text:
Allan Wu lost quite a large number of supporters after calling it quits with a former Mediacorp actress Wong Li Ling in 2013 but the charming actor admits his greatest worry with newfound love Yvonne Lee is the uphill task of fitting in with his children.
Image: Allan and Wong
Barely five years after the messy celebrity divorce, Allan found sweet love in Yvonne, a popular Malaysian beauty queen. The Singapore-based actor enjoyed her company during his 45th birthday celebrations earlier this month, and the memories were captured in some Instagram posts for their numerous fans.
In his first public outing with a female acquaintance since leaving Wong, the Chinese-American actor revealed his son and daughter felt bitter seeing him in another woman’s arms.
Speaking at the launch of Toggle‘s upcoming series Cover Your Eyes, the California-born actor shared his views on the worst-case scenario his lady-love would most likely encounter if they eventually choose to walk down the aisle.
His words: “In truth, my children were shocked and a little upset when they first learned of my new love but with time, the relationship has become cordial since they showed commitment in learning about her…They share better understanding now.
“I don’t intentionally create chances for them to meet as Yvonne stays in Kuala Lumpur. However, from my perspective, they seem to think she has a great personality and is easy to get along with,” Allan added.
“My daughter tends to be more vocal about her opinions. As for my son Jonas, well, he’s like any other boy. Give him video games to play and he will not have an opinion about anything.”
Allan failed to give a clue on their marriage plans but stressed that tying the knot a second time is a possibility. “Nothing is set in stone,” he said, adding that he and Yvonne have discussed the topic before.
“We will consult with our two children and hear them out before making decisions on marriage,” he said. “I believe they will give their well-wishes.”
He continued, “Right now, Yvonne and I are just cherishing each moment we have and making happy memories…I’m open to having more children, but it’s a lot to think about now that my kids are older. It takes a lot of time and money to raise kids, and it got me wondering if I really want to do it all over again.”
Allan and Wong made headlines in different online forums and social networking websites when rumors of his infidelity spread like wildfire in 2013, leading to a breakdown of the celebrity marriage. The entertainment couple share two children; Sage (14-year-old daughter) and Jonas Wu (12-year-old son).
Despite widespread claims that Allan’s marriage crashed after he was caught flirting with an unnamed female at a Japanese restaurant located in a 6-star hotel, other sources cited his ex-wife’s controlling nature as the reason.
“The divorce became necessary when he [Allan] could no longer tolerate his wife’s bossiness…Wong’s controlling manner most likely stems from the fact that she is jealous about her husband’s success in the entertainment industry,” a source told Yahoo! News at that time. Both entertainment icons did not offer explanations in the media.
Wong has been described as a good actress while Allan is a former model, actor, host and VJ who currently hosts “The Amazing Race.”
Image: Yvonne Lee


text:
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domain: entertainment


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text:
Established in 2008, the Goleta Fund is a family of alternative investment funds focused on long-term capital growth through conservative and professional strategies. Our investment platforms are incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Our name, inspired by the schooner, embodies a sense of exploration and adventure, reflecting our commitment to venturing into new investment opportunities and charting our own course. Just as a schooner exhibits qualities of agility and adaptability, we strive to demonstrate these traits as we navigate through different market conditions. With a focus on sophisticated and tailored strategies, we aim to provide exceptional investment solutions that unlock the potential of untapped markets. Our mission is to deliver capital growth, manage risk, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for eligible investors.
We have expanded our presence in Europe by establishing Goleta Asset Management, an office located in Madrid, Spain.
Our open funds are exclusive to "eligible investors", as the term may be defined by the Funds' respective offering memorandum, the applicable Luxembourg and European Union legislation and the other legal documents of the Funds. They are not, therefore, marketed to the general public either in Luxembourg or in any other jurisdiction.
Our focus on catering to high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors creates a specialised investment community. We tailor our strategies to meet their unique needs, whether they seek long-term growth or capital preservation. At Goleta Fund, we prioritise discretion, professionalism, and regulatory compliance.
Unparalleled Professionalism and Expertise
We have meticulously built long-term partnerships with renowned service providers in the industry, solidifying our commitment to excellence and regulatory compliance.
Deloitte Audit, S.à.r.l. a global leader in professional services, is entrusted with auditing the financial statements of the SICAV. Their expertise and rigorous auditing practices ensure transparency, accuracy, and reliability in our financial reporting. With Deloitte Audit by our side, we provide our investors with the confidence they deserve.
Fuchs Asset Management, S.A. serves as the management company of our SICAV, bringing extensive experience and a proven track record. As an external alternative investment fund manager (AIFM) under Luxembourg's regulatory framework, FAM operates under the direct supervision and monitoring of Luxembourg’s Financial Markets Authority (CSSF). This collaboration ensures that our investment strategies are professionally managed, aligned with regulatory requirements, and optimised to deliver the best possible outcomes for our investors.
Banque des Patrimoines Privés S.A. (Creand Wealth & Securities) assumes the crucial roles of our custodian and fund administrator. With their meticulous oversight, they safeguard the assets of Goleta Fund, ensuring strict adherence to current statutory provisions. Their comprehensive expertise and adherence to the Articles of Association of each investment platform guarantee that shares are issued and redeemed with the utmost compliance and precision.
Kleyr Grasso SCS a reputable Luxembourg-based law firm, acts as our trusted legal advisor. Their extensive knowledge of the legal landscape and their strong presence in various industries make them an invaluable resource. Regularly recommended by legal directories, such as The Legal 500 and Chambers, Kleyr Grasso SCS offers us comprehensive legal counsel, ensuring that Goleta Fund operates within the bounds of the law and maintains the highest standards of legal compliance.
With these partners by our side, we offer our investors an unparalleled level of confidence and assurance in our operations.
Luxembourg’s reputation precedes it as a major hub of the fund industry, and one of the most recognised, developed, effectively regulated and sophisticated financial centres worldwide.

domain: economics


JUNEAU, ALASKA-Building on his commitment to revitalize Alaskaâ€™s timber industry, Governor Sean Parnell yesterday signed legislation nearly doubling the size of the Southeast State Forest.
The forest was created by the passage of Governor Parnell’s legislation in 2010. Lands added to the state forest will continue to be open for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat and harvest, mining and recreational activities.
“Adding land to the Southeast State Forest will allow the Division of Forestry to manage the land to increase long-term timber supply for local processors and wood energy needs,’ Governor Parnell said. “This will provide much-need jobs in the thinning, harvest and milling stages of logging.”
House Bill 105, sponsored by Governor Parnell, includes 23,181 acres of land to the Southeast State Forest, bringing the total acreage to 48,472. HB 105 received unanimous support in the Legislature. Representative Bill Thomas was instrumental in moving the bill through the Legislature.
“This is one more way we can keep the timber industry alive in Southeast Alaska,” Representative Thomas said.


text:
Snow at the Shoreline
Cappuccino waves crash upon the shore
Spin-drift and snow meet at high tide,
Overlap and kiss across a barrier
Made of iced shingle and flotsam,
Feathers and cuttlefish corpses.
Roar of sea and wind drown out
The cries of gulls and the crunch
Of feet through snow and sand.
Breath snatched from my mouth,
I puff and lean hard into the wind
Struggle to stay upright
Gasp at the slash of snow,
Leap from the encroaching sea
As it tries to steal back land.
A few fishermen fight with rods,
“We’re mad,” says one as I pass.
I agree but the words vanish,
Lost amid the tumult,
So I shout, “Aren’t we all?”
He nods, fervently and I move on.
A gull hovers above me,
Riding the storm eagle-eyed for scraps.
I trudge home, hands in pockets
Face hidden by hat and scarf,
My eyes narrowed against the gale
An icy Bedouin stamping in snow,
Exhilarated but wearied by winter.

domain: geography


text:
Turkish fiction has a long history with the first stories dating back to oral tradition. While the traces of that oral tradition have been reflected in stage arts and cinema, written genres of the Turkish fiction have deliberately shifted toward the Western genres. After writer Namık Kemal, the founder of the modern Turkish literature, tried to invent the Turkish novel, many of his disciples continued in his footsteps and wrote long or short fiction to comply with the Westernization process in literature.
Namık Kemal and his comrade Ziya Pasha were romanticists and didn't leave the Turkish tradition completely. Although they were inclined to Westernize the Turkish literature, they had an inherent taste for their ancestors' tradition.
The first Western-type fiction emerged in the 1890s under the influence of French realism and naturalism. Authors Nabizade Nazım, Samipaşazade Sezai, Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil and Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar offered successful examples of realist short fiction. However, all of these first-generation realists were better at writing long fiction. Short fiction was like a ladder for them to climb to the novel genre. Uşaklıgil has been considered the first fully Westernized Turkish novelist ever, Gürpınar was more popular for a long time. Indeed, popularity was the main focus of Gürpınar’s writing, an aspect he inherited from Ahmet Mithat Efendi, his master and boss.
Gürpınar was born Aug. 17, 1864, in Istanbul. His father Mehmed Said Pasha was the military aide of the sultan at Hüseyin Rahmi’s birth and died later as he was the garrison commander in eastern Erzurum province. Gürpınar’s family ancestry goes back to the southwestern province of Aydın from his father’s side and to northern Karabük province's Safranbolu district from his mother’s side.
Gürpınar lost his mother when he was only a toddler. His maternal grandmother and aunt raised him in the Aksaray neighborhood of old Istanbul. He was first schooled at the Yakupağa neighborhood school before he was admitted to the Mahmudiye middle school. Finally, he graduated from the Mahrec-i Aklam, a special school to raise public servants. Abdurrahman Şeref Efendi, the history teacher at this school, appreciated Gürpınar’s brilliance and enrolled him at the Mülkiye Mektebi, a college for civil servants. However, Gürpınar left the Mülkiye Mektebi after two years because of a severe health condition.
After a while, Gürpınar began to work as a public servant, which he would continue until the Second Constitutional era. He worked for several offices including the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Public Works.
Meanwhile, he also wrote for newspapers. He began to write columns for daily newspaper Tercüman-ı Hakikat in 1887. He also worked for the Ikdam and Sabah newspapers as a columnist and translator.
Gürpınar owed his reputation to his novels rather than his work as a public servant or a journalist. Ahmet Mithat Efendi, the editor-in-chief of the Tercüman-ı Hakikat, changed his destiny by encouraging him to write fiction. Efendi himself was one of the top authors of Turkish fiction. With his support, Gürpınar published his first novel “Ayna” (“The Mirror”) in chapters in Tercüman-ı Hakikat. Later he renamed the book as “Şık” (“Chic”) and published it as a separate volume.
“Şık” follows the path laid down by Efendi with his novel “Felatun Bey ve Rakım Efendi” (“Felatun and Rakım”), which includes strict criticism of unconscious Westernization. What Gürpınar added to this new genre of long fiction, initiated with the “Araba Sevdası” (“The Love of Car”) novel of prominent author Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem, is the liveliness of the narrative relying on the sketches of the daily life of and ordinary people living in Istanbul along with humor. Gürpınar would use humor not only to keep the reader interested in the narrative but as a way of criticism.
Gürpınar’s “Alafranga” (“Alla Franca”), a novel again criticizing the snobbism of the Westernization supporters, was banned by the censor committee. So, he didn’t publish anything further until the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 when the Constitution was reinstated. After the revolution, he published a journal of humor, namely “Boşboğaz ile Güllabi” (“The Gabbler and the Asylum Guard”), which could only be printed for 36 weeks. After that failure, Gürpınar returned to his novel chapters in the newspapers.
In fact, Gürpınar wrote very fast. In 1911, he published three separate novels in the same year. He wrote and published another three the following year. The collection of his complete works includes about 50 volumes of novels, short stories, essays and memoirs.
Many critics think that he was a naturalist novelist and thought the genre of the novel as a mirror to society. In my belief, that’s an exaggeration of a simple resemblance. Like the Western naturalists, Gürpınar, too, narrates the physiology, speech and actions of people without interfering. On the other hand, all his narration is teleological; in other words, he always judges his characters morally, which is not an attitude shared by the naturalist fiction writers at all.
In his most famous novels including “Gulyabani” (“The Bogie”) and “Kuyrukluyıldız Altında İzdivaç” (“Wedding under the Comet”), Gürpınar aims at criticizing the superstitious beliefs of the society. He mocks the reactions of people against the Halley comet in 1911, which he thinks should be replaced with scientific realities.
Gürpınar was a member of the Parliament from 1936 to 1943, which shows his higher status as an author during the single-party rule, which was also critical of the beliefs and values of the society. On the other hand, Gürpınar was not a strict positivist, he offered a form of religion and morality that was devoid of harmful and meaningless superstitions.
Gürpınar never married. He died alone in his cottage in the Heybeliada, the second biggest of the Princes’ Islands across the Marmara coast of Istanbul, on Mar. 8, 1944. His grave is at the Abbas Pasha Cemetery in the Heybeliada.

domain: artistic


text:
Thread: deployment scare
June 5th, 2010, 09:13 AM #1Junior Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2010
we jus booked our first vacation at css and now we just learned that my husband may be deploying to afghanistan around that time.....im nervous....i dnt wanna cancel it n then find out later that we had time to go but im not clear on what the refund policy is....if we pay what we owe on the trip now and then we cant go will i get a full refund???? and also if it turns out that we need to switch dates does my resort credit still transfer????

domain: travel


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text:
Hammersmith North (UK Parliament constituency)
Former Borough constituency|
for the House of Commons
1918–1965: County of London|
1965–1983: Greater London
|Number of members||One|
Hammersmith North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith in West London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
The constituency was created when the Hammersmith constituency was divided for the 1918 general election. It was abolished for the 1983 general election when it was partly replaced by a new Hammersmith constituency.
In its early years the constituency regularly changed hands between Labour and the Conservatives, but it was a Labour seat from a by-election in 1934 until its abolition in 1983.
The original boundaries were used until the 1950 general election. The wards of the metropolitan borough had been redrawn since 1918, and the seat was redefined by the Representation of the People Act 1948 as comprising six wards: College Park & Latimer, Coningham, Old Oak, Starch Green, White City and Wormholt.
The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 allowed for periodic reviews of constituency boundaries. Seats in the two metropolitan boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham were redrawn prior to the 1955 general election. The neighbouring seat of Hammersmith South was abolished and the three wards of Addison, Olympia and St. Stephen's were transferred to the North constituency.
The last redrawing of the boundaries of the constituency took place prior to the February 1974 election. In 1965 the former metropolitan borough had become part of the larger London Borough of Hammersmith, and the seat was defined as consisting of ten wards of the London Borough, namely: Addison, Broadway, Brook Green, College Park & Old Oak, Coningham, Grove, St. Stephen's, Starch Green, White City and Wormholt.
Members of Parliament
|1918||Sir Henry Foreman||Coalition Conservative|
|1926 by-election||James Gardner||Labour|
|1934 by-election||Fielding West||Labour|
|1949||Labour Independent Group|
|1983||constituency abolished : see Hammersmith|
Election in the 1910s
|National||James C Walker||2,075||16.7||N/A|
|Labour||Christopher Roland Morden||2,048||16.4||N/A|
|Unionist win (new seat)|
|C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.|
Election in the 1920s
|Liberal||Frederick L Coysh||4,278||23.9||+3.5|
|Liberal||Frederick L. Coysh||4,374||22.2||−1.7|
|Labour gain from Unionist||Swing||+10.4|
|Unionist gain from Labour||Swing||+6.2|
|Liberal||George Paton Murfitt||1,974||8.0||N/A|
|Labour gain from Unionist||Swing||+11.5|
|Unionist||(Harold Richard) Marshall Hays||13,744||43.8||−10.3|
|Labour gain from Unionist||Swing||+10.3|
Election in the 1930s
|New Party||R. E. N. Braden||431||1.4|
|Conservative gain from Labour||Swing|
|Conservative||C. P. Davis||10,747||41.9|
|Labour gain from Conservative||Swing|
Election in the 1940s
General Election 1939/40
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
- Labour: D.N. Pritt
- Conservative: Leonard Caplan
|Independent Labour||D.N. Pritt||18,845||63.8||n/a|
|Independent Labour gain from Labour||Swing|
Elections in the 1950s
|Independent Labour||D.N. Pritt||6,457||25.16|
|Liberal||Hyman Mark Pick||1,402||4.17|
|Labour gain from Independent Labour||Swing|
|Conservative||William David Armstrong Bagnell||14,662||40.65|
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
|Liberal||Simon Harold John Arthur Knott||7,460||19.45|
|Liberal||Simon Harold John Arthur Knott||5,200||15.37|
|Liberal||Simon Harold John Arthur Knott||4,147||11.59|
|National Front||R Pearse||462||1.29|
|Workers Revolutionary||C Stewart||193||0.54|
- Craig, F. W. S. (1983) . British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
- Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. 743–746. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
- "General Election 1924 - Full Polling Results". The Times. 13 January 1924. p. i.
- "North Hammersmith Result. Labour Majority of 3,611". The Times. 29 May 1926. p. 12.
- "General Election 1929 - Results in Detail". The Times. 10 June 1929. p. i.
- Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939

domain: politics


text:
The White House Blog: The President
- Posted byon May 27, 2014 at 9:30 AM EDT
Today, President Obama is hosting the fourth-ever White House Science Fair, which will feature extraordinary science projects and experiments from some of America’s most innovative students.
Find out more below about the students participating in this year’s Science Fair:
Elana Simon, 18 (New York, New York)After surviving a bout with a rare liver cancer at age 12, Elana Simon, now 18, teamed up with one of the surgeons who treated her, set up shop in a medical lab, and began to collect much-needed data about the rare illness she'd endured. She gathered tissue samples from patients coping with the same cancer, fibrolamellar, performed genomic sequencing tests, and found a common genetic mutation across all of the samples she collected. Elana's results were published in the top journal Science, and formed a basis for a new website, the Fibrolamellar Registry, which she built to help empower fibrolamellar patients to share their own medical data for use by researchers working to find a cure. Elana is a recent winner of the American Association for Cancer Research's Junior Champion in Cancer Research Award. She has presented her work before an audience of 16,000 cancer researchers and is headed to Harvard to study computer science in the fall.
Deidre Carrillo, 18 (San Antonio, TX)Deidre Carrillo, 18, knows what it's like to sit behind the wheel of an innovative electric vehicle she helped design and build, and to feel the adrenaline rush of racing it over a finish line. Deidre leads and helped found her high school's Southwest Engineering Team, which competes annually in Florida's Emerald Coast Electrathon-a national competition for student-built electric cars. For the first six months of the team's existence, Deidre was the only female member. As driver of the team's Dragon 1 vehicle, she helped lead her team to second place finishes in the Electrathon for two years in a row, before grabbing a first place finish in the 2014 competition this year. After graduation, Deidre plans to study public relations at Texas A&M University.
- Posted byon May 27, 2014 at 12:00 AM EDT
This was originally posted on the Huffington Post, and is part of a series of essays about the issues facing working families in the 21st century, leading up to the White House Summit on Working Families on June 23, 2014.
You can learn more about the summit and how you can get involved at www.workingfamiliessummit.org.
On the first Friday of every month, the Labor Department announces new employment numbers that help set the tone for the conversation about our economy and where it's headed.
But that's not the only set of data on my mind. My older daughter, who will leave for college in a few months, just played her last high school varsity lacrosse game, and I kept the team statistics this season (Amalia had 15 goals and 14 assists, in case you were wondering).
Involvement in my kids' sports teams is something I have made time for over the years. I've also been able to coach all three of them in baseball and basketball, something that has strengthened our bonds and given me indescribable joy. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I lost my own father when I was 12, and I am the same age today that he was when he died suddenly of a heart attack. So when it comes to family time, I have a strong sense of the fierce urgency of now.
But I'm lucky. I've had jobs that allow me the flexibility to achieve work-life balance, to be there when one of the kids sinks a jump shot or for the parent-teacher meetings. I can move tasks around. If I don't get something done at the office at 4:30 in the afternoon, I can go back to it at 10:00 in the evening.
But if you work in retail or in hospitality or at a call center, or if you need to take a second job at night to make ends meet, you probably don't have that option, and you can't be there for your kids. Often, it's not just about missing a game. It means you can't help with homework. It means you can't be involved enough to know when your kids are in trouble at school. Or it means if they get sick in the middle of the day, you have no way to pick them up.
I think our families deserve better. They shouldn't have to choose between the family they love and the job they need. And it's not just about being able to put food on the dinner table -- it's about being able to actually be at the dinner table as well. The most important family value of all is time with your family.
That's why we're convening the Summit on Working Families -- to tackle issues like childcare, paid leave and equal pay that speak to the anxieties that keep people awake at night. These issues go to the heart of middle-class economic security. Addressing them is part of fully restoring America's basic bargain -- that if you work hard and take responsibility, you will have a chance to succeed.
We are way behind the rest of the world when it comes to progress on this front. Everything has changed in recent decades -- the economy, technology, cultural attitudes, the demographics of the workforce, the role of women in society and the structure of the American family. It's about time our laws caught up. We watch Modern Family on television, but we're still living by Leave It To Beaver rules.
I'm proud to be Secretary of Labor. But I'm even prouder of two more important titles: dad and husband. I've been able to be all three. I want all working people, no matter what their jobs are, to be able to meet their obligations both at work and at home.
- Here's how the picture has changed for working dads.
- Get involved with the White House Summit on Working Families.
- Learn how the President is taking action to ensure equal pay for women.
- Get the facts on how raising the wage will help women succeed.
- Get an economic update on the state of women in the workforce.
- Posted byon May 26, 2014 at 11:04 AM EDT
Today, President Obama traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and deliver remarks at a memorial service honoring our fallen servicemembers and their families.
The President, who returned from Afghanistan this morning, thanked troops and veterans for their service to our nation, and paid tribute to the fallen:
Today, in small towns across America, in cemeteries throughout our country and around the world, and here on these solemn hillsides, the families of our fallen share stories of the lives they led. Our hearts ache in their absence. But our hearts are also full -- full in knowing that their legacy shines bright in the people that they loved the most. Through almost unimaginable loss, these families of the fallen have tapped a courage and resolve that many of us will never know. And we draw comfort and strength from their example.
We draw strength from the promise of their children. Today, Michelle and Jill are with 200 brave boys and girls whose parents gave everything they had in service to their country.
The First Lady and Dr. Biden were seated in the audience with children who are participating in the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors' "Good Grief" camp -- a program that provides a safe and supportive atmosphere to help young survivors learn coping skills and identify support systems.
"We Stand in Awe of Your Service": President Obama Makes a Surprise Trip to Thank Troops in AfghanistanPosted byon May 25, 2014 at 2:43 PM EDT
U.S. troops react as they shake hands with President Barack Obama at Bagram Airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 25, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama made a surprise visit to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan today to thank the American troops and civilians stationed there for their service.
Following an opening performance by Brad Paisley, the President addressed about 3,000 troops in a hangar on the base.
He let them know that he was there "on a single mission" -- and that was to say thank you.
"I thank you as your Commander-in-Chief because you inspire me," the President said. "Your willingness to serve, to step forward at a time of war, and say 'send me,' is the reason the United States stays strong and free. Of all the honors that I have serving as President, nothing matches serving as your Commander-in-Chief."
- Posted byon May 24, 2014 at 6:27 AM EDT
Memorial Day is a very poignant and somber reminder for all Americans of the lives that have been lost in service to our Nation. This Memorial Day weekend, as the new Executive Director of Joining Forces, I have the deep honor of attending and supporting the 20th Annual Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors. These events, held in and around Washington DC, will have 4,000 participants this year -- more than 500 children. As a service member, and past participant in the Good Grief Camp, this weekend is especially meaningful. The loss and the grief for many is still fresh and for mentors and other volunteers -- the work is very personal. So too, is the national commitment to honoring the fallen and assisting their families -- thanks to organizations like TAPS.
- Posted byon May 24, 2014 at 6:00 AM EDT
In this week’s address, President Obama commemorated Memorial Day by honoring the brave men and women in uniform who have given their lives in service to our country. As we stand with our veterans and military families this weekend, the President underscored our commitment to uphold our nation’s sacred trust with our veterans and ensure they get the benefits and opportunities they deserve and have earned.
President Barack Obama tapes the Weekly Address in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, May 22, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
- Posted byon May 23, 2014 at 5:38 PM EDT
Today, we joined the community of Las Cruces, New Mexico to celebrate the President’s designation of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, a breathtaking set of mountain ranges and lowlands in southern New Mexico.
This marks the 11th time the President has used his executive authority under the Antiquities Act to create national monuments, adding visibility and permanent protection to nearly 800,000 acres. Add that to the Wilderness areas and wildlife refuges he has protected during his Administration, and that’s more than 3 million acres of public lands preserved for future generations. And when the President signed the proclamation on Wednesday, he promised to do even more to protect our national landscapes and boost local tourism economies.
- Posted byon May 23, 2014 at 5:15 PM EDT
Today, in the White House State Dining Room, President Obama nominated San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to serve as the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
- Posted byon May 23, 2014 at 4:00 PM EDT
It was a busy week at the White House. This week, we got hyped up for next Tuesday's White House Science Fair; the Bidens traveled to Romania and Cyprus; the President took an unexpected walk over to the Department of the Interior; a new National Monument was designated; and the President talked baseball and tourism in Cooperstown. Check out what else you may have missed in this week's wrap up.
Robots, marshmallow cannons, and Bill Nye: These are just some of the things that we love about the White House Science Fair. Next Tuesday, students from across the country will head to the White House to put their projects on display. You're going to want to tune in.
What CEOs are Saying: The Business Community’s Take on President Obama's National Travel and Tourism StrategyPosted byon May 23, 2014 at 3:29 PM EDT
President Barack Obama feigns throwing a ball during a tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., May 22, 2014. The ball was originally thrown by President Taft, the first President to throw a first pitch. Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson is at left and Hall of Famer Andre Dawson is at right. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Two years ago, President Obama set an ambitious goal: that the United States would annually attract 100 million international visitors by 2021. Yesterday, from Cooperstown, New York, he announced that we are right on track.
More than 70 million travelers from around the world visited the United States in the last year alone, up from 55 million just five years ago -- and they spent more than $180 billion. This growth in international visitors has also created approximately 175,000 American jobs over those five years.
Using his pen, the President will sign a Presidential Memorandum calling for reductions in wait times for travelers at our 15 largest airports and take additional executive actions to encourage more international travelers to come to the United States, making it easier for foreign tourists to see more and spend more in the United States.
That's a big deal, and will have a huge impact on our economy -- and CEOs and business leaders from around the country agree. Take a look at what they're saying, coming out of yesterday's announcement -- and help spread the word.
“We are particularly pleased about the firm commitment by the Administration to cut down the growing delays for airline passengers entering the country. We have been asked to participate in the public-private initiative announced today to explore all means of expediting processing of travelers at our gateways and will enthusiastically do so.”
--Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines

domain: news


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Monday, July 7, 2014
Mary Curtis Ratcliff’s “Eye to Eye”
Mary Curtis Ratcliff’s “Eye to Eye” represents a collaboration of sorts between Ratcliff and her father, a world traveller who documented his journeys across the globe, printing and mounting the resulting photographs into 42 albums.
Ratcliff rediscovered her father’s work many years after his death and working with a selection of his photographs using projection, montage, image transfer, drawing, and painting she has both engaged in a “conversation” with her father, gaining insight into his world view, and also made the works her own. http://www.marycurtisratcliff.com/index.php


AutoCAD (including Mental Ray rendering) is actually fairly light on RAM requirements and Autodesk only recommends 8GB of RAM. However, given the relatively low cost of RAM – and the fact that most users tend to have more than just AutoCAD running on their system – we feel that 16GB is a great starting point.
Is 8GB of RAM enough in 2020?
In short, yes, 8GB is regarded by many as the new minimum recommendation. The reason 8GB is considered to be the sweet spot is that most of today’s games run without issue at this capacity. For gamers out there, this means that you really want to be investing in at least 8GB of adequately fast RAM for your system.
Is 8GB RAM enough for engineering?
An integrated graphics card with at least 16GB of system RAM or a dedicated video card with at least 8GB of system RAM. … If you are planning to major in mechanical engineering, run any graphics-intensive programs (CAD, for instance), a dedicated video card is highly recommended. You simply cannot use CAD without one.
What is the best RAM for CAD?
A 16GB RAM is most of the time more than enough to meet workstation requirements for CAD systems. In the most extreme of the cases, a 32GB RAM is the higher end. You can go higher for something like 64GB if you plan to use other software simultaneously with your CAD package.
Is i5 good for AutoCAD?
While there are several versions and several configurations, they will all run AutoCAD fine as long as you ones with a Core i5 CPU and 8GBs of RAM.
Does AutoCAD require 16GB RAM?
While the exact amount of RAM you need is going to depend on the size and complexity of the model you will be working with, we generally recommend a minimum of 16GB for all our systems. AutoCAD (including Mental Ray rendering) is actually fairly light on RAM requirements and Autodesk only recommends 8GB of RAM.
Do I need 8GB or 16GB RAM 2020?
8GB of RAM is the sweet spot for the majority of users, providing enough RAM for virtually all productivity tasks and less demanding games. If you’re running demanding applications like video editing and CAD, or you’re a hardcore gamer, then we recommend that you start at 16GB and go up from there.
Will 16GB RAM be better than 8GB?
16GB of RAM is the best place to start for a gaming PC. Although 8GB was enough for many years, new AAA PC games like Cyberpunk 2077 have an 8GB of RAM requirement, though up to 16GB is recommended. Few games, even the latest ones, will actually take advantage of a full 16GB of RAM.
What is better to upgrade RAM or SSD?
Both RAM and SSD can improve the performance of your computer. But actually, RAM is orders of magnitude faster than an SSD. In theory, the transfer speed of an SSD can be up to about 6Gbps (equivalent to 750 MB/s) which is from the SATA interface.
Do engineering students need 16gb RAM?
RAM Requirements for an Engineering Laptop
You’ll need enough to make sure that your laptop can actually store and run what the fast processor is trying to run. A large RAM is to go in sync with the fast processor speed. The most recommended capacity is 8 GB, although 12 GB and 16 GB are also preferred.
Which laptop brand is best for engineering students?
Top 10 Laptops for Engineering Students
- Acer Aspire A515 Laptop – Best Budget Pick.
- HP Spectre x360.
- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5.
- MSI Creator 17.
- Dell – 2-in-1 Inspiron 15.
- Microsoft Surface Pro 7.
- Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop.
- Apple MacBook Pro.
Which laptop is best for Engg students?
The best laptops for engineering
- Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) …
- Asus Zephyrus G14. …
- HP Spectre x360 (2021) …
- Dell G5 15. …
- Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch) …
- Dell XPS 17 (2020) …
- ThinkPad X1 Extreme Mobile Workstation. …
- Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition (2020) The best laptop for engineering students with a flexible budget.


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Jamaica Crime News, Hanover: Detectives attached to the CIB Department in Lucea, Hanover, have now released the names of three men who they say are Persons of Interest, in connection with the double murder of a 91-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy in the parish on Wednesday night.
The men who the police say are given until 6:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon to turn themselves over to the law, have been identified as, Howard McIntosh, otherwise called “Zill”, Nicoy McKenzie, otherwise called “Nick” and Ricardo Bird, otherwise called “Birdie or Whitman”, all of Lucea addresses.
The police further stated that, these three men are believed to have vital information that could assist in their investigations. In the meanwhile, two other men who were also taken into custody in connection with the same shooting incident are presently being processed at the Lucea Police Headquarters.
The two men have been taken into custody in connection with the murders of 91-year-old Laurell Frame, Pensioner and 15-year-old Jessie Spence, who attends the Hopewell High School in Hanover and both of Malcolm Heights in Lucea.
Reports by the police are that about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, Mrs. Frame was at her home in Malcolm Heights when the 15-year-old student who is her neighbor came over to visit as he normally does.
The elderly woman was sitting at the inside door to a room of the board dwelling house, while the teenage boy was sitting underneath an almond tree in the yard. Minutes later, a group of armed men traveling on foot walked into the yard.
The gunmen walked up to Jessie and opened fire hitting him multiple times. They then walked onto the verandah and also shot the elderly woman multiple times to her upper body.
Other family members who were at the house ran for cover and managed to escape. The gunmen then made their escape in the area on foot.
The police were summoned and upon arrival, Mrs. Frame and Jessie were discovered lying in a pool of blood with multiple gunshot wounds. They were transported to the Noel Holmes hospital in Lucea where they were pronounced dead.

domain: sociology


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Brand new artwork - 'Waterlilies & Roses 11.50 am'
I am excited to release a brand new work of Waterlilies & Roses
nestled within one of my favourite vases by Clarice Cliff.
I am helping my friends at the NZ Dance Co
with a sale of this large artwork, which will be available for purchase at their annual fundraiser Club Mystique ... an evening of fabulous food, vino and wild performance channelling Versailles.
Come and join me for a crazy masquerade evening.
You can read more and book HERE


Just wanted to let you know about my website that went live recently.
It's a database of open source C/C++ code, over 136 million lines of code in fact.
Unlike other search engines that search code though, mine actually understands C/C++ syntax, thus allowing you to narrow down what code your after.
You can find it here: http://csourcesearch.net/
I hope it helps some folks out


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The aphorism “perfect is the enemy of good enough” has been played out to tragic effect in the US’s inadequate testing for the coronavirus, according to researchers calling for quick tests that cost only about a dollar each, and which may not be as accurate but can be carried out several times a week by the whole population.Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, has for weeks been pushing for what he calls “crappy” tests. His idea is to move away from the current high-precision molecular tests, known as PCR tests, which are still scarce in large swathes of the country and which people often have to wait hours to get done, and then have to wait days — or up to a week — for the results. He has called for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the sale of rapid tests which can be done out at home using a strip of paper that changes color in a quarter of an hour to give a result, similar to a pregnancy test.These tests have a low sensitivity, which means they miss a lot of positive results, and hence give a lot of “false positives,”But for Mina and other experts, such a strategy would be more effective in terms of public health because across the whole population, the number of cases identified would be higher than under the current system.The quick tests tend to be good at detecting people who emit a large amount of virus, which is when they are more contagious, right at the beginning, while the PCR tests are very sensitive and can detect even small concentrations of the virus, when people are no longer as contagious. “We’re so focused on high-end expensive tests that we’re not testing anyone,” said Mina in the podcast “This Week in Virology.””Maybe we only need a really crappy test,’ he said.”If it’s cheap enough to use it very frequently, then if it doesn’t detect less than five percent of people when they’re transmitting, maybe it detects 85 percent of people when they’re transmitting. And that’s a huge win over what we have right now.”The head of Harvard’s Global Health Institute, Ashish Jha, touched on the subject on Monday.”They’re not actually crappy tests,” he told reporters. “In certain circumstances they are not so sensitive when you have very low amounts of virus, and you’re not doing much spreading. But when you’re actually really infectious, you have large amounts of virus in your throat elsewhere and the test becomes much, much better,” he said.”From an epidemiologic point of view, that’s when you want to capture people. You want to get them when they’re infectious,” he said.Even if rapid tests miss half the cases, it is likely that with two tests a week, they will end up detecting them.It must also be noted that the current system is thought to be missing nine cases out of ten because so few people are being tested, according to estimates by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA has still not authorized the sale of any of the paper strip tests, which would cost between one and five dollars.”I’m worried that our federal government is still stuck in a mental model that doesn’t make sense for this pandemic,” said Jha.Topics :
Should the Reds hire Jim Riggleman as their permanent manager? I would say “yes”. I like his traditional way of managing. I am sure he has all of those statistics that are now available to all baseball teams, but his on-field moves go back to the way baseball used to be played. He tries to bunt, although none of his players seem to know how to do it.What Riggleman needs in order to succeed is better talent. Unfortunately, the Reds budget is tied up with Homer Bailey and Joey Votto. Votto is still earning his keep, but Bailey is not. If they want to keep Gennett, it will take more money as well. He certainly deserves it. What they desperately need are starting pitchers. Of all the prospects they traded for or those developed in their system, only Castillo is doing a major league job.I would bet that Riggleman will be let go because it is easier and cheaper to replace him then to find the good players they need. Riggleman is not making a lot of money which might work in his favor. We will see.


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The Country Gentlemen Tribute Band
Friday, May 4, 2018
Doors: 7:30 p.m.; Show: 8 p.m.
Stoltz Listening Room $20
This acclaimed tribute to one of the most influential bands in bluegrass history puts its heart and soul into each performance to masterfully re-create and keep the legacy of The Country Gentleman alive and filling the air with its classic bluegrass sound.
The tribute band was formed back in 2005 when Bill Yates, a 20+ year member of the original, created this homage to his old band that was an instant hit with fans, friends, and fellow musicians alike.
Yates went on to front the band until he tragically passed a couple years ago, but this new configuration of skilled bluegrass performers continues to keep his spirit and the musical heritage The Country Gentlemen’s alive!


text: Tomorrow I have to start installing this giant piece of work and I have loads of other things I need to get done, so I have decided that it is sensible if I CHEAT for the last few days. It’s for my sanity you see. I can’t afford to get stressed about it all as I have a deadline to meet. So what I have decided is that I will cheat! Not out-and-out cheating just a bit of advanced preparation. I will of course still create the pieces each day but I have already got two ideas which I will gather the materials for so that I have something I can execute swiftly on the day. Of course this is not much different from having sketchbooks that I could rummage about in on a day when I was short of inspiration. It’s an insurance policy to ensure that everything gets done and to be honest there have often been times when I have thought in advance the broad direction I might explore the next day, it’s just this is much more worked on. Like I say, the artwork will be made on the day but not quite as “from scratch” as is the norm.


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Beautiful ocean and mountain view gated estate in Pebble Beach within walking distance to the amenities of The Lodge hotel complex and the iconic Pebble Beach Beach Club. Lovingly cared for 1.7 acre gardens with a fully contained separate guest house with kitchen, living room and guest bedroom. The home is within the renowned Carmel Unified School District and close to the private high school, Robert Louis Stevenson. Located in the sunbelt of Pebble Beach one can enjoy the various activities of golf, fitness, hiking and horseback riding. Incredible sunsets provide a stunning show of color at the end of the day.
|LAST UPDATED||1/28/2018||YEAR BUILT||1969|
|COMMUNITY||Central Pebble Beach||GARAGE SPACES||4.0|
|PROPERTY TYPE(S)||Single Family|
|School District||Carmel Unified|
|AREA||Central Pebble Beach|
|EXTERIOR||Back Yard, Balcony / Patio, Courtyard, Drought Tolerant Plants, Fenced, Other, Sprinklers - Auto, Sprinklers - Lawn, Storage Shed / Structure|
|GARAGE||Attached Garage, Enclosed, Gate / Door Opener, Guest, Yes|
|HEAT||Central Forced Air - Gas, Heating -|
|INTERIOR||Hardwood, High Ceiling , Other, Other; Floors: Carpet, Security Gate, Skylight, Stone, Walk-in Closet|
|LOT DESCRIPTION||Grade - Sloped Down|
|SEWER||Sewer: Sewer - Public|
|STYLE||Georgian, Luxury, Traditional|
|UTILITIES||Water: Public; Sewer: Sewer - Public;|
|VIEW DESCRIPTION||Golf Course,Ocean|
TOTAL MONTHLY PAYMENT
The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the MLSListings™ MLS system. All real estate listings in the MLSListings MLS system are marked with the MLSListings Internet Data Exchange icon (a stylized house inside a circle), and detailed information about them includes the names of the listing brokers and listing agents.
Based on information from MLSListings MLS as of 5/27/20 1:26 AM PDT. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.
Copyright 2020 MLSListings Inc. All rights reserved.
This IDX solution is (c) Diverse Solutions 2020.


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The Log Look Frame is a 4″ x 6″ w/ an easel back to display your pictures horizontally or vertically, it is made from a poly resin. The frame is 6.50″W x 8″L. The colors are done in rich looking browns and has the half log look to it. This frame would go with any setting.
Item Number: SKU 1868


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The people have spoken "Bricks not Clicks"® to open a new bank account!
62.5% would rather open a new bank account at the branch with a person!
The Deposit & GO InstaDebit® Terminal may be installed anywhere and everywhere!
The New York TImes
By Ed Shanahan and Jeffery C. Mays
Jan. 23, 2020
The city’s Department of Consumer Affairs said last year that one in nine New York households did not have a bank account,
and that one in five were “underbanked,”
meaning they had a checking or savings account but relied on something other than a bank to cash a check.
Bronx households, the agency said, were around twice as likely not to have a bank account.
Growing up in a 'bank desert' has major costs
January 22, 2020
by Andrew Sorensen,University of Colorado at Boulder
People who are exposed to banks and other financial institutions as kids are more likely to be financially stable later in life, new research from CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business shows. People without that exposure can expect to face some serious costs.
FEDERAL RESERVE STUDY!
Banks Close Branches in Half of U.S., Loss Worst in Rural Areas
Nov 25, 2019
Of the counties analyzed in the report, more than half lost bank branches between 2012 and 2017, with some predominantly rural counties
experiencing considerable declines. The deeply affected rural counties tended to be less economically well off and have residents with lower
levels of education. They also had a greater proportion of minority residents relative to other rural counties.
Much of the information in the report was gathered at listening sessions hosted by Federal Reserve Banks across the country between July 2018 and January 2019. The consumers, small business owners, and local government officials who participated in the sessions said that while they have found local or technological substitutes for many, but not all services, the alternativesare generally more costly and less convenient.
Other data and research presented in the report show that despite the increasing use of digital methods to access financial services, branches continue to be important for certain services, including resolving problems, submitting loan applications, and for deposits and withdrawals. The data also show that a majority of small businesses prefer to utilize local banks to access financial services, which may give them greater credit availability and more favorable credit terms. These businesses expressed concern that loan product costs and terms were not always transparent when accessing credit through online lenders.
The research reviewed also found that adoption of digital banking services has been more gradual among consumers who are older, have lower incomes or fewer years of formal education, or who live in rural areas. This lower adoption rate suggests that bank branch closures may present greater challenges for these individuals.
[The people have spoken! Brick not Clicks! Digital and mobile are NOT the answers!]
Why Remaining Demographic Agnostic Is Vital For Fintech In Payments Convergence
Shai Stern Forbes Councils Member
July 26, 2019
Despite mobile payments providers and credit cards, my mother and other members of the Silent Generation will continue to pay by check. Paper check remains the most common method of paying rent, even among millennials and Gen Z. Many medical bills, utility bills, taxes and nonprofit donations are also still made by check. On the business side, companies continue to pay vendors by check and accept check payments, alongside electronic methods.
Some financial technology (fintech) businesses have ignored check payments, focusing instead on card and mobile payment processing, and card companies that ignore cash and check are only touching a portion of payments. The most successful fintech providers are able to remain demographic agnostic and adapt to payments convergence by aligning their business to these three pillars: checks, Automated Clearing House/electronic and cards. To ensure these pillars function together, fintech companies should consider both integrated receivables and integrated payables to assist with all aspects of a payment from start to finish.
The Federal Reserve Payments Study: 2018 Annual Supplement
Check use up 7.5%
Debit card use up 10.4%
Prepaid up 10.5% which makes you ask...
Wouldn’t Debit be up 21.1% if people had access to a basic bank account?
INSTEAD of EXPENSIVE prepaid cards that were a grass roots payment solution BECAUSE
there wasn’t any other choice AND Deposit & GO wasn’t available at time of study...
This brief provides 2017 national estimates and 2016 to 2017 growth rates for card payments. These estimates are based on survey data from a census of general-purpose card networks, payment processors, and issuers of private-label cards. The surveys covered four types of debit cards (non-prepaid, general-purpose prepaid, private-label prepaid, and electronic benefits transfer (EBT) supporting certain government assistance programs) and two types of credit cards (general purpose and private label).
This brief also provides new estimates of 2016 to 2017 growth rates for ACH and check payments as well as ATM withdrawals.
Click here to load the PDF.
Why We Still Need Bank Branches!
By Chris Skinner
December 1, 2017
One, it supports a community and specifically the business community in the area. Businesses have different needs to consumers, and do often need access to a human. People forget that.
Two, money isn't the same as a Facebook update. If you lose a post saying what a nice time you're having, it's not the same as losing a deposit of $10,000. In fact, I often state that if you woke up today and find your bank app confirms the balance you expected, then you're happy. But how do you feel if the balance is -$10,000 short of what you expected? You're just going to sit and ignore it? Of course not – you'll call the bank or go to the branch to eyeball someone. This is because money is different; it's far more emotional than other parts of our life, because it's the controlling factor in our lives.
Three, I think a lot of pundits forget what it's like to get your first job, first relationship, first car and first home. These are big moments in a young person's life, and to imagine they would all be dealt with through an app is a little bit strange.
Four, building on the last point, money is serious, critical and central to most people's lives, and needs a human interface. Sure, you can build the human interfaces into a Skype call, and we will, but removing the humanity and the human physical access from a service so fundamental to our lives is stupid. It demeans the role of the bank and banking, and is undermining the role this service has in people's lives.
[Need three more?]
Roberto Ferrari of digital bank startup CheBanca! in Italy articulated it most succinctly for me. When visiting his branch in Milan, I wondered why a digital bank had branches. He told me that it was for three reasons. The third is services, the second is trust, but the most important reason he gave me is marketing. His branch network was for marketing purposes.
Wow, that's a surprise, but I can see why. He told me that where the bank had a physical presence, they received two-and-a-half times more deposits and assets than where they did not. In other words, the bank that has a branch has far more chances of getting people's trust and money than those who do not.
Raddon Reseach (a FiServ Company)
August 30, 2017
Mobile Bankers STILL want Branch Convenience!
The #1 Reason People Select a Financial Institution is Because of BRANCH Convenience!
78% of Mobile Bankers Live Near a Branch that's Convenient!
Mobile Banking Creates "Stickiness" Even if the Person Moves!
Find Out More. Watch the Video!
Bank Branches: Is The Writing On The Wall?
June 22, 2017
[Or... Mobile Bankings Rush to Fill the Bank Desert Void? Not so Fast! At Least Here in Traditional America...]
In a counter to sluggish interest rates, ever more complicated and taxing compliance regulation, and a weakened consumer market segment, bank executives across North America and Europe are taking the ax to "superfluous" brick-and-mortar bank branches. And while macro-economic factors, most of which represent the residue of the 2008 financial crisis, certainly led banks to water, a meaningful transition to digital channels requires a critical mass of customers willing to migrate to mobile or desktop banking in lieu of more traditional means.
Facts On The Ground
The last few years have bore witness to a somewhat jarring pace of bank branch closures, and the process has morphed from 'pruning' excess to deep cuts in infrastructure. Since 2012, JPMorgan Chase has trimmed national network coverage by 9 percent, while Bank of America has pursued a more aggressive strategy, shuttering the equivalent of 15 percent of its brick-and-mortar posts.
Even Wells Fargo, which had been a last stand of sorts and resisted the urge to shrink network footprint, intends to close shop at 400 bank branches by 2018, on top of the 68 locations deemed redundant and unnecessary in 2016. And while the company claims this is a calculated move that merely reflects surging demand for online banking, Wall Street analysts have quipped doubts, and speculated that the fake account scandal may have forced the bank's hand.
Knock Knock. Who's There?
Children jokes aside, a little bit of due diligence can shed light on consumer behaviors and expectations - a first step in evaluating the life expectancy of branch banking. In the United States, alone, opinion has shifted from an openness to dabble in digital channels to an active embrace of it over the course of the last five years. Users are nearly twice as likely to engage financial institutions from wholly digital mediums now - whether that be mobile, desktop, or a combination of the two - than they were in 2012.
However, banks must not be so hasty to conclude, then, that it is open season on branch networks. Within that very same PwC survey, another nugget of information reflected the nuanced nature of consumer psychology. A majoritarian 62 percent believed that a grass-root, local presence was still necessary.
When overlaid with age, race, or socioeconomic distribution data, bank branch closures in the United States, too, become fraught with ethical asterisks. Indeed, network reductions disproportionately impact the elderly, poor and minority communities. The abandonment by banks of less affluent consumer segments has, in part, helped ignite the firestorm of predatory payday lending, which often relies on storefronts in under-served neighborhoods.
Ironically, while brick-and-mortar is more likely to be the banking vehicle of the poverty-stricken in North America and Europe, in Africa, Asia and beyond, it is through digital finance (or to be more precise, usually mobile money) that most are thrown a line to financial services.
Across the board, receptivity to - or at least consideration of - a variety of mobile-based transactions is far more entrenched in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. With the exception of the use of mobile payments in bars, restaurants or retail, European and North American respondents were much more resistant to mobile payment use cases than their African, Asian and Latin American counterparts - exemplified by the larger percentage of "not likely" segments. These mentalities, then, would presumably extend or bleed into comfort levels on mobile-only banking. If a user is amenable to conducting other sorts of financial activity digitally, it seems reasonable that banking would not be singled out as an exception.
This intuition appears to be reinforced by the data. The percentage of survey participants that fall into the "somewhat likely" or "highly likely" category, and would debate enrollment with a mobile-only bank, teeters around the 75 percent mark for Africa and Latin America, and topples the 80 percent mark in Asia-Pacific. North America, conversely, is just shy of 50 percent, and the plurality is not keen on the concept of a mobile-only bank. Europe, while marginally better, still barely exceeds 50 percent.
Moving Forward Is Not A Straight Line
Although most emerging markets are still in the midst of a slow, gradual brick-and-mortar bank branch build-up, over the long-term, the conditions seem more favorable to side-step physical networks. Consumers in these markets have had consistent doses of digitized financial services, which in many cases, was the first exposure to formal banking.
The same does not quite hold true in North America and Europe. Digital finance may be an unintentional culprit in further isolating vulnerable pockets of people from reputable financial institutions. Therefore, if branch closures are to continue unencumbered, digital finance needs to better involve those on the margins of finance - it cannot be a mechanism that simply filters them out.
On top of that, there are still roadblocks to consumer acceptance. Perhaps banks need to better advertise benefits or design incentive systems to help motivate a proverbial "toe-in-the-water" moment for digital banking. Some possible premiums or points of emphasis might include lower fees on investment products, discounts on lifestyle activities through retail partnerships, higher deposit interest rates, lower lending rates, or exponentially quicker turnaround time on transactions.
Even with an uptick in digital banking, though, the brick-and-mortar branch will probably evolve before it evaporates. Already, there are precedents of banks leveraging parallel networks to 'fill-in' and offer basic, popular in-person services. In 2012, most banks in the United Kingdom had opted into an agreement with the Post Office, which allowed customers to deposit and withdraw funds at the 11,500 post office locations nationwide, in addition to cursory checking of account balance.
So, are we entering the dark days for branch banking? Dark days is too extreme, and dog days might be a better description. While brick-and-mortar banking is certainly at a crossroads, and its utility is becoming hazier or even lethargic and without innovation, its existence - in totality - is not really up on the chopping block.
© Mondato 2017
Banks could lose 60% of retail profit to tech startups: study
Globe & Mail
David Berman, BANKING REPORTER
March 25, 2017 September 29, 2015
Banks could lose up to 60 per cent of their retail profits to nimble fintech firms within the next decade, according to global consultancy McKinsey & Co., offering a particularly alarming outlook as new financial technology players nibble away at some of the more vulnerable areas of traditional banking.
The consultancy said that altogether banks are producing profit of some $1-trillion (U.S.) globally, providing a powerful incentive for startups to grab even a thin slice of that business with cheaper or more convenient services. Given that the number of startups is now estimated at 12,000, these slices can add up to a major threat.
Adults Don't Use Mobile Banking
While mobile banking app use took off in 2015, with member adoption of credit union apps growing by 35 percent on average, nearly 88 percent of U.S. adults did not use mobile banking because they felt their needs were being met without it.1
Bank Failures Since 2009
There are bank closures... and then to make matters worse... there are bank failures...
|Year||Bank failure cost to DIF||Number of bank failures
|2016 (estimated)||$9.6 million||1|
|2015 (estimated)||$894 million||8|
|2014 (estimated)||$398.8 million||18|
|2013 (estimated)||$1.165 billion||24|
|2012 (estimated)||$2.785 billion||51|
|2011 (official)||$7.945 billion||92|
|2010 (official)||$22.904 billion||157|
|2009 (official)||$38.732 billion||140|
August 23, 2016
Trend is consistent with Mercator Advisory Group Banking Channels research, which has found that customers and members strongly desire the option of having face-to-face contact at a branch -- when and where desired. This access to subject matter experts, even if only agree occasionally, can be an important driver of customer satisfaction and increased product deepending and long-term loyalty.
Bank executives argue, however, that branches remain crucial for acquiring new customers and doing more business with new ones. Closures, they say, would hurt revenue more than help reduce costs.
“Our customers still want to visit us,” Jonathan Velline, Wells Fargo's head of ATM and store strategy, told Reuters in an interview. “They're still coming to our stores and our ATMs at pretty consistent rates.”
Washington Post: Say goodbye to your neighborhood bank branch
Former Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins laid it out in particularly stark terms in a speech last fall: The global industry, under pressure to meet customer demands for automation and cheaper services, will slash employment and branches by 20 percent to 50 percent over the next decade, he estimated.
“I have no doubt that the financial industry will face a series of Uber moments,” he said in the late-November speech in London, referring to the way that Uber and other ride-hailing companies have rapidly unsettled the taxi industry.
And that's not just the opinion of one well-informed man.
Francisco Gonzalez, CEO of BBVA Bank, said about “In 10 years, only 100 banks will have survived the digital wave.”
Realize these figures and representations are indicative of the "banked market" who have the education and unlimited access to online banking technology and therefore need not frequent a bank branch as a "bank challenged" person would have the need to. As proof of that, Check Cashers "thrive" in "Bank Desert" regions. Growing at a rate of 11% in 2014.
Life in a Banking Desert
Without access to basic financial services, poor and minority communities are more likely to use dangerous, high-cost options.
A neighborhood saturated with fast-food restaurants and bodegas but lacking a grocery store would make it difficult to stick to a healthy diet. It would be similarly hard to manage finances and build wealth without a bank branch nearby. Unfortunately, that is exactly what an increasing percentage of U.S. households are being told to do: manage their finances and build wealth without access to a nearby mainstream bank branch.
This does not mean, however, that the evidence couldn’t be used to draw mixed conclusions. The New York Fed reports that lower-income communities and communities of color have been less affected than higher-income and majority-white communities by bank branch closings that occurred in the shadow of the Great Recession. However, these communities had less to lose to begin with. Lower-income communities and communities of color have been experiencing a shuttering of bank branches for nearly two decades—devolving into “banking deserts” for quite some time.
Federal deregulation in the 1990s allowed banks to pivot from primarily serving local communities to serving larger and more profitable geographic regions. Banks withdrew from local communities, closing their less-profitable branches that were often in lower-income communities and communities of color. High-cost alternative financial services began to occupy the communities once served by mainstream banking services, expanding at a rate of 15 percent per year since the 1990s.
When alternative financial services like payday lenders and check-cashing stores—the equivalent of fast-food chains and convenience stores in this scenario—swoop into neighborhoods left behind by mainstream banks, residents pay a steep price to meet their financial needs: The average borrower spends over $500 a year in interest just on payday loans. Residents end up diverting money that could have otherwise been used to pay for irregular expenses or to build wealth, instead paying to use the basic financial products that they so desperately need to manage their financial lives. Because like convenience stores in food deserts that don’t sell nutritious food that promotes good physical health, alternative financial services don’t sell products that build long-term financial health.
Technology like mobile banking and fintech innovations help close the geographic distance between households and brick-and-mortar bank branches, thereby increasing access to basic financial products. Yet technology alone cannot repair the negative impact that bank branch closures have had on mortgages and small business lending. Simply put, brick-and-mortar bank branches still matter for accessing credit to build wealth. Without a bank branch in their community, households have limited access to safer and more affordable products, like a savings account that could be used to pay for irregular expenses, or to invest in the future. And, as the New York Fed’s study indicates, residents lose access to small business loans and mortgages when bank branches close, hindering the investment and entrepreneurship needed to drive local economic growth.
Biz Journal: More than 1,600 bank branch closures in the U.S. last year
Overall, there are 1,614 fewer bank branches in the United States today than there were a year earlier . Banking companies of all sizes continue to close offices as more consumers turn to digital banking and as a means to trim expenses. [Note many low income people do not have access to the digital world. They may be older, not trained or, according to AARP studies, just not be able to afford PC's, lap tops and smart phones. Having said that, to be fair and balanced, we have witnessed many homeless people with state of the art smart phones!]
Wall Street Journal: The number of U.S. bank branches has fallen to the lowest level since 2005
The number of branches in the U.S. dropped to 94,725 as of June 30, , down 1,614, or 1.7%, from a year earlier and down 4,825 from the peak in 2009, according to the FDIC data.
NY Times: Criticism Grows as Check-Cashing Stores Expand in Poorer Areas
By WINNIE HU AUG. 5, 2012
Many of New York City's poorest residents do not have bank accounts, so these window transactions, repeated hundreds of times every day, are their primary contact with the financial system. Check cashers are as familiar to them as corner bodegas, and as reliable.
But an industry built on mutual convenience has come under increased scrutiny over the past decade as its stores have continued to become full financial centers, improving services like electronic bill payment, wire transfers and prepaid debit cards.
The expansion has spurred renewed criticism from advocates for poor residents and from bank officials, who say the check-cashing industry takes advantage of those who have no other options, and it has prompted more calls for consumer protections. Many of the industry's leaders say that they have been unfairly tarnished, that they provide needed services and that they are making improvements to their operations.


Karachi: Executive Committee Pakistan Medical Association Karachi is extremely concerned about the existing situation at DOW University of Health Sciences after the suspension of Vice Chancellor, as per order of the High Court of Sindh.
The Executive Committee meeting on 28th June 2014 at PMA House Karachi passed a resolution unanimously and demanded for immediate appointment of Vice-Chancellor to deal with the affairs of university, after suspension of the previous Vice Chancellor. The Executive Committee demanded that the Vice Chancellor should only be appointed purely on merit, who can manage the university without fear and pressure.
It will be only possible when the government selects a Vice Chancellor strictly on merit without political interference. The committee also demanded that the new Vice Chancellor should be appointed as a full time Vice Chancellor, who should not get involved in Private Practice of any kind. The university should pay him enough salary to keep him away from private practice and other activities. It is also suggested that the new Vice Chancellor should allow professors and faculty members to organize their staff union and advise the Vice Chancellor to improve academic environment at DUHS. The Executive Committee also suggested to revise the career structure of faculty members and all the departmental heads should work on full time basis.
The Executive Committee also showed its concern about the lack of faculty in different departments and it is alarming to see that DMC and DIMC are not fulfilling the criteria of PMDC. The Executive Committee also demanded that the DUHS should transfer, all the asset and funding of Sindh Medical College to the newly formed Medical University at Jinnah hospital and Sindh Medical College


text:
Whether the focus was Spanish tapas or breakfast food, John Gorham (Toro Bravo, Tasty N Sons) has never been afraid to borrow flavors from Northern Africa, Greece or the Eastern Mediterranean.
At his latest restaurant, Mediterranean Exploration Company, Gorham and executive chef Kasey Mills have honed in on those regions, building a modern, mostly-Israeli-inspired menu of hummus and pita, grilled meat and seafood using the Toro/Tasty scaffolding.
Mediterranean Exploration Company, or MEC, for short, took over the Riffle NW space in August, lightly remodeling the loft-like corner room overlooking Northwest Flanders Street. Enter off one of the old loading docks on 13th Avenue and you'll walk into a room that looks a lot like Gorham's other downtown spot, Tasty N Alder, with an open kitchen partially obscured by a metal-and-wood framed partition.
The menu is long, and you're encouraged to order at will. So let's start with a Toro-style Medjool date, here wrapped in beef bacon -- pork wouldn't be kosher -- and drizzled with spiced honey. While we're at it, let's add some sweet late-summer figs, if they're still around, quartered and jumbled on grilled bread that's spread with creamy goat cheese.
Middle Eastern cuisine, often called Levantine or Eastern Mediterranean food, though typically filtered through an Israeli lens, is trending big in America right now, and Portland is no exception. The past two years have brought MEC, Levant, and a new Middle Eastern-focused menu at Cafe Castagna, all of which ply the same waters.
Some of the buzz can be chalked up to chef Michael Solomonov of Philadelphia's Zahav, whose acolytes and ex-employees have opened restaurants across America. And it's also due, in part, to Yotam Ottolenghi, the London cook turned author of influential cookbooks such as "Plenty" and "Jerusalem."
If there's one dish that seems to encapsulate MEC , it's the "Usul" hummus, a chickpea spread topped with tahini, chickpeas, slices of hard-cooked egg, a shotgun blast of red pepper and a dollop of zhug, a pesto-esque chile-garlic-cilantro condiment. MEC's version is based on one that Gorham, Mills and business partner Ron Avni ate while eating their way through Israel. And it's a solid dip for the restaurant's good pita, which arrives at the table puffy and warm.
Mediterranean Exploration Company
Cuisine and scene:
Israeli, Greek and North African dishes served with hip wine and clever cocktails in a liverly Pearl District space.
Beef bacon-wrapped date, "Usul" hummus, phyllo chard pie, fried chicken, Greek lamb chops, kebabs.
Yes, though perhaps less than you might expect for these cuisines.
Cocktails, wine, beer, house sodas, Turkish coffee, tea.
Starters, $4-$13; entrees, $11-$18; desserts, $5-$9; chef's menu, $40.
Reservations (by phone), major credit cards, on-street parking, handicapped access.
333 N.W. 13th Ave., 503-222-0906,
Sometimes, the suspicion creeps in that Gorham's style -- meaty, rich, a culinary man cave -- isn't a perfect fit for this cuisine. A skillet-seared cheese saganaki came off as oil-soaked and leaden. That hummus is a party on a plate, but served without the egg and other accoutrement, it was too stiff, too one-note (lemony). A felafel plate was similarly unremarkable, while the mujadara, the Lebanese dish of lentils, rice and subtly sweet sauteed onions, is covered here by a nest of fried onion slivers; MEC's version ramps up the salt while burying the subtlety.
But order well, and MEC's highs are very high.
Here's where the kitchen excels:
-- A flaky phyllo pie, stuffed to its triangular tips with tender, savory swiss chard, bronzed in the oven and topped with a dollop of tzatziki.
-- Mackerel, perfectly seared then blanketed with a beet-citrus-olive salsa, oily and rich in the best way.
-- Tender lamb chops grilled and doused in salsa verde, an experience equal in pleasure to dipping the rosemary lamb at Ox into chimichurri.
And when you see your neighbor ordering the fried chicken thigh shimmering in honey studded with crushed aleppo peppers, you'll want to order one of your own. And you won't be alone. The kids call it FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
As with other Gorham restaurants, service at MEC is built like a dragster, with little use for turning, let alone turning back. So, if a server brings out the wrong dish -- a cool octopus and roasted red pepper starter, say, instead of the grilled octopus sprinkled with piquillo pepper -- the mistake will be corrected and both dishes comped without a second thought. Service hiccups at MEC, in other words, are quickly in the rearview.
You'll want to spend time with the wine list, a hip tour through the same Phoenician trader's ports of call that the food menu travels, though you'll want to start with one of bar manager Jamal Hassan's Middle Eastern-influenced cocktails. The Casablanca combines three rums with date syrup, rose water and lime for a sort-of desert daiquiri. The arak frappe is a white, frosty wonder combining the anise punch of Razzouk Arak with sugar in a bulbous, ice-filled glass. On top, a few star anise are scattered like starfish on the ocean floor.
The Oregonian uses a star system for its restaurant reviews, with ratings ranging from zero to four stars, reflecting the critic's opinion of the restaurant's food, service and ambience, weighted toward the food.
For dessert, consider the chocolate baklava, sweet but a bit stodgy, and the pistachios coated in powdered sugar, then finish instead with dates and a cardamom-spiked Turkish coffee -- or a cardamom ice cream affogato. As you eat your sweets, don't be surprised if you experience FOMO again, this time as the "El Baboor" pie -- MEC's tasty lamb kebabs swaddled in a pita crust -- sails over to a table by the window.
Oh, well. There's always next time.
-- Michael Russell

domain: food


text:
Madhya Pradesh Tourism – Colours
by Storm Studios
Storm Studios is the largest supplier of VFX for feature films in Norway. Our services range from conceptual development, art direction, VFX on-set supervision, animation to VFX production. We have provided visual effects for a number of successful feature films, such as The Troll Hunter, Max Manus and Dead Snow, as well as worked on numerous commercials. In addition we produce and co-produce VFX productions.
* Hats off to my colleague Even for showing me this.
XXYYXX – Good Enough
This kids is a genius and he is 17 – what talent!
According to The Needle Drop, XXYYXX’s music contains “every new sound sprouting up in electronic music”. Everett (XXYYXX) himself described his music as “Doing drugs on a freeway … underwater.” in an interview with Relief in Abstract Records. – via
This is seriously so amazing and crazy!
Check out this amazing collection of timelapses recorded in and around the town of Ålesund, Norway during 2012.
I love this video! It is from my boyfriend’s hometown – I love Ålesund.. it is great!


Working together in chiapas
Friends in High Places
CI Connection Chiapas' state-level climate action plan was greatly influenced by CI's work with Starbucks in the region. CI also worked with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to create a subnational carbon trading partnership that now comprises 15 states, including Chiapas.
September 30, 2011
Like many places blessed with both natural beauty and natural resources, Chiapas has a long history of conflicts over the land and its bounty. Even in recent decades, with the rising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation's opposition to the government's intercession in land-rights disputes, tensions and feelings of mistrust have run high.
Set against that backdrop, the progress now being made in Chiapas — on both the environmental and economic fronts — is encouraging. Not only is the Chiapas climate action plan proving a model for all of Mexico, but the state is also part of a collaboration with 14 other state and provincial governments — from the U.S. to Brazil to Indonesia — that was launched by Governor Schwarzenegger of California with CI's help.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, and others talk about the Forest Task Force and how such programs can reverse the loss of a forest the size of England each year. Watch video »
video: The Forest Connection
Though Chiapas is one of Mexico's poorest states, there is hope for a more prosperous future made possible by the stewardship and conservation of the forests that define its landscape.
The government is serious about taking the long view; Chiapas is the first state in Mexico with a comprehensive environmental education plan. And, as a region that is particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of a warming climate, it is also leading the way in addressing climate change.
"It was very important to have a common interest in tackling climate change," says Alejandro Callejas, undersecretary to the environment for Chiapas, of the state's collaboration with Conservation International — a relationship that allowed the government to lean on CI's expertise at working effectively with stakeholders from the local community to the world stage.
That common interest served as the foundation of several successful collaborations, including the creation and implementation of the Climate Change Action Program for the State of Chiapas, which highlights forest conservation as a key to the state's resilience to climate change.
Protecting the forests of Chiapas also will play a key role in securing its economic future as well, thanks to its participation in Schwarzenegger's Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force. The mission of the task force is to organize its 15 members into a market that adopts what are called "carbon compliance regimes" — models where polluters reduce their emissions as much as possible and then pay to offset the rest. One way they can do this is to buy carbon offsets that support conserving or planting forests in places like Chiapas. What the smokestack adds to the air, the tree takes away.
Climate Action Hero
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California, is certainly no stranger to the spotlight. But if there is one role he has played that deserves wider attention, it is that of climate action hero.


Erdal Doğan, a co-plaintiff in the Zirve trial, has argued that the government and the Ergenekon terrorist organization have agreed to unite forces in a plot against the faith-based Hizmet movement.
Intellectuals and members of civil society continue to react to the government-devised plot against the Hizmet movement, which became public last week after former Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin submitted a question to Parliament asking if there is a secret plot against Hizmet. The Hizmet movement is also known as the Gülen movement and is inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Doğan said that as part of the plot, the government and Ergenekon reached a secret agreement to put the blame on Hizmet regarding offenses committed by the Ergenekon terrorist organization, among them the Zirve massacre, in which three Christians were brutally killed in 2007, and the assassination of Hrant Dink, the late editor-in-chief of Agos, a Turkish-Armenian weekly.
Considering the plan a “joint plot by the government and Ergenekon against Hizmet,” Doğan said it is a large operation targeting the movement.
Retired military judge Ümit Kardaş also said the claims in question are very serious, adding: “Previously, terrorist organizations such as Ergenekon, which aimed to unseat the government through a coup plot by committing murders, including of influential opinion leaders in society, were responsible for such offenses that create chaos in society. Now a civilian government has taken their place.”
Also commenting on these murders, Doğan reiterated that police neglect and even willful misconduct at the time these offenses were committed should be mentioned, saying: “These murders were planned in order to put into action a coup plot targeting the government. They aimed at creating an atmosphere of chaos. Today, there is an aim to create a similar atmosphere of chaos by collecting fabricated evidence to initiate an operation against the movement.”
“Crucial documents on these bloody assaults still exist in the cosmic room of the General Staff, but the government is making an effort to close the file on the ‘cosmic room' investigation. An investigation into the allegations about an attempt aiming at assassinating Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç was conducted in 2009. A judge and several prosecutors examined the Special Warfare Department of the General Staff for a week. Five years later and the investigation has still not been completed,” Doğan noted.
Reiterating that the judge and prosecutors who had conducted the investigation at the time were removed from their positions and reassigned to a lower post, Doğan said, “The findings in the cosmic room could answer many questions on many critical probes and bring to light the motivation behind the murders as well as the identity of the perpetrators. For five years no finding has been shared with the public. The investigation will most probably not be completed either. If the content of these documents is disclosed to the public, many offenses which have remained a mystery may return to the agenda today.”
Doğan also said that even though the evidence in the Zirve massacre case is quite substantial, “closing the investigation into the cosmic room by saying that the perpetrators are not the same is in a sense intentional tampering with evidence as well as hiding and destroying evidence relevant to a trial.”
According to Doğan, a secret formation nested within the General Staff, the National Strategies and Operations Department of Turkey (TUSHAD), is mentioned in the case, and as the lawyer involved in the case, he asked Prosecutor Mustafa Bilgili to provide information about the organization, saying, “We asked twice and the response we received was, ‘Sorry, we cannot share information related to TUSHAD for the healthy proceeding of the investigation.' Had we been able to have the necessary documents concerning the organization, Ergenekon and its dirty activities within the Special Warfare Department would have been uncovered. I know that the political authority took a position to stifle the investigation. Arınç also complained about it.”
Regarding the plot against Hizmet, Şahin said he had received a large number of documents pertaining to an alleged plan, called the “Action Plan” and drafted by the Interior Ministry, that ordered intelligence officers to investigate the “archives” of the Hizmet movement and gather evidence to launch a police operation against the group.
Şahin resigned from the AK Party in December of last year over a government corruption and bribery scandal. When resigning, the former minister stated that the AK Party was under the control of a “narrow oligarchic group.”
Published on Cihan, 23 June 2014, Monday