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I’m on a list-serve that is based on my high school graduating class. From time to time we get into political arguments. One of those who is active is my friend, Mark Smith, from my same graduating class who also happens to be a libertarian. Lately we have been talking about Lincoln and Thomas DiLorenzo’s books on him exposing Lincoln for the tyrant he was. The discussion has degraded to the point where Bill M. implied that DiLorenzo was a racist via a guilt-by-association with “The League of the South.” Finally Phil Pienkos chimed in with the following:
I've been watching this line of conversation with great interest, though the threats to punch Phil Harte in the nose were a little alarming. I kept thinking Bill would forget which Phil he was talking about and I stayed up nights waiting for a knock at the door.
To a certain extent, I understand Phil's frustration with a long history of criticism of the US from some on this page, but I think he missed the point. Clearly, the willingness to criticize vociferously while remaining a US citizen implies either laziness or an inherent appreciation for some underlying national characteristics. The criticism is meant to call to mind aspects that need improvement. In Bill's case, that is fairly clear. He was opposed to the actions of the Bush administration and congressional enablers and is optimistic that the Obama administration is trying to set things right. I tend to share that assessment. But it's not so clear in Mark and Ken's case. Both Ken and Mark work very hard to read about local and national politics and dig deeper into many issues to inform their opinions. I mostly stay out of these discussions because I can't match the depth of my knowledge on most of these topics with the rest of you.
But consistent criticism implies (at least to me) that there is something worth improving. I don't believe that either Mark or Ken are anarchists, and so they believe that a political system of some sort is worth having. I'd like to hear their views on the positive aspects of this country and how their libertarian views could make things better in a real way. I think that Phil was also looking for something like that, but the conversation got sidetracked with threats of fisticuffs and lobotomies.
Here is my response to Phil.
Thanks for checking in. I’ve actually wanted to write something along the lines of your request for a while. Since I don’t have the time it requires at this time, I will attempt to give you a “Reader’s Digest” version.
I grew up in the government school system firmly believing in the ideals of America expressed to us in the classroom. Individual freedom and personal responsibility, entrepreneurial spirit, the American inventors, the special nature of the founding of our nation and what the founding fathers did to bring it about.
I was excited and fascinated about what made Americans “special.” I read books on Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine and the “Swamp Fox of the Revolution,” Francis Marion, on whose life the movie, “The Patriot”, was made. The first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence always fascinated me. I guess I even fantasized about being a revolutionary patriot at the founding of our country. Many people have told me that I was born in the wrong century.
By the time I graduated college from the U of I in economics, I was starting to think that the American ideals I read about came up short in reality. But I really had no idea to what extent that was true until I started my painting business full time. The school of hard-knocks reality hit me pretty hard. The taxation and regulation imposed on Americans–from my perspective, especially on small businessmen, seemed to run contrary to what our founding fathers had pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. After one season, I hit a winter downturn and had time to read a book recommended to me while standing in line during commencement exercises the previous year, “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. Reading that book changed my life. She revealed to me what I had believed about freedom as a kid in the primary grades , but was gradually, subsequently “educated” away from my thought processes since. And page after page read as the headlines of the day. It was February of 1976. Rand finished writing the book in 1956 and I was amazed about how much this Russian emigre had foretold.
A jolt of vitality struck me. My thirst for knowledge the next four years was inexorable. One book led to another. In those four years I received for the first time, truly, a real education, not the stuff of so much boredom in the formal schooling I had received.
I discovered that my area of major, in economics, that was fed to me in Champaign, was even more a pack of nonsense than I had realized. I remember going over and over again the Keynesian “multiplier” theorem, based on mathematical calculations and thinking that it just didn’t make any sense. The theorem is the basis for what Obama is doing right now. The idea that you can create wealth just by printing money in order to spur “pent up” demand. Through my reading I discovered “Austrian” economics, true free market economics that had a real formal scholarly basis to it, with its most celebrated advocate, Ludwig von Mises, as the head of the movement, who, if one reads his writings, must conclude was a true genius. And one of Mises’ students, F. A. Hayek, actually received the Nobel Prize in economics.
Austrian economics clearly showed the flaw in the reasoning of Keynes–that you can create wealth out of thin air. The discipline showed that it was savings and investment that created wealth, and consumption was the result of such wealth creation, not the cause. It made perfect sense and all the fancy math that had befuddled me all those years I now knew was just economic alchemy.
So those four years I absorbed this rich field of libertarian education that has a depth not understood by those who haven’t traveled the path Mark and I have. Now, before anyone accuses me of narrowing my educational factors, remember that I had almost a whole lifetime indoctrinated from an opposite viewpoint of the libertarian philosophy, which can be summed up in one phrase. “I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force or fraud to achieve social or political goals.” There is a lot of controversy around what this statement means. It does mean that one has the right to self defense. It does mean that free adults should be able to do what ever they wish as long as they don’t infringe on that equal right on others. Or as William Allen White once said, “Liberty is the only thing you can not have unless you are willing to give it to others.”
Government, by nature has a monopoly on the use of force. It may be a necessary evil, but since it has this monopoly, it must be restricted as much as possible, so that it’s only legitimate function is to protect the natural rights of freedom of its constituents. That is why Jefferson stated that government is “bound by the chains of the Constitution.”
Well, unfortunately, a long time ago, government has burst those chains, and by the way, Lincoln was the main culprit.
So what is my vision? That of a cooperative society that trades freely, a countless millions of positive-sum-game transactions between people in the free market place. Where the cooperation turns into coercion, government is there with police and a court system to resolve those disputes. What government should never do is create zero sum games that take from one individual or group and give it to another individual or group.
Are there flaws to the libertarian system? Of course, because we are all human. Is it the best system to foster freedom and prosperity for the greatest number? In my mind, absolutely.
I understand that this country has been living under a different paradigm for a long time. It is very difficult to get people to see a different vision if they have been living their own “Truman Shows” all of their lives.
So it takes education and a lot of it to achieve the new paradigm of true freedom. It probably won’t happen in my lifetime, but for the same reason many of our parents sacrificed their own dreams for the benefit of their children, I have devoted most of my life to educate, advocate and activate for a system of life that I think is the only system worth living in–a life of self direction maximizing the potential of every individual in pursuing his or her dreams to its greatest potential, where reason triumphs over force, where initiative triumphs over dependency, where cooperation triumphs over compulsion.
Phil Harte implies that I am merely jousting at windmills. He is entitled to his opinion but I do take heart in the fact that I am able to inspire some people to fight for freedom. Within the last two months I was introduced to two individuals, one about the age of thirty, the other about the age of twenty, both of whom, when they discovered that I was the person involved in the seatbelt fight, considered me a hero. Now, I don’t consider myself a hero, but it sure did make me feel good that I am able to inspire others of a younger age to continue the fight for freedom. It makes it all worth it.

domain: politics


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白金上の水素吸着過程に対する磁気効果の検討 Magnetic Effects on Hydrogen Adsorption on Platinum Substrates
Cyclic voltammetry and a quartz crystal microbalance were used to study hydrogen adsorption in a sulfuric acid solution under magnetic field and in magnetically treated electrolyte. These conditions suppressed hydrogen adsorption. The exchange ratio of adsorbed hydrogen to desorbed sulfate anions was evaluated by the ratio of mass change to cathodic charge. We confirmed that the ratio of adsorbed hydrogen to desorbed sulfate anions was controlled by the magnetic effect.
- 表面技術 = The Journal of the Surface Finishing Society of Japan
表面技術 = The Journal of the Surface Finishing Society of Japan 50(3), 301-303, 1999-03-01
The Surface Finishing Society of Japan

domain: chemistry


text:
Take Back Power
This post was written on Linkedin on occasion of Women’s Day 2018.
Excerpt: Own all your choices and all its consequences. I know there is a tendency to blame patriarchy and social histories. Yep they exist. However I have not seen shaming game win. You cannot change others unless they want to. You change what you can change — You and your interactions with others. Own your story.
Read more here.

domain: psychology


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Students take the stage at Harry T. Wilks Theater
Like the rest of Armstrong Student Center (ASC), the brand new, state-of-the-art theater was designed with Miami students in mind. The 500-seat theater is primarily for any student organization to rent out either for their own use or for a group they are bringing to campus. What's special about Wilks is that student organizations come first.
According to Katie Wilson, director of the Armstrong Center, this new space can be booked by an official Miami student organization before any other type of group, in contrast to Hall Auditorium, where the university musical ensembles and student groups compete for time slots.
Events are already lining up in Wilks Theater Alpha Phi Alpha will be hosting the Black and Gold Scholarship Beauty Pageant 7 p.m. March 1. In April, the Vision Dance Company will be gracing Wilks with a performance.
Miami Activities and Programming (MAP) Vice President and senior Bill Brady said he is enthusiastic about the many possible uses for the new space. He acknowledged the possibility of hosting another Dueling Pianos event, such as the one they organized opening week, and inviting lecturers to speak in the theater. Ex-Playboy Playmate and HIV actitivst Rebekka Armstrong and advice columnist Harlan Cohen are examples of the type of speaker they might bring to campus, Brady said. Brady also said MAP is considering another poetry slam event called Closing the Show, which would be "mainly students" but would include professional poets as well.
MAP definitely "wants to highlight Armstrong" with their events, Brady said, which will mainly take place in the theater on the weekends and late nights.
Wilson made it clear that student organizations are given first priority for scheduling events in Wilks Theater, but if there is an empty time slot in the following thirty days, it becomes fair game to non-student groups.
Bill Murray, chair of the Department of Music, said he sees this as an exciting new opportunity.
According to Murray, the Music Department is "really interested and curious to see how things work out" at Armstrong, noting there are medium-sized choral groups, the jazz ensemble and some others that will fit in Wilks nicely.
However, he admitted he and much of the Music Department faculty have not had much of a chance to inspect the stage and backstage areas as of yet.
In addition to the theater, Murray said the students of the Music Department will be utilizing the Shade Family Room to spread the arts through the Brown Bag Concert Series starting Feb. 19.
Through this series, music majors will display their talents in the Family Room from noon to 12:45 p.m. every Wednesday until April.
Murray said this series "will be managed essentially by [the Music Department's] own students."
The aesthetics of Wilks are also exciting, according to Murray. The effort that has clearly gone into Wilks exemplifies just how important student organizations are to Miami. he said.
The white walls, decorated with acoustical wall panels to absorb extraneous sounds blend with the deep red chairs.
The room bursts with Miami energy, a fitting tribute for a place dedicated completely to students' expression.
"[Wilks is] a beautiful space," Murray said. "I think [it's] the most beautiful performing space on the campus right now, and it's a very impressive space."
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domain: news


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Pet care centers come in all shapes and sizes so how do you decide which one is best for your dog? Keep in mind the adage, “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” and follow our four-step process to narrow your search to find the great pet care centers.
Step 1: Know What Your Pet Enjoys: List the activities your dog enjoys. Pet care centers offer a wide range of options and you want to make sure you find one that offers activities your pet enjoys. Your list might include things like trail walks, chasing a ball, playing off-leash with other dogs, swimming, dog sports such as agility, obedience, nosework, etc., lounging on soft comfortable bedding, or cuddling with humans.
Step 2: Know What Pet Centers are Available: List all the possible centers in your area that offer the services your dog enjoys. Don’t discount a facility because it might be smaller than others. Likewise, don’t focus only on large facilities that offer every amenity possible. Right now, your criteria is whether or not the center offers activities your dog needs and enjoys. Your list may likely include a wide range of potential types of facilities such as: national brand big box stores, franchises or multi-location chains, large independent pet centers, small privately owned centers and home-based operators.
Any of these pet care centers can provide excellent pet care. But as you move to Step 3 you will learn to distinguish good quality pet care from great quality pet care. Great care is not a result of marketing budget, variety of amenities or money spent on a building. High quality pet care comes down to the people that own, manage, and work with your pet. Think of narrowing your search the same way you would if selecting a daycare for your child. You want a licensed business run by professional staff with a passion for dogs.
Step 3: Identify Professional Pet Care Centers: Make sure the pet care center is operating legally. You may be surprised that there are a small percentage of pet care businesses that are not legal business operators. You don’t want to leave your dog with anyone that is willing to cut corners. Professional pet care centers will comply with local licensing and zoning requirements and maintain business and liability insurance. Check with your local government offices to ensure the pet care center you want to use is a legitimate business in your county.
Legal establishment of the pet care center is only one way to identify professional pet care centers. Because there is no standardization of care for pet care centers, you will also want to focus on the background and professional involvement of the pet care owner and staff. Narrow your list by reviewing the backgrounds of the management team. Review websites looking for:
--Business owners with a strong background working with pets or education in pet care (look for information that includes more than just a love of dogs or working with their own family pets. You want someone with a wide range of knowledge or who has some pet education outside of just on the job training).
--Content that is focused on providing quality care (look for information discussing the needs of the pet)
--Information about key staff members including their backgrounds and training (the pet care industry is a service based industry and your dog’s care is only as good as the people watching him. You want to know a little about the people. Information about continuing education for the staff is a huge plus!)
--Industry involvement through membership in trade and professional organizations (look for centers affiliated with other pet care industries and resources or who regularly attend educational events.)
Step 4: Take a Tour: Now that your list is narrowed down it’s time to plan onsite visits. Tour policies will vary by pet center so check the website or call to discuss scheduling a visit. Before you go make a list of questions that will help you finalize your selection. See page three of this handout for some questions to ask and observations to make during your visit.
Remember: Don’t judge a book by its cover! It’s easy to be wowed with chandeliers and nice amenities, but these are not as important to your dog as the people they spend time with when not at home. In selecting the right pet care center for your dog look for quality within the pages and not just a pretty eye-catching cover.
Using this four step process you’ll be able to distinguish the good pet care centers from the great pet care centers. You’ll be able to leave your pet without worry and return home to a safe and happy dog!

domain: pet


I purchased this Mac Mini November 2009 and upgraded the HD and ram. It's been a great system, but I need something more powerful.
- Mac Mini
- original disks (10.6 Snow Leopard)
- original power cord and brick
Cash preferred, but also okay with Interac Email.
Local Calgary pickup preferred. Depending on the buyer, I'd consider shipping at buyer's expense.
- Processor: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- L2 Cache: 3MB shared
- System bus: 1066MHz
- Memory: upgraded to 3GB (supports up to 4GB)
- Hard drive: upgraded to 320GB (ST9320320AS)
- Optical drive: 8x SuperDrive
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (128MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory)
- Ports: One FireWire 800 port (8 watts); five USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps); mini-DVI output; VGA output (using optional adapter); Mini DisplayPort
- Audio: Built-in speaker, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/headphone out
- Networking: Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)
- Wireless: Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
- Size and weight: Height: 2 inches (5.08 cm)
- Width: 6.5 inches (16.51 cm)
- Depth: 6.5 inches (16.51 cm)
- Weight: 2.9 pounds (1.31 kg)


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Hey ya'll! I wondered if anyone has a full-size image of the park map of DCA. I've been informed that the map now shows the Toy Story Mania building on the animation and I am curious to see how Disney animated the facade. Thanks you for the help!
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domain: geography


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I have a Kindle fire tablet that I’ve had since early 2012. There are already a gazillion books on there but, honestly, I use it for games 80% of the time 😏
Recently when I asked my daughter whether she wanted ebook versions of the series she’s reading now she immediately responded with “No, I want to be able to smell them” 😄
The succinctness of her response made me take an honest look at what I have been denying myself ever since I came to Batam- the pleasure of my 1st love: real, physical books ❤ It might seem silly but the feel of a real book in my hands just adds another level of pleasure to the reading experience. I also do like burying my nose between the pages for a good whiff! 😘
But getting my hands on English books is costly as I’ll have to purchase them overseas. The bookstores in Batam only sell books/magazines in Indonesian.
I examined my reading habits further and found out that I like to high-light when reading non-fiction. And that it not only takes me longer to finish non-fiction because I take pauses to reflect on new ideas, but that I also enjoy re-reading them. Different ideas might find relevance at different times in my life.
Fiction on the other hand, is temporary entertainment, similar to movies. I don’t underline passages in them, nor do I re-read them.
The path forward [to happiness] thus became clear to me: physical books for non-fiction, ebook versions for fiction 😁😁😁
The bonus to this is that now I can share/discuss with you what I learned from my non-fic reads 🙃 I’m always on the lookout for practical ideas and now I get to blog about them too!
Methinks it’s gonna be fun 🤸🤸

domain: literature


Samsung M393A4G40AB3-CWE 32GB DDR4 RDIMM 1Rx4 3200Mbps 1.2V RDIMM Registered RAM
Proven DRAM module solution in the global market
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- Application : Server
|Density||32 GB||Rank x Org.||1R x 4|
|Speed||3200 Mbps||Voltage||1.2 V|
|No. of Pin||288||Component Composition||(4G x 4) x 18|


text:
*, Ramani and Sathyavathiamma, MP and Puttaswamy, NG and Mallya, RM (1984) Mossbauer effect studies of the thermal decomposition of iron(II) oxalate in hydrogen. In: Materials Chemistry and Physics, 9 (6). pp. 539-559.
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Mössbauer-effect and X-ray studies were carried out on the product samples of the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and of the isothermal decomposition of iron(II) oxalate in flowing H2. Two types of sample configurations were employed for isothermal studies between 280 to 420°C for various periods of heating. Low temperature Mossbauer measurements at liquid nitrogen temperature were carried out to examine the superparamagnetic (SPM) contributions. From the spectra of samples decomposed at 340°C, in vertical experiments, the percentage SPM and percentage ferromagnetic (FM) area of Fe3O4 were estimated and an average size (˜167Å) for Fe3O4 was derived. Mossbauer measurements (at high temperatures) were carried out on Fe3C formed in horizontal experiments, for two samples decomposed at ˜320°C for 1 hr and 2 hr. An estimate of SPM and FM Fe3C was obtained by calculating KV, the anisotropy energy for the Fe3C in these two samples and values of 5.07 × 10−16 and 7.02 × 10−16 erg/sec, respectively, were obtained.
|Item Type:||Journal Article|
|Additional Information:||Copyright for this article belongs to Elsevier science.|
|Department/Centre:||Division of Mechanical Sciences > Materials Engineering (formerly Metallurgy)|
|Date Deposited:||13 Jan 2010 07:55|
|Last Modified:||19 Sep 2010 05:48|
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Increasingly aware of the risk of strife presented by elections in countries affected by conflict, governments and civil society need more effective approaches to prevent election-related violence. The U.S. Institute of Peace conducts research, training and fieldwork to develop evidence that will improve knowledge in this field and inform initiatives such as codes of conduct developed by police and elections officials to avert violence. USIP’s Academy also conducts extensive training and education on election violence prevention in Africa. Learn more in USIP’s fact sheet on Preventing Election Violence.
Following the horrendous bombing outside a Kabul voter registration center, Scott Worden shares his sobering analysis and commentary about the continuing war in Afghanistan where he says most agree that a military victory is unlikely. The conflicts grinding stalemate, Fall 2018 elections and presidential elections due a year from now concern Worden especially with today’s Taliban announcement of a new fighting season and rejection of President Ghani’s peace offering.
In Afghanistan, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Kabul voting center that killed at least 60 people, including 22 women and eight children. More than 130 people were wounded, and Afghan police say many of the victims were waiting in line outside the center attempting to receive national identity cards in order to vote. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October, but could be derailed by continued violence, low voter registration, and a lack of confidence in the electoral process. USIP expert Scott Worden analyzes what potential impact this incident and any future attacks could have on Afghanistan's electoral process.
The April 9 arrest and extradition request of former senior Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander and peace negotiator Jesús Santrich highlights the complex challenges Colombia faces in the implementation of the historic November 2016 peace agreement with the FARC. Over a year and a half since the signing of the agreement, Colombia finds itself in one of the most critical moments in its efforts to definitively put to rest over five decades of armed conflict that has left more than 8.5 million victims in its wake. Frustrations surrounding the mixed results in the implementation of the peace agreement are exacerbated by the natural uncertainty over the upcoming May 27 presidential elections and its policy impact.


Earlier this year, Nintendo and Niantic made a surprise announcement about multiple Nintendo IPs getting the mobile app treatment. The first IP that they were ready to announce at the time was a Pikmin app. Since the announcement, Niantic has been conducting various beta tests for the game. While Niantic asked players to not share details, inevitably, gameplay details did make their way online. Other than a datamine of the beta version of the app in April, it’s been fairly quiet, until now.
In time for Pikmin’s 20th anniversary, new details about the game have emerged this month. This includes the game’s name – referred to as Pikmin Bloom within the App Store beta. Twitter account @news_pikmin reported the discovery on Monday, October 25th, and has continued to find even more Pikmin Bloom-related evidence.
World first: We now know the name of the Pikmin app. The name will be Pikmin Bloom. We know this because the Pikmin app on ios testflight (appstore beta) has been renamed Pikmin Bloom! #PikminBloom #PikminApp
(Thanks to zviznemte) pic.twitter.com/kKNQSYnoxS
— Pikmin Bloom News🌼 (@news_pikmin) October 25, 2021
In the last 24 hours, screenshots of a public launch post for beta players have been shared, along with official Twitter accounts for the game in English and Japanese (@PikminBloom and @PikminBloom_jp respectively). Links for the official Pikmin Bloom website and its community fourms have been found by news_pikmin too, as well as the game’s logo.
— Pikmin Bloom News🌼 (@news_pikmin) October 26, 2021
With all these new details, it looks like Pikmin Bloom will indeed be available in 2021. As for an exact launch date, that’s up in the air right now. While technically there’s still time for the app to launch on Pikmin’s 20th anniversary, that launch window is getting shorter by the hour.
For Pikmin fans out there, be ready to start cultivating your own army of Pikmin with the power of walking soon. Just like the discovery of Pikmin, this app will no doubt suddenly appear and be ready for some fun outdoor adventures – without Bulborbs!
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With Christmas just around the corner, here are my picks of gift ideas for all budgets and interests (so long as that interest is Star Wars!). Happy shopping!
- First on the list is the Black Series X-Wing helmet. I got one earlier this year and it is the best Black Series helmet so far. Excellent quality for a good price, it looks great on display but is also comfortable if you want to wear it. Electronics include sound effects, lights and movie quotes to top it off….’Red Five standing by’
- The Art of Star Wars books are a favourite of mine, so it is no surprise the Rise of Skywalker edition would feature highly on this list.
- Equal with the ‘Art of’ books are the Visual Dictionaries. These have so much in-depth knowledge and detail for all Star Wars fans. Good for the younger Star Wars fans and collectors alike get The Rise of Skywalker edition for Christmas.
- If you want to treat the kids, the Lenovo Jedi Challenges virtual reality game is on sale with delivery in time for Christmas. The game is a stand alone product so does not require you to already have a particular gaming console.
- Do you know someone who is a tea lover and a Star Wars fan? Is it you? Then the R2-D2 teapot is the perfect gift. I got this for my friend and she loved it. This also comes in a BB8 variety, the only question is, who is your favourite droid?
- Flashback to The Force Awakens, but this is a great deal for collectors of the mini-busts. This is the Maz Kanata 1/6 Gentle Giant mini-bust. I have a small collection of these busts and they are great quality and detail, I will be picking this one up myself for an 80% saving!
- Back to The Rise of Skywalker and the latest addition to the droid family, D-O. There are two options here depending on your preference. The more expensive app operated interactive ultimate action figure or the remote-control option for 1/3 of the price. The difference between the two is the level of interactivity and what the droid can do. Either option would be a fun Christmas toy.
- With the UK weather everyone needs an umbrella! So why not an umbrella with a light up handle. Chose your side, light or dark.
- A range of options from the Loungefly wallet range. Pick your character or side and go with it. Everything you need from a wallet/purse in a fashionable high-quality Star Wars design.
- This year Anthony Daniels aka C-3PO released his autobiography ‘I am C-3PO: The Inside Story’. Get your hardcover copy for some holiday reading or as a gift for the Star Wars fan in your life.
- It may be winter, but I am always wearing t-shirts and most of them are Star Wars themed. I have found EMP offers a lot of designs and styles in a large range of sizes. I have never had an issue with their quality and there are quite often bundle deals if you buy more than 1.
- I may wear t-shirts, but it is cold outside and you need something warm to leave the house in! From EMP is The Rise of Skywalker Kylo Ren hoodie. Currently on sale and would make a great Christmas present.
13. Although a pre-order, a Star Wars Pop! Collector will love you forever with the hit of the year (so far!) Baby Yoda.
14. Calendars are always a popular gift at Christmas time, ready for the new year. Why not give someone the gift of Star Wars for a full 12 months. There are a range of options, with my favourite this year being the droids calendar which includes detachable frameable prints.
15. Last on the list is something you will want for yourself. The Cineworld Unlimited card. If you sign up before the 19th December your card will include watching The Rise of Skywalker as many times as you like! I have had a card for a few years now, and it always pays for itself when Star Wars comes out. If you use this code you will get one month free (t&c’s apply): RAF-77EP-13AC-11SD-01BK
Happy shopping everyone and have a fantastic Star Wars filled Christmas.
*This post contains affiliate links.*

domain: entertainment


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4 Days Tanzania Safari
Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast you will be picked up from your hotel/accommodation location in Arusha at exactly 9am for a 1hour drive to Tarangire National Park. This park is often referred to as “home of elephants” you have a great chance to spot elephants in large groups gathering around the Tarangire River. Other animals to be spotted include leopards, lions, giraffes and even tree climbing pythons.
Overnight at Panorama Campsite or a Lodge
Early Breakfast at around 6.00a.m, then proceed on an en route Game drive to Serengeti National Park.
Serengeti is the largest and most famous park in Tanzania, known worldwide for its endless plains, wildebeest –migration, pride of lions and other predators like hyenas, cheetahs and leopards. Crocodiles can be found in the Grumeti River, as well as hippos, giraffes, antelopes and gazelles.
Picnic Lunch, around 1pm in the Park
Dinner will be in the heart of Serengeti.
Overnight at Seronera Campsite
Early Breakfast at around 6.00a.m, then proceed on an en route Game drive in Serengeti National Park.
After breakfast, proceed for an early morning game drive.
Break for your picnic lunch
Leave Serengeti for Ngorongoro with an optional stopover at Olduvai Gorge, a river canyon cut 100 meters deep through the volcanic soil of the Serengeti plains.
Proceed to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater for dinner.
Overnight with an excellent view of the Crater at the Simba Campsite
After Breakfast, depart for the Ngorongoro crater with your picnic lunch for a full day of tracking game in the crater floor. There is a very high possibility of spotting the big five in one day.
Break for your picnic lunch at the Ngoitoktok springs picnic site on the crater floor.
Late afternoon drive back to Arusha.
Safari Price Includes
Safari Price Excludes
Masai Mara is one of the main safari destinations in Kenya for a one off safari wildlife adventure. Combined with Lake Nakuru to offer more wildlife viewing.


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Built from the ground up for VR, Raw Data’s action gameplay, intuitive controls, challenging enemies, and sci-fi atmosphere will completely immerse you within the surreal world of Eden Corp. Go solo or team up and become the adrenaline-charged heroes of your own futuristic techno-thriller.
The best cyber ninja game ever. Perform triple jumps, wall runs, power slides and slow time down while blasting away at a foe before landing to deliver a blade attack on another. Kit yourself with katanas, firearms, bows, throwing glaives and legendary relics. Keep upgrading as you play.
Team-based action game with insane physics-driven power-ups. Shoot, duck behind cover, and coordinate with teammates…all in glorious VR! Play both Single player Story Mode and Online Multiplayer! Trailer Screenshots Developer BigBox VR, Inc. creates groundbreaking multi-user experiences in VR. The team includes members who worked at Valve, Sony, and Disney. Previous shipped titles include: Team […]
A procedurally generated fantasy adventure, starring floating islands, magic artifacts to loot and a horde of orcs! Try your skills against orcish combat expertise, ancient magic and ragtag airships! Scoring three headshots at once, while cutting down a jumping orc mid-flight. Trickster is designed to let you shine. Practice your accuracy and finesse, hunt for […]
Relive the experience of playing the classic war arcade in a totally amazing way, thanks to virtual reality and the innovative immersion system that will make it possible for you to travel inside the video game.
Welcome to Sprint Vector championship intergalactic, where the physical thrill of extreme sports meets the unhinged energy of a crazy game show! The most popular game show in the universe is always scouting for stars…and its newest and brightest is YOU!

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The removal of his appendix and gallbladder may have withheld him from his performance at Ultra Music Festival this year, but Avicii has confirmed the release of a post-\”True\” album out at the end of this year. It has no title yet, but according to the Rolling Stone article where the news was announced, he has 70 songs laid out from which he will choose around a dozen for another LP.
And it gets more interesting. A more \”song-oriented\” album will feature collaborations with Chris Martin from Coldplay, Jon Bon Jovi, and Serj Tankian from System of the Down, among others. We can expect dance tracks with plenty of vocals, which we got a good taste of from \”True.\”
70 songs may sound exciting, but it can definitely delay the process. So there should be no surprise if the new album is pushed back until early 2015. Nonetheless, the collaborations themselves are something to look forward to. And at the very least, we have a little preview of what one of them would sound like.


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Crafty with Caly: Love Day Box Card
Hi friends! Happy Saturday! Welcome to the latest edition of Crafty with Caly with the amazing Caly Person! Isn’t this Box card too cute? Keep on reading and be sure to watch the video to learn more!!
Hello friends! I have a fun, but simple card to share today using a few new products from the And Back Again release! I used an image from the Love Day set and made it the star image of a box card using the Basic Box Card Clouds set of dies.
The Basic Box Card dies are simple and very easy to put together. All you need for this fun collapsible box is strong double sided Tape. I used the 1/8” Red Tape from Simon Says Stamp. I made a video and you can watch it below.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
Before adhering my box together, I ink-blended all the interior walls with Pawsitively Saturdated Inks in Seafoam, Surf, and Ocean. I also ink-blended the tops of the Basic Box Card Clouds die-cut pieces with the residual ink on my blending brush.
Once the box was constructed, I simply used two pieces of acetate to reinforce the image so that it looked like the Love Day puppy is floating. I finished then by attaching an embossed sentiment.
The best part about this box card is that it can be displayed or folded flat inside an A2-sized envelope for mailing! I hope you enjoyed this project and that it gives you fun ideas for your future projects. Thanks for joining me today! ~Caly
Thanks so much for stopping by, and thanks to Caly for being our guest!
Caly, your card is super Adorable!!
Hi, SSS and Caly –
Caly: Your card is a delight -LOVE the colors you chose and the way you colored everything.
SSS: I am eager to get one or more of these box card die sets but it will have to wait until a sale or a future paycheck. They’re lovely but pricey.
Have a great weekend.
Lori S in PA
This is so cute!
So very cute. I liked the way you used the third set of clouds on the front to dress it up. Your floating puppy is adorable. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.
The largest company in the SWARCO Group acts as a system integrator for traffic light systems and intersection controls, motorway and tunnel guidance systems. SWARCO is a traffic technology corporation with an international network of colombianenglishteachers this is the free website for students to do there homework and also tell many benefits for them you should really go through this website.

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Mud Volcano318 Votes Currently Open
- Address: North and Middle Andaman, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744210, India, Port Blair Map
- Tags: Family And Kids, Volcano
The Mud Volcano of Baratang Island is one of a kind geological feature where the lava pit erupts semi-solid mud and gases like methane, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. In the Great Andamans, this island is the only place in India having mud volcanoes that erupt sporadically. The local Jarwas call these “jalki” and to visit these, you will have to pass through the indigenous forest area of Jarawa Tribal Reserve and the sea of Baratang Jetty. The Mud Volcano looks interesting with the creamy textured mud layers creating a crater on top, which is a result of the mud spilling over from the edge.
How to Reach Mud Volcano
- Rented Car/ Taxi
- Mud Volcano Address: North and Middle Andaman, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744210, India, Port Blair
- Try the best online travel planner to plan your travel itinerary!
3.64% of people who visit Port Blair include Mud Volcano in their plan
95% of people start their Mud Volcano visit around 1 PM
People usually take around 30 Minutes to see Mud Volcano
95% of people prefer to travel by car while visiting Mud Volcano
People normally also visit Anthropological Museum while planning their trip to Mud Volcano.


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Now ya'll don't go gettin' spoiled, but I have another Color Challenge kit ready this week! Lisa at Plain Digital Wrapper came up with this warm and cozy color scheme. She calls it "Make Me Hot", lol. Now I'm sure that this brings all kind of images to mind, but I tried to narrow it down to something that I could put on the blog, BWAHAHAHA!!! You know how when it's cold outside it feels so good to snuggle up under an afghan with a big cup of coffee (preferably with a generous splash of Bailey's)? Well, that's kinda' what I was going for here. Hope ya'll don't mind the chipboard frames again, they mix so well with any color scheme, and I love the look. Enjoy!
Today's gift: Jan 2010 PDW CC.zip

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I have not read the books (nor do I intend to), so this was a complete shocking surprise, similar to the next to last episode of season 1.
I was hoping to see Lady Stark reunited with her kids, and also make peace with Jon Snow (espeically after the story she told about Jon Snow to Talisa). But alas that won't happen.
But I do love the unpredictability of the series. Great episode.


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Whoa! This second book is a great and exciting sequel to Stasis. It's so interesting to read about Miners past and to get closer to them both. At several moments I almost got a heart attack. I love in which way Kim Fielding is able to write about the love between Ennek and Miner and I do love what they means to each other.
There is so much great magic (in good and in bad use) in this fic and it's so interesting written.
Now I just can hope there will be a book 3.
Thank you Kim Fielding for giving me such a great time!


The Senate yesterday directed the Nigerian National Petorleum Corporation (NNPC) to make available to it all records of its aircraft including those it normally hire for its operations.
Chairman, Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, spoke after the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu failed to appear before the committee to brief it on the implementation of the 2013 budget in Abuja.
The Managing Director of the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical, Chief Paul Obelle, also failed to appear before the committee to explain the recent fire at the Warri Refinery.
Obelle, in a letter by the Group Executive Director, Refinery and Petrochemicals Directorate, Tony Oguigbe, said: “I would like to request your kind consideration to give us another date to enable me attend and participate in my daughter’s wedding taking place on November 1-2 at Agbor and Asaba respectively.
“We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause your esteemed committee and I kindly request that you re-schedule for another day.”
Before adjourning the committee’s meeting sine dine, Senator Abe said: “I agree with NNPC that they need time to collate these documents and then, bring them forward.
“There are also issues to do with the implementation of the NNPC budget. We’ve also written to them to furnish us with all the details of the budget implementation as the year progresses.
“We accept their reasons for not being here but I would like to seize this opportunity to ask them and very seriously call on NNPC and indeed, call on all government agencies, that cooperating with the Legislature is important for the stability of our democracy.
“We need the cooperation of all agencies that are to work with us, in order to safeguard the interest of all Nigerians.
“So, I will plead with NNPC, to, very quickly, within the next one week, assemble all the documents that we have asked for, particularly documents relating to the distribution of petroleum products in this country and the crude-swap arrangement.
“This is an area that is of great importance to the Nigerian public because we need to know exactly how this arrangement is being carried out, who are the people involved and the benefits to the Nigerian people and these are some of the information we are asking for.
“So, we will give them time to collate their documents and also within two weeks, they should collate their documents within and outside Nigeria.
“That time is enough for them to collate their documents and after two weeks, we will fix a new date for this meeting and then, we hope that they would not only come for this meeting, but they would come prepared, along with some other information on the NNPC budget.
“Particularly, we would like to know how many aircraft the Corporation has and how many is on hire, how many belongs to them and how much is being spent on the hiring of the aircraft. We would like to have these details.


As social tension grows, demand for independent media steps up in Belarusian society
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that the Ministry would not stop funding the Belsat TV channel, albeit would curtail such support. Despite the fact that Belsat is unavailable through cable networks in Belarus, its Youtube channel has become the leader among the Belarusian media (35 million views in March alone) when covering the protest movement in February-March and, most likely, had had a significant impact on public moods in Belarus. Belsat coverage of social protests caused a nervous response from the Belarusian law enforcers and the country's top leadership. The authorities changed the law enforcement practice and deprived some journalists of protection guaranteed by the Media Law. Despite the possible cuts in funding and pressure from the Belarusian authorities, independent media successfully compete with the state media in shaping public opinion thanks to modern information and communication technologies. Apparently, as tension in Belarusian society grows, demand for independent information and independent media outlets will increase.
According to Belstat, in August 7,600 people were dismissed, including 4,800 civil servants. Dismissals of civil servants were due to the optimisation in the public administration by up to 30%. Some civil servants would retain their job however would lose the status of a civil servant. Vacancies on the labour market are likely to reduce in number, thanks to the optimisation, the state administration would increase wages for public servants. The payroll fund for retained employees is likely to increase and some former state employees are likely to get jobs in affiliated organizations. The optimisation of the state apparatus should complete by January 1st, 2018, and some former civil servants are likely to join the ranks of the unemployed.


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STORY OF THE WEEK: Former Gov. Gina Raimondo talked a lot about the need to improve workers’ skills while building a more diversified economy. Her successor, Gov. Dan McKee, has emphasized …
STORY OF THE WEEK: Former Gov. Gina Raimondo talked a lot about the need to improve workers’ skills while building a more diversified economy. Her successor, Gov. Dan McKee, has emphasized making targeted investments around the state and boosting the focus on improving the state’s underperforming public schools. Yet with economic storm clouds lingering on the horizon, it’s unclear if Rhode Island has shed its dubious distinction as the state first to head into a downturn and last to emerge. Brown University President Christina Paxson points to the university’s investment of more than $300 million in the Jewelry District over the last decade, including a planned life-sciences building, as a sign of how Brown is fostering economic growth. “I think we're at a position where we can see the outlines of a very vibrant area of the city,” Paxson said during an interview on Political Roundtable. “That is commercial, residential, university, health system, mixed-use area. That's a hub of economic activity for work for the city in the state. That's exciting.”
Paxson downplayed how Brown ranks 96th on the National Science Foundation’s ranking of the R&D funds spent by universities (up from 111th about 20 years ago), calling it an indicator of the size of institutions: “Putting that aside, we do have very ambitious plans to grow our research,” Paxson said. “And it has grown a lot over the last 10 years. It will continue to grow. And if we collaborate, if we work strategically with our health system partners and we collaborate with the University of Rhode Island, which is a fantastic institution, we will be better positioned to apply for and win large grants that are going to bring money and jobs to the state. So in my mind, it's all about being aggressive, being collaborative, and working together.” Still, while public officials can cherry-pick indicators to paint a brighter picture of Rhode Island’s economy, the state’s economy remains a work in progress. By the time Raimondo left for D.C. in 2021, for example, the top job sectors remained unchanged from when she became governor in 2015 and RI was one of only two Northeast states to have lost jobs in advanced manufacturing.
SMITH HILL: The Joint Committee on Legislative Services, the powerful hiring and spending arm of the General Assembly, will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 12 – the first such meeting by JCLS in more than a decade. This follows the resolution in February of a lawsuit involving the group.
BRAIN POWER: A new book – “The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology” – offers a window on the changing stakes of technology. Elon Musk, who continues to botch virtually everything he touches at Twitter, wants to put computer chips in people’s heads. Researchers at Brown have been working on the brain-computer interface for years. Some of this research has been funded by the military, raising questions about how it will be used. Brown’s Christina Paxson, though, remains bullish on the university’s research: “It promises to transform lives, transform the lives of people who are paralyzed or suffering from other diseases. So I haven't seen anything happening here that raises any ethical concerns, in my mind.”
*** With the White House task force on COVID set to end its work next month, there is no timeline yet for Dr. Ashish Jha to return as director of Brown’s School of Public Health, although he is expected to return.
*** Paxson, 63, on whether she hopes to continue her presidency beyond the June 2026 end of her current contract: “I have made no decisions and I serve at the will of the Brown University Corporation.”
THE BASE: CD1 hopefuls could do worse than to get a voter list for a mail-only special March 2021 election, during the height of the pandemic, on a series of bonds. People had to be pretty motivated to participate in that election, so it’s not a bad place to start.
DECORUM: The GOP-led Tennessee House voted to expel two of three Democratic lawmakers “who recently led a raucous protest from the House floor calling for gun law reforms.” (The third Democrat, who is white, said she suspects her race is a factor in why she was not expelled.) Compare this with the recent controversy in Rhode Island where Rep. Robert Quattrocchi (R-Scituate) got a far milder sanction, getting stripped of one of his three committee assignments, after asking a lesbian colleague during a committee meeting if she was a pedophile.
PROVIDENCE POLICE: Col. Oscar Perez has seen a lot in his almost 30 years with Rhode Island’s police department. During an interview this week, we shared a laugh reminiscing about one of his predecessors, the late Urbano “Barney” Prignano, who once yelled at me when asked in 1999 about the department’s less than robust implementation of community policing. As a native of Colombia who came to Providence at age 13, Perez has a compelling personal story – and he said those experiences have shaped him. Asked about how poor neighborhoods sometimes suffer from too much and not enough policing, he said in part, “Doing community police work and doing proactive police work are not mutually exclusive. You just have to be able to do them right, properly, in a professional, in a constitutional manner. I mean, I grew up in the city, I got pulled over by police officers. And I said this before – some were professional, some were not as professional. However, I also appreciated the fact that they were policing my neighborhood. Because I was trying to go to school, I was trying to get ahead, I was hungry, hungry to get a career. And I had individuals doing the wrong things in my neighborhood and in my street.”
SMILEY’S BACK TO BASICS: Col. Perez was on hand, answering reporters’ questions in English and Spanish, when Providence Mayor Brett Smiley unveiled an initiative this week to curb problems associated with ATVs. As Olivia Ebertz, the new Providence metro reporter for The Public’s Radio reports, this squares with Smiley’s campaign pledge to address quality of life issues for city residents. The plan to use a five-officer unit to clamp down on ATV riders also attracted criticism from the RI ACLU and the local chapter of Black Lives Matter.
TAKES OF WEEK: Various views from a mix of Rhode Islanders.
PAIGE CLAUSIUS-PARKS, executive director of RI KIDS COUNT: Rhode Island's public education system has been plagued by inequities since its founding, and these inequities continue to be one of our state’s greatest challenges. Education is the gateway to opportunity for children and families — and it’s vital for the economic prosperity of our state. This is why Rhode Island has taken several steps in recent years to ensure that all children have access to the kind of high-quality education they need to succeed in school, career, and life. But these measures have not been enough. Inequities remain, and bolder action is needed. This week, the RI House of Representatives heard testimony on legislation that would give Rhode Islanders the opportunity to vote on whether the state constitution should be amended to include the right to an equitable, adequate, and meaningful education and for this right to be judicially enforceable. This amendment would help close gaps in academic opportunities and outcomes for many students, including low-income students, multilingual learners, and students of color. The RI Senate passed this resolution unanimously, and now it’s up to the House. This resolution has been heard in the House for nearly a decade, and thanks to the leadership of Rep. Mary Messier it has gained wide support. It’s time to get this out of committee to a floor vote and ultimately to the ballot so voters – the families who rely on our public education system – can decide.
Strategist and consultant CARA CROMWELL: As the General Assembly pauses for its unofficial halftime, I spotted a huge step forward in transparency at the State House. This week, Capitol TV debuted an on-screen QR code that viewers at home can capture to take them directly to the bill being debated. Not quite as good as a Lady Gaga halftime show, but pretty exciting for those trying to follow the action in Smith Hill.
State Rep. BRIAN C. NEWBERRY (R-North Smithfield): Amidst the usual hoopla surrounding all things Trump, it is striking to note that a snap poll shows 72% of independents believe the recent indictment by the Manhattan DA is politically motivated, but 62% of them still support it. Likewise, the next court hearing is not until Dec. 4 and the DA is seeking a trial in January 2024 – right before the avalanche of GOP presidential primaries, guaranteeing around-the-clock coverage of Trumpworld drama just as Ron DeSantis and possibly other, credible GOP options are trying to make their voices heard to voters. One need not be a conspiracy theorist to view this, along with the constant coordinated attacks made by the mainstream media and a series of ostensibly “anti-Trump” groups on his leading primary rival, the highly successful and polished governor of Florida, to conclude that this is the 2024 version of “election interference,” trying to rev up Trump’s popularity with conservative voters just enough to get him the nomination while knowing he may be the one rival the ancient and historically unpopular Biden can beat. GOP primary voters have a choice: 1) vote for a man who won a single general election seven years ago by the barest minimum amount, against another historically unpopular opponent (Hillary Clinton), but who has lost every election he has touched since then, his own or those to whom he leant his personal endorsement, or 2) turn the page and choose a younger, better option.
State Sen. DAWN EUER (D-Newport), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee: This week’s election results for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Chicago mayor once again show voters rejecting both efforts to restrict access to abortion and the polarizing and outdated “tough on crime” messaging. Both issues highlight how most people have personal experiences that shape the way they understand these complex topics. The reality is that polarized talking points and efforts to demonize fellow Americans don’t match peoples’ lived experiences. Nearly a fourth of women in America will have an abortion by the age of 45. It’s a safe and common medical procedure that is deeply integrated into people’s individual decisions and maternal and reproductive health. There are over two million people incarcerated in the United States, an increase of 500% in the last 40 years, despite how mass incarceration does not increase public safety. I’m glad that the majority of my RI colleagues recognize these realities and I look forward to continued progress this legislative session.
DANTE BELLINI, chief hooligan at Hooligan Films: It is no secret that I am unreservedly proud of our attorney general, Peter Neronha. Appearing before House Finance last week and Senate Finance this week, AG Neronha made the case, with both depth and passion, that his office needs more financial support. If you have not seen it, go to Capital TV and watch what I believe is a master class in making the case that his agency has been uniquely in the fight on so many critical issues. Neronha lays out the argument with facts, from healthcare to energy, opioids to lead paint, shoreline access to guns; he said that his office will shy away from nothing, put in all the hours, and represent all the people of Rhode Island. Many of the cases the office now fights, previous administrations did not even address. Neronha makes clear that he is challenging everything. He is not staying quiet or standing still. And all of that is before the more than 15,000 pending cases that his office must work. With only 100 lawyers, it is a herculean feat. Think about this: Delaware, with roughly the same population as RI, has approximately 250 lawyers and an additional staff of 250. It is outrageous. Neronha has asked before and been denied. He has asked the governor to include in his budget the $2 million more that he needs. The governor did not agree. It is beyond my ability to comprehend how any funding body could consider denying the success this office has had, both in human terms and justice. Under Neronha, the office has returned or saved Rhode Island citizens, taxpayers, and ratepayers nearly half a billion dollars in value. The money to offer more support for the AG’s office is there. And this is certainly one place where the return on investment is proven.
SCOTUS: U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse reacted to ProPublica’s blockbuster story, showing how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secretly accepted luxury trips from a big GOP contributor, by calling for Chief Justice John Roberts to launch an ethics probe. “The Supreme Court urgently needs an enforceable system for holding justices accountable for ethical transgressions,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “We need a hearing and a vote on my SCERT Act to clean up this mess and to wall the justices off from the billionaires who are apparently swarming around the bench. In the meantime, the burden is on Justice Thomas to explain multiple apparent violations of ethics and reporting rules, which must be part of a properly thorough and transparent investigation. Chief Justice Roberts should start that investigation immediately.”
KICKER: Give it up for music company exec Seymour Stein, co-founder of Sire Records, who died this week at age 80. During his time at Sire, he signed acts like the Ramones, Ice-T, the Talking Heads – and Madonna. As Stein once told Terry Gross, he was in the hospital, awaiting open-heart surgery, when Madonna came to his bedside to demand a contract. “Here I was, you know, a mess,” Stein said. “I probably hadn't taken a shower in a few days, and I freaked out. I had somebody come and shave me and cut my hair and look the best I could before she got there. She wanted a shot more than anything, and I wanted to give her that shot 'cause I totally believed in her.”
Ian Donnis can be reached at email@example.com


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Matt Pop’s Déjà Vu mixes: out now!
The Matt Pop remixes of Moonlight Shadow and My Heart Will Go On are now available on the Déjà Vu album Get To You: This Is The Last Time. You can choose between the 12 inch versions or the radio edits, and they are all available on cd, and as MP3 or WAV downloads. Moonlight Shadow will also be released as a single on March 5, 2012.
For more information, or to order your copy, visit: www.almightyrecords.com.
Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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The Mississippi Senate unanimously endorsed a bill Tuesday, Feb. 7, that would create tolls along some roads and bridges in the state, giving the state another tool to raise revenue.
The bill now heads to the House where similar efforts have failed in the past.
The latest effort, sponsored by Sen. Charlie Ross, R-Brandon, authorizes the Mississippi Transportation Commission, county boards of supervisors and city officials to contract with private industry to construct roads and bridges and collect tolls to pay off the work.
The bill – SB2171 – doesn’t spell out specific toll charges. That would be determined by MDOT.
Ross’ effort would require 20 percent of a county’s electorate or 1,500 voters, whichever is less, to call for a referendum on any project.
It also mandates that alternative routes be available so drivers can avoid paying the tolls. Once the bonds for a project were paid off, that toll would be removed.


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In-person gatherings identified as major source of COVID-19 spread in El Dorado County
A woman fighting cancer is speaking up after seeing one too many people breaking public health orders in her El Dorado County community.
"It's very scary to me that people are coming up here with no mask," said Tullia Natalia, a Pollock Pines resident. "My thing is, I'm gonna die of COVID, while I'm fighting breast cancer."
Natalia was diagnosed around two years ago. She underwent a hysterectomy and lost her second breast last month. As COVID-19 death numbers continue to rise, Natalia is increasingly concerned seeing people not wearing face masks or social distancing. She is especially worried about out-of-town visitors renting the Airbnb property next door to her home.
"It makes me feel like I'm being violated as a cancer patient. That's not OK," Natalia said.
El Dorado County is now seeing the majority of its COVID-19 cases from community transmission.
"That's where you're just out and about, having gatherings with people," explained El Dorado County Communications Director Carla Hass. "We shouldn't be having people outside of a household, coming and going to a vacation rental."
El Dorado County follows state public health orders, and does not allow gatherings that bring together people from multiple households under the same roof.
"If they want to rent a house, that’s perfectly fine, we welcome that, but we ask they stay quarantined and isolated as a household unit, for 14 days, to make sure no one unknowingly has the virus," Hass said.
El Dorado County is one of the few California counties not on the state COVID-19 watch list, but its position could be jeopardized if coronavirus cases continue to rise.
"It boils down to what we have been talking about since the beginning," Hass said. "Stay at least 6 feet away from people that you don’t live with. Wash your hands a lot. Sanitize surfaces. A lot can be done if we take those easy steps."
Hass said the county is not actively seeking out people or businesses that are violating the public health order. However, it will review and respond to any complaints from the community.
Anyone with concerns about a possible violation in El Dorado County, can submit their claim through this form.
"People need to be more aware of people like me who are trying to live their lives and get healthy," Natalia said.


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Martina Cole is big in jails, I'm told. She never fails to draw a crowd at prison readings. I know this because I recently went to a one-day conference on reading in prisons. Everyone acknowledged the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling's restriction on books for prisoners was no good thing, but that wasn't why they were there. It was meant as a day to reflect on what inmates read and how books impact on those we lock up.
The conference, organised by two academics – Sarah Turvey and Jenny Hartley – who set up Prison Reading Groups in 1999, was revelatory for someone who has little or no insight into prison life. Let's put aside the more iniquitous aspects – that some inmates are allocated a 20-minute library trip a month, that there can be a six-month wait for a book – and focus on the happier stuff. Former inmates stood up to give startling speeches on the vital, transformative role that books played in their confinement, each speaker more eloquent, more well-read, than most of us might imagine.
There are prison reading groups all over Britain, I discovered, and some pulled in 25 readers per session. Imagine that – 25 men sitting in a circle, talking about Raymond Carver or Robert Galbraith. The most popular books in prison reading groups were predictable – Franz Kafta's The Trial and Animal Farm for the debates sparked – but there were many that we on the outside have loved as much: A Street Cat Named Bob, a redemptive first-person account of a homeless man's friendship with a stray cat; The Hunger Games, Gone Girl and Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers, a Man Booker-shortlisted story of two Gold Rush brothers.
There were also reports on the open-mindedness of "emergent" readers – men and women who had learned to read inside prison. This group was receptive in ways older readers may no longer be; the men who read – and enjoyed – chick-lit for example, because they had not learned to follow the narrow set of rules that decided these books appeal only to a certain kind of woman.
One prison librarian spoke of her group's love of magazines – Private Eye and New Scientist mainly, because they wanted material far removed from that of crime or punishment, even if that meant reading abstruse articles on molecular cell structures.
Many vouched for the popularity behind bars of crime fiction such as Cole's, but was this fiction replicating the worlds that the prisoners knew and recognised, and in doing so, was criminality being sanctioned, however tacitly? Should prisoners be steered towards books that dealt with other topics, someone wondered aloud. There was an impasse, and in that silence, I wondered whether this wouldn't be tantamount to a policing of the mind and the imagination, which would prove pointless? Reading fiction as a means of moral instruction – it's just not what fiction is about. Anyway, the concern over Cole was undercut by a librarian who pointed out that John Hegley, the quirky poet who pokes gentle fun at himself, pulls in at least as big a crowd when he reads in prisons.
As they talked, I began to understand that the kind of books we enjoy on the outside are the same ones that are read and loved on the inside. Of course prisoners like crime fiction – it is among the most popular genres for us non-inmates too. On every chair in the conference room was a blank postcard which asked each of us to recommend a book to a prisoner. What would you suggest?Reuse content

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Many of you asked for a link to the song we played on last weekend’s Car Pro show. IT was written and performed by a good friend of the show, Mr. Tommy Kramer. Here is a link to it, it is called “Son of my Dad”. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Song From This Weekend’s Show
- Car Pro|
In the September issue of Popular Science their feature article is about how Silicon Valley is reinventing the car...


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Share Photos : The Ultimate Summer Challenge:Disney freaks?
disney_family2_400x400_ - MouseScrappers - Disney Scrapbooking Gallery
50 Genius Storage Ideas ~ File your scrapbook and craft paper! Easier to find when you need it.
#papercraft #scrapbook #layout. Magical Day
#papercraft #scrapbook #layout. Cover Page - susan0326- mousescrappers.com
Disney Scrapbook Page - Magic Shots at the Tree of Life by Melissa of Melidy Designs
Small photos around the outside with the big one in the middle & journaling & a title in the middle, too.
Disney scrapbooking character page digiscrap by larkd on MouseScrappers
Safari Minnie layout