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Few in Congress have seen their profile raised as far or as fast over the past several days as Charlie Dent, the Pennsylvania Republican who bucked GOP leadership in the final hours before the government shutdown, and was among the first in his party to publicly urge a “clean CR” – funding the government at GOP-favored numbers without other conditions like amending or ending Obamacare.
In a Monday afternoon interview, Dent told Salon that “most Republicans” aren’t hostage-takers, and that Ted Cruz had played a pivotal role in the House but proved “unable to deliver” in the Senate. Dent called debt default “potentially catastrophic,” but defended using the debt ceiling to push for budget cuts. Dent said he could vote for a clean debt ceiling increase once “the bewitching hour” arrives October 17, and that Speaker Boehner “has been very clear with me and others that he’s not going to let this country default on its debt.” A condensed version of our conversation follows.
You were one of the few [Republicans] to vote against the last Republican continuing resolution. Based on what’s happened over the past week, were you right to disagree with that strategy leading into the shutdown?
Yes… The House Republican leadership always wanted to pass a clean continuing resolution and then have a debate in the context of the debt ceiling…[But] Senator Cruz, I should say, was trying to advance this - defund the healthcare law as part of the continuing resolution. I raised concerns about it at the time over the summer…
My fear was… that tactic could lead to a government shutdown, and you would not end up defunding the healthcare law… And that’s where we are today. The government is shut down, and the healthcare law is still humming.
And by the way, I support the [GOP] policy. I voted against the healthcare law. I voted against it, I voted to repeal it, I vote to delay it, I voted to defund it. I’ve done everything but fricassee the healthcare law. So the bottom line is, we’re having a debate about our tactics, not the substance of the issue.
But so that’s been my concern all along: The tactic wouldn’t be successful. It wasn’t successful. Senator Cruz failed to deliver the votes in the Senate. The bottom line is that Senator Cruz’s tactic was not successful. He was unable to deliver. He failed to get the votes…
On September 30th…I encouraged our leadership to pass a clean continuing resolution. They ignored my advice…Sometime that night they decided not to do the clean continuing resolution, and now here we are where we are.
How much sway would you say Senator Cruz has within the House Republican Caucus?
Not that much. Look, Senator Cruz, obviously he has a band of followers. I mean I don’t think it’s that many, but apparently enough to make it difficult for the Republicans, for we the Republicans, to find 218 votes to pass a clean bill…
There are between 180 to 200 House members of the [232-member] House Republican conference who have an affirmative sense of governance, that they understand we have responsibilities and obligations and have to get certain things done…There are a few dozen that do not share that same sense of governance.
And I’ve offered, and I’ve said to our leadership and elsewhere that it’s incumbent upon us to find a bipartisan governing coalition in the house to enact must-pass pieces of legislation. Just this year we saw the fiscal cliff, we saw the Hurricane Sandy [relief] bill, the Violence Against Women Act … On the continuing resolution, and the debt ceiling there will likely need to be a similar bipartisan coalition…
How many Republicans in the House right now do you think would vote for a clean CR if it came up for a vote?
I don’t know. But I believe there would be a bipartisan majority in the house to pass such a bill. The Washington Post, I believe, has been keeping track of Republican members who said they would vote for a clean continuing resolution. I think they said it was 20 or 21…I believe there are several more, many more who privately said they would likely vote for a clean CR but have not said so publicly.
You mean they’ve said that to you?
Well, I’ve talked to a few who said they would vote a clean bill but they have not said so publicly.
So should the speaker bring up a clean bill for a vote?
Well I have urged our Republican conference that we should vote on a clean CR, and I have urged our leadership that we should do that, and I know that was what our leadership always intended to do or wanted to do from the beginning. Until it got pushed into this particular tactic by Senator Cruz and a small minority of House Republicans.
Why do you think the speaker now isn’t bringing up a clean CR?
What the speaker now wants [is] to conflate the continuing resolution and the debt ceiling into one agreement. I would prefer that we deal with a government shutdown independent of that. But I also recognize that as time drags on, that there will be a certain inevitability to the conflation of these two issues.
Do you think that strengthens or weakens leverage for the Republicans?
I think our negotiating position…is weakened because the government is shut down…And it’s also difficult too because we’ve got a President of the United States who seems to be AWOL, disconnected and behaving as a spectator in this process by saying he will not negotiate. I think the president is adopting an untenable position and he’s going to have to get off of that at some point.
And so if the Democrats brought a discharge petition to force a clean CR to the floor, would you sign that?
No…Procedurally, you really couldn’t get to it until October 28 and I certainly hope by then we have at least a resolution.
I’ve offered a bipartisan resolution with Rep. Ron Kind… this is a winning compromise for everyone. Republicans win because the government is funded at the level that we insisted on, and we repeal the medical device tax…Democrats win because many of them want to repeal the medical device tax and - but most importantly, they want to pay for the repeal, and so the pay-for that we have developed is one that would enjoy broad bipartisan agreement. It deals with a pension smoothing mechanism…For those on the Right who are concerned, I would say incremental progress is better than no progress at all.
You mentioned the debt ceiling. Your colleague Congressman Yoho said that he will not vote to raise the debt ceiling, and that going past the debt ceiling “would bring stability to the world markets,” and also that “our credit rating would do better…” What’s your view of that?
Well, I disagree [laughs]. I disagree. Look, defaulting on this nation’s obligations, defaulting on our debt, you know, putting at risk the full faith and credit of the United States is simply unacceptable, and would lead to greater instability in the marketplace, and could lead to a potentially catastrophic economic event. So I disagree with whatever [laughs] that statement was, which, I would have a hard time - well I just don’t agree with it. It’s just not, it’s just, I completely disagree with it.
So if the Republican position is that the debt ceiling should be raised, and the Democratic position is that the debt ceiling should be raised, then why does that need to be an aspect of a negotiation?
Well because – well, look, I know you’re with Salon, but I mean I want you to try to be as fair and balanced as you can on this issue…I believe actually, according to Congressional Research Service, [Congress] voted 53 times from 1978 [to] 2013 to change the debt ceiling…Just under half were…stand-alone, no strings attached right…It’s unacceptable to default on our debt, we all get that. But for the president to pretend that there has never been a negotiation in connection with the debt ceiling runs counter to the truth and to the facts, and he should be called out with that…
He must negotiate. I mean, we all talk about compromise, but you can’t compromise with someone who refuses to negotiate or speak with you. So I think it’s OK to have this conversation, and I hope it does lead to some kind of a broader fiscal reform…I mean certainly the markets will react horribly to a default. But at the same time those people who are also watching those markets very carefully recognize that the unsustainability of America’s fiscal trajectory is going to lead to real economic turbulence over time, I mean so, over the long term. So I think we have to - I think it’s OK – look, I’m not expecting to have any Grand Bargain between now and October 17th…But maybe we can make a down payment.
Maybe we can talk about how we can rebalance the sequester and move some of the spending cuts on the discretionary programs onto the mandatory programs. And perhaps maybe deal with an item or two that the president has recommended in terms of mandatory reforms - that you’d think he’d support, if he was only willing to negotiate. [Laughs]
Do you consider raising the debt ceiling a concession to Democrats?
Uh, no, I don’t. But I do think it’s – I believe it’s something – I know it’s inevitably going – inevitably going to happen, and it will be done in a bipartisan manner in the House. And so there’s an inevitability to it. But I don’t think it’s a concession. But I do think and strongly believe it’s appropriate to have a debate about what drives the long-term debt in connection with the debt ceiling increase. And I would think the president would welcome that discussion…But apparently he’d rather ignore those problems through long-term.
So should Democrats be concerned that Republicans potentially will not allow the debt ceiling to go up if Democrats do not make concessions?
No. I would not, I would not be that concerned, because the speaker has been very clear with me and others that he’s not going to let this country default on its debt.
So if it’s October 16 and the Democrats have not made concessions on these issues, then what do you expect to happen?
I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen here from one minute to the next…So I don’t what’s going to – I don’t know. I do believe that – look, I talk to enough of the Democrats, they want to try to rebalance the sequester, they want to move the cuts off the discretionary programs like many of the Republicans do as well, and put them onto the mandatory programs. Not all of them, but some of these cuts, and so I think there’s some area, there’s some potential for agreement.
Can you imagine yourself voting for a clean debt ceiling increase?
Yes. Yes I could. I mean if we come to the bewitching hour on the 17th, and the country’s about to under the – you know, and the markets start getting real jittery and there’s real concern about a default, then of course.
And how many of your colleagues would you have with you on that?
You’d have to ask them.
Do you –
But I do believe many feel as I do that defaulting on our nation’s obligations is unacceptable, under any circumstances. I believe most of my colleagues on the House side believe that. Our hope is to try to get some broader reforms tied to this -that’s my hope too. But again, you’re asking a hypothetical question, well what if there is no agreement? Well then at the very least I suspect you would see a short-term debt ceiling increase that could be clean. A short term, I don’t know for how long – a couple weeks, a month. Until we complete a broader, a better negotiation.
So do you believe that the speaker would bring up a clean debt ceiling increase if that was what it took to avert a default?
Well, you know, do I believe – You’d have to ask the speaker what he’s going to bring up. I can’t - I don’t – I don’t bring up bills. I don’t know what he’s going to bring up.
Do you think he faces a risk of losing his position if he brings up a clean CR or a clean debt ceiling bill?
No. I mean some members won’t like it, but I don’t believe it puts his position at risk.
And the assessment that the Treasury Dept put out that said that the result of breaking through the debt ceiling could be more severe than anything since the Great Depression, do you agree with that assessment?
Well, I believe a default would certainly be extraordinarily disruptive and potentially catastrophic. I haven’t looked at the report you just mentioned but it could be potentially catastrophic.
And when the White House or Democrats accuse Republicans of hostage-taking on the debt ceiling, is that a fair characterization?
Uh, look. No. I - do I – I think they may be – no. For most Republicans, absolutely not. There may be – there are some, I suspect, on our side, you know, who - you know who - that kind of an analogy may be more appropriate for. But for the overwhelming majority of the House Republicans, nobody here - nobody here believes that we need to burn down Washington in order to save it.
So who would be the ones then that are taking hostages?
Look, we’re getting kind of redundant here now Josh. I’ve said to you, there are between 180 and 200 members of the House Republican conference on any given day who have an affirmative sense of governance, OK? They want to get things done for the good of the country, realize that we have very real governing responsibilities and take them seriously. As I’ve said, there are a few dozen members who don’t share that sense of governance. I mean you can go out there and try to identify the folks if you want. I’m not going to call anybody out by name - it’s not my role to do that. But I just have to accept the reality that in [order] to pass or enact these must-pass pieces of legislation, we’re going to have to establish bipartisan coalitions to do so…
I’m not here to assign blame to anyone in particular, but there’s going to be plenty of blame to go around if we fail miserably.
As a co-chair of The Tuesday Group, what do you think is happening to the leverage of moderate or center-right Republicans within the party?
I believe the speaker has done his best over the years to try to balance all of these competing interests. But lately I think that, you know, he’s kind of been pushed in a direction he really didn’t want to go. And my job in part is to help bring him back, bring him back to - I think to a better place. I think he would be very candid with you: he didn’t want to be in this position in the first place.


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Constitutional protections for due process apply when the state is attempting to deprive a person of “life, liberty, or property.” That’s why we have trials before we render civil or criminal judgments. That’s why due process is mandatory before state-mandated punishment in campus sexual assault tribunals. As a general rule, when the state is attempting to deprive you of rights you’d otherwise enjoy, due process attaches. Here, there is no state action. Roy Moore will not lose his life, liberty, or property if voters reject his bid for high office.
Due process protections, absolutely, positively do not prevent voters from evaluating the veracity of news reports and judging whether a politician is fit for public office. It was entirely fair for voters to analyze the available facts about Hillary Clinton’s email scandal or the available facts about the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation without waiting for the outcome of a civil or criminal proceeding. It is entirely fair for members of the public to evaluate Juanita Broaddrick’s claims against Bill Clinton without a trial. Similarly, it’s entirely fair for the public to analyze the available facts about Roy Moore before deciding how to vote.

domain: news


Number of new Turkish companies launched declined in March
Some 7,057 companies were launched in Turkey last month, showed data from the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) on April 19.
The number of newly established companies fell 5.5 percent year-on-year in March, according to the union.
However, the March figure was up 5.4 percent from the previous month.
The chamber’s figures showed that the top three sectors the new companies have chosen to operate in were trade, construction and manufacturing.
According to TOBB, a total of 640 Turkish companies went out of business last month, an annual decline of 12.6 percent.
The figures also showed that 1,082 foreign-partnered or foreign-funded fresh companies were formed during the month.
Of these companies, 563 had Turkish partners, 80 had Iranian partners and 73 had Syrian partners, TOBB said.
In the first three months of the year, the number of newly launched companies declined to 22,029, which is an 8.59 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2018.
In the first quarter of 2019, 3,192 companies went out of business compared to 3,564 businesses that closed at this time a year ago.


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Hydrocephalus in children often has completely different causes than previously assumed. This is the conclusion of an international study with a substantial participation by the University of Bonn. The researchers identified a series of mutations that cause disruption of early brain development. The characteristic enlargements of the fluid-filled cavities in the brain are a consequence of this. The study was led by Yale, Harvard and Bonn Universities; its findings also have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this serious condition. The results are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
One in 1,000 children is born with hydrocephalus. The serious condition is the most common reason for brain surgery in childhood. Nevertheless, those affected often suffer from intellectual and motor impairments for the rest of their lives.
In hydrocephalus, the fluid-filled cavities in the brain, the ventricles, are significantly enlarged. This significantly increases the intracranial pressure. The cause is thought to be disruptions of the cerebrospinal fluid balance. This fluid surrounds the brain and removes toxins. It also acts like a cushion to protect the brain from shocks and ensures that the cavities do not collapse. "Until now, it was thought that in hydrocephalus too much CSF was formed or too little was discharged, or that its onward transport was simply impaired," explains Prof. Dr. Waldemar Kolanus of the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn. "However, our results now point in a different direction."
93 risk genes identified
In children, the condition is usually genetic; however, the hereditary factors responsible are only partially known. The researchers from Harvard and Yale therefore sequenced the genome of almost 500 patients and compared it with the genetic material of healthy individuals. In the process, they came across 93 genes in which mutations lead to hydrocephalus. "Surprisingly, none of these genes are involved in any way in CSF production or transport," emphasizes Kolanus' collaborator Dr. Stefan Weise, one of the two lead authors of the study. "Instead, they seem to be mostly related to brain development."
One hereditary trait that was particularly often mutated in affected individuals is the TRIM71 gene. "We have been studying this gene here in Bonn for several years," Kolanus says. "This is also the reason why our U.S. colleagues contacted us." The international team also introduced the mutations they found into the TRIM71 gene in mice. The model animals then also developed hydrocephalus.
"We then used stem cells here in Bonn to reproduce very early events of brain development in cell culture," Kolanus explains. "This allowed us to show that hydrocephalus mutations of TRIM71 specifically affect these functions. In the future, we will decipher these processes even better with the help of organoids, which are cell clusters that roughly resemble a very simple brain."
Mutations probably make brain more mechanically unstable
The mutations presumably damage the so-called neuroepithelial cells. These line the fluid cavities in the brain from the inside. "We assume that these changes make the neuroepithelium thinner and more mechanically flexible, and that the cavities increase as a result," Stefan Weise believes. "This can then lead to increased cerebrospinal fluid accumulation and thus also to increased intracranial pressure." In this case, hydrocephalus is therefore a consequence of neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood, which in turn are responsible for the cognitive impairments of the young patients.
Usually, hydrocephalus surgery involves the use of a so-called shunt system through which the excess cerebrospinal fluid can be drained. This reduces the pressure in the skull, and accompanying symptoms such as headaches or visual disturbances disappear. However, the cognitive and intellectual limitations usually persist. "Our results explain why this is the case in congenital hydrocephalus," Kolanus says. "The damage doesn't come from increased pressure, but occurs much earlier, during embryonic brain development."
This finding might also have therapeutic consequences. For instance, the insertion of the shunt system is not without risks. Nevertheless, many medical professionals advise it because they fear that the brain abnormalities will otherwise increase. " However, the procedure is probably not useful in all cases in children," says Kolanus, who is also one of the spokespersons for the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 and the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) "Life and Health." "For this project, which as so often relies on the cooperation of many groups, I was able to draw on the excellent networks in the Cluster of Excellence and the TRA," he adds.
It may in future also be possible to diagnose hydrocephalus before birth using genetic testing. Targeted early intervention could then possibly prevent some damage. However, the condition is unlikely to be curable in the foreseeable future. "This would require gene therapy of the embryo in the womb," Kolanus explains. "Right now, it would be way too risky and also legally impossible."
Participating institutions and funding:
In addition to the universities of Yale, Harvard and Bonn, as well as the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn and the Humboldt University of Berlin, various universities and clinics in Great Britain and the USA were involved in the study. The work was financially supported by the National Institutes of Health (USA) and the German Research Foundation (DFG), among others.
Publication: Phan Q. Duy, Stefan C. Weise et al.: Impaired neurogenesis alters brain biomechanics in a neuroprogenitor-based genetic subtype of congenital hydrocephalus; Nature Neuroscience; doi.org/10.1038/s41593-022-01043-3
Prof. Dr. Waldemar Kolanus
Life and Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES) der Universität Bonn

domain: medical


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Yeah, I hated the Taylex period hahaha but I agree!! They aren’t super amazing in my opinion, but I do really like some of their songs. I only have a few of their songs on my phone, but they’re songs I could listen to nonstop. My favorites are Rumor Mill, Exits and Entrances, Better Luck Next Time, Calendar Pages, For The Win, and now, I really love The Best Thing and Manners!!
Anonymous: i like best intentions i jam it but if you listen to it compared to other bands in their genre it wasn't very good. and obviously cos of all the taylex stuff they had a lot of buzz and i didn't think the song quality really backed it up. i think they suit the "rockier" sound much more, if you can call it that. and my favourite is come back home which is like country/acoustic ish?? what are the songs you like?
Anonymous: i thought the same thing when weird kids was release haha like it's honestly one of my favourite 2014 released. it's a solid album apart from 3 or so tracks i don't like. i definitely think this is the album they should have been touring instead of best intentions to back up all the buzz around them (and tay haha )
haha yeah!! i downloaded that album yesterday and I’ve been listening to The Best Thing nonstop today hahaha but there’s only a few songs that i like from this album. i actually like the majority of the songs from best intentions!!

domain: artistic


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Culoe De Song
One event on Sunday July 29, 2018 at 11:00am
One event on Sunday August 19, 2018 at 11:00am
One event on Sunday September 16, 2018 at 11:00am
On select dates throughout the season, South African DJ and producer Culoe De Song brings Blue Marlin Ibiza a Sunday session like no other. Delivering his own special blend of contemporary electronic beats, laced with African rhythms and dynamic sounds, there’s only one way to experience this mesmerising man and his signature style, and that’s on the bouncing Blue Marlin dance floor.
A series of very special guests join the headliner throughout the summer, including Iamthemba, Birds of Mind, Behrouz, Eagles & Butterflies, Lazare Hoche, Salomé and Acid Pauli. The party kicks off from 11am and continues through until midnight.


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Dunblane Museum is an intriguing institution displaying ecclesiastical relics from Scottish history. Its focus on the religious past of the region is linked to the adjacent Dunblane Cathedral. Peruse the fascinating collection of Communion tokens dating back to the 17th century.
Admire the simplistic façade of the museum’s building, which has many quaint rooms. Watch the film about the religious history of the area. Wander through the charming sections of the building to discover historical paintings demonstrating the changing landscape of Dunblane.
The museum’s relationship with the cathedral is obvious from its ecclesiastical collection. See original carvings from the church alongside Communion silver. The site also contains secular relics, such as old spectacles and spinning wheels from the Victorian era. Note the 4,000-year-old cannel coal necklace and the pottery from the same era. Spot the delivery bag of an 18th-century newspaper boy.
Inspect the array of Communion tokens belonging to a variety of churches in Scotland and overseas. Pick up a dusty tome from centuries ago to learn more about the country’s religious history. Read original 18th-century newspaper clippings and articles about the cathedral. Other archives relate to land sales in the 1600s and records of internments.
Explore the pleasant garden with raised beds showing styles from the 17th century. Take the Herb Walk for a present-day look at horticulture. Spot the preserved well from the 1600s. A gift shop in the building has a variety of souvenirs, children’s toys and other interesting items for sale.
Visit in summer, when the museum opens in the daytime from Monday to Saturday. The museum is closed in winter, however, the shop does open on Mondays, Wednesdays and some Saturdays. Offer a donation to the museum, which is free to enter and staffed by volunteers.
Dunblane Museum is a block south of Dunblane Cathedral in the center of town. Take a bus to one of the stops nearby or walk 5 minutes north from the Dunblane Railway Station. Dunblane New Golf Club and the Allan Water are nearby attractions. Leave your car in the parking lot.

domain: history


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It's a little scary how much Scarlett Johansson resembles Psycho's leading lady, Janet Leigh.
The 27-year-old actress, who plays legendary screen siren Leigh in the new Alfred Hitchcock biopic, Hitchcock, channeled the late star on the film's set recently.
Johansson donned a teal blouse and cropped blonde wig to play Leigh, whose 1960 Psycho shower scene has become one of the most famous horror movie moments of all time.
Due out later this year, Hitchcock focuses on the legendary director as he and wife Alma Reville filmed the then-controversial, now-iconic flick back in 1959. (Anthony Hopkins plays Hitchcock, while Helen Mirren stars as Reville.)
Bride-to-be Jessica Biel also plays a part in the film; the Total Recall actress stars as Vera Miles, whom Hitchcock once dubbed his "new Grace Kelly."
Tell Us: Do you think ScarJo makes a convincing Janet Leigh?
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Wow! See Scarlett Johansson Transform into Janet Leigh on the Set of Hitchcock

domain: entertainment


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- Solution centre
- News & Media
- Get involved
Punjab Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (PAMETI) is a government organisation with a mandate to support improved resource management and agricultural operations within the local farming community. Its activities include needs-based training programmes and promoting management tools to improve the effectiveness of agricultural extension services and the wellbeing of farmers.
PAMETI is an actor in the Coalition's Agriculture Initiative.

domain: economics


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In a truly full-circle sustainable family farm we work cohesively with our community to form mutually beneficial relationships to work toward the goal of land stewardship.
We want to send a special thanks out to the owners of our ranch land.
The Wildlands Conservancy For the Jenner Headlands
Hicks Mountain Ranch in Marin County Thanks Susan, Andrew, Victor and Crew!
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District for leasing us our home ranch. TOTO ranch in San Gregorio as well as the La Honda Open Space Preserve in La Honda.
Peninsula Open Space Trust for leasing us the Cloverdale Coastal Ranches in Pescadero.
The Zaffaroni Family for leasing us ranches in Woodside and Bodega Bay.
Quail Brook Farm at a Place of Hope and Beauty.
Sonoma Mountain Institute - Thank you Mark, Nate and Byron!
We also want to thank the following:
Tom Borden, pictured here building fence. Thanks Tom for milking the ladies!
Bay Aerial Helicopter, John DuGan aka The Dr.
Bay Aerial is an excellent local company. We highly recommend them for all your aerial needs, we use them for photos, transportation, checking livestock, and surveying all the property's we manage.
Sally Miller, our State Brand Inspector
Black Sheep Farm, Willie Sue and Julian Orr

domain: geography


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The Paula Robison Collection
“Her name is inscribed in the history of her instrument” — Fanfare
Paula Robison was recognized early as one of the great solo flutists of her generation, and is celebrating a career of over fifty years with her performances this season. She was born in Tennessee to a family of actors, writers, dancers, and musicians, and studied at the Juilliard School with Julius Baker and at the Marlboro Music Festival with Marcel Moyse (making her a direct musical descendant of the great Paul Taffanel). When she was twenty, Leonard Bernstein invited her to solo with the New York Philharmonic. When she gave her New York recital debut under the auspices of Young Concert Artists, the New York Times wrote: “Music bursts from her as naturally as leaves from trees”. Soon after that she became the first American to win First Prize in Flute at the Geneva Competition, and her international career was launched.
In March of 2015, Ms Robison and pianist/celestist Bruce Brubaker performed Morton Feldman’s epic 3.5 hour work “For Christian Wolff” on four successive Monday afternoons in Calderwood Hall, Boston. Listeners were free to come and go quietly, but most stayed to experience the entire life-changing masterpiece. Brazilian music has been central to Ms Robison’s playing life, and she has had the delight of performing, touring, and recording with guitarist Romero Lubambo and percussionist Cyro Baptista as the RLB Trio. She also had the honor of making music with the legendary Altamiro Carrilho and his ensemble in Rio de Janeiro.Paula Robison’s historic recordings for Vanguard Classics were recently reissued, including “The Art of Paula Robison”, a collection of Vanguard favorites. Ms. Robison has also recorded for Sony, Mode (the complete Berio Sequenzas, awarded the Premio del Disco Amadeus 2008, and Lei Liang’s “In Praise of Shadows”), New World Records, King Records, MHS, and Bridge Recordings (her Marlboro Festival performance of Schubert’s Introduction and Variations with Rudolf Serkin, named American Record Guide’s Best Recording of the Year). In 2006 she founded Pergola Recordings, an independent label. Recently released: “Paula Live”, an album of live performances with pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Timothy Hester, and Yefim Bronfman, and “Playing New York” with pianist Steven Beck. Coming up is “Caprice”: an album of French music featuring a Thierry Lancino world premiere and Pierre Boulez’s “Sonatine”, with Finnish pianist Paavali Jumppanen. Her recording of Robert Beaser’s “Mountain Songs” with Eliot Fisk has become a classic of the flute and guitar repertoire. Paula Robison’s teaching has taken her all over the world. Her books on the art of flute playing are published by Universal Edition, Schott, European-American Music, Theodore Presser, and G. Schirmer.
Ms Robison was awarded a DMA honoris causa from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and now holds the Donna Hieken Flute Chair at New England Conservatory. Each summer she joyfully returns to The Interlochen Flute Institute and to the Centre d’Arts Orford to give masterclasses and workshops. Paula Robison is grateful for her husband Scott Nickrenz, Amy Abrams Curator of Music at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, for their daughter Elizabeth Fein, Ph.D University of Chicago, now assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Duquesne University, for her loving extended family, for her supporters and listeners who said early on to a female flute soloist “Yes, you can”, for her inspiring fellow players and teachers, and for her students through all these many years and now continuing to the future, all of whom have found and are now finding ways to make our world a better and more beautiful place with their music.

domain: library


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Joe Scarborough can expect some angry letters! The Republican politico turned MSNBC host shocked and awed on his MSNBC show, Morning Joe when he derided pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie. A blogger by the name of Scandalous Candice passes on her account of the incident:
[Joe and his colleagues, Mika Brzezinski and Wilie Geist] reported on Thomas Beatie, the transgendered male who is having a baby. I admit that this is an unusual story. But they put the story in what they call an useless news category “News You Can’t Use” and proceeded to make fun of them and call the couple “disgusting” and make “ewww” sounds.
The also called it “garbage” and [said] “people don’t want to wake up to this crap.” That was quoted by Mika Brzezinski. Joe used the story to lead into the next story by saying “this is probably why 81% of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.” A poll reported by the New York Times.
In an effort to right this fucked up wrong, Candice penned a letter to MSNBC demanding a full apology for the “foul and juvenile” remarks. She’s also contacted GLAAD and other rabble-rousers to put some pressure on Scarborough and his team.
Update: Watch the video, after the jump. We’re especially upset with Mika’s comment: “don’t want to know the deal. I don’t want to hear. I’m gonna be sick. I’m gonna be sick. I am upset. That was not only stupid and useless, but quite frankly, disgusting.” We’re not sure why, but we expected better.


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Live-foreplay being as fun as it has been, as The xx ready their second LP statement Coexist (9.10.12), the budding bedroom pop-darlings released a second official single today dubbed “Chained,” aligning itself with its only former studio mark, “Angels,” that bare, Beach House-y tortured mid-summer anthem, Romy Madley-Croft taking huge strides in vocal tension.
“Chained” on the other hand, is one of few tracks – again, based on what the band has debuted live on tour – that validates beat-maker Jamie Smith’s press tease that Coexist will be rife with the influence of the UK club scene they had a chance to hit after the music world gave the then teenagers a chance to breathe after their critically acclaimed debut, xx. Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim exchange a pillow-side cringe:
I watched you breathe in
And I wished you’d stop
Only for long enough
But then its Smith’s time to shine, turning the heartbeat up a notch, syncopating the angst with a little woodblock cue. Complete with a little dance-floor build-and-charge as Madley-Croft and Sim harmonize on a clenched-fist chorus – “we used to be closer than this” – this ride ends just like love tends to: “Chained” to the past. What do you think of the new cut and lyrics?


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Shaakuntalam 2023 Movie Review
Based on: Shakuntala
Cast: Samantha, Dev Mohan, Mohan Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo, Gautami, Aditi Balan and Ananya Nagalla
Cinematography: Sekhar V. Joseph
Music: Mani Sharma
Shakuntala and King Dushyant marry, but Dushyant forgets all about Shakuntala due to a sage’s curse
Shaakuntalam 2023 Movie Review:
Shakuntala (Samantha Prabhu) is the only daughter of the sage Visvamitra and the apsara Menaka. Abandoned at birth by her parents, she is reared in the secluded hermitage of the sage Kanva and grows up an innocent maiden.
Set in a pre-Mahabharata era, Shaakuntalam is the love story of King Dushyanta (Dev Mohan), who possesses almost all the qualities of a brave and noble-minded hero, and Shakuntala. Dushyanta falls in love at first sight, as does Shakuntala.
They both have a Gandharva marriage and honeymoon and then the king has to leave for his duties. He promises to return, and he does when Shakuntala is pregnant with his child, but their expected reunion is abandoned by the sage Durvasa’s curse.
All the memories of Shakuntala fade from Dushyant’s life, and she is humiliated at his court. Will she grow up with her child all alone, and will Dushyant be able to get her back? Find out about it in the film if you are unaware of this legendary tale from our Indian literature.
Shakuntalam is a fascinating story, and I don’t really think the story is at fault here. It is our history/mythology (choose your side), and we can’t help it if things did happen that way in the ancient era and you can’t find them reasonable enough in 2023. The problem is its screenplay which is terribly outdated.
Those TV serials we used to watch in the 80s and 90s on Historical/ mythological epics were far more updated than this. What’s that overly dramatic background score? What did that Hindi-dubbed dialogue actually mean?
Also Read: Pushpa Review – Allu Arjun’s One-Man Show
I don’t see how an intimate honeymoon song can suddenly get crowded with 6 background dancers. I don’t understand how some of those cheap misogynist terms remain safe in a hard-hitting feminist drama.
I couldn’t understand the time leap and the Hindi- translated songs coming in between when nobody was interested in watching them. Bal Gandharva’s musical adaptation had 100x better songs and song videos in the 40s and 50s than this.
Okay, so you have animals all around you to make it more emotional but don’t play with human emotions at least. The flaws in the screenplay can go longer than the film’s runtime if I want, but let’s stop now with just one word: Gruesome.
Speaking of acting, Shakuntala’s role needed a beautiful face, and that’s what Samantha Ruth Prabhu is. However, they forgot that it needed a powerful actor too.
Shakuntala’s monologue in King Dushyant’s court is one of the major highlights of this classic tale, but see how mediocre it looks here with Samantha. I am saying it again: the 90s daily soaps were far more updated then than what Shaakuntalam does in 2023.
One cannot imagine Dev Mohan as a muscular and brave king who fights elephants, tigers, wolves, and an army of a million because he doesn’t have the required physics. Yes, the performance is somewhat applicable and sorted, but it doesn’t make up for the whole thing.
Also Read: Lakshya Review: Passable Sports Drama
The supporting cast of Sachin Khedekar, Aditi Balan, Gautami, Ananya Nagalla, Prakash Raj, Mohan Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, Kabir Duhan Singh, Kabir Bedi, Subbaraju, and others is below average. Allu Araha and her chatterbox segments will be loved by all.
You can’t go wrong with the language, particularly with a film based on an ancient tale. Shaakuntalam is weak at the base there. The first floor, I mean, the grandeur is somewhat watchable on the big screen, but 3D goggles for 145 minutes, and that too for a slow film like this, are entitled to make your head a bit heavy and restless.
The film was delayed for visual effects, but even they are not worthy. Believe me, KV Reddy’s Mayabazar (1957) had better effects than this. I never saw any legendary ancient tale going so melodramatic with known segments the way Shaakuntalam has gone.
Take “Cleopatra” (1933), “The Ten Commandments” (1956), and “Ben-Hur” (1959), for instance. These films were made when Indian cinema was struggling for one big global sensation, and they still look better than today’s films after 8-9 decades.
What a shame for us! Gunasekhar’s Shaakuntalam wants to look older, forcefully; so old that I thought it might go behind BC and then to the dystopian era, only to get close to the Mahabharata period. Sorry, Guna sir-what a repellant film you have made on a fascinating story like this. Expected Shakun-to-come, but instead came Apshaakuntalam.
Gunasekhar completely failed to impress with Shaakuntalam and falls short on all counts, whether as a visual extravaganza or as a good mythological drama. The narration is tedious, and the 3D effects are dreadful. The ‘soul’ is missing in this glitzy attempt.


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Lucknow: In an appalling video that has been uploaded on social media, transgenders were brutally beaten up by the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday.
News agency ANI reported that the victims were allegedly creating ruckus at Lalkurti police station in Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh.
Senior Superintendent of Police told ANI that these things have come to the fore where transgenders misbehaved but the force was used to control them. He added that if the force used was more than required, probe will be conducted in the case.
According to reports, the police used force after two groups of transgenders clashed over their area of operation. Police baton-charged the two groups to disperse them. Nine transgenders have also been arrested by the police.

domain: law


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What Is Lofi Music And How To Produce It
In these weird times we are living in, many people in self-isolation have turned to music for comfort and have discovered many new genres that theyve never stopped to listen to before. One of them, and one that is making waves across YouTube, is lo-fi music . And no, it doesnt stand for low fiction. Keep on reading to find out what it actually is!
Lo-fi actually stands for low-fidelity meaning it is the opposite of high fidelity or high-quality music production behind most mainstream music. This is why in low-fidelity music you can hear imperfections that would typically be considered errors in the recording process. So the low-fidelity or quality of this type of music is actually on purpose, and this is part of its beauty.
It is mostly a non-lyrical music, even if sometimes can include samples of peoples voices, mostly from early television or radio recordings. It also has influences from Boom-Bap and New York Underground instrumentals, 1960s and 1970s jazz samples, and electronic music. Pretty interesting, right? Hear it for yourself with one of our favorite lo fi royalty free track:
Aesthetic Songs Commonly Have A Slow Bpm
I would argue that the last thing to pay attention to when making Aesthetic Music is the slow BPM. As a general rule, aesthetic music is always incredibly slow. Usually between 70-100 BPM, sometimes even slower. If the song was fast, it would sound completely different, like some kind of ambient house music rather than Aesthetic or Lo-Fi.
This is really quite self-explanatory. Either set the BPM around 70-100 in the top center console of Garagebands interface or just pay attention to how youve spaced out the drum kit notes when creating your beat. Without further ado, lets explore how to use the aforementioned principles and instruments to make aesthetic music.
Making A Boom Bap Beat
Boom bap is almost always in a 4/4 time signature. The first beat of each measure is punctuated with a kick, while the third beat is a snare hit.
Boom bap beats are often slightly swung. Experiment with the timing of each drum hit.
Youll know youve found a good rhythm when you cant help but bob your head along to the beat.
The kick and snare are often punctuated with cymbals as well. So dont be afraid to throw some crashes and snares in there too.
Layering multiple snare and kick sounds on top of on another will help create impact.
So what samples should you use?
Make sure you grab a kick with plenty of low mids and a snare thats really focused on the upper mids. The snare should cut right through to the front of the mix.
You can use anything for the kick or snare. It doesnt have to sound one specific way.
For example, you could record yourself closing a door and turn it into a snare using EQ and ADSR.
Get creative with your source sounds. This is a great way to set your beats apart from anyone else.
Read Also: Sharing Music On Family Sharing
How To Make Lofi Hip Hop Music
I never could have predicted the secret slow-burning popularity of lofi hip hop beats to chill and study to. But in hindsight, how could I have missed it? Weve been heading this way for a long time. We have always had music to dance to, sing to, cry to, mosh to. Music that accompanies our most emotionally charged states. Now, we have the perfect music for the in-between. Lofi hip hop is the music for the moments in between the other genres. Its music that somehow seems to match a slice of life. Calm, yet driving. Simple, yet deceptively layered. Cerebral without being distracting. Music that feels smart and cool, new yet classic.
How To Produce Lofi Music
It is primarily composed of a beat and looped samples . Include effects similar to listening to cassette tapes to add nostalgia vibes, and always try to generate positivity and relaxation with your tunes. The key characteristic of most lo-fi tracks are imperfections that arise while recording music.
Think of it as the perfect relaxing music for studying or chilling, but dont confuse it with pop music or indie rock. It is in fact a great soundtrack for concentrating as it doesnt have many vocals and is mainly instrumental. So much that even psychologists play them in the back on stressful situations for patients!
In conclusion, sit back and let the subtle, complex, and soothing rhythms of lo-fi music be the soundtrack to whatever youre doing. One lo fi track in and you will be very much into it. Also, if you are looking for some royalty free lo fi music, be sure to check our selection.
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Are You An Artist
If you have songs that you want to share with the world we want to help boost your career and get them noticed. Including promoting your music and improving your streaming presence!
Additionally, check out our sync opportunities page to get your music in TV and Film. Try it out for free today by signing up or clicking the button below.
Making it in this business, means making sure you haveeverything you need to succeed.What you can expect from our newsletters:
- Industry news and tips
- Opportunities to submit your music and collaborate with others
- Free software and resources
How To Produce Lo
The key characteristic of most Lo-Fi tracks are imperfections that arise while recording music. This music may also seem unprofessional and overly simplistic, but again, this is the beauty of this subgenre. In his 2013 guide titled Practical Recording Techniques, Bruce Bartlett states that Lo-Fi sounds might have a narrow frequency response , and might include noise such as hiss or record scratches.
We have broken down the process of making and producing a Lo-Fi track if you want to try. Check out our Guide to Music Production to help with the basics, too.
Also Check: How To Put Songs On Repeat On Apple Music
What Is Lofi Music
Lo-fi music is a genre that incorporates lots of low-fidelity sounds. Common sounds that are in lofi are hisses and saturated samples. Drums play a critical role in lofi music as well. Lofi music typically has a hip hop vibe to them as they often include interview recordings etc.
Back then, lo-fi is something that you DID NOT want to have. Most producers would avoid having this kind of distortion of hissing in their production. Although this was then, nowadays DAWs have transformed the way we use these kind of lofi distoritions.
The new lofi techniques brought back the nostalgia by mimicking the warbling sound of cassette recordings. This abnormal production continues to be very popular in 2021 and many use it in hip hop tracks.
Do You Want To Make Money From Your Music
You dont need expensive gear, connections, or god-like knowledge to kickstart your career.
This free Masterclass reveals the key steps you ACTUALLY need to make a reliable income doing what you love in 2021.
Catch the full Masterclass here:
But if you just want to learn about being a Lofi Hip Hop specifically, keep reading.
Recommended Reading: Is High School Musical 4 Coming Out
How To Make A Chill Lofi Beat On Soundtrap By Kyoto
Kyoto is like a lot of people right now, theyre just making some beats on their computer and are really good at it! Hes very honest about his knowledge of music and not knowing how to make a melody. Kyoto admits to finding his melody on Splice and even shows you how.
While the tutorial was upbeat and had a different approach to making a Lo-Fi type beat in Soundtrap, its placed at number four because it felt more of a walkthrough to create a Lo-Fi beat like Kyoto. However, if youre interested in just watching someone make a Lo-Fi type beat for fun, this video is the one to watch.
Spresent: Hypnagogic Pop And Chillwave
The rise of modern digital audio workstations dissolved a theoretical technological division between professional and non-professional artists. Many of the prominent lo-fi acts of the 1990s adapted their sound to more professional standards and “bedroom” musicians began looking toward vintage equipment as a way to achieve an authentic lo-fi aesthetic, mirroring a similar trend in the 1990s concerning the revival of 1960s space age pop and analog synthesizers. R. Stevie Moore was increasingly cited by emerging lo-fi acts as a primary influence. His most vocal advocate, Ariel Pink, had read Unknown Legends, and later recorded a cover version of one of the tracks included in a CD that came with the book . At the time of his label debut, Pink was viewed as a novelty act, as there were virtually no other contemporary indie artists with a similar retro lo-fi sound.
In the late 2010s, a form of downtempo music tagged as “lo-fi hip hop” or “chillhop” became popular among YouTube music streamers. Several of these lo-fi YouTube channels attracted millions of followers. The inspiration for these modern styles comes mainly from artists Nujabes and J Dilla.
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How To Make Lofi Music
This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow’s Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards.There are 18 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 30,866 times.Learn more…
Lo-fi, short for low fidelity, is a popular, relaxing genre where the instruments and vocals sound older as if theyre playing through a cassette tape. If you want to make your own lo-fi beats, you can easily start creating the song with music software on your computer. Once you start adding drums and piano melodies, all you need to do is mix the song and share it with the world. When youre finished, youll have a cool lo-fi tune that others will be able to enjoy!
The Origins Of Lofi Hip Hop
This wonderful marriage of genres has its roots in a half dozen disparate places. People have found jazz to be relaxing and mood-setting music for ages. But jazz is fairly complex and fussy to create. Since the beginnings of electronic music and sampling, musicians have integrated jazz vibes into electronic beats. Acid jazz remains an interesting footnote in electronic music, but it never really took off. Yet, lofi hip hop is picking up where acid jazz left off, in a way.
Suddenly, worlds converged and it just worked. Producers created lofi hip hop beats, and layered in ambient sounds and jazzy samples instead of rap. The smooth, sophisticated jazz, the urban hip hop, and the atmospheric lofi production are a match made in heaven.
It turns out that creating lofi hip hop is not the most challenging form of music to enter. The elements are in place, and its not that hard to learn how to fool with them. You can join the ranks of lofi hip hop producers.
Also Check: How Does Itunes Family Sharing Work
How To Make A Lofi Beat
Home » Blog » How To Make a LoFi Beat
LoFi music is awesome! You can listen to it while studying, driving the car, relaxing or when its just a rainy day and you want to spend the day at home.. but before Ill tell you how to make a LoFi beat lets talk about what LoFi is in the first place.
What is lofi music?
LoFi music is music that sounds like it was recorded with bad or old equipment, which sometimes is actually the case, but doesnt necessarily need to be. Some of those artifacts can be noise, vinyl crackles, distortion or imperfections in pitch and they can usually be recreated in your DAW without the need to buy expensive analog tape machines anything like that.
While the majority of modern producers approach a perfect result, with clean recordings and exact pitch, LoFi producers do the exact opposite.. but instead of just sounding bad it actually triggers certain emotions in us like nostalgia or melancholy.
Heres how to make a LoFi beat ..
How To Make The Primary Melody In An Aesthetic Song
For the melody, note the first part of the article where I explained the use of the Major 7th and Minor 7th chords. In the track that I created for this tutorial, I was all over those major 7th sounds, because I was going for more of the happy and dreamy sound, rather than the chilled out Dorian vibe. Truthfully, I used a C Major 9th Chord, but it kind of has the same type of vibe as the C Major 7th chord, with a bit of difference.
I also used somewhat of an arpeggiated effect, which, in simple terms, means that weve played each note of the chord separately . I used the same principle for the G Major 9th chord as well, however, I also included a descending line down the C Major scale which hits on every gridline just as a way of spicing it up a bit and making it sound cool.
A) Use the Same Chords and Add Them to a New Instrument Track
Once I created the primary melody using two simple chords, you now have a foundation from which to build something else. For example, you can take those exact same two chords and then load them up into a different instrument to fill out the rest of the track.
You really dont have to complicate it more than that. This is quite melodically simple, but the point of this is to just fill out the track a bit and get it to sound a bit more complete, so to speak. In this case, I actually used a C Major chord and an F Major chord, rather than a G Major chord like I used with the soft piano.
B) Adding Another Melody
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Putting It All Together For Your Finished Lofi Hip Hop Track
I chose to improvise a lead track using my AKAI MPK Mini midi controller. I then cleaned up my improv and gave it some structure. Coincidentally, I used another Bandlab lofi-specific instrument called LoFI Lead. Check out my finished track below:
I hope you gained something from this article and was able to get your lofi track started! If you have any questions, comments, critiques, or advice, drop me a comment below or reach out via our contact page. You can also fork my track to pull elements or add your own to make it even better.
Additional Sound Effects Sampled Vocal Speech Computer Sounds Rain Etc
Most lofi tracks feature additional effects like sampled vocal speech, computer beeps, rain, chimes, street sounds, or worldly background noises. Some tracks even feature dialogue pulled from movies or just randomly sampled dialogue. Bandlab features tons of loops and effects so dig around and see what you can find to give your track something unique.
Remember the lofi packs we discussed earlier in the article? This is a good time to refer back to those and pull some sound effects or textures. Just search lofi in the packs search and youll find several packs to choose from. Browsing through and finding some additional effects here is totally up to you. I pulled a texture called LoFi Hip Hop III Texture 02 that sounds like a recording of distant chatter. I then reversed the recording to change it up a bit.
Read Also: How To Play Music On Xbox One From Phone
Making Your Mix Sound Vintage
If you want your song to sound like a late 80s classic, try out some of these mix techniques. Theyll help you emulate the old school styles.
Downsampling reduces the sample rate of the track. The sample rate decides the frequency range.
For example, the E-mu SP-1200 is a famous hardware sampler used on many hip hop classics. It has a sample rate of 26 kHz.
How To Write A Lofi Chord Progression
Unless you are a practiced keyboard player who can improvise a dozen ideas on the spot, you might want to spend some time thinking about what scale you want to compose in. The lofi sound is typically known for its mellow and nostalgic vibe. You might think that we can safely discard a happy sounding scale like the Major scale because of that. After all, a happy scale seems like a poor fit for what we are trying to achieve, right? Not quite. The major scale can be used for lofi hip hop, but there are better options out there. A catch-all scale that can give you a sad, reminiscing feeling is the Minor scale. It is found in many genres due to its versatility and you would be on the safe side using it. The only downside is that a Minor scale wont set your track apart from the rest of the field because people are used to hearing it across so many genres.
Read Also: Apple Music Family Plan
Music Production Fundamentals: Make Dope Chill Lofi Beats
- How To Make Chill Lofi Beats
- How to easily warp, chop, and manipulate audio samples
- The key elements that go into a lofi track
- How to mix and master a lofi tracks with mostly stock plug-ins
- Mixing secrets that are unique to lofi beats
- How to achieve the gritty analogue sound you want without wasting money on expensive gear
- How to design drums to get that J Dilla swing
- How to make better decisions in terms of sample choice and sound design
- Only the necessary information that you need to make lofi beats, without the overwhelm and confusion of complicated techniques


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Addiction Rehab Centers in Lithia Springs, GA
Cobb Douglas Community Services Board Outpatient Services is a drug and alcohol treatment program based at 680 Thornton Way in Lithia Springs, GA.
The main treatment approaches at this program include Individual Addiction Treatment Therapy, Marital Counseling, Group Mental Health and Addiction Therapy. The facility also provides its services in various environments, such as Outpatient Drug Addiction Treatment.
Cobb Douglas Community Services Board Outpatient Services also offers various programs that are tailored to meet the needs of specific individuals such as: Drug Rehab for Persons with Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders, Drug Rehab for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Or Transgender (LGBT) Clients, Court Ordered Outpatient Drug Rehab. Lastly, Cobb Douglas Community Services Board Outpatient Services accepts different forms of payment, including Cash or Self-Payment, Medicaid for Alcohol and Drug Treatment, Medicare.
We can help you find the right treatment facility that best fits your overall needs and financial requirements.

domain: health


The fourth edition of Pakistan Super League is inching towards its conclusion in the United Arab Emirates with Quetta Gladiators leading the Points Table with 12 points. Sarfraz Ahmed’s men clobbered Darren Sammy’s Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets on Monday to grab the first position from the former champions, who now stand at second position with ten points after 8 matches.
Besides Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, all the teams in the league have played 8 matches each. Defending champions Islamabad United is tied at 8 points with Karachi Kings while Lahore Qalandars needs a win to make it 8 points out of as many matches, and maybe climb up to the third position. Multan Sultans is the only team in the tournament that has no chance of making it to the second round, having won just 2 matches out of 9.
Today, Lahore Qalandars will face of Peshawar Zalmi in their last match in Abu Dhabi at 4:30 PM Pakistan Standard Time while Quetta Gladiators will lock horns with Islamabad United at 9 PM. In case of victory, teams from Quetta and Peshawar will retain the top two positions while Islamabad will maintain the third position after beating Lahore. IN case of an upset win, Lahore might actually displace Islamabad from the third position and that will change the dynamics of the Points Table ahead of the league’s Karachi leg starting 9th March.


When buying a new piece of manufacturing equipment from a distributor, the salesperson may know the technical ins and outs of the machine, but they’ve never used it day in and day out like the customer will. They often don’t fully grasp what it is like to work with that machine over the course of an entire shift. The fact that as a distributor Alliance uses the lasers it markets in its own shop giving it a higher level of understanding and credibility when it comes to end user needs.
Instead of talking with a salesperson with a clipboard checklist, customers can work with a company that has real-world experience and can help them find the right laser for their applications. “We can relate to the customer and make accurate decisions based on what they need,” Sales and Marketing Specialist Tony Demakis says. “Our goal is for our customers to succeed and to have the technology we provide them meet all their goals.”
For custom applications, Alliance will even produce a sample of the component the customer wants to make in its own shop to fine tune the equipment and ensure it meets specifications. “We’re doing sample parts for people all the time just to make sure the application we’re recommending works for their needs,” Demakis says.
That real-world knowledge also translates into better post-sales service for customers. If a laser welder breaks down anywhere in the country, Alliance’s experienced technicians can usually walk the customer through the troubleshooting process over the phone. For more involved repairs, the company dispatches one of its three dedicated service staff technicians to anywhere in the country and has the machine back up and running usually within 48 to 72 hours. “It’s our knowledge of our laser machines themselves as well as the fact we have dedicated staff on hand to be there for the customers in a time of need,” Demakis says of the company’s reputation for stellar service.
Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales is the combination of two businesses that act as one entity, owned by partners John Demakis and Doug Niggemann. Alliance Specialties, the service side of the company, was founded in 1979 and acts as a shop for laser welding, laser engraving, mold polishing and mold repair. Over the years, Alliance has gained a reputation for being at the forefront of embracing new technology.
Thirteen years ago, it became one of the first companies in the United States to offer laser welding for mold repair. “We noticed a big trend in that direction and huge benefits of the technology, so we invested early and partnered with a company to bring laser welding machines into our portfolio of services,” Tony Demakis says.
The advantages of laser welding were apparent from the start and Alliance soon realized its manufacturing clients would invest in the technology themselves. Not wanting to lose its place, Alliance began to think how it could carve out a niche in the laser welding market.
Because it used the machines every day and knew the technology inside and out, the company realized it could offer its expertise as a seller of laser welding systems, leading it to found its second business, Alliance Laser Sales. Alliance turned to one of the best names in the industry and partnered with German manufacturer Vision Lasertechnik to become their exclusive distributor in the United States.
“Instead of us potentially losing service business, we want to go the other direction,” Demakis explains. “If people are going to buy laser welding or laser engraving systems, we’d rather they buy from us than somebody else. This way, we are able to properly train them and help by sharing our knowledge, which continues our goal of helping our customers succeed.”
Although it has expanded into sales, Alliance is at its core still a job shop. The company’s facility in Wauconda, Ill., employs five full-time laser welders, two TIG welders, three mold builders specializing in maintenance, four manifold cleaners and eight polishers. “We know mold making inside and out,” Demakis says.
Alliance has traditionally helped in the service and production of components for plastic injection molding customers, but its entrance into laser welding and laser engraving more than a decade ago opened the company up to new markets. It now works with any kind of customer that needs engraving, from consumer devices and gun manufacturers to barcodes for medical products. The core of Alliance’s customer base can be found in Illinois and neighboring states, but the company also serves manufacturers across the country and even operates a satellite office in California.
Taking it Up a Notch
Since becoming the exclusive seller of Vision Lasertechnik machines in the United States, Alliance has sought the next major partnership that will spark another round of growth for the company. At this year’s Fabtech, Alliance Laser Sales will unveil its partnership with Laser S.O.S., a manufacturer of custom laser solutions. The company’s booth at the annual trade show will include a demonstration of a 1-kilowatt laser with a KUKA Robotics arm designed for industrial production welding applications, which highlights its next area of growth and expansion.
The Laser S.O.S. partnership offers something different than Vision Lasertechnik and will enable it to work with customers that need laser cutting, production laser welding and high-power laser welding solutions. Alliance already uses S.O.S. Lasers in its shops and will begin to sell the equipment in the United States starting in November 2017. “We’re taking it up a notch from mold building and standard laser welding to really anything that you may be needing an industrial laser application to accomplish,” Demakis says.
As it develops partnerships such as the ones with Vision Lasertechnik and Laser S.O.S., Alliance continues to keep its customers’ needs at the forefront. The same is true when Alliance helps them select their equipment. Some distributors push their buyers toward Nd:YAG lasers, which require regular maintenance and adjustments, to increase their service calls business.
Alliance, however, would rather have a satisfied customer than an ongoing service relationship. The company touts fiber laser machines, which have virtually no maintenance and are less likely to need annual adjustments.
“We’re going the other direction and encouraging our customers to invest now in fiber technology because we want them to own a machine that’s going to be consistent for the complete life of the unit without continual costs associated,” Demakis says.


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Mobilizing Labour for the Global Coffee Market: Profits From an Unfree Work Regime in Colonial Java (2015)
in: Social Histories of Work in Asia
Coffee has been grown on Java for the commercial market since the early eighteenth century, when the Dutch East India Company began buying from peasant producers in the Priangan highlands. What began as a commercial transaction, however, soon became a system of compulsory production. This book shows how the Dutch East India Company mobilised land and labour, why they turned to force cultivation, and what effects the brutal system they installed had on the economy and society.

domain: sociology


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Katelyn is here to share her polka dot Ruffled Burlap Christmas Tree Skirt tutorial with us today! This makes a great last minute no-sew Christmas craft. Enjoy! -Linda
Ruffled Burlap Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial
Hi! My name is Katelyn. I am currently a junior in college working on degrees in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Broad Field Social Science. I grew up in Iowa but I am attending school in Wisconsin. I love crafting, baking, cooking, and spending time with my family and friends during my free time. You can read more about me on my blog.
As a college student, all of my crafting is done on a budget, which is why this tree skirt was thought up! I wanted something elegant, rustic, and sparkly to give the finishing touch to our Christmas tree. Unfortunately, to buy a burlap tree skirt it can cost upwards of $35 dollars. I was able to make this tree skirt for only $15 dollars!
- Flat bed sheet
- 4 yards of burlap
- Craft paint (optional)
- Glue gun
- Mod Podge
How to Make a No-Sew Ruffled Burlap Tree Skirt
1. Cut burlap into 7inches wide by 4 yards long strips. (My last strip was smaller width wise because it didn’t evenly fit all strips. But I used this smaller one for my last two tiers!)
2. Paint circles on the burlap using the craft paint and sponge brushes. This is optional, but I wanted to add a little sparkle to mine! Make sure you put something under the burlap because the paint will leak through.
3. While the paint is drying, fold the flat bed sheet into a rectangle (In half then in half again). Then from the corner on the folded edge, draw a semi-circle from one folded edge to the other. To do this, I cut a string to 25 inches in length and tied a pencil to on end. I taped the other end to one corner of my sheet and used it like a compass. This will give you a full circle base of 50 inches when the sheet is unfolded. A standard size tree skirt is 48 inches, so this give you a little wiggle room.
4. Don’t unfold your sheet yet! In the folded corner, place a cereal bowl to create another semi-circle. Trace around the cereal bowl, then cut it out. This creates the opening for your skirt to go around the tree.
5. Unfold the flat bed sheet. You have just made the base of your tree skirt! To finish up the base, cut a straight line from an outside point of your skirt to the middle.
6. Now it’s time to ruffle all of that burlap! To do this, just fold, pleat, and pin every three to four inches or so at the top of the burlap. For the last two rows of burlap (the closest to the center) I made the ruffles closer together.
7. Time to assemble! Start at the bottom, and make your way to the center. Line your first strip of burlap at one side of your straight cut on your base. Let the first strip hang over the edge by about 2 inches. You can pin your burlap to the sheet as you go to keep it secure. I overlapped each new tier of burlap over that last by about 2-3 inches to cover the pleats and where I glued it to the sheet. In some rows, my burlap strips weren’t long enough to go all the way around the skirt. To fix this, I simply started a new strip by overlapping the edges by 2 inches and kept going until I reached the other side of the opening. I can’t really tell where I did this at once I put it around the tree!
8. One all of the strips are placed, get the glue gun out and glue out! Glue the burlap to the base at each side of the opening, every pleat and halfway between each pleat. Glue only at the top of each strip of burlap!
9. Next, glue strips of ribbon on each side of the opening to tie the skirt shut.
10. Next cut a strip of ribbon big enough to go around the inside of the center circle. Hot glue half of the ribbon on the top side of the skirt. Then fold it over and hot glue to the back of the skirt.
11. To finish, apply Mod Podge to any open edges of the burlap to prevent fraying.
Thanks for sharing your Ruffled Burlap Christmas Tree skirt with us today, Katelyn! You can find her over at Sweet Potato Pie blog.
New here? Welcome welcome! I recommend following along to get inspiration for your every day crafting adventures!


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Mozambique: Disabled Demand Legislation That Actually Works
Verdade (Maputo), 3 January 2013
In Mozambique, many leaders of the disabled consider that, as a group, their most significant achievement had been the creation of legislation to protect them. However, it is not working properly. In a hardened tone, they are still having to complain about the same issues, which include the lack of ramps to facilitate entry to buildings, about excessive bureaucracy involved in processing their ...


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(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) Three people died in a multi-vehicle crash that closed off eastbound I-66 in Merrifield throughout this morning (Thursday).
All lanes on I-66 have now reopened, the Virginia Department of Transportation reported at 12:16 p.m.
According to the Virginia State Police, a tractor-trailer and two passenger vehicles collided on I-66 just before the I-495 interchange around 3:06 a.m. Police have confirmed three fatalities: an adult female driver and two children.
Police have determined that a Honda SUV traveling east on I-66 lost control near the 64-mile marker at the Capital Beltway, the VSP said in a report:
The Honda struck a Toyota SUV and then continued off the right side of the interstate. When the Honda struck the guardrail, it then re-entered the eastbound lanes of I-66 and struck the Toyota SUV a second time. The Honda continued off the left side of the interstate and struck the guardrail, after which it spun back into the eastbound lanes of I-66. An eastbound tractor-trailer swerved to the right to avoid the spinning Honda, but the two vehicles collided.
The three people who died at the scene were all in the Honda SUV.
“State police is still in the process of confirming their identities and notifying next of kin,” the VSP said.
Two other juveniles are getting treatment at Fairfax Inova Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. The adult male driver of the Toyota SUV was also transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of injuries that police say were not life-threatening.
The tractor-trailer driver, identified as an adult man, was not injured in the crash.
The crash investigation closed all eastbound I-66 lanes at 64.7 mile marker near the Capital Beltway, resulting in traffic backups that, at one point, stretched back to Fairfax County Parkway at Fair Lakes.
Drivers were detoured onto Nutley Street in Vienna, as VDOT warned motorists to expect delays. The investigation into the crash is still ongoing.
UPDATE: Tractor Trailer Crash w/ Injuries. I-66 EB before I-495 (Ex 64/Capital Beltway). Fairfax County, VA. All travel lanes are blocked. Traffic is being detoured on to VA-243 (Ex 62/Nutley St). Expect heavy delays on US-29 and US-50 in the vicinity.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) September 9, 2021
Update: All traffic is being diverted off at Nutley. Traffic stopped in the queue between Nutley and the crash is being flushed through the left lane. Pls avoid 66. https://t.co/EXzxel9ajw
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) September 9, 2021
Pickleball players celebrate the opening of the courts at Glyndon Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott) The nationwide face-off between pickleball enthusiasts and homeowners has arrived in the Town of Vienna….
The Tysons location you want. The luxurious features and finishes you desire. The thoughtful amenities you deserve. This is Monarch — Tysons’ only new high-rise condominium building — opening Spring…
The shop 520 Ice Cream and Tea has closed at the Mosaic District after five years (staff photo by Angela Woolsey) The Mosaic District is no longer home to the…
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay (file photo) Fairfax County’s top priorities for 2023 will be increasing mental health services, boosting police retention, addressing commercial office vacancies, and…
Chris Green is one of the DMV’s finest fitness instructors. A Lululemon and South Block ambassador, he is a coach and mentor to so many. He embodies grace, positivity and motivation in ways that no one else can. If we could all learn a thing or two from him, the world would be a much better place. He does so much for others, and does so with a smile on his face 99% of the time.
He recently ruptured his Achilles and has an incredibly long and tough journey ahead. As if COVID hadn’t impacted fitness professionals enough, throw this in the mix and it’s a double, even triple whammy. CG is no longer able to work and do what he loves for the time being because of this and we’d love your support.
The Rhea Baker State Farm Agency is proud to support Shelter House in providing safe places to be during quarantine. Shelter House’s mission is to prevent and end homelessness and domestic violence. Right now they are providing over 200 hotel rooms to those in need in our community. In the past year, across all programs, Shelter House served nearly 500 households comprised of over 1,500 individuals, 60% of which were children.
Of the households that exited shelter, over 70% moved to permanent housing. The Baker Agency has served Vienna and Tysons residents and business owners since 2007 and proudly offers insurance solutions for you home, condo, auto insurance, life insurance and more. We offer complimentary reviews and coach teen drivers to safer, better drivers, and to help keep your auto insurance rates down! We are always happy to talk or text at 703-847-6880.


“Heath Ledger dead at 28.”
That is one headline many of us will never forget reading.
Monday marked ten years since the untimely passing of one of Hollywood’s most respected young actors.
At just 28 years old, Ledger achieved so much in his lifetime. He had a career that spanned 15 years which included some iconic roles in films including 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot, A Knight’s Tale, Lords of Dogtown and The Brothers Grimm.
Ledger was praised by critics during the 2016 awards season for his performance as Ennis Del Mar in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal’s Jack Twist. He was received Best Actor nominations at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
However, it was his performance as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight which will always remain his most iconic and favorite among fans and critics. His role as the fictional super-villain garnered him numerous posthumous awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
There’s no doubt of how many other memorable performances Heath Ledger would have had during the past years.
Thank you for your talent. Thank you for your memorable performances.
We miss you Heath


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The talented teenager has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence since making an £8 million ($10m) move to Germany from Manchester City in the summer of 2017.
His rapid progress has seen him become a first-team regular at a title-chasing side, while also earning senior international recognition with England.
Such potential was always going to grab attention and Sancho is now sparking talk of interest from leading, and big-spending teams across Europe.
Dortmund, though, have no intention of parting with a prized asset any time soon, with sporting director Michael Zorc telling ESPN FC: “Jadon knew it would be an unusual step to move here but it has been totally the right one. Courageous, too.
“He's an outstanding talent and a big part of our future. We are convinced that we are the best option for him to keep developing.
“He's not finished yet. Not by a long stretch. And he will certainly play with us next year, come what may.”
Dortmund hope that their willingness to give game time to players of promise will help to convince Sancho, and others that they are in the best possible place for their ongoing development.
Zorc added: “They can't get into their first teams because the squads are so big. But they understand that we can provide a platform for them to play, that our coaches have the courage to play them.
“Not just in the first round of the DFB Pokal against [fifth-division] Eintracht Trier, but in the big games against Bayern and such like.”
While that approach has delivered rich rewards, not every youngster to have passed through the club has left a positive impression.
Ousmane Dembele impressed on the field during his time with Dortmund, but left under a cloud after forcing through a switch to Barcelona in the wake of Neymar’s record-breaking transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
“It wasn't the best experience,” Zorc admits.
“But it was a special situation forced by the transfer of Neymar to PSG [and Barcelona needing a replacement]. All okay, though. We were adequately compensated.”


text: The popular Twin Cities pub sing comes to Menomonie. Folks bring their songs to share, and everyone joins in on the chorus. Songs of work, love, nature, drinking, community, inspiration and more. You can lead a song or sing along. Please no songbooks/sheets to hand out, and all songs unaccompanied.


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11 December 2016
As we reported in June and September we have been using three RMIT students to document the work of the Stawell Field Naturalists and, in particular, the legacy of Ian McCann. The students worked on the documents preserved by the Stawell Historical Society and filmed interviews with long time members and people who had worked with them. So in December we invited them to present their work.
After a chapter of accidents, amusing in hindsight but tense at the time, the quite large audience managed to look at two films: one on the Field Naturalists generally, and one on Ian McCann. The students had struggled somewhat with such a wet year and some recording issues, but the films were well received, particularly the Ian McCann one. There is still more footage which we hope can be edited into another film or two. Plus there are some very valuable observations on plant lists etc over the years in the notebooks, which it would be good to make more accessible.
There has been enormous interest in the project, and after the summer break we plan to get them up on the internet in a couple of places, as well as showing them again locally. And maybe we can make use of a new set of students for future projects. Good for us here, and good for them.
Ian McCann Legacy Poster -> downloadable pdf


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Medical collections since 1984
HealthCare Financial Services is a full service collection agency that will work with you to develop a complete program designed to meet your individual needs. Established in 1984, HFS is one of the largest and most sophisticated medical collection agency in West Virginia. We maintain a state-of-the-art computerized collection system that includes automated online skip tracing through a national database and multimedia account placement and reporting technology (HIPAA compliant).
Our management team has more than 200 combined years of experience in the health care field, including more than 50 years in a hospital business office setting.
HFS has contacts with all major payers, which allows its staff to optimize recoveries on accounts where insurance information is discovered. HFS requires its collection staff to complete a six-month probationary training process. Collectors also are certified on FDCPA (collection) laws. They are regularly monitored for quality assessment to assure adherence to all state and federal laws. HFS collectors have a full understanding of the complex world of third party payers. They intelligently investigate all methods of payments.
HFS is proud of its recovery percentage across the board for all of its clients, which is within the national average for collections agencies that collect for health care providers. HFS is acutely aware of the importance of maintaining a positive image for health care clients in their communities.
HFS is a member of:
- ACA International: The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals
- National Healthcare Collectors Association
- WV Healthcare Financial Management Association
- Mid-Atlantic Collectors Association
- WV Medical Group Management Association


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Hojai district is one of the 5 districts of Assam which was declared on 15th August, 2016 by Assam's Chief Minister. The headquarters of the District is situated at Sankardev Nagar, which is about 8 Km away from the Hojai Town.
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the major population of Hojai. There is an abundance of forest-based small-scale industries like Agar Wood Distillation units, Saw Mills and Bamboo & Cane furniture’s manufacturing units. The ethnic groups of this region depend on their traditional activities like weaving, animal rearing, etc. Hojai is also noted for its numerous ancient archaeological sites.
How to reach:
By road, numerous State transport vehicles are operating daily through the towns of Hojai District. The National Highway, NH-27 connects the towns of the Hojai District to other parts of Assam.
There are total 9 Railway Stations and 1 Railway Junction (Lumding Railway Junction) under Hojai District. The Hojai Railway Station and Lumding Railway Junction are well connected to the major cities of Assam and other states of India.
Tezpur Airport is the nearest airport and is situated about 123 Km away from the District Headquarter. The nearest International airport is Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati which is about 194 Km away from the District Headquarter.

domain: travel


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Following the Government’s unlocking of the mortgage market last week, Skipton International has returned to remortgage lending for overseas residents wishing to buy property in the UK.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions preventing physical property valuations, Skipton International had previously stopped accepting mortgage applications.
Skipton International will initially be accepting applications for remortgages only, with a maximum loan to value of 60%.
To find out more about how we can assist you with your BTL Mortgage please click here
Roger Hughes, business development manager at Skipton, said: “Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic we were seeing strong demand from overseas residents for our UK buy-to-let mortgages.
“We hope our return to the remortgage market will provide an attractive offering for investors and demonstrate that Skipton is still very much open for business.”
Skipton is monitoring developments and the availability of valuations with an expectation of offering mortgages for UK BTL purchases in the near future.
By Joanne Atkin
Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette


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Offshore accidents can result in back injuries, repetitive stress injuries, shoulder injuries, amputations, broken bones and drowning in Mississippi. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act has expanded the coverage for offshore rig injuries.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act extends the Longshore Act to include disabilities and death in the workplace. The OCSLA adds regulations for transporting, developing, and removing natural resources by pipeline. The new rules hold any corporate officers liable if they don’t maintain proper workers’ compensation insurance. The OCSLA only covers injury and death resulting from work operations.
Complex OCSLA situations
An employer in the oil and gas industry operating in the Outer Continental Shelf shouldn’t overlook new policies under the OCSLA. If an employer doesn’t know the new personal injury policies, coverage can get complicated quickly. An employer needs to know where their employees are and what they were doing during the incident. The operations within state waters or the Outer Continental Shelf have multiple exposures with liability lawsuits and workers’ compensation coverage.
The OCSLA coverage for offshore operations has many factors. Are the workers under maritime employment? Are the oil and gas operations transportation, removal, exploration, or development? Does the land of the accident have a substantial nexus with the OCS operation? Off-shore coverages include state workers’ compensation laws, state tort remedies, the Longshore Act, section 905(b) of the Longshore Act the Jones Act, the OCSLA, and the General Maritime law.
Understanding how the law applies
Personal injury laws sometimes overlap during Outer Continental Shelf operations. State waters are usually 3 nautical miles from the coast, and the great lakes end at the border. OCSLA can cover accidents that happen outside of the OCS as long as there is a substantial nexus between the employee’s injury and the employer’s OCS operations. Longshore Act insurance doesn’t cover any incidents involving OCSLA exposure, so injured workers need to understand their rights.


Supreme Court Keeps Narrow Boundaries on Bivens Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court was given an opportunity to expand the breadth of Bivens claims last month—instead, it reiterated its stance on limiting such claims to only three specific, limited, and established scenarios.
In Ziglar v. Abassi, six non-U.S. citizens brought a Bivens action against federal officers, alleging wrongful detention and confinement conditions in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
A Bivens action is a common law action against federal officers for civil rights violations occurring under their federal authority. These claims fill the gap left behind by 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims, which only permit such claims against individuals operating with the power of the state—which includes employees of political subdivisions as well. The U.S. Supreme Court has only authorized such a claim in three previous situations:
- Unreasonable searches and seizures by federal agents in violation of the Fourth Amendment;
- Gender discrimination towards a federal employee in violation of the Fifth Amendment; and
- Inadequate medical treatment to a federal inmate in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
In Ziglar, the Court considered whether a Bivens action could proceed in a fourth scenario—where non-citizen detainees challenge their federal detainment and the conditions of their confinement under the Fourth and Fifth Amendment. It declined to do so, finding this claim bore little resemblance to any of these types of already-approved Bivens claims, and that “special factors” weighed in favor of maintaining a narrow scope of available Bivens actions.
The Court also provided a strong indication that these three situations were unlikely to be expanded further: Referencing the separation-of-powers doctrine and the Court’s recent trend of steering away from making more federal common law, Justice Kennedy—writing for the majority—held that any continued extension of Bivens was a job for Congress, not the courts. Because Congress had not created the type of damages action the plaintiffs tried to bring in the 16 years since the 9/11 attacks, the Court concluded it had deliberately declined to permit such an action.
The practical implications of Ziglar are that federal officials’ exposure to Bivens claims (and potential awards of money damages) remains limited to these three established situations, absent an act of Congress. While the Court left open the possibility of future expansions, the potential for new situations has become very unlikely. For any situations falling outside the established Bivens claims, future plaintiffs’ remedies will likely be limited to bringing actions for injuctive relief, or to bring habeas actions if the alleged violation is still ongoing.
Image by UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0.


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Down .6 lbs!!!! Rye test successful!
It’s getting easier to prepare things and also to eat them. The flavors are getting better and of course the variety helps a ton! My husband remarked that it’s easier to clean up now :D. I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s starting to set in that this is for life. I kind of thought it would be a fad diet and if it worked good and if not fine. I mean cognitively I knew that what I’m signing up for is a change in my eating habits, but I’m still waiting for the 20 days to go up so I can go back to homemade pizza and tacos. I don’t think I realized that vegetables are still going to be making up the vast majority of my diet day to day. I started this to become healthier to heal myself. Not to eat rye chips and salad all the time. Regardless, I’m enjoying the food more and more. I’m hopeful that soon I’ll be able to plan meals my husband enjoys as well.
Today was test a new protein. Since I’m poor and the next several days requires me to rotate between the two proteins, I chose eggs. I made an omelet with a sprinkle of Manchego cheese and ground pepper.

domain: food