Tips and advice about winter tyres - ABS, ESP, ASR: Do driving aids help on snow?
Home > Tyre guides > Your winter tyres > ABS, ESP, ASR: Do driving aids help on snow?
Electronic driver assistance systems have become commonplace with car manufacturers. If under normal driving conditions these systems significantly improve the vehicle's active safety, they may well spring a few surprises on snow. Here are a few tips to ensure their effectiveness in winter.
Previously reserved for high performance cars, an increasing number of electronic driver assistance systems are now being installed in cars. The most common are the anti-lock braking system (ABS), emergency brake assist (EBA), anti-slip regulation (ASR) or the electronic stability program (ESP). These sophisticated systems, which act on both the engine and brakes, help drivers to control their vehicle in emergency situations.
If their usefulness has been proven on wet and dry roads, these systems may deliver a few surprises on snow. But is this a reason to disable them whenever it is possible? Certainly not since, combined with high performance winter tyres, they significantly improve tyre grip and traction.
Except for cars that are over 10 years old, the antilock braking system works well on snow. The downside, however, is that braking distances are doubled, or even tripled on certain surfaces. This is an incentive for drivers to reduce their speed and anticipate slowing down.
However, the ABS may react badly if there is a difference in grip between the left and right wheels. For example, if only half of the road is covered with snow. Undesirable reactions can also be noted on extremely bumpy roads.
Insofar as possible, the Electronic Stability Program aims to bring the car under control without leaving the road. The system also reduces the risk of under-steering (front wheel skid) and over-steering (rear wheel skid). As soon as the ESP detects that the wheels no longer respond to steering wheel movements, it acts on the relevant wheel(s) until the tyre finds traction again.
When the car is in motion, the ESP reacts quickly on snow. However, when starting and under certain conditions, the anti-slip regulation system can block the car. For example, on a particularly icy road or with hill starts. The latest ESP systems have a position which allows some slip in snow. For older systems, simply disengage the ESP for a few moments and re-engage it once the car is moving.
Acknowledging that electronic driver assistance systems are commonplace, tyre manufacturers now offer winter tyres that improve their effectiveness.
This is particularly true of Continental, with its ContiWinterContact range. The TS 830 P model is equipped with specific sinusoidal sipes that tend to combine longitudinal and lateral forces. We were able to check the tyre's efficiency on the Andros Trophy ice circuit at Alpe d'Huez.


2 Wash the basil, strip the leaves off the stems and dry carefully. Put all the ingredients in the mini bowl and finely chop for approx. 1 minute with the FOOD PROCESSOR programme.
3 While the processor is still running, trickle the olive oil in via the feed tube. Season to taste.


"How can the Saudis cut substantially if Trump doesn't want a big cut?" said Gary Ross, chief executive of U.S.-based Black Gold Investors and a veteran OPEC watcher.
"We think OPEC will try to come up with a fuzzy production cut ... It won't be called a cut but will effectively mean a cut, which will also be difficult to quantify," McNally said.


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CallRevu Enhances Its Communication Intelligence (CI) Platform
CallRevu has added artificial intelligence and machine learning, supplemented with its unique automotive lexicon developed over the past 12 years from millions of human transcribed calls, to its Communications Intelligence (CI) Platform.
This new technology analyzes all phone communications, harvesting insights and producing actionable data to help automotive dealers improve the customer experience and grow their revenue.
CallRevu's CI Platform is designed to provide call connectivity metrics with detailed call flow, voicemail monitoring, keyword search, customer alerts, customer satisfaction monitoring and spam/robo-dialing reports that pinpoints areas for action.
"At CallRevu, we know that artificial intelligence and machine learning are only as good as the training data. This is why we have amassed over 100 million calls transcribed by humans to develop the largest automotive-specific lexicon, which enables us to deliver unparalleled quality, and now we do this for every call and every line," said Jeff dePascale, CallRevu's vice president of technology, in a statement.
Early adopters are claiming greater than 44 percent improvements from the platform's new capabilities, intuitive interface, and the self-service tools, the company says.
"CallRevu believes data is good, insights are better, but what dealers really want is predictive and prescriptive alerts that focuses their attention on action. CallRevu has a rich history of firsts, and we believe the CI Platform is another example of CallRevu innovation and how we continue to lead the industry with our sole focus on automotive that allows us to package and deliver information that is intuitive, real time, mobile-first, and readily accessible, and, most importantly, designed for action. And there is so much more we are bringing to market in 2021," said Anthony Giagnacovo, CEO of CallRevu, in a statement.
CallRevu Integrates with VinSolutions Connect CRM
The partnership drastically increases functionality and the flow of information between CallRevu and Connect CRM.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Tag Archive | Jammu and Kashmir
Drawing Line Between Trial And Punishment ! – By Mukesh Jhangiani
M. Veerappa Moily (Photo: Nestlé)
Drawing Line Between Trial And Punishment !
New Delhi (UNI) – More than 300,000 under-trials were let out of custody after a special drive begun early last year but with new arrivals daily the number in prisons remains almost what it was– more than 200,000.
"Imagine the plight in absence of such an effort," was how a senior government official responded when asked about the impact of the special drive, which, he pointed out, has been extended.
Article 21 of the Constitution lays down that "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."
A statistic to bear in mind: roughly two out of every three prisoners in India are under-trials– only one is a convict serving sentence.
Guilty or Innocent (Photo: publik16)
That, critics say, is a telling reflection of a justice system ostensibly committed to treating an accused as innocent until proven guilty.
For instance, 162 of 543 Members elected to Parliament in 2009 faced criminal charges as against 128 in 2004. Correspondingly, 76 and 58 of them faced serious charges.
Of 813 legislative assembly members in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which go to the polls next month, 204 faced criminal charges, 83 of them serious charges.
Serious crime cases include those involving murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, robbery and extortion.
The special drive was an initiative by Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily to decongest prisons.
"We want to dispose of as many as two-thirds of the under-trial cases by July 31," Dr Moily told journalists on Republic Day eve 14 months ago. "The mission begins January 26."
The exercise involved expediting legal process for some 200,000 under-trials as part of a National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms.
In a jurisprudence known to let even those accused of serious crimes get bail or get elected to legislatures, many under-trials are believed to spend longer in jail than their alleged petty crimes warrant.
By law anyone arrested has a right to be informed of any charges he or she faces, consult a lawyer of his or her choice and to be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.
Lawyers say that without legal aid, those who cannot afford bail inevitably suffer prolonged incarceration during the pendency of investigation by police and trial by a court.
Experts say they languish simply because they are illiterate, do not know their rights or charges they face, and cannot afford lawyers– although Rs 50 crores is spent annually on legal aid.
According to a National Human Rights Commission consultant, India's prison capacity in December 2008 was 293,144 inmates, against which 386,791 inmates were actually in prison– 264,502 of them under-trials and 122,289, convicts.
While authorities have been acquiescing in the miscarriage of justice, the victims' plight has, from time to time, evoked concern at home and abroad with critics assailing India's tortuously slow courts.
India is bound by several international human rights conventions and for decades the government as well as courts have been aware of the violations.
An early official reference to the plight of under-trial prisoners came in the findings of K F Rustamji, a National Police Commission member, 32 years ago.
He saw under-trials as "dumb, simple persons, caught in the web of the law, unable to comprehend as to what has happened, what the charge against them is, or why they have been sent to jail," and prisons as a system "slowly grinding thousands of people into dust."
Indeed, the first public interest litigation– Hussainara Khatoon & Ors vs Home Secretary, State Of Bihar… 1979– brought to light how undertrial prisoners had been in jail longer than if they had been charged, tried, convicted and given maximum punishment.
Supreme Court lawyers recall a September 1977 judgement by Justice V R Krishna Iyer who held that "the basic rule may perhaps be tersely put as bail, not jail."
Among exceptions he spelt out "are circumstances suggestive of fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like."
"It made clear that incarceration in the name of judicial custody and protracted or delayed trial is itself criminal as it hits at the very base of Article 21," says advocate Ravi Prakash Gupta.
Eight years ago, National Democratic Alliance Law Minister Jana Krishnamurthy drew attention to the plight of more than 200,000 under-trials.
"It's a shame," he said, that in independent India men and women have to await their day in court for over ten years.
The yearly cost to public exchequer for under-trials upkeep was then estimated at Rs 4.6 crore.
Although under-trials' guilt is yet to be proven, they remain in prison almost indefinitely.
Experts say unlike convicts, found guilty, they are not even entitled to such basics as uniforms, literacy lessons or work.
NHRC consultant Lakshmidhar Mishra says children and juveniles are worse off inasmuch as they are put up in regular jails with hardened criminals contrary to law for lodging them in police lockups or observation homes, which are neither adequate in number nor adequately equipped.
There was no let-up until about a year ago, when a move to cut two thirds of under-trial cases was announced by Dr Moily of the United Progressive Alliance.
Addressing lawyers on November 26, 2009, marked as Law Day, the Minister regretted the justice system's failure to give every citizen equal protection of law.
"A necessary corollary to the guarantee of the rule of law is Article 14 of the Constitution," Dr Moily reminded.
Article 14: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
"Unfortunately," he admitted that "justice delivery system in its working in India has not been able to guarantee this protection to every citizen– man, woman and child."
The government asked High Courts to identify under-trials not involved in heinous crimes or preventive detention so that their cases may be put on a fast track to expedite pressing cases.
The Indian Constitution guarantees speedy trial. But the commodity is routinely in short supply, with litigation often taking years, even decades.
Indian courts have close to 31 million cases pending, a factor that discourages justice seekers at home, investors from abroad, and has even judges advocating alternative ways of resolving disputes.
Hope may be hard to entertain given hundreds of High Court judgeships and thousands of lower judicial posts perennially vacant and inconsistent sentencing practices across India undermining the deterrent value of law.
Government figures show that there were 213,739 under-trials in prison as the drive got underway.
Over the next six months or so, only 43,504 were convicted and 50,282 discharged.
As many as 309,728 under-trials were released after having been kept in jails for unspecified periods.
About the same time, 399,115 new under-trials arrived in prisons across India, to wait for their day in the court.
Government data indicate that of 612,854 under-trials in prison for unspecified periods– ranging from a day to possibly several years– merely 7.09 per cent were actually convicted in those six months or so.
The figures made available do not, for instance, specify how long individuals spent in jail on what sort of charges before they were convicted, discharged or released.
Nor has there been a mention of compensating any who might have been jailed or held without basis.
Any compensation awarded by human rights or other authorities is discretionary, depending on how a given judge feels at the moment– hardly fair.
No compensation is mandated by the Indian Constitution or statutes for wrongful confinement.
In a telephone interview with United News of India special correspondent Mukesh Jhangiani, Dr Mishra called it "a significant omission," and agreed that a remedial legislation is needed.
But given the pace of legislation in India, remedies are neither swift nor easy.
The figures indicating that the number of under-trials in prison at the end of the drive was 212,454– just 1,285 less than at the outset– do not necessarily reflect a nationwide trend.
In 16 out of 27 States or Union territories for which the Justice Department has received figures, the numbers actually went up.
West Bengal led in this increase with 14,238 under-trials put into prisons while 9,337 were released, an increase of 4,901 under-trials in prison.
It was followed by Orissa, with an increase of 4,305, Rajasthan, 3071, Haryana, 1,737, Jharkhand, 1,726, Bihar, 1,550, Chhattisgarh, 1,516, Gujarat, 1,086, and Assam, 1,000.
Smaller increases were reported by Andhra Pradesh, 678, Punjab, 677, Kerala, 652, Manipur, 238, Tripura, 118, Himachal Pradesh, 107, Goa, 106, Nagaland, 69, and Arunachal Pradesh, 47.
One State which reported the highest decline was Uttar Pradesh which released 77,205 under-trials while putting in jail 55,287, an actual decrease of 21,918.
It was followed by Madhya Pradesh, where the number of under-trials in prison declined by 748, Karnataka, 643, Uttarakhand, 569, New Delhi, 356, Maharashtra, 257, Mizoram, 156, Meghalaya, 112, Sikkim, 58, Chandigarh, 11, and Daman and Diu, 1.
The Department had no figures immediately from Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
The programme originally scheduled to end on July 31, "is continuing," Dr Moily told journalists a few weeks ago.
From citizens' perspective locking up innocent, law-abiding individuals is as undesirable and indeed repugnant as letting crooks and lawbreakers roam free or shape laws or societies.
UNI MJ NK 1749
Sukhdev Namdhari and Sachin Tyagi remanded in police custody (dailymail.co.uk)
Court seeks police reply on plea of Verma's wife (indiavision.com)
Tihar official told to explain rules of prisoners' lodging (thehindu.com)
Protecting rights against laws (thehindu.com)
A state of criminal injustice (thehindu.com)
This entry was posted on December 12, 2012, in Governance, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law, Law-making and tagged Acquiescing in the miscarriage of justice, Advocate Ravi Prakash Gupta, Andaman and Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Article 21 of the Constitution, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, attempt to murder, Bihar, By Mukesh Jhangiani, Caught in the web of the law, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Children and juveniles worse off, Citizens' perspective, Cost to public exchequer for under-trials upkeep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Decongest prisons, Discourages justice seekers at home, Dr Moily, Dr Moily told journalists, Expediting legal process, Faced criminal charges, First public interest litigation, Give every citizen equal protection of law, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, High Court judgeships, High Courts, Himachal Pradesh, Hussainara Khatoon & Ors vs Home Secretary, Incarceration in the name of judicial custody, India, India's prison capacity, India's tortuously slow courts, Indian Constitution, Indian courts have close to 31 million cases pending, International human rights, Jammu and Kashmir, Jana Krishnamurthi, Jana Krishnamurthy, Jharkhand, Justice Department, Justice V R Krishna Iyer, K F Rustamji, Karnataka, Kerala, kidnapping, Lakshadweep, Lakshmidhar Mishra, Law and Justice, Law and Justice Minister, Law Minister, Law-abiding individuals, Legislative assembly members, Let out of custody, Letting crooks and lawbreakers roam free, Locking up innocent, M Veerappa Moily, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Many under-trials spend longer in jail than their alleged petty crimes warrant, Meghalaya, Members elected to Parliament in 2009, Mizoram, Moily told journalists, Mukesh Jhangiani, Murder, Nagaland, National Democratic Alliance, National Human Rights Commission, National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms, National Police Commission, Necessary corollary, New Delhi, NHRC consultant, No person to be deprived of life or personal liberty, Orissa, PIL, Plight of under-trial prisoners, Preventive detention, Public Interest Litigation, Puducherry, Punjab, Put on a fast track, Rajasthan, Remain in prison almost indefinitely, Republic Day, robbery and extortion, Senior government official, Serious crime cases, Shape laws or societies, Sikkim, Slowly grinding thousands of people into dust, State Of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telling reflection of a justice system, Territory of India, Those accused of serious crimes get bail, Treating an accused as innocent until proven guilty, Trial And Punishment, Tripura, Two of every three prisoners in India undertrials, Two-thirds of the under-trial cases, Under-trials, Undertrials, Undesirable, UNI, United News of India, United News of India special correspondent, United Progressive Alliance, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.	3 Comments
'Supreme' Audit– 'Shutting Stable Door After Steed Is Stolen!' – By Mukesh Jhangiani
Snapshot from an Audit Document: Of 1209 paras CAG submitted in 1997-98, PAC discussed only 16 (Photo: Wikipedia)
'Supreme' Audit– 'Shutting Stable Door After Steed Is Stolen!'
New Delhi (UNI) – India's Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has acknowledged at least two instances in which Parliamentary recommendations arising from its findings have gone unheeded for 25 years, suggesting that the country's "supreme" audit system is not as effective as it should be.
Both instances pertain to the University Grants Commission– its "inequitable" distribution of grants between Central and State Universities and its failure to produce "utilisation certificates" for Rs 511.37 crore grants made between 1958-59 and 1988-89.
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament had recommended steps to mend each situation, but, according to a CAG report, the steps were not implemented in either case. Here are excerpts of the report:
"During 1969-70 to 1975-76 the share of development grant of Central and Deemed Universities was 41 per cent against 59 per cent of State Universities.
"(The) PAC in its seventy third report (Sixth Lok Sabha) while disapproving the inequitable distribution of grants had directed (the) UGC to play a positive role in creating conditions to enable the State Universities and Colleges to take advantage of the facilities of development grant.
"Despite this inequity in the disbursement of development grant, it increased constantly since then and during 1992-93 to 1999-2000 the share of 15 Central Universities alone stood at 53.43 per cent as against 46.57 per cent of 212 Deemed and State Universities.
"Thus, (the) UGC failed to take effective measures to eliminate disproportionate disbursement of grants, despite the recommendations of (the) PAC 25 years ago…
"As many as 50,877 utilisation certificates (UCs) involving Rs 511.37 crore pertaining to the period 1958-59 to 1988-89 were outstanding as on 31 March 1999. (The) UGC failed to provide updated information as the details are yet to be compiled.
"On the basis of recommendations of (the) PAC in its 73rd Report(Sixth Lok Sabha) it was decided to constitute peripatetic parties for on the spot liquidation of outstanding utilisation. However, no peripatetic party was constituted as of July 2000."
The CAG's report did not name the officials responsible for the failure nor did it explain how or why the situation was allowed to remain unsorted for so many years.
Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, one of the authors of India's constitution, thought of CAG as "the one man who is going to see that the expenses voted by Parliament are not exceeded, or varied from what has been laid down by Parliament in what is called appropriation Act." He held the CAG's duties to be "far more important than the duties of the Judiciary".
The incumbent CAG, Vijayendra Nath Kaul, is an Indian Administrative Service officer appointed to the post three months ago by President K R Narayanan, to whom he reports. According to official documents, the CAG, as head of the Indian Audits and Accounts Department, is assisted by about 60,000 employees in over 90 offices across the nation. The Department has a Rs 846 crore budget– bulk of it spent on staff pay and allowances.
The CAG's reports on the accounts of the Union submitted to the President are laid before each House of Parliament, and those on the States submitted to the respective Governor are laid before the legislature.
They contain objections and remarks over errors committed by government authorities in spending money– specifying non-spending, under-spending, overspending and misspending of allocated funds.
In Parliament, they are routed either to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)– which scrutinises sections on central ministries, departments and offices– or the Committee on Public Undertakings(COPU)– which goes over sections on central public sector undertakings (PSUs).
Representatives from the ministries and departments appear before the Committees when matters relating to them are taken up to answer questions raised by members on the basis of the report of the CAG, who is present during the hearings.
The Committees' conclusions and recommendations are presented to Parliament and the Ministries concerned required to file action taken reports.
A PAC official said matters reported by the CAG are usually gone into, the process sometimes involving more than one Action Taken reports.
As to the system countenancing a lapse of 25 years just to find that steps recommended by the PAC were not acted upon, the official appeared surprised by the allusion to the observation made in the CAG's report.
But Chhattrapal Singh, a Lok Sabha Member who has been in the PAC four years in a row, said such occurences owed to the non-binding nature of its recommendations. "That's the lacuna in the Parliamentary system. It must be remedied by making the recommendations of the PAC mandatory."
A Bharatiya Janata Party Member from Uttar Pradesh, Singh said, "To allow a choice in whether or not to implement recommendations after two eminent bodies– the CAG and the PAC– have gone into a matter raises questions about our earnestness to end corruption and improve administration."
Critics say such audit exercises mean little unless those responsible are brought to book– something over which India's CAG is powerless. Critics say all that constitutional authority and elaborate auditing machinery notwithstanding there are several weaknesses in the system. And the situation is no different in the States.
In countries such as Germany, Japan, China, France and New Zealand auditing officers have powers to summon erring officials and make them pay from their own pockets for losses caused by them to the State. In some serious cases the erring official is imprisoned after institution of criminal proceedings in a court of law.
In India, a group of Government appointed experts recently pointed to the fact that the CAG does not even have the power to summon government officials who commit irregularities to ask them to explain their decisions– let alone make them pay for the loss caused or punish those stealing public funds.
Stressing that a primary audit function is to see that provisions of law, rules and regulation are properly applied in incurring expenditure or collecting revenue, experts reported that "while audit notices systematic violation of law, rules and regulations by departmental officers it is unable to take an effective action to prevent them."
They cited the Bihar fodder scam. "Serious financial irregularities and misappropriation of government funds were being committed by senior government functionaries and the Treasury officials all acting together in collusion.
"The Accountant General (AG) Bihar could not detect the irregularity in time as Treasury officers suppressed the vouchers through which money was drawn and did not transmit them to AG thus preventing its audit.
"(The) CAG has been making mention of excess drawal over voted provision in its Audit Report presented to Bihar Legislature but Public Accounts Committee, it is said, did not even me(e)t to discuss the report leave apart take preventive action.
"After the scam became public knowledge, (the) CAG has produced a well documented Audit Report but it is more a case of getting wise after the event– after crores in public money has been looted and shutting the stable door after the steed has been stolen."
The experts noted that the PAC's functions included examining the Government explanation for extra expenditure and presenting a report to the legislature recommending regularisation– a necessity as all government expenditure must have the sanction of the legislature.
But the group reported that "In many States, (the) PAC's have not been able to discharge even the Constitutional obligation of regularising 'excess expenditure' over budgetary grants."
It cited how Rs. 94,314 crore excess expenditure was not regularised as of 1999– Rs 22,767 crore in Jammu and Kashmir, 13,618 crore in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 12,569 crore in Assam and Rs 6,059 crore in Bihar.
"Thus in almost all the States huge amount of public money has been spent in violation of budgetary control envisaged in the Constitution and fraught with the risk of misappropriation of public money," the group noted.
The situation has arisen because no time limit is set for regularisation, experts said. "There is no time limit prescribed for placing Appropriation Accounts certified by the CAG in Parliament or State Legislature and the regularisation of excess expenditure over voted grants by the PAC."
At the Central level, the Parliamentary PAC and COPU have not been able to examine all audit reports submitted by the CAG.
In 1997-98, for instance, of 16 reports containing 1209 paras submitted by the CAG, the PAC selected 76 paras for review but was able to discuss only 16 of them.
The implication: these committees are able to examine only a tiny fraction of the contents of the CAG's multi-volume reports, "which defeats the very purpose of parliamentary financial control and the accountability of Executive which Parliament is required to enforce".
But a senior official aiding the PAC said that even the CAG paras that are not ticked for detailed attention or examination are circulated to the departments concerned for their Action Taken Notes. The PAC, taking "serious note of the prevailing laxity and the formalistic ritual with which the ATNs on the non-selected paras are generally furnished," has decided to examine all ATNs, the official said.
He cited the CAG's unselected para on the purchase of a Rs 1.42 crore house for India's Consulate General at Frankfurt that came with a "heated indoor swimming pool with a sauna bath cabin and a separate shower room". The problem: Recurring pool maintenance costs. The outcome: The Mission was "instructed to exercise restraint to meet any unnecessary expenditure on the maintenance of the swimming pool".
The experts' group suggested need to empower Audit Officers to pursue their findings by summoning the officers concerned for evidence on oath and, where default is established, taking steps for recovery of loss or disciplinary action under the Civil Services Conduct Rule or initiation of criminal action under the Penal code in cases involving criminal liability.
For that matter, experts noted that the CAG itself is dependent upon public funds for functioning and therefore must be held accountable to Parliament for its spending decisions.
In countries such as Britain and Australia, independent auditors audit CAG accounts and a Parliamentary committee oversees their work.
But in India, there is no external audit of the accounts of the CAG's office, proclaimed as India's "Supreme Audit Institution".
The CAG nominates one of the Accountants General under him as an auditor for the CAG's office. Experts believe that the accounts of the CAG must also be scrutinised independently.
"The operations of the office of the CAG itself should be subject to scrutiny by an independent body. To fulfil the canons of accountability, a system of external audit of CAG's organisation should be adopted for both the Union and the State level organisations," the expert report said.
UNI MJ YJ HS1011
India Not For Sale, Say Lawyers – By Mukesh Jhangiani(mukeshjhangiani.wordpress.com)
SC dismisses plea for review of CAG's loss figures (vancouverdesi.com)
This entry was posted on November 4, 2012, in Governance, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law, Law-making, Workman and tagged Accountant General Bihar, Acting together in collusion, Allocated funds, Appropriation Act, Assam, Audit exercises, Auditing officers, Australia, Bharatiya Janata Party Member from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bihar fodder scam, Britain, Brought to book, By Mukesh Jhangiani, CAG, CAG does not even have the power, CAG is powerless, CAG report, Canons of accountability, Central Universities, Chhattrapal Singh, China, Civil Services Conduct Rule, Committee on Public Undertakings, Comptroller, Comptroller & Auditor General, Constitutional obligation, COPU, Criminal liability, Deemed Universities, Development grant, Disproportionate disbursement, Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Each House of Parliament, Empower Audit Officers, Erring official is imprisoned, Errors committed by government authorities in spending money, France, Frankfurt, Germany, Governor, Heated indoor swimming pool and sauna, Independent auditors, India, India's Comptroller and Auditor General, India's constitution, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Audits and Accounts Department, Inequitable distribution of grants, Jammu and Kashmir, Japan, K R Narayanan, Legislature, Lok Sabha Member, Make them pay from their own pockets for losses, Misappropriation of government funds, Misspending, Name the officials responsible, New Zealand, No external audit, Non-binding nature of its recommendations, Non-spending, Not detect the irregularity, Objections and remarks, On the spot liquidation, Our earnestness to end corruption and improve administration, Outstanding utilisation, Overspending, PAC, Parliament, Parliamentary, Pay for the loss, Peripatetic parties, Powers to summon erring officials, President, Prevailing laxity, Preventing its audit, PSUs, Public Accounts Committee, Public money has been looted, Public sector undertakings, Punish those stealing public funds, Purchase of a Rs 1.42 crore house for India's Consulate General, Recovery of loss, Regularising excess expenditure, rules and regulations, Senior government functionaries, Serious financial irregularities, Several weaknesses, Shutting Stable Door After Steed Is Stolen, Shutting the stable door, Sixth Lok Sabha, Staff pay and allowances, State Universities, Supreme Audit, Systematic violation of law, Treasury officers suppressed the vouchers, Treasury officials, UGC, Under-spending, Unheeded for 25 years, United News of India, University Grants Commission, Utilisation certificates, Uttar Pradesh, Vijayendra Nath Kaul.	1 Comment


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We must remember who we are fighting for
By Lee Dargue | Sun 18th June 2017 - 8:55 am
Follow @leedargue
I'm a man. I'm cis. I'm gay. I'm middle-aged (oh come on…approaching!). I'm middle-class (yes, I can de-stone an Avocado without cutting myself).
I am also a liberal. I am also a Liberal Democrat.
We must, as liberals and LibDems, absolutely remember the most famous part of our oft-mentioned pre-amble to our constitution:
"…no one should be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity."
No one. No ONE person, shall be enslaved by any of those facets of liberalism.
Every time I've gone to quit the party, or cause an uproar with a fiery post, I keep coming back to these 3 areas, where we believe no ONE shall be enslaved.
I oppose libertarianism, because whilst it favours the individual, it does so without a social context.
I oppose socialism, because I don't believe it's right for a group of people to decide what's right for society, and then pass laws so that the rest of us do what we're told is right for us.
I do support, and will always support, a social liberal focus on society, the being enslaved at all is wrong. Imagine being enslaved simply because you're a woman, a man, or a gender of X or none, that you're LGBT+, or not, of a set faith, or not. If you're rich or middle-income, or poor, or in poverty, or homeless. Whether you are facing a mental or physical illness, or of good health, of being short, or tall, or fat, or thin, or the dreaded "in-between", of any skin colour, race, sexual orientation, or anything else that makes us to be…human.
We support human rights without question. We are all human. So, let's be liberal. Let's be Liberal Democrats. Let's ensure that no one is enslaved by poverty, ignorance, or conformity.
The state must always answer to the people. And the people are made up of "ones".
It's time we stopped tolerating the ones, and started accepting, loving and cherishing them. Even if, and especially if, they are different to us.
To quote a favourite tv show of mine, "The universe speaks in many language, but only one voice."
We are that one voice. It's time we understood that.
Let's be liberal. Let's be Liberal Democrats.
Please, let us be – ONE.
* Lee has long campaigned on mental health in and out of the Lib Dems, he is the PPC for Birmingham Ladywood and speaks for the Party on Health, in the West Midlands.
Read more by Lee Dargue .
Liberal Britain – a counterfactual history
Jo Swinson MP writes..The role I want to play in our party's leadership
Frances Alexander 18th Jun '17 - 9:41am
I admit I find it difficult to accept, love and cherish the Brexiteers in our society.
frankie 18th Jun '17 - 10:36am
I find it difficult to love Tories. Why because their policies appeal to the inner spiteful, greedy, selfcentred person we all can be. I'd rather not be that person but I can see the appeal and it's something I feel I need to fight against.
Malcolm Todd 18th Jun '17 - 10:49am
"It's time we stopped tolerating the ones, and started accepting, loving and cherishing them."
No, not really. I'm never going to love and cherish everyone and I find it bizarre to suggest that I'm somehow not a liberal if I don't. In fact, I'm going to find some people and some practices weird, or distasteful, even morally questionable, without feeling a need to outlaw them. (No, I'm not talking about gay sex – I don't give a f— about that.) Some people are going to find me and my practices all those things too. Tolerance is exactly what is needed to make society bearable and I'm fed up of it being presented as somehow not good enough.
Catherine Jane Crosland 18th Jun '17 - 10:53am
A wonderful, inspirational article, Lee
Nick Baird 18th Jun '17 - 12:22pm
I'm with Malcolm (above) on this. Loving and cherishing is an unotainable utopian aim for most, whereas tolerance is a fundamental liberal requirement. Try as I might, I will never love and cherish everyone and every point of view, and I'm not even going to try. I will however do my best to tolerate, and maybe even respect (as best I can), those who I don't like or who's views I disagree with.
I also state the obvious caveat that my tolerance and respect does not extend to those that harm others.
Brian Robinson 18th Jun '17 - 12:43pm
I agree very much with most of what you've said, Lee. I've recently set out what I called a Manifesto for Progressive Politics – but which was about values and principles rather than specific policies, and similar to what you've suggested in your article – see http://www.the48movement.uk/2017/06/a-manifesto-for-progressive-politics.html for my version.
I think it gives the Lib Dems a problem, though, in trying to "own" a distinctive set of principles, because I think most Greens and many in the Labour Party would share those principles (although they may well want to put them into practice in a different way; but there is that sort of difference *within* political parties too).
Also, I find the disagreement in the comments fascinating (see Malcolm Todd, above), because I agree, in part, with both!
"I'm going to find some people and some practices weird, or distasteful, even morally questionable, without feeling a need to outlaw them."
I think it's possible to accept, love and cherish people who – or whose practices – I find weird or distasteful or even morally questionable.
Lorenzo Cherin 18th Jun '17 - 1:14pm
A very overdone and posturing negative and unnecessary reaction to a lovely article from Lee, made tolerable by the terrific comments from Catherine !
It is about Mill ! The harm those individuals Lee talks about loving is non existent. He does not talk of loving the wicked , those doing harm even low level !
I do not think we should even tolerate let alone love those who are doing things that bother others directly.
Mill said , your right to swing your fists stops at my nose !
Mess with me and I can turn into Dirty Harry .
Otherwise , Santa Clause, not Scrooge … is what we want…
Sue Sutherland 18th Jun '17 - 1:36pm
I think accepting difference is crucial in our politics at the moment and cherishing seems to be about looking after the different, which is where policies come in, but I think love is difficult but something that my Christian faith expects of me rather than my Liberalism. I like your reasons for disliking libertarianism and socialism.
David Evans 18th Jun '17 - 1:56pm
The article puts forward an interesting view, but one that to me and probably many long standing liberals, know is a pipe dream. I think a lot more thought, vision and experience needs to be put into it before it could come close to a viable approach to any mainstream political philosophy.
You suggest "It's time we stopped tolerating the ones, and started accepting, loving and cherishing them. Even if, and especially if, they are different to us."
Do you really mean that? Like the ones who exploit the weak? Like theones who believe that it is OK to kill animals without stunning them (not just religious groups)? Like the ones who believe that their driving skills are so good that they don't need to obey speed limits? Like the ones who supply legal highs to children? Like the ones who believe that they should be allowed to play their music as loud as they like in a block of flats? Like the ones who prevaricate and cut corners over matters of public safety? Like the ones who support carte blanche the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank? Like the ones who oppose the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank by means of indiscriminate bombing?
I don't even tolerate any of them. Do any of us? Perhaps someone could create an argument to consider where one of them could be tolerated, but it would be tough.
I think you are forgetting the full part of the preamble to our constitution "The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity."
The key words to a Liberal Democrat are the quiet ones "where we seek to balance." They are the difficult ones, the ones that need hard work considering options and choices, rights and wrongs, responsibilities and freedoms. We all drive on the Left along the road, we all obey one way streets, except for a few idiot cyclists who think it's all right to risk their own life, but don't consider the impact on the poor car driver who might mow them down.
Mick Taylor 18th Jun '17 - 2:11pm
And from a Christian perspective. Love thine enemies, do good to those that hate you. Good advice for Liberals
Peter Martin 18th Jun '17 - 2:12pm
Isn't this an an argument more against representative democracy than socialism? The "group of people" in our system are our Parliamentarians at National level and Councillors at local level. They pass laws saying we can't hold firearms or we have to pay 20% VAT or whatever. That may not be be right for the individual concerned but it is right for society as a whole. Or it is right that we have to pay some taxes and that we aren't allowed to walk around with loaded AK47's slung over our shoulders. At least most of us think that.
This "group of people" are elected by another "group of people" who are the electorate. Occasionally the electorate has a direct say as with EU membership, or AV voting but that usually doesn't work out to be to Lib Dem liking in any case.
So I'm not quite sure how Liberalism can be as distinctive as you'd like. It's about essentially about making capitalism work for the benefit of everyone rather than just the 1%. Many democratic socialists would say the same thing too.
John Littler 18th Jun '17 - 2:35pm
I disagree with Socialism in it's more fundamental form, because of it's tendency to restrict individual liberties, the scope for tribalism and because of it's demotivating aspects, such as a lack of incentives or sometimes lack of the price mechanism to allocate resources, which often end in worse outcomes for most people, or very many.
But the hybrid moderate version, Social Democracy can bring better handling of natural monopolies, run more efficiently at lower cost and in the interest of users rather than shareholders. However, it s not a foregone conclusion that public ownership of monopolies and oligopolies ( near monopolies) is always better. They have to be properly set up and resourced with motivated staff, or they can become dismal, over stretched and under performing.
Lee Dargue 18th Jun '17 - 3:16pm
Thank you everyone for your comments, I very much appreciate your time.
I really like reading replies, including those that disagree with me – as that's sometimes the best way to learn.
Jayne Mansfield 18th Jun '17 - 3:41pm
I agree with Malcolm Todd. I have met people with some truly loathsome views. I tolerate their company so that I can argue against those views.
I fear for a society where it is acceptable to 'no platform', certain speakers i.e. Peter Tatchell, Germaine Greer et al, How is one to achieve greater tolerance, if one feels that one's argument is so weak that one cannot bare to be confronted with arguments that one opposes? By brain altering chemicals or surgical means, frontal lobotomies maybe?
Instead of wanting everyone to receive acceptance and and love. how about helping young people to cope in the world as it is, rather than as we would like it to be? There will always be, people who need to make others feel bad in order to make themselves feel good. We must teach children that these people exist, and that the only behaviour and responses that they can truly control are their own. They must refuse to internalise the opinions and judgments of people who are disrespectful to them and therefore unworthy of respect themselves. And they should be taught to argue.
Despite Laws that have been brought into force, many by socialists, governments, that prevent some of the overt discriminatory practices, both at work and socially, (not that many can now afford to seek legal redress ( so thanks coalition government), Laws can't stop people having their own thoughts, and preferences etc. The most one can hope for and argue for, is tolerance of difference.
@ Nick Baird,
Where Liberal Democrats and I part company, is that harm is not always direct or immediate. It is why, despite waiting to see how Tim Farron shaped up, I can still not forgive the Liberal Democrats for what they enabled in the coalition years, nor how their support ,helped the Conservatives to return to power.
If the tragedy of Grenfell Tower demonstrates anything, it is that the victims were diverse: all ages, genders colours, backgrounds, religions, possible sexual orientation, and ultimately it mattered not. It is being poor that makes people voiceless and powerless in our society. It is this demographic that can till be stereotyped and disrespected in 'polite' company. The overarching characteristic that defined the victims of this latest tragedy, is that they were poor, working poor , workless poor, and dependent on social housing provision. And this it seems, made them all unworthy of the duty of care that is owed to all citizens.
paul barker 18th Jun '17 - 3:48pm
I agree that Tolerance is only a start, it should lead on to welcome & Respect, love is for next week.
We should begin with each other. A lot of us feel hurt over the way Tim was pushed to stand down now, rather than being given some space. I was hurt & angry but its time to put that to bed. With the whole Country grieving & angry about The Deaths of so many innocents, we need to stop focussing on ourselves. Lets try & forgive each other & look forward.
@ Frances Alexander,
Surely that depends on their motivation? The main problem I have with the EU generally is its lack of a workable democracy. In the UK or the USA when there is a big problem the Govt takes charge. In the EU, Angela Merkel and her Govt takes charge even though it has no democratic mandate outside German borders.
The economic rules imposed, in a quite undemocratic way, on the people of the EU leads to economic recession and even depression. The only antidote to those conditions is to be mercantilistic in trade as are the Dutch, the Germans and the Danes. They like to run a big surplus in trade. But their surplus has, penny for penny, eurocent for eurocent, to be someone else's deficit.
Either way the EU countries aren't a good market for UK exports. Naturally workers will want to move away from the depressed countries.
So , look, we aren't necessarily seeking your agreement, or even your "love", but I would ask that you show at least a grudging acceptance that those of us who haven't fallen in love with a neoliberal, or ortholiberal, EU are somehow lacking an intellectual argument.
@ John Littler,
I disagree with Socialism in it's more fundamental form ………….
I think we can agree that we aren't suggesting modelling our economy on North Korea. But some of us would like to get it back more towards the kind of society we had before Mrs Thatcher started to take a hatchet to the mixed economy of the post war years.
The Liberal Party and Social Democrats used to be in favour of that. At least they said they were at the time.
Do Lib Dems ever want to change the mix or is what we have at the time always the perfect balance and shouldn't be altered?
Roger 18th Jun '17 - 6:23pm
I feel myself to be a liberal democrat by virtue of the fact that I am an inveterate fence sitter.
I want society to protect the vulnerable, reward the talented and 'hard working' and expect those with more to respect and support those with less.
At the same time it seems logical and right to me that society should live 'within its means'
I feel that a major underlying problem with our society is that the 'duty of care
' offered and provided by our government, (however well or badly) is vulnerable to those who feel it is an 'entitlement' rather than a 'privilege'.
On that point, one reference in your article does not sit well with me.
Surely society should embrace, protect and support those less able, or more vulnerable.
But society must also expect, if not demand, that it's cictizens support and contribite fairly.
And here, and I honestly seek not to offend, but if a person allows themselves to be overweight, and indeed allows that they become 'obese', are they not failing to uphold their side of the deal?
Are they not risking a 'cost' to society that must be paid at the expense of others, with fewer options or choices?
The NHS is a priveledge, and a blessing few in this world can turn to.
But it comes at a cost to everyone. And rightly so.
But in all but a very few cases, is not every £ spent caring for some one who is overweight, who's lifestyle choice is to be overweight, not a £ stolen from those who have no choice over their illness, or no choice over how the universe has chosen to affect their lives?
I can't help but feel that The NHS should be free at the point of need, but should expect that that need is not a lifestyle choice and/or self inflicted.
Eddie Sammon 18th Jun '17 - 9:37pm
Lee, nice to see that you really like reading replies. I do too. :). I sense quite a lot of unity at the moment on here, surprisingly. Yes people are divided about Tim's resignation, but overall there seems to be a big gap between the Conservatives and Labour that most liberals fit into. Even radical liberals have a different version of radicalism to socialism.
Best regards and thanks again to the editors of the site for making this blog so compelling.
Peter Watson 18th Jun '17 - 10:13pm
@Eddie Sammon "I sense quite a lot of unity at the moment on here, surprisingly."
I don't think I've seen this site more divided. Even during the EU referendum and #LibDems4Change.
Tim Farron's resignation seems to have reignited atheist vs. Christian antagonisms that had even managed to remain relatively subdued during recent debates over faith schools while at the same time stoking disagreements about the Orange Book vs. social liberalism and highlighting divides between ordinary members and "grandees", elected MPs and unelected Lords. The ensuing discussions have also dragged up memories of the treatment of Charles Kennedy and Menzies Campbell (with some appalling comments about the former), the voting record of individual MPs during the Coalition, Alistair Carmichael's court case, and the suitability or otherwise of prospective leadership candidates.
Tony Greaves has posted some excellent articles about why and how the party should and could rebuild its reputation but they risk being overlooked or made redundant as the party fractures along some pretty serious fault lines.


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For First Time in Decades, Some Pakistani Women Vote
by Friends of TFC • April 6, 2018
(HRW) – For the first time in more than 40 years, women turned out in significant numbers to vote in one of Pakistan's districts.
The vote for local government in Upper Dir district of Pakistan's northern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, held last week, was necessary because the previous election, held in 2017, was annulled by the Election Commission of Pakistan because no women had participated. The country's election law requires at least 10 percent of voters to be women in each constituency for an election to be valid.
In October, Pakistan enacted the Elections Act to end disenfranchisement of women. Although a constitutional right, millions of women have been de facto barred from voting through agreements among political parties, local elders, and powerful figures, using outdated customs as an excuse. While the robust female turnout in the Upper Dir by-election could generate greater voting by women there and elsewhere in the future, the Pakistan government needs to do much more to ensure that women can participate on an equal basis in the electoral process.
Twelve million more men than women registered to vote in Pakistan in September 2017, up from nearly 11 million in 2013. A primary reason for this growing gap is the requirement of a Computerized National Identification Card (CNIC) to be eligible to vote. It can be difficult for women to get the ID card because of restrictions on mobility and education in a patriarchal, conservative society. The CNIC is also required to access other essential services and benefits such as government loans and the monthly social security stipend under the Benazir Income Support Program.
A girl studying in Pakistan's flooded area.
Image Source: srizki, Flickr, creative commons
According to an estimate by the National Commission on the Status of Women, even if 5,000 new ID cards are issued to women every day, it will take 18 years to bridge the gap between men and women voters. Excluded from the decision making in political parties, women do not have a voice to oppose the illegal agreements to bar them from voting or from running for office.
As the country approaches a general election later this year, the government officials and political parties need to realize that Pakistan cannot become a modern, rights-respecting democracy without the active and equal participation of women.
Originally published by Human Rights Watch by Saroop Ijaz
Tags: hrw pakistan vote women
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Front Message: What does "awesome" sound like?
bet it's your theme song!
Crank up the awesome! Happy Valentine's Day!
Let an awesome boy know just how awesome he is with this silly, but affirming valentine card. Features a humorous photo of a hamster wearing illustrated headphones. Card also has foil accents. Appropriate for kids ages 4 to 7.
i order this and was pleased to see it was such nice quality.


Ash Wednesday (February 10th) and Good Friday (March 25th) are days of Fast and Abstinence and all the Fridays of Lent are days of Abstinence. Abstinence is from meat and is required by Catholics 14 years and older. Fasting is required by all Catholics 18 years of age but not yet 59. Those bound by this rule may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals (called "collations") are permitted as necessary to maintain strength according to one's needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. These two smaller meals, put together, must not equal a full meal. Everyone is certainly encouraged to keep the traditional discipline of fasting during the weekdays of Lent.
Holy Mass will be celebrated on Ash Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. and at 7:00 p.m.. with the blessing and imposition of ashes at both Masses. Stations of the Cross will be held on the Friday's of Lent at 7:00 p.m.


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Welcome to Lee's Boston Drum Builders Blog, an extension of BostonDrumBuilders.com
The George B. Stone & Son Master-Model Drum
Historical Overview | Dating Guide Part I | Dating Guide Part II
First introduced in 1922, the Master-Model Drum was George B. Stone & Son's premier snare drum offering and remains the most recognizable and iconic instrument produced by the company. Originally marketed as the "All-Weather Drum", the name "Master-Model" was adopted by late 1922.
Geo. B. Stone & Son Advertisement, September 1922
Geo. B. Stone & Son Advertisement, December 1922
The Stone Master-Model snare drums were built from 5" x 14" staggered three-ply all maple shells, not single-ply maple as is sometimes reported. Slight variations in shell depth exist but the Master-Model was cataloged in only one size. Hoops were constructed from a single ply of maple and were matched specifically to each drum.
Geo. B. Stone & Son Catalog K, 1925
Master-Model snare drums were offered in a variety of finishes but the most common by far was what Stone described as "Black De Luxe Finish" with "Nickel Trimmings". Hardware was also available in "Nobby Gold finish", a faux gold plating, at an additional charge. Natural maple is the second most commonly seen finish on Master-Model snare drums with "White De Luxe Finish" being less common.
Examples in wrapped finishes including white marine pearl, black diamond pearl, silver sparkle, gold sparkle, and red sparkle were also produced but are less common. An all-metal Master-Model built around a solid aluminum shell with polished aluminum hoops was first introduced in 1925 but was produced only in small quantities. The Stone Master-Models were sold in dwindling numbers into the mid to late 1930s with more than 800 drums ultimately being built.
In the next post we'll have Part I of the Stone Master-Model Dating Guide.
Do you have a Stone Master-Model? I would love to hear about it! Feel free to send Lee an email anytime at lee@vinson.net. And for more on the other turn of the century Boston-based drum makers, please visit BostonDrumBuilders.com.
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Home » Browse » Academic journals » General Social Science Journals » Michigan Academician » Article details, "Education"
Academic journal article Michigan Academician
What Progress in Michigan? Including Students with Intellectual Disabilities in Regular Education Classrooms. Phil Smith, Eastern Michigan University
To what extent are students with intellectual disabilities included in regular education classrooms in Michigan, and in the rest of the United States? While inclusion is an accepted best practice in special education, little progress has been made in including students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Using historical and the most recent available federal data, the percentage of students with intellectual disabilities who are fully included in regular education classrooms is explored, both nationally and in Michigan. Nationally, less than a third of students with intellectual disabilities are fully included in regular education classrooms, a number that has remained almost stagnant for many years. Michigan is substantially below even this meager percentage, ranking behind almost all other states. Research, policy, and advocacy issues are addressed, at both the state and national levels.
Effectiveness of Integrating a Computer-Based Reading Program into a Traditional Textbook Reading Program to Improve Reading Comprehension With Learning Disabilities. Michelle K. Wruble, Indiana University (South Bend)
Students with learning disabilities often struggle with language-based impairments and reading comprehension. These struggles affect nor only English/Language Arts, but other classes where reading and comprehending the material are important when determining whether or not a child has mastered the content of the class. In addition to the schoolwork, these impairments hinder a student's chances of passing state-mandated resting that determines whether or not that student will be able to obtain a diploma. Many teachers struggle with choosing effective methods to deliver reading instruction to students with learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities often need various instructional strategies in order to retain newly acquired skills, but traditional reading programs offer very little in the way of differentiated instruction. Computer-based reading programs have the capabilities to offer interactive, individualized instruction that students with learning disabilities may need in order to increase reading and comprehension skills. This paper analyzes the use of a computer-based reading program when used in conjunction with a traditional textbook reading program. This paper wall provide evidence that a computer-based reading program increases the reading comprehension scores of students with learning disabilities more than using a textbook reading program alone.
Technology Makes the Lives of Students With Visual Impairment Brighter. Alicia Li and Tom Hwang, Michigan State University
One of the challenges faced by students with visual impairment (VI), both partially sighted and totally blind, is the difficulty involved in accessing learning media in a timely manner. Examples of the access difficulties are, but are not limited to, the following: print is too small; unavailability of Braille materials; Braille books are too bulky to carry around; Braille versions of higher level math books (e.g., upper high school and college levels) are often not available because they take more time and versatile tools to create; and lack of space for the storage of Braille books (one print math book may take more than 50 volumes in Braille). Aside from an outstanding teacher who has great passion and skills in making adaptations, a successful VI education requires materials that suit each student's learning media needs. With the advancement of technology, many of the problems are being addressed through new and creative means. This paper will present a variety of ways that improve and enhance the learning of students with visual impairment of all ages through the use of technology to access learning media.
University and District Partnerships for Inclusive Math Instruction: Lessons Learned and Opportunities Explored. …
Publication: Michigan Academician
Publication date: Winter 2008
Eastern Michigan University--Evaluation
Indiana University--Evaluation
Central Michigan University--Evaluation
Andrews University--Evaluation
A Study of Error: A Summary and Evaluation of Methods Used in Six Years of Study of the Scholastic Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Examination Board By Carl C. Brigham College Entrance Examination Board, 1932
Education Reform and the Limits of Policy: Lessons from Michigan By Michael F. Addonizio; C. Philip Kearney W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2012
The Anatomy of a Folk Festival: Michigan on the Mall By Laurie Kay Sommers Hisarlik, 1994
Xerox Develops Paperless Admissions Process at Eastern Michigan University By T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education), Vol. 26, No. 6, January 1999
Library & Information Sciences By Zambare, Aparna Michigan Academician, Vol. 38, No. 4, Winter 2008
Political Science By Michigan Academician, Vol. 33, No. 1, Spring 2001
On: The Move By Black Issues in Higher Education, Vol. 20, No. 25, January 29, 2004
Modeling Student Success By Hudson, Walter Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Vol. 34, No. 25, January 11, 2018
Former Mac Star D'Aguilar Receives Two NFL Mini-Camp Tryout Offers By Ralph, Dan The Canadian Press, April 29, 2013
Indiana Rethinks Common Core ; Lawmakers Slate Hearings By Banta, Megan Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current), July 18, 2013
Indiana's Expansive School Voucher Program Upheld: A Model for Others? By Guarino, Mark The Christian Science Monitor, March 26, 2013


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RestaurantsLondonChelseaSW3
The Ivy Chelsea Garden
British, Modern restaurant in London
197 King's Rd,&nbspLondon,&nbspSW3 5ED, 020 3301 0300 Website
"Maybe the brand is a bit stretched", but Richard Caring's bold expansion is paying off by-and-large, certainly in commercial terms, and – though most branches' average food-rating is run-of-the-mill – by the standards of large chains, the group delivers a consistent-enough formula, whereby folks accept predictable nursery fodder in return for a dependable dose of 'affordable glamour'. The "beautiful and festive" Ivy Chelsea Garden (SW3) is the best known in the stable and it's particularly "wonderful if you manage to get a table in their fabulous garden". The "big and buzzy" Ivy Kensington Brasserie (W8) is less highly rated, but nevertheless fills a vital niche in the local market for a comfortable, atmospheric and versatile rendezvous ("its bar is also a fun place for a drink"). The City branches (The Ivy Tower Bridge, The Ivy City Garden EC2) and Canary Wharf outlet (The Ivy in the Park, E14) are the highest rated all-round (perhaps reflecting the ongoing lack of convivial spaces out east). "Awesome views" at Tower Bridge are distinct client-pleasers. Other branches taking above-average flak include The Ivy Soho Brasserie, W1 ("busy mayhem" with "slow and disorganised service") and The Ivy Market Grill, WC2 ("nothing special, rather overpriced, and very busy"). See also Granary Square Brasserie.
"On a nice day in the garden, there couldn't be a better way to have lunch!" (or an "amazing brunch") than at the Chelsea Garden branch of Richard Caring's bold brand-extension – "easily the best of the Ivy offshoots". But even fans concede that "service could be better" and that "you don't come here for the food": "it's all about that warm, buzzy atmosphere in glorious surroundings (outside in summer you'll swear you are in the South of France, watching the Provencal rosé making its way around the beautifully dressed ladies-who-lunch!)" The other branches offer a similar trade-off, with the outlets in Kensington and by Tower Bridge ("incredible views from the picture windows") both scoring well for ambience, although their "comfort food" offerings are even more "memorably mediocre" than in SW3. 'Ivy in the Park' which is to open in Canary Wharf is the most recently announced arrival in the group (at 50 Canada Square Park). On the overall concept, reporters are split. For a majority "although the spin-offs are not to be compared with the original Ivy, their name does help give a certain dignity to the experience". For a significant number though, "the brand is being trashed" with these "pretentious, unimaginative, chichi and average" imitations: "Obviously I understand the idea is to shamelessly exploit and monetise The Ivy name, but this is taking it too far!!"
The vote remains fairly equally split on Richard Caring's burgeoning bevy of Ivy spin-offs which are popping up like mushrooms 'in carefully selected locations' across the country. (These – the 'Grills & Brasseries' are not to be confused with the mere 'Cafés', and aim for a more faithful reproduction of the original's magic). For 'The Ayes', they make "a great local addition" providing "great British food in a buzzy setting" ("I keep expecting to be disappointed, and I'm not!"). For 'The Nays', "hugely underwhelming food" and "uneven" standards generally make it "feel like they are trying to milk the franchise, but are destroying it in the process". The most popular is the "ladies-who-lunch" favourite on the King's Road, whose "garden is to die for" (although "it's an uphill struggle actually being seated in it") – a "super, bustling and tastefully decorated venue with fabulous people watching opportunities" (and where the Top Tip is "its great breakfast: it's much quieter so service is spot on!)".
Have you eaten at The Ivy Chelsea Garden?
Recommended For Business Yes
Childrens Facilities Highchair, Portions
Outside Tables Yes
Covers 148
Recommended for Romance Yes
The Ivy Chelsea Garden Restaurant Diner Reviews
Reviews of The Ivy Chelsea Garden Restaurant in SW3, London by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of The Ivy Chelsea Garden restaurant.
Michael B
Great spot in Chelsea. ...
Reviewed 2 days ago
"Great spot in Chelsea. "
Wendy F
Excellent room and conservatory, better by ...
Reviewed 5 months, 7 days ago
"Excellent room and conservatory, better by far than other Ivy outlets I have visited"
Dorothy E
Dining outside even in the cold was a great...
Reviewed 7 months, 14 days ago
"Dining outside even in the cold was a great experience, the large umbrellas and heaters made for a cosy atmosphere, I even took my coat off. Staff were pleased to see customers back and there was a lovely atmosphere. Food was as reliable as always."
Post your own review of The Ivy Chelsea Garden and contribute to our annual restaurant review guide.
Post your own review
Click here to view locations...26-28 Broadwick St, London, W1F 8JB96 Kensington High St, London, W8 4SG1 Henrietta St, London, WC2E 8PS197 King's Rd, London, SW3 5ED1 Tower Bridge, London, SE1 2AADashwood House, 69 Old Broad St, London, EC2M 1NA42-44 Caledonia Place, Bristol, BS8 4DN48 High St, Cobham, KT11 3EF66-68 High St, Marlow, SL7 1AH6 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2BD39 Milsom St, Bath, BA1 1DSThe Pavilion, Byrom Street, Manchester, M3 3HG50 Canada Square, London, E14 5FW106 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, G1 2NB103-104 High Street, Winchester, SO23 9AH67-71 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5LS66 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6SQ
Last orders: 11 pm, Fri & Sat 11.30 pm, Sun 10.30 pm
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text:
Differing results for those on duty
It was an evening of mixed fortunes and mixed results for the Rovers players away on international duty.
Of the four players involved in match action on Friday night, all started on the substitute's bench with just two seeing game time.
Scotland missed a great opportunity to close the gap on the teams above them with a below-par performance in a 1-0 defeat to Georgia in Tbilisi.
A first half strike from Valeri Kazaishvili was enough for the hosts to win the tie, and in doing so dent the Scots' chances of reaching the Euro 2016 finals.
Grant Hanley started the match on the bench but came on just before the hour mark. The Rovers captain could have rescued a point in the closing stages but put a header narrowly wide.
The result sees Scotland slip to fourth place in Group D, three points behind second placed Poland. Gordon Strachan's side face leaders Germany at Hampden on Monday night.
One country within touching distance of the finals are Northern Ireland.
They did their chances of reaching France 2016 the power of good with a 3-1 win over the ten-man Faroe Islands.
Corry Evans was an unused substitute as two goals from Gareth McAuley and a Kyle Lafferty strike saw the Northern Irish beat their opponents in Torshavn.
With Romania holding Hungary to a goalless draw in Budapest, the win means Michael O'Neill's team now top Group F and go into Monday's match against the Hungarians knowing victory in Belfast would clinch qualification to next summer's finals.
Jamaica's World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign got off to a bad start with a 3-2 home loss to Nicaragua.
The Reggae Boyz were stunned as the visitors raced into a two-goal lead inside the first ten minutes in Kingston, thanks to goals from Manuel Rosas and Carlos Chavarria.
With Lee Williamson watching on as an unused sub, the Nicaraguans then added a third just after half-time through Luis Molina to leave Jamaica floundering.
However goals from Darren Mattocks and Adrian Mariappa gave the hosts hope but they couldn't grab a third to level the tie.
The result means the Reggae Boyz have it all to do in the second-leg away in Managua on Tuesday to have any chance of advancing to the 12-team CONCACAF semi-final group stage.
At Gigg Lane, Bury, the Republic of Ireland's Under-21 team warmed up for their forthcoming UEFA U21 qualifier against Andorra with a comfortable 4-1 win over a Qatar U23 side.
Rovers' Darragh Lenihan played the whole of the second period as a first half brace from Sean Kavanagh was added to by strikes from Alan Browne and Harry Charsley.
The young Irish will now travel to the Principality of Andorra looking to do the double over their opponents after beating them 1-0 in Waterford in their opening Group 2 match back in March.
Corry Evans


text:
Q: error: java.lang.String cannot be cast to org.w3c.dom.Node I am trying to parse xml string and I am getting java.lang.String cannot be cast to org.w3c.dom.Node error.
This is the code I am using:
        XPathFactory xPathFactory = XPathFactory.newInstance();

        XPath xPath = xPathFactory.newXPath();

        String expression = "//Home/ListOfCustomers";

        XPathExpression xPathExpression = xPath.compile(expression);

        Object nl = xPathExpression.evaluate(xmlResp);

This is how the XML string is constructed:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<Home>
      <ListOfCustomers type="Regular" count="939">
           <Customer>
            <CustName>xyz</CustName>
           </Customer>
           <Customer>
            <CustName>abc</CustName>
           </Customer>
           <Customer>
            <CustName>def</CustName>
           </Customer>
       </ListOfCustomers>
</Home>

What am I missing here?

A: Just having a quick look at the docs:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/api/javax/xml/xpath/XPathExpression.html#evaluate(java.lang.Object)
Then the api defines this for compile:
item - The starting context (node or node list, for example).
So assuming this is the method you are using, it looks like you need to send in a node - or node list, not just a String.

A:
Object nl = xPathExpression.evaluate(xmlResp);

This is the issue here. With a single argument to the evaluate method, it expect either variable of type InputSource or Object, have you declare xmlResp to either of it? Also, both of these methods return of type String, so why are you assign to a variable of type Object?
Since you have the xml file, why don't you initialize your xmlResp to type of InputSource? Then use the xPathExpression evaluate on the inputsource? Something like the following.
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;

import javax.xml.xpath.XPath;
import javax.xml.xpath.XPathConstants;
import javax.xml.xpath.XPathExpression;
import javax.xml.xpath.XPathExpressionException;
import javax.xml.xpath.XPathFactory;

import org.w3c.dom.NodeList;
import org.xml.sax.InputSource;

public class XMLParser
{

    /**
     * @param args
     */
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        try {

        XPathFactory xPathFactory = XPathFactory.newInstance();
        XPath xPath = xPathFactory.newXPath();

        InputSource doc = new InputSource(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(new File("file.xml"))));

        String expression = "//Home/ListOfCustomers";
        XPathExpression xPathExpression = xPath.compile(expression);

        NodeList elem1List = (NodeList) xPathExpression.evaluate(doc, XPathConstants.NODESET);
        xPathExpression = xPath.compile("@type");

        for (int i = 0; i < elem1List.getLength(); i++)
        {
            System.out.println(xPathExpression.evaluate(elem1List.item(i), XPathConstants.STRING));
        }

        }
        catch (XPathExpressionException e)
        {
            // TODO Auto-generated catch block
            e.printStackTrace();
        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
            // TODO Auto-generated catch block
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Lena Beheme Exhibit Opening
New Exhibit Celebrating Award-Winning Virginia Quilter
The Virginia Quilt Museum to Showcase the Work of Shenandoah Valley quilter Lena Behme
Harrisonburg, Va.- On Tuesday, October 6, 2020, the Virginia Quilt Museum will open its newest exhibit featuring the work of award-winning quilter Lena Behme. This exhibit will be displayed until the museum closes for the season on December 19, 2020.
"We are extremely excited to be able to showcase a selection of quilts by Lena Behme," says, Susan Farmer, the Executive Director of the Virginia Quilt Museum, "We currently have two of her quilts in our permanent collection and look forward to displaying these pieces as a part of this exhibition."
Lena Behme was a lifelong Virginia quilter who passed away in 2020 at the age of 91. Her work is best known for meticulous hand piecing and quilting, in both traditional and original designs. The exhibition is a retrospective of her work including two full-size quilts (a Dear Jane and a botanical applique that are in the permanent collection of the Museum).
Her work has been featured in magazines and books and she has been awarded many prizes over the years. As a founding member of the Cedar Creek quilt guild, she was a long time VQM volunteer and donated a raffle quilt that raised large sums for the Museum.
The exhibition is curated by Trudi Van Dyke and will be on loan from the Behme family.
The Virginia Quilt Museum is the Official Quilt Museum of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 1995, the museum's mission is "celebrating and nurturing Virginia's quilting heritage." The museum's three floors of rotating exhibits are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm. The museum is located at 301 S. Main St. Harrisonburg, VA.
Paige Hildebrand, VQM Marketing Coordinator
vqm.marketing.coordinator@gmail.com, (540) 433-3818


As the runners up for Love Island Australia, Erin and Eden seemed to have a strong relationship going in the outside world. However, Love Island fans were confronted with their shock split earlier this month on the 2nd September in an Instagram post. The former pair thanked their fans for their support.
The surprise break up seemed mutual enough, but little did we know.
After Eden's exclusive with OK! Magazine, Erin took to Youtube to reveal more about what actually happened between them. It was said the pair had an agreement not to go to the media about their break up, however Eden went against that promise. Erin later recounts three incidents in which Eden was allegedly abusive toward her.
In the first incident, right after the Love Island finale and prior to returning to Australia, Eden became "very in (her) face, was yelling, was throwing things … really scaring (Erin)." This was followed by another, when Erin was visiting Eden in Sydney, "Eden got very angry and said, 'Well if you don't want to be with me, then I'll kill us both.'" Despite these red flags, Erin stayed in this relationship. In the third and last incident, Eden "was getting right up in Erin's face, pushing my head with his head, trying to intimidate me." This was the last straw and result in Erin packing her bags up from Eden's house and leaving Melbourne, with Eden's parents apologising for their son's behaviour.
Erin reveals that immediately after the break up, many women reached out to her claiming Eden had cheated on various occasions. The reality star recounts how Eden brought stripper to a Sydney hotel and fooled around with them.
Watch the full statement here.
If you know anyone experiencing domestic abuse call 1800 737 732 (1800RESPECT) for help.
Annie is an enthusiastic young writer who strives to deliver the most transparent and well-informed content. She is passionate about information systems in our ever-growing digital society. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, brunching and appreciates art.


text:
NBC Latino on feed
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NBC Latino on facebook
NBC Latino on twitter
Topics: adelante mujeres, ALBA, business, farmer education, Hartness College, immigrants, Salinas Valley
In this photo taken on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 in Salinas, Calif., Omar Chombo carries a bunch of chard across the field which he leases from the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, known as ALBA. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)
Program trains farmworkers to be organic farmers
by Gosia Wozniacka, Associated Press Follow @NBCLatino
5:00 am on 12/03/2012
SALINAS, Calif. (AP) — Bending over beds of shriveled strawberry plants, former farmworker Domitila Martinez pulls pieces of black plastic row covers in preparation for next season's planting. Except this time, she's the boss.
Martinez, who escaped the civil war in El Salvador three decades ago, used to pack tomatoes and harvest grapes for long hours and little pay in Central California. Then, one day, she heard an announcement on the radio: She could become a grower herself.
She enrolled in a small farmer education program in Salinas that trains farmworkers to establish and manage organic farms. Today, she grows four acres of organic strawberries in the Salinas Valley and sells them to Whole Foods markets.
"I really like being out here working," Martinez said, "because I'm working for myself."
The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, known as ALBA, helps bring minority, low-income farmworkers into a profession long dominated by Anglos. Since the program started in 2001, it has created more than 80 small farm businesses.
In this photo taken on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 in Salinas, Calif., Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association graduate Hector Mora, left, and his son Jeyden Mora pose for photographs while selling organic produce at the family's farmers' market stand. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)
With demand for locally grown and organic food skyrocketing, more people have become interested in farming in recent years, spurting a growth in farmer training programs.
But few programs focus on immigrants, especially Latinos, who historically have had difficulty making it as farmers because of language and cultural barriers, lack of resources, and lack of government support.
While the number of Hispanic farmers grew by 14 percent over the past five years, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, significantly outpacing the increase in U.S. farm operators overall, Hispanic farmers comprise only 2.5 percent of all farm operators.
ALBA gives farmworkers, most of whom are first generation Latino immigrants, the opportunity to move up the job ladder, teaching them crop planning, production, marketing and distribution skills.
"A lot of farmworkers are working tirelessly to invest in their children's futures, but ALBA gives them the opportunity to improve their lives within their lifetime," said program manager Nathan Harkleroad.
Other programs include Oregon-based nonprofit Adelante Mujeres, which offers a 12 week Spanish-language sustainable farming class, as well as access to land, technical assistance and a farmers market; and the Center For Latino Farmers in Washington state, which conducts workshops, provides resources and other assistance.
At ALBA's 90-acre ranch in the Salinas Valley, an area known as "the Salad Bowl of the World," participants attend bi-weekly classes during six-months of intensive training. They learn about pests and planting, beneficial insects and cover crops. They meet with guest speakers ranging from local farmers to university biologists. They visit irrigation supply stores, compost suppliers, farms and farmers markets.
"The idea is that the participants know how to access things, and that they develop relationships," Harkleroad said.
This year, the program added a three-month apprenticeship during which participants grow and sell crops as a class. Aspiring farmers then present a business plan. They fill out food safety and organic certification paperwork. And while most are farmworkers, a few spots are open to other aspiring farmers — the training is accredited by Hartnell College in Salinas.
ALBA also offers a farm incubator program, allowing newly minted farmers to lease the organization's farmland for up to six years — with access to tractors, equipment, irrigation and other support for a reduced fee.
And it runs a licensed wholesale distribution program called ALBA Organics, helping the new farmers with storage, marketing and distribution. It sells to stores and institutions such as Google, Trader Joe's, University of California at Santa Cruz, and Stanford University housing cooperatives. In fiscal year 2012, ALBA Organics brought in sales of $4.5 million.
For Martinez, who graduated from the program a decade ago, assistance in finding land and the use of equipment proved crucial.
"This program gave me the ability to start farming on my own," said Martinez. "When you're starting out, you have no money for tractors or other things."
The 60-year old Martinez now employs four people during harvest season and others throughout the year — but still does the bulk of the labor herself. She started out by selling her strawberries door to door, but later contracted with Whole Foods stores in the San Francisco Bay area and the central coast.
Farmworkers say ALBA's other benefits include reduced exposure to dangerous chemicals in the fields.
In this photo taken on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 in Salinas, Calif., Andres Garcia Rico and his wife, Guillermina Salazar, pose for photographs with their daughters, from left: Stephanie, 7; Cristina, 5; and Andrea, 9, next to the field where Rico and Salazar trained this summer to become organic farmers. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)
"We learn how to work with nature and how not to hurt the environment and the workers," said Andres Garcia Rico, who works in large scale agriculture and completed the training this fall with his wife. "There are so many people dying of cancer, getting sick because of pesticides."
Small scale farming also offers a break from the repetitive motions that farmworkers perform all day on conventional farms. ALBA farmers grow up to 60 varieties of fresh produce — so their work varies throughout the day.
And organic farming rubs off on the family's dietary habits, Rico said. His three daughters helped plant and harvest the vegetables this summer — and were more than happy to eat them for dinner.
As ALBA farmers promote and sell their organic produce to friends and at area farmers' markets, those benefits expand, Rico said, resulting in more Latinos turning to organics.
Perhaps the biggest benefit at ALBA is the sense of community. On a recent November morning at the sprawling ranch, families tilled and weeded their plots and children rode bicycles on dirt paths. The farmers, ranging from very experienced to those just starting out, greeted each other and exchanged advice.
This winter, about 50 will be farming at the ranch, including 16 new farmers. For most, Harkleroad said, it takes a few years to go into farming full time. Usually, two to three acres can generate a full time living.
In January, Rico and his wife will plant romaine lettuce and cauliflower, followed by an array of other vegetables.
"It's going to be a challenge, but we're doing it for us and for our children," Rico said. "Our dream is to have our own ranch someday."
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The Dubarry Killashee gilet is a reversible gilet that is lightweight and filled with Primaloft for extra insulation.
The Dubarry Killashee gilet is a reversible gilet that is lightweight and filled with Primaloft for extra insulation. Perfect for year round wear, this innovative piece is both functional and stylish.


text:
Partners' kick-off set to include student art, essays
Artwork and essays will be featured in the first Partners in Charity Appeal arts show, titled "Called to Be Saints," Michael P. Gillespie, diocesan director of Stewardship and Development has announced.
The appeal will be launched at 2 p.m. Feb. 26 in the atrium at St. Vincent Hospital. Six winners, three in each category, will be selected in each of four age groups - pre-kindergarten to grade 2; grades 3 and 4; grades 5 and 6; and grades 7 and 8. The winning entries will be published in The Catholic Free Press. They also will be featured on the Partners in Charity website, www.partners-charity.net, during the entire appeal season, which ends Aug. 31. All participants will receive a certificate of recognition from Bishop McManus, Mr. Gillespie said.
Entries must include the child's name, address (this can be the school's address for classes and will not be published), school or student's parish and grade in school. Class submissions must also include teacher's or catechetical leader's name and class, he said.
He asked that principals and catechetical leaders and youth ministry leaders narrow down the entries to the top seven - three or four each of art and of essays - from each class grouping before submitting entries that are part of a school or parish religious education project
Entries must be received by Feb. 22. They should be sent to "Called to be Saints," attention Julie Convery, c/o Partners in Charity, 49 Elm Street, Worcester, MA 01609.
Artwork entries may be black and white or color. Acceptable media includes photography, crayons, pastels, colored pencils, markers or watercolor paints, Mr. Gillespie said.
Essays should not exceed 100 words. They should reflect the question: "How did St. Teresa respond to those most in need in Kolkata?"
Artwork and essays should be based on the 2017 Partners in Charity Appeal theme, "Faith in Action is Love."
All contest entries will be displayed at the Appeal launching. A brief program will include the debut of the 2017 Appeal Video. Refreshments will be available, he said.
Cosponsors of the arts show include The Catholic Free Press, Catholic Schools, Religious Education, Parish Youth Ministry programs and the Office of Communication.


The Christchurch Rotary Club are again offering two secondary school students in their Rotary district a place on a J R McKenzie funded Outward Bound Mind Body Soul course. The scholarship is available to school students aged between 16 and 18 years who would like to attend an Outward Bound course courtesy of the J R McKenzie fund.
The three week course is being held at Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds between 2nd and 22nd July 2019. Applicants must be between 16 and 18 years at the time of the course and must still be at school. The JR McKenzie Fund will pay the majority of the course fee for the successful applicants. The balance of $324 is to be paid by the applicant together with the travel costs to and from Anakiwa and the medical examination.
The two successful candidates will need to provide medical and other information to Outward Bound before they can be confirmed on the course.


The metal straws are here to stay and we like it that way. 😜 Purchase any F&B combo 🥤 🍿 from at TGV Cinemas and bring home your very own limited edition Pepsi Metal Straw for FREE! Hurry and visit TGV Cinemas at Level 3 to get yours because it's while stocks last only. *Terms & Conditions Apply.