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I just received a call from a man with an accent telling me that I owe them from $800 to $2000 dollar from a online loan (Easy Cash Advance). He states he is from Attorney Craig Miller and would not give me any other information but that I owe them that amount of money. I have no idea what he is talking about.
He also states that I would need an attorney to call them and that they have a law suit against me and they were going to get the police to come and get me.
I owe nothing to anyone.
I also received a call from a man with an accent claiming to be an attorney about a online cash advance loan that I took out. He said that there is a lawsuit against my social security number and says this is a very serious matter. I have never taken out an online cash advance, yet he had all of my information. Prior to him calling over the past few weeks I first received a call from some other guy from" affidavit legal department" about the same issue. He stopped calling then another lady with the same accent and same number said she was calling from the "united states legal department" claiming I took out a cash advance. Now this guy is calling saying that either me or my lawyer needs to call him back otherwise he wishes me luck with what is going to happen. I have never taken out a cash advance and I checked my bank records to be for sure. They try to pressure me to give my card information to pay the debt, but I refused. I don't owe anyone anything.
mad as hell
Ive also recieved a phone call from this number and the first rep told me that I had a law suit against my name and my social securtity number but he would not give me any other information and you could hardley understand him. I then asked him to put his supervisor on the phone and he told me that its not a lawsuit but I won $10,000 in the lottery and he had all my information from my work to my bank account, never in my life have I ever gave any lottey or sweepstacks my personal information like that so then I told him he was lying and I asked him to tell me the reason why he was calling he then proceded to tell me that I had a lawsuit against my name and I needed to pay the loan or he was going to arrest me, for one he is not an officer and he cant however if is was a real case then the company could summons me to court and deal with that way but I have never recieved any paper work regarding this case so its not ture, creditors that are trying to collect a debt will send you a bill and they will call you this is how I know this is a scam and dont believe anything they say its a bunch of crap. When I asked the supervisor for his supervisor he told me that he was the higest point of contact in the office which is not true there is someone higher then him I know I do this for a living. I owe nothing to this company I havent taken anything out. FYI..... IF AND WHEN THEY CALL BACK AGAIN ASK FOR THE ADDRESS TO THE CORP OFFICE AND DISPUTE THE CALL IF THEY LIE TO YOU THE CALL IS BEING RECORDED BY LAW THEY HAVE TO CANCEL THE ACCOUNT OUT AND THEY CAN NO LONGER CALL YOU, one thing they dont know is I do this for a living.
I am getting the same thing. I told him he could go *** himself.
Same here there driving me crazy. Something about an online loan. Someone help.
These ppl have been calling me for months. They won't quit. They said that they are sending information to my employer. This is a JOKE. DON'T pay anything. Tell them if they have something in your name send you to court and it can be faught out there. Tell me why they try to act American when you can clearly see they are from the Middle East. GRRRR I hate this I wanna change my cell # they call so much!
I have received repeated calls from this number and they contacted my friends as well stating that they have a lawsuit for a loan I took out with Yellowdale. I told them I do not have a loan out with that company and to provide me with an English speaking person who I could understand, the same person I talked to changed his name from Pat Johnson to Bill Smith to Attorney Scott Johnson to Attorney Bill Smith and tried speaking without an accent that turned back to it when he was yelling at me. They hung up on me 4 times and asked that I not call back. I stated that obviously this is a serious matter and why could they not provide me more info on this supposed lawsuit from a company I never took a loan out with. Needless to say I can't get through anymore I think they have blocked my number. I did contact yellowdale and confirmed that I do Not in fact have a loan with them, they stated this company must have gotten my information illegally and to report them and they do not work with that company.
I found the whole thing very humorous and Monday morning will be sent to the courthouse to answer to my lawsuit, I asked are you coming to pick me up? No response...
My advice to anyone who is receiving calls to this number, provide no information and find out who the original debt was with and contact them directly.
I have been receiving numerous calls back to back with the same type of information. They are filing a lawsuit against me for a "payday loan" that I never took out. They have also called from other phone numbers from the 903, 716, and 469 area codes. They give american names and sound either philipino or indian. THIS IS A SCAM! I have been advised by the BBB to report them to my local police department.
I got the same thing today...........he sounded indian and said he was from craig miller and that they are suing me
These guys are still at it!!! But they screwed up today. They always call from a cell phone, but when they had poor service they made me call a land line. There based up in Oakland probably a bunch of guys running a ring together. Don't sent them any money they are just ripping you off. If anyone knows where I can file a complaint that will be followed up on please let me know. There land line number is 510-567-4446
This Just In...
From Lamet's post:
If you are targeted by these criminals, be sure to report them to all the following federal and state law enforcement agencies (most of which you can do online or over the phone):
1. The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for protecting the country's financial infrastructure and payment systems from international and domestic threats. Call or write your local Secret Service field office to alert them to the details of this attempted extortion. The addresses and phone numbers for the local Secret Service field offices are listed at http://www.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml or in your phone book.
2. Alert the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov Be sure to tell the FBI that you are being targeted by extortionists over the phone. And if the crooks claim to be law enforcement or lawyers, officers of the court or bankers, be sure to include that information in your report.
3. File a complaint with your local police. Most police departments will take a report over the phone. Be sure to tell them that you're being targeted by an extortionist and give them all the details.
4. File a complaint your state's attorney general, the contact information for whom is at www.wvago.gov
5. File a complaint online with The Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
If these crooks call back, promise them nothing, pay them nothing and tell them nothing other than that you know they're a scam and that you've reported them to law enforcement. (And be sure to report them to all the agencies above each time they call you.)
By the way, here's just a small sample of numbers used by this particular group of scammers. Read the reports and you'll see the same pattern time and again -- phony organization names, thick foreign accents, and oddly worded threats that are so melodramatic and ridiculous that it's laughable:
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-771-9249 Scammer posting here as GARY and GARRY JONES
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-860-4509 Scammer posting here as Mike Henderson
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-212-500-0839 Scammer posting here as Ricky
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-201-244-7722 Scammer posting as Carole, David Brown and Amanda
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-626-200-4646 Scammer false postings at this new number as silshan kanniue and Tina ? preparing a new number to use.
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-424-354-4270 Scammer false postings as Rose
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-785-4479 Scammer posting as Robert
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-909-327-4870 Scammer false postings as Marry
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143 Scammer false postings as Karen Miller, Chichi and Tom Little
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-561-300-8018 Scammer false postings as Marco Polo (real original)
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-226-7488 Scammer false postings as SAM, David S
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-706-7463 Scammer false postings as George
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-209-349-7382 Scammer false postings as Towanda Robinson, Shannon Walsh, Jack Dawson and Cynthia
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-760-514-0132 scammer false postings as Suzy01, Johanna Hall, Cindie McMellon, Michael Dublin, Mark Williams, Carol and Rio (800notes removed some of the scammers posts because the all came from the SAME IP ADDRESS)
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-209-797-2212 scammer false posting as Jaison Connar
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-707-401-4056 Scammer false posting as John Carner, KSR
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-650-241-4604 Scammer false postings as jhon and Kevin
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-708-401-0535 Scammer false posting here as JHON
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-518-212-0219 Scammer false posting
Consumer Alert: Attorney General warns Kansans of debt collection scam
January 29, 2010 -- Attorney General Steve Six is cautioning Kansas consumers about telephone calls from apparent fake debt collectors who are impersonating law enforcement officers in an effort to extort money from consumers. Consumers are warned to not submit payments to these fraudulent debt collectors.
When calling, the scammers most often state they are attempting to collect a debt related to an internet payday loan obtained by the consumer, but which the consumer never repaid. Consumers state they have never obtained such a loan or paid off the loan years ago. The scam artists have most recently identified themselves as ACS, National Affidavit Processing Department and United Financial Crime Division, but may use additional phony names. It appears the phone numbers used by the scammers are ?spoofed? numbers, so that the number appearing on a consumer?s caller ID is not the actual number of where the call originated. It appears the calls in question may be originating from outside the United States.
When questioned, the individual calling refuses to disclose the full name or address of the collection agency they claim to represent. These scammers have been able to provide consumers with identifying information, such as the consumer?s social security number, home address, e-mail address, names of family members and the consumer?s computer IP address. Since the callers are able to provide valid personal information, consumers may become confused and believe they are being contacted in regard to a legitimate debt.
If the initial debt collection scam is unsuccessful, consumers have been re-contacted months later with the scammers posing as law enforcement officers or officers of the court. Typically, the consumer is threatened with arrest for fraud or some other fictitious crime unless the consumer agrees to immediately wire money via Western Union. The fictitious officers strive to frighten and confuse consumers into compliance by using legal sounding terms such as ?We?re filing an affidavit against you? or by stating a lawsuit has been or is in the process of being filed against the consumer.
A hallmark of each scam has been calling consumers repeatedly at their place of employment. This scam hit home when an employee of the Kansas Attorney General?s Office was repeatedly called both on her cell phone and at work. Despite the employee?s repeated verbal disputes, the caller refused to provide any identifying information to allow her to send a written dispute. The scammer also continued to call her numerous times a day regarding a payday loan she denied obtaining. Two months later, she was again contacted by telephone by an individual identifying himself as an ?officer?.
?I denied owing the debt and refused to pay without being provided validation of the debt. I was then told, ?If that?s the case, I will have local law enforcement come to your place of business and drag you out kicking and screaming?,? stated the employee.
?It is important for consumers to know their rights under the law,? Attorney General Six said. ?If a consumer is receiving calls from a debt collection company and believe it is a scam, I encourage them to contact our office immediately.?
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), collectors are required to send consumers a written notice within five days of the initial contact. The notification should contain information such as the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed and a statement informing the consumer they have thirty days to contact the debtor in writing to dispute the debt or request validation of the debt. In addition, legitimate debt collectors are prohibited by the FDCPA from making false or misleading representations, such as the consumer has committed a crime, implying nonpayment will result in the consumer?s arrest, or using the threat of violence.
More information is available on the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf.
To register a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General?s Consumer Protection Division, call 1(800) 432-2310 or visit www.ksag.org.
I have been receiving numerous calls back to back with the same type of information: They are filing a lawsuit against me for a "payday loan" that I never took out. They have also called from other phone numbers from the 903, 716, and 469 area codes. They give american names and sound either philipino or indian. They have my SS#, address, bank acct #, and work #. Most recently, they said that if I didnt repay the loan back today that they would continue to call my work number and harrass me until I was fired.
THIS IS A SCAM! I have been advised by the BBB to report them to my local police department.

domain: law


text:
IRS Releases 2006 Data Book
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released its Fiscal Year 2006 IRS Data Book, Publication 55B on the IRS Web site. The report describes activities conducted by the IRS from Oct. 1, 2005, through Sept. 30, 2006, and includes information about returns filed and taxes collected, enforcement, taxpayer assistance, and the IRS budget and workforce.
During FY2006, the IRS collected more than $2.2 trillion in tax and processed over 228 million returns. Over 80 million returns, including 54.3 percent of individual income tax returns, were filed electronically in FY2006. Over 108 million individual income tax return filers received tax refunds totaling $243 billion. In FY2006, IRS spent an average of 42 cents to collect each $100 of tax revenue.
IRS examined nearly 1.3 million individual income tax returns in FY2006, more than double the number examined in FY2000. Examinations of business tax returns grew for thesecond year in a row, reaching over 52,000 in 2006. IRS personnel answered over 32.6 million toll-free calls from taxpayers, and the IRS Web site received about 194 million visits.
Printed copies of the Fiscal Year 2006 IRS Data Book, Publication 55B, will be available by mid-April 2007 from the U.S. Government Printing Office. To obtain a copy, write to the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; call (202) 512 1800 for voice mail; or fax a request to (202) 512-2250.


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ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 3, 2015) — Savage Race, a young Orlando-based obstacle course race company featuring the world’s best obstacles, has received dual honors by being named one of the fastest-growing private companies in America and one of the top 50 Florida companies to watch.
Inc. Magazine ranked Savage Race 266th in its September 2015 edition of 5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America, and GrowFL – a statewide economic-development program – named Savage Race as one of Florida’s 50 Companies to Watch.
Founded by Sam Abbitt and Lloyd Parker in 2011, Savage Race is a business client of the University of Central Florida Business Incubator Program in Orlando. The company combines Abbitt’s master’s degrees in both business and construction with his interest in obstacle racing, fitness and endurance sports to provide challenging obstacle courses that test participants’ courage and teamwork. With 22 employees, the company hosts more than a dozen such events in the U.S. each year.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by both Inc. Magazine and GrowFL for our innovation and growth,” said Abbitt. “We’re pushing the boundaries of the obstacle course racing industry every day and the world-class team behind me at Savage Race is what makes that possible. We’ve quietly worked to establish ourselves as a leader in our industry, and to be recognized on both a national level and a local level within the span of just a few weeks is incredible. We’re proud to do what we do every day and are very excited about the future of Savage Race.”
A New York-based business magazine, Inc. annually publishes a list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing private U.S. companies based on growth and wealth. Orlando’s Savage Race had a whopping three-year growth rate of 1,709 percent and revenue of $3.8 million in 2014.
GrowFL on Wednesday, Sept. 2, identified Savage Race as a Florida second-stage company to watch. A second-stage company, which falls somewhere between a startup company and a large firm, is one that is “poised for growth.” GrowFL’s nationally-certified experts assist second-stage growth companies by providing strategies, resources and support to help them reach the next level, while strengthening the local economy.
“Much like crossing a Savage Race finish line, there is a sense of pride and triumph to see Sam [Abbitt] and his team reach this point after overcoming some challenging obstacles,” said Michael Weiss, site manager of the UCF Business Incubator–Orlando. “We have really enjoyed working with the Savage Race team, and it is extremely rewarding to see their growth and success recognized on a local and national level.”
# # #
For more information about this release, please contact:
Carrie Brooks, Savage Race Public Relations, 321-223-7156 or email@example.com.
Michael Weiss, Associate director / Site Manager, Orlando UCF Business Incubation Program, 321-281-8384 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
About Savage Race
Savage Race, an Orlando, FL based premier obstacle course race featuring the world’s best obstacles, hosts more than a dozen events across the middle and eastern United States each year. Savage Race is a true test of courage and teamwork as over 100,000 attendees annually push themselves to their limits to defeat over 25 jaw-dropping obstacles forged with 65 tons of steel and drenched in 1.5 million gallons of water and 60,000 pounds of ice. Savage Race participants across the country train hard to complete the 5-7 mile race that tests stamina, strength, agility, and mental grit, culminating in victory stories and muddy hugs passed around amongst strangers and friends alike. To learn more about Savage Race, please visitwww.savagerace.com.
About the UCF Business Incubation Program
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth / impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has helped hundreds of local startup companies reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. Participating companies sustain more than 3,600 local jobs and have had a total impact of $1.51 Billion on regional sales and $2.48 Billion on regional economic output. During the last fiscal year, the program has returned $7.95 for every $1.00 invested in the program.

domain: news


Edward Maya born Eduard Marian Ilie on June 29, 1986 is a Romanian DJ, performer and record producer of electronic dance music. Being raised in an environment that treasures the true artistic value of musicianship and revels in the mastering of instrumental skill, it was Edward's deep rooted love and passion for music that encouraged him to start his career as an international artist attending Bucharest's George Enescu Music High School.
While continuing his studies at the Bucharest Conservatory, Edward Maya began writing songs, one of which became an entry in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, and collaborating with a number of Romania's leading producers, earning credits on different recordings. He become a successful producer in his own right with the work he put in the making of the romanian band Akcent album "No Tears" , which scored a number of hits in Europe like "Stay with Me", "That's My Name" and "Lover's Cry".
Although he's only been in the public eye only since 2009, he crammed at least a decade's worth of career highs and lows into those few short, high-profile years. He came to prominence grace to his new and unique touch to the house music scene with the unmistakable accordion sounds that made him a global figure in clubs all over the world in only one year after the release of his first single as an artist in the summer of 2009 called "Stereo Love" featuring Russian DJ Vika Jigulina. The single entered the top 5 singles charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and The Sultanate of Oman and it was certified platinum in Canada, Denmark, Germany,Switzerland and double platinum in Spain.
After accumulating over 115 million views on Youtube and making Edward Maya the first Romanian featured in the Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 as the single peaked at number 17, reaching the number one Dance Airplay single of 2010 in Billboard's Year End issue and the longest charting in the history of the European Top Hot 100 with a total of 52 weeks spent on charts it was time for "Stereo Love" to claim another milestone as the finalists for the 2011 Billboard Music Award were announced featuring Edward Maya besides Lady Gaga, Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup and La Roux in the Top Dance Song category as the only romanian song in the competition. It has also topped the Billboard Dance/Club Play at number 1 and became very popular in cities like New York City reaching #1 at various radio stations.
In May 2010, Edward Maya released his follow-up single, "This Is My Life" featuring vocals from Vika Jigulina that quickly became an international hit being featured in the Romanian Top 100 and the European Hot 100 Singles charts and racking up almost 40 million views on YouTube as a result of the tremendous number of shows Edward Maya had in his "This Is My Life Tour" in countries like Brazil, Senegal, Dubai, Albania, India and many other where the Romanian music was still unknown.
In recent years, Edward Maya's focus has shifted over many things, as the former music producer in now the proud owner of his own company “Mayavin Company” which includes a record label "Mayavin Records", a booking agency that represents artists as Ida Corr, Yolanda Be Cool, Steve Edwards, Chris Willis and others, and "Mayavin Store" an online store where you can find all Edward Maya’s songs, albums and fashion items, yet another big step further in his rising career.
His contributions to the Romanian music industry have gained him numerous achievements, Edward Maya's lifelong devotion to music serving him well as he continues to improve his work and musical style with the release of his third single "Desert Rain" featuring Vika Jigulina on Christmas night worldwide, being his first single as an independent artist released under his own record label "Mayavin Records". The single spawned 8 million views on YouTube in only few months after release and reached number 1 in various radio stations charts all over the world.
After the release of his third single Edward Maya announced the start of his "Desert Rain Tour" in January 2011 reaching an audience of over 150.000 people around the world and with sold out concerts in countries like USA, Ecuador, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, The United Arab Emirates and many more. Standing at the heart of his touring is Edward Maya's live act "The Stereo Love Show" starring him as a performer, DJ and accordionist along with his back-up guitarist and keyboardist vibrating to an award-winning mix of ancient romanian music and distinctive electronic beats.
In the spring of 2011 Edward Maya launched the "Searching For Talents" campaign in collaboration with his record label Mayavin Records giving fans all over the world the chance to win an official record deal. Constantly searching to improve the relationship with his fans, Edward in collaboration with the Mayavin Records Team and the Mayavin Store made available for free download the remix versions of his major hits "Stereo Love" and "Desert Rain".
For the rest of 2011 Edward Maya is planning the release of his first studio album "The Stereo Love Show" featuring all his major hits and some yet to be revealed collaborations with major international artists as the Romanian DJ, performer and record producer is searching to reach the pinnacle of his profession and he's approaching with very big steps.
Sign up now for our newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest news, developments and be the first to hear about upcoming events and line-ups!


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Jackie Ying has contributed to the development of a portable device that can detect common infectious viruses within two hours. Samples such as blood, saliva or tissue are inserted into a cartridge and analyzed by the easy-to-use kit, which is then connected to an Android device to learn whether a virus such as dengue is present. With the kit, results are accurately determined in a short time without need of a laboratory. This can lead to earlier treatment and help to prevent the spread of diseases.
The team of scientists is from Delta Electronics and A*STAR’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) located in Singapore. Ying has been the executive director of IBN for the past ten years, setting it up as the world’s first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute. Today it focuses on nanomedicine, cell and tissue engineering, biodevices and diagnostics, green chemistry and energy.
Ying received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton in 1991 and her undergraduate degree in the same major from Cooper Union in 1987. She is also an adjunct professor of chemical engineering at MIT.

domain: medical


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FASA Elections: A Case Of Incompetence, Fear, Or Agenda To Manipulate?
By Gracious Egedegbe
On the 13 of March 2017, news began to make rounds that ongoing elections into executive offices in the Faculty of Arts Student Association had been cancelled. Although there is yet to be another date, this will be the third time the election will be scheduled to hold and yet with no results. While the electoral commission is yet to give a cogent explanation at the time of compiling this report, there are certain issues this article seeks to examine.
To start with, frequent postponements, generally speaking, are an indication that the electoral commission had come upon challenges that could not be resolved at the moment – hence the postponement. If it had happened once, one could excuse it as normal occurrence. However, for such to occur thrice speaks loudly of how prepared the electoral body is.
There is no gainsaying that it reeks of unpreparedness and, if one may stretch it further, incompetence. It is disheartening that an election should take this long to conduct and conclude. One question that demands an answer is “Is the electoral commission willing and able to conduct a free and fair election?” to all appearances, the electoral body is not conscious of the sensitivity of the elections and the gravity of their constant vacillation (to put it mildly). In fact, in some quarters, there has to be an underlying influence around the elections.
This has led to suspicions in various quarters. Following disproportionate sizes in boxes between various aspirants on the ballot papers on Friday and the cancellation of the election on Monday, many are strongly of the opinion that the leadership of the electoral commission is inordinately biased to certain aspirants. As the story goes, a lot has been invested in a particular candidate from as far back as the beginning of the semester.
If the above is true, it will be that the electoral commission is only stalling until they can conduct an election in which the odds are in their best interests. This should not be so.
Furthermore, it is also alleged that there is an agenda to ‘clip’ the wings of a constituent department that is accused of always trying to be domineering over other departments in the faculty due to sheer number. This, as the story goes, is based on the fear that if the department in question were allowed to have its way, it would be a case of a faction ruling a majority.
To start with, the way to win elections, as far as free and fair elections are concerned, is by popular votes. If a candidate has the charisma and popularity to garner so much votes for himself, that should not be an impediment to conducting the elections. Rather, other candidates should see it as a challenge and try to rise up to the challenge through lawful means.
As regards fears that a certain department aspires to rule it all, it is obvious that those who express this fear are actually revealing what they would do in similar situations. This writer does not subscribe to one department fielding multiple candidates but if the law allows it, then the law must rule. The only way to prevent such is to put relevant legislation in place.
Furthermore, it is evident that aspirants have not been able to present a more unified appearance. If the base of each candidate’s success is on the strength of individual departments, then there will be problems of trust and cooperation regardless of who wins. This can only be solved if candidates and voters alike drop their departmental divides and see themselves as a whole.
This article will not end well if it does not hit on the indictment of the electoral body with emphasis on the electoral commissioner. It is disheartening that the commissioner will allow his personal integrity to be question thereby jeopardising the entire electoral process. From a lay’s man view, the electoral commissioner is gradually losing credibility with recent actions and inactions. As far as some people are concerned, that is enough reason to call for his resignation.


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Geely Holding Group's electric mobility technology brand, Zeekr, has forged a strategic partnership with Plugsurfing to introduce a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) charging service, Zeekr Charge, tailored for its European customers.
This collaboration comes on the heels of Zeekr's announcement in June regarding its entry into the European market with the launch of the luxury shooting brake Zeekr 001 and the urban compact luxury SUV Zeekr X in Sweden and the Netherlands, followed by Germany in September 2023. With initial vehicle deliveries set to commence later this year, Zeekr will provide its customers with a welcome pack, including a charging card and essential information, as part of the Zeekr Charge service.
Zeekr Charge will grant Zeekr drivers access to an extensive network of over 550,000 charging points spanning 27 European countries. This service, integrated into Zeekr's comprehensive power solution known as Zeekr Power, aims to enhance the charging experience for customers.
Plugsurfing, a trusted e-mobility service provider in Europe, boasts an impressive network of more than 550,000 charge points and connects 1.5 million drivers to its platform. With a track record dating back to 2012, Plugsurfing has played a pivotal role in establishing Europe's EV charging infrastructure in collaboration with charge point operators, automakers, and other industry players.
To deliver Zeekr Charge, Zeekr will leverage Plugsurfing's modular e-mobility service, built on a cross-border payment platform that interfaces with over 500 charge point operators across 27 European countries. This white-label offering will incorporate automated onboarding campaigns and customized in-app features designed to facilitate a seamless transition into the world of EV ownership for Zeekr drivers. Furthermore, Plugsurfing will provide premium 24/7 customer support services to Zeekr drivers.
Spiros Fotinos, CEO of Zeekr Europe, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “Zeekr's mission is to accelerate the shift to fully electrified mobility by removing the barriers that are holding people back. Customers are saying ‘make it easy.' And that is exactly what we intend to do. Thus, we are delighted about our partnership with Plugsurfing, a reliable partner that helps us accelerate the shift to EVs by providing us with a service that will make e-mobility joyful for all.”
William Gill, Chief Product Officer at Plugsurfing, shared his excitement, saying, “We're really excited to support Zeekr's European launch with our pan-European EV charging solution. Over our years of experience in the European market, we've built a premium, modular product that helps bring peace of mind to our partners' drivers through our network's reliability and ease of use.”
Having already achieved success in the Chinese market, Zeekr aims to solidify its position in the well-established European luxury car market by the end of 2026. Throughout this journey, Plugsurfing will play a pivotal role by offering its renowned public charging service and network in the form of Zeekr Charge.

domain: economics


text:
The Executive General Supervisor of the General Organization of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Dr. Majed Al-Fayyad, inaugurated the Medical Simulation Center, which includes the latest tools and methods of education and training, and is managed by smart electronic systems. Al-Fayyad stressed the importance of establishing the Medical Simulation Center with its competence in equipment to achieve the strategic objectives of the General Organization of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Medical Training, in order to enhance the pivotal and leadership role that the hospital plays over the past four decades in qualifying and training medical personnel at the local and regional level. Employing the latest methods, techniques, and the best training curricula to keep pace with the latest developments in medical developments.
To that, the Executive Director of Academic Affairs and Training at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Dr. Saud Al-Shinaifi, explained that the Simulation Center aims to provide an advanced training environment for all levels of medical and health staff, which helps in raising education to an advanced level and allows practicing, learning, evaluating, testing and understanding systems and procedures in an environment Safe through scenarios derived from the reality of patient care practices, adding that the simulation center provides the future ability to expand the capacity of graduate training programs by adding virtual activities. Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Rashed, Deputy Executive Director for Academic Affairs and Training and Supervisor of Medical Education at the hospital, stated that the simulation center is a qualitative transfer in the frameworks of medical education and training in the hospital, which we expect will raise the level of trainees to high heights, God willing.
For his part, the director of the simulation center at the hospital, Dr. Abdullah Al-Riffa, stated that the center represents one of the most important educational and training tools provided by the academic affairs and training sector at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and the Research Center and includes four flexible rooms for simulation, in addition to two clinics and two rooms that simulate patient rooms, and four meeting rooms and information extraction. He added that the simulation center uses modern technologies such as 3D printing technology and virtual reality technology as a new and advanced method for training and education, which helps to increase the educational experience and training efficiency, in addition to rooms where smart high-tech systems are available such as the neurosurgery system, surgical endoscopes, and others.


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You may eat right and exercise, but have you ever wondered why your diet is failing despite your hard work? There are a ton little mistakes you might not even notice that could sabotage your efforts. An excess of 100-200 calories could be all it takes to keep you from shedding pounds and inches. If you’ve been dieting until you’re blue in the face, but can’t lose those stubborn five or 10 pounds, it’s possible the reason why your diet is failing is one of these nine common mistakes.
1 You Eat Too Much
One of the many reasons why your diet is failing could be due to eating too much. If you started your diet when you weighed 200 pounds and ate 2,000 calories a day, you might need less food to sustain yourself at 130 pounds. Calorie requirements change as your weight changes. Figure out the ideal number for you and you should start to see some results.
2 You Eat Too Little
While some of you may eat too much, you very well could have the opposite problem. Those of you who chronically under eat and restrict calories could also struggle with weight control. Constant deprivation can destroy your metabolism to the point where it feels like eating a cracker will make you gain five pounds. When dieting and trying to lose weight, it’s best to ride the middle road. Don’t eat too many calories, but certainly don’t go overboard and restrict your calories either.
3 You’re Not Consuming the ‘Right’ Kind of Calories
We used to think that a calorie was a calorie was a calorie. For the morbidly obese whose lives depend on weight loss, this theory is partially true. But for the majority of us women who simply have a few pounds we want to shed, you need to understand that all calories are not created equal. 1,500 calories of cupcakes is far different than 1,500 calories of wholesome, healthy food. Your body recognizes these foods as very different and breaks them down accordingly. Try to make sure that a majority of your calories come from healthy items like fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and plant-based fats.
4 You Use a Ton of Artificial Sweeteners
Tea, coffee, and other calorie-free beverages might sound like a great way to curb appetite and keep you from overeating. But if you reach for artificial sweetener with each beverage or diet soda, you might actually be causing more damage than you think. There’s pending evidence to suggest that artificial sweeteners can actually play games with your pancreas, making you crave more real sugar. Other studies indicate that artificial sweeteners can lead to metabolic syndrome, a super scary condition usually reserved for only the morbidly obese! Save yourself the health problems and opt for natural sweeteners like stevia and raw honey instead.
5 You’re Not Drinking Enough Water
How much water are you actually drinking? For some of you, the standard eight glasses a day may not cut it. If you’re like me and exercise almost every day, you could need as much as eight additional glasses to the eight you’re already supposed to consume. Invest in a reusable, portable water bottle that you can use anywhere and refill when you need to. Take this water bottle with you wherever you go. This way you’ll have no excuse to not stay hydrated and refreshed all day long.
6 You Don’t Take a Multivitamin
I bet this isn’t something you would naturally think of if you’re trying to lose weight. But did you know that all sorts of factors can trigger hunger and weight gain besides calories? Many dieters who are deficient in magnesium are naturally drawn to chocolate because of its high magnesium content! The point is, you could have a deficiency in a vitamin or mineral that is causing your body to hang on to fat. Try popping a multivitamin every morning and see if you notice a change.
7 You Bite It, but You Don’t Write It
A food diary is a great tool to lose weight and hold you accountable for the food you’re eating. But as we continue on our weight loss journeys, sometimes we tend to get sloppy with our eating habits and fall off track. Did you accidentally forget to record that ice cream you ate the other night? Or how you went out to lunch with your coworkers last week? If you’ve fallen on the bandwagon, try getting back on track with your food log. You might pick up on mistakes you didn’t realize you were making.
8 You Rely on Processed or Packaged Food
Do you live alone or cook for one? Or do you not have a ton of time for food prep? Prepackaged meals and ‘healthy’ frozen dinners might appear healthy, but they’re actually loaded with artificial preservatives and ingredients that could hinder your weight loss efforts. If you’re strapped for time, try making a ton of healthy, non-processed lunches or dinners over the weekend and storing them in plastic containers. Athletes and bodybuilders who work full time jobs do this all the time to ensure they never miss a meal and always eat healthy!
9 You Don’t Work with a Dietitian
If you’ve tried absolutely everything and still aren’t losing weight, it might be good to invest in a dietitian or nutritionist’s services. As pricey as it might be, it’s good to get a professional viewpoint about your diet and why you’re not losing weight. Maybe you’re making a fundamental flaw that you’re not even realizing. Bottom line, a dietitian will keep you from driving yourself crazy over why you’re not losing weight. You might just need a few consultations to help you get on track.
Remember that at the end of the day the reason why your diet is failing is not always your fault. Everybody may be built differently, but everybody is still beautiful! What are some of your struggles with your diet that took you a long time to fix?
Please rate this article

domain: food


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Raise a glass to the writing life.
When that late afternoon hour descends, it’s nice to gather round with our fellow scribes and talk shop. At our Happy Hours, we toast author friends who’ve birthed their books; and we learn, commiserate, and celebrate the touchy process of putting words into the world.
Happy Hours include our Birthing the Book Series, Craft Chats, Submission Parties, panel discussions, socials, open mics, and more.
An Evening of Poetry and Prose with Stephanie Choi and Steve Haruch
Apr 26LEARN MORE >
Birthing the Book with SLOW NOODLES Co-Writer Kim Green
May 3LEARN MORE >
Birthing the Book with NO SPARE PEOPLE Author Erin Hoover
May 11LEARN MORE >
We’re saving you a seat.
Literary friends, right this way. Membership supports our mission and comes with perks.Become a Member

domain: literature


I have been having issues with Samsung Multipurpose sensors on my door giving me faulty readings for vibration (when it registers one it sends me a text during certain settings). This was annoying but would usually only happen on low battery devices but it seems like they happen about the same time every night between 2-3am.
I was suspicious that it was just a weird issue where it was just caught in a loop and now I think I have proof of that? I pulled the battery from one of the sensors a few days ago and every night, I continue to get these texts saying that the sensor (which has no battery in it) is detecting vibrations.
Not sure how to post logs for something like this but I’d love some help or to be pointed in the right direction. I feel like if I could somehow reset WebCore’s logs or variables or something, that may help.


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Jagga Jasoos is a film which is high on adventure, but this new behind the scene video showcases the team's off-screen adventure which they had while shooting.
The team of Jagga Jasoos has released yet another interesting behind the scene video; in which the crew present had faced an attack from a flock of seagulls flying around them.
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are seen shooting a chase sequence in the video when they are attacked by seagulls hovering around them.
Also both the actors had to slide down a building together with the support of a wire in the sequence.
Watch the video here:
The video also gives us an insight how both Ranbir and Katrina overcame their fears and effortlessly delivered the scene.
Jagga Jasoos revolves around a school boy who is in the search of his missing father. What unfolds are a series of adventures and findings for the young boy Jagga.
All the content pieces which have been released including the trailer, songs and the behind the scene video's have built umpteen excitement for the film amongst audiences.
Disney and Pictureshuru Production's Jagga Jasoos directed by Anurag Basu is set to release on 14th July 2017. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in the lead with music composed by Pritam.

domain: artistic


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Lending a Hand to Children and Families Struggling with Hunger
PUBLISHED JUNE 16, 2018
Earlier this month, our Southern California retail team was out in force to volunteer for Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive. In partnership with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, National Association of Letter Carriers, LA County Federation of Labor, and Labor Community Services, the drive aims to provide assistance to those struggling with hunger. During the summer months in particular, free and reduced school lunch programs are not readily available to the children who need it most. This food drive helps fill that gap.
Held at the Salvation Army Bell Complex, 40 East West Bank associates volunteered to help with sorting food donations, disposing of damaged donations, and packing and palletizing boxes of food for partner pantries. It was a meaningful experience that opened our eyes to the amount of food waste and also the income disparity prevalent in our communities.
Thank you to our partners and associates for lending a hand to provide food for children and families in need!

domain: sociology


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Siem Reap airport, small but full of Cambodian ambience.
Tonle Sap lake (洞里薩湖)
Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and an important resource for Cambodian people’s food and living. Its size varies dramatically between dry and monsoon season because the water drains into Mekong River at Phnom Penh during the dry season, and it changes flow direction twice a year. The lake occupies about 2,700 square km most of the year. During the monsoon season, the water in Mekong River reverses direction and gets pumped into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and augmented its depth to about 9 meters. It thus floods nearby fields and forests, providing a perfect breeding ground for fish.
There are many water dwellings on Tonle Sap lake, including grocery shops, church, school, and resident “houses.”
Phnom Bakheng (巴肯寺)
Phnom Bakheng was built from late 9th century to early 10th century by Yasovarman I, the Angkorian king that time. It served primarily for the purpose of worshiping the Hiduism god, Shiva. It has 108 pagodas, with 5 of them on top of the temple, and the layout is strictly symmetrical. It is believed that it represents the universal harmony in Hinduism.
Layout plan for Phnom Bakheng :
The stone stairs on 4 sides have small steps but are quite steep, so people who decide to climb up to the temple have to use all 4 limbs. It is said that in order to worship the god and be blessed, the road is not easy and require a person to be totally devoted and penitent.
A bunch of people strived to go up to the temple…
The pagodas and stone lions are on the way up.
One of the 5 pagodas on the very top.
Sunset on Phnom Bakheng.
Sunset seen from the top of Phnom Bakheng.
The sunset seen on Phnom Bakheng, with the silhouette of pagodas and the hot air balloon.
Traditional “Apsara” dance. Apsara is a beautiful female spirit in Hindu mythology, like a “celestial nymph”, known to be skilful at art of dancing. Apsara was carved all over the temples in Angkor reservation. Even today, the image of Apsara is widely used in decorative sculptures and ornaments, and young women learn to dance to mimic the elegant movements of Apsara.
Angkor Thom (大吳哥城)
Angkor Thom, covered approximately 9 square km, was built by Jayavarman VII in 7th century as the capital of Angkor kingdom.
Layout of Angkor Thom:
South gate of Angkor Thom.
On both sides of the road entering through the gate are clans of God and Ashura engaging in a tug of war with using a dragon to be the rope. This is a Hindu story describing that clans of God and Ashura tried to find the medicine to immortality, then a dragon came out to tell them to engage in a tug of war by using the him as the rope; the medicine would be given to the clan who won. This story, known as “Churning of the Ocean of Milk” (乳海翻騰), is the genesis in Hindu mythology. This setup of the tug of war between God and Ashura were widely used at the entrances of the temples.
Closer view of the Buddha on top of the south gate.
On the other side of the gate is a 3-head elephant, called Airavata, which is the mount of one of the three Hindu high gods–Indra.
Bayon temple (巴戎廟)
Bayon temple was built between late 12th century and late 13th century by two kings: Jayavarman VII and Jayavarman VIII. It’s the last temple to be built at Angkor and also a temple primarily dedicated to Buddha. The distinctive feature of Bayon temple is the 216 massive stone faces representing bodhisattva of compassion. Jayavarman VII was also a pious Buddhist king; some scholars concluded that the 216 gigantic faces of on Bayon temple are actually Jayavarman VII himself. However, during Jayavarman VIII’s reign in 13th century, the empire reverted to Hinduism and the temple was altered accordingly, as some statues were taken off and new parts were added.
Layout of Bayon temple:
All the temples in Angkor reservation were found to be stacked up by stones first and then carved with status and deities.
The “Apsara” carved on the stone pillars; the lines on the pillar proved that the stones were first stacked up before any images and sculptures were carved on them.
The outer layer of the stone walls was carved with common people’s everyday lives and historical events. Inner layer of walls was carved with mythological stories. Although these galleries are highly informative and a lot of the images seem to coincide to the history, there’s no text on them so their accuracy is still uncertain.
The famous “Khmer’s smile.”
Baphuon was built by Udayadityavarman II at mid-11th century as the shrine to Shiva, located just northwest of Bayon temple. It’s roughly 120 meters east-west by 100 meters north-south. It’s approximately 50 meters tall from the base to the tower. This temple impressed the envoy, Zhou Daguan, from Chinese Yuan dynasty during his visit from 1296 to 1297, who commented it as “the Tower of Bronze…a truly astonishing spectacle…” However, it’s also due to its immense size and the sand land it’s built on, it was unstable throughout the history. In the late 15th century, the Baphuon was converted to a Buddhist temple. The temple was built on land filled with sand, and due to its immense size the site was unstable throughout its history.
Layout of Baphuon:
(Picture from Angkor Guide）
Phimeanakas was built in late 10th century during Rajendravarman II’s reign as a Hindu temple. There’s a tower on top of the temple, and the king was required to visit a Naga, a 9 headed snake girl, every night, else the disaster would fall upon the kingdom. (hm………………………….)
Prasats Suor Prat (審判塔)
Prasats Suor Prat was used for trial. There are total of 12 towers representing the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs so these are also called 12-Zodiac-Sign Towers. People in Angkorian period believed that it’s up to the god to judge a person guilty or innocent if it was difficult to recognize by human beings, so they brought the suspect to the tower corresponding to his/her Chinese zodiac sign. The person would stay one night in the tower; if he/she came out free of illness and any abnormality, that meant the god announced this person innocent, else he/she was guilty.
From Terrace of the Leper King looking at Prasats Suor Prat
Terrace of the Leper King (癩王台)
Terrace of the Leper King was built by Jayavarman VII. It got its name not until 15th century. There are several reasons it was called “Terrace of the Leper King”–the sculpture on the platform known as Yama, the Hindu god of death, was covered by discoloration which resembles a person with leprosy when it was found. Another reason is that one of the Angkorian kings, Dharmaraja, had leprosy, and his image was said to match the sculpture.
5-head horse, also the creature from Hindu mythology.
Terrace of the Elephants (鬥象台)
Terrace of the Elephants was the place rumored to be where kings chose his strongest elephants for mount.

domain: geography


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Justice Godfrey Namundi is the new deputy Head of the Land Division.
High Court Judge, Wilson Masalu Musene, who has been head of Criminal Division has been transferred to the new High Court circuit in Mpigi.
The Principal Judge, Dr Yorokamu Bamwine, has also transferred Justice John Wilson Kwesiga as head of High Court Land Division to now head the Criminal Division.
Justice Dr. Andrew Bashaija who has been deputising Justice Kwesiga in the Land Division has now been elevated to head the Land Division.
"Further to my administrative circular No. 1 of 2016 and in consultation with the Hon. Chief Justice, adjustments are hereby made in staff deployments for more effective delivery of service," Dr. Bamwine said in a circular.
"The re-deployments are with immediate effect, subject of course to the usual completion of all partly heard cases in advanced stage at the old station."
The circular further names Justice Godfrey Namundi the new deputy Head of the Land Division. Justice Elizabeth Kibula Kabanda, who has been caretaker judge of the Mpigi Circuit, returns to the Criminal and Family Divisions of the High Court.
Mpigi is one of the recent High Court Circuit creations, together with Mubende, Mukono, Iganga, Tororo, Rukungiri, Hoima, and Luwero, in addition to the existing Circuits of Jinja, Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, Arua, Masindi, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Kabale and Masaka.
The High Court operates in Kampala through High Court Divisions namely: Criminal, Civil, Land, Commercial, Family, Anti-Corruption, International Crimes, and the Executions and Bailiffs.


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Umbrella Academy, The. Vol 2 Dallas
Times are tough for the dysfunctional family of superheroes known as The Umbrella Academy. Following the near apocalypse created by one of their own, and after the death of their beloved mentor, Pogo, the group is despondent. Each member of the team is slowly roused from their apathy when the threat of yet another catastrophe threatens to alter history or destroy the world. Trouble is, every one of them is distracted by very real problems of their own. The White Violin is bedridden due to an unfortunate blow to the head. The Rumor has lost her voice--the source of her power. Spaceboy has eaten himself into a catatonic state. And while Number Five dives some shady dealings at the dog track, the Kraken starts looking into his littlest brother as the key to unraveling a mysterious series of massacres. The second jam-packed adventure of The Umbrella Academy, Dallas, is an epic story that will transform history without changing anything at all in a journey through time, space, and Vietnam, climaxing with the assassination of JFK.


IT wasn't pretty but Penrith coach Ivan Cleary won't mind after his side won a 14-12 grind at Sportingbet Stadium tonight.
NEWCASTLE were gallant but ultimately not quite good enough as they suffered a 28-20 loss to Melbourne at AAMI Park tonight.
IN an opening round punctuated by injuries to star players, Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen joined a growing casualty ward when he limped off in the 38th minute of his side's 18-12 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.
YEAR number three of Wayne Bennett’s four-year plan at Newcastle promises to be perhaps his best chance at sending the red-and-blues to premiership glory.
IT couldn't have been scripted better.
In his 300th and final first grade game, Broncos five-eighth Scott Prince departed rugby league a winner as his team engineered a gutsy 16-11 defeat of Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium tonight.


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Fuchsia Junior Bridesmaid Dresses with Sequins
CD588FRegular price $75 Sale price $60 Save $15
These fuchsia junior bridesmaid dresses are a must have for girls who want to look pretty during a wedding, communion, or any formal occasion. The spaghetti strap bodice features amazing sequins design and details that will make these dresses stand out in the room. This black dress has a full bubble skirt and a beautiful sash decorated with sequins. The short bubble skirt gracefully falls to the knees. These flower girl dresses are great for weddings, formal parties, or any special event. These flower girl dresses are affordable and still look beautiful. Click "Add to Cart" to order this gorgeous dress!
How to Take Body Measurements
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- Shawl included
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- These girls black dresses are great for weddings, communions, formal parties, or any special event!

domain: design


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Alcon Entertainment is in the final stages of developing Dolphin Tale 2, a follow-up to its 2011 box office hit family film, it was announced by co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Distributor Warner Bros is setting September 19, 2014 release date.
The original cast in its entirety is in negotiations to reunite for the sequel, including Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson, among others. Charles Martin Smith, who directed Dolphin Tale, is set to direct the sequel from his own script.
Alcon will finance and produce the film, which it will release through its output deal with Warner Bros.
Dolphin Tale 2 will tell another true story inspired by the life of Winter, but also involving a new baby dolphin named Hope who was rescued by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in 2010.
Winter, who still resides at the Aquarium, played herself in the original film and returns in Dolphin Tale 2 and Hope will play herself in the sequel.


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Contemporary Issues in Corporate Governance
Edited by D.D. Prentice and P.R.J. Holland
Table of Contents
Introduction by, Sir Robin Leigh-Pemberton.
Part I: An Overview of the Corporate Governance Debate.
Corporate Governance - The Debate in France, Germany and Benelux by, Eddy Wymeersch.
An Overview of the Corporate Governance Debate by, D.D. Prentice.
Part II: The Role of Financial Disclosure
Highlights of the Proposals of the Committee on Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance by, Sir Adrian Cadbury, Chairman of the Committee on Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance.
Corporate Governance and the Auditor by, Paul Rutterman.
Part III: The Role of the Institutional Shareholder
Institutional Shareholders in the UK by, Paul Davies.
Corporate Governance - the Role of the Banks by, Lord Alexander of Weedon.
The Institutional Investor. Investment from M & G's viewpoint by, Paddy Linaker.
Part IV: The Role of Takeover Bids
Takeover Bids and United States Corporate Governance by, Martin Lipton.
Corporate Governance in the Context of Takeovers by, Alan Paul.
Takeovers vs. Institutions in Corporate Governance in Germany by, Theodor Baums.
Part V: The Role of Litigation
The AWA Case: Non-Executive Directors, Auditors and Corporate Governance Issues in Court by, G.P. Stapledon.


The year 2011 was devastating for New Zealand. On both February 22 and June 13, magnitude 6.3 earthquakes struck Christchurch, the country’s second largest city. In addition to destruction of infrastructure, loss of life, and interruption of services, the central business district was ravaged. With an economy partly based on tourism, the local government and residents were justifiably concerned.
The Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust provided an interest-free loan of $3.36 million to open a new central city retail precinct in October 2011. Built out of shipping containers, the precinct opened in time for the pre-Christmas shopping period and was the only retail outlet open for business downtown at that time. While it was intended to be temporary, residents have expressed interest in keeping the retail container shops.
What makes shipping containers ideal for different structures? They are strong and durable, and are intended to carry heavy loads and resist harsh environments. They are made to standard measurements and provide modular elements that can be combined into larger structures, which simplifies design, planning, and transport. They are already designed to interlock for ease of mobility during transportation, and additional construction is as easy as stacking more containers. Available globally, prefabricated modules can also be transported by ship, truck or rail, because they already conform to standard shipping sizes.
Used containers are relatively inexpensive, compared to other structures which are more labor-intensive to build and require larger foundations. Construction involves little labor and used containers requiring only simple modification can be purchased from major transport companies for as little as US $1,200 each. Even when purchased brand new, they are about US $6,000.
So what’s the catch? Containers definitely present challenges. Steel conducts heat and cold very well, and humid climates can cause condensation inside. There’s the risk of rust and corrosion. The steel needs to be well-sealed and better insulated than most brick, block or wood structures. Moving the containers usually requires cranes or forklifts, where traditional construction materials can often be moved by hand. Using steel for residential structures is not widely seen; therefore, obtaining building permits may be difficult in some areas.
Containers with steel floors are preferable since wooden floors are often treated with toxic insecticides. Due to potential contamination during the working life of a container, ideally all internal surfaces should be blasted to bare metal, and re-painted with nontoxic paint.
Other International Examples
Beyond New Zealand, there are many examples of container architecture around the world. A few are noted here. The Seventh Kilometer Market, outside of Odessa, Ukraine, began in 1989 on 10 acres and as of 2006, sprawled over 170 acres. By comparison, the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, covers 96 acres. The market is made up of “shipping containers, stacked two high in rows long enough to be called streets, though these are little more than overcrowded alleys.”
Container City is a complex made from large shipping containers and is located in Cholula, Puebla in central Mexico. Though an English idea, this version was built by a Mexican developer. Fifty containers are joined and painted with bright colors to create 14,800 ft. of space for workshops, restaurants, galleries, a few homes, and other businesses.
The Downtown Eastside housing project in Vancouver, B.C. is Canada’s first recycled shipping container social housing development, and it features 12 self-contained units of roughly 285 square feet each. “The development meets all building codes, and indeed exceeds code requirements for insulation and sound transference.”
Future of Container Architecture
As manufacturing has decreased in America, more manufactured goods come to our country in shipping containers. It’s often cheaper to buy new containers in Asia instead of sending the old ones back. Therefore, there’s a need to find uses for these used containers.
What can this mean for planners in the United States? Shipping containers provide an inexpensive, modular, and mobile option for both temporary and permanent structures. As shown in this blog, many countries use them for a variety of uses including our neighbors in Canada and Mexico. Both commercial and residential zoning requirements should be examined and altered to allow for the use of container architecture. Economically challenged regions throughout our country could benefit greatly from this flexible style of construction.


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By Nick Hopkins. Coloring. Published at Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 - 01:53:43 AM.
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domain: entertainment


text:
Shamar Betts never thought of himself as a radical. Last year, when he was 18 years old, he had a minimum-wage job at a camp for preschoolers in Urbana, Illinois, teaching them to play chess and explore nature. In a parents’ handbook, Betts described himself as a vegetarian who didn’t “believe in harming any living being.”
As Covid-19 spread, Betts’s hours were reduced to zero, leaving him with more free time. When a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd on May 25, resulting in a flood of civil unrest, he felt called to action; his best friend had been killed by Chicago police in 2017. He attended a small march where there were more white people in attendance than Black; the crowd’s energy didn’t reflect the rage and pain that he felt.
So the next morning, Betts posted a flyer on his Facebook page, calling for a riot at a local shopping mall in Champaign on May 31. “Ya’ll don’t think we suffer through inequality here EVERYDAY,” Betts wrote. “They didn’t listen when we were peaceful so we gone hit em where it hurts,” he added. The flyer asked participants to bring “friends & family, posters, bricks, bookbags etc.”
At the shopping mall, he broadcast himself on Facebook Live as people around him took items from an Old Navy, boasting that he had “started” the riot. Twenty-seven people were taken into custody and an estimated 50 businesses were damaged. That same day, U.S. Attorney General William Barr denounced nationwide rioting as “domestic terrorism” linked to “Antifa and other similar groups,” and said that federal law enforcement was working with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to apprehend people.
Days later, U.S. marshals located Betts, who was staying at his uncle’s home in Tchula, Mississippi. They banged on the door at 6 a.m., Betts said, and forced him to crawl toward them as they held assault rifles. He was charged in both Illinois and federal courts but detained under federal authority for “using a facility of interstate commerce” — the internet, specifically Facebook — to incite a riot; he faces up to five years in prison. He’s never been convicted of a crime.
Betts was far from the only one charged in connection with events that occurred during the first explosive week after Floyd’s death, or over the rest of the summer. U.S. attorney’s offices across the country working under Barr brought federal charges against more than 300 people on a range of alleged crimes related to the unrest, according to the Prosecution Project, which tracks felony cases involving political violence. The Intercept and Type Investigations reviewed the cases of 271 people charged through October 15; at least 107 of those cases are felony prosecutions for crimes allegedly committed that first week.
The charges were filed almost exclusively against protesters and others whose actions, legal and otherwise, could reasonably be identified as supportive of the movement for police accountability; we did not analyze about a dozen federal cases involving members of far-right groups or individuals who sympathize with those ideologies.
Analyzing court documents for each of these cases, we uncovered a pattern of aggressive federal prosecutions for crimes not usually in the purview of U.S. attorney’s offices. Charges for civil unrest, such as burning a police vehicle, looting, or property destruction, might typically be handled by state prosecutor’s offices, according to experts we spoke with. During Barack Obama’s entire presidency, we could only identify 11 cases related to protests and uprisings prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, and only one in which someone was charged with promoting or encouraging a riot. By comparison, we identified at least five charges of inciting a riot — under a rarely used statute dating back to 1968 — during this one week in Donald Trump’s term, including those against Betts.
Apart from filing what critics consider excessive charges, federal prosecutors made a concerted push to detain the defendants before their trials. The Intercept and Type Investigations did a closer analysis of the 151 felony cases stemming from the unrest that had been filed as of early September and found that federal judges agreed to detain more than 50 people until trial, concurring with prosecutors’ arguments for detention.
“This is a clear example of using federal prosecution power to further a political agenda that the administration has.”
Under the Bail Reform Act, pretrial incarceration without bail is generally reserved for those who judges believe present a danger to the community or a demonstrated risk of fleeing; it is supposed to be the exception, not the rule, experts told us. Yet there’s been a sharp increase in federal prosecutors requesting pretrial detention since 2018, starting under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and continuing under Barr. Overall for fiscal year 2019, federal district courts detained 61 percent of defendants pretrial, excluding immigration-related offenses.
In some of the civil unrest cases we reviewed, federal judges expressed disbelief that prosecutors were trying to have protesters detained. One judge said he was “at a loss” for why prosecutors were trying to hold a protester in jail until trial.
Even when judges were ready to release defendants, prosecutors kept seeking detention, appealing judges’ decisions in at least 18 cases. Prosecutors appealed the release of at least three defendants all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals, a rare move, according to two former federal prosecutors and two former public defenders interviewed for this story.
Keeping people in jail was especially risky this past summer. By early October, more than 5,000 people in federal pretrial custody across the country had tested positive for the coronavirus. At least one person charged in the aftermath of unrest and detained pretrial has contracted Covid-19, according to our investigation.
The Department of Justice did not respond to a list of questions from The Intercept and Type Investigations about the degree to which these prosecutions were directed by high-level officials, including Barr.
Decisions to charge — and how aggressively — are made by individual U.S. attorneys; the same is true for detention requests. But the department’s priorities significantly influence which cases are pursued, and Barr has made it clear that curbing “violent rioters and anarchists” is a priority for the department. Trump has also been highly critical of protesters (this reporter was one of more than 200 people who were arrested and charged during the protests against his inauguration in Washington, D.C., but later had their charges dropped).
Some of the prosecutors asking for harsh penalties against protesters and detention without bail have shown a willingness to pursue the administration’s political goals. A few of the most aggressive prosecutors either held or were nominated for positions at the DOJ in which they assisted with counter-investigations into Ukraine and Russian election-meddling involving close associates of Trump.
For Kristy Parker, counsel at Protect Democracy and a former deputy chief in the criminal section of the DOJ’s civil rights division, these prosecutions also have a political motive.
“The Department of Justice has a lot of discretion in deciding what kinds of cases to bring or not bring and what kinds of pretrial detention to seek or not seek,” she said. “This is a clear example of using federal prosecution power to further a political agenda that the administration has.”
In nearly all of their appeals regarding the detention of protesters, prosecutors were unsuccessful in keeping people locked up until trial. There were only three defendants for whom prosecutors succeeded in overturning a lower court’s order of pretrial release. Among them was Shamar Betts.
Sending a Message
When Betts arrived at the jail in Madison County, Mississippi, after his arrest on June 5, officers placed him alone inside a pod large enough to hold more than two dozen people, he recalled.
During his physical exam, he was shackled and accompanied by two officers, Betts said in an interview by phone last month. He had no television or access to a phone, he said, and one guard told him he was being looked at as “a type of activist.” The jail directed questions about his incarceration to the U.S. Marshals Service.
In response to questions about Betts’s account, the U.S. Marshals Service did not respond to individual allegations but emailed a statement describing security precautions as “for the safekeeping of all prisoners and facility staff based on information available at the time of detention.”
Betts, who had never heard of the charge “inciting a riot” before his arrest, was terrified. “I didn’t know exactly what they would do to me,” he said.
After his detention in Mississippi, Betts was herded onto a transport plane loaded with other shackled prisoners that went on to pick up people from several other states.
Later in June, he was brought to a jail in Grady County, Oklahoma, and held in a 42-person pod. Before he arrived, at least one prisoner at the facility reportedly died from Covid-19. The U.S. Marshals Service did not test prisoners for the virus before loading them onto planes or buses at that time, the Marshall Project reported.
Betts’s aunt Ashley Morris said it’s “devastating” that her nephew is still in jail. She helped raise him in Jackson, Mississippi, where he moved from Chicago after his mother died from complications caused by a muscle disease when he was 11. He never fully adjusted to that loss, Morris said; earlier this year, Betts posted photos of his mother on Facebook, writing, “I think about how much happier my life would’ve been with you here.”
Compounding his misery in Mississippi were humiliating encounters with the police, who Betts said referred to him using racial slurs. During one incident, Betts recalled, an officer arbitrarily stopped him and a friend while they were walking, stood on his foot so he wouldn’t run, and forced him to place his hands on a scorching hot police vehicle while he was searched.
After a few years in Mississippi, Betts moved with his older brother to Champaign two years ago.
“You took this one incident and blew it extremely out of proportion,” Morris said of Betts’s prosecution. “You’re not understanding the frustration that they have because they see all these killings, and this mistreatment, and nothing is done about it. As if we’re not even human.”
In early July, the court appointed Betts an attorney, Liz Pollock, a federal public defender whose child had coincidentally been supervised by Betts at the camp where he worked. The same day she was appointed, U.S. attorneys pressed a magistrate judge to keep Betts detained until trial.
Pollock convinced the judge to delay making a decision so she could prepare a defense for Betts’s detention hearing to try to get him released from jail.
Most of the prosecutions examined by The Intercept and Type Investigations involved property damage, arson, and possessing devices such as Molotov cocktails. Many of these cases could have been handled by state prosecutor’s offices rather than the federal government, and traditionally are, according to Rob Singer, who worked as a federal prosecutor for eight years, including under the George W. Bush administration.
“When I was a federal prosecutor, the first thing I’d do is write up a memo to my boss [describing why] we should prosecute a case under federal charges,” Singer said. “That vetting process is not something that happens overnight. It usually takes weeks, sometimes several months, to resolve.”
In the months after Floyd’s killing, Trump blamed the widespread looting and arson on “anarchists and agitators,” while Barr derided Black Lives Matter protesters as “essentially Bolsheviks” bent on revolution. An analysis by the Associated Press found that “very few” of those charged seemed to have links to highly organized extremist groups. None of the charging documents reviewed by The Intercept and Type Investigations indicated defendants’ ties to anarchist or anti-fascist ideologies as motivating factors in alleged criminal behavior.
Such inflammatory statements from top officials, along with the mass prosecutions of protesters, are “completely unprecedented,” according to Roy Austin, a former deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division. “To even be prosecuting these cases federally,” he said, “it’s purely for message sending.”
Misconstruing Bail Laws
To keep protesters in jail pending trial, federal prosecutors across the country are telling judges to ignore mitigating factors that typically weigh in favor of release.
Richard Donoghue, who was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York when the office opened a case against Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman, two lawyers accused of torching a cop car in Brooklyn, approved an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking judges to detain the defendants before trial. Neither has a criminal record and both have extensive community ties, but federal prosecutors argued these facts shouldn’t matter because the defendants’ positive attributes did not prevent them from committing the alleged crime.
This reasoning was a “misconstruing of bail laws,” according to Brian Jacobs, a former assistant U.S. attorney who disputed the “novel” reasoning in an amicus brief co-signed by 56 other former federal prosecutors.
Donoghue was promoted by Barr in July to top deputy for Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen, who had assigned Donoghue to supervise all DOJ investigations into Ukraine following Trump’s impeachment. The person Barr picked to replace him, Seth Ducharme, worked with Barr as his counselor to investigate the Mueller investigation.
In Cleveland, the U.S. attorney’s office sought pretrial detention for at least four defendants charged with crimes related to the protests. The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Justin Herdman, was nominated by Trump in May to oversee the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C., which handles both local and federal cases.
Pretrial incarceration without bail is supposed to be the exception, not the rule.
One of the Cleveland cases involves T’Andre Buchanan, a 22-year-old man who was arrested after smashing the window of a cupcake shop during unrest on May 30. A pretrial services report recommended that Buchanan be released, but federal prosecutors still tried to have him detained.
In an appeal of Buchanan’s release by a magistrate judge, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Zarzycki argued that Buchanan’s redeeming personal characteristics — his employment as a customer service representative with Spectrum, his lack of criminal record, and his stable family and community ties — paled in comparison to his alleged crimes. District Judge Pamela Barker denied the government’s motion and ordered Buchanan free on bond with a GPS monitor, noting simply that “the court was not persuaded by the government’s arguments.”
In the case of Cyril Lartigue, a 25-year-old arrested in Austin, Texas, after a surveillance camera filmed him fiddling with what prosecutors argued was a Molotov cocktail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Henneke argued that Lartigue should be detained. He showed up to the protest with “gloves and goggles and a hard hat,” Henneke said, signaling confrontational intent.
The magistrate judge, Andrew Austin, grew sour, questioning how prosecutors could argue that Lartigue, who had “no criminal history” and a “stable family,” should remain imprisoned until trial.
“I’m frustrated,” Austin said. “I have defendants in here with significant criminal histories the government agrees to release, who sell drugs to children and other things, because they’ll cooperate.”
Before the hearing ended, Henneke requested that Austin stay the release order, citing guidance from his supervisors in the U.S. attorney’s office to appeal the decision to a higher court. A district judge upheld Austin’s decision in a one-page ruling the next day.
The U.S. attorney who initiated Lartigue’s prosecution, John Bash, resigned in early October to work in the private sector after cultivating a close relationship to the Trump administration. He was previously a special assistant to the president and tapped by Barr in May to investigate the “unmasking” of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was convicted of lying to the FBI about his phone call with a Russian diplomat in December 2016. The DOJ is now seeking to have Flynn’s charges dismissed.
The advocacy for pretrial detention by U.S. attorney’s offices in unrest cases may signal a broader shift in the DOJ, according to Jacobs.
“Bail is supposed to be the rule,” he said. “The question is whether at any point the pendulum has swung too far to the point where detention is becoming the norm rather than bail.”
Alone and at Risk
In July, Shamar Betts was transferred from Oklahoma to a jail in nearby Macon County, Illinois.
His prosecution in the Central District of Illinois is being overseen by U.S. Attorney John Milhiser, who Trump appointed in 2018. Milhiser declined to respond to a list of written questions, but earlier this year, he was interviewed by NPR about a call for Barr’s resignation by two former U.S. attorneys in Illinois, who cited Barr’s request for leniency for Roger Stone, an ally of the president. “Politics plays no part in anything we do in the office,” Milhiser said.
Days before Betts’s detention hearing on July 13, his lawyer secured assurance from his former boss at the camp that she would house him during his pretrial wait. During the hearing, held over videoconference, the teen listened as Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller made the case before Magistrate Judge Eric Long to keep Betts locked up.
“In looking at the nature and circumstances to this offense, thinking about this case, I cannot recall any other single incident — in the last 20 years at least that I’ve been a federal prosecutor — that has endangered the safety of the entire Champaign-Urbana community more than this offense,” Miller said.
Betts’s lawyer, Liz Pollock, pushed back, arguing that there was no way of knowing the degree to which his post propelled people into the streets.
“I’m still confused how they could look at me as a threat to the community.”
“Is it not possible that the unrest that has scoured the country after the murder of George Floyd has caused many people to become upset about the state of criminal justice and the state of institutional racism that Black men have been dealing with … for years and years and years?” Pollock stated.
Long ruled for Betts’s release, citing his past employment and clean criminal record. Betts was then transferred to the Champaign County Satellite Jail, where he could be released on a $100,000 state bond. An activist group had already volunteered to pay it.
But the next day, after U.S. attorneys filed an emergency motion appealing Betts’s release, District Judge Michael Mihm overruled Long’s decision and ordered Betts detained until trial.
Today, Betts remains on a federal hold in a jail where at least 16 detainees have contracted Covid-19 since May; he is diabetic and asthmatic and worries about being exposed to the virus. Before being jailed, he was a committed vegetarian, but the lack of healthy options forced him to start eating meat again.
Betts’s trial is scheduled for November, but it could be postponed due to Covid-19 closures. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit curtly denied his lawyer’s appeal of Mihm’s order of detention. On October 1, Pollock filed a motion to dismiss his indictment, citing constitutional challenges to the federal riot statute under which Betts is charged.
Like many of the other protest-related cases reviewed by The Intercept and Type Investigations, Betts’s case elicited fierce and polarizing opinions in his community as the Trump campaign stoked fears of unrest. After the local press picked up his case, several people sent angry emails to his former employer, demanding that the camp publicly denounce him.
For Betts, the experience has been as perplexing as it has been difficult. On October 4, he turned 20; his family tried sending him extra funds for his birthday, but he says he had trouble receiving them through the jail’s commissary.
“I wouldn’t consider myself as a dangerous activist,” Betts maintains. “I’m still confused how they could look at me as a threat to the community.”
Research assistance by Nina Zweig.