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Contact us today for a free consultation 215.302.1999
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« When Might a Personal Injury Client Have a Potential Whistleblower Case?
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The SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs were created only in 2010 through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act).
This article is the second in a series of four primers on the main legal regimes incentivizing and protecting whistleblowers who report fraud. This past spring, we published a primer on the False Claims Act (FCA) and we will follow today's article with additional installments on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblower programs. Both the FCA and IRS whistleblower program have been in place since the mid-1800s, but have recently experienced a resurgence after undergoing significant amendments. On the other hand, the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs were created only in 2010 through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act).
On balance, the FCA and three core whistleblower programs provide avenues through which individuals can report fraud occurring across a wide swath of industries. The number of whistleblower-initiated cases filed under the FCA and tips submitted to the whistleblower programs have reached unprecedented heights in recent years, as the public becomes more aware of the rewards and protections provided by the law. It has therefore become imperative for attorneys, potential whistleblowers, and potential defendants to become familiar with the applicable laws, their backgrounds, causes of action, available damages, and protections against retaliation. This four-part series combines perspectives from whistleblower and defense counsel to provide measured insight into each of the four main whistleblower regimes. In this second part, we discuss the SEC whistleblower program.
Background and Legislative History
In 2008, the United States' economy was devastated by one of the most serious financial crises in the country's history. In response, the government moved to increase oversight on the financial industry with the July 21, 2010, enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. The SEC whistleblower program was created as part of this act.
On May 25, 2011, the SEC adopted final rules for the implementation of the program, which became effective on Aug. 12, 2011. It is modeled, in part, on the FCA and its IRS counterpart. The purpose of the SEC whistleblower program is to encourage internal whistleblowers to report the types of illegalities that contributed to the 2008 Recession, such as the massive Ponzi scheme run by Bernie Madoff-which many thought could have been thwarted had Madoff employees been incentivized to act.
Since its enactment, the SEC whistleblower program has grown each year. For example, in fiscal year 2012, the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower received a whopping 3,001 tips. That number has ballooned even further to 5,200 in fiscal year 2018.
Fiscal year 2018 was also a record-breaking year for monetary recoveries, with the SEC program paying out $168 million to individual whistleblowers-more than the total amount awarded in all other years combined. Among these awards was a $50 million joint award to two individuals -the largest in the Program's history.
Becoming an SEC Whistleblower and Obtaining a Whistleblower Award
An SEC whistleblower is any individual who "alone or jointly with others … provides the commission with information … relating to a possible violation of the federal securities laws (including any rules or regulations thereunder) that has occurred, is ongoing, or is about to occur." A whistleblower must be an individual; companies do not qualify.
The program sets forth a detailed procedure for submitting whistleblower information. Unlike the FCA, an SEC whistleblower does not file a complaint in federal court. Instead, information is submitted directly to the SEC through a tip, complaint or referral (TCR) form. In a further departure from the FCA, SEC whistleblowers do not participate as a named party in enforcement actions resulting from the information they submit. In fact, many whistleblowers reap the benefit of the program's anonymous reporting option, which allows for the submission of TCR forms through experienced counsel who then coordinate with the SEC on their behalf.
To be eligible for an award, the SEC must recover more than $1 million as a result of original information submitted by a whistleblower, meaning information that is not known to the government or that is not otherwise publicly available. A whistleblower can collect an award even if an SEC action already exists, so long as the additional information is original and significantly contributes to the SEC's prosecution of that action.
An award can range from 10% to 30% of the amount the SEC collects. The SEC determines where a particular award falls within this range upon consideration of a variety of factors, including the significance of the whistleblower's information to the investigation and the extent of the whistleblower's assistance.
Protections Against Retaliation
Similar to the FCA, the SEC specifically prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers. Employers of whistleblowers may not discharge, demote, suspend, harass or in any way discriminate against an employee as a result of whistleblowing activities. The Dodd-Frank Act created a private right of action allowing whistleblowers to assert claims for retaliation and obtain damages arising from, including double back pay, reinstatement, attorney fees and costs.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified the scope of the anti-retaliation provision in Digital Realty Trust v. Somers, 138 S. Ct. 767 (2018). Particularly relevant for our purposes, the Supreme Court held that the anti-retaliation provision extends only to those who report information to the SEC. Making an internal complaint not sufficient. While Somers was initially viewed by some as a victory for corporate clients because it limited the scope of potential whistleblowers, the practical effect suggests the opposite. Many commentators attribute the uptick of whistleblower complaints in 2018 to Somers because it encourages potential whistleblowers to go directly to the SEC rather than lodging an internal report.
In addition to barring retaliation, the SEC also prohibits any person or entity-not just an employer-from impeding an individual from "communicating directly with the [SEC] about a possible securities law violation." In contrast to the statute's anti-retaliation protections, which may be enforced by the SEC or whistleblowers themselves, violations of the reporting section may only be enforced through agency enforcement action.
The financial and securities markets are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, relied upon by millions of people. Unfortunately, the complex nature of trading and other business practices make fraud difficult to detect. And even for those seeking to abide by the law, the absence of a sound internal compliance framework can allow concealed securities violations to carry on unhindered. The SEC whistleblower program was enacted to stop such misconduct, and its continued success will further fuel its already-rabid growth. As such, both employers and potential whistleblowers would be wise to fully understand the framework of this program.
Zac Arbitman is a senior associate and trial attorney at Youman & Caputo, where he represents whistleblowers in claims brought under state and federal False Claims Acts, various state whistleblower statutes, and the IRS, SEC, and CFTC whistleblower programs. He also dedicates a significant portion of his practice to representing catastrophic injury victims in cases involving medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, premises liability, and product liability. Contact him at zarbitman@youmancaputo.com
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Q: regular quaternion functions of form  f(q) =c + a*q*b + ... Hello,
is it possible do somehow define regular function(in the way that some analogy to Cauchy integral formula would hold) over quaternions that function of form $$f(q)= \sum_{n=0}^\inf a_n q^n b_n$$ $a,b,c,q \in \mathbb{H}$, would be regular?
With classic definition of regular function linear functions $(f(q)= qa +b )$ are not regular.
In Graziano Gentili, Daniele C. Struppa they define different type of regular function. So functions $ \sum q^n a_n$ are regular. But I would like to have functions of form $\sum a_n q^n b_n$ to be regular and have for them analogy of Cauchy integral formula. Is it possible?
(please note that I have no real knowledge in this topic. I just got interested in barycentric coordinates and its nice connection to complex numbers in 2d. So I thought if it could be extended to 3d via quaternions. But I ran in trouble reproducing rotations. So I thought I need functions of form $R(q) = rqr^*$ to be regular )
Thank you for answers,
Tom!

A: Check out http://www.zipcon.net/~swhite/docs/math/quaternions/analysis.html and references therein.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Peter Dinwiddie is in his third year as Vice President of Basketball Operations after serving as the Director of Basketball Administration the previous four years.
Dinwiddie started working with the Pacers in 2006 in their inside sales department before moving to basketball. His duties include providing day-to-day management of the basketball operations, overseeing compliance with the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, assisting in player contract negotiations, salary cap management and evaluating potential prospects across the collegiate and professional ranks.
He grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University in 1999 and the New England School of Law in 2004. He is married to Jessica and they have three sons, Houston, Michael and Lou and a daughter Ruthanne.


MANCHESTER UNITED have approached Chelsea with a £20million offer for out-of-favour star Juan Mata.
Mata is edging closer to leaving Stamford Bridge after Chelsea failed to guarantee him more playing time.
The midfielder's father and agent - Juan senior - flew in from Spain earlier this month after Mata reacted angrily to being substituted by Jose Mourinho against Southampton on New Year's Day.
Mata has yet to feature since that incident, with Chelsea officials refusing to make him any promises about playing more regularly.
According to reports, United boss David Moyes is hoping to capitalise on the Spaniard's uncertain position by lodging a £20m bid.
Chelsea would prefer not to sell Mata to a Premier League rival and could ship him back to his homeland with Atletico Madrid showing interest.
Atletico are keen on a loan deal, having been put off by the Blues' £30m valuation of the player.
Mata is increasingly frustrated with his situation at the west London club and is worried about missing out on Spain's World Cup squad.


The significance of the nursing station hub is visually communicated with framing structures and lighting from above and below. Each of the formidable pillars have a square aperture "Hole in the Wall" fixture installed. The cast GRG (Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum) portion of the fixtures blends and becomes part of the wall, while the metal fixture insert is attached and hidden inside.


Gov. Terry McAuliffe helicoptered into Newport News Friday morning to help christen Jefferson Lab's new and improved particle beam accelerator, which just underwent a $338 million upgrade.
But he also came as a cheerleader, a coach and a bit as a Cassandra — warning of looming federal budget cuts and urging the state toward his vision of a "new Virginia" with a diversified economy less reliant on military spending.
Volt: GM's car of the future?


Autumn usually heralds the closure of one of Yorkshire's finest country houses to the public.
Yet this year, Harewood House near Leeds will remain open to visitors during part of the winter for a special Christmas season.
It is the first time the estate, which is still owned by the Lascelles family, has opened during the festive season since 2012.
Harewood is a major location for the filming of ITV period drama Victoria, and the series' set designer Michael Howells has been hired to dress the state rooms and kitchens in traditional Victorian style.
The 19th-century decor will evoke Christmas celebrations during the house's heyday, and visitors can discover Victorian customs such as lavish dinners, present giving and carols around the tree.
Ilkley Toy Museum has donated items such as board games, dolls' houses and tin soldiers from the era to add to the displays.
The kitchens will be themed to reflect the work of the estate servants over the festive holiday, with the chance to find out more about Victorian menus.
The gardens, which usually remain closed during the winter, will also be open this year.
Revised opening times of 10am-6pm for the house and 10am-3.30pm for the grounds will be in place.
Christmas at Harewood runs from November 24 until December 31. The estate will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
There are also a number of pre-bookable special events, including Fireside Father Christmas, twilight tours, a Christmas wreath making workshop, floristry sessions and group visits.
The summer visitor season at Harewood ends on October 29.


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During the pandemic, the human-dog bond is as strong as ever
For some folks, the pandemic has served as the perfect opportunity to introduce a new furry friend to their families.
By Joey He · Feb. 3, 2021, 2:06 p.m.
Lua Presidio
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way people live, and with that came an increased desire for canine companions.
A recent UBC study has found that as social isolation became the norm, adoption rates for dogs surged.
The study investigated how the pressures of the pandemic have impacted human-dog relationships. By analyzing information from Yad4, a national database for dog adoption in Israel, researchers were able to look into how Israel's dog adoption and abandonment patterns changed during the pandemic.
Data showed that as social restrictions became more strict, more people were adopting and fostering dogs. Meanwhile, there appeared to be no change in dog abandonment rates despite initial concerns that they would increase.
Dr. Alexandra Protopopova, co-author of the study and assistant professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, said there were news reports claiming that people were abandoning their animals even though it was unclear how the rumour started. According to Protopopova, people who saw these news reports actually wanted to help the situation by adopting.
"And so we saw exactly the opposite of what the news rumours were telling us. That in fact, abandonment did not change. But adoption went up, interest in adoption went up and interest in helping the shelter through foster programs also went up."
Dog companionship can counteract the harmful effects of social isolation, such as depression and other psychological symptoms. Lua Presidio
Protopopova highlighted the need for empirical evidence rather than unfounded assumptions.
Using a questionnaire to examine the motivation behind the spike in adoptions, the study found that of the 312 new dog owners who responded, 38.5 per cent said they had considered adoption before and "being at home during the COVID-19 lockdown seemed like a good opportunity."
37.8 per cent said they had planned to adopt a dog regardless of the pandemic, 8.0 per cent said they felt lonely or stressed and thought that owning a dog might help, and 9.3 per cent said they wanted to adopt after hearing about dog abandonment in the media.
Some people adopted due to other reasons, such as the death of a family dog or to keep their children busy during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Participants also answered a questionnaire about their well-being and the well-being of their dogs. Based on statistical analysis of the results, the study concluded that a decreased quality of life of the owner corresponded with a decreased quality of life of the dog.
These findings align with the study's emphasis on the One Welfare approach, which suggests that the welfare of humans and animals are bidirectionally connected.
In accordance with the One Welfare approach, animal shelters are taking a less traditional and more social services approach to providing support during disasters like COVID-19, said Protopopova. Leaders in the animal sheltering industry are trying to determine what services are missing from vulnerable areas and what can be done to "support the welfare of both the human and the animal."
"We share our environment with our companion animals, and they share their environment with us," said Protopopova, referencing the thousands year old history of cohabitation people share with dogs. "We are intrinsically linked."
"For at least 14,000 years, we have been systematically breeding dogs. And we've been breeding them in a way that they can read our signals, understand our communications, have a direct empathy with us and so forth."
— Dr. Stanley Coren, professor emeritus in department of psychology
Dr. Stanley Coren, a professor emeritus in UBC's psychology department who was not involved with the study, described the strong affinity between people and dogs as a result of genetics. After years of systematically breeding the friendliest dogs together, humans have created an animal that fills the "ecological niche" of being a companion.
"For at least 14,000 years, we have been systematically breeding dogs. And we've been breeding them in a way that they can read our signals, understand our communications, have a direct empathy with us and so forth," said Coren.
According to Coren, dog companionship can even counteract the harmful effects of social isolation, such as depression and other psychological symptoms. For instance, seniors who live alone are highly susceptible to depression, but living with a dog can reduce their likelihood of developing depression by 75 per cent, said Coren.
Austin Leung, a third-year cognitive systems student, has been able to spend more time with his dog during the pandemic. He said this relationship has cheered him up in times of loneliness and compared having a dog to "having a friend that just always wants to be with you."
His dog is also a source of support when he's stressed. For him, hanging out with his dog is a more rewarding way to relieve stress than turning to his phone.
Leung's response matches what experts say. According to Coren, evidence shows that interacting with dogs regulates people's breathing, lowers blood pressure, relaxes muscles and reduces corticosteroids, a class of steroid hormones naturally produced in the human body. These changes are consistent with a reduction in stress.
"We pet a dog, and it's the same thing as doing six weeks worth of Prozac," said Coren.
The relationship between Leung and his dog reinforces an idea that experts have long known to be true: the human-dog bond is deeply rooted.
"If you look at most cultures, throughout history [they] have had a very, very strong relationship with their companion animal," said Protopopova. "And it's probably going to continue that way."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Amadablam, prominently known as the "Matterhorn of the Himalaya" is a standout amongst the most ravishing mountains on the planet situated in the Himalayan scope of Eastern Nepal. Ama Dablam describes itself with its one of a kind pyramid shape. The hanging icy mass seen on the southwest face of Ama Dablam look somewhat like the hallowed trimming box utilized by Sherpa Women, which is known as Dablam, along these lines giving it a name as "Ama Dablam" This pinnacle is 6,812 meters in rise from the ocean level. This mountain isn't noteworthy for its stature yet for its style it holds. Mt. Ama Dablam is situated in the Khumbu district of Nepal, south of Mt. Everest. One should see some stunning perspectives amid the rising to the zenith.
The typical rising to Amadablam is done from the South-western edge. This was a similar course took after by the climbers who came to the best out of the blue to the best in 1961. Ordinarily, climbers set up three camps just underneath and the privilege of the hanging ice sheet, "Dablam". The climb is unassuming up to camp 1, yet the test begins from camp 1 to camp 2 as it gets more specialized in the thin edges of edges produced using stone. Difficulties are high while moving from camp 2 to camp 3. Some danger of ice sheet falls can't be gotten away however it is said that, experience without hazard is Disneyland. One should prepare himself the aptitudes of shake and ice climbing and become acclimated to high elevation before considering Ama Dablam. On the off chance that you have previous experience as a climber and wish to participate in a group of a campaign to a world's most unprecedented mountain, at that point Amadablam Expedition is for you.
Moreover, Amadablam Expedition is technical and resides on the crossroads of Everest Base Camp Trekking. One can witness the magnificence of Khumbu valley along with the chance to conquer the most beautiful peak of the world.
Day 03: Fly to Lukla 2,886m-9468 ft & trek to Phakding 2,640m- 8,661 ft - 04 hrs.
Day 04: Trek to Namche Bazaar 3,440 m-11,286 ft - 06 hrs.
Day 06: Trek to Tengboche 3,867 m-12,687 ft - 05hrs.
Day 07: Trek to Dingboche 4,260 m-13,976 ft - 05 hrs.
Day 08: Trek to Lobuche 4,930 m-16,175 ft - 05 hrs.
Day 09: Trek to Gorakshep 5,170 m-16,962 ft, Everest Base Camp 5, 364 m-17,598 ft.
Day 10: Hike to Kalapatthar 5,545 m-18,192 ft trek to Pangboche 3,900 m-12,795 ft.
Day 11: Trek to Amadablam Base Camp 4,650 m-15,256 ft - 04 hrs.
Day 12-24: Ascent of Amadablam (14 days).
Day 25: Cleaning up at Base Camp.
Day 26: Trek to Tengboche 3,867 m-12,687 ft - 05 hrs.
Day 29-30: In Kathmandu with cultural tour at places of interest.
Our representative will come to the airport for transfer to the Hotel. After some refreshment in the hotel, Our Tour leader will make pre departure meeting in the Hotel or at our office. The meetings will covers trip related information's & collecting your Documents (passport copy, 2 passport size photos, Travel insurance).
After the first day walk, today the trek could be long as heads uphill at above 3,440 meters high at Namche Bazaar, starting the morning walk crossing few time over the Dudh Koshi, and then reaching at an entrance gate of Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo. After checking the Park & Trekking tickets and permits, further walk leads on the bank of the river, then after the last high bridge an uphill walk for few hours all the way to Namche Bazaar, here we will have two nights in this large prosperous trading town –village as well the main centre and capital of Khumbu area with facilities of ATMs, Cyber cafes, stores, shops, restaurants, banks and fresh bakery with busy colorful interesting Saturday market.
An ideal and perfect place for rest day for acclimatization, at Namche take a short hike up to park museum which houses great range of information from mountaineering, flora – fauna and Sherpa culture and religions, this scenic spot offers a grand panorama of high snow capped mountains including Mt. Everest and stunning Ama Dablam, other options hike to Everest View Hotel for another beautiful views of the surrounding mountains above old Syangboche air strip. For energetic people can take a walk of few hours visiting the sleepy Khumjung and Khunde located on a glacial valley beneath the majestic holy peak of Khumbila the patron god of Khumbu.
After a good rest and acclimatization, morning starts walking along a gradual winding wider nice path, maintained by old Sherpa man since last 2 decades doing it voluntarily for goodwill to mankind with small funds and donation from the trekkers passing on this route, walk gets better through conifer and rhododendron woodland, with the striking views of Amadablam, the walk further offers striking views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Thamserku and Kwangde peak, then the path descends towards Imjatse river at Phunge Tenga, after a rest here on the uphill path through a nice serene forest to reach at Tengboche Monastery. A scenic spot with awesome views of Amadablam, Kangtenga, Thamserku, Kwangde and Mt. Everest, this place is also a holy spot as the head lama (Rinpoche) of the monastery resides here. In this monastery, mountaineers take blessing from the high lama priest for better success and safe expedition.
With glorious morning views, morning walk leads to a long descend to Imjatse rive passing a small place of Debuche, walking into beautiful birch-rhododendron and pines forest, on reaching the strong steel bridge where the tree lines vanish for smaller juniper and rhododendron bushes, after the bridge a slow climb to reach at Pangboche the last permanent village, beyond are just settlement with lodges to serve trekkers. The trail leads slowly through exposed landscapes with excellent view of Amadablam at close distance, on the way back after Everest base camp our route leads from Pangboche to Amadablam base camp. After Pangboche stopping for lunch break at Shomare, a popular spot for lunch and short break, after lunch on the gentle uphill for few hours and then climb after the bridge for short while to reach at Dingboche located in the wonderful Imjatse valley, after a nice pleasant trek walk of the day.
On leaving Dingboche, taking an uphill path to reach at a ridge festooned with prayer flags and stupas, with excellent views of the valley and snow capped peaks, walk is gentle on the slow uphill slope all the way to Thugala for lunch a small place where the Khumbu glacier melts into a raging icy river, here the trail from Pheriche and Dingboche meets, here with stunning view of Taboche, Cholatse, Lobuche, Pumori, Ama Dablam, afternoon an hour to a ridge with many memorials of the late climbers both foreigners and Nepalese mountaineers. From here a pleasant walk but catching slight of altitude as it leads to Lobuche for overnight stop.
Walk this morning can be long to Everest base camp our main destination and highlights of this adventure, taking a slow walk reaching a path close to Glass Pyramid house, a metrological station funded and run by Nepalese and Italian scientists, from this spot a small steep climb reaching at Khumbu glacier, as the walk leads through over moraine of rocks and small icy streams to reach at Gorakshep with views of Mt. Pumori, Lingtrin, Khumbutse and Mt. Everest. After a break here continue walk to Everest Base Camp along the moraine and ice, on reaching at Everest Base Camp after a tiring but exciting walk, enjoy the break overlooking tip of Everest with tumbling Khumbu ice falls close to base camp, around high season for expeditions, this place will be like a Jambore with many colorful camps and busy. After a great moment feeling high return journey back to Gorakshep for another adventure climb to Kalapathar next early morning.
Getting up early morning, trek and climb on a steep uphill to Kalapatthar for stunning panorama view of Mt. Everest with array of surroundings peaks, this will be the highest point of this great adventure at 5,545 m, after a thrilling and breathe taking scenery, downhill walk to Gorakshep and then continue the return journey all the way to Thugla through Lobuche and walking on the flat Pheriche valley, a nice settlement just near to Dingboche over the hill towards east, this place with many good lodges with HRA (Himalayan Rescue Association) medical post with superb views of Taboche, Cholatse, Amadablam. After Pheriche a pleasant walk with few ups to encounter and finally on the downhill much of the way to Pangboche village for overnight stop and last night in the comfort of lodge for about two weeks, as from here to Amadablam base camp in tents and camping facilities.
From Pangboche village, morning starting with a downhill towards Imjatse River and crossing a small wooden bridge, and then a steep climb of 30 minutes, leading to a large summer pasture with few yak herders huts, from here on a gradual uphill trail to Amadablam base camp, where our expedition and climb starts, base camp located on a large field just beneath towering magnificent Mt. Amadablam.
During these 14 days all members will be engrossed in packing, dividing loads and checking equipment for the final summit bid. It is hard to predict the exact day for the summit bid during these 14 days itinerary for the climb. While our guide and team member will make the route and fix ropes and carrying loads up to next camps. From this route Ray Delaney from USA climbed the South West ridge of Amadablam with Joe Simpson from UK in April 1990. Route description as follows, from Base Camp following an old grassy moraine ridges roughly eastwards to a broad saddle from one can see a Mingbo-La. From the saddle turn north and climb up rocky ground and finally through boulders to the ridge below Pt.5, 705 which is the site of camp I. There are four or five tents platforms.
From Camp I: Cross a rocky bowl (tricky if snow covered) until below two rock fingers, then move on to a ridge proper. Climbing the ridge involves rock climbing of severe standard with steps of VS (USA 5.6) Camp II is at the top yellow tower, which gives one of the hardest pitches on the climb at VS/Hard VS (5.8).
From Camp II:Skirt a red rock bluff on the east and follow a ramp line to a gray tower. Move into the ramp (some stone fall danger) and climb to an amphitheater. Continue up a broad gully on between the gray tower and the lower rock buttress and climb a snow slope to ' Santa's Grotto' at the start of Mushroom ridge. Possible bivvy site Follow the mushroom ridge to a crevasse in the upper face, which offers another good bivvy site. Climb the snow/ Ice slope to the right of the face, and then follow mixed ground to the top of the highest hanging glacier. An ice crest now leads in a magnificent position to the summit. Super Views! All need to be back at base camp by Day 21-22. At this point the porters will arrive for our walk out to Lukla.
Today after regaining energy back after the hard climb, everyone will be engaged cleaning up the base camp and packing including waste or unused batteries back home. An extra day to re-organize camping and climbing equipment, clean up the rubbish, picking up everything that has been brought leaving nothing except foot prints behind, collected rubbish to bring it back and to be handed to SPCC (Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee) or to bring back to Kathmandu this is important to collect the garbage deposit money back.
After a great tiring and adventurous climb of Mt. Amadablam, from the base camp a pleasant walk with few ups on route to Pangboche to reach at Tengboche, the path leads downhill much of the way through Pangboche village on reaching a bridge with a climb back into the woodland area to Tengboche for overnight stop.
Today the last of this great adventure and trekking ending at Lukla, the walk leads on the easier path after being on the high hills and valley, reaching Lukla with a last climb for 45 minutes, at Lukla for lunch and last overnight stop, with free afternoon and to organize gratitude and farewell dinner with fellow staff and porters.
At Lukla the flight operates from early morning to Kathmandu, sometimes the flight time can get delayed due to unfavorable and bad weather, as per the flight time board in a small Dornier or Twin Otter plane for the scenic flight back to Kathmandu, on reaching at Katmandu domestic terminal Trexmount Ventures staff transfer you back to respective hotels in the heart of Kathmandu around Thamel area.
This two days reserved in case of flight delay in Lukla due to unfavorable weather conditions, on this two extra free day you can book for sightseeing tour, in our interesting cultural heritage tour around Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan this cities full of world heritage sites, however some of them been damaged from recent earthquake, on this free day with time visiting ministry of tourism to submit the climbing report to respective government department.


These sweet potato stuffed peppers recipes make a delicious side dish for any meat dish or entree.
Coat a large baking sheet and an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Spread sweet potato chunks across baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over high heat, heat olive oil.
Saute onion and garlic until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add parsley, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper; mix well.
Remove sweet potatoes from oven and add to bread crumb mixture.
Fill each pepper with mixture and place in baking dish.
Pour water in bottom of baking dish.
Bake 20 minutes, or until golden and tender.


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SCL Commercialisation Under India Semiconductor Mission: MeitY Invites Proposal For Asset Valuation Of Fab Facilities
by Swarajya Staff - Jan 27, 2022 09:38 AM +05:30 IST
SCL
The Union Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has invited proposals for undertaking the asset valuation of the ISRO-owned Semiconductor Lab (SCL) at Mohali.
As part of its recently unveiled $10 billion incentive package to build a semiconductor ecosystem in the country, the government is likely to pursue its efforts to modernize and commercialize the brownfield semiconductor chip fabrication facility of SCL through a joint venture.
The Union Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has invited sealed quotations from registered valuers for undertaking the asset valuation of the ISRO-owned Semiconductor Lab (SCL) at Mohali.
As part of its recently unveiled $10 billion incentive package to build a semiconductor ecosystem in the country, the Government of India is pursuing options to commercialise SCL.
The government is likely to pursue its efforts to modernize and commercialize the brownfield semiconductor chip fabrication facility of SCL through a joint venture.
Formerly known as Semiconductor Complex Limited (a state-owned enterprise), it was moved under Department of Space in 2006 and renamed SCL.
SCL has integrated facilities / supporting infrastructure all under one roof and undertakes activities focused on Design, Development, Fabrication, Assembly & Packaging, Testing and Quality Assurance of microdevices for various applications.
SCL currently has tools that can process starting wafers of 200mm size. In 2021, SCL sought to upgrade its fabs from a 180nm technology node to a 65nm technology node. It reportedly shared a proposal to MEITY for technology node upgradation
As part of its efforts to modernise SCL, the government is likely to ask MEITY to take over the SCI facility as part of "India Semiconductor Mission". SCL is currently operates under ISRO which is Department of Space.
SCL had a budget of nearly Rs.370 crore for operations and Rs 230 crore for Capex in 2019-20
The government is likely to look at several option for commercialising the operations of SCL.
While continuing with the existing 200mm production line, SCL may be asked enhance the capacity of the 180nm technology node. Even as recently as last week there are reports of chip shortage in 200mm production lines persisting for a few more years. This will however need swift action including a joint venture with a strong industry player to capture market
Adding (or converting into) compound semiconductor processing capability to SCL will be another roadmap that can be pursued. For Silicon CMOS fabrication, 300mm wafer size has been around for almost two decades, but many compound semiconductor fabs still predominantly process 150mm wafers.
There are reports that suggest "manufacturers are beginning to address this (challenges in existing production lines) by moving to the larger 200mm wafer sizes from current 150mm wafers: This could be an opportunity for SCL provided there is a strong technology partner willing to get into a joint venture or a technology transfer, as well as potentially an Indian business house who can ensure that effort is a commercial success
Another option could be to convert SCL into an "Intermediate Research Organization" (IRO) to bolster semiconductor manufacturing.
Also Read: Here Is Why Government Of India Is Trying For A JV To Modernise And Commercialise SCL Chip Fab In Chandigarh
MEITy
#FabInIndia
SCL chandigarh
India semiconductor Mission


In 2014, Robin Williams died from suicide by hanging. Growing up watching his movies, laughing until I hurt, building so much of my sense of humour around his jokes and many personas, his death hit me hard. He was supposed to be the happiest person on the planet; a man who brought untold joy to millions of people across the world, of all ages. But privately, he was in pain, and one day that pain became too much for him to bear. The public outpourings of grief were many and varied, and for a short time, we talked about depression and suicide more openly, honestly, and healthily.
Since then, many other notable and influential public figures have died. Some had tremendous influence over formative years in my life, and like Robin Williams, their passings hurt me profoundly. The world continues without them, the sun rises and sets, rain falls, flowers grow, time passes, and people fade from tangible existence into fond but sad memories. Some might say it's silly to feel so afflicted by the death of someone famous, but I challenge anyone to get from one end of life to the other without feeling moved when someone they admire passes away.
Art is a perilously undervalued resource, generally by people who are not artists themselves. Film, music, literature, theatre, poetry, paintings and more capture that essence of life that is lost in the daily grind. It's where we romanticise otherwise mundane tasks, how we communicate abstract experiences like falling in love, what we use to expose our feelings when verbalising them is impossible. It can express extremes of emotion that frighten us - lust, fear, anger, sadness - and help us heal when those feelings cause harm to us and those around us. I couldn't tell you how many times I've lain in bed or on the floor, feeling confused and overwhelmed by life, listening to music that enveloped me, protecting me from being overcome by those feelings, and offering clarity where my own words were inadequate. That music and the artists who produced it became important to me as dear friends; confidantes in whom I could put my absolute trust and with whom I could be unashamedly myself, never needing to hold back on whatever I was feeling in those moments.
The immense healing power I found there helped me through some of the darkest times in my life, reclaiming my sense of self and confidence to carry on facing the world one day after another. That's something that is overlooked when we talk about depression and suicide - it doesn't go away. If you experience depression and suicidal tendencies at a young age, it leaves a long-lasting mark on your mental health - a sort of muscle memory, but for your brain. Recently, I learned that the term for this is "passive suicidal ideation" - distinct from active suicidal ideation, in that you don't consciously wish to die, but will still find that suicidal thoughts will pop up, out of nowhere. Just as you might casually realise you quite fancy a certain sort of biscuit, I will suddenly realise that I'd like to not be alive, and then the moment passes and I resume whatever I was doing. Perhaps I will be in the shower, midway through shampooing my hair and mentally setting out my tasks for the day, when I pause and fleetingly consider how much I would like to simply stop existing, before recommencing the ritual of lather, rinse, repeat. Reluctantly, I have come to accept that this is part of my spectrum of thoughts processes now and that I don't need to be alarmed by it as long as I pay careful attention to my general state of being.
At 9 o'clock this morning, I picked up my phone to read a news alert reporting the sudden death of Chris Cornell, and I won't pretend that I was anything less than devastated. As many people who were teenagers in the 1990s, his music had played a significant role in my formative years, and Soundgarden had been one of the bands I immersed myself in, letting the music wash over me, his iconic gutteral howl cleansing me of the disarray of feelings that had overwhelmed me in that moment, while the grunge-meets-blues tempo and haunting guitar riffs soothed my distressed soul.
Throughout today, I have revisited those albums, cautiously allowing myself to remember how and why they mattered so much to me as a teenager, reveling in the time that has passed since, and the occasions too numerous to count where I've listened to the same music for the sheer enjoyment of its sound. Heartache tempered with immense gratitude at having been alive at the same time as such a phenomenal artist has taken those of us with a similar relationship to his music on a painful, cathartic journey today. And as new broke later in the day that his death had been ruled suicide by hanging, a deep and profound sadness gripped me somewhere deep inside my chest.
When an artist you admire passes away, you mourn for the skill they will never again share with the world. Chris Cornell was a breathtaking musician, unparalleled vocalist, and groundbreaking songwriter, but beyond that, there are untold people tonight who are mourning not just for the music, but for the way it touched, or even saved their lives, and for the fact that we couldn't repay that debt. Because we know those moments, where the world is too big, too dark, too scary - where you can't bear it for another day, hour, or minute. We know the absolute anguish that smothers you, the blackness that consumes you. Losing someone who saved you without ever meeting you or saying a word directly to you, and losing them to the thing that you'll always be fighting, breaks your heart.
Happy "Screw the Poor" Day, everyone!
Welcome to Budget Day, or as we've come to know it - the day where the government announce the new and innovative ways they've concoted to ruin lives and run this country into the ground.
In ten months of Tory government, plus five years under the Coalition, we've witnessed a comprehensive, ruthless, unrelenting attack on disabled people, low earners, unemployed people, families, elderly people, migrants, hospitals, schools, unions, civil rights, and the very fabric of democracy.
We were told that this was all necessary, and that our country's fragile economy would be shored up as a result of all these cost-cutting measures. This should go down in history as one of the biggest LIES ever told by a government to its people.
The government admits that at least 2000 people have died following Work Capability Assessments, though campaigners say the true figure is much higher.
WCAs have also been linked to 279,000 new cases of mental health problems, and 725,000 new prescriptions for anti-depressants.
Disabled people have been hit up to 19 times harder byausterity cuts.
While demand for mental health services has soared by 20% in the last five years, funding has been cut by 8% in real terms.
The average house price is now over TEN times a person's income, and in London NINETEEN times the average salary.
Of the NINE MILLION private renters in the UK, one-third ofprivately rented homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard.
More than 50,000 families are recorded as homeless every year, with over 103,000 children recorded as homeless for Christmas 2015.
A third of homeless people are made so because of a privatetenancy ending, and being unable to afford to find another home – this figure has trebled under David Cameron, from 11% in 2009.
The Tories rejected an amendment to the Housing and PlanningBill, which would see landlords required to ensure that homes are fit for habitation.
The CAB estimates that over 700,000 families are living in privately rented homes that are unfit for habitation, with landlords taking in £5.6bn in rent for those properties.
Over 15,000 homeless families have been put into emergency B&B accommodation in a different local authority – sometimes an hour and a half's travelling time away from children's schools.
Research by letting agents Your Move and Reeds Rains showed rents in England and Wales had increased by 15% since May 2010, or 3.6% beyond inflation.
The government has announced that by 2020, all schools willhave converted to academy status.
Overwhelming evidence has shown that academies are more thantwice as likely to become "inadequate" in Ofsted terms than schools under Local Authority control, and up to TWELVE times as likely to remain "inadequate" rather than improve.
Teachers report working on average 59 hours a week, only 1/3 of which is spent on teaching. The rest is spent on planning, administration, and management.
The number of teachers leaving the profession has risen by11% over the past 3 years, and 75% of those leave before retirement.
Workload came top (61%) in reasons given by teachers who were thinking of leaving the profession in a recent YouGov survey for the National Union of Teachers, closely followed by seeking a better work-life balance (57%).
55% of 338 school leaders surveyed by the Association of School and College Leaders have reported a large rise in pupils with anxietyand stress.
The NSPCC reported that the number of young people in Britain seeking counselling over exam stress has increased by 200% in recentyears.
The "Prevent" agenda has been branded toxic and criticised for exacerbating Islamophobia, as families report feeling threatened with having their children removed.
Some Further Education staff have experienced a real-termspay cut of 17% after years of below-inflation rises and pay freezes.
Spending for adult education has been slashed by 25%, with a loss of over a million adult learners so far.
£45million has been cut from ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes, affecting 16,000 places.
University maintenance grants for the UK's poorest studentswere scrapped without a Commons vote, after a legislation committee with just 17 MPs present took the decision.
The poorest students will now graduate with an average £53,000 debt.
Around 45% of student loans will never be paid off, creating a financial time bomb for future years.
So I originally started writing this as a shouty Facebook post to summarise a few key terrible things the Tories have subjected us to since getting their claws back into government in 2010, and what horrors may unfold as the 2016/17 Budget is announced today. I've had to stop, partially because the list is now SO long - and I've barely scratched the surface, and certainly haven't analysed the impact on people's lives - but mostly because it's thoroughly demoralising to actually try and pull together a comprehensive overview of just how bad this government is.
I haven't even touched on what they've done to the NHS, the conditions endured by migrants and refugees, our failure to address our role in climate change, human rights, civil rights, and so many other areas that the Tories are continually wrecking.
We were sold the austerity package as the only hope of stabilishing our economy in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008/9. We were told there was no alternative, that we were all in this together.
Well as the richest 1000 families saw their personal wealth double since the recession, while the net wealth of the poorest 20% has decreased by 57%, I don't feel very TOGETHER.
With more and more devastating cuts wreaked on the most vulnerable sectors of our society, written into legislation by millionaire MPs who have personal stakes in private companies now holding contracts for the NHS, have massive property portfolios for private rental, and make a fortune from lobbying groups - I don't feel very TOGETHER.
Countries such as Iceland, who were also hit by the recession, have gotten their economy back on track by letting the banks go bust instead of bailing them out, investing in public services and jailing the bankers who caused the economic crisis. Meanwhile, our deficit hasn't even been halved, when Osborne claimed he would have eradicated it by 2015, and we have created more new debt since 2010 than every Labour government in UK history combined.
There was always an alternative. Austerity is a lie, and we continue to be conned by it. Eleven-million voters were conned by their promises in 2015, and now the remaining fifty-five million people in the UK are paying the price.
Every single petition that calls on the government to reverse or halt another devastating decision under the banner of austerity, every last demonstration and protest, every piece of alternative media that exposes their lies - every small and seemingly inconsequential thing we do chips away at their facade. By getting organised, mobilising into a united front, and keeping up the pressure on them, we stand a small chance of making a difference. And if not, I'm sure as hell not going to let them get away quietly.
This seems like a logical place to plug the next People's Assembly demonstration.
April 16th, central London - March for Health, Homes, Jobs, and Education.
Lumps and bumps, aches and pains, and never enough spoons.
A little over 2 years ago, I wrote my first blog post about having fibromyalgia. It's a pretty miserable condition, not least because it's completely invisible, so there's a lot of explaining to people about why you can't walk far, or why you need to lie down for a while because you stood up too quickly. For the most part, people are patient, understanding, curious and good natured about it. But it is still exhausting to explain it, and to some degree I still feel a bit embarrassed about not being able to keep up with my peers over the simplest of things, like going for a nice walk somewhere.
When I first wrote about my illness, I was a stay-at-home mum to four children, the youngest of whom was just over a year old. Since then I've taken up voluntary work with the Green Party, which I absolutely love and in many ways has given my mental health a huge boost by giving me a sense of purpose. The flip side is that it's also shown me just how much being ill limits my capability to function.
This weekend, I was invited to a training weekend at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Workshops (one delivered by me, eep!), discussion groups, a picnic on the beach and glamping - so much fun, and always wonderful to meet new people with the same outlook on life as me. I even met someone else with fibromyalgia! We had a great time comparing symptoms and having a whinge about everything. Unfortunately I didn't do a great job of taking care of myself, and when it came time for me to go home on Sunday morning, I already knew I would be paying for the exertion of the weekend for quite a while. Sitting on the tube, waiting to get off the train to change at Oxford Circus station, I realised I was bordering on having a panic attack, purely because I realised that my arms and shoulders were so weak and bruised from carrying my bag the few hundred metres I'd had to walk through train stations already that I wasn't sure I could walk any further.
I try not to be a complainer. I try to be upbeat and positive. But I also really value honesty, and I think conditions like fibromyalgia need people to talk about them more - not just to spread awareness of their existence, but also to challenge societal structures that currently inhibit people with conditions like mine from being able to fulfil life goals as an able-bodied person would do.
The temption is always to downplay the pain. When people ask "are you ok?", most of the time they don't want the honest answer of "well actually, I feel sick and bloated, my hips are screaming at me, my legs are bruised from sitting on a chair, my peripheral vision has gone blurry, my chest hurts so much that breathing is a real challenge, and I need to sleep like you wouldn't believe!". And so I smile, tell them I feel good and carry on with acting out the part of someone who doesn't want to curl up and cry. Facebook is a particularly tempting playground for painting a picture of everything being amazing. I can be lying in bed, whimpering in pain, unable to sit up for more than a few minutes, but if I post a joke or a funny cat picture on Facebook, I can at least persuade people that I'm ok and I don't want or need their sympathy.
I want to go back to paid employment sometime soon. I want a stimulating and fulfilling job! I'd really like that to be linked to the Green Party, because I've been passionately pouring my limited energy into it for a year now and feel I have so much more I want to give! But... the fact I need to accept is that my health is so unpredictable that I will make a terrible employee. Some mornings I wake up and can't move, can't talk. Some days, just the ten minute round trip for the school run is enough to end up with me lying on the sofa, dizzy and struggling to breathe. Some days, my legs will bruise and swell up just because I've sat on a wooden bench instead of a squishy sofa.
The reality of leaving the house early every morning, travelling to work, then sitting in an office and being productive for several hours, then travelling back home - this is something that I can't kid myself that I'm capable of doing in any reliable capacity. A day here and there, ok. Sounds good. I've had some trips into London to the Green Party office for training days and meetings, and it's been good. I've then had to spend at least 2 days in bed to recuperate.
I like to use the Spoon Theory analogy to explain to people why small, everyday tasks take on a whole new level of challenge when you have a condition like fibromyalgia. You can read more about it here - and please do.
I've spoken to some people with disabilities who say that we view all this upside down - that in fact it's not the individual who is disabled, but society. People have different capabilities that may manifest in anatomical differences, mental health differences, or in "invisible" conditions, such as mine. These are only DISabilities because society is exclusionary - starting with our language and our societal outlook towards anybody whose capacity for economic productivity is below optimal. We ascribe value to people according to how much work they can put in versus how much they take out, so someone with any form of condition that changes that balance is treated as lesser than someone in optimum health.
I want to go back to paid employment, but would any employer be prepared to take me on, knowing that I may be off sick a lot? Or that I may need to work from home? Or that I may not be as efficient as someone who doesn't need to lie down every hour or so? How can we change things to make employment and wider society more aware of the needs of people with disabilities, and more receptive to meeting those needs without making a big song and dance about it?
My dream job would be as a member of Parliament - but the demands and rigour of the campaign trail when I stood as a candidate in this year's election wiped me out. The job itself involves long hours, lots of stress and lots of travelling. Do I know that I could be a good representative for people in my constituency, given my health and limitations? Why should I be excluded from pursuing this role because of those issues? Currently job-share MPs are not permitted, as my colleagues discovered when they attempted to be nominated as jobshare parliamentary candidates and were refused.
It's taken a long time for me to come to terms with the fact that fibromyalgia has this big an effect on my life, and that this means I am a person with a disability. Actually taking the time to permit myself to identify as disabled has been very empowering, which I didn't think it would be. I thought that identifying as disabled would be admitting a weakness, because that's how we treat people who aren't able-bodied.
On the campaign for electoral reform: "I didn't vote for these cuts".
"Two very different ideas are usually confounded under the name democracy. The pure idea of democracy, according to its definition, is the government of the whole people by the whole people, equally represented. Democracy as commonly conceived and hitherto practised is the government of the whole people by a mere majority of the people, exclusively represented. The former is synonymous with the equality of all citizens; the latter, strangely confounded with it, is a government of privilege, in favour of the numerical majority, who alone possess practically any voice in the State. This is the inevitable consequence of the manner in which the votes are now taken, to the complete disfranchisement of minorities."
The 2015 general election... I'm still struggling to find words that really convey how I'm feeling, having watched with increasing despondency as the results rolled in and the Conservative seats went up and up. None of the opinion polls from the past few months indicated that we were headed for a Conservative majority, and there is a definite mood of pure dread at what the election result will mean for vulnerable people who have already borne 5 years of devastating austerity measures.
There are some messages of hope, however. Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, was re-elected with a massively increased majority. All over the UK, the Greens' share of the vote has surged upwards, with us coming second in more seats than ever before and sending a clear message to the establishment that people are not happy with the status quo and that the First Past the Post voting system needs to go.
The Tories may have a majority this time, but it is a much smaller majority than the last government, with 331 seats compared to the 363 seats that made up the Coalition Government which formed after the 2010 election (306 Conservative, 57 Liberal Democrats). When you factor in the enormous increase in the presence of the SNP, who now have 56 MPs (up from their previous number of 6), a different picture of parliament emerges. There is now a much stronger - much needed - anti-austerity presence in parliament than ever before.
It is an indictment of our outdated voting system that we once again have a Prime Minister and a government controlled by a party whom two-thirds of voters didn't elect. If we include the number of people who didn't vote at all, the Conservative vote share drops to less than a quarter.
More than 75% of registered UK voters didn't vote for a Conservative MP, and yet because of the First Past the Post system, 100% of people living in the UK will have to live under Conservative policies.
Realising that little point has gone some way to restoring my faith in British people rather a lot, having spent a reasonable amount of the past couple of days wondering how on earth so many could vote for a party who have overseen such horrendous consequences of the austerity agenda, and an abject failure to have achieved their own goal of reducing national debt and eradicating the budget deficit in the process.
To briefly address those who may counter by saying that the call for electoral reform is because lefties are sore losers, I'd just like to point out that moving away from First Past the Post is something supported by a vast range of parties, and that the biggest gains would potentially be for UKIP - a far-right party! In actual fact, a move towards a more representative voting system would benefit everyone in the country.
Whilst I may abhor UKIP's exploitation of xenophobia and discrimination against migrants to further their anti-EU agenda, the fact is that people vote for them. In fact, almost 4million people voted for them this Thursday, but the FPtP system yielded just one UKIP MP. Furthermore, because MPs are only permitted to respond to issues from people living in their own constituency, it is only the 19,642 people living in Clacton who voted for Douglas Carswell who will be directly represented in parliament. Likewise, while the Green Party secured over 1million votes, only the 22,871 who elected Caroline Lucas as MP for Brighton Pavilion will be able to contact her, while the remaining 1,134,742 Green voters in England and Wales are effectively left unrepresented.
An electoral system which leaves 98% of voters with no representation in parliament for their preferred party is simply not fit for purpose, and people all over the UK are waking up to this fact.
So how do we change things? Moving to a system of proportional representation (PR) would be one step, because it broadens the pool from which votes are counted so instead of electing one MP per constituency, seats in parliament would be drawn from a much larger pool and allocated according to shares of the overall vote. Depending on how this is organised, this would mean that votes in Brighton are counted alongside votes in Sunderland and that no voter is left unrepresented in the way they are now.
Each of these methods would require another step to decide which candidates takes up the seats won; the European elections use party lists, where the parties decide in advance a list of preference for the candidates, and seats are allocated in that order. This has many criticisms, not least that it should be down to the people to decide who their candidate is rather than being pre-selected by the party. Another Angry Voice author, Thomas Clark, has summed this up and suggested an alternative in his blog HERE.
When you change how MPs are elected, inevitably the local link to parliament is compromised. It is incredibly important for accountability and democracy that people feel that government is accessible, however, and so a move towards PR would have to go hand in hand with changes to how district, borough and town councils work. The most logical way to do this, would be to expand councils - have more councillors, devolve more power to councils and give them much more funding. Decisions should be made at the most local level possible, and that is something that the Coalition really undermined.
My ideal electoral system would have fewer MPs, all elected by a form of PR; much more power and funding for local councils, with more councillors elected; reform of the role of MPs so they work more closely with councils to create a better flow between Westminster and local government; reform of how parliament operates, with the Prime Minister elected by MPs instead of automatically going to the leader of the party with most seats.
If we can achieve this, and combine it with other steps such as capping donations to political parties, closer regulation of election spending, and establishing an independent regulatory body for press ethics, we could create a political system which is much fairer, more democratic, much more accessible - and actually represents the vast spectrum of political views across the nation.
All of this is possible. It's not a dream. Campaigning for proportional representation is one way that we can fight for the politics we deserve, but there are many other ways we can work together in the next 5 years against whatever nightmares the Conservatives plan to unleash. There will be demonstrations aplenty, community groups in need of volunteers, petitions to send to Westminster, social media to spread the word - and political parties you can join (*coff* join.greenparty.org.uk *coff*).
We've had a day to feel glum about the election outcome. Now it's time to dust ourselves off, prop one another up and get out there to fight.
Remember, 75% of adults in the UK didn't vote Conservative.
Actually we'd probably have even more because nobody would have to vote tactically!
My night of sleeping rough.
Bear with me if this post is a little rambly. I've not long come home from a night on a sponsored "sleep out" with fellow volunteers from the Winter Night Shelter MK - a homeless shelter in Milton Keynes that operates from December to March, offering overnight accomodation, food and company to homeless men and women in the city.
After the project closed for the year earlier this month, one of the team leaders arranged for some of us to spend a night sleeping rough, being sponsored by friends and family, in order to raise money for the shelter to run next winter, and also as an expression of solidarity with MK's rising homeless population.
Thirty volunteers from the project met by the Jaipur restaurant in Central Milton Keynes. The restaurant owner had kindly agreed to let us use a piece of land next door, and also to use the restaurant's toilets until they closed just after midnight! After a health and safety briefing, we settled down to lay out our mats/cardboard/groundsheets/deck chairs and get ready to face a night outdoors. Most were confident that we wouldn't be getting any sleep at all - and with a very jovial festival-like atmosphere in the air, we didn't really mind that thought.
The Mayor of Milton Keynes, Derek Eastman, came along at 11pm to wish us well and take lots of photos, and the owner from Jaipur joined him to offer a donation of £300 to the fundraiser. Even more welcome than that was the several bags of poppadums that the staff then brought out for us!
As it was nearing midnight when the restaurant staff and the Mayor left us to it, I decided to try and settle down for the night. I had prepared myself for intense cold, so was wearing 2 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of socks, 3 tops, a coat, hat and 2 scarves. I was just about warm enough! I zipped myself into my sleeping bag, put my headphones in and turned the music up just loud enough to drown out the traffic and chatter. About 20 minutes later, it started raining! We had previously agreed that if the forecast rain did present itself, we would relocate to a nearby underpass* for the rest of the night, and so we did just that.
*if you don't live in Milton Keynes, an underpass probably means something totally different to you. I had no idea what one was when I moved here, but it's essentially a short subway that is used to traverse the multitude of main roads around MK rather than using pedestrian crossings.
Making the switch from grass to concrete wasn't welcome, but blessedly the "military grade" (ooh-er) roll mat I had bought turned out to be a worthwhile investment and provided brilliant cushioning from the paving slabs - and I figured out how to use my rucksack as a pillow. Attempt #2 at sleeping proved more successful and although I was cold and uncomfortable, it wasn't too bad.
Around 3am, I woke again (sleeping on the ground when you have arthritis in your hips is a very achey experience!) and realised that most of the volunteers were sleeping. I was at the very end of my group, and suddenly a feeling of insecurity came over me. I felt vulnerable and exposed. Safety hadn't really been an enormous concern while I was preparing for the event as I knew there would be a big group of us, and the police were very supportive. But actually being there, in the small hours of the morning, with most people asleep and utterly exposed to the world - that was frightening.
I started thinking about how people who sleep like this because they have no choice must feel. That anxiety, that intense feeling of vulnerability and isolation - it floored me, and I knew that I would be up and on my way home at 6am, ready for a nice cup of tea and to probably write a blog post about my experience. People who are genuinely homeless have no such thing to look forward to. Everything is an uncertainty. Your safety for the immediate future, your next meal, how people will treat you when they see you, whether you will ever have a warm, stable home again.
Through volunteering with the shelter I met at least 60 people who had been homeless for varying lengths of time. Their stories were incredible and very grounding - yet no two were the same, and very few involved instances of substance abuse, which is so often the stereotype attributed to homeless people. We were encouraged, as volunteers, to not invest too much emotion in what we were doing. Our purpose was to be there for the night, to provide company, food and somewhere warm and safe to sleep for the night - and so I tried not to dwell too much on what these men and women must have endured while sleeping on the streets.
You can't participate in a sleep-out like I did last night without that changing. I had the tiniest taste of what it might feel like to be that exposed and vulnerable, and it frightened me. Now that I'm home, comfy and warm again with a huge cup of tea, I am angry. I am so angry that homelessness is on the rise all over the country. I am angry that we have endured a government that, for five years, has demonised the very people I and countless others have spent months volunteering to help. I am furious that the system, which already let too many people slip through the net, has been squeezed and cut to punitive levels, so much so that people are dying as a direct result of welfare cuts and benefit sanctions.
At 5am today, the sun started to rise and we congratulated ourselves on having made it through the night, packed up our sleeping bags and mats and made our ways home. So far the sleep-out has raised £2500 towards helping the Winter Night Shelter operate again from December, and we hope to see more donations come in over the next few days. I hope that reading my rambling brain-fart account of last night might prompt you to send a few pounds our way and help the increasing number of people with nowhere to live in Milton Keynes.
Demand is increasing; since 2010 the YMCA has gone from turning away 30 people a month to 55.
Wow, I started writing this AGES ago, but after our housing policy made the news today, it seemed worth getting back to this!
Following on from my earlier post exploring why immigration is not to blame for the UK's woes, this piece will elaborate on the housing crisis, with which many of us will be personally familiar.
There are currently more than 610,000 empty homes in England alone. Estimates including Wales & Northern Ireland push this up to more like 835,000. Why are they empty? Most are privately owned as second homes and registered with the council (for council tax purposes) as empty. Some were intended to be rented out but have fallen into disrepair. Some are flats located within (above or behind) and owned by shops. There are even some which were intended to be part of new developments built by investors but were then abandoned before completion! In 2013, government data recorded 1.8million people on social housing waiting lists in England.
Looking at these two pieces of information, should we not be more than a little irked that the government aren't doing MORE to turn these empty houses into functioning homes to alleviate the housing crisis?
Moreover, in the past 30 years 2.5million council houses have been sold through the Right to Buy scheme for up to 47% less than their market value. Now while the idea of enabling council tenants to secure ownership of their homes sounds like a great idea, bear in mind that this enormous amount of social housing has not been replenished by the government, and 2013 data shows that only 1.7million council properties remain.
No security. Tenancies are frequently 6 - 12 months long, with no guarantee of renewal and a landlord's ability to end the contract with 2 months notice.
Uncapped letting agents' fees. The average fees for an agent are £350 every time you move house.
Deposits with no guarantee you'll see the money again. Six weeks rent is the norm for a security deposit, intended as as a safeguard against any damage to the property. This is paid in advance of moving in and returned (if you're lucky!) after you move out. If you're moving from one rented property to another, you need to come up with the deposit AND first month's rent in advance before receiving your previous deposit refund.
Extortionate rent. Competition and government subsidies through housing benefit have allowed rents to soar. An "affordable" 4 bedroom flat in London now requires an annual salary of £100k.
Homelessness from the private sector is on the increase, accounting for 11% of those acccepted as 'homeless' in 2009, as families find themselves with a terminated contract yet unable to either find or afford a new tenancy.
So what do we do? How do we fix this? The government's social housing budget is currently just £1.5bn, nowhere near enough to address the 1.8 million people long waiting list. We need a serious commitment to ending Right to Buy and building sufficient social housing homes.
Earlier this month, the Green Party announced a manifesto commitment to build 500,000 social housing homes over the course of the next parliament if elected to government, as well as ending the Right to Buy scheme and implementing additional policies such as rent caps for the private rental sector and ending "revenge evictions" for tenants. The full details will be released with the manifesto next month, but I wanted to take a closure look at the announcement to build half a million social homes.
First question - how in the devil do you intend to afford this? What will it cost?
Simple answer: 500,000 homes costing £60,000 each to build over five years = £30 billion over the course of the five year parliament.
How to do this? Gradually, of course. We know the government's current social housing budget is an insufficient £1.5bn, so we increase this gradually each year until the annual social housing budget in 2020 reaches £9billion/pa.
Why do you have to do it slowly? Where does the money come from?
As with our other policies such as zero university tuition fees, reinstating EMA for college students, investing in the NHS, bringing the railways into public ownership - the money comes from overhauling the tax system. It takes time to bring that money into the public purse, so we stagger the spending accordingly.
The shortfall from tax avoidance and evasion is currently around the £100billion mark. We have already pledged our commitment to a Tax Dodging Bill that would clamp down on this and bring significant sums of money into the economy. Let's estimate, for now, that we could reliably set this figure at £25billion (a very conservative fraction of the actual amount that should be paid but isn't).
A wealth tax of 1% on the assets of those with a personal wealth of over £3million pounds would bring in at least £22billion over the course of a five year parliament.
That's not even the full picture of changes we would implement, and already we've saved or generated an additional £187 BILLION for the UK economy. That £30billion cost of building half a million social homes doesn't look so scary now, does it?
Let's also remember the hidden costs of not having enough social housing: housing benefit makes up 14% of welfare spending at the moment, and as most of it is paid to working people on low wages living in private rented accomodation, that money disappears straight into the hands of private landlords. Additionally, homelessness is estimated to cost the government £1billion every year.
By building enough social homes for people on low incomes to live, we not only take a huge step towards redressing the coalition government's legacy of soaring inequality, but we also begin to create a more sustainable society.
Building these homes is a very sensible move. It works financially and it works morally.
It's election season, yaaaaay! Ok, so maybe I'm in a minority of very excited people but this year is going to be like nothing we've seen before. We have an election being contested by TWO parties who've never before been considered big players, alongside the three usual suspects of Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Now, I'm really not a fan of UKIP but I do have to concede that anything that shakes up our political landscape and gets people talking is very interesting indeed.
If you've read my blog before, you've probably gathered that I'm a huge supporter of the Green Party - so much so that I'm a paid up member and candidate for the next election! I'm passionate about their policies and frankly relieved to see someone in British politics genuinely fighting for the wellbeing of ordinary and vulnerable people.
We've seriously raised our profile in the past year, with membership quadrupling in England and Wales (we hit 50,000 members yesterday!) and our polling figures taking us past the Lib Dems, into our highest ever consistent figures. Naturally, with that comes closer scrutiny of our policies and a reasonable amount of hysterical press coverage. That's fine. We know our policies are amazing and we're only too happy to be given the right of reply to defend them. Maybe we need to work on our media strategy a bit, but hey! we're not career politicians with armies of Malcolm Tucker spin doctors telling us how to make bad things sound good. We are a group of devoted, compassionate people who have compiled a set of policies that we have every faith in working for the common good. We don't need spin.
Unlike the other parties, our policies are freely available on our website for anyone to read. We don't hide them away until we can find ways to dress them up. It's all there. In some ways, that's making life harder for us because many of our policies require a huge break away from how society is currently structed, and if you take them out of context, they look a bit... well... bananas. We could just take the policy site offline and, as the other parties do, only tell you what we stand for on our own terms, through cleverly constructed press releases and snappy soundbites, but we'd rather maintain a feature I'm personally very proud of - our transparency and honesty.
So I spend a lot of time talking to people about politics and why they should want to vote for us. The main objections I hear are that "politicians are all the same" and "power corrupts, even if you get into government with the best of intentions. Just look at the Lib Dems!".
This is where I feel we need to make much more noise about a very specific area of policy regarding governmental and electoral reform. We talk about changing the face of British politics, but I don't think many people realise how much we mean that!
PA451 Central Government currently revolves around the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, with the role of Parliament greatly diminished. The most important reform needed to redress this imbalance is the move to proportional representation. This will help to bring an end to the traditional dominance of two political parties in Britain. The central Parliament (House of Commons), elected under the AMS system (see PA305), will be far more representative of the diversity of opinion within the UK. There will be far less chance of an overall Parliamentary majority for one party, and, even without further reform, the resulting necessity for coalition governments would make governments and Prime Ministers much more accountable to Parliament.
PA455 A First Minister would also be elected by the central Parliament as a whole, who would be responsible for chairing a committee, the Coordination Committee, of all the convenors of parliamentary committees. This body would be responsible for coordinating the work of the different committees, and for dealing with matters that affect them all, such as the allocation of public expenditure. The First Minister would act as Head of Government, in particular in dealings with other states. The central Parliament would also elect, as at present, an apolitical Speaker, who would act as Head of State (see PA600c).
PA307 UK political parties will be funded by the State. Such political funding will be calculated and administered on a regional basis, and funds allocated in proportion to the number of votes cast in the region in the last round of proportional representation elections held across the entire region. Parties would need to exceed a threshold of 3% of the vote to become eligible for this funding.
I know, I know. Your brain has now melted and you just want to go and eat marshmallows. The meaning of all this is actually really simple - we make politics straightforward and actually properly democratic. No more lobbying and influence by large corporations, because political parties will be funded by the state, not from being bankrolled. No more embarrassingly cringe-worthy Prime Minister's Questions, because parliament will be a cooperative and representative body, that actually reflects what the people of Britain think and feel. No more feeling that your vote is wasted or that you have to tactically back the lesser of two evils - everyone's vote counts because everyone can vote for what they believe in.
THAT is how a government should be formed. I think this also says a lot about Green Party credibility. We're not power-hungry. We're not after the ministerial cars and the prestige of getting to say "we're in charge". A Green government would actually redistribute that power so that no one political party holds a disproportionate amount of control. The Prime Minister would be replaced by someone democratically elected by the whole parliament, not just whoever happens to have been leading the party with the most votes at election time.
This is huge. And it's brilliant. It suits everyone, even people who don't share our love of renewable energy or hold the same views on reforming the justice system. Everybody gets represented this way. I said before that I don't like UKIP but that doesn't mean there's no room for a Eurosceptic party to represent the beliefs of British people who don't like being in the EU. Anything that keeps debate open, that keeps questioning and challenging the status quo is a good thing. We're a brilliantly diverse country, and that is as true of our political beliefs as it is anything. If we want to see that taken heed of in the way the country is run, we have to fight to change an archaic and corrupted system, and replace it with something we can be proud of.
If you want to read more of our policies, go to policy.greenparty.org.uk or wait for our manifesto to be published in March. OR find out who your local candidates are and email them and ask to meet up!


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 * @class EZ3.Mouse
 * @constructor
 * @param {HTMLElement} domElement
 * @param {HTMLRect} bounds
 */
EZ3.Mouse = function(domElement, bounds) {
  /**
   * @property {HTMLElement} _domElement
   * @private
   */
  this._domElement = domElement;
  /**
   * @property {HTMLRect} _bounds
   * @private
   */
  this._bounds = bounds;

  /**
   * @property {Boolean} enabled
   * @default false
   */
  this.enabled = false;
  /**
   * @property {EZ3.MousePointer} pointer
   */
  this.pointer = new EZ3.MousePointer();
  /**
   * @property {EZ3.Signal} onPress
   */
  this.onPress = new EZ3.Signal();
  /**
   * @property {EZ3.Signal} onMove
   */
  this.onMove = new EZ3.Signal();
  /**
   * @property {EZ3.Signal} onUp
   */
  this.onUp = new EZ3.Signal();
  /**
   * @property {EZ3.Signal} onWheel
   */
  this.onWheel = new EZ3.Signal();
  /**
   * @property {EZ3.Signal} onLockChange
   */
  this.onLockChange = new EZ3.Signal();
};

EZ3.Mouse.prototype.constructor = EZ3.Mouse;

/**
 * @method EZ3.Mouse#_processMousePress
 * @private
 * @param {HTMLEvent} event
 */
EZ3.Mouse.prototype._processMousePress = function(event) {
  this.pointer.processPress(event, this._domElement, this._bounds, this.onPress, this.onMove);
};

/**
 * @method EZ3.Moused#_processMouseMove
 * @private
 * @param {HTMLEvent} event
 */
EZ3.Mouse.prototype._processMouseMove = function(event) {
  this.pointer.processMove(event, this._domElement, this._bounds, this.onMove);
};

/**
 * @method EZ3.Moused#_processMouseUp
 * @private
 * @param {HTMLEvent} event
 */
EZ3.Mouse.prototype._processMouseUp = function(event) {
  this.pointer.processUp(event, this.onUp);
};

/**
 * @method EZ3.Moused#_processMouseWheel
 * @private
 * @param {HTMLEvent} event
 */
EZ3.Mouse.prototype._processMouseWheel = function(event) {
  this.pointer.processWheel(event, this.onWheel);
};

/**
 * @method EZ3.Moused#_processMouseLockChange
 * @private
 */
EZ3.Mouse.prototype._processMouseLockChange = function() {
  var device = EZ3.Device;

  if (this.pointer.locked) {
    document.removeEventListener(device.pointerLockChange, this._onMouseLockChange, true);

    delete this._onMouseLockChange;
  }

  this.pointer.processLockChange(this.onLockChange);
};

/**
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 */
EZ3.Mouse.prototype.requestPointerLock = function() {
  var device = EZ3.Device;
  var that;

  if (device.requestPointerLock && !this.pointer.locked) {
    that = this;

    this._onMouseLockChange = function(event) {
      that._processMouseLockChange(event);
    };

    document.addEventListener(device.pointerLockChange, this._onMouseLockChange, true);

    this._domElement[device.requestPointerLock]();
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};

/**
 * @method EZ3.Moused#exitPointerLock
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EZ3.Mouse.prototype.exitPointerLock = function() {
  var device = EZ3.Device;

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};

/**
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EZ3.Mouse.prototype.enable = function() {
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  var device = EZ3.Device;

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  this._onMouseUp = function(event) {
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  this._domElement.addEventListener('mouseup', this._onMouseUp, true);

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/**
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EZ3.Mouse.prototype.disable = function() {
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  this._domElement.removeEventListener('mouseup', this._onMouseUp, true);

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 * @static
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EZ3.Mouse.LEFT_BUTTON = 0;
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 * @static
 * @final
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/**
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 * @static
 * @final
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EZ3.Mouse.RIGHT_BUTTON = 2;
/**
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 * @final
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EZ3.Mouse.BACK_BUTTON = 3;
/**
 * @property {Number} FORWARD_BUTTON
 * @memberof EZ3.Touch
 * @static
 * @final
 */
EZ3.Mouse.FORWARD_BUTTON = 4;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub