Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I.) was the least bipartisan member of the Senate during the 114th Congress from 2015 to 2016, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The Lugar Center, a nonprofit public policy institution, and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy released a nonpartisan ranking of how each member of Congress worked together across party lines.
The Bipartisan Index "measures the frequency with which a member co-sponsors a bill introduced by the opposite party and the frequency with which a member's own bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party."
According to the Senate Scores Index for the 114th Congress, Sanders ranked last. Sanders, a self-declared socialist, was joined at the bottom of the list by Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), who was ranked no. 95; Jeff Merkley (Ore.), who was ranked no. 94; and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), who was ranked no. 88.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins, (Maine) was ranked in first place, followed by Sens. Joe Donnelly (D., Ind.) and Rob Portman (R., Ohio).
Sen. Ted Cruz came in at the second lowest score.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and then-Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) were excluded from the list. Current Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) came in at no. 72.
In the House Scores Index, Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) ranked close to the bottom at no. 413. Right below her on the list was fellow California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee.
Republican Rep. Peter King (N.Y.), ranked first place for the House, while one of his GOP colleagues, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), came in last.
House Speakers John Boehner (R., Ohio) and Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) were excluded from the list. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif) was ranked no. 58.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged Bernie Sanders, Congress, Elizabeth Warren, House of Representatives, Maxine Waters, Peter King, Senate, Susan Collins. Bookmark the permalink.


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Thu, 25 October 2018
Equality and elites
You'll be able to get a wheen o' ironing done this week chums as we offer up an extended, hour long, podcast.
Westminster takes up the first section with thoughts on Sir Paul Beresford's " I can't understand your accent" nonsense; Ian Blackford's sterling performances at PMQs, and the unsinkable Theresa May's "Christianity".
We move on to Nicola's Sturgeon's refusal to take part in the EBU's NewsXchange event after it was confirmed that Steve Bannon would also be attending. The BBC justifying his participation on his leading an "anti -elite" movement. Lesley reflects on this notion of the elite and how Trump and Farage have successfully articulated a reactionary ideology which has tapped into justified grievances.
The strike action by Glasgow City Council women workers over the 12-year equal pay scandal, not unsurprisingly, takes up a significant part of the podcast.
Lesley and I try to work our way through the competing narratives and reach different conclusions. Before you shout"Fight, fight!", it's all very civilised.
This is in stark contrast to my reaction to the news that she's planning on going to see the Queen movie, Bohemian Rhapsody.
Direct download: Equality_and_elites.mp3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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PHPUnit Testsuites
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Thick, supple wine colored bull leather bag.
A bit pricier than the standard cow leathers I use, a bit more luxurious as well.
Highest quality, US origin, full grain leather.
Simple unlined shoulder bag in port leather. Black leather strap, medium length, finished with double screws and an interior keyring.
Model is wearing 16in size in Port bull hide.


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Q: Android 'Complete action using' theme I would like to make an application that uses the same theme as the 'complete action using' app on Android 5. Does it even exist or do I have to write that on my own?

A: I finally found out, how to achieve this. The theme is: Theme.Material.Light.NoActionBar, then you need to add a fragment. Edit the theme so the activity is transparent:
<item name="android:windowIsTranslucent">true</item>
<item name="android:windowContentOverlay">@null</item>
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
<item name="android:windowIsFloating">true</item>
<item name="android:backgroundDimEnabled">true</item>

And finally set the background of the fragment to white.
android:background="@color/primary"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Prior to November 2018, ioneer Ltd was known as Global Geoscience Limited.
Global Geoscience listed on the ASX and one of the founders was current ioneer Managing Director Bernard Rowe.
The focus of Global Geoscience was to apply geological science and theory towards making a major greenfield mineral discovery.
Primarily exploring in and around Nevada, Global Geoscience entered into several exploration partnerships with major mining companies.
The Company's strong reputation led prospectors to bring a little-known lithium-boron project in southern Nevada to Mr Rowe.
He recognised that Rhyolite Ridge mineralogy was fundamentally different than other known sedimentary lithium deposits. At Rhyolite Ridge two thick sedimentary layers contain lithium and high-grade boron, and very little clay. This critical difference in why Rhyolite Ridge will become the lowest cost source of lithium in the world.
Global Geoscience secured ownership of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project and fully committed to its development.
The Company changed its name from Global Geoscience to ioneer Ltd to reflect its new focus and commitment to becoming an important producer of the materials necessary for a sustainable future.
In October 2018, the Company announced the results of a Pre-Feasibility Study that clearly showed that Rhyolite Ridge will be a structurally low cost and very long-life mine supplying two critical materials necessary for urbanization and energy efficiency.
In April 2020, the Company announced the results of a Definitive Feasibility Study validating the robust economics and viability of Rhyolite Ridge.


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HFW Middle East Enforcement Series: Observations on the First Two Years of the Joint Judicial Committee
For many UAE legal practitioners, the overnight creation of the Joint Judicial Committee ("JJC") in June 2016 was anticipated to be a major impediment to litigants seeking onshore recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Dubai via the then still relatively new conduit jurisdiction offered by the DIFC Courts.
However, two years on from the JJC's first decision issued in December 2016, many of the anticipated risks of the JJC have not materialised. In this article, HFW reviews the key decisions and trends which have emerged in the first two years of the JJC's jurisprudence.
Dubai's Joint Judicial Committee ("JJC") was set up in June 2016 pursuant to Decree No. 19 of 2016 to determine conflict of jurisdiction issues arising between the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts ("DIFC Courts") and the local onshore Dubai Courts ("Dubai Courts"). For many, the establishment of the JJC appeared to pose a direct threat to the newly-confirmed "conduit jurisdiction" of the DIFC Courts, which had only fully emerged the year prior in the DIFC Court of Appeal's decision in Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC v DNB Bank ASA [2015] DIFC CA 007. The founding of a conduit jurisdiction in the DIFC Courts was an important legal development in the UAE. It created a simplified and speedy common law route for foreign judgments and arbitral awards to be recognised in the DIFC Courts before then traveling to the local Courts to enforce against assets held onshore in the Emirates, with fewer avenues of challenge at that enforcement stage.
However, following the JJC's decisions, a number of which found in favour of the Dubai Courts, many UAE legal practitioners considered that the JJC's decisions would largely circumscribe the DIFC's conduit jurisdiction. Six more decisions later, those concerns remained, the JJC having allowed the DIFC Courts to continue exercising jurisdiction in four of eight matters. As a result, there was a general assumption that the creation of the JJC would equip parties with a further avenue of appeal, and particularly, a basis for defendants to disrupt a smooth recognition and enforcement process by invoking the JJC's jurisdiction, pursuant to which it has power to order the DIFC Court to cease exercising jurisdiction. Such litigation tactics are not unique to the UAE, and are faintly reminiscent of the infamous "Italian torpedo" tactic that prompted the overhaul of the EU jurisdictional rules in the Brussels I Recast.
However, a closer analysis of Decree No. 19 of 2016 and its treatment in two full years' worth of JJC Cassation decisions now highlights that there are (i) actually reasonably few circumstances in which the JJC's jurisdiction might be successfully invoked; and (ii) JJC jurisprudence tends to reject cases where a conflict is tenuously claimed by a challenging party.
The JJC in Numbers
Since its inception in June 2016, the JJC has issued 17 decisions in respect of the same number of referrals to the JJC. Over the same period, at least 150 cases have been commenced before the DIFC Court of First Instance ("CFI"). It follows that the intervention of the JJC has only been sought by parties in a relatively small percentage of cases – around 11% of overall DIFC CFI cases.
To date, the JJC has ordered that the DIFC Court cease exercising jurisdiction in only six of the 17 cases referred to it, (i.e. in 35% of referrals and 4% of DIFC CFI cases overall) 1. In three of those six cases, arbitration proceedings had been commenced before the Dubai International Arbitration Centre ("DIAC"), Dubai's main local arbitration centre, and were decided on the basis that the Dubai Courts (and not the DIFC Courts) should exercise supervisory jurisdiction over those DIAC arbitrations2. This included the situation where there were simultaneous annulment proceedings before the Dubai Courts and enforcement proceedings before the DIFC Courts in relation to the same DIAC arbitral award, as was the case in Daman Real Capital Partners Company LLC v Oger Dubai LLC3 (the inaugural decision issued by the JJC). In that case, the JJC held that there was a conflict of jurisdiction requiring the JJC's intervention, such that "only one of the two courts should determine to annul or recognize the…arbitral award".
In 2018, it is perhaps an unlucky coincidence that in one of the most recent and perhaps the highest profile JJC decisions to date the JJC referred a claim originally filed in the DIFC Courts to the Dubai Courts, and directed the DIFC Courts to cease exercising jurisdiction, on public policy grounds. In the now well-known JJC decision of Cassation No. 3 of 2018, which decided the fate of the £300m super yacht Luna MV, the JJC held that the Dubai Courts had jurisdiction over the claim (which was a claim for recognition and enforcement of an English Court judgment) instead of the DIFC Courts on the basis that the underlying case was a matrimonial dispute, rather than a commercial dispute giving rise to a money judgment. As has been the case in all but one of the JJC cases decided in favour of the Dubai Courts, the three DIFC Courts members unanimously dissented on the JJC panel.
JJC Decisions in favour of:
Dubai Courts DIFC Courts
No 1 of 2016 No 3 of 2016
No 7 of 2017
Of the eleven cases in which the JJC did not order the DIFC Courts to cease exercising jurisdiction, three of those related to claims brought in the DIFC Courts for the recognition and enforcement of foreign money judgments4. In four cases, the referring party had either agreed to DIFC-LCIA arbitration5 or had conceded in the course of the parallel DIFC Courts proceedings that the DIFC Courts did have jurisdiction6. In another two cases, the DIFC Courts had granted interlocutory injunctive relief in its supervisory capacity over DIFC-LCIA arbitration proceedings, which the JJC did not consider gave rise to a conflict of laws (at least at that time, although it acknowledged that a conflict could arise in the future)7.
Recalling the JJC's mandate
Under Article 2 of Decree No. 19 of 2016, the JJC's jurisdiction only extends to:
Art 2(1): Competing invocations of jurisdiction between the DIFC Courts and the Dubai Courts; and
Art 2(2): Competing judgments of the DIFC Courts and Dubai Courts.
At first blush, these heads of jurisdiction may seem to provide broad potential for JJC referrals. However, this has not been what has transpired. As confirmed by the JJC in recent cases, the JJC's has interpreted its own jurisdiction quite narrowly.
Firstly, as regards Art 2(1), the JJC has made clear that the conflict must be an active, and real conflict, rather than a prospective one – i.e. the conflict must be a classic lis alibi pendens situation in which two simultaneous cases on the same subject matter are already being run by the same parties, where neither court abandons jurisdiction and the JJC needs to decide which of the two courts is properly seized.
In this respect, the JJC has also made clear that it will not intervene prematurely to prevent a prospective conflict from occurring. I.e. it is not sufficient that a party could create an active conflict (but has not yet done so). For example, in Cassation No. 8 of 2017 (Assas Opco Limited v VIH Hotel Management Ltd), the JJC found that where a party had successfully claimed interim relief in one court (in this particular case, an injunction had already been sought and granted by the DIFC Courts) in circumstances where a parallel claim was being heard for full relief in the Dubai Courts, that still did not create a sufficient conflict for the JJC to intervene.
Additionally, the JJC has also clarified that the existence of enforcement proceedings before the Dubai Courts to enforce a judgment issued by the DIFC Courts does not create a conflict of courts for the purposes of invoking the JJC's jurisdiction. This was the finding in the case of Cassation No. 5 of 2016 (Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC v DNB Bank ASA) in respect of a foreign judgment, and Cassation No. 5 of 2017 (Emirates Trading Agency v Bocimar International NV) in respect of an arbitral award. In those cases, each defendant unsuccessfully attempted to argue that proceedings before the Dubai Courts to enforce a DIFC judgment against assets in Dubai created a conflict between the Dubai and DIFC Courts. This argument was rejected on both occasions, the JJC concluding that there was no conflict within the meaning of Article 2 in using Dubai Courts to enforce a DIFC Courts judgment.
JJC referrals in respect of Art 2(1) therefore exist in a relatively small window of opportunity: they must ordinarily occur where there are two active cases being simultaneously heard on their merits in both the DIFC and Dubai Courts. This suggests that in many respects the race to judgment (including default judgment) has never been more important, as the quicker the judgment is obtained, the quicker any risk of active conflict between courts ceases for the purposes of extinguishing a JJC challenge.
Finally, Art 2(2) vests the JJC with referral jurisdiction to reconcile competing judgments of the DIFC Courts and Dubai Courts; i.e. a situation with two decided cases with conflicting judgments, where the JJC must decide the primacy of one judgment over the other. This appears to present quite a minimal set of circumstances in which a conflict can arise. It would mean that either:
There had been an active conflict of courts at some stage (i.e. where an Art 2(1) challenge was permissible, but not acted on by either party); or
It would require the Dubai Courts or the DIFC Courts to choose not to exercise their discretion to stay proceedings in favour of the other Court where a judgment and to attempt to overrule another judgment, in breach of judicial comity requirements.
The rise of the JJC "opt-out" clause?
Despite the instances of the JJC directing the DIFC Court to cease acting jurisdiction being more narrow than anticipated, contracting parties should consider what steps they might take to (a) ensure the survival of their DIFC Courts' jurisdiction clause; and (b) further reduce the scope for any referral to the JJC.
For example, parties may consider adding to their usual DIFC Courts jurisdiction clauses a further clause by which the parties mutually agree to waive their right to refer a matter to the JJC and "opt-out" of the JJC's jurisdiction.
As far as we are aware, there has been no attempt to do so to date. As such there is no indication as to how such clauses might be treated at law before the JJC itself, or in either the DIFC Courts or Dubai Courts. However, given (a) the JJC operates as a non-mandatory referral jurisdiction in any event; and (b) the DIFC Courts case of Al Khorafi & Anor v Bank Sarasin-Alpen (ME) Ltd & Anor [2011] DIFC CA 003 [89]‑[93] recognised the implicit right of parties to opt out of DIFC Courts jurisdiction, there may be strength to the case for a JJC opt-out clause.
Friendly competition from the ADGM Courts
Another interesting development in the first two years of the JJC's operation has occurred well away from Dubai, in the neighbouring Emirate of Abu Dhabi. May 2016 saw the inception of the ADGM Courts, formally opened in December 2018, which is a competing set of common law courts. Since February 2018, the ADGM Courts now also offer an alternative conduit jurisdiction into onshore UAE via the Abu Dhabi Courts (see HFW's publication on this development here).
For some parties, the alternative ADGM Courts / Abu Dhabi Courts conduit tie-up may be more attractive than the DIFC Courts / Dubai Courts equivalent. This is because the JJC only has jurisdiction in Dubai, such that there is no risk of JJC referral in Abu Dhabi.
The JJC has referred jurisdiction from DIFC Courts to the Dubai Courts in 6 successful challenges out of approximately 150 CFI cases, since June 2016 – i.e. less than 4% of cases.
Parties' attempts to successfully invoke the jurisdiction of the JJC have generally failed on more occasions than they have succeeded.
On balance, the JJC has taken a relatively narrow view of its own jurisdiction and has been quick to reject spurious or obviously manufactured claims of conflict.
It is not sufficient for a party to merely assert that it could create a conflict of courts issue. To invoke the jurisdiction of the JJC there must be an actual conflict already on foot.
Foreign money judgments are far less susceptible to JJC challenge than foreign arbitral awards. This is because arbitral awards (including even foreign arbitral awards) are liable to annulment proceedings in the UAE onshore courts under the UAE Arbitration Law, whereas there is no equivalent procedure for a party to seek to annul a foreign judgment.
There is limited scope for a referral to the JJC in circumstances where the referring party has already accepted the jurisdiction of the DIFC Court, either by agreeing to DIFC-LCIA arbitration in the first place (and therefore ostensibly to the supervisory jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts for the purposes of enforcement) or otherwise accepting jurisdiction in the course of ongoing DIFC Courts proceedings.
It is unlikely that a referral to the JJC designed to override interlocutory injunctive relief ordered by the DIFC Courts will succeed.
A party who successfully obtains a DIFC Courts judgment can enforce that judgment in the Dubai Courts with no risk that opening a Dubai Courts execution file would create a conflict of courts to trigger a JJC referral.
Parties should consider contractual agreement to opt-out of the JJC's jurisdiction.
At least insofar as claims for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards are concerned (although note our comments above in respect of foreign judgments), parties may consider the ADGM Courts as an alternative conduit jurisdiction, using Abu Dhabi as their first port of call into the wider UAE/GCC, and out of the jurisdiction of the JJC.
For further information, please contact the authors of this briefing:
Sara Sheffield
Partner, Dubai/Abu Dhabi
T +971 50 459 6727
E sara.sheffield@hfw.com
Derek Bayley
Associate, Dubai
E derek.bailey@hfw.com
Namely, in Cassation Nos.1 and 2 of 2016, Nos.1, 3 and 4 of 2017 and No.3 of 2018. In 5 of those 6 cases, the members of the JJC who are judges of the DIFC Courts issued a dissenting opinion.
Cassation No 1 of 2016, No 2 of 2016, No 3 of 2017.
Cassation No. 1 of 2016.
Cassation Nos. 5 of 2016 and No.5 of 2017.
Cassation Nos.2 and 6 of 2017 and No.1 of 2018
Cassation No.7 of 2017.
Cassation No.8 of 2017 and No.4 of 2018.
Full profile of Sara Sheffield sara.sheffield@hfw.com Download VCard
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HFW Wins Middle East Insurance Law Firm of the Year for Second Year Running
HFW Announces Development Partnership With Litigation Analytics Start-Up Solomonic
Email payment frauds - staying one step ahead
When you act in good faith, will you ever walk alone?
Good Faith in the UAE - An Insurance focus


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Aarthiknews:: A leading business & economic news portal from Nepal
Home World DHL Express is the number one World's Best Workplace
DHL Express is the number one World's Best Workplace
Aarthiknews
Kathmandu, Nov 3. DHL Express, the world's leading international express service provider, has been named the number one best workplace worldwide in the annual list published by Great Place to Work™ (GPTW) in collaboration with Fortune Magazine. The achievement rewards over ten years of continuous improvement and investment in its people, advancing from 8th in 2017 to 1st place in 2021.
"Since 2009, DHL Express experienced an era of transformation guided by its strategy Focus. Within this strategy, we made it our purpose to motivate people working with us and to become the employer of choice," says John Pearson, CEO, DHL Express. "For a company of 111,000 colleagues operating across 220 countries and different modes, this was a brave move. What drives me every day is our belief in people and their ability to deliver excellence for our customers and each other. Congratulations to all colleagues who make this possible, and thanks to those who participated in this year's survey. I have never been prouder to be part of this company."
DHL Express attaches great importance to valuing the work of its employees. The transformational Focus strategy was one of many innovative DHL programs that the award has recognized. DHL Express' Focus strategy is geared towards Deutsche Post DHL Group's goal of becoming the employer, investment, and provider of choice for the world. Key to its success is a program called Certified International Specialist (CIS). In 2009, the CIS program was introduced to accelerate the cultural and developmental DNA based on customer focus and trust. It includes inspiring training and engagement content delivered by senior leaders with the business encouraging, recognizing, and rewarding vital behaviors.
During the global pandemic, the pressure on logistics people was intense. The recognition as World's Best Workplace™ 2021 is a testament to the strength of the DHL Express culture. The confidential survey assesses employee experience across fairness, credibility, respect, pride and camaraderie. Initiatives and programs that reinforce company culture are also audited for the survey. The GPTW survey recorded increased staff motivation and engagement levels, surpassing the company's 93% score in 2020. DHL Express focused on job security and staff well-being throughout this challenging period, ensuring employees remained safe, connected, and supported.
"While it's never been more critical to be a great place to work For All™, it's also never been more difficult," says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work™. "DHL Express has proven that when you deliver for your people, they deliver for your customers. 94% of DHL employees say their customers would rate the service they deliver as 'excellent,' outperforming the global benchmark of 86%."
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International Entrepreneurship Conclave commences
Badadashain Festival Begins from Today
Greece talks "Rule out" before vote


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Try This Cleansing Cream
L'Ecurie Paris Debuts Partnership with Shin Yoshikawa
The White Mouse Cocktail
Felicity William
Cocktails, GASTRONOMY
Porsche Panamera 10 Year Anniversary Model Toasts A Decade
Exclusive New Year's Luxury on a Windward Islands Yacht Charter
Chrissie McClatchie
Johnny Holiday
Richard Mello
Haute Retreats: New Digital platform to deliver the "best of the best" in luxury villa rentals.
Luxury Rentals, REAL ESTATE
REAL ESTATECelebrity Homes
Photo credit: The Agency
Kelsey Grammer's Malibu Mansion
Celebrity Homes, REAL ESTATE
The palatial 1940's Malibu Hills equestrian estate once owned by Kelsey Grammer and ex-wife Camille Grammer, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, has hit the market priced at $19.95 million. In addition to its celebrity owners' history, the home was often seen in Camille's Real Housewives television episodes.
Five-time Emmy winner and with three Golden Globes for his pompous but charming roles on Frasier and Cheers, the multi-talented actor, musician, and vocalist Grammer met Camille in 1996 while she was working for his production company. Married in 1997, they purchased the private, guard-gated French Country home in star-studded Serra Retreat a year later and Camille continued to live there after their divorce in 2011. The Grammers put it up for sale in 2012 and it sold in 2015.
Perched on a terraced hill over five acres and with ocean views, the main house measures 6,650 square feet with formal living and dining and a two-story ballroom perfect for holding large functions. The large kitchen was designed by Wolfgang Puck that includes an indoor-outdoor dining area. There are a wine cellar, large movie theater, and wood-paneled library. The master suite has a sitting room and private terrace with mountain and ocean views and spa-style bath while the luxurious guest suites each include fireplaces. Among the lushly planted gardens and lily pond are a carriage house, a security outpost, a six-stall stable, dressage riding ring, a variety of outbuildings and staff quarters. The free-form, resort-size swimming pool has a bathhouse, two spas, an exercise room, and a lighted tennis court. Outdoor dining can be enjoyed with organic fruit and vegetables from the garden, cooked outside in the barbeque area where there is also a fireplace to enjoy an after-dinner conversation. The entire estate includes 13,926 square feet, seven bedrooms and 13 baths.
The upper reaches of Malibu's Serra Retreat were purchased by the Catholic Franciscan Order in 1942 for $50,000 who still operates a busy weekend religious retreat and addiction-care center there. For many years, the nearby area has attracted celebrities and the wealthy who built homes for a safe and peaceful getaway or full time to raise their families, a 24-hour-manned guardhouse ensures their privacy. Many of the homes have their own equestrian facilities with access to riding and hiking trails. Residents are within walking distance to Cross Creek restaurants and shops and to the Malibu Pier on Surfrider Beach. Current and former Malibu residents include Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, Olivia Newton-John, Matthew Perry and billionaire Larry Ellison.
The former home of Kelsey and Camille Grammer, where many scenes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills were filmed, has been listed at $19.95 million. Listing agents are Sandro Dazzan and Cooper Mount of The Agency, Beverly Hills.
Source: TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
Celebrity Homeskelsey grammermansions for sale
Modern Bridal Dreams
A Recipe Piece from Celeb Chef Omar Allibhoy
NYC Hotel Penthouses with the Best City Views
Bleu Ciel, The 33-story Tower rising in Dallas' acclaimed Harwood District
Gabriela Harris


The paper evaluates one of the great multinationals and why it has succeed.
This paper looks into Coca-Cola Company's history, products, innovativeness, financial performance, opportunities, strengths, and threats. The paper looks at how the company has survived stiff competition in the beverage industry to the point of becoming one of the world's leading brands. It shows how the company engages its customers in production of its products to ensure that all their needs and desires are met. The company as well has been designing aggressive marketing strategies that convince the target market to purchase the company's products.
The paper as well conducts an analysis of the company's strengths, opportunities, and threats. Among the company's key strengths include its word's leading brand, its customers' loyalty, its extensive beverage distribution channel, and its aggressive marketing strategies among other strengths. Opportunities include the increasing demand for beverage drinks especially in emerging markets and a growing demand for bottled water. The company as well faces a couple of threats including stiff competition, as well as, dependence on independent bottling companies. Additionally, the paper looks at the company's financial performance. In 2012, its profitability, revenue, and global volume grew past the target.
Doctor John Pemberton, a pharmacist, founded the company in 1886. This was after he discovered the formula of making the company's soft drinks. The founder's bookkeeper, Mr Frank, suggested the name Coca-Cola, which is one of the global leading brands up to today. The public enjoyed the soft drink the same year it was invented. On average, the company sold nine serves each day. The company registered revenue of $50 during the first year of operation. However, the revenue was unable to cover the cost of over $70 over the same period.
Asa Candler, another pharmacist, purchased the soft drink's formula, in 1887, for $2300. Asa designed and implemented an aggressive marketing strategy for the soft drink and by 1890s; the soft drink was one of the favorable fountain drinks in America. Since the formula was purchased, the company operates by the principle of selling the drink's ingredients to independent bottling companies (Senker, 2012).
The company was selling its product as a soda fountain until 1960s, when it replaced it with bottled soft drink. Before the bottled soft drinks, people used to meet at soda fountains to enjoy carbonated beverages. However, as fast food restaurants, bottled soft drinks, as well as, ice creams became popular; the bottled soft drinks as well became popular (Senker, 2012).
Together with its subsidiaries, the company is involved in production, distribution, as well as, marketing of its drinks. It sells its products under a couple of globally recognized brand names including Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, Minute Maid Vitamin water , among other famous brands.
The company produces a couple of beverages including energy drinks, as well as, still beverages, for example, ready to drink coffee, juice, and bottled water. The company has entered into agreements relating to the cola beverage under, which the company produces, promotes, and distributes its products in different regions across the world. Its still beverages include its famous juice called Minute Maid, and as well manufactures and markets its Dasani water. The company sells its products through retail outlets, food market outlets, as well as, vending machines among other outlets. It uses its own bottling and distributor's operators and others that are independent.


Your head of romaine might never be the same after cooking it on the BBQ! A crunchy slightly bitter lettuce turns sweet. Top with sliced tomatoes too.
Cut the romaine heart in half lengthwise. Trim the stem end a little, if you wish, but be sure not to cut too much - all the leaves need to stay attached. Heat your George Foreman grill or a grill. Spray it lightly with olive oil, if necessary. (You know your grill - if you think it might stick, give it a quick spray.) Once it's hot, put one romaine half on it, two if they will fit. Close the top of the Foreman grill or press the lettuce down lightly with a spatula if you are using a grill. Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes, until lettuce has begun to wilt and grill marks to appear; then, if you're using a grill, turn over and grill for another 2 minutes. Place on two plates, cut side up, and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon sunflower seeds, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve while still warm.


Thank you for your interest in Blue Ridge Pressure Castings.
We are always looking for outstanding individuals with die casting experience to join our management team and contribute to our success.
Please call or email using the below details to discuss open positions or find out more information.


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Evaluating the Improving Situations of Greg Jennings and C.J. Spiller
Fahey takes an in-depth look at Greg Jennings and C.J. Spiller to understand why they should produce more in 2014.
By Cian Fahey
Photo: Bob Donnan, USA Today Sports
It would be easy to label Greg Jennings as a receiver who has lost his way after leaving the best quarterback in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers. Jennings signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings last year after playing for seven years in Green Bay with the Packers. At his peak, Jennings was never one of the most productive receivers in the league, but he was always very consistent whether he was catching passes from Brett Favre or Rodgers.
In fact, there was a time when a narrative existed that suggested Jennings' production was hindered by playing on such a talented offense. When he left Green Bay for Minnesota, nobody would make that claim.
Before missing half of the 2012 season through injury, Jennings averaged 69 receptions for 1,108 yards and nine touchdowns from 2007 to 2011. During that time he averaged 14.8 games per season, roughly the same number he played during his first year with the Vikings. However, with the Vikings the 29-year-old Jennings had just 68 receptions for 804 yards and four touchdowns. Because he was now playing away from Aaron Rodgers and he was entering the latter stages of his career, it was easy to suggest that Jennings' play was the primary reason for his poor output.
However, that wasn't the case.
Catchable Targets Receptions Yards Touchdowns Open Drops Contested Drops
76 69 807 4 0 5
The above chart includes plays that were negated by penalty, so that is why Jennings has one more reception than his official total. Target numbers are always unreliable because there is no clear definition, but these target numbers were defined as throws that didn't require the receiver to make a spectacular catch. For example, a one handed fingertip grab didn't count as a catchable target.
Jennings saw a lot of targets last season, but playing with Christian Ponder, Josh Freeman and Matt Cassel made a large chunk of them worthless.
Ponder entered the season as the team's starter, but his combination of poor arm strength and erratic ball placement made it very difficult for Jennings to be consistently productive. The relatively young quarterback repeatedly forced Jennings to make difficult adjustments on the ball when he was open or completely missed him, while he was completely unable to fit the ball into tight windows when Jenning wasn't wide open.
In games where Ponder started and played the full game, Jennings averaged four catchable targets per game.
With Christian Ponder
The above chart shows every single one of Jennings' catchable targets from Ponder. Ponder started and finished seven games with Jennings and played one more when he was benched for Cassel. As the chart shows, every single one of Jennings' drops last season came on throws from Ponder and none of his touchdowns came from him. These numbers account for 7.5 games of a 16 game season, so they project out to 64 catchable targets, 53 receptions, 595 yards, zero touchdowns and 11 drops over a full regular season.
In comparison to Cassel, these numbers are startlingly low.
With Matt Cassel
The above chart shows every single one of Jennings' catchable targets from Cassel. Cassel accounted for all of Jennings' targets in six full games and took over from Ponder for half a game when throwing to Jennings. During those games, Ponder averaged four catchable targets per game for Jennings, while Cassel averaged six. More importantly, Cassel's numbers from last season project to 99 catchable targets, 99 receptions, 1,199 yards and 10 touchdowns with zero drops.
Now these numbers could simply be coincidental. Jennings may have had better matchups when Cassel played or he may not have been getting open as often when Ponder was on the field. That's not what the tape suggests though.
One of the strongest attributes that Jennings can boast is his ball skills. Jennings tracks the football in the air and reacts to it as well as anyone in the NFL. He is not a big receiver, but he has a catch radius that allows him to consistently trap the ball with his hands away from his body. While this is an aspect of his game that is very impressive, it's not an aspect of his game that you ideally want to be putting on show on a regular basis. If Jennings is making these kinds of receptions, it's generally because the pass comes in off target.
With Ponder, these kinds of plays were regular.
On this throw, Ponder actually makes a smart decision to keep the bal low and not lead Jennings further infield because there is an incoming safety. However, Ponder pushes the ball too far outside and instead of protecting Jennings from a big hit, he forces him into a circus catch as he spins around to snatch the ball below his hip.
In the same game, we got Jennings' first contested drop of the season. This play went down as a contested drop rather than an open drop because of the defender who is in front of Jennings and affects his view of the ball. More importantly, it goes down as contested because it wasn't an easy reception. Jennings got his hands on a pass that many receivers in the league wouldn't have even reacted to in time to watch it hit the ground.
Jennings repeatedly made impressive catches, but too often there was nothing he could do to salvage the play.
On this play, Jennings beats the slot cornerback early in the route so that he is running free towards the pylon at the back of the end zone. Ponder throws the ball to the goal line when he should have pushed it further down the field. If Ponder was intent on throwing the ball to this spot, he needed to put more velocity on the ball to get it there before the defender could recover. Jennings adjusts to the ball very well and attacks it at its highest point, but the defender is able to punch it out of his hands as they fall to the ground.
On this play, Jennings runs an incredible route that completely takes the cornerback out of the play. Jennings is running parallel to the goal line across the 11 yard line. When he catches the ball, he is standing in line with the 12 yard line because he had to work back to the ball. Not only did Ponder throw an inaccurate, slow pass that allowed the defensive back time to recover, he was late to let the ball go as he didn't throw with anticipation. Jennings still gained seven yards on this play, but an effective throw would have given him an easy a touchdown.
A touchdown his route deserved.
When Cassel was throwing Jennings the ball instead of Ponder, he was still off target too often, but less often. What Cassel did do was give Jennings more timing throws that arrived accurately. This allowed Jennings to make more comfortable catches and set himself up for yards after the catch with greater ease. In fact, Cassel's first completion to Jennings immediately highlighted the difference between he and Ponder.
Jennings still has the speed and quickness to outrun defenders in the open field, but the key to this play is Cassel's pass. It arrives perfectly on time in a spot where Jennings can work through it back infield. Because Jennings didn't have to adjust or wait for the ball, he is able to take Cortez Allen, the arriving cornerback, completely out of the play.
Against man coverage, Jennings primarily relies on his route running to create separation. 38 of his receptions in 2013 came against man coverage and went for 484 yards and three touchdowns. As an experienced, technically sound receiver, it's also no surprise that Jennings knows how to find soft spots in zone coverage.
On this play against the Carolina Panthers, Jennings breaks off his out route to settle down in between two zone defenders. Cassel lets the ball go on time so the defenders are unable to close on him before the ball arrives.
Even though Teddy Bridgewater will be a rookie and hasn't played in the NFL yet, his skill set projects very well for any potential match with Jennings. Bridgewater proved to be an anticipation thrower in college with exceptional accuracy to intermediate routes. He understands how to move his eyes from receiver to receiver while managing the pocket. If Bridgewater can translate to the professional game during his rookie season, then he should dramatically aid Jennings' potential to produce.
If Bridgewater doesn't play and Cassel is the starter, he should at least be able to significantly improve on his output from last season.
A big reason for that should be the addition of new offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Turner is known for getting the most out of his tight ends, so Kyle Rudolph should feature heavily for the Vikings next year, but moving away from Bill Musgrave's offense should be very beneficial for Jennings also. In one game last season, Jennings caught three separate passes that went for no gain. Musgrave kept running the same play that the defense had clearly focused in on. A play that saw Jennings run behind the line of scrimmage to catch the ball in the opposite flat.
Those kinds of plays and screen passes that were terribly designed and timed didn't put Jennings in the best position to succeed.
C.J. Spiller
Much was made of C.J. Spiller's potential during the 2013 season because of comments made during preseason by new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett suggested that he was going to give Spiller the ball until he threw up. After a few weeks of the regular season, it became clear that what was intended wasn't what would happen. Spiller struggled during the first four weeks of the regular season as he faced suffocating run defenses behind a completely overwhelmed offensive line. In Week 4, he suffered a high ankle sprain that would completely alter his season.
Spiller was supposed to be the focal point of the Bills offense, but when the interior of your offensive line is amongst the worst in the NFL and you are dealing with a very serious injury, it's tough to carry the load. The 25-year-old finished the season with just 235 total touches. 235 muted touches.
Playing through a high ankle sprain is an unwise and unenviable exercise. Spiller would have been in pain every single week and his explosiveness was clearly limited. As a back who relies on his explosiveness, it's the kind of injury that was always going to derail Spiller's season. He was still able to make some plays, but he needed significantly more help from his offensive line to get to space and the second level. Help that his offensive line couldn't give him.
This play comes from Week 1 when Spiller was fully healthy. He is lined up in the backfield next to EJ Manuel and will be taking the ball to the right side of the offense behind zone blocking.
Initially, it looks like the Bills offensive line is winning each of its blocks and is going to set up a clean route for Spiller to attack the secondary. Spiller is making his read off of Vince Wilfork in the middle of the defense. At this point, it appears that Wilfork is on the outside shoulder of the left guard, so Spiller should be looking to run past his other shoulder.
Center Eric Wood is getting a good block on the second level, while right guard Kraig Urbik appears to have sealed off the outside of the running lane. Wilfork still appears to be shaded to the outside of the left guard, Colin Brown, so Spiller plants his foot quickly and pushes himself into the clean running lane.
Wilfork closes through Brown as if he wasn't there and collapses on top of Spiller at the line of scrimmage. Even though there initially appeared to be space for Spiller to work in and a clean running lane, Wilfork was never actually blocked out of the play. He was always in control of his positioning against Brown and swatted him aside like a bug. Now Wilfork is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, but this play said more about the inability of the left guard. This kind of play routinely occured for the Bills last season.
Spiller regularly had nowhere to go when he received the ball and was being asked to answer a question that had no right answer. On this play it was only one block that ruined the good work of everyone else, but the offensive line didn't just have one weak link. Regularly there were multiple missed blocks on plays.
Although he was stopped for a loss on this play, Spiller was just one block away from a huge run. He immediately recognizes that the design of the play is ruined by penetration to the left side, so he works back to the right side. There is a running lane over the middle of the field, but he needs to drag the defenders towards the opposite sideline to stop the defensive tackle on the left hashmark from doing what Wilfork did on the previous play. He sets those defenders up perfectly before cutting back to the original running lane, but by this time the other defensive lineman has come back across to close off that lane after knocking his initial blocker to the ground with ease.
Incredibly, Spiller averaged 4.6 yards per carry under these conditions.
He sustained this average with his explosiveness. Even with a high ankle sprain, Spiller was still able to outrun defenders in space and make defenders miss when he was given some blocking. He had nine runs for 20+ yards and four 40+ yard runs last year. Those nine 20+ yard runs were three less than he had in 2012, but more than the previous two seasons combined. In 2012, he had five 40+ yard runs, one more than 2013, but he didn't have a single one during the first two years of his career.
In spite of his injury and his blocking, Spiller tied LeSean McCoy, Matt Forte and Frank Gore for the second most 20+ yard runs in 2013. They were all just one behind the sole leader, Alfred Morris. Only Matt Forte had as many 40+ yard runs as Spiller did in 2013 as both finished first with four. Only five backs in the whole NFL managed more than two.
With better blocking, Spiller has the ability to be an effective between the tackles runner who can average over four yards per carry without the big plays. As last year proved, even when he isn't at 100 percent, he still has the ability to create those big plays also. With better blocking, those big plays would be nice complements to consistent production rather than the base keeping his average afloat.
Outside of bringing in Sammy Watkins and Bryce Brown, the Bills primary focus of this offseason was retooling their offensive line. Veteran Chris Williams was signed to hold the left guard position entering training camp, but fifth round pick Cyril Richardson and seventh round pick Seantrel Henderson will likely be given every opportunity to compete for the starting spot in between Glenn Cordy and Eric Wood. Left guard and right tackle were the Bills' most problematic spots upfront last year. A competition should decide left guard, but the right tackle position is Cyrus Kouandjo's to lose.
The Bills selected Kouandjo in the second round of the 2014 draft. He is a very talented offensive lineman who likely fell in the draft because of health issues rather than his ability to be an immediate starter. Kouandjo should be able to be an effective right tackle in spice of the struggles of first round picks from last season who swapped the left side in college for the right side in the pros.
Spiller doesn't need these new additions to be dominant performers. He is an exceptional talent at the running back position who only needs average or even slightly below average run blocking to be one of the most productive backs in the NFL.
Tags:Player Articles
More by Cian Fahey
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Tag Archives: Push
George Soros Attacks China's AI Push as 'Mortal Danger'
January 25, 2019 12:25 am|Comments (0)
Governments and companies worldwide are investing heavily in artificial intelligence in hopes of new profits, smarter gadgets, and better health care. Financier and philanthropist George Soros told the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday that the technology may also undermine free societies and create a new era of authoritarianism.
"I want to call attention to the mortal danger facing open societies from the instruments of control that machine learning and artificial intelligence can put in the hands of repressive regimes," Soros said. He made an example of China, repeatedly calling out the country's president, Xi Jinping.
China's government issued a broad AI strategy in 2017, asserting that it would surpass US prowess in the technology by 2030. As in the US, much of the leading work on AI in China takes place inside a handful of large tech companies, such as search engine Baidu, and retailer and payments company Alibaba.
Soros argued that AI-centric tech companies like those can become enablers of authoritarianism. He pointed to China's developing "social credit" system, aimed at tracking citizens' reputations by logging financial activity, online interactions and even energy use, among other things. The system is still taking shape, but depends on data and cooperation from companies like payments company Ant Financial, a spinout of Alibaba. "The social credit system, if it became operational, would give Xi Jinping total control over the people," Soros said.
Soros argued synergy like that between corporate and government AI projects creates a more potent threat than was posed by Cold War-era autocrats, many of whom spurned corporate innovation. "The combination of repressive regimes with IT monopolies endows those regimes with a built-in advantage over open societies," Soros said. "They pose a mortal threat to open societies."
Soros is far from the first to raise an alarm about the dangers of AI technology. It's a favorite topic of Elon Musk, and last year Henry Kissinger called for a US government commission to examine the technology's risks. Google cofounder Sergey Brin warned in in Alphabet's most recent annual shareholder letter that AI technology had downsides, including the potential to manipulate people. Canada and France plan to establish an intergovernmental group to study how AI changes societies.
The financier attempted to draft Donald Trump into his AI vigilance campaign. He advised the president to be tougher on Chinese telecoms manufacturers ZTE and Huawei, to prevent them from dominating the high-bandwidth 5G mobile networks being built around the world. Both companies are already reeling from sanctions by the US and other governments.
Soros also urged the well-heeled attendees of Davos to help forge international mechanisms to prevent AI-enhanced authoritarianism—and that could both include and contain China. He asked them to imagine a technologically oriented version of the treaty signed after World War II that underpins the United Nations, binding countries into common standards for human rights and freedoms.
Here is the text of Soros's speech:
I want to use my time tonight to warn the world about an unprecedented danger that's threatening the very survival of open societies.
Last year when I stood before you I spent most of my time analyzing the nefarious role of the IT monopolies. This is what I said: "An alliance is emerging between authoritarian states and the large data rich IT monopolies that bring together nascent systems of corporate surveillance with an already developing system of state sponsored surveillance. This may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even George Orwell could have imagined."
Tonight I want to call attention to the mortal danger facing open societies from the instruments of control that machine learning and artificial intelligence can put in the hands of repressive regimes. I'll focus on China, where Xi Jinping wants a one-party state to reign supreme.
A lot of things have happened since last year and I've learned a lot about the shape that totalitarian control is going to take in China.
All the rapidly expanding information available about a person is going to be consolidated in a centralized database to create a "social credit system." Based on that data, people will be evaluated by algorithms that will determine whether they pose a threat to the one-party state. People will then be treated accordingly.
The social credit system is not yet fully operational, but it's clear where it's heading. It will subordinate the fate of the individual to the interests of the one-party state in ways unprecedented in history.
I find the social credit system frightening and abhorrent. Unfortunately, some Chinese find it rather attractive because it provides information and services that aren't currently available and can also protect law-abiding citizens against enemies of the state.
China isn't the only authoritarian regime in the world, but it's undoubtedly the wealthiest, strongest and most developed in machine learning and artificial intelligence. This makes Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of those who believe in the concept of open society. But Xi isn't alone. Authoritarian regimes are proliferating all over the world and if they succeed, they will become totalitarian.
As the founder of the Open Society Foundations, I've devoted my life to fighting totalizing, extremist ideologies, which falsely claim that the ends justify the means. I believe that the desire of people for freedom can't be repressed forever. But I also recognize that open societies are profoundly endangered at present.
What I find particularly disturbing is that the instruments of control developed by artificial intelligence give an inherent advantage to authoritarian regimes over open societies. For them, instruments of control provide a useful tool; for open societies, they pose a mortal threat.
I use "open society" as shorthand for a society in which the rule of law prevails as opposed to rule by a single individual and where the role of the state is to protect human rights and individual freedom. In my personal view, an open society should pay special attention to those who suffer from discrimination or social exclusion and those who can't defend themselves.
By contrast, authoritarian regimes use whatever instruments of control they possess to maintain themselves in power at the expense of those whom they exploit and suppress.
How can open societies be protected if these new technologies give authoritarian regimes a built-in advantage? That's the question that preoccupies me. And it should also preoccupy all those who prefer to live in an open society.
Open societies need to regulate companies that produce instruments of control, while authoritarian regimes can declare them "national champions." That's what has enabled some Chinese state-owned companies to catch up with and even surpass the multinational giants.
This, of course, isn't the only problem that should concern us today. For instance, man-made climate change threatens the very survival of our civilization. But the structural disadvantage that confronts open societies is a problem which has preoccupied me and I'd like to share with you my ideas on how to deal with it.
My deep concern for this issue arises out of my personal history. I was born in Hungary in 1930 and I'm Jewish. I was 13 years old when the Nazis occupied Hungary and started deporting Jews to extermination camps.
I was very fortunate because my father understood the nature of the Nazi regime and arranged false identity papers and hiding places for all members of his family, and for a number of other Jews as well. Most of us survived.
The year 1944 was the formative experience of my life. I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails. When the Nazi regime was replaced by Soviet occupation I left Hungary as soon as I could and found refuge in England.
At the London School of Economics I developed my conceptual framework under the influence of my mentor, Karl Popper. That framework proved to be unexpectedly useful when I found myself a job in the financial markets. The framework had nothing to do with finance, but it is based on critical thinking. This allowed me to analyze the deficiencies of the prevailing theories guiding institutional investors. I became a successful hedge fund manager and I prided myself on being the best paid critic in the world.
Running a hedge fund was very stressful. When I had made more money than I needed for myself or my family, I underwent a kind of midlife crisis. Why should I kill myself to make more money? I reflected long and hard on what I really cared about and in 1979 I set up the Open Society Fund. I defined its objectives as helping to open up closed societies, reducing the deficiencies of open societies and promoting critical thinking.
My first efforts were directed at undermining the apartheid system in South Africa. Then I turned my attention to opening up the Soviet system. I set up a joint venture with the Hungarian Academy of Science, which was under Communist control, but its representatives secretly sympathized with my efforts. This arrangement succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. I got hooked on what I like to call "political philanthropy." That was in 1984.
In the years that followed, I tried to replicate my success in Hungary and in other Communist countries. I did rather well in the Soviet empire, including the Soviet Union itself, but in China it was a different story.
My first effort in China looked rather promising. It involved an exchange of visits between Hungarian economists who were greatly admired in the Communist world, and a team from a newly established Chinese think tank which was eager to learn from the Hungarians.
Based on that initial success, I proposed to Chen Yizi, the leader of the think tank, to replicate the Hungarian model in China. Chen obtained the support of Premier Zhao Ziyang and his reform-minded policy secretary Bao Tong.
A joint venture called the China Fund was inaugurated in October 1986. It was an institution unlike any other in China. On paper, it had complete autonomy.
Bao Tong was its champion. But the opponents of radical reforms, who were numerous, banded together to attack him. They claimed that I was a CIA agent and asked the internal security agency to investigate. To protect himself, Zhao Ziyang replaced Chen Yizi with a high-ranking official in the external security police. The two organizations were co-equal and they couldn't interfere in each other's affairs.
I approved this change because I was annoyed with Chen Yizi for awarding too many grants to members of his own institute and I was unaware of the political infighting behind the scenes. But applicants to the China Fund soon noticed that the organization had come under the control of the political police and started to stay away. Nobody had the courage to explain to me the reason for it.
Eventually, a Chinese grantee visited me in New York and told me, at considerable risk to himself. Soon thereafter, Zhao Ziyang was removed from power and I used that excuse to close the foundation. This happened just before the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and it left a "black spot" on the record of the people associated with the foundation. They went to great length to clear their names and eventually they succeeded.
In retrospect, it's clear that I made a mistake in trying to establish a foundation which operated in ways that were alien to people in China. At that time, giving a grant created a sense of mutual obligation between the donor and recipient and obliged both of them to remain loyal to each other forever.
So much for history. Let me now turn to the events that occurred in the last year, some of which surprised me.
When I first started going to China, I met many people in positions of power who were fervent believers in the principles of open society. In their youth they had been deported to the countryside to be re-educated, often suffering hardships far greater than mine in Hungary. But they survived and we had much in common. We had all been on the receiving end of a dictatorship.
They were eager to learn about Karl Popper's thoughts on the open society. While they found the concept very appealing, their interpretation remained somewhat different from mine. They were familiar with Confucian tradition, but there was no tradition of voting in China. Their thinking remained hierarchical and carried a built-in respect for high office. I, on the other hand I was more egalitarian and wanted everyone to have a vote.
So, I wasn't surprised when Xi Jinping ran into serious opposition at home; but I was surprised by the form it took. At last summer's leadership convocation at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, Xi Jinping was apparently taken down a peg or two. Although there was no official communique, rumor had it that the convocation disapproved of the abolition of term limits and the cult of personality that Xi had built around himself.
It's important to realize that such criticisms were only a warning to Xi about his excesses, but did not reverse the lifting of the two-term limit. Moreover, "The Thought of Xi Jinping," which he promoted as his distillation of Communist theory was elevated to the same level as the "Thought of Chairman Mao." So Xi remains the supreme leader, possibly for lifetime. The ultimate outcome of the current political infighting remains unresolved.
I've been concentrating on China, but open societies have many more enemies, Putin's Russia foremost among them. And the most dangerous scenario is when these enemies conspire with, and learn from, each other on how to better oppress their people.
The question poses itself, what can we do to stop them?
The first step is to recognize the danger. That's why I'm speaking out tonight. But now comes the difficult part. Those of us who want to preserve the open society must work together and form an effective alliance. We have a task that can't be left to governments.
History has shown that even governments that want to protect individual freedom have many other interests and they also give precedence to the freedom of their own citizens over the freedom of the individual as a general principle.
My Open Society Foundations are dedicated to protecting human rights, especially for those who don't have a government defending them. When we started four decades ago there were many governments which supported our efforts but their ranks have thinned out. The US and Europe were our strongest allies, but now they're preoccupied with their own problems.
Therefore, I want to focus on what I consider the most important question for open societies: what will happen in China?
The question can be answered only by the Chinese people. All we can do is to draw a sharp distinction between them and Xi Jinping. Since Xi has declared his hostility to open society, the Chinese people remain our main source of hope.
And there are, in fact, grounds for hope. As some China experts have explained to me, there is a Confucian tradition, according to which advisors of the emperor are expected to speak out when they strongly disagree with one of his actions or decrees, even that may result in exile or execution.
This came as a great relief to me when I had been on the verge of despair. The committed defenders of open society in China, who are around my age, have mostly retired and their places have been taken by younger people who are dependent on Xi Jinping for promotion. But a new political elite has emerged that is willing to uphold the Confucian tradition. This means that Xi will continue to have a political opposition at home.
Xi presents China as a role model for other countries to emulate, but he's facing criticism not only at home but also abroad. His Belt and Road Initiative has been in operation long enough to reveal its deficiencies.
It was designed to promote the interests of China, not the interests of the recipient countries; its ambitious infrastructure projects were mainly financed by loans, not by grants, and foreign officials were often bribed to accept them. Many of these projects proved to be uneconomic.
The iconic case is in Sri Lanka. China built a port that serves its strategic interests. It failed to attract sufficient commercial traffic to service the debt and enabled China to take possession of the port. There are several similar cases elsewhere and they're causing widespread resentment.
Malaysia is leading the pushback. The previous government headed by Najib Razak sold out to China but in May 2018 Razak was voted out of office by a coalition led by Mahathir Mohamed. Mahathir immediately stopped several big infrastructure projects and is currently negotiating with China how much compensation Malaysia will still have to pay.
The situation is not as clear-cut in Pakistan, which has been the largest recipient of Chinese investments. The Pakistani army is fully beholden to China but the position of Imran Khan who became prime minister last August is more ambivalent. At the beginning of 2018, China and Pakistan announced grandiose plans in military cooperation. By the end of the year, Pakistan was in a deep financial crisis. But one thing became evident: China intends to use the Belt and Road Initiative for military purposes as well.
All these setbacks have forced Xi Jinping to modify his attitude toward the Belt and Road Initiative. In September, he announced that "vanity projects" will be shunned in favor of more carefully conceived initiatives and in October, the People's Daily warned that projects should serve the interests of the recipient countries.
Customers are now forewarned and several of them, ranging from Sierra Leone to Ecuador, are questioning or renegotiating projects.
Most importantly, the US government has now identified China as a "strategic rival." President Trump is notoriously unpredictable, but this decision was the result of a carefully prepared plan. Since then, the idiosyncratic behavior of Trump has been largely superseded by a China policy adopted by the agencies of the administration and overseen by Asian affairs advisor of the National Security Council Matt Pottinger and others. The policy was outlined in a seminal speech by Vice President Mike Pence on October 4th.
Even so, declaring China a strategic rival is too simplistic. China is an important global actor. An effective policy towards China can't be reduced to a slogan.
It needs to be far more sophisticated, detailed and practical; and it must include an American economic response to the Belt and Road Initiative. The Pottinger plan doesn't answer the question whether its ultimate goal is to level the playing field or to disengage from China altogether.
Xi Jinping fully understood the threat that the new US policy posed for his leadership. He gambled on a personal meeting with President Trump at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. In the meantime, the danger of global trade war escalated and the stock market embarked on a serious sell-off in December. This created problems for Trump who had concentrated all his efforts on the 2018 midterm elections. When Trump and Xi met, both sides were eager for a deal. No wonder that they reached one, but it's very inconclusive: a ninety-day truce.
In the meantime, there are clear indications that a broad based economic decline is in the making in China, which is affecting the rest of the world. A global slowdown is the last thing the market wants to see.
The unspoken social contract in China is built on steadily rising living standards. If the decline in the Chinese economy and stock market is severe enough, this social contract may be undermined and even the business community may turn against Xi Jinping. Such a downturn could also sound the death knell of the Belt and Road Initiative, because Xi may run out of resources to continue financing so many lossmaking investments.
On the question of global internet governance, there's an undeclared struggle between the West and China. China wants to dictate rules and procedures that govern the digital economy by dominating the developing world with its new platforms and technologies. This is a threat to the freedom of the Internet and indirectly open society itself.
Last year I still believed that China ought to be more deeply embedded in the institutions of global governance, but since then Xi Jinping's behavior has changed my opinion. My present view is that instead of waging a trade war with practically the whole world, the US should focus on China. Instead of letting ZTE and Huawei off lightly, it needs to crack down on them. If these companies came to dominate the 5G market, they would present an unacceptable security risk for the rest of the world.
Regrettably, President Trump seems to be following a different course: make concessions to China and declare victory while renewing his attacks on US allies. This is liable to undermine the US policy objective of curbing China's abuses and excesses.
To conclude, let me summarize the message I'm delivering tonight. My key point is that the combination of repressive regimes with IT monopolies endows those regimes with a built-in advantage over open societies. The instruments of control are useful tools in the hands of authoritarian regimes, but they pose a mortal threat to open societies.
China is not the only authoritarian regime in the world but it is the wealthiest, strongest and technologically most advanced. This makes Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of open societies. That's why it's so important to distinguish Xi Jinping's policies from the aspirations of the Chinese people. The social credit system, if it became operational, would give Xi total control over the people. Since Xi is the most dangerous enemy of the open society, we must pin our hopes on the Chinese people, and especially on the business community and a political elite willing to uphold the Confucian tradition.
This doesn't mean that those of us who believe in the open society should remain passive. The reality is that we are in a Cold War that threatens to turn into a hot one. On the other hand, if Xi and Trump were no longer in power, an opportunity would present itself to develop greater cooperation between the two cyber-superpowers.
It is possible to dream of something similar to the United Nations Treaty that arose out of the Second World War. This would be the appropriate ending to the current cycle of conflict between the US and China. It would reestablish international cooperation and allow open societies to flourish. That sums up my message.
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: &#039Mortal, attacks, China&#039s, Danger&#039, George, Push, Soros
Intel says more women, blacks in workforce after diversity push
October 30, 2018 12:00 am|Comments (0)
FILE PHOTO: The Intel logo is shown at E3, the world's largest video game industry convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intel Corp has increased the ratio of women and African-Americans in its workforce after three years of a high-profile effort to improve diversity, the U.S. microchip maker said in a report released on Monday.
Intel still lags behind several large U.S. technology companies in terms of women and ahead of many for African Americans and Hispanics, the report showed. Chronic underrepresentation of minorities has been a source of concern for years at tech companies.
Overall, women comprised 26.8 percent of Intel's U.S. workforce in 2018, up from 24.7 percent in 2015. Women in leadership positions grew to 20.7 percent from 17.7 percent.
The percentage of African Americans at Intel has risen to nearly 5 percent from 3.5 percent in 2015 and Hispanics rose to 9.2 percent from 8.3 percent.
"Although we are among the leaders in African American representation in the tech industry, we are still not satisfied," Barbara Whye, Intel's chief diversity and inclusion officer said by email. The company will continue to work with historically black colleges and the Oakland Unified School District in California, she added.
Without providing figures, Intel said it had reached "full representation" two years ahead of its goal based on skilled minorities in the available workforce.
In 2015, Intel established a $ 300 million fund to be used by 2020 to improve diversity. Whites make up 46.2 percent of the workforce at the company, and Asians 38.9 percent, according to Intel.
Intel's African American 2018 representation was better than at Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc, and Microsoft Corp, according to the companies' latest data.
But its female representation was behind Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc , and only ahead of Microsoft.
Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee; Editing by Richard Chang
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: After, blacks, Diversity, Intel, more, Push, says, Women, workforce
Exclusive: Amazon eyes new warehouse in Brazil e-commerce push – sources
February 9, 2018 6:01 pm|Comments (0)
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is looking to lease a 50,000-square-meter warehouse just outside Sao Paulo, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as it steps up its push into Latin America's biggest retail market, Brazil.
The logistics investment, which would be four times the size of its current book-shipping operation in the country, is a sign the online retailer may soon handle distribution of electronics and other goods sold on its Brazilian website.
That would be the first step of its kind for Amazon in Latin America's largest economy, where it currently relies on third parties to ship their own goods sold on its marketplace, and it underscores the seriousness of the e-commerce giant's renewed push into Brazil.
Amazon declined to comment to questions about leasing a warehouse.
While an estimated two-thirds of Brazil's 209 million people have internet access, online retail was slow to take off at first, amid concerns over security and complications with tax and logistics in the continent-sized country.
E-commerce accounts for around 5 percent of Brazil's roughly $ 300 billion retail market — about half its share in the United States — but it has doubled in the past four years and is forecast to keep growing annually at a double-digit pace.
Now Amazon, which expanded its Brazil business from books to electronics in October, is gearing up to fight rivals such as Latin Ameria's homegrown e-commerce champion Mercado Libre Inc (MELI.O) and B2w Cia Digital, (BTOW3.SA) which is indirectly controlled by partners of private equity group 3G Capital.
"You obviously can't underestimate a company like Amazon," said Pedro Guasti, CEO of Brazilian online consultancy Ebit. "It has huge capacity to invest and it's obviously taking a bigger bite of the cake than it did last year."
Mercado Libre Inc, B2w and local retailer Magazine Luiza SA (MGLU3.SA) have stolen a march on Amazon by storing and shipping goods appearing on their websites even when offered by third-party sellers, to ensure speed and customer satisfaction.
Amazon, by contrast, has been slow to tackle the challenges of shipping in a country where tricky logistics and tax issues have long made online retail an unprofitable venture.
MEXICAN CONTRAST
In Mexico, Amazon launched its third-party marketplace coupled with its own shipping service, called "Fulfillment by Amazon," in 2015.
The contrast has been stark. Nearly 20 percent of reviews on Amazon's Brazilian marketplace are negative, compared with 10 percent in Mexico and just 4 percent in the United States, according to e-commerce analytics firm Marketplace Pulse.
Complaints in Brazil often focus on delayed or canceled orders – a problem dramatically reduced in other countries when Amazon itself packs and posts orders of third-party goods stored at its warehouse facilities.
In an early sign of Amazon's Brazilian logistics push, the company posted more than a dozen listings for distribution jobs in the country to LinkedIn last year, including "Site leader, Fulfillment Center".
The new warehouse site outside of Sao Paulo, in the municipality of Cajamar, looks to be a step in that direction.
There San Francisco-based logistics company Prologis Inc (PLD.N) has offered a 50,000-square-meter space to Amazon in a new industrial park that hosts DHL and Samsung, according to sources, who said adaptation of the warehouse had not begun.
Prologis, which also partnered with Amazon on a mega-warehouse north of Mexico city last year, declined to comment.
The preparations in Brazil come as Luft, the local logistics operator for Amazon's book business, readies a move into another Prologis site nearby in Cajamar, sources said, leaving its current 12,000-square-meter facility in the city of Barueri.
Amazon registered in October to conduct operations in Cajamar, according to municipal records seen by Reuters.
The new logistics investment could spell trouble for rivals.
Mercado Libre has been a success story among Latin America tech start ups: its shares have nearly tripled since 2014, bringing its market capitalization to more than $ 15 billion.
Magazine Luiza's stock has risen sixfold in each of the past two years as it shifted its rolled out an ambitious e-commerce strategy built on its brick and mortar stores.
Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Writing and additional reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Alistair Bell
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: Amazon, Brazil, ECommerce, Exclusive, eyes, Push, sources, warehouse
Apple brings Alibaba-linked payment system into China stores amid market push
February 7, 2018 6:00 am|Comments (0)
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Apple Inc will accept Chinese mobile payment app Alipay in its local stores, boosting its ties with giant e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd amid a push by the iPhone maker to revive growth in the world's No.2 economy.
The tie-up will make Alipay, run by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, the first third-party mobile payment system to be accepted at any physical Apple store worldwide, Ant Financial said in a statement on Wednesday. Apple's own payment system has had a lukewarm reception in China.
The Cupertino-based firm will accept Alipay payment across its 41 brick-and-mortar retail stores in China, said Ant Financial, which was valued at $ 60 billion in 2016.
Apple, whose China website, iTunes store and App Store have been accepting Alipay for more than a year, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal comes as Apple is doubling down on the market and looking to strengthen ties with local Chinese partners and government bodies. The firm's CEO Tim Cook has made regular recent visits to the country.
Apple is also shifting user data to China-based servers later this month to meet local rules and last year removed dozens of local and foreign VPN apps from its Chinese app store.
Alipay is China's top mobile payment platform, but faces stiff competition from rival internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd's payment system that is embedded within its hugely-popular chat app WeChat.
China's official Xinhua news agency said late on Tuesday that Apple would build its second data center in China in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after it set up a data center in the southern province of Guizhou last year.
Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJNG and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Himani Sarkar
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: Alibabalinked, amid, Apple, Brings, China, Into, Market, payment, Push, Stores, system
Icahn, Deason to jointly push Xerox to explore selling itself, other options: WSJ
January 22, 2018 6:00 am|Comments (0)
(Reuters) – Investor Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, the biggest- and third-largest shareholders of Xerox Corp, jointly plan to push the printer and photocopier maker to explore options, including a sale of the firm, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Icahn and Deason, who together own 15.7 percent of the photocopier pioneer, have earlier separately called on the company to break off or renegotiate a joint venture with Fujifilm Holdings Corp, saying it was unfavorable to Xerox. Icahn has also called for Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson to be replaced.
The two shareholders have now formed an alliance and plan to ask Xerox to explore options, including selling itself, breaking off its long-running joint venture with Fujifilm, and immediately firing Jacobson, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. on.wsj.com/2EYCRHd
The Journal had previously reported that Fujifilm and Xerox were discussing deals, including a change of control of Xerox, though not a full sale.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Xerox company is seen on a building in Minsk, Belarus, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/File Photo
In a statement, Xerox said: "The Xerox Board of Directors and management are confident with the strategic direction in which the Company is heading and we will continue to take action to achieve our common goal of creating value for all Xerox shareholders."
Deason has been asking the company to make public the terms of its deal with Fujifilm, which he called "one-sided". Xerox has described Deason's criticism as "false and misleading".
The five-decade-old joint venture, 75 percent owned by Fujifilm and 25 percent by Xerox, is a pillar of Fujifilm's business, accounting for nearly half the group's overall operating profit. It has limited prospects for future growth, however, because of declining demand for office printing.
The reported operating profit of the joint venture, called Fuji Xerox, was about $ 750 million on sales of $ 10 billion in the year ended last March.
Fujifilm declined to comment on the Journal report.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO; Editing by Peter Cooney and Muralikumar Anantharaman
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: Deason, Explore, Icahn, Itself, jointly, Options, Push, Selling, Xerox
China Citic, Baidu launch direct bank in fintech push
November 18, 2017 12:00 pm|Comments (0)
BEIJING (Reuters) – China Citic Bank Corp (601998.SS) and search engine giant Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) launched on Saturday a direct banking joint venture, dubbed AiBank, to capitalize on China's rapidly growing fintech sector.
FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of CITIC bank's branch in Beijing, China, March 23, 2016.REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
AiBank is one among several tie-ups between an internet firm and a lender in China's booming online finance market where technology gurus like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) and Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) have already set up their own finance arms to offer a range of financial products including payment, wealth management and micro loans.
A direct bank offers services over the internet instead of through physical branches.
AiBank will focus on lending to individuals and small businesses while leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to build new risk control models, Li Rudong, president of the new bank said at a launch event in Beijing.
Li said 60 percent of the new bank's employees will be technology staff.
"AiBank is the future of intelligent finance…It is an institution that understands customers best and understands finance best," said Baidu Chief Operating Officer Lu Qi.
Mid-tier lender Citic Bank owns 70 percent of the joint venture, while Baidu controls the remaining 30 percent. The direct bank has a registered capital of 2 billion yuan.
China's banking regulator approved the establishment of AiBank earlier this year.
Reporting by Shu Zhang and Elias Glenn; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: Baidu, bank, China, Citic, Direct, fintech, Launch, Push
'The future is exciting. Ready?' asks Vodafone in new ad push
October 5, 2017 12:00 am|Comments (0)
LONDON (Reuters) – "The future is exciting. Ready?", Vodafone is asking in a new campaign it hopes will capture a sense of optimism about technology, an association mobile operators have to some extent lost in recent years to the likes of Facebook, Google and Apple.
The slogan, which replaces "Power to You", in use since 2009, will be deployed in all of the company's 36 markets from Friday in the biggest ad campaign in its 33-year history, Vodafone said.
"Technology can be complex, can be overwhelming and can sometimes alienate people," said Serpil Timuray, Vodafone's chief commercial operations and strategy officer.
"But at the same time we know that digital innovations have significant benefits for individuals and for societies.
"In order to express this point of view, we will be repositioning the Vodafone brand on the theme of future optimism."
The new strapline has echoes of "The future's bright. The future's Orange" – a slogan that helped Orange establish itself as a new rival to Vodafone when it launched in 1994.
Vodafone, the world's second largest mobile operator, declined to say how much it was spending on the brand overhaul, which also includes a new visual identity based on its "speech mark" logo.
Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter
Posted in: Cloud Computing|Tags: &#039The, asks, exciting, Future, Push, Ready&#039, Vodafone
Oracle unleashes attack on Amazon in push for cloud computing crown
December 6, 2016 8:10 am|Comments (0)
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has launched a scathing attack on Amazon claiming that his own business can lower prices and faster technology …
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Posted in: Web Hosting News|Tags: Amazon, attack, Cloud, Computing, crown, Oracle, Push, unleashes
Capgemini recruits Microsoft Azure in cloud service expansion push
December 31, 2015 12:25 pm|Comments (0)
Capgemini has added Microsoft to its cloud services programme as it seeks to give a broader range of cloud services to more clients. Microsoft is the first in a number of vendors that CapGemini is seeking to add to its cloud service portfolio, it said.
Under the new Capgemini Cloud Choice with Microsoft scheme it will offer cloud advice, managed platforms and 'applied integrated innovation' services. Initiatives include OneShare, which speeds the testing and development of Microsoft Azure systems and offers to control costs through usage monitoring and resource scheduling.
A second mooted offering is SkySight, which is described as an 'Azure-like' private cloud which aims to help enterprises to speed up the installation of new applications. Capemini says it will help clients get value for money on managed services and fine-tune the configuration process.
A third scheme will create industry-focused IP offerings, such as a system tailored to the specific needs of the banking sector, based on the experiences of Capgemini's own in house banking specialists. The domain expertise will be offered in all major industries, including pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and the health sector.
The cloud offering will cover all solutions encompassed within hybrid, public, hosted and private cloud services using Azure.
As part of the offering, Capgemini will align activities with independent software vendors and start-ups to create new ways of delivering integrated solutions. New ventures and start-ups will also benefit from the offering, Capgemini says, as partners will become a focal point for integrating new innovations into the Capgemini solutions portfolio.
The expansion comes after Capgemini subsidiary Sogeti reported that it managed to cut the costs of one client, Dutch postal service PostNL, by 20 per cent by migrating its IT services onto the cloud with Microsoft Azure.
"Capgemini helped us to define our roadmap to migrate more than 40 applications and now operates its Cloud Platform for us," said Marcel Krom, CIO at PostNL. "We have reduced costs and gained flexibility in handling volume variances."
Posted in: Web Hosting News|Tags: Azure, Capgemini, Cloud, expansion, Microsoft, Push, recruits, Service
SEC's 2nd Push on Cyber Security Focuses on Risk Assessment
September 19, 2015 9:15 am|Comments (0)
The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a risk alert this week to give some guidance about the areas of focus the second round of their cyber security examination initiative…
(PRWeb September 19, 2015)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015-Cyber-Security/SEC-alert/prweb12972002.htm
Posted in: Web Hosting News|Tags: Assessment, cyber, Focuses, Push, Risk, SEC's, security
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UQ graduate leads way in teaching psychology in Maldives
Shehenaz Ismail
Shehenaz Ismail's pride in teaching psychology in the Maldives shines through when she describes her work.
The University of Queensland Master of Counselling graduate is a lecturer at the Maldives National University, teaching neuropsychology, forensic psychology, cognitive psychology, and counselling psychology.
"Having the opportunity to educate the very first batch of Bachelor of Psychology students trained in the Maldives is something I'll never forget," Ms Ismail said.
"And I'm now involved in the development of a Masters of Clinical Psychology program for the university – another first of its kind in the Maldives."
Ms Ismail credits her success in the field to the inspiring lecturers and classmates at UQ.
"Their commitment, dedication and motivation helped me to stay focused on my studies," Ms Ismail said.
"I got to learn and experience life with people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.
"The willingness of lecturers to assist and explain material really facilitated the growth of my knowledge."
It was the actions of UQ staff that confirmed to Ms Ismail that her decision to pursue a career in counselling was the right choice.
"I had a family crisis during my time at UQ, and it was the warmth, kindness and understanding shown by the lecturers that emphasised my decision to become a counsellor," Ms Ismail said.
"Their openness and support aided me in overcoming the obstacles I faced while I was studying."
When not lecturing or developing curricula at the Maldives National University, Ms Ismail volunteers as a student support counsellor.
She is also heavily involved in cancer support research and counselling.
"I initiated and developed the first – and currently only – cancer support group in the Maldives for patients, survivors and primary care takers," Ms Ismail said.
Ms Ismail is currently undertaking research with assistance from the Cancer Society of Maldives to understand the role of religion and spirituality in the psychological adjustment and coping of Maldivian cancer patients.
Looking to the future, Ms Ismail says she would like to continue her work as a lecturer, undertake more research, complete a PhD in Counselling Psychology, and open her own clinic for private practice.
Further information is available about gaining Master of Counselling accreditation via the UQ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work.
Media: Dani Nash, UQ Communications, dani.nash@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 3035.
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