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Posted inMoney & Politics Column
GOP pressed on redistricting
by Bill Lueders September 3rd, 2013 July 29th, 2016 Why you can trust Wisconsin Watch
A remarkable advocacy campaign is happening in Wisconsin, involving media outlets, nonprofit groups and engaged citizens. They want to change — or at least discuss — how the state redraws voter boundaries .
Two mostly Democrat-backed bills, AB 185 and SB 163, would strip this task from politicians and give it to the Legislative Reference Bureau, a nonpartisan state service agency. This is similar to how redistricting is done in Iowa.
Wisconsin's last redistricting, after the 2010 Census, was done in secret and cost taxpayers more than $2 million. Ruling Republicans strategically carved districts to maximize their electoral prospects, much as Democrats would had done had they been able.
Consider: In the fall 2012 elections, Republicans won five of the state's eight congressional seats, six of 11 contested state Senate races, and 56 of 76 contested Assembly seats — despite getting fewer votes statewide than Democrats in all three categories.
This system for letting politicians pick their voters, rather than the other way around, has long been opposed by Common Cause in Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
Their cause got a boost in mid-August with the publication of editorials in papers including the Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton Post-Crescent, Beloit Daily News, La Crosse Tribune, Chippewa Herald, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Oshkosh Northwestern and Janesville Gazette.
The idea was hatched by Scott Milfred and David Haynes, the editorial page editors of, respectively, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, along with Neil Heinen, editorial director of WISC-TV in Madison, which aired an editorial on the topic.
Milfred says the trio considered this an important issue that "didn't look like it was going anywhere." So they appealed to editorial boards across the state: "We thought more voices saying the same thing at the same time would be more likely to prompt action."
The editorials called on state Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, and Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, who chair the committees where the redistricting bills languish, to allow public hearings.
"What are you and your Republican leaders afraid of?" chided the Janesville Gazette.
The bills are similar to ones that went nowhere in the past, including when Democrats controlled state government. GOP lawmakers including Lazich think the current bills should go nowhere too.
"Granting redistricting power to an unelected, appointed board would do little to remove the redistricting process from the political realm," wrote Lazich in an column run by the State Journal and Journal Sentinel. "Rather, it would merely move the political maneuverings to an unaccountable board, beyond the reach of the electorate."
In other words: If you don't like what the party in power does to make it harder to vote its members out, all you have to do is vote them out.
The response from State Journal readers helped answer the Janesville Gazette's question. All 13 letters that ran the following Sunday sided with the paper and against Sen. Lazich, with some noting the irony of Lazich using the banner of democracy to deny a public hearing.
Milfred says preference is given to "publishing reader views that disagree with our editorial board's positions," but in this case not a single such letter was received. In fact, the paper got more letters supporting its position than it had space to run.
Several editorials urged citizens to contact the offices of Sen. Lazich and Rep. August, but neither office would say what sort of response it received. An aide to Rep. August said the office only tracks constituent contacts, then failed to provide information on these.
Sen. Lazich, through staff, did not respond to requests for an interview or to say whether the reaction made her reconsider.
But Milfred is optimistic that a hearing will be held: "With that many voices across the state supporting a hearing, I'd be surprised if they'd just blow that off."
by Bill Lueders, Wisconsin Watch

GOP pressed on redistricting

by Bill Lueders, Wisconsin Watch
September 3, 2013

A remarkable advocacy campaign is happening in Wisconsin, involving media outlets, nonprofit groups and engaged citizens. They want to change — or at least discuss — how the state redraws voter boundaries .

Two mostly Democrat-backed bills, AB 185 and SB 163, would strip this task from politicians and give it to the Legislative Reference Bureau, a nonpartisan state service agency. This is similar to how redistricting is done in Iowa.

Wisconsin's last redistricting, after the 2010 Census, was done in secret and cost taxpayers more than $2 million. Ruling Republicans strategically carved districts to maximize their electoral prospects, much as Democrats would had done had they been able.

Consider: In the fall 2012 elections, Republicans won five of the state's eight congressional seats, six of 11 contested state Senate races, and 56 of 76 contested Assembly seats — despite getting fewer votes statewide than Democrats in all three categories.

This system for letting politicians pick their voters, rather than the other way around, has long been opposed by Common Cause in Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Their cause got a boost in mid-August with the publication of editorials in papers including the Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton Post-Crescent, Beloit Daily News, La Crosse Tribune, Chippewa Herald, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Oshkosh Northwestern and Janesville Gazette.

 The idea was hatched by Scott Milfred and David Haynes, the editorial page editors of, respectively, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, along with Neil Heinen, editorial director of WISC-TV in Madison, which aired an editorial on the topic.

Milfred says the trio considered this an important issue that "didn't look like it was going anywhere." So they appealed to editorial boards across the state: "We thought more voices saying the same thing at the same time would be more likely to prompt action."

The editorials called on state Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, and Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, who chair the committees where the redistricting bills languish, to allow public hearings.

"What are you and your Republican leaders afraid of?" chided the Janesville Gazette.

The bills are similar to ones that went nowhere in the past, including when Democrats controlled state government. GOP lawmakers including Lazich think the current bills should go nowhere too.

"Granting redistricting power to an unelected, appointed board would do little to remove the redistricting process from the political realm," wrote Lazich in an column run by the State Journal and Journal Sentinel. "Rather, it would merely move the political maneuverings to an unaccountable board, beyond the reach of the electorate."

In other words: If you don't like what the party in power does to make it harder to vote its members out, all you have to do is vote them out.

The response from State Journal readers helped answer the Janesville Gazette's question. All 13 letters that ran the following Sunday sided with the paper and against Sen. Lazich, with some noting the irony of Lazich using the banner of democracy to deny a public hearing.

Milfred says preference is given to "publishing reader views that disagree with our editorial board's positions," but in this case not a single such letter was received. In fact, the paper got more letters supporting its position than it had space to run.

Several editorials urged citizens to contact the offices of Sen. Lazich and Rep. August, but neither office would say what sort of response it received. An aide to Rep. August said the office only tracks constituent contacts, then failed to provide information on these.

Sen. Lazich, through staff, did not respond to requests for an interview or to say whether the reaction made her reconsider.

But Milfred is optimistic that a hearing will be held: "With that many voices across the state supporting a hearing, I'd be surprised if they'd just blow that off."

The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Tagged: Common Cause in Wisconsin, David Haynes, redistricting, Rep. Tyler August, Scott Milfred, Sen. Mary Lazich, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, wisconsin democracy campaign
2 replies on "GOP pressed on redistricting"
rolandmelnick
Roland Melnick says:
September 4th, 2013 at 8:52 PM
In summary: It's only a problem when Republicans do it.
Rebecca Katers says:
Response to Roland: Did you read this article? The author clearly explained that BOTH Democrats and Republicans share the blame for allowing such a corrupt process to persist in Wisconsin.
Though I can understand why you might be irritated by Democrats, how does that EXCUSE the horrifically unethical actions of Republicans in the most recent round of redistricting?
Please forget your partisan loyalty for a while and act like a patriotic American who believes all American elections should be honest and above board no matter who is currently in charge.
NONE of us should defend election rigging by ANY political party.
Every member of the Republican Party in Wisconsin should be able to see how dangerous this kind of manipulation is to the long-term survival of a "Representative Republic" like ours.
Political party manipulation of district voting boundaries in order to win more elections is unethical and intolerable in America. PERIOD.
Holding closed partisan meetings to set such boundaries secretly is profoundly unacceptable in America. PERIOD.
Spending $2 million taken from taxpayers to achieve such corruption would be considered OUTRAGEOUS anywhere. PERIOD.
It doesn't matter which Parties got away with such corruption in the past … it's WRONG. This is not how our elections are supposed to work.
American elections are supposed to be shining examples of honesty, equality and fairness … for the whole world to see and copy. It's embarrassing that NOW the world can plainly see that most American elections (and law-making processes) are heavily corrupted by big money influence and a host of unethical dirty tricks like this. America has become a disgusting example of how NOT to run honest elections. We should all be ashamed of ourselves.
As a first step towards recovering at least minimal election honesty, we ALL need to stop this particular type of redistricting corruption from ever happening again by:
1. demanding that redistricting authority be taken away from partisan politicians and given to a respected team of long-term non-partisan professional staff, such as those in the Legislative Reference Bureau,
2. demanding that the legislature set clear, reasonable, STRICT rules to be followed by the staff while redrawing boundaries, to keep the process honest and consistent.
3. demanding that this process be conducted only at open, accessible public meetings, after reasonable public notice. All correspondence and records used in the process should also be easily and quickly accessible by the public.
4. requiring that a final decision be made only AFTER a draft plan is publicly circulated statewide and AFTER a written public comment period and public hearings have been held throughout the state. The public comment period should end only after giving the public at least 30 days to study and discuss the maps.
In the meantime, we must demand IMMEDIATE action to dump the Republican's corrupt district maps right away and put HONEST maps in place well before the next election (candidates need to know their campaign boundaries). We could temporarily revert to prior maps, and/or have a mixed team of judges fast-track fair and reasonable interim maps to use until the next formal redistricting process.
Republicans should not be rewarded for their unethical and un-American behavior by letting them benefit AGAIN and AGAIN from their self-serving rigged maps in upcoming elections. It's bad enough that they got away with this fraud in the last election on a huge scale. We can't let it happen again.
Many people in this state are currently "represented" and ruled by individuals who shoved democracy aside and used partisan trickery to steal political power away from rightful winning candidates who would better represent the wishes of the majority of Wisconsin voters.
In other words, several of our state legislators and federal congress members are unethical frauds.
Correction can't wait another 6 or 7 years until the next redistricting is completed after the 2020 census.
Not ONE more Wisconsin candidate should be allowed to "win" election dishonestly because of these corrupt maps.
Every patriot should immediately recognize the urgency here and demand immediate corrections. We CAN'T allow Wisconsin's elections to continue as blatantly rigged JOKES.


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홈Headline
Headlines, August 7, 2018
President Alassane Ouattara of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
Discloses Ambassador Kouassi Bile of Cote d'Ivoire in Seoul at recent interview
Bilateral trade nearly doubles in 3 years since arrival of Cote d'Ivoire envoy
The volume of trade between Korea and Côte d'Ivoire nearly doubled from US$120 million in 2012 at the beginning of the tour of duty of Ambassador Sylvestre Kouassi Bile in Seoul to US$230 million in 2015. Speaking at a recent interview with The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news media outlets since 33 years in 1985, Ambassador Kouassi Bile predicted "The outlook is good, and we believe the bilateral trade will continue to grow over the years to come and we hope to double this volume in 2020." Development of relations, especially the growth of economic cooperation and trade between different countries of the world, is considered very, very important these days and in this respect Cote d'Ivoire has been in good hands judging from the figures of the bilateral economic relations. Asked how Korean companies are doing in Cote d'Ivoire, Ambassador Kouassi Bile replied: "The Korean companies are gaining growing popularity in Cote d'Ivoire. Their presence in my country is remarkable by their proven expertise in the areas where they are already involved--such as power plants construction, roads, infrastructures, digital economy, and eventually construction of hydroelectric dams and bridges."
(For further details, visit: http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=7323)
Round-up of important news from major Korean, international dailies, other news sources today:
The Korea Post media (www.koreapost.com) in English, (www.koreapost.co.kr) in Korean.
U.N. guidelines to boost S. Korea aid plan for N. Korea
South Korea is expected to resume a government-led humanitarian assistance program for North Korea, spurred by new related U.N. guidelines, an official said Tuesday. A year earlier, the government decided to provide the impoverished neighbor with $8 million worth of aid materials, such as nutritional products and vaccines through the World Food Program and UNICEF. But the move came to a halt amid increased tensions attributable to the North's continued provocations. The budgets remain unused. The U.N. Security Council, however, approved a U.S. proposal on facilitating humanitarian assistance for the North reported to be suffering from a drop in food production and a hike in the number of malnourished people.
Gov. Kim heads home after overnight interrogation in opinion rigging probe
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo returned home early Tuesday after undergoing an 18-hour questioning by special prosecutors over his alleged involvement in a massive rigging of online political comments led by a power blogger. Kim emerged from the special counsel's office at about 3:50 a.m., looking fatigued but wearing a smile. "I explained myself sufficiently and in detail," he told reporters. "I cooperated with the investigation with confidence."
South Korea's economic recovery is being hampered by weakening domestic demand, although exports remain relatively sound, a state-run think tank said Tuesday. "Export growth has been maintained, but domestic demand growth is weakening, putting a drag on the pace of economic improvement," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. The think tank said exports remain relatively positive, led by semiconductors, while investments are stagnant and consumption improved only at a moderate pace, indicating that domestic demand is somewhat weaker.
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
UN Adopts US-drafted Guidelines Aimed at Speeding Humanitarian Aid to N. Korea
The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted guidelines to speed the delivery of humanitarian aid to North Korea in the face of strong sanctions against the regime. The United States last month proposed the new guidelines to allow aid groups and UN agencies to quickly obtain exemptions from the council committee that oversees the implementation of sanctions. Dutch Deputy UN Ambassador Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, whose country chairs the sanctions committee, said that none of the 15 council members objected to the plan, and it would be circulated among all 193 U.N. member states.
Governor Kim Denies Opinion Rigging Allegations
South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo returned home early Tuesday morning after being grilled for more than 18 hours in a probe on his alleged involvement in an opinion rigging scandal. Kim told reporters that he confidently participated in the probe and the independent counsel team did not present strong evidence to prove allegations against him. The special probe team suspects the governor colluded with the power blogger "druking" to manipulate political comments online in order to sway public opinion in favor of President Moon Jae-in during last year's elections.
Nuclear Envoys of S. Korea, China Discuss Formally Ending War
The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and China on Monday discussed the issue of declaring a formal end to the Korean War. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told reporters that he met with China's Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou in Beijing to discuss the progress of the declaration. Lee made the remarks at Beijing Capital International Airport, adding Kong also shared what he discussed with North Korea during his recent visit to Pyongyang.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
KEPCO shares sink over cut in energy bills amid heat wave
South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) saw its share price plunge in recent trading sessions over a series of bad news, including the government's planned cut in electricity bills over a blistering heat wave, analysts said Tuesday. On Monday, KEPCO skidded 2.51 percent to finish at 31,050 won (US$27.56), which is the lowest level since July 19. Over the past four sessions, the share price dived 7.25 percent to erase 1.44 trillion won in its market capitalization. The rout primarily came, according to analysts, as the government is set to temporarily cut the energy bills as part of efforts to ease burdens for the public suffering from a scorching heat wave that has been gripping the whole nation for several weeks.
Police raid local firm in probe of its claimed discovery of Russian shipwreck
Police raided the office of a local company Tuesday, which claims to have discovered the wreck of a sunken Russian warship from the early 20th century, as part of a probe into allegations that it may be a scam. The white collar unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent 27 investigators to search the premises of Shinil Group in Yeoido, western Seoul, and seven other locations to confiscate evidence, the agency said. Shinil Group announced on July 15 it found the wreck of the Dmitrii Donskoi, a Russian warship that disappeared in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. It released submarine footage of what it claimed to be the wreck beneath the waters off Ulleung Island, east of the peninsula.
S. Korea bans sale of 59 drugs used to treat high blood pressure
South Korea's drug safety watchdog said Monday that it has banned Daebong LS Co., a local maker of valsartan, from selling and making the active ingredient meant to treat high blood pressure over a cancer-causing substance in the drug. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has also prohibited 22 South Korean pharmaceutical firms from selling 59 products that contain valsartan made by Daebong LS. The move came as some of the valsartan made by Daebong LS has been confirmed to have N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) levels above 0.3 ppm.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Gov. Kim grilled over allegations of colluding with Druking
Kim Kyoung-soo, a provincial governor and key aide to President Moon Jae-in, was questioned by special prosecutors on Monday over allegations that he colluded with a power blogger to manipulate political comments online in order to sway public opinion. Kim, governor of South Gyeongsang Province, appeared in front of the independent counsel team's office in Seoul at 9:30 a.m. He denied his involvement in the opinion-rigging case.
Declining construction investment worsens unemployment
Weakening construction investment is cited by economists as a key reason for the country's deteriorating unemployment and decelerating growth. According to a recent report from the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea, the on-year increase in domestic construction investment, which averaged 7.6 percent in 2017, dropped to 1.8 percent in the first quarter of this year and minus 0.7 percent in the following three months.
Public toilets to be monitored to crack down on spycam porn in South Korea
Public bathrooms in all transportation hubs in South Korea, including airports, bus terminals, metro and train stations, will be regularly monitored as a measure to better deal with secret cameras installed in public toilets, as well as spy cam pornography that has been prevalent in the cyberspace in the country, its government announced Sunday. Spycam pornography, locally known as "molka," generally refers to secretly produced, sexually exploitive videos or pictures of women in public spaces, such as restrooms and subways, among others. Such contents have also been created and shared online by victims' ex-boyfriends, typically in retaliation with the intent to damage the women's future job and marriage prospects.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
The forgotten survivors of atomic bombs
More than 220,000 people were killed by the atomic bombs the United States dropped on Japan during World War II. However, what is little-known is that up to 50,000 of those who died were Koreans. During Japan's 35-year colonial period, many Koreans were forced to settle in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as laborers. Some had no choice but to flee their homeland after they had been stripped of everything they had. Lee Su-yong, 90, was seven years old when she went to Hiroshima with her family in search of food and a better life. She attended schools there and eventually got a job at a state bank. Everything seemed fine until Aug. 6, 1945 ― the day that changed her life forever.
Korean-American NYT reporter in hot water over anti-white tweets
A newly hired Korean-American journalist at the New York Times (NYT) is under fire after her old anti-white tweets were revealed. Sarah Jeong, 30, posted a string of offensive and apparently racist messages a few years ago, including #CancelWhitePeople" and "white men are bulls***." One tweet read: "Oh man it's kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men." The paper's recent announcement that it was hiring Jeong sparked negative reactions from many who were offended by the tweets. Thousands of people have condemned her on her Facebook and Twitter pages.
Heat wave a boon for shopping malls
Lotte World Mall was crowded as visitors flocked to the giant shopping mall in southeastern Seoul to avoid the scorching heat on Saturday afternoon. They had to wait about an hour to grab a bite to eat at most restaurants and coffee shops there throughout the day. "I cannot imagine walking outside in this weather," said a 28-year-old woman who visited the mall to watch a movie at Lotte Cinema. "I expected the mall would be crowded at people, but there are not many options to choose in the scorching heat."
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Coal Exports Are a Lucrative Business for N.Korea
North Korea is going all out to export coal by illicit means despite UN Security Council sanctions because it is a major cash cow for the military and other organs. Hong Song-won, who headed a military coal mine in the North until he defected in 2008, told the Chosun Ilbo on Sunday, "If coal exports stop, foreign-currency revenues will dry up and the coal mines will close." "Coal has been a steady source of foreign currency since the Kim Jong-il era," Hong said. "When coal exports started generating lots of money starting in the mid-2000s, the North Korean military and other agencies got in on the action and started their own mining businesses."
2 Koreas Exchange Names for Family Reunions
South Korea handed a final list of 93 people and North Korea a list of 88 for family reunions at Mt. Kumgang on Aug. 20-26. Liaison officials solemnly swapped the lists in the truce village of Panmunjom last Saturday. The 93 South Koreans will meet long-lost relatives from the North on Aug. 20-22, and on Aug. 24-26, the 88 North Koreans will be reunited with their relatives from the South. The original target had been 100 people from each side, but since candidate are very elderly more than 60 years after the war, some are unable to travel.
BMW Catches Fire Despite Passing Safety Check
Another BMW 520d sedan caught fire in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province on Saturday despite having previously passed a safety check. It was the fourth spontaneous combustion in a week. Experts say the incident shows that BMW's account of the cause of the fires cannot be trusted. "I wonder if BMW really has any idea what causes the fires," one expert said. BMW blames the exhaust gas recirculation module in diesel cars but fires also broke out in four gasoline models in the first half of this year, which are not covered from a massive recall this time.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
North Korea evades sanctions through ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products
North Korea's primary means of evading UN sanctions is by transferring petroleum from one ship to another in international waters, a panel of UN experts said in a new report. This report was published amidst extensive press coverage of claims that North Korea has been illegally importing refined petroleum products from China and Russia, which has elicited stern warnings from the US. According to AFP, the report, which is composed every six months by an expert panel that reviews the implementation of UN sanctions, was submitted to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea on Aug. 3. "[North Korea] has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and continued to defy Security Council resolutions through a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products, as well as through transfers of coal at sea during 2018," the panel wrote in its report.
North Korean foreign minister releases statement denouncing unilateral denuclearization
"We believe that a method involving the balanced, simultaneous, step-by-step implementation of all terms in the Joint Statement, preceded by the establishment of trust, is the only realistic means of achieving success." This was the statement of principles and methodology stated by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho for implementation of Joint Statement from the North Korea-US summit on June 12, as announced on Aug. 4 in a speech at the 25th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Singapore Expo convention center.
Nuclear power plant project in UK stirs controversy in South Korea
A new nuclear power plant effort currently being pursued in the United Kingdom is becoming the focus of debate in South Korea. The controversy began with news on July 31 that the Japanese company Toshiba cancelled the Korea Electric Power Company's (KEPCO) priority negotiation partner status in its bid to sell off NuGen, the company responsible for developing the proposed Moorside nuclear power station in northwest England. Toshiba's decision has been viewed by most as a strategic move to draw a faster decision from the South Korean side as it scrambles to resolve its management woes by selling off its NuGen stake. But the issue has created controversy as the South Korean nuclear power industry and some media have portrayed it as a case of the Moon Jae-in administration's "post-nuclear power policy" robbing KEPCO of a hard-won overseas nuclear power plant project opportunity.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
N. Korea points out U.S. officials' passivity
After a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump was delivered to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the North made a mix of appreciative compliments to Mr. Trump and critical comments on U.S. State Department officials in charge of road maps for denuclearization. According to analysis, such a two-pronged reaction to the letter has intended to maintain the U.S.-North dialogue channel with emphasis on trust in U.S. President Trump, and weaken hawkish positions toward North Korea within the U.S. administration.
KIST scientists develop a thread-like solar cell
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Samsung, LG to unveil new smartphones this week
The global smartphone market is expected to face more intensified competition in the second half of the year with smartphone makers coming up with their latest products. Samsung Electronics will take the wrap off its "Galaxy Note 9" at the "Unpacked event" to be held in New York City on Thursday (local time) while Apple and Huawei are set to unveil their strategic premium smartphones next month. Following the V35 ThinQ launched July 6, LG Electronics has introduced a mid-range model "Q8" to expand its product lineup. Amid Chinese smartphone manufacturers' rapid rise in the market, South Korea's tech giants have employed various strategies such as an early release and the diversification of a lineup.
JoongAng Ilbo (http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/)
Younger Koreans largely oppose refugees, survey shows
In contrast to the United States and many countries in Europe, where the younger generation tends to be more accepting of refugees, results from a JoongAng Ilbo survey released on Sunday showed the opposite in Korea: Older age groups were more welcoming of refugees. The country remains starkly divided on how to handle more than 500 Yemenis who arrived on Jeju Island earlier this year seeking asylum from civil war, taking advantage of a visa-free program on the resort island. Younger women in particular expressed the most concern about refugees in the survey.
Finance minister visits Samsung, meets with Lee
Kim Dong-yeon, minister of finance and economy, paid a visit to Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek campus in Gyeonggi on Monday to discuss future growth drivers and regulations with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Their conversation centered around four themes - semiconductors, artificial intelligence, 5G connection and bio - as the key framework for Samsung's growth in the future. Lee used the occasion to ask the government to ease regulations in the bio industry, the minister told reporters after the meeting.
More rich trade Gangnam for Gyeonggi
Korea's rich used to be heavily concentrated in Seoul, but they're now flocking to Gyeonggi in droves. They're also shifting toward safer places to keep their money, such as bank deposits, as the local stock market has remained lukewarm, according to findings announced by KB Financial Group in this year's Korea Wealth Report, which was released on Monday. According to the study, the number of Koreans with a net worth of more than 1 billion won ($888,000) in financial assets increased by 15.2 percent last year over 2016 to 278,000. The richest Koreans' combined wealth amounted to 646 trillion won, up 17 percent jump from a year ago.
The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Red Wave of 70,000 Women in Gwanghwamun Square: Anger Raging Hotter than the Heat Wave
Women who had taken to the streets near Hyehwa Station, Seoul since May criticizing the police's partial investigation of illegal filming and photography moved to Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul this time. Contrary to the expectation that the number of participants would decrease due to the record-breaking heat wave and the WOMAD controversy, 70,000 women (according to the organizers), the largest number for a single women's agenda, took part. Crude slogans defaming and mocking the other disappeared and the protest continued to grow as women in their forties, who had been reluctant to take part, joined in.
Supreme Court Rushed a Sentence on Lee Seok-ki to Turn Cheong Wa Dae's Attention Away from a Bribed Judge
On August 2, it was confirmed that the Supreme Court under Yang Seung-tae had planned to and actually did fast forward the ruling on Lee Seok-ki (56), former lawmaker of the Unified Progressive Party, to turn the attention of Cheong Wa Dae and the public away from a case on Choi Min-ho (46), a former judge who was arrested on charges of bribery in early 2015. When the Supreme Court designed and executed the plan, the court said, "Cheong Wa Dae is critical of the judiciary after the court accepted the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union's request to suspend the enforcement of a notice defining the union as an illegal union," and mentioned, "This might seem in contrast to the Constitutional Court's decision to disband the Unified Progressive Party." In other words, the Supreme Court had no respect for the separation of the three branches of government and simply tried to use a trial to appeal to Cheong Wa Dae.
Fiery Peninsula Kills 29 People
The management office of one apartment compound in Jung-gu, Daejeon has been broadcasting announcements asking residents to save power for several days. "Power consumption increases after 7 p.m., so please turn off your air conditioners and washing machines." Resident Choi (70) said, "I worry every night that we might have a blackout." People are consuming more electricity in the sizzling heat, and a number of apartment compounds throughout the nation have experienced blackouts.
AJU Business Daily (http://eng.ajunews.com/korea)
Police raid treasure hunting firm in probe on investment fraud allegations
Police raided the office of Shinil Group, a marine salvaging firm which claimed to have discovered a sunken Russian warship full of gold, on allegations of investment fraud. The police raided eight locations including the office of Shinil Group in western Seoul on Tuesday. Shinil Group is reported to have closed down recently after the company was accused by investors that its claims about the Russian shipwreck are nothing but a scam.
LG to release Q8 budget smartphone this week
To attract cost-conscious consumers, LG Electronics will release "Q8", a large-sized budget smartphone, this week. The South Korean smartphone maker said in a statement on Monday that it will release its new budget smartphone later this week. Q8 comes with a price tag of 500,000 won ($444). It has a 6.2-inch display a stylus pen, a wide-angle front camera and as a 1,600-megapixel rear camera.
Chinese tech company to release LINE character-themed drone
Chinese technology company DJI partnered with LINE FRIENDS, a character brand lineup of smartphone messenger LINE, to release its first characterized drone. DJI said in a statement on Monday that the company released "LINE FRIENDS (BROWN) Spark RC Combo", a ready-to-fly drone package in DJI flagship stores and online shops in the United States, China, Hong Kong and South Korea. The package includes Spark, DJI's entry-level drone bearing a design of popular LINE character Brown, a remote controller and other important parts such as extra propellers, a battery and a USB charger. The Spark combo comes with a price tag of $399, the world's top drone maker said.
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Hyosung doubles its share in ASEAN tire cord market to 40% in 2 years
Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp., an industrial materials unit of South Korea's Hyosung Group, has nearly doubled its presence in Southeast Asia's tire cord market in just two years, with aims to further cement its dominance in the rapidly burgeoning market. The Korean company said Monday its combined market share in the tire cord segment in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam jumped to 40 percent this year from 22 percent in 2016. Its client roster in the four countries has also grown from two to 12 over the same period.
S. Korea bans 59 additional hypertension drugs for cancer risk
South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday banned the sale of additional 59 locally-manufactured high blood pressure drugs containing valsartan made from active ingredients imported from China that are suspected to have high level of a cancer-causing substance. A recent probe conducted by the country's drug safety watchdog found that above-permitted levels of a chemical that could cause cancer were found in locally-manufactured valsartan made with the Chinese ingredient. Following the latest finding, the ministry temporarily banned the sale of 59 high blood pressure treatments containing the valsartan manufactured by 22 Korean pharmaceutical firms.
Huawei's Nova Lite 2 priced at $225 to hit Korean market next week
China's smartphone giant Huawei Technologies Co. will release its budget smartphone Nova Lite 2 priced at 253,000 won ($225.31) in the South Korean market next week after receiving pre-orders from Monday to Sunday. The Nova Lite 2 that comes in three colors - black, blue and gold - will be available at online shopping malls including KT M Mobile, G Market, Auction and 11st Street in Korea. The distributors are SK Networks Co. and Shinsegae Information & Communication.
What's ticking around the world at this second?
See what the world media around the world have to report:
USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com
The New York Times www.nytimes.com inytletters@nytimes.com
Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com support@wsj.com, service@wsj-asia.com
Financial Times www.ft.com ean@ft.com
The Times www.thetimes.co.uk help@timesplus.co.uk
The Sun www.thesun.co.uk talkback@the-sun.co.uk
Chinese People's Daily www.people.com.cn kf@people.cn
China Daily www.chinadaily.com.cn circulation@chinadaily.com.cn
GwangmyeongDaily www.gmw.cn webmaster@gmw.cn
Japan's Yomiuri www.yomiuri.co.jp japannews@yomiuri.com
Asahi www.asahi.com customer-support@asahi.com
Mainichi www.mainichi.jp
Le Monde www.ilemonde.com
Italy LaRepubblica www.quotidiano.repubblica.it vittorio.zucconi@gmail.com
Germany Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung www.faz.net anzeigen.ausland@faz.de
SüddeutscheZeitung www.sueddeutsche.de forum@sueddeutsche.de
Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com
Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.com bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en
Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net
The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com
LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en
The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net
Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com
Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu
The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.
Azerbaijan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM
Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s
Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE
And many other countries.
Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


On February 9th, join Sherrod for a round table in Berlin, NH to talk about how we can bring back the dignity of work to America. This event is free and open to the public. We hope you'll gather your friends, family, and coworkers to join us.


Want to find out the best places to eat on holiday or how to stay active whilst you're away. From culture and history to health and wellbeing, whatever your interests, we've got it covered.
Whether you're looking for the perfect destination to say 'I do' or just a few days in your favourite city. We've got plenty of ideas to give you inspiration for your next getaway.


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Born Francisco Braña Perez on February 24, 1934 in Pola de Allende, Asturias, Spain, Francisco first became a stuntman and then an actor. He was one of the mainstays in the Italian/Spanish co-productions of the 1960s and 1970s. Appearing under such pseudonyms as Frank Blank, Frank Branya, Francisco Braña, and Paco Braña he became one of the most recognized faces in the Spaghetti western genre. Appearing in Leone's "Dollar Trilogy", we soon recognized his graying hair and dark eyebrows which were unmistakable when we saw him in later films. Braña and Aldo Sambrell share the same agent, Aldo's wife, so they appeared together regularly during the heyday of the Spaghetti Westerns. Braña has appeared in over 200 films and over 50 westerns. Still active today he recently received an award for Best Actor by the University of Navarre for his performance in "El viejo y el mar" (The Old Man and the Sea). An interview with this great character actor can be found in issue #73 of Westerns…All'Italiana. Happy 75th birthday Frank Braña.
En algunas biografías he leído como fecha de nacimiento 1929.......


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HomeNews1News RomaniaRomania: Former finance minister says he was tricked by prosecutors
Romania: Former finance minister says he was tricked by prosecutors
Categories:	News Romania, SEE News
Former Romanian finance minister Darius Valcov accused the anticorruption prosecutors of deceit saying they promised him an easy sentence if he admitted to committing influence peddling after which they came up with new charges against him.
At a High Court hearing, Valcov said that the prosecutors gave him two options: to admit his guilt for the influence peddling changes and get a 3-year suspended jail sentence or to be charged with money laundering, in which case the prosecutors would have also continued the searches at his sister's home in Switzerland, reports local Agerpres.
The former minister said that the National Anticorruption Directorate's chief prosecutor assured him that the deal was agreed. However, he said he was tricked because the prosecutors also started to investigate him for money laundering.
Darius Valcov, a former finance minister in the Victor Ponta cabinet, was held in April 2015 on influence peddling charges. The prosecutors found tens of valuable paintings during the investigation, which Valcov kept at his friends and relatives. They believed the paintings may have been purchased with money received from corruption deeds.
Romania Insider


We are excited to offer this 2013 Acura TL. This vehicle is loaded with great features, plus it comes with the CARFAX BuyBack Guarantee. Today's luxury vehicle is not just about opulence. It's about a perfect balance of performance, comfort and attention to detail. This 2013 Acura TL is the perfect example of the modern luxury. The TL Advance is well maintained and has just 78,957mi. This low amount of miles makes this vehicle incomparable to the competition. More information about the 2013 Acura TL: Thanks to its aggressive styling, the TL stands out in its class; its two separate models cater separately to comfort-oriented buyers and performance enthusiasts. Although the TL is not priced particularly low, the sum of technology features offered in the TL is better than most other mid-size luxury cars. Interesting features of this model are high-tech features, roomy interior, Distinctive styling, and ride quality We look forward to seeing you soon! Please call us for more information.


Customers seeking supreme temperature control will appreciate this high-quality travel mug.
Comes in a variety of colors. Holds 16 oz. of fluid. Retains liquid heat for five hours and cold for nine hours. Leak-free lid built with an interior tea bag holder. Sweat-free design.
Lid can be a little difficult to clean. Branding stickers troublesome to take off product.
This exceptionally rated travel mug is perfect for buyers wanting a larger steel container.
Self-sealing technology keeps mug leak-proof between sips. Keeps drinks hot for five hours and cold for 12. Comes in large and small sizes, alongside a variety of colors.
Many customers had issues with mold growing on the lid without proper maintenance.
An inexpensive, fun gift for photography aficionados and fun-loving travelers alike.
Designed as a look-alike camera lens. Holds 11 oz. of liquid. Included lid built comes with a small hole that can be opened and closed for easy sipping.
Lid tends to leak. Many customers had trouble distinguishing the real product from various knock-off mugs.
Buyers interested in outdoor exploration may be interested in this camping-inspired travel mug.
Included lid built with a small opening and closing hole for sipping. Lid is dishwasher safe and BPA-free. Customers love the retro-camping look. Keeps liquid hot and cold for hours.
Mug must be hand washed. Customers wished the cup had better temperature control.
The ideal pick for buyers wanting a travel mug specifically designed for coffee and tea.
Stainless steel interior and exterior makes for a sleek, stylish design. Included lids are spill-resistant. Dishwasher safe. Outside stays cool even when holding boiling liquid.
Lid made of plastic. Some buyers complained of the handle being too thin.


Professional dog training equipment has helped a lot of pet handlers. You will be more successful in exercising your four-legged companion with specialized bite pillow at hand. Experienced makers with participation of cynologists have manufactured the gear to be widely used as the foundation of bite training. It is a long-lasting tug that makes a good drive-building mean and a reward. Do you want to have a stronger, athletic and self-confident dog? Start his training with this pillow. It is undesirable to switch to sleeve training before making a pet getting accustomed to a bite pillow. This bite pillow bridges the gap between a bite sleeve and a bite tug.
Made of high quality stuff this equipment is completely safe for usage. Due to careful stitching the tool will stand the bites of even the strongest canine.
Featuring three strong handles the pillow grants more convenient usage. This tool is great for bite development in puppies and adult dogs. The handles give the helper a more secure comfortable grip. Owing to availability of these handles you are better protected from the bites. After necessary drilling with this pillow the time period for which is to be defined by professional dog trainers you can freely engage your Rottweiler in later stages of dog bite development. Do develop skills of a large and active canine citizen as soon as possible! This very equipment will be of invaluable use for you if you learn how to handle it correctly.
This pillow is complete with jute cover. The cover will protect it from early damage. You can order this pillow with two different covers (french linen and jute) and use it for two different dogs. Thus you don't have to buy second pillow. Buy one with two covers and enjoy training your dog or dogs for longer period of time.


My never ending love of nature has always been the main driving force behind my artwork. The uniqueness and bizarreness of so many creatures utterly fascinates me. Recently I have been creating some artworks which reflect this, particularly the wonderful weirdness of insects. By combining intensive studies of nature and my own bizarre twisted additions, largely inspired by a play on words relating to the creature in question, I have created a collection of monstrous mini beasts for your enjoyment.


Does anybody know of a similar effort for Silverlight ?
As far as I know, no for now.
I think (hope ) it should not be difficult to port this on the last Silverlight version.
But is there any way to specify that i want all text that do not start with "Test"
And is there any way to filter on time and date?


I love carrot cake. Like really, really love it. The light crumb studded with walnuts and raisins, the cream cheese frosting, the fact that it counts as a serving of vegetables (no? it doesn't?). Since I can't get away with regularly eating carrot cake for breakfast or snacks, I've come up with a good solution: vegan carrot muffins.
These muffins aren't like most in that they aren't cupcakes masquerading as breakfast. They look a little like cupcakes thanks to that dreamy coconut whipped cream, but the ingredients are actually very wholesome, which is why I'm calling them "hippie" carrot muffins! They use whole grain spelt flour, almond milk, a flax "egg", a little coconut oil, lots of shredded carrots, and some coconut sugar for sweetness. You can decrease the coconut sugar even further (see my recipes notes) if you want a just barely sweet carrot muffin, or fold in some raisins too if you like. Right before serving them, I like to add a generous sprinkle of cinnamon to make them extra cozy and comforting.
If you've been craving carrot cake but want a healthier, less sugar-bomb option to enjoy, give these vegan carrot muffins a try! You might even have all 10 simple ingredients on hand already, plus they only take 30 minutes to make!
P.S. Still thinking about real-deal dessert carrot cake? I hear you. Bake up some of these vegan carrot cake cupcakes. They'll make your carrot-cake-loving heart sing.
Easy vegan carrot muffins made with whole grain spelt flour and lightly sweetened with coconut sugar. They're topped with a simple, dairy-free coconut whipped cream and take just 30 minutes to make!
Make the muffins: Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease or line a muffin pan. Prepare the flax egg by combining the ground flax seeds and warm water. Stir and allow it to thicken for 3 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond milk, coconut sugar, vanilla, and prepared flax egg. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix the batter until just combined, then mix in the coconut oil (doing this last prevents it from clumping). Fold in the shredded carrots. Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling each tin to the top. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
Make the coconut whipped cream: Open the can of coconut milk and scoop out the top layer of solid coconut cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. (side note: save the remaining coconut liquid for smoothies!) Mix the coconut cream, powdered sugar, and salt on low speed until combined, then crank it up to high speed for 1 more minute until light and fluffy. Spoon a dollop on each muffin (or pipe it on with a piping bag) then sprinkle with cinnamon.
For just barely sweet muffins, decrease the coconut sugar to ⅓ cup.
For more natural sweetness, fold in ½ cup raisins with the carrots.
I like to use an ice cream scoop to evenly portion out the batter into the muffin tins. For this recipe, I use one full scoop per muffin tin.
*I use Trader Joe's full-fat, canned organic coconut milk. You can use your favorite brand, but be sure to stay away from coconut milks with stabilizers and gums because the cream won't separate even when refrigerated.
Leftover coconut whipped cream can be stored in a container in the fridge for 5-7 days. The whipped cream will harden when cold, so mix it on high speed until it's light and airy again before using.
Adapted from my Oil-Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
im sold on the topping mostly 😛 i will have to make these for breakfast very soon!
These muffins look really good!! Muffins have always been some of my favourite things.. can't wait to try this!
Such a great recipe name! haha I do have all of these ingredients so these muffins will be happening ASAP!
I made these this afternoon and they turned out great! I followed your recipe and your suggestion to add raisins. These muffins are my new favorite. Thank you!
That whipped cream is positively heavenly. Pinned for later this weekend!
I made these and didn't have any coconut oil on hand so I subbed 1/4c unsweetened apple sauce. Also baked them in a jumbo muffin pan & they came out wonderfully. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear that your substitutions were a success! I think I need a jumbo muffin pan in my life—sounds amazing!
I don't have spelt flour. Can I use whole wheat pastry flour instead? And if so his much?
These muffins are incredibly moist and flavourful. Adding to my favourites list!
I don't have spelt flour, can I use gluten free flour? Would it work out? Thank you!
A gluten-free baking blend should work!


This 3 page paper provides an overview of an entrance essay for a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology, with the addition of three paragraphs for different types of programs.
This 4 page paper is an entrance essay for clinical psychology.
A 3 page admission essay for a PhD program. The applicant seeks to focus on economic research that has the ability to effect economic and social change in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically as those changes depend on foreign direct investment. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
A 4 page paper discussing reasons for applying to an educational counseling bridge program for practice in Texas. The student has experience working with middle and high school students and is interested in working against the growth of dropout rates. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Possible Career Directions: Marine Biologist or Personal Trainer?
A 4 page discussion of these potential career directions. The student choosing an occupational path has a number of considerations to take into account. Even fields as apparently unrelated as Marine Biology and Physical Education (a field often pursued by Personal Trainers) in reality have a number of similarities in regard to certain coursework and career paths which could be chosen. Such fields also have a number of distinctions which the student should consider. This paper considers each. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Essay Title: Possible Career Directions: Marine Biologist or Personal Trainer?
This 3 page paper provides an overview of an admissions essay for an MBA program.
This 3 page paper is a tutorial for an admissions essay appropriate for a returning student. In this situation, a student is returning to school after taking some time off to spend with his dying mother. The essay explains how this experience prompted him to realize that education matters. No bibliography.
A 4 page letter of application for a Master's Degree Program in Education. The writer comments on why she/he is changing careers (from marketing to teaching), on certain personal characteristics, such as being a life-long learner and discusses their interest in and the importance of learning styles and using approaches that encourage participation, such as cooperative learning. The writer reflect on how ten years in marketing experience is beneficial to teaching. No Bibliography.
This 6-page paper features sample business letters including letter of complaint to a company sending junk mail, a sales letter promoting Orlando, and a letter making a correction to defective merchandise.


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The assassination of Abraham Lincoln and how two Irishmen might have prevented it
Abraham Lincoln died 153 years ago today at Ford's Theater, cut down by the rabidly pro-slavery actor named John Wilkes Booth. With Lincoln on that fateful night were several Irish, including his driver and valet, who played significant roles.
IrishCentral Staff
Abraham Lincoln died 153 years ago today at Ford's Theater, cut down by the rabidly pro-slavery actor named John Wilkes Booth.
With Lincoln on that fateful night were several Irish, including his driver and valet, who played significant roles.
In this extract from his new book "Lincoln and the Irish"-The Untold Story," Niall O'Dowd relates their rarely told history.
An exclusive excerpt from "Lincoln and the Irish: The Untold Story".
Just six days after Appomattox, Lincoln was shot. Irishman General Phil Sheridan's boss General Grant stated that the deed was "too horrible to contemplate with composure."
And so the eternal questions will be forever asked: How had it happened? Why was the president not protected properly? Much went back to the events directly prior to the assassination when Lincoln's bodyguard, John Parker, disappeared.
Charlie Forbes would also play a huge role that night, a role that has never been explained. On that dreadful night, the man who drove the Lincoln horse and carriage to Ford's Theatre was Irishman Francis Burke, a controversial figure to this day. Accompanying him as valet was Charlie Forbes, also from Ireland and a Lincoln favorite.
Forbes was a general servant, footman, personal attendant, and occasional driver sometimes charged with looking after Tad Lincoln, the couple's son. He was beloved by the Lincoln family, and was one of the very few Irish that Mrs. Lincoln tolerated.
Charles Forbes
Old Abe liked kidding his Irish employees, especially Charlie. A story by Tom Pendel, who worked in the White House for thirty-six years, confirms that. On one occasion, President Lincoln, when riding near the Soldiers' Home, said to his footman, named Charles Forbes, who had but recently come from Ireland, "What kind of fruit do you have in Ireland, Charles?" To which Charles replied, "Mr. President, we have a good many kinds of fruit: gooseberries, pears, apples, and the like." The President then asked, "Have you tasted any of our American fruits?"
Read More: The Irishman who tracked down Abraham Lincoln's assassin
Charles said he had not, and the President told Burke, the coachman, to drive under a persimmon tree by the roadside. Standing up in the open carriage, he pulled off some of the green (unripe) fruit, giving some of it to Burke and some to Charles, with the advice that the latter try some of it. Charles, taking some of the green fruit in his hand, commenced to eat, when to his astonishment he found that he could hardly open his mouth. Trying his best to spit it out, he yelled, "Mr. President, I am poisoned! I am poisoned!" Mr. Lincoln fairly fell back in his carriage and rolled with laughter.
Forbes would be the footman on the carriage that brought Lincoln to Ford's Theatre on that fateful night of April 14, 1865. Francis Burke would be the driver.
Mary Lincoln wore a black and white striped silk dress and a matching bonnet; Lincoln himself wore a black overcoat and white kid gloves, and carried an Irish linen handkerchief in his pocket. Lincoln's coat was woolen, specially tailored for him by Brooks Brothers of New York. The weather had changed; it was a foggy, misty night.
In an 1892 affidavit, Forbes briefly described his last ever interaction with Lincoln at the White House:
Tad (Lincoln's son) had given me a picture that morning and I still had it in my pocket. . . . When the last visitor had departed and I had helped him on with his great coat, I remembered the picture and said. "Mr. President, Tad gave me a photograph this afternoon and I wish you would put your name on it." "Certainly, Charlie," replied the president and picking up a pen he wrote his name on the photograph and that was the last writing he ever did. For I accompanied him in the carriage, and was with him from the carriage to the theater.
Read More: Born on this day in 1806 was an Irishman who dueled with Lincoln
In the same affidavit Forbes, writing twenty-five years after the event, remembered he was in the booth with Lincoln but there is no record of that. He was in the anteroom, which he might have considered was part of the presidential box.
Unlike so many others, Forbes never tried to cash in on his fame as Lincoln's employee, nor did he sell off Lincoln items like other household members did.
Lincoln was also close to his driver, Edward (also called Francis) Burke. When Burke left the White House temporarily on March 4, 1862, Lincoln wrote him a glowing reference and gladly took him back a few years later.
"Edward Burke, the bearer of this, was at service in this Mansion for several months now last past; and during all the time he appeared to me to be a competent, faithful and very genteel man. I take no charge of the servants about the house; but I do not understand that Burke leaves because of any fault or misconduct."
Burke had been in a spot of bother with Lincoln earlier in his administration, refusing a request from the president's staff to fetch Lincoln a newspaper, saying it was not his job.
Incensed, Lincoln himself went out on the street and bought one from a newsboy. The following morning, he ordered Burke to arrive at six a.m. and bring one of Lincoln's sons to fetch the newspaper. Burke learned his lesson.
April 14th, 1865 should have been a glorious night for Burke's passenger. "Six hundred thousand Americans had died in the Civil War," James Swanson, who has written two books about Lincoln's death, told NPR. "That war was finally coming to an end. Lincoln had freed the slaves. He had ended secession. There would be no more dying. And Lincoln was filled with joy."
In 1865, Burke gave evidence of his actions on that fateful night.
On April 25, 1865, he gave a statement. It read: "Francis Burns, [sic] the driver of the president's coach, states that on the night of the murder of Mr. Lincoln, he drove him to the theater and stayed at the door until the tragedy occurred. The Special police officer and the footman of the president came up to him to take a drink with them; which he did; but he does not remember anyone else coming up to him in particular, those there were several who asked him questions. He does not know who they were."
The evidence is that Burke, as described, would drop off the presidential party and wait for them to come back at the conclusion of the play.
Read More: Lincoln had an engraved Irish linen handkerchief in his pocket the night he died
Burke was described as a big burly Irish coachman who was known to have a fondness for booze, and it is highly unlikely he just had one scoop at the Star Saloon. He was invited to the bar during intermission by the Irish footman Forbes and, unbelievably, John Parker, the police officer who was supposed to be guarding the president's box.
Parker was a complete misfit, previously disciplined for drinking and insubordination. He was once found in a whorehouse while supposedly on duty, and argued the madam had sent for him. He was one of four Washington policeman assigned on a rotating basis to Lincoln, and fate would have it that he was on duty that night. The President of the United States was being solely guarded by a drunk buffoon, who on the night in question was sneaking off to the nearby bar for secret drinks.
Burke, by his own admission, left the carriage and, in the company of "two of my friends," went next door to Peter Taltavull's Star Saloon for an ale. It seems that Forbes and Parker started the drinking session and got Burke to join them. At the trial of conspirator John Surratt in 1867, more than two years after the assassination, there was this exchange between Burke and Defense Attorney Richard Merrick:
MERRICK. Were you on the box most of the night?
BURKE. I was all the time that night, with the exception that two of my friends whom I knew asked me to go in and take a glass of ale with them. I left a man in charge of the carriage until I returned.
MERRICK. At what time did you go in and take a glass of ale?
BURKE. I think after the first act was over.
MERRICK. How long did you remain taking that glass of ale?
BURKE. I suppose about five or ten minutes.
MERRICK. And then returned to the carriage?
BURKE. I then returned to the carriage and went on to the box.
MERRICK. Did you remain there?
BURKE. Yes, sir.
MERRICK. I understand you to say you remained all the time on the box, with the exception of these five or ten minutes.
BURKE. I remained after the carriage first came.
MERRICK. Did you observe anybody coming round your carriage and peeping into it?
BURKE. No; I took no notice. They may have passed by. I saw no one looking into the carriage. I did not see anybody.
MERRICK. You did not go to sleep, did you?
BURKE. Oh, no.
Burke did reveal that his two friends were the "special police officer and the footman of the President." The ill-conceived drinking sessions may have cost Lincoln his life, as Parker should have been on guard when John Wilkes Booth came to hunt down the president.
Crowd of citizens and soldiers with Abraham Lincoln, during the Gettysburg Address.
Earlier that day, Burke had been privy to the last extended conversation between Mary Lincoln and her husband. With the Civil War won, democracy saved, and slavery defeated, Lincoln had wanted to take a celebratory carriage drive.
He told his wife, "I consider this day, the war has come to a close. We must both be more cheerful in the future—between the war and the loss of our darling Willie—we have both, been very miserable." Lincoln told her he wanted to see the Pacific Ocean and perhaps after his second term they would move back to his beloved Illinois. He dreamed of a better future and of no longer sending young men to war.
He had saved the Union, and was hell bent on reconciliation and forgiveness. When crowds in the hundreds of thousands turned up on the White House lawn after Lee's surrender, Lincoln told the band to strike up "Dixie," the Southern anthem. He would heal, not divide.
Read More: Lincoln and the Irish - the untold story
The fact that he did not live to carry out his plans haunts America even today.
On the fateful night night, Lincoln's party (Burke driving and Forbes seated beside him) arrived at Ford's Theatre at around nine p.m. The play Our American Cousin had started. There is strong speculation that the assassin watched the coach arrive to verify the president was present. The orchestra struck up "Hail to the Chief," and a huge standing ovation ensued. There were a thousand people present. Usher James O'Brien escorted the presidential party to the private box.
The star attraction was British actress Laura Keene, who would end up cradling the dying president's bleeding head on her lap. Ironically, it was an Irish play, The Colleen Bawn, which had made her famous. Written by Dion Boucicault, it had the longest-ever run on the British stage.
She had debuted My American Cousin, ironically written by Tony Taylor, a rabid British opponent of Lincoln who later repented, at the eponymous Laura Keene's Theatre in New York in 1858 and was showcasing it in Washington with most of the original cast. Henry Clay Ford, one of three brothers who owned the theater, had been delighted to receive the hand-delivered note from Mrs. Lincoln that she and the president would attend that night—and General Grant too, though he later bowed out.
It was one up for the Fords. Their main rival theater was showing Aladdin full of nineteenth century special effects. Tad Lincoln and his chaperone would attend that show.
The early confirmation allowed the Fords to crank up their PR machine, newsboys and posters displayed all over Washington saying that the president and General Grant, just days after Appomattox, would be present. It was Good Friday, usually a hard day to fill a theater, but not this year. It was also Laura Keene's thousandth performance in the role, a special night for her—and the president would be there!
Lincoln took his seat. The partition between box seven and eight, a wooden construction, had been taken away. The president's rocking chair was ready for him. The lights went down after the ovation and the play continued. The bad days of the Civil War were doubtless on his mind. It had been a very close-run thing, saving this thing called democracy, by the people and for the people
John Parker had been seated as the security outside the box, and then, at intermission, he joined the footman Forbes and coachman Burke in the Star Saloon next door to Ford's Theatre.
John Wilkes Booth was also in the Star Saloon, plucking up Dutch courage. William Withers, the orchestra leader, also nipped out for a drink. He saw Booth "standing at the bar in his shirt sleeves, his coat thrown over one arm." Booth was the first person he met. Withers recalled someone made a joke at Booth's expense. "I remember seeing an inscrutable smile flit across his face and he said, 'When I leave the stage for good, I will be the most famous man in America.'"
Young Abraham Lincoln
He drank whiskey with water and smoked a cigar. He was one of the most famous actors in America, almost every woman fawned over him and he was a racist through and through. The thought of the death of slavery and the loss of the slave state that secession would have created incensed him.
Read More: Abraham Lincoln donated to Irish during the Great Hunger
Booth entered the theater he knew so well shortly after ten. The murder plot was set in motion.
Forbes too was back at his place, sitting inside the anteroom to the presidential box. As the president's valet, he could be called on at any time. The second act began. What Booth saw was Forbes, a 30-year-ol large, hulking Irishman, seated but not blocking the door to the inner vestibule leading to boxes 7 and 8, which had been joined together to make the presidential box.
Booth stopped to speak to Forbes. What they said to each other has never been reported as Forbes was never officially interviewed, which is incredible. What document did Booth use to get past Forbes? Was it a business card or, as some say, a letter? Others say he dropped the name of an influential senator to get access to the box. That scenario would explain why Forbes was never interviewed, or if he was, it was destroyed.
Either way, Forbes, a mere valet, would have recognized the name as that of the famed actor. According to Lincoln historian James Swanson, Forbes had previously admitted a military messenger carrying a dispatch.
Booth was now inside the vestibule leading to the box and was expecting to encounter security, in this case John Parker, the resident bodyguard. But Parker was either still in the Star Pub or was sitting elsewhere to get a view of the play. It has never been confirmed which. Lincoln was defenseless when the assassin approached.
As for White House doorman Tom Pendel, he claims he warned John Parker to be vigilant as Parker was the sole security agent, tasked with being present when the president arrived and leading him safely into Ford's Theatre.
"John, are you armed?" he asked, before Parker left the White House
Alphonso Dunn, another doorman and part of the Irish clique, stated, "Oh, Tommy, there is no danger."
Pendel says he replied, "Dunn, you don't know what might happen."
He was right on that. Pendel would stay at the White House thirty-six years and remarkably would witness the aftermath of two more assassinations, President Garfield and President McKinley. It was Lincoln who was on his mind, however, when he sat for a late-life interview. "What a just man was the president," he said—an interesting description of the man who saved the Union.
A fellow presidential bodyguard, William H. Crook, held Parker directly responsible for Lincoln's death. "Had he done his duty, I believe President Lincoln would not have been murdered by Booth," Crook wrote in his memoir. "Parker knew that he had failed in duty. He looked like a convicted criminal the next day."
Read More: The Catholic plot to kill Abraham Lincoln
Crook served twelve presidents and had taken the morning shift on the day Lincoln was assassinated. Eerily, Lincoln told him he had dreamed of being assassinated three successive nights. Crook, worried about his safety, begged him not to go to Ford's Theatre, but Lincoln dismissed his concerns.
After the passing of the president, Burke drove Mrs. Lincoln back to The White House. She was in a bad way, and repeatedly saying "That house, that house," while glaring at Ford's Theater as they left. Even a stone would have wept for her; she would outlive three of her four sons and her husband in her sad life.
After that night Burke faded into obscurity and is buried in an unmarked grave in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Forbes was never interviewed by newspapers about his recollections of the night. He too died, and was placed in an unmarked grave; later, a headstone noting his role with Lincoln was erected. Mary Lincoln wrote him a warm letter afterwards, making clear she did not blame him, and Robert Lincoln employed him when he was Secretary of War.
On November 12, 1983, Irish Ambassador Tadgh O'Sullivan officially unveiled a new tombstone over the Forbes grave, noting his role with the Lincoln family at the Congressional Graveyard in Washington. A color guard was present.
But the question will always loom: What did Booth say to Forbes to gain entrance to the presidential box that night? In the end, the Irishman was Lincoln's last line of defense, but he was his valet, not his bodyguard. Charlie Forbes brought many secrets to the grave with him.
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton decided he wanted the crime scene photographed exactly as it was the moment Lincoln was shot. He called in Irish photographer Matthew Brady to take photographs of the interior of the theater, then the exterior of the president's box and the approach to the box and the anteroom. Brady had to use all his skill in the dimly lit theater.
It was a far cry from the triumphant days when he had photographed the aesthetically challenged candidate Lincoln in February 1860 and "photoshopped" him so well that Lincoln gave him much credit for winning the White House.
* Niall O'Dowd's new book "Lincoln and the Irish: The Untold Story of How the Irish Helped Abraham Lincoln Save the Union" is now available to buy on Amazon.


Run Middlewich is a Running Group for runners of all abilities.
Based in Middlewich, Cheshire, we aim to bring people together to run socially, get fitter and get faster. Whether you want to build up to a 5k, 10k or even if you want to run a Marathon, there are other runners of your ability who will support you. We meet twice a week at Middlewich Leisure Centre and have mixed ability groups, running various distances and speeds. If you're interested in coming along and joining in please get in touch.


The Bahamas - 180,000 Square Miles of Paradise - The Travel Agent, Inc.
THE BAHAMAS Brilliant turquoise water, gorgeous sandy beaches, excellent fishing and diving, quaint colonial villages, and lovely secluded coves.
The Bahamas boast brilliant turquoise water, gorgeous sandy beaches, excellent fishing and diving, and surroundings that range from quaint colonial villages to lovely secluded coves. The archipelago consists of more than 700 islands, cays, and inlets, encompassing 180,000 square miles of ocean space.
When visiting the Bahamas, you can choose from several distinct experiences. If it's the standard resort amenities you're after, you should head to Nassau on New Providence Island or Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island. Splashy Nassau, the biggest city and main port, is awash in pink colonial buildings, bustling street markets, upscale chain resorts, and great restaurants. Sister island Paradise Island is home to megaresort Atlantis with its opulent casino and fabulous water features.
In Freeport and Lucaya, the Bahamas' second-largest port, options range from frolicking with dolphins to perusing duty-free goods. Lucayan National Park highlights not only Grand Bahama Island's natural beauty but also its precolonial history: The Lucayan Indians used the local caves as a burial ground. A boardwalk leads through a mangrove tidal creek to the vast, mostly deserted sweep of Gold Rock Beach, and sea-kayaking offers an exciting way to explore the mangrove forest.
Those more interested in deserted beaches, sailing, diving, fishing and a generally slower pace will want to visit some of the many Out Islands (also known as the Family Islands), most of which are thinly populated or uninhabited, yet which offer all manner of activities plus a chance to experience charming vignettes of Bahamian life.
All the isles boast superb beaches, though a few stand out from the crowd. Nassau's Cable Beach is lined with hotels, as is Paradise Island Beach. Both beaches are often packed with people, but have the benefit of plentiful watersports.
Harbour Island, in Eleuthera, is known for Pink Sands Beach, which is truly rose-colored. And Taino Beach, on Grand Bahama, is a long, white-sand stunner. The white-sand beaches of Exuma Land and Sea Park are also exceptional. Treasure Cay on Great Abaco Island routinely wins awards for its white, fluffy sands.
Don't expect to find full banking services on all islands. Make sure you have enough cash if you go beyond the major islands. On the smaller Out Islands, you may have to pay cash for car rentals and accommodations.


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Julieta Aranda: Ghost Nets
Ghost Nets (Redes Fantasma)
May 24th – June 30th, 2018
Galería OMR is pleased to present Julieta Aranda's project Ghost Nets, an exhibition in two movements.
The first movement of the exhibition takes place downstairs –the new body of work that Julieta Aranda has created after her interest in ghost fishing and ghost nets. Upstairs is the second movement –Aranda's reflection on her own nets and connections with other artists. The second movement presents works by the invited artists: Saâdane Afif, Natalie Czech, Jean-Pascal Flavien, Liam Gillick, Pedro Neves Marques, Trevor Paglen, Spiritsfully X Fictions (Franck Audoux & Valerie Chartrain), Anri Sala, and Michael John Whelan, all of whom have been invaluable interlocutors and conversation partners, as well as sources of inspiration for the work of the artist throughout the years.
Bones… cannot be only architecture, material, support, structure, engine. We lack a real wild imagination about bones, about their function, about their knowledge. Lately, we all got fascinated by bacteria, we love the idea of being possessed by millions of microorganisms, we can even picture bacteria as a sort of de-centralized organ defying the historical and biological centrality of the brain. In bacteria we see connectivity, eloquence, the possibility of addressing collectively, we see them politically, so to say. Bacteria are our way of imagining both, nano-technology and artificial intelligence in an inside-out world.
Bones, on the contrary, belong to the silent land: we tend to represent them as the white cube of life, some sort of dull, but necessary structure that did not even have the chance yet for proper "bone-critique" or a bone revival. However, nothing further than the truth. Osteocalcin, a protein discovered in the last century, has been proved – only a decade ago – to play a crucial role in regulating blood sugar. In other words: who would have thought of bones as an endocrine organ? As playing a direct role in our memory and mood. E voilà! This is the reason why the protagonists of the last installation work by Julieta Aranda are bones. Bones are not only the carriers of life memory, but they are also their biggest preservers. They are not hard capsules that reveal the past to the present in their analysis, but active players against cognitive age-related decline. This exhibition connects their presence with another structure: a series of cubic structures now projected flat, so that we can see all their four faces. The cubes, that also exist as a physical installation, developed from her ongoing interest in crosswords as structures that help us to visualize the disparity between an image and its corresponding word. And so the cubes are a storehouse for words in the same manner that the ice of the polar caps is a storehouse of ancient forms of life. And so is the sand upon which the bones rest, also a storehouse of the million creatures of the seas that existed in a different time. And then there are the ropes –the "ghost nets" after which the exhibition is titled. The ropes are there marking the affinities, the links and accidents that string the narrative where all the elements of the exhibition play together, making visible the often invisible connections that bind us to things, to the world, to each other.
Aranda's work has always been interested in time, but also in other elements like water. You need to imagine this exhibition full of water, like an under-the-sea scenario, or like an exhibition taking place inside of an organ. The works are dry—but they are also not dry—because what fuels life is fluid and memory is not only data, but a fascinating form of wetness. Wetness is a trait of all life fabrics, and it is also the place of the female gender. It is this cryptic but effective way of interrelating abstract notions with their embodiment, with their invisible dimensions, with the potential fantasies on the possibility of a new type of life what defines the latest works of Julieta Aranda. Time is not an abstract notion that we may find embodied in natural and technological objects, time is also the element that allow all our organs to contemplate the possibility of a radical transformation in the way we fit ideas of power, and gender, and race, and life into the future.
Text by Chus Martínez


Are you an individual or organisation committed to improving the well-being of refugees and people seeking sanctuary?
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Whether you volunteer, support our campaigns or fundraise for us, everything you can do will make a real difference to the lives of refugees.
Supporting MRSN`s services or events can be your way of ensuring this happens. To reach as many refugees and asylum seekers as possible, MRSN needs more resources. The current economic climate we know is affecting everyone but any support in cash or in-kind would be truly appreciated and gratefully received. Maybe you have a particular interest in one of our projects and want to support it; maybe you have a venue you could let us have free of charge to run a fundraising event in; maybe your staff have skills they are willing to share with us; maybe you could donate items of equipment or goods we could auction or raffle.
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VCUQatar Presents Crossing Boundaries Lecture by Florian Ortkrass
As part of the Crossing Boundaries Lecture Series, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar) to present Florian Ortkrass from Random International with a lecture titled 'Minimal Information, Maximum Access' on Wednesday 21 January 2015 at 6 pm at the Atrium at VCUQatar.
Founded in 2005 by Stuart Wood, Florian Ortkrass and Hannes Koch, Random International is a collaborative studio for experimental practice within contemporary art. In his lecture, Florian Ortkrass will discuss perception, movement and behavior in relation to the work of Random International.
Random International responds to recent developments in cognitive science and new media by creating works that encourage an active relationship between people and their surrounding environments and explore behavior, reaction and intuition in relation to natural phenomena and the human form. The studio's 2008 piece 'Audience' reverses the roles of viewer and viewed within a spatial sphere, inviting onlookers into a hoard of small, anthropomorphic mirrors which then all turn to face them. Their ongoing 'Swarm Studies' use light to simulate collective behavior, creating an autonomous, illuminated swarm that responds to those in its vicinity. 'Rain Room', for which the studio is best known, was exhibited at MoMA in 2013, following its debut at the Barbican Centre in 2012. The immersive installation is an environment of perpetual 'rainfall' through which visitors can walk and yet remain dry.
In 2014, following a residency at Harvard University, Random International began new path of enquiry, considering the implications of life in an increasingly machine-led world. Resulting from these experiments, the developing body of work offers a new dialogue between person and object, with a focus on the entire body as medium for engagement. In an age where machines are intrinsically embedded in daily life, and have an increasing position of control, influencing human relationships, the artistic treatment of the man-machine relationship raises crucial and critical questions of identity and autonomy.
Free and open to the public, VCUQatar's Crossing Boundaries Lecture Series reflects the cross-disciplinary nature of the featured speakers who are representatives of excellence in creative and innovative thinking.
VCUQatar is the Qatar campus of the prestigious Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 1998 through a partnership with Qatar Foundation, VCUQatar offers students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting and printmaking, a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design.
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Convicted Felon Arrested for Child Endangerment, Possession of AK-47 at Bayview Public Housing Complex
AK-47 Bayview Randall Bass by Bay City News | December 4, 2014 11:25 pm | in Crime | 0
A convicted felon was arrested on suspicion of possession of an AK-47 assault rifle and related child endangerment at the Alice Griffith public housing complex in San Francisco's Bayview District on Tuesday morning, a police spokeswoman said today.
The San Francisco Police Department served a search warrant at a home on Cameron Way near Nichols Way at about 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, following a brief surveillance period, according to San Francisco police Officer Grace Gatpandan.
The occupants of the home were all detained while officers searched the residence, she said.
Police located an AK-47 assault rifle in the home and determined that the gun belonged to 52-year-old San Francisco resident Randall Bass, Gatpandan said.
Bass was placed under arrest at about 10 a.m. and booked into the Bayview District police station on suspicion of numerous assault weapon violations and child endangerment, she said.
No other suspects were detained as a result of the search.
According to Gatpandan, Bass is a convicted felon and therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms. The AK-47 was also determined to be an unregistered short-barreled rifle, which is illegal.
Gatpandan said Bass was additionally arrested for child endangerment because he had an illegal, unsecured weapon in a residence with children.
Bass also has a warrant for about $1,700 in unpaid traffic tickets, she said.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News


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In Beijing's Olympic bubble: police escorts, daily Covid-19 tests, rob…
January 13, 2022 admin 0 Comments in beijing s best, in beijing s fashion, in beijing s hair, in beijing s hits, in beijing s music, in beijing s wikipedia, in beijing showing, in beijing so, in beijing source, in beijing spaces
The National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the 'Ice Ribbon', the venue for speed skating events at the 2022 Winter Olympics, is seen in Beijing on January 3, 2022, a month before the opening of the games on February 4, 2022.
GREG BAKER / AFP
The games will be held in a "closed loop".
Participants move between a series of "bubbles" where in the designated venues and accommodation are located.
There will be no international spectators at the Beijing Games.
In a hived-off section of the Beijing airport, arrivals for next month's Winter Olympics are met by staff in white protective suits and undergo Covid-19 tests and swabs of luggage before being whisked in police-escorted buses to fenced-off hotels.
Unlike last summer's Tokyo Games, which took place in a porous "bubble", the perimeters of Beijing's "closed loop" are sealed and guarded – precautions that will be put to the test as the highly transmissible Omicron variant surges globally.
At the entrance to the Main Media Centre this week, security personnel guarded a locked gate, police cars sat nearby and signs on permanent fences warned those within the area of the "end of the closed loop".
Once inside, people cannot leave until they either depart the country or complete several weeks of quarantine. This includes about 20 000 Chinese volunteers and staff at the venues who will go into the loop.
Overseas participants, arriving mainly on special charter flights, go into the loop as soon as they land at Beijing Capital International Airport. Early arrivals say their buses had police escorts to their hotel.
Authorities are determined to create a physical obstacle between participants and the general population. On Sunday, Beijing officials warned locals to stay away from designated Olympic transport vehicles in the event of a traffic incident.
READ | Stay away in event of accident with Olympics means, Beijing police warn
The loop, which began on January 4 and will open fully by January 23, according to state media, covers sealed-off sections of Olympic venues and designated accommodation, amounting to a series of bubbles. Participants are required to move between them using designated transport.
Organisers have said they expect Covid-19 situations in the bubble, but additional on Tuesday they don't plan any changes to their protocols unless there are many situations inside the loop. They declined to say whether or how many Covid-19 situations had been found among personnel who had arrived consequently far ahead of the Games, which start on February 4.
There will be no international spectators at the Beijing Games, and organisers have however to say how many local spectators will attend.
Daily tests, green codes
China has largely managed to curb the local spread of Covid-19 since it first emerged in the central city of Wuhan two years ago, all but closing its borders to travellers. Unlike in Tokyo, where the Olympics were postponed by a year, there has been little doubt that the Beijing Games would proceed on schedule.
"Ultimately I think it will be difficult for China to prevent extensive Omicron transmission, but the Olympics themselves should be manageable because they are a discrete event that can be firmly controlled with huge resources applied to the task," said Michael Baker, professor of public health at the University of Otago in Wellington.
Everyone in the loop must have a daily PCR test administered by staff. In Tokyo, tests were largely self-administered.
READ MORE | How China is keeping to its strict 'zero Covid' strategy
To leave their accommodation, participants must first examine their pass and wait for a green code to confirm they've had a negative test consequence within the last 24 hours.
Food delivery from restaurants outside the loop is not allowed. At the main press centre, some of the food is prepared and served by robot chefs that assemble hamburgers and deliver dishes to tables from an overhead grid.
More than 2 000 international athletes are set to come to China for the Games, along with 25 000 other stakeholders, according to organisers, a large number from overseas. Organisers did not say how many would be in the closed loop.
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Local ePapers
Row over who cut the lifeline of local library
Geraldine Gittens Twitter Email
A ROW has erupted among councillors in south Dublin over the closure of a vital library service.
Sallynoggin Branch Library, the area's only full-time library, is to close on Wednesday.
Fine Gael blames the closure on a staff embargo which means a retiring librarian in Sallynoggin cannot be replaced, but a Fianna Fail councillor insists the closure could have been prevented by the council.
Cllr John Bailey (FG) has insisted that councillors were not able to salvage the library, saying the decision to close was taken by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council management.
But Cllr Cormac Devlin (FF) who campaigned against the closure, insists that in the 2010 Council Budget Fine Gael and Labour councillors voted against keeping it open.
"The councillors who voted for this in the Budget meeting say it's an executive decision but the councillors still supported it.
"Sallynoggin has traditionally been seen as a deprived area and to close it is nothing short of a scandal," he said
"Fine Gael is not closing the library. The problem is that the Government has an embargo on staff. We're trying to get volunteers to go from April 12 to work in the library," Cllr Bailey said. A new voluntary community library will operate four hours a week in the Holy Child Community School in Sallynoggin. A DLRCC spokesperson said local authorities face huge challenges in relation to staffing, with approximately 20pc of library posts unfilled.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment confirmed that it only funds capital projects in the Library service, not staffing, but said: "There is a general control of (staffing) numbers across the Public Service, and local authorities must operate within these constraints."
hnews@herald.ie


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