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/ GAMING
The Cuphead Show!
Pikmin 4 Is "Progressing" Says Miyamoto, But He's Not Allowed To Talk About It
By Nathan Birch - September 5, 2017 04:20 pm EDT
(Photo: Nintendo)
Say, friend, are you a fan of quirky real-time strategy games featuring adorable multicolored ant men? Of course, you are! Well, I've got some good news for you – it turns out Pikmin 4, which was announced back in 2015 by Shigeru Miyamoto himself, is still in the works for Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, Miyamoto's not allowed to talk about it.
Here's what the legendary designer had to say to Eurogamer about the state of the project…
"I've been told not to share anything about this from PR, but I can tell you Pikmin 4 is progressing."
As mentioned, Miyamoto somewhat randomly revealed the existence of Pikmin 4 back in early 2015. At the time, Miyamoto made it sound like the game was pretty much ready to go. Here's the 2015 statement:
"We can confirm that Pikmin 4 is in development, but that is all we can confirm at present. It's actually very close to completion. Pikmin teams are always working on the next one."
This was surprising news, as the waits between Pikmin games tend to be excruciatingly long (there was a gap of nine years between Pikmin 2 in 2004 and Pikmin 3 in 2013). Hardcore Nintendo fans prepared themselves to return to Miyamoto's dangerous digital gardens, but then…nothing happened.
Nintendo never followed up on Miyamoto's surprise announcement in any way. This latest Miyamoto one-line statement is the only update of any substance we've received. Given the timing of Miyamoto's original reveal, it seems likely Pikmin 4 was originally intended to be a late Wii U game, but ultimately got moved to the Nintendo Switch. I'm not thrilled about not being able to play Pikmin 4 right now, but the series is pretty much a perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch. Hopefully we don't have to wait two more years for another single-sentence Miyamoto update on the game.
You can check out WWG's latest Nintendo Switch coverage, right here.
[via Eurogamer]
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LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Is Bringing Back a Beloved Original Feature


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Advances in Nursing Science
April/June 2015, Volume :38 Number 2 , page 69 - 69 [Free]
Section Editor(s): Chinn, Peggy L. PhD, RN, FAAN
The Value of Classic Literature in Shaping the Future
There are many factors that shape the future, but one that is always present, often overlooked and undervalued, is the literature that has shaped the present and that exerts a lasting effect in shaping the future. The admonition that most students learn early in their academic careers is to read and cite the most recent literature in their field of interest-an admirable practice, but one that leaves a large, gaping hole in any scholarly effort when the evolution and history of a current idea are not also explored. In fact, there is evidence, reported in a recent computer science article (see http://arxiv.org/abs/1411.0275), that there is a notable increase in citations of older literature.
Technologic factors that have prompted this renewed interest in older literature include the shift to digital online publication, mass digitization of journal archives, full-text indexing, and improved search engines based on relevance ranking. But accessibility alone does not explain the possibility that older literature is gaining increased attention by current scholars. Once an older article on a particular topic is discovered, it is still subject to same critical assessment that a scholar makes of a current article, which includes placing the content of any article in the context of the time and place in which it was produced. If an article, regardless of date, has particular importance and relevance to the present and the future, it can and should be acknowledged.
This journal, Advances in Nursing Science (ANS), has a strong reputation for articles that prove to be "classics" over time. In fact, the metrics that indicate the strength and value of a journal are the strongest for ANS in those measures that reflect the lasting influence of early articles. The entire archive of ANS was digitized in 2004, making the entire ANS library available online to all subscribers and electronically to all academic libraries as well. But mere availability does not create a "classic"; classic literature can only be revealed as demonstrated by its lasting influence over time.
In this issue of ANS, we feature an interview with Barbara Carper, the author of one of the most notable classic articles in ANS, titled "Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing."1 Carper's insights unleashed a critical moment in the history of the development of nursing by demonstrating that nursing practice is based on wholistic knowing that includes not only empirics but also privileges personal, ethical, and aesthetic knowing. Other authors have used Carper's work to substantiate their own scholarship. Others have provided constructive critiques and analyses that have extended the possibilities for future development of nursing knowledge, theory, research, and practice based on the foundation that Carper's work provided. For many, the revelation of the wholistic nature of knowing in nursing has affirmed and encouraged nursing's historic commitment to the wholistic nature of human experience. Therefore, it is a great honor to publish Elizabeth Eisenhauer's interview with Dr Carper and to honor Dr Carper as a significant contributor to the development of the discipline of nursing.
The fact that Carper's words are conveyed here in the form of an interactive interview is also significant, because interaction and discussion are vital processes that shape what ultimately appears in the published literature. Discussion that is informed by the long view of history builds a common disciplinary understanding of the issues, appreciation of opposing ideas, and ultimately consensus on shared ideas and mutual understanding where ideas are not in agreement. As an ANS reader, you can join the ongoing discourse around the ideas that appear here and in other nursing literature. Visit the ANS blog at http://ansjournalblog.com for messages from the authors of articles that appear in the journal and join in the discussion!
-Peggy L. Chinn, PhD, RN, FAAN
1. Carper BA. Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. ANS Adv Nurs Sci. 1978;1(1):13-23. [Context Link]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


BENGHAZI, Libya – A strong explosion ripped through the main police building in Benghazi early Friday, nearly flattening it, days after Islamic militias overran army barracks and claimed control of the eastern Libyan city.
The police headquarters has been empty for several days after militias pounded it with shelling. The blast, which was heard across Benghazi and shook houses in surrounding area, appeared to be from explosives planted in the building, the witnesses at the site said. Police officials in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, could not be reached.
A coalition of Islamic militias over the past week captured a number of army bases in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, driving out troops and police and seizing large weapons stores. The fighting takes place at a time that rival militias in the capital, Tripoli, have been battling for weeks over control of its airport.
The spiral of violence in the country's two main cities could be sparking a popular backlash, with calls for large rallies on Friday to protest against militias and demand the return of the police and military.
"It's time for a popular uprising to rescue Libya," said Abdel-Moneim al-Yassir, a lawmaker in the outgoing parliament and head of its National Security Committee. He called for protests on his Facebook page, saying they were "the only solution ... to put an end to the situation by disarming and demobilizing militias under a national accord."
The Tripoli violence was sparked in early July when militias originally from the western city of Misrata, which are allied to Islamist politicians, carried out a surprise attack on militias from the western town of Zintan who control the airport. The move was in retaliation for a months-long campaign aiming to crush Islamic militias being waged by army troops led by a renegade general, Khalifa Hifter.
The battles have destroyed parts of the airport, and shelling earlier this week hit three oil depots, sparking a raging fire that firefighters have struggled to put out amid the continued fighting. The National Safety Agency, which oversees emergency services, said Friday that one depot is still on fire. The violence led to a mass evacuation of foreign nationals and Libyans alike and left the capital and Benghazi suffering from fuel shortages and power outages.
The fighting in Tripoli and Benghazi is seen as a push by Islamists and their allied militias to shift a longtime balance of power among Libya's many militias. The militias emerged after the 2011 civil war that led to the ouster and death of Moammar Gahdafi. Since then, the central government, police and military have largely had no authority.


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Lotion Bar
Haitian Honey
Lotion Bars
Beekeeping in Haiti
Vetiver System
Public Benefit Corporation
Vetiver Solutions 2021 Year-End Update
Jan 14, 2022 | Blogpost
As the new year begins, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the events of 2021 and our ongoing partnership with farmers in Moreau, Haiti. We are grateful to continue sharing their beeswax and honey products with you all and expanding into new retailers in the...
Brands We Love: 2021 Holiday Shopping Recommendations from Vetiver Solutions
Dec 5, 2021 | Blogpost
Over the past few years, we have been lucky to hear about and meet some amazing companies! As you prepare for the 2021 holiday season, we recommend pairing our Amour, Moreau and Bee Good, Do Good products with goodies from some brands we love.Singing Rooster Singing...
What is a compostable lip balm tube?
Aug 18, 2021 | Blogpost
What are compostable lip balm tubes? Compostable tubes are a type of packaging for lip balm that are made out of materials that compost in your backyard or industrial facilities. These are typically made out of recycled cardboard, paper, or biodegradable plastic and...
Markei Photo at the Columbia Heights Community Market
Jul 26, 2021 | In the News
We are spending summer 2021 at the Columbia Heights Community Market on Thursday evenings! Huge thanks to Markei Photo for capturing these great shots of the vendors on opening night (Thursday, July 22).
Vetiver Solutions: Investing in farmer-led initiatives in rural Haiti
In 2021, our executive team was interviewed for a piece by the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, as recognition for our entrepreneurial work and history with sustainability programs offered at the university. In reflection on our work in Haiti over the last several...
Bringing Practical Approaches to Sustainability in Haiti
Feb 1, 2021 | In the News
In 2020, our executive team was interviewed for a piece by the Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange -- the organization that hosts eFest. This year marks three years since winning the Social Impact award at the eFest competition for our vetiver grass pilot in...
As the new year begins, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the events of 2020 and our place in them. We are proud to continue partnering with farmers in Moreau, Haiti and to share their beeswax and honey products with you all. Check out our year-end...
What is a lotion bar?
Nov 12, 2020 | Blogpost
A lotion bar is a solid block of lotion, used for moisturizing skin and personal care. Lotion bars are typically made with natural ingredients that stay solid at room temperature, but melt a little from body heat, making it easy to apply the lotion bar as needed and store in a reusable container. Basically, lotion bars take the best of natural skin care — gentle, simple ingredients like shea butter and essential oils — and pack them into a small bar, rather than a large plastic bottle — this eliminates both the plastic waste from the bottle, and the excess water used in traditional lotion. Lotion bars pack in all the best moisturizing ingredients, concentrated without excess water or plastic waste.
Statement on Recent Events and Social Injustice
Jun 24, 2020 | Blogpost
To say that it has been a difficult three weeks here in Minneapolis would be an understatement. We are saddened and angered by the murder of George Floyd in our city, as well as the countless other deaths of Black Americans around the country before and since then.
Earth Day: Food sovereignty in rural Haiti
May 15, 2020 | Blogpost
As we have shared throughout this Earth Day blog series, human activities and environmental impacts are deeply linked -- especially in food production and distribution. While it is important to ensure that all people in developing countries have access to nutritious...
Earth Day: Clean water access in developing countries
May 8, 2020 | Blogpost
Around the world, environmental and community health is intertwined with access to clean water. Ecosystems, animals, and people rely on water for basic functions of life, and cannot thrive without it. In developing countries like Haiti, water contamination is directly...
Earth Day: Tree Planting in Rural Haiti
Apr 27, 2020 | Blogpost
A common Earth Day activity around the world is tree planting -- and for good reason: according to U.S. Forest Service, reforestation "represents unique opportunities to address emerging issues associated with climate change by conserving and managing genetic...
Today we come together as a global community to recognize the challenges we collectively face and the ways we can solve them together. Education is the first step for all of us; it is important to learn about ecosystems around the world and in our own backyards, to...
COVID-19 Update: March 26
Mar 25, 2020 | Blogpost
Dear friends, family, and others in our community, We want to take time to share how the Vetiver Solutions team is working during the novel coronavirus pandemic that is currently spreading around the world. Based in Minnesota, we are all following CDC recommendations...
We are so grateful for all of your support in 2019! Click on the newsletter cover to learn about our collaboration with farmers in Moreau, Haiti over the past year. Feel free to reach out with comments and questions. Happy New Year!
We are excited to share our end of year update with you all. Thanks to your support, over the past year and a half we have done some incredible work in Haiti. Please see the link below to learn more about what Vetiver Solutions has been up to in 2018 and do not...
University of Minnesota Carlson School of Managment: Leaving Her Mark in Haiti
Nov 10, 2018 | In the News
"Changing the world for the better was always top of mind for Becca Desens. Less than a year after joining a small start-up company with a mission of developing sustainable agricultural practices, she found herself in Haiti for her Carlson School...
University of Minnesota Legacy: Homespun from Haiti
Aug 21, 2018 | In the News
"Vetiver, a perennial grass, has roots that go down 20 to 30 feet. When farmers plant it alongside their crops, it can reduce soil erosion. The plant's shoots are a waste product. I worked in Haiti as an EMT and saw children die of poverty and malnutrition. I...
Tony Loyd: Fueled by Prize Money, These Social Entrepreneurs Are Striking at the Root of Poverty, with Leeore Levinstein and Jesse Abelson, Vetiver Solutions
Vetiver Solutions is a for-profit social business that works to alleviate poverty and malnutrition for subsistence farmers in rural Haiti. Listen to the full Social Entrepreneur podcast to learn about how we partner with the Farmers' Association in Moreau, Haiti to...
PBS Rewire: Vetiver Solutions Makes a Social Impact and Wins Big
Jun 3, 2018 | In the News
"A team of college students from the University of Minnesota combined their talents and passion for social change to form the company Vetiver Solutions—and won big in the largest undergraduate national business pitch competition." To continue reading, click...
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In previous article I showed how to take changes from a branch into parent branch, visually we could imagine this operation like "copying" some files from a directory into his parent, but what if, while acting on a branch a colleague working on another branch fixes a bug or add a feature we need to get asap? What if we need to "copy" some changes from parent folder into the one we're working on at the moment?
Let's commit this change and checkout the dev branch created in the past article, we'll see that MustHave.cs class is not present, how can we have it, together with any related change happened on Master branch since we initially created the dev branch?
Click Rebase and you'll now see MustHave.cs class being listed into the project, so basically we can think Rebase being a sort of reverse Merge, a really nice to have feature especially when multiple people are working on different branches.
Cool but: We have included ALL changes, including maybe some that could conflict or break the branch we're working on. What if I need to take just one or more commits, maybe from different branches, because very critical for what I'm working on and ignore the others?
Cherry-Pick is the git feature we need.
Let's do the same with commit b46c2419, we will get a similar confirmation message, and the history of dev branch will now include both cherry-picked commits.
As you see, git offers several option for mixing and matching code residing in different branches, of course all have to be treated with care since the risk of overwriting changes is always around the corner.
In this post we're going to talk about History.
In the previous post we saw how to commit changes so that git can track them, but without an history browser this list of changes wouldn't be available and we couldn't do anything regarding commit history.
Git of course let you see all commits history and so the Visual Studio Plugin of course.
Let's now add a new Class1.cs file to our project, commit the change, then let's add a property named P1 to the same class and commit the change again.
One of the interesting features of history is that we can see what has changed in each commit, just select a commit entry, right click it and select View Commit Details, the Team Explorer tab will change to Commit Details and will show all files involved, in our case just Class1.cs.
Double click the Class1.cs and a diff viewer window will open showing what has changed compared with latest commit in our case we'll see that property P1 has been added.
If you want to compare two specific commits instead just select them and click View Commit Details.
Another interesting feature is Reset, with this option you can delete a series of commits and rollback to a specific point in history.
Right click the commit you want to reset to, select Reset and select Delete Changes, this will remove all changes committed after that point resetting your project to that exact moment.
Reset will remove all changes, including any file added that commit, so use it with care because your job will be definitely lost.
In my case the Reset Hard operation deleted the Class1,cs file from both the project and the disk.
under Reset menu there's another option: Reset (Keep Changes).
After last Reset Hard I've re-added Class1.cs, committed, then added P1 property again and committed, putting the git history in the same status as it was before the Reset operation.
If I now right click commit with Id 0206669f and select Reset (Keep Changes) it looks like that nothing has changed since both Class1 and P1 are already there and if i add a new P2 property and I commit I see history changing appropriately and Class1 contains both P1 and P2.
Still not totally clear to me honestly, comments welcome.
If you want to delete a specific commit your can right click it and use Revert.
Click Accept Merge in the upper left corner and P3 property will be no longer present in Class1.
What if you want to undo some modification did to a file returning it to last commit state? Just go to Changes tab, right click changed file, select Undo Changes… and you're done.
In the previous post we learned how to connect a solution to Git source control, we'll now pay attention to the status of each file inside the solution.
Note: This is my personal definition, git uses a different terminology, but you got the point.
Both Class1 and .pfx file are now tracked, meaning that git knows about that but it hasn't started recoding changes because we have not commited them yet.
Stages changes are a way to control what files are part of a specific commit, and are an alternative to a "general" commit where we commit everything that has changed.
Ok, let's now add another class (Class2) to our project, let go to Team Explorer window and let's add a commit comment, we'll se that button has a Commit all text where we can commit everything that has changed in one shot.
Ok, but what if i want to split committing of Class1 to commit of Class2 for better separation? Just right click the Class1 file and select Stage, add a comment and click Commit Stages, only Class1 addition will be tracked into history.
and the previous commit will be updated with both Class1 and Class2 changes.
Most of the times I don't do such granular commits, but since you can revert to a specific commit entry having using this option can help you track precisely the evolution of your app.
As the vast majority of you i use Git as source control management, and, as many of you, I use it everyday but I feel that I'm just a basic user, so when something goes wrong or I just need to do something more 'advanced' i get lost very easily.
Another thing that differentiates me from those geeky developers is that I don't like using command line to interact with Git, but I prefer to use the same tool I use everyday: Visual Studio.
This series of post are nothing more that my tentative to take some basic notes of my daily Git use as basic user.
There is a lot of documentation around Git, in case you need more detailed info, at this link you will find a comprehensive guide.
-Git is more than a simple source control system.
-Git is a decentralized and serverless.
Regarding 2nd point: It means that Git doesen't require you to have a steady connection to a server, in fact you might even decide to not have a server at all and, in case of more developers working on the same code, they work with a local copy of the code and, when they decide to, they can sync their copies and this sync operation might lead to conflicts in case two or more developers changed the same parts of code.
When we create a new solution with Visual Studio, if we want to use source control with it we need to 'add it' to a source management system, Git in this case, since Visual Studio won't do that automatically for us.
If we check it, the new project will be associated with Git and we can use all related functionalities, confirmed by the presence of file status icons behind each file that is part of our solution.
We now have our brand new project and we know we can use Git source management system with it directly from Visual Studio, in the next episodes we'll see how.


The Commission denies the application by TELUS Communications Inc. to amend its regional broadcasting licences for various terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings in British Columbia and Alberta by deleting six licensed areas.
TELUS submitted that each of these undertakings meets the exemption criteria set out in Broadcasting Orders 2009-544 and 2017-320 insofar as it provides substantial community programming to its subscribers that is specific to the service area and has fewer than 20,000 subscribers.
almost all individuals who were granted access during the 2015-2016 broadcast year were either members of the creative sector or independent producers who had production experience or who otherwise had access to the broadcasting system.
Section 9(4) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act) provides that the Commission shall exempt classes of undertakings from certain requirements of the Act where it is satisfied that compliance with those requirements would not further the broadcasting policy objectives set out in section 3(1) of the Act.
In Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-100, the Commission announced that BDUs operating in both small and large markets under a single regional licence would be permitted to determine whether there would be greater benefits to continuing to operate in all markets as a single undertaking under a single licence or to conducting their operations in smaller markets in such a way that those operations would constitute discrete operations eligible for exemption.
offers substantial community programming to its subscribers that is specific to that service area.
The Commission determined that the provision of a community channel specific to a particular service area would be sufficient to meet criterion (c). In the case of a BDU that distributes community programming on an on-demand basis, such as TELUS, it must demonstrate that it spends 5% or more of the gross broadcasting revenues derived from the licensed area on community programming specific to that area.
TELUS filed the current application while a proceeding to consider licence renewal applications for certain BDUs, including TELUS in Alberta and British Columbia, was ongoing (see Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2017-160).
In a decision letter of 19 January 2018, the Commission suspended its consideration of the current application pending a decision in that licence renewal proceeding. In doing so, the Commission noted that issues relating to TELUS's community programming were under consideration in the context of the licence renewal proceeding and that it would not be appropriate to consider the substance of the application to exempt certain licensed areas prior to making determinations on the matters raised in that proceeding.
On 9 August 2018, TELUS filed a procedural request for the Commission to issue a decision on the current application on an expedited basis in light of the issuance of Broadcasting Decision 2018-267.
On 28 August 2018, the Commission denied this request, indicating that it wished to provide TELUS with the opportunity to submit additional information related to the community programming produced in each of the licensed areas where it seeks to operate an exempt undertaking before deciding on the application.
On the same date, Commission staff wrote to TELUS requesting additional information specific to the 2016-2017 broadcast year for the systems that the licensee is seeking to carve out and invited TELUS to provide any additional information that might be relevant to the Commission's consideration of the application. TELUS responded on 5 September 2018.
Following this reply, Commission staff issued one further request for information on 11 September 2018, to which TELUS responded on 18 September 2018.
In a letter of 15 October 2018, TELUS reiterated its request that its application be addressed immediately.
TELUS provided program grids detailing the community programs produced during the 2016-2017 broadcast year in each of the six licensed areas.
In its additional filings, TELUS maintained that it offered substantial community programming during the 2016-2017 broadcast year specific to the six service areas that it wants to carve out from its regional licences. It argued that there was ample evidence of this contained in the program grids it provided for each of these systems.
TELUS further submitted that carve-out criterion (c) is a simple spending requirement for on-demand community programming, not a qualitative test of the types of programming produced. It argued that the Commission's analysis that led to the approval of past carve-out applications by Cogeco and Rogers in Broadcasting Decisions 2010-532 and 2013-206 rested entirely on proof that each licensee had spent 5% or more of its gross broadcasting revenues derived from each service area on community programming specific to that area.
until the issuance of Broadcasting Decision 2018-267, it was unaware that the level of experience of its producers was a cause of concern.
With respect to the last point, TELUS noted that the Commission stated in Broadcasting Decision 2018-263 that, for the purposes of the licence renewal proceeding, it would not disqualify the specific programs originating with media professionals during the previous licence term, but that going forward those would generally not be considered access programming.
Finally, TELUS submitted that it was being subjected to asymmetrical treatment due to the fact that its main competitor, Shaw Communications Inc. (Shaw), has service area-specific BDU licences that can be revoked in favour of exemption simply by showing that it has fewer than 20,000 subscribers in a given area, whereas TELUS must also meet one of the carve-out criteria. TELUS reiterated its position in its letter of 15 October 2018 following the publication of Broadcasting Decision 2018-390, in which the Commission revoked Shaw's licence in Lethbridge, Alberta.
The Commission has applied the discrete operation test based on the information provided by TELUS. This information detailed the community programming produced in the 2016-2017 broadcast year for each of the areas that TELUS has applied to carve out of its regional licences and specified that certain programs are available online, which in certain cases allowed complementary information about the programs to be accessed.
In applying the discrete operation test, the Commission has engaged in an analysis of the nature and origin of the programming at issue in the application.
The Commission does not consider that its approach in this case represents a novel, qualitative test for a carve-out. Rather, the policy has always required that the applicant demonstrate that (1) a certain monetary threshold has been met in terms of programming expenditures and (2) the expenditures have gone towards programming of the appropriate type (i.e. community programming specific to a service area).
The Commission is of the view that a thorough assessment of this programming is appropriate given the findings made in Broadcasting Decision 2018-267. The Commission does not consider that this constitutes a retroactive application of a new Commission policy. On the contrary, it would be inappropriate to artificially ignore the findings of Broadcasting Decision 2018-267 where relevant, particularly as these findings were made with respect to the licensee's previous licence term and the information that TELUS has submitted in support of its carve-out application concerns one of the broadcast years within that licence term. TELUS was given an explicit opportunity to respond to these findings in the context of this application.
Finally, the Commission is mindful that the onus of establishing that it would be appropriate to grant an exemption in respect of a given service area lies on TELUS.
The Commission is of the view that certain programs produced by TELUS raise concerns similar to those expressed regarding the community programming of another licensee in Broadcasting Decision 2015-31. More specifically, the Commission considers that certain programs, though of high quality, do not deal with subject matters specific to the service areas or were not produced in areas served by TELUS.
TELUS claimed expenses in both Penticton and Vernon for programs entitled Tatshenshini River and Safety to Nome. TELUS explained that these productions were produced by members of one of those communities, feature members of the Okanagan community and relate to mountain biking, a popular sport in many communities in British Columbia.
Under the circumstances, the Commission does not consider that TELUS has established that these programs should be considered community programming specific to either of the service areas. In this regard, the Commission noted in Broadcasting Decision 2015-31 that programs tailored to serve the interests of multiple communities or to serve the interests of an entire province should not be considered specific to a service area. The Commission further notes that TELUS indicated that these programs were produced in Yukon and Alaska respectively. TELUS has no undertakings in these areas, which are hundreds of kilometres away from the service areas for which they were claimed.
Accordingly, the Commission has excluded the above-noted programs' budgets from the eligible expenses to be counted towards the 5% expenditure threshold. Deducting the expenses claimed for these productions brings TELUS under the 5% threshold in both areas.
Based on all of the above, the Commission considers that TELUS does not meet criterion (c) for Penticton and Vernon as it has not demonstrated that it spent 5% of its revenues on community programming specific to these areas in the 2016-2017 broadcast year.
The budget for a program entitled Trickle was split between the areas of Terrace and Prince George. TELUS stated that the program was filmed "across northern British Columbia" in areas that include the "Kitimat range of coastal mountains" near Terrace and Prince George and described the program in part as "a waterborne journey showcasing our recreational human connection to water in the Skeena River watershed." In the Commission's view, the information filed by TELUS does not provide sufficient evidence that the program is specific to either service area.
With respect to how the budget was divided between both areas, the Commission notes that the expenses claimed in each location are disproportionate: while the total duration of the program was split in half between the two systems, TELUS claimed only a minor portion of the budget for half of the duration of the program in Terrace, but claimed almost all of the budget for the other half of the program in Prince George. Had the budget been split proportionately, as in the case of the duration, the expenditures claimed for Prince George would have fallen well below the 5% threshold. TELUS offered no justification for this disparity.
The only other program that TELUS indicated was produced for Terrace was The Angel of Cassiar. TELUS argued that the production was specific to Terrace.Footnote 3 However, TELUS's own submission indicates that this program focuses on a story that is broadly relevant to all of Northern British Columbia. Therefore, as in the case of Trickle, the Commission considers that TELUS has not established that the program is specific to the Terrace community.
Ride North, another program included on the list for Prince George, depicts the adventures of cyclists from Prince George, as well as from other communities in British Columbia and foreign countries, during a week of mountain biking on trails that run through multiple communities in British Columbia, including Prince George. The program was claimed as an access production, but the producer is based in Vancouver rather than Prince George. TELUS has not established to the Commission's satisfaction that this production is specific to Prince George.
Accordingly, the Commission has excluded the above-noted programs' budgets from the eligible expenses to be counted towards the 5% expenditure threshold for Prince George, bringing TELUS under this threshold.
Finally, based on the Commission's analysis, the licensee did not produce any programming specific to Terrace during the 2016-2017 broadcast year. While TELUS argued that it spent well over 5% of its yearly revenues from this system on training opportunities and outreach, the Commission considers that these expenditures should not count towards the 5% threshold as a licensee cannot be considered to have satisfied criterion (c) in respect of a service area such as Terrace where no community programming specific to the area has been produced in a given year.
As such, the Commission considers that TELUS does not meet criterion (c) for Terrace and Prince George as it has not demonstrated that it spent 5% of its revenues on community programming specific to these areas in the 2016-2017 broadcast year.
This definition includes community access television programming and local community television programming.
The Commission notes that TELUS indicated that VICE was associated with the production of a program and related virtual reality project entitled Fort McMurray Post-Fire (VICE) + VR. TELUS stated that this program was available online. When accessed, each of the four episodes list it as a Vice MediaFootnote 4 production and the credits list this company as an executive producer. While this program is clearly specific to the Fort McMurray area, the Commission has concerns that a large, professional production company appears to have been closely involved in its production.Footnote 5 In the Commission's view, TELUS has not established that this production should be considered community programming as defined in the Regulations.
Accordingly, the Commission has excluded this program's budget from the eligible expenses to be counted towards the 5% expenditure threshold. Deducting the expenses claimed for this production brings TELUS under this threshold in Fort McMurray.
As such, the Commission considers that TELUS does not meet criterion (c) for Fort McMurray in that it has not demonstrated that it spent 5% of its revenues on community programming in that community in the 2016-2017 broadcast year.
The information provided by TELUS indicates that the licensee's expenditures relating to volunteer training and community outreach vary widely between licensed areas. While the Commission recognizes that specific challenges in community outreach may arise with respect to each location, TELUS claimed expenses relating to workshops and social media campaigns common to many of the six locations, with cost allocations that vary greatly from one location to another. TELUS has neither provided details regarding these divergences, nor a rationale for its disproportionate training and outreach expenditures across the six systems that it is seeking to exempt. While not necessarily problematic on its own, this kind of variance becomes more concerning when considered together with the other issues discussed in this decision.
The information filed as part of TELUS's application does not alleviate the Commission's concerns with regard to the licensee's community television operations raised in Broadcasting Decision 2018-267. Rather, it further highlights some of these concerns and the need for remedial action on the part of the licensee.
For instance, the record of this proceeding indicates that TELUS produced very little original programming in the service areas at issue during the 2016-2017 broadcast year. No more than nine programs in any given service area, and in one case as few as two programs, were produced. This includes co-productions across multiple service areas. Moreover, of the limited number of programs, very few qualify as access programming. Consequently, while many of the programs may be of high quality, this situation is detrimental to citizen access to the broadcasting system, as well as community reflection.
In this regard, the Regulations define "community access television program" as "programming produced by an individual, group or community television corporation residing within the licensed area of a cable distribution undertaking." Notwithstanding TELUS's arguments to the contrary, the Commission considers that the address of access producers is a simple and objective method for determining residence and thus whether a given program should qualify as access in a given service area.
For multiple service areas, including Grande Prairie, TELUS has categorized programs as access programming despite the fact that the producers reside outside those service areas. The Commission considers that such programs cannot be considered genuine opportunities for community members to access the broadcasting system. Moreover, given the minimal amounts of programming and access opportunities described above, the Commission considers that TELUS did not foster a greater diversity of voices as envisioned by the Community Television Policy.
Finally, the issues surrounding access programming could potentially lead to other concerns. For example, under section 32(2) of the Regulations, licensees must devote at least 50% of all direct programming expenses in a broadcast year to access programming.Footnote 6 The fact that many programs designated as access by TELUS do not qualify as access programming could have a significant impact on its ability to satisfy this requirement.
In light of all the above, the Commission finds that TELUS has not met exemption criterion (c) set out at paragraph 7 of this decision in Prince George, Terrace, Vernon, Penticton and Fort McMurray. As a consequence, those service areas do not meet the discrete operation test and are not eligible for carve-out.
Further, the Commission is of the view that in general the community programming distributed by TELUS in the six licensed areas at issue did not meet the key policy objectives of citizen access and community reflection set out in the Community Television Policy.
Given the above and the significance of the concerns raised by TELUS's community programming operations, the Commission considers that it would not be appropriate to grant the licensee a carve-out with respect to any of the communities requested, including Grande Prairie, at this time. Accordingly, the Commission denies TELUS's application to amend its regional broadcasting licences for various terrestrial BDUs by deleting the above-noted licensed areas.
Once TELUS has addressed the Commission's concerns regarding its community programming, it may file a new application seeking to delete these undertakings from its regional licences based on its new programming.
While the Commission has recently received the licensee's report, this decision does not address that report, and any necessary follow-up will be undertaken separately.
For instance, in Broadcasting Decision 2018-267, the Commission denied TELUS's request for conditions of licence that would have provided the licensee with greater flexibility relating to its community programming due in part to the Commission's serious concerns regarding the licensee's conduct with respect to this type of programming.
Cassiar, British Columbia, is located hundreds of kilometres from Terrace.
Vice Media is a North American digital media and broadcasting company owned in part by The Walt Disney Company and A&E Networks.
The Commission has similar concerns with regard to another above-noted production, Tatshenshini River (also available online according to TELUS), whose credits indicate that it is a Red Bull Media House production. Red Bull Media House is a globally distributed multi-platform media company specializing in sports, lifestyle programming, music and games.
At section 32(1), "direct programming expense" is defined as an expenditure for the production or acquisition of programming, including (a) expenditures on volunteer training and volunteer program development and community outreach, but excluding expenditures related to technology, sales, promotion and administration as well as general expenses; and (b) expenditures related to the acquisition of programming produced by community-based digital undertakings, community-based low-power television stations or community television corporations.


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Senate Confirms Rao, Trump's Nominee to Fill Kavanaugh's Seat
The D.C. Circuit hears many of the most significant cases involving regulatory law and federal authority
All Senate Republicans voted to confirm Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump's pick to be a judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. All Democrats and independents voted no, except for one absent senator.
Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Jess Bravin
@JessBravin
ByJessBravin
Jess.Bravin@wsj.com
March 13, 2019 10:20 pm ET
WASHINGTON—President Trump's deregulation czar, Neomi Rao, will fill the federal appeals court seat once held by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, after the Senate confirmed her nomination with a 53-46 party-line vote Wednesday.
Ms. Rao, 45 years old, has headed the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which oversees federal agency regulations. The post has given her a chance to implement deregulatory approaches that she has honed over a career in conservative legal circles. She has served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, counsel to President George W. Bush and for the Senate Judiciary Committee, and professor at Antonin Scalia Law School, where she founded the Center for the Study of the Administrative State.
"When considering this particular seat, it's hard to imagine anyone better prepared," Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) said during floor debate on Ms. Rao's nomination. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where Justice Kavanaugh had served, hears many of the most significant cases involving regulatory law and federal authority. "Her office has reduced regulatory costs by more than $23 billion," Mr. Cornyn said.
Democrats disagreed.
"Ms. Rao has a record of working to dismantle key regulations that ensure the air we breathe is safe, that address climate change, and that protect American workers and consumers," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.). One such effort, repealing the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, "is expected to cause up to 48,000 new cases of serious asthma and 15,000 new cases of upper respiratory problems every year," Mrs. Feinstein said.


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Home » Villas by the sea: Rich Russians fleeing sanctions are pumping up Dubai's property sector
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Villas by the sea: Rich Russians fleeing sanctions are pumping up Dubai's property sector
The team at Dubai property firm Mira Estate have reason to celebrate.
The luxury real estate company just clocked a 100% year-on-year increase in sales to buyers from Russia and other former Soviet states in the first half of 2022.
Property sales to these nationals for the firm, which specializes in Russian-speaking clients, doubled year on year to 2 billion dirhams, or $500 million, according to a company press release issued this week.
In a swanky Dubai nightclub in May, Russian real estate agents from another brokerage popped bottles of champagne to celebrate making record commissions on sales to fellow citizens buying their first homes in the desert oasis. One saleswoman raked in 4 million dirhams in commission in just three months, according to her colleague, who spoke to CNBC anonymously in light of professional restrictions.
And billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea football club and longtime associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is reportedly house-hunting on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, the iconic man-made archipelago of artificial islands designed to look like a palm tree. The tycoon's private jet, worth $350 million, has been grounded in the emirate for some four months after the U.S. Justice Department authorized its seizure.
The influx of buyers from Russia — as well as from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a group of nine former Soviet countries spanning Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia — has pumped up the United Arab Emirates' property sector in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions.
While numerous countries imposed sanctions and asset seizures on wealthy Russians and figures linked to Putin, causing many to lose their multimillion dollar properties in cities like London and Paris, the UAE has remained open for business.
"The war in Ukraine and the impact of sanctions on Russian-speaking individuals and their establishments have led wealthy CIS investors to flee their countries and find a haven in Dubai," Mira Estate CEO Tamara Getigezheva said in her company's release.
"CIS billionaires and entrepreneurs have been flocking to the UAE in record numbers, leading to a surge in demand for real estate. Most homebuyers are looking for ready units and waterfront properties."
The swimming pool of a luxury villa for sale on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, on May 19, 2021.
GIUSEPPE CACACE | AFP via Getty Images
Indeed, Dubai is seeing its hottest real estate market in years, with sales in the sector up 45% year on year in April and 51% in May, according to the Dubai Land Department.
Following a steep dive at the start of the pandemic, the UAE's glitzy commercial hub saw a steady recovery after it adopted a more relaxed approach to the Covid-19 pandemic as other markets were still imposing heavy restrictions. The UAE opened up new visa opportunities for long-term residents and remote workers, signed a historic normalization deal with Israel, liberalized some of its social rules, and switched from its Islamic Friday-Saturday weekend to the Saturday-Sunday one.
But the decision to stay neutral as much of the wealthy world shut its doors to Russians following Putin's brutal invasion of its neighbor in late February has paid off particularly well for the UAE, whose 90% expat population, tax haven status and reputation for financial secrecy make it highly attractive to many of the world's high-net-worth individuals.
Destination for the ultra rich
Dubai brokerage Betterhomes, in a ranking released in April, found that Russians moved up two places to become the fifth-top buyers of Dubai properties in the first quarter. And London-based citizenship-by-investment firm Henley & Partners in June released a report projecting that the UAE will be the world's top destination for the ultra-wealthy this year, forecasting that it will receive 4,000 new millionaires.
Russia, meanwhile, is set to lose 15,000 millionaires, according to the firm's research.
"Roots in the UAE are now becoming a must-have asset in every high-net-worth investor's portfolio," Philippe Amarante, a managing partner at Henley & Partners, wrote in the report.
Misha Glenny, journalist and author of the book "McMafia," wrote in a post for Henley & Partners: "The UAE has experienced soaring rates of high-net-worth migration, primarily into Abu Dhabi and Dubai."
Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty Images
"Affluent Russians seeking to escape the impact of the devastating Western sanctions on their country have started to move to the UAE and to Israel," Glenny added, the latter of which is fourth on the firm's destinations list.
Villas on the water
There's also a clear trend as to what kind of properties Russian buyers go for, those who work in the business say.
"Mostly luxury properties, especially anything around the sea," Tahir Majithia, managing partner at Dubai-based Prime Capital real estate, told CNBC. He named sought-after areas like the Palm Jumeirah, as well as the upscale Emaar Beachfront and La Mer properties along the city's coast.
"Anything near the water with a good view, that is always their first preference.″
Residential villas on the waterside of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai on Feb. 24, 2022. Russians were always among the top 10 nationalities investing in Dubai property, according to Tahir Majithia, managing partner at Dubai-based Prime Capital real estate.
Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Buyers seek a mix of properties to hold and rent as investments as well as for personal use, though most are for investment, Majithia said. "Block deals," in which a buyer will purchase a whole floor or several, are very common. One floor of a luxury apartment building will cost between roughly $7 million and $10 million on average, he said, though this of course varies with location and size.
Russians were always among the top 10 nationalities investing in Dubai property, Majithia said. But there's been a spike since February, he noted, adding that "something we also noticed was some of these buyers were also liquidating their assets in other countries and moving those funds over here."
Many Russian buyers also make their purchases in cryptocurrency, he said, as several of Dubai's major property firms have started accepting digital currency payments.
'Dirty money' accusations
Anti-corruption activists and lawmakers accuse Dubai of being a hub for dirty money. Kremlin critic Bill Browder has called for the emirate to be put on a financial blacklist, and a group of members of the European Parliament in May accused the UAE of facilitating "money laundering at a grand scale," calling on it to sanction Russian oligarchs who've moved there.
The Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental anti-money laundering watchdog, in March placed the UAE on its "gray list" over concerns that the Gulf country had "strategic deficiencies" in stemming illegal financial activities.
In response, the Emirati body tasked with countering illegal financial activities told CNBC that the UAE "has a stringent framework in place to counter illicit finance and implement targeted financial sanctions. Effective measures are targeting a range of financial crime risks and typologies, including in the real estate sector."
A number of government ministries have "outlined specific regulatory requirements with which the sector must comply in order to counter money laundering and terrorist financing and ensure that applicable local and international sanctions regimes are implemented," a statement from the UAE's Executive Office for Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism read.
The country aims to provide a stable business environment for investors from around the world, it said, "while mitigating the risks of illicit financial flows from entering the country and protecting the integrity of the financial system."
The measures come as the country steps up its reforms in an effort to meet international standards.
In the meantime, the UAE's economy is booming.
"I'm sure a lot of Russians are trying to fix their problems and their issues, but Dubai will benefit ultimately from any crisis," Emirati property magnate Hussain Sajwani told CNBC in an interview in mid-March.
"I'll be honest with you, these sanctions … they made a lot of people nervous," Sajwani said at the time. "If anyone brings money through the banking system here legally and professionally, we'll do business with them."
TagsDubai Emiriati property luxury villas property
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