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The Importance of AMD Company in the Tech Industry
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a multinational semiconductor company that has been in operation since 1969. The company is known for producing microprocessors, graphics processors, and other computer components. AMD has been a major player in the tech industry for decades, and its products have been used in a wide range of devices, from personal computers to gaming consoles. In this article, we will discuss the importance of AMD in the tech industry.
AMD’s Impact on the Computer Industry
AMD has been a significant player in the computer industry for many years. The company’s microprocessors have been used in a wide range of devices, including personal computers, laptops, and servers. AMD’s processors are known for their high performance and energy efficiency, making them a popular choice for gamers and professionals alike. In recent years, AMD has also made significant strides in the graphics processor market, with its Radeon line of GPUs becoming increasingly popular among gamers.
AMD’s Role in Innovation
One of the reasons why AMD is so important to the tech industry is its role in innovation. The company has been at the forefront of many technological advancements over the years, including the development of the first 64-bit x86 processor and the introduction of multi-core processors. AMD has also been a major player in the development of virtual reality technology, with its Ryzen processors being used in many VR-ready PCs.
AMD’s Competition with Intel
Another reason why AMD is so important to the tech industry is its competition with Intel. Intel has long been the dominant player in the microprocessor market, but AMD has been gaining ground in recent years. AMD’s Ryzen processors have been praised for their high performance and affordability. And they have become a popular choice for gamers and professionals who are looking for an alternative to Intel’s offerings. This competition has led to increased innovation and lower prices for consumers, making it a win-win situation for everyone involved.
In conclusion, AMD is an important player in the tech industry. The company’s products have been used in a wide range of devices. And its role in innovation has helped to drive technological advancements forward. Additionally, AMD’s competition with Intel has led to increased innovation and lower prices for consumers. As technology continues to evolve, it is likely that AMD will continue to play a significant role in shaping the future of the tech industry.


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NFU Mutual Canterbury and Sittingbourne supports Porchlight, Canterbury to help local relief efforts
NFU Mutual Agents and their staff at the local Canterbury and Sittingbourne agency are delighted to have nominated local Porchlight, to receive a donation of over £6,400 from a national £2m ‘Agency Giving Fund’ launched by NFU Mutual’s Head Office.
In light of the national emergency this country is facing, NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer, has allocated £2m to help local frontline charities at this difficult time. This follows £1million of support delivered by NFU Mutual’s Agency Giving Fund in 2020, which helped charities across many sectors to keep their life-changing services going throughout the pandemic.
To help ensure this support reaches all corners of the UK, NFU Mutual has reached out to its Appointed Representative network of local Agents. Consisting of circa 300 independent Agency businesses and 9 NFU Mutual Branches, each have been given the opportunity to nominate a handful of local charities to receive a share of this fund.
The donation will be used to support Porchlight to support homeless and vulnerable people. They’re there for people who have nowhere to go and no-one to turn to. Some are living on the streets, others need their support to prevent or resolve any issues that could put them at risk of homelessness. Last year Porchlight supported more than 8000 individuals and families, our donation will enable them to be there for every member of our community who may need their support.
James Hodge, Senior Agent at NFU Mutual Canterbury and Sittingbourne, said: “The Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on everybody, including our customers and their local communities. Porchlight provide valuable support to our community, ensuing that people in Kent have a safe place to call home. We are proud to have been able to nominate this local charity to benefit from NFU Mutual’s national fund.”
Kate Boulding, Corporate Partnerships Manager, at Porchlight, said: “We want to say a massive thank you to NFU Mutual for generously donating over £6400 towards Porchlight’s work, and to the Canterbury and Sittingbourne branch for nominating us. A donation like this, which could cover more than 1,000 calls to our helpline, will make a big difference to the lives of people who are struggling to cope. We have been blown away by the support from businesses despite the challenges of the last year, it means so much to us that people recognise it’s important that our work continues.”

domain: geography


Crisil says corp bond supply may double by FY23
The demand for these instruments is expected to be over Rs 53 lakh crore.
However, demand for these instruments is expected to be over Rs 53 lakh crore, led by retirement funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, foreign portfolio investors and banks. This means that there is a Rs 2-7 lakh crore gap between supply and demand.
“To structurally bridge the demand-supply gap, we need a big step-up in investor awareness, better coordination across the ecosystem, continuation of regulatory reforms, and introduction of new instruments and hedging mechanisms. While stabilisation of the process and quicker resolutions under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code would increase investor confidence, any measure to improve market liquidity will provide a significant leg-up,” said Ashu Suyash, CEO, Crisil.
The rating agency expects the corporate bond market’s footprint to increase to 20% of GDP over the next five fiscals from 16% now.


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Vicky Dickerson PhD
Vicky Dickerson was the President of the American Family Therapy Academy (2017-2019), from whom she received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. She has been the director of two family and narrative therapy training centres working with students/interns. Vicky was one of a small handful of North American therapists who first began training, teaching and writing on narrative therapy. She has published on narrative therapy with couples, young adults, and families and co-authored the seminal narrative text entitled When Problems Talk with Jeff Zimmerman..

domain: literature


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On the 18th of March 2024, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) resumed negotiations on the latest version of the Pandemic Agreement (previously referred to as a treaty, instrument or accord). At the time of writing, the INB negotiations are still ongoing in Geneva, where delegates are under pressure to finalize the agreement before the planned adoption at the 77th World Health Assembly in May.
Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been included in the previous versions of the Pandemic Agreement. However, the latest version has notably scaled back reference to antimicrobial resistance which is now only appearing under Article 4 “Pandemic prevention and surveillance” as follows:
“3. Each Party commits to progressively strengthen pandemic prevention and coordinated multisectoral surveillance, taking into account its national capacities, including through:
(h) antimicrobial resistance (AMR): take measures to address pandemic-related risks associated with the emergence and spread of pathogens that are resistant to antimicrobial agents, including through the development and implementation of national and, where relevant, regional antimicrobial resistance action plans, taking into account relevant international guidelines, and with the aim of facilitating affordable and equitable access to antimicrobials.”
In earlier versions, AMR-related provisions were also included under articles related to “One Health”.
While key aspects of AMR-related provision still remain in the latest version, member states should ensure that the opportunity to leverage the full scope of the Pandemic Agreement towards addressing antimicrobial resistance is not missed.
As INB negotiations enter their final stages, member states should emphasize the following:
1. Safeguarding AMR-related provisions in the Pandemic Agreement
There are multiple overlaps between the interventions needed in the prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics, and those needed to address antimicrobial resistance, as outlined by ReAct in previous policy brief. This includes, but is not limited to preventative efforts and improving and expanding surveillance and laboratory capacity. Ensuring equitable and affordable access to effective antimicrobials must remain a clearly stated objective.
As ReAct has outlined in an article last year in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, the impact of the lack of access to effective antibiotics is disproportionate, with low- and middle-income countries being the most affected. To achieve equitable access, a health systems approach is required, including the strengthening of preventive measures, diagnostics, and infrastructure, as well as coordinated efforts towards health workforce and quality care. Additionally, reforming antibiotic innovation to ensure equitable and sustainable access is crucial.
2. Including antibiotics within the agreement’s definition of “pandemic-related products”
As seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and other viral pandemics, secondary bacterial infections are often a major cause of death. Effective antibiotics are critically needed in the event of a pandemic to ensure that basic and advanced medical care can continue, including for neonatal care, cancer treatment, transplantations, etc. Addressing the growing problem of antibiotic resistance and ensuring availability of effective antibiotics is therefore a critical component of pandemic preparedness and response. ReAct has previously highlighted the importance of considering antibiotics under the definition of “pandemic related products”.
3. Acknowledging bacterial threats: the definition of “pathogens with pandemic potential” should take into account the bacterial pathogens
While viral pandemics often dominate discussions, bacterial pathogens pose significant risks. Historic records of bacterial pandemics such as the plague and the potential of bacteria to mutate and change in potentially unforeseen ways must not be ignored. It is therefore important that the agreement and related processes of assessing pathogen risks, are robust enough to prevent, prepare and respond to potential pandemics of bacterial origin.
4. Equity a central objective to be matched by actionable terms
Beyond the issue of inclusion of antimicrobial resistance in the agreement, member states must ensure the Pandemic Agreement upholds its stated principles and objectives on equity. Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the urgent need for equitable distribution of medical countermeasures. The agreement’s objectives and guiding principles on equity cannot remain a preamble, but must be matched by a set of actionable terms on equitable access, benefit sharing and related provisions that ensures equity is truly placed at the heart of the agreement.
More from "2024"
- ReAct receives additional financial support from Sweden
- AMR must remain an important piece in the Pandemic Agreement puzzle
- Rocky start for the UN High level meeting on AMR
- ReAct Africa and LifeArc launch the ASPIRE initiative for stronger action on antimicrobial resistance
- UN High Level Meeting on AMR: Countdown begins
- ReAct Latin America Dialogue Series
- ReAct expands its work
- New Report Community Engagement
- World Cancer Day: Cancer communities can help making the UN High Level meeting on AMR a turning point
- Handbook for Antibiotic Smart Communities Framework
- Dr. S.S. Lal appointed new Director for ReAct Asia Pacific!


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From weight loss to pain relief, electronic muscle stimulators (EMS) play a vital role in ensuring the fitness and wellbeing of a person. To be in good shape and health is an ultimate achievement as we all know health is wealth. Ems in this age plays a significant role in optimizing the performance of bodybuilders and sports persons. For example, AB stimulators are a great example of such a device that helps in building the body and strengthening muscles.
Why are ems so popular these days?
An ems device performs the task of simulating nerves and induces contractions of muscles imitating the way muscles in a human body contract when an individual performs exercises. It is a device essentially used as performance-enhancing equipment by sportspeople and athletes.
- Building muscles – This device works magically in building muscles and ensuring their strength. Scientists verified that ems produced higher isometric force than muscles’ voluntary contraction. Through an ems therapy, both muscle strength and muscle size can be increased in the case of bodybuilders, gym-goers, and athletes. AB stimulators, for example, could be a suitable example of an ems device that can be connected to your smartphone and operated as per your benefits.
- Relieves you from pain – An ems device can also give you relief from your pain or suffering, accelerating your recovery from any serious or non-serious injury. That is how an athlete often recovers. After using your ems device, you can get instant relief from muscle soreness and experience ease in your motions. In case of nerve injuries, ems devices play a vital role in accelerating the process of recovery. EMS therapy can help in regenerating nerve cells faster than the natural process.
- Best for athletes – An ems device works magically for enhanced physical performance and sporting activities. It can be a powerful piece of equipment for athletes, especially those who try vertical jumps, long races, and many more. Noteworthy improvements in their performances over the years have been observed. Using ems devices increases strength, speed, and energy exponentially.
- Works great for muscle cramps – If you suffer from serious muscle cramps, then ems devices are your saviors. By offering instant relief from painful cramps, ems devices have always produced commendable results. Ems devices can also be beneficial for retraining muscles that can partially improve the voluntary functioning of paralyzed muscles.
- Enhances body movements – An ems therapy focuses on enhancing a range of body movements by ensuring the elasticity of muscle fibers, tendons, and ligaments. Medical professionals often advise patients suffering from heart attacks to take up ems therapy, and the treatments end with overwhelming outcomes.
- Helps in muscle toning – If you aim at having muscles with sculpted looks, you must go for the cosmetic muscle toning process offered by ems therapy. Muscle toning, muscle thickness, and increased firmness are offered to those bodybuilders who go for an ems therapy. It is prominent amongst male actors in several film industries these days. Using ems devices, they keep their muscles and body in perfect and attractive shape.
Besides the aforementioned advantages, ems devices such as AB stimulators ensure increasing your aerobic capacity and trigger improved blood circulation. Ems therapy can be beneficial for those suffering from cardiovascular issues and can induce healthy cardiac exercises automatically once you start the ems device. This treatment can help burn your unwanted fat and induce tissue healing. Ems devices reduce your snoring tendencies, gives relief to patients suffering from osteoarthritis, and even treat patients with Parkinson’s disease. The best part of an ems therapy could be the fact that ems devices are affordable and can be used at home as per your convenience with least or no side effects.

domain: health


Australia's government has announced an easing of sanctions and moves to normalise trade ties with Myanmar following recent reforms by the country's civilian government.
But Bob Carr, Australia's foreign minister, said on Monday that sanctions would remain in place against about 130 military officials to keep up pressure for further reforms.
Carr said Myanmar President Thein Sein was among 260 civilian officials who would no longer be subject to financial restrictions and travel bans.
"That removes many of the civilians from the list, and that includes President Thein Sein and government ministers," he said.
"But senior serving military officers and people of human rights interest will stay subject to those Australian sanctions."
Speaking from London, where he was due to meet William Hague, his British counterpart, later on Monday, Carr said easing sanctions was recognition of "far-reaching political, economic and social reforms" being implemented in Myanmar after years of international isolation.
"It is incumbent upon us now to support Burma in practical ways and seek greater engagement that will encourage these reforms to take root and sustain the conditions for further change to improve the lives of the Burmese people," said Carr, referring to the country by its former name.
The move follows last week's historic visit to Myanmar by David Cameron, the British prime minister, where he met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The two leaders backed an easing of sanctions against the Southeast Asian nation.
Suu Kyi and the UK have long been the biggest advocates of sanctions, imposed over the past 23 years for human rights abuses by Myanmar's military rulers. Critics argue they have kept the Southeast Asian country's 60 million people in poverty.
The European Union will review its sanctions on Myanmar on April 23, with an expected easing of restrictions set to allow a flood of investment into a country rich with natural resources.
Myanmar's military rulers ceded power to a quasi-civilian government, led by former general Sein, following a November 2010 election marred by opposition complaints of rigging, and won by a party set up by the military.
But since then Sein's government has released hundreds of political prisoners and introduced a wave off reforms including loosening media controls, allowing trade unions and protests, talks with ethnic minority rebels and sweeping economic changes.
Parliamentary by-elections earlier this month saw Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, who spent years as a prisoner under military rule, elected to parliament as her National League for Democracy (NLD) took 43 out of 45 seats.


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herbal, Ayurvedic antacid that helps combat gastric troubles. Helps maintain
healthy digestive system and organ functioning. Smoothens digestive processes
and combats hyperacidity and indigestion.
FARMERS PRIDE ANTACID
relief from the dual menaces of acidity and gas with Dabur Active Antacid which
is an ayurvedic medicine for acidity and gas. Get rid of the burning
sensation and accompanied discomfort that makes you regret every meal you

domain: medical


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Independent Lens Saturday Cinema: "Soul Food Junkies"
In partnership with ITVS and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, WTTW invites you to attend a free screening and discussion about the new Independent Lens documentary Soul Food Junkies!
Soul food is a quintessential American cuisine, with a rich history and an abiding significance to black cultural identity. But with its core celebration of all things fried and smothered, it has also had lasting effects on health, both for better and for worse. Filmmaker Byron Hurt looks at the past and future of soul food – from its roots in Western Africa, to its incarnation in the American South, to its contribution to modern health crises. Soul Food Junkies also looks at the socioeconomics of the modern American diet, and how the food industry profits from making calories cheap, but healthy options expensive and hard to find.
This is a free event.
Image credit: Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

domain: food


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Devs, there are tons of media announcements out there saying that players can NOW create their own missions. So, what happens when they come back to sto to check it out? They find the Foundry on Holodeck with no options and no information about what is going on.
Why do you guys do stuff like this? At the very least, can you communicate to returning players on Holodeck? If the Foundry is not functional on Holodeck, tell people where to go. Let them know that they need to go to the Tribble test server. Communicate.
For every one or two people frustrated enough to find the forums and post "Um.. how do I make a mission?" there are probably hundreds who just move on.
Figuring out what is going on is not some fun mini-game within a Cryptic game. All of us are tired of answering the same question over and over again on the forums.
Seriously, pretend for a minute that you're a new player, eager to create your own mission. You go through all of the tedious steps to redownload STO, patch up, and finally launch. What do you see? A create character screen with no options? After a few minutes of frustration what do you do?
Go to the STO website, and you find a Foundry-Beta link in the drop-downs... it takes you to the main page... NO HELP.
Go to the Foundry forums after scrolling what seems like 45 subforums... NO HELP.
Foundry FAQ... NO HELP.
Foundry General Discussion... NO HELP.
Somehow, a returning player magically has to know:
A. Hey, if you want to create a mission, you have to go to a different shard, called Tribble.
B. That is where the Foundry is, which is what you can use to create a mission.
C. We won't tell you how to get ther UNLESS you click on a sticky in the main Star Trek Online discussion area.
I would pull my hair out if I was a new player. It would confirm everything terrible that I believed about this game and its unprofessional developer. I'd give up before it got good.
Please stop being so cryptic. Why really on tribal knowledge? Make the game grow. Communicate.

domain: game


The TLV760 is an integrated linear voltage regulator featuring operation from an input as high as 30V. The TLV760 has a maximum dropout of 1.2V at the full 100mA load across operating temperature. Standard packaging for the TLV760 is the 3-pin SOT-23 package. The TLV760 is designed to bias digital and analog circuits in applications that are subject to voltage transients and spikes up to 30V - for example, appliances and automation applications. The device has robust internal thermal protection, which protects itself from potential damage caused by conditions like short to ground, increases in ambient temperature, high-load, or high dropout events.
The TLV760 is a bipolar device with quasi LDO architecture. Being a bipolar device the dropout voltage of the device does not change significantly with output load current. The device has a maximum dropout across temperature of 1.2 V at 100-mA load current, which is a significant improvement over the traditional LM78Lxx devices.


text: The respiratory health of 277 workers in a new toluene diisocyanate (TDI) manufacturing plant was studied prospectively during 5 yr of exposure. Personal TDI monitors were used to continuously measure peak and 8-h time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations in over 2,000 samples. Longitudinal change in pulmonary function was assessed in 223 men in whom 3 or more data points allowed construction of individual slopes of annual change. Regression of annual change on smoking (pack-years), atopic status, and cumulative TDI exposure dichotomized at 68.2 parts per billion (ppb) months into low and high exposure groups showed significant effects of smoking on spirometric tests and lung volumes. After adjusting for pack-years of smoking, the 74 men in the high cumulative TDI exposure category had significantly larger declines in FEV1, %FEV, and FEF25--75% than did the 149 men in the low category. Annual change in FEV1 was then examined in 6 smoking-exposure categories: in never smokers, average annual decline was 38 ml/yr greater in those with higher cumulative TDI exposure. Current and previous cigarette smokers did not show this effect of cumulative TDI exposure. Analysis of FEV1 change by time above 20 ppb TDI yielded a similar result in never smokers, a 24 ml/yr excess average decline attributable to longer time above 20 ppb. In current cigarette smokers, those with longer time above 20 ppb had excess decline of 18 ml/yr (42 versus 24 ml/yr). our low and high cumulative exposure groups spent 2 and 15%, respectively, of their working time above 5 ppb TDI. The different health effects observed in these groups supports the NIOSH-recommended standard of 5 ppb TDI as an 8-h TWA.


BANJUL/DAKAR (Reuters) – When Gambian intelligence officers arrested journalist Ebrima Manneh at his newspaper, he asked an office guard to save some tea.
“I’m coming right back,” he said, according to colleague Alhagie Jobe, who was present in the newsroom. That was on the afternoon of July 11, 2006; since then, neither his colleagues at the Daily Observer nor his family have seen him again.
Rights groups say Manneh is one of dozens of Gambians who disappeared without trace during the 22-year rule of president Yahya Jammeh, which ended last month when he fled the country.
Relatives have tried in vain for a decade to find the journalist, nicknamed “Chief” although he held no traditional title. Now they believe he is dead and, like a growing number of Gambians, say they are seeking justice.
“I want the new government to take action and prosecute whosoever had a hand in my brother’s disappearance,” said his sister Adama Manneh, a police officer, wearing a T-shirt bearing her brother’s face that read: “Where is Chief Manneh?” Ebrima’s brother Lamin said he hoped at least to recover the body.
Some families hope to gather evidence for a case against Jammeh – who quit under international pressure after losing an election in December – for human rights abuses, including unlawful detention, torture and murder of perceived opponents, charges his supporters deny.
Attempts by Reuters to reach Jammeh for comment in Equatorial Guinea, where he fled, were unsuccessful.
Rights officials say building a case could be tough. Another African ex-leader, former Chadian president Hissene Habre, was jailed for life last year for crimes against humanity, more than a quarter century after his overthrow. Habre was convicted by a court in Senegal with the help of incriminating documents, but rights officials say any hard evidence against Jammeh is lacking so far. Continued…
Source – Reuters


The Danish government has decided to spend 250 million Danish kroner (US$36 million) to promote “green” heating and phasing down the use of natural gas in Denmark, reducing reliance on Russian gas in the process.
The money will be spent in 2022, focusing mainly on providing advice and support for municipal efforts to roll out “green” district heating and smaller shared heating solutions, to promote energy-saving initiatives and for a subsidy scheme for people replacing their gas boilers.
Denmark has long been a frontrunner in the development and use of heat pumps, including both small domestic units and larger systems for distinct heating and industrial applications.
“Getting rid of natural gas and oil for heating is a big and important step for green heat,” said Dan Jørgensen, Minister for Climate, Energy and Supply, in a statement on the ministry’s website, “and it is absolutely necessary for heating bills, for the climate and for becoming independent from Russian gas.”
“Planning, advice and support are all needed to achieve sustainable alternatives across the country. We must become even better at saving energy – especially in light of the uncertain situation with Russian gas,” Jørgensen added. “I am pleased that … we are now accelerating to a whole new pace towards a greener and safer everyday life.”
Several Danish district heating providers have already switched to ammonia/NH3 (R717) heat pumps in their efforts to become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprints.
In February last year, district heating provider Saltum Fjernvarme installed a Sabroe ammonia heat pump with a capacity of 1.2MW at 0°C (32°F). The ammonia heat pump is capable of producing 8,000MWh of energy annually, which is 80% of Saltum’s customers’ consumption. Saltum expects to cut around 70% of its annual CO2 emissions with the new system, or 1,150 metric tons per year.
In November 2021, another Danish district heating provider Marstal Fjernvarme chose to replace a 10-year-old CO2 heat pump with a new ammonia system, increasing its COP from just over 3 to an annual average between 5 and 5.5.
Want to find out more, or have something to say about this story? Join the ATMO Connect network to meet and engage with like-minded stakeholders in the clean cooling and natural refrigerant arena.


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PIABA: 30% OF 2020 FINRA ARBITRATION AWARDS WENT UNPAID
New Report Finds Increased Rates of Unpaid Arbitration Awards and Unpaid Award Money Compared To 2019; 24% of All Awarded Money Last Year Was Never Paid.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 – The percentage of unpaid customer awards in FINRA arbitration cases increased to nearly 30% and the percentage of unpaid award dollars rose to 24%, according to the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association’s (PIABA) new report on unpaid FINRA arbitration awards. PIABA’s first report on the topic was published in 2016, and the new update illustrates how the lack of improvement on this critical issue for American investors reflects FINRA’s refusal to solve the problem.
Titled FINRA Arbitration’s Persistent Unpaid Award Problem, the PIABA report addresses the scope of unpaid arbitration awards over the past decade, FINRA’s history of ineffective responses, and remedies that FINRA, Congress, or the SEC should take to fix the problem. The report also notes that because many investors do not discover misconduct until there is a market correction, a market downturn in the absence of meaningful recovery protection will inflict unprecedented harm on America’s retirees and those on the verge of retirement.
David P. Meyer, current president, PIABA, and report co-author said: “FINRA now publishes some recent data on unpaid award statistics and has implemented or proposed certain rule changes to try to curb abusive industry practices, but the problem of unpaid arbitration awards is only growing. FINRA, Congress, or the SEC can and should tackle the unpaid arbitration award problem head-on.”
Hugh Berkson, former president, PIABA, and report co-author said: “If there was a goal to protect people from suffering devastating injuries, would it be best to install seatbelts before a car accident, or after? Investors today have no seatbelt against unscrupulous stockbrokers, investment advisors, and firms that handle hundreds of millions of customer dollars without sufficient capital reserves or liability insurance.”
Key findings of the PIABA report include:
• Due to the COVID-related shutdown of in-person hearings, fewer FINRA arbitration cases were heard in 2020, but the percentage of unpaid customer awards and unpaid award dollars both increased, despite record brokerage firm profits.
• 29.7% of customer awards were unpaid in 2020, up from 26.9% in 2019.
• 24.2% of all dollars awarded in 2020 were unpaid, up from 19.8% in 2019.
• Neither FINRA nor state and federal regulators have directly addressed the lack of meaningful recovery protection, and the problem of unpaid arbitration awards is growing.
• The 2020 figures are consistent with FINRA’s previously reported statistics, ranging from 12% of dollars unpaid in 2015 to a high of 34% in 2018, and 22% of awards unpaid in 2015 to a high of 34% in 2017. In short, the problem is not improving since PIABA’s initial 2016 Report.
Michael Edmiston, president-elect, PIABA, said: “PIABA published its first report on unpaid awards in 2016, presenting a comprehensive survey of the huge problem at FINRA and the potential cures. Since then, FINRA has done nothing but discount the issue, abdicate responsibility, and boast about improvements that have ultimately failed. All while the U.S. is just one market downturn away from this problem evolving into a full-blown crisis.”
The PIABA report outlines the following proposed remedies to protect investors:
• Legislative Remedy: FINRA can solve the problem directly by instituting a national investor recovery pool, but it has steadfastly refused to do so unless ordered by the SEC or Congress. If FINRA remains resolute in its refusal to institute an investor recovery pool absent an instruction from Congress or the SEC, then PIABA asks Congress to intervene to address the problem and order FINRA to do its job and protect investors.
• SEC Dodd-Frank Remedy: If Congress can not or will not act, and FINRA maintains course and refuses to remedy the problem on its own, the SEC has the authority to step in under Section 921 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The SEC could require that, as a condition of including a mandatory arbitration clause in its customer agreements, firms participate in an investor recovery pool.
• The National Investor Recovery Pool: The pool would provide recovery funds for investors who pursue a claim all the way through a final award and have exhausted reasonable efforts to collect the award from the respondent. There are a variety of potential sources for such funding: (1) FINRA fine monies assessed against member firms and associated persons violating FINRA rules; (2) assessments on FINRA members; and, (3) fees levied on the investing public.
FINRA reported that it issued $57 million in fines in 2020, more than enough money to address the unpaid awards that year. Alternatively, if FINRA were to assess fees, the cost in 2019 would have been $6,350.11 per firm or $107.26 per registered representative. Since neither the SEC nor FINRA have established an insurance requirement, the fees required to fund the pool would be far less than insurance premiums. And while PIABA does not suggest that assessing a direct charge to investors is the best choice, a 2019 pool would have required only 14 cents per investor for real, meaningful recovery protection.
The report concludes: “The SEC and FINRA have demonstrated that they have long recognized the ongoing issue of unpaid arbitration awards but will not address it head-on. In fact, FINRA wants an act of Congress to require it to enact a solution. If, given a market that has consistently grown in value over the course of the last twelve years, nearly one out of four dollars awarded to investors in 2020 went unpaid even as brokerage firm profits held steady or grew to record levels, the next market downturn will likely wreak havoc on the growing population relying on their broker-managed 401(k) plans and IRAs for retirement. Protecting investors, and the taxpayers who will be required to bail them out, is simple: instituting a National Investor Recovery Pool will provide a backstop at a minimal economic cost. Either Congress, the SEC, or both must act now.”
Public Investors Advocate Bar Association is an international, not-for-profit, voluntary bar association of lawyers who represent claimants in securities and commodities arbitration proceedings and securities litigation. The mission of PIABA is to promote the interests of the public investor in securities and commodities arbitration, by seeking to protect such investors from abuses in the arbitration process, by seeking to make securities arbitration as just and fair as systemically possible and by educating investors concerning their rights. For more information, go to www.piaba.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Alex Frank at (703) 276-3264, firstname.lastname@example.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the web at www.piaba.org as of 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on September 29, 2021.

domain: news


text:
Candle Holder - Large Celtic LionProduct #:
Large lion knot patterns feature on the sides of this Celtic styled candle holder. Hand painted for a natural bronze finish, it makes for an eye-catching centerpiece.
Made of cold cast resin. Hand painted.
L: 4.75" x W: 4.75" x H: 7.25"
We Also Recommend

domain: design


May 25, 2015 - 16:01 GMT
Conflicting reports about the Latakia explosion make it unclear what struck the coastal city with clouds of orange smoke.
May 25, 2015 - 14:09 GMT
Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province set up a mass funeral for the victims of the Daesh-claimed mosque attack - thousands are expected to attend.
May 25, 2015 - 12:30 GMT
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara and the US had agreed to provide air support to Syrian opposition forces Monday.
May 25, 2015 - 09:52 GMT
On Friday, dramatic clashes took place between Syrian troops and rebels in the town of Jisr al-Shughur's National Hospital. Rumors began to circulate of victories and fails, but what really happened?
May 25, 2015 - 09:45 GMT
Monitor says Syrian air force conducted at least 15 airstrikes targeting Daesh positions in and around Palmyra Monday.
May 24, 2015 - 20:08 GMT
Hafez al-Assad was only one of the leaders in a long line of successors the Syrian people don't approve of.
May 24, 2015 - 19:41 GMT
Zahran Alloush made some inflammatory comments in back in December; this time around, it wasn't what we were expecting.
May 24, 2015 - 18:53 GMT
A blast in downtown Damascus killed a Syrian general on Sunday, AFP has reported.
May 24, 2015 - 18:40 GMT
Twitter users around the world have come up with some priceless Daesh puns.
May 24, 2015 - 17:24 GMT
The Syrian army has killed over 300 militants in a military operation in Idlib province.


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The Stade Collection contains 153 books from the library of Ode Stade, the longtime owner of the Hollywood Bookstore. Many of the books in the Stade Collection are by authors who visited his bookstore in the 1920s. Items from this collection can be found in the APU Library Catalog.
Access to the Collections
Our Special Collections and Archives are currently closed. If you have a general question, contact the libraries or call 626-815-5062.

domain: library


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Partner Ray Marshall, Eric (Lea) Leazell
Bridgefoot Cottage, Stedham, Midhurst GU29 0PT, UK
Paul Berry (December 25, 1919 - May 12, 1999) was a remote cousin on his mother's side of the novelist Winifred Holtby. She was a great friend of another writer, Vera Brittain, author of the 1930s autobiographical classic of the lost generation of the first world war, Testament Of Youth. Paul became Holtby's literary executor after Brittain's death. He was then working as a lecturer in secretarial skills at Kingsway-Princeton College in London. He did his job conscientiously enough but was waiting for retirement to begin his real life's work, which was to write books, in particular a book about Brittain.
Paul had been her close friend from their first meeting in July 1942, at a Food Relief Rally in Trafalgar Square, up until her death in 1970. She had hoped he would complete the final volume of her autobiography, to be called Testament of Faith.
When they met, he was working as a bomb disposal soldier in London, a compromise between his pacifism and his wish to be part of the war effort - his experiences as a young man before and during the war were to provide Brittain with much of the substance of her last novel, Born 1925.
There was a 25-year difference in age between them, yet they shared political ideals. Her encouragement of his writing and his protectiveness towards her in her vulnerable later years, made their relationship important to both, and one which Paul never relinquished or disavowed.
Paul Frederick Berry came from a Midlands farming family, the eighth of 10 children. He was born at Weston-by-Welland, Leicestershire. After school, he served in the Royal Engineers and Royal Ordnance Corps. Then the war changed the direction of his life. He never did finish Testament Of Faith. Instead, the material from it became part of Vera Brittain: A Life (1995), the biography he co-wrote with Mark Bostridge. That he took so long to write it - and then had to be helped to do so - represented perhaps the main disappointment of his life. He had a writer's ambitions and sensibility, but found writing difficult - and wrote less, and with less originality, than he had hoped.
Yet his literary achievement was significant, not least as custodian of Brittain's reputation, with the re-publication by Virago Press of Testament Of Youth in 1978 and the BBC-televised adaptation a year later. This was followed by Testament Of A Generation: The Journalism Of Vera Brittain And Winifred Holtby, which he co-edited with Alan Bishop.
Perhaps because of his homosexuality - and certainly because of his compassionate nature - Paul had a particular sympathy with people at odds with society. This led him into a variety of occupations and activities - hospital work, prison visiting and pacifist campaigns. Fiercely agnostic, he substituted a passionate social concern for religious belief. He was a man who had a special rapport with women, one whose loving memories of a strong, long-suffering mother had made into a feminist.
On leaving the Army he worked for a time at Donald Soper's Kingsway Hall mission, helping to run the rest and feeding centre there: throughout his life Berry would always go to great lengths to help anyone in trouble or distress. He wanted to join the probation service, but when this proved impossible he settled on a career as a teacher of secretarial skills, eventually becoming a Senior Lecturer at Kingsway-Princeton College for Further Education until his retirement in 1981.
During the difficult years when he divided his time between a taxing job in London and the home which he and his partner, the distinguished potter Ray Marshall, had established at Stedham, near Midhurst (where Marshall ran a pottery from 1952), he made some forays into publishing his work. Vera Brittain introduced him to Allen & Unwin, who published Daughters of Cain (1956), the study of the nine women executed in Britain since 1923, which he had co-authored with Renee Huggett; and in 1970, through Brittain's introduction to Muriel Box of Femina Books, he published By Royal Appointment, a biography of Mary Ann Clarke (1776-1852), the mistress of the Grand Old Duke of York.
Paul was amusing, a sympathetic listener, an easy raconteur, and the owner - with the companion of his last 13 years, the artist Eric (Lea) Leazell, whom he had met after the death of Marshall in 1986 - of a magical west Sussex garden on a river bank. Over all this he cast an air of benignity and serenity, so that one felt contented and relaxed in his presence.
His last publication was a selection of Holtby's short stories. Its title, Remember, Remember, is appropriate to Holtby, who died young.
My published books:
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Testing farmers' perceptions of climate variability with meteorological data: Burkina Faso and the Sulphur Springs Valley, Arizona
AuthorWest, Colin Thor
AdvisorBaro, Mamadou A.
MetadataShow full item record
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
AbstractThis thesis tests perceptions of climate variability with actual rainfall data. It also compares the perceptions of agriculturists in Burkina Faso, West Africa with those of agriculturists in the Sulphur Springs Valley, Southeastern Arizona. This study contests claims by other researchers that farmers' perceptions of climate change are shaped by events rather than variation in climate. The analyses demonstrate that people in both regions are able to detect variations in climate on time-scales of at least a decade. Both groups of farmers key into intra-annual variation that is related to seasonality. That perceptions are based on seasons is due to the fact that seasonality shapes the vulnerability of farming to climate in both regions. This thesis adds perceptions to the analytical field of climate vulnerability studies and points out that the atmospheric phenomena behind the variability farmers perceive merits scientific investigation.
Degree ProgramGraduate College


Funnily enough, for whatever reason it’s not available on Google Play, but through the Swype beta program anyone can get the latest beta version of Swype on their phone. If you want the latest beta version of Swype and your phone didn’t come with it preinstalled, simply head to beta.swype.com, sign up and follow the instructions.
It used to be the case that matters were more complicated if your phone already came with Swype pre-installed, but users are now able to install the Swype Beta version alongside pre-installed Swype versions. In any case, the version of Swype that the beta program provides with you includes an updater, so you’ll always have the latest version. Additionally, you can post feedback and feature requests in the forum.


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The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. The author of Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection tells us what it takes to get back up, and how owning our stories of disappointment, failure, and heartbreak gives us the power to write a daring new ending. Struggle, Bren Brown writes, can be our greatest call to courage, and rising strong our clearest path to deeper meaning, wisdom, and hope....
|Number of Pages||:||336 pages|
|Url Type||:||Home » Rising » Rising Strong|
Rising Strong Reviews
I didn't care for the long stories...
For me, I wanted to grasp what was being said without all the extra dialogue. Much of it felt like "filler" to me. There were some neat things that I noted, but it was hard sifting through all the "filler" to get to the data.
I think it's fine to use a story to help make a point, but sum it up quickly and get to the point is my preference.
Also, some of the stories the author relayed about her own life seemed...immature? I hope she was embellishing to make he ...more
I'll say right away that I love Brene Brown. I've read three of her previous books back to back a few years ago, I've seen her TED talks and several interviews.
This book wasn't what I thought it would be. It has a general feel to it. It talks about attitudes, ways of thinking and processing emotions for a healthier everyday life. Basically, it teaches to deal with anything from mild annoyances to a shitty week at work, or a hard weekend with your parents, or a fight with your husband. Sure, tho ...more
Really a very strong, solid 4.5 stars.
I listened to this book and it took me a long time to really get some momentum with it and understand her approach and definition to things that she refer to - words like "rumbling" and "reckoning" etc. However, this book was fantastic and I'm so grateful I kept moving forward because it was 100% worth my time. This is a book that I want to listen to and read and refer to again and again. I have spoken so highly of it that my husband is now listening to it. ...more
I'm sure this book would've been impactful no matter when I read/listened to it, but MAN does it feel incredibly appropriate right now.
Brown, a qualitative researcher in the field of social work, encourages readers to embrace vulnerability and transform failure and shame through a simple process of re-evaluating the stories we tell ourselves. The gimmicky terminology and frequent self-referencing grated on me a bit, but I appreciated how the book made me reconsider events from my own life. It’s the ideas that carry Rising Strong, so as long as you come to it expecting a useful tool rather than a literary experience you shouldn’ ...more
“Rising Strong” is the third in a series of recent books Brene Brown has written about the importance of vulnerability and authenticity in one’s life. Here she once again synthesizes her years of research, innate understanding of human behavior, and personal stories into a highly readable, relatable, and actionable self-improvement book.
In her earlier works, Brown references the times in our lives when we will all feel like failures, either personally or professionally. In “Rising Strong” she d ...more
I'd like to rate this 3.5. As expected, Brene Brown proposes really fantastic and applicable processes for us as individuals, families, coworkers etc to recognize conflict and failure, and then rise from it having reckoned with our emotions and taking away 'key learnings.' The process she describes is instantly applicable to all of us, in both small and large scale crises. The fault I find in the book is simply the layout/outline. It takes about 60 pages to get to a real life experience, the boo ...more
Some books you hug. Other books hug you. Rising Strong is a book that hugs you. “Rising strong after a fall is how we cultivate wholeheartedness in our lives; it’s the process that teaches us the most about who we are.” If you haven’t gotten used to the language of Brené Brown, now’s a great time to start.
I gave Brown’s last book three stars. But dang, if that book doesn’t haunt me still. Her words—her stories—have a way of burrowing into your soul. When you are at that precipice of argument, Br ...more


Just the News: Sen. J.D. Vance says he is going to place holds on all of President Joe Biden’s Justice Department nominees following former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment for his handling of classified materials.
Vance, an Ohio Republican, wrote Tuesday on Twitter that he will halt all Justice nominees until Attorney General Merrick Garland “stops using his agency to harass Joe Biden’s political opponents.”
Senator JD Vance has announced that he will hold all DoJ nominees until AG Merrick Garland stops using his agency to harass political opponents:
“I think we need to grind this department to a halt.” pic.twitter.com/O3jQ9Ht3p3
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 13, 2023
Vance said, “We have to grind this department to a halt,” and that Trump is “just one and the most recent example” of the agency targeting political opponents.
“We, of course, have violent criminals walking the streets after the 2020 summer of riots, and if you’re letting the violent criminals go free and you’re harassing Christian parents for their political activism, you’re not engaged in justice. You’re engaged in politics,” he also said.
Senator @JDVance1 to stall DOJ nominees over Trump indictment
“Starting today, I will hold all DOJ nominations. If Merrick Garland wants to use these officials to harass Joe Biden’s political opponents, we will grind his department to a halt.”https://t.co/9M60g2JvMW
— Senator Vance Press Office (@SenVancePress) June 13, 2023
Vance’s hold does not apply to nominees to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Senate normally quickly approves nominees by unanimous consent, but Vance’s hold will prevent this from happening. A floor vote will instead be required, which could make the nominations more difficult to pass, the senator’s office said.
GOP Weakens Slim House Majority In Incredible Feat Of Self-Sabotage – George Santos Expelled
The Post Millennial: On Friday, the House of Representatives voted to expel Republican Rep. George Santos by a vote of...
Biden Admin Betrayal: Blinken Tells Israel It Lacks ‘Credit’ To Defeat Hamas
Breitbart: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel that it lacks “credit” to conduct the kind of military campaign...
‘A Friend Of Ours Forever’ – Chinese Communists Celebrate Life Of Henry Kissinger, Dead At 100
Breitbart: Genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and regime-approved commenters on the tightly controlled Chinese internet...
House Republicans Who Defied Pelosi’s Mask Mandate Appeal To SCOTUS
SCNR: Three Republicans who were fined by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not wearing masks have asked the United...
Biden’s DOJ Seized Extensive Records Of Users’ Interactions With President Trump’s Twitter Account
The Post Millennial: Biden’s Department of Justice released the redacted search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter account from by special...
Exclusive Poll – Voters’ Top 3 Descriptions Of Joe Biden: Old, Weak, and Tired
Breitbart: The top three descriptions of President Joe Biden by likely registered voters depicted the 81-year-old as low energy, according...
Trump’s Attorneys Demand DOJ Documents Regarding Undercover Activity On J6
The Post Millennial: In a discovery letter filed last week in the US District Court for the District of Columbia,...
New Details Emerge Of Inhumane Israeli Hostage Conditions Under Hamas
Breitbart: More details are emerging about the harsh conditions in which Hamas kept Israeli hostages, including children and the elderly....
Political Correctness Run Amok – Border Patrol Required To Use ‘Preferred’ Pronouns
Just the News: The Biden Homeland Security Department’s new pronoun rules for illegal immigrants is getting lambasted by the union...


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Wildcat Bettie B made a quick bid for the lead from between horses in the first quarter mile and sped away to a two-length victory in the $125,000 Adena Stallions' Miss Preakness Stakes (gr. III) for 3-year-old fillies Friday at Pimlico Race Course.
Ramon Dominguez celebrated his 28th birthday Wednesday at Pimlico with a riding triple on the day's eight race card. Since returning to Maryland on a full-time basis on Nov. 10, Dominguez has 18 wins in 11 days, producing six multiple win afternoons.
Sondra Bender's homebred Foufa's Warrior wore down his rivals Remind and favored Lismore Knight in the stretch to register a mild upset and a course record in the $250,000 Kent Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. IIIT) for 3-year-olds on the turf Sunday at Delaware Park.
Right after Gulfstream Park simulcasts the Illinois Derby (gr. II) Saturday, it will run its own Kentucky Derby (gr. I) prep, the Aventura Stakes.
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ZESCO united FC has confirmed that striker Lazarous Kambole will leave the 2018 MTN/FAZ super league champions for greener pastures.
ZESCO Chief Executive Officer Richard Mulenga told Goal Diggers! that the club is currently in talks with South African Premier Soccer league side Kaizer Chiefs regarding Kambole adding that the Zambian international would definitely leave.
He however revealed that there were numerous clubs interested in signing Kambole and that as such he could not disclose where exactly Kambole would end up.
“On Lazarous Kambole, we are in talks with Kaizer Chiefs but we are far from reaching a conclusion. There are several clubs that are in talks over Kambole. Let me just confirm the Kaizer chiefs one since it is in Public domain but there are several other clubs. You know when you have not concluded issues it becomes a little difficult to disclose. It becomes a problem. Or even the player that you are pursuing, if you have not concluded anything with their clubs, it’s not appropriate to talk about it until you have concluded. Kambole will definitely be leaving so it’s a matter of looking for replacement. A suitable replacement, yeah,” he said.
Mulenga also dismissed reports that the club had signed Prison Leopards midfielder Saviour Konkola on a three years deal.
“We have not signed Saviour Konkola from Prison Leopards as reports have it. We have not even engaged the club. We are yet to consider that move.”


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Embassy of Israel in India & Culture Monks are delighted to bring to Kolkata a series of lectures and a workshop by Matan Berkowitz
This tour is also supported by Iris Home fragrance, Loreto College, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur , Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata & Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
Kolkata Tour of Ma Tan (Matan Berkowitz) :
Kolkata has been one of the most significant cities in the world from the context of creativity, intellectuality & scientific discovery. A city which boasts of many Nobel prize winners is definitely gifted with people with enormous potential for excellence.
Israel is known as technology leader in the world and Matan’s award winning work is a great representation of this spirit of innovation: combining art, tech and positive impact.
The coming tour will bring together the city of Kolkata to the fast evolving and dynamic technological think set for innovation.
Matan will be delivering lectures to college, university students apart from budding entrepreneurs in course of this tour. He will also be conducting a workshop with entrepreneurs and youngsters apart from interacting with the young artists and thinkers from the city.
The tour will open up a new portal for greater understanding amongst the youth of Kolkata about the contemporary culture and the innovative & dynamic spirit of Israel. Greater number of collaborations could emerge in the future due to such an interaction which bodes well for India- Israeli friendship.
Interdisciplinary Artist and Entrepreneur, Forbes Under 30
Matan lives in the nexus of art, technology and positive impact. His award-winning inventions translate physical signals (such as brainwaves, heartbeats and movements) into music, turn everyday objects into instruments and have been displayed at museums, galleries, events and stages worldwide.
Matan regularly speaks and performs for the likes of TEDx, Google Day, Microsoft Think Next, Forbes Under 30 Summit, Re:Publica and Music Tech Fest.
His presentations often combine live musical demos of his inventions, while his unique workshops focus on Rapid Innovation – turning ideas into reality quickly and effectively, without relying on technology.
As the founder of Shift, a company which specializes in impact-driven innovation, Matan co-developed solutions for people with disabilities: enabling paralyzed, amputee, blind and autistic musicians to express themselves in new ways.
His latest project, the Airstrument, which translates hand movements into music, is currently being developed and tested at hospitals as a bio-feedback device for rehabilitation, after graduating from a European Union incubator and the Mass Challenge global accelerator.
Featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list of most promising young Israelis in science & technology, Matan is an alumni of The Generational Ambassadors Program (MIT &
Harvard), U-Penn’s Social Global Impact House & an ROI Community member.
Website : http://MatanB.com | E-mail : email@example.com
About the Lecture
Matan’s inventions translate physical signals like brainwaves, heartbeats and motion into music, turn everyday objects into musical instruments, and enable people with disabilities to express themselves in new ways.
In between touring the world as a public speaker for the likes of TEDx, Google, Forbes, and Microsoft and creating interactive art installations for museums and galleries, Matan is coming to Kolkata to share some of his projects, methods and insights. The talk includes a live musical demo.
Loreto College, Kolkata ( only for students & faculty) – November 22, 2017|10 :30 pm – 12 pm
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (open to all) – November 22, 2017 | 2:30 pm – 4 pm
Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (open to all) – November 23, 2017 |5 :30 pm
About the Workshop
In this hands-on Rapid Prototyping Workshop, Matan teaches how to use Design Thinking principals and his own unique process to turn your ideas into real things, creatively and effectively, without having to rely on technology.
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (open to all) – November 23, 2017 | 11 am – 2 pm
To participate in the workshop or attend the lecture, please email firstname.lastname@example.org or call +91 8697919308
This program is supported by Iris Home Fragrances
Iris Home Fragrances products are available at all Spencers & Pantaloons outlets

domain: artistic


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(StraightNews.org) – Wisconsin lawmaker Mike Gallagher is warning law enforcement agencies and Congressional colleagues of the pervasiveness of Chinese spying in the United States. Rep. Gallagher said China is seeking out sensitive information it believes it can use to blackmail America on the world stage. “There’s no doubt they’re trying to do everything that they can to steal sensitive information and then weaponize that against us,” he said.
Gallagher was stern in his criticism and said America has been slow, naïve, and has dropped the ball in failing to recognize the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and, in particular, its secretive Ministry of State Security – effectively the KGB of modern China.
The Congressman’s warning comes as two members of the US Navy were arrested in California for espionage. Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao, aged 22 and 26, were detained and charged with accepting cash in exchange for photos and video clips inside US ships.
Mr. Wei, who worked aboard USS Essex, had security clearance and access to sensitive areas. Chinese agents allegedly approached him last year and offered him money to take photos and videos of technical manuals and blueprints of the ship.
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao allegedly received $15,000 for photos of diagrams and blueprints of a radar system stationed on a US military base in Okinawa, Japan. Both men face a potential 20-year term in federal prison.
Despite a long history of proven covert operations in the US, both military and industrial, China denies all knowledge of the alleged espionage and accused America of smearing its name. In January, for example, the Department of Justice uncovered an industrial spying plot. This involved a process known as steganography – hiding computer data inside the code of an innocent file.
Zheng Xiaoqing, an employee of General Electric Power, was caught concealing confidential information inside the binary code of a digital photo of a sunset. The information was related to designing and manufacturing gas and steam turbines.
Copyright 2023, StraightNews.org


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Although willing to oppose the White House on the Iraq war, they remain nervous that they will be called soft on terrorism if they insist on strict curbs on gathering intelligence.
A Democratic bill to be proposed on Tuesday in the House would maintain for several years the type of broad, blanket authority for N.S.A. eavesdropping that the administration secured in August for six months.
In an acknowledgment of concerns over civil liberties, the bill would require a more active role by. .
House moves to limit FISA
House Democrats yesterday introduced a bill that would restrict the government"s power to eavesdrop on foreign terrorism suspects.
The legislation calls for rolling back a temporary expansion of electronic eavesdropping authority that the Democrat-led Congress approved in August. The Bush administration said the powers were needed to aid the war on terror, but liberal groups condemned them as an assault on civil liberties.


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KOSOVO- Përparim Rama has taken office today as mayor of the capital Prishtina.
During the swearing-in ceremony what has made the most impression is the gesture he has made towards his mother.
According to the media in Kosovo, Përparim Rama kissed the hands of his mother present at the ceremony.
“From today, we get to work. Prishtina will be a city of children, the elderly, parents, athletes and artists. Place full of opportunities, green city. With communicative and digitized traffic.
Honorable assembly members, as the mayor of Prishtina, I will cooperate with each of you, for the good of the capital, for Prishtina “, declared the mayor Rama after taking office.

domain: sociology


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From afar you can hear the theme song by Pharrell Williams blasting on the speakers, immediately transporting you to Gru’s world in Despicable Me ….This is where all the humans are heading to actually. THE MINION PARK! FIRST IN ASIA!
Universal Studios Japan creating Despicable Me Minion “Mayhem” at Minion Park this SUMMER!
Leading towards Minion Park you are greeted with cute Minion carts selling summer merchandise and snacks. Really hard to resist as they are all Minionized leaving you NO CHOICE BUT TO TRY every one of these snacks found only in summer! Varying year to year, some items might even be a one-off item which might not be repeated the following year.
From afar you can hear the theme song by Pharrell Williams blasting on the speakers, immediately transporting you to Gru’s world in Despicable Me ….This is where all the humans are heading to actually. Minion Park!
BUT before you explore further … my advice is to head right in by-pass the Minion fountain (you can’t miss it) and right at Gru’s Mansion. Make sure you qualify yourself into a “villain” at the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem Ride. This should be your “1st” thing to do. As we were ushered in we were greeted on-screen by Gru, Margo, Edith, Agnes and of course Minions, preparing us to be Minions! The 18 minute hyper-realistic projection system ride is obviously not for the faint of heart – prepare for massive laughter ….
Now Minions …. you are free to explore!!
Would advise you to have loads of extra space for pictures, batteries and power banks to be ready, as every turn you make is picture worthy. On the East side you will find sweet factory, renovated warehouse and Minions favorite boutique line. On the West is Minion Marketplace. Try your luck in getting lil’ Agnes Unicorn because “It’s So Fluffayyyy!!” (Minion fans you know what I mean) And don’t forget to bring back these cute lil Minion Merchandise with you! You can see people resting on the park’s grassland …. against a bright blue sky just simply enjoying!
By far the “ONLY” and “LARGEST” Minion Park and one of the three places in the World (only in Asia by the way) where you can experience the “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem Ride”.
For those of you who have children or even if you don’t, this is a MUST VISIT AT LEAST ONCE IN A LIFETIME STOP.

domain: hobby


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BROOKLYN - The 21st annual Red Hook Fest will be continuing Saturday.
Brooklyn residents can enjoy live music from several groups and dancing at the Brooklyn Waterfront. Free kayak rides will be offered and people can take part in a Red Hook trivia contest.
The festival is made possible by Dance Theatre Etcetera, which focuses on expression through the arts.
Organizers say the event is about showcasing the next generation of Brooklyn artists.
The festivities began Thursday and will conclude Saturday at 7 p.m.


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Queen Bey posted a sweet message in support of the Duchess of Sussex on her Beyonce.com website Wednesday, joining the long line of famous faces to back Markle and Prince Harry following the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Markle alleged racist treatment from the British royal family and revealed she’d contemplated suicide.
“Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you,” read Beyoncé’s post.
The “Black is King” singer also shared a photograph of herself and Markle meeting for the first time at the 2019 London premiere of “The Lion King,” when they shared a hug and Beyoncé reportedly called Markle “my princess.”
It’s not the first time Beyoncé has expressed support for Markle, who with Harry announced their decision to step back from royal life last year.
Also in 2019, the singer and rapper husband Jay-Z accepted a Brit Award in a prerecorded message filmed in front of a Queen Elizabeth II-style painting of Markle. Watch that video here:


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The state has amended the indictment on the treason charge against Hakainde Hichilema, stating that the opposition leader wanted to declare himself President of the Republic of Zambia at the Kuomboka Ceremony in Mongu.
And HH has pleaded not guilty to the charges of obstructing the presidential motorcade and using insulting language.
Earlier, Lusaka magistrate Greenwell Malumani ruled that the state failed to state any overt act made by HH in order to overthrow the government.
Referring to the Shamwana case, Magistrate Malumani said the charge was clear and there was evidence of meetings held in planning the capture of then President Kaunda.
“In the light of the foregoing, the purported treason charge exists in a vacuum,” ruled magistrate Malumani, but clarified that the charge of treason could only be tried in the High Court.
He added that the subordinate court could not quash such an indictment but open an inquiry instead.
“It is of the opinion of this court that the charge has no substance to be submitted for trail,” he said.
Magistrate Malumani allowed the state submit a fresh indictment of treason against HH which would be heard in the High Court.
The State However produced the indictment accompanying other charges with an addition of overt acts committed by HH.
In Overt Act one, the state claimed that on April 5, 2017 HH together with others conspired to mobilise an advance party to ensure that he was to be accorded the status of President of the republic of Zambia at the Kuomboka Ceremony in Mongu.
In Overt Act two, the state submitted that on April 8, 2017, HH and over 60 other unknown people and being on a convoy of motor vehicles on the Mongu Limulunga Road did obstruct the presidential motorcade, an act that was likely to cause death or grievous harm to the President of the Republic of Zambia, in order to usurp the executive power of the state.
Magistrate Malumani said he could not allow the treason charge to be submitted jointly, but accepted the indictment and called for a break to study the details in chambers.
HH took advantage of the break to chat with his wife and other family members.
When the hearing resumed, the separated indictment was read out and HH pleaded not guilty to the charges of obstructing the presidential motorcade and using insulting language.
His co-accused also said they understood the charge but pleaded not guilty.


Modist Brewing Adding “Neon-Overdosed” Event Space
Modist Brewing released images and details this week of the brand new event space they’re building at the north end of their facility as part of a $2 million renovation that will also create new offices, lounge and lab for employees.
They’re describing it as a “multi-level, mural-infested, mirrored-ceilinged, neon-overdosed, brewer zoo of an event space” that’ll host up to 100 people for “corporate events, doggy baby showers, wedding parties, and just about anything else you can think of that we’re zoned for.”
A blog post on the Modist website said construction should be complete in mid-July and “of course, we’ll be throwing a party once it’s ready.”
It will be one of two new event spaces opening in the North Loop this year. Chef David Fhima and his family will soon be opening a Ralph Lauren-themed event space above their new restaurant, Maison Margaux, in the building that used to house Ribnick Furs.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer


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Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World
AbstractThis paper outlines and tests two agency models of dividends. According to the "outcome model," dividends are paid because minority shareholders pressure corporate insiders to disgorge cash. According to the "substitute model," insiders interested in issuing equity in the future pay dividends to establish a reputation for decent treatment of minority shareholders. The first model predicts that stronger minority shareholder rights should be associated with higher dividend payouts; the second model predicts the opposite. Tests on a cross section of 4,000 companies from 33 countries with different levels of minority shareholder rights support the outcome agency model of dividends. Copyright The American Finance Association 2000.
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Bibliographic InfoArticle provided by American Finance Association in its journal The Journal of Finance.
Volume (Year): 55 (2000)
Issue (Month): 1 (02)
Other versions of this item:
- Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silane & Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, 1998. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies Around the World," NBER Working Papers 6594, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies Around the World," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1839, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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domain: economics


text:
Established in April 2009, CQC has now entered its second decade, lasting longer than its predecessors and seemingly here to stay for the long-term.
Regulating tens of thousands of health and social care services across England, CQC is a risk-based regulator that is required to protect and promote the welfare of service users and assure the public as to the standard of registered services.
At Gordons Partnership, we have a specialist Health and Social Care Provider Team led by Neil Grant who has over 25 years’ experience working in the sector. As CQC lawyers, our clients include care homes, home care agencies, supported living services, GPs, dentists, independent hospitals and private clinics.
Our expertise enables us to advise clients on the following areas:
- The CQC registration journey. A provider cannot operate lawfully without CQC registration. We assist clients in obtaining CQC registration, whether they are new to the sector or wish to add additional services to their portfolio.
- CQC Inspection. Registered services are subject to the full rigour of CQC inspection at periodic intervals. We support clients through the inspection process, including responding to CQC inspection reports. On a regular basis, we secure changes to inspection reports, including improved CQC ratings.
- CQC Compliance. We work with our clients in addressing compliance issues, often alongside specialist care consultants with whom we have a longstanding relationship. Equally, where the facts and evidence do not support an alleged breach of regulation, we support our clients in challenging CQC in a polite but firm manner.
- CQC Enforcement. CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers ranging from prosecution to cancellation of registration. We defend providers subject to CQC regulatory action, always seeking to resolve matters as quickly as possible.
Neil Grant writes:
An in depth understanding of CQC’s jurisdiction and methodologies is essential in order to advise providers effectively. At the same time, it is critical to put in place a strategy and plan at the outset, linked to the evidence and an informed assessment of risk. Each case is unique and has to be judged on its own merits. Our approach is based on cooperation, respect and collaboration but we are always assertive in defending our clients’ interests.
Please feel to contact Neil for a free, no obligation discussion. Our paramount concern is to assist health and social care providers requiring regulatory and commercial advice.

domain: law


Holiday gift guide for the Silk Lover
Silk is making a big buzz in the beauty industry. Once a well-kept secret of beauty insiders, the word is out that sleeping on silk is great for skin and hair. Silk reduces sleep wrinkles, minimizes bed head, and -- because it’s protein based -- helps skin retain precious moisture. It’s also breathable, hypoallergenic, and -- of course -- luxurious. Silk makes the perfect present for any beauty-lover on your list, including yourself! Take a look at these six suggestions:
100% Silk Charmeuse Eye Mask from Mulberry Park Silks
The light-blocking design and whisper-soft silk are made to encourage deep, dreamy sleep. Perfectly portable for home and travel use. Hypoallergenic, lightweight, adjustable strap. Made of 19 Momme (600 Thread Count) Pure Mulberry Silk. Price: $15.
Jet set in comfort with this perfectly portable silk travel pillowcase. Made with 19 Momme Pure Mulberry Silk that our customer Jose B. says is “like sleeping on a cloud.” OEKO-TEX Certified (Standard 100) to be free of chemicals and naturally dyed with no color shading or fading. Ivory pillowcase, $18.95, comes with silk fold-over travel pouch. Optional polyester fill pillow insert also available. Price: $12.
22 Momme Pure Silk Pillowcases
This Deluxe 22 Momme Pure Silk pillowcase is an absolute must for a sweet night’s sleep! Known for preventing wrinkles and minimizing tangles, our Mulberry Park Silks 22 Momme pillowcases earn high praise. One customer says they give her a “luxurious million-dollar princess-like feeling.”
Pure Silk Pillowcase colors:
Pure Silk Pillowcase made with:
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- Envelope style closure with generous 8” flap
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- OEKO-TEX® Certified (Standard 100) to be free of chemicals
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Price: $42.75 and up.
Set of 22 Momme Deluxe Silk Sheets
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Naturally hypoallergenic and resistant to mites and mold; OEKO-TEX® Certified (Standard 100) to be free of chemicals; and colored with environmentally friendly dyes.
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Silk Scrunchies available in two sizes:
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Price: $15.66 and $17.56 for a 3-pack.
With proper care, your silk sheets and pillowcases will stay luxurious wash after wash. Savvy silk lovers choose Heritage Park Fabric Wash, which is hypoallergenic and specially formulated to be gentle on silk and other fine linens. It’s a must-have favorite of our staff and customers alike, who say “it works great” and they “adore how it smells.” Price: $23 and $35.


Update: Prasarana has proposed an alternative location for the integrated depot in Puchong – requiring a second 3-months public display. Click here for more information.
Updated with new photos, images and articles!
Important NOTE: Now that the Public Display is completed there will be a lot of work sorting out the information and reining in the political statements.
TRANSIT notes that the public notice for the extension of the Kelana Jaya LRT Line (a.k.a. LRT Sistem 2 KL) from Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights has been filed and an announcement about the public display has been made public.
A scanned copy of the announcement is here. A summary of the announcement posted at the bottom of this page.
TRANSIT will be following the public display as well as looking at some of the controversies related to the planning of the LRT and the public display throughout the planning and construction process.
We invite your comments and feedback on the construction of the LRT Line extension and hope that these comments will also be shared directly with the Malaysian Government, Selangor Government, Department of Railways and Prasarana as well.
Please remember that, for comments to be considered “official” they have to be sent to the Department of Railways in writing, before 14 December. Postings on the website may not be considered “official”. However, you may be able to email your comments to email@example.com (and please send a copy of your email to firstname.lastname@example.org or post it here)
We will be creating a special section on our blogsite to follow this topic throughout the period of public display and on through the tendering and construction periods. In addition, you can find more information about objections/comments/concerns related to the LRT proposal here.
You can gather more information & give ‘unofficial’ feedback by visiting the LRT Extension website, http://www.lrtextension.com/
Proposed Route Maps
Different versions of the proposed route maps can be found below.
Click here to view a larger version of the map above.
Proposed Station Locations
Kelana Jaya Line Extension Stations
Kelana Jaya/Lembah Subang
1. Subang Depot (opposite D’Aman Crimson Condos) – image of station plan
2. Dana 1 Commercial Centre (north side of Subang Airport Road) – image of station plan
3. Kelana Jaya Centre Point (built on Airport Road with a multi-storey carpark) – image of station plan
4. Subang Jaya KTM (built over the KTM station + multi-storey car park) – image of station plan
5. SS15 Subang Jaya (opposite Nasi Kandar Pelita) – image of station plan
6. SS18 Subang Jaya (opposite SS14 commercial centre) – image of station plan
UEP Subang Jaya
7. USJ7 (opposite Goodyear Court 1 &2 with multi-storey carparks) – image of station plan
8. USJ8 (opposite Goodyear Court 3) – image of station plan
9. USJ14 (near Sekolah Wawasan & USJ19 Digital Mall) – image of station plan
10. USJ 21 (opposite Tropika Paradise Condo with multi-storey carparks) – image of station plan
Putra Heights/Alam Megah
11. Putra Heights / Alam Megah 1 – image of station plan
12. Putra Heights / Alam Megah 2 – image of station plan
13. Putra Heights Commercial Centre(interchange with Ampang line) – image of station plan
Ampang Line Extension Stations
1. Bukit OUG/Awan Besar – image of station plan
2. PPR Kg. Muhibbah – image of station plan
3. Bandar Kinrara 1 & 6 – image of station plan
4. Bandar Kinrara 2 & 5 – image of station plan
5. TBK & Bandar Kinrara 3 – image of station plan
6. IOI Mall – image of station plan
7. Tesco (Bandar Puteri) – image of station plan
8. Rakan Muda – image of station plan
9. Batu 12 (Tractor’s Malaysia) – image of station plan
10. Puchong Perdana – image of station plan
11. Puchong Prima – image of station plan
12. Kampung Tengah (the integrated depot will be here) – image of station plan
13. Putra Heights (interchange with Kelana Jaya Line) – image of station plan
Station Design & new Design Page
An image of one of the station designs on the Ampang line is posted below. More discussion and comments about design, including station design, interior design & architecture, universal design and accessibility and information and signage can be found at our new Design page, http://transitmy.org/design
Earlier Postings & Comments
You may also be interested in reading earlier postings & comments about the extension, which are copied below:
- Proposed Extension of Kelana Jaya line (NOT finalized)
- 25th July 2009 – Dialogue on Extension of Kelana Jaya LRT line to Subang Jaya, USJ & Putra Heights
- Press Conference by residents of Putra Heights regarding LRT extension
- LRT: Satu Lagi Projek Barisan Nasional?
Objections, Feedback & Comments
A detailed lists of objections, feedback and comments regarding the proposed LRT extensions can be found at the posting “They object” (objections to the LRT proposal)
Articles & Letters
Letters & Articles about the public display can be found below, grouped by dates:
01 / 12 – 31 / 12
Read our comments on the articles below at this post.
- Article: Residents want LRT station in Sunway (Streets-NST) – A group of residents has highlighted the need for an LRT station in Sunway in this article on 23 December 2009;
- Article: Work starts on LRT station (The Star) – This article from the Star on 20th December highlighted land clearing works at the site of the proposed Putra Heights LRT station and prompted a letter from Prasarana explaining that the construction had not yet started;
- Article: KL turns to LRT to get on right track (Malaysian Insider/NST) – The Malaysian Insider posted this NST article about the proposed LRT lines and the apparent focus on LRT construction as a solution for the public transport woes in the Klang Valley;
- Article: LRT plan gets the nod as residents feel it will ease traffic (The Star) – TRANSIT was alerted to this article in which a group of resident’s associations and other groups in USJ/Subang Jaya, (presumably organized by Madam Ong Chong Swen – the MCA Kelana Jaya Division Chair) gave mostly positive feedback about the proposed Kelana Jaya LRT extension.
21 /11 – 30 / 11
- Article: LRT line extensions may start next March (Streets-NST) – discusses the number of companies involved in pre-qualifications for the upcoming LRT extension projects;
- Article: Building confidence in public transport (the Star) – discusses the idea that investment in public transport infrastructure (rather than service) will bring more people to use public transport. Read our comments at this post.
16 / 11 – 20 / 11
- Article: Public display period for LRT lines proposal coming to a close (The Star) – discusses the end of the public display period and the submission of the feedback. Please note our objections to this article, at this post;
- Article: Community reps bond together over proposed LRT lines – tells the story of the ad-hoc committee for Subang Jaya
- Letter: Puchong in need of a better transport system (NST) – self explanatory;
- Article: Commuters want exact locations of new stations (The Star) – Argues that Prasarana should clearly post the exact locations of the stations;
- Commentary: More information needed (The Star) – Argues that Prasarana should make a greater effort to disseminate detailed information about the LRT line, stations and other features.
- Letter: PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Make Puchong a hub, too (NST) – Susai Anthony Muthu argues that public transport to Puchong must be enhanced;
- Letter: PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Connect lines (NST) – AMN of Ampang argues that Prasarana should connect the Ampang LRT line with the Kelana Jaya line at Jelatek or other places.
- Article: Pinpoint location of LRT stations, says youth chief (The Star);
- Letter: More LRT lines required (Malay Mail);
- Letter: Cheras LRT line needed (Malay Mail).
18 / 9
- LRT EXTENSION PROJECT: Efficient feeder bus service vital (Malay Mail)
- LRT EXTENSION PROJECT: Residents’ feedback will be considered, says MB (Malay Mail)
- Builders keen on LRT job (Star Biz)
16 / 9
15 / 9
- Plan to be finalised after public input (Streets-NST)
- Thousands to benefit from LRT extension (The Star)
- No to public display (Malay Mail)
- RM7b LRT extension (Star Biz)
- LRT: Kos tambah laluan RM7b (Utusan)
- RM7 bilion untuk perluaskan LRT (KOSMO)
14 / 9
- Views on Kelana Jaya rail project sought (Streets-NST)
- Public may give feedback on LRT extension project (NST)
- Feedback for LRT extension sought (Business Times)
- New LRT line extensions on display from tomorrow (Malaysian Insider)
The official project announcement is summarized below.
Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad hereby announces that it plans to extend the existing Kelana Jaya Line from its Kelana Jaya Station to Putra Heights, a total length of 17km. In accordance with Section 8 of the Railways Act 1991, the following documents have been submitted to the Department of Railways, for the purpose of Public Inspection:
a) Route plan, elevation views and sections, details of the route alignment, stations, car-parks, rolling stock and other related items.
b) Book of Reference which contains the names of the proprietors and lessees of the lands required for the project.
Place and Duration for Public Display
The above documents will be displayed for the purpose of Public Inspection from 15 September 2009 to 14 December 2009 at the following locations:
Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya
Level 1, Persiaran Perpaduan USJ5
47610 SUBANG JAYA
SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN
Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya
Lobi Menara MBPJ
46200 PETALING JAYA
SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN
Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam
Ground Floor Lobby A Wisma MBSA
40000 SHAH ALAM
SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN
Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur
Menara DBKL 2
Jalan Raja Laut
50350 KUALA LUMPUR
Department of Railways
13th Floor, Menara Dayabumi
Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin
50050, KUALA LUMPUR
The display will be held during normal office hours i.e. 09:00 to 17:00 from Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays).
The public may also inspect the project proposal at the website of the Department of Railways – www.dor.gov.my
Brief Description of the Project
The project, amongst others, involves the construction of tracks and stations, carparks, purchasing of new fully automated train-sets, signalling system including Automatic Train Protection System, communications system, power supply system and Automatic Fare Collection System.
Invitation to Inspect
Syarikat Praserana Negara Berhad hereby invites all parties and members of the public to inspect the above·said plans, sections and the Book of Reference and all comments or objections to the project must be submitted in writing to the Director General of the Department of Railways at the above address on or before 14 December 2009.
We have so much to say about the whole public consultation process and the people involved so it is tough to sit everything down into one posting. The easiest way to do it all is to break down the major issues and comment on the public display and how it can be improved.
1. The Public Consultation Process
TRANSIT is not happy with the 3 month public display process mandated within Section 8 of the Railways Act 1991 and feel that a number of amendments are needed.
Our main concern is that the 3month public display actually allows the process of planning and decision-making to be secretive, consfusing, ineffective and not transparent.
The LRT extensions were announced in 2004 but it was only in 2009 that we were able to see the ‘preferred’ alignment showcased at the public display. According to Dato’ Idrose, Prasarana has evaluated 10 different alignments and chosen this one as the most cost-effective and reaching the largest number of people.
However, at no point have any of these alignments been made public. Without data, the public has no way of knowing how these crucial decisions have been made.
TRANSIT believes that the public display process should be broken down into multiple stages. We envision 4 stages of public consultation, namely:
- Technology & Service Analysis & Selection, where a mode of rapid-transit (LRT, Rapid Tram, BRT) faces a cost benefit analysis and receives public feedback. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is started at this stage.
- Route Alignment Analysis & Selection, in which the top 4-5 route alternatives are made public and the advantages and disadvantages for each are analysed & explained publicly. The EIA process continues at this stage and looks at specific impacts as the route is selected.
- Station Placement Analysis & Selection where the locations of stations are determined and feedback is taken from the community. The EIA process at this time must focus on noise, traffic and community impacts.
- Station Amenities Analysis & Selection where the features of the stations are examined and analyzed by the local community to finalize the details about each & every station.
2. The Feedback Process
TRANSIT is disappointed to note that, while the Department of Railways is responsible for collecting feedback about the railway projects (as an independent regulatory body) the majority of feedback is expected to go directly to the operators.
Because of this, we wonder how much attention the Department of Railways is actually giving to this whole feedback process – despite what the Minister of Transport may say.
Frankly, we are also disappointed that the feedback is being collected in the form of a log book rather than proper forms. It does not give the impression that Prasarana is serious about collecting feedback. After all, how much feedback can be placed in a space that is 2″ wide and 1″ high?
We are surprised that the Department of Railways does not have an official form for the collection of feedback about Railway projects which would be used at all public displays.
3. The Information at the Public Display
The public display in Melaka had a great deal of technical information, whereas the public display for the LRT extensions is light on technical information.
The information about the line & stations is interesting and useful but does not go far enough to answer the critical questions of WHY? and HOW?
We refer here to questions like:
- Why did you choose this LRT technology?
- How many people can the LRT carry?
- How many passengers do you expect to take the LRT?
- How did you determine these numbers?
- Why did you choose this location for this station?
- How many people are you expecting to use this station? and many others……..
The only very specific information that we have found is the noise levels that Prasarana expects the LRT to produce, in comparision with the levels set out by the Department of the Environment. And even the reasoning behind these numbers are unclear. For example, if the numbers Prasarana is using refer to average decibel levels (rather than maximum) then it is quite possible that noise levels could be higher at certain times – possibly higher than the permitted maximum levels.
Regarding the other information, it is too general and gives very little information about what Prasarana and RapidKL are planning to do. Feeder buses are promised but little detail about the routes or communities served is given. Nothing specific is said about walkways, community safety, parking problems, and many other factors except that Prasarana promises that they will take care of things.
Again, this is why we believe that a multi-stage public consultation process is much better than the current system of public display. At this point we should have already figured out the details of route alignment & station location and could focus our attention on things like feeder bus services & walkways for pedestrians.
4. Areas for Improvement
TRANSIT hopes that RapidKL and Prasarana and the Department of Railways will take steps to improve upon their public display efforts by doing the following:
- Solicit more and better feedback from the public by introducing proper feedback forms with sufficient length for feedback;
- Request people to share their contact information for future consultation;
- Print out booklets showing the station locations and make these available to the public;
- Ask for specific feedback for each station with respect to feeder bus services, parking, walkways, noise levels and other factors;
- Expand the size of the displays so the public can see large, detailed blueprints of the entire guideway and each station;
- Connect a printer to the computer to allow people to print out information or their feedback forms and take that information home;
- Provide proper tokens to the public for their participation – notepads & pens & pins are small tokens but people appreciate the gesture;
- Have a representative from the Department of Railways present at each public display.
5. The Next Display (and Long-Term Participation)
TRANSIT has heard that the Sg. Buloh – Cheras line will be going for public display in early 2010. We hope that RapidKL and Prasarana will consider our feedback about the public display process and break down the public display into a staged public consultation, beginning in the next few months.
RapidKL and Prasarana should do their best to resolve the route alignment and other general issues about stations through public consultation before they go to the official public display period.


text:
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