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πŸ”— Yan tan tethera: A Celtic sheep-counting system

πŸ”— Agriculture πŸ”— England πŸ”— Linguistics πŸ”— Measurement

Yan Tan Tethera or yan-tan-tethera is a sheep-counting system traditionally used by shepherds in Northern England and some other parts of Britain. The words are numbers taken from Brythonic Celtic languages such as Cumbric which had died out in most of Northern England by the sixth century, but they were commonly used for sheep counting and counting stitches in knitting until the Industrial Revolution, especially in the fells of the Lake District. Though most of these number systems fell out of use by the turn of the twentieth century, some are still in use.

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πŸ”— B.a.t.m.a.n

πŸ”— Telecommunications

The Better Approach to Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (B.A.T.M.A.N.) is a routing protocol for multi-hop mobile ad hoc networks which is under development by the German "Freifunk" community and intended to replace the Optimized Link State Routing Protocol (OLSR).

B.A.T.M.A.N.'s crucial point is the decentralization of knowledge about the best route through the networkΒ β€” no single node has all the data. This technique eliminates the need to spread information about network changes to every node in the network. The individual node only saves information about the "direction" it received data from and sends its data accordingly. The data gets passed from node to node, and packets get individual, dynamically created routes. A network of collective intelligence is created.

In early 2007, the B.A.T.M.A.N. developers started experimenting with the idea of routing on layer 2 (Ethernet layer) instead of layer 3. To differentiate from the layer 3 routing daemon, the suffix "adv" (for: advanced) was chosen. Instead of manipulating routing tables based on information exchanged via UDP/IP, it provides a virtual network interface and transparently transports Ethernet packets on its own. The batman-adv kernel module has been part of the official Linux kernel since 2.6.38.

πŸ”— Prawo Jazdy (Alleged Criminal)

πŸ”— Crime πŸ”— Law πŸ”— Law Enforcement πŸ”— Automobiles πŸ”— Ireland

"Prawo Jazdy" was a supposed Polish national who was listed by the Garda SΓ­ochΓ‘na in a police criminal database as having committed more than 50 traffic violations in Ireland. A 2007 memorandum stated that an investigation revealed prawo jazdy [ˈpra.vΙ” ˈjaz.dΙ¨] to be Polish for 'driving licence', with the error arising due to officers mistaking the phrase, printed on Polish driving licenses, to be a personal name while issuing traffic tickets.

πŸ”— Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago that anyone can call home

πŸ”— Norway

Uniquely, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located in the High Arctic, is an entirely visa-free zone. However, travelers who have a visa requirement to enter mainland Norway/the Schengen area must have a Schengen visa if they travel via mainland Norway/the Schengen area. This must be a double-entry visa so they can return to mainland Norway/the Schengen area.

Those traveling to and from Svalbard must bring passports or national identity cards, as all are subject to identity check. Passports or national identity cards satisfy the Schengen regulatory requirements for identity verification. Due to a transitional arrangement, Norwegian citizens could also prove their identity with a document issued in Norway which included at least name, photo and date of birth, such as a Norwegian driving licence issued after 1998; the transitional period ended on 31 December 2021.

Everybody may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship. The Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. Non-treaty nationals may live and work indefinitely visa-free as well. Per Sefland, then Governor of Svalbard, said "It has been a chosen policy so far that we haven't made any difference between the treaty citizens and those from outside the treaty". "Regulations concerning rejection and expulsion from Svalbard" are enforced on a non-discriminatory basis. Grounds for exclusion include lack of means of support, and violation of laws or regulations.

Hans-Henrik Hartmann, then head of the legal unit at the Norwegian government's immigration department, said, "If an asylum seeker is refused residence in Norway he can settle in Svalbard so long as he can get there and is able to pay for himself." Svalbard has a high cost of living, but only a limited welfare system. Welfare and health care is available only for Norwegians and for workers employed by a Norwegian company.

The Norwegian Nationality Act applies to Svalbard, cf. Section 1. However, the Act does not provide any special rules for foreign nationals residing on Svalbard. Foreigners living on Svalbard must meet the conditions of the law to obtain Norwegian citizenship. In order to acquire Norwegian citizenship upon application, there is, according to the main rule, a requirement to fulfill the conditions for a permanent residence permit, and consequently a requirement for residence on the Norwegian mainland with a residence permit. Such permits are granted in accordance with the Norwegian Immigration Act. Because the Norwegian Immigration Act does not apply to Svalbard, cf. Section 6, residence on Svalbard does not qualify foreign nationals for residence permits on the Norwegian mainland.

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πŸ”— Companies of the United States with untaxed profits

πŸ”— United States πŸ”— Companies πŸ”— Taxation

Companies of the United States with untaxed profits deals with those U.S. companies whose offshore subsidiaries earn profits which are retained in foreign countries to defer paying U.S. corporate tax. The profits of United States corporations are subject to a federal corporate tax rate of 21%. In principle, the tax is payable on all profits of corporations, whether earned domestically or abroad. However, overseas subsidiaries of U.S. corporations are entitled to a tax deferral of profits on active income until repatriated to the U.S., and are regarded as untaxed. When repatriated, the corporations are entitled to a foreign tax credit for taxes (if any) paid in foreign countries.

Retaining such profits offshore may be regarded as a tax strategy. Many corporations have accumulated substantial untaxed profits offshore, especially in countries with low corporate tax rates. In recent years it has been estimated that untaxed profits range from US$1.6 to $2.1 trillion. The Wall Street Journal noted that the "[u]ntaxed foreign earnings are part of a contentious debate over U.S. fiscal policy and tax code." The profits earned abroad and retained there are subject to a foreign exchange risk, besides other financial risks.

The downside of a strategy of retaining profits offshore is that corporations may want or need to pay dividends to shareholders, or to make investments in the United States, besides other reasons. The alternative may be to borrow funds in the U.S., or access the funds retained offshore in the form of inter-company loans.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) imposed a one time tax on these offshore profits at 8% (non-cash) and 15.5% (cash) respectively. The Act also includes a provision that taxes all foreign profits in the US in the year they are earned ending the ability of US companies to defer paying US tax on unrepatriated earnings.

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πŸ”— Jerrycan

πŸ”— Military history πŸ”— Military history/Military science, technology, and theory πŸ”— Automobiles πŸ”— Military history/World War II πŸ”— Military history/German military history πŸ”— Military history/European military history πŸ”— Containers

A jerrycan (also written as jerry can or jerrican) is a robust liquid container made from pressed steel. It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hold 20 litres (4.4Β impΒ gal; 5.3Β USΒ gal) of fuel. The development of the jerrycan was a significant improvement on earlier designs, which required tools and funnels to use, and it contained many innovative features for convenience of use and robustness. After widespread use by both Germany and the Allies during the Second World War, today similar designs are used worldwide for fuel and water containers, some of which are also produced in plastic. The designs usually emulate the original steel design and are still known as jerrycans. The original design of jerrycan and various derivatives remain in widespread military use.

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πŸ”— List of Laboratory Biosecurity Incidents

πŸ”— Medicine

This list of laboratory biosecurity incidents includes accidental laboratory-acquired infections and laboratory releases of lethal pathogens, containment failures in or during transport of lethal pathogens, and incidents of exposure of lethal pathogens to laboratory personnel, improper disposal of contaminated waste, and/or the escape of laboratory animals. The list is grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred and does not include every reported laboratory-acquired infection.

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πŸ”— Airbus Beluga

πŸ”— Aviation πŸ”— Aviation/aircraft

The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter), or Beluga, is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body airliner modified to carry aircraft parts and outsize cargo. It received the official name of Super Transporter early on; however, the name Beluga, a whale it resembles, gained popularity and has since been officially adopted. The Beluga XL, based on the Airbus A330 with similar modifications and dimensions, was developed by Airbus to replace the type in January 2020.

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πŸ”— Nikon F-Mount

πŸ”— Glass πŸ”— Photography

The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35mm format single-lens reflex cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three-lug bayonet mount with a 44Β mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5Β mm. The company continues, with the 2020 D6 model, to use variations of the same lens mount specification for its film and digital SLR cameras.

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