text:
Influence Of Reality Television On Moral Standards
Reality television shows impose fake moral standards that are detrimental to human beings. Most people tend to watch television at night before they go to bed. More than likely, they are watching a reality TV show because nine out of ten shows that are produced are in the category of reality. Even though most people have switched over to watching Netflix or some online version of television, it is still mostly reality TV shows or movies. Out of all o==f the shows produced on television 70% of them are in the reality genre (“Reality”). When watching reality television, the main points that people focus on are self-esteem, their looks, their children, and most importantly their life.
When watching a show, you start to compare your life with the way that the actors are portraying their lives to be. We all know that the way things are on TV is not what they are in real life. In sociology, there is a concept of ideal culture and real culture. Ideal culture follows your morals and “sticks to the script” while real culture is the way things actually are and sometimes break morals. Reality TV shows follow these concepts to a T, they portray ideal culture when in real life it would be real culture.
The most popular reality television show in 2019 is The Game of Thrones. The main age group that watches this show is 18-29 years old and the age group 30-44 years old is almost as high (“Audience Demographics”. When you think about those age groups, the person has more than likely started a family and has small children running around. When kids are young you try to teach them right from wrong, but Game of Thrones can teach the young ones much differently. This reality show is known for its violence and sexuality. When young ones see these types of acts, it will teach them ways that are against their parent’s morals and they will start to grow up not knowing any better.
Reality television does not only have an effect on young ones but society as a whole. According to Brad Gorham of Syracuse University, “Reality television has an effect on the behaviors of people in society.” He claims that people are easily influenced by reality television because they eventually copy the behaviors portrayed on television and use them in real life. There has been an observational study done by the University of Wisconsin on the effects of reality TV shows. According to the students of the University of Wisconsin who did the study stated that “This study concluded that reality television viewers believe that the argumentative and conniving behaviors portrayed on television shows is considered normal in today’s society.” With that being said, nowadays, more and more people are started to follow the real culture and just throw away the norms.
When thinking about norms and morals the first thing that comes to my mind is my manners and how I personally treat someone. The main four moral values are respect, family, never hurt anyone and honesty. As I mentioned before that The Game of Thrones is the most popular reality television show. When you think about the show and its contents, it breaks many of the moral values that I just stated. If you were raised correctly as a young child then you should know and follow your morals, but if you are constantly watching something over and over against that goes against your morals, then you will start to break them yourself.
According to Pepperdine University students who did a study on how reality TV shows lower moral standards said, “Over the past two decades the accepted moral standards upheld by the sitcom have deteriorated as they made way for the new so-called “reality.”” The called the reality we are in now, the “new” reality. By saying this, it means to me that nowadays people do not care about the social standards and the morals that they should have. I do not agree with this society that is called the “new society”. I believe that people should stick their moral values and do what is right.
When learning why and how reality TV shows are detrimental to human begins, I learned that 95% of people who watch this genre of television shows all have children. The generation that is in elementary school now is learning many things that break moral standards like violence, drugs, and bad language just by watching television with their parents. The parents are probably oblivious to what their child is learning because they do not pay attention to their kids when they are watching television, and the kids are more than likely to be right there with them and watching the show and the moral standards be broken and thinking that it is okay. By thinking it is okay to do, they will continue to do it and will never learn right from wrong.
I am against reality television shows. While I think they are very comical and very easy to get addicted to watching, I think the genre should be cut down by at least 35%. I always want to live by the moral standards and have respect for others and I wish more people would do the same. If more people watched fewer reality TV shows, I believe that the crime percentage would go down and that respect for others would grow. If there is less reality television shows in the world, the society would become much more respectful and safer for everyone.

domain: sociology


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Then a hybrid mattress may be the ideal option for you, if you’re looking for an incredibly comfortable mattress that also offers exceptional support and relief on your pressure points. Jamison Hybrid Gel Latex Mattress
Hybrid mattresses are developed to give you the very best of both worlds. These mattresses utilize foam or latex based materials combined with an innerspring coil system. This develops a mattress that is as relaxing as a foam mattress without compromising the durability and stability offered by the coils.
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The Hybrid Mattress In More Detail Jamison Hybrid Gel Latex Mattress
- 1 The Hybrid Mattress In More Detail Jamison Hybrid Gel Latex Mattress
- 2 The Very Best Hybrid Mattress
- 3 Benefits and drawbacks of Hybrid Mattresses
- 4 Often Asked Concerns
- 4.1 Is It Possible to Flip a Hybrid Mattress?
- 4.2 Are Hybrid Mattresses Great for Back Pain?
- 4.3 Is a Box Spring Needed for Hybrid Mattresses?
- 4.4 What is the Expected Service Life of a Hybrid Mattress?
- 4.5 Is a Hybrid Mattress Great For Side Sleepers?
- 4.6 Is a Hybrid Mattress a Good Choice for Heavy People?
These mattresses integrate various materials to provide the most well balanced and comfortable sleeping surface area you can buy today.
Coil springs and memory foam are the two most popular materials in the mattress market and hybrid mattresses bring out the best of both these products.
The Very Best Hybrid Mattress
- Puffy Lux Hybrid Mattress – Finest Overall Worth
- Saatva Latex Hybrid – Most Luxurious
- Amerisleep AS3 Hybrid – Best For Neck And Back Pain
- Plush Beds Luxury Bliss – Best Organic
- Sweet Night Twilight Hybrid Mattress– Best Budget Plan
- Bear Hybrid –
Picture a mattress where you get to take pleasure in support used by an inner spring system combined with the advance pressure relief offered by memory foam. You are the ideal candidate for a hybrid mattress if this is the kind of mattress that works for you. Due to the excellent need for hybrid mattresses, lots of companies have leapt in this market and launched a number of models however sadly, all the choices readily available in the market are not that great. You must be questioning how you must set about selecting the right one. We have actually done the work for you.
Here is a list of a few of the very best hybrid mattresses offered today.
Puffy Lux Hybrid Mattress
The Puffy Lux Hybrid Mattress is a relatively new addition to the Puffy mattress range, and has rapidly ended up being Puffy’s finest seller, and for great reason.
This is a luxury mattress that has been specifically created to bring optimum support throughout your whole body, with extra attention on the back and spine. Due to the fact that of this, the Puffy Lux Hybrid is also one of the most highly rated bed mattress for back pain.
The Puffy Lux Hybrid features 6 private layers throughout the full 12 inch depth of the mattress. These layers feature high-quality memory foam combined coils that are specifically developed to adjust to the unique contours of your body. These coils also produce a higher depth of stability and a great, soft bounce under pressure.
Furthermore, Puffy Lux Hybrid sleepers also take advantage of the the elegant Plush Dual Cloud Foam layer. This layer causes a cloud-like comfort feel to assist you wander off to sleep more easily. And wrapping it all up in a stain-resistant hypoallergenic mattress cover makes this mattress a first option for customers who are in the market for a premium hybrid mattress.
The 6 Puffy Lux Hybrid layers consist of:
- Stain-Resistant Cloud Cover
- Cooling CloudTM Foam
- Plush Dual Cloud Foam
- Climate ComfortTM Foam
- Firm Core Support Foam + Contour-Adapt Coils
- Grip Base Cover
Oeko-Tex ® Standard 100 Certified
CertiPUR-US ® Certified
This mattress is likewise certified by CentriPUR-US®, which ensures that the foams used to make this mattress complies with the highest possible worldwide standards. The polyurethane foam found inside the Puffy Lux Hybrid adheres to the CentriPUR-US ® standards for content, emissions and durability, and has been evaluated by independent screening labs.
Puffy is understood for their top quality products, and extraordinary service. If you pick the Puffy Lux Hybrid mattress then you’ll likewise take pleasure in free shipping (ships within 1-3 business days), lifetime warranty, a 101 night sleep trial, and excellent financing choices.
Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress
This is another mattress that is made from natural products. The company behind this mattress is among the most widely known names in the industry.
This hybrid mattress integrates top quality natural Talalay latex which is eco-INSTITUT certified and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. It is a well-crafted mattress that utilizes glamorous Talalay latex.
The latex foam is supportive and provides the perfect balance when combined with innerspring coil system. It is a hypoallergenic mattress that has been specifically designed to supply an allergic reaction complimentary experience while sleeping. When you buy this mattress, you wear’t requirement to stress over toxic chemicals as it has actually been made from non-toxic products that are eco-friendly. If you’re looking for an ethical and elegant mattresses that provides the ultimate comfort and support, this is the mattress you have actually been waiting for.
Amerisleep AS3 Hybrid Mattress
This mattress supplies the elegant comfort you would anticipate from a hybrid mattress. You get a soft velvety feeling with that tough support. The designers at Amerisleep have investigated a lot to choose this combination as it ensures the best sleep experience.
These coils cradle you when you sleep on this mattress and offer enough bounce to keep you from sinking. It also supply extra assistance for spine and keeps your posture well lined up which makes it one of the best mattresses readily available in the market for back pain.
The designers at Amerisleep also understand how essential temperature control is while sleeping. This is why, they utilize a plant-based material called Bio-Pur. This product avoids overheating while sleeping. When you sleep on this mattress, the mattress has an open cell structure which suggests greater ventilation and that leads to nearly no overheating.
Sleep surface area is exceptionally crucial and this is why, Amerisleep uses Bio-Pur in this mattress. It is also CertiPUR-US certified. It has exceptional residential or commercial properties as it is resistant to allergen, mildew and mold and it is likewise low in volatile organic compounds. In simple terms, you don’t requirement to worry about harmful chemicals when you sleep on this mattress.
With this mattress, you are going to sleep cooler and you will also get to experience healthy bounce, great posture alignment, excellent comfort and terrific relief at your pressure points. This hybrid mattress includes a 100 night sleep trial and you likewise get a 20 year warranty. All the Amerisleep mattresses are made in the U.S.A. with high quality products and in an eco-friendly way. The shipping is complimentary when you purchase this mattress.
Plush Beds – The Luxury Bliss Hybrid Latex Mattress
This is the one you have been searching for if you are searching for 100% organic mattress. In truth, this mattress is at the top of our suggestions when it pertains to organic mattresses.
It is a 12 inch thick organic mattress and has an extremely comfy plush leading layer. This top layer has actually been produced from 100% GOLS certified organic latex.
High quality pocketed coils form the core of this mattress and all of these separately covered coils provide extraordinary support integrated with exceptional breathability and durability. Sleeping on this mattress will offer you that comfortable sensation when you lie down on that organic wool and cotton cover.
With this mattress, you will get excellence sleep experience and you will always awaken revitalized after a restorative and deep sleep. With this mattress, you get a 100 night sleep trial. The company offers a 25 year warranty for this mattress and the shipping is free.
Sweet Night Twilight Hybrid Mattress
The Sweet Night Twilight hybrid mattress model is a perfect mattress for budget sleepers. It provides a great comfy sleeping experience without compromising on effectiveness and durability. The Twilight design provides either 10 or 12 inches of thickness, and is 6.5 on the mattress firmness scale, making it a luxury firm mattress.
The Twilight hybrid mattress is Sweet Night’s most high-quality mattress. Its multiple layers have actually all been specially created to be supportive, breathable, and extremely comfy. This mattress is a mix of memory foam with a coil spring system. When your partner turns over or gets up in the night, each spring has actually been separately covered to help reduce motion vibration.
Sweet Night likewise went to fantastic lengths with the Twilight model to guarantee that it appropriates for everyone no matter their favored sleep position.
The Sweet Night Twilight hybrid mattress has actually been developed to provide the best worth for customers in terms of toughness, durability, and comfort.
This mattress from Bear combines the convenience of memory foam and assistance of innerspring coils.
A hand quilted Celliant Fiber Top is utilized in this mattress for the supreme sleeping experience. The designers at Bear have also taken notice of its breathability and convenience. This mattress includes a Hypersoft cooling gel foam that keeps you cool while sleeping. Simply put, you won’t feel hot or cold when sleeping on this mattress. It includes high density foam which offers strength to the mattress. High density foam also makes it more comfortable and long-lasting.
The premium quality foam used in this mattress will adapt to your body which indicates you can sleep comfortably in any position you desire. The foam has a responsive nature which enables good ventilation of air throughout the mattress. It supplies best combination of coolness and pressure relief.
When you sleep, it includes the Edge Coil system which is well known for supplying exceptional assistance and assists you in preserving appropriate alignment.
You get a 100 night sleep trial with the shipping and this mattress is free. It comes with a 20 year warranty. The company also assures that the mattress has been made with eco-friendly materials.
Benefits and drawbacks of Hybrid Mattresses
Even though hybrid mattresses sound best, there are particular restrictions. If it finest matched for you, here is everything you need to understand about these mattresses so you can decide.
Given that these have multiple layers, these offer an outstanding sleeping experience.
These provide temperature level control which implies these are cooler in summer season and warmer in the cold weather.
The layers can be selected to match the needs of specific sleeper.
These tend to be rather costly as compared to conventional mattresses.
If the mattress is not made thoroughly thinking about all the layers consisted of in the mattress, Sleepers may experience an out of balance sensation.
Often Asked Concerns
You’re probably going to have a ton of concerns if this is the first time you are investigating hybrid mattresses. Here is a list of a few of the most often asked concerns:
Is It Possible to Flip a Hybrid Mattress?
The style of a hybrid mattress isn’t fit to be flipped and this is why, you won’t find this feature in most brands using hybrid mattresses. However, one of the most popular brand names, Idle Sleep, has actually brought out a hybrid mattress that is flippable and has first-class quality.
Are Hybrid Mattresses Great for Back Pain?
A normal hybrid mattress is an exceptional choice for individuals dealing with back pain. This is due to the factor that they combine the convenience offered by memory foam with outstanding assistance provided by an innerspring or latex mattress. A hybrid mattress will provide much-needed relief to your pressure points and will also provide adequate support to your upper, low back and spine.
This is what makes a hybrid mattress an exceptional choice for pain in the back. A comfy layer of foam on the top integrated with sturdy much deeper layers makes sure that there is no sinking while sleeping and your body has the ability to preserve a healthy posture while sleeping.
Is a Box Spring Needed for Hybrid Mattresses?
It is not essential to have a box spring for use with a hybrid mattress. Nevertheless, integrating a box spring with a hybrid mattress will use you more comfort.
What is the Expected Service Life of a Hybrid Mattress?
It is essential to discuss the durability of a hybrid mattress. Some people have reported that they have the ability to use the mattress for a minimum of 10 years whereas there are others who have actually not been able to extend it beyond 3 to 4 years. As far as the durability of a hybrid mattress is worried, it depends upon the brand and products utilized for making it. Most of the times, a hybrid mattress must last for 6 years when it is effectively kept.
Related Article: copper hybrid mattress reviews revive
Is a Hybrid Mattress Great For Side Sleepers?
For side sleepers, a hybrid mattress is an excellent choice. The top layer of memory foam provides excellent convenience and pressure relief whereas the innerspring coils conform to your body and offer good support and comfort.
Is a Hybrid Mattress a Good Choice for Heavy People?
Another big advantage of hybrid mattresses is that it is comfortable for light in addition to heavy people.Most buyers feel that it uses an exceptional balance in between assistance and comfort. Jamison Hybrid Gel Latex Mattress


Chris Matthews hates Americans. That is [Chris Traeger voice] literally the only thing to take from this short clip from last night when Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s Hardball, tells his fellow political talking heads that he “so glad that storm happened last week.” I know some of own readers have been horribly affected by Sandy so there is really no way for them to even be outraged by this insensitive remark. [video via @cartmaniak]
The game hasn’t started and this guy is puking.
Roundup: Cara Delevignge's Awkward Interview, Malaysian Airlines Debris Found, Nanny Falls In Love With Ben Affleck
Who hasn’t fallen in love with Ben Affleck?
Someone had to do it….
Crazy night at Citi Field.


text:
Somedays before its official marketing, Gaz-On RC
has realised the 1st world review of the M4D, the 4 wheel drive 1/10 electric Made In France
with ideal mass distribution.
You will find in this review :
- Presenting the designer of M4D
- Presentation of the M4D project
- Details of the design and implementation of M4D
- M4D review with movie
- The confrontation of M4D meet its competitors
- Future developments on the M4D
- And we will approach the market soon M4D
To acces at the review click here !

domain: design


text:
The RCMP were called out to a number of incidents involving motor vehicle collisions or vehicles going off the road over the past week, many of which were the result of drivers not respecting the conditions or driving with improper equipment - no snow tires in some cases, or worn out all-season tires or snow tires that fall below the required 3.5 millimetres of tread.
"We are encouraging people to use restraint and proper snow tires or snow chains when driving in those conditions," said Sergeant Shaun LeMay of the Whistler RCMP. "That requires a 3.5 mm tread depth, which means snow tires or all-season tires that are rated for mud and snow."
People are also driving too fast for the conditions, said LeMay. "Speed limits are rated for optimal driving conditions, and just because the road is rated at 60 or 80 km/h doesn't mean you can drive that fast in a snow storm. You have to drive to the road conditions, the visibility, the time of day and the amount of traffic."
Some six weather-related calls were serious enough to require the RCMP's attention.
On Friday, Nov. 26 at 6:20 a.m. the RCMP received a call that a vehicle had gone off the road heading onto Pinecrest Road and ended up in the ditch. No charges were laid, but police determined that the tires were down to the wear bars, which is a ticketable offence.
At 12:23 p.m., they attended a two-vehicle collision at Glacier Lane and Glacier Drive. A car lost control and hit a bus. There were no injuries but a 31-year-old male was charged for failing to produce a drivers' licence and operating an improperly equipped vehicle.
At 3:36 p.m. that day the RCMP were called to another two-vehicle collision on Alpine Way, near Whistler Secondary School. A vehicle heading towards the highway lost traction and struck a vehicle heading the other direction. Once again there were no injuries and the speeds were slow enough that the damage was relatively minor. However, the 17-year-old driver of the first vehicle was charged with driving too fast for the road conditions - a fine of $167.
At 7:52 a.m. on Nov. 27, the RCMP attended another collision involving two vehicles. In this case the vehicles were driving downhill on Whistler Way towards Highway 99, where no left turn is permitted. The first driver braked in order to make a left turn, and was struck by another vehicle that was turning right towards the village.
The driver of the first vehicle, a Honda Accord, got out to inspect the damage and then drove away. The RCMP are investigating the driver for leaving the scene of an accident and want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the accident. The vehicle should have some damage on the back right corner.

domain: news


text:
LIFELONG DEATH SENTENCE" by Ruth Almog
Note: This review originally appeared in Haaretz
– Books and Culture Section, Friday November 12, 2004
(In Hebrew and English print and electronic editions – this version
Inge by Inge Joseph Bleier and David E. Gumpert, William B.
Eerdman's Publishing Company, Michigan, 291 pages, $24.
The Jewish Women of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp by Rochelle
G. Saidel, The University of Wisconsin Press, 278 pages, $29.95.
What do Inge Joseph's autobiographical story and Rochelle G. Saidel's
study on the Ravensbruck concentration camp for women have in common?
Time and gender. Saidel's book, which is the candidate for an important
prize in the United States, brings to light for the first time the stories
of the Jewish women who were imprisoned in Ravensbruck.
Ravensbruck was a concentration camp for women of different nationalities,
which was located 80 kilometers north of Berlin. Apparently, during the
five years of its existence, 132,000 women were imprisoned there. Of them,
only 12,000 survived at the end of the war. Twenty thousand were sent
to be killed at other camps, especially in euthanasia installations, and
91,000 just didn't make it. When the Soviet army liberated the Ravensbruck
camp, only 3,000 sick and dying prisoners were found there. At least 7,500
women had been evacuated from there earlier, to Sweden, by Count Folke
Bernadotte, who headed the Swedish Red Cross.
Count Bernadotte endeavored to save Jews to the best of his ability,
but in the end he was assassinated by Jews in the land of Israel. When
you think about Bernadotte's projects involving finding refuge for the
Jews of Denmark, sending 70,000 food packages to Jews in the camps and
arranging convoys of white buses that took people out of the camps to
Sweden; when you think about his efforts to mediate between the Israelis
and the Palestinians and about how he succeeded in achieving a truce for
one month in the War of Independence and suggested plans for peace that
both sides rejected; and when you think about how he was assassinated,
together with his French aide as a result of his aim to bring about peace
in the land of Israel - it is impossible not to be disgusted and not to
see how little has changed since then. Bernadotte, a man who was among
the most worthy of the title "Righteous Gentile," was murdered
- just like former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin - by the concept that
peace is unthinkable.
Saidel began to take an interest in the Jewish women who were taken to
Ravensbruck after she was invited to East Germany in 1980 and was present
at the dedication of a memorial at the camp. She found out that 20 percent
of the women at Ravensbruck had been Jewish, yet they nevertheless were
not represented in the monument. Therefore, out of a decision to right
this wrong, she began to look for survivors who were still alive. For
the purposes of her research she interviewed about 100 women, and in her
book she published materials - testimonies and photographs - that had
never been published before.
Imprisoned at Ravensbruck were Polish, Belgian, Gypsy, German, French,
Dutch, Norwegian and Yugoslav women, as well as a few British and even
some American women. They were imprisoned for political, criminal or religious
reasons. There were women in the camp from the Jehovah's Witnesses sect,
for example. There were communist activists, like Margarete Buber-Neumann,
who survived, according to Saidel, only because she was not Jewish. Or
her friend at the camp, Franz Kafka's beloved Milena Jasenska, who did
not survive. Or communist Olga Benario, who was sent to Germany by the
Brazilian dictator Getulio Vargas after she helped foment a revolution
in Brazil. Or Dr. Kathe Pick Leichter, the socialist activist from Vienna.
There were French Resistance activists at Ravensbruck, and women who were
imprisoned for reasons of race, like Gypsies or Jews. There were those
who were imprisoned for being lesbians. And there were also women who
had committed crimes.
Saidel narrates the stories of the Jewish women at the camp, which did
not serve as a death camp except toward the end of the war, but the conditions
that prevailed there were inhumane and the punishments there were terrible:
whippings, an ice room and solitary confinement, and above all slave labor,
starvation and disease. The women in the camp were united by solidarity.
They gave one another gifts, which they prepared secretly. They also took
care of the children - there were prisoners who had arrived with their
offspring. The women were characterized by special concern for girls and
young adolescents. The discussions about food and the writing of recipes
helped them remember home and improved their mood. They drew and they
wrote poems. In Saidel's opinion, the exchange of recipes and the making
of small gifts, like embroidered handkerchiefs, are unique to women. Other
dangers lay in wait for the women, as rape and prostitution were common,
but they enjoyed certain advantages of their gender.
Saidel tells the stories of about 60 women, among them the story of Sali
Solomon Daugherty, now of Jaffa, who arrived in Ravensbruck from Amsterdam
when she was only eight years old, with her mother and her aunt. Her life
was saved thanks to a German woman, a Jehovah's Witnesses who secretly
gave her bread, and thanks to another German woman, a Nazi nurse, who
gave her jam to eat that she had stolen. On the day of the liberation
by the Red Cross, the child was separated from her mother. That same day
they had been made to march by the Nazis near the gas chamber that had
been built in the camp over time. Daugherty told Saidel: "I remember
the smoke .... We were skeletons. Don't think that we were humans. We
were just birds."
For three days the white bus traveled until it reached Malmo in Sweden.
The Americans bombed the convoy. The driver threw Daugherty into the forest
to save her, but he himself was killed. The child had spent more than
three years in Ravensbruck and when she arrived in Malmo she was very
ill. For six weeks she was in quarantine and she then rejoined her mother,
who had also survived.
A few bright stars
Many of the women interviewed by Saidel were very young women when they
arrived at Ravensbruck. Saidel tells story after story, altogether about
60 of them. When I finished reading the book I remembered things that
Israeli philosopher Prof. Asa Kasher once said about how the story of
the individual has a stronger effect than the stories of thousand or millions.
This in no way detracts from the value of the comprehensive research that
Saidel has done, but rather is an apology for the fact that the memory
is not able to take in so many stories - although I will mention that
of Inge Joseph.
Inge, a girl from Darmstadt who grew up in a wealthy home and whose father
was arrested after going bankrupt, tells mainly about herself, about her
family, about her parents who had the good sense to send her sister to
the United States in time, but did not do this for her; about her grandmothers
and about her uncles, one of whom, a wealthy man who could have saved
her, abandoned her. She recounts the journey from Cologne via a transport
of children to Belgium, about her life as a girl in a children's home
in Brussels, about the move to France, about the children's home at Chateau
de la Hille at the foothills of Pyrenees, about the time in the French
concentration camp Le Vernet and about her return to the children's home.
She tells about the devotion of the director of the children's home,
a Swiss woman who had been sent to do this holy work by the Swiss Red
Cross, and describes her first escape to Switzerland when she was captured
with her girlfriends and managed to escape from the Germans, leaving her
girlfriends behind, captives in their hands. Inge had hesitations, but
the will to live was stronger. Of course the question of whether the girls'
fate would have been different had she not escaped is a futile question.
Had she not escaped, she would have been sent together with them to Drancy.
But this answer was not enough to console her. Her second escape succeeded,
thanks to French people from the Resistance who helped her cross the border.
Within the horror of Inge's youth a few good people stand out, who devoted
themselves to the work of rescue like bright stars. But hers is not a
simple story. She faced moral dilemmas with which she could not cope and
the separation from her beloved boyfriend, who was sent to Auschwitz and
perished. She never overcame this separation because to some extent she
felt guilty for his death. Her life as an adult woman was persecuted by
nightmares dominated by her memories and oppressive feelings of guilt,
although she had done no one any wrong. The very fact that she remained
alive was guilt too heavy to bear, and in the end, in the U.S., after
she chalked up many successes in her studies, in her writing and in doing
work to benefit others, the guilty feelings ruined her life and she committed
suicide. She left behind this book, which was edited and completed by
her nephew David Gumpert. "Inge" is one of the frankest and
saddest books I have ever read about Jewish children during World War
II. Inge remained alive despite the deportation, despite the separation
from her father and her mother and her sister. She overcame the fear,
the hunger and the imprisonment, but she did not really survive. The story
of this sad life, a life of a harsh and prolonged struggle to live, which
ended with giving life up out of choice and free will arouses, as in many
similar cases - Paul Celan, Primo Levi, Jean Amery - some very difficult
Top of page

domain: history


text:
235(!!!) videos entered the contest and have been screened at the 50. edition of the Solothurner Filmtagen gezeigt.
Jury selected the 5 following clips:
Every nomination got 1000.-, sponsored by Fondation SUISA!
You can vote now for your favourite clip. The winner of the public award will get 5000.- CHF!!!
The «Best Swiss Video Clip» will be awarded on march 26, 2015, for the opening of the m4music-festival in Lausanne.


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Hong Kong: Shares open slightly higher
[HONG KONG] Hong Kong stocks edged up in the opening exchanges on Monday as investors picked up bargains after last week's hefty losses, though gains were limited by ongoing concerns about the global outlook.
The Hang Seng Index added 0.13 per cent, or 37.43 points, to 28,265.85.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched down 0.78 points to 2,969.08, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 0.65 per cent, or 10.39 points, to 1,615.67.

domain: economics


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The Burlington Northern Railroad will be replacing road crossing materials on Boulder County roads along the Diagonal Highway (State Highway 119) between Boulder and Longmont. Each road will be closed for a minimum of two days.
Second Avenue in Niwot will be closed for four days as the County repaves the east and west road approaches.
Niwot Road – closed at the Diagonal Highway, Tuesday May 8 and Wednesday May 9.
Jay Road - closed at the Diagonal Highway, Thursday May 10 and Friday May 11.
2nd Ave (Main Street Niwot) - closed at the Diagonal Highway, Tuesday May 15 through Friday May 18.
Monarch Road - closed at the Diagonal Highway, Thursday May 17 through Friday May 18.
All closures are subject to change due to weather and/or other unforeseen circumstances.
Niwot Road at the Diagonal Highway closed May 8th and 9th for repair work.


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When Denis Villeneuve found out his sequel to neo-noir and sci-fi film Blade Runner would be released at the same time that the Festival du nouveau cinéma was running, he fought to bring the movie back to his home province.
Mayor Kasim Reed has named six appointees to the Advisory Committee on Confederate Monuments and Street Names. The Atlanta City Council approved the appointees during its Monday meeting. The committee ... Read more
Pro-independence groups and trade unions in Catalonia have called for a general strike in the northeastern Spanish region for Oct. 3, La Vanguardia newspaper reported citing the head of the group Omni ... Read more
The Province is building new law courts in Abbotsford to keep pace with growth in the lower Fraser Valley, one of B.C.’s fastest-growing regions. Three proponent teams have been shortlisted for the pr ... Read more
Agriculture and Commerce Minister Karl Samuda says a tax will be imposed on imported roasted coffee beans as a means to cut importations and provide funding to local farmers. Samuda made the announcem ... Read more
Hopes have dimmed that a State Road A1A beautification project in Fort Lauderdale will be done before tourist season begins. Hurricane Irma damaged the new street lighting system between Oakland Park ... Read more
October 04, 2017 1:21 AM LONDON (REUTERS) - Uber promised to make things right in London after its new global boss had a "constructive" meeting with the city's transport regulator to try to hold on to ... Read more


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Members Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have reportedly started withdrawing from the village of Maghr Al-Meer to the town of Beit Jinn in southern Syria. The militants allegedly made this decision following a series of setbacks in the ongoing battle against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
If this is confirmed, the SAA will likely establish control over Maghr Al-Meer in the next few days. This will be a major blow to the HTS defense in the Beit Jinn pocket.
Meanwhile, reports also appeared that HTS is ready to negotiate a withdrawal agreement to Idlib with the Syrian government. However, this is still not confirmed also.
According to local sources, the SAA is now preparing for an advance on Maghr Al-Meer. If government troops took control over the village without significant resistance, the aforementioned reports are likely true.


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The government will start the registration for the national ID in March 2019 starting with the one million individuals enrolled in the Unconditional Cash Transfers program.
The registration of the cash transfer recipients will be followed by the registration of 25 million Filipinos around September, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) head Lisa Grace Bersales told reporters on Friday, according to PNA.
Citizens who do not have any government-issued ID, including the poor who are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens, will be enrolled first, said Bersales.
The PSA will publish the implementing rules and regulations of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act on Saturday, she added.
The PhilSys Act or Republic Act No. 11055 creates a central identification platform and database for all citizens and resident foreigners in the Philippines with PSA as the primary implementing agency.
PSA will announce the opening of bid procurement for the national ID system by the third week of October, according to Bersales.
“We will publish the technical specifications. We hope that by December, we will already be able to finish the procurement. This means we will have already awarded the PhilSys,” she said.
Bersales said PSA will conduct a competitive bidding process for procurement.
“If we do competitive bidding, we will be able to manage our timeline of procuring the system and awarding it before the yearend,” she said.
Under the law, the Philippine lD will contain the registrant’s biometric information, along with seven demographic data such as full name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, blood type, address, nationality, and three optional information specifically marital status, mobile number, and email address.
The PhilSys Act requires this personal information be kept in a resilient data system to ensure that the people’s right to privacy, confidentiality and other basic rights, such as those guaranteed by the Data Privacy Act of 2012, are upheld.

domain: law


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MARK HUGHES has dropped his strongest hint yet that he will hand competitive debuts to several of his summer acquisitions against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Potters play host to the Villans at the Britannia Stadium in the 2014/15 Premier league curtain-raiser with as many as five new signings in contention to make their league bows for the Club.
Bojan, Mame Diouf and Phil Bardsley appear the three favourites to feature in the starting eleven, but both Steve Sidwell and Dionatan Teixeira will also be harbouring hopes of starting too.
Speaking exclusively to Stoke City Player on Friday morning, Hughes said: "I have the eleven in my head now - I am pretty clear with which way I am going to go.
"I'm sure there will be a few of the new signings in there too, but it's important for the guys who aren't in the side tomorrow to understand that there will be opportunities for them throughout the season.
"It will be a long hard season for us all and I am certain that we will need every player to do a job for us at some stage."
The Welshman confirmed he has no real injury worries ahead of the big kick-off, citing the 'superb work' of the medical team as key to the plethora of options he has available to him.
"We are in good nick at the moment by virtue of having a really good pre-season," the City boss added.
"I don't like talking about injuries too much but we are in good shape, and touch wood that remains to be the case.
"The medical staff here are excellent and we have really looked after the squad in terms of managing anybody who was at risk, and as a consequence of that I have a full complement to pick from"
Remember the only place to hear the official team news on Saturday afternoon is right here on stokecityfc.com.
We will bring you the full starting eleven at 2pm, whilst we will also be announcing the team via our social network channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.


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For mum’s birthday this year we headed to a food festival at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. It was pretty giant and there was a great mix of places to get hot food for lunch and places that sold oils/sauces/salamis and other things to take home for the store cupboard.
My favourite thing was obviously pizza, but this was actually some of the best pizza I’ve had for a while. It was made by the Secret Pizza Society, who had a super fancy van. The pizza had gorgeous black bubbles on the crust and some top-notch salami on top. Big thumbs up.
Other highlights were a great hog roast by Orchard View Farm, and some amazing paella with giant chunks of gorgeous chorizo (will add a link if I find the name of the people).
You can see the website of the people who organise the festival here, so if you get a chance to go to one of their events then I couldn’t recommend it more!

domain: food


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Diary of a Tired Black Man is a simple story about the complex relationships between black men and black women.
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A boy declares his love for his girlfriend, only to die the same night. He is brought back to life by his mother as a flesh-craving zombie, who sires more teen undead while trying to control his, er, appetite for his beloved.
This American Indie drama follows several endearing characters as they wade through life seeking happiness, peace and ultimately, love. Will (Ronnie Kerr, Vampire Boys 2, Shut Up and Kiss Me) leaves the Navy after many years, soon reunites old friends and begins to start his new civilian life. His friend Rich (Bruce L Hart) tries to set him up with ruggedly handsome Josh (Ian Roberts-a former Australian professional rugby player, actor and model-Cedar Boys, Superman Returns, Little Fish). While there is immense chemistry between the two, timing and certain ideals never seem to align. When a shocking tragedy happens the two are paired up to pick up the pieces and sort through the after effects. Saltwater is a story about men of all ages, finding love, losing friends, navigating their way through life and knowing it’s the journey rather then the destination that’s important.
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humourous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life’s little conflicts, problems and joys in their own way.
FBI agent Malcolm Turner and his 17-year-old son, Trent, go undercover at an all-girls performing arts school after Trent witnesses a murder. Posing as Big Momma and Charmaine, they must find the murderer before he finds them.
”Laurel (Cahill) is in charge of her hometown’s Christmas parade, and with budget cuts, she’s having trouble making it a special event this year and, after a recent divorce, getting into the holiday spirit. When she and her daughter Scarlett cross paths with a lone farmer who has a sleigh that he claims came from Santa crash-landing on his property years ago, they are both skeptical. But the sleigh would make a great addition to the parade if it could be restored. When the farmer gives Laurel the sleigh for the parade, her ‘luck’ slowly changes. It’s almost as if the sleigh is leading her to all the right pieces she needs to make the parade a success, including meeting a handsome man from town who has the loving touch to restore the relic. Laurel is converted into a true believer and rekindles that holiday spirit with her daughter, especially when she realizes the real Santa is riding his lost sleigh in the Christmas parade.
The story, set in 1875, follows a British officer (Heath Ledger) who resigns his post when he learns of his regiment’s plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers which symbolize cowardice. To redeem his honor he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves the lives of those who branded him a coward.
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domain: entertainment


A traffic stop turned into a major drug bust thanks to a new ordinance in Bainbridge.
Early Tuesday morning, Officers Timothy McCain and Ronald McMillian stopped James Guy, Jr.
Officers said he cut through the Burger King parking lot on Shotwell street to avoid a stop sign.
The new "cutting corners" ordinance prohibits drivers from going through parking lots to avoid intersections.
"I never expected what we got it blew us both away. Immediately, like Officer McCain said, you could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle before we even got up to it," said McMillian.
Officers seized marijuana, cocaine and drug-related objects from Guy's car.
Guy is in custody in the Decatur County jail.
Copyright 2016 WALB. All rights reserved.
Angel Thacker Freundschuh, 37, of Lee County, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison for perjury by U. S. District Court Judge Leslie J. Abrams in Albany, Wednesday.
Worth County Fire Rescue crews were called to the 500 block of Jewell Crowe Road for a structure fire, about 2:30 Wednesday afternoon.
As part of DNA week on Today in Georgia, WALB's Cade Fowler reveals his genetic findings and some tips on how to track down your ancestors.
Dougherty County Schools Superintendent Kenneth Dyer is preparing for his first school year in his new role.
Lee County leaders installed new public bathrooms on Jordan Road.


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After 25 long years, the longest hiking trail in the world is finally open to visitors. Also known as The Great Trail, the 14,913-mile recreational trail system in Canada was first conceived in 1992 by Pierre Camu, Paul LaBarge and Bill Pratt. The Canadians wanted to connect the country’s vast hiking, biking, paddling, snowmobiling and horseback riding trails to celebrate its 125th birthday. They spoke to landowners and local governments to build proper signage along the coast-to-coast trail. The project attracted 470 volunteer groups to create the trail’s 432 sections, which pass through 15,000 communities.
However, Smithsonian magazine reported that “the route falls significantly short of its original goal of being an off-road trail, with only around 4,900 miles of the route, or 32%, composed of off-road trails”. Nevertheless, travellers are still excited to embark on the trail as it weaves through scenic landscapes in major cities such as Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
Learn more at www.thegreattrail.ca.

domain: geography


Nokia’s long-awaited first MeeGo OS handset, the N9, is finally getting a release date, but you’re going to have to head up to Scandinavia if you want to get your hands on it first for certain. The N9 will launch on September 23rd in Sweden.
Though overshadowed now by the imminent launch of Nokia’s WP7 handsets, MeeGo, and by extension the N9, were iniitally thought to be the saviours of Nokia’s flailing smartphone division.
And going by the specs alone it doesn’t look too shabby.
With a 3.9 inch, 854×480 resolution 2.5D curved display, the phone boasts quite remarkable battery life. 11 hours of talktime and 450 hours of standby also allowed for an impressive 4 and a half hours of video playback is around 4.5 hours and a massive 50 hours worth of music.
Under the hood is 1GB of RAM and a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 OMAP3630 processor, while connectivity options include NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), 3G and HSDPA.
Available in black, cyan, or magenta, the handset will come in two storage size variations; 16GB or 64GB. That display is also made of scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla glass; hand for the butter-fingered among us.
No word yet on whether that release date is Europe-wide or not yet, but at least you know which nation you should be booking your EasyJet flights for if you’re hankering for some MeeGo action.


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LAWRENCE — African women in polygamous marriages or with alcoholic husbands have a significantly higher risk of being physically abused by their husbands than women in monogamous marriages or women whose husbands don’t abuse alcohol, new research shows.
A trio of researchers pulled data from the Demographic Health Survey to look at intimate partner physical violence in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The four countries have high rates of domestic violence. The researchers selected the countries based on the availability of timely data and to represent different regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. They used survey responses from more than 14,000 married women. Depending on the country, 13 to 28 percent of married women experienced physical violence from their husbands.
The research, conducted by Elizabeth Asiedu, professor of economics at the University of Kansas; Christobel Asiedu, associate professor of sociology at Louisiana Tech University; and Tatenda Zinyemba, graduate student in public affairs at Indiana University, was presented at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association earlier this week.
“Domestic violence is a big issue in the continent,” Elizabeth Asiedu said. “In the U.S. there are many laws to protect women. However, in countries where some cultures don't consider domestic violence to be an issue of concern, such laws may not exist or may not be enforced.”
Depending on the country, women in polygamous marriages were about 1.3 to 2 times more likely to be at risk for physical violence from their husbands than women in monogamous marriages. About 10 to 17 percent of the sampled marriages were polygamous.
Contingent on the country, women with alcoholic husbands were about 2 to 3 times more likely to experience physical violence compared with women whose husbands didn’t abuse alcohol. This was especially concerning since husbands were classified as alcoholics in 33 to 45 percent of the sampled marriages.
While polygamy and alcohol abuse were universal risk factors for intimate partner physical violence in the four countries, the researchers found that women’s education levels, whether women lived in rural or urban areas, the age difference between husbands and wives, and being employed did not have a uniform effect.
For example, having higher levels of education put wives at less risk for physical abuse from their husbands in Kenya and Zimbabwe, whereas it had no effect in Malawi and Ghana. The risk of physical violence was higher for wives living in urban areas in Ghana and Malawi but was not significant for Kenya and Zimbabwe. Having a job lowered the risk for women in Kenya, but it didn’t have an effect in Zimbabwe, Ghana and Malawi.
The results for polygamy didn’t come as surprise, to the researchers, because women in polygamous marriages tend to have less power and are more likely to be dependent on their husbands. However, they didn’t expect to see such a strong connection between alcohol and physical violence or that women’s education levels didn’t make a difference in Malawi and Ghana.
“The assumption is that women who are more educated are more likely to be economically independent and are more likely to have power in relationships,” Christobel Asiedu said. “So, you would think a higher education would mean a lower probability of being in an abusive relationship or staying in one. But in Malawi and Ghana that doesn’t really make any difference.”
One of the study’s main goals was to show that risk factors for domestic violence differ throughout Africa, a point policymakers will hopefully keep in mind when drafting preventive measures.
The research was facilitated through the Association of Advancement of African Women Economists, which was founded by Elizabeth Asiedu, and strives to support the scholarship of African women economists.


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Many states have procedures for "expunging" a conviction. These laws typically allow "cleaning" of a criminal record after successful completion of probation, by technically withdrawing the guilty plea, vacating the conviction and dismissing the complaint. The details vary by jurisdiction, but what few of them do is to actually destroy the criminal records, and public availability of the facts of the conviction after the dismissal will vary widely from state to state.
"What is Factual Innocence"
In California however, there is a second variety of "expungement" relief your lawyer can utilize: a petition for "factual innocence" under Penal Code Section 851.8. As you would imagine, it applies to people who have not been proved guilty or pleaded guilty, and the relief results in a much superior "cleaning" of your record. The arrestee needs to prove to the Court that he or she did not just get the charges dropped due to lack of evidence or the victim asking it be dropped, but that there is actually no evidence upon which a reasonable person would believe he or she was guilty. This process can actually result in the police, Prosecutor, Court, and Attorney General all physically destroying their records of the arrest and charges. It is, understandably, harder to get than simple expungement relief.
Who is eligible?
This relief is available to anyone arrested, but who was not charged with any crime in court; or to a someone who was arrested and charged, but the charge was then dismissed; and also to a defendant who was arrested and charged, but was later found not guilty at trial. This petition can be granted when the expungement lawyer can prove to the judge that the client was actually innocent of the charge, not merely that it was dismissed or an acquittal rendered just because the evidence was inadequate or missing. Obviously, due to the presumption of innocence, many guilty people can be acquitted or have the charges dismissed. That won't be enough for this method of cleaning up your criminal record. You need to hire a lawyer to do this for you, because there are many pitfalls and the law is complicated and even confused in this area.
What is the burden of proof?
The Court won't grant the factual innocence petition unless it finds that "no reasonable cause exists to believe that the arrestee committed the offense". That is significant. It means that if the Prosecutor opposes the petition and introduces incriminating evidence that could have allowed a jury to convict, then the petition should be denied. This may occur if the District Attorney dismissed the case due to inability to get admissible evidence in to court, though he believed strongly that the accused was guilty. Remember, it is not enough that there was a good defense that might have gained an acquittal at trial. Your expungement lawyer must prove that under the current evidence, no reasonable person would think that you were guilty. So you have to help your lawyer gather sworn statements from witnesses and others who know you are innocent, or other evidence that proves it.
What is the benefit?
Once granted though, the factual innocence petition achieves wonderful results. The Judge orders the Attorney General, the police, and the Courts to seal all their records for three years. During this time, people inquiring as to a criminal record will be told that they have no record of any arrest or conviction for that person (as to that offense, anyway). In applications for jobs during this period, you can answer that you have not been arrested on the charge. After the three years expire, those agencies must not just "seal" all the records of the arrest and the offense, but destroy them, including the court order that declares the accused factually innocent. At this point, the arrest "never happened". Not even the police will have any record of it.
Save your copy of the Court Order
This last point can be of critical importance. Because the court order to seal/destroy the criminal records itself will be destroyed as well, you must be careful to obtain several certified copies of the order and put them in a very safe place. The Court will not be able to give you another copy years later when you lose yours. In addition, all of the court indexes and print-outs of past criminal cases will have to delete the mention of your name. You should go to the Court House and check the indexes a couple of months after the destruction of records is supposed to have been done. Alert your lawyer if it has not been done. The State agencies that shared your arrest records with other agencies are ordered to request those other agencies to destroy their copies too. Due to the Federal Government being constitutionally supreme over state governments, a state cannot force the Feds to destroy their mug shots and fingerprint records, but the Feds generally co-operate.
Is a Governor's Pardon better relief?
A person convicted of a crime can also ask the governor for a pardon, but the truth is, even guilty people are pardoned, so the factual innocence petition is the best relief possible. If you are actually innocent, you should not plead guilty just to resolve the case, no matter how lenient the sentence sounds. If you go to trial and are acquitted, the trial judge is in a good position to promptly sign an order declaring you factually innocent. if he or she seems sympathetic.
Stumbling Block # 1
Factual innocence petitions are popular now, probably due to the tight job market. However, even legal professionals are confused about this area. That's because this statute has a couple of glitches in it that can make it hard for an inexperienced party or lawyer.
Time is an issue. The petition must be filed no later than two years after the arrest, but this same statute requires you to petition to the police for a factual innocence finding if no court charges were filed. If the police do not respond (and they never do), then you have to wait until sixty days after the running of the statute of limitations to file your petition, which in a felony case is usually three years. So let's review this: you have to file your petition no later than two years after arrest and no sooner than three years and sixty days after arrest. Huh? See an experienced expungement lawyer at the earliest opportunity so that your rights are not lost.
Stumbling Block # 2
Another problem with the factual innocence remedy is that there has been a series of published court cases interpreting and expanding on what the burden of proof is to win these petitions. A published appellate decision carries great weight with the trial judge who hears your motion. There are unfortunately some published cases which erroneously held that the "no reasonable cause to believe the person arrested is guilty" test applies at the moment of arrest. That is dead wrong, but a lot of prosecutors and even judges believe it. Your expungement attorney must know the correct law on this and brief it carefully for the judge and prosecutor so your petition is not thrown out merely because the evidence of your innocence was secured after the police arrested you (which is more often the case than not). This is one reason why, generally speaking, factual innocence petitions require legal counsel. Choose one with a lot of experience with factual innocence petitions.
Factual Innocence after conviction?
Lastly, it sometimes occurs that people are persuaded to plead guilty even though they are not guilty, and years later they learn that there are severe consequences that now will bar them from entering into a chosen profession or job opportunity, or will result in their deportation. In such a case, you are really starting out at a great disadvantage, but it may not be hopeless. Under certain circumstances, it might be possible to have the conviction vacated, even though the time to appeal has expired. You could then fight the criminal charges, and after winning, get the factual innocence order issued and all the arrest records destroyed. For some people it may be worth it to fight that uphill battle.
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A regular analysis of strategy, decisions and calls that impacted the week of NFL play -- with help from ESPN senior analytics specialist Brian Burke among other resources. (Here's an analysis of the play that injured New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.)
Taunting penalties have spiked in the early part of the NFL's 2016 season, and on Sunday the trend might have cost the Cleveland Browns a game.
NFL officials have called 10 taunting penalties in the year's first 31 games, twice as many as they compiled in the first two weeks of the 2015 season (five). For context, consider that a total of 24 taunting penalties were called for all 17 weeks of the 2015 season combined, according to ESPN Stats & Information. (Editor's note: The total number of 2016 taunting penalties has been updated since this column was first published.)
That should be no surprise given the new rule commissioner Roger Goodell pushed through that requires an automatic ejection for any player who commits two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in one game. Taunting appears to be the primary target, and at least for now, officials have what I'll call TSS: Taunting Sensitivity Syndrome.
Trailing 25-20, the Browns appeared to have advanced to the Ravens' 10-yard line with 20 seconds remaining after a 20-yard pass to receiver Terrelle Pryor. It appeared Pryor tried to flip the ball to side judge Allen Baynes after getting off the ground, but the ball hit Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb's helmet.
Head linesman Wayne Mackie threw the flag for taunting, believing Pryor had intended to hit Webb. The penalty wiped out the gain and effectively pushed the Browns beyond a reasonable opportunity for a game-winning score.
Pryor wouldn't say what his intent was, but it would have been an exceptionally foolish decision given the game's circumstances. Regardless, my suggestion is to get used to these types of calls while officials try to set the tone for the rest of the season.
Referees as medical responders
A starting quarterback rises slowly and stumbles to the huddle, his team perched at midfield as the fourth quarter nears in a three-point game. A defensive tackle, in the middle of a productive night, slams head-first into an opposing ball carrier in a tight battle between division rivals.
For most of the NFL's 96-year history, those stories would have ended predictably and dangerously: The player would have continued participating. Competitive considerations would have outweighed concern about a potential head injury.
So it's worth noting that in Week 2 of the 2016 season, referees walked both players – Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson -- off the field and to the sideline for mandatory concussion tests. Those simple decisions, made absent of any investment in the outcome of the game, are a key part of the NFL's heightened efforts to empower neutral third parties in the protocol and minimize the competitive tug on medical decision-making.
The league has hired independent neurologists to work both sidelines during games, and two medical spotters sit in the press box to scan the field for concussion symptoms. The idea, which makes perfect sense, is to grant authority to trained medical professionals who are independent of the teams and thus have no stake in who wins.
But as we found out in Week 1, their communication process can be inefficient and play can continue before anyone has a chance to act. The NFL, in fact, is investigating why play was not stopped for Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the fourth quarter on Sept. 8 after he was decked by a hit to the helmet in a game that ended in a 21-20 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Amid that backdrop, and days after the NFL announced a $100 million pledge for a new initiative aimed at head injuries, referee Ed Hochuli sent an important message. He stopped play with one minute, 11 seconds remaining in the third quarter Thursday night after Taylor was slow to rise from a sack. The Bills were trailing 27-24 and Taylor vigorously protested the decision, a reaction ingrained in the personality of most football players. But Hochuli utilized a rarely-seen authority to kick him off the field until he was tested.
Taylor missed two plays while being checked by a Bills team physician and the independent neurologist assigned to the team's sideline. He was cleared to return for a third-down play.
Referee Walt Anderson, meanwhile, ordered Johnson off the field Sunday night during a game in which he would sack Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers once and hit him three other times. Like Taylor, Johnson returned to the game after a series of tests as well.
On-field officials are not trained medical professions, but they are the closest neutral parties to the action and are in better position than the neurologists or spotters to notice a player who might be in distress. They have always been a part of the concussion protocol, and it should be no surprise that they intensified their efforts after the Newton incident.
You could argue that removing Tyrod Taylor or Tom Johnson from a game isn't the same as ordering the reigning NFL MVP to the sideline. You could also bemoan that two players who were not concussed were forced to leave the field.
But a concussion test can't be reserved only for players who are knocked out or staggering on the field. This is one case where it is better to be safe than sorry, and it is just a matter of time before the outcome of a game is impacted when a member of the concussion protocol -- with the referee as the first line of defense -- removes a key player from action against his will and personal judgment.
That might not sound like a fun way to decide a game, but it must exist as a genuine possibility to make the NFL's concussion protocol credible and legitimate. Players don't always know when they are concussed, and the chaos of an NFL sideline can inhibit medical spotting. The referee must be an active participant in the protocol as well.
Why James Starks on fourth down?
Packers coach Mike McCarthy made an unconventional decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 Sunday night, rather than attempt a 31-yard field goal, with his team trailing 10-7 at the 5:04 mark of the third quarter. The play failed, and because the Packers lost by three points, the sequence of events surfaced as one of the game's pivotal moments.
Analytics slightly favored a field goal at that point. Burke's win-probability model suggests that kicking would have improved the Packers' chances to win by 0.5 percent. That's not much, and in truth, an offense quarterbacked by Rodgers should have a better than typical chance to convert a fourth down. The Packers were also working on a 10-play drive (plus two wiped out by penalty) that could reasonably be assumed to have worn down the Vikings defense.
To me, the issues were more play selection and personnel usage. McCarthy chose a running play to gain two tough yards against a defense that held Packers running backs to 53 yards on 19 carries. He also handed it to backup James Starks, rather than bulldozing starter Eddie Lacy, for reasons that he did not explain.
No one would have argued with a field goal attempt at that point, including those who use analytics to help make decisions. But the Packers outsmarted themselves by sending their backup tailback into the heart of a defense that was stopping the run all night.
'Clear and obvious' in replay
Replay officials reviewed the play, as they do for all turnovers, and Bengals fans no doubt thought receiver Tyler Boyd's right knee touched the ground before the ball got loose. But this is where the NFL's replay standard tends to confuse people.
As senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said Sunday night, calls are overturned only when it is "clear and obvious" that a mistake has been made. It's quite possible that Boyd should have been ruled down. But of the two replays available, the ball was obscured in one and Boyd's knee was obscured in the other. Blandino needed to see a clear shot of Boyd's knee down with the ball still in possession, and the CBS broadcast provided neither.
This standard produces frustrating moments, but the NFL wants to ensure the vast majority of calls remain in the hands of on-field officials rather than technology. Replay reviews are considered a safety net for major gaffes, not a chance to re-officiate each important call.


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The AAU warns that the current double exchange rate of the hryvnia is harming the Ukrainian economy and increasing the share of its “black” part. The state loses tax revenues and the overall motivation to conduct business fairly decreases. Economic entities are logically looking for ways to avoid the official rate and the economy incurs unnecessary transaction costs instead of maximizing the overall social profit. The official rate is fixed at 36,5686 UAH per dollar, but the actual market rate is 41.1 UAH which is 12% higher than the fixed as of 6th October 2022.
In the interview for Latifundist, Dmitry Skornyakov, General Director of HarvEast Holding, noted: “Everything that enters us goes at the market dollar rate, but we sell it at a fixed rate. Basically, it’s a sales tax. We need to raise the salaries. But we can’t because we have this actual tax, which is not normatively fixed anywhere.”
The Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business has the same opinion. At a recent meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Danylo Getmantsev and Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Nikolay Solsky, UCAB representatives stated that “a fixed rate for export operations, if the purchase of resources (seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products) occurs at a commercial rate, creates an additional tax burden on legal agribusiness and stimulates the black cash market”.
The BBC article “From fixed to market: who wins and who loses from currency misalignment” notes that those who generate the biggest part of foreign exchange earnings suffer the most from this situation: “Exporters say that for them, as well as for importers, due to the blockade of ports and the destruction of infrastructure, the cost of logistics has increased in 2.5-3 times, but now they will also lose about 20% of foreign exchange earnings due to the difference in exchange rates. Those who are still trying to export their products believe that the exchange rate should be equal for everyone.”
The presence of two exchange rates caused fair indignation among IT specialists, because they, together with agriculture and metallurgy, were and are the main source of foreign exchange inflow into the country. The Ukrainian IT Association and the European association of software engineering unanimously say that due to the decision of the NBU, the income that IT specialists receive on their FLP accounts is converted at a fixed exchange rate, and then they are forced to buy currency at the market rate. And the such situation in the long-term perspective will lead to the inevitable departure of specialists from the country (those who can leave) or force them to change their tax residency.
Experts are more and more inclined to the conclusion that the exchange rate should be “released”. For example, Oleg Ustenko, economic adviser to the President of Ukraine, is convinced that Ukraine already has the prerequisites for returning to the market exchange rate. “It seems to me that it is time to abolish the fixed exchange rate – we must move on to the market one. What’s the point of having two exchange rates? Moreover, we need to support our exporters and the Ministry of Finance, which collects taxes, including from the import. The National Bank has already done both the possible and the impossible – the financial system withstood the first days, weeks and months of the war. Now we need to make an indulgence, ” Ukrinform quotes Ustenko.
AAU, together with the entire business community, insists on the abolition of the fixed hryvnia exchange rate. This will enable key sectors of the economy to work more efficiently in our difficult realities, and for many export companies, this is generally the only chance to survive.

domain: politics


NECO revises timetable, begins 2020 SSCE Febuary 8
In a statement, yesterday by its Head, Information and Public Relations Division, Azeez Sani, the organisation said the test, earlier scheduled for February 1, 2021, would begin on Monday, February 8, and end on Wednesday, March 10.
It advised applicants, who missed some papers in the 2020 school-based (internal) SSCE due to the #ENDSARS protests to join their external colleagues in taking the examinations at designated centers.
The candidates were instructed to access the revised examination timetable on the council’s website: www.neco.gov.ng.
The statement read: “Following requests by candidates to be given more time to complete their registration process for the 2020 SSCE (External), the National Examinations Council (NECO) has fixed new dates for the examination.”
“Thus, the examination, which was earlier scheduled to commence on Monday, February 1, 2021, and end on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, will now start on Monday, February 8, 2021, and end on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
“The council hereby informs those candidates, who missed some papers during the 2020 SSCE (Internal) due to the #ENDSARS protests in some states, to take note of these new dates and report for the examination accordingly at their various examination centres to be designated.
“All candidates are advised to access the revised examination timetable on the council’s website: www.neco.gov.ng.”
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If you want to know the cost of opening a game hall, you should first understand what are the components of the cost of opening a game hall. Only by fully understanding these contents can we better make the correct budget for the game hall.
How much is the investment for children’s amusement equipment in the game hall? For example, the area of the playground is the main factor that affects the cost of equipment investment. Everyone should know that the larger the game hall is, the more machines equipment are needed, so the cost of purchasing the equipment in the video game city is also There will be a corresponding increase, the equipment investment costs mainly depend on the purchased machines.
In fact, the main thing to open a game hall is the equipment of children's amusement machines. The investment in this area must be indispensable. Everyone should know whether the quality of the equipment of the game hall is good bad, which will directly affect the revenue effect. Good quality attractive appearance Human equipment can bring greater benefits.
After talking so much, I don’t know if you have any new understanding of how much money you invest in gaming hall equipment.

domain: finance


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To download a poster with information for children and young people about their rights, click here: Poster: Speak up - it's your right (PDF, 338kb)
Charter of Rights for children and young people in out-of-home care
To download a poster with information for children and young people about their rights in out-of-home care click here: Charter of rights for children and young people in out-of-home care (PDF, 88kb)
Commission Inquiry reports
To download a youth-friendly illustrated summary of the “In our own words” inquiry, click here: Illustrated version of In our own words inquiry (PDF, 4mb)
To download a youth-friendly illustrated summary of the “Keep caring” inquiry, click here: Illustrated version of Keep caring inquiry (PDF, 1.1mb)
Resources for children and young people from other organisations
The following are links to other organisations with resources and supports for children and young people.
- eSafety Commissioner
The eSafety Commissioner is Australia’s national independent regulator for online safety. The eSafety website includes advice for children and young people to have safe experiences online.
- Create Foundation
Peak body representing the voices of children and young people with an out-of-home care experience.
Free and confidential legal advice for children and young people.
- Kids Helpline
Free, private and confidential phone and online counselling.
- 1800 55 1800
National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing free and confidential phone and online service for young people 12-25 years.
- online counselling
- 1800 650 890 (9am-1am)
- Beyond Blue
Free and confidential calls and chats with trained mental health professionals.
- counselling via online chat
- Ph. 1300 22 4636 (Available 24/7)
- Lifeline Australia
24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention.
- counselling via online chat (7pm to midnight)
- text (12pm to midnight)
- 13 11 14 (Available 24/7)
- Frontyard Youth Services
Support for young people 12 to 25 years who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.
- 03 9977 0077 or 1800 800 531 (Monday - Friday 9am - 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-6pm)
- Bullying No Way!
Bullying. No Way! provides information, ideas and where to get help if you are being bullied.
- Youth Affairs Council Victoria
Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic) is the peak body and leading policy advocate for young people and the youth sector in Victoria.
- Koorie Youth Council
Koorie Youth Council advocates to government and community to advance the rights and representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
- Youth Disability Advocacy Service
The Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS) is an advocacy organisation that works with disabled young people who are aged 12 to 25.
For links to other organisations, see our Useful links page


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Storm hits Poultney hardestStaff Report | July 03,2014Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure said that Poultney, where winds in excess of 70 mph were reported, was the hardest hit by storm that blew into the region this evening.
"We've got multiple polls down, wires down," she said at around 7:30 p.m. "There's a lot going on in Poultney. We've got, at this point, 363 seperate events and about 5,000 customers without power and 2,000 of those are in Poultney."
Other heavy concentrations were in West Rutland and the city.
"Rutland was damaged by the same storm cell coming through, but to a lesser extent," she said.
Schnure said GMP had 55 of its own two-person line crews out along with 32 contract line crews and 50 contract tree crews.
She said further outages were possible as the storm system moved through the state and that the company expected it would not have power restored to everyone until the end of Friday.MORE IN This Just In
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- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Vermont's brand discussed at Killington, state's attorney candidates Marc Brierre and Rose Kennedy profiled, Curtis reports about Rutland police chief's new job, and four arrested, charged for heroin, crack sales.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1935, New York gangster, bootlegger, ruthless murderer Dutch Schultz, born Arthur Flegenheimer to Jewish-German immigrant parents, and three associates gunned down, killed, at the Palace Chophouse in Newark, N.J.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: Acclaimed illusionist & escape artist Harry Houdini, performing in Montreal in 1926, is sucker-punched by a McGill University student. Houdini doesn't know he has peritonitis - the punches are possible factor in his Oct. 31 death.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Rutland Police Chief James Baker to resign from the force at the end of the year to take a job in Washington, D.C., jury remains out in teacher killing murder trial, Rec Dept. releases report on what's wrong with White's Pool.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: Well diggers in Cardiff, New York, find what is thought to be the petrified body of a 10-foot-tall man, perfectly preserved after thousands of years, which becomes a popular roadside attraction until proven to be a fake.


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Picture : Vladimir Putin at Kremlin, Aprill 5th. — Alexei Druzhinin/AP/SIPA
When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Syrians across the world stood in solidarity. For many, the experience of war at the hands of Russia was a personal one. Undoubtedly, Russia’s intervention in the war in Syria and its invasion of Ukraine bear important differences. While, rhetorically at least, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is purportedly aimed at supporting seperatist rebel groups against the Ukrainian state, its intervention in Syria came at the government’s behest. Nevertheless, the wars are linked in important ways, both tactically and geopolitically. As the world’s eyes turn to Ukraine, here is a look at how Russia’s intervention in Syria has affected Russia’s actions in Ukraine and how the war in Ukraine is likely to affect Syria’s ongoing conflict.
How Syria emboldened Putin
The bombs raining down on Ukrainian cities have a harrowing precedent in Russia’s intervention in Syria’s civil war which laid some of the groundwork for Russia’s ambitions and tactics in Ukraine. The intervention in Syria following the government’s official request for military aid in 2015, was Russia’s first military action outside the post-Soviet sphere since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and marked Russia’s arrival on the international diplomatic stage. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the aim of the operation was “to stabilize the legitimate government and create conditions for the search for a political compromise”. Russia’s intervention on the side of Assad’s regime proved a decisive turn in the tide of Syria’s civil war and underlined Russia’s ambition to be taken seriously as a global power by making itself an indispensable actor in international diplomatic efforts to mediate the brutal conflict in Syria. This was further underlined by the establishment of the Astana peace talks process, initiated and driven by Russia and Turkey.
Moreover, Russia’s intervention in Syria emboldened Putin politically and militarily. “There is no doubt that the Russian intervention in Ukraine is an accumulation of a series of Russian military interventions in Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014 and Syria in 2015,” Ibrahim Hamidi, Syrian journalist at Asharq Al-Awsat told the Associated Press. The impunity with which Russia carried out violations of human rights and the laws of war in Syria, for its own interests and on behalf of the internationally condemned Assad-regime, gave Putin the confidence that he would not be militarily challenged in Ukraine. Furthermore, Syria became the testing ground for new Russian jets and combat weapons. In 2018, Putin reportedly said that the Russian military’s combat experience in Syria had helped it develop new weapons. Russia’s intervention in Syria allowed Putin to test the limits of impunity on the international stage, try out military tactics and weapons and develop strategies in information warfare.
A common playbook
This development is highlighted by the disregard for civilian life evident in Russia’s military action in Syria and Ukraine alike. In a statement on the war in Ukraine, the Syrian White Helmets – a volunteer rescue group that has been targeted by a sophisticated Russian disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting it as a terrorist organization – expressed solidarity with Ukrainians: “It pains us immensely to know that the weapons tested on Syrians will now be used against Ukrainian civilians”. Russia’s intervention in Syria prompted widespread accusations of war crimes – concerns mirrored in Russia’s current indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets in Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv,Kharkiv and Mariupol. In its aerial bombing campaign against rebel-held Aleppo city in 2016, Russian airstrikes indiscriminately targeted residential buildings, using widely banned cluster bombs, while reports documented the deliberate targeting of medical facilities – accusations the Kremlin denied. According to the local human rights monitoring organization Violations Documentation Center, a month-long bombing campaign in September and October 2016 killed over 440 civilians in Aleppo alone. Similarly harrowing accounts came after a large-scale Russian-backed government campaign on Idlib between April 2019 and March 2020 during which schools, hospitals and markets were targeted and hundreds of civilians were killed.
It is now evident that Russia is using the same tactics in Ukraine. Human rights organizations have documented the use of cluster munition, including on a hospital in Vuhledar, in government-controlled Donetsk Oblast, and on a pre-school in Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan on 28 February opened an investigation, stating “there is reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine”. Many of Russia’s tactics in Ukraine – the focus on aerial bombing, the use of indiscriminate weapons and the targeting of civilian infrastructure – are painfully familiar to Syrians who have seen their cities levelled by Russian shells for nearly a decade. “In Syria, Putin helped Assad carpet-bomb his citizens, terrorize them into submission. We are seeing these same elements emerge now,” Anna Borshchevskaya, Russian policy expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told VOA. Russia’s playbook, put on international display in Syria, is causing staggering human suffering as it is employed in Ukraine.
Tensions with Turkey risk stability in Syria
Moreover, the war in Ukraine risks destabilizing Russia’s fragile ceasefire in northern Syria. After months of clashes, Russia and Turkey – which has backed opposition forces since its military intervention in Syria in 2016 – have found a delicate balance in Idlib province, one of the last major holdouts of rebels fighting the Syrian regime. A ceasefire concluded in March 2020 has largely held, despite regular violations. Increased tensions between Turkey and Russia over Ukraine could risk unsettling the status quo. “I think the war may see an end to relatively cordial Russia-Turkey relations,” said Dr. Natasha Kuhrt, Lecturer in International Peace & Security in the War Studies department and an affiliate of King’s Russia Institute at King’s College London, in an interview with The Paris Globalist. She added: “Russia could simply encourage violations of the ceasefire to antagonize Turkey as payback for siding with Ukraine”.
Turkey has been treading a delicate line in its response to the war in Ukraine. On 27 February, the Turkish government designated the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “war”, a departure from terminology it used previously as per which it was an “unacceptable military invasion”. Beyond the symbolic gesture, the designation is significant as it activates Turkey’s right in wartime to close the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits under the 1936 Montreux Convention. On 28 February, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu closed the straits to Russian warships. In an interview with Tracey German, a Professor of Conflict and Security specializing in Russia at King’s College London, Professor German explained how, “Turkey is in a tricky position, seeking to balance its relations with Ukraine and Russia.” She told The Paris Globalist, “It has urged Moscow to end its invasion, describing the operation as unacceptable, and offered itself as a mediator”.
Turkey’s balancing act is a delicate one. On the one hand, Ankara has been rhetorically committed to Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity. “Turkey maintains good relations with Ukraine,” said Dr. Natasha Kuhrt, “especially as Turkey is a major supplier of weapons to Ukraine and also a sponsor of Ukrainian membership of NATO”. Since 2019, Turkey has sold Ukraine armed Bayraktar TB2 drones that have caused lethal damage in Libya, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. On 2 March, Ukraine’s defense minister confirmed receiving the latest shipment of armed drones from Turkey. On the other hand, Ankara has grown ever closer to Moscow, despite major disagreements on a range of issues. “Turkey is reliant on Russian natural gas, and Moscow views Turkey as an important energy partner, particularly in terms of bypassing Ukraine as a transit corridor for natural gas, as well as in preventing a rise in US influence in the region,” said Professor Tracey German. Turkey has not so far joined the sanctions being imposed on Russia by the European Union or other NATO countries and seems to remain committed, for now, to finding a middle ground. “I think it will continue to try and mediate between the two countries,” German confirmed. However, a major escalation of tensions between Russia and Turkey over Ukraine could have knock-on effects in Syria. The conflict has long been a point of contention between Russia and the West, with Turkey treading a fragile line between the two.
Assad’s debt to Putin
Russia is using Syria in its campaign against Ukraine. . In a display of threatening posturing on NATO’s southern flank, Russia built up its forces in its Eastern Mediterranean bases. ,. In February, Russia deployed hypersonic missiles and long-range nuclear capable bombers to its Hmeimim military base in Latakia province and boosted its naval forces around its base in Tartous on the Eastern Mediterranean coast. Though there is currently no evidence to suggest Russia would use its Syrian bases to launch attacks on Ukraine, some of its missiles stationed in Latakia reportedly have a range of 2,000 km, meaning they could hypothetically reach Kyiv. However, it has become clear that Russia is using Syrian mercenaries in its fight in Ukraine. According to European intelligence officials, around 150 Syrian troops arrived in Russia on 17 March. Motivated by salary offers multiple times what they could earn in Syria, thousands have reportedly signed up to fight, many from regiments that themselves had been trained by Russia. Most reports, however, remain unconfirmed and it is unclear if and how these troops would actually be deployed to Ukraine. Nevertheless, Syrian President Assad owes a debt to Russia for remaining in power. With Russia’s attention turned to its homefront and potentially thousands of Syrian fighters being airlifted to Ukraine, the situation could leave the Syrian military in a vulnerable position and risks destabilizing the conflict between opposition forces and terrorist actors alike that is still simmering in Syria.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and its intervention in Syria are thus linked in several ways. Syria served as a playground for Putin to build his military capacities and to test the limits of impunity in the international community. It emboldened him politically and militarily and the effects are being seen in the humanitarian tragedy that is being repeated in Ukrainian cities. The war in Ukraine also risks affecting the conflict in Syria as tensions with Turkey and Russia’s reorientation towards its own war could destabilize the fragile status quo that has kept conflict largely simmering below the surface in Syria. Finally, there is also a strategic link between Russia’s ambitions in Ukraine and Syria. Russia’s foreign policy strategy is guided by its objective to assert itself as a great power on the international stage. Putin’s attempts to assert dominance over post-Soviet states and establish its sphere of influence is an integral part of that goal. Russia pursues “recognition of its status as a regional hegemon, which is connected to its claim to be a major power within the global system, which has its own sphere of influence,” said German. In Syria, Putin strives to claim his seat at the center of international diplomacy, as a great power of global relevance. With his invasion of Ukraine, he seeks to legitimize it by proving that he is a regional hegemon.