text:
FDA Announces Pilot Program for Medical Device Submission with Health Canada but Spots Are Limited
Insights Amy Baker · January 12, 2023
On January 10, 2023 the FDA announced that it has partnered with Health Canada to launch a joint eSTAR pilot. The pilot will allow medical device manufacturers to submit a premarket notice submission to FDA and Health Canada simultaneously.
eSTAR initially debuted in 2020 for medical device submissions to FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) or to the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). It is essentially an interactive smart template that streamlines electronic premarket submissions to FDA for medical devices.
FDA anticipates that eSTAR will reduce review time for premarket medical device submissions by standardizing the submission process and improving submission quality. eSTAR offers a huge benefit to manufacturers in that eSTAR submissions avoid the Refuse to Accept process encountered by many manufacturers, particularly those with less experience with FDA submissions.
While use of eSTAR was initially voluntary, manufactures will be required to use eSTAR for nearly all device submissions to FDA starting October 1, 2023. As a result, it is important for manufacturers to adjust to using eSTAR over the coming months.
Manufacturers interested in a joint submission to FDA and Health Canada should be quick to take advantage of the new eSTAR pilot by submitting a statement of interest to CBER. Only nine participants will be selected to participate in the pilot with Health Canada. Participants need to be ready to file their submission within 6 months of acceptance into the pilot program. Instructions to apply to participate in the pilot, as well as submission specifications, can be found in FDA's eSTAR pilot announcement.
This summary is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship with Rimon, P.C. or its affiliates. Prior results referred to in these materials do not guarantee or suggest a similar result in other matters.
Amy Baker is a Partner in Rimon's Orlando office. Ms. Baker focuses her practice on advising clients in the life sciences industry. Ms. Baker provides regulatory consulting services to life sciences clients, advising them at all stages of their life cycle, from formation through to clinical trials and commercialization. She advises life sciences clients on the wide range of legal issues which may impact them, including growth strategies, emerging technologies, regulatory compliance with the FDCA, as well as FDA and FTC regulations, labeling and advertising compliance, intellectual property and brand protection issues, and privacy, data breach, and cybersecurity concerns. She also works with life sciences clients to facilitate funding for early stage life science and technology companies. Ms. Baker represents life sciences companies in litigation where required. Read more here.
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Michael Goh, Ph.D. has been appointed vice president for equity and diversity at the University of Minnesota, pending approval by the Board of Regents at its September meeting. Goh has served as interim vice president for equity and diversity since October 2017.
Goh has been part of the University of Minnesota community for nearly 25 years. Through his experiences as a doctoral student, faculty member, associate vice provost for equity and diversity and interim vice president for equity and diversity, he has gained a deep and broad knowledge of the University's opportunities and challenges. He has also prioritized strengthening connections between the University and communities throughout Minnesota.
Goh's commitment to inclusive excellence runs deep. In his roles as an inaugural U of M multicultural teaching and learning fellow and President's distinguished faculty mentor, Goh promoted multicultural access, education and mentoring to help underrepresented students succeed in higher education. His numerous awards for research, teaching, service and leadership by local, state, national and international associations reflect his community- engaged, scholar-practitioner approach to solving grand challenges.
In addition to his administrative leadership positions, Goh is a professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development in the College of Education and Human Development. A distinguished scholar and teacher, his focus on multicultural counseling, intercultural competence and cultural intelligence brings an interdisciplinary lens to equity, diversity and inclusion work as well as the unique and vital skills for this key senior leadership position.


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Q: how to link login activity to some website? i want to develop an app in which i want to make a login activity which should directly fill details in that website.
is it possible?
Or which method i should opt to link to some website.
P.S. I'm a beginner to android app development so please don't be very technical in reply.
thanks

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Lt. Belgrave E. S. Ninnis - Biographical notes
Single, was educated at Dulwich, England (as was Shackleton) and entered His Majesty's Army, having a commission as Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers prior to joining the Expedition in London. At the Main Base (Adelie Land) he was assisted by X. Mertz in the care of the Greenland dogs. On December 14, 1912, while on a sledging journey, he lost his life by falling into a crevasse three hundred miles east of Winter Quarters.
Belgrave Ninnis was part of a three man party with Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz who in the summer of 1912/13 made up the "Far Eastern Party" using dog teams to travel quickly to the east of the expedition base.
He lost his life on the 14th of December 1912 when he broke through the snow roof of a large crevasse he was crossing with the largest sledge, strongest dog team and much of the food including all the dog food. He was never seen or heard of again.
The loss of food and equipment with Ninnis led indirectly to the death of Mertz about three weeks later and the near-death of Mawson who managed to reach the safety of the base after a protracted and difficult ordeal. The expedition ship Aurora was forced to leave five men behind for another year to search for the missing three when it had to head north to escape the approaching winter.
Taking stores to Aladdin's Cave Mertz Ninnis Murphy
Catacombs leading to the Hut Cape at Denison with Ninnis
References to Ninnis in Mawson's book "The Home of the Blizzard" buy USA buy UK
Ninnis and Mertz ran a tailoring business for the dogs, who were brought one by one into the outer Hut to be measured for harness. After many lengths had been cut with scissors the canvas bands were put through and sewn together on the large sewing-machine and then each dog was fitted and the final alterations were made. The huskies looked quite smart in their "suits".
On the morning of August 11 Madigan and Ninnis commenced to sink a deep vertical trench, at one end of which a room was hewn out large enough to accommodate three men. The job was finished on the following day, and we struck the tent and moved to our new abode. The tent was spread over the vertical shaft which served as the entrance. It was a great relief to be in a strong room, with solid walls of ice, in place of the cramped tent flapping violently in the wind. Inside, the silence was profound; the blizzard was banished. Aladdin's Cave it was dubbed - a truly magical world of glassy facets and scintillating crystals.
Ninnis had a touch of snow-blindness which rapidly improved under treatment. The stock cure for this very irritating and painful affection is to place first of all tiny "tabloids" of zinc sulphate and cocaine hydrochloride under the eyelids where they quickly dissolve in the tears, alleviating the smarting, "gritty" sensation which is usually described by the sufferer. He then bandages the eyes and escapes, if he is lucky, into the darkness of his sleeping-bag.
Into one of the fissures, bridged by snow, Ninnis's sledge fell, but fortunately jammed itself just below the surface. As it was, we had a long job getting it up again, having to unpack the sledge in the crevasse until it was light enough to be easily manipulated. Despite the delay, our day's run was sixteen and a half miles.
Often enough the dogs broke through the snow-bridges on the morning of the 23rd, but only once were matters serious, when Ninnis's sledge, doubtless on account of its extra weight, again broke through a lid of snow and was securely jammed in a crevasse just below the surface.
Frantically waving to Mertz to bring up my sledge, upon which there was some alpine rope, I leaned over and shouted into the dark depths below. No sound came back but the moaning of a dog, caught on a shelf just visible one hundred and fifty feet below. The poor creature appeared to have broken its back, for it was attempting to sit up with the front part of its body while the hinder portion lay limp. Another dog lay motionless by its side. Close by was what appeared in the gloom to be the remains of the tent and a canvas tank containing food for three men for a fortnight.
We broke back the edge of the neve lid and took turns leaning over secured by a rope, calling into the darkness in the hope that our companion might be still alive. For three hours we called unceasingly but no answering sound came back. The dog had ceased to moan and lay without a movement. A chill draught was blowing out of the abyss. We felt that there was little hope.
When comrades tramp the road to anywhere through a lonely blizzard-ridden land in hunger, want and weariness the interests, ties and fates of each are interwoven in a wondrous fabric of friendship and affection. The shock of Ninnis's death struck home and deeply stirred us.
He was a fine fellow and a born soldier - and the end:
Landmarks named after /strong>Lt. B.E.S. Ninnis
Feature Name: Ninnis Glacier
Description: A large, heavily hummocked and crevassed glacier descending steeply from the high interior to the sea in a broad valley, on George V Coast. Discovered by AAE (1911-14) under Douglas Mawson.
Feature Name: Ninnis Glacier Tongue
Description: A broad glacier tongue which forms the seaward extension of Ninnis Glacier. It was recorded (1962) as projecting seaward about 30 miles. Discovered by the AAE (1911-14) under Douglas Mawson and named after Ninnis Glacier.
Variant Name Ninnis Glacier Ice Tongue
Hangar work Edward Bage, Belgrave Ninnis, Frank Bickerton

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


There is no shortage of News Readers for the iPad. So many choices has driven us to start down the path of doing a overview review of the many that we use daily. Yes, we use more than one. Most share the same features with minor tweaks, with a few stepping out of the box through unique user interfaces.
One that has been getting used more this last week is TapTu. This free universal app allows users to mix news providers together so your able to look at groupings of news types rather than looking through a provider at a time.
Some press has compared TapTu to FlipBoard. We don't see that at all, it is much more like Pulse's interface. The feeds are grouped in a line from left to right that you can sweep through and tap to open/read.
The streams of grouped news are arranged across the screen. You can scroll up/down to go from news stream to another. Swipe left/right to work through the news. Larger icons and short texts are the majority of the stream box, with the next group in smaller icons to the right. Across the top right corner of each Tap Tu stream is the icons of each news feed for easy reference who your pulling news from.
While Tap Tu offers a couple 'streams' pre set up to view. Tap the 'Add' button in the upper right corner of all news screens to gain access to quick access 'Featured' list of News Feeds you may want to use.
Tap Tu also offers a list of popular topic areas that contain feeds within that subject area. Another tab provides access to pull news from your Google News Reader account.
Each of the 'Topic' areas has a scrollable list of news feeds that you can select to use as well un-select later if you find it doesn't match your expectations.
'Streams' can be set up to contain a variety of news feeds. Each can be labeled and color coded for easy reference. Through the StreamStudio, you can edit current streams or create new. Tap Tu also allows the streams you set up to be shared with others that might share in your interests.
Tapping any item will result in the lower part of the screen to change to the full news article. This is a light view without content beyond the post. Tap Tu also offers quick access to sharing via Facebook, Twitter and eMail. Font size and bookmarking for later reading is also available at the top of all posts. Tap the 'x' to collapse.
Like most 'readers' for the iPad, Tap Tu gives you the option to view the news item directly from the Web. Complete with all the ads and 'other stuff' not related to the news content. Sometimes though, this view is handy to see related items from the news provider.
We are going to cover how many apps these days have zero instructions creating the need for people to tap around to figure out how to use the app. Tap Tu has fun instructions to walk through in the beginning and reference later too.


It's Teaching Blog Addicts 1st year birthday celebration and I'm hosting the birthday celebration Linky Party! I hope you all link up here with all of your fabulous classroom or home birthday ideas, celebrations, and fun! Anything goes if it is party and/or birthday related.
Again, happy, happy birthday to TBA!
Link up all of your great classroom birthday/ party ideas! Can't wait to see what you have to share!


This recipe for PESTO CHICKEN WITH POTATOES AND SALAD, by , is from Mom's Book of Food, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We help families or individuals create heirloom cookbook treasures.
1. Wash and dry all produce. Adjust rack to upper position and preheat oven to 450ºF. Cut potatoes into ½-inch cubes.
2. Toss potatoes on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in oven until browned and tender, 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway through.
3. Stir together panko, mozzarella, a large drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl.
4. Place chicken on another, lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush 1 tbsp pesto onto top of one piece. Repeat with remaining chicken (you will have a little pesto left over). Press crust mixture into pesto to adhere. Roast in oven until chicken is no longer pink in center, about 20 minutes.
5. Halve lemon. In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, a squeeze or teo of lemon, and 4tsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Divide potatoes and chicken between plates. Serve with salad on the side.


Large lot in Pepin, ready for your new home. Lot is in quiet neighborhood on the north side close to the winery and within walking distance to all village amenities. Heavy woods with lots of mature trees. Village utilities. Possible owner financing to qualified buyer. Would make a good investment.


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Philly's Most Dangerous Roads are in Poor Areas
Safe streets like this in Philadelphia are not the norm in low-income neighborhoods, a new study reveals. Photo: ##http://bicyclecoalition.org/our-campaigns/biking-in-philly/spruce-and-pine-street/#sthash.T6ljm6kF.dpbs##Bicycle Coalition##
Low-income people and people of color are disproportionately on the mean streets of Philadelphia.
A new analysis from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia showed that less white and less affluent neighborhoods comprise 49 percent of the city's most dangerous streets — despite containing only about 35 percent of the city's total street mileage.
Low-income neighborhoods with higher than average non-white populations show in light blue. "High Injury Network" streets shown in dark blue. Map: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
The analysis reviewed the city's "High Injury Network" — the 12 percent of streets in the City of Brotherly Love that account for 50 percent of traffic injuries.
"Neighborhoods that lie in impoverished communities of color happen to be the most dangerous neighborhoods in Philadelphia, which is what we thought going into this," the Bicycle Coalition's Randy LoBasso told Streetsblog. "We believe it's imperative that the city and nonprofits like ourselves continue to work in those neighborhoods and continue to prioritize these neighborhoods."
The disparity between the haves and have-nots is alarming, but neither unusual nor unexpected. The same pattern is found in many cities. In general, high-poverty neighborhoods have about four times the traffic risk of high-income, according to a Governing Magazine analysis from 2014.
Take a look at this Center for Urban Transportation Research map of Broward County, Fla [PDF], which charts both traffic crashes and low-income neighborhoods.
D4 areas are areas Florida DOT's Fourth District have suggested for interventions. Map: CUTR at University of South Florida.
Same pattern in Palm Beach County.
Map: CUTR
This is why cities are increasingly making "equity" a key platform of their Vision Zero plans.
"The first step in having a truly equitable Vision Zero program is to realize that, 'the concentration of traffic safety problems are not accidental, but rather the result of patterns of disinvestment and under-investment in certain communities, particularly historically black, brown, and immigrant communities,'" the Coalition wrote on its blog, quoting the first principle in the Untokening's Principles of Mobility Justice [PDF].
"Communities are facing a myriad of challenges that stem from the historic disinvestment and structural racism," the Coalition added.
The organization has been hosting listening sessions in some of the worst affected areas.
Filed Under: Civil Rights, Equity, Philadelphia, Vision Zero, Promoted
What's Keeping People From Using Bike-Share? New Study Breaks It Down by Race and Income
By Stephen Miller	| Jul 5, 2017
Low-income communities and people of color view traffic risk, high prices, and the potential for crime and harassment are the biggest barriers to bicycling and using bike-share in their neighborhoods, according to a new report from researchers at Portland State University.
Why Your City Doesn't Map Its Worst Car Crashes
By Kea Wilson	| Sep 29, 2020
The idea of a "High Injury Network" isn't new. But a surprising number of cities don't bother to map it.
Cyclists of Color: Invisible No More
Let's get one thing clear: People of color ride bikes. They commute to work on bikes. They ride for pleasure. It saves them money and time, and it keeps them healthy. But they may not show up at the Tweed Ride or the city council hearing on bicycle infrastructure. And cycling is still a divisive […]
NYC 'Open Streets' Are In Wealthier Neighborhoods
By Julianne Cuba	| Jul 27, 2020
Mayor de Blasio's Open Streets program — meant to give New Yorkers socially distanced recreation space during the COVID-19 crisis — caters to the rich, a Streetsblog analysis shows.
Orlando, the Capital of Pedestrian Fatalities, Tests a New Approach to Street Design
Walking in Orlando is deadlier than in any other major city in the nation. But the city's new transportation director is a reformer.
New Philly Mayor Promises 30 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes by 2021
By Michael Andersen	| Feb 16, 2016
Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets. The bike-friendliest big city on the Eastern Seaboard has been falling a bit behind the times, but it's lined up for an upgrade. Philadelphia has come a long way on the network […]


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There are still a few days to go before 2018 officially begins, but some of the world's biggest models have already got a head start on the year, thanks to major cosmetics deals.
Chinese model Fei Fei Sun was unveiled as the latest Estée Lauder global spokesmodel back in November, confirming her status as one of the most in-demand models in the industry. She marked her new position by sharing the secrets of her morning beauty routine and a quick makeup tutorial with fans via Estée Lauder's social media channels, and has since re-appeared on its Instagram account, modeling its new "Lips to Envy" paint-on liquid lipstick earlier this month. We can't wait to see what she will get up to in the new year.


Metaglossary.com - Definitions for "static variable"
a variable with static scope.
A variable whose storage is allocated for the entire execution of a program.
Variables that are allocated from static storage (sometimes referred to as the heap). Static variables have two characteristics of note: They preserve their value for the lifetime of the program. They are initialized when they are allocated. By default, program variables in HP Fortran 90 are automatic.
A variable that retains its value between invocations of the routine in which it is declared. From a performance standpoint, static variables are costly because they prohibit the compiler from making certain types of optimizations.
A variable, defined with the Static keyword, that maintains its value between calls to different procedures.
A variable which is declared in the declaration part of a program block.
In computer programming, static variables typically have a broader scope than other variables. Their values may be set at run-time or may change subtly during program execution.


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RTI's X-Ray Quality Assurance (QA) portfolio includes solutions for Radiography & Fluoroscopy (Rad/Fluoro, or R/F) that prioritize accuracy and speed of analysis.
Our R/F QA tools cater to the full range of test protocols, from daily system checks to the plethora of checks to be made when (re)commissioning radiographic and fluoroscopic systems.
Our tools combine intuitively with Ocean software to provide simple-to-use features for a routine inspection, through to highly customizable QA programs for deep analysis and record keeping.
We offer holistic solutions for Digital Radiography, Computed Radiography, and different types of fluoroscopy, including Interventional and Surgical (C-arms) applications.
With an expanding range of techniques, equipment brands, and models, plus a lively market for recommissioned units, it pays to choose a quality assurance provider who can evolve with your needs.
Our R&D department tracks the latest X-ray innovation and regulation, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best: maximizing R/F quality and compliance.
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AAPM is a scientific and professional organization, composed of more than 8000 scientists, whose primary goal is the identification and implementation of improvements in patient safety for the medical use of radiation in imaging and radiation therapy.


text:
from ._wrapper import Wrapper
from ._plot import plot, html, opt_to_dict, opt_to_json
from .scripts import JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_0, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_1, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_2, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_OPTIONS_1, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_OPTIONS_2, \
    HTML_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_CALLBACK_0, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_CALLBACK_1, \
    JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_CALLBACK_2

class Highstock(Wrapper):
    """
    Main Highstock Object

    API: https://api.highcharts.com/highstock
    Demos: https://www.highcharts.com/stock/demo
    """

    def __init__(self):
        Wrapper.__init__(self, lib='highstock')

        # default config
        self.credits.enabled = False
        self.exporting.enabled = True
        self.chart.animation = False

        self.plotOptions.series.animation = False
        self.plotOptions.line.animation = False
        self.plotOptions.column.animation = False

    def options_as_dict(self, chart_id='chart_id'):
        opt = self.to_dict()
        return opt_to_dict(opt, chart_id=chart_id)

    def options_as_json(self, chart_id='chart_id', save=False, save_name=None, save_path='saved'):
        opt = self.to_dict()
        return opt_to_json(opt, chart_id=chart_id, save=save, save_name=save_name,
                           save_path=save_path)

    def html(self, dated=True, save=False, save_name=None, save_path='saved', notebook=True,
             html_init=None, js_option_postprocess=None, js_extra=None, callback=None,
             version='latest', proxy=None, center=False):
        opt = self.to_dict()
        return html(opt, lib='highstock', dated=dated, save=save, save_name=save_name,
                    save_path=save_path, notebook=notebook,
                    html_init=html_init, js_option_postprocess=js_option_postprocess,
                    js_extra=js_extra, callback=callback, version=version, proxy=proxy,
                    center=center)

    def plot(self, dated=True, save=False, save_name=None, save_path='saved', notebook=True,
             html_init=None, js_option_postprocess=None, js_extra=None, callback=None, footer=None,
             version='latest', proxy=None, center=False):
        """Only Highstock. No add-on."""
        opt = self.to_dict()
        js_extra = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_0
        callback = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_CALLBACK_0

        return plot(opt, lib='highstock', dated=dated, save=save, save_name=save_name,
                    save_path=save_path, notebook=notebook,
                    html_init=html_init, js_option_postprocess=js_option_postprocess,
                    js_extra=js_extra, callback=callback, footer=footer, version=version,
                    proxy=proxy, center=center)

    def plot_with_table_1(
            self, dated=True, save=False, save_name=None, save_path='saved', notebook=True,
            footer=None, version='latest', proxy=None):
        """
        Table with Perf, IRR, Vol, Sharpe Ratio, Max Drawdown
        Sharpe ratio is based on time series 'Cash' meaning cash compounded
        If no Cash colmun rates are assumed zero.
        """
        opt = self.to_dict()
        html_init = HTML_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE
        js_option_postprocess = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_OPTIONS_1
        js_extra = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_1
        callback = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_CALLBACK_1

        return plot(opt, lib='highstock', dated=dated, save=save, save_name=save_name,
                    save_path=save_path, notebook=notebook,
                    html_init=html_init, js_option_postprocess=js_option_postprocess,
                    js_extra=js_extra, callback=callback, footer=footer,
                    version='latest', proxy=None)

    def plot_with_table_2(
            self, dated=True, save=False, save_name=None, save_path='saved', notebook=True,
            footer=None, version='latest', proxy=None):
        """
        Table with Min, Max, Average, Max Drawdown
        """
        opt = self.to_dict()
        html_init = HTML_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE
        js_option_postprocess = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_OPTIONS_2
        js_extra = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_2
        callback = JS_FINANCIAL_TIME_SERIES_TABLE_CALLBACK_2

        return plot(opt, lib='highstock', dated=dated, save=save, save_name=save_name,
                    save_path=save_path, notebook=notebook,
                    html_init=html_init, js_option_postprocess=js_option_postprocess,
                    js_extra=js_extra, callback=callback, footer=footer,
                    version=version, proxy=proxy)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
WIRE Buzz: Netflix's Little Black Mirror; Hulu's horror anthology; more
By Jacob Oller
Today's WIRE Buzz features two new anthologies from two of the biggest streaming services out there. Hulu and Netflix are both adding to the massive pool of genre TV with their new shows, both of which claim a few fun bona fides from their sources.
First is Netflix's Little Black Mirror. A Spanish-focused video series supporting Black Mirror's technophobic sci-fi, Little Black Mirror is a set of three shorts (starring Latinx actors and social media stars) aimed at promoting the main series' fifth season.
Update (6/3): Netflix confirmed to SYFY WIRE that it has rebranded these videos as Stories from our Future, which are simply fan-made homages to the Black Mirror franchise, but with no in-universe connection.
The Rudy Mancuso-directed videos will feature the likes of Maia Mitchell, Rudy Mancuso, Juanpa Zurita, Lele Pons, Anwar Jibawi, Hannah Stocking, Jeff Wittek, Delaney Glazer, and Alesso creating their own versions of the same sort of twisty genre shocks as Black Mirror.
Check out the trailer:
Little Black Mirror | Tráiler oficial | Netflix
These three stories will come to YouTube on May 26, June 2, and June 6, respectively, on the Netflix América Latina channel. The final short premieres a day after Black Mirror's Season 5 hits the streaming service on June 5.
Next, some Hulu news. Forget Into the Dark, there's a new horror anthology in town: The Untitled Mary Laws Project. Not an exciting name, we know, but it's coming from a cool source.
Deadline reports that Hulu has ordered eight episodes based on Nathan Ballingrud's short story collection North American Lake Monsters: Stories, from show creator/writer Mary Laws. While details are scarce aside from those known about the supernatural beasts populating the modern-day horror stories (think Supernatural's take on angels and werewolves), horror fans should be excited that Under the Shadow director Babak Anvari has signed on to direct.
Anvari and Lucan Toh (also producing) previously adapted Ballingrud's novella The Visible Filth into the indie horror Wounds (featuring Armie Hammer and Dakota Johnson), so the collaboration is already tightly knit. Sounds like the makings of a terrifying good time. No word on when production will begin or when a title will be finalized.
Finally, Netflix is also adding a kid-focused animated series about ghosts to its lineup. City of Ghosts, from Elizabeth Ito, will be a little bit documentary and a little bit animated adventure.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix greenlit the series, which comes from first-time showrunner Ito (who comes from Adventure Time) and focuses on some urban-dwelling kids learning about their city thanks to some otherworldly tour guides.
The show is based on Ito's experiences growing up in the melting pot neighborhoods of L.A. as a fourth-generation Japanese-American, presumably adding folklore elements to the cultural and local histories explored by the show.
City of Ghosts is in production now.
Krzysztof Penderecki, composer whose music was used in The Shining and Children of Men, dies at 86
Netflix says more Choose Your Own Adventure movies like Bandersnatch are coming
Marvel's 'Moon Knight' series unveils first trailer


Genetic variation and gene flow is examined for Dicranum elongatum on the beach ridge system along the Hudson Bay Lowlands in Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, Canada. Samples were collected from 10 quadrats from each of 14 transects on the beach ridge crests and in the low-lying troughs between beach ridges. Seven interspersed simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers produced 34 polymorphic loci in 37 samples of Dicranum elongatum. AMOVA showed evidence for population subdivision with 87% of the variation occurring within populations, but pairwise comparisons showed evidence for low levels of gene flow. Since sporophytes were not present in the coastal populations but are produced by plants further inland, the genetic variation in the coastal populations may be maintained by wind blown spores from sexually reproducing inland populations.


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Patients Without Coronavirus Slowly Return to Hospitals
Outpatient surgery, which was down by almost two-thirds, had the biggest rebound in May
by Patrick Kiger, AARP, June 16, 2020
Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images
En español | Many Americans have been staying away from hospitals, even for needed care, because of fear of exposure to COVID-19. But visits are increasing again, and older people are leading the trend, according to a new analysis.
By the week ending April 11, boomers' total hospital visits — emergency, inpatient and outpatient — declined 61 percent from pre-COVID-19 levels, according to data from more than 500 U.S. hospitals that TransUnion Healthcare collected. Total visits from Silent Generation members dropped 59 percent.
In April, Chicago-based TransUnion HealthCare, whose business is analyzing health care trends, didn't know when hospital visits would rebound.
"Our initial research indicates it may take some time before patients are ready to reschedule the elective procedures and appointments that were canceled as a result of the pandemic," the company's president, Dave Wojczynski, said in a statement at the time. An April Gallup Survey found that 82 percent of Americans age 65 and older feared exposure to the coronavirus at the hospital or doctor's office.
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However by late May, boomers were returning, making up 50 percent of the volume drop. The Silent Generation made up 47 percent of its decrease in visits. Millennials recovered 44 percent of their lost volume.
Boomers' visits to emergency rooms had dropped by 44 percent at the depth of the crisis, but by May they regained 31 percent of the volume of lost visits. Silent Generation members, whose emergency room visits had decreased by 51 percent, made up 32 percent of the difference.
Part of the reason may be because hospitals nationwide have been building walls, erecting tents and creating isolation wards to keep patients with probable cases of COVID-19 away from others who need emergency care, such as heart attack and stroke victims. For many, delaying or skipping a trip to the emergency room can be fatal or result in health problems that will affect them for the rest of their lives.
For many hospitals, outpatient surgery is becoming an increasingly important part of the way they make money. As of 2016, nearly half of all revenue came from outpatient centers, according to the American Hospital Association. That's up from less than a third 20 years before.
When many states mandated the closure of outpatient centers and suspended elective surgery in stay-at-home measures, the number of patients plummeted by almost two-thirds among boomers and the Silent Generation. In May, boomer outpatient visits made up 53 percent of that decrease, and the Silent Generation made up 52 percent of their loss.
Boomers' inpatient hospital stays, which had decreased by 38 percent, made up 32 percent of that loss in May. Silent Generation members, whose visits had dropped 41 percent, made up 22 percent of the drop.
"Baby boomers and the Silent Generation — who avoided care the most in light of COVID-19 — continue to slowly re-engage," a TransUnion spokesperson explained via email. But many in both generations still may be deferring elective procedures or necessary care for fear of COVID-19.
More on Health & Hospitals
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Hospital ERs making major changes to address patients' COVID-19 fear
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Hewlett attended undergraduate classes taught by Fred Terman at Stanford and became acquainted with David Packard. Packard and he began discussing forming a company in August 1937, and founded Hewlett-Packard Company as a partnership on January 1, 1939. A flip of a coin decided the ordering of their names. The company incorporated in 1947 and tendered an initial public offering in 1957. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard were very proud of their company culture which came to be known as the HP Way. The HP Way is a corporate culture that claimed to be not only centered on making money but also respecting and nurturing its employees. Hewlett was president of the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1954. Also in 1939 he married Flora Lamson Hewlett, and the couple eventually had 5 children: Eleanor, Walter, James, William and Mary. There are 12 grandchildren.
In 1966, Hewlett and his wife founded the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Flora Lamson Hewlett died in 1977. In 1978, Hewlett married Rosemary Bradford Hewlett.
^ "HP Garage Timeline". hp.com. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
^ Isaacson, Walter (2011). Steve Jobs. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. xix; 534. ISBN 9781451648539.


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Persuaded By Bush Solicitor, Supreme Court Will Not Review Union Dues Ruling By Clinton NLRB
Posted in News Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 12, 2002) – Ceding to the request of U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, the U.S. Supreme Court today announced that it will not review a key ruling issued by the Clinton National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that dramatically diminished the rights of employees to refrain from supporting objectionable union activities with their forced union dues.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit first unanimously overturned the NLRB ruling in Mulder v. National Labor Relations Board, but then it later unanimously upheld it during a circuit-wide rehearing. By refusing to grant a writ of certiorari, the Supreme Court allows unions to force millions of unionized workers in the private sector to pay for union organizing drives or lose their jobs. Organizing expenses often exceed 20-30% of a union's budget.
"It's disturbing the Bush Administration took this position in opposition to enforcement of the Beck decision," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation, referring to the Supreme Court's Communications Workers v. Beck (1988) decision. That decision allows employees to reclaim their forced union dues spent for activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as politics. "No one should be forced to fund the recruitment of supporters to a private ideological cause to get or keep a job."
The decision to oppose Supreme Court review fit the strategy of some in the White House political office to cozy up to union officials by making fundamental policy concessions that have increased union coercive power. As the union hierarchy has again gone all out to defeat Republicans at the polls this year, this concession strategy is increasingly recognized as a political failure.
Many labor law experts agree that the Ninth Circuit's decision directly violates previous rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Foundation-won precedent Ellis v. Railway Clerks, the High Court determined that union organizing expenses were only tenuously related to collective bargaining, and thus employees who are not members of a union could not be legally forced to financially support this activity.
In affirming the NLRB and establishing a nationwide precedent in conflict with previous Supreme Court rulings, the Ninth Circuit decided against grocery clerk Phillip Mulder and five other employees and in favor of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union.
Foundation attorneys plan to bring forward similar cases in other circuits with the hope of persuading the Supreme Court ultimately to take up the issue of union organizing.
Carpenters Union President Pressured to Return Money Gained From Insider Stock Deal
Washington, DC (October 31, 2002) — Acting in response to legal pressure as well as embarrassing media coverage, Douglas McCarron, President of the Carpenters' and Joiners of America union, announced he will return nearly $300,000 in personal profits he made through a notorious insider trading deal while serving as a director of a massive union-owned insurance company, increasingly known as "Big Labor's Enron."
While using his position on the $6 billion Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO) board to line his own pockets, McCarron also received a $110,000 raise from the Carpenters union, increasing his annual compensation to $356,000 in 2001, according to government disclosure documents obtained by the National Right to Work Foundation.
Mr. McCarron still faces possible indictment from a federal grand jury convened to investigate insider trading by union officials on the ULLICO board. Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board is investigating charges filed by attorneys with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation against ULLICO, whose board is composed primarily of former and current union officials.
In a failed effort to win backing from top officials of the Carpenters and Teamsters unions, the White House political office has been pursuing a strategy to make policy concessions that have increased compulsory unionism power exercised by union officials over rank-and-file workers. Yet despite the White House's efforts, these two unions have continued to give virtually all of their soft money contributions to Democrat party committees, and the two unions have given 95 percent of their PAC contributions in closely contested House and Senate races to Democrat candidates.
"The President of the United States should not be cozying up to union officials like Doug McCarron who are knee-deep in allegations of corruption," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. "This is another example of the corruption and arrogance that results from the numerous special privileges conferred upon union officials by federal law, and those involved in the ULLICO scandal should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Despite McCarron's public relations stunt to pay back his personal ULLICO profits, the legal inquiries continue into whether ULLICO directors, including McCarron, violated the law by writing special rules which allowed themselves to sell their personal portfolios of ULLICO stock at an inflated price, while at the same time preventing larger shareholders, including union pension funds set up for the benefit of workers, from selling their larger holdings. These transactions were concealed for nearly two years until they came to light in April. Under the special rules, McCarron sold 3,000 shares at a profit of $92 a share.
In addition to McCarron, public reports indicate that other union officials, including Martin Maddaloni, President of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, and Morton Bahr, President of the Communications Workers of America, personally profited from these secret transactions.
Service Employees Union Again Smacked With Charges For Abusing Workers' Rights
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (October 25, 2002) — Attorneys provided by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation have filed a third round of charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against a Syracuse-based union for continually seizing union dues unlawfully from employees of the Marsellus Casket Company.
The complaint, the third filed against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200 in fifteen months, again charges the union hierarchy with failing to provide union dissenters such as Mark L. Miller, Scott Bayer, and David Sprague with an adequate breakdown of the activities their forced union dues are financing.
"The length of time and amount of resources union bosses have spent stonewalling workers' objections shows how determined they are to keep forced union dues flowing into the union's political operation," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.
As part of a previous settlement, the NLRB required the union to post a notice alerting workers and employees of the Marsellus Casket Company of their right to refrain from formal union membership and obtain a reduction of their forced union dues. The settlement also required SEIU union officials to provide employees with financial disclosure that demonstrates how mandatory dues are spent.
However, when Miller received the union's disclosure in early August, it again failed to include the required independent audit of the union's expenditures. Moreover, the union's procedure continues to authorize it to spend objectors' monies for lobbying and activities outside of collective bargaining.
The original case against SEIU Local 200 was filed in July 2001 by Foundation attorneys for Miller, Bayer, and Sprague. SEIU officials violated the workers' rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court Communications Workers v. Beck decision. Under Beck, a case that Foundation attorneys argued and won, workers may halt and reclaim forced union dues spent on politics and other activities unrelated to collective bargaining.
Nation's Largest Teacher Union Must Halt Annual Interrogation of Religious Teachers
Washington, DC (October 22, 2002) – In response to religious discrimination charges brought by Ohio teacher Dennis Robey, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ordered the National Education Association (NEA) and its local affiliates to stop subjecting teachers annually to a burdensome and invasive process before respecting their religious objections to union affiliation.
With the help of National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Robey brought charges against the NEA and its local affiliates after they refused to honor his longstanding religious objection to supporting the union because it promotes pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality positions, and constantly attempts to interfere with parental rights. The EEOC had announced earlier this year that the union policy violates federal law.
"For years the NEA union has used this particular illegal scheme to intimidate and harass teachers of faith who dare to challenge their radical agenda," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. "The EEOC's finding of a violation further underscores that the nation's largest teacher union has systematically persecuted people of faith."
Robey began to make his religious objections known in 1995. During the 1999-2000 school year, union officials rebuffed his longstanding objection and demanded that every year he must describe, in detail, his deeply held religious views, fill out a lengthy and invasive form, and file it with the union. On the form, union officials asked probing personal questions about his relationship with God, his "religious affiliation," and required him to obtain a signature from a "religious official" attesting to the validity of his beliefs.
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, union officials must attempt to accommodate an employee's sincerely held religious beliefs if they conflict with financially supporting a union. To accommodate the conflict between an employee's faith and a requirement to pay fees to a union he believes to be immoral, the law allows employees instead to donate that money to charity.
The EEOC agreed with Foundation attorneys' arguments that the nationwide union policy unlawfully places an undue burden on teachers, and that teachers need only file a one-time objection to paying forced union dues.
Although the union has agreed to cease this particular method of harassment, numerous other cases are still pending against the NEA union hierarchy for other harassment of religious objectors.
Union Endorsements of Jeb Bush's Opponent Further Show White House Appeasement of Union Officials Has Backfired
Tallahassee, Fla. (October 22, 2002) – In another stinging rejection of the Bush administration's strategy to cozy up to the union hierarchy, the Florida Education Association (FEA) union has admitted that it has mortgaged its state headquarters building to raise more than $1.5 million to finance the defeat President George W. Bush's brother in Florida's gubernatorial election.
As revealed this week in an investigative report by National Review Online, "$1.7 million in equity the FEA sucked out of its South Adams Street building" was earmarked nearly two years ago for the explicit purpose of pummeling Jeb Bush in order to embarrass President Bush, even though many rank-and-file teachers support the Bush brothers.
"The union hierarchy is going all out to defeat Governor Jeb Bush and humiliate the president," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. "This is the gratitude the White House has been given for bending over backwards for union officials over the past 18 months."
The teacher union's actions – taken despite the Bush administration having given the union hierarchy and Senator Ted Kennedy virtually everything they demanded in the budget-busting education bill – are the latest sign that the White House's strategy to court top union officials has backfired. The administration's core policy concessions have not blunted ongoing attacks by union officials on Bush or other Republicans – but have begun to alienate the president's natural base.
For example, over past eighteen months, the White House political office has: 1) given Teamsters and Carpenters officials significant influence over selection of nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); 2) encouraged Congress not to hold hearings on legislation that would be embarrassing to union officials, such as legislation to end compulsory unionism; 3) filed arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court opposing review of a NLRB decision that gutted employee rights not to pay forced union dues spent to support objectionable union activities; 4) inserted a discriminatory union-only project labor agreement in the Alaska energy legislation; and 5) signaled its intention to release the corrupt Teamsters union from federal oversight.
Despite these concessions, union officials continue to put their political money and muscle behind liberal Democrats. For example, based on an analysis of PAC giving in tight Senate and House races, over 95 percent of Big Labor's contributions – including those made by the Carpenters and Teamsters union PACs – still go to Democrats. Meanwhile, despite the White House's appeasement of the Teamsters union hierarchy, the union just endorsed Bill McBride, Jeb Bush's opponent in the Florida gubernatorial election.
"By pursuing this appeasement strategy, the White House has been alienating its Right to Work base, and, even if it were worth it, they've gotten nothing in return," stated Gleason.
Union's Pro-Abortion Stance Prompts Worker To Divert Dues To Charity
Oxnard, Calif. (October 16, 2002) – In response to charges filed by Lynn Laird, a local psychologist, officials with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 998 must recognize Laird's status as a religious objector and divert her forced union fees to a mutually agreed upon charity.
With the help of attorneys with the National Right to Work Foundation, Laird filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after the SEIU union hierarchy initially refused to accommodate Laird's sincere religious beliefs.
"No one should be forced to support a union and agenda that they find morally offensive," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. "This is a fight to protect people of faith from being harassed by union bosses."
In January 2001, Laird learned that the SEIU and its affiliates were advocating public funding for abortion, and notified union officials of her intention to assert her right as a religious objector under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Under the law, union officials must attempt to accommodate sincere religious objectors by allowing employees to make charitable contributions in lieu of paying the mandatory union fees.
Rather than comply with the law, SEIU officials diverted Laird's would-be dues to a charity whose record of animal testing also violated her sincere Christian beliefs. Once the Ventura County Humane Society was decided upon as a mutually agreed upon charity, union officials refused to pay fees to the charity retroactively to cover the period during which the complaint was processed. The union also refused to assume the cost of any future grievances Laird files, even though she is paying an amount equal to union fees to charity.
"Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Teachers across the country, regardless of their faith, are being shaken down to pay for this radical agenda," said Gleason. "Without the protections of a Right to Work law, Californians will continue to suffer discrimination as a result of forced unionism."
While Presidential Action Could Reopen West Coast Ports, Federal Labor Policy is to Blame for Crisis
Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2002) – The following is a statement from Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation on President Bush's decision to intervene and invoke the Taft-Hartley Act provisions to halt the West Coast ports shutdown involving the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU):
"Using the union special privileges granted by federal labor law, a small group of union officials have been empowered to hold America's economy hostage. President Bush's decision to seek a temporary injunction to open the West Coast ports for shipping is only a temporary solution to a much larger problem.
"If the president is serious about protecting America's economy and security, he must work to end compulsory unionism in the form of monopoly bargaining and forced union dues. This power gives union officials control over union treasuries, union offices, strike votes, and contract negotiations without fear of workers exercising any practical restraint.
"Union officials have a long history of exploiting national security and economic crises to seek more power. During the Second World War, Big Labor waged 13,000 strikes and work stoppages to impose forced unionism on hundreds of thousands of workers. By the end of World War II, more than 78 percent of unionized employees were governed by contracts that required them to pay union dues as a condition of employment, a fourfold increase. "
Laboring against us: Union power grab hurts national security
By Stefan Gleason, Vice President
As the Senate considers denying President George W. Bush managerial flexibility at the proposed Department of Homeland Security, the union brass are proving again that reports of their political demise are greatly exaggerated. Union officials have managed to convince Senate Democrats to make a risky political bet by voting against the president on a vital national security issue — and just one month before an election.
But the real sticking point in the debate over the homeland security bill is over expansion of union coercive privileges — not civil service protections, as union spokesmen have claimed. The union hierarchy wants to require the president of the United States to get their permission before implementing personnel decisions necessary to cut through crippling bureaucracy and improve national security. Such a requirement would change existing policy and bog down the administration in protracted union negotiations over petty matters.
Sadly, union officials have employed this strategy of reaching for power during previous periods of national crisis as well. Take their spectacular successes during World War II.
Big labor's World War II power-grab began in 1941, when the federal government became more deeply involved in key defense-related industries. Realizing that their leverage would increase due to the national crisis, union officials instigated a series of 13,000 often violent and crippling strikes.
In one of the most notorious of these strikes, mineworkers union bosses shut down the coal mines owned by steel firms (steel was, of course, vital to the war effort). Union officials' chief demand was that all mining employees be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. When a federal agency recommended a settlement that did not include this requirement, President Franklin D. Roosevelt turned the matter over to an arbitrator who ruled in the union's favor.
As more U.S. industries became enmeshed in war production, the Roosevelt administration repeatedly used so-called "labor peace" as an excuse to rope hundreds of thousands more individuals into compulsory unionism.
Toward that end, Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board (NWLB) and gave it authority over just about every industry in wartime America. In July 1942, the NWLB revealed its loyalty to the union hierarchy when it ruled that workers may not resign their union memberships for the entire length of a union's collective bargaining contract. Before World War II, only 20 percent of unionized employees were governed by contracts that required forced union dues payments as a job condition. By 1947, that percentage shot up to 78 percent — where it remains today.
In spite of all the efforts to placate Big Labor, however, "labor peace" never did develop during the war. The number of strikes rose 26 percent in 1943, and 32 percent in 1944, and declined by only 4 percent in 1945.
Labor expert Donald R. Richberg, in his 1957 book, "Labor Union Monopoly: A Clear And Present Danger," detailed the "exasperation with which a war-stricken people had watched the unions take advantage of war necessities to force unreasonable demands on private industry and government." This was, in Mr. Richberg's words, "a disgraceful record for 'patriotic' labor."
True to form, union officials have also used the horrifying attacks of September 11 as cover for their march for increased government-granted privileges.
Only two days after al Qaeda toppled the World Trade Center towers, for example, Democrat Sens. Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton rammed a bill that one union dubbed "the largest expansion of labor [union] rights considered by Congress in decades" through a closed-door Senate committee without a single word of testimony or even a recorded vote. Later, they tried to sneak it through the Senate by unanimous consent. And in November, union-allied senators attempted to push through the legislation via an amendment to a "must pass" appropriations bill.
Through these shameless maneuvers, Mr. Kennedy and Mrs. Clinton sought to federally mandate that all state and local governments anoint union officials as the monopoly bargaining agents for local police, firefighters, paramedics, and other public safety officers — even in jurisdictions that have wisely banned this form of compulsory unionism.
Fortunately for the many dedicated public servants who don't want union officials and crippling workplace rules to disrupt their important work, some senators spoke out against the proposed expansion of union coercive power. "We appreciate our firemen and we appreciate our policemen, but forcing people to pay union dues is not a way to show appreciation," said Sen. Phil Gramm.
Now, during the debate over union privileges inserted by Senate Democrats into the Homeland Security bill, union bosses are adopting a tone of outraged innocence while loudly proclaiming their dedication to national security. But their actions prove otherwise, and their long record of exploiting national crises to increase their power should stiffen the resolve of right-minded senators to stand with the president.
Stefan Gleason is vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation, a Springfield, Va.-based organization.
Shutdown of West Coast Ports Shows America's Economy Is Held Hostage By Forced Unionism
Washington, D.C. (October 2, 2002) – The National Right to Work Foundation today blasted officials of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) for exploiting America's economic crisis and concerns over national security to increase their power by forcing the shutdown of all West Coast shipping ports.
Using a variety of work slowdown tactics, including deliberately understaffing key operations and sending workers to jobs for which they were not qualified, ILWU officials made it impossible for the ports to function. Experts have estimated that the shutdown of West Coast ports will cost the American economy $1 billion each day.
"With actions taken directly from the union playbook used during other periods of crisis, ILWU officials have chosen to use their increased leverage to make unreasonable demands," stated Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. "This is a perfect example of why workers should be freed from government-backed forced unionism which gives union bosses a virtual stranglehold over workers' jobs and America's economy."
Resulting from the many union coercive powers created by federal labor law, ILWU officials have been empowered to interfere with the ability of thousands of workers to support their families. For example, union officials may lawfully deny employees any opportunity to vote on their employer's contract offer. Meanwhile, few employees dare to object to the union's tactics. Workers who disagree with union demands often face hefty fines, harassment, and union violence.
Union officials have a long history of using national crises to expand their power and influence. During the Second World War, Big Labor used strikes and work stoppages to impose forced unionism on hundreds of thousands of workers. In the most notorious of these strikes, union officials were able to shut down vital iron mines and ultimately persuaded the federal government to mandate that all mining employees pay union dues as a condition of employment.
By the end of World War II, more than 78 percent of unionized employees were governed by contracts that required them to pay union dues as a condition of employment, a fourfold increase.
Special Bulletin for Private-sector Workers Subjected to "Top-down" Organizing
Foundation Vice President and Legal Director Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr., has announced a newly formed "Neutrality/Card Check Task Force" composed of Staff Attorneys experienced in litigation under the National Labor Relations Act. The Foundation has formed this task force to provide legal assistance to employees who are victimized by a pernicious and spreading scheme of union officials and politicians to force compulsory union representation on workers.
The background is as follows: Although so-called "neutrality agreements" come in several different forms, the common denominator is that an employer is pressured into staying "neutral" with regard to a union's attempt to organize its workforce. Neutrality agreements commonly give the union access to employees in the form of a list of their names, addresses and telephone numbers, as well as permission to come on company property during work hours for the purpose of collecting union authorization cards. This differs from the guidelines set by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the courts, under which an employer has no obligation to, and may actually be prohibited from, providing the union with such sweeping access to its employees.
Most neutrality agreements also include a "card check" agreement. Under such an agreement, the employees are not permitted to vote on union representation in a secret ballot election monitored by the NLRB. Instead, the employer pledges to automatically recognize the union without an election if the union presents the company with the requisite number of signed authorization cards. Experience shows that many employees are coerced or misled into signing these authorization cards, often being falsely told that they are merely health insurance enrollment forms, non-binding "statements of interest," requests for an election, or even tax forms.
Some employers are pressured into neutrality agreements by union picketing, threats, or comprehensive "corporate campaigns." Even more ominously, we see a growing trend in which state and local politicians pass laws mandating that any employer who wishes to do business with the state or locality must sign such neutrality agreements. In one notorious case, the San Francisco Airport Authority mandated that any concessionaires who wished to lease space at the airport had to first sign a neutrality/card check agreement. That governmental interference in private labor relations was held to be federally preempted, and was enjoined, in Aeroground, Inc. v. City & County of San Francisco, 170 F. Supp. 2d 950 (N.D. Cal. 2001). Unfortunately, many politicians still require such neutrality/charge check agreements as a condition of contracting with the government or of obtaining grants, even though most, if not all, such requirements are unlawful under federal law.
Because employees' rights of free choice are being sacrificed and lost by coercive "neutrality and card check" agreements, the Foundation has established its new Neutrality/Card Check Task Force to help employees who find themselves forced (or potentially forced) into unwanted union representation as a result of these devices. The Foundation stands ready, willing and able to help employees who are victims or potential victims of these schemes. Workers who wish to request assistance may write us, call us toll-free at 800-336-3600, or send an e-mail message to [email protected]. Address your request for assistance to Legal Department.
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ESPN Cameraman Hits CWA Union Officials with Federal Charges for Illegally Demanding Nearly $10,000 in Union Fees
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Sorry for the delay - the image I'd hoped to use for February has ended up needing a little assistance in order for it to be as amazing as I have it in my head so that will now become March's image.
In the meantime therefore, please enjoy this calming image for February.
Luke Malone, producer on Channel 4's "Secrets Of The Living Dolls" recently published an in-depth article for The Atlantic news website entitled "What Men Find Behind Female Masks" featuring prominent members of the masking community - Kerry, T-Vyrus, and Lisa!
Mark it in your calendars... Saturday 22nd February I'm going to be on MaskChat from 8pm (UK time) onwards to answer any questions you may want to throw at me!
This is an open invite to everyone - longstanding members of the masking community, newcomers, journalists, and fetishists. If you have any burning questions you need to ask either about myself or female masking in general - now's your chance!
Just a quick message to wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day!
PS.. Check the Gallery for the unblurred version of the picture!
Why is Kitty posting about the Super Bowl of all things?!
Well actually the Super Bowl has a soft place in my heart; I have fond memories of hosting parties each year for my hubby and his work colleagues when we lived in LA. Usually myself and the other wives would be drunk on cocktails by lunchtime and we'd be laughing away whilst we marinaded ribs and wings and chopped salads and put nibbles out in bowls and beers in the fridge.
Then we'd retire outside by the pool to continue chatting whilst we heard the shouts and screams from the TV inside, all the while clinking our glasses and catching up on gossip.
So whatever team you support today (I'm voting for the blue and green team), have fun, drink, shout, cry, and eat lots of spicy chicken wings!
Another quick video is up on my Twitter feed!
Ever the investigator, I just uploaded a quick experiment I did with Vine to my Twitter feed.
I kinda like Vine as the short duration of the clips forces you to be creative which is one thing I'm lacking at the moment(!) Let me know what you think and I may continue with this experiment if people like it.
Have any of you used Vine before?
2014 will be the year I finally venture out masked to a masking or fetish event so during my research into which one looks most appropriate I've started a new page uninspiringly called the Mask Calendar that lists all the mask or fetish events happening in 2014.
Obviously it's work-in-progress so if you know of any more or want to promote your own event, just submit it and I'll get it added.
VIP Members too have something to look forward to each month with the start of Kitty's Calendar! Head on over to the Wallpaper gallery to grab January's image - but be aware, it's only available during January and then it's gone forever!
Having been masking for around 10 years now, this documentary still managed to show me areas of this world that I didn't know about. As it said, maskers are quite private people and although we talk on Dollspride and MaskChat, it was still insightful to see 'behind the scenes' with a peek into the lives of a few individuals that were taking big steps in their personal lives regarding their masking.
The documentary was decently made I thought... it didn't poke fun, it wasn't biased in any way, it didn't have any kind of snarky commentary overlain or sarcastic editing. It did exactly what a documentary should do, which is document the events.
A bit belated I know but I've only just been dragged kicking and screaming out of 'holiday mode' I'm afraid!
So what are holidays like in the Mayer household? Well, family definitely - lots of visiting relatives and lots of going around to everyone's houses to swap presents.
And I also got a new camera finally! My hubby got me a Canon Powershot s110 (the same one Max uses on the show "Catfish") and I made some time over the holidays to clear a space in the house dedicated to taking photos - the image to the left is one of the first I took with this new setup, hope you like it!
I also entered the FemSkin December contest - I didn't win unfortunately (the winning photo can be found over on Dollspride) but I've put my entry in the Wallpaper gallery for those interested.


Stickman Shooter is an exciting new stickman game in which you must defend a tower against a horde of attacking stickmen. You have cannons to fire, as well as some other defensive weapons, including spikes and a nuclear bomb. Deploy them strategically to take out as many enemy fighters as possible. Unlock new levels to upgrade your weaponry and defenses.


text:
TSM_INSTALL_DIR='/opt/tivoli'

export DSMI_DIR=$TSM_INSTALL_DIR/tsm/client/ba/bin

export DSMI_CONFIG=$DSMI_DIR/dsm.opt

export DSMI_LOG=/var/log/

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$TSM_INSTALL_DIR/tsm/client/api/bin64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

python libapitsm64.py


text:
In this case, the Third Appellate District concluded that the Governor, as an individual, is not a "public agency" for the purposes of CEQA. Therefore, the Governor's act of concurring with the Secretary of the Interior's findings under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is not a project subject to state environmental review. Picayune Rancheria of ...
Posts Tagged 'Public Agency'
Court holds Governor is not a public agency under CEQA
September 30th, 2014 by admin
In this case, the Third Appellate District concluded that the Governor, as an individual, is not a "public agency" for the purposes of CEQA. Therefore, the Governor's act of concurring with the Secretary of the Interior's findings under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is not a project subject to state environmental review. Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Brown (Sept. 24, 2014) Case No. C074506.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act generally prohibits casino gambling on tribal lands acquired by the Secretary of the Interior after 1988. But the law identifies exceptions to this general prohibition. One exception requires the Secretary of the Interior to reach a determination that siting a gambling establishment on newly acquired lands would not be detrimental to the surrounding community. The governor of the applicable state must concur with the determination. In 2011, the Secretary of the Interior made this determination for a gambling establishment proposed by the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians (North Fork Tribe) on newly acquired land in Madera County, adjacent to SR 99. Governor Brown issued his concurrence on August 30, 2012, without preparing or considering whether to prepare an EIR.
The Picayune Tribe filed a petition seeking a writ of mandate ordering the Governor to set aside his concurrence and comply with CEQA. The Tribe argued that the Governor's act of issuing his concurrence was equivalent to the approval of a project under CEQA. The Governor demurred, arguing that the Governor is not a "public agency" for CEQA purposes. The trial court sustained the demurrers without leave to amend, and the Picayune Tribe appealed.
The appellate court agreed with the trial court, citing the CEQA statute and the Supreme Court's decision in Muzzy Ranch Co. v. Solano County Airport Land Use Com. (2007) 41 Cal.4th 372. In Muzzy Ranch Co., the Supreme Court stated that the CEQA process ensures that public agencies make informed decisions with environmental considerations. CEQA defines public agencies as including any state agency, board, or commission, or any local government or other political subdivision. The court noted that the list described in section 21063 is limited to governmental bodies. The governor, in contrast, is a governmental official. Additionally, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act grants the authority to issue the concurrence to the governor of the relevant state. Therefore, in this case, Governor Brown acted and issued the concurrence as an individual. Since the Governor was acting in his capacity as chief executive officer of the State, he was not required to comply with CEQA before issuing his concurrence.
This case establishes that the Governor, when acting as an individual, is exempt from CEQA. The case touched on the issue of whether the Office of the Governor is subject to CEQA, but did not reach an answer. In this case, the federal act explicitly vested concurrence authority in the governor, as chief executive officer of the state.
Tags: Public Agency


Has anyone built an image that works with openstack? Based on other threads I have read, DSM is incapable of seeing virtual disks during the install. I have also seen that with the write smarts (that of which I don't have) the kernel can be modified to see virtual disks. So I'm wondering if anyone has attempted this successfully and posted their results?


text:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1">
<title>Apache log4cxx: StrictMath Class Reference</title>
<link href="doxygen.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
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log4cxx::helpers::StrictMath

StrictMath Class Reference
List of all members.

Detailed Description

The class StrictMath contains methods for performing basic numeric operations.

Static Public Member Functions

template<typename _type>

static const _type & 	minimum (const _type &a, const _type &b)

template<typename _type>

static const _type & 	maximum (const _type &a, const _type &b)

Member Function Documentation

          static const _type& maximum
          (
          const _type &
           a,

          const _type &
           b

          )
           [inline, static]

          static const _type& minimum
          (
          const _type &
           a,

          const _type &
           b

          )
           [inline, static]

The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

strictmath.h


Qualitative Journeys: Student and Mentor Experiences with Research takes a fresh approach to teaching qualitative research. Authors Victor Minichiello and Jeffrey Kottler share stories of student qualitative research experiences that reveal the struggles, the joys, the discoveries, and the surprises that take place during the qualitative research journey. By studying examples of student research (including obstacles and how they were overcome), readers learn through the real-life experiences of other students. Throughout the textbook, the authors offer pragmatic guidance for what works and what does not work, along with suggested solutions.
Qualitative Journeys: Student and Mentor Experiences with Research is appropriate for use as a supplement or core text for courses in Qualitative Research, Counseling Research Methods, or Social Work Research Methods.
This book is a delight to read as a new researcher, it provides an excellent resource for guided reflection and indeed support for the challenges faced in undertaking a research project. This is the first research book that I have ever read cover-to-cover, with a delightful balance of insight, humour and learning from mistakes, with the right balance of pedagogy and academic methodology. A must read for anyone new to the field of research.
I really like this text. It covers important aspects of the student-mentor relationship that are often assumed or missed out.


text:
13 September 2017 Dispute Resolution Alert
Key changes to preferential procurement law: Part 3
The final three key changes occasioned by the 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations (Revised Regulations) pertain to the remedial powers given to an organ of state; the replacement of the mechanism of cancelling and re-inviting tenders with the conditional preference point system; and the removal of good planning, tax clearance and declaratory provisions.
Remedial powers of organs of state
Previously, an organ of state was empowered to act directly against a fraudulent tenderer to, among other things, disqualify the tenderer or terminate the contract; claim damages; prevent the tenderer from obtaining business from any organ of state for a maximum period of 10 years; and refer the matter for criminal prosecution.
Now, in terms of the Revised Regulations, when an organ of state identifies a fraudulent tenderer they must first inform the tenderer accordingly; give the tenderer an opportunity to make representations within 14 days; and, finally, after considering the representations made, disqualify the tenderer or terminate the contract and, if applicable, claim damages.
These remedial powers of organs of state are further restricted as they can no longer refer the matter for criminal prosecution but, rather, only penalise a tenderer who failed to disclose a sub-contracting arrangement for a maximum of 10% of the value of the contract. An organ of state is obliged to inform National Treasury, in writing, of any action taken in this regard, whereafter National Treasury is empowered, after submissions have been made by both the fraudulent tenderer and relevant organ of state, to prevent a tenderer from doing business with any organ of state for a maximum period of 10 years and to add the tenderer to National Treasury's list of restricted suppliers.
Conditional preference point system
Previously, an organ of state had to cancel a tender invitation where the only bids received fell outside the stipulated preference point system (in terms of the price for the contract) and then re-invite tenders under the revised, correct preference point system. To illustrate, if a tender invitation applying the 80/20 preference point system only received tenders that in quoted price exceeded the estimated rand value of R1 million (now R50 million under the Revised Regulations), the tender had to be cancelled and tenderers had to be re-invited to tender under the 90/10 preference point system.
Now, according to the Revised Regulations, the initial tender invitation may stipulate that either the 80/20 or 90/10 preference point system will apply, and that the lowest acceptable tender will determine the applicable preference point system.
Removal of the proper planning, tax clearance and declaratory provisions
The Revised Regulations repealed the requirement for an organ of state, prior to making an invitation to tender, to properly plan for and, as far as possible, accurately estimate the costs of the tender. Significantly, even though this is no longer explicitly required, the Implementation Guide published by National Treasury still requires proper planning and accurate cost estimations. This is necessary to determine the appropriate preference point system to be utilised in the evaluation and adjudication of bids, and to ensure that the cost of the services, works and goods is market related. The removal of this provision seems rather curious, but organs of state would be well advised to follow the Implementation Guide.
Previously, tenderers were required to declare that the information provided in their bids is true and correct, the signatory is duly authorised and the tenderer will submit documentary proof when required to do so to the satisfaction of the organ of state. This is no longer required although, in practice, should a tenderer wilfully misrepresent information in its bid, an organ of state will be able to exercise its remedial powers against fraudulent tenderers (as mentioned above).
Finally, tenderers were also previously required to have their tax matters declared to be in order by the South African Revenue Service before being awarded a tender. This requirement has also been removed but is still required according to the Implementation Guide. In the case of Afriline Civils (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Rural Development & Land Reform and Another; Asla Construction (Pty) Ltd v Head of the Department of Rural Development and Reform and Another [2016] 3 All SA 686 (WCC), the High Court considered whether the applicants' tenders were fairly rejected as non-responsive for, among other things, failing to comply with the mandatory requirement relating to the furnishing of a tax clearance certificate. The court found that the requirement relating to tax clearance certificates, as provided in the tender documents, was mandatory and therefore, due to non-compliance therewith, the tenders were rendered invalid.
In the next and final alert in this series, we will highlight the most recent developments in preferential procurement in case law.
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Brand new high quality large inline fuel fuel filter for the Triumph Herald, Spitfire, Vitesse, GT6 or virtually anything! Equivalent to OE part number FFU11.
Approx 45mm diameter, 120mm total length.
Small filter available on separate listing.