PagueloFacil.
Fraudio previously raised $650k in 2020.

domain: economics


text:
Nagpur: Maharashtra government Saturday announced a compensation of Rs 1000 crore to farmers who lost
their crops due to untimely rains in the state.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan also informed the
state Assembly that the government will not cut power
connections of affected defaulter farmers for the next four
The land where over 50 per cent crop was lost due to
untimely rains is 5.44 lakh hectares, Chavan said.
Chavan was replying to a debate in the House on damage
to farmers due to untimely rains, raised by Leader of
Opposition Eknath Khadse and others under Rule 101 of the
Dissatisfied with Chief Minister`s reply, Opposition
staged a walk-out, demanding higher compensation for farmers.


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|Part of a series on|
|Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people|
|Prejudice / Violence|
|Academic fields and
|25px LGBT portal|
Bi-curious is a phenomenon in which people of a heterosexual or homosexual identity who, while showing some curiosity for a relationship or sexual activity with a person of the sex they do not favor, distinguish themselves from the bisexual label. The term is sometimes used to describe a broad continuum of sexual orientation between heterosexuality and bisexuality. The terms heteroflexible and homoflexible are also applied to bi-curiosity, though some authors distinguish heteroflexibility as lacking the "wish to experiment with ... sexuality" implied by the bi-curious label.
The term bi-curious implies that the individual has either no or limited homosexual experience in the case of heterosexual individuals or no or limited heterosexual experience in the case of homosexual people, but may continue to self-identify as bi-curious if they do not feel they have adequately explored these feelings, or if they do not wish to identify as bisexual.
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- Smorag, Pascale (14 May 2008). "From Closet Talk to PC Terminology : Gay Speech and the Politics of Visibility". Transatlantica. Retrieved February 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>

domain: sociology


Tourists interested in visiting Karamoja wildlife-protected areas have been advised to be careful as they cross the flooded seasonal rivers in the sub-region.
The call was made by Mr James Okware the senior warden in charge of Pian, Upe and Matheniko Bokora game reserves under the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA).
Mr Okware says that most of the rivers in the region are starting to flood with high, fast-running water that might sweep away tourists as they attempt to cross.
He argues that Karamoja seasonal rivers always become full whenever it rains and the speed that the water runs in the rivers is too high for anyone’s safety. For the last one week, some Parts of Karamoja have been receiving heavy rainfall that has flooded some rivers and it is threatening to displace some families.
The rains have already damaged many access roads that link Karamoja to other districts, especially in Bugisu region. Pascal Lokol, one of the tour guides in Nakapiripirit said they always keep interacting with their tourists and give them updates whenever there’s insecurity or heavy rains.
“We are in touch with some of the tourists especially those who book with our tour company,” he said.
According to Paul Lokol, the district chairperson, Nabilatuk farmers must take advantage of this rain and plant food.


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I filled out my sample ballot tonight, so I know what's up when I get to the polls.
It's so confusing though, thank God for the internet. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't look all of this up.
All of these amendments are so wordy I don't know if voting yes is a good thing or bad thing!
I figured it all out though.
The most important thing is that Obama is being voted for on my ballot!

domain: politics


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Kindervital for children is a high quality liquid multivitamin and mineral preparation. It contains essential vitamins A, B complex, C, D and E together with Calcium for strong bones and teeth.
Young and old alike can benefit from the essential vitamins which help to maintain health and vitality, together with Calcium – so vital for strong bones and teeth and many other important biological processes. Kids love its taste. Suitable for vegetarians.
Warning: Always read the label and keep out of reach of children.
Any Product sold or supplied by Bodywiseuk.com are not intended for the treatment,
prevention and cure of any medical conditions.
Never exceed recommended intake unless professionally advised.
Salus UK Ltd. Kidervital - Childs Vitamin & Mineral Syrup

domain: medical


text:
PARIMAL CHANDRA PAUL
The GST number (GSTIN) of PARIMAL CHANDRA PAUL in Tripura, India is 16ADSPP1524B2ZP. It was registered under Goods & Services Tax, India on 10/07/2017 as Regular taxpayer. It is a Proprietorship with principal place of business at H G B ROAD, AGARTALA, AGARATALA, WEST TRIPURA, TRIPURA — 799001. The status of this GST number is Active.
PARIMAL CHANDRA PAUL has multiple registrations with total 2 GST numbers linked to same PAN ADSPP1524B.
|Legal Name||PARIMAL CHANDRA PAUL|
|Date of Registration||10/07/2017|
|Constitution of Business||Proprietorship|
|State Jurisdiction||Charge - III Level 1|
|Centre Jurisdiction||AGARTALA II RANGE|
|Principal Place of Business||H G B ROAD, AGARTALA, AGARATALA, WEST TRIPURA, TRIPURA — 799001|

domain: finance


text:
The Royal National Theatre's new musical on the life of Sammy Davis Jr and a world premiere production of their own show, You Hang Up First, are just some of the highlights of the autumn season at Contact .
The first of the Royal National Theatre productions, written by Tanika Gupta and directed by Hettie Macdonald, is Sanctuary , opening on September 17. A London churchyard becomes a sanctuary for the gardener, Kabir, and a place of solace for others seeking refuge from their own past, including Michael, from Rwanda, alcoholic ex-photographer Sebastian, and even Jenny, the vicar.
When a photograph of an African church appears in this little Eden, it provokes a drama of conscience in which everyone's morality is put on trial. Sanctuary tours direct from The Loft, the National Theatre's newest performance space, where it was presented as part of the Transformation season of new writing. It runs until September 21.
That's followed by Sammy , a new musical inspired by the life of Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. From September 23 until September 28.
UK Arts and Company of Angels present Hannah and Hanna from Monday, September 30. Two girls - one from Kosovo, the other from Margate - develop a powerful friendship capable of overriding the bigotry that surrounds them.
Can what they have in common outweigh their differences? A "must-see" show at the Edinburgh Festival, John Rettalack's critically acclaimed play runs until October 5.
From Tuesday, October 22 until Saturday October 26, Clean Break presents Inside Out , also written by Tanita Gupta. Affy and Di are teenage schoolgirls who yearn to escape their violent family for a better life.
Close friends and sisters, they share their hopes and dreams and make plans for the future. But when Affy gets an offer of a new family in another town, she jumps at the chance, leaving Di to deal with the consequences on her own.
Following their sell-out success with First Night at Contact last autumn, Forced Entertainment return amid a blaze of critical and public acclaim with their as yet untitled new show.
Prepare to be amazed once again on Tuesday, November 5, and Wednesday, November 6.
Zeros And Nils
Extant, the first professional British blind arts company, in association with Turtle Key Arts, presents New Life Theatre Company from Croatia in their latest production Zeros And Nils . The company of blind actors from Zagreb have taken a book of short stories And with minimal costume and set, they create a highly physical absurdist piece that can be seen on Friday and Saturday, November 15 and 16.
The Taj Mahal is one of the greatest architectural marvels made by man and the new play Taj , written and directed by Uzma Hameed, for The Big Picture Company, brings to life an opulent period of Islamic history through the eyes of a young Asian woman on a pilgrimage to her past.
This talented young Asian company combine text, dance and video projection, as well as drawing on the rich resources of Moghul art and poetry on Wednesday and Thursday, November 20 and 21.
You Hang Up First
Then Contact presents the world premiere of its own new show You Hang Up First . Written and directed by Dana Fainaru, it's described as "an urban tale of the magic and cruelty of coincidence." Hannah is a young woman who has lost her boyfriend in a road accident.
She can't get used to living without him. Indeed, she doesn't want to get used to living without him and those around her are beginning to think that maybe she never will. From Friday, November 22 until Saturday, December 7.
Finally, from December 17 until December 2, The Royal National Theatre presents Brecht's Threepenny Opera .
For bookings or more information on any of the shows, please call 0161 274 0600.

domain: entertainment


text:
Commentary - Most Commented
Feb 16, 2012
Commentator Megan McArdle says no president has that much control over the economy.
Feb 15, 2012
But commentator Betsey Stevenson says they're only just masking the need to reform how we help the unemployed.
Feb 10, 2012
When commentator Jen Miller's love hit the rocks, she did something unusual -- she called a mortgage broker. But she didn't lose her head.
Feb 8, 2012
But commentator Robert Reich says they miss the cause.
Feb 6, 2012
Commentator Mark Bittman says for many, beef is no longer what's for dinner.
Feb 3, 2012
Many college grads feel betrayed when they can't find a job commensurate with their education. But Ramit Sethi of "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" says that it is possible to get your dream job -- if you're willing to work for it.
Feb 2, 2012
More about our retraction of the first-person commentary, titled "Returning Veteran has Few Marketable Skills"
Feb 1, 2012
President Obama plans to build much of his election-year policy agenda around carrots and sticks. But commentator Amity Shlaes that plan could backfire.
Jan 31, 2012
Perks are nice, but they're not what really motivates employees to do their best.


Toongabbie is a railway station on the Western line, Sydney of the CityRail network. It serves a well established residential area in the suburb of Toongabbie. It has four tracks, and the tracks are paired by direction. This means that all trains to the city leave from the same island platform, so if the train happens to travel on the unexpected track, it is a simple thing to walk over to the other platform. The station is served by two trains per hour each way, with additional trains during weekday peak hours.


Four years of on-again, off again effort came to fruition for Swami Sadashivacharya on April 27 at Moscow’s Moskva conference hall. On that brisk spring day the Russian language version of Dancing with Siva was released. Russian books on Hinduism are few; so this encyclopedic tome–1,008 pages in the original English–fills a wide gap at a critical time in the evolution of the nation’s spiritual consciousness.
By timely and judicious compromises, the Russian Orthodox Church survived 80 years of communist rule. But the institution that limped into freedom’s dawn was a mere shadow of the mighty mentor of all things Russian it had once been. The old folks had clung to their faith over the years, but the new generation was educated on communist doctrines which dismissed religion’s necessity. Now, with communism itself relegated to the netherworld of failed social experiments, religion is an appealing, untested option for Russian youth. And just as India once looked to the Soviets for inspiration and guidance in forming a socialist country, seekers of the disbanded Union now look to India as the world’s primeval fountain of wisdom and knowledge.
It was such a quest that took the young Swami Sadashivacharya to India years ago. He and other seekers formed Moscow’s Tantra Sangha in 1992, with the intent of promoting Hindu Tantric philosophy and worship. When he met Hinduism Today publisher Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in Berlin in 1993, he was presented a copy of Dancing with Siva. “At the very first moment of getting it, I was deeply impressed and wished to do everything possible to make a Russian version,” recalls Swami. “I asked Gurudeva for his blessing to translate the book, and immediately, without any words, he put his hands upon my head and gave his blessings.” Swami knew the book would fill the great void in Russian-language publications for comprehensive books on Indian spirituality. “There are several hundred books on Hinduism in Russia,” Swami said, “but most of them are very simple, thin and unillustrated.” Dancing with Siva covers every aspect of Hinduism in question/answer format, and includes extensive references on major Hindu denominations, hundreds of carefully defined Sanskrit terms, a timeline of Hindu history, material for parents and children, a synopsis of each of the world’s major religions and abundant illustrations.
Leo Ozolin began the massive translation task immediately upon Swami’s return to Russia in 1993, but soon stopped for lack of funds. In 1996, Sophia Publishing company took an interest in adding the Catechism to their titles on yoga, New Age, healing, meditation and transpersonal psychology. Two professional translators, Peter Aleinikov of Moscow and Andrey Kostenko of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, were hired to complete the text. They divided the book between them, and reported easy going with the translation, though they admitted, “The Sanskrit terms were hard.” Aleinikov, who spent a full year on the project, believes it is a useful work as “Russian people are very interested in Hindu philosophy.” Kostenko was inspired by “the divinity, integrity and ease-of-understanding brought to the complex subject of Hinduism.” He served as proofreader and production motivator while Swami Sadashivacharya provided editing and organizational input. The high-quality, hardbound text is now available for US$12 to $15 in Russian stores–a moderate price within reach of even a student’s budget. The reception is “very warm and excellent,” Swami reports.
Paramacharya Bodhinatha Veylanswami of Himalayan Academy Publications–publishers of Dancing with Siva and, we need disclose, Hinduism Today–flew to Russia for the book release. He reports a successful event with a number of distinguished speakers enthusiastically endorsing the book, including the publisher, scholars and leaders of several spiritual groups, notably Vladimir B. Avdeyev, chairman of the Russian Pagan community and Sri Vaidyanath das, president of the Russian branch of ISKCON.
The most unexpected revelations came from speaker Yuri P. Shilov, an archeologist of Ukraine. He explained how his life had been transformed when his archeological research into Ukraine’s history revealed that the region’s early culture was Vedic. As a Marxist at the time, this came as a great shock. Mainstream scholars had not suspected such a strong Ukraine-India connection. But other evidence was already at hand, including the ten-kopek Ukraine coin bearing the country’s national symbol–the Hindu trident! Shilov plans to join new digs in India, and to team up with visiting Indian archeologists in his own land.
Kim I. Shilin, a scholar in the “Laboratory of East Culture’s Ecology,” Institute of Asian-African Studies, Moscow University, praised the Indian approach, which “treats life as a whole and seeks revival of the initial harmony,” an outlook he hopes will counterbalance the impact of the West’s aggressive, materialistic philosophy.
There is no permanent Indian presence in Russia. Indians come from Bharat for a few years, but then return. This differs from the Western paradigm, where resident Indian Hindu populations have built temples, established their teachings and given strength to inspired Westerners. Russia’s seekers with Hindu leanings are on their own (though India is not that far away). Thus, they are encouraged by the section in Dancing with Siva on how people not born into the faith can enter Hinduism through study, severance and traditional rites. Meanwhile, others in the former USSR are turning to Paganism, the land’s pre-Christian faith, sparking a grassroots revival, as is also happening in Europe. Pagans in both communities are discovering, too, that their ancient heritage is closely akin to Hinduism.
The Russian version ofDancing with Sivais available from the Tantra Sangha, P.O. Box 70, Moscow 103055, Russia.


A Reflection on Philanthropy and Season of the Giving By Ridvan Idara
In the United States, the tradition of charitable giving peaks during the holiday season, notably between Thanksgiving and the year’s end—a period known as the “season of giving.” A significant portion of philanthropic donations occurs in the last few months of the year. This giving period also aligns with the desire to make tax-deductible donations before the end of the calendar year.
As the leader of a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth through the arts, the responsibility to meet annual budget goals intensifies, prompting focused attention to fundraising starting in the Fall.
When I founded New Era Creative Space in 2013, I recognized that getting comfortable with fundraising wouldn’t be a walk in the park, and truth be told, it has yet to be. But as the years have passed and I’ve leaned into it, my mindset has significantly transformed.
Living in a society that paradoxically discourages asking for help while perpetuating systemic injustices, fundraising and giving have taken on a new meaning for me—an investment in justice.
The creation of this non-profit stemmed from a profound love for humanity, grounded in the belief that every individual, regardless of financial circumstances, holds rich potential. I feel a moral imperative to contribute to the betterment of the world, and I believe it starts right here in my neighborhood and community.
Philanthropy translates to “love of humanity” or “the desire to promote the welfare of others.” Reflecting on the essence of generosity, Henri Nouwen states, “Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds, we are not saying, “Please, could you help us out because lately it’s been hard.” Rather, we are declaring, “We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you — your energy, your prayers, and your money — in this work to which God has called us.” Our invitation is clear and confident because we trust that our vision and mission are like “trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.” (Ps. 1:3)
This holiday season, I invite those of you who have taken the time to read this article to find a way to support an organization or a project you connect with. If you can provide financial support, know that every dollar makes a difference, no matter how small. The world is filled with extraordinary people doing life-changing work who need our help. If we all work together, we can move the needle toward a better future for all. When we invest in empowering our youth and communities impacted by the injustices of our nation, we are investing in our collective liberation.
It’s essential to highlight that giving goes beyond finances. We can offer our time to express love, kindness, and compassion. Lend a listening ear to those in need, and, for some, the most valuable gift this season may be compassion and love for oneself.
I wish you all a happy holiday season filled with love, giving, and receiving!


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Vengeance Is His
It goes without saying that vengeful violence is the nexus of Clint Eastwood's oeuvre as both actor and director, but never in his career has brutality been so ferociously distilled or fearsomely adumbrated as it is in the murky but fecund Mystic River. Here a sudden impact will not stand simply as object lesson, cynical comeuppance, or macho joke. Eastwood's interests lie less in an act of brutality itself than in its terrified prelude and shell-shocked aftermath, its ebb tides and ripple effects, its viral properties and means of transmission. "It's like vampires," splutters the damaged-beyond-repair Dave (Tim Robbins) to his wife in an eruption of horrified self-recognition. "Once it's in you, it stays." That's the same lesson learned by vehemently reformed outlaw William Munny in Unforgiven, Eastwood's acknowledged masterpiece and Best Picture winner.
Mystic River flows from two main tributaries: the tragic moment when three childhood friends began to part ways, and the upheaval that twists their paths together again. Some 30 years ago, as his pals Jimmy and Sean looked on, Dave got into a car with pedophiles posing as a cop and a priest; they kept him for four days before the boy escaped. He recovered from the ordeal enough to marry and bring up a family, while semi-reformed criminal Jimmy (Sean Penn) eventually opened a convenience store in their working-class, gentrification-bound Boston 'hood and Sean (Kevin Bacon) entered the police force. It's Sean who's assigned to investigate the fatal beating and shooting of Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum), killed on the same night that Dave stumbled home to wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) at three in the morning with someone else's blood on his hands.
In many of his directing efforts, Eastwood seeks a John Ford-style interplay between action-suspense and shaggy comic relief, but here he moves--often clunkily--between revenge tragedy and cool policier. Daggerlike edits juxtapose feral arias of grief and the businesslike, seen-it-all banter of Sean and his partner Whitey (Laurence Fishburne), who at first suspect Katie's baby-faced boyfriend Brendan (Tom Guiry) of her murder. Brian Helgeland's screenplay, a largely faithful adaptation of the 2001 novel by neo-hardboiled dynamo Dennis Lehane, encompasses both flights of vernacular Shakespeare and strained, movingly banal small talk. (A typical grace note: Jimmy tells Dave sheepishly that he doesn't have enough room in the fridge for all the sympathy food that his friends have brought him.)
The Shakes parallel runs thickest in the film's pair of almost unrecognizably dissimilar Lady Macbeths: kind, mousy Celeste, who washes Dave's crimson-stained clothes but feels a damned spot on her conscience; and loyal lioness Annabeth (Laura Linney), the wife Michael Corleone might have wished for. For better and worse, Mystic River doesn't fall easily into a single genre category; it gestures toward but never entirely embraces the lean-and-tight procedural of L.A. Confidential (which Helgeland also adapted), the Greek-operatic surge of Rocco and His Brothers, or, yes, the baroque chill of the Godfathers--to which Eastwood pays homage in the crosscutting between a First Communion ceremony and the discovery of Katie's mangled body. The film is neither cerebral nor visceral, despite the powerhouse emotional resources of the cast. Of the stellar crew, only the usually redoubtable Robbins falters, hefting a bit too much sad sack onto Dave's defeated shoulders, though the script works wonders in subtly externalizing the labyrinthine torments in the corridors of his mind.
After the recent New York Film Festival press screening of Mystic River, a reporter asked Eastwood whether his film represented an "atonement," presumably for the body count amassed by Dirty Harry, Josey Wales, and sundry other payback perpetrators--on either side of the law--whom Eastwood has incarnated. The filmmaker answered in the negative, but allowed, "Times change, people change, and that's life." But in terms of Eastwood's script choices, his latest represents not so much a significant change, but a logical progression from a movie he made a decade ago, the off-kilter and underappreciated A Perfect World, which also delved into the sabotage of childhood and the ugly hopelessness of attaining revenge. Mystic River's casting further resonates with the wages of vengeance. Robbins directed Penn as a murderer bound for lethal injection in Dead Man Walking, an intelligently anguished consideration of retribution and redemption; Penn's more heavy-handed The Crossing Guard and The Pledge--the latter adapted from a Friedrich Dürrenmatt novella--got a stranglehold on similar themes. Helgeland, Lehane, and Eastwood all owe a debt to Dürrenmatt: His revisionist hard-boiler conjured a bleak universe ruled by anarchic chance, where eye-for-an-eye lust can only taint the avenger with the same wickedness that so wounded him in the first place.
"I've always been fascinated by the stealing of innocence," Eastwood said at the NYFF, and, as tough-minded and bravely grim as Mystic River can be, he might be forgiven for occasionally treating his viewers like guileless, distractible youngsters, whom he nudges to attention via concussive flashbacks and outbursts of redundant exposition. Eastwood does successfully harness his tendency toward reiteration in the film's abundance of noirish doublings. Dave is twice seen getting into a car, both vehicles bound for roads to perdition. One of his abusers ostentatiously sports a gold ring inscribed with a cross, an image later magnified in the huge cross tattooed on another character's back. Sean's estranged wife calls him daily, but never utters a word, a silence shared with Brendan's mute brother. (Who is this inconsequential kid that the film keeps throwing him puzzled, wary glances?) Sinister camera angles rhyme and echo; red herrings not only proliferate but spawn their own twins. And two deaths, far apart in the movie's trajectory, beget two fades to white. In one, a gun blast blows out the screen. After the other, the camera's eyes lift helplessly heavenward, seeking out the great beyond, but only staring into the void.
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domain: artistic


Last night, the Mexican Canelo Alvarez entered the ring with Dmitry Bivol, a clear favorite according to bookmakers. However, this was clearly not the case when the winner could be predicted with a 100% guarantee.
As a result, Bivol confidently outboxed Alvarez, and even with the obvious desire of the judges to count in the other direction, the result was Dmitry’s victory by unanimous decision.
One of those who made money on the victory of the Russian boxer was the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Easy money,” Floyd captioned a photo of a check from the house bet on Bivol in the amount of $10,000, which brought him a prize of $42,500.
“I just beat Canelo.” Press conference of Dmitry Bivol


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Transport is a vital a part of day-to-day life in today’s world whether to get to work, to see loved ones and friends, or taking a trip in short breaks. Practically everybody is trying to find methods to be able to save also small amount of money specifically relating to transport taking into consideration that the globe is still experiencing the consistent economic decline.
The wealthy ones can it goes without saying simply minimize the variety of cars they presently need to have the capacity to cut expenses however, majority will certainly even need to think about which sort of transport is economical to drive and which one provides great worth for their cash right before selecting what to purchase.
Used Toyota cars are most likely the most efficient and most cost-effective cars for anyone on a low spending plan, the essential reason for this and the low cost of purchasing and each day running is the reality they’re actually reputable, once they are frequently repaired and kept, subsequently giving the customers excellent worth for cash.
Integrity is essential when selecting any type of transportation therefore the lower quantity of failures the a lot more you’ll save. Additionally Toyota is known for their top-notch and integrity with the years and their vans are extremely solid and dependable.
Practically anywhere you go, you will uncover several van and car dealerships providing used Toyota cars besides the ones offering online and even from publications and newspaper. These sources are also perfect for any vans dealers/garage looking to offer Toyota cars and used Toyota Voxy 2013, and so are capable to bring a number of clients quickly.
Another terrific facet utilizing this sort of transportation is that they can be bought in both diesel and fuel offering the client’s choice to select one of the most moderately priced gas, diesel is constantly the least pricey with regards to fuel and can aid in contributing to the cost savings one can make.
Likewise, given that it is very easy to handle a Toyota minivan, you are undoubtedly set for a smooth drive as it holds to the roadway and it is extremely user friendly. And despite whether you do convenient help a living and truly should bring tools almost everywhere or just shopping and getting numerous bags to carry, this car is adequately strong to lug heavy loads.
And thinking about the existing economic situation, used Toyota cars can help you a large amount in conserving some cash considering that it does a great deal of tasks and is a financial way of travel.
And additionally to enhance household bonding, this van is good for all of the short trip excursions and return secure without any concerns with these reputable and trusted vans.
When getting this model of van as with every construct from transport constantly guarantee that they have being successfully checked and properly fixed to a high criterion with all associated paperwork including MOT certification and repair service history invoices etc. to make sure the vans deserve acquiring.


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It didn’t register until late last night that a notable absentee from practice yesterday was Jonathan Diaby. As it would make sense, now that he is back to game fitness, he has been reassigned from the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL).
Diaby’s season has seen just the worst luck on the injury front. The 21-year old was caught by a skate that was nearly an inch away from cutting his femoral artery earlier this season while playing for the Cyclones. The cut that came from that skate required an initial surgery and a follow up surgery to stop further bleeding that was taking place. As Diaby was trucking along in his return to the ice he was brought up to the Admirals where an upper-body injury has sidelined him for the past nine-games and over a month’s worth of hockey. Should Diaby play in tonight’s game for the Cyclones it would be his first taste of game action since 1/8/16.


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Custom Clocks from Zazzle. Made of acrylic and printed with the AcryliPrint®HD printing process, wall clocks are the sleek complement to any room’s décor.
Sleek Clock Face - Made of thin acrylic plastic, this clock will make your designs pop without adding any bulk to your walls.
Two Shapes - round or square shapes to match the décor of your favorite rooms. Round Clocks come in two sizes; medium 8" and large 10.75". Square Clocks are 10.75".
This fun wall clock pattern features a modern graphic text design of sweet words and sweet treats in pretty candy colours on the background colour of your choice. Text included in pattern: sweet heart, cutie, love, little darling, candy, sweet baby, cool, hugs, kisses, beauty. Images include: wrapped candies, cake, ice cream cones, peppermints , he

domain: design


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Let’s say goodbye to dull and sterile rooms! This year, we welcome textures, solid wood and oval shapes. We get rid of grey furniture and coldness, replacing them with a bright contrast and natural elements. You might already guess which are the top trends this year?
When you enter a furniture shop, you face bright green, yellow and red sofas? Absolutely normal> This is the newest trend in interior design that will surely stay for some time at your homes.
Just imagine, a room in grey, white or beige, and at the middle – a piece of soft furniture in an intensive colour. This adds style, extravagance and coziness to your home. An easy way to create an emphasis in your interior you guests will fall in love with.
We live in times when coziness in equal to style. Just think of how much you are going to facilitate your life with multi-functional furniture that have more than one intended use. We put an end to overburdened everyday and multiple surfaces most often called “dust-collectors”.
The multifunctional use of furniture and parts of your home allows to create a feeling of space, even with smaller square area. Rely on minimalism, light colours and well selected furniture, with more than one function.
Of course, do not take this literally. But, it is a fact that greenness at home is the next hit in design for the year. It is important to note that the evergreen effect is sought, avoiding plants that blossom only in one season and then become brown and fade. If you do not like plants, just choose green shades and leaves as details in your interior.
Have you noticed that you see still more and more often French windows, beautiful glass lamps and all this mixed with solid wood? This in normal as this is one of the most beautiful trends crating coziness and connecting us with nature.
Black, pink, mint… each mat finish is fashionable. This is a beautiful details that will bring variety to your interior. You may select mat vases, utensils or whatever you like. Also, you yourselves may remodel old interior accessories using paint.
Most people work hard and tiring work. Even if you are not a physical worker but you sit in front of a computer, this also brings its harms. You have pain in the eyes, your back and still more. So, it is fashionable now to seek interior that takes care of our health.
What do you have in mind? Comfortable and ergonomic chairs and sofas, for example, and lights that do not irritate us. Also, we seek colours proven to have a soothing effect on our minds.
This is a trend that will remain with us for many years. Retro interior elements are a wonderful touch to a fashionable design. They add emotion to your hoe and what could be better than that and having restored them by yourselves?
We passed through a period of sharp designs in which square sofas without rounded backs were held in high regard. But now, the trend returns, still more rounded than ever to bring the needed elegance and softness to our home.
We do not talk only about furniture but for accessories and everything in your home. This shape eliminated coldness and creates unique comfort.


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Sir Elton John and pop star Dua Lipa have wow'd fans and crowds at the 2021 Oscars After Party with their incredible performance on Elton's 'Bennie & The Jets'.
Instead of Elton's usual Oscar's after party in West Hollywood, he opted to take it to a virtual format due to the still on going pandemic.
Elton John hosted the after party, which raised money for his AIDs Foundation and was joined by husband David Furnish and actor Neil Patrick Harris.
Singer Dua Lipa performed with Elton John for two of his famous songs, 'Bennie and the Jets' and 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and also performed her songs, “Levitating,” “Pretty Please,” “Hallucinate” and “Don’t Start Now” from her acclaimed sophomore album, “Future Nostalgia.”
Watch their 'Bennie & the Jets' cover above, and 'Love Again' below.


'Nutcracker' returns to Midland with new costumes, choreography
- COYB's annual production of 'The Nutcracker' will return to the Midland Theatre next weekend.
NEWARK – The Central Ohio Youth Ballet has been performing "The Nutcracker" for 21 years.
But every holiday season, artistic director Robert Cole brings something new to the production.
The traditional Christmas ballet returns to Newark at 8 p.m. on Nov. 27; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 and 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 at The Midland Theatre.
This year, besides a new cast of dancers and updated choreography, audience members will get to see several new costumes. Including some that make the ballet's youngest dancers feel extra special.
The ballet tells the story of Clara and the Nutcracker prince, who journey to the Land of Sweets. A major scene involves an epic battle between the Nutcracker and an army of mice, led by the Mouse Queen.
Suzanne Aschenbeck, costume manager for COYB, made the first mouse costumes used in the ballet about 20 years ago. This year, she decided it was time to create new ones.
"They didn’t look very good up close," she said. "They were getting pretty worn out."
COYB launched a fundraising campaign for the new costumes, asking families to "Adopt a Mouse" by making donations.
Designing the costumes, Aschenbeck decided to personalize each mouse, with glasses, hats, spots and other small details.
Each mouse was given a name that will be mentioned in the program and each family who donated will receive a mouse adoption certificate with a photo, she said.
New costumes were created for several other dances in the ballet, including Waltz and Arabian, she said.
"The mice costumes will be great and the Arabian scene will be beautiful," she said. "There will be new costume colors. We are trying each year to pump up the colorfulness of the whole production."
This year's production includes 76 performers — from 12 different studios in Licking, Knox, Franklin, Fairfield, Muskingum, and Perry counties — making it one of the ballet's larger casts, Cole said.
Many dancers who had advance roles in the ballet last year have moved on to college or other dance opportunities. But the younger dancers have stepped up and embraced some of the more challenging roles, he said.
"It's been really exciting seeing them and how they approach it and develop and grow as performers and dancers," he said.
Audience members will be able to enjoy new choreography, including a ribbon dance, based around the skills and talents of the dancers, Cole said.
"Everybody brings something different to a role, so even though the story is the same it has different energy," he said.
With so many holiday events going on in downtown Newark, the ballet is a great way to continue the celebration and ring in the holiday season, he said.
"You don't have to go to Columbus to watch, 'The Nutcracker,'" he said. "It's close by. You can stay downtown and see it in Newark."
If You Go
What: Central Ohio Youth Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker"
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 27, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 29
Where: The Midland Theatre, 36 N. Park Place, Newark
More info:Go to midlandtheatre.org or call 740-345-5483.


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Depression over dating sarah kustok dating
Remind your partner to continue with his or her treatment.
If you’ve made the effort to improve your relationship, and see to your partner’s health, but things still aren’t working out, you can walk away without guilt. The breakup of a relationship, or a marriage, can be a traumatic event.
You cannot be the one who makes your partner decide whether or not they want to live or die. Attempting to “save” your partner by staying with them can only make the relationship more dysfunctional and could ultimately result in you resenting them.
If your partner is well enough to participate, consider getting couple’s counseling so you can address your relationship issues before throwing in the towel.
Research shows that keeping a journal, in which you express your feelings about your breakup, may help turn a potentially negative experience into a positive one.
She always wants to know where you are, or shows up late all the time.
Otherwise you may be consumed by guilt or self-doubt, wondering if you did all you could do for your partner — and your relationship.
You are not the cause of your partner’s depression.No one wants to be accused of abandoning a loved one at their time of greatest need.But neither should you remain in a strained relationship with no conceivable future out of a sense of duty or guilt.People who are depressed may say or do things they normally wouldn’t. Ultimately, you may find that you simply cannot continue living/dealing with a depressed person.Their illness may cause them to lash out at others. If you feel they’re dragging you down too, it may be time to consider distancing yourself.As the person closest to the patient, you are an easy target. Share your concerns with trusted friends and family members. This may mean anything from taking a brief respite, to a permanent parting of ways.Tags: Adult Dating, affair dating, sex dating


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Ivan Zuenko: Why do China’s elites pay so much attention to the collapse of the USSR and the Soviet Communist Party?
The events of the late 1980s and early 1990s had a major impact not only on the development of Russia and China, but also on the dialogue between the two countries. Moscow and Beijing abandoned decades of rivalry and opted instead for pragmatic cooperation.
In 1989, the Soviet Union, where the liberal winds of perestroika were blowing at the time, supported the actions of the Chinese authorities in firmly suppressing the Tiananmen Square protests. And in 1991, despite their ideological sympathies for the USSR’s leadership, the Chinese Communists expressed their willingness to work with the new Russian government under Boris Yeltsin.
Over time, Russia and China have evolved into de facto allies, and their relations are described today as “the best ever.”
Meanwhile, the collapse of the USSR gave the Chinese much food for thought – not so much about the fate of the Soviet Union, but about their own future. It is no exaggeration to state that an analysis of what happened in the USSR has, in a certain sense, determined the vector of China's development.
The example of what transpired in Moscow has served as a warning against hasty political reforms and the removal of the party from the leadership of the state and army. Under Xi Jinping, studying the Soviet experience has become an important part of the party's propaganda, because, for Chinese observers, the main thing that happened in 1991 was not the collapse of a massive state, but the loss of power by the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU).
The death of an older brother
The attention paid in China to the events in the USSR should come as no surprise. Throughout the entire period of the existence of the Communist Party of China (CCP), the Soviet Union has served as a reference point for its leadership and a significant factor in making various domestic political decisions.
The CPC itself was set up in 1921 in the image of the CPSU, and established with the direct participation of emissaries from Moscow. Many CCP leaders had studied in the Soviet Union and spoke Russian. Military, technical and financial assistance from Moscow was crucial during the CCP's war with the Kuomintang and throughout the 1950s, until the two countries began to quarrel over ideological differences.
Despite the disagreements, the experience of the USSR has been closely studied at all levels. Particularly since the beginning of perestroika when discussion of the reforms in the USSR took place in the media and in university classrooms. There was a great deal of interest in the personality of Gorbachev on the part of student activists.
The Soviet-Chinese summit in Beijing in May 1989 escalated the “Tiananmen crisis” precisely because relations with Moscow and Soviet leaders' reactions to events in Beijing were very important to Chinese leaders.
In China, it was believed that in the Soviet Union, a sit-down hunger strike in the country's central square, during a major visit by a foreign leader, was simply not possible. As proof of this, examples were given of the violent suppression of demonstrations in Alma-Ata, Minsk and Tbilisi. The fact that the CPSU would disband in two years and that the situation in the USSR would be out of control was unthinkable in Beijing at the time, as an analysis of the available documents shows that the events of 1991 came as a complete surprise to the Chinese.
By then, however, China's political reforms had already been frozen. This was facilitated not only by overcoming its own political crisis, but also by observing the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe. Faced with the threat of being ousted from power, China's elites consolidated, and it was assumed that the CPSU would do the same. During the August putsch against Gorbachev, Beijing’s leaders spoke positively about its hardline leaders, and the Chinese ambassador in Moscow congratulated the members of the junta for coming to power.
The suppression of the putsch and subsequent self-dissolution of the CPSU was perceived by Chinese leaders as a severe blow to themselves as well. Deng Xiaoping feared that the party would be banned and the CCP would remain the only major Communist party in the world, after which the West would come down hard on it. In the autumn of 1991, the first papers published in China portrayed the events in the USSR in a negative light, and the Central Party School even set up a separate group to counter the “peaceful rebirth,” denoting the danger that had befallen the CPSU.
Who is to blame and what to do
The Belovezha Agreement and the collapse of the Soviet Union were quickly perceived solely as the logical results of the collapse of the ruling party. Beijing showed its willingness to work with the new post-Soviet states however, establishing diplomatic relations with most of them as early as December 1991.
In China itself, the topic of studying the “Soviet crisis” took on a life of its own, first as a major theoretical and then as a practical problem. While at the first stage the study was limited to a banal search for blame (“it's all the West's fault” or “it's all Gorbachev's fault”), Chinese scholars later moved on to a systematic, comprehensive, interdisciplinary analysis.
In all, Chinese scholars have written more than a hundred scholarly works on the collapse of the CPSU and the USSR, not counting various essays and conference papers. Among them are several voluminous monographs authored by Russia-focused historians, as well as economists, political scientists and specialists in Marxism-Leninism. The interest of the scholars is easy to explain, as it pursues very concrete goals, which have not lost relevance for the PRC. Chinese experts must answer two key questions: 1) what were the causes of the collapse of the USSR and the CPSU, and 2) what should the CCP leadership do to avoid their fate?
Among the main reasons for the collapse, according to the Chinese studies, were those associated with the weakening of the party. Namely, the pervasive corruption, the detachment of the its elite from the common people, the emerging consumerism, and the formalism and bureaucratic tendencies of party ideologues and agitators, which led to a total disbelief in the policies imposed from above.
Chinese scholars have been rather harshly critical of the structure of the Soviet economy, above all its centralization, which dates back to the position of Mao Zedong in the 1950s. Another problem for the USSR was the bias towards the military-industrial complex and heavy industry, which led to acute shortages of consumer goods. Although there is little criticism of the economic content of the perestroika agenda in Chinese authors, it is noted that the efforts of Soviet reformers were belated and ill-conceived, and thus failed to address numerous social problems.
However, as the Chinese point out, the Soviet Union was forced to carry out reforms amidst a still ongoing confrontation with the West – and powerful cultural and informational pressure from the outside – which against the background of the crisis in the economy and political system caused a strong “faith deficit” in the ruling party, ideology and broader country. Chinese scholars credit Mikhail Gorbachev with moving away from a costly confrontational line in relations with the West, but believe that the moment for change was already lost and the USSR paid the price in the 1980s for a long period of striving for global hegemony. In fact, Gorbachev's turn in foreign policy only strengthened the penetration of Western influence in the USSR and helped America to defeat its rival.
Given that China itself now finds itself in the position of “major rival to the West,” the study of the “Soviet lesson” takes on particular significance.
The study of the CPSU's mistakes moved from the offices of academics to classrooms for party members, and then to the national level. In 2003, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee held a collective study session to examine the rise and fall of nine great powers in world history, including the USSR. In 2006, based on the materials of that session, a six-part film ‘The Collapse of the CPSU and the Collapse of the USSR: Memoirs of Eyewitnesses’ was broadcast on China Central Television. That same year, the Institute of Marxism of the Academy of Social Sciences produced a film ‘Think Danger in Times of Peace: Historical Lessons of the Collapse of the CPSU.’ Six years later, the subtitle of that film became the title of a multimillion print-run book: ‘The Collapse of the CPSU and the Collapse of the USSR.’
A new surge of interest in examining the mistakes of the CPSU is associated with Xi Jinping's accession to power. It appears that he himself is deeply preoccupied by its collapse. References to the event have featured in speeches and publications throughout the Chinese leader's tenure. A recent article by Xi for the party magazine Tsushi says: “The Russian Communist Party seized power with 200,000 members, defeated Hitler with two million members and lost power with nearly 20 million members.” This happened, according to Xi, because “ideals and convictions disappeared” and “no one came out to defend the party with arms in their hands.”
The same idea, reference to Xi Jinping's views, was expressed in one of a series of documentaries devoted to the 20th CPC Congress entitled ‘A Strong Country Should Have a Strong Army.’
The lesson we can learn from the collapse of the CPSU and the USSR is that the absolute subordination of the army to the party is a fundamental principle, which should be strengthened, not weakened,” the film stated.
This thesis is repeated in virtually all materials devoted to the forthcoming centennial of the People's Liberation Army of China (to be celebrated in August 2027), including Xi Jinping's concluding speech at the 20th CPC Congress.
To summarize, Chinese discourse has firmly established the notion of the collapse of the CPSU and the collapse of the USSR (in exactly that order) as an important lesson for Beijing. Meanwhile, the crisis in the Soviet Union by the mid-1980s is described as having been systemic in nature. The social and economic transformation of the USSR and the reforms within the CPSU were necessary in the Chinese view, and therefore entirely justified. But they were overdue, and could no longer solve the problems associated with the lack of public confidence in the authorities and the decay within the party.
The party's misguided policy of disengagement from state administration and the military, in the eyes of the Chinese, is of key importance. Appealing to the negative experience of the CPSU-USSR is actively used by the CCP leadership in propaganda as an argument in favor of the impermissibility of any reforms related to the weakening of the role of the party in the life of society.
This article was first published by Profile.ru


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Now, 2.5 years down the road I was cleaning up my computer and found that same excel grid. Being curious I decided to see what happened to those houses. I have the listing price from 2.5 years ago, so I wanted to compare what the actual sell price was to the listing price. From that analysis below is what I found:
- 9 of those homes have not been sold in the past 2.5 years. Some have been taken on and off the market a few times and others just have been taken off the market completely. This was the biggest thing I found. Over half of the home buyers have decided for whatever reason not to sell their home. Are they renting it out? Do they think the market will rebound? Did the get no interest when they tried to sell it? It is kind of scary to think that such a high percentage would not be able to sell their home.
- The 8 homes that sold were sold for on average 10% less than their listing price. This probably has something to do with the fact that the listing price is rarely the price people actually are willing to sell their house at.
- The Zillow.com average price of the house has dropped 16% in 2.5 years. Now I don't know how accurate Zillow's estimate is, but if it is true than that is a pretty big drop. In the same time the SP500 has grown 38%.


In Xiaomi’s default browsers, Xiaomi monitored and registered an incredible amount of private data, from the user’s phone habits to queries.
Xiaomi tracks all search queries and things displayed on its default browser (Mi Browser Pro) as well as on the Mint browser, according to a cybersecurity researcher, Cirlig. The monitoring applies even to mode Incognito.
The researcher was able to confirm the same pattern on other Xiaomi phones, including Mi 10, Redmi K20, and Mi MIX 3.
Xiaomi, in response, confirmed that it collects browsing data. However, the company says the data sent is anonymized, and users have consented to the data tracking. Meanwhile, it denied claims of information being monitored in Incognito mode.
The researcher, however, was able to prove that Xiaomi is recording Incognito mode data as well. In a video, he showcases how the information of him visiting a porn website in incognito mode is being sent to the servers. When shown with proof, Xiaomi said, “collection of anonymous browsing data, is one of the most common solutions adopted by internet companies.”
Is it anonymous?
When the information tracked in browsers is compiled with phone’s “metadata” collected by Xiaomi, Cirlig says the company can quickly identify a single person.


History shows Bush has a challenge ahead of himBreaking News
Since 1950, five of the eight other presidents who fell below 40% — Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush — lost their bids for re-election or opted not to run again. A sixth, Richard Nixon, was overwhelmed by the Watergate scandal and resigned.
Only two, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, turned things around. Both saw their approval ratings drop below 40% early in their presidencies, but each had time to recover and got elected to a second term.
The current President Bush's trouble arrived in his second term. Battered by high gasoline prices, declining public support for the Iraq war and lingering anger over the federal government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, Bush saw his approval ratings slide to 39% in an Oct. 13-16 USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll, before climbing back to 40%-42% in four ensuing polls. In the most recent poll, taken Nov. 11-13, Bush's approval rating fell to 37%, the lowest the poll has recorded in his presidency.
Though he no longer has to think about re-election, Bush still has three years left in his presidency — time in which he'll work to improve the U.S. position in Iraq, hold the Republican majority in Congress in 2006, restart a stalled legislative agenda and try to build a legacy. Slumping approval ratings will make all of those tougher. Even as he sought the comfort of his Texas ranch for Thanksgiving this week, Iraq war protesters on nearby roads were a reminder of his troubles.
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- NYT's Notable Books of 2015: These are the history books that made the cut


Features of Sibai Machining Capabilities in Hydraulics And Pneumatics
Generally a machinery with hydraulic oil in the equipment is hydraulic. Based on the principle of hydraulics, hydraulic transmission system and hydraulic control system can be constructed.
The hydraulic system includes the following parts:
1. Power part, which converts the mechanical energy of the prime mover into the pressure energy (potential energy) of the oil. For example: various hydraulic pumps.
2. Actuation part, which converts the oil pressure energy input by the hydraulic pump into the mechanical energy that drives the working mechanism. For example: various Hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic motors.
3. Control part, which controls and adjusts the pressure, flow speed and flow direction of the oil. For example: various pressure control valves, Flow control valve.
4. Auxiliary part, which connects the first three parts together to form a system for oil storage, filtration, measurement and sealing and so on. For example: soft and hard pipes, joints, fuel tanks, oil filters, accumulators, seals and display instruments, etc.
The function of pneumatic cylinder is to convert air pressure into mechanical energy, and can perform linear motion and reciprocating motion. The gas is compressed in the pneumatic cylinder of the compressor to increase the pressure. The pneumatic cylinder consists of a dust ring, an end cover, a piston, a piston rod and a seal.
Sibai is proficient in machinery, and has done a lot of machining parts for customers, who specializes in electric components, pneumatic components, hydraulic components, hydraulic systems, hydraulic stations, including parts for hydraulic pump pistons, piston rods, and Parts of gas-liquid booster cylinder, etc.
The parts produced by Sibai for hydraulic and pneumatic are made of high-quality stainless steel, steel, Aluminium materials. The product quality is stable, durable, not easy to rust, and has a long service life. The production surface is smooth and free of oil stains, scratches and burrs. High-precision production technology and high-precision measuring instruments ensure good sealing performance.
Sibai adopts non-standard customization and processes according to the customer's drawing design.We always work closely with our customers to continuously develop new products. From sample testing to mass production, we provide the best service and the best solution.
Welcome to Sibai.
We are looking forward to contact you!
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09 Oct Top 3 cannabinoids and their effects
Interested in learning more about cannabinoids and their effects on the human body? The following article is a complete overview of the topic. Did you know that scientists have identified more than 120 cannabinoids to date? To better understand how CBD can trigger the effects of cannabinoids, we need to first explain cannabinoids 101, then move to the three most studied of the family.
What are cannabinoids?
Cannabinoids are a class of active chemical compounds produced by the Cannabis sativa L. plant. They act on cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) located in our cells as part of the endocannabinoid system, a regulatory network responsible for keeping the body’s functions in balance. When interacting with these receptors, cannabinoids are able to alter the release of neurotransmitters in the brain, among other functions. This is not only true for humans, but all mammals also have an endocannabinoid system.
Cannabinoids found in plants are called phytocannabinoids, but plants are not the only sources of these compounds. There are also the so-called endocannabinoids – such as Anandamide and 2-AG – which are produced naturally by our body as part of the endocannabinoid system’s functions.
Top 3 cannabinoids and how they affect our body
#1 Cannabidiol – aka CBD
Among the most abundant cannabinoids found in the Cannabis plant is cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is a non-psychoactive compound that has been in high demand in recent years due to its promising wellness benefits. CBD is now widespread in the United States and in more than 40 other countries. CBD is abundant in the hemp plant, making it an ideal source of this non-psychoactive compound.
#2 Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol – Δ9-THC
This cannabinoid is most often associated with marijuana use. You can call it THC, but its full name is a bit more complicated – delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). THC is the active ingredient that causes psychoactive effects, like feeling euphoria – or being “high”, but it also shows therapeutic benefits. It all depends on the dose. THC is one of the most prevalent cannabinoids in the marijuana plant. Its concentration can reach up to 30%, depending on the strain and the cultivation methods.
#3 Cannabichromene – CBC
Although it is considered the third most common cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant, cannabichromene (CBC) is a non-psychoactive compound that is still largely ignored. CBC is a non-psychoactive compound in the Cannabis plant that has demonstrated various effects that indicate wellness promise. Any cannabinoid other than CBD and THC is still very scarce on scientific studies, but there’s a growing interest.
Other well known cannabinoids are cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), among more than 100 others. If you’re curious to know more, Prof. Rudolf Brenneisen, PhD, documented many of the cannabinoids identified so far in his article Chemistry and Analysis of Phytocannabinoids and Other Cannabis Constituents.
Our online store provides both full-spectrum products containing trace levels of THC (no more than 0.3%) and products that have removed all detectable amounts of THC. In the case you are wondering whether CBD oil without THC is effective, the answer is YES! Read more on this blog post.


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India can't have single rate GST, 3-slab structure possible: CEAJuly 11, 2018 22:59
Ruling out a single rate GST, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian today pitched for a three rate structure going forward as revenues stabilise.
He said Goods and Services Tax is a "work in progress" and there is a need for further simplification of rates with fewer exemptions and simpler policies.
"In India, we can never have one rate. I had recommended a standard rate and one for demerit good, one for low rate. I think, in India, the debate should be about 'why can't we have three', rather than 'why not one'," Subramanian said at an NCAER event here.
Under the GST regime, there are four rates -- 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. Luxury and demerit goods are subject to cess on top of the highest slab.
The single rate GST structure was advocated by Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Subramanian said since GST is a regressive tax, it won't be "fair" to have a single rate structure unless there are instruments to protect the poor who get hurt by rising costs.
"...I think over time we will see simplification. For example, once the revenue stabilises, 28 per cent can (be rationalised).... but the broader point I want to make is that why can't we have three (tax slabs). That's what we should ask for," said Subramanian.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley too had dismissed the idea of a single rate GST as "flawed" saying that it can only work in a country where the entire population has 'similar and high' capacity to spend.
Subramanian said that GST implementation "has not been too bad" in the first year of difficult implementation.
"My own view is the more you rely on carrot, and less you rely on sticks, you facilitate formalisation of economy. That's what I like about GST. It is not heavy handed. Its a kind of self policing," he said. --PTI
Guj CM hopes UPSC training centre will help produce 'sanskari' officers
"Like it is said, from the Upanishad to Upagraha (satellite).... we have to launch satellites and also teach the Upanishad to make people sanskari (virtuous)," Rupani said, adding the centre will help create administrators for 'new...


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So I had the idea of finding easter eggs in the game, and you could fill up your collection. This would encourage you to explore the Tailor Tales world.
But I have decided to scrap the Easter Egg idea and put something much more useful in place of it. Instead of hunting for easter eggs, you will be hunting for Emoticons and Questionnaires. The Emoticon allows you to perform actions on NPCs, such as hugging, kissing, slapping etc. But to be able to do those things, you have to find the corresponding Emoticon card for it. You can find these cards anywhere; hidden in the bushes, behind a waterfall. Or you can get them through interaction of NPCs. For example, you see a husband and a wife kissing each other. You then gain the Kissing Emoticon. Whoohoo!
The Questionnaire is just like the Emoticon, but you can’t perform actions this time, you can only ask a question. If you want to ask a bachelor when his birthday is, you need to find the birthday card hidden somewhere in the game! I’m planning on having a bunch of questions that you can ask, such as birthday, favourite colour, favourite food and other stuff. I feel it will connect the reader more to the bachelor and make them feel more in control.
Of course, the Emoticon and Questionnaire is only available for the bachelors, not regular NPCs.
Also, in other news, I am writing up a voice actor recruiting post in the VX forums. I have decided I want voices in my game, and anyone with a good mic and voice acting skill is welcome to try out.

domain: hobby


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Admittedly, likening the European Union to a college fraternity is risqué even for me, a staunch Europhile. But, like fraternities, aspiring member states “rush” to join, get hazed by a labyrinthine supranational political structure, and ultimately, play up or down their membership depending on both their audience and the bloc’s performance.
The spotlight on the approaching French presidential elections in April 2022 is a reminder of European leaders’ fondness for Euroscepticism when running for national mandates. The latest European figure to capitulate in the run to securing the Republican party nomination, is none other than the head of the EU negotiating team on Brexit, Michel Barnier.
The former EU technocrat has apparently come a long way since becoming notorious for his insistence that the EU must never deviate from its core principles, including “the supremacy of European law and the free movement of people”. Back in March 2020, the first week of post-Brexit trade deal negotiations wrapped up on a sour note, with Barnier warning that the bloc would not commit to a treaty with the UK if it refused to apply the European Convention on Human Rights and respect the sovereignty of the European Court of Justice.
The stunning volte-face of Europe’s former champion was captured on French national television just days ago. At the Republican Party’s third and last televised debate among the party’s nominees to win the presidential bid on December 4th, Barnier attacked everything from “cancel culture” and “wokeism” to gender-inclusive language. The debate itself was predominantly monopolised by immigration and security issues, on which Barnier commented there are “a host of examples of this… power given to minorities to the detriment of national interest and the national narrative”. Barnier also called for a five-year moratorium on non-EU immigration and a legal shield from European courts to protect France.
A right turn that could give you whiplash, if you ask me.
One might theorise that Barnier is just being pragmatic by channelling the French centre-right’s anger and frustrations against the EU and leveraging them to lay down the shortest route to power possible. While Barnier is widely known among European technocrats, and in the UK, he is less well known in France. Euroscepticism, albeit light, might actually prove to be beneficial for Barnier. Olivier Rouquan, of Paris University’s centre for administrative and political sciences, commented that the party’s voters are an “older electorate, [who] know Barnier and resemble him in many ways”. Latest polling by NSPPolls (as reported by The Guardian) show Barnier as Les Républicains’ favourite, and in the presidential running with a 9.0% share of voters.
While party members might find the 70-year-old Alpine hiker and spreadsheet aficionado “stable and reassuring”, this attempt at a student-esque personal reinvention might still not be enough to win him the race.


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One of my favourite food writers of all time is Jeffrey Steingarten, who’s written some fantastic stuff about food, food culture, and food politics. One of his essays that still lingers with me is a discussion about the breeding of fruit to make it ready for market, and the progressive selection of specific traits that make it easier to handle, ship, and display. As Steingarten pointed out in the essay, fruits that bruise easily or lose flavour rapidly are tough to handle and ship, and thus major agricultural producers have sought ways to modify them to make them more marketable.
After reading that essay, I had a much better understanding of what was going on in the produce section, and why it was that I had so much trouble finding good fruit. I understood why supermarket tomatoes always tasted bland and dull, without the rich explosion of flavour that pops in your mouth when you eat a tomato grown in the garden or on a small farm. I understood why so many fruits weren’t sweet and juicy even if they were large, and why some fruits never really seemed to amount of anything no matter how carefully I selected them.
I was a victim of an agricultural system that wasn’t interested in catering to my palate, but to the need to fill produce sections with arrays of fruit no matter what it actually tasted like. And so I started selecting fruit with more care and being more picky about what I ate. And more understanding of people who professed a hatred of, say, tomatoes; if all you’d eaten throughout much of your life was the pallid supermarket offerings, I wouldn’t blame you for not liking tomatoes.
Which is why I was intrigued with the big furor over the summer when people started talking specifically about the tradeoff between flavour and handleability for tomatoes. People seemed genuinely shocked to learn that tomatoes had been bred to have a rich red colour and easy handling to the exclusion of their flavour, when this was something I’d been aware for a number of years, and had even talked with people about. It’s not like Jeffrey Steingarten is an obscure food writer, or that his books haven’t been widely read and circulated; even people outside the food community read him.
And it was foodies who seemed the most surprised by this study, which was disheartening for me to see. When people have been talking about this issue and raising awareness around it for well over a decade and people are just now finding out, it makes me wonder what the point of talking about these things is, after all. Why bother to talk to people about how fruit is bred or genetically modified if they apparently aren’t going to pay attention?
Produce is tricky stuff to grow, and it’s trickier still in an era when people increasingly rely on food shipped in across great distances, want to see everything in the store all the time regardless of season, and expect certain things of their produce. Things need to be a certain colour, size, and shape to be recognizable and acceptable, and things that don’t fit that metric are viewed with inherent suspicion. Unfortunately, flavour is one of the first things to fall by the wayside here, because flavour is complex and relies on a lot of variables. Too many variables for the taste, so to speak, of industrial agriculture, which wants to be able to control every step of the growing process.
Unripe peaches are picked in Georgia because they’re less likely to incur damage in transit if selected while they’re still hard, and then they’re trucked or flown across the country to California for sale. They may be treated with ethylene gas to hasten the ripening process so they’ll look good in stores, even if the rapid ripening doesn’t benefit the fruit and it loses some of the complex and desirable flavour because it’s not on the tree. Peaches are a climacteric fruit, which means they will continue to ripen after picking, but they won’t get any sweeter, because there’s no source of sweetness and nutrients.
The consumer gets used to seeing big, even, rounded peaches with a somewhat dull flavor. The innards are often a bit dry and sometimes stringy. This must be what a peach is, because it’s all the consumer sees and knows. A farm-fresh peach bought at a farmers’ market or eaten in someone’s home becomes a revelation, a shock, an aha moment, because the consumer learns that the grocery store carries only a faint shadow of what a peach can and should be.
Addressing the issue of bad produce requires talking about some things consumers don’t want to hear. Like that they really do need to buy things in season. And that they should pressure regional stores to buy within a local foodshed, because shorter transit times means that easy handling is less of a concern. Buying regionally and in season, stores can select produce of a higher quality; it’s going to taste better, feel better, be better.
It’s also going to mean that there are some things you can’t get all the time. If done well, it shouldn’t make produce more expensive, but there might be an initial spike in the prices of some items, and people who care about produce need to talk about that, too. Because there are some people who are not going to be able to afford even a small price increase, who shouldn’t be left out in the cold without fresh fruits and vegetables. In the process of opening up a world of better produce, people need to be talking about how to make sure it’s accessible to everyone, because everyone deserves the experience of biting into a good peach, the flavour of a perfectly ripe tomato.

domain: agronomy


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A grand lodge near the Grand Canyon
By FRED A. BERNSTEIN
Published: August 7, 2005
THE BASICS As we approached the Holiday Inn Express, about six miles south of the Grand Canyon, in early June, we decided to make one final phone call to El Tovar. Of the half-dozen lodges on the rim of the Canyon, El Tovar is the most famous. But despite several attempts, we hadn't been able to get a reservation. (Rooms are booked more than a year in advance.) We crossed our fingers while an employee - who admitted she was new - kept us on the phone interminably. Eventually, she came up with a room, with two queen beds, for the affordable price of $155. We would have paid that much for a pup tent, given the location. And El Tovar is hardly a tent. Built in 1905 to accommodate tourists arriving by railroad, it reopened in April for its 100th anniversary, after an extensive renovation.
True, it isn't the Ahwahnee, the spectacular lodge at Yosemite, but a more down-to-earth building resembling a three-story log cabin. The building's historic significance creates one drawback: for much of the day, there are crowds of tourists in the lobby. But if you wake up to see the sunrise at the canyon you can have the hotel pretty much to yourself. Oddly, even after the renovation, there is no elevator, so you might request a room on the ground floor.
THE ROOMS Comfortable, with touches of the West (Craftsman-style armoire, hammered copper table lamp). Only a few rooms have views of the canyon. Our room, No. 6415, overlooked a pine grove and a parking lot beyond. Prints on the walls depicting the Grand Canyon seem redundant, with the real thing outside.
THE BATHROOMS Like the bedrooms, they are modest and comfortable: white-tiled, with new Victorian style fixtures and shampoo from Caswell-Massey's ProTerra (not to be confused with Xanterra, the company that manages all the lodges in the Grand Canyon National Park). The sunflower showerhead is delightful but guilt-inducing (various hotel and park publications stress the importance of conserving water).
AMENITIES The canyon is the only amenity that matters. The trick is to wake up in time for sunrise - on June 9, it was at 5:11 a.m. Our wake-up call came, as promised, at 5, and 10 minutes later we were standing at the edge. At 6:30, the dining room opened for breakfast, and we nabbed a window table. (The $9.75 breakfast burrito was superb.) Then it was off for a hike down Bright Angel Trail. The trip to the first trail house - a mile and a half from the rim - took about 40 minutes; the return took about twice that long. We were back at El Tovar in time for checkout (11 a.m.) and lunch in the Arizona Room of the nearby Bright Angel Lodge.
ROOM SERVICE The restaurant will deliver to your room, but it's hard to imagine anyone choosing that option - the dining room, with its vintage murals of Indian rituals and copper-with-stained-glass chandeliers is a big part of the hotel experience. At dinner, the roast duck with cranberry port glaze ($21.90) was terrific. A bottle labeled "Grand Canyon Merlot" (actually from Northern California) was satisfying ($23).
THE BOTTOM LINE With tax, and an optional $1 donation to the Grand Canyon Foundation Fund, a standard room is $166.10. If you can't get a reservation, do what we did: book a room at one of the many hotels south of the park, and try El Tovar again on the day of your arrival. (To its credit, the Holiday Inn Express allowed me to cancel my reservation, free of charge, even though I didn't give the required 24 hours' notice.) The other Xanterra lodges are less luxurious, but all have great locations.
El Tovar, Post Office Box 699, Grand Canyon, Ariz. 86023; (928) 638-2631; reservations (888) 297-2757; online at www.grandcanyon-lodges.com.

domain: geography


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Wedding Reception Tablescape with Champagne Gold Charger Plates and Light Blue Linen Napkins with Low White and Light Blue Hydrangea Centerpieces with an amazing wooden chandelier centering the room, as well as a starry ceiling of fairy lights
With eye-catching colours, flowering shrubs are frequently the centerpiece of a lawn. Foliage and greenery increase the attractiveness of any floral arrangement. The big and complete bloom alleviates the demand for fillers
They say beauty comes in all different sizes and so do your girls! Azazie offers affordable dresses that'll flatter every body type. Choose from 150 styles in 57 colors that are designed to fit your body shape perfectly!


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Chinese jade snuff bottle basket work pattern
browse these categories for related items...
Directory: Hidden: Viewable: Pre 1910: item # 1185907
Please refer to our stock # 1851/411 when inquiring.
Nirvana Oriental Antiques
+44 (0 )20 7449 9374
|A Chinese jade snuff bottle of celadon hue carved all over with a pattern of basketwork. Very well- hollowed, it is in excellent condition. size: 2 inches ( excluding stopper) (5 cm) . age: late Qing.The stopper is a later replacement.|


splash of green.
Found these green trees in Squamish. Perhaps it's moss? In any case, looked pretty cool when mixed with other brown winter trees. Very fairytale-ish.
February 1, 2012 at 2:51 AM
Vad vackert!! :-)
Vi borde skyea igen snart!! :-)
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'Tantamount to a death sentence'...J'can man who helped to convict Dudus now fighting deportation
An undocumented Jamaican man who helped United States (US) authorities convict drug kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke is now fighting to remain in the US, according to a report in the New York Daily News.
The man has been identified in court papers only as Sean B.
According to court documents, Sean B was a ‘general’ in Coke’s Shower Posse known as ‘Cowboy’ before he agreed to become a cooperating witness in the former Tivoli Gardens strongman’s 2011 trial on drug charges.
The trial was averted after Coke pleaded guilty to trafficking more than three tonnes of marijuana and 30 pounds of cocaine into the US.
Seeking to convince US authorities not to deport him to Jamaica, Sean B said his decision to become a cooperating witness against Coke made him a marked man and was tantamount to a death sentence.
“If I return to Jamaica, I am dead as soon as I get off the plane. I testified against one of the most powerful men in Jamaica," he said in a sworn statement.
“Being a snitch [informa] in Jamaica is one of the worst things you can do, and I am branded as one for the rest of my life. I will be killed in Jamaica if I return.”
New Jersey District Judge Kevin McNulty seemed convinced by the claim.
“Since (Sean’s) testimony, his sister’s house was burned down, the house of his children’s mother was bombed, six of his cousins have been murdered, and his father was forced to flee the country,” McNulty said in a ruling last week.
The newspaper reported that on May 30 immigration agents put ‘Cowboy’ on a private plane bound for Kingston before the government received a restraining order signed by McNulty blocking his deportation.
Gregory Copeland, one of the attorneys who represented Sean B, told the news outlet that what happened after he landed in Jamaica was “cinematic in terms of how insane it was.”
Copeland said his client tried to lay low with a family friend, a sister and others.
However, during a walk outside, “people were waiting for him with a machete and sawed-off shotgun”, Copeland said.
“Sean jumped over fences, hopped in a cab and frantically called his legal team back in the US from a payphone”, the attorney said.
Another attorney, Craig Relles revealed that three days later, Sean was back in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, after McNulty ordered that he be returned to the US.
Relles said federal agents hid his client in a hotel in Jamaica until he could be returned to the US.
Since then Sean has remained in an ICE detention facility.
“I find it quite likely that a person in that position in Jamaica — in hiding, and under a threat of death — could not effectively litigate an immigration appeal,” McNulty wrote.
“Not to put too fine a point on it, the death threats, if carried out, would moot and defeat the review process.”
Sean has had numerous run-ins with US authorities before becoming a cooperating witness, including two deportations for illegal entry.
After trying to come in a third time in 2009, he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and began working with the government.
John Zach, a former federal prosecutor in the Coke case, confirmed that Sean B testified “at great personal risk to himself” and offered firsthand insight into Coke’s organisation and how it operated in Jamaica and the US.
McNulty noted that a manhunt for Coke in 2010 resulted in an “armed insurgency” in Jamaica that left 70 people dead.
Coke was sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2012.
Sean was permitted to work legally in the US, making it unclear how he ended up on ICE’s radar in January this year, the New York Daily News reported.
A spokesman for ICE declined to comment on the case but noted Sean’s numerous criminal convictions.
He has a bail hearing in immigration court next week.