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Enhancing the monetary analysis
Speech by Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the ECBat the conference ‘The ECB and its Watchers IX’, Frankfurt am Main, 7 September 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today at the ninth in this series of conferences entitled ‘The European Central Bank and its Watchers’. Over the past decade, this series has proved to be an important forum for constructive debate about monetary policy in Europe – a tradition that I hope will continue today.
To dwell shortly on the conference’s title, the organisers have chosen to distinguish clearly between, on the one hand, those responsible for the conduct of monetary policy and, on the other, those who observe and comment upon it. Understandably, the perspectives and priorities of these two groups might be quite different at times, as will no doubt become apparent in the course of today’s proceedings.
Let me illustrate with a short example. Drawing on the latest academic research, watchers often advise central banks pursuing price stability to ‘Just do it’.
No doubt, this is sound advice. Indeed, it points to an important principle, namely that monetary policy – and thus monetary policy makers – ultimately determine the rate of inflation and, by implication, whether price stability is maintained.
But viewed from my office in the Eurotower, this advice – although sound – does not seem very relevant or useful. Like all my colleagues on the Governing Council, I am aware of the responsibilities conferred upon me by the Treaty. Collectively we act, in word and deed, to pursue our primary objective, the maintenance of price stability.
Being reminded of our responsibilities is not harmful. But neither is it very helpful. What we seek is practical guidance for taking monetary policy decisions that serve the achievement of our objective. In response to your advice to ‘just do it,’ our natural response is ‘how?’
This brings me to the topic of my comments this morning – enhancing the monetary analysis. No other aspect of our monetary policy has been the subject of such intense debate over the past decade, in this and other fora. But I wonder whether this debate has generated more heat than light.
Opinions have become polarised. Some watchers argue that monetary analysis is irrelevant or even misleading. Other watchers argue for the adoption of monetary targeting, with interest rate geared to achieving a certain rate of money growth. What observers of the ECB have failed to provide is practical guidance about the conduct of monetary analysis and interpretation of monetary developments that is useful to policymakers.
The staff of the ECB and the Eurosystem have had to fill this breach. Today, I will describe the results of some of their work and how we have used it in our policy deliberations.
I will start by outlining a number of key empirical regularities relevant for monetary analysis. These empirical features have remained robust over the past two hundred years and continue to be so today. They provide a simple, yet powerful illustration of the economic principles underlying our monetary policy strategy. I will then tackle the crucial issue for applied monetary policy-making, namely the operationalisation of – and, in particular, the real time use of – monetary analysis for monetary policy purposes. After briefly reviewing the performance of monetary analysis in recent years, I will sketch the avenues that are currently being pursued to enhance the monetary analysis in the future. I hope that outlining our agenda in this way will act as a catalyst, engaging watchers and academics in a wider research effort to deepen and broaden our understanding of monetary developments and their implications.
2. A picture is worth a thousand words
Underlying the institutional framework for monetary policy in Europe is the neutrality of monetary policy in the longer run.
Monetary policy cannot affect real variables at long horizons. At these horizons, monetary policy only determines nominal variables, notably the price level and therefore the rate of inflation.
We should be cautious about using the word ‘only’ in this context. Experience has demonstrated the considerable economic and social costs incurred when inflation runs out of control. Price stability is therefore the primary objective of the ECB, and the Governing Council has been assigned the responsibility for conducting monetary policy in pursuit of this goal. This much is consensus among economists, be they academics, practitioners or central bankers.
Since monetary policy can ultimately only determine nominal variables, it is crucial that it be conducted within a nominal framework. A central bank that looked exclusively at real variables runs the risk of missing underlying nominal trends. Such trends may play little role in determining inflation one or two years ahead but – because of their persistence – can lead to a gradual, but lasting, drift of inflation away from levels consistent with price stability. Cross-checking the cyclical analysis focused on demand and cost dynamics with an assessment of longer-term nominal trends is therefore key. This is reflected in the ECB’s monetary policy strategy.
This begs the question of which nominal variables should be used to assess these longer-term nominal trends. Monetary developments are a natural candidate for a central bank that, ultimately, is the monopoly provider of base money. But, in practice, I recognize that this is an empirical question.
As the old adage says: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. Figure 1 shows the close and robust relationship between the trend components of inflation and money growth over very long periods for a selection of countries (Norway, since 1830; Australia, since 1863; the United Kingdom, since 1871; and the United States, since 1875). Over the past two centuries, upswings or downswings in trend money growth  have almost always been followed, a few years later, by swings in the same direction in trend inflation.
An important point to stress is that, as the figure makes clear (and as additional evidence for other countries confirms), the most recent period has not exhibited, in this respect, any difference whatsoever compared with the distant past. Indeed, if we focus on the euro area over the past thirty years, broadly the same empirical regularities emerge.
On the basis of this picture, I wish to stress three crucial points.
First, the relationship between trend money growth and trend inflation has remained intact over the past two centuries, across a variety of different monetary policy regimes. Furthermore, as I have already stressed, the data for recent years exhibit the same regularities, including for the euro area (see Figure 2). This suggests that this feature of the data is ‘hardwired’ into the deep structure of the economy. Thus, on empirical grounds, the relationship between monetary growth and inflation appears invulnerable to the well-known Lucas critique.  In other words, the observed empirical relationship is structural in nature and does not disappear as policy shifts from one regime to another.
Second , Figure 1 demonstrates – contrary to some recent literature  – that the relationship between money growth and inflation remains strong even in countries with low rates of average inflation. None of the four countries shown in Figure 1 have endured extreme events, such as hyperinflations, during the twentieth century – yet the relationship endures.
Finally – and crucially – a careful analysis of the series plotted in Figure 1 reveals that developments in trend money growth lead developments in inflation by roughly 2-3 years Therefore, by analyzing monetary developments – and, in particular, by identifying surges in trend money growth – a central bank can implement a policy that serves to contain the inflationary pressures stemming from the underlying nominal trends identified by the monetary analysis before they become manifest in inflation itself.
These three crucial and robust features of the data motivate the ECB’s monetary analysis and determine how it has been pursued in practice.
But before discussing in greater detail how these results should be operationalised and applied in a policy making context, allow me first to make a number of comments on the relationship between our framework and the so-called standard New-Keynesian model, which currently holds sway in many academic discussions of monetary policy. This model accords no meaningful role to money.
Although such models can replicate the long-run relationship between money growth and inflation that we see in the data, they do not replicate one crucial feature of that relationship, namely the lead of trend money growth over trend inflation. In a standard New-Keynesian model – the workhorse of much recent academic investigation on monetary policy – trend money growth moves contemporaneously with trend inflation, or even lags it, rather than leading it by 2-3 years.  This peculiar property of the New Keynesian model standard in the academic literature is at odds with the empirical evidence from the last two hundred years (shown in Figure 1).
This point is worth emphasizing. Suppose I observe a strong upward trend in monetary growth. On the basis of the standard New Keynesian model, this would not signal any subsequent upside risk to inflation. An analysis of monetary developments based on such a model would therefore inevitably be “behind the curve”, and unhelpful from a policy makers’ perspective. However, in reality every persistent upsurge in trend money growth has been followed by an upsurge in trend inflation. This feature of the data has remained broadly unchanged across various radically different monetary policy regimes.
The in ability of the standard New Keynesian model to replicate this key feature of the data drives from its structure, which assumes that the monetary aggregates play a purely residual role. In other words, money is influenced by other variables, but it does not influence them in any way. If you accept the model’s intrinsic logic, then you ought to accept its key implication: money has no special role in monetary policy analysis.
But such logic seems flawed. As is reflected in ongoing research by ECB staff (to which I will return later), there are many reasons why monetary variables may play an active role in the transmission of monetary policy and thus serve to determine, at least in part, macroeconomic outcomes, rather than just respond to them. Moreover, such research offers reasons why monetary developments may lead inflation, as implied by the data. What is worse, the model artificially trivializes the role of monetary analysis – “artificially” in the sense that money is marginalized on the basis of an ex ante assumption, rather than on the basis of anything observed in the data.
Within the standard New-Keynesian framework, movements in inflation that persist beyond the business cycle are “explained” as the result of variations in the central bank’s inflation objective. The policy advice stemming from this framework is the admonition to ‘just do it’ that I have already mentioned. Surges in inflation like we saw globally in the 1970s are thus seen as something that was desired by the central bankers of the time.
For me, such analysis does not quite ring true. A more plausible explanation is that even well-intentioned central bankers can sometimes make mistakes. In seeking to avoid the mistakes of the past, today’s policy makers seek robust early indicators of upward trends in inflation. The empirical evidence points to money as being among the foremost of such indicators. Monetary analysis therefore remains crucial in the credible pursuit of price stability.
3. Monetary analysis in practice: The real-time dimension
Monetary policy decisions necessarily have to be taken in ‘ real time’, on the basis of the data and the models available at the moment of decision. In this context, uncertainty about data and models abounds. The stylised relations between trend money growth and trend inflation shown in Figure 1 cannot be used directly by the policy maker.
In practice, central bank monetary analysis must therefore form an assessment of the current underlying or trend rate of monetary expansion in real time, in order to draw inferences about what this implies for the future trend rate of inflation.
While such an approach embraces the robust empirical relationships I have already discussed, it has to be operationalised and employed in a pragmatic way. An apparatus needs to be developed in order to translate the robust underlying empirical regularities into practical guidance for interest rate decisions. Choices have to be made about which measures of money to follow. Assessments have to be made of how these measures may have been affected by temporary factors that cause them to deviate from the underlying trend rate of monetary expansion.
All this requires a broad-based approach ,  which embodies three main elements:
First , rather than focusing exclusively on developments in headline M3 growth in relation to the Eurosystem’s reference value – as the ECB’s monetary analysis is sometimes erroneously characterised – the broad-based approach to monetary analysis draws on the fullest possible set of monetary, financial and economic information. The components, counterparts and sectoral composition of M3 and other monetary and credit aggregates are studied in detail, in conjunction with other financial flows deriving from the financial accounts. Financial market developments and yields are assessed for the implications they have for monetary conditions – an assessment that is likely to be central to our analysis in the coming months given recent events. Broader macroeconomic developments and data are also assessed to the extent that they are informative about the portfolio, financing and spending decisions that influence monetary and credit dynamics.
Second , the broad-based approach employs a suite of empirical models of various types, including money demand equations, time series indicator models and structural general equilibrium models. These models are used to explain developments in money and credit variables, identify unusual innovations in these variables and assess their possible implications for price developments and the broader macroeconomic and financial outlook.
Third , the model-based analysis is complemented by the use of informed judgement, which builds in particular on the Eurosystem’s assessment of the structural evolution of the financial and monetary sectors of the economy. On the basis of a detailed analysis of changes in the banking and financial sector, ECB staff can identify product and technical innovations that are likely to impact monetary and credit dynamics and embody their implications in the overall assessment of the monetary data.
These pragmatic tools are employed within a structured analytical framework that ensures both internal coherence of the diverse constituent elements of the comprehensive analysis and consistency over time. Specifically, all the tools are used to derive the best real time assessment of the current underlying rate of monetary expansion that – on the basis of the empirical regularities I have discussed – is robustly linked to longer-term inflationary trends.
Within such a framework, we extract the policy-relevant information contained in monetary developments that is key to ensuring that trend inflation remains consistent with price stability. This has certainly been the experience of the ECB over the past 8½ years.
To illustrate, allow me to refer briefly to two important examples from recent years that highlight how such a broad-based approach to monetary analysis has worked in practice.
If you like, one can see these episodes as the two ‘ big calls’ monetary analysis has had to make during the first years of Monetary Union: how to interpret the two surges in monetary growth that took place from mid-2001 to early 2003 and from mid-2004 to end-2005.
In the first period, we attributed the strong broad money growth observed in late 2001 to portfolio shifts into liquid monetary assets at a time of heightened economic and financial uncertainty. Such portfolio shifts were seen as temporary. The surge in M3 growth was thus viewed as unrepresentative of the underlying rate of monetary expansion and, as such, rather benign in terms of the outlook for price stability. Strong headline M3 growth was therefore not an impediment to the cuts in interest rates that took place from 2001.
In the second period , the surge in monetary growth in 2005 was attributed to strong credit growth driven by the prevailing favourable financing conditions, in turn supported by financial innovations that eased the supply of bank credit. Such dynamics were viewed as more representative of the underlying rate of monetary expansion and thus seen as of potential concern for the outlook for price stability. As has been emphasised by the President in the past, the intensification of these concerns in the course of 2005 was one of the factors underlying the Governing Council’s decision to commence withdrawing monetary policy accommodation in December 2005.
With the (considerable) benefit of hindsight, the real time judgement underlying these two “big calls” has broadly been proved correct. The implementation of the single monetary policy on the basis of the ECB’s strategy has proved very successful. Inflation rates in the euro area have been brought down to and maintained at low levels by historical standards. Crucially, the ECB has successfully managed to stabilise longer-term private inflation expectations at historically low levels.
As is illustrated by these examples, my answer to the question whether monetary analysis contributed to this success of the monetary policy of the ECB is a clear yes, albeit with a weight that varied over time.
4. The way forward for monetary analysis
But our past success means does not mean that we can afford to be complacent. To quote Winston Churchill, “ success is not final”.
For a decision maker, success in the past is not a sufficient guarantee of success in the future. Past success may even be dangerous. It might lead to the fallacious assumption that medium- to longer-term price stability can be taken for granted, freeing central banks to concentrate solely on the smoothing of inflation and output around a secure and stable steady-state.
It is thus important to stay continuously vigilant, all the more so after a period of success. Vigilance has to be exercised not only for the identification of risks to price stability, but as well for the tools we use to identify those risks, as tools are likely to change over time. For example, financial innovation may change the transmission of monetary policy or the appropriate measurement of monetary liquidity.
In the case of monetary analysis, I see the need to pursue work along four avenues, in order to stay fit for the challenges in the future.
First, further work is required on money demand models for the euro area. Standard specifications embodying the conventional determinants of money demand cannot account for monetary developments in recent years. A natural avenue for further work is therefore to refine and extend money demand models so as to improve understanding of the recent behaviour of monetary aggregates.
In this context, we must recognise that the adequate measurement of money may evolve over time to take into account a changing financial landscape. We must continually check and constructively question the statistical measurement of money and monetary liquidity in order to refine our assessment of the policy-relevant underlying monetary dynamics, which are not tied to the aggregation of a fixed money holding sector, nor tied to fixed asset classes.
A number of exercises are being pursued in this regard. Sectoral analysis of money demand is particularly promising,  especially given the increased importance of non-monetary financial institutions in monetary developments that has emerged in recent years, in part as a consequence of financial innovation such as loan securitisation. Given the different transmission channels of different money holding sectors, a deepening of the current analysis in this respect is likely to increase our understanding of aggregated money demand. Moreover, including wealth as a determinant of money demand – and, more generally, placing the demand for money in the context of broader private portfolio decisions – is a promising and ongoing line of work. In turn, this will require a better understanding of the opportunity costs of holding money and the impact of risk and uncertainty on portfolio choices.
Second , to synthesise and summarise information derived from the ECB’s broad-based monetary analysis and to emphasise the use of monetary analysis as a guide to policy decisions aimed at the maintenance of price stability, it has proved useful to construct money-based inflation risk indicators.  These can help to summarise, in an easy-to-understand-way, the inflationary or deflationary risks identified by the broad-based, multidimensional and therefore necessarily somewhat complex monetary analysis.
Ongoing work aims at improving the transparency, clarity and robustness of such indicators. One promising approach is the employment of Bayesian techniques (which allow introducing judgmental adjustments into the indicators in a more structured manner). Attempts to embody large data sets and tools such as factor models in the analysis are also underway. In adopting these techniques, we introduce a number of methodological approaches that are commonplace in the economic analysis into the monetary analysis, thereby seeking to benefit from the experience gained.
Third , we continue to be at the forefront of introducing an active role for money and credit in structural general equilibrium models, thereby extending the standard new Keynesian framework I discussed earlier so as to address some of the specific critiques of that framework that I have raised. Such an approach allows the impact of financial frictions and factors on the cyclical behaviour of the economy – which are not embodied in the current benchmark academic models – to be assessed.
By extending standard models in this way, we at least start to develop frameworks that can begin to replicate the key regularities in the data on which many of my earlier comments relied, in particular the robust and enduring lead of trend money growth over trend inflation.
Fourth , it is important to deepen further the framework for cross-checking information and analysis stemming from the monetary and economic analyses. While cross-checking is ultimately necessarily the responsibility of policy makers who have to take a single interest rate decision on the basis of several inputs, building tools and methods to enhance and deepen this process is desirable. As yet, we are far from developing a comprehensive and encompassing model of the economy that embodies all real, monetary and financial factors and the interactions among them. Consequently, adopting a diversified approach to analysing data and cross-checking among the various analyses is necessary for successful policy design.
A number of promising avenues are being pursued. The integrated sectoral accounts for the euro area provide one statistical framework for comparing economic and monetary data. More importantly, the relationship between monetary and credit dynamics, on the one hand, and asset prices, on the other, is one that is receiving increased attention. Recent research at the ECB has shown that monetary dynamics influence asset prices and thus also macroeconomic dynamics.
I have confidence that pursuing such a - doubtlessly demanding – analytical and research agenda will successfully improve our work as policy makers, allowing us to continue to state with full confidence: Money matters in monetary policy making.
5. Concluding remarks
Overall, having experienced the challenges we faced in recent years, I currently do not see a single convincing theoretical framework that can replace the successful two pillar strategy of the ECB, let alone a practical apparatus that could be applied to real time policy making.
The prominent role for money provides an explicit nominal framework within which underlying or persistent nominal trends in the economy can be identified and addressed, even if the business cycles do not point to inflation pressures. Cross checking between the economic and monetary analyses provides robustness to policy decisions by ensuring that a variety of models and views of the inflation process are entertained, thereby avoiding reliance on one model-specific view of “rationality”.
This framework remains currently the best possible way to guarantee that money is accorded the appropriate relevance – recognised by most applied policy makers and practitioners – in a transparent and lasting way, avoiding the temptation to use money opportunistically when it suits.
Against this background, the question of whether or not to monitor money and credit developments strikes policy makers – and, especially in the current financial market circumstances, any analyst linked to the financial markets – as odd.
As I have demonstrated, at the ECB we are not lagging behind the latest academic work on monetary analysis and monetary policy. Rather mainstream academic work is lagging reality. As the current agenda of ongoing research to enhance the monetary analysis demonstrates, the ECB is in the vanguard of developing tools to conduct the “new and enlightened” monetary analysis that underpins our strategy.
I invite all of you here today to join us in this quest. Together we can and should be the pioneers in developing the new tools for monetary analysis that are required to address the rapidly changing economic and financial environment.
I thank you for your attention.
Adalid, R. and C. Detken (2007), Liquidity shocks and asset price boom/bust cycles, ECB Working Paper No. 732.
Benati, Luca (2007), ‘Money, Inflation, and New Keynesian Models’, European Central Bank Working Paper, forthcoming
Bruggeman, A., G. Camba-Méndez, B. Fischer and J. Sousa (2005), Structural filters for monetary analysis: the inflationary movements of money in the euro area, ECB Working Paper No. 470.
Christiano, L., R. Motto and M. Rostagno (2007): “Shocks, Structures or Policies? The EA and the US after 2001”, forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.
Christiano, Lawrence J., and Fitzgerald, Terry (2003), ‘The Band-Pass Filter’, International Economic Review, 44(2), pp. 435-465
DeGrauwe, Paul, and Polan, Magdalena (2005), ‘Is Inflation Always and Everywhere a Monetary Phenomenon?’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 107(2), 239-259.
Detken, C. and F. Smets (2004) “Asset price booms and monetary policy”, published in: Horst Siebert (ed.), “Macroeconomic Policies in the World Economy”, Springer, Berlin, 2004.
ECB (2007) “Interpreting monetary developments since mid 2004”, ECB Monthly Bulletin, July.
ECB (2004) “Monetary analysis in real time”, ECB Monthly Bulletin, October.
Fischer, B., M. Lenza, H. Pill and L. Reichlin (2006), “Money and monetary policy: the ECB experience 1999-2006”, forthcoming in “The role of money: money and monetary policy in the 21st century”, ed. A. Beyer and L. Reichlin.
Lucas, Robert E., Jr. (1976), ‘Econometric Policy Evaluation: A Critique’, Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 1, pp. 19-46
Lucas, Robert E., Jr. (1996), ‘Nobel Lecture: Monetary Neutrality’, Journal of Political Economy, 104(4), pp. 661-82
Lucas, Robert E., Jr. (2006), ‘Remarks’ delivered at ‘Monetary Policy: A Journey from Theory to Practice - An ECB Colloquium Held in Honour of Otmar Issing’, Frankfurt am Main, 16 - 17 March 2006
McCallum, B. (1995), ‘Two fallacies concerning central bank independence’, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, vol 85, 207-22.
Nelson, Edward (1998), ‘Sluggish Inflation and Optimising Models of the Business Cycle’, Journal of Monetary Economics, 42, pp. 303- 322
Uhlig, H. (2007), Discussion of the papers “Monetary policy and stock market boom-bust cycle” by L. Christiano R. Motto and M. Rostagno and “Is money important for monetary policy?” by M. Woodford, at the 4th ECB Central Banking Conference on 9/10 November 2006, see http://www.ecb.europa.eu/events/pdf/conferences/cbc4/Discussion_Uhlig.pdf
Von Landesberger, J. (2007), Sectoral money demand models for the euro area based on a common set of determinants, ECB Working Paper No. 741.
Figure 1 Trend components of inflation and money growth since the Gold Standard era for Norway, Australia,the United Kingdom, and the United States (source: Benati, 2007)
Figure 2 Trend components of inflation and money growth since 1970 in the euro are (source: Benati, 2007)
 This draft has been prepared by L. Benati and B. Fischer with substantive contributions from H. Pill and M. Rostagno. Helpful comments from J.-P. Vidal are acknowledged.
 McCallum (1995), Uhlig (2007).
 The trend components of money growth and inflation have been extracted via a standard statistical filter – see Christiano and Fitzgerald (2003) – and are defined as the very slow-moving components of the two series.
 See Benati (2007); Bruggeman et al (2005).
 See Lucas (1976).
 De Grauwe and Polan (2005), for example, have stated that ‘ [t]he relation between inflation and money growth for low-inflation countries [...] is weak, if not absent’
 This is shown in Benati (2007, Section 3) based on estimated New Keynesian models, a standard specification for the demand for real balances, and several alternative configurations of the parameters of the monetary policy rule. This problem of New Keynesian models was pointed out by Nelson (1998), but because of the academic profession’s move away from money in recent years, it has been essentially ignored.
 See ECB (2004); ECB (2006).
 See von Landesberger (2007).
 See Fischer et al. (2007).
 See Christiano et al. (2007).
 See Detken and Smets (2004); Aladid and Detken (2007).


Battering Ram (5e Creature)
From D&D Wiki
Large beast, unaligned
Armor Class 14 (natural armour)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Charge. If the ram moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Sure-Footed. The ram has advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws made against effects that would knock it prone.
Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
Battering rams are named after the siege weapons, as a strike from an adult male is known to be able to break down wooden doors. Physically, they resemble ordinary, if very large, sheep, though the most noticeable difference is the massive pair of curling horns that males possess. Females are also quite large and very sturdily built (use the giant goat statistics), and they fiercely defend their young from predators of all types.
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Feel free to create your own group or roleplay, invite your friends and live the story!
for any werewolf's or wolf to come and join my pack
This group is for the official Ravenclaw Quidditch team players chosen by Wala Bortye and Zia C. This group is run by the Ravenclaw coaches, Zelie and Rose Shacklevolt. Happy flying!
Are you writing a book right now? Need inspiration? Come here, and we'll share our creations.(Created by Alethea VanDemark)
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domain: hobby


Changes have been made for upcoming Kauai Interscholastic Federation games.
Today’s varsity girls soccer match between Kapaa High School and Island School will be played 10 a.m. at Vidinha Stadium and not at Island School.
Also, a girls basketball meeting between Kapaa and Kauai high school was rescheduled to take place Dec. 22 rather than Dec. 21. The junior varsity game will start 5:30 p.m. at Kapaa High School.
Kapaa High School athletic director Greg Gonsalves told The Garden Island of the changes via text message.


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Nasty Christians in the Bahamas
Reuters, March 9, 1998
MIAMI- A cruise ship that sparked a noisy, anti-gay protest in the
Bahamas on the weekend was not chartered by a gay vacation group, the ship's operator said
The vessel, the Veendam, left Miami early on Monday for a stop at Half Moon Cay, a
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"We obviously do not check on lifestyles of the passengers, but the ship is not
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Hundreds of placard-waving demonstrators took to the streets in Nassau on Sunday to
protest the Veendam's visit.
The demonstration was similar to one in February when another chartered cruise ship,
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Hours before the Sunday protest, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham called a news
conference to say that all tourists were welcome in the Bahamas.
Ingraham said he was reluctant to respond to the protest, but a call by the Christian
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He said he was ``chilled by the vehemence of expressions'' against gays.
"There have been expressions of reason and understanding on this matter on the
editorial pages, but these have been largely lost in a sea of bitter, poorly reasoned
diatribe,'' he said.
The weekend protest was led by Save the Bahamas, a group formed in February to protest
the scheduled visit of the Leeward. Demonstators called on the government to acknowledge
the "outrage'' of its citizens.
The group asked Bahamians to sign a petition calling for the reinstatement of sodomy
laws, a ban on facilities for "sodomites'' and a ban on "open sodomites''
holding government office. It also called for the declaration of May 8 as a national day
Ingraham said the Bahamas did not encourage or promote homosexual lifestyles, but
"it does not condemn or exclude persons who reveal themselves to be homosexual.''
He said that the Bahamas, as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
could not discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual preferences.

domain: sociology


text:
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domain: celebrity


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As a division of Clark Associates, Inc., The Restaurant Store utilizes technology, purchasing power and great employees to provide excellent hospitality, quality and value to restaurants and foodservice businesses. Great prices, convenient online ordering and virtually unlimited supplies make The Restaurant Store the premier source for restaurant supplies and equipment. For more information, please visit TheRestaurantStore.com.
About Clark Associates, Inc.
Clark Associates is a privately held company headquartered in Lancaster, Pa. and has been recognized as one of Central Pennsylvania's fastest growing companies as well as Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine's 2015 Dealer of the Year. Employing over 3,000 people, Clark’s multiple divisions and branches in distribution, sales, and technology serve a variety of commercial foodservice customers nationwide. For more information on our business and history, please visit www.clarkinc.biz.

domain: economics


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Visited Blue Moon diner with a group of friends for a Christmas party. While we were one of the few groups at the restaurant everything was top notch from the service to the food to the wine. We had a blast. Will be back again soon.
这家餐厅提供免费 Wifi 吗？
We went last night and surprisingly they were less than 75% full. Even so, service was poor. Had to ask several times for water, lime, olive oil. While the staff appeared attentive, they were not effective. When I had a problem with my main - ice cold no one to be found for several minutes. Our appetizers were tasty and... 更多
One of my Best Friends and I went here after a long day of fishing on the sound. We were going to a different restaurant, but thankfully they were hosting a private party, so we went down the street and found the Blue Moon Bistro!! The service was excellent and with it being a upscale restaurant and us just coming... 更多
We had their specials for the evening and they were amazing. We didn't have reservations (I would highly recommend them) and, fortunately, we had a high top table in the bar area. They had wonderful food selections including vegetarian choices (which I appreciate). Service was top notch and very friendly. I think this is one of the top restaurants in... 更多
Blue Moon Bistro is a must while in the Beaufort area. I would suggest making a reservation to ensure you get a table at this fine establishment. The ambiance is warm and inviting which is only surpassed by the service and the quality of the food. While it isnt true farm to table, the menu changes every month or so.... 更多
A local referred us to this restaurant, so glad that he did. Nice atmosphere & attentive service. Husband's triggerfish entrée was the highlight of our meals, if they have it for a special, don't pass it up!
this place is the best. it is always excellent. not cheap, but worth the price. we got the two fish specials for dinner--tuna over home made pasta (a new preparation for them) and the grouper over succotash. both were outstanding. service from Jessica was spot on. still our favorite place at the beach
Nice dinning atmosphere, maybe a little to dark, but pretty decor, and friendly staff. From what I observed it is a place frequented by locals , the patron seems to know everybody. My appetizer was a play on a classic dish shrimp and grits with a modern twist: there were some mushrooms which didn't overpowered the shrimps and some brandy... 更多
Did not have reservations so we had to eat at the bar. I had Shrimp Carbona and my wife had Pan Seared Grouper. Both were outstanding. Service was excellent. I would recommend that you make a reservation.
Make your reservations early and they fill up quickly especially in the summer. Food is exceptional! Very good wine list also. Servers go out of their way to handle any request!

domain: food


text:
I want to make confession to you. I am…behind. Like I am really, really behind. There are so many things I need to write, haven’t written, and forgot to write about. And honestly? It feels like homework.
And I hated homework.
Yet, rather than seeing something like that as if it were a job for Sisyphus, I am doing the next best thing. I am doing what I can, and scheduling out the rest.
I am not giving up. I am reassessing.
My gentle suggestion to you all today is the same–reassess, don’t quit.
With Love & Ink,
One thought on “Encouragement Pages-05/23/2022”
That was needed… Thanks for the encouragement

domain: psychology


text:
Thank you for your purchase of Cancelled, my first ever, completed book!
Required Software Most computers have this program installed, but if yours doesn’t you, will need to download and install the following free software available here: Adobe PDF Reader
In 2012 I set off to run the New York City Marathon. A marathon is 42.2km or 26.2miles long. The New York Marathon started off in 1970 with the event taking place in Central Park. Now is is considered one of the world’s largest marathons with over 50 000 runners taking part. For many runners it is a ‘must-do’ race and one that I had hoped to take part in. Nature intervened and Hurricane Sandy crashed onto the shores creating havoc and heartache everywhere. This is my personal account of my experience in the Big Apple…Enjoy!
Cancelled- click here to download and start reading immediately!


Congress rejigs UP social media department, Pankhuri Pathak made chairperson
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Thursday appointed Pankhuri Pathak as the chairperson of its social media department for Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect.
The department was previously chaired by Abhay Pandey.
Pathak, who contested the state assembly election from the Noida constituency, was previously the vice chairperson of the party's social media department in the state. Danish Azam Warsi, Shubham Shukla and Shalini Singh have been appointed vice chairpersons of the department, according to an AICC communique issued by party general secretary K C Venugopal in Delhi.
Besides them, Shahnawaj Aslam, Sandeep Singh, Tejinder Nagar, Bipin Gupta, Aditya Nagaich, Kamal Parihar and Shatrughn Chauhan were appointed as state coordinators in the department, the communique added. PTI KIS TDS TDS
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


How big is the social media gap between deniers and hawks?
The world’s most well-known climate science denier, Sen. James Inhofe, has a whopping 13.3 thousand followers. The world’s most well-known climate hawk, Al Gore, has 2.58 million followers on Twitter (subscribe here).
Famous writer-denier James Delingpole (one of the UK Guardian‘s four suggested deniers to follow on Twitter) has 12,900 followers. Compare that to these writer-hawks:
- Bill McKibben: 69,400 (subscribe here)
- Dave Roberts: 28,800 (subscribe here)
- Kate Sheppard: 38,600 (subscribe here)
Grist itself has 97,500 followers (subscribe here).
Climate Progress has 36,900 followers (subscribe here). And, as I noted recently, a key reason our traffic has been growing in the past year is social media, which also routinely brings CP headlines to hundreds of thousands of people.
Heck, even Watts’ bête noire, climatologist Michael Mann, has 6,800 followers! And you should really follow Mann (here) if you don’t already. He tweets links to the science and to debunkings of deniers. That way you can join the growing ranks of those who don’t read the deniers’ websites. The traffic of WattsUpWithThat, like ever other major denial site, has been flat or declining since Copenhagen (check it out at quantcast.com).
I don’t think it is a big mystery why climate science hawks soar on social media and deniers don’t.
The Internet was made possible by scientists, with a little help from Al Gore. More importantly, science is inherently a social enterprise — whereas denial, being anti-science, is in some sense an anti-social activity whose goal is to stop society from listening to the scientific community about the ever-growing risks to society posed by unrestricted emissions of greenhouse gases.
Science is an exciting voyage of discovery in which people build on each others’ work toward a better and better understanding of life and the world around us. As Newton wrote, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
For deniers, who are on a monotonous treadmill of anti-truth, misunderstanding, and disinformation, the quote might be, “If I have seen nothing, it is by standing with my head in the ground” (or maybe, “… it is by standing on my own shoulders”!)
WattsUpWithThat has finally noticed the importance of social media in an unintentionally humorous post dated January 2, “Why social media is important in the #climatewars.” That would be January 2, 2013, not, say, 2009.
Watts is shocked, shocked to learn that climate hawks and activists have been using twitter and social media as “glue for the cause” and yes — oh, the horror — to communicate with each other! That’s of course why it is called social media. Watts admits:
A few years ago, I never much thought social media was worth much, but seeing how Michael Mann and Bill McKibben have been using it to their advantage, my view on the importance of it has changed.
[Memo to Deniers: Try replacing “social media” with “science” in the above sentence.]
Of course, the deniers have never been very good with either numbers or web tools. Until I called him out, Watts used to regularly hype himself with the most discredited web metric (hits!) — and the ironically named climateaudit.org still does. Of course Watts has used the unreliable Alexa web statistics comparison website for years — and recently used it to attack Al Gore. He might enjoy this post from Techcrunch, “If You Cite Compete Or Alexa For Anything Besides Making Fun Of Them, You’re A Moron.” D’oh!
Anyway, the point of Watts’ post is to boost the deniers’ use of social media, apparently for the usual quote mining and disinformation. I don’t actually think it’s very good for those things because, being social, it just ends up embarrassing anyone who uses it to spread falsehoods. Then again, if the deniers have proven anything conclusively, it is that they are beyond embarrassment.
Bottom Line: You may see an increase in disinformation on social media. The antidote is to subscribe to some must-follow twitter accounts of climate hawks listed above.


text:
Accountants are typically busy in April, but in these last few days of December, Timothy Ness -- owner of Ness Taxes and Bookkeeping -- has been getting a lot of phone calls from people asking about their 2018 taxes.
"We have been one of the offices that has suggested people try to prepay some of those expenses," Ness said.
Once the GOP tax overhaul goes into effect, the standard deduction for individuals almost doubles to $12,000 in 2018. For married couples, the standard deduction will be $24,000.
"The itemized deductions consist of real estate taxes, state income tax, mortgage interest and charitable contributions and if the total of those itemized deductions is less than $24,000, it does no good to itemize," Ness said.
That's why people are lining up at county treasurers' offices, including here in KELOLAND before the ball drops on New Year's Eve.
"The benefit is that in the current year, it'll be a lot easier for people to itemize," Ness said.
There are a few things to keep in mind. Ness says you won't see a savings benefit until next year, and there's no guarantee you'll get one. According to the IRS, homeowners need to have an official tax assessment to prepay property taxes, which complicates things for people who have already prepaid based on an estimate. Ness says there's still time.
"As long as that check is dated December 31st, technically speaking, and sent off in the mail or dropped off at the local office, they could still qualify for that deduction," Ness said.
Ness says you should find out if you able to prepay you 2018 property taxes. He recommends contacting your county treasurer if you have any questions about your options.
© 2017 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.
This year isn't even over yet, but homeowners are scrambling to pay next year's property taxes so they can save money. Right now, taxpayers can deduct certain state and local taxes -- like property taxes -- on federal tax returns. However, as of January 1 that deduction gets capped at $10,000.

domain: finance


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text:
Green and Red Millefiori Earrings
These are pretty little earrings made with glass beads. freshwater pearls, silver components hung on sterling silver ear wires.
These combine colors of red, green and yellow with little lamp work flower millefiori beads.
Dangles are wire wrapped.
There was a problem calculating your shipping. Please try again.
15 shop reviews4 out of 5 stars
These earrings are perfect as are all of this seller's items. This is the second time I've purchased from her and service and quality is always tops. These earrings are well made and the components are all high quality. I ordered these last weekend and had them by Wednesday. She is really on top of things. My experiences have always been perfect. And BTW since I was a second time customer she even sent out the earrings, boxed, before she received my check. Trusting and trustworthy!!
Georgeous! The perfect gift for a very special person!
Always great service from wildbraisart (and of course beautiful items!)
Beautiful, unique Moon necklace ! A lovely Seller - Marlene answered any question I had, and was great to communicate/work with ! Thank you again !
Hand made OOAK Drop Dangle Earring on Sterling Ear Wires - Can be Switched to Posts.
$23.75 FREE shipping
Pink Mother of Pearl Carved Leaf Pendant on Wire Neck Ring with Green Red and Pink Beads
$32.50 FREE shipping
Dark Blue South Sea Shell with Silver and Rhinestones Drop Earrings Sterling Ear Wires
$47.50 FREE shipping

domain: design


text:
Backgammon is one of the most ancient board games know to man, whithout the exact origins being identified. Known for over 5,000 years as The Game of Kings, the game we know today was refined in England in the 17´th century, where it also acquired the name backgammon. Today backgammon enjoys wide appeal and has achieved a cult-like popularity. Backgammon is a game of luck and skill. The tules are simple and easy to learn, but it takes a life´s work to learn the secrets of the strategy.
Størrelse 36 x 44 cm.
sammemklappet 36 x 22 cm.

domain: history


text:
Holi In The City - Festival Of Colors Party
MAR • 2018, at
605 W 48th St, New York, NY
Join a beautiful crowd at Stage48 and get painted in reds, yellows, greens, pinks and enjoy the Festival of colors in style with food, drinks, and the amazing beats by NYC's Top Djs playing Top 40 & Desi Music All Day Long.
Welcome to the happiest day party in New York City! The Festival of Colors celebrates the coming of spring, the joy of friendship, and equality for all. This Indian Festival happens ever year, not only in India but throughout the world. This is a day event and all nationalities and ethnicities are encouraged to participate!
Make sure to wear white because this party gets colorful. The colored powders used in Holi represent happiness, love, and the freedom to live vibrantly. Take the opportunity to cover yourself and your friends in colorful powders and dance your heart out. Enjoy musical performances, delicious food, and an afternoon of messy, color fun! Hope you all can make it!
White Attire Highly Recommended For This Holi Event
We Will Have Certified Organic Colors.
Guests ARE NOT Permitted to bring there own colors.
The event is 21+. Proper ID Will Be Required.
...and our Photographers & Videographers will be present to capture all the merrymaking (and mischief making) one desiparty can handle. Your very own paparazzi!

domain: artistic


text:
As you can imagine, it becomes harder and harder for me to find quality optical illusions, and continue posting them regularly. Often I wonder will a day come, when there is no fresh material left for me to post. Fortunately, there are still few hundred never before published illusions sitting on my computer, but I still highly depend on you guys and gals, and your regular quality submissions. So keep ’em coming – please! Before you send you submission, ask yourself these questions first: Was my illusion already published on MOI? Is the picture interesting enough? Is the effect good enough? Is the quality of the picture good enough?
For today I picked this tremendous, yet simple example of Disappearing surfaces. Although, you may think this illusion isn’t as complex as you are used to, I promise the effect it holds justifies its presence. Loyal visitors may already experienced this effect through our “Disappearing Act” category, but will probably enjoy this as much as all of our newcomers. What you should do, is simply concentrate on the center black dot, until both of the blue rectangles disappear. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself. It usually takes around 30 seconds or more for the effect to happen. That’s all folks, enjoy!


text:
- Granite Hate May 15
The small town of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, is in an uproar over remarks made by Robert Copeland, a member of its three-person elected Police Commission, who shouted a racial epithet at a restaurant TV screen as it aired footage of President Obama. And that's not all: Copeland is fully standing by those remarks.
As the Concord Monitor reports, here is what he wrote in a letter, responding to a resident who had complained to the commission:
"While I believe the problems associated with minorities in this country are momentous, I am not phobic. My use of derogatory slang in reference to those among them undeserving of respect is no secret. It is the exercise of my 1st Amendment rights," it read. "I believe I did use the 'N' word in reference to the current occupant of the Whitehouse (sic). For this I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such." [Concord Monitor]
The Union Leader reports that the commission will hold a regular public meeting tonight, which is expected to attract a big attendance.- - Eric Kleefeld
THE WEEK'S AUDIOPHILE PODCASTS: LISTEN SMARTER
- How to be the most productive person in your office — and still get home by 5:30 p.m.
- Why torture doesn't work: A definitive guide
- How academia's liberal bias is killing social science
- 43 TV shows to watch in 2014
- Dick Cheney's America is an ugly place
- The Hobbit: A disappointing set of movies, but a worthy set of prequels
- Could better U.S.-Cuban relations thwart baseball's human smuggling problem?
- Diagnosing the Home Alone burglars' injuries: A professional weighs in
- Hey, bosses: Stop giving bonuses to your employees
- Capitalism isn't a cure-all for Cuba
Subscribe to the Week

domain: politics


text:
|Content Description||Thomas Hayward, vicar of Worksop [Nottinghamshire] has a mansion and a yearly pension paid by Worksop Priory totalling £7.5.0.; and that the sum of 7d. is paid to the Archbishop of York for 'Synage', leaving the sum of £7.4.0.; original commission dated 26 Henry VIII [1534-1535].|
Examined with the office copy on 29 Dec. 1770 by John Dakeyne and Charles Simpson.


Thank you, sir!Fantastic G17!!!
Your contributions to this forum are incredible.
Cool nod to my G1 19. Thanks .
I didn't catch that AA barrel on GB. Wonder what happened to the gun.
I can't wait to read that thread in more detail when I have time.
It's interesting that the first imported AF guns have barrels made a few months before the AA guns.
I can fill in some date codes for several early prefixes that were not imported into the US. I have the SN and barrel date codes for these guns (AB, AC, several others).
I can fill in some info from my Gen 1s and ones that I've owned and sold as well.
I'll do this as soon as I have time. Might be this weekend.


text: Kate has a passion for storytelling! She welcomes each and every opportunity to share her books and love of reading and writing with the young minds who motivate her! Whether in classrooms, auditoriums, libraries, bookstores, or club meetings - Kate shares her love for writing and empowers others to create, too! It is her firm belief that each and every person has a FABULOUS story brewing in their imagination. All it takes to turn that idea into a story is the courage to give that idea a voice!


People who have learned about air purifiers know that the filter directly determines the strength of filtration and purification capacity. The filter effect of air purifier is closely related to the selection and collocation of filter screen. What should be paid attention to when choosing an air purifier?
Generally speaking, the filter can be divided into three grades: primary effect filter, medium effect filter, high efficiency filter, the higher the grade, the better the filtering effect, but the corresponding wind resistance will be greater, so the higher the density of the filter, the higher the overall performance requirements of the motor and new fan.
Primary effect filter: mainly used for filtering dust particles over 5 microns. Such as hair, pollen, willow catkins and other visible particles, the primary effect filter can improve the life of the high efficiency filter, and reduce wind resistance.
Medium effect filter: mainly collects 1-5 micron particulate dust and various suspended matter, is the front end filter of high efficiency filter, to reduce the load of high efficiency filter, prolong its service life.
High efficiency filter: mainly capture 0.5 micron particles of dust and various suspended matter, not only can remove smoke and dust, but also can isolate bacterial pollutants.
In the air purifier, the primary effect, medium effect, high efficiency filter net is not generally used alone, but two or three kinds of use together. The air purifier with more than two layers of filter can achieve better air filtration effect. High efficiency filter determines the purification efficiency, high efficiency filter is HEPA, to HEPA standard filter, can filter the vast majority of 0.3 micron above dust.
Post time: Mar-12-2022


Leonardo Da Vinci Academy's annual fundraiser for the Montreal Neurological Institute took on a particularly special meaning on Wednesday, as the school's gym teacher made a triumphant return after undergoing surgery for a brain tumour.
Roger Federer failed to reach the Halle Open quarterfinals for the first time Wednesday when Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied from a set down to stun the former champion 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.
After a brutal year in which Quebec's hospitals were pushed to their limits by the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer was supposed to be a time to rest and recuperate for exhausted staffs. But during what is normally a slow time of year, the province's emergency rooms have seen an influx of patients.
The Mohawk Council of Kanesatake says it's surprised but pleased that Quebec is finally open to discussing the possibility of re-establishing an Indigenous police force to patrol the community northwest of Montreal, its grand chief said Wednesday.
Citing “significant governance gaps” and “a dysfunctional climate,” the Montreal educational educational service centre (CSSDM) has been placed under supervision of the Quebec government, effective immediately.


text:
As advertisers pull back on spending and supply chain disruptions persist, investors have braced themselves for an unpleasant quarter for Roku. And investors are probably right to be worried.
Roku released its fiscal third-quarter earnings results on Wednesday, revealing that it is still experiencing slow growth in revenue in a continuously challenging environment. The company also warned investors of a weak fourth quarter, telling shareholders it expects total net revenue of about $800 million, or a 7.5% decline year over year. Roku shares dropped nearly 19% in after-hours trading once investors saw the fourth-quarter guidance.
“As we enter the holiday season, we expect the macro environment to further pressure consumer discretionary spend and degrade advertising budgets, especially in the TV scatter market. We expect these conditions to be temporary, but it is difficult to predict when they will stabilize or rebound. We, therefore, anticipate Q4 Player revenue and Platform revenue to be lower year over year,” the company wrote in its letter to shareholders.
And while Roku reported a total net revenue that beat expectations, the results are still much lower than in the past. Roku noted that its total revenue grew 12% year over year to $761 million, above its own expectation of $700 million. Analysts predicted Roku’s total revenue to reach $696 million this quarter.
“Platform revenue grew 15% year over year, which was lower than our historical growth rates but positive given the difficult macro environment. Advertising spend on our platform continues to grow more slowly than our beginning-of-year forecast due to current weakness in the overall TV ad market, and the ad scatter market in particular,” the company said.
Roku missed revenue expectations last quarter and reported a total net revenue of $764 million, which was $41 million less than Wall Street’s expectations. The company blamed the slowdown in TV ad spending for missing the mark.
Meanwhile, the company also reported a net addition of 2.3 million incremental active accounts in Q3, bringing the total to 65.4 million, up from 61.3 million active accounts in the second quarter. Roku also had total streaming hours of 21.9 billion, up 1.1 billion from last quarter.
Its free streaming service, The Roku Channel, saw a jump in streaming hours of 90% year-over-year.
Roku continues to invest in The Roku Channel. Just this past month, the company launched the streaming service in Mexico, which marked a significant move for the service. Previously, The Roku Channel was only available in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.
Roku tries to be smart(er)
Roku made a bold move last month by stepping into the connected home space with the launch of various smart home devices. The Roku Smart Home lineup includes security cameras, video doorbells, smart lights and voice-enabled smart plugs.
With Google and Amazon already in the smart home market, it’s likely Roku doesn’t anticipate becoming the first choice for consumers. Still, it makes sense for the company to monetize the smart home experience to the many consumers that already have Roku smart TVs in their homes.
During a conference call with reporters, Roku chief financial officer Steve Louden said: “Expanding into the smart home ecosystem is a natural extension for Roku. Obviously, we're a leading TV streaming platform, and smart TV is usually at the center of someone's smart household. It’s a good extension to leverage our existing 65 million active accounts.”
The company added in its letter that it’s still “early days,” but Roku has the “necessary technology and expertise in hardware, software, and connectivity to deliver a smart home ecosystem that is simple, powerful, and delightful.”
Roku also recently launched the 2022 version of the Roku Express streaming player, a Roku Wireless Bass, as well as its software update, Roku OS 11.5, which includes new features like a universal watch list, a “continue watching” feature and a discovery hub that features short-form content.

domain: news


text:
After the success of his latest blockbuster Temper, ace film-maker Puri Jagannadh is currently busy with the shooting of his woman-centric flick ‘Jyothi Lakshmi’. Charming actress Charmi Kaur is playing the lead role in this film.
Regular shooting has begun and according to the latest update, some key romantic scenes are now being shot on Charmi in the beautiful locales of Goa.
Jyothi Lakshmi is jointly produced by C.K Entertainments and Sri Subha Swetha Films. Sunil Kashyap, the singer turned music director, will compose the songs.
- Nikhil’s next wraps up post-production
- Action King joins Nithin’s film
- Poll : Will Baahubali 2 collect 100 crores all over on day one?
- Mega Brothers Honour Legendary Director
- Anushka In Talks For ‘Mahanati’?
Articles that might interest you


text: Decline of cognition and increasing risk of neurodegenerative diseases are major problems associated with aging in humans. Of particular importance is how the brain removes potentially toxic biomolecules that accumulate with normal neuronal function. Recently, a biomolecule clearance system using convective flow between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid (ISF) to remove toxic metabolites in the brain was described. Xie and colleagues now report that in mice the clearance activity of this so-called "glymphatic system" is strongly stimulated by sleep and is associated with an increase in interstitial volume, possibly by shrinkage of astroglial cells. Moreover, anesthesia and attenuation of adrenergic signaling can activate the glymphatic system to clear potentially toxic proteins known to contribute to the pathology of Alzheimer disease (AD) such as beta-amyloid (Abeta). Clearance during sleep is as much as two-fold faster than during waking hours. These results support a new hypothesis to answer the age-old question of why sleep is necessary. Glymphatic dysfunction may pay a hitherto unsuspected role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases as well as maintenance of cognition. Furthermore, clinical studies suggest that quality and duration of sleep may be predictive of the onset of AD, and that quality sleep may significantly reduce the risk of AD for apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ɛ4 carriers, who have significantly greater chances of developing AD. Further characterization of the glymphatic system in humans may lead to new therapies and methods of prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. A public health initiative to ensure adequate sleep among middle-aged and older people may prove useful in preventing AD, especially in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ɛ4 carriers.

domain: health


text:
Engaging Italy: American Women’s Utopian Visions and Transnational Networks
American women abroad have often been more than tourists. Engaging Italy depicts the intertwined lives of three now-little-known figures—Caroline Crane Marsh, Anne Hampton Brewster and Emily Bliss Gould—whose paths crossed as they lived abroad for more than fifteen years. These women seized opportunities to be engaged in the political changes of the 1860s and 70s known as Italian Unification.
What Readers Are Saying About Engaging Italy
“an impressive synthesis of substantial archival work and
extensive research into C19 women’s literary and reform history.”
“accessible, lively prose and engaging storytelling brings these women and their experiences to life and makes the case for their significance . . . .The book is theoretically informed, but Madden avoids jargon-laden prose.”
Eating in Eden: Food & American Utopias
Drawing from interests in utopian communities and religious history, Madden & Finch highlight in Eating in Eden American food practices that range from those of colonial English Puritans and Spanish Catholics to those of more recent groups of European Jews and Indian Hindus. The collection of thirteen essays, interdisciplinary in scope, begins with an introduction that provides an overview of food studies and views of utopian life in America. Other chapters discuss topics as rich and varied as male dining clubs in Revolutionary America and 19th-century women’s colleges, tv cooking shows, vegetarian cookbooks, and food co-ops. The Shakers, Oneida Community and the Amana Colony of Inspirationists are among the more traditional communal groups considered.

domain: library


text:
Assin Fosu Divisional Police Command in the Central Region has rescued 29 Togolese nationals from suspected human traffickers.
The victims were being transported in a sprinter bus with registration number GY – 2576-18 which was headed to Elubo from Togo.
Driver of the sprinter bus who was identified only as Yusuf was apprehended by the Assin Fosu Police after the bus was stopped for overloading.
Citi News sources say the driver who claimed to be Ghanaian explained that they left Togo on Tuesday, June 18, 2019, with the children aged between 1 to 20 years.
According to the driver, he was transporting the children who were on vacation in Togo to their parents in Elubo to help them on their farms.
Speaking to Citi News in an interview, Mustapha Okine Aryee, the Municipal Social Welfare Officer for Assin Fosu, explained that upon further interaction with the children, they noticed that the children were picked up from different locations in Togo and were being trafficked to Elubo to work on farms.
“Our interaction with them indicated that they were from different places in Togo and they were going to be engaged in child labour. Some of them don’t even know where they were going and it is very unfortunate”.
“We realized that this could be an issue of human trafficking which involves children and adults because about 16 of them were eighteen years and below somewhere as young as four years, five years and I even learnt there was a baby on board,” the Social Welfare Officer said.
He explained that the children have been handed over to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit at the Central Regional Police Command for further action.
“Although the vehicle conveying the children had a Ghanaian number plate the driver refused to tell us about the people behind the trafficking,” Mustapha Aryee said.
For now, the 29 children together with the driver of the vehicle are currently at the Central Regional Police Command assisting in investigation, a source at the Regional Police Command told Citi News.


James Rodríguez comes from scoring his first goal in Qatari football in Al Rayyan’s 4-2 win over Al Sailiya. Now the team led by Laurent Blanc focuses on the derby this Saturday, October 30 at 11:30 am (Colombian time) against Al Arabi in the framework of the eighth day of the Qatar Stars League.
Younes Ali, Al Arabi coach who ranks third in the local league, highlighted the importance of this commitment, starting from the rival that they will have in front with great incorporations like those of James and Steven Nzonzi.
“The game will be the focus of everyone’s attention, and the two teams are motivated and ready for the confrontation. Al Rayyan includes strong elements, especially with the new additions. Regardless of the Al Rayyan team, we look at ourselves and the level of the team and the performance with which we will present ourselves in the match, we are looking to give the best image and not focus too much on Al Rayyan“, commented the technical director in the press conference before the game.
In addition, the recent antecedents show parity between these clubs, since after the resumption of soccer worldwide after the stoppage due to the pandemic they faced each other five times with a balance of one victory per side and three draws.
For his part, Blanc said: “I prepare my team all the time to winThe game against Al Arabi is different because Al Rayyan fans only accept victory and the truth is that my team needs a good preparation. I hope the victory over Al Sailiya is a good motivation for my team“.
That triumph referred to by the Frenchman with James’ first goal in Qatar allowed Al Rayyan to get away from the relegation zone and move up to sixth position with 9 points in a tournament led by Al Sadd with 21 units out of 21 possible and waiting for the situation of his DT Xavi Hernández to be defined, who can go to Barcelona.


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Istanbul New Airport will be opened end of October 2018 and all flights from Ataturk Airport will be transferred to new airport. The airport will handle more than 200 million passengers and an airport with the most modern technology.
Istanbul New Airport, which is expected to be the largest airport in the world when fully completed in 2023, will serve as Turkey's primary airport and a hub for connecting flights between Europe and Asia.
The Istanbul New Airport, boasting a futuristic yet functional structure, will also have unique characteristics. Its architecture will reflect the already rich social and cultural heritage of the global city of Istanbul. Boasting a unique architectural design that combines forward-looking and functional elements, the Istanbul New Airport’s terminal is inspired by the rich cultural heritage of Istanbul.
The architectural style of Istanbul New Airport’s terminals will reflect the artistic richness of Istanbul’s mosques, baths, domes and many other historic structures. The motives used in Turkish - Islamic art and architecture will add grandeur, texture and depth to the facility’s overall design program.
Transportation to New Istanbul Airport
Taxi, Havabus or Private Istanbul Airport Transfer Services will be the three main alternative modes of transport at the new airport.
The Metro line to New Istanbul Airport will be finished by the end of 2019.

domain: travel


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ITC re-appoints Deveshwar as chair; scouts for successor
14 June 2011
In a widely expected move, Yogesh (Yogi) Chander Deveshwar (64) has been reappointed as chairman of ITC Ltd for another five years, which will make him the longest serving chairman of the company.
In a notice to stock exchanges and investors announcing its upcoming annual general meeting, the tobacco-to-hospitality group said its board has cleared his extension as chairman with effect from 5 February, 2012 for a period of five years.
However in a clear indication that this is part of its succession planning, ITC said within his new tenure, he may become a non-executive chairman to pave the way for a successor, in which case the board will take a fresh look at his remuneration.
A resolution to this effect will be placed before shareholders for approval at the company's AGM. Deveshwar received a compensation of Rs8.39 crore for the year to March 2011.
During his 15-year tenure, he oversaw the transformation of what was basically a tobacco company into a diversified group with a growing presence in fast moving consumer goods, agri-business, and information technology, and hotels.
He also successfully lowered temperatures during a public dispute with BAT Plc, and the UK firm continues to own more than 30 per cent of ITC.


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Irish Blessing 10" Cushion. "May the road rise up to meet you..." The product is also available in 'Claddagh', 'Shamrock' and 'Cead Mile Failte' (a hundred thousand welcomes) designs.
4 different designs with screw holes for attaching
Since its first publication in 1994 Richard Killeen's Short History of Ireland has been widely accepted as the most accessible introduction to Irish history. It presents the history of Ireland...
This pocket-sized A to Z encyclopedia celebrates Irish life and culture and covers everything from ancient Irish abbeys to the zoological gardens in Dublin. Packed full of information, charts, illustrations,...
Forget the boring stuff you learned in school. Here’s the REAL skinny on Irish history. Invasions, Emergencies, one Big Rising, all sorts of Troubles; the Siege of Limerick (continuing), Paddy...
Stainless Steel hip flask set featuring the image of Blarney Castle embossed in pewter. Packaged attractively in a black presentation box
Limited edition print of Blarney Castle by well known Irish artist Simone Walsh. Available in small or large
Beautifully hand crafted Christmas Decoration.
Beautiful handmade Christmas Decoration


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XXX Kristin Cavallari Naked – The Fappening Plus Photos
It should be noted, however, that small blue Nckt of fabric barely covered the naughty bits of this celebrity. Cavallari Nackt And this girl also took a stunning photo on a yacht. Kristin Cavallari Cavallari Nackt off her clothes, flaunting her nude boobs.
We have not produced or scanned those images ourself nor do we claim the rights to those images.
This gal is beautiful, always stunning Cavallari Nackt despite that, she likes to show her skin. Kristin Cavallari Age 31 is an American tv Cavallari Nackt, actress, and fashion designer. Which documented the lives of her and her sluty friends.


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Traveling can be one of the greatest educational experiences that we can have in a way like no other. It helps you to see new ideas and broadens your mind. To have the chance to experience a new place in person, to take in the smells, is truly the opportunity of a lifetime.
Leave any valuable items of value at home.
Be flexible when choosing your vacation destination. Though you may enjoy visiting the same locale as a favorite, it is always fun to mix things up with some new spots.You can even save additional money by selecting an alternate destination.
Be aware of people pretending to be officials when you are traveling in a strange city. Do not give anyone your passport unless you are sure they are legitimate. Do not get into a vehicle with someone you don’t know.
If you are traveling to a small airport, check which airlines offer services there.
Do not hope that an airline will make you are flying. If you really need headphones, a blanket and a pillow to be comfortable while flying, a light blanket and comfortable headphones.You should also bring enough snacks along in case the airline meals are a flop.
There are many pet friendly hotels and even have facilities for them as you head out to explore.These may include cat spas and doggie day care centers. You can being your pets with you; you just need to be certain they are allowed.
Taking a trip can often make you to want to bring pieces of your home along for the vacation.Limit yourself to the toiletries that are essential toiletry products. Make a list of toiletries that you use throughout your day and are truly needed. Pack only the ones that are most important to you.
Keep travel essentials in the same place of your home.Don’t have the hassle of time scouring your home for everything you need for your trip. Buy a inexpensive plastic bin that will let you store all your travel items together. A container that can be hidden under the bed is great for storing many different objects.
Try avoiding rush hour when planning a road trip. If that is absolutely unavoidable, consider using that time to refuel or grab something to eat. This can be the optimal time to eat or letting kids run out and around for a while.
Sleeping pills or tranquilizers can help you through those long flight. It is often hard to get much rest on airplanes, the different surroundings, machine noise and people milling about. Try a sleeping pills to make your flight go by more quickly. Don’t have the pill before the plane takes off, as there may be a delay or problem that requires a return.
These sheets can be a great flat surface for kids to color on or coloring books on. By the way the information over the link here www.beautyfiguretw.com/rhinoplasty/ is very helpful to ensuring that you get the best quality services. Best tips!.
When traveling, prepare in advance for emergencies, like misplacing your passport. The United States maintain website where you can locate information and embassies in most places. You can go to the US Embassy website for a lost passport or some other emergency. Take this information along on vacation. You will get a replacement passport ready within a couple of days.
Always look at the expiration dates that are printed on of all of your passports. Many countries have specific rules in place about passport expiration. Many will not allow you enter their country if it expires in a certain window of time.
While you need to be 18 to rent most cars, others require that their drivers be 25 years old. You may also need to bring a credit card if you’re not at least 25.Senior citizens are not permitted to rent cars in some cities. Find out about any age issues before you arrive.
When you take a cruise, try talking with other passengers at formal dinners. Many ships seat you with people you are not familiar with. Have a positive attitude and talk with all the people you come in contact with. You will be spending lots of time together, and you just might learn some stuff about the ship this way.
Plan service stops ahead of time when going on a road trip. You will find that service areas are few and far between, isolated stretch of highway. Plan your route around repair places that can fix your vehicle. Keep those numbers on you just in case.
Airports are normally extremely busy, because each plane must wait for the last one to fly out and make room at the gate. The first flight during the morning should have very limited with delays.
Make use of the E-tracking option found on some travel websites provide. This will provide you with the cheapest ways to travel. You are able to receive alert via email alerts if the flight that you have booked or shown interest in has dropped the price and is available at a cheaper rate.
If you are on a long travel journey, even if you are getting up for no reason. Sitting for too long could cause health problems.
Don’t be so tight with your time on a road trip, especially if another person needs a bathroom break. Check also the information that you can read over here 千煌. Your trip will not be destroyed nor will your plans be ruined if you have to pull over for ten minutes. This will help ease any tension on the trip.
Be honest when you buy travel insurance. Tell the provider of any illness you are sick. You can stuck with the bill to pay on your own.
If you are going somewhere truly remote, you might want to consider purchasing travel insurance that covers search and rescue.This kind of insurance could be a real lifesaver.
The dream of going to Alaska to fish for salmon or diving under a waterfall can be had. Travel is all about doing what you’ve always wanted to do, and can provide you with a life purpose. A trip is something you can have fun anticipating when things are dull at home. Travel can create all sorts of wonderful memories for you. Get out there! Start planning your travels today.


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How to use Opalescence for customized take-home whitening
An evaluation of Opalescence, a whitening system from Ultradent Products.
The right solution for different patients
Ultradent Products has developed a system of at-home whitening treatments, Opalescence PF, that is cost-effective and reduces sensitivity and discomfort. Its unique formula allows for complete customization. With four different carbamide peroxide concentrations, dentists can tailor whitening treatments to an individual’s expectations, extent and type of tooth discoloration, and likelihood of compliance.
When determining the treatment plan for at-home whitening, dentists consider concentration, duration, application and desired results based on the patient’s type and extent of tooth discoloration. Opalescence PF is ideal for at-home treatments because of its versatility and customization depending on the patient’s desired results and clinical condition.
Available in four carbamide peroxide concentrations (10, 15, 20 and 35 percent), Opalescence PF requires wear times ranging from 30 minutes to overnight. Opalescence PF is effective in removing discolorations due to congenital, systemic, pharmacologic and traumatic factors, as well as those resulting from fluorosis and tetracycline. The lower doses are suitable for patients who want to wear the whitening trays overnight or who demonstrate extra sensitive teeth. Higher concentrations are more appropriate for quicker results and those patients who have less availability to apply the whitening gel and wear the whitening tray. Dental professionals can therefore customize whitening treatments in terms of both concentration and duration to fit a patient’s schedule, lifestyle, and degree of tooth discoloration.
In addition to versatility, Opalescence PF provides practical solutions to many of the common complications associated with whitening and at-home treatments. The safe and effective whitening gels include potassium nitrate and fluoride to reduce sensitivity and strengthen enamel. The gel also contains 20 percent water to prevent dehydration. Opalescence PF also contains buffers to maintain a neutral pH, thereby preventing an acidic environment and damage to the tooth structure.
Using a customized whitening tray, the Opalescence PF system promotes even application of the whitening gel and continuous contact between the gel and tooth structure throughout treatment. An easy syringe delivery improves the efficiency for loading the tray. The sticky, viscous formula helps keep the gel and tray in place, preventing the solution from migrating during treatment, thereby improving patient comfort, which helps patient compliance. Opalescence PF is also available in three flavors—mint, melon and regular—improving taste and comfort.
With Opalescence PF, dentists can provide their patients with a proven whitening solution for at-home treatment. Effective in treating even the toughest of stains and discolored teeth, patients can complete the whitening treatments safely and efficiently following the dentist prescribed plan at their own convenience. The ideal tool to customize whitening treatments for all types of patients to fit their lifestyle, and with customized tray application and a thick, viscous gel, Opalescence PF is designed to reduce sensitivity, enhance comfort and improve patient compliance.

domain: chemistry


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What You Need to Know
- The Senior Citizens League expects the COLA to jump 4.7% based on the CPI data released Wednesday.
- The CPI-W, on which the COLA is based, rose 0.9% in April.
- The league's COLA estimate could change several times before the official number is released in October, analyst Mary Johnson says.
The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security benefits in 2022 — typically announced in October — could be 4.7%, the highest since 2009, based on Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index announcement, according to Social Security and Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson of The Senior Citizens League.
The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as CPI-W. This inflation measure rose 4.7% from 12 months ago and 0.9% in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or CPI-U, rose 0.8% from the prior month and 4.2% over the last 12 months, with gains reflected “in nearly every category and a sign of burgeoning demand“ giving companies the ability to pass on higher costs, according to Bloomberg News.
The Senior Citizens League’s COLA estimate is based on CPI data through April, but the actual COLA “will be based on the percentage of difference between the third-quarter average of the increase in the CPI-W from the previous year to the current year,” Johnson told ThinkAdvisor in an email.
“This is a highly unusual inflation jump,” she said. “When January 2021 data was released, I estimated that the 2022 COLA would be only 1.5%. The fact that today’s estimate is 4.7% reflects an increase in inflation over just 90 days. A 4.7% COLA would be the highest since 2009 when the COLA was 5.8%. With several more months of data left to go, this estimate could change several times.”


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The decision by the Government to cut the feed-in tariffs for domestic solar photovoltaic (PV) installations has evoked cries of pain from the installation ‘industry’. Personally, I think the government acted precipitously, but that given the general state of the economy, the subsidy was probably unnecessarily generous. I am sure a compromise of an extended deadline or a gradual reduction in subsidy will permit an increase in installed Solar PV systems, while avoiding the ‘gold rush’ mentality seen in 2011.
On the graph of generating costs at the top of this page, Solar PV electricity at 43 pence per unit would be off the scale – 6 times more than the most expensive way to generate electricity in bulk (offshore wind). The proposal is to reduce the subsidy to 21 pence per unit, still off the scale above, but probably enough to keep the installation rate moving along. But wait a minute:
- Why are we paying people so much to generate electricity?
As I thought about this, I realised that in order to answer the question I needed to understand how the UK produces and distributes electricity.
Since privatisation, the UK has had a complex electricity ‘market’ operating in a way which is almost invisible to everyday users. Like all markets it consists of ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’. The ‘buyers’ promise to supply electricity to our homes and business at a fixed price, and the ‘sellers’ (or generators) promise to provide a particular amount of electricity at a particular time at a particular price. A buyer will in general purchase electricity in several contracts – some bulk purchases ‘at a discount’ and some ‘spot’ purchases sold at a premium at times of greatest demand. For all its byzantine opacity – this system has been responsible for supplying electricity without interruption for more than 20 years. However, the market is not very sensitive to the environmental (and political) requirement to produce low-carbon electricity.
In practice, it is much cheaper to make electricity from fossil fuel sources than from renewable or nuclear sources. The exact difference in cost depends on exactly what is included in the final sum (see the figure at the head of the article) and in general has a significant margin of error. Cost estimates for nuclear power in the data above do not include the cost of cleaning up the old power stations. And similarly, the price of gas and coal generation (currently responsible for ≈65% of UK electricity) does not include the cost of ‘cleaning up’ the carbon mess – mitigating or adapting to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. In principle, the EU Emissions trading scheme should automatically add a cost to all large-scale carbon emitting processes, but to put it charitably, the market is not operating efficiently.
So because the ‘market’ has failed to appropriately apportion costs to the different generating technologies, we need to explicitly subsidise technologies with low carbon dioxide emissions. Since customers always pay in the end, that means we need to charge people more for electricity than they would otherwise pay. Libertarians object and say that this ‘skews the market’ and the Daily Mail will object that this is ‘making poor people pay more’. Both these things are true, but both are – in my opinion – desirable. Here is my case:
- ‘Skewing the market’ towards low-carbon electricity is a great thing and we should be collectively proud that we have chosen to do this.
- Times are hard and we don’t want to spend money on things which don’t actually work. But the truth is that generating electricity renewably is dramatically harder than using fossil fuels. And although we don’t want to spend more than we need to – the cost of new plant and technology has to come from somewhere.
- Compared with other plant, Solar PV has almost zero maintenance cost – but charging a feed-in tariff encourages people to keep the panels operational. It also encourages investment in the best quality panels which will give best return on investment. And it is technology neutral: if a new technology performs better than silicon it will displace silicon PV panels.
- Recovering the cost of the tariff by charging more for electricity is fair – that way the people that use most electricity pay most.
- The feed-in tariff paid to people with Solar PV panels is just one kind of subsidy.
- We pay similar positive subsidies to wind energy providers, and although I don’t know what they are, I am sure the government are essentially guaranteeing the return on investment for companies that want to build any kind of new power station.
- But we also have negative subsidies, – real costs caused by carbon dioxide emissions which we avoid charging to the polluters. A carbon tax on emissions could in principle level the playing field but we don’t yet have an effective carbon taxation system.
So to answer my own question, the reason we are paying people to generate electricity in this expensive manner is because offering an explicit subsidy compensates for the uncharged costs of generating electricity from fossil fuels. So the ‘skewing of the market is designed to compensate for a pre-existing distortion in the energy market. At least that’s how I see it.
This is a link to the short and readable Royal Academy of Engineering Report from which I generated the graph at the head of the page.


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Bougies rejoice! Whole Foods has dropped their prices at all Toronto locations and some of them are big.
Today the company was officially acquired by Amazon and in keeping with the e-commerce giant's promise, the organic grocery chain immediately lowered its prices by almost 50 per cent on some items.
Signs around the Toronto stores in Yorkville, Yonge and Sheppard and Bayview Avenue now list the former Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value prices and the new Amazon prices, with items like the coveted organic avocado dropping from $2.25 to $1.49 each.
This means (discount) war. Amazon slashes prices on select products at Canadian Whole Foods. http://pic.twitter.com/JWgQur2kDx— Paige Ellis (@paigesellis) August 28, 2017
Customers can expect to find bulk goods, conventional and organic bananas, tilapia, lean ground beef and wild caught salmon are cheaper, to name a few.
by Lisa Power via blogTO
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