text:
The Faulty Assumption Behind 3 Scary Charts
A belief in steady and predictable mean reversion has cost investors a lot of money this cycle.
The problem with applying mean reversion to investing is that market averages are not written in stone.
Here are three examples:
CAPE Ratio
If there was a contest for the chart that's spooked the most investors since 2009, I'm confident this would win:
CAPE data from multpl. Long-term average is since 1900.
The S&P 500 has traded above its historical CAPE average 97% of the time since the last recession. A strategy that avoids stocks when valuations are above average would have exited the market in May 2009. A model that only invested 3% of the time during the longest U.S. bull market isn't temporarily wrong – it's broken.
CAPE seemed elevated in 1992 when it was 20 and the average was 14. Nobody knew the average CAPE since then would be 27.
The danger with strict mean reversion models is that the mean always changes:
CAPE data from multpl.
There are three potential reasons for higher stock valuations:
Markets are cheaper to access. In 50 years we went from steep trading costs to essentially free global investing. You can wake up and buy $1 million of international stocks then sell after lunch if you change your mind.
We know more about long-term returns. An investor in 1920 was flying blind and had no historical precedent for long-term stock and bond returns. Modern investors have more data about what works (and what doesn't).
Diversification is more convenient. Rather than spend time building a portfolio of individual stocks or bonds, modern investors can instantly diversify between thousands of securities in a single fund.
It's reasonable to pay a higher valuation for the above luxuries.
That said, I doubt they're free lunches and expect we'll pay for them through lower future returns.
You can do a lot better than CAPE if your goal is to lower stock risk. Here's one model I use.
Economic Cycle Length
The current U.S. economic expansion is now the longest ever:
Source: Statista
As soon as it eclipsed the historical average people were calling for mean reversion:
Like with CAPE, the mean has shifted over time. The average expansion from 1854 to 1919 lasted two years while the past four expansions have averaged eight years. One reason why cycles have grown longer is that the U.S. economy has become more diversified. Manufacturing and agriculture no longer make up the majority of the U.S. economy.
The length of this cycle is unprecedented in the U.S. but other countries have experienced far longer expansions. Economies aren't clocks that follow a predictable pattern and expansions don't end because they reach a certain age.
Return Expectations
Mean reverting frameworks are used to forecast returns and GMO's are some of the most popular.
Here's what they predicted in 2010:
Source: GMO
What actually happened:
Return data is adjusted for inflation since GMO's forecasts were for inflation-adjusted returns. Data from Portfolio Visualizer. ETFs used are SPY, IWM, VEA, VSS, VWO, BND, IGOV, LEMB, TIP, and SHV. Includes distribution reinvestment. Returns shown are hypothetical, simulated, and not an indicator of future results.
To his credit, Jeremy Grantham has since said:
"The market was extremely well-behaved from 1935 until 2000. The market outperformed when it was it cheap, and when it got expensive, it cracked. Since 2000, it's become much more complicated. The rules have shifted. We used to say that this time is never different. I think what has happened from 2000 until today is a challenge to that."
Valuations matter, but they're overused to give a sense of false precision about what the future will hold.
"Much of what we know about investing comes from U.S. data in the 20th century. And when you take the most mean-reverting, stable market of all time, all kinds of mean reversion are going to work for you. My concern is that maybe we're taking rules that were developed for the most mean-reverting, stable market of all time and trying to apply them in a new world order where markets might be reverting, but we don't know to what."
Mean reversion can take eons and isn't powerful enough to guarantee a predictable investing outcome.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Senator Thom Tillis, North Carolina
Elected in 2014, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is committed to comprehensive security through promotion of human rights, democracy, economic, environmental, and military cooperation in the 57-nation OSCE region.
Tillis serves on five committees, including the Armed Services Committee where he chairs the Subcommittee on Personnel. He is also the co-chair of the Human Rights Caucus, serving alongside Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. The Human Rights Caucus is a bipartisan initiative to highlight the importance of human rights in U.S. foreign policy and to defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms around the world.
In 2016, Senator Tillis introduced the bipartisan Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act with Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. Co-sponsored by 13 other Senators, this bipartisan legislation ensures that the U.S. government works in a coordinated manner using its full range of tools, including diplomatic, political, financial, and intelligence capabilities, to provide early warnings about at-risk communities and states in order to help prevent mass atrocities against civilians.
Home Page: Senator Thom Tillis


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and dismissal is so very perfunct.
with only half a heart.
The truth is we can no more call off the wind than the wind can dye itself blue. Why do we allow for such thoughts? We can't change the circumstances or the situation, so why do we spend time wishing things were different? Why do we ask the wind to stop blowing so that we can have a nice day?
And certainly, it would be nice if some things were different. If humans could live in peace. If passion were a check payable to all of us. If chocolate cookies were not so tempting. But you don't often hear someone say, Oh, if only they would destroy all of the chocolate chip cookie factories in the world, then I wouldn't have to deal with this vice.
So, why do we do it? Why do we wish for circumstances to be different when we know (either consciously or subconsciously) that they will not change?
But that is (and never will be) completely true. We always have the tools to deal with our current situation. Because really, if you simply accepted something as an obstacle to overcome instead of an inconvenience to gripe about, you would figure out how to hurdle past it in the same amount of time you would take to complain about it. And you always have that choice.
The wind is not something to be wished away. And to be honest, it is not always something to be marveled at. (It's blustery, intrusive, and fearsome.) But at worst, it is something to be accepted. This is the same attitude through which you must approach life, especially the days that are hard to swallow. Like wind, life can either be a breath of fresh air or a strong gust to blow up your skirt. You must decide how to view it.


text:
La biblioteca contiene dei documenti in diverse lingue. Solo i documenti in italiano
Documents relating to the colonial, revolutionary and post-revolutionary history of the State of New Jersey (Volume V.35)
...is 21, and, till then, Mary Wheatly to have the use of the place. Executors-Obadiah Holmes, son of Samuel, and... (Middletown, New Jersey, Stati Uniti d'America - 1786)
Registers of Christ Church, Newgate, 1538 to 1754
...Q-eorge son of John & Sarah Wheatly Joseph son of Joseph & Katherine Walker John son of Thomas & Alice... (Warwick, Warwickshire, Regno Unito - 1672)
History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois
...married, in February, 1870, to Cecelia Wheatly, daughter of Josiah Wheatly (deceased). They have four children, viz. : Matilda E.,... (Pixley Township, Illinois, Stati Uniti d'America - 1870)
The history and genealogy of the Judy-Judah-Tschudy- Tschudin-Tschudi-Schudi family who have lived in America, Switzerland and other countries of the world
...of Christina Hittle who mar. John Wheatly Judy (eldest son of Jacob Judy, Sr. of Greene Co., Ohio). Catherine's... (Madison Co., Stati Uniti d'America - 1816)
Adelaide Observer 1854/03/25
...all that k-iew her, Mrs. Henry Wheatly, eldest daughter of the late Thomas Barratt, Esq., engineer and paper manufacturer, of... (Lower, South Australia, Australia - 1853)
History of the Lincoln family : an account of the descendants of Samuel Lincoln, of Hingham, Massachusetts, 1637-1920
...Newton, Kan., William-Harvey, son of William and Mary (Wheatly) Reid of Kansas City, Kan., born Feb. 8, 1890, at Towanda,... (Kansas City, Kansas, Stati Uniti d'America - 1890)
History of the upper Ohio Valley : with family history and biographical sketches , a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages,...
...1854, to Theresa, daughter of Adam and Mary A. (Wheatly) Long, and they have nine children as fruits of their... (Moundsville, West Virginia, Stati Uniti d'America - 1854)
Loring genealogy
...Rehoboth, and daughter of Mr. John Wheatly, of Braintree, she died September 20,1713, aged seventy years.... (Braintree, Massachusetts, Stati Uniti d'America - 1713)
Memoirs of the court of England during the reigns of the Stuarts, including the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell (vol. 5)
...he married Catherine, daughter of Robert Wheatly, of Brecknock, Berks, and widow of Thomas Lucy, Esq., of Charlecote, in the... (Brecknock, Regno Unito - 1685)
A Dresser connection to early New England settlers : the ancestors of James H. Dresser (1885-1969)
... Rachel Wheatly Rachel was the daughter of John Wheatly and Leah Saunders, born at Braintree,... (Braintree, Stati Uniti d'America - 1644)
Cognome : WHEATLY
Giornali 7.174
Certificato di morte 37


I feel really bad for Nintendo. They lost all kinds of sales on Super Mario Party with their lack of professionalism to Family Friendly Gaming. If they had provided a reviewable copy and/or advertised then we could have told FFGU all about Super Mario Party. I know many of our readers support games we review. Nintendo lost all kinds of sales thanks to the failures of their PR and Marketing firms. I am very thankful Family Friendly Gaming had enough money to purchase this party video game. This is one of the good Mario Party games. I know they have been hit or miss in the past. Some have been good and some have been horrible. So it is great to report this is a good one.
Up to four family members can play Super Mario Party with each person using one Joycon. There are plenty of motion controls in Super Mario Party. The controls were better than I expected in this party video game. There is violence as characters are knocked off the screen and smashed by a variety of different objects. Getting allies is very important in this game and will help you progress farther along the board. Expect a full review in an upcoming issue of the Family Friendly Gaming magazine and e-magazine. A price point will also be mentioned in that review.


On July 22 and 23, Education Resources will be hosting a continuing education course titled: Therapeutic Evaluation and Treatment of Toe Walking (Pediatric Equinus Gait) from a PT and OT Perspective Day 1&2. Day 3 of the course, which can be taken in addition to days 1 and 2 or by itself, will also be offered on July 24th. Days 1 and 2 will be held next door to Cindy Miles and Associates at Whitehall Bible Fellowship Church and Day 3 Will be held at Cindy Miles and Associates.
This course will teach clinicians to develop interventions based on etiologies to produce successful long term outcomes. Through an organized evaluation procedure, specific data will be used to direct the clinician to potential etiologies. Causes and appropriate intervention strategies are identified in order to utilize a systematic approach to developing an effective treatment plan. Days 1 & 2 challenges the clinician to ask the correct questions in order to form a systematic approach to treating the child who "toe walks." As requested by previous participants, Day 3 continues with further detail on the role of reflexes & vision in equinus gait, specifically the assessment, implication & intervention. In addition, practical application of the assessment process for the modification of shoes & orthoses is presented. Please explore the course further and sign up by visiting educationresourcesinc.com and searching for Liesa Marie Persaud or by following This Link .


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
TSA officers placed on leave after discovery of racist display
By Rene Marsh
Two Transportation Security Administration officers have been placed on leave after a racist display was found inside a TSA workstation at Miami International Airport.Three TSA officers discovered two stuffed gorillas tied together and hanging from a noose July 21, according to four TSA employees with knowledge of the situation and a picture obtained by CNN.A TSA employee with knowledge of the situation told CNN the display was hanging from a "pole right in the center of the TSA workstation located underneath the airport where passengers' checked luggage is screened before being placed on aircraft."The three officers notified their manager, but according to an employee with knowledge of the situation, the manager "tried to downplay the noose and gorilla display, saying it wasn't racist, it was just a joke." The manager's reaction further upset the three officers, the TSA employee said.According to an internal email obtained by CNN, the incident prompted the agency to launch an internal investigation, and two officers have since been placed on leave.The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security sent a letter to TSA on Tuesday, urging the agency to make sure the incident is "promptly and thoroughly investigated," and that those involved are "held accountable for their actions."Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson wrote that reports indicating local management did not take the incident seriously is "unacceptable and leaves TSOs to work in an environment where they believe they are not supported or protected."A veteran Miami TSA officer who asked that his name not be used for fear of retaliation said he was upset about the incident, which he says has many of Miami International Airport's black and Hispanic TSA officers distraught."The mood now at the airport is people are upset this hasn't been properly taken care of yet. We want everybody held accountable for what they have done," the officer said.In a statement, TSA said the display was immediately removed once reported and that an investigation was launched into who was responsible for the "unacceptable behavior.""TSA does not tolerate racist or offensive behavior and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions," Jenny Burke, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement. "Two TSA officers have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing."In the internal email obtained by CNN that was sent six days after the incident, TSA's acting deputy administrator, Patricia Cogswell, writes to other high-ranking TSA officials that "given the number of emails and such coming in to HQ about the Miami situation, please pull together a message for SO (senior officers) to issue, and think about other information that should go out to all offices."After deliberations about the best way to communicate with the workforce about the incident, the executive assistant administrator for security operations, Darby Lajoye, sent an email saying, "We've been made aware of an extremely troubling event in Miami this week involving a racially charged, disturbing display that cuts at the very core of who we are and what we stand for as an agency."The email goes on to say: "TSA has zero tolerance for acts like this. We have already ordered an independent investigation and all individuals potentially involved have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is underway."The emails did not name the individuals involved.
MIAMI —
Two Transportation Security Administration officers have been placed on leave after a racist display was found inside a TSA workstation at Miami International Airport.
Three TSA officers discovered two stuffed gorillas tied together and hanging from a noose July 21, according to four TSA employees with knowledge of the situation and a picture obtained by CNN.
A TSA employee with knowledge of the situation told CNN the display was hanging from a "pole right in the center of the TSA workstation located underneath the airport where passengers' checked luggage is screened before being placed on aircraft."
The three officers notified their manager, but according to an employee with knowledge of the situation, the manager "tried to downplay the noose and gorilla display, saying it wasn't racist, it was just a joke." The manager's reaction further upset the three officers, the TSA employee said.
According to an internal email obtained by CNN, the incident prompted the agency to launch an internal investigation, and two officers have since been placed on leave.
The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security sent a letter to TSA on Tuesday, urging the agency to make sure the incident is "promptly and thoroughly investigated," and that those involved are "held accountable for their actions."
Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson wrote that reports indicating local management did not take the incident seriously is "unacceptable and leaves TSOs to work in an environment where they believe they are not supported or protected."
A veteran Miami TSA officer who asked that his name not be used for fear of retaliation said he was upset about the incident, which he says has many of Miami International Airport's black and Hispanic TSA officers distraught.
"The mood now at the airport is people are upset this hasn't been properly taken care of yet. We want everybody held accountable for what they have done," the officer said.
In a statement, TSA said the display was immediately removed once reported and that an investigation was launched into who was responsible for the "unacceptable behavior."
"TSA does not tolerate racist or offensive behavior and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions," Jenny Burke, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement. "Two TSA officers have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing."
In the internal email obtained by CNN that was sent six days after the incident, TSA's acting deputy administrator, Patricia Cogswell, writes to other high-ranking TSA officials that "given the number of emails and such coming in to HQ about the Miami situation, please pull together a message for SO (senior officers) to issue, and think about other information that should go out to all offices."
After deliberations about the best way to communicate with the workforce about the incident, the executive assistant administrator for security operations, Darby Lajoye, sent an email saying, "We've been made aware of an extremely troubling event in Miami this week involving a racially charged, disturbing display that cuts at the very core of who we are and what we stand for as an agency."
The email goes on to say: "TSA has zero tolerance for acts like this. We have already ordered an independent investigation and all individuals potentially involved have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is underway."
The emails did not name the individuals involved.
'It was just for a laugh': Racist promposal sign gets student banned from prom


This week the line up for Innovation In The Dam 2016 got released and the feedback has been pretty incredible so far. I'm pleased to once again be part of that line up alongside names such as Andy C, DJ Hype, Hazard, TC, The Prototypes & many more.
As always this event will be taking place at the Melkweg & Sand clubs in Amsterdam, also watch out for info coming soon for a special day time event that I'll be involved with, info will be posted up here as soon as it's released.


text:
Only Oleg, Pavel to stay entire duration of Olympics with Indian shooters, others will be rotated
After the training stint in Zagreb, the Indian shooters will be taking part in the ISSF World Cup (June 22 to July 3) in Osijek before flying directly to Tokyo for the Olympics.
NEW DELHI 28 May, 2021 18:17 IST
REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO: Both Pavel and Oleg are the Indian shooting team's foreign coaches, with the former hired after the 2012 London Olympics and the other one in 2017. - Getty Images
Rifle coach Oleg Mikhailov and pistol coach Pavel Smirnov will be the only instructors staying with Indian shooters for the entire duration of the Tokyo Olympics, with the others serving the team in turns as per a ruling necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A source in the National Rifle Aintrssociation of India (NRAI) on Friday said that the coaching staff will constitute only 30 per cent of the whole squad in the upcoming sporting extravaganza, scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital from July 23 to August 8.
"This is in line with the IOC's (International Olympic Committee) new ruling, I think, which is there in its playbook," the source told PTI.
READ|Tejaswini tops MQS round in 50M rifle prone event at Euro Championships
"So for India's 15 shooters, the team will be allowed to have the services of five coaches at one time, not more than that, but only Pavel and Oleg will be there all along and the others will be rotated.
"This is considering the circumstances arising out of the unprecedented global health crisis," he added.
Both Pavel and Oleg are the Indian shooting team's foreign coaches, with the former hired after the 2012 London Olympics and the other one in 2017.
In another development, NRAI sources confirmed that coaches Pavel and Ronak Pandit will be leaving for Croatia on Saturday to join the Olympic-bound Indian team in Osijek.
The Indian pistol team's high-performance coach Samaresh Jung is set to join the team on June 6 while Jaspal Rana is likely to leave for Croatia on June 13.
READ|European Championship: India finishes second in air rifle, air pistol mixed team events
While Pavel could not accompany the national shooting squad to Croatia on May 11 due to a delay in visa processing, Jung, Rana and Pandit had earlier expressed their inability to accompany the team due to personal reasons.
"Both Pavel and Ronak are leaving for Croatia tomorrow morning. Samaresh is all set to go on June 6 and Jaspal, too, will be travelling, tentatively on June 13. He (Jaspal) has written to the NRAI and it has forwarded the letter to SAI (Sports Authority of India) for approval," the source said.
Pavel coached Vijay Kumar to a 25m rapid fire pistol silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, following which he was appointed as the national pistol team's foreign coach.
The Olympic-bound Indian shooters are currently in Croatia for an exposure-cum-competition tour.
READ|It all comes down to mental strength in events like Olympics, says Angad
They are competing in the ongoing European Championship in Osijek as guest invitees, after which the Indian shooters will go back to the Croatian capital Zagreb to resume their training.
The 13 Olympic-bound Indian shooters, seven coaches, five physios and a two-member video crew landed in Zagreb in a chartered flight on May 11.
Read more stories on Shooting.
NRAI
Pavel Smirnov
Samaresh Jung
Sindhu eases into Syed Modi quarterfinals


Douglass Cassel has called the past one hundred years a "good century for tyrants". Between them, leaders such as Pol Pot in Cambodia, Idi Amin in Uganda and Hitler in Germany have killed literally millions of people.
Although the atrocities committed during World War two (WW2) were the catalyst for a call to individual justice in the form of the Nuremberg Trials, the last 50 years has seen many further cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for which few individuals have been held accountable. The nature, scope and number of crimes against humanity committed in contemporary society therefore demands new vehicles of justice in the form of the prosecution of individual perpetrators of gross acts and redress for their victims.
Although there is an International Court of Justice at The Hague, this deals with cases between States and not between individuals. Acts of genocide and other massive violations of human rights, which should be the concern of the international community irrespective of where they are perpetrated, have therefore not had a permanent international legal mechanism.
In the absence of a permanent international criminal court, permanent or semi-permanent international tribunals have been established. These include the UN's two ad-hoc criminal tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). These provide alternatives to trying alleged perpetrators of gross crimes against humanity in national courts and provided a crucial impetus to the proposal for an International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is therefore widely acknowledged as 'the missing link' in the international legal system.
An international criminal court ends the cycle of impunity by prosecuting previously unjusticable cases.
Specifically, the court takes over where national criminal justice fails to act.
The court will help enable the ending of conflicts by providing a platform for justice as a prerequisite for long term peace and stability.
The court addresses the deficiencies of ad hoc tribunals, which although progressive in their way, have begged questions about selective justice.
The court will progress the case law of international criminal prosecutions to develop a more effective framework for international humanitarian and human rights law.
The court will act as a deterrent to the commission of future such crimes.
Antonio Cassese explains that one of the unique features of International law that has emerged in the post war era is that the settlement of disputes between states has been replaced in many areas with mechanisms which monitor compliance with international law on an ongoing basis. Combine this with the fact that international law is no longer simply about relations between states but between individuals and the state and one would expect to see an international mechanism which is capable of operating as a powerful deterrent against the grossest crimes against humanity.
Speaking about the power of deterrence, Hans Corell, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs comments "… all potential warlords must know that, depending on how a conflict develops, there might be established an international tribunal before which those will be brought who violate the laws of war and humanitarian law." The deterrent effect is powerful because of other developments in international law relating to personal liability.
The concept of personal liability for international crimes is comparatively modern and arose out of the Charter of Nuremberg Tribunal which recognised that there could be criminal liability under International Law for a class of crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity (Lord Browne Wilkinson in Steiner and Alston, International Human Rights in Context). Furthermore, the precedent set in 1999 regarding the denial of Sovereign Immunity to Pinochet, means that the threat of being prosecuted for crimes under the ICC's mandate is very real for leaders accused of crimes such as mass murder and systematic torture.
Just as international law has changed significantly since WW2 and the establishment of the UN Charter, so too the community of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) has become an integral part of the international community in monitoring and influencing policy. For example, NGO's such as Amnesty International (AI) and the World Federalist Movement (WFM), both of which lobbied for the creation of the ICC, were established in the aftermath of WW2 in 1961 and 1947 respectively.
Likewise NGOs played a crucial role in bringing about the two ad-hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Richard Goldstone, the first chief prosecutor of the ICTY comments (in Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know): "The NGO community added its voice in helping to mobilise public opinion and pressurize governments. This support played a vital role in convincing the General Assembly to devote considerable funds to the tribunal." Created in 1995, Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), began as a cooperative of 20 human rights and peace organisations, rising to a membership of over 1,000 NGOs from all regions of the world in 2002. The focus of the CICC was to generate support for the creation of the ICC subsequent to the adoption of a Draft Statutes for an ICC by the International Law Commission (ILC).
The CICC comments that "NGOs made significant contributions in shaping the treaty, and are credited with some of its most important aspects, such as the strength of the provisions on gender crimes and the role of the independent Prosecutor." However, NGO's were also extensively involved prior to the 1994 statute with, for example, the WFM establishing an NGO Committee to work alongside the General Assembly's Sixth Legal Committee, which in 1989 formally requested the ILC to explore the establishment of the ICC.
One of the great strengths of the NGO community is its ability to lobby states, key stakeholders and influence public opinion through a variety of communications mechanisms. This dedicated advocacy role has ensured sustained international pressure calling for the perpetrators of human rights abuses to be brought to justice and for the establishment of the necessary mechanisms such as the ICC.
Members of the CICC not only included human rights organisations but lawyers groups, religious groups, peace groups, humanitarian assistance and victims of human rights violations, each with their own mandate. Stoelting singles out the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice for particular praise for its lobbying work in the area of sexual violence and gender issues relating to the jurisdiction of the court and the qualifications of its personnel.
This is a good example of how different NGO's can approach a project together, each with their own focus of expertise, to achieve excellent results. However, agreeing key messages as a coalition was also important, with uniform and consistent messages given by the CICC about issues such as favouring an independent prosecutor.
With numerous communications tools at their disposal, the CIIC was able to launch a sustained, extensive and effective campaign. Tactics included the production of a quarterly newsletter, available in five languages, a website, the dissemination of action alerts and an email update to a subscriber list. NGOs have also visited target countries to make representations direct to governments for ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute (Human Rights Watch World Report 2002).
The ability to coordinate such a huge number of organisations and individuals arises out of the technological advances of the post war era. The internet and email afford high speed delivery of messages to unprecedented audience numbers. It would simply not have been possible to orchestrate a campaign of this scale without this technology.
As well as meeting broad communications objectives, the CICC also attended the Rome Conference (The United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, 15th June – 17th July 1998, Rome, Italy) along with more than 130 governments.
The NGO Coalition monitored the negotiations, produced daily information bulletins for global dissemination and facilitated the parallel sessions of the 200 attending NGOs.
Stoelting heralds the Rome Conference as 'a historic and unique event … particularly in the role played by NGOs." There had never before been a multilateral treaty conference where so many NGOs were accredited observers. NGOs attended most of the working group and plenary sessions, were given briefings by government representatives and had an opportunity to lobby delegates informally during the conference.
The NGOs were received by Governmental delegates not just because of the power of their collective voice, but because the CICC's input provided a valuable source of information and coordination. Stoelting comments: "As the Rome conference became increasingly more complex and frenetic, reports produced by the Coalition and strategy meetings organised by the Coalition became the only way for NGOs, governments and the media to stay up to date on the progress of the negotiations." Likewise NGOs have continued to play an important role in convening regional and national meetings. In June 2001 for example, the government of Argentina, Human Rights Watch and the CICC co-hosted a conference in Buenos Aires for over 70 governmental and nongovernmental actors.
Although the Rome Statute entered into force on 1st July 2002, the work to establish the actual institution of the ICC is still in its formative stages. The role of the NGO community is therefore far from over as it plays a vital monitoring role in ensuring that the ICC becomes an effective body. NGOs campaigned to help ensure the 60 ratifications required for the Rome Statute to enter into force. As of September 2004, 97 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute: 26 are African States, 11 are Asian States, 15 are from Eastern Europe, 19 are from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 26 are from Western Europe and other states.
The role of NGOs every step of the way is therefore vital in ensuring that the ICC is set up to operate with integrity. Further NGO goals will include ensuring the development of strong implementing legislation in all ratifying countries and ensuring that the appropriate mechanisms are in place for the Court to begin functioning effectively as early as possible. Once the court is up and running, the NGO community's work will continue further.
NGOs are active in monitoring the workings of tribunals such as that in Rwanda. For example, in a report published in April 1999 (ICTR: Trials and Tribulations), Amnesty International expressed concern about several aspects of the ICTR's work including a poor witness protection scheme.
NGO's are also a powerful voice in calling for specific individuals to be held to account, with for example the extensive involvement of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in the extradition of General Pinochet and lobbying by NGOs in the case of Habré Case. In 2001 Human Rights Watch reports that "countries reportedly contacted by Habré, stated publicly that they would not grant refuge to Habré after NGOs brought the issue to public attention." NGOs also play a vital role lobbying on themes related to the ICC such as impunity. Amnesty International for example conducted a campaign during 2001 highlighting impunity as one of the key factors in perpetuating torture and made recommendations for how it could be overcome.
The ICC promises much. As Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General says: "In the prospect of an international criminal court lies the promise of universal justice … Only then will the innocents of distant wars and conflicts know that they, too, may sleep under the cover of justice; that they, too, have rights, and that those who violate those rights will be punished." The process is far from over, with disagreements still raging with for example the USA still refusing to ratify the Rome statue. However, every step of the way, the process will be monitored, commented on, added to and even instigated by the NGO community and the CICC. This gives the ICC the best chance of living up to its promise.


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Ask fellow campers about "Eastlake RV Resort" and nearby attractions.
Another great stay at this beautiful RV park. Keith really helped us out. Still very clean, very tidy, beautiful landscaping (rose bushes out front where ridiculously gorgeous). Its still a bit pricey but can't beat the location. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Beautiful spacious concrete roads to level manicured sites in this secure gated RV park. Full services plus cable TV. Gorgeous lake is the centerpiece of the park. Pet friendly with loads of accessories available. Very friendly and courteous staff happy to help. Convenient to the east side of Houston. We would definitely stay here again. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Galveston is maybe an hour south. Johonson Space Center is a fabulous place within reach as well as Kemah Boardwalk on the coast. Recommend the Flying Dutchman Restaurant.
I like this campground. It's convenient to family and close to the Beltway. What I dont like is the way they've fixed the wifi to a login screen. It limits your access to devices. It's still clean and well run though. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Close to everything, shopping, dining, the beltway. Pool is now heated and there is nice workout equipment.
We were here for a few days and enjoyed every minute of our stay. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Had a very nice pot luck hosted by the park managers. Very family oriented. Kids had a blast! Restrooms were very clean. Pool was sparkling. Had a few rowdy guests (workers) but were handled very professionally by the staff. Park was clean and well maintained. We will be back and we recommend to our fellow fulltime RVers. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Travel Trailer.
We have stayed at a few Quality resorts in the Houston area, Our 2nd time here in the last 3 years. First time very good, this time not so good. Management unfriendly, has no clue what goes on in the park. Rv's older than 15 yrs and junky throughout the park. Day we arrived 1 RV was still in it's site burned out from a fire, few days later it was removed, they never cleaned up after removal. Some occupied sites very dirty and junk all over them. Some train and plane noise, Resort is mostly workers, so the loud diesels start rolling out at 5 am. Ours site was between workers . Next time in Houston we will stay elsewhere. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Travel Trailer.
Eastlake is just to the east of Houston off the Sam Houston Expressway. It is just off the highway although the access roads are a bit narrow but manageable. The Resort is predominately concrete with concrete internal roads and pads but wide and navigable. We drove our 45ft MH with tow attached through the park, into our site, and out the next morning. Spaces are close together, although large enough for slides to go out. It appeared like the majority of residents were permanent with a few over-nighters here and there. Utilities worked fine and were placed in convenient locations. Did not use wifi or facilities so cannot comment but in general things throughout the park were clean and tidy. Office staff were friendly and helpful. The park did not appeal to us but is fine for an overnight stay, although a bit pricey. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Eastlake is a nice RV park with wide, easily navigable, concrete streets and concrete sites, complete with picnic table. Sites include full hook-ups, cable tv, and wi-fi. Trees have been planted which will eventually offer shade, but at their current height, they do not obstruct satellite reception. Centered within the park is a fishing pond (catch and release) surrounded by grass. Laundry facilities, restroom/showers, an outdoor kitchen, and a very nice heated pool complete the office complex. Very friendly and hospitable office staff greet you upon check-in and are available to help in any way needed. Additional amenities at the park include two other outdoor kitchens strategically placed around the lake, golf cart rentals, a dog wash, and best of all...an air station with enough pressure to fill the tires of our 45' motorcoach. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Visits to the Fine Arts Museum Houston and the Houston Museum of Natural Science are a must.
First class park. Big beautiful sites. Easy access, level, great site services. Is very wide open & devoid of trees. Nice pool, hot tub, recreational room & laundry facilities. Easy access from the #8 Beltway. Only negative was our neighbour did not use proper sewer hook up & we occasionally got a sewer gas smell our way. Told the office. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Nice campground for older people looking for a year round site. It is very clean and safe but not recommend for anyone traveling with children. The management crew is very nice and helpful. Nothing exciting here so if that is what you are looking for then this is the place for you! We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Fifth Wheel.
This is one of a group of RV parks owned and managed by Quality RV Resorts. Most of them are in the Houston area. They have a formula that you can see replicated at each property. The result is a very nice, well managed RV park. The facilities are high quality and kept clean and in good condition. Central to the property is a large lake. Many of the sites are located on the lake. The driveways and site pads are concrete. The site pads are wide enough to include a picnic table and room to park a vehicle. Each site has full hookups with 50 amp electric and cable. The free WiFi was consistent and reliable. Their "clubhouse" has a TV area, a computer lab with printers, pool table, fresh popcorn, coffee, etc. The laundry facility is top quality and clean as are the restrooms. They also have a heated pool with jacuzzi. There are also really nice gas grills for guest use located around the lake. We paid $55 per night with Good Sam discount. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
We stayed here from October 22 - December 22 of 2016. While the monthly rate seemed high at first, taking into account all the amenities makes it worth it. In addition to the pool and hot tub, rec hall with exercise equipment, popcorn popper, and a 24 hour laudromat, a lake for fishing, cemented and flat rv sites, Eastlake sports a gated entry, air for inflating tires, propane tank refilling facilities, a large and long dog walk with doggie bags, there's even a dog washing station, all included in the rent. The staff was always friendly and willing to go out of the way to accommodate us. Oh yeah, I forgot to add that the wifi was up 98% of the time, and the cable has over 30 channels. Spraying for mosquitoes at the pool area was done three times a week also. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Fifth Wheel.
Gated, hot tub, heated pool, free coffee, free popcorn, free air to air up tires, dog walk, dog wash station. Park is well kept and quiet. Rented a pull-through site. No extra charge for trailer, pets (2 dogs) or third person. Managers are very congenial, helpful and on top of everything. Definitely recommend and will be staying again. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
The park has level concrete spaces with grass and a picnic table, including FHU for 30/50A. Paved roadways throughout. The office staff are very pleasant and efficient. Good Sam discount brings fee to the amount displayed. My 40' Class A and 18' enclosed trailer fit into a pull thru site with room to park your vehicle.
Has a heated pool and jacuzzi with showers rooms available next to the pool area. Secured gate entrance provides security which is always a plus!!
I would certainly stay here again when in the area. Close to shopping for groceries, shops and restaurants. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Motorhome.
All concrete roads and pads. Pretty landscaped near office. All fenced with security gate. Road construction on N. Lake and Lockwood Rd. could still make it thru to rv park. No Shade all small trees. Stayed overnite on way to southern Texas. This park is off Texas service road. Will stay here again for overnite, but didnt like being in Houston traffic. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Fifth Wheel.
The managers were great hosts. Park was immaculate, site great, Amenities terrific, Great cable and WI-FI. We stayed here a month on a special rate. Laundry room spacious, lots of machines, works on a card system. Newspapers, free coffee and popcorn in rec. hall, pool table and cardio machines. Media center with phone, fax and copier free to use. Only negative was near airport and Interstate so some noise. We would stay here again. We camped at Eastlake RV Resort in a Travel Trailer.
Grocery shopping @ HEB, on the w/b side of the beltway. They also have cheap gas. GPS told us to turn off on Lockwood. As of this writing (Nov 2015) almost all of Lockwood is under construction & the temp asphalt is dreadful. Do yourself a favor & stay on the feeder all the way around to North Lake Houston Pkwy (not to be mistaken for W Lake Houston Pkwy or E Lake Houston Pkwy). Turn right & then the next intersection is Lockwood. Turn left & the park is 1/2 mi on the left.
Are you affiliated with Eastlake RV Resort ?


Brushy Peak is a park that's easy to overlook. For the most part, overlooking this place is fairly justified. It's a small regional preserve that's much farther east than most population centers in the Bay Area, has a small trail network (all the trails shown on its official map add up to around 9.5 miles) consisting mostly of fire roads, the scenery—though nice—is not particularly special, and there is no tree cover to shield you from the intensity of summer heat. In fact, I had overlooked this place myself until a viewer of this site suggested it to me. Thanks to that suggestion, I've come to discover that there is a "but" to all these: The trails at the highest elevations in the park are actually pretty respectable singletrack as well as sometimes being quite technical, and the landscape around those higher parts is quite pretty too. In the end, Brushy Peak still doesn't add up to anything more than a decent workout option for locals of the area, in my opinion, but it does at least deserve a place in the regular list for riders in and around Livermore, and that's not bad.
Given the limited trail mileage at Brushy Peak, any route you follow here that doesn't include repetitions is bound to result in a very short ride. The ride you see represented on this page is one of those very short possibilities. If I had more time when I did this ride, I would have extended it a bit further by including a second traversal of roughly the same loop in the opposite direction. That's not only a recommendation but also a necessity for any rider who is looking to put together a substantial ride here.
In its current short version, this ride doesn't include too much total elevation gain, but most of that little gain is incurred on pretty serious climbs. So, the total climb per unit distance for the ride (while not record-breaking) is considerable. I couldn't recommend this ride to you unless you are fond of (or at least okay with) climbs. The reason I've picked a clockwise direction for this loop is because I thought I might encounter more extra-steep stretches in the uphill direction if I were to try it counter-clockwise, but I'm not so sure anymore. It also turns out that this comes with a trade-off: When done clockwise, this route takes you through the most technical section of Brushy Peak Loop Trail in the uphill direction. This is arguably the most fun stretch of the entire route. Admittedly, it's a short section, but on a ride like this where there are few rewards, any such additional treat could count as an important consideration.
The ride starts out on the West Side Loop Trail from the parking lot. This seemed to me to be the least exhausting way to reach the higher parts of the trail network at Brushy Peak, though it does mean your total climb to reach the top is higher, because there's a decending section during the climb, which wouldn't happen if you rode in the opposite direction. West Side Loop Trail is the kind of featureless fire road across cow-grazed grassland that I originally feared all the trails here would be like. The climb begins at a fairly merciful grade not more than 12%. Along the way, it does reach as much as 16% grade but only for a minute or two. By the time you are nearing the junction with Brushy Peak Loop Trail, not only will the slope have backed off considerably, but you even descend a little. That junction also happens to be where the fun begins on this ride. The first singletrack segment on the ride arrives in the form of a level shortcut bypassing the main junction here to avoid the dip into and climb back out of the actual junction spot. This is the narrowest trail segment of the ride, though it's also quite off-camber and a bit treacherous.
Brushy Peak Loop Trail begins at the end of that singletrack shortcut and its initial stretches are in the form of a serious climb on a singletrack trail ranging from somewhat technical to moderately technical, along with one or two seriously tricky trail features thrown into the mix. This is the part of the ride that I consider to be the most fun to an experienced rider, mainly when done in the downhill direction. Unfortunately, this ride route traverses this segment uphill, and there is no equivalent segment similar to this one as you start the descending part of your stint on Brushy Peak Loop Trail. This should count as a strong incentive to do this ride route in the opposite direction, or at least to repeat it in the opposite direction as well.
These higher parts of the trail network pass through a very pretty setting featuring a sparse oak population intermingled with patches of chaparral on a landscape featuring craggy outcrops and plenty of boulders. Brushy Peak Loop Trail eventually levels off in this area as it passes through a saddle point and twists through some rocks and trees for a very brief distance. I don't want to oversell this part of the ride, though, because it seriously lasts for less than two tenths of a mile. Then, suddenly, the singletrack ends up in smooth and open grassland once again, and soon starts a quick descent back toward the bald parts of the park. During this descent, the trail starts out in the form of the typical "multi-use path" of East Bay parks (which I'll generously include in the "singletrack" category) but then reverts to being a plain and simple fire road and the ride's character returns to what you had at the very beginning of the route (only in the downhill direction this time).
Before making it back to the beginning, this route includes a little diversion that follows Tamcan Trail and traverses the majority of Laughlin Ranch Loop. This addition doesn't contribute too much to the ride: the scenery is not very different and you gain nothing more than a bit more mileage and a bit more elevation gain. So, this part can safely be omitted on your second repetition of the route (or even on the first one, if you want a really short ride) by descending all the way to the parking lot in a straight shot on Brushy Peak Loop Trail. If you do take this side trip, Tamcan Trail has a pretty brutal grade as it first starts off Brushy Peak Loop Trail, ranging around 18%. It quickly reverts to a more sensible slope, though, and you even have a little descending to do before you connect to Laughlin Ranch Loop. The elevation gain on Laughlin Ranch Loop happens at a fairly moderate grade. It doesn't take long to find yourself at the top of this side loop, from which some (arguably more up-close) views of Livermore can be caught, and that is followed immediately by a laid-back glide back to the parking lot. At the time I did this ride, the amount of pockmarking on the trail surface of this loop made it appear to be a comparatively lesser used part of the park.
Clearly, the ride shown on this page is in dire need of more mileage. My first choice for extending the ride would be to add a second traversal of Brushy Peak Loop in the opposite direction after the completion of Laughlin Ranch Loop. You could incorporate even more trail variety by taking Brushy Peak Loop Trail directly from the parking lot for this traversal as well as following the eastern half of West Side Loop at the end of your ride. This would boost your mileage by 4.5 miles and increase the total elevation gain by 800 feet. In fact, this was my original plan for this ride until time pressure forced me to scrap this second go-around. For riders who would look for even more than that, my advice would be to "rinse and repeat", because I don't know of any meaningful trail connections that could be made from here to places outside this park.


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Home / Nonviolence
The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria stands in solidarity with Iraqi activists
Dilibrin Khalil (UKSSD) – Istanbul, February 2016.
The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Deutschland (UKSSD) was established in 2011 following the popular revolution in which the Syrian people demanded freedoms and a more democratic government. The Union has evolved out of several student groups that were active in civil actions at the universities and in the cities in which they lived inside Syria. With the increase in poverty and the escalation of violence in Syria, there was not enough space for peaceful, civil activities in many of the Syrian governorates; therefore, the Union transferred its activities to the north of Syria. As the migration of people from Syria to neighboring countries and to Europe increased, the Union expanded its work. It managed to gain the friendship and support of students in European countries and became the first independent gathering that combines Syrian and international students who are working together to assist students and help civilians in areas of conflict in the Middle East.
As it expanded, the UKSSD worked in many areas, organizing on many issues including education, child protection, youth development, protection and empowerment of women, protection of refugees, the distribution of aid and non-food items, health awareness, the promotion of peace and the prevention of violence, and increasing political and social awareness. In 2014, there was a further expansion to include labor policies in biodynamic agriculture.
Speech given at the ISF-ICSSI Joint Strategy Workshop on 11-14 February 2016
The war taking place in Syria over the last five years between forces of the Syrian regime and its allied militias on one side, and the forces of the Syrian opposition on the other, and the extremist groups on the third side, have deeply divided Syrian society along sectarian lines. This is the latest chapter of sectarianism in an area where wars – beginning with the Lebanese civil war, then the Iran-Iraq war, and finally the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 – have gripped the region for decades.
The militias of the regime played the most prominent role in the massacres of civilians and acts of ethnic cleansing. It committed those massacres when the international community hesitated to deter them. These massacres caused backlash and the rise of extremism. Some Syrians, in some areas, joined extremist organizations like Daesh and Jabhat Al-Nusra. These terrorist organizations did not hesitate to commit the most heinous crimes. In addition, these organizations, such as Daesh, have attracted and recruited thousands of jihadists from around the world who are now fighting in its ranks in Syria and Iraq.
This revolution began to oppose dictatorships and repressive regimes; it evolved to oppose poverty, injustice, desperation and human ignorance, in general. But already the response or backlash has been strong from unilateral and dictatorial regimes, and from religious groups that only believe in the imposition of one destructive thought of human existence.
Moreover, today we are confronting a dangerous historic juncture from which we may not be able to return. It should not be allowed to destroy the dream of the people who called for freedom – oppressed and marginalized people who have one demand: people's right to self-determination, and the right of all people to freedom.
Yesterday, we were wondering "what will happen in the region", and today we hardly believe what happened: scenes of barbarism bringing us back to the depths of the earliest times of human history. In Chenkal and Iraqi Mosul and in the Syrian Reka "Daash" force Christians and Azidis (non-Muslims Kurds) either to deny their religion and belief and embrace Islam as a religion, or to leave their homes and everything they own, or else be slaughtered. While the fate of Shiites "rejectionists" in Daesh's language, and Sunnis opposed to Daash, is the knife.
In Mosul, scene of religious cleansing of murder and displacement, where Daesh violated all taboos, Kurds and Chaldean, Syrian and Assyrian Christians are subjected to genocide. Mosul has been emptied of its Aramaic culture, which was the foundation of the civilization of Mesopotamia. In the surrounding areas, people live in permanent panic and feel endless danger, for dark forces follow them wherever they move. Thousands of families flee with every new kilometer occupied by extremists. In this atmosphere of panic and anxiety, people have lost all hopes for life or the possibility of real security today in their historic homelands.
I do not know what is this suspicious silence that surrounds the world. What is happening today reminds us of the major massacres that have occurred in the region in the past centuries: Lebanon and Syria in 1860, Diyarbakir in 1895, Turkey in 1915, Iraq in 1933, Palestine in 1948. How wrong our people were when they thought that they had become safe from the evil of the powerful after the establishment of international courts and the development of the laws that aim to punish crimes against humanity. It appears that these laws are more flimsy than a spider's web. The big flies can breach it and only small flies are captured. Where is the Security Council and where are the major countries who are decision-makers? Children in Syria today greet the children of Chenkal and Mosul, and the knife is the same.
In the world today, doesn't any eye shed tears seeing the children killed by bombs that leave them in shreds?
We, in these difficult times, need international solidarity more than ever. Politics have failed in recent years to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis, which led to the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq and neighboring countries. Moreover, at a time when politicians and the United Nations failed to secure a safe life for civilians in these countries, our role as youth and civil society organizations comes to spread the culture of co-existence, the protection of children from violence, and spread of the culture of peace among the civilians. That is our demand of international civil society and youth from all over the world and humanitarian organizations: focus on youth organizations based in Syria and Iraq and support them in various ways to stay working inside their countries. At the same time, to give them the right to represent themselves and their voices in the international political conferences that seek to find a peaceful political solution to the crisis in the Middle East.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Iraq: Lethal Force Used Against Protesters
The Assassinations and Repression of Protesters Must Stop Immediately
Are The Iraqi Protests Over?


"Transfers" Sensitively Spotlights Education Inequality, at Crowded Fire, S.F.
"Transfers" by Lucy Thurber plunges us into the world of college admissions where an 'elite' private school struggles to include students from the inner city. At the frontline of the equality wars, funny and flawed educators decide who gets in and who is rejected.
Thurber dials in college admissions interviews to show that injuries go far beyond the question of acceptance.
"Transfers" opens in a motel room the night before admissions interviews at a private Northeastern college. Two "diversity candidates" are oddly forced to share a room with an anxious counselor. Director Ken Savage highlights a solitary bed in the tightly controlled scene, as rich dialogue flows between the three gifted actors. But something's gone wrong with their welcome. Scenic Designer Kate Boyd has brilliantly built a surreal wall full of floating college files as background.
Counselor David DeSantos (excitable David Everett Moore) greets the two New York City high schoolers, "repping" them to the college. Moore's DeSantos has too much misplaced nervous energy, but we ride along with the scenario. The two boys—both from the South Bronx—are all too familiar with each other's troubled past. The high stakes and their awkward confrontation are particularly ill-timed.
Sensitive Clarence Mathews (beautifully delicate Victor D. Ragsdale), a well-read, polite boy, is anxious about tomorrow's interview. He feels he belongs at the College, but he knows he has to "sell" his particular brand of under-privilege. The other boy, Bronx wrestling star Christofer Rodriguez (intense, powerful Caleb Cabrera) is abrasive and hot-headed; Christofer angrily refuses to turn his story into a commodity.
DeSantos, their nervous advisor, makes the boys explore their pasts to deliver predictable cookie-cutter stories, but their authenticity still grabs our attention.
The next day's interviews with two faculty members deliver a powerful climax. The two interviews turn into passionate conversations, exposing personal truths and deep revelations.
Clarence is joined by emotional, but pretentious Professor Geoffrey Dean, (tender Michael Wayne Rice). Clarence and Geoffrey instantly bond over a warm, heady discussion of Russian writers and the intellectual life. Teacher and student share their stories in a touching conversation, and we love it that Clarence's luck is turning.
Wildly different, feisty Caleb's interview is conducted by brash, angular Rosie McNulty (multi-faceted Alison Whismore), a Rugby coach at the College. Christofer and Rosie, both tough athletes, get intense and personal. Rosie probes and Christofer implodes, just managing to talk about losing his beloved grandmother.
Suddenly, we plunge into the heart of the dilemma: Who will get the scholarship—the sensitive, intellectual boy, or the crude, honest boy?
When the hilarious, combative admissions committee meets, Thurber showcases the arbitrary nature of the college admissions process. She reveals the continued victimization of these kids. Sure, they are under-privileged and under-served, each with his own heartbreaking story. But in its desire to build inclusion, is the College exploiting young people by asking them to reduce their experiences into "pre-packaged stories"? Is pathos required to get them a seat at the table?
Their resilience and ingenuity got them there—isn't that enough? "Transfer" is a gripping, poignant comedy that asks: How is diversity truly valued? "Transfers" is a Must See!
Cast: Caleb Cabrera, David Everett Moore, Victor D. Ragsdale, Michael Wayne Rice, and Alison Whismore.


Spring and Autumn Warring States on the occasion of the "Kao Gong Ji" in the "bow for the bow," an article on the bow technology made a detailed summary. In the next two thousand years, China, or the Asian composite bow manufacturing technology, compared with the Kao Gong Ji no significant changes. "Kao Gong Ji" for the bow material selection, processing methods, components of the performance and its combination, have more detailed requirements and regulations, the process should be to prevent the shortcomings, but also carried out the analysis. "Kao Gong Ji" that the bow to dry, angle, tendons, plastic, silk, paint, collectively known as "six" is important.
"Dry", including a variety of wood and bamboo, used to produce the main body of the bow, multi-layer overlap. The performance of the dry material plays a decisive role in the performance of the bow.
"Angle", that is, animal angle, made of thin, affixed to the inside of the bow (abdomen). The main bow of the bow, to the white, in the green, the peak is not good; angle two feet have five inches (nearly 50 cm), three-color without reason, that the cattle cattle.
"Tendons", that is, the animal's tendon, affixed to the lateral side of the bow (back). Tendons and corners of the role is to enhance the strength of the bow arm, so that when the arrows shot more intense disease, the material more in-depth.
"Glue", that is, animal glue, used to bond dry wood and horns.
"Silk", that is, silk, will be tied to the bow of the bow with a thread tightly wrapped, so that more solid.
"Paint", will be made of the bow arm painted to prevent the frost of moisture erosion. Usually painted every ten days again, until it can play the role of protecting the arm.


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Burglaries in Brent plummet by 85 per cent thanks to SmartWater technology
Yafet Askale was caught by SmartWater technology - Credit: Archant
Burglaries in Brent have been slashed by 85 per cent after police targeted homes with forensic marking technology.
Items marked with SmartWater – a water-based traceable liquid – glow under ultra-violet light and a unique forensic code enables police to trace items back to their original owners.
A six-month trial of the system saw the reduction of burglaries in Brent, combined with a 63 per cent fall in Islington, amounting to a £1.4million saving to the UK taxpayer, according to Home Office projections.
SmartWater, which boasts a 100pc conviction rate, is used by police in conjunction with covert operations, liaison with second-hand dealers and equipping police stations with detection equipment.
Ch Supt Matt Gardner, Metropolitan Police borough commander for Brent, said: "SmartWater has been central to reducing burglary in the borough of Brent and for building more confidence within our communities.
"Criminals know about SmartWater and are aware that contact with it will effectively 'date stamp' them to the scene of a crime.
"All prisoners at Brent are scanned for SmartWater with UV lighting and we help second-hand dealers to avoid buying stolen goods by providing them with facilities to check for SmartWater.
"Burglary in the areas in which we have been working has reduced by up to 90pc and we intend to increase our coverage.
"Criminals in Brent have been charged and convicted using the technology and we are confident that there will be many more"
Phil Cleary, SmartWater's chief executive, said: "These results follow a trend of similar successful impacts across the UK and internationally over 12 years.
"The Met does a fantastic job, in challenging conditions, and I am pleased we were able to work so closely with them to help the people of Brent and Islington. The strategy has been tested thoroughly by the Met and is proven to work.
"We are aware the results of this trial are being watched closely by major law enforcement agencies around the world as the cost of burglary is an ever increasing burden to governments and communities alike."


It's the curse of Harrison Ford. When he makes a really crappy movie like, let's say, the latest Indiana Jones debacle, people show up in droves to hand it an obscene box office success. When he actually acts in something worth seeing, like this weekend's Morning Glory, audiences can't be bothered.
Morning Glory banked an unimpressive $9 million this weekend for a sad fifth place debut. Adding insult to injury, Skyline, which is being hailed by CB's Mack Rawden as the worst movie of the year, topped that earning $11 million against its $10 million budget. Greenlight on a painful sequel is no doubt not far away.
Denzel Washington saw better success this weekend. His newest entry Unstoppable brought in $23 million for second place. But the really unstoppable force at the movies was Megamind. The blue headed super villain held the first place spot for a second weekend, earning another $30 million. And it's a good thing too. Even with international sales rolled in the movie is still shy of recovering its $130 million budget.


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What Attorneys Say
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"Shark in the courtroom does exactly what he says he's going to do. Ben Blackburn is a very compassionate person actually caring about his clients and goes the extra mile. I was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felon in possession of a weapon in September. By December 6th t Blackburn had already came back with an offer of a single class A misdemeanor Family Violence no probation no fines no court cost. "Where else are they going do that"?"
"When I was a Travis County prosecutor, I had many cases against Ben where he was the attorney on the other side. And every time, I knew I was in for a fight. He's on my short list of go-to defense attorneys in Austin."
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"I have referred clients to Ben's law firm. Those clients received great representation and results!"
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Total Years of experience: Over 13 Years
A native Texan, after finishing high school here in Austin, Mr. Blackburn did his undergraduate studies at Trinity University in San Antonio where he obtained degrees in both History and Economics. His undergraduate studies were supplemented with a semester at American University's prestigious Criminal Justice Program in Washington D.C. where he also clerked for the US Senate's Judiciary Committee.
After college Mr. Blackburn came back to Austin to attend law school at The University of Texas where he was honored with the Presidential Scholarship in Law based on his academic excellence and commitment to the school's leading law journal. Due to his scholastic achievements in law school Ben was one of a select few who were invited to participate in Golden Gate University's summer law program on international criminal law in Bangkok, Thailand. Before he even graduated law school he won his first Not Guilty jury verdict and ever since then he has devoted his entire law practice to defending the citizen accused and upholding the rights guaranteed by the constitution.
In addition to having a passion for helping his clients with their legal matters Ben also enjoys hunting, fishing, and volunteering his time for community projects.
University of Texas System, Austin – Juris Doctor (J.D. 2005)
Golden Gate University School of Law, 2004
Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) – Bachelor of Arts (BA, 2001)
American University, 2000
Awards And Achievements:
Austin Award, 2011
Presidential Scholar – University of Texas
Attorney – Blackburn Betts PLLC, 2014 – Present
Managing Partner – Blackburn & Vargas Law firm, 2007 – Present
Attorney – Boyd & Associates, 2005 – 2007
Investigator – Akin Investigations, 2004 – 2005
Clerk – Federal Reserve Bank of San Antonio, 2001 – 2001
Clerk – United States Senate, 2000 – 2000
Association & Membership:
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2009 – Present
Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
The Southwest Economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Sep, pages 1-8.(Beating border barriers in U.S.-Mexico trade), 2001
Blackburn Betts PLLC.
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Mellouli Leads Trojans Into NCAA Championships
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USC's men's swimming and diving team opens competition in the 2004 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships this week at the Nassau Long Island Aquatics Center in East Meadow, N.Y. The competition runs Thursday through Saturday (March 25-27). Prelims begin at 11 a.m. and finals begin at 7 p.m. each day (EST). Three-time 2004 Pac-10 title winner Ous Mellouli, 2004 senior co-captain Trent Staley and 2003 All-American diver Ray Vincent lead the eight-man contingent into New York this week.
USC NOTESUSC sophomore Ous Mellouli swam in the shadow of fellow distant great Erik Vendt last year. Vendt won NCAA titles in the 500y and 1650y free and was second in the 400y IM. But now that Vendt has graduated, Mellouli has assumed the spot as the Pac-10's top distance swimmer and is among the best in the country. Mellouli ranks among the top in the nation in the 500y and 1650y free and the 400y IM and will challenge for titles in all three events. If he were to win a title, it would give USC at least one NCAA title in five consecutive years ... USC hasn't had two divers earn All-American honors in the same season since 1961, but junior Ray Vincent and freshman Michael Hilde could change that this year. Vincent was third on platform last year and seems posed again to repeat his top eight performance. Hilde has been USC's strongest springboard competitor all season and has a good shot to follow in Vincent's All-American footsteps ... USC has had at least one Hungarian All-American for seven consecutive years and could make it eight thanks to sophomore Viktor Bodrogi. A veteran international swimmer who has represented Hungary at the Olympics and World Championships, Bodrogi transferred to USC in the spring semester and quickly established himself as one of the Trojans' top swimmers. The previous Hungarian All-Americans for the Trojans were Mihaly Flaskay (2003), Tamas Kerekjarto (2000-02) and Bela Szabados (1997-99) ... USC returns three All-Americans from last year: Mellouli (500y free, 400y IM, 1650y free, 400y medley relay and 800y free relay), senior co-captain Trent Staley (800y free relay) and Vincent (platform) ... Half of USC's team is making its NCAA Championships debut: Viktor Bodrogi, Tyler Panos, Mike Kauffman and Michael Hilde ... Staley, though an All-American on a relay last year, is still looking to score individually for the first time at the NCAAs. This could be the year, with Staley entering the NCAAs among the top 15 swimmers in the country in both the 200 back and 500 free and among the top 20 in the 200 free ... USC's depth would have been more robust this year, but the Trojans are without top freshman Larsen Jensen, who decided to leave school for the spring semester to concentrate on his training for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Jensen, one of America's top distance swimmers, is near the top in the distance events even though he hasn't competed since December.
Mark Schubert USC Coach Mark Schubert is in his 12th year at Troy. He will make his seventh consecutive Olympic coaching appearance in 2004 when he directs the U.S. women's team in Athens, Greece. Three years ago, he finished a stint as head coach of the U.S. men's swim team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Since he has been at USC, the men's and women's swimming programs are a combined 133-43. In his 33 years of coaching, Schubert has placed 28 swimmers on U.S. Olympic teams; these athletes have won 18 gold and eight silver medals, plus five world championship titles.Hongping Li An NCAA champion and two-time Olympian, Hongping Li is in his fifth season coaching USC's men's and women's divers. Li, the winner of the 1998 and 1999 United States Olympic Committee's 'Diving Developmental Coach of the Year,' award, came to USC after serving as the head coach of the Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores Diving Team since 1993. Li has had immediate and tremendous success in his first four years at USC. In 2003, he helped guide Blythe Hartley and Nicci Fusaro to All-American showings at the NCAA Championships. Hartley was a three-time All-American for the second year in a row while Fusaro earned All-American honors for the third year in a row. Hartley, the 2002 NCAA Women's Diver of the Year, repeated as Pac-10 Women's Diver of the Year and Li repeated as Pac-10 Women's Diving Coach of the Year. In 2002, Fusaro joined with Hartley to become USC's only two divers to earn All-American honors in all three diving specialties in one NCAA meet. In 2001, Li guided Kellie Brennan to a pair of All-American honors (and her third consecutive Pac-10 1-meter title) and Fusaro to her first All-American honor at the 2001 NCAAs. Both also reached the top three at the 2001 U.S. Indoor Championships.
Mellouli, Jensen Lead Trojans Into NCAA Championships
Mellouli, Jensen, Vincent Lead USC Into NCAA Championships
Mellouli Wins Three Times To Lead Trojan Win


The upcoming monster movie Godzilla Vs. Kong has added a Game of Thrones alumni to its ensemble cast with Jessica Henwick, according to Variety. Henwick, who played Sand Snake Nymeria Sand on HBO's sword-and-sorcery epic, also played Colleen Wing on the now-canceled Netflix series Iron Fist. She reprised character on the equally canceled Netflix series Luke Cage. Details about Henwick's role in the monsters' cinematic showdown is unknown at this point.
So far, the monster-sized cast includes Alexander Skarsgard (Big Little Lies), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Demián Bichir (The Nun) and Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Avengers: Infinity War), Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Kyle Chandler (Game Night) as Mark Russell, Ziyi Zhang (The Cloverfield Paradox) as Dr. Chen and Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) as Madison Russell.
Godzilla Vs. Kong stomps into theaters May 22, 2020.


: i have a prob. with pickup choice.I have a Bass Collection with p/j active pickups.
: But dont like the stock pickups.
: Which one do you advice, EMG or Bartolini..
: note: i play mostly alternative rock and modern rock..
i have emg`s in my warwick thumb at the minute and dont have a bad thing to say about them i play rock most of the time but bartolini are super ,different sound, and to be honest i dont think you can go far wrong with emg or bartolini pickups i know lots of the lads on this message board use "bart`s" i can only tell you that if you go with the emg pickups you will be happy..
hope this is of some help..let us know what you go with ..best of luck..
: : Hi, : : i have a prob. with pickup choice.I have a Bass Collection with p/j active pickups. : : But dont like the stock pickups. : : Which one do you advice, EMG or Bartolini.. : : thx.. : : note: i play mostly alternative rock and modern rock.. : hi, : i have emg`s in my warwick thumb at the minute and dont have a bad thing to say about them i play rock most of the time but bartolini are super ,different sound, and to be honest i dont think you can go far wrong with emg or bartolini pickups i know lots of the lads on this message board use "bart`s" i can only tell you that if you go with the emg pickups you will be happy.. : hope this is of some help..let us know what you go with ..best of luck..


Hundreds of redundancy notices are going out at the Coryton oil refinery in Essex.
A consortium led by Shell plans to turn the refinery into an oil import terminal with a much smaller workforce.
The government has refused to intevene to save the plant.
"It's absolutely outrageous—and the government has abdicated its responsibility," said Russ Ball from the workers' Unite union.
The refinery will be wound down over the coming months. Coryton workers have vowed to fight on to save their jobs.


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Social Issues | Education News
PA Teachers: "Sen. Toomey, Save Our Kids"
MO Schools' Seclusion, Restraint Incidents Shared for First Time
Study: Students Still Struggle with Pandemic Learning Loss
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh was one of the first sites of marches and rallies planned this week in multiple cities as part of the American Federation of Teachers' "Enough is Enough" gun-safety reform campaign. (AFT)
For the 2021-2022 school year, Communities in Schools served 75,697 K-12 students in the state of Nevada. (Adobe Stock)
A yearlong study of the use of seclusion and restraint in U.S. schools found that some states track both, some track only the use of restraint, and some track neither. (Adobe Stock)
According to data from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading scores for New York fourth graders declined by six points from 2019. Meanwhile, eighth graders' reading scores remained unchanged. (Adobe Stock)
"Sen. Toomey, save our kids." That was the message from a group of teachers, students, parents and community leaders outside the Pittsburgh office of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., on Tuesday.
In the wake of last week's Uvalde, Texas, massacre - the 27th school shooting so far this year - the American Federation of Teachers is demanding action on gun safety as part of a new campaign.
Arthur Steinberg, president of AFT Pennsylvania, contended that gun violence is a public-health crisis that is largely being ignored by lawmakers.
"What I see mostly," he said, "is resistance on the part of the far right to enact anything that will help make people safe and will avoid our kids being slaughtered when they go to school."
Toomey backed failed background-check legislation in 2013 and recently has indicated he still would support that measure. Opponents of gun restrictions have cited violation of Second Amendment liberties, and some Republicans are pushing for improved school security and mental-health services instead.
At Tuesday's vigil, David Hogg, a student survivor of the 2018 Parkland shooting who founded March for Our Lives, called for people from both sides of the aisle to work together to prevent firearms from getting into the hands of people with bad intentions.
"The shooter in Parkland was not a criminal mastermind; the shooter in Buffalo was not a criminal mastermind; the shooter in Texas was not a criminal mastermind," he said. "These were barely adults - they were 18- and 19-year-olds, who waited until they were old enough to buy an AR-15 legally and did so."
The AFT is urging federal lawmakers to enact basic reforms that include expanded background checks, red-flag laws and safe-storage provisions. Steinberg argued these are not "fringe" ideas.
"Eighty-eight percent of the people polled in the United States support requiring background checks for gun purchases; 57% support banning assault rifles," he said. "Most of the country agrees on these common-sense solutions to this scourge."
Campaign American Federation of Teachers 2022
A Nevada nonprofit is celebrating a 94% graduation rate among its high school seniors for the 2021-2022 school year.
Tami Hance-Lehr. CEO and state director of Communities In Schools of Nevada, said the graduation rate is based on its 453 case-managed high school seniors, most of whom are students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, or are experiencing some other form of poverty.
Hance-Lehr pointed out Nevada's graduation rate for such students is around 82%. Compared with the state's overall graduation rate, African American students in the program are 17.1 percentage points above the statewide average, Hispanic and Latino students are 14 percentage points greater and multiracial students are ahead by 13 percentage points.
She noted the pandemic presented many challenges for students to cross the finish line.
"The other thing to keep in mind is when these students came to us, the majority of those seniors when they started working with Communities In Schools either in their junior or senior year were not on track to graduate," Hance-Lehr recounted. "They were most likely credit deficient."
Hance-Lehr explained it is not only identifying barriers keeping kids from attending school and working to get students back on-track, but also making sure they have goals after high school. The program puts a full-time on-site coordinator on every one of its 92 partnering campuses, to help in the effort.
Hance-Lehr stressed of the 453 high school seniors, half plan to attend college, 32% plan to join the workforce, 14% plan to get a certification, apprenticeship or attend a trade school and 4% plan to join the military.
While the program's focus is on K-12 students, Hance-Lehr noted they are prioritizing support to their alumni once they leave the program.
"We need to be focusing on our students after they graduate as well," Hance-Lehr contended. "Barriers that we remove for them and get them to graduation, do not just go away when we've given them a diploma, and then they enter into the world and say 'here you go.' There are still transportation barriers, there are still trauma barriers, there are still poverty barriers."
Hance-Lehr emphasized they have more than a hundred community partners and acknowledged the work they do would not be possible without them. She added community providers are able to help students with more individualized needs.
School achievements Communities in Schools of Nev. 01/13/2023
Missourians can now see how often their schools use seclusion and restraint to address student behavior.
A 2021 law requires that schools report these incidents to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, beginning this school year.
State Rep. Ian Mackey - D-St. Louis - said he proposed the original bill after many parents shared their children's school discipline experiences, many of whom qualified for special education services.
He said it allows the use of seclusion or restraint under very limited conditions.
"It cannot be used as a form of punishment," said Mackey. "It cannot be used punitively to teach a child a lesson. It must only be used if a child poses a threat, and as soon as the threat is mitigated, the seclusion and restraint must cease. That is what the law says."
The law also requires that schools notify parents when these interventions are used with their child.
Just over 600 Missouri students were secluded and 1,565 were restrained in the first half of the current school year.
Mackey said he hopes this law promotes the use of more positive approaches to behavior change in Missouri schools.
Amy Gott reported that her son was frequently secluded or restrained from first through fifth grade and that - in the beginning - the school rarely notified her.
In addition to being isolated from peers, Gott said he missed out on what was being taught when he was sent to what was known as the "recovery room."
"He would tell me, 'Well, she would sit me down in front of the same worksheet that they had in the classroom that I didn't understand, and tell me to work on it,'" Gott quoted her son had said. "And he said, 'I just didn't understand it.'"
Gott's son was eventually diagnosed with Asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism.
She began homeschooling him in fifth grade. She said she believes it was the school's misinterpretation of his behavior that led to years of being secluded from the classroom.
"A lot of times, at first especially, it would be like the rest of the day," said Gott. "And I mean from 10 o'clock on. Instead of him having autism and not understanding, he was being defiant."
Seclusion And Restraint Aggregate Data (22/23 school year) Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 1/3/23
Restraint and seclusion: Resource document the U.S. Department of Education 5/1/12
Controversial and often used, these little-known practices cause harm, even death, among U.S. schoolchildren CT Insider 10/27/22
Students are still struggling with learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A study from the research group NWEA showed 2022 test scores are not rebounding to the same level as they were pre-pandemic.
In New York, math scores declined sharply throughout the state, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy.
Researchers said the issue goes beyond test scores. The study also found existing education inequities were amplified by the pandemic.
Elisa Villanueva Beard, CEO of Teach for America, said the learning loss is also the result of numerous issues coming to a head. She described it as trains on a collision course.
"On one train, we have children who are not well, both from a learning perspective and also from an overall wellness perspective," Villanueva Beard observed. "On another train, we have a teacher crisis happening where teachers are being asked to do more with less."
Villanueva Beard argued another issue is having an outmoded system which could not meet the moment. Some solutions she thinks will get kids back on track are hiring and retaining good teachers, and providing students with equitable learning opportunities, but noted a lack of innovation within the current education system could be a challenge.
Students have been facing problems with mental illness, due in part to the pandemic. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44% of students felt persistently sad or hopeless during the first two years of the pandemic.
Villanueva Beard is concerned it will affect children in the long term.
"We are living in a society where uncertainty is the only guarantee," Villanueva Beard asserted. "Our children actually need to be able to be creative, have very clear skills around reading and math computational thinking."
She added a community approach must be taken to ensure kids fully recover from the pandemic, in terms of social emotional health and educational skills.
Study NWEA 11/16/2022
Learning loss data Empire Center 01/05/2023
Mental health data CDC 03/31/2022
Score data Nat'l Assessment of Educational Progress 10/24/2022
South Dakota's dual-credit program allows high school students to take college-level courses and earn credit toward a diploma, while racking up college credits ahead of schedule. (Adobe Stock)
SD Plan: More Students Could 'Make the Grade' in Career Readiness
The Center for State Policy Analysis found the Massachusetts millionaires' tax would raise about $1.3 billion in 2023 alone, and do so in a "highly progressive" way, likely to advance racial and economic equity for students in the Commonwealth. (Adobe Stock)
MA Advocates of Higher Ed Set Goals for Fair Share Revenue
The U.S. District Court of New Hampshire recently ruled in favor of allowing a lawsuit brought by the ACLU of New Hampshire and teachers' unions against the "divisive concepts" law to move forward. (Adobe Stock)
NH Businesses, Public School Backers: Repeal 'Divisive Concepts' Law
Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation dubbed the "Stop Woke Act," which restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses. (Pixabay)
AP African American Studies Course Blocked in FL Schools
Eye doctors warn that kids who spend excessive time on laptops, cell phones and tablets could end up with vision problems as adults. (Marco/Adobe Stock)
IA Regulators Require Release of MidAmerican Wind Energy Studies
Environmental groups are pleased with an Iowa Utilities Board ruling that requires MidAmerican Energy to make planning studies public for its Iowa Win…