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Blowing Off Steam in a Messy Kitchen
Sometimes you just have to bake a cake. Right? Because it’s been quite an emotional week, what with the very close election looming and the very big storm descending and Halloween/Día de los Muertos sending all sorts of shenanigans out into the world. And let’s not forget to mention (in my neck of the woods at least) the Giants winning the World Series, complete with wildness in the streets and parades. Quite the roller coaster.
And that’s just the wider world. In my own little life, I got to interview some big time chef heroes (gulp, stutter, swoon), caught a doozy of a cold complete with fog horn cough, and this morning I woke up to discover a spider the size of my palm calmly creeping across my duvet. So yeah, sometimes you just plant your feet on the kitchen floor, grab a mixing bowl and fill your head with nothing but a simple recipe and the sound of butter being smashed into sugar. Sometimes you just have to bake a cake.
And so I did and it was great, creaming the butter and sugar and then throwing in the egg. I went all unplugged, using an old wooden spoon and my girl power to whip that batter until it was smooth and shiny. I dumped in flour and peeled apples and greased the pan thickly with butter. I let the kitchen get all messy and dusted over with flour and apple peels and I dropped a half a jar of cinnamon on the floor but no worries! The cake finally made it into the oven and it smelled wonderful until, suddenly, it didn’t and yes, in keeping with the roller coaster times I live in, I burnt that cake. But only just a little. (Actually, it has an appropriate Día de los Muertos kind of vibe.)
Still, I declare my cake making therapy a success. First, I got a little workout with the bowl and wooden spoon. Second, I got a CAKE from it all. Third, I got to MAKE that cake, as in I had a working oven and a working fridge full of ingredients and a working arm to mix it all up. Given what some folks are going through (and not just this week, of course) I’d say I had it made. What started out as a way to blow off some steam gradually settled into a quieter reflection on appreciation and staying grounded amongst all the toss and turmoil.
I put my cake on an appropriately black plate and sat there looking at it for a minute. I found myself wishing I could send that cake to any number of people and places. To the early Thanksgiving/mini-family reunion I was missing in Wisconsin. To the cold, hungry, and tired Sandy storm survivors and their relief workers. To my friends building a temple in India who were celebrating a birthday. To all the politicians and all the heroes and all the confused and troubled people just trying to find a way through.
I would say: Here. Please sit down and have a piece of cake. May it heal and comfort you. May it sweeten your tongue and remind you of what’s really important. Whether you are cheering and celebrating or barely holding it together, may you know kindness and patience and may you remember that sometimes your deepest wisdom is your simple, everyday commonsense. So, here, let us lift our forks together and appreciate the tangled, messy, complicated, brilliant, wondrous business it is to occupy this planet together.
Let’s just keep trying to not mess it up too much, OK?
Quote: “Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” – Wendell Berry
Cake recipe: This one, only with apples not plums
How to help: Occupy Sandy
Synchronicity: Tara was also baking an apple cake (hers has frosting!)
(Images: Dana Velden)

domain: artistic


‘We have already closed illegal initiation schools and we already have one death’
EC premier urges patience as December bush rite question drags on
Traditional leaders have urged health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize to negotiate on a risk-adjusted strategy with the national ministerial advisory committee for Covid-19 to speed up the process of opening up the initiation season in December...
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Anti-crime Program To Be Lauded
Former Oklahoma FBI director Oliver "Buck" Revell will return to the state Thursday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Oklahoma City's Crimestoppers program.
The luncheon is at noon at Applewoods restaurant, 4301 SW 3.
Reservations are available through the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, One Santa Fe Plaza, 73102.
Revell is an Oklahoma native and served as Oklahoma's special agent in charge from 1977 to 1979. He has been the bureau's executive assistant director for investigations since 1985.
Crimestoppers, Oklahoma City's citizen-supported crime fighting organization, was patterned after a similar program in Albuquerque, N.M. It rewards anonymous informers whose information aids police in arresting suspects.
The program is responsible for helping clear 4,255 felonies, recovering $8.5 million in stolen property and for taking more than 1,500 felons off the street, officials say.
Crimestoppers is funded by private donations. BIOG: NAME:
Archive ID: 400203

domain: news


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Here’s How Luis Miguel and Diego Boneta Met for the First Time (PHOTOS)
The adventure begins.
Just days after Telemundo announced its upcoming mini series on Mexican legend Luis Miguel, they revealed that Diego Boneta would be portraying his role.
Thanks to producer Roma Downey, Boneta and the “Si Nos Dejan” singer finally met in Malibu, California for the first time this Thursday.
Boneta took to Instagram shortly after to share the epic moment with his million followers.
People en Español reported that Roma considers Diego the ideal actor to portray Luis Miguel. "Truly a young and adorable rising star," she said, referring to Boneta.
"People will travel alongside with me through a surprising, unexpected and emotional journey that has shaped the artist and the person that I am today," Luis Miguel said in a statement about the series.
In related news, here's a look back at Luis Miguel's albums:

domain: entertainment


The Orange Constant, a jam band from Statesboro, Georgia, will perform from 6-9 p.m. Friday during Live at the Plaza.
Admission is free at Government Plaza, 2106 Sixth St. The Orange Constant has a vintage rock sound that draws on many influences, from Southern rock to urban funk. To learn more about the band, go to www.theorangeconstant.com.
Live at the Plaza will continue each Friday through July 27. For more information about the free concert series, go to www.tuscaloosa.com/latp.


Vance Kelly plays lead guitar on several tracks on Lovie Lee’s Earwig CD Good Candy. Lovie was the last piano player in the Muddy Waters Band.
Already a Chicago blues institution for more than a quarter century, Vance Kelly finally began raising his international profile during the mid-1990s. Born January 24, 1954, he began making waves on the South Side club circuit while still a teenager, performing both as a solo artist and as a sideman; over time he developed a ringing guitar sound, and a 1987-1990 tenure as a member of A.C. Reed’s Sparkplugs also profoundly influenced his supple vocal style. A favorite among his peers, Kelly and his Backstreet Blues Band still failed to attract record company attention prior to 1992, when he signed with Wolf; his acclaimed debut Call Me appeared in 1994, followed a year later by Joyriding on the Subway. He resurfaced in 2000 with What Three Old Ladies Can Do. Kelly’s sixth release for Wolf in 2005, Nobody Has the Power, featured his daughter, Vivian, making her vocal debut on three tracks.
-Written by Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide


We are all guilty of recency bias. Our teams are only as good as the last time we saw them. That's why No. 2 Michigan, in this College Football Playoff semifinal, resembles those side mirrors on your car. You know, the ones that warn, "Objects may be closer than they appear."
That's the Wolverines, who enter the Orange Bowl as a 7.5-point underdog, according to Caesars Sportsbook. That just happens to be half a point more than Ohio State was favored against Michigan five weeks ago in Ann Arbor.
We all know what happened there.
This is set to be the better of the two semifinals. There's some sizzle to it. Two traditional powers trying to rid themselves of past failures. No. 1 Alabama is a prohibitive favorite against No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl and, well, meh. If chalk holds, we'll have our second Alabama-Georgia game in slightly over five weeks.
That's looking ahead. For now, we have a game that has only been played twice before in history, the last time back in 1965. Georgia is trying to find itself defensively. Who would have thought those words would ever be written after the Bulldogs' start to the season? Michigan is on a roll, playing its best in Jim Harbaugh's seven seasons.
Michigan has the most wins in history (976). Georgia is looking for its first national championship in more than four decades. To get there, the Dawgs must go through the suddenly formidable Wolverines.
Even a month ago, this matchup didn't look as daunting for Georgia. Then the Dawgs face planted against the Crimson Tide. Meanwhile, Michigan hung 40 on both Ohio State and Iowa.
We told you there was sizzle. Here's five keys to the Orange Bowl, which will serve as the playoff nightcap Friday night.
1. Georgia pride
Well, it's wounded for one thing along with some other body parts. The imprint left on the Dawgs backside from the Alabama game rhymes with "gas sticking". It was that bad for a generational defense that had given up only nine touchdowns all season until the Tide scored 41 points (including five touchdowns) in the SEC Championship Game. Worse, UGA was pushed around along the defensive line, the most talented position group in the program.
"It does give you a little bit of confidence," Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said of the Alabama result.
Georgia has to win this game. It has to win the national championship. It's been too long. Its fans demand it. This is its destiny. Anything less and the season is a failure.
It starts with the defense. Michigan has made this a game to be decided in the trenches. That's basically challenging Georgia. If the Dawgs don't perform in the line, they lose. The Wolverines have enough firepower to score if the D-line doesn't show up again. More than that, Michigan is stout enough defensively to hold down Georgia.
"They play physical," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "They like to bludgeon."
If Michigan is allowed to hang around late, this will have to play on the minds of the Dawgs. They led the country in point differential until being exposed by Bama. Has Georgia completely flushed Alabama, or is there lingering self-doubt?
2. The Stetson Bennett Situation
The question of who would start at quarterback for Georgia was answered quickly this week by offensive coordinator Todd Monken. "There's no doubt in my mind we can win the national championship, and … there's no doubt in my mind we can win it with Stetson Bennett. There's no question," he said.
There's been speculation that JT Daniels will ride in from the bullpen this week and rescue the Dawgs after Bennett's sketchy performance against the Tide. Whether that comes to fruition at some point during the game remains to be seen. Either way, expect Bennett to be the guy at kickoff.
A lot of Georgia fans won't be happy with that. They think (a healthy) Daniels gives the Dawgs the best chance to win. The question is how Bennett held onto the job when Daniels began the season as the starter, got injured a couple of times, came back healthy and never took the reins back.
"Sometimes opportunity leads to things that end up going in your direction," Monken said. "I don't know if I said that exactly right, but it never went back the other way where JT got a chance to get in there."
Read between the lines, and you can conclude this about the quarterback conundrum: Bennett is more reliable than Daniels both on and off the field. Daniels has been injured several times in his career. Bennett doesn't turn the ball over (as much) and is more trustworthy when plays break down.
Does it even matter if neither can avoid Heisman Trophy runner-up Aidan Hutchinson? Big pressure will be on Georgia tackles Jamaree Salyer and Warren McClendon. Meanwhile, Bennett doesn't give a damn what the critics think.
"I wouldn't listen to myself if I was giving a speech on heart surgery," he said. "Not comparing football to heart surgery, but it's the same kind of gist. So, why would I listen to somebody who doesn't do this for a living and just watches it happen?"
Maybe Daniels throws a better ball. Bennett has become a more consistent overall player. The film doesn't lie. Daniels was first surpassed by Kedon Slovis at USC (himself a transfer to Pittsburgh) and now Bennett at Georgia. Again, reading between the lines, Monken said this week that not all five-stars live up to their hype.
"We went into the [SEC] Championship Game with Stetson Bennett as our quarterback as a favorite over a team that hasn't been an underdog in over five years," he said. "That ought to tell you about our quarterback and how he played, and some reason we get into this stereotyping of players based on where they were at some point. OK, at some point -- be it one was a walk on, one was a five-star, whatever -- if you just look at the production and what he's done for our football team, it's impressive."
3. Harbaugh is ascending
It took seven years, but Harbaugh has fulfilled his destiny at his alma mater with a Big Ten championship and playoff berth. The Wolverines are playing the way Harbs always expected them to play -- with a physical defense and run-based offense. Bo Schembechler would be proud.
After a season of coaching churn, Harbaugh has turned out to be one of the best bargains in the game. Athletic director Warde Manuel made the call in the offseason, extending his coach with a lot of incentives while cutting his salary in half. The players didn't pay attention to the increased barking of hounds after Harbaugh went 2-4 in 2020.
"We always knew since day one it was Michigan versus everybody," said cornerback D.J. Turner.
The Wolverines are playing with house money at this point. They're here for the first time. At least two CFP teams are considered better (Alabama, Georgia). They're expected to lose. That's why it would be unwise to dismiss Harbaugh and what he has built this season.
"You can't pay attention to anybody outside of the building," defensive end David Ojabo said. "They're not going through the grind we do. They're not waking up at 6 a.m. running hills. They're just watching us on TV. What they've got to say don't really mean anything for real."
Need more college football in your life? Listen below and subscribe to the Cover 3 Podcast where we give a comprehensive breakdown of the 2021 College Football Playoff.
4. Michigan's sneaky good offensive attack
We just told you above how Bo would be proud, but Bo never approached things like Gattis. Yes, Michigan has a top-10 running game. Not a surprise. But it also leads the country in gains of at least 50 yards. That's more than Oklahoma, more than Alabama and more than Ohio State.
That's because the offense is sneaky good under Gattis.
Running back Blake Corum has been a part-time contributor recovering from a leg injury, but he still dropped a big 55-yard run on Ohio State and a 67-yard touchdown run against Iowa. Gattis -- and by extension Harbaugh -- likes to set up opponents by pounding the rock then working play-action, end arounds, reverses, etc. when defenses stack the box.
While taking extra time to extend plays may not work against an elite defense that can pursue, it has worked for Michigan to this point.
Watch wide receiver A.J. Henning (18 yards per rush), WR Cornelius Johnson (third in the Big Ten in yards per reception) and Corum, who is now 100% healthy. While Corum (fourth in Big Ten yards per rush) once led the Big Ten in rushing this season, Hassan Haskins (20 rushing touchdowns) has become the key to the attack, if not Michigan's most explosive player.
5. Hello, goodbye Dan Lanning
With Georgia's defensive coordinator having one foot out the door for Oregon, Smart elevated assistants Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann to co-coordinators. For now, the 35-year-old Lanning is making a dramatic exit, still calling plays in the Orange Bowl. Dramatic in that the defense he built into one of the best in the last 20 years will be his last at Georgia.
Will he depart with a championship ring on his finger? If not, how does this defense go down in history? As a footnote? Is it possible Lanning enters the game distracted while trying to serve two programs?
"West Coast being three hours behind us has given us the opportunity to be able to really focus on Georgia early on during the day, and then later on at night, able to get a lot of things accomplished there with our team in Oregon," Lanning said.
So, how late is Lanning working for the Ducks?
"I don't clock in and clock out," he said. "We work until the work is done. Sometimes that's later than other nights. We've had a couple late nights but no lack of energy or ability to roll here."


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The Indonesian government is working to broaden the narrative on mental health, after a recent report highlighted the inappropriate treatment of the mentally ill at institutions across Central Java. People suffering from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety are commonly regarded as outcasts there, but there has been positive progress in recent years. CCTV’s Silkina Ahluwalia has more.
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domain: medical


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Best Dressed at the GQ Style & Culture Awards 2019
The GQ Style and Culture Awards 2019 which was held in Mumbai gave the perfect blend of what happens when style meets class. The stars wore their favourite designers and created the fashion statements, one outfit at the time. Making the best out of their stardom and turning heads with their fashion, the stars glammed up the night and how! Here are the Best Dressed at the GQ Style & Culture Awards 2019
Stars at the GQ Style & Culture Awards 2019
- ANUSHKA SHARMA: For Anushka Sharma, neutral hues and comfortable silhouettes have always taken top priority. The patterned pantsuit she wore on the red carpet for 2019’s edition of the GQ Style & Culture Awards. Crafted by French label Dice Kayek, Sharma’s latest outfit brought together two contrasting hues-yellow and black-in a busy print, and there was no denying the ease with which she carried the look off.
- JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ: As Jacqueline made heads turn by donning a sizzling silver gown at GQ Style and Culture Award 2019 in Mumbai on Saturday. The gorgeous diva dazzled in an off shoulder gown with a plunging neckline and daring thigh-high slit by Raisa Vanessa. A silver diamond encrusted belt showed off her slim waist, and cuffed silver stilettos completed her look. A bold red lip, sparkly eyelids and loose waves perfectly complimented her outfit.
- RANVEER SINGH: The most experimental of the lot, Ranveer Singh came in head-to-toe Julien Macdonald outfit. He wore a black shirt beneath his jacket which had white floral motifs embroidered on it. He accessorised this look with dark shades that gave him an edgy rock star vibe.
- ESHA GUPTA: The sizzling actress was also present at the award show and raised the temperatures by sporting a halter neck ivory jumpsuit with silver embellishments, by Monisha Jaisingh. Sapphire blue earrings with diamonds and matching rings were her choice of accessory. Bold and bright makeup rounded off her look well.
- TAAPASEE PANNU: The spunky actress came in a co-ord set by Akshat. Taapsee Pannu painted the town red with her dress full of tassels. The red feather textured spaghetti top and wrap skirt with a knee-length. Her accessories of choice were gold stilettos and a large gold ear piece.
Thanks to all such events where we get to spot our favourite stars in their most fashionable attires. While some celebs went for unconventional attires, other didn’t mind sporting the stereotypical red carpet looks. Which one is your favourite look from the awards? Do let us know in our comments section


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Delhi Elections: Congress' Alka Lamba slaps AAP worker
Congress leader Alka Lamba, who is contesting from Chandni Chowk constituency, lost cool on workers of her former party — the Aam Aadmi Party after comments were allegedly passed on her son. The politician raised her hand to slap an AAP worker (but he ducked) outside a polling booth, and the altercation was recorded on camera. AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Election Commission will be approached.
Delhi is choosing its next Chief Minister today
Voting is underway for the 70-seated Delhi Assembly with AAP hoping to repeat its 2015 performance when it won 67 seats. Things might not be easy this time as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal faces stiff competition from BJP. The saffron party's election campaign revolved around Kejriwal's anti-incumbency, Shaheen Bagh protest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's achievements, etc. Meanwhile, Congress' campaign failed to leave a mark.
Lamba's presence at booth miffed some AAP workers
Since morning, polling booths have been abuzz with voters and workers of all parties. At one such booth in Majnu Ka Teela, AAP workers raised an objection at Lamba's accessories. A video that surfaced from the site showed that one worker was possibly asking her to remove her party brooch. As Lamba talked with the man, another one allegedly passed comments on her son.
Angry with statements, Lamba raised hand to slap AAP worker
Lamba severed ties with AAP, went back to Congress
Lamba had a two-decade-long association with Congress, that she dumped to join AAP years ago. In 2019, she went back to Congress after a public spat with Kejriwal. She had demanded an answer from Kejriwal for AAP's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls. If the 44-year-old politician is to be believed, AAP has become a party where sycophancy is encouraged.
AAP and Lamba fought over Rajiv Gandhi as well
Even, in 2018, AAP and Lamba came at loggerheads after a resolution suggesting to strip Bharat Ratna from Rajiv Gandhi was passed. After outrage, however, AAP distanced itself from it, putting the blame on Lamba. She claimed she was the one who opposed it initially.
Earlier, Lamba declared Delhi will get another Sheila Dixit
Before elections, Lamba showed a confident side of hers and claimed AAP will have difficulty proving to voters of Chandni Chowk why it gave a ticket to a "corrupt" person. The party has fielded Prahlad Singh Sawhney, who contested from the constituency in 2015 on a Congress ticket and came third. Lamba also said these elections will give Delhi another Sheila Dixit.

domain: politics


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The second season of another great Netflix series and a hidden gem from last year are the highlights on TV for this Friday in mid-August. Along with these picks, there are some great movies to watch and new episodes of some very popular summer hits. No need to go out tonight when there is so much to watch in the comfort of your own home.
Pick of the Day:
From the mind of acclaimed director David Fincher, comes the return of the best crime show currently on television. The first season of “Mindhunter” followed FBI agent Holden Hill (Jonathan Groff) and his partner Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they examined some of the most dangerous serial killers in America during the late 1970s. The purpose of doing these interviews was to study the criminals thought processes so they could solve open cases and prevent future crimes. Most of the first season was about these two men trying to build credibility for the unit they created while also making sure their project was viable enough to have a place at the FBI.
Now entering into its sophomore season, the show will jump forward in time and shift the focus to a string of murders that took place in Atlanta during the early 1980’s. “Mindhunter” will also continue to feature guest stars playing some iconic killers, with this season including Wayne Williams, David Berkowitz and the infamous Charles Manson. With excellent performances from Groff, McCallany and Anna Torv, and that distinctive Fincher style, “Mindhunter” season 2 looks to be just as spellbinding as the first season.
Movies on TV:
“Blaze” (Showtime) at 8:00 PM ET
While 2018 was only last year, it seemed to be an embarrassment of riches when it came to film releases. As critics raved about Ethan Hawke’s performance in “First Reformed,” many forgot about the beautiful film he directed called “Blaze.” The film follows the rise and fall of country-blues legend Blaze Foley (Ben Dickey) and his relationship with Sybil Rosen (Alia Shawkat), the love of his life.
Hawke directed one of the most understated and overlooked musical biopics of this decade. He is also able to get a star turning performance out of Dickey. The star was a first time actor but he plays Foley with such tenderness, you would have thought that he had been acting for years. Both men have been friends for decades and wanted to make this story for a long time. When you watch the film, you can see that they are making something truly personal. In a world where “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman” are dominating the conversation within the genre, you won’t regret giving this movie a shot.
Other Movies on TV:
- “Aliens” (Viceland) at 6:30 PM ET
- “Road House” (AMC) at 7:00 PM ET
- “Men in Black” (VH1) at 7:30 PM ET
- “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (FXM) at 7:45 PM ET
- “Iron Man” (USA) at 8:00 PM ET
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (TBS) at 8:00 PM ET
- “Jack Reacher” (TNT) at 8:00 PM ET
- “The Angry Bird Movie” (FX) at 8:00 PM ET
- “Moana” (Disney) at 8:00 PM ET
- “The Awful Truth” (TCM) at 8:00 PM ET
- “Pulp Fiction” (BBC) at 8:00 PM ET
- “Hitch” (Bravo) at 8:18 PM ET
- “First Blood” (AMC) at 9:35 PM ET
- “Top Gun” (Paramount) at 10:00 PM ET
- “The Favourite” (HBO2) at 10:00 PM ET
- “Monster-in-Law” (E!) at 10:30 PM ET
New Episodes on TV:
Below are the new episodes airing tonight:
- “Ridiculousness” (MTV) at 8:00 p.m. ET
- “Ancient Aliens: Declassified” (History) at 8:00 p.m. ET
- “BattleBots” (Discovery) at 8:00 p.m. ET
- “What Would You Do” (ABC) at 9:00 p.m ET
- “Killjoys” (Syfy) at 10:00 PM ET
- “Masters of Disaster” (Discovery) at 10:00 p.m. ET
- “Paranormal Caught on Camera” (Travel) at 10:00 PM ET
- “House Hunters” (HGTV) at 10:00 PM ET
- “Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO) at 10:00 PM ET


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Crytek, known primarily for FarCry, Crysis, CryEngine and "No Woman No Cry," is all about the free-to-play market, with future projects set to fully embrace the model. Iiiiiiinteresting.
Right now we are in the transitional phase of our company, transitioning from packaged goods games into an entirely free-to-play experience," said CEO Cevat Yerli. "What this entails is that our future, all the new games that we’re working on, as well new projects, new platforms and technologies, are designed around free-to-play and online, with the highest quality development."
Obviously, Crysis 3 is going to be a more traditional retail experience, but judging by Yerli's words, more recent projects like Warface may represent the studio's future. It's hardly surprising, either. The world of freemium games is getting credible, and lucrative, and could soon make the old $60 business model archaic.
It just needs even more studios like Crytek on board, and I personally hope they start soon.
As we all know, freemium models tend to do more harm than good if they're not well designed. There's a very fine line between "wanting to monetize your game" and driving players away, and in the Canadian beta for Ultima Forev...more
Nintendo is apparently gearing up to launch a free-to-play game this fiscal year (which ends March 2014), as announced at E3 during an analyst briefing. Evidently the game has been ruled out as a Mario or Pokemon game, and it...more
Ubisoft is celebrating E3 by giving away free in-game real money currency for Anno Online players -- the newest free-to-play city-building from developer Blue Byte. All you have to do is log in, go to your My P...more


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The moment he stood upright on the table, he turned himself fully to the judge, without a glance towards the dock. "Sit down, sit down, poor man," said the judge. "Thanks to you, my lord, I will," answered Peery, "only, first I'd ax you to let me kneel, for a little start;" and he accordingly did kneel, and after bowing his head, and forming the sign of the cross on his forehead, he looked up, and said—" My Judge in heaven above, 'tis you I pray to keep me to my duty, afore my earthly judge, this day:—amen; ''—and then repeating the sign of the cross, he seated himself.
The examination of the witness commenced, and humanely proceeded as follows—(the counsel for the prosecution taking no notice of the superfluity of Peery's answers). "Do you know Michaul, or Michael, Carrol, the prisoner at the bar?" "Afore that night, Sir, I believed I knew him well; every thought of his mind, every bit of the heart in his body: afore that night, no living creatur could throw a word at Michaul Carrol, or say he ever forgot his father's renown, or his love of his good God;—an' sure the people are afther telling you by this time, how it come about that night—an, you, my lord,—an' ye, gintlemen,—an' all good christians that hear me ;—here I am to help to hang him—my own boy, and my only one—but, for all that, gintlemen, ye ought to think of it; 'twas for the weenoch and the ould father that he done it;—indeed, an'deed, we hadn't a pyatee in the place; an' the sickness was among us, a start afore; it took the wife from him, and another babby; an'id had himself down, a week or so beforehand; an' all that day, he was looking for work, but couldn't get a hand's turn to do; an' that's the way it was; not a mouthful for me an' little Peery; an', more betoken, he grew sorry for id, in the mornin', an' promised me not to touch a scrap of what was in the barn,—ay, long afore the steward and the peelers came on us,—but was willin' to go among the neighbours an' beg our breakfast, along wid myself, from door to door, sooner than touch it." "It is my painful duty," resumed the barrister, when Peery would at length cease,—" to ask you for closer information. You saw Michael Carrol in the barn, that night?—" "Musha—The Lord pity himand me—I did, Sir." "Doing what?"— "The sheep between his hands,"answered Peery, dropping his head, and speaking almost inaudibly. "I must still give you pain, I fear;—stand up; take the crier's rod; and if you see Michael Carrol in court, lay it on his head." " Och, musha, musha, Sir, don't ax me to do that!" pleaded Peery, rising, wringing his hands, and for the first time weeping—" och, don't my lord, don't, and may your own judgment be favourable, the last day.'' "I am sorry to command you to do it, witness, but you must take the rod,"
answered the judge, bending his head close to his notes, to hide his- own tears; and, at the same time, many a veteran barrister rested his forehead on the edge of the table. In the body of the court were heard sobs. "Michaul,awcA.' Michaul, a carra-ma-chree .'" exclaimed Peery, when at length he took the rod, and faced round to his son, —" is id your father they make to do it, ma-bttuchal 9" "My father does what is right," answered Michael, in Irish. The judge immediately asked to have his words translated; and when he learned theii import, regarded the prisoner with satisfaction. "We rest here, my lord," said the counsel, with the air of a man freed from a painful task.
The judge instantly turned to the jury-box.
"Gentlemen of the jury. That the prisoner at the bar stole the' sheep in question, there can be no shade of moral doubt. But you have a very peculiar case to consider. A son steals a sheep that his own famishing father and his own famishing son may have food. His aged parent is compelled to give evidence against him here for the act. The old man virtuously tells the truth, and the whole truth, before you and me. He sacrifices his natural feelings—andwe have seen that they are lively—to his honesty, and to his religious sense of the sacred obligations of an oath. Gentlemen, I will pause to observe, that the old man's conduct is strikingly exemplary, and even noble. It teaches all of us a lesson. Gentlemen, it is not within the province of a judge to censure the rigour of the proceedings which have sent him before us. But I venture to anticipate your pleasure that, notwithstanding all the evidence given, you will be enabled to acquit that old man's son, the prisoner at the bar. I have said there can not be the shade of a moral doubt that he has stolen the sheep, and I repeat the words. But, gentlemen, there is a legal doubt, to the full benefit of which he is entitled. The sheep has not been identified. The herdsman could not venture to identify it (and it would have been strange if he could) from the dismembered limbs found in the barn. To his mark on its skin, indeed, he might have positively spoken; but no skin has been discovered. Therefore, according to the evidence, and you have sworn to decide by that alone, the prisoner is entitled to your acquittal. Possibly, now that the prosecutor sees the case in its full bearing, he may be pleased with this result."
While the jury, in evident satisfaction, prepared to return their verdict, Mr Evans, who had but a moment before returned home, entered the court, and becoming aware of the concluding words of the judge, expressed his sorrow aloud, that the prosecution had ever been undertaken; that circumstances had kept him uninformed of it, though it had gone on in his name; and he begged leave to assure his lordship that it would be his future effort to keep Michaul Carrol in his former path of honesty, by finding him honest and ample employment, and, as far as in him lay, to reward the virtue of the old father.
While Peery Carrol was laughing and crying in a breath, in the arms of his delivered son, a subscription, commenced by the bar, was mounting into a considerable sum for his advantage.
THE SQUIRE'S PEW.
A Slanting ray of evening light
Shoots through the yellow pane,
And gilds the fringe again;
How many a cloudless day,
Hath come and passed away!
The cunning hand must be,
Acorn and fleur-de-lis,
In mimicking the chisel's art
In days of yore as now we call,
When the first James was king,
Hither his train would bring;
All reverently they knelt,
In ancient English spelt,
Now streaming down the vaulted aisle
The sunbeam long and lone,
Of their inscription-stone,
He and my lady fair,
In attitude of prayer,
The numerous offspring bend,
As if they did intend
Those mellow days are past and dim,
But generations new,
Still fill the stately pew,
With all his train appear,
At season of the year,
The hollow sounding floor,
Which shall, as heretofore,
In all its wonted state,
And stop before the gate,
Each in their narrow beds,
Shine gaily o'er their heads,
THE TWO SISTERS.
A VILLAGE STORY. BY MISS MITFORD.
The pretty square Farm-house, standing at the corner where Kibes Lane crosses the brook, or the brook crosses Kibes Lane, (for the first phrase, although giving by far the closest picture of the place, does, it must be confessed, look rather Irish,) and where the aforesaid brook winds away by the side of another lane, until it spreads into a river-like dignity, as it meanders through the sunny plain of Hartly Common, and finally disappears amidst the green recesses of Perge Wood—that pretty square Farm-house, half hidden by the tall elms in the flower court before it, which, with the spacious garden and orchard behind, and the extensive barn, yards, and outbuildings, so completely occupies one of the angles formed by the crossing of the land and the stream,—that pretty Farm-house contains one of the happiest and most prosperous families in Aberleigh, the large and thriving family of Farmer Evans.
Whether from skill or from good fortune, or, as is most probable, from a lucky mixture of both, every thing goes right in his great farm. His crops are the best in the parish: his hay is never spoiled; his cattle never die; his servants never thieve: his children are never ill. He buys cheap, and sells dear: money gathers about him like a snow-ball; and yet, in spite of all this provoking and intolerable prosperity, every body loves Farmer Evans. He is so hospitable, so good-natured, so generous,—so homely! There, after all, lies the charm. Riches have not only not spoilt the man, but they have not altered him. He is just the same in look, and word, and way, that he was thirty years ago, when he and his wife, with two sorry horses, one cow, and three pigs, began the world at Dean-Gate, a little bargain of twenty acres, two miles off:—aye, and his wife is the same woman!—the same frugal, tidy, industrious, good-natured Mrs Evans, so noted for her activity of tongue and limb, her good looks, and her plain dressing: as frugal, as good-natured, as active, and as plain-dressing Mrs Evans at forty-five as she was at nineteen, and, in a different way, almost as good-looking.
Their children—six "boys," as Farmer Evans promiscuously calls them, whose ages vary from eight to eight and twenty—and three girls, two grown up, and one, the youngest of the family, are just what might be expected from parents so simple and so good. The young men, intelligent and well conducted-, the boys docile

domain: literature


Letters to the Editor | Opinion
Graham-Cassidy health care bill, State Fair and Dallas Police, North Korea, John McCain
Readers don't like the Graham-Cassidy health care bill, say money to remove Lee statue could have helped pay for police at the State Fair, hate and like Trump's speech at the U.N. and admire John McCain.
Amazon, Dallas, Lee statue, Medicare oversight, DACA, Congress
Readers say Dallas isn't ready for Amazon, are not happy about the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue, worry about the lack of Medicare oversight and want Congress to work together on DACA.
Three cheers to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the kindness of strangers and Cole Hamels
Guns and rage, Greg Abbott's true colors, Trump's predictability
Cedar Hill elections, Equifax, Dallas County Commissioners, Salvation Army, Ezekiel Elliott
Readers claim voter privacy must be preserved, especially regarding latest Cedar Hill elections; are worried about the Equifax breach; don't agree with Dallas County Commissioners receiving raises; praise the Salvation Army; and criticize Zeke Elliott.
DACA, Robert E. Lee statue, Dallas, ineligible voters, Russian hackers
Readers share their opinions about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals issue, would like a compromise about the Lee statue in Dallas and talk about the Russian hacking producing voter problems.
Helping hurricane victims, regulations, city planning, trees, Dallas, corporate greed, NFL
Robert E. Lee statue in Dallas, Shauna Newman of Southlake, Texas lottery, Houston, rainy day fund, gas panic
Three cheers to the Eugene McDermott Foundation, the Rev. Bill Bryan, animal rescuers
Readers are thankful for the Eugene McDermott Foundation, remember the Rev. Bill Bryan and appreciate those who rescued animals from flooding.
Texans helping each other, Texas leaders, rainy day fund, climate change, North Korea, slavery, racism
Readers are proud of how Texas has stepped up in dealing with Hurricane Harvey, but some are upset with Texas leaders, say we can't ignore climate change, urge U.S. to get China involved in stopping North Korea and condemn slavery and racism.
DACA, Trump, Scott Pruitt, Jeff Sessions, border wall, national parks, Harvey responders, trees
Gun tragedies, gas shortage, capitalism, racism, slavery, hate victims, Boston school buses
Eliminating DACA: Is it right, or is it cruel?
Readers share their opinions about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals issue.


The deep ocean (in this case 2363 m) requires long station times in order to sample to the sea floor for the CTD or even to 1000 m in the case of the net tows. So today (10 August) we have been working for much of the day at station #46, at the end of the line on Transect 46. We have finishing up work at station #46 (1842) and are just now getting underway and headed for a long steam to station #47. The weather today has been snowy for most of the day, but not much has accumulated. The winds have been in the 20 knot range until recently and now the winds are 32 to 37 kts out of the west (298) with gusts in the 40 knot range. The air temperature at -0.1°C is mild compared to the deep freeze values of 3 or 4 days ago. The barometer is down a bit at 970.1 mlb. Our position is -67° 05.68S; -73° 23.855W. The pack ice is much thinner out here just off the edge of the continental shelf and the ship has been moving more easily through it, no need for backing and ramming. Still towing is problematical with the tow cable always in constant danger of being snagged by a large chunk of ice as the pieces pushed aside by the passage of the ship fill in the wake.
On 9 August, we worked in windy snowy conditions at the final station (#29) in the coastal current region south of Adelaide Island and then at two mid-shelf stations, #43 and 44 to the west of Marguerite Bay. We arrived at station #43 about 1200 and started the work with an under ice dive by the Jose Torres group. The Ice Dive went well, in spite of the 30+ kt winds that were blowing. After the divers returned to the ship around 1400, Ari Friedlaender and Rebecca Pirzl went out for a short cross-bow tutorial in the zodiac before it was brought back on board. This was followed by a CTD, 1-m2 MOCNESS tow, and an under ice survey using the ROV. BIOMAPER-II was towyoed a portion of the distance from station #29 to 43, but suffered another electronic failure that could be traced to the ice collision of the previous day.
John Klinck reports that on 9 August, the CTD group did 4 stations: 2 on the shallow fringe south of Adelaide island, one at the end of line 308 and one on the 300 line. All of the shallow stations display a pycnocline of some sort between 100 and 150 m, so mixing is not sufficient to puncture the stratification even when the bottom is at the pycnocline. The surface mixed layer thickness and the evidence of lateral intrusions in the pycnocline vary considerably from station to station, even a few 10's of km apart. This may be due to small temporal or spatial scales for these processes.
Station #31 (156 m) has a mixed layer with uniform properties to 100 m and a clear pycnocline in the lower 50 m of the water column.
Station #30 (169 m) has a mixed layer to 70 m with uniform properties. The base of the mixed layer is rather sharp and the pycnocline has less stratification than other stations. Clear and numerous steps with thicknesses of 10 to 15 m populate the pycnocline. The transmissivity of the water decreases below the mixed layer and decreases again within about 20 m of the bottom.
Station #29 (182 m) has a mixed layer to 70 m, but temperature and salinity increase linearly across the mixed layer. Just below the mixed layer is a layer about 40 m thick with higher temperature (+0.2°C) and salinity (+0.05) which is apparently a laterally intruding layer. The stratification below this layer to the bottom has a weak pynocline followed by increasing temperature and salinity to the bottom.
Station #43 (470 m) is on the middle shelf and displays a uniform mixed layer to 50 m with linear stratification to about 100 m where a weak pycnocline occurs. There is some variability in the traces, but there is no evidence of steppy layers. A weak O2 maximum is at 250 m while two weak temperature maxima are evident at 300 and 400 m. Deep temperature is 1.35°C or so, meaning that the subpycnoline water has been on the shelf for a while.
Kendra Daly reports that on 8 August at station #34 in the mouth of Laubeuf Fjord was relatively abundant in plankton. Our Tucker trawl collected some larvae and immature adult Euphausia superba, mysids, amphipods, numerous copepods, medusae and ctenophores. We used adult krill collected from the Tucker trawl, the 10 m MOCNESS, and the 1-m MOCNESS tows to estimate physiological and feeding rates. The dive collections at station #43 in the mid-shelf region of Marguerite Bay yielded few larval krill and ctenophores. Divers observed only small scattered aggregations of krill under the sea ice.
Ari Friedlaender reports that on 9 August, the whales sighting effort was made from 0930-1115 as we steamed to station #43. Ice coverage was 10/10, with vast snow covered floes and very few patches of newly iced over pools. Snow fog again limited visibility to less than 0.5 nm. The only sightings made were 4 crabeater and 1 unidentified seals all seen swimming in the small pools.
Ana Sirovic reports that on 9 August, she deployed one sonobuoy as we were approaching station #43. She was able to monitor it for 38 min for a range of 3.2 nm. This is a very short range and it is likely that it was a sonobuoy malfunction rather than an actual indicator of the reception range. No whales, seals, or other biological noise were heard.
Chris Ribic and Erik Chapman report that on 9 August (JD-221), they
surveyed for 1 hour and 50 minutes on the way to station 43. Visibility
was poor with heavy snows during the observation period. Only Snow Petrels
and Adélie Penguins were seen in mostly 10/10ths ice concentration.
A summary of the observations is the following:
They surveyed for an hour last night and saw 7 Snow Petrels during that time.
BIOMAPER-II/MOCNESS report (P. Wiebe, C. Ashjian, and S. Gallager):
BIOMAPER-II was deployed on 9 August some distance from station #29 after repairs to the towed body were completed following the collision the day before with a piece of ice flowing out from under the ship's hull. It was being towyoed between 30 m and about 200 m when the Environmental Sensing System (ESS) which provides information about the towed body depth, temperature, salinity, fluorescence, and GPS position failed at a depth of about 130 m. It was brought back on deck about 45 minutes before we reached station #43. The problem was traced at first to a modem card inside the ESS underwater unit, but it was intermittent and took some time before a component was found that when replaced eliminated the intermittency upon bench testing (Thanks to Jeff Otten). But when plugged into the BIOMAPER-II's data and communication system, it still would not work. A second problem was found in the electronics in the telemetry bottle, which also took some time to remedy. This was on a board designed to handle the SAIL communications for the ESS system. An IC had been damaged by another component that had come loose probably during the ice collision. This component was free to shift back and forth and probably repeatedly hit the IC finally knocking it loose and shorting it out. Thanks to Romeo Larivieri, another replacement IC was found in the ET shop and this board was made functional again. This work, however, took about 24 hours, so BIOMAPER-II did not make it back into the water again during the 9th of August.
The tenth 1-m2 MOCNESS tow was conducted in marginal ice conditions. The tow started well, but we were beset by floes of ice that became trapped under the wire at frequent intervals throughout the tow. We often had to stop the ship and even back down to free the wire. This resulted in the MOCNESS dropping back down through the water column on the up cast and re-sampling depth intervals. We even sampled 250 m with three different nets! However, despite these difficulties, this was a very successful tow. The samples were in great shape. The ship handling abilities of our colleagues on the bridge should be commended!
Copepods were abundant from 75-419 meters. One myctophid was caught in the 419-300 m interval, along with a very large chaetognath. Opaque, large, euphausiids were caught in the 110-419 m depth range in low abundance. Furcilia were observed from 95 m or so to the surface. A very large salp was caught in the 21-45 m depth interval. Smaller salps also were caught in the upper 45 meters. Ctenophores were captured only in the 46-71 m interval.


text:
This is great to eat with ice cold beer, Chang being the beer of choice if you’re doing it properly. Whatever it is you’re drinking needs to be cold, beer like and plentiful.
You will need:
1-2 bags of defrosted pre cooked Tiger/King/Large Ass prawns
6 tsp fresh lime juice
6 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar or less
1 clove garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped
2 teaspoons very finely chopped coriander leaves
2 bird’s eye chilli or more, V.finely chopped
If you have fresh ginger and/or lemon grass peel or bash up and throw in the sauce for extra flavor.
Mix all the above together and pour into a suitable dipping bowl, small glass tumbler/other.
Dip prawn in sauce, eat, drink beer. Repeat.

domain: food


The internet has found its new Cybertruck.
The jokes flowed freely Wednesday after the website VR Scout reported that Apple could be considering a car design featuring an in-car virtual reality entertainment system and no windows.
Apple reportedly filed a patent on May 3 for the entertainment system, which could replace the view of the real world in a car with virtual environments. It noted that “autonomous vehicles may have limited or even no windows, and thus the motions that passengers experience in such vehicles may not match what they are visually seeing, potentially causing motion sickness” and offered solutions that would combat that.
The article featured a concept design of the Apple car produced by Concept Creator and Letsgodigital. It’s not Apple’s design.
Apple has been working on creating an autonomous vehicle for several years and has filed a number of relevant patents, but the company has remained secretive about its plans and hasn’t made any official announcements.
While windowless design may not be realistic, Twitter users couldn’t help but pile on to the concept.


text:
On Tuesday, the transporter hauling the No. 17 ARCA Menards Series entry for David Gilliland Racing to Phoenix Raceway was involved in a fatal wreck. One of the co-drivers of the hauler, Steven Stotts, passed away from the accident that occurred in Longview, TX. The team decided that they would race in Friday’s event in Phoenix with their 17-year-old driver, Taylor Gray, as scheduled.
In an event dominated by Sammy Smith and Kyle Busch Motorsports, Gray found the lead late in the race and held off a surge of speed from Smith, Rajah Caruth, and Daniel Dye to bring home the victory.
Gray’s car carried the names of all three passengers that were in the hauler at the time of the accident.
— Devon Henry (@devonhenry77) March 12, 2022
Sports360AZ’s San Tan Ford coverage of the weekend at Phoenix Raceway continues tomorrow for the Xfinity Series United Rentals 200.
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 12, 2022


In its comeback avatar, Grover Zampa has managed to capture a market share of nearly 40 per cent in the reserve wine segment. Its latest offering, Insignia, is priced at Rs. 5,000 and with this, the company aims to cultivate select patronage
A silver jubilee in business merits a celebration and when a company has been through a tumultuous journey, it makes the celebration that much more worthy. Grover Zampa Vineyards (back then it was just Grover Vineyards) released its first magnum in 1992 and since, India’s oldest winery has battled regulatory norms, loss of market share and an abortive partnership with wine importer, Brindco. In 2013, the company merged with Mumbai-based Vallee de Vin to create Grover Zampa Vineyards and mark a superb comeback as it now owns a market share of nearly 40 per cent in the Indian reserve wine segment.
Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO, Grover Zampa, attributes the company’s recent success to its consistency and commitment to produce quality wines, even when the going was tough. “In the last three years, we have won 74 awards, nearly thrice as many won by our competition and this is recognition of the quality we offer,” he states. In the last fiscal, the company sold over 2,00,000 cases of wine and while this is much lower than the market leader, Grover Zampa has continued to persevere with its resolve on producing fine wines that can compete in the international market.
Going by Mandla’s estimate, the Indian wine market stands at about Rs. 1,000 crore, growing at an average of 15 per cent.
Of the 2,00,000 cases it sold, nearly 1,20,000 cases were reserve wines and this augurs well for the company that has recently launched its most expensive magnum, Insignia 2014, priced at Rs. 5,000. “We handcrafted a small batch of about 300 cases of Insignia and we sold out in less than two months,” says Mandla. There is the argument that selling a high-end wine in a market where the maximum consumption happens in a price bracket of Rs. 600 to Rs. 700 is unwise, but Grover Zampa is judiciously cultivating finer wines for an exclusive, discerning audience.
Increasing its sheen
Today, Grover Zampa has grown its international distribution to over 30 countries while its reach in the domestic market, where it sees nearly 85 per cent of total sales, extends to over 35 cities. “In the last three years, we have increased our distribution strength in our primary markets of Karnataka and Maharashtra and gone into new geographies and this has greatly increased consumer access to our wines,” says Mandla.
With increased access, the company has also been conscious to increase visibility through its celebrity associations (it produces a Vijay Amritraj Reserve collection) and marketing initiatives. “There was a perceived stiffness about wines as a category and to break this, we introduced the Great Grover Stomp which is a fun-filled way to get to know your wine,” he says. Each year, Grover Zampa ensures that it finds new ways to engage its consumers and this year, the content will throw the spotlight on its silver jubilee. The company relies heavily on digital, especially social media, and spends close to 10 per cent of its topline on a mix of ATL and BTL activities.
Battling the odds
Going by Mandla’s estimate, the Indian wine market stands at about Rs. 1,000 crore, growing at an average of 15 per cent. This figure could be much higher if not for the constant battle the industry faces from the spirits industry. The annual statistics are telling; for three million cases of wine sold in India, there are 320 million cases of spirits sold, including unbranded spirits. “The cost of entry is the same for wine makers and spirit makers and that is unfair,” rues Mandla. Adding to a lack of regulatory support and a ban on advertising, each state in India has its own policy and several times, Grover Zampa decides to stay in a region based on viability with regards to functioning under set policy.
In the recent times, demonetisation and at present, the ban of liquor on all state and national highways starting this April are likely to have an adverse impact on the industry. Madla is hopeful that despite this turn of events, Grover Zampa will maintain an annual growth rate of over 20 per cent.
The company is looking for newer avenues to grow and it has recently introduced a sparkling wine, Zampa Soiree Brut. In the near future, it aims to make two more additions to this segment. The company’s next vintage of Insignia is likely to be released this October and this will comprise nearly 600 cases. Mandla is optimistic about his sales outlook on Insignia and he reiterates that the quality justifies the pricing.
Grover Zampa is also intent on exploring wine tourism with the aim of establishing a hotel at its Nashik vineyard in the next two to three years. “At the moment, this vertical brings in less than 5 per cent of revenue but we are confident that by investing in the right infrastructure, we can grow this to double digits shortly,” concludes Mandla.
Insights from Grover
Premium Approach: In a wine market where maximum consumption happens in the price bracket of Rs. 600 to Rs. 700, Grover Zampa is consciously growing its reserve wine segment and cultivating a select patronage. Its latest offering, Insignia, is priced at Rs. 5,000, making it one of India’s most expensive wines.
Distribution Approach: Grover Zampa has struggled with distribution and access in the past and in the last three years, it has made significant strides by increasing its domestic reach to 35 cities in India. It also distributes to 30 countries globally.
Marketing Approach: The company looks for new ways to up consumer engagement and one of its most fun-filled initiatives in the recent times was The Great Grover Stomp. This year, it will shine the spotlight on turning 25.


text:
When you purchase a digital subscription to Cake Central Magazine, you will get an instant and automatic download of the most recent issue.
Four tier mud cake covered with white ganache and white chocolate stars, topped with sugar bride and groom.
Comic Bride & Groom Wedding Cake
Car With Bride & Groom
No Hunting Bride & Groom
That is gorgous! Wonderful work!
WOW!!! Beautiful Cake
(if this is a private computer)
Yes please, register now!


text:
The new fiscal terms for oil processing and the new mechanism for depositing revenue from petroleum product excise taxes in Russia; the Strategy for the development of petrochemical industry through 2030 - implementation plan; cooperation between Russia, Vietnam and CIS countries; amendments to action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Analytical Center has prepared another review of regulations in fuel and energy sector in Russia and around the world in Q2 2016.
In the Russian context, the experts noted changes aimed at improving safety in the coal industry, stabilized electricity rates for the population of Amur Oblast and Jewish Autonomous Oblast, increased payment discipline among electricity consumers, incentives to use peat as fuel for electricity production alongside other renewable energy sources in Russia.
Among new tendencies abroad, the specialists focused on the prospects of LNG market in Japan, adjustments to tax regime applied to projects in Mexico, introduction of stricter liability for operators of nuclear installations for the consequences of emergencies initiated in the UK, and some other issues.
The section analyzing sanctions against Russia’s energy sector that first appeared in the report last year is featured in this year’s report as well. In Q2 2016, the main event here was the official extension of restrictions for the Crimea and Sevastopol for another year and Russia’s decision to extend its food embargo until the end of 2017.
For more details, see our Review: Changes and Trends in the Regulation of Fuel and Energy Sector in Russia and the World in Q2 2016.
As usual, the EY Moscow Oil & Gas Center took an active part in preparing the Review.

domain: economics


text:
In a sharp break from Georgia's Republican delegation – and President Donald Trump – U.S. Sen. David Perdue said the military should allow transgender soldiers.
Perdue's comments came Friday as Trump signed an official memo prohibiting new transgender recruits in the military, putting in place a ban he tweeted about in late July. Perdue initially supported Trump's ban, but he moderated that position during an interview Friday with the Marietta Daily Journal.
Transgender troops are OK, Perdue explained, but the military shouldn't pick up the tab for “all of that surgery.” Via MDJ:
In answer to whether he believed transgender service members should be allowed to serve, the senator said, “Yeah … We have gays in the military. We have transgenders in the military. But what I don’t think is right is for people to sign up for the military and then have all of that surgery paid for by the military. I don’t think that’s right.”
Perdue's acceptance of transgender service members puts him well ahead of other Georgia Republicans. U.S. Rep. Karen Handel and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson are taking a wait-and-see approach, though Handel – like Perdue – said the military shouldn't pay for “elective” surgery for transgender troops.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, though, made it clear he doesn't want “them” transgender military members.
Studies put the cost of gender transition surgeries for transgender troops at $2.4 million to $8.4 million annually – a fraction of the $84 million the military spends each year on erectile dysfunction medication.


text:
The next phase of this project involves the construction of a 4U (40 cm3) CubeSat in accordance with the UAE's Environment Vision 2030.
Amity University, Dubai has launched a satellite ground station on their campus, which will allow students to track satellites, predict weather patterns and pollution levels, as reported by Khaleej Times.
The station at Amity University is aimed at garnering the participation of students studying aerospace, electrical, electronics, computer science or nanotechnology engineering.
Commenting on the initiative, Dr Vajhat Hussain, CEO of Amity University Dubai, as quoted by the English daily, said: “The main goal of the ground station is to give students the opportunity to perform the following operations – telemetry data visualisation and storage, antenna control and positioning system, radio communication using very high frequency (VHF) and satellite data analysis. Through this initiative, students will not only learn how to read and analyse such data but also get the support they need for research projects.”
“Students will learn how to track satellites by understanding how to predict their orbits. They will be able to learn to transmit/receive signals and metadata from various satellites while also gaining knowledge on how to disseminate and analyse this data to create predictions on weather, water reservoirs, elevation levels, pollution and population levels among other things.”
“As aspiring engineers, students will be able to utilise the platform to conduct various kinds of analysis for publishing in journals or conference papers. They will also gain knowledge of various software that can be used for transmitting and receiving data and remote sensing applications,” Dr Hussain added.
“The data that is retrieved from this station will be used to perform analysis on metadata using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) based software. This software allows for integrated processing of images and for the visualisation of data subsystems, which can be applied within fields like landscape ecology and genetics, cartography, marine sciences, remote sensing, public health etc. This will definitely have very major applications in accordance with the UAE’s environmental vision for 2030.”
The report stated that the Amity Dubai Ground Station is part of a two-phase plan. The next phase of this project involves the construction of a 4U (40 cm3) CubeSat in accordance with the UAE’s Environment Vision 2030 – gathering data for weather forecasting, biodiversity maintenance, scavenging of water sources, global warming data and agricultural development. Work on phase-two has already started and the university is aiming to complete this by 2020.

domain: geography


Smaller CBus units such as single channel relays are designed for panel mounting and come with small tabs suitable for screw fixing.
The larger CBus units such as relays, dimmers, DALI, DMX, PC interface, etc are DIN rail mounted.
For the convenience of our system integrators, we keep in stock a range of DIN rail enclosures suitable for housing Clipsal CBus units. These enclosures are available in a variety of sizes, from 12 modules all the way up to 120 modules.
These enclosures meet all necessary standards for electrical safety and come complete with earth and neutral bars as required.


Legislators have voted to oust GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California from his leadership role, the first time in the House of Representative’s history that the chamber voted to kick a member from its top job.
Eight members of the GOP voted with every present Democrat to vacate the speaker’s chair. The final vote was 216 to 210 in favor of the ouster.
Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced a measure against the speaker known as a motion to vacate on Monday night, accusing him of breaking promises he made in January to win the speaker’s gavel.
Tensions rose during an hour of debate before the actual motion to vacate, after 11 Republicans voted along with every Democrat to advance the measure.
Allies of McCarthy had taken up all microphones on the Republican side of the chamber, forcing Rep. Gaetz to make his case from the side where Democrats traditionally sit.
“Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word,” said Gaetz as McCarthy looked downward.
At one point, outraged ally of McCarthy, Republican Representative Garret Graves of Louisiana, accused Gaetz and his cohorts of sending fundraising efforts while pursuing their motion to vacate.
Graves fumed while pointing to his phone, “Using official actions to make money, it’s disgusting.”
Chants of “shame” erupted on the House Republican side of the chamber.
“When it comes to how those raise money, I take no lecture on asking patriotic Americans to weigh in and contribute to this fight from those who would grovel and bend a knee for the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership.”
A GOP lawmaker shouted at Gaetz, “You’re no martyr.”
Democrats signaled early Tuesday that they wouldn’t be inclined to help McCarthy. Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said before the vote, “Democrats are ready to find bipartisan common ground. Our extreme colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same. They must find a way to end the House Republican Civil War.”
In January, it took 15 rounds of voting to elect McCarthy.
McCarthy angered conservative hardliners by passing a short-term continuing resolution
McCarthy angered hardliners over the weekend when he passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) spending bill to keep the government open for 45 days to avert a government shutdown and allow lawmakers additional time to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.
Ninety GOP House members voted against the CR Saturday, arguing it was a “clean” extension of the previous Democrat-led Congress’ policies. However, the speaker’s prior attempts to put a CR on the table that would cut spending for its short duration were upended by several of the same conservatives opposed to any such measure on principle.
Frustration at the small number of rebels was intense among House Republicans Tuesday morning.
“This is a distraction from what we should be focusing on, which is the appropriations process,” said Main Street Caucus Vice Chair Stephanie Bice, a Republican from Oklahoma. “This is all about Matt Gaetz. It’s not about Kevin McCarthy. Matt Gaetz is using the American people as pawns in his narcissistic game of charades.”


text: One bedroom condo in Downtown Toronto core. Situated at the ACC, Jurassic Park, Union Station, Real Sports, Longos and LCBO. Nearby CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Harbourfront and Eaton's Centre. Easy access to Pearson or Billy Bishop Airports. Walking distance to almost anywhere in the city! Easy access to TTC, GO, VIA rail, UP and the PATH.


The Scorpius yacht with a Russian-Ukrainian crew on board was trapped in heavy ice to the north-east of the Jeannette island (the De Long Islands) in the East Siberian Sea, currently the yacht is drifting towards the east, Ukrinform agency reported on Saturday quoting the expedition’s spokeswoman Anna Subbotina.
Captain of the 29-meter (97 foot) yacht Sergei Nizovtsev said on Saturday that the yacht had not been damaged.
The crew will not send an SOS signal but just in case the crew is ready to evacuate, reported Ukrainian TV channel Inter.
“Until we come out to clean water, the danger will persist,” Nizovtsev said. “There is a positive trend, wind is getting stronger. I think in about 2-3 hours we will try to get out of this trap.”
The Scorpius left the Black Sea port of Sevastopol in September last year for a voyage around the South and the North Pole. The team's crew comprises four Russians and four Ukranians. The voyage is planned to be concluded in early 2014.


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Minimum wage as a poverty reduction policy tool
THE new national minimum wage of $5,600 per 40-hour workweek and $8,198.80 for security guards took effect last Monday and, unsurprisingly, it has again raised the spectre of possible job loss and the viability of some struggling firms.
Some even question whether the minimum wage should be a poverty reduction policy tool. I think they are wrong.
Commander George Overton, president of the Jamaica Society for Industrial Security and director of operations at The Guardsman Group, was reported in the media last week as saying that security companies were now faced with tough decisions and negotiations with the companies that use their services.
"There are groups who cannot do without it (security services) by law and those that can. And those who can will make the adjustment to cut the numbers and those who can't will be very hard in their negotiations," Overton said.
With respect to small businesses in other sectors, Professor Rosalea Hamilton of the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Alliance said the external and internal contexts in which individual firms operate would determine how well they absorb the increase.
"Increase in wages will mean for some businesses they either have to lay off or they maybe have to put persons on part-time or they have to make other adjustments in order to absorb the higher costs so they can still be viable and competitive. So any higher costs to some small businesses will imply adjustments in order to survive. And that means strategies to improve revenues or strategies to cut cost," Professor Hamilton explained.
Debate about the likely impact of the increase is taking place in a national context of economic contraction; diminished purchasing power evidenced by reduced spending over Christmas; and other high fixed overheads for things like electricity and transportation. All businesses are under pressure to keep down costs.
Ahead of the new rates taking effect, my colleague Martin Henry (Sunday Gleaner, December 22) rubbished the idea of a national minimum wage as government policy.
He noted that governments around the world feel a pressing sense of obligation to protect the poor and the weakest workers with a social-democratic minimum wage, and often with other price controls. "The problem with price-fixing is that 'fair price' can only be determined by real market forces, which allow a free buyer and a free seller in a free market to negotiate a mutually acceptable transaction of sale," he argued.
But that's not the full story. The problem with this approach is that the labour market is not as free as Martin made out. Wage setting is invariably an unequal power relationship between employer and worker.
Workers with rare skills in high demand are in a better bargaining position than unskilled or low-skilled workers who are available in large numbers. For most workers in low-paying jobs that the minimum wage seeks to protect, there is no process to arrive at a 'fair' mutually agreeable wage.
The historical evidence is that 'free' labour markets leave some workers with wages and working conditions that affront common decency; and practically, their low spending power is often a drag on economic activity. Hence, a minimum was not for governments to interfere unreasonably in a private matter between employer and employee but to redress a situation that societies deemed unacceptable.
Admittedly, there are challenges in setting a minimum wage to avoid the unintended consequence of job loss or business failure. As a society, Jamaica has been at it for years, and the key stakeholders -- employers, workers and government -- have largely avoided the dire predictions that accompany almost every increase. We just need to be sensible about it.
Rising income inequality
Forced by snow and brutally cold weather to extend my Christmas and New Year break in New York, I have been reflecting on a similar debate in the United States about increasing the federal minimum wage; this, in a context of growing income inequality that President Barack Obama has called a "defining challenge of our time".
Liberal economists and progressive policy advocates have calculated that increasing the federal minimum wage from US$7.25 to $10.00 an hour would immediately lift five million Americans out of poverty.
Conservatives are opposed in principle and political practice. Some, like Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia Business School, say that if society is affronted by wages below the poverty line then the remedy should be paid for by society in the form of income tax credits. Individual businesses should not bear the cost of socially desirable outcomes.
Of course, the chances of a Republican-controlled Congress agreeing to such a proposal are slim to none, and "Slim is out of town", as the irrepressible boxing promoter Don King used to say about the chances of journeymen boxers faced with similar odds.
Interestingly, the US is observing the 50th anniversary of an "unconditional war on poverty" launched by President Lyndon B Johnson in his January 8, 1964 State of the Union address.
It has been widely asserted that one of the factors behind the war on poverty was Michael Harrington's book, The Other America.
The book challenged the conventional wisdom that the nation had become an overwhelmingly middle-class society as a result of post-war prosperity. Harrington reported that almost one-third of all Americans -- between 40 million and 50 million people -- lived "below those standards which we have been taught to regard as the decent minimum for food, housing, clothing and health".
Initially, Johnson achieved many of his 'Great Society' initiatives including measures to provide education, training and other opportunities for those left behind by the market. Another signature achievement was Medicare, which provided minimum health protections for the elderly.
Progressive politics did not last long. In a blog on Huffington Post last week, Peter Dreier, professor of politics and chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, summed it up this way:
"Americans' optimistic and generous attitudes began to change in the 1970s, as conservative politicians and pundits began their assault on government regulations, taxes, and social programmes. That steady drumbeat of anti-government blame-the-victim invective contributed to public scepticism that anti-poverty policies can work."
Over the past decade, many Americans have experienced declining wages, and currently the US has the most extreme income inequality among industrialised countries and a poverty rate that "has persistently been two or three times higher than poverty rates in most European societies", Dreier wrote.
Some progressives see signs of hope in movements like the 'Occupy Wall Street', which calls attention to the unconscionable wealth of the top one per cent; widening protests by workers at two corporate giants -- Wal-Mart and McDonald's -- for a US$15.00 an hour minimum wage; and the election of Bill De Blasio as mayor of New York City, who has pledged to reverse inequality in America's largest metropolis.
Reversing the trends of the past two decades may not be on the cards in the short run. Also, increasing the minimum wage is not sufficient to lift people out of poverty anywhere. Pro-growth policies, investment in training and education are essential.
But policy-makers and opinion shapers should pay attention to a recent comment by Pope Francis, an increasingly important voice of this age: "...as long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems or, for that matter, to any problems."

domain: sociology


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The retrospective study included a cohort of patients from six countries across Europe who were diagnosed with HCV and received daclatasvir during the Named Patient Program.
In a study recently published in BMC Infectious Diseases, a collaborative team of researchers report that daclatasvir plus sofosbuvir is an effective treatment for patients with hepatitis C (HCV) who have a life expectancy of less than a year.
The retrospective study included a cohort of patients from six countries across Europe who were diagnosed with HCV and received daclatasvir during the Named Patient Program. The study pool included 249 participants with a median age of 56 years, of which 75% were infected with HCV genotype 1, 78% were male, and 65% had previous treatment experience. A total of 59% of the subject pool had decompensated cirrhosis and 40% had a liver transplant prior to receiving daclatasvir. The vast majority (242 patients) received daclatasvir and sofosbuvir.
Over the course of the study, the patients, “either reached 12 weeks post treatment or died during or after treatment or were lost to follow up during treatment,” the team wrote in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases.
The primary aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of daclatasvir in combination with sofosbuvir or simeprevir—and to evaluate sustained virologic response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12). Only one patient received daclatasvir with simeprevir, so the researchers modified their objective to measure the effectiveness of daclatasvir and sofosbuvir. Secondary objectives included summarizing the demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants and assessing effectiveness through SVR four weeks after treatment (SVR4).
A total of 234 patients completed treatment. SVR4 and SVR12 rates varied between patients from different countries (ranging from 82% to 100%). The six patients who did not achieve SVR12 had decompensated cirrhosis and none had received ribavirin. The researchers said that the results were consistent with their expectations, in that patients who either did not have cirrhosis or who had stable cirrhosis were easier to treat.
One of the study’s strengths lies in the fact that the collected data came from clinical practice. In addition, patients who had previously been difficult to treat were included in the patient pool. The researchers add that their data “come from a number of European countries and estimates have been appropriately averaged over different health care systems.” However, there was a small number of patients from each of the countries. Nonetheless, the findings were consistent with discoveries drawn from other studies.
While this study supports the use of sofosbuvir in combination with daclatasvir as a treatment for HCV, it also raises some questions.
The researchers concluded that investigation is still needed to determine “whether fewer than 24 weeks erodes effectiveness in these patients — and by how much; whether this treatment is as effective in HCV genotype 3 patients with decompensated cirrhosis; and whether the combination of daclatasvir and sofosbuvir is more effective than other treatment combinations for patients with decompensated cirrhosis.”


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On January 23, during a right-wing opposition demonstration in Caracas, Juan Guaidó, just another one of the many ridiculous characters of the Venezuelan Right, cast his die. Days after assuming the mantle of President of the National Assembly (which grants him parliamentary immunity), he declared himself President of the Republic. For that end, he invoked two articles of the Constitution as justification, 233 and 333.
Article 233º states that in case of:
Supreme Court of Justice decreed dismissal;
Permanent physical or mental incapacity certified by a medical board appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice and with the approval of the National Assembly;
Abandonment of office as declared by the National Assembly;
Repeal of the popular mandate.
One of the following scenarios will play out:
If the President has not yet taken office, there will be further elections within 30 days. During this period, the President of the National Assembly assumes the position of President of the Republic;
In case the President has already taken office, there will be new elections in the next 30 days, but the Presidency of the Republic is taken over by the Executive Vice President;
In case the President of the Republic has been in office for four years already, the Executive Vice President will complete the two missing years.
Article 333 says that the Constitution will maintain its validity even if overturned by an act of external force majeure and that in such a case it will be the duty of all able citizens to reestablish it.
Since Maduro is not dead, did not resign, was not dismissed, does not suffer from permanent and proven physical or mental incapacity, did not leave office and did not suffer a popular repeal of his mandate, Guaidó’s constitutional argument is dubious to say the least. Not a single constitutional article claims that a John Doe holding an image of Bolivar in the middle of the street can become President of Venezuela just because he wants to. The difference between an asylum patient and Juan Guaidó is the support of the United States.
I will continue to use the full weight of the economic and diplomatic powers of the United States to press in order to restore Venezuelan democracy. We encourage the other governments in the Western Hemisphere to recognize the President of the Guaido National Assembly as Interim President of Venezuela (…).
In response, the Venezuelan government cut off diplomatic ties with the US government and ordered the US diplomatic corps to leave the country. The US responded saying that it did not recognize the government as legitimate and ignored the order. Clearly, the US is making up increasingly absurd red lines so they can retaliate once one of them is crossed. Demonstrations of support for the government and the opposition took place in several cities, the largest in Caracas. Several violent protests were registered, some of them in working-class neighborhoods. The local population accused the demonstrators of being outside agents.
The choir of fools
Immediately following the US statement (a suspicious person might say it was almost as if everything was previously coordinated) the right-wing governments of Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica and Ecuador declared themselves for the pretender. The governments of Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Puerto Rico and Mexico positioned themselves in opposition. Outside the American continent, Russia, Turkey and China have remained on the government’s side, while the European Union called for new elections, placing itself implicitly on the side of the pretender.
What the Venezuelan right-wing opposition effectively advocates is almost impossible to discover. The website for Guaidó’s own party, Popular Will, does not contain any political program beyond the usual slogans about defending democracy and opposition to corruption. Jorge Martin of the Venezuela Analysis website says the following about the implicit objectives of the transition law being prepared by the opposition:
(…) the nationalised companies will be returned to their former private owners (including telecommunications, electrical, SIDOR, cement, etc), as will expropriated landed estates. It is noteworthy that there is a lot of talk of property and business rights, but no mention is made of workers’ rights, which would certainly be abolished. (…) massive dismissal of workers from state companies and the entry of private capital into them (…)
In short, the right-wing opposition is preparing the usual neoliberal armed robbery of national wealth and the immiseration of the working class for the convenience of American capital. It’s another Bolsonaro to come.
For now, the majority of the military institutions seem to remain on the side of the president-elect and his government. Army loyalty is something that the government has been careful to cultivate, with numerous economic incentives to loyalty, such as state contracts and exclusive stores. On Monday there was a small riot of National Guard soldiers but it has been suppressed. It should be noted that the transitional law being prepared by the right-wing opposition also includes a provision that guarantees immunity to military personnel who revolt against the elected government.
You do not have to like Maduro to know what this is
To accept frameworks that look at the Venezuelan government as “Maduro’s regime” is to accept the language of imperialism and its color revolutions, who try to individualize their enemies. Under the excuse of removing an evil dictator, a Khomeini, a Saddam, a Gaddafi, an Assad or a Maduro, great crimes of collective punishment are committed.
Said collective punishment includes economic sanctions, of which Venezuela has known many. For example, the country is embargoed on international financial systems under the control of the dollar, which restricts its ability to import essential goods necessary to keep the economy functioning, along with food, medicine or to export oil.
This does not exempt the extraordinarily derelict management of the economy by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. It built a social state dependent on high oil barrel prices. But at the same time, it neglected the development of the economy and the qualification of the working population while leaving large sectors of the economy in the hands of the old oligarchy. It was a tailor-made recipe to leave the country vulnerable to internal and external economic attack, especially now that the oil barrel price is low. Under these conditions, it would be surprising if the economy had not ended up in its present catatonic state.
If there is any long-term hope for the PSUV, it is to turn left and start exercising serious and intelligent control over the economy, to say the least. For now, the PSUV leadership seems to be betting on control of the army as their guarantee of keeping power.
If nothing else is done – and it may already be too late – the continuous clash against the forces of the vindictive internal oligarchy and of external imperialism will inevitably bring the Right to power. Until then, resistance will go on. However, to the Left looking at the situation from the outside, it is total historical blindness to think that supporting coups carried out by the Venezuelan Right will somehow end up offering a better quality of life to the Venezuelan working population.
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Hello friends! It’s Sandy from Thai Charm llc, and I am so excited to share my Fade Quilt featuring fabric from the timeless new collection called The Old Garden, designed by Danelys Sidron.
I love the vintage feel from this collection. The beautiful prints in dark blue and green blend perfectly with the mustard and brown prints.
Here are some of my favorite prints from this collection. But to be honest, I love them all.
Fade quilt is a wonderful beginner quilt pattern using strip piecing technique, which means it comes together really quick. Trip around the world style combines with bigger blocks makes it ideal to show off these beautiful prints. The finished quilt size is 67 x 67 inches, a nice sized throw quilt.
Some tips for making Fade Quilt is to lower your stitch length to between 1.8 – 2.0, since you’ll be cutting after piecing your strips together.
Setting your seam will also help create nicer and crisper seam. Wool mat and Quilter’s Clapper are always wonderful to have, to make your pressing more enjoyable.
I designed the Fade quilt for quilters who are looking for last minute handmade quilt. It’s always been my hope to help create more meaningful gifts that both makers and receivers love and enjoy.
I chose the quilting design called “Sunrise Skateland”, designed by Julie Hirt. The curve lines in this design added great movement to the quilt and the density of the quilting made the textures of this Fade quilt so scrumptious, don’t you think?
You can find Fade quilt pattern on my website along with other patterns that I think you’ll love. Tag me in your posts when you create with my patterns using hashtags, #ThaiCharmPatterns . I love to see your projects!
Remember to use the following hashtags on your projects using The Old Garden Fabric
#TheOldGardenFabric #RileyBlakeDesigns #ILoveRileyBlake
Sandy : )


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DONOR money is drying up and social enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region are looking towards being both profit-driven and socially impactful, said participants at an industry forum this week. Published in The Business Times 30 June 1 July 2012.
June 26, 2012 – Channel News Asia Singapore: Investing with a social cause has caught on in Asia. Read more here.
June 25, 2012 – Business Times interview at Impact Forum 2012. Read the full article here.
IIX and our Managing Director Robert Kraybill were featured in an article about social stock exchanges in Inside Investor Relations this weekend:
“Social stock exchanges can make the world a better place, which goes back to what I thought capital markets should be doing all along,’ says Kraybill, managing director of Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX).”
Read the full article here and keep an eye out for the print edition due in February.
IIX was mentioned in an Institutional Investor article about impact investing infrastructure on January 5, 2012.
“A few shops have set out to build [impact investing] infrastructure. In March 2011, Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX), run by former Morgan Stanley colleagues Robert Kraybill and Durreen Shahnaz, launched a platform called Impact Partners. For an annual subscription fee, Impact Partners gives investors information about social enterprises throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Chosen for their financial viability and their social or environmental impact, the enterprises featured on the platform focus on everything from microfinance to fair trade to sustainable agriculture.”
Read the full article here.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has just published Impact Investment Shujog’s research on Impact Investors in Asia. Shujog was contracted as a consultant by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to conduct research on current and future Impact Investor behavior in Asia. The paper, titled “Impact Investors in Asia: Characteristics and Preferences for Investing in Social Enterprises in Asia and the Pacific” was conducted as a part of ADB’s Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) #7549 and is available here.
More information about the Shujog’s research can be found here.
This evening Impact Investment Exchange is proud to host Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, as she leads a panel on impact investment. Alongside Dr. Rodin will be Mr. Bart Edes, Director, Poverty Reduction, Gender, and Social Development, Asia Development Bank, Mr. Matthew Gamser, Head, Access to Finance Advisory, International Finance Corporation, Ms. Sumita Ghose, CEO, Rangsutra, and Mr. Kishore Moorjani, Founder and Managing Partner, Credit Asia Capital.


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Students Inspired by Author Irene Zisblatt
After studying Night by Elie Wiesel, some 8th Grade students elected to read The Fifth Diamond by Irene Zisblatt. Mrs. Zisblatt is a Holocaust survivor and the grandmother of senior Andie M. Mrs. Zisblatt shared her experiences and some life lessons. Students got the opportunity to have their books signed. They hugged and thanked Mrs. Zisblatt for her courage and determination to share her story. Mrs. Zisblatt showed her precious diamonds to the students and allowed them to touch the diamonds as a bridge from past generation to the future.


Today Bollywood actor Govinda visits mosque of Hazrat Dada Shaheed Pir Mahemud Shah Bukhari R.A. at Bhadiyad in Dhandhuka.
Today in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Launches the ‘Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’, Prime Minister Modi on asked all MPs to adopt villages and ensure that they are developed into ‘model villages by the year 2016. PM said based on the model created by this experience, it is envisaged that two more villages would be […]
Here is the teaser image of Ranbir Kapoor aka Johnny Balraj from Bombay Velvet. The film is on historian Gyan Prakash’s ‘Mumbai Fables’ adaptation and tells the story of a street fighter (played by Ranbir Kapoor) and aspiring jazz musician Rosie (Anushka). Bombay Velvet is Directed by Anurag Kashyap and the Film is all set to release […]
Congress leader Hardik Patel was arrested from Viramgam taluka in Ahmedabad for failing to appear before a trial court in a 2015 sedition case.He will be produced before the court today. Hardik was previously arrested in connection with a sedition case filed by the local Crime Branch after violence broke out during a rally in […]


Front row: Nick Sullo – WMSI Instructor, Sarah Clemmitt – Gorham High School, Jack Greene – Profile School, Asher Merrill – Profile School, Jack Lettre – Gorham High School, Amelia Martin – Gorham School, Morgan Staples – Gorham High School, Sarah Clark – Berlin High School, Curtis Wyman – Woodsville High School, James Lemieux – Gorham High School, Laney Hadlock – Littleton High School, Karin Anderson – Lakeway Elementary School, Nicole Piette – Littleton High School. Back row: Kevin Briere – Profile High School, Steve Roberts – WMSI Instructor, Bill Church – WMSI Instructor, Carter Merrill – Profile High School, Keri Wade – Gorham High School, Nicholas Wade – Gorham Middle School, Lucie Kinney – Berlin High School, Michael Thompson – Haverhill Middle School, Thomas Sullivan – Berlin High School.
Ok, letting it out a little bit further was not a good idea. After getting snagged in the trees, the attempt to free the line ended up snapping the tether. Bye, bye, test balloon...
Teams were organized into specialty areas. This group worked on calculations for launch locations, rise and decent rates and other mathematical aspects.
Before dropped by parachute, prototypes were tested by slamming them to the ground with a raw egg inside.
There was a concept to test the release mechanism via a drone. Here we are testing the drones ability to carry a payload. Lesson learned, do not use such a long tether to the payload. The drone could not compensate for the pendulum swing...crash!
Curtis Wyman of Woodsville High School working on the prototype payload device to carry the instrumentation to the edge of space.
Payload containers and parachutes were tested from a tethered drop from the Gorham railroad trestle after high winds deterred testing release mechanisms from a tethered balloon or drone.