text:
Philippe Mercier (* 6. September 1872 in Glarus; † 16. Januar 1936 in Bern) war ein Schweizer Jurist,
Politiker der Freisinnig-Demokratischen Partei (FDP) und Diplomat, der unter anderem zwischen 1907 und seinem Tode 1936 Mitglied des Ständerates sowie von 1916 bis 1917 Ständeratspräsident. Er war im Anschluss von 1917 bis 1919 Gesandter im Deutschen Reich.

Leben
Mercier war ein Sohn des Diplomaten und Politikers Charles Philippe Mercier, der sowohl Mitglied des Nationalrates als auch des Ständerates war, sowie von dessen Ehefrau Emilie Heer, deren Vater Joachim Heer 1877 Bundespräsident war. Sein jüngerer Bruder Joachim Mercier war ebenfalls Mitglied des Ständerates. Er selbst absolvierte nach dem Besuch des Gymnasiums in Zürich ein Studium der Rechtswissenschaften an der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin, der Universität Bern, der Universität Zürich sowie der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, an der er auch einen Dr. jur. erwarb.

1896 wurde Mercier Mitglied des Gemeinderates von Glarus, dem er bis 1904 angehörte. Zudem wurde er 1896 Mitglied des Landrates des Kanton Glarus und gehörte diesem bis 1935 an. Neben seiner politischen Laufbahn begann er 1899 auch seine berufliche Laufbahn als Jurist und war zunächst zwischen 1899 und 1911 Augenscheinrichter sowie von 1902 bis 1911 Präsident des Augenscheingerichts. Während dieser Zeit war er ferner zwischen 1904 und 1908 Gemeindepräsident von Glarus sowie 1905 bis 1906 Präsident des Landrates des Kanton Glarus. 1906 wurde er zum Oberrichter am Obergericht des Kanton Glarus berufen und war dort bis zu seinem Tode 1936 tätig.

Am 3. Juni 1907 wurde Mercier zudem Mitglied des Ständerates und vertrat in diesem bis zu seinem Tode 1936 die Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei (FDP). Während seiner Parlamentszugehörigkeit war er zeitweise Präsident der Finanz- und Militärkommission sowie Mitglied der Zolltarifkommission und gehörte des Weiteren der Interparlamentarischen Union als Mitglied an. Er fungierte zwischen 1911 und 1936 auch als Präsident des Obergerichts des Kantons Glarus. 1911 wurde er Mitglied des Zentralvorstandes der FDP. 1916 wurde er Nachfolger von Georges Python als Ständeratspräsident und bekleidete diese Funktion bis zu seiner Ablösung durch Beat Heinrich Bolli 1917. Im Ersten Weltkrieg fungierte er im Range eines Brigadier als Stabschef des 1. Korps sowie des 2. Korps der Schweizer Armee.

Am 26. Dezember 1917 löste Mercier Robert Haab als Gesandter im Deutschen Reich ab und bekleidete diesen Posten bis zum 30. September 1919, woraufhin Alfred von Planta sein Nachfolger wurde. 1920 gehörte er zu den Mitgründern der Allgemeinen Bürgerlichen Volkspartei im Kanton Glarus, die heute zur FDP gehört.

Mercier war zweimal verheiratet, und zwar in erster Ehe von 1899 bis zu deren Tod 1925 mit der Ärztin Emilie Katharina Ursina Lendi, und ab 1928 in zweiter Ehe mit der Fabrikantentochter Susanna Trümpy. Seine Schwägerin Amalia Henrietta Mercier-Jenny, Ehefrau seines Bruders Joachim Mercier, war zwischen 1940 und ihrem Tod 1952 Präsidentin des Schweizerischen Gemeinnützigen Frauenvereins (SGF).

Hintergrundliteratur
 Gerhard Boerlin: Ständerat Dr. Philipp Mercier in memoriam, in: Schweizer Monatshefte, Jahrgang 15, Heft 11, 1936, S. 545–547 (Volltext).

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Ständeratspräsident
Schweizer Gesandter im Deutschen Reich
Schweizer Botschafter in Schweden
Brigadier (Schweiz)
Ständerat (Glarus)
Landrat (Glarus, Person)
Gerichtspräsident (Schweiz)
Gemeindepräsident
Kommunalpolitiker (Kanton Glarus)
FDP-Mitglied (Schweiz)
Schweizer
Geboren 1872
Gestorben 1936
Mann

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Tag: Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar
Current Air Chief Has All It Takes To Move Air Force To The Next Level – Abubakar
The immediate past Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has said that the current Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao has all it takes to move the Nigerian Air Force to the next level.
He stated this on Wednesday at a fly out parade held in his honour at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
"I am very confident that the current Chief of Air Staff has all it takes to move the Nigerian Air Force to a much higher level," he said.
"It is my prayer that the Almighty will grant you the wisdom and strength to move the Air Force to a much enviable height."
He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing him to serve the Force for five years, six months and 13 days, noting that his administration added value to what it met in 2015 as well as contribute to the security and development of the nation.
File photo of the former Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar
The ex-Air Chief explained that the 15 aircraft and eight drones being expected by the Nigeria Air Force would help the service to address the security challenges facing the nation.
While noting that the NAF would be able to employ air power more effectively, efficiently and timely, Abubakar asked military officers to sustain the fight against insurgency in order to ensure the security of the country.
Posted on February 3, 2021 February 3, 2021 Author Ignatius IgweCategories LocalTags Air force, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, InsurgencyLeave a comment on Current Air Chief Has All It Takes To Move Air Force To The Next Level – Abubakar
We Will Do Our Best To Ensure Nigerians Live Without Fear – Air Force Chief
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, spoke to reporters on August 29, 2020.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar on Saturday said the Nigerian Air Force is committed to ensuring the security of Nigerians so they can "pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear."
The message was contained in a statement signed by NAF Spokesman, Ibikunle Daramola, and released after Abubakar inspected air maritime facilities in Benin-city.
According to the statement, Abubakar commended personnel of the 107 Air Maritime Group (107 AMG) in Benin for their contributions to the efforts of the NAF to ensure a secured Nigeria.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, salutes during a trip to Benin-city on August 29, 2020.
The Air Force chief also reiterated that the NAF, in collaboration with other security agencies, will continue to work round the clock to keep the country safe.
READ THE NAF'S FULL STATEMENT
NATIONAL SECURITY: CAS INSPECTS FACILITIES AT 107 AIR MARITIME GROUP BENIN, COMMENDS PERSONNEL FOR COMMITMENT TOWARDS ENSURING A SECURED NIGERIA
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, has commended personnel of the 107 Air Maritime Group (107 AMG) Benin for their contributions in the efforts of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to ensure a secured Nigeria. While making the commendation, the CAS also reiterated that the NAF, working in synergy with sister Services and other security agencies, would continue to work round the clock so that Nigerians in every part of the country would be able to pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear. Air Marshal Abubakar made this commitment today, 29 August 2020, while on an operational visit to the 107 AMG to inspect facilities and infrastructure preparatory to the deployment of special mission aircraft to Benin as part of the Federal Government's Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure aimed at comprehensively tackling insecurity in Nigeria's territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), up to the Gulf of Guinea.
The CAS, who was accompanied by Branch Chiefs, Directors and other senior officers from the NAF Headquarters, was received on arrival in Benin by the Air Officer Commanding Tactical Air Command (AOC TAC), Air Vice Marshal Olusegun Philip. He was subsequently briefed on the activities of the 107 AMG by the Commander, Air Commodore Enebong Effiom, before proceeding to inspect the Aircraft Hangar and Taxiway, proposed site for Aircraft Shelters, Bulk Fuel Installation (BFI) facility as well as existing office and residential accommodations both within and outside the NAF Base, including the ongoing construction of a 30 x one bedroom accommodation for airmen.
In his remarks after the inspection, Air Marshal Abubakar expressed satisfaction with the contributions of the 107 AMG in the NAF's efforts towards ensuring that Nigeria is secured. He noted that the ATR-42 aircraft, which operates from Benin, had been flying combat support missions all over the Country, including Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger States, amongst others. "As I speak to you now, the ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 930, is currently conducting missions in the North East of the Country. So clearly your Unit is contributing significantly to what we are doing to ensure that our country is secured and our people can pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear", the CAS added.
Speaking further, Air Marshal Abubakar revealed that the purpose of his visit was to assess facilities and infrastructure for the imminent deployment of additional air assets to Benin by the Federal Government. "We are here to look at the infrastructure available and also identify gaps", he said. "The Hangar facility is adequate. However, there will be need for aircraft shelters and some Ground Support Equipment in order to make the deployment possible", he added. He further noted that many additional pilots, engineers and technicians, who, he said, had already been nominated for conversion training on the new aircraft, as well as force protection elements, comprising NAF Special Forces personnel, would also be deployed to Benin. He observed that additional office and residential accommodation would therefore be required. "Like I said, we have looked at all the infrastructure available, including office and residential accommodation, and we know that there are gaps. We will try to ensure that these gaps are bridged before the special mission aircraft will be deployed here", he added.
Air Marshal Abubakar again commended the AOC TAC as well as the Commander and all personnel of the 107 AMG for ensuring that the ATR-42 aircraft remains serviceable to continue contributing its quota to the NAF's operations all over the Country. He urged them to be prepared to provide the same kind of support to the special mission aircraft when it arrives, noting that the aircraft would undoubtedly add value to the security arrangements in Nigeria's Maritime environment.
Before departing Benin, the CAS held a closed door interactive session with the officers, airmen and airwomen where he entertained questions and also received feedback as well as suggestions from them on how to move the Service forward for more effective and efficient service delivery.
IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Posted on August 29, 2020 August 29, 2020 Author Solomon ElusojiCategories LocalTags Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Nigerian Air Force (NAF)Leave a comment on We Will Do Our Best To Ensure Nigerians Live Without Fear – Air Force Chief
CAS Charges Personnel To Sustain Onslaught Against Armed Bandits
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has commended personnel of the 271 Nigerian Air Force Detachment (271 NAF Det) Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State for the recent successes recorded against armed bandits and other criminal elements within their Area of Responsibility (AOR), including the neutralization of several armed bandits at Pole Waya along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road the preceding night.
The CAS however tasked them not to relent in their efforts but sustain the momentum of operations in order to restore peace to the affected areas, for inhabitants go about their normal businesses without fear.
"I am happy to note that this Unit neutralized some bandits yesterday while carrying out its constitutionally assigned task. We must continue to fight until our beloved citizens are able to go about their daily activities and live freely.
"It is our obligation to professionally perform our roles to protect our dear Country from both terrorism and armed banditry", the CAS said.
Air Marshal Abubakar gave the commendation and charge today, 8 July 2020, while on an operational visit to Birnin Gwari where he also commissioned the newly constructed internal road network as well as a block of 20 x one bedroom transit accommodation for airmen, which is expected to pave way for the deployment of additional personnel to beef up the manpower disposition of the Unit.
Speaking further, Air Marshal Abubakar noted that the current NAF leadership has not only consistently sought to evolve strategies that would enable the Service adequately project air power to effectively and efficiently deal with prevalent security threats, but has also accorded personnel welfare utmost priority.
This, he said, was in recognition of the pivotal role that the welfare of the human component of any security architecture plays in ensuring operational efficiency. The CAS remarked that the commissioning ceremony symbolized yet another demonstration of his commitment towards enhancing human capacity for efficient performance.
While noting that the NAF's air offensives against bandits and other criminals in on-going internal security operations in Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto States had contributed greatly to the achievements of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Air Marshal Abubakar re-emphasized that there was no time to relent but rather to intensify operations to ensure total defeat of the bandits.
He said the 271 NAF Det Birnin Gwari, working in concert with sister Services and other security agencies, would continue to play a crucial role in this regard to arrest the dynamic security challenges within its AOR.
The CAS, therefore, commended the Air Officer Commanding Special Operations Command (AOC SOC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Charles Ohwo, the Commander 271 NAF Det, Wing Commander Steven Sekegor, as well as the officers and men of the Detachment for their efforts, whilst urging them to justify the resources being expended by the Government by working round the clock to ensure the security of Nigeria and Nigerians.
He also commended the NAF Directorate of Works for the effective execution of virtually all the infrastructural projects in the Detachment, including the new residential accommodations and road network, through direct labour; noting that 30 additional Special Forces personnel had already been posted to the Unit and would soon report to further boost the operations of the detachment.
The CAS further reiterated the commitment of the Service towards ensuring that accommodation problems are eradicated. He however urged the beneficiaries to utilize the new facilities with a high sense of responsibility whilst endeavoring to maintain the highest level of professionalism and regimentation in their daily conduct.
While expressing his gratitude to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, for his unending support to the Service towards the achievement of its statutory mandates, Air Marshal Abubakar seized the opportunity to assure all Nigerians of the NAF's unwavering commitment to ensuring a safer and more secure Nigeria.
Speaking earlier, the AOC SOC expressed appreciation to the CAS for his relentless efforts at ensuring the provision of conducive living and working environments for NAF personnel. He said this had greatly enhanced personnel performance, morale, and service delivery. He assured the CAS of the dedication and unalloyed commitment of all officers, airmen, and airwomen of Units under the SOC to dealing decisively with all criminal elements within the Command's AOR.
Before departing Birnin Gwari, the CAS, who was accompanied on the visit by the Chief of Training and Operations, AVM James Gwani, and the Chief of Logistics, AVM Mohammed Yakubu, the AOC Air Training Command, AVM Musa Mukhtar, as well as other senior officers from the NAF Headquarters, held a brief closed-door meeting with the Commander 271 NAF Det as well as the Air Component Commanders for Operations GAMA AIKI and THUNDER STRIKE.
Dignitaries at the commissioning ceremony included the Representative of the Chairman of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area as well as heads of paramilitary and security agencies in Birnin Gwari.
Posted on July 8, 2020 Author Soonest NathanielCategories Crime WatchTags Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS)Leave a comment on CAS Charges Personnel To Sustain Onslaught Against Armed Bandits
Air Chief Pleased With Maintenance Progress On Alpha Jets In NAF Base
Photos: Channels TV/Sodiq Adelakun
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has stated that the ongoing in-country Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) of some Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jets, includes significant avionics upgrades that will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of air operations conducted with the aircraft.
The CAS disclosed this on Thursday while on an inspection visit to assess the progress of the PDM being executed at the 407 Air Combat Training Group (407 ACTG) Kainji, Niger State, as well as other ongoing projects at NAF Base Kainji.
The CAS, who was accompanied by other senior officers from Headquarters (HQ) NAF as well as the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command (AOC ATC), Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Suleiman, was briefed on the progress of work by the Commander 407 ACTG, Squadron Leader Kingsley Igwegbe.
Igwegbe stated that the team of technical expatriates from Arlington Jets, United State of America, working jointly with NAF engineers and technicians, had begun work on preparing some of the parts of the airframe of the aircraft that had been shipped abroad for repairs and returned to Nigeria for mounting on the aircraft, while the upgrade of the avionics to meet current acceptable standards was progressing steadily.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Air Force Will Only Reward Professionalism, Says Air Chief
He observed that the avionics upgrade would not only enhance operational safety but also increase the reliability and effectiveness of the aircraft. Moreover, he noted that the challenges associated with unavailability of the spares for the old system would be eliminated as spares would now be readily available for prompt maintenance. He pledged that the team would continue to work tirelessly to ensure the job was completed on schedule.
While addressing the press after the inspection tour, the CAS expressed delight at the level of work done on the first 3 Alpha Jets and commended the Commander 407 ACTG as well as the team of NAF engineers and technicians for their hard work, commitment and dedication in ensuring steady progress of the job.
He urged them not to relent in their efforts at ensuring excellent and timely completion of the job. He emphasized that, apart from hastening the overall timeframe of the maintenance job, the in-country PDM, would allow the NAF personnel involved in the project to build their capacity to enable them ultimately carry out major aspects of such high-level maintenance activities on their own in the future.
The CAS, therefore, urged the personnel to make maximum use of the opportunity to enhance NAF's self-reliance. He noted that completion of the in-country PDM would boost the NAF's Air Power employment capability by increasing the number of Alpha Jet aircraft available for combat operations in the various Theatres of Operation.
Speaking further, Air Marshal Abubakar recalled that a similar life extension maintenance had been carried out recently on three L-39ZA aircraft in Kano, while an in-country PDM was also successfully carried out on a C-130 Hercules aircraft in Lagos, with the PDM of another C-130 also currently ongoing.
Furthermore, he disclosed that reactivation work on another Mi-35P helicopter was also in progress is in Portharcourt. He highlighted that, apart from building the capacity of NAF personnel, these local maintenance efforts had also resulted in huge foreign exchange savings for the Nation.
See photos of the inspection tour below:
Posted on November 22, 2019 Author Akinkunmi ObakeyeCategories LocalTags Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Alpha Jets, NAFLeave a comment on Air Chief Pleased With Maintenance Progress On Alpha Jets In NAF Base
Insurgency: Boko Haram Has Been Substantially Degraded – Chief Of Air Staff
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, says the Boko Haram terrorists have been substantially degraded.
Abubakar, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television's NewsNight on Monday, said the terrorists have been caged to the Lake Chad region.
"The situation (insurgency fight) today is far better than it was some four or five years back. Boko Haram has now been more or less caged to a particular area, mainly the Lake Chad area.
"In 2015, when we saw them coming to Abuja, Nyanya was bombed twice. Madalla, the United Nations headquarters was equally bombed. We also had an explosion in the Bannex Plaza area.
"So if we put the picture of where we are coming from and where we are today, I think it will be very safe to say that Boko Haram has been substantially degraded," he said.
Although the Air chief admitted that the nation has not totally war the insurgency war, the military operations carried out since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari has recorded much gain.
READ ALSO: UN Commemorates 10 Years Of North East Insurgency With Virtual Reality Experience
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar
According to him, the achievements gathered so far is as a result of the Federal Government's continued support to the Armed Forces and the troops battling the terrorists.
Speaking on the manpower of the nation's Air Force, Air Marshall Abubabar recalled that the personnel as at 2015 were "grossly inadequate" in view of the security challenges.
But four years down the lane, he said that the nation has recruited about 7,500 servicemen into the system.
"Certainly, the manpower disposition of the service in 2015, in my opinion, was grossly inadequate (4:45) looking at the kind of challenges we are facing.
"And from 2015 to now, I think we have got about 7,500 recruits and we have also enlisted 400 Direct Short Service Commissioned officers apart from the ones coming from the Nigerian Defence Academy," he said.
Posted on August 5, 2019 August 6, 2019 Author Ignatius IgweCategories HeadlinesTags Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Boko Haram, terrorism fightLeave a comment on Insurgency: Boko Haram Has Been Substantially Degraded – Chief Of Air Staff
Tackle Insecurity With 'Rugged Optimism', Air Chief Tells Troops
A file photo of Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar/ [email protected]
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has enjoined personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), to redouble their efforts and engage the security challenges with rugged optimism and renewed determination, while remaining professional in the discharge of their constitutional duty.
The Air Chief in a statement on Tuesday asked the troops to always operate within the provisions of local and international laws.
"I wish to particularly thank all NAF personnel for their patriotism, dedication and countless sacrifices made in the various Theatres of Operation. Your valuable contributions have ensured that aircraft and ancillary equipment are available, logistics requirements are in place, administrative necessities are met, and personnel is combat-ready to tackle the challenges confronting the Nation.
"I, therefore, enjoin you all to redouble your efforts and engage the security challenges with rugged optimism and renewed determination, while remaining professional in the discharge of your constitutional duty of ensuring the security of our Beloved Nation and its Good People.
"You must also remember, in the course of your duties, to always operate within the ambits of extant local and international laws, while showing compassion and respect for all law-abiding citizens,' he added.
READ ALSO: Abachas 211 Million Pounds Loot Uncovered In Channel Island Report
He also recalled officers who were killed in the line of duty and asked the troops to use the celebration of this festive season to remember them.
"Importantly, in our celebration of this festive season, let us also take time to remember our colleagues who have paid the supreme price in service to our fatherland.
"We remember them today as always and restate our commitment to cater to the needs of their loved ones and those they left behind. Let their memories and deeds spur us on to a higher level of dedication that would ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain."
Posted on June 4, 2019 June 4, 2019 Author Akinkunmi ObakeyeCategories Crime WatchTags Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Nigerian Air ForceLeave a comment on Tackle Insecurity With 'Rugged Optimism', Air Chief Tells Troops
Insurgency War: NAF Takes Delivery Of Two New Helicopters
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken delivery of two new Agusta power attack helicopters which is set to be launched during the forthcoming NAF Day Celebration in Abuja.
A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information,
Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola revealed on Monday.
He said that the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who was in Borno to mark the Easter celebrations with troops of the Air Task Force (ATF), Operation LAFIYA DOLE, commended the troops for their resilience and commitment in ensuring that Nigeria and Nigerians are safe.
READ ALSO: Troops Kill 10 Bandits In Zamfara Forest
The CAS reminded the personnel that so much was at stake in the fight to rid the Nation of insurgents, terrorists, armed bandits and other criminal elements.
He equally appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his unflinching support to the NAF by ensuring the enabling environment and providing the necessary resources for the Service to perform its assigned duties, including the delivery of the 2 Agusta 109 Power attack helicopters.
"We can only show our gratitude for the President's support to the NAF by remaining a disciplined force and exhibiting the highest level of professionalism in all our activities. I, therefore, enjoin you all not to relent in your efforts".
Below are photos of the Agusta 109 Power attack helicopters:
Posted on April 23, 2019 April 23, 2019 Author Akinkunmi ObakeyeCategories LocalTags Agusta power attack helicopters, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, NAF Day Celebration, Operation Lafiya DoleLeave a comment on Insurgency War: NAF Takes Delivery Of Two New Helicopters
Air Force Establishes Cancer Center In Maiduguri
The Nigerian Air Force has established a cancer screening center at the 105 Composite Group in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The centre which is the first of its kind in the state was commissioned by the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), who urged residents to take advantage of the centre through regular visits for early diagnosis.
"Cancer is one of the greatest risks in today's context, and the sooner people are able to detect this disease which can be tackled in the early stages of diagnosis, I think the better it'll be for everybody.
"What we need to do now is to begin to make the entire people of Borno State and beyond understand the need for them to come and screen themselves," he said.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, explained that the establishment of the centre was borne out of the desire to alleviate the health challenges of personnel and their families, as well as members of the host community.
"Cancer is responsible for every one in six deaths and also the second leading cause of deaths globally, killing 8.8 million people every year while another 14 million people come down with the disease every year," he lamented.
The screening center has been stocked with hi-tech equipment for immediate commencement of operations, as the Air Force currently runs two full-fledged emergency hospitals at the Internally Displaced Persons' camps in Bama and Dalori.
The commissioning of the screening centre was also witnessed by the Borno State Deputy Governor, Usman Durkwa, and other top government officials.
Posted on April 20, 2017 April 20, 2017 Author Akinola AjibolaCategories LocalTags 105 Composite Group, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Borno State, Borno State Deputy Governor, chief of air staff, Maiduguri, Major-General Babagana Monguno, National Security Adviser, Nigerian Air Force, Usman DurkwaLeave a comment on Air Force Establishes Cancer Center In Maiduguri
Cancer Awareness: Air Force Organises Lecture, Screening For Personnel
The Nigerian Air Force has organised a lecture and screening exercise for its personnel to raise awareness about the growing prevalence of cancer in the country.
Declaring the lecture open at the 461 NAF Hospital in Kaduna, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said that the aim of the programme was to sensitize their personnel on how to detect cancers early enough through screening in order to prevent untimely deaths associated with late detection.
Represented by the Air Officer Commanding Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Okoye, he stressed the importance of the health of his officers and men in the discharge of their duties.
According to him, there is no more efficient way to fight cancer than to prevent its spread through regular screening and sensitization programmes like this one.
He announced that the Nigerian Air Force has established cancer screening centres in its various hospitals across the country to provide its personnel, their families and host communities the opportunity to carry out regular checks in order to detect cancer early enough.
The Director Medical Services, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Saleh Shinkafi, explained that the cancer screening centres have been adequately equipped with modern facilities for screening of various types of cancer.
The theme for awareness programme is 'Kick Cancer out of NAF Bases', which emphasizes the need for both officers, airmen and airwomen to visit clinics and go for constant checks as the first edition of the initiative ended with voluntary screening of personnel.
The guest lecturer, Dr Sam Ojah highlighted some of the risk factors that are associated with cancer and how they can be avoided
Some of the risk factors according to him include age, gender, family history and life pattern of an individual among other factors.
He however emphasized that early detection of any type of cancer helps increase the rate of survival.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), breast and cervical cancers are the most common causes of cancer related deaths in women between the ages of 15-45 years.
Also, it is estimated that one in every 25 women are at risk of developing cancer in her life time.
However, the final outcome of the disease largely depends on the time of diagnosis.
Posted on January 26, 2017 January 26, 2017 Author K AkintoyeCategories LocalTags 9ja News, Air force, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Air Vice Marshal Okoye, Cancer Awareness, channelstv.com, chief of air staff, NAF Bases, NAF Hospital, Naija gist, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian News, Nollywood, PM News, premiumtimesng.com, punchng.com, saharareporters.com, Vanguard newspaperLeave a comment on Cancer Awareness: Air Force Organises Lecture, Screening For Personnel
Air Chief Condemns Renewed Bombings, Advocates Civilians' Support
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has condemned the increasing rate of bomb attacks in Nigeria's northeast region.
Air Marshal Abubakar said the renewed bombings in some part of the country were part of insurgence, especially with the dislodgment of the Boko Haram terrorists.
He, however, observed that the attacks were not peculiar, stressing that the military cannot deal with the menace alone.
The Air Chief explained that civilian intelligence and vigilance would play a big role to stop the activities of the dreaded insurgents.
He further stressed the importance of strong synergy between the civilians and the Nigerian Armed Forces, noting that it would critically reduce the incidences.
Air Marshal Abubakar said the corporation would also aid engagement with civilians through humanitarian efforts and psychological warfare.
The censure on the renewed bombings followed the attack on a mosque in the University of Maiduguri in Borno State in which four persons died with several others injured.
Barely 48 hours after the bombing, an accidental bombing of a civilian community occurred in Rann, also in Borno State.
The spokesman for the military, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, who confirmed the incident to Channels Television, admitted that it was an error deeply regretted by the military.
He explained that soldiers got information of movement of Boko Haram members and deployed ground troops and air cover to tackle the terrorists before the unfortunate occurrence took place.
Posted on January 17, 2017 Author Akinola AjibolaCategories LocalTags air chief, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Boko Haram, boko haram terrorists, bombings, Borno State, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, channels television, chief of air staff, Nigeria's northeast, Rann, Sadique Abubakar, Terrorists, University of MaiduguriLeave a comment on Air Chief Condemns Renewed Bombings, Advocates Civilians' Support
National Security: Air Force Graduates 1,498 Recruits In Kaduna
The Nigeria Air Force (NAF), on Friday, graduated a total of 1,498 recruits of its Basic Military Training Course, with a warning to them to be vigilant and committed to their constitutional responsibilities of safe-guarding the nation.
During their passing out parade held at the Ground Training Centre, NAF base Kaduna, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, told the new recruits to be prepared to pay the supreme price in defending their fatherland, especially at a time when the country is facing several security challenges.
Their journey began in July 2016, with 1,563 candidates, while 49 were withdrawn and four absconded.
Also among the graduates were 331 operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
As part of the effort to prepare the young airmen and airwomen for the task ahead, and in pursuance of the service's mission-oriented force development, the curriculum for their course was reviewed with the introduction of internal security module.
Awards were given to recruits who distinguished themselves in the cause of the training
Addressing them, Air Marshal Abubakar, warned that the Nigerian Armed Forces, have zero tolerance for weakness and any conduct that is inconsistent with service discipline.
He reminded them to imbibe the culture of discipline, absolute loyalty to both civil and military authorities, and to avoid being used by any disgruntled elements in the society.
The Air Force boss, also announced that his administration places a high priority on welfare and capacity building of officers and men of the service.
The induction of the young men and women into the military, is not doubt coming at a time the nation is in dire need of additional manpower for her military needs.
Therefore, as they join their colleagues in the field, it is expected that they sticjk by the oath they took to protect all law abiding citizens and visitors from both internal and external aggression.
Posted on January 14, 2017 January 14, 2017 Author Rejoice EwodageCategories LocalTags Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Bella Naija, best tv station, channels television.news, channelstv.com, chief of air staff, latest nigerian news, Linda Ikeji, NAF, naij.com, Naija news, news across nigeria, Nigeria Air force, Nigerian Airforce, Nigerian News, Nollywood, PM News, premiumtimesng.com, punchng.com, Sahara Reporters, Vanguard NewsLeave a comment on National Security: Air Force Graduates 1,498 Recruits In Kaduna
Defence Minister Insists Terrorists Have Been Largely Degraded
The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, believes the Boko Haram terrorists have been seriously degraded by the military, in spite of the latest attacks by the insurgents that claimed several lives in some states.
The minister reiterates the commitment of the Federal Government in building capacities of the Nigerian Armed Forces to enable them perform their statutory functions.
He made the remarks during the passing out parade of 99 officers of the Direct Short Service Course (DSSC) 25 at the Nigerian Air Force Base in Kaduna State.
Addressing the newly commissioned officers, Mr Dan-Ali asked them to be prepared to play their part in defending Nigeria's territorial integrity, as well as protecting the lives and property of the people.
He also challenged them to live above board and display a high level of competence and patriotism for the support service of the Nigerian Air Force.
Injecting Fresh Hands
The Defence Minister noted that the Air Force operates on a philosophy of zero tolerance for misconduct and cowardice, stressing that the authorities would demand nothing short of the very best from them.
He also implored the graduating officers to respect both military and civil authorities, as well as resist the temptation of taking laws into their hands.
Speaking to reporters after the parade, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said the commissioning of the new officers into the service was in line with government's effort in curbing terrorism by injecting fresh hands into the force.
The DSSC curriculum covers both military and general service subjects, which broadly introduces the cadets to military regimentation, as well as operations and administration of the Nigerian Air Force.
The cadets were drawn from different academic backgrounds such as medicine, engineering, pharmacy, and piloting among other disciplines.
For six months, they were subjected to rigorous physical fitness and weapon training to develop their endurance level, and have also received lectures on counter terrorism operations.
Posted on December 17, 2016 Author Akinola AjibolaCategories LocalTags Air force, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, boko haram terrorists, chief of air staff, Counter Terrorism, counter terrorism operations, Kaduna State, Mansur Dan Ali, Minister of Defence, Nigeria, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Air Force Base, Nigerian Armed ForcesLeave a comment on Defence Minister Insists Terrorists Have Been Largely Degraded

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
News & announcements PNG Gas Project
PNG Gas Project 2nd Jan 2002
PNG Gas Project
Santos Ltd. confirms that, as of 1 January 2002, the Group is not party to the new Heads of Agreement for the PNG Gas Project.
Santos has been unable to reach agreement with the Project Operator, ExxonMobil on new commercial terms governing interaction between the participants, which are contained in the new Agreement.
Santos Managing Director, Mr John Ellice-Flint said, "Santos remains committed to the development of the PNG Gas Project but it must first be satisfied with the commercial foundations on which the Project would be based".
Santos will continue to work with the other Project participants to achieve resolution of the commercial issues in question.
Santos Group, through PNG subsidiaries, holds a 31 % interest in Petroleum Development Licence No.1. This contains the Hides Gas Field, which is expected to be a major source of gas for the Project.
News 02png
17th Dec 2021 Merger of Santos and Oil Search implemented
13th Dec 2021 Santos welcomes listing on PNGX
10th Dec 2021 Santos and Oil Search merger becomes effective


Back in 1972 German rock band Cacumen took off but decided in 1986 to proceed under the more familiar name Bonfire. Both dates indicate that, with latest release Branded, the band celebrates their 25th (or should we say 40th) anniversary. Quite a milestone, but for some reason German rock bands show great resemblance with Japanese cars: they seem to last forever. This is underlined by their compatriots Scorpions: they only threw in the towel after a three decade plus career.
For years I have been following this band, but having said that, I must admit I was little anxious about this new record. Most of their previous outings amused me, but did not leave the same lasting impression as their first two records Don't Touch the Light and Fireworks did in the Eighties. Moreover, after a flurry of commercial ballad and best of albums, a successful, but rather dreadful World Cup 2010 hit cover of the German hymn and a sort of soundtrack of a German play (The Rauber) the band managed to mutate from an authentic rock band into the German version of Bon Jovi.
However, times can change. Whether it was the understanding of the band to leave the commercial swamp and push themselves back on serious track or the recent resurgence of the melodic rock genre, I don't know. What I do know is that with Branded the brainchild of Hans Ziller and Claus Lessmann is flying under the serious rock radar again. Opener Deadly Contradiction sets the tone with pure and simple guitar oriented hard rock with catchy melodies and what follows is a string of 9 quality melodic hard rock songs with a nice eighties touch that remind me of the Bonfire I once knew. The double guitar sounds great throughout the album, Claus Lessman's voice is better than ever and the play list shows depth and variety.
Song wise there is nothing new here (who was expecting that anyway). Yet the song writing is solid. Musically there are zero weak spots and, with 40 years experience under their belts, the album sounds as professional as can be. Highlights are the punchy rocker Loser's Lane, the melodic but flowing tracks Save Me and Close To The Edge and the slow but powerful Better Days. With Let It Grow and Hold Me Now they have succeeded in adding just the right number of ballads.
The thing I don't understand is the addition of two acoustic bonus tracks. They seem to be a bit of an obligatory attachment and make the album close in bleak fashion. Maybe two live tracks would have been more fitting. Nevertheless, they will not erase the feeling that with Branded Bonfire show they are still a force to be reckoned with. I guess this old car will add a few more miles the next few years.
Bonfire's Branded, the brainchild of Hans Ziller and Claus Lessmann, had the band flying under the serious rock radar again.


Entering service 2008, Ventura is a Grand Class cruise ship. With a total passenger capacity of 3192 and over 1230 crew, stretching to 291m long and 14 passenger decks, she is P&O's 2nd largest ship, after Britannia.
Ventura has a variety of restaurants and bars, 3 pools, 6 hot tubs and a number of shops in the main Atrium area.
The ship is due a refit in March 2018 – from what we saw of the ship she is in very good condition with no obvious issues such as leaks or out of service facilities.
We were given quite a late embarkation time, but as we are just big kids, we wanted to get on early but would rather wait in the terminal than wonder around a cold Southampton. On arrival, porters were busy taking everyone's cases, so we dropped ours off and headed in to Ocean terminal. We were not the only ones who had turned up early, as the place was full. We took our card and waited our call. About 30 minutes later, we were being called to check in.
Since our may cruise, the procedure has slightly changed, they now require you to enter your pin number at the check in desk if registering a Credit or Debit card (we always recommend credit – read here why). We whizzed through security, only held up by people who leave it until last minute to remove items they shouldn't have and not shuffling forward so we could put our stuff through the x-ray.
P&O have now produced a handy step by step guide which you get given on arrival, well worth a read while you wait as it explains how check in works.
Our room was ready on arrival. We were in R204 – this was the first inside behind the bridge, next to 'drive'. High up and far forward, maybe not the best if you suffer motion sickness but for us it was perfect.
The room was clean and tidy, set up as a queen there was ample room. Big mirrors give the sense of more space. You have the usual fridge with Minibar (the prices are the same as in bars), a TV which allows you to view you on board account, a kettle with tea and coffee (and the all-important biscuits). A hair dryer was located in the cupboard.
We don't travel lightly and had a couple of cases – these neatly fit under the bed as the beds are quite high.
Around the corner there is a large area which a lot of hanging space, above which you will find your life jackets and some more storage space. The safe is located in a shelving unit, it's free to use and allows you to choose you own pin – we always store our valuable in here.
A standard bathroom, with a shower curtain (not our favourite, but it does its job), the usual free White Company toiletries and an endless supply of fluffy white towels.
Our cabin steward was always bubbly and friendly when we bumped in to him in the corridor – even other stewards would give you a 'good morning' or hello in passing. He kept our room tidy and our tea and biscuits well stocked – can't ask for more really!
With so many places to eat and drink on Ventura – you won't get go hungry or thirsty!
Due to this being a Short cruise, we didn't manage to sample the Epicurean or Sindhu (East as currently branded on Ventura). We did get to the Glass house once or twice (well, more like 3 or 4 times!).
The food and service in the main dining room was very good, we think it's improved since our May cruise on Azura. We were assigned freedom dining and dined at the Saffron, we would always pop down about 7:30-8:00 so were usually given a pager as we would request a table for 2.
The first night was a little slow, but a very apologetic waiter who was looking after our table came to tell us there was a delay as a large number of orders had come in at the same time, again apologising as the main course arrived. There was a really good choice of food every night and the portion sizes were very good.
Another improvement we noticed was the wine service. Over the last year we noticed there seems to be less staff doing the wine and you could end up waiting a while but I have to say, they seem to have resolved this. Every night our order would be taken promptly and our wine would arrive shortly after (we tend to order by the glass), and as the glass became empty he would be back asking if you would like to order more. Sometimes eager to sell can be annoying, but when it comes to wine with food, you want them to be eager and prompt – full marks here!
The new menu in the Glass House is very nice also, we highly recommend the salmon scotch eggs and spiced scallops. We personally think the Glass House on Ventura has the best ambiance when compared to Azura and Britannia, on a longer cruise I could see we would have come here for a main meal as the menu sounded delicious.
The bars were all quite busy, but you could normally find somewhere to sit – service was very prompt, we think there may have been some new staff on board as it appeared some were being mentored by more experienced staff.
The Northern gin flight went down very well, as did the Anderson Perfect Serve gin we had, the Strawberry Daiquiris' and Singapore Sling are cocktails that shouldn't be missed!
Around the Atrium on Ventura there are a number of shops, from the usual holiday essentials, clothing, jewellery and holiday mementoes. A duty-free shop is located on board also, this allows you to purchase alchol which is collected on the final day or tobacco products. This duty-free shop was closed as we were on an inter EU cruise, it's also worth noting on these inter EU cruises all prices in the shops exclude UK VAT, this gets added on at the till.
They have a price promise on board where they will beat or match shore prices – we purchased some Pandora charms on board, after adding the 20% VAT they worked out a couple of pounds cheaper than what they are on the high street.
There were 2 shows every evening, timed so you could always manage to get to one. We are not big fans of sitting in the theatre, so didn't make an effort to see them. We did pop in to the back when Tom Binns was on as the "Comedium". We'd previously seen his 'hospital radio' show which we walked out of as it was awful, but as the "Comedium" he was quite funny. Matt and Sarah were also on this cruise, we saw them on a previous cruise and enjoy listening to them, we sat at the Red Bar while they sang in the atrium.
It was a lovely dry day in port, but in the wind bitterly cold. We took the free shuttle bus in to Blackenburge and from there took the train to Bruges. The trains leave about 35 minutes past the hour and takes 20 minutes – costing 5euro per person return. From the station it's a 20 minute leisurely walk to the square where we found Christmas markets, an ice rink and lots of chocolate and waffles!
After a wonder around, we made our way back to the station to catch our train back – these leave about 5minutes past the hour, then it was the shuttle bus back to the ship.
Bruges is a lovely city to wonder around, if visiting it is well worth making the effort to visit. I hope to write up a detailed guide on how to do Bruges on your own as it's under a fiver a person – as a guide you will pay about £35 per person for an excursion with P&O, a taxi is around 80-100 euro and if you use the port bus to the gates and take a bus from the gates to Bruges train station you will still pay about £20 per person.
Waking up on the final morning we wondered why it still felt like we were moving – turning on the TV in our inside cabin we noticed we were still at sea! Yay was our instant thought, they can't take us home and we will have to stay on board – could think of worse things. It turns out due to bad weather during the night, the Captain along with the Port Pilot and Port Authority decided it was unsafe for us to dock and instead we headed back out to sea to allow the weather to pass. We docked at 9am, about 3 hours late and after some confusion on which berth we would be docking at. The captain kept us well informed, and provided frequent updates on our progress and any amendments that were made.
We had a breakfast in the main dining room, this was very busy with a long queue but the restaurant manager was doing his best to seat people as others were leaving. He was in great spirits and humour, telling us not to worry as we were late there was plenty of time and enough food to go around.
Those that follow us will know we were on board MSC Preziosa in October and had a wonderful time, this Ventura cruise was just a short getaway. But from check-in to all interaction with staff onboard, the food and activities, we have to say P&O really do make you feel more at home and this is why they are firmly our favourite cruise line.
We hope you have found this article useful, take a look around our site for our other reviews and useful information and remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.


Today, we are in a seller's market in the real estate industry, unlike even a year ago, when the market was still recovering.
Inventory is very low and buyers are often getting into a multiple offer situation. Many times, sellers are being offered above asking price and getting it. The interest rates are still very affordable so if you are contemplating buying, do it now.
If you are motivated to sell, find the right agent who will listen and learn about the features and benefits your home offers. But then listen to him in his determination as to how he derived at your selling price. When you tell your family or neighbors what your agent stated it should sell for, everyone becomes an expert. The plumber down the street told me, "I should get $10,000 -$20,000 more than that." They may be the best in their own trade but it's your real estate broker that knows best. Listen to your agent and the comparables he used to determine your home's value. Your broker is the real estate professional, not your neighbor.
When your home has been on the market for an exceptional amount of days and has not had a lot of activity, it is time to reassess your selling strategy. Is your agent doing enough to move it?
Make sure there are plenty of advertising opportunities and plenty of broker/public open-houses that are happening. When all else fails and your home isn't selling in a reasonable amount of time, then it comes down to the price.
After your property has been shown many times and hasn't had an offer, it becomes stale and active agents will not show it because they already know what to expect. Some sellers believe that by waiting and not accepting a previous lower offer, it will bring them a higher offer. It is possible, but usually it is the exact opposite.
The amount of days your house is on the market is your enemy. If you are not getting a lot of activity in this sellers' market, it is a solid indicator there is something wrong and time to re-think your strategy. Listen to your agent and it will sell. Listen to your agent and it will sell. Once again just to reiterate the point - listen to your agent and it will sell. Did I say that three times? Yes, I did because your agent is the professional.
He or she will come back with a winning idea and you will be on the road to selling your home.
Remember, your real estate agent should always guide you and work in your best interest to get your home sold. Good luck with the sale of your home.


Like a familiar Christmas movie the Hudson Bay Christmas Windows light up the night along Queen Street West in #Toronto. Beginning in early November the North Pole life of Santa Claus plays out in a series of windows that take us through toy production, loading the sleigh and then having dinner with the jolly man in red before he begins his great journey around the world. The magical windows began when the store was known as Simpsons many years ago.
Some of the animated displays feature quaint holiday scenes from a small town in olden days. The Queen Street West windows are known as "Toyland" and can be found just west of Yonge Street.
More holiday windows are after the jump.
Meanwhile back on Yonge Street the windows are a festive diorama of the Abominable Snowman in a snowstorm just outside Santa's workshop.


text:
Editorial/Advertorial champions undemocratic practice for citizens profiling
By Krishna - August 22, 2012
Advocacy of Judicial Fascism for Biometric data collection for UID/Aadhaar Condemned
New Delhi, 23 Aug: Arindam Chaudhury, Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Indian (TSI) in an editorial piece titled 'Why the UID card should be made every citizen's constitutional right' states, "...in its current form, the project is more of a political initiative of the UPA government, like their other developmental projects – which simply means that in the near future, it can be abandoned or can be stopped by any other political party in power." This has already happened in UK. Democratic mandate is against projects like UID and related initiatives like National Population Register (NPR), National Intelligence Grid, Human DNA Profiling, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Land Titling Bill, 2011 and Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance (which has been dismissively referred in the TSI piece) has taken on board studies done in the UK on the identity scheme that was begun and later withdrawn in May 2010 when the proponents of ID project were defeated in the elections. The Committee took note of the problems like "(a) huge cost involved and possible cost overruns; (b) too complex; (c) untested, unreliable and unsafe technology; (d) possibility of risk to the safety and security of citizens; and (e) requirement of high standard security measures, which would result in escalating the estimated operational costs" in undertaking such projects.
Disregarding these established and indisputable concerns, Chaudhury recommends, "In such a scenario, where the future of this brilliant project is under stake, the Supreme Court should immediately take it under its purview and set an independent body to examine the project's feasibility, post which the UID should be listed among essential documents, in the same league as a PAN card or voter identification card." This is in keeping with autocratic stance of the proponents of UID project which are executing the project with a notification from Planning Commission without legislative mandate. He is advocating judicial intervention to insulate the project from the heat of democratic process.
Echoing massive opposition of informed citizens and their concerns, the Parliamentary Committee has noted that the government has "admitted that (a) no committee has been constituted to study the financial implications of the UID scheme; and (b) comparative costs of the aadhaar number and various existing ID documents are also not available." In view of such glaring omissions, the Committee denounced the UID/aadhaar project as `unethical and violative of Parliament's prerogatives' and as akin to an ordinance when the Parliament is in session.
It is noteworthy that Supreme Court of Republic of the Philippines July 23, 1998 rejected the National ID program initiated by President Fidel V. Ramos on December 12, 1996 through "Adoption of a National Computerized Identification Reference System" in its 60 page judgment on two important constitutional grounds, viz: one, it is a usurpation of the power of Congress to legislate, and two, it impermissibly intrudes on our citizenry's protected zone of privacy. In India, High Courts of Madras and Mumbai are seized with the matter.
Debunking pre-existing government data of all ilk and the "gloomy state of social indices and their non-scientific projections," Chaudhury categorically articulates his assessment saying, "Undoubtedly, such biometric cards are imperative for a nation with a billion plus population (and for a nation with 80 per cent plus corrupt officials at every level)" without any scientific application of mind. He betrays complete ignorance about the global developments against biometric data collection. UK, Australia, Philippines, USA and China have abandoned biometric data based National ID projects.
He also refers to ID schemes of Chile and Denmark. The fact is it is already admitted that it is the only project in the world that is using fusion biometrics, which distinguishes it from anything happening elsewhere. It has also been repeatedly established that biometric technology is inherently fallible.
Chaudhury says, "The government named this project Aadhaar…which will further allow the agency to maintain all data and biometric information at a single centralized server". He claims, "in other words, the government assigned number acts as a one-stop data source."
What he ignores that once such a database is ready it can be used to eliminate minority communities, migrants and political adversaries by some regime which finds them unsuitable for their political projects. The fact is a centralized electronic database and privacy both are conceptually contradictory. It is advisable to let it remain in decentralized silos something which even the central government's Discussion Paper on Privacy underlined. The fact is creation of Centralized Identities
Data Register (CIDR) will create a bullying Database and Surveillance State through its 'black box'.
In a related development, the unanimous decision of 17 judges the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about violation of the right to privacy and family life by biometric profile retention in criminal justice databanks, they found that the "blanket and indiscriminate nature" of the power of retention of the fingerprints, cellular samples, and DNA profiles of persons suspected but not convicted of offenses, failed to strike a fair balance between competing public and private interests and ruled that the United Kingdom had "overstepped any acceptable margin of appreciation" in this regard. This decision is relevant for UID, National Population Register (NPR), Human DNA Profiling and voice print through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
In the era of Paid News journalism, this piece published in TSI which claims to be India's Greatest News Magazine, appears to be an advertorial of UIDAI, a paid editorial. CFCL deprecates TSI's contempt towards Parliament and Parliamentary Committee whose approval for the biometric data collection and UID/Aadhaar has conspicuously has not yet been taken. Such editorials reflect manifest bias in favor undemocratic practices.
Given the fact that TSI is published in some 14 languages including Tamil, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese, Oriya, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali, the piece about UID does a great disservice to its readers by misrepresenting facts. Such misinformation campaigns merit the attention of the Press Council of India.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, Member, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL), Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: krishna1715@gmail.com, New Delhi


text:
/*
 * This file is generated by jOOQ.
*/
package top.zbeboy.isy.domain.tables;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

import javax.annotation.Generated;

import org.jooq.Field;
import org.jooq.ForeignKey;
import org.jooq.Index;
import org.jooq.Name;
import org.jooq.Schema;
import org.jooq.Table;
import org.jooq.TableField;
import org.jooq.UniqueKey;
import org.jooq.impl.DSL;
import org.jooq.impl.TableImpl;

import top.zbeboy.isy.domain.Indexes;
import top.zbeboy.isy.domain.Isy;
import top.zbeboy.isy.domain.Keys;
import top.zbeboy.isy.domain.tables.records.GraduationDesignDeclareRecord;

/**
 * This class is generated by jOOQ.
 */
@Generated(
    value = {
        "http://www.jooq.org",
        "jOOQ version:3.10.7"
    },
    comments = "This class is generated by jOOQ"
)
@SuppressWarnings({ "all", "unchecked", "rawtypes" })
public class GraduationDesignDeclare extends TableImpl<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord> {

    private static final long serialVersionUID = 352146954;

    /**
     * The reference instance of isy.graduation_design_declare
     */
    public static final GraduationDesignDeclare GRADUATION_DESIGN_DECLARE = new GraduationDesignDeclare();

    /**
     * The class holding records for this type
     */
    @Override
    public Class<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord> getRecordType() {
        return GraduationDesignDeclareRecord.class;
    }

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.subject_type_id.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Integer> SUBJECT_TYPE_ID = createField("subject_type_id", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.INTEGER, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.origin_type_id.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Integer> ORIGIN_TYPE_ID = createField("origin_type_id", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.INTEGER, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.is_new_subject.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Byte> IS_NEW_SUBJECT = createField("is_new_subject", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.TINYINT, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.is_new_teacher_make.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Byte> IS_NEW_TEACHER_MAKE = createField("is_new_teacher_make", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.TINYINT, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.is_new_subject_make.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Byte> IS_NEW_SUBJECT_MAKE = createField("is_new_subject_make", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.TINYINT, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.is_old_subject_change.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Byte> IS_OLD_SUBJECT_CHANGE = createField("is_old_subject_change", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.TINYINT, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.old_subject_uses_times.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Integer> OLD_SUBJECT_USES_TIMES = createField("old_subject_uses_times", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.INTEGER, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.plan_period.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, String> PLAN_PERIOD = createField("plan_period", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.VARCHAR(10), this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.assistant_teacher.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, String> ASSISTANT_TEACHER = createField("assistant_teacher", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.VARCHAR(30), this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.assistant_teacher_academic.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, String> ASSISTANT_TEACHER_ACADEMIC = createField("assistant_teacher_academic", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.VARCHAR(30), this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.assistant_teacher_number.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, String> ASSISTANT_TEACHER_NUMBER = createField("assistant_teacher_number", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.VARCHAR(20), this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.guide_times.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Integer> GUIDE_TIMES = createField("guide_times", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.INTEGER, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.guide_peoples.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Integer> GUIDE_PEOPLES = createField("guide_peoples", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.INTEGER, this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.is_ok_apply.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, Byte> IS_OK_APPLY = createField("is_ok_apply", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.TINYINT.defaultValue(org.jooq.impl.DSL.inline("0", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.TINYINT)), this, "");

    /**
     * The column isy.graduation_design_declare.graduation_design_presubject_id.
     */
    public final TableField<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord, String> GRADUATION_DESIGN_PRESUBJECT_ID = createField("graduation_design_presubject_id", org.jooq.impl.SQLDataType.VARCHAR(64).nullable(false), this, "");

    /**
     * Create a isy.graduation_design_declare table reference
     */
    public GraduationDesignDeclare() {
        this(DSL.name("graduation_design_declare"), null);
    }

    /**
     * Create an aliased isy.graduation_design_declare table reference
     */
    public GraduationDesignDeclare(String alias) {
        this(DSL.name(alias), GRADUATION_DESIGN_DECLARE);
    }

    /**
     * Create an aliased isy.graduation_design_declare table reference
     */
    public GraduationDesignDeclare(Name alias) {
        this(alias, GRADUATION_DESIGN_DECLARE);
    }

    private GraduationDesignDeclare(Name alias, Table<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord> aliased) {
        this(alias, aliased, null);
    }

    private GraduationDesignDeclare(Name alias, Table<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord> aliased, Field<?>[] parameters) {
        super(alias, null, aliased, parameters, "");
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     */
    @Override
    public Schema getSchema() {
        return Isy.ISY;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     */
    @Override
    public List<Index> getIndexes() {
        return Arrays.<Index>asList(Indexes.GRADUATION_DESIGN_DECLARE_GRADUATION_DESIGN_PRESUBJECT_ID);
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     */
    @Override
    public List<UniqueKey<GraduationDesignDeclareRecord>> getKeys() {
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
News, Info, and Opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.
MacUser blog makes way for Mac Channel
You can now find content from the MacUser blog in Macworld's Mac Channel, alongside other Mac news, reviews, and how-tos.
Remains of the Day: No Siri, that's my baby
The iPhone 4S meets its match in the team at iFixit, Apple may add movies to the cloud, and one Apple executive gets a lengthy write-up.
Remains of the Day: Bite out of the old apple
Remains.
Remains of the Day: Hip to be square
Heck of a week, huh? And things are only just getting started. Early iPhone 4S units have begun slipping out overseas, the iPad is dominating in the Web surfing arena, and one of the great writers of our time remembers Steve Jobs.
The Macalope Weekly: Respect
The Macalope looks at reaction to the iPhone 4S and hold your nose, because some opinions on Steve Jobs are unfit for human consumption.
Remains of the Day: Nothing's gonna change my world
We've put together a couple of Jobs-centric Remains columns in the past. But we'd like to acknowledge the man one more time as the remainders for Friday, October 7, 2011 make their way across the universe.
The Macalope Daily: Giant
There's no way to properly eulogize someone who lived so large. So the Macalope keeps it short.
Remains of the Day: Please, sir, can I have some more?
I know, I know. You've read about the iPhone 4S all day. But you just can't get enough! Don't you worry your pretty little heads: The remainders for Tuesday, October 4, 2011 are happy to serve another helping.
The Macalope Daily: Setting expectations
Apple must deliver a revolutionary iPhone 5 today or perish! That's reasonable, right?
Remains of the Day: Rehearsal dinner
Tomorrow's the big day, and boy, are people fired up: There's the Siri co-founder who's convinced it will change the world, the company willing to fork over billions to play a part, and the familiar face that may not be able to stay...
capsule review
Kensington Orbit Wireless Mobile Trackball
Senior editor Dan Frakes says that Kensington's Orbit Wireless Mobile Trackball is the first portable trackball that's good enough to earn a place in his laptop bag, though it's not without its drawbacks
The Macalope Weekly: Against the brain
The Macalope bids welcome to the Kindle Fire and wonders if those old pipes that bring water to Wall Street might still be made of lead.
Remains of the Day: Die another day
Psystar is determined to drag its court case all the way to the top before failing; the Apple TV may be about to kick off its continental tour; and we bid a fond adieu to a bygone era of gaming.
Remains of the Day: Psych out
Steve Jobs apparently tried to talk to Samsung before going nuclear, Apple takes home a victory over one clone maker, and fake iPhones aren't what they used to be.
Remains of the Day: Number one, with an icon
Deciphering Apple's intentions is even more challenging than figuring out the Kremlin's. Elsewhere, the Thunderbolt Display is ripped to shreds, iTunes movies surface around the world, and is it finally time to bid adieu to some...
The Macalope Daily: Trouble in paradise?
Are the natives restless in Redmond?
Remains of the Day: Hulu hoops
Any potential buyers of TV-streaming site Hulu are going to have to play by its terms, it seems. Elsewhere, Facebook seems to have re-friended Apple, and you'll soon be able to multitouch your Android phones as much as you want.
Remains of the Day: iPhone home
Tired of iPhone rumors? Let me make this easy for you: It's coming out sometime, at a place, with lots of new features for a certain price! There, done.
Intego: Malware masquerades as Flash installer
Intego on Monday warned Mac users of a new Trojan horse that masquerades as a Flash Player installation package for OS X Lion.
Weekly Wrap: Fear, Photos, and 'Flix
Each week, we're faced with an impossible task when we try to round up the best Macworld stories of the week gone by--because everything we publish is, as you'd expect, pretty great. But we've made a series of Sophie's choices, and...
'Little America' review: Apple's big, hopeful love letter to immigration
Best robot vacuums: We name the most effective cleaners
Jared Newman
ATSC 3.0: How cord-cutters should plan for antenna TV's big...
Glenn Fleishman
That's right: You can't turn off Personal Hotspot in iOS 13...
Jason Snell
8 hidden features of macOS Catalina
Dan Moren
Is the writing on the wall for the Apple TV?
All Macworld Blogs »


text:
Eight More Cases Dropped In Wake Of SFPD Misconduct Allegations
by Bay City News | March 8, 2011 6:52 pm	| in News | 0
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office dropped eight more cases today in the wake of a scandal involving police misconduct allegedly captured on video, bringing the total to 13, a public defender's office spokeswoman said.
The suspects had been charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanor grand theft to felony possession of crack, cocaine and heroine for sale, spokeswoman Tamara Barak Aparton said.
The dropped cases mark the continued fallout from several videos posted online by the public defender's office that appear to show eight officers searching various homes without warrants over the past few months.
The four videos allegedly contradict what the officers wrote in their police reports and said in court testimony, prompting the Police Department to dismiss them.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi today asked the district attorney's office to provide a list of every arrest or incident involving the dismissed officers for the past seven years.
He also requested copies of all the police reports from drug-related crimes at the Henry Hotel and Hotel Royan, residential hotels in the South of Market neighborhood and Mission District where the alleged misconduct took place.
"I believe there are other cases where your office secured guilty pleas based on testimony and sworn statements provided by these officers," he wrote in a letter to District Attorney George Gascon's office.
He added that he wants to evaluate what legal remedies might be available to individuals whose cases have been compromised.
A spokesman for the district attorney's office said the department was still deciding today how to respond to the request. He could not confirm the number of cases dropped.
The scandal came to light last week when Adachi released two videos on March 2 that appeared to show members of the SFPD Southern Station's plainclothes operations team unlawfully entering rooms at the Henry Hotel.
Another video was released Thursday that appeared to show plainclothes officers kicking in the door of a disabled man's room at the Hotel Royan.
Then on Monday afternoon, Adachi released a fourth video of a man wearing a black coat entering a room at the Henry Hotel.
The man had been arrested after officers reported seeing him enter the hotel in a white and tan jacket, which was later found in a room with crack cocaine and marijuana. The district attorney's office dismissed the case on Dec. 22.
The officers whose conduct is being evaluated are Gregory Buhagiar, Samuel Christ, Raymond Kane, Raul Elias, Robert Forneris, Arthur Madrid, Arshad Razzak and Richard Yick.
The FBI is also investigating the alleged misconduct.
Janna Brancolini, Bay City News
Want more news, sent to your inbox every day? Then how about subscribing to our email newsletter? Here's why we think you should. Come on, give it a try.


text:
Home2021February
Post-punk synth band C-Beem releases video for 'Tin Foil Hat'
February 28, 2021 Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D.
Review: C-Beem's video for "Tin Foil Hat"–Single to be released mid-March 2021 Rock At Night is a sucker for anything that sounds 'New Wave 80s' or 'Dark Wave' so when we discovered this little gem […]
Encounter with a great French Lady Blues – Veronique GAYOT
February 28, 2021 Jose Oliveira
By José Oliveira & Rosine Alleva – Rock At Night EU Editors Blessed with an impressive voice and a great way with words, French singer Veronique GAYOT traveled between local groups giving concerts on both […]
Chris Berardo releases cover of Badfinger's 'Baby Blue'
Review: Chris Berardo's cover of "Baby Blue" – February 26, 2021 Rock At Night has always appreciated classic rock bands so when we heard that Chris Berardo just released a cover of Badfinger's "Baby Blue", […]
Little Hurt's Colin Dieden Releases His EP 'Every Second'
February 22, 2021 Anita Stewart
By Anita Stewart, Managing Editor Release: EP, 'Every Second' Release Date: February 19th, 2021 2020 turned out to be a great year for Little Hurt (who is Colin Dieden, formerly of The Mowglis). He used […]
True Villains–Nashville's Power Rock Band Releasing Their New Single 'Dig Your Grave'
By Anita Stewart, Managing Editor Nashville's modern hard rock power-force, the band True Villains are announcing the release of their latest single, 'Dig Your Grave' on March 5, 2021. The single will be available on […]
Jason Sweeney's single 'She's a Fighter': stirring and inspirational
February 19, 2021 Kevin Bergin
By Kevin Bergin, Rock At Night Melbourne, AU Review of Single: "She's a Fighter" by Jason Sweeney-Release date February 6, 2021 Jason Sweeny is going to be very busy in 2021 and "She's a Fighter" […]
UK rockers Molly Karloff release song 'She Said' to aid mental health charity
British three-piece rock'n'roll band Molly Karloff released their new single "She Said" (Romesh Mix) today. All proceeds from the single will be donated to the UK mental health charity Oxfordshire Mind. Rock At Night says: […]
Eddie Mooney & the Grave's new singles are 'a chance to feel alright'
By Kevin Bergin, Rock At Night Melbourne Review: Eddie Mooney & the Grave-Singles "Lockdown Baby" and "Telephones"–Release date February 5, 2021 (Still Unbeatable Records) Manchester punk band Eddie Mooney & the Grave just released two […]
Nathan's Brother Debut Album is One-Man and 'Spot On'
February 18, 2021 Anthony Mclaude
By Anthony Mclaude, Rock At Night Philadelphia Review: Nathan's Brother album Spot On-January 4, 2021 Though musicians have shined in sharing the spotlight with their respective bandmates, Nathan's Brother (Maurice van der Linden) who prides […]
The Dead Freights: reeks of fresh garage rock with new singles
By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa Review of The Dead Freights' videos 'Stray Dogs' and Fever and Thunder" and upcoming single "Sufferin Safari" (March 19, 2021) FFO: The Strokes, Cage the Elephant Rock At […]


Studio H+L worked with this client for several years to renovate and add to their home. The ranch style home had become dated and the owners wanted to give it the quiet elegance of Asian designs they admire. Work began with a hallway niche and, when soon completed, will include updates and additions throughout the home. Special attention has been given to environmentally friendly materials and construction methods.


Roland Bunch, an agro-ecologist, in Malawi.
Roland Bunch was Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods for World Neighbours and is the author of "Two Ears of Corn: A Guide to People-Centered Agricultural Improvement", available in 10 languages and used by more than 60 universities and organisations. Bunch is Groundswell's Mali Program Coordinator. He specialises in agro-ecological practices and the design of agricultural development programmes, with a focus on training rural residents.
The road north from Segou, Mali, is a breathtaking experience: few other drives show how fertile farmland gradually turns into forbidding desert. The well-kept highway shoots through the Sahel, offering increasingly dry vistas. Segou's maize fields are soon replaced by millet, which is more resistant to drought, then by thorny scrub. By the time you cross the Niger River at Timbuktu, you have officially entered the Sahara Desert. Nothing but sand and rock remains.
Today, Mali mostly evokes war. Al Qaeda's push for southern Mali, stopped by French forces, had at least one effect which its commanders surely did not expect: the outside world has become acutely interested in the western Sahel. Large flows of fresh aid money, including 5 billion from the European Commission, have been pledged.
But as I was driving up that road in late 2011, militant Islamists were the last things on my mind. A drought had hit the country earlier that year – and that wasn't supposed to happen.
The Sahel used to experience droughts roughly every ten years. There had been one in the mid 1970s, and then a terrible one in 1984-85 (that one prompted Bob Geldof to organise Live Aid). Other droughts came in 1994 and in 2003 – par for the course. But then things speeded up. Drought came in 2005 and 2009. Just two years later, we were experiencing yet another.
Over the centuries, the peoples of the Sahel have evolved complex customs to help them survive these occasional catastrophes. Tradition dictates that people must share their food with the least fortunate. Strict rules govern the use of water. Transgressions are harshly punished.
Just up the road, in the Sahara, a person that draws water for his animals before allowing someone else to draw water for his family is guilty of a crime worthy of death – even if the well was his. So says the unwritten law of the desert.
North of Segou, people used to sell animals, plows and kitchenware in drought times. The money would allow them to buy food. In effect, families drew down savings accumulated during good years. After the drought, people would gradually rebuild their assets. By the time of the next one, ten years later, they would have accumulated enough for the cycle to be repeated. So it had gone, for centuries.
But with droughts suddenly hitting every two or three years, this system has broken down. People have nothing left to sell, and no one has enough to share with others.
In such exceptional droughts, starvation looms. In 2011, the worst was only avoided by massive food aid – something the world may well tire of doing again and again.
November is harvest time. In the October of our visit, we should have been driving past tall sorghum and millet stands loaded with grain. Yet, for mile after depressing mile, all we could see were stunted plants, none more than sixteen inches tall. Most of these fields would fail to even replace the grain sown there. Serious trouble loomed.
A clue came from a trip I took to Mali's Dogon country in 2009 – another drought year. One famous Dogon group has lived for centuries in homes carved out of some of the highest cliffs to be found in West Africa. The spectacular setting of these villages had a defensive purpose: just pulling up the rope ladders protected people's women, animals and tools from raiding parties.
The Dogon live across a huge area, most of them well away from the cliffs and its tourists, and it was such a remote area, near Koro, that I was visiting to assess an agricultural aid programme. Around the villages northeast of the town, the crops were looking amazingly good, even though drought was raging. Then I began noticing the trees. They were everywhere, all over people's fields. And they were all shaped into narrow, tall, inverted cones, very unlike the famous flat-topped African acacia trees.
I also began noticing that, intercropped with the millet, people were growing patches of cowpeas, peanuts, fonio and Bambara nuts. These crops, too, were doing well.
"Yes. The cowpeas and the Bambara nuts fertilise the soil, as does the fonio." Most of these crops are legumes that fix nitrogen, thereby supplying the plant a vital nutrient, the lack of which is responsible for much of the Sahel's low crop yields. Fonio, however, is a grass. It doesn't fix nitrogen, but it produces a tremendous number of roots. This, too, is important: when they die, the Fonio roots provide a huge amount of essential organic matter to the soil.
"It's the trees," one man said.
"Furthermore," another man injected, "the crops do better in the shade, as long as there isn't too much. They don't like being out in the terrible heat all day, any more than we do." And he was absolutely right. All lowland tropical crops without shade stop growing for two or three hours in the middle of the day because it becomes too hot for them to continue functioning.
"Ah, so that's why you have all those trees in your fields," I added appreciatively, just to encourage them to tell me more.
One of the reasons I love agronomy is that I learn something new almost every day of my life. This method of pruning trees could be useful virtually anywhere in lowland, drought-prone Africa, which comprises something like 30% of the entire continent. The Dogon of Koro had found a simple, inexpensive solution to farming in a drought-prone zone.
In the last 20 years, rapid population growth has meant that the average African farm family is left with less than 2 hectares of land. This makes fallowing impossible – there is not enough land to let trees or grass grow back to fertilise the land with their organic matter.
The system used to keep the soil fertile for at least 2,500 years is now in its death throes. As the organic content of the soil decreases, it gets harder, forming a think, slab-like crust. Instead of infiltrating into the soil, 90% or more of any rainwater just washes off. The little water that does remain, wetting the soil to a depth of 1 or 2 cm, evaporates within a couple of days in the hot sun. Starved of water and nutrients, devoid of organic matter, the soil turns into desert.
The only durable solution is to plant a combination of plants that fertilise the soil and boost its organic matter right along the cereal crops, like the Dogon's use of cowpeas, Bambara nuts and fonio grass in their millet fields. These provide people with food while acting as a fallow at the same time. The increase in organic matter allows rainwater to sink into the soil and boosts its ability to keep that water within the root zone of the crops. These densely planted intercrops and the native trees that have been left in the fields shade the soil, thereby helping the soil to maintain all that extra moisture.
So why did those few fields along the highway north from Segou grow so well? Virtually all African farmers know that cow and goat manure is good for their soil. Each year before the rains come, they carry tons of this material out to their fields. But none of them has enough to fertilise all their fields. Therefore, they tend to apply nearly all the manure near their homes, because the impact of the manure is about the same wherever they apply it, but the transportation costs are lowest for the fields nearest the village. And, of course, there tend to be more trees near the villages, too. Once fields have plenty of manure, the rainwater penetrates the soil, rather than running off, and the organic matter, along with the tree shade, helps maintain the moisture in the soil. In their own way, in a few fields right near their villages, these people had recreated the Dogon system. And once again, where they had done so, the effects of the "drought" had vanished.
So the rapid increase in the impact of droughts over the last 15 years is not primarily caused by a decrease in total rainfall. Rather, it is due to deforestation and the decrease in soil organic matter, caused by the slow death of fallowing.
If we can change these two conditions, the Dogons of Koro won't be the only Sahelians who produce bumper harvests right in the middle of the Sahel's infamous "droughts".
Is it realistic to hope so? Decades of support has seemingly done little to dent the pervasive poverty affecting the country and its neighbours. This would suggest that pessimism is in order. But the link between poverty and extremism has long been recognised. For example, the EU's External Action Service addressed both security and development in its 2011 Security and Development Strategy for the Sahel. And last year's push into southern Mali by AQIM and the consequent French intervention focused minds. In November, the Commission proposed a vast new aid package for the Sahel worth 5 billion euros. Resilience and agriculture and food security are duly mentioned. And a plethora of initiatives, from the Great Green Wall to AGIR-Sahel, also deal with the root cause of the country's underdevelopment.
Whether that flood of fresh money does some good will depend on one thing about all: whether donors and aid workers understand the dynamics of farming in the Sahel's drylands, and learn to integrate locally evolved and adapted solutions in their remediation programming.


About five armed robbers in Ogun state engaged the operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in a gun battle, one was shot dead while the remaining four gang members escaped but not without trails of gun-shot injuries.
The robbers had, according to the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, invaded a block of twelve flats within the Ibara Housing Estate in Abeokuta metropolis.
The fully armed robbers were said to have stormed the building at about 1:00am on Friday, November 9, 2018, and were already dispossessing occupants of one of the flats of their valuables when a distress call was sent to the police.
A co-inhabitant of the robbers-besieged building was said to have sent a distress call to the police, to which the State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, promptly directed the officer in charge of FSARS, SP Uba Adams, to quickly mobilise his men and move to the scene and rescue the situation.
According to him, items recovered at scene comprised of GSM handsets, four laptops, computers, wallets and some other valuables, belonging to the residents of the compound.
The Commissioner of Police (CP), Ahmed Iliyasu, has ordered a massive manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang with a view to bringing them to justice within the shortest possible time. He equally warned criminals to stop testing the Command's resolve and will-power in crime fighting as they will always meet their waterloo whenever and wherever they operate within the State", the PPRO stated. Items recovered.


text:
You are visiting the "Books" page. The links in the box to the right will take you to sub-pages within the "Drovers" section. The links with asterisks in front will return you to either the parent or "Home" pages.
Eddie agreed to share some words about some of the books he wanted to recommend. He wrote:
"There are a number of good books that tell the story of the Drovers. For centuries, Drovers/Herdsmen have relied on dogs to drive and control their beasts, and it is safe to say that the Bearded type of collies were the preferred type. Before the coming of the railroad and the motor wagon, all stock went by road (drove road that is). A drover and perhaps a boy on foot or sometimes on a pony would be moving approximately 50 or 60 beasts in their care. At it's peak, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 animals were being driven through the streets of London each day.
In the North, Drovers and Dealers would go into Scotland and buy cattle/sheep to be driven back into England to be fattened on the lush grasslands of Yorkshire and East Anglia to feed the ever increasing towns and cities and also to feed his Majesty's large Navy and Army."
Eddie recommended the following books:
Drovers
Drove Roads of Scotland, by Haldane, A.R.B.
The Drovers: Who They Were and How They Went by K. J. Bonser
Recollections of an Argyllshire Drover and other West Highland Chronicles by Eric R. Cregeen; Edited by Margaret Bennett
The Drovers by Shirley Toulson
Highland Drove by John Keay
Welsh Cattle Drovers by Richard Moore-Colyer.
While the Wild Geese Fly by Donald Cameron
The Lochaber Drover "Corrychoillie" by Alistair Cameron
Highland Cattle Galore by Una F. Cochrane
The Drovers Highway by Roy Saunders
Drove Roads of Northumberland by I. Roberts, R. Carlton and A. Rushworth
The Famous Highland Drove Walk by Irvine Buterfield.
Recommended Book on Reivers
The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers by Alistair Moffat
Tales of the Border Reivers (Sandhill Press Ltd.)
The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser
Recommended Book on Breeds of Cattle
Farm Stock of Old by Sir Walter Gilbey
CATTLE Images
*Drovers
*History
© 2011 Innovare Design. The majority of materials presented on this website are copyrighted by the original authors, etc. In addition, the appropriate forms have been filed with the United States Library of Congress in order to protect original authorship under 17 U.S.C. Sec. 102(a). Further, licensing fees have been paid for use of some images. Therefore, under the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law, as well as the Berne Agreement, for those countries honoring the Berne Agreement, you are hereby notified not to use, or copy, any materials on this website without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. Questions or Concerns? Please contact copyright@shepherdswithbeardies.com or info@shepherdswithbeardies.com. These two email addresses are not presented as links. They must be retyped in the address line for your email. This was done to avoid unnecessary junk email being forwarded to the website. Thank you for your understanding.


Kenmore Mercy Hospital has applied to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for the prestigious designation of Magnet. Magnet designation recognizes excellence in nursing services.
Your comments must be received by February 12, 2017.
A community meeting with stakeholders will occur on February 24, 2017 from 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. in the Community Room at Kenmore Mercy Hospital.
Friday, February 24, 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.


text:
Q: Changing Image quality for the iPhone 4 users in an iPhone app I want to display an image to my users which is larger than the screen area and will overscroll to let the users drag it around and zoom in.
Do I need different images with different dpi for iPhone 4 users because of the higher resolution?
Or can I just set the zoom level differently depending on device?

A: Yes, you need to use different images. iOS 4 will automatically detect a higher-res image if you name it with a @2x suffix. e.g. image.png => image@2x.png
https://developer.apple.com/iphone/prerelease/library/documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/SupportingResolutionIndependence/SupportingResolutionIndependence.html
(You must be a Registered iPhone Developer in order to see this document)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ans 1: Taxman assumes that house rentals in Delhi are still a lot higher than Gurgaon and Noida.
Similarly, according to government, cost of living is higher in Kolkata as compared to Pune, Bangalore, Gurgaon and other such non-metros.
Ans2: To compensate for the extra expenses incurred by women to make themselves look presentable for office.
Ans 3: To encourage daily commuters to use public transport (or start cycling) thereby reducing traffic congestion and pollution levels and also saving money in the process.
Ans 4: So that CAs and Lawyers can make a living out of it. And, Fisher can blog about it.
Ans 5: To simplify the tax laws for a CA student who was finding it difficult to comprehend the complex provisions of current tax laws. Now he can have a sigh of relief because probability of his passing the examination increases manifold.
Ans 6: Because it contains so many secrets.
Ans 7: Now there won't be any need to submit fake bills (Rent bills, LTA vouchers, Medical bills etc.) to claim the tax benefits. It was particularly a big headache to arrange bogus travel tickets and fake medical bills.
Further as the number of choices for investments for tax saving purposes stands reduced, the tax planning will become a lot easier. After depositing some amount in PPF, the balance will go to life insurance. In other words, DTC will make it easier for individuals to invest in life insurance. However, there's one pitfall also: you might have to run after your insurance agent because they will get too busy (now there won't be any need for agents to convince you any more regarding the importance of investing in life insurance product). It might also reverse the maxim "the insurance is sold and not bought".
Ans 8: The DTC will help companies reduce the work of HR & Accounts department because now there will not be any need to bifurcate your pay package into different components such as HRA, LTA, Medical reimbursement etc. And there won't be any need to collect all the evidence (rent receipts, LTA & medical claim vouchers) from the employees.
Ans 9: Because it is one of the best long term saving instrument available for your retirement.
Ans 10: Every transaction of purchase, sale or expenses exceeding Rs 50 need to be supported by a serially numbered bill / receipt containing the name, address and such other particulars as may be prescribed. And for expenditure less than Rs 50, payment vouchers shall be required.
Can you explain the answer to Q.9 in detail ? which policy ? what kind of return ??


in 1998, the band was formed by Doug Aldrich and Keith St John.
Ian Mayo & Alexx Macarovich (out of the band in 2001) joined the band and recorded the 1st album.
in 1999, The debut album "Burning Rain" was released, did promotional activities, and Japan Tour.
in 2000, the 2nd album "Pleasure To Burn" was released, and the debuted album was released in Europe.
in 2001, Performed at "Z Rock UK 2001", and "UltraSound 2001" in USA.