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in compliance with Article 17)
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- (in compliance with Article 17) PROTOCOL 1.
- ANNEX 1 3. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
- Type of activity Area (route) Period of permit validity
- ANNEX II
- ANNEX III 8. Preparation of the Waste Management Plans
- 11. Waste disposal
- Figure 1.
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
(in compliance with Article 17)
Legal and administrative actions to provide observance of the Protocol
In order to implement control for observance of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the
Antarctic Treaty, Roshydromet designated observers for the activity of the Russian individual persons and
legal entities in the Antarctic Treaty Area for 2005:
RAE – for the period 01.01.2005 to
Alekseyev L.S. – Head of the wintering team of the 50
RAE – for the period 07.04.2005 to
The observers in their activity are guided by the Provision on the order of designating observers for
the activity of the Russian individual persons and physical entities in the Antarctic Treaty Area and
fulfilling the functions they are entrusted with, adopted by the Order of Roshydromet of 07.12.99 No.
According to the Order of Roshydromet, responsible representatives of the Russian Federation in
the Antarctic Treaty Area for 2005 were designated at all Russian Antarctic stations and aboard the
RAE – in the operation area of Mirny
Fomichev N. I. – Head of Vostok station of the 50
RAE - in the operation area of Vostok station;
Bugayev M.V.– Head of Novolazarevskaya station of the 50
RAE - in the operation area of
Nazarov V. D. – Head of Progress station of the 50
RAE - in the operation area of Progress
Levando K.K. – Head of Bellingshausen Base of the 50
RAE in the operation area of
Il’in V.F. – Head of Druzhnaya-4 Base of the 50
RAE in the operation area of Druzhnaya-4 Field
the operation area of the R/V “Akademik Fedorov”;
Danyarov A.B. – Head of sledge-caterpillar traverse of the 49
RAE – in the operation area of
sledge-caterpillar traverses along the Mirny-Vostok route;
Kutsuruba A.I. – Head of the team of the “Radok” field camp – in the operation area of the
“Radok” field camp;
Gandyukhin V.V. – Head of the cruise of the R/V “Akademik Aleksander Karpinsky” - in the
operation area of the R/V “Akademik Aleksander Karpinsky”.
The Russian Federation representatives are designated annually and use as guidance in their activity
the Provision on the order of designating responsible representatives of the Russian Federation and
fulfilling the responsibilities they are entrusted with.
The duties of responsible representatives include:
control for observing the requirements of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the
checking that the Russian individual persons and legal entities have national permits for activity in
the Antarctic Treaty Area;
revealing inconsistency of the activity performed with the declared activity or the activity not
envisaged in the issued national permit and undertaking measures up to its termination;
prevention of the risks of occurrence of emergencies for the environment;
provision of the persons implementing the activity with necessary information on the issues of the
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, etc.;
immediate notification about the occurrence of emergencies and (or) suspension of activity of the
RAE administration and the Commission’s Secretariat on consideration of applications for the
activity of the Russian individual persons and legal entities in the Antarctic Treaty Area and
issuance of permits, located in Roshydromet;
monthly reporting about undertaking the aforementioned measures, all visits to the area of
responsibility, the Russian individual persons and legal entities having national permits and the
breaches revealed and guilty persons.
In particular, the responsible representatives of the Russian Federation in the Antarctic Treaty Area
informed in their reports about:
the flights of airplanes from Cape Town to the airfield of the Russian Novolazarevskaya station
for delivering to Antarctica personnel of the expeditions of Russia, Germany and Scandinavian
the flight of VT-76 aircraft to Vostok station for personnel rotation via the Escudero (Chile),
Halley (UK), Novolazarevskaya, Molodezhnaya and Progress stations;
the presence in the Russian Bellingshausen station area of marine ships of the Russian ship
owners, charted by foreign companies;
the presence of Russian citizens in the areas of the Russian stations.
The information received allows the Commission’s Secretariat to order and control the activity of
the Russian individual persons and legal entities in the Antarctic Treaty Area and draw their attention to
the need of obtaining a national permit for activities in the Antarctic Treaty Area.
From 2004 to May 2005, the Commission issued 7 permits for implementing activity in the
Antarctic Treaty Area:
All Russian marine ships that have a Permit for activity in the Antarctic also have the Shipboard Oil
Pollution Emergency Plans corresponding to the requirements of MARPOL 73/78.
The plans of action in emergency for the Russian Antarctic stations are presented in the form of the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
After issuing the Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 11, 1998 No.
1476 “On adoption of the Procedure for consideration and issuance of permits for activities of the Russian
individual persons and legal entities in the Antarctic Treaty Area”, all kinds of activity in the Antarctic
prior to their implementation must undergo the corresponding procedures. They are presented in the
Regulations of the Commission for consideration of applications for activities of the Russian individual
persons and legal entities in the Antarctic Treaty Area and issuance of conclusions on them. This
Commission based on the submitted documents (including the EIA) makes a decision about a possibility
of issuing a permit for the activity.
Thus in order to obtain a permit for the activity of the Russian Antarctic Expedition up to 2007, in
compliance with Article 1 of Annex 1, the EIA of the ongoing activities of the Russian Antarctic
Expedition was performed (Russian Antarctic Expedition activities. EIA, 2000).
4. List of the Permits issued for the activity in Antarctica and the corresponding Initial
Environmental Evaluations (IEЕ) performed from 2004 to May 2005.
No. of permit
To whom it was
Type of activity
Period of permit
SI AARI of
3Т aircraft from the
US Antarctic station
Area of Antarctica
Scott stations (South
For the operation
period of the 50
OJSC “Far Eastern
Icebreaking escort of
transport vessels by
From 60 to 78
from 150 to 180
and from 180
W in the Ross
SI AARI of
Aviation support for
(Chile) – March
George Island) –
airfield at Halley
Britain) – airfield of
station (RF) –
(RF) – airfield at
(RF) – airfield at
Vostok station (RF)
SI AARI of
Drilling of additional
50 m of deep borehole
5G-1 at Vostok
SI Far Eastern
onboard the M/S
(cruises with foreign
From 160 to 180
SI Far Eastern
onboard the M/S
with foreign tourists)
From 40 to 80
and from 50 to 70
onboard the yacht
Island – South
Sandwich Islands –
S. Calls to
stations. Exit to the
north along the 60
of the South
In compliance with Article 5, Annex 1, monitoring of key environmental parameters is being
carried out for assessing and checking the impact of implemented activity. During the 50
RAE season, a
large volume of microbiological, lichenological and ornithological studies was carried out at the coastal
stations. An analysis of the data obtained allows us to assess the degree of anthropogenic impact on the
environment in these areas. Studies of the mutual influence of neighboring colonies of birds and people at
the microbial exchange level were conducted in the area of the Russian Antarctic stations and practical
recommendations were elaborated in order to exclude or mitigate the negative consequences of such
mutual influence and preserve the integrity of the Antarctic ecosystem.
Exchange of information on flora and fauna
From 1995, no takings of animals or plants by RAE were undertaken;
During the 50
RAE season, collection of data on the numbers and biology of birds and mammals
in the Fildes Peninsula area (King George Island, South Shetland Islands) and investigation of influence
of the Antarctic stations on the populations of sea birds in order to work out recommendations for their
protection for the study area were continued. In addition, study of interannual peculiarities of the large-
scale distribution of sea birds along the meridional Atlantic transect (from King George Island to Bay of
Biscay) were continued in connection with the geographical zonality and oceanographic and food factors.
Russian nature protection and zoological investigations in the areas of the largest anthropogenic impact
allowed assessing the influence of the Antarctic stations on the bio-diversity of high vertebrates and the
state of natural complexes in general and revealing the main factors of the population dynamics. The
obtained natural materials have supplemented the database and can serve as a basis for the development
of the area management plan and elaboration of recommendations for the sustainable development of
activity of the Antarctic stations and expeditions in the Fildes Peninsula area.
Quantity and character of permits related to flora and fauna
During the period of validity of the Procedure for issuance of permits for activity in Antarctica
(from December 1999), no permits related to flora and fauna were requested and issued.
Preparation of the Waste Management Plans
All Russian marine ships that have a Permit for activity in the Antarctic (including the research
expedition vessels “Akademik Fedorov” and “Akademik Aleksandr Karpinsky” also have the
SHIPBOARD GARBAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN), corresponding to the requirements of MARPOL
The garbage disposal at the stations and onboard ships is made in strict compliance with the
existing instructions that temporarily replace the Waste Management Plans.
Introduction of the Waste Management Plans
The waste disposal at the RAE stations and onboard the RAE ships is realized in accordance with
the adopted instructions.
In compliance with the Protocol, the methodology of waste disposal planning for the RAE stations
and ships was developed.
Inventory of past activities
The creation of the database on the areas of past RAE activity is at the preparation stage. In
accordance with the programs of nature protection investigations, inventory of the wastes of past and
present activity are being constantly carried out at the stations. In the course of the 49
RAE and the 50
RAE season, such work was undertaken at Mirny, Progress, Bellingshausen, Novolazarevskaya and
Vostok stations. In addition during the Mirny-Vostok traverse, inventory of the objects in direct proximity
to the route was made (containers left, vehicles, structures and facilities at Pionerskaya, Vostok-1 and
Komsomol’skaya stations) and a large volume of photo-materials was collected.
During the 50
RAE season, a complex of work was performed to eliminate the open waste
storage sites in the airfield area of Novolazarevskaya station. The wastes were prepared for transportation
from the Antarctic Treaty Area. Such nature protection measures were undertaken during the reporting
period at the other stations of the Russian Antarctic Expedition.
In compliance with Article 3, Annex 3, the burnable refuse not removed from the Antarctic Treaty
Area is subjected to thermal treatment in the incinerators IN-50 (at Novolazarevskaya (Figure 1) and
Progress (Figure 2) stations).
Figure 1. Incinerator module at Novolazarevskaya
Figure 2. Incinerator IN-50 at Progress station
During the 49
RAE season, a facility for electro-chemical treatment and disinfection of sewage
waters was introduced into operation (Figure 3).
The RAE has prepared and submitted a revised Management Plan for the Antarctic Specially
Protected Area No. 127 “Haswell Island” for consideration at the VIII Session of the Committee for
Environmental Protection of the XXVIII Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Stokholm, 2005).
This area was initially designated as the Site of Special Scientific Interest № 7 “Haswell Island”
(SSSI No. 7) under Recommendation VIII-4 (1975) as proposed by the Soviet Union. In compliance with
Resolution 1 (1998) Russia was made responsible for revision of the management plan for SSSI No. 7
“Haswell Island” (in compliance with Resolution V (1996) – Antarctic specially protected area No.127
“Haswell Island”, ASPA No. 127). During the Antarctic summer seasons 1999/2000 and 2003/2004,
work on stock-taking and mapping of avi-fauna was performed and the boundaries of location of the
nesting colony of Emperor penguins in the fast ice area adjoining Haswell Island were specified and
taking this into account, the ASPA boundaries were delineated (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Boundaries of ASPA No. 127 “Haswell Island”
Current studies have testified that this region being the grounds for nesting of almost all bird species
of East Antarctica is valuable for fundamental science and monitoring of man impact on the environment
and confirmed the presence of initially determined values and their correspondence to Annex V to the
Protocol on Environmental Protection.
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domain: geography


Andy Carroll poses with wife after yoga session a day on from missing West Ham FA Cup win with ankle injury
- Chelsea are hoping to sign Andy Carroll from West Ham in the transfer window
- Carroll missed West Ham's FA Cup win on Tuesday with an ankle injury
- But the next day he enjoyed a yoga session with his wife, Billie Mucklow
Andy Carroll missed West Ham's FA Cup victory over Shrewsbury with an ankle injury amid interest from Chelsea - but he is fit enough to enjoy a spot of yoga with his wife.
David Moyes, the West Ham manager, explained after the 1-0 victory on Tuesday that Carroll's problem prevented him from being involved.
But late on Wednesday, Carroll's wife and former Only Way is Essex star Billie Mucklow took to Instagram to share a picture including Carroll after a yoga session.
Andy Carroll pictured in wife Billie Mucklow (front) after a yoga session on Wednesday
Carroll is wanted by Chelsea and didn't play against Shrewsbury on Tuesday
'Team Work To Get The Dream Bodies... Tough Day Yoga, PT With @_obsessedtraining And My First Class @barryslondon With My Squad,' Mucklow wrote.
Sportsmail reported on January 4 that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte had identified Carroll as a target for the transfer window.
And the Premier League champions made contact with their London rivals earlier this week to sound the Hammers out over a move.
It is believed Chelsea would prefer to land Carroll on loan until the end of the season where as West Ham would prefer to sell him for £20m.
The 29-year-old Carroll has been identified as a target by Chelsea boss Antonio Conte
But West Ham boss David Moyes said he does not want Carroll to leave the Hammers
But after the Shrewsbury victory, Moyes said he does not want to let Carroll leave the Hammers.
'Carroll is part of my squad,' Moyes said. 'I want to add to my squad, not lose anybody.
'There have been a lot of rumours regarding a loan but as far as I know it's not officially come from Chelsea.'
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Search results1 – 10 of over 9000
Purpose – This case study outlines, and critically reflects upon, Aston University's 10 year journey towards mainstreaming widening participation. It begins in 1999 when…
Purpose – This case study outlines, and critically reflects upon, Aston University's 10 year journey towards mainstreaming widening participation. It begins in 1999 when the institution had no Widening Participation Strategy or infrastructure, working towards the current position of a strategic and institution-wide focus on student diversity and inclusion. Critical reflection on this journey details key enabling factors, challenges faced and suggestions for practice.
Methodology/approach – The case study outlines the underlying principles of Aston's approach to widening participation. Key principles include a full student life cycle and evidence-based practice approach, inclusive practice for all, and staff development. These principles are illustrated through examples of practice such as the Student Peer Mentoring Programme, the Learning Development Centre and the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice.
Findings – Practice has been informed through seeking to better understand the changing needs of an increasingly diverse student profile. Diversity goes beyond the student groups targeted through widening participation programmes.
Practical implications – The case study reflects on challenges and enabling factors for the management of change, and suggests practice which may be transferable to other HE institutions.
Originality/value of paper – Aston has adopted a full student-life cycle from outreach work with primary schools, through to pre-entry and transition support, learner development, and on to graduation and employment. This is in contrast to the more predominant focus within the HE sector, upon the early stages of the student life cycle. Aston University has also embedded widening participation within strategies for learning and teaching, and for employability.
Purpose – To offer an account of widening participation practice at the University of Bedfordshire as a case study of how higher education can approach ‘access’ and embed…
Purpose – To offer an account of widening participation practice at the University of Bedfordshire as a case study of how higher education can approach ‘access’ and embed practice across the institution. The paper explores the contribution of widening participation policy and practice to the development of the University.
Approach – The paper considers the part played by widening participation policy and practice in the development of the University from the organisations out of which it has grown; it provides a brief overview of some of the ways in which the University pursues and fulfils its widening participation objectives; and it offers some reflection on the prospects for widening participation in the context of new arrangements for funding students and higher education institutions.
Findings – The paper provides some outline evidence for the success of its practice and for its mainstreaming across the organisation and offers some reflection on areas where further work is required to develop the University's strategies and processes.
Originality/value of the chapter – The paper provides an account of a UK university with a particularly strong commitment to widening participation, which it has sustained throughout a period of growing reputation and increasing pressure to adopt a more ‘traditionally’ selective approach to recruitment and participation. Widening participation remains a core value within the university and continues to be one of its defining characteristics.
This article analyses how higher education institutions (HEIs) have responded to government policy to increase the participation rates of students from lower social…
This article analyses how higher education institutions (HEIs) have responded to government policy to increase the participation rates of students from lower social classes through their admissions policies.
The article uses documentary evidence and interviews with institutional policy makers to examine HEI admissions policies and the rationale underpinning them.
This research found that admissions policies owed more to the nature of demand than attempts to widen participation. Old universities tend to ask for high A‐level grades and were sceptical about the value of vocational qualifications, but demonstrated a willingness to be more flexible where there was a low demand for courses. Less prestigious institutions tend to recruit more students from working class backgrounds because of the markets they were able to recruit in rather than because of their widening participation policies.
Whilst this study is based on a small number of cases, the evidence suggests that institutional admissions policies perpetuate the problem of working class disadvantage. The ability of HEIs to review and change their admissions policies is, however, constrained by the way government policy encourages a competitive and stratified system of higher education. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, but those wanting equality of opportunity in HE need to continue to put pressure on institutional policy makers to develop more inclusive systems of admission.
By interviewing key institutional policy makers this article has been able to provide insights into the rationale behind HEI policy on admissions and widening participation.
Higher education (HE) in England and other parts of the United Kingdom (UK), traditionally and historically, has been dominated by privileged and powerful social groups…
Higher education (HE) in England and other parts of the United Kingdom (UK), traditionally and historically, has been dominated by privileged and powerful social groups. In recent decades, universities have opened their doors and encouraged participation by a diversity of learners including women, working class, minority ethnic groups and many others that might be deemed historically under-represented in HE. This movement came to be known as ‘widening participation’. I consider myself to be a product of the widening participation movement having returned to learn in 1994 after a 10-year break in education. However, providing access to participate is only the first step. For many HE students from under-represented groups, like the working class, the journey through the academy, while earning their degree, can be fraught with profound and difficult experiences. This chapter charts my own journey into HE as a student, and back into HE as an academic, with some equally fraught and profound experiences.
This chapter provides the context for understanding how English widening participation (WP) policy has interacted with the development of a marketised and expanding higher…
This chapter provides the context for understanding how English widening participation (WP) policy has interacted with the development of a marketised and expanding higher education (HE) system (the ‘dual imperative’ highlighted in the introductory chapter of this volume). It traces the intensification of market approaches in HE since 1997, examining how these interact with and become intertwined with evolving national WP policy concerns. Since 1997, WP for under-represented groups as a national policy aim has become firmly embedded in the activities undertaken by higher education providers (HEPs). Policy initiatives have moved between incentive and risk to encourage HEPs to address national and local inequalities of access and (later) student success and differential graduate outcomes. This chapter gives an overview of the key policy moments in this period and argues for how they have shaped the way in which the business of WP is enacted throughout the sector. It highlights how the business of WP drawn widely has become simultaneously a regulatory requirement, a way for institutions to differentiate themselves in the HE market and a key marker of institutional civic or social responsibilities. Situating this alongside the increasing focus on students and applicants as consumers, this chapter also begins to problematise the issues of collaboration and competition this creates.
The general context for this paper is access to higher education (HE) in the UK but the particular concern is participation. An important distinction is drawn between…
The general context for this paper is access to higher education (HE) in the UK but the particular concern is participation. An important distinction is drawn between access and participation. The heterogeneous characteristics of HE and the complex choice processes of applicants mean that a finer level of description and analysis is required which goes beyond aggregate measures of access and examines the extent and the nature of participation. Equality of opportunity provides the underpinning for this paper, access to HE is the starting point, the focus is on participation and the approach is empirical and pragmatic. In 2002, the target for access to UK HE was set at 50 percent, which requires attention to shift from broad measures of access towards detailed measures of participation; particularly when the agenda is one of social inclusion, and when certain groups within society are still significantly under‐represented and disadvantaged at the level of participation.
This chapter examines the development of an Entrepreneurship Education initiative (Triple E: Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship) in the Higher Education…
This chapter examines the development of an Entrepreneurship Education initiative (Triple E: Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship) in the Higher Education context. The initiative is further contextualised by a dynamic policy framework concerning widening access as a major priority for the Scottish Government. In addition, the initiative is based on innovation in contemporary pedagogical design and further policy drivers supporting the development of graduates with an enterprising mind-set and graduate attributes (articulated by employers) and interpreted by academics and public sector stakeholders as relevant for graduate labour market competitiveness. The chapter examines Entrepreneurship Education literature and presents a case study which examines pedagogical design and normative assumptions, participant progression, (students and staff) and the engagement of external stakeholders. The case study describes and analyses the key design principles for inclusive and accessible Entrepreneurship Education within the context of widening participation policy. A discussion on the practice of achieving inclusive and accessible Entrepreneurship Education explores intra-institution policy, drivers enablers and cultural and resource constraints. The chapter concludes with a summary of the design principles on inclusivity and accessibility in Entrepreneurship Education and discusses attempts to mitigate the challenges presented by a widening participation policy.
This chapter examines widening access to higher education in Sweden from the 1960s onwards and contrasts the influence of two different political ideologies — social…
This chapter examines widening access to higher education in Sweden from the 1960s onwards and contrasts the influence of two different political ideologies — social democracy and neo-liberalism. It provides an overview of the higher education system and student support. Sweden has made extensive use of alternative routes into higher education to enable access for those lacking traditional entry qualifications. These routes are outlined, changes over time are described and Sweden is compared to other European countries drawing on Eurostudent data. These data indicate that Sweden has made considerable advances in widening access through the use of alternative routes. However, the conclusion questions the extent to which current higher education policy, influenced by neo-liberalism, can lead to further progress.

domain: library


The vaccinations were delivered by Tupwood Gate’s Matron Sue Stepney and Deputy Matron Paula Deadman, who signed up to join the Alliance for Better Care vaccination team, which is delivering the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme across East Surrey and Mid-Sussex. Tupwood Gate, in Caterham, was among the first nursing homes in the area to be offered the first vaccine on January 7.
After giving the second jab to staff and 25 residents at Tupwood Gate on Thursday afternoon (11 March), Sue Stepney said: “Today marks a year, to the day, since the World Health Organisation declared Covid 19 a pandemic.
“It’s wonderful that today also sees the conclusion of our vaccination programme with the administration of the second Covid vaccine to both our residents and staff. With the vaccination figures climbing every day around the region, we will hopefully soon be in a position to safely open our doors for more visits whilst observing the social restrictions in place at the time.”
The vaccination programme was overseen by Dr Richard Wright, the nursing homes attending GP, and the Clinical Director for North Tandridge PCN.
Sue and Paula completed a course in both the Pfizer and Astra-Zeneca vaccines and have been delivering the vaccine to members of the public across East Surrey since before Christmas, putting in shifts at vaccination centres in the local area.
Alliance for Better Care is a not-for-profit GP federation that unites more than 40 GP practices within the East Surrey and Mid-Sussex region, is helping to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination Programme.


text:
What a wonderful weekend!!
Thank you to all who took part in creating a special "Party in the Park" in memory of Brian--even the Lord for giving us such a beautiful evening--for the silent auction and for the golf meet Friday.
A special thank you to Jeremy for the pencil sketch of Brian and The Palace. What a wonderful keepsake.
Thank you to our children for honoring us with a great 50th Anniversary Celebration. Thank you to those who shared it with us by their presence and for the wonderful gifts and cards.
It was a weekend we shall never forget.
We love you all forever.
Stook and Carol

domain: artistic


text:
OTTAWA – Wednesday, Fair Vote Canada and Democracy Watch jointly released a letter that was sent to federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, filing a complaint and requesting investigations and public rulings concerning Prime Minister Trudeau’s dishonest and improper actions concerning electoral reform.
Set out in the letter to Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, is the evidence that makes it reasonable to conclude that Prime Minister Trudeau’s statements and actions violate rules in the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (the “MPs Code”) and in the Conflict of Interest Act.
In the lead-up to the 2015 election and beyond, Prime Minister Trudeau promised unequivocally to end the first-past-the-post voting system and replace it with a system that would “Make Every Vote Count.”
The promise to change the voting system was repeated more than 2,000 times and was a key plank in the Liberal election platform.
For five months, the MPs on the Special Committee on Electoral Reform (ERRE) heard overwhelming evidence and heartfelt pleas from Canadians to change the voting system to one that would reflect proportional representation.
Thousands took their time to participate in good faith.
After hearing months of testimony from academics, experts and citizens, the Special Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform (ERRE) submitted a majority report that reflected the recommendations of experts invited to testify. The ERRE heard 180 experts in total and of these, 107 expressed themselves on the choice between keeping our current system or adopting a proportional system. Fully 88% of these expert witnesses called for a proportional system, according to a detailed compilation undertaken by Fair Vote Canada.
This consultative process was the fifteenth of its kind in Canada. Every one of these recommended to make the system fairer and more representative by moving to a proportional voting system, including the federal process initiated by the Prime Minister.
Yet, our Prime Minister ignored all of the evidence and decided arbitrarily that “all forms of proportional representation would be bad for Canada.”http://www.cbc.ca/news/
This abrupt reversal of the promise made on electoral reform, and the complete rewriting of the facts show a lack of integrity. It suggests that Mr. Trudeau made his promise of electoral reform solely to attract voters in the first place and never intended to honour this promise. This becomes even clearer considering that both his election promise and the original mandate letter for the Minister of Democratic Institutions explicitly referred to proportional representation as an option, yet the Prime Minister now states he always thought proportional representation would be bad for Canada (see below).
Fair Vote Canada’s Executive Director, Kelly Carmichael states “Canadians need to feel confident that those we elect are honest and act with integrity and put the needs and desire of the citizens of this country before their partisan self-interest. In fact, in the Speech from the Throne, Prime Minister Trudeau appeared to agree with this sentiment as he he continued to laud his plan to unequivocally end first-past-the-post voting system when he stated “The trust Canadians have in public institutions — including Parliament — has, at times, been compromised.”
“If the Ethics Commissioner fails to investigate our complaint or finds Prime Minister Trudeau didn’t violate any rules with his dishonest statements and actions, it will show clearly that the rules need to be changed to prohibit politicians from blatantly misleading Canadian voters with false election promises and claims in-between elections,” said Duff a Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
Both Fair Vote Canada and Democracy Watch want to see honesty and integrity in politics and both work to strengthen our democracy through better policy. The broken promise on electoral reform is a stellar example of why we feel it necessary to request investigations and public rulings concerning Prime Minister Trudeau’s actions on electoral reform. The policies are in place to protect citizens against dishonesty but they are only effective if they implemented and we hope Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson will use the tools at her disposal to restore integrity to Canadian politics.
(The full request and evidence to Mary Dawson can be found here:
As the code clearly states, the purposes of the MPs Code as set out in section 1 are to:
(a) maintain and enhance public confidence and trust in the integrity of Members as well as the respect and confidence that society places in the House of Commons as an institution;
(b) demonstrate to the public that Members are held to standards that place the public interest ahead of their private interests and to provide a transparent system by which the public may judge this to be the case;
(c) provide for greater certainty and guidance for Members in how to reconcile their private interests with their public duties and functions; and
(d) foster consensus among Members by establishing common standards and by providing the means by which questions relating to proper conduct may be answered by an independent, non-partisan adviser.
B. Request for ruling that Prime Minister Trudeau violated rules in the MPs Code
The MPs Code states:
2. Given that service in Parliament is a public trust, the House of Commons recognizes and declares that Members are expected:
(a) to serve the public interest and represent constituents to the best of their abilities;
(b) to fulfill their public duties with honesty and uphold the highest standards so as to avoid real or apparent conflicts of interests, and maintain and enhance public confidence and trust in the integrity of each Member and in the House of Commons;
C. Request for ruling that Prime Minister Trudeau violated s. 8 of MPs Code, and ss. 4 and 6 of Conflict of Interest Act
The MPs Code also states in section 8:
“When performing parliamentary duties and functions, a Member shall not act in any way to further his or her private interests or those of a member of the Member’s family, or to improperly further another person’s or entity’s private interests.”
The Conflict of Interest Act (the “Act”), which applies to Prime Minister Trudeau, contains similar rules in sections 4 and 6:
Conflict of interest
4 For the purposes of this Act, a public office holder is in a conflict of interest when he or she exercises an official power, duty or function that provides an opportunity to further his or her private interests or those of his or her relatives or friends or to improperly further another person’s private interests.
6 (1) No public office holder shall make a decision or participate in making a decision related to the exercise of an official power, duty or function if the public office holder knows or reasonably should know that, in the making of the decision, he or she would be in a conflict of interest.

domain: politics


text:
In a discussion on Charles Murray’s new book Coming Apart, Ross Douthat includes a brilliant observation about what he dubs the “persistent advantage of private virtue“:
Finally, Murray makes a very convincing case . . . for the power of so-called “traditional values” to foster human flourishing even in economic landscapes that aren’t as favorable to less-educated workers as was, say, the aftermath of the Treaty of Detroit. Even acknowledging all the challenges (globalization, the decline of manufacturing, mass low-skilled immigration) that have beset blue collar America over the last thirty years, it is still the case that if you marry the mother or father of your children, take work when you can find it and take pride in what you do, attend church and participate as much as possible in the life of your community, and strive to conduct yourself with honesty and integrity, you are very likely to not only escape material poverty, but more importantly to find happiness in life. This case for the persistent advantages of private virtue does not disprove more purely economic analyses of what’s gone wrong in American life, but it should at the very least complicate them, and suggest a different starting place for discussions of the common good than the ground that most liberals prefer to occupy. This is where “Coming Apart” proves its worth: Even for the many readers who will raise an eyebrow (or two) at Murray’s stringently libertarian prescriptions, the story he tells should be a powerful reminder that societies flourish or fail not only in the debates over how to tax and spend and regulate, but in the harder-to-reach places where culture and economics meet.
One of the reasons, I suspect, that we have interminable debates about “how to tax and spend and regulate” is because such discussions are easy to package for public consumption. The details associated with taxation, spending, and regulation are often complex, but our political preferences can almost always be reduced to the dual choice of support or oppose. The binary structure of both the debates and their outcomes—I win-you lose/you win-I lose—allow them to fit into our popular media. Indeed, if it can’t fit into the 13-minute segments between the “Invest in gold” ads on talk radio then it probably isn’t worth talking about anyway.
This is why over the past decade conservative media outlets have spent countless hours railing about such issues like “earmarks”, despite the fact that everyone acknowledges that they are largely symbolic. The problem is not that we spend time on issues whose significance is merely symbolic, it is that in focusing on them we are ignoring issues whose significance—both economically and culturally—are immeasurable.
An even deeper problem, of course, is that our culture doesn’t know how to promote private virtue through America’s favorite pastime—incessant talking. The virtues most in need of promoting tend to flourish in stoic silences, not in the cacophony created by the yammering of talk radio hosts or bloggers (like me). Thirty seconds of praise for the men and women who “take work where they can find it and take pride in what they do” is about all we can take before we start craving the red meat of politics (the kind concerned with partisanship rather than the good of the polis).
The result is that we are faced with a distressing quandary: The need to publicly promote private virtue is paramount; but in twenty-first century America, is such a task even possible?

domain: sociology


text:
Brandin Cooks posts cryptic tweet after not being traded; Lovie Smith says WR is wanted on Texans
The NFL trade deadline came and went Tuesday and Brandin Cooks remained on the Houston Texans.
The wide receiver was reportedly drawing interest from the Green Bay Packers and other teams, but no one was able to finalize a trade.
There were reports that Cooks' salary — $18 million, fully guaranteed next season — was a major obstacle at getting a deal done.
NFL TRADE DEADLINE WINNERS, LOSERS:Bills, Packers miss out on upgrades as Dolphins load up
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He shared a cryptic message on Twitter right around the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
"Don’t take a man’s kindness for granted," he wrote. "Covered for the lies for too long those days are done. Crossed the line with playing with my career."
The former first-round draft pick signed the post with a bow and arrow emoji in reference to his nickname, "The Archer."
Cooks was not at practice on Tuesday and head coach Lovie Smith told the media he was "excused for personal reasons."
Smith bristled at several questions about the trade rumors and stood his ground that he would not provide answers about private conversations or hypotheticals.
"When I say a guy's excused for a personal reason, and I never talk about something personal we're talking about behind closed doors like all players," he said. "Have a conversation with most of the guys each day, Brandin's no different."
He continued that he didn't have information about potential trade offers for Cooks. The press conference was held before the trade deadline expired.
"If we did, we're not going to talk about that in here. I think most of y'all know that," he said. "You know that I can't and wouldn't answer that question. ... When there's something, some information that we think that you need to get, we'll get it to you."
Cooks, who has previously played for the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, has started all seven games so far this season as the Texans have gone 1-5-1. He's had 32 catches for 354 yards and a touchdown as the offense tries to help quarterback Davis Mills step into his role as a leader.
Amid the tense questioning, Smith said he was confident in Cooks' place on the roster.
"Brandin has a big role for us, he's one of the best players on our team," he said. "Kinda as simple as that. It's the reason why he's on the team. We like him here."
The Texans face the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

domain: sports


text:
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domain: pet


Remarks on behalf of the Political Champions for Disaster Resilience Port-au-Prince, 21 April 2013
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Valerie Amos
Checked against delivery
I have the privilege to address you this evening on behalf of the Political Champions for Disaster Resilience. We want to give political support to initiatives focused on helping countries and communities to cope and recover from disasters.
In the last 10 years, natural disasters have destroyed billions of lives globally, killing 1.1 million people, affecting 2.7 billion, and causing economic loss of over US$1.3 trillion.
Haiti knows only too well the implications of such recurrent catastrophes in terms of lives lost, and also economic cost. Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 cost the agricultural sector $104 million in losses, despite improvements in early warning systems.
Haiti is also one of the countries most at risk from climate change. This year alone, the US National Hurricane Center is forecasting up to 18 tropical storms, nine of them of hurricane strength, in the Western Caribbean. Haiti is exposed to a lot of risk and many people are extremely vulnerable - women and girls are particularly vulnerable.
So why are we here?
We are keen to look at the way we respond to disasters; how best we work with government, civil society and other stakeholders. The humanitarian community mostly focuses on the aftermath of a disaster. We know that we need to change the way we respond to disasters, to ensure that our response also contributes to longer-term progress. But we need to get ourselves ahead of the curve by better anticipating, preventing, mitigating, and preparing for disasters as well as reducing vulnerabilities in order to minimize the impact and losses caused by future hazards. But ours is only part of the story. Our development partners are a key part of the process. Disasters can no longer only be seen as a humanitarian endeavor; they should also be a development one.
One way of doing so is enhancing disaster resilience. The more resilient a nation and its people, the less lasting damage disasters cause and the quicker the recovery.
Resilience is about the ability of a country, its communities and individuals to prepare, plan, recover and successfully adapt to adverse events and shocks in a way that does not compromise their future.
Resilience is about investing more before disasters happen but also doing what we are already doing better. Raising awareness of how to mitigate risks, and prepare and face disasters; it is about investing in infrastructure, like building homes that can withstand earthquakes or schools that double as cyclone shelters. Disaster resilience is about saving lives, livelihoods and money by acting together now.
The new Government of Haiti national development plan offers an opportunity to bring all partners together and enable us to work more effectively together.
Earlier today we visited a neighbourhood rehabilitation project in Canapé Vert. Four hundred families who have been living in displacement camps since the earthquake have been helped by the Government and partners to move back to their old neighbourhood - a good example of people involved in rebuilding their community.
The Champions have identified Haiti as a priority - not only because of its exposure to risk but also because of the potential it offers to do things better. In the last two years, I have seen the progress which has been made.
We hope this visit will give additional impetus to the discussions amongst partners on ways to make resilience to disaster a more critical priority in current planning and investment efforts. We hope these discussions will lead to the development of actions that can be supported to promote communities’ disaster resilience.
Disasters are a fact of life. But we save lives, reduce vulnerabilities and risks, and mitigate the damage they cause by acting together, now.
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.


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The search giant, Google released its traditional year in search for 2020. The year was a roller-coaster. Many things happened altogether, and people went beyond to keep their sanity. Google’s customary list of most-searched-for topics in various categories, was of course, related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were many things that people were searching, but one thing, revealed by Google, highlights the importance of mental health in a pandemic year. ‘Happiness’ was searched more than ever on Google search in 2020. People went online to look for hope, which is worrying. Medical experts and professionals have anticipated in the past months that a mental health crisis is likely to follow the ongoing healthcare crisis. Google’s year in search term, ‘happiness’ proved how much people across the world were struggling throughout the year.
For Google’s Year in Search 2020, coronavirus topped the list in India. At various categories, such as near me, how-to, movies, news events, sports, events, night shelter near me and more, the overall sets sum up what exactly the year was all about. Mental health remained significant. “More than ever, the world searched for Happiness this year,” stated Google along with the photo of the stats that show the increasing number of searches.
Happiness Was Searched More Than Ever!
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) December 9, 2020
Various studies have shown how people experienced symptoms of mental illness such as depression and anxiety, among people of all age groups. The lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the virus, had forced people to tackle their mental health. Faced with new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children, lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues, and more, all of these have made it challenging for people to survive the pandemic. It is because of so many difficulties and new changes in lifestyle that people likely Googled ‘Happiness.’
The changes that can happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ways we try to contain the spread can affect anyone. But we all should not lose hope. Coping with stress in a healthy way can make you, the people you care about and your community stronger. It is important that all of us be a little of empathetic towards each other, reach out to those who are living alone, contact our family members and colleagues, often, to feel socially connected, less lonely or isolated. And never hesitate to seek help.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 11, 2020 01:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

domain: medical


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The Netherlands reassured to support Bangladesh to implement Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. The Director-General International Cooperation of the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Reina Buijs expressed Dutch government’s readiness in this regard to the visiting high-level delegation from Bangladesh to the Netherlands led by Dr. Shamsul Alam, Member GED (Senior Secretary), Planning Commission during a meeting today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague. The Dutch Director-General also reassured to continue technical cooperation as well as encouraging Dutch private sectors’ engagements for the effective implementation of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, particularly in the areas of land reclamation, river dredging, flood defence, and capacity development, etc.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal referred to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s invitation to the Dutch Prime Minister to visit Bangladesh for the ceremonial launching of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and suggested that an official visit by the Dutch Prime Minister accompanied by a water and delta management related business delegation would usher in new beginning in bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The Ambassador also sought Dutch support under the broader framework of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 for mitigating long-term flood risks and adverse impacts of climate change through basin-wide water management. The Dutch Director General hoped that a visit by Dutch Prime Minister to Bangladesh accompanied by a business delegation would result in tangible cooperation between the two countries in the implementation of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
Earlier in the day, the delegation held a meeting with the Dutch Delta Commissioner Mr Peter Glas at his office. Congratulating Bangladesh for its visionary delta plan, the Dutch Delta Commissioner also assured their support for the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, especially in sharing with Bangladesh the Netherlands’ 1000 years of delta management experience.
Bangladesh delegation expressed to the Dutch dignitaries sincere appreciation of Bangladesh government to the Dutch government for their technical assistance in formulating Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and hoped that the Netherlands would continue to support Bangladesh to implement the Plan in the days ahead. The Dutch side assured to continue their support in implementing Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 to better manage water resources of Bangladesh and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.
A 4-member Bangladesh delegation comprising of Dr. Shamsul Alam, Member GED (Senior Secretary), Planning Commission; Mr. Md. Nurul Amin, Secretary, Planning Division; Mr. Saurendra Nath Chakrabhartty, Secretary, Statistics and Information Division; and Mr. Md. Anwar Hossain, Joint Secretary, Economic Relations Division is visiting the Netherlands from 28-31 July 2019 as part of Bangladesh government’s initiative to frame appropriate transition strategy.

domain: news


text:
Eti Ena, Eastern Washington’s associate head coach who works primarily with defensive ends, said he needed more from his men on the edges.
Just three years removed from his stint as a Cal Poly assistant, Ena knew the chore the Eagles’ defensive line would have in stopping the Mustangs’ triple-option offense, an old-school look capable of moving the chains on the staunchest of FCS defenses.
It had early success in the Eagles’ 70-17 shellacking of Cal Poly on Saturday at Roos Field, racking up nearly 400 yards rushing with 24 first downs, but the Eagles’ defense stiffened up as the game went on.
“They do a great job with their adjustments, and we had to adjust to what they were doing, try to think what they’re thinking,” Ena said after the rout. “But if you can get a good lead on a team like that, it takes them away from their bread and better.”
That’s what the explosive, sixth-ranked Eagles did in forcing a one-dimensional Cal Poly team to play catch-up without enough offensive firepower.
One of Ena’s pupils, senior defensive end Jim Townsend, added to the Eagles’ gaudy scoring total –the program’s most lopsided Big Sky Conference win since 2014 – when the Eagles handled North Dakota 54-3.
The hulking defensive end rumbled 62 yards after a fumble recovery, and the Okanogan, Washington, product scored his first collegiate touchdown. The play gave EWU a 35-10 lead right before the halftime, putting Cal Poly in a three-score hole that would only get deeper.
“Mitch Johnson made a great play with the strip sack and the ball just bounced into my hands – and I ran for dear life,” Townsend said. “I was slipping around. I was thinking some little guy was going to come and try to catch me, but it was just a big lineman and I was able to beat him.”
Ena’s two other defensive ends, Johnson and Nick Foerstel, also heeded his request to step up this week.
Johnson, a redshirt freshman, had two tackles for a loss, including the sack, to increase his team-leading total to seven tackles for a loss this year and four sacks. Foerstel had also had his hand in a tackle for a loss, six total tackles and a quarterback hurry.
“It’s always nerve-racking to go up against a team like that has the potential to be a dangerous outfit,” Ena said.
In Cal Poly’s last game against a Big Sky member this season, it was edged at home 24-17 by defending conference champion and seventh-ranked Weber State.
at running back
With Antoine Custer – who rushed for 134 yards and two TDs on eight carries after returning from injury – back in the fold, EWU’s depth at running back increased substantially.
The Eagles, who average 289.5 rushing yards per game, have five ball carriers with at least 100 total yards and a touchdown this season, including Sam McPherson (495 yards, three TDs), Tamarick Pierce (167 yards TD), Dennis Merritt (164 yards, two TDs), quarterback Gage Gubrud (135 yards, TD) and Custer.
“I’ll ride with those four (running backs) with anyone in this league,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said. “Everyone of those guys makes the (offensive lineman better). It’s the tailbacks that make the offensive line better.”
Eagle steps up
Senior wide receiver Zach Eagle didn’t crack the Eagles’ two-deep on offense three weeks ago, only as the team’s punt returner.
With EWU’s primary pass catcher, Nsimba Webster, limited the last two games with an ankle injury, Eagle has made the most of his reps.
He’s been EWU’s leading receiver the last two games, totaling nine catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. He was a trusty outlet in the Eagles’ rout over Cal Poly.
“Zach is a stud. Coach’s kid,” Best said. “He rises up. We’re human, and we all make mistakes, but he is going to have very few of them.”
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The biggest heatwave to hit Japan since records began in 1875 is currently making it the hottest day yet.
The intense heat has prompted government warnings of an impending power deficit and pleas for citizens to conserve electricity whenever feasible. Nevertheless, the government continues to urge citizens to use air conditioning to prevent heatstroke as hospital admissions climb with the heat.
In the upcoming days, the heat is set to persist, according to weather forecasters.
Because to climate change brought on by human activity, heatwaves are now more frequent, more powerful, and stay longer.
Since the start of the industrial period, the world has already warmed by around 1.1C, and unless governments drastically reduce emissions, temperatures will continue to rise.
The worst record of hot weather in June since records began in 1875 was broken on Wednesday when Tokyo recorded temperatures above 35C for a fifth straight day.
The hottest June temperature ever recorded in Japan was 40.2C, which was recorded in the city of Isesaki, northwest of the capital.
Social media users bemoaned the increasing heat on Twitter.
I’ve been outside since the morning and am on the verge of melting from the heat, another user posted.
A film of what looked to be water sprinklers activating at a plant nursery was posted alongside the comment “So hot that the fire alarm at our workplace got short-circuited” by a third user.
Japan’s rainy season, which typically lasts from June through August, has officially ended for Tokyo and the surrounding territories, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The statement, which was made 22 days earlier than usual, signals the beginning of the dry season for the first time since 1951.
Emergency services said on Wednesday that at least 76 people had been brought to hospitals as a result of an increase in heatstroke cases.
Local authorities called for a reduction in energy use on Tuesday as they warned of a power shortage.
To reduce the risk of heatstroke, particularly among the elderly in the nation, it was urged to do so in moderation.


Versatility is the key when it comes to women’s clothing in humid Hong Kong! No-one wants a fussy outfit – looks that can go easily from day to night with a minimum of fuss are the only way to handle the heat.
So, you’re meeting friends for a drink in the evening and you’ve been running errands all day (or, if you’re lucky, hanging out in the sun), and you haven’t got time to change. What you need is an outfit that will take you from day to night in the blink of an eye. The collection at ZenvarA has been handpicked by founder Anita Beevers to offer just that.
Anita chose some pieces for us that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. “Each of these is made with a gorgeous rayon crinkle fabric,” she says. “They’re incredibly light and feel amazing on your skin.” They’re perfect for our hot and humid weather as they breathe.”
For daytime, a simple playsuit or maxi dress only needs a pair of strappy sandals or even just flip-flops. Then, says Anita, “take the outfit to night with a pair of heels or wedges and some jewellery.”
This season ZenvarA’s women’s clothing collection has lots of stripes to flatter all shapes. There are also solid block colours for those who prefer something without prints. Gorgeous, flowing maxi dresses are back in varying styles to suit different shapes. They also have more lovely tops, with three quarter length sleeves that can also be worn casually during the day or dressed up for night.
This article first appeared in the August/September 2017 issue of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.
Ready to head out for the evening? Why not hit one of these super-cool Hong Kong bars!


text:
Release : 2009-11-06
Genre : Drama
Runtime : 110 minutes
Company : Smokewood Entertainment Group
Cast : Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd
Language : en, it
Set in Harlem in 1987, Claireece “Precious” Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She’s pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret–she can’t read.
We are all precious


text: Weight: 330 gr. glass jar. Ingredients: 44% raspberries, water, sugar, lemon juice, natuaral flavorings. No coloring or preservatives added. Description: Collected when not too ripe, the raspberries are carefully washed and placed in glass jars and covered with a syrup obtained by boiling water, sugar and lemon juice. The result is a tasty fruit dessert with a pleasant bittersweet flavor. Try them with chestnuts in honeyand Martin Sec pears al Torrette! Conservation: Refrigerate at +2/4°C after opening.

domain: food


text:
A handful of export sales reported to start the week
The USDA reports private export sales to unknown destinations and Japan.
Unknown destinations picked up more than 207,000 metric tons of corn for the 20/21 marketing year and Japan purchased nearly 111,000 metric tons of corn for the current year. Unknown destinations purchased more than 218,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 20/21 marketing year.
Soybean purchases by unknown destinations are often, but not always, switched to China for delivery.
The USDA’s next set of supply and demand estimates is out October 9th.


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Jacket collection getting you down? These Florence Bridge pieces will pep any outfit up in an instant. Whether you’re looking for a biker jacket, cropped jacket or blazer, there will be something to suit here. Made from leather, shearling and lambswool, these pieces are finished with contrast panelling, statement patches, open fronts and asymmetric hems. Available in a range of hues, these jackets will give your outfit the eye-catching finish you’ve been hoping for.
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domain: design


text: Natalie Norwood has over 12+ years of experience working as an Emergency room nurse as well in the cosmetic field. She is currently pursuing her Nurse Practitioner degree. She’s worked in the operating and recovery rooms and has since transitioned to the role of an aesthetic nurse injector. She is a highly-skilled clinical nurse and her thorough understanding of the natural aging process and facial aesthetics enables her to administer injectable treatments with the utmost comfort, skill, and precision. She performs botox injections, dermal filler injections, micro-needling, laser skin resurfacing, hair removal, SculpSure body contouring, and other laser aesthetics procedures. Natalie brings years of experience to provide the best service to our patients to achieve their aesthetic goals.


text:
Starbucks Corp. is betting its future on its coffee shops.
To do that, the Seattle-based company has removed a distraction by selling the rights to offer its coffee and tea in grocery and retail stores to Nestlé SA for more than $7 billion.
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domain: economics


text:
The UK’s Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has published its latest sustainability guidelines for seafood consumers based on current scientific assessments of fish stocks.
In its “Fish to Avoid and Fish to Eat” list MCS is advising consumers to avoid vulnerable and overfished species such as shark and deepwater fish, whilst also recommending that retailers source traditional favourites such as cod and haddock from sustainable fisheries. MSC said the most environmentally sound seafood includes mussels, oysters, Alaskan salmon and sustainably harvested scallops (diver-caught rather than dredged).
“Consumers can make a real difference to the way our fish stocks are managed and help stop this decline,” said Bernadette Clarke, MCS fisheries officer and author of the Good Fish Guide and FISHonline.
“By only choosing fish from healthy, responsibly managed sources, caught using methods which minimise damage to the marine environment and other species, consumers can create a market for sustainably managed and selectively caught fish. Everyone from retailers, fishmongers, restaurateurs, chefs, fish and chip shop owners to the man in the street has a responsibility for what they eat or cook, and can help drive the market for sustainable seafood,” she added.


text:
Angers, Dominique. L' "Aujourd'hui" En Luc-actes, Chez Paul Et En Hébreux: Itinéraires Et Associations D'un Motif Deutéronomique (De Gruyter).
Mackie, Scott D., ed. The Letter to the Hebrews: Critical Readings (Bloomsbury T&T Clark).
Stolz, Lukas. Der Höhepunkt des Hebräerbriefs: Hebräer 12,18-29 und seine Bedeutung für die Struktur und die Theologie des Hebräerbriefs.
Church, Philip. Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and Hebrews (Brill).
Dyer, Bryan. Suffering in the Face of Death: The Epistle to the Hebrews and Its Context of Situation. Library of New Testament Studies 568 (T & T Clark).
Friedeman, Caleb T., editor. Listen, Understand, Obey: Essays on Hebrews in Honor of Gareth Lee Cockerill (Pickwick).
Hockey, Katherine M., Madison N. Pierce, and Francis Watson, eds. Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews: Muted Voices of the New Testament. Library of New Testament Studies 565. (T & T Clark).
Kleinig, John W. Hebrews. Concordia Commentary (Concordia).
Laansma, Jon C. The Letter to the Hebrews: A Commentary for Preaching, Teaching, and Bible Study (Cascade).
Moret, Jean-René. Christ, la Loi et les Alliances. Les lettres aux Hébreux et de Paul : regards croisés (LIT Verlag).
Rittgers, Ronald K. Hebrews, James. Reformation Commentary on Scripture (InterVarsity).
Burnet, R., D. Luciani and G. Van Oyen. The Epistle to the Hebrews: Writing at the Borders (Peeters).
Chan, Alan Kam-Yau. Melchizedek Passages in the Bible: A Case for Inner-Biblical Interpretation and Inter-Biblical Interpretation (De Gruyter).
Fisher, Jeff. A Christoscopic Reading of Scripture: Johannes Oecolampadius on Hebrews (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht).
Gelardini, Gabriella, and Harold W. Attridge. Hebrews in Contexts (Brill).
Healy, Mary. Hebrews (BakerAcademic).
Hegg, Tim. Commentary on the Book of Hebrews. 2 volumes (Torah Resource). 2016.
Kibbe, Michael Harrison. Godly Fear or Ungodly Failure? Hebrews 12 and the Sinai Theophanies (De Gruyter).
Lee, Gregory W. Today When You Hear His Voice: Scripture, the Covenants, and the People of God (Eerdmans).
Massonnet, Jean. L'épître aux Hébreux. Commentaire biblique: Nouveau Testament 15 (Éditions du Cerf).
O'Brien, Peter T. God Has Spoken in His Son: A Biblical Theology of Hebrews (Apollos/Inter Varsity).
Puskas, Charles B. Hebrews, the General Letters, and Revelation: An Introduction (Cascade).
Ribbens, Benjamin J. Levitical Sacrifice and Heavenly Cult in Hebrews (De Gruyter).
Scholtz, Daniel J. The Catholic Epistles, Hebrews, and Revelation (Anselm Academic).
Shin, Bong-chur. New Exodus in Hebrews (Apostolos Publishing).
Swetnam, James. Hebrews: An Interpretation (Gregorian & Biblical Press).
Zakovitch, Yair, and Serge Ruzer. God’s Word Is Powerful: Eight Conversations on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Magnes Press). [In Hebrew]
Rose, Christian. Der Hebräerbrief (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht). Now due June 2018.
Christopher T. Holmes. The Function of Sublime Rhetoric in Hebrews: A Study in Hebrews 12:18-29. Now due July 2018.
Jennifer T. Kaalund. Reading Hebrews and 1 Peter with the African American Great Migration: (Dis)Locating Diaspora. T & T Clark Continuum.
Michael Wade Martin and Jason A. Whitlark. Inventing Hebrews: Design and Purpose in Ancient Rhetoric. SNTS Monograph Series. Cambridge.
Albert Vanhoye. A Perfect Priest: Studies in the Letter to the Hebrews. Edited and translated by Nicholas J. Moore and Richard J. Ounsworth. WUNT II. Due September 2018.
Dana Harris is writing the volume for Hebrews in the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) series.
Philip and Loveday Alexander have been contracted to apply their respective specialties in the Judaic and Greco-Roman backgrounds to a new two-volume ICC commentary on Hebrews.
Eric Mason is editing a volume tentatively entitled Faith and Faithfulness in Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles for Mercer University Press.
Eric Mason is also writing an introductory commentary, Run with Perseverance: An Introduction to the Epistle to the Hebrews (tentative title), for Eerdmans.
Ken Schenck is writing A New Perspective on Hebrews: Ways That Never Parted for Fortress Press.
David Moffitt is writing a book on Hebrews and supersessionism.
David Moffitt has also been contracted to write a commentary for the New Black's Commentary series, replacing Hugh Montefiore's contribution.
Scott Mackie is writing a book, roughly titled, Ekphrasis and Epiphany in Hebrews.
Herbert W. Bateman is working on the Hebrews commentary for Kerux: An Integrative Commentary for Preaching and Teaching for Kregel Academic.
Wolfgang Kraus is writing a commentary on Hebrews for the Das Neue Testament Deutsch (NTD) series for Vandenhoek & Ruprecht.
Cynthia Westfall is doing the Baylor Handbook on the Greek Text of Hebrews.
Ellen Aitken was slated to do the Hebrews volume for Eerdmans' Illumination series, but the volume will probably be reassigned due to her untimely death.
Radu Gheorghita is doing the Hebrews volume for Zondervan's The Story of God Bible Commentary.
Eisenbrauns will produce a collection of essays on "Divine Action in Hebrews." Many of the essays were delivered at the 2016 & 2017 IBR Scripture and Doctrine seminars.
Brian Wintle is doing the Hebrews commentary for the India Commentary on the New Testament.
According to Bestcommentaries.com, the following are forthcoming:
Fanning, Buist in Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (EEC)
Hall, R. in Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity (RRA)
Hughes, Kevin in Brazos Theological Commentary (BTC)
Jewett, Robert in New Cambridge Bible Commentary (NCBC)
John of Damascus and Theodore of Mopsuestia in Ancient Christian Texts (ACT)
Joslin, Barry in Focus on the Bible (FB)
Moo, Douglas J. in Zondervan Exegetical Commentary (ZEC)
Motyer, Steve in Two Horizons New Testament Commentary (THNTC)
Thatcher, Tom in New Covenant Commentary Series (NCCS)

domain: literature


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1 Tiller Road, Canary Wharf, London, E14
City Sailing works with people and companies who would like to start sailing or sail more. We arrange classes in London for individuals and companies so that you can discover the freedom excitement and fun of sailing. Which means that you can discover new friends, the outdoors and a new skill in a cost effective way. All RYA Practical and online web courses are held at RYA Recognised centres.

domain: hobby


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When I sip my Cognac…I like the feeling sort of like this video gives me…I’m always feeling like…yeah!
Lets see, How can I put this…Coming from New Orleans, weighing in at a Ton…naw, you get the point…these cats are just that bad…simply put. Grown man swagga, taking on a brand that would ground a elephant. Who else in the game could represent the tenaciousness of a Brand such as “The Rat Pack” and literally spin it into something more believable then gimmicky? I mean you know like I know, or maybe you don’t but moreso then not, what you think you see in this music industry isn’t always what you see…or should see, most of what you see is just plain ole smoke and mirrors…except for a select few. A few that I have been blessed to see in real time, in real life, behind the certain and it is actually what you see…The Rap Pack, is one of those selected few. And you can bet your bottom dollar you will see then, hear them, hate them, love them, want to be them, but most importantly…You will Know again, the, for the first time…”THE RAP PACK”
Now, just as you all have heard me say countless times before…when you come across good music, people, you should take the time to really take a listen…seriously! Dont go posting on Facebook and on blogs how music sucks now-a-days, but then, somehow…seem to pass on street classics. I will be the first to admit. Most of these pointless gossip forums, talk about good quality music, then when its downloaded or sampled, its usually from some PR firm or artist who has made a connection to the blogger or website, and got their lame ass music played. Naw this ish right here nuccccaaaa, is that FYE…Straight Up!
Click the Here and download the “From Nothing” Mixtape from Atlanta/New Orleans rap artist Double E…then go and brag that you got it here first, then, make copies and send to all your friends… as many times as you like!
Okay, now previously I sent some info on the coming of this young lady “Glorie” on the article just before this one. I promised that I would post some music from her forthcoming EP. So, for all the haters who are saying she sounds like all the rest…you might want to brush up and refresh your hating game. She sings, dances, writes and produces alot of her own music. All of that at the tender age of 19…lol, Oh, what are you haters gonna do when she is a seasoned vet?
Click the Banner to Download her single “Haters, Camera’s, Light’s”…
…and if that was not enough…I also added a lil something for the fellas…Ha!
Just so my fellow Guss Blue’ers know…my publishing to this post is slow for a very good reason. Now on one hand, as I attempt to add a positive spin on blogging, as well as streaming to my folks what I can appreciate as good quality info and music! Some of you have asked about my take on things like TI’s wedding and other rumors that circulate the net…and to answer all of them in one fail swoop, heck folks I don’t know those people, lol so I can’t tell you what I have no knowledge of! And if I did know them, I’m not as cool with the sharing of personal information belonging to those people and their families! Now, that being said, If you are looking for the Mess, as some people put it, naw, not here…here your only gonna find a good look into the future of a certain person, place or thing! And secondly I am making moves, daily, I am around what some of you folks call celebs…but I see them as normal, sometimes breath-stinking, farting and basically normal human beings. So working with them is to me as simple as hanging out with someone at the game-room!
So now, on to why I am here! I recently ran into this young lady at a listening session and was outwardly stricken by her beauty as many many many of you will be…but when the engineer pressed play, it’s like everyone in the room just paused! Believe me or not this young lady is gonna make history in this industry, and it would have been my pleasure to have known her before she is global! Take the journey on the road to “Glorie”, you won’t be disappointed….
But your gonna have to wait for a sample, a few labels are asking this one be hush hush for now! (wink) I’m gonna grab you all something though, that’s a promise!
Check out the resume’…
You will quickly come to terms that one thing is sure, SODMG has the formula to create hits, make money and generate the what if’s that will keep you buzzin for years to come! This young man is no exception…he came, is looking around and is gearing to conquer yet again, hit position in the elite of ATLANTA’s bubbling music industry! With the new single “Make Her Mine”, Lil Playboii (SOD) is making heads bounce with this tune. With help from his lil brother Yella Boy Trent…the two have masterfully engineered the next stage of the SODMG camp…
Download “Make Her Mine” Now!!!
Peep the behind the scenes video footage to the single Here!


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The fountain, hailed as "an ornament to the City and a monument to Public Spirited Citizens," was added in 1883. On September 11, 1883, the Hudson Evening Register announced: "The beautiful fountain in Public Park is nearly completed and our citizens have enjoyed the sight of 'Venus Rising from the Sea,' exhibiting in the most effective manner the power of our water supply, and proving that it can be put to ornamental as well as useful purposes. . . ."
This little item, however, discovered in the Hudson Evening Register for August 29, 1889, reveals that eleven years after the park was created and six years after the fountain was completed, folks in Hudson were still waiting for the trees to provide shade, for benches to be installed, and for water to flow regularly from the fountain.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK


SpaceX already has over 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, however that is only a tiny fraction of the total constellation the corporate plans to deploy. Whereas it initially requested the FCC for permission to launch 12,000 satellites, it might have as many as 42,000 in orbit inside a number of a long time. Since these satellites might collide with different spacecraft in orbit — and having that many will increase the probabilities of an accident occurring — NASA and SpaceX have signed (PDF) a joint settlement in an effort to stop their belongings from crashing into one another.
As TechCrunch notes, NASA already works with different entities launching objects into orbit utilizing a normal Conjunction Evaluation course of that determines the dangers of a detailed and high-speed strategy between objects in area. This settlement with SpaceX, nevertheless, will guarantee they will actively work collectively within the coming years to actively forestall collisions from occurring.
NASA has agreed to offer SpaceX with details about its missions prematurely, in addition to to not transfer its belongings within the occasion of a attainable collision: It trusts SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to be those to take evasive motion. The corporate may even use the knowledge NASA offers to program Starlink’s automated avoidance measures in order that the satellites will not must take evasive actions within the first place. As well as, SpaceX will want to ensure its Starlink launches have a minimal distance of 5 kilometers above or beneath the best and lowest factors of the Worldwide House Station’s orbit.
Performing NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk mentioned in a press release:
“Society depends upon space-based capabilities for international communications, navigation, climate forecasting, and way more. With industrial firms launching increasingly satellites, it’s crucial we enhance communications, alternate knowledge, and set up finest practices to make sure all of us keep a secure area setting.”


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She wakes up at 5am every day to prepare her three children for school. She then starts off for work, some seven kilometres away from her home in Kawale Township, Lilongwe. As she shuffles to the work, her mind is flooded with psychological torture and self-pity.
She knows her boss will make another sexual advance on her. He has been doing that against her consent and will since she got employed at the office two years ago.
Every time she tried to refuse, she has been threatened with dismal. Since she is a single mother, the bread-winner of the family, dismissal would spell doom for her and her children, as the job is the only source of income. Finding another job would not be easy.
Thus, Mannes Phiri (not real name), opts to become the silent victim of sexual violence at her workplace in return for financial support for her children.
Mannes, like many other women in Malawi, has opted to suffer the burden of sexual violence, mainly due to job scarcity in the country.
The Gender Equality Act 2013 defines sexual violence as any form of unwanted verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in circumstances in which a reasonable person would have anticipated that the other person would be offended, humiliated and intimidated.
With educational institutions flooding the job market with job-seekers every year, finding a job in Malawi has become a nightmare.
Actually, as some would rightly put it, looking for a job is a job in itself. Yet, behind such desperation for a job lies greater vulnerability to violence for women and girls.
“In such a situation, women easily fall prey to sexual violence,” said Emma Kaliya, chairperson of NGO Gender-Coordinating Network during a recent live radio panel discussion on “Let’s Eliminate Violence at workplaces to achieve decent work”.
NGO-GCN, with financial support from ActionAid Malawi (AAM), organised the event as part of the activities under the campaign on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence: Leave No One Behind, End Violence against women and girls.
Kaliya said most women in workplaces suffer various forms of sexual abuse but fail to report it for fear of losing the job.
“Actually, most male employers take advantage of job scarcity in the country to demand sexual favours from desperate women in return for a job, which is very unfortunate,” she said.
Human rights activist Robert Mkwezalamba, who is also chairperson of Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), is worried with the trend.
“Gender-based violence in the workplace is a violation of human rights, including the right to human dignity as enshrined in Section 19 of the Constitution of Malawi,” he said.
He added that workplace sexual violence also runs counter to the decent work agenda being championed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
ILO highlights four pillars under the decent work agenda, namely; job creation, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue, with gender equality as a cross-cutting objective.
Furthermore, Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work.
ActionAid Malawi executive director Grace Malera said as much as the country has a comprehensive legal framework to deal with discrimination and violence at work-places, some administrative practices still sustain discrimination and violence against women in the employment sector.
She cited a practice under Malawi Police Service (MPS) where a married police woman is denied a house on the police campus, unlike married police men.
“Normally, they say it is done for security reasons, but are we saying a married policeman cannot bring a relative who could cause security concerns on the police campus?” questioned Malera.
According to Malera, such a discriminatory practice has to end as it constitutes psychological violence against police women.
Malera remarks derive from Section 24 (2) of the Constitution of Malawi which says any law that discriminates against women on the basis of gender or marital status shall be invalid and legislation shall be passed to eliminate customs and practices that discriminate against women.
The section singles out practices such as sexual abuse, harassment and violence, discrimination in work, business and public affairs which need invalidation.
To counter sexual violence in workplaces, Malera said it is high time courts started invoking Section 6 of the Gender Equality Act, (2013) which fines perpetrators of sexual harassment K1 million or up to five years of imprisonment.


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While the war against cancer is continuing full force, it is fascinating to see the latest technologies that are being introduced in an effort to win this battle. There is still a long way to go, but it is amazing to think of how far we have come in terms of both detecting and treating various forms of the disease.
A few months ago I wrote about a breast-cancer detecting sports bra, and now I’ve seen numerous reports that dogs are being trained to sniff out ovarian cancer, as well as other types of cancer. This is certainly a brilliant idea, if it works.
A dog trainer, Dina Zaphiris, is working with the Pine Street Foundation in San Anselmo, California, to teach rescue dogs how to detect ovarian cancer by sniffing it on a person’s breath. You can watch some of these dogs in action, here.
According to various news stories, cancer causes the body to release certain organic compounds that humans can’t detect, but dogs sure can smell. In fact, it isn’t just ovarian cancer that dogs can detect, but breast cancer and colorectal cancer have also been sniffed out by specially trained dogs throughout the world (read the amazing stories here and here).
It will be very interesting to see how this research develops, and how accurate these doggie doctors can really be. Perhaps in 10 years a visit to the doctor will include a quick puff of air blown into the face of a trusty canine.

domain: biology


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Northside Elementary school is on lockdown after the school received a letter in the mail of “questionable content” last Thursday morning.
The situation remains under investigation by the Cynthiana Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and the United States postal service.
“There is no danger at this point to any students, teachers or employees,” said Cynthiana police officer Scott Loechel.
Loechel said the mail of “questionable content” is still being examined by a postal inspector.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Cynthiana Democrat, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
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District attorneys, state bar and medical board should protect Californians, but they don’t seem interested in deterring consumer fraud.
Review websites are riddled with bogus reviews imposed on consumers by tech companies that take advantage of federal law that holds them not responsible for user-generated content.
But that’s not the only problem for California consumers. The state agencies that are supposed to protect us, on the contrary, turn a blind eye to this fraud, even that perpetrated by the medical community.
The National Public Radio show Reveal recently ran an article featuring my investigation into online notice fraud.
Three years ago, I received a letter from a lawyer threatening to take legal action over a factual review of Yelp that I wrote about a psychiatric practice in Santa Clara County. I refused to succumb to the bullying, and after further harassment, I continued the practice in small claims court as a matter of principle for inflicting emotional distress.
I won, but that was just the start of my odyssey. I’m a former Federal Fraud Investigator, and following my suspicions, I discovered something else: This psychiatric practice was tampering with Yelp reviews that convinced me to go there in the first place.
I also discovered that the firm was posting fake prices on its website and social media. Finally, a year later, I confirmed that the original letter from the attorney at the psychiatric firm was a fake and that someone had introduced themselves as the attorney in the follow-up emails. I have written proof from the actual lawyer himself that he never signed the letter, never sent e-mails, and knew nothing about my case.
While I was gathering my information, I passed it on to the Santa Clara County District Attorney, the California Medical Board, and the State Bar. The DA’s office was interested first, and why not? My file included several fake Yelp and Google reviews exchanged by the psychiatric practice with other companies, all organized on Facebook. I had the names of the other companies and people involved, the dates of the trades and the corresponding notices. Yelp even inadvertently confirmed my information by later deleting many of the same reviews for violating their terms of service.
The DA could have turned this into a larger multi-jurisdictional case targeting several companies who fraudulently deceived consumers.
While my own investigation into fake reviews has expanded over the past two years, our California consumer protection agencies have done nothing. The psychiatric practice maintains stellar Yelp and Google ratings, and apparently continues its fraudulent ways.
I was recently contacted by a woman complaining that the same practice had cheated her over $ 3,000 on her credit card. She informed the prosecutor and was told to take it to her local police department. The medical commission never followed up on my complaint; in fact, the council won’t even post my judgment on its website to warn consumers because, according to the council, judgments must be against individual doctors, not medical companies, to assess a warning.
What about the State Bar? He closed the case, citing insufficient evidence, despite a written statement from one of their own members that he had not signed a letter allegedly signed by him.
The problem of medical practices falsifying reviews is more widespread than you might think. I’ve found over 50 in California, and I’m a lone investigator. Incidentally, I also found 26 dentists and 45 attorneys in California rigging reviews.
The primary mission of our prosecutors, the state bar, and the medical board is to protect the citizens of that state, but they don’t seem interested in deterring consumer fraud, even through a psychiatric practice that falsifies reviews, falsifies rewards and forgeries being a lawyer. It is time for our agencies to step up and protect patients, and indeed all consumers, from fake review fraud practitioners.


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The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to shelve its proposed nationwide protest.
It would be recalled that the NLC issued a statement on February 16th, that there would be a nationwide protest on February 27th and 28th, in demonstration against the current economic challenges facing the country, following the conclusion of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government.
However, in a letter addressed to the counsel for the NLC, Femi Falana, dated February 23rd, 2024, to respond to the Labour’s decision, Fagbemi said there is a subsisting order restraining the union from embarking on any industrial action.
The letter read, “I wish to draw your esteemed attention to the Joint Press Release dated 8th February 2024, containing a 14-day ultimatum, jointly issued by the President of the NLC and President of the TUC as well as the notice of a two-day national protest issued by the NLC President on 16th February 2024.
“A cursory perusal of the above press release clearly shows that the planned protest is premised on or connected with alleged non-implementation of the 16-point agreement reached with the Federal Government on October 02, 2023, consequences of the hike in the price of PMS, and other associated issues. It is therefore safe to assert again that the proposed cause of action by NLC is targeted at achieving objectives or promoting issues connected with a hike in fuel price and consequential matters of palliatives workers ‘ welfare, and associated government policies.
“You may wish to note that the foregoing issues or objectives are at the core of the pending case before the National Industrial Court. Upon the submission of grievances to the court, parties in the suit cannot resort to public protests over the same issues, as such conduct amounts to gross contempt and affront to the institution of our courts of law. Therefore, the proposed nationwide protest action in all ramifications is in clear violation of the pending interim injunctive order granted in SUIT NO: NICN/ABJ/158/2023-FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA & ANOR V. NIGERIAN LABOUR CONGRESS & ANOR on 5th June 2023 restraining both NLC and TUC from embarking on any industrial action or strike of any nature.
“It is not in doubt that the planned protest is designed to compel the government to accede to the demands of organised labour, therefore, such action qualifies as an industrial action which comes within the ambit of the restraining order. This restraining order has neither been stayed nor set- aside and therefore remains binding.”
The AGF also stated that the federal government had substantially met the demands of the union as contained in the Memorandum of Understanding entered with the NLC.

domain: law


April 2017 Digital Edition
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DoD embraces innovation and increases efficiencies through Cloud technology
As the Department of Defense (DoD) continues to turn to the Cloud to improve computing efficiency, its adoption of innovative technologies is enabling DoD to secure high performance solutions while also reducing costs.
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Global Command and Control System-Joint (GCCS-J) provides a great example. As DoD organizations increasingly turn to DISA to assist with centralizing their IT resources, pressures to maintain service levels and availability are growing. This is in addition to the pressures everyone is facing to reduce costs. Delivering mission critical information -- such as changes occurring on the battlefield -- to a growing distributed audience of U.S. military service branches and Joint Commands became a challenge for their traditional database infrastructure. Solving this challenge with more money and infrastructure was not a viable option.
One of the solutions DISA incorporated into GCCS-J was a caching solution that provided improved performance for distributing track data for situational awareness. This enabled them to deliver the data in near-real time to the Combatant Commands who used it to support warfighters and coalition partners. Any downtime or delay in obtaining this data could slow down military response time and compromise missions.
GCCS-J was able to deliver high speed caching, support for disconnected operations, continuous querying and near-real-time analysis to initiate responses to events and generate near-real-time alerts that improved decision-making abilities through superior situational awareness.
GCCS-J adopted this solution and avoided major cost increases. Their existing investment in virtual infrastructure laid the foundation for them to add this innovative capability without requiring them to purchase a full complement of new server infrastructure to support it.
Virtualization is enabling similar innovations and savings across government by delivering dramatic consolidation capabilities. Based on the types of applications that are running and specific customer data demands and application needs, servers have been consolidated anywhere from 2:1 to 12:1, and much higher. This is an excellent first step in adopting a Cloud architecture that will deliver cost savings by reducing the number of servers required, eliminating redundant hardware and software, and reducing the amount of space required to house physical infrastructure.
DISA’s existing adoption of virtualization helped them consolidate servers, improve service levels and build the foundation for Cloud computing. This preparation enabled them to arm U.S. military service branches and joint commands with near-real-time visibility and situational awareness of military actions worldwide. Inevitably, government leaders will find additional innovations through their use of virtualization technology, as DISA did for GCCS-J.
Bill Rowan is Vice President of DoD at VMware, a provider of virtualization and Cloud infrastructure solutions for government organizations. He can be reached at: