text:
\section{Introduction}
	 An optically levitated dielectric particle in vacuum is  a novel optomechanical system that gains lots of attentions recently \cite{Yin2013b,Romero2010,Chang2010,Li2010,li2011millikelvin}. Many recent studies  focus on the center-of-mass motion \cite{Yin2011,li2011millikelvin}, librational motion \cite{shi2013coupling,hoang2016torsional}, rotation \cite{Arita2013laser,kuhn2017optically,Ahn2018,Reimann2018}, nonlinear dynamics \cite{gieseler2013thermal,ricci2017optically,xiao2017bistability,PhysRevLett.117.173602}, and nonequilibrium thermodynamics \cite{Li2010,rondin2017direct,Hoang2018,e20050326,millen2014nanoscale} of a single levitated nanoparticle. Because of its ultra-high mechanical quality factor, this system is an ideal testbed for macroscopic quantum phenomena \cite{Romero2011,Yin2013,Scala2013b,Yin2017,Ma2017}, and can be used for ultra-sensitive measurements of force, torque, mass and acceleration \cite{volpe2006torque,volpe2007brownian,Zhao2014,Ranjit2016,xu2017detecting,Chen2018}.
	 With the development of related technologies, a nanoparticle has been trapped  in high vacuum and its center-of-mass motion has been cooled to a mean thermal phonon number in the order of $10$ \cite{PhysRevLett.116.243601}. The optically levitated nanoparticle could be further cooled to the quantum ground state through cavity sideband cooling, which will enable us to investigate dynamics of nanoparticles in the quantum regime \cite{Yin2011,2013PNAS..11014180K,yoshihiko2018optical}.

	 Multiple  dielectric particles can also be levitated simultaneously \cite{Moore:16,Arita:18} and the
	optical fields can generate forces between them. This phenomenon is so-called `optical binding' \cite{dholakia2010colloquim,burns1989optical,Arita:18}, which can induce  interesting self-organization phenomenon \cite{kar2008long,ng2005photonic,lechner2013cavity}. While there have been many studies about optical binding of particles in liquid \cite{dholakia2010colloquim}, systems of optically bond dielectric particles in vacuum are largely unexplored.
 In this paper, we consider an optomechanical array of levitated nanospheres in vacuum,  and study phonon dynamics and energy transport in it.

Controlling the behavior of phonons  is of great research interests in acoustics, nanoscale thermal energy transfer, and material science. There have been many new developments in controlling phonon dynamics, such as phononic crystal  \cite{wu2004surface,yang2004focusing,khelif2006complete}, phononic Josephson junction \cite{xu2017phononic,barzanjeh2016phonon} and acoustic diode \cite{liang2009acoustic,li2004thermal}. Nonreciprocal phonon transport is one of the most important research directions in this field. Various methods, including nonlinearity \cite{hu2006asymmetric,li2004thermal,bender2013observation,fleury2014sound}, parametric modulation \cite{huang2016nonreciprocal}, $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry \cite{zhu2014pt,lin2011unidirectional,shi2016accessing} and topological design \cite{wang2015topological,xia2017topological,liu2017model}, have been proposed to realize the nonreciprocal transport. Meanwhile, there are some experiments and theories on prethermalization \cite{gong2013prethermalization,neyenhuis2017observation, mohan2005quasi,kottos2011thermalization}, which describes  quasi-stationary states that stay out of equilibrium for very long time.

	Recently, there is a new approach to tailor the phonon dynamics by using optomechanical interactions. Optomechanical structures have been designed to investigate many-body effects \cite{chen2014photon,chang2011slowing,ludwig2013quantum},  achieve topological transport \cite{peano2015topological,brendel2018snowflake} or pseudomagnetic fields \cite{brendel2017pseudomagnetic}. These works mostly based on cavity-based optomechanical resonator arrays. However,  current manufacturing technologies are not sufficient to fabricate cavity-based optomechanical resonator arrays with desired frequency accuracy and coupling. Different from nanofabricated optomechanical resonators with fixed frequencies, the parameters of an optically levitated optomechanical array that we are proposing here are highly tunable. For example, the trapping frequency of each nanosphere can be tuned by changing the power of each trapping laser.
The coupling strength between neighboring nanospheres can  be easily adjusted by using additional optical binding lasers or changing the positions of nanospheres. By tuning these parameters, we can manipulate the transport behavior of phonons in our system to realize nonreciprocal phonon reflection and prethermalization. Our system  provides a versatile platform to investigate novel phonon transport and  energy transfer phenomena.

	This paper is organized as follows: In Sec.II, we introduce the model, derive its classical dynamics and quantum Hamiltonian. In Sec.III, we give some typical parameters, present our calculation of coupling strength, introduce the master equation for correlation matrix and show the general behavior of energy transport. In Sec.IV, we reveal that the prethermalization could happen in our system if the trapping frequencies meet some conditions.  We also investigate the phonon dynamics at different interaction range and trapping frequencies. In Sec.V, we introduce a feasible method to realize nonreciprocal phonon reflection in our system by tuning the phonon energy gain and loss. In the last section Sec.VI, we give a brief conclusion and prospect of this study.

\section{Model}

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{fig1MODEL}
		\caption{(Color online).(a) Schematic diagram of a 1D levitated optomechanical array. All these nanosphere are placed on $x$-axis and uniformly-spaced. Each nanosphere is trapped by a linearly polarized laser beam propagating along $y$-axis. ${E_\parallel }$ and ${E_\bot }$ denotes the electric field component parallel to the $y$-axis and $z$-axis respectively. (b) The $i$th nanosphere (with equilibrium position $id$) and $j$th nanosphere (with equilibrium position $jd$) deviate their equilibrium positions with displacements of $x_i$ and $x_j$, respectively. $\Delta F_{ij}$ is net force between the two spheres.}
		\label{fig:model}
	\end{figure}

	As shown in Fig. \ref{fig:model}, we  consider a levitated nanosphere array formed by identical dielectric nanospheres.  Each sphere is trapped by a linearly polarized Gaussian laser beam. We suppose the diameter of those nanospheres are much less than the wavelength of the trapping beam. In this case, we can use dipole approximation to calculate the force between the nanospheres. For the $i$th nanosphere, the induced dipole ${\mathbf{p_i}} = \alpha {\mathbf{E_i}}$, where $\mathbf{E_i}$ is the total electric field. The total electric field acting on $i$th sphere can be given by the sum of the trapping field $\mathbf{E_i^I}$ and the field generated by other dipole \cite{dapasse1994optical,dholakia2010colloquim},
	\begin{equation}
	\mathbf{E_i} = \mathbf{E_i^I} + \sum\limits_{j \ne i} {{G_{ij}}\mathbf{p_j}} = \mathbf{E_i^I} + \sum\limits_{j \ne i} {\alpha {G_{ij}}\mathbf{E_j}}\label{totalE},
	\end{equation}
	where $G_{jk}$ is the propagator between dipole $j$ and $k$  and $\alpha$ is scalar polarizability of those nanoparticles. We substitute (\ref{totalE}) into itself, we can get
	\begin{equation}
	\mathbf{E_i} = \mathbf{E_i^I} + \sum\limits_{j \ne i} {\alpha {G_{ij}}\left( {\mathbf{E_j^I} + \sum\limits_{k \ne j} {\alpha {G_{jk}}{\mathbf{E_k}}} } \right)}.
	\end{equation}
	As the $\alpha {G_{jk}}$ is small compared with trapping field, we neglect the second order terms. The force can be calculated as $F = \frac{1}{2}{\mathop{\rm Re}\nolimits} \left\langle {{\mathbf{p}^*} \cdot \partial \mathbf{E}} \right\rangle$. So the force acts on the $i$ th sphere reads
	\begin{multline}\label{eq:Force}
	F = \frac{1}{2}{\mathop{\rm Re}\nolimits} \left\langle {{{\left( {\alpha \mathbf{E_i^I}} \right)}^*} \cdot \partial \mathbf{E_i^I}} \right\rangle
	\\ + \frac{1}{2}\sum\limits_{j \ne i} {{\mathop{\rm Re}\nolimits} \left\langle {{{\left( {\alpha \mathbf{E_i^I}} \right)}^*} \cdot \partial \left( {\alpha {G_{ij}}\mathbf{E_j^I}} \right)} \right\rangle }.
	\end{multline}
	The first term is the force due to the trapping laser and the second term is the sum of those optical binding force from other spheres. Eq. \eqref{eq:Force} allows us to calculate the optical binding force ${F_{ij}} = \frac{1}{2}{\mathop{\rm Re}\nolimits} \left\langle {{{\left( {\alpha \mathbf{E_i^I}} \right)}^ * } \cdot \partial \left( {\alpha {G_{ij}}\mathbf{E_j^I}} \right)} \right\rangle $ for each of two spheres first,  and then sum them up. The binding force along the $x$ axis between the two dielectric spheres seperated by $R$ can be written as the sum of two parts \cite{dholakia2010colloquim,samarendra2004optical}
	\begin{equation}
	{F_x} = {F_{xx}} + {F_{xy}},
	\end{equation}
	where
	\begin{equation}
	{F_{xx}} = \frac{{2{\alpha ^2}E_x^2}}{{8\pi {\epsilon _0}{R^4}}}\left[ { - 3\cos kR - 3kR\cos kR + {{\left( {kR} \right)}^2}\cos kR} \right]
	\end{equation}
	and
	\begin{equation}
	{F_{xy}} = \frac{{{\alpha ^2}E_y^2}}{{8\pi {\epsilon _0}{R^4}}}\left[ \begin{array}{l}
	3\cos kR + 3kR\sin kR\\
	- 2{\left( {kR} \right)^2}\cos kR - {\left( {kR} \right)^3}\sin kR
	\end{array} \right].
	\end{equation}

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{fig2GNEW2}
		\caption{(Color online) (a) The optical binding force between two dielectric spheres as a function of the spacing $x$. $\theta$ is the angle between polarization direction of the trapping laser and the $x$ axis. (b) The coupling strength as a function of spacing $x$ when the polarization direction is perpendicular to the array. Dots represents the values at the spacing we choose.}
		\label{fig:gnew2}
	\end{figure}

	Here the two spheres are placed on the $x$-axis and the two trapping beams have the same frequency and polarization. $E_x$ and $E_y$ are the electric field components of the trapping beams parallel to the $x$-axis and the $y$-axis, respectively. Therefore, $F_{xx}$ depicts the binding  force along $x$-axis between $\mathbf{p}_i$ and $\mathbf{p}_j$ due to the $x$ components of the electric field of the trapping lasers, and $F_{xy}$ depicts the binding force along $x$-axis between $\mathbf{p}_i$ and $\mathbf{p}_j$ due to the $y$ electric field components of the trapping lasers.  If the polarization direction is paralleled to $x$-axis, i.e. paralleled to the array, ${E_x} = {E_0}$, ${E_y} = 0$. So ${F_x} = {F_{xx}}$ and in the far field region $kR \gg 1$, ${F_x} \sim {R^{ - 2}}$, which scales similarly to the Coloumb force.  If the polarization direction is perpendicular to $x$-axis, i.e. perpendicular to the array, ${E_x} = 0$, ${E_y} = {E_0}$. So ${F_x} = {F_{xy}}$ and in the far field region $kR \gg 1$, ${F_x} \sim {R^{ - 1}}$, which reduces much slower than the Columb force. These characters allow us to investigate the dynamics under a Columb-like interaction, or under the interaction form that rarely exists in nature. The different force forms are shown in Fig.  \ref{fig:gnew2}(a), where $\theta$ denotes the angle between polarization direction of the lasers and the $x$ axis.

	As Fig. \ref{fig:model}(b) shows, we suppose that the uniformly-spaced spheres have small vibrations around their equilibrium positions $x_{i0}$ and focus on the behavior of vibrational energy transport in the array. When the $i$th and $j$th spheres deviate their equilibrium positions with displacement $x_i$ and $x_j$, they will experience a force
	\begin{equation}
	\Delta {F_{ij}} = \Delta R{\left. {\frac{{d{F_x}}}{{dR}}} \right|_{x = \left| {i - j} \right|{d}}} \equiv {k_{ij}}\Delta R.
	\end{equation}
	We denote ${k_n} = {\left. {\frac{{d{F_x}}}{{dR}}} \right|_{R = n{d}}}$ and $\omega_n = \sqrt{k_n/m}$, where $n=\left| {i - j} \right|$. We can write the classical dynamics of the system as
	\begin{equation}
	{{\ddot x}_i} + \omega _0^2{x_i} + \sum\limits_n {\omega _n^2\left( {2{x_i} - {x_{i + n}} - {x_{i - n}}} \right) = 0}.
	\end{equation}

	If the nanospheres are cooled to millikelvin temperatures or even to their ground states,  a Hamiltonian in quantum regime is needed to describe the dynamics of the system. The Hamiltonian of the system reads
	\begin{equation}
	H = \sum\limits_i {\left( {\frac{{p_i^2}}{{2m}} + \frac{1}{2}{k_0}x_i^2} \right)} + \sum\limits_{i \ne j} {\frac{1}{2}{k_{ij}}{{\left( {{x_i} - {x_j}} \right)}^2}}.
	\end{equation}
	By using the annihilation(creation) operator ${b_i}({b_i^\dag })$ at site $i$ and neglecting the fast rotating terms \cite{michael2014energy}, we can get
	\begin{equation}\label{eq:Hamiltonian}
	H = \sum\limits_i {\hbar \Omega_i b_i^\dag {b_i}} + \hbar \sum\limits_{i \ne j} {{g_{ij}}\left( {b_i^\dag {b_j} + {b_i}b_j^\dag } \right)},
	\end{equation}
	where
	\begin{equation*}
	\Omega_i = \sqrt {({k_0} + \sum\limits_{j \ne i} {{k_{ij}}} )/m},
	\end{equation*}
	and
	\begin{equation*}
	{g_{ij}} = -\frac{{{k_{ij}}}}{{2m\sqrt{\Omega_i \Omega_j} }}.
	\end{equation*}
	We can cool or amplify the motion of the nanosphere by parametric or force feedback control \cite{PhysRevLett.116.243601,li2011millikelvin}.
	This feedback cooling (amplifying) process can be written in an equation of the average energy $E_i$ of the 	 nanosphere phenomenologically:
	\begin{equation}
	\label{feedback}
	\frac{{d{E_i}}}{{dt}} = - \frac{{{\Gamma ^{cool}}}}{2}(+ \frac{{{\Gamma ^{amp}}}}{2}){E_i}.
	\end{equation}
	We note that it is equivalent to adding $ - i\frac{{{\Gamma ^{cool}}}}{2}b_i^\dag {b_i}$ ($ + \frac{{{\Gamma ^{amp}}}}{2}b_i^\dag {b_i}$) into the Hamiltonian \eqref{eq:Hamiltonian}.

	\section{Master Equation}
	Using the method of  feedback cooling and cavity side-band cooling, we can cool the motion of nanoparticles near their ground states. When we `kick' or drive one of the nanosphere in array, the vibrational energy will quickly spread in the form of local phonons. Here we use the master equation to study the energy transport in the array. The master equation of the system reads
	\begin{equation}
	\dot \rho = - i\left[ {H,\rho } \right] + \sum\limits_j {{\mathcal{L}_j}\rho },
	\end{equation}
	where ${\mathcal{L}_j}\rho$ can be given in Lindblad form,
	\begin{eqnarray*}
		{\mathcal{L}_j}\rho &= {\Gamma _j}\left( {{n_j} + 1} \right)\left( {{b_j}\rho b_j^\dag - \frac{1}{2}\left\{ {b_j^\dag {b_j},\rho } \right\}} \right)\\
		&+ {\Gamma _j}{n_j}\left( {b_j^\dag \rho {b_j} - \frac{1}{2}\left\{ {{b_j}b_j^\dag ,\rho } \right\}} \right),
	\end{eqnarray*}
	where $n_j$ is the average phonon number of the environment around the $j$th nanosphere and $\Gamma_j$ is the mechanical damping rate of the $j$th nanosphere.
	If we define a correlation matrix ${C_{ij}} \equiv \braket{{b_i^\dag {b_j}}}$, and $\braket{\dot C} = Tr({\rho \dot C})$, we use the master equation  and get \cite{asadian2013heat}
	\begin{equation}
	\dot C = i\left[ {W,C} \right] + \left\{ {L,C} \right\} + M,
	\end{equation}
	where ${W_{ij}} = \Omega {\delta _{ij}} + {g_{ij}}$, $L = - \frac{1}{2}Diag\left( {{\Gamma _1},{\Gamma _2}, \ldots ,{\Gamma _N}} \right)$, $M = Diag\left( {{\Gamma _1}{n_1},{\Gamma _2}{n_2}, \ldots ,{\Gamma _N}{n_N}} \right)$. In an experiment, subsequent velocity and energy readout allows us to investigate how energy spreads in the array. Here we suppose that all the spheres have been cooled to millikelvin temperatures and then we excite one of them.  We suppose the system is prepared in a thermal state at beginning
	\begin{equation}
	{\rho _i} = \frac{1}{{\bar n_i + 1}}{\left( {\frac{{\bar n_i}}{{\bar n_i + 1}}} \right)^n}\left| {{n_i}} \right\rangle \left\langle {{n_i}} \right|
	\end{equation}
	and we can get ${C_{ij}} = \braket{b_i^\dag {b_j}} = {\bar n_i}{\delta _{ij}}$, $\bar n_i$ is the initial average phonon number of the $i$th nanosphere. Whether the excitation process is modeled as acting a displacement operator with arbitrary phase on the $i$th sphere or preparing a big fock state $\left| n_i \right\rangle$, we can see that it will only change the corresponding matrix element ${C_{ii}}$. So we might as well set ${\bar n_i} \gg {\bar n_j}\left( {j \ne i} \right)$ and simulate the dynamics of phonon number. Actually, because of ultra-small mechanical loss, the system is very close to an isolated system.

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{fig3CouplingPerpendicular15}
		\caption{(Color online) The coupling strength between $i$th and $j$th nanospheres.}
		\label{fig:couplingperpendicular15}
	\end{figure}

Here we list the parameters we use in this section and Sec. \ref{sec:pretherm}.
	All the nanospheres are made by silica.  The diameter of every nanosphere is 200nm. The power of our trapping laser is $P_0=100$mW, its waist is $w_0=600$nm and its wavelength is $\lambda=1550$nm. Under this situation, we choose the spacing of each two adjacent spheres $d=\lambda$ to achieve a larger coupling. The polarization directions of all laser beam are chosen to be perpendicular to array.  The coupling strengths as a function of $x$ is plotted in Fig. \ref{fig:gnew2}(b),  and the coupling strengths between each two nanospheres under the above parameters are plotted in Fig. \ref{fig:couplingperpendicular15}.

	To have a general picture of phonon transport, the calculation results for the case of $n=15$ and the 8th nanosphere being kicked are shown in Fig.  \ref{fig:generalcom}(a), where  the interactions among the nanospheres are due to long-range optical binding (Fig. \ref{fig:gnew2}(b)).  For comparison, we also calculated a hypothetical case with  only nearest-neighbor coupling, as showed in Fig. \ref{fig:generalcom}(b). It is found that under the long-range optical binding interactions, the energy spreads in the array more uniformly and thoroughly than the nearest-neighbor coupling. We also note that the system can revive because of ultra-small mechanical loss.

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{fig4GENERALCOM}
		\caption{(Color online) Energy diffusion in a levitated optomechanical array with 15 nanospheres. The system is initially prepared in $n_8 \gg {n_j}\left( {j \ne 8} \right)$. (a) Full dynamics with long-range hopping terms due to optical binding. (b) Dynamics with only the nearest-neighbor hopping terms. Energy spreads more uniformly and thoroughly in (a) because of the long-range hopping terms.}
		\label{fig:generalcom}
	\end{figure}

	\section{Prethermalization}\label{sec:pretherm}
	How an isolated system reaches thermal equilibrium, and what is its far-from-equilibrium behavior have intrigued researchers for a long time.  Recently, a phenomenon called prethermalization was predicted  theoretically \cite{gong2013prethermalization} and realized experimentally \cite{neyenhuis2017observation} in a trapped ion chain. The
prethemalization is a process that system reaches a quasi-stationary state before it finally thermalizes. In the harmonic oscillator, the prethermalization is also found to happen with nonlinearity \cite{mohan2005quasi,sen2004quasi}.

Since the damping rate of a levitated nanosphere array is extremely small in high vacuum, we can treat our system as an approximately isolated system. We investigate how does the system thermalize when the interaction between trapped nanospheres is long-range interaction or nearest-neighbor interaction.
We find a highly-excited prethermalization phenomenon in our system without nonlinearity by tuning the trapping frequencies. In order to characterize how the system reaches equilibrium, we introduce a parameter \cite{gong2013prethermalization}
	\begin{equation}
	A\left( t \right) = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^N {{f_i}{n_i}\left( t \right)} } \mathord{\left/
			{\vphantom {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^N {{f_i}{n_i}\left( t \right)} } {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^N {{n_i}\left( 0 \right)} }}} \right.
			\kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^N {{n_i}\left( 0 \right)} }},
	\end{equation}
	where ${f_i} \equiv {{\left( {2i - N - 1} \right)} \mathord{\left/
			{\vphantom {{\left( {2i - N - 1} \right)} {\left( {N - 1} \right)}}} \right.
			\kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\left( {N - 1} \right)}}$ and ${n_i} \equiv b
	_i^\dag {b_i}$. The expectation value $\left\langle A \right\rangle \in \left[ { - 1,1} \right]$. It can be easily checked that ${\left\langle A \right\rangle _{t = 0}} = - 1$ for kicking leftmost nanosphere, ${\left\langle A \right\rangle _{t = 0}} = 1$ for kicking rightmost nanosphere and $\left\langle A \right\rangle = 0$ for the system states with bilateral symmetry. So $A$ qualifies the average position of the phonons.
	We also introduce
	\begin{equation}
	\bar A\left( t \right) = \frac{1}{t}\int_0^t {\left\langle {A\left( \tau \right)} \right\rangle d\tau }
	\end{equation}
	to depict the long-time behavior of the array.

The phonon population distribution of quasi-stationary state can be determined by the generalized Gibbs ensemble\cite{neyenhuis2017observation}.
	We can diagonalize $W$ by an orthogonal matrix $U$, such that $UWU^{\dag}=\epsilon_k \delta_{kl}$ and
	\begin{equation}
	{H_{Diag}} = \sum\limits_k {{\epsilon _k}c_k^\dag {c_k}}
	\end{equation}
	where ${c_k} = \sum\limits_l {{U_{kl}}{b_l}}$. The generalized Gibbs ensemble gives the density matrix
	\begin{equation}
	\rho_{GGE} = \frac{{\exp ( { - \sum\limits_k {{\lambda _k}c_k^\dag {c_k}} } )}}{{\mathrm{Tr}( {\exp ( { - \sum\limits_k {{\lambda _k}c_k^\dag {c_k}} } )} )}},
	\end{equation}
	where $\lambda_k$ can be derived by ${\braket{c_k^\dag {c_k}} _{t = 0}} = {\braket{c_k^\dag {c_k}}_{GGE}}$. So that we can get
	\begin{equation}
	\begin{split}
	\braket{b_i^\dag {b_i}}&=\mathrm{Tr}({{\rho _{GEE}}b_i^\dag {b_i}})=\mathrm{Tr}({{\rho _{GEE}}\sum\limits_{k.l} {{U_{ik}}{U_{il}}c_k^\dag {c_l}} })\\
	&= \sum\limits_k {U_{ik}^2\braket{{c_k^\dag {c_k}}}_{GEE}} = \sum\limits_k {U_{ik}^2\braket{{c_k^\dag {c_k}}}_{t=0}}.
	\end{split}
	\end{equation}

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth]{fig5TRYNEW}
		\caption{(Color online) (a): Short-time dynamics of $A$ and $\bar{A}$ with long-range interaction. (b): Long-time dynamics of $\bar{A}$ with long-range 	interaction. The inset shows the trapping frequency of each nanosphere. The trapping lasers are all polarized along $z$-axis. So the interaction is roughly proportional to $r^{-1}$ as shown in Fig.  \ref{fig:couplingperpendicular15}.}
		\label{fig:trynew}
	\end{figure}

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{fig6FINAL}
		\caption{(Color online) Long-time dynamics of $\bar{A}$ under different conditions. The insets show the trapping frequency of each nanosphere. (a): All the trapping frequencies are the same, and $g \sim r^{-1}$ are showed in Fig.  \ref{fig:couplingperpendicular15}. (b): Trapping frequencies of nanospheres near middle are bigger, and $g$s are shown in Fig.  \ref{fig:couplingperpendicular15}. In (a) and (b), prethermalization will not happen. (c) Trapping frequencies are same with Fig. \ref{fig:trynew} with only near-neighborhood hopping terms. (d) Trapping frequencies are same with Fig. \ref{fig:trynew} with coupling strength $g \sim r^{-2}$. In (c) and (d), prethermalization will still happen, but will be less obvious than Fig. \ref{fig:trynew}. }
		\label{fig:final}
	\end{figure}

	When the angle between the polarization direction of traps and $x$-axis is $\theta$, we can derive the coupling strength between $i$th and $j$th nanosphere
	\begin{equation}
	{g_{ij}} = {g_{ij, \bot }}{\sin ^2}\theta + {g_{ij, \parallel }}{\cos ^2}\theta,
	\end{equation}
	where ${g_{ij, \bot }}$ and ${g_{ij, \parallel }}$ is the coupling strength when $\theta=\pi/2$ or $\theta=0$. As we discussed in section \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral2}, when we turns $\theta$ from 0 to $\pi/2$, the form of the $g$ will change from proportional to $r^{-2}$ to proportional to $r^{-1}$. So, it's easy to change the interaction range by adjusting the polarization direction of the laser beams  to investigate the different behavior of prethermalization.

We assume that the left-most nanosphere is kicked and solve the dynamics of the system under different situations. The interaction is proportional to $r^{-1}$ as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:couplingperpendicular15}. We can find that, by tuning the trapping frequencies properly, for example the trapping frequencies in the middle are smaller, the prethermalization can appear as shown Fig. \ref{fig:trynew} (a) and (b). Before the $A$ (or $\bar A$) increases to 0 which marks thermalization, the system will arrive at a quasi-stationary state with non-zero $A$ and stay there for a long time (Fig.  \ref{fig:trynew} (a)).  If we take all trapping frequencies to be the same or bigger for middle spheres, as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:final} (a) and (b), prethermalization will not happen.
	Fig. \ref{fig:final} (c) and (d) shows the long-time dynamics of $\bar{A}$ with nearest-neighborhood coupling and coupling strength proportional to  $r^{-2}$. As the Fig. \ref{fig:final} shows, although the quasi-stationary states aren't as obvious as Fig. \ref{fig:trynew}, the prethermalization will still happen. These results show that the prethermalization relies on both long-range hopping and trapping frequencies. Because we can set coupling and frequencies respectively, the system give us a chance to investigate their contribution to prethermalization.

	\section{Nonreciprocal Phonon Transport}
	Controlling photon/phonon transport, especially nonreciprocal transport has received considerable attention due to its wide application. In  optics, nonreciprocal invisibility can be generated by setting $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric periodic structures \cite{lin2011unidirectional,feng2013experimental,longhi2010laser}. Here we put up a scheme to realize nonreciprocal phononic invisibility in our discrete levitated nanosphere array by using a gain-loss unit.

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{fig7OneWay}
		\caption{A plane wave incidents from left, scatters and transmits because of the imperfect. Left sphere in the box losses energy while the right gains energy both with rate $\Gamma$.}
		\label{fig:one-way}
	\end{figure}

	In last section, we consider the system that is not in an eigenstate of the full coupled set of oscillators. Here, we suppose that the system is in its eigenstate, which means a collective `phonon' transporting as a plane wave in the array. For clarity, at first we only consider the nearest neighborhood coupling in an infinite nanosphere array. Because the mechanical loss is extremely small in high vacuum, so we can neglect intrinsic mechanical loss. We add a gain on a sphere and add a loss on the nearest-neighbor sphere, both with rate $\Gamma$ by using the feedback amplifying (cooling) method in Eq. \eqref{feedback}, as shown in Fig.  \ref{fig:one-way}. The semi-classical evolution functions of the spheres array $L,0$,  $loss$, $gain$, and $R,0$, are

	\begin{equation}
	\begin{split}
	E{\alpha _{gain}} &= \left( {\Omega + i\frac{\Gamma }{2}} \right){\alpha _{gain}} + {g}\left( {{\alpha _{R,0}} + {\alpha _{loss}}} \right)\\
	E{\alpha _{loss}} &= \left( {\Omega - i\frac{\Gamma }{2}} \right){\alpha _{loss}} + g\left( {{\alpha _{L,0}} + {\alpha _{gain}}} \right)\\
	E{\alpha _{L,0}} &= \Omega {\alpha _{L,0}} + g\left( {{\alpha _{L, - 1}} + {\alpha _{loss}}} \right)\\
	E{\alpha _{R,0}} &= \Omega {\alpha _{R,0}} + g\left( {{\alpha _{R, + 1}} + {\alpha _{gain}}} \right).
	\end{split}
	\end{equation}
	And the semi-classical evolution fucntions of the spheres far away from the loss-gain unit are in the form of
	\begin{equation}
	E{\alpha _{L(R),i}} = \Omega {\alpha _{L(R),i}} + g({\alpha _{L(R),i - 1}} + {\alpha _{L(R),i + 1}}).
	\end{equation}
	As we can see, the time-reversal symmetry is broken but the system still holds $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ symmetry with small $\Gamma$. When the gain and loss are big enough, the phase transition will occur and the behavior will be extremely asymmetric.

	We take the solution as the form ${\alpha _{L,n}} = {e^{ iknb}} + \beta {e^{-iknb}}$ and ${\alpha _{R,n}} = \gamma {e^{iknb}}$, we can get the transmissivity from left to right
	\begin{widetext}
		\begin{equation}
		{\gamma _{loss \to gain}} = \frac{{8\sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}} }}{{16i - 2i{\Gamma^2} - 20i{\delta ^2} + i{\Gamma^2}{\delta ^2} + 4i{\delta ^4} - 12\delta \sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}}  + {\Gamma^2}\delta \sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}}  + 4{\delta ^3}\sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}} }}.
		\end{equation}
	The reflectivity is
		\begin{equation}
		{\beta _{loss \to gain}} =  - \frac{{2i({\Gamma^2} + 2\Gamma\sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}} )}}{{16i - 2i{\Gamma^2} - 20i{\delta ^2} + i{\Gamma^2}{\delta ^2} + 4i{\delta ^4} - 12\delta \sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}}  + {\Gamma^2}\delta \sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}}  + 4{\delta ^3}\sqrt {4 - {\delta ^2}} }},
		\end{equation}
	\end{widetext}
	where $\delta= E-\Omega$ and $\delta$ and $\Gamma$ are divided by $g$ for dimensionless. Here we  used the dispersion relation $2{g}\cos kb = E - \Omega $. Take $\Gamma \to -\Gamma$, we can get the transmissivity $\gamma_{gain \to loss}$ and reflectivity $\beta_{gain \to loss}$ for plane wave incidents from the right side, and we can get ${\gamma _{loss \to gain}} = {\gamma _{gain \to loss}}$.

	when $\Gamma=0$, the model goes back to the trivial case where $\beta=0$ and $|\gamma|=1$ and the system is reciprocal. When $\Gamma \ne 0$, the system shows nonreciprocal features with $\beta_{gain \to loss} \ne \beta_{loss \to gain}$. We define $\eta \equiv \ln \left[ {{{\left( {{{{\beta _{gain \to loss}}} \mathord{\left/
							{\vphantom {{{\beta _{gain \to loss}}} {{\beta _{loss \to gain}}}}} \right.
							\kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {{\beta _{loss \to gain}}}}} \right)}^2}} \right]$ to quantify the degree of energy transport asymmetric. And as Fig. \ref{fig:nnnon} (a) shows, the energy transport can be extremely asymmetric. At $\Gamma=2\sqrt{4g^2-\delta^2}$ or $\Gamma=-2\sqrt{4g^2-\delta^2}$, this nonreciprocal behavior is most pronounced.
	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{fig8NN_non}
		\caption{(Color online) (a) $\eta \equiv \ln[(\beta _{gain \to loss}/\beta _{loss \to gain})^2]$ as a function of $\delta/g$ and $\Gamma/g$. Reflection behavior can be asymmetric for some parameters. (b) $\beta_{loss \to gain}$ as a function of $\delta/g$ when $\beta_{gain \to loss}=0$ (i.e. when $\Gamma=2\sqrt{4g^2-\delta^2}$).}
		\label{fig:nnnon}
	\end{figure}

	For more precise, we can include the next-nearest-neighborhood hopping terms, and the semi-classical equations read
	\begin{equation}
	\begin{split}
	E{\alpha _{gain}} &= \left( {\Omega + i\frac{\Gamma }{2}} \right){\alpha _{gain}}\\
	&+ {g_1}\left( {{\alpha _{R,0}} + {\alpha _{loss}}} \right) + {g_2}\left( {{\alpha _{R, + 1}} + {\alpha _{L,0}}} \right)\\
	E{\alpha _{loss}} &= \left( {\Omega - i\frac{\Gamma }{2}} \right){\alpha _{loss}}\\
	&+ {g_1}\left( {{\alpha _{L,0}} + {\alpha _{gain}}} \right) + {g_2}\left( {{\alpha _{R,0}} + {\alpha _{L, - 1}}} \right)\\
	E{\alpha _{L,0}} &= \Omega {\alpha _{L,0}}\\
	&+ {g_1}\left( {{\alpha _{L, - 1}} + {\alpha _{loss}}} \right) + {g_2}\left( {{\alpha _{gain}} + {\alpha _{L, - 2}}} \right)\\
	E{\alpha _{R,0}} &= \Omega {\alpha _{R,0}}\\
	&+ {g_1}\left( {{\alpha _{R, + 1}} + {\alpha _{gain}}} \right) + {g_2}\left( {{\alpha _{R, + 2}} + {\alpha _{loss}}} \right).
	\end{split}
	\end{equation}
	We take the solution as the form ${\alpha _{L,n}} = {e^{ iknb}} + \beta {e^{-iknb}}$, ${\alpha _{R,n}} = \gamma {e^{iknb}}$ as well and and let $g_2=g_1/2$ approximately. Now, the dispersion relation becomes ${\rm{2}}{g_1}\cos kb + 2{g_2}\cos 2kb = E - \Omega $. We show $\eta=\ln[(\beta_{gain \to loss}/\beta_{loss \to gain})^2]$ in Fig. \ref{fig:nnnnon}. From Fig. \ref{fig:nnnnon} (a), we can find that there are more values of $\Gamma$ and $\delta$ that can realize nonreciprocal reflectivity in the case.

	\begin{figure}
		\centering
		\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{fig9NNN_non}
		\caption{(Color online) Same as Fig. \ref{fig:nnnnon} but considering next-nearest-neighborhood hopping terms. (a) $\eta \equiv \ln[(\beta _{gain \to loss}/\beta _{loss \to gain})^2]$ as a function of $\delta/g$ and $\Gamma/g$. (b) $\beta_{loss \to gain}^2$ as a function of $\delta/g$ when $\beta_{gain \to loss}=0$ (i.e. when $\Gamma=\Gamma_1(\delta/g)$ or $\Gamma=\Gamma_2(\delta/g)$ ) .}
		\label{fig:nnnnon}
	\end{figure}

	When $\Gamma$ satisfies $\Gamma=\Gamma_1(\delta)$ or $\Gamma=\Gamma_2(\delta)$ where $\Gamma_1(\delta)$ and $\Gamma_2(\delta)$ can be determined numerically, the reflectivity for right-incident wave $\beta_{gain \to loss}=0$ and we show $\beta_{gain \to loss}^2$ in Fig. \ref{fig:nnnnon} (b). As the Fig.  \ref{fig:nnnnon} (b) shows, because of the next-nearest-neighborhood hopping terms, energy can transport without going through the gain-loss unit, so the nonreciprocal effect will decease. We can use multiple gain-loss units to compensate.

	\section{Conclusion}
	In summary, we have investigated the dynamics of a levitated optomechanical array. As the system has many adjustable parameters, it is a great platform to study phonon transport behaviors. By tuning the trapping frequency of each nanosphere, we study the phononic energy transport behavior under different types of coupling forms, and find conditions to realize prethermalization. By adding mechanical dissipation and amplification, we propose a method to realize nonreciprocal phonon transport. In future, we anticipate a levitated optomechanical array will enable a lots of new experiments including topological random walk \cite{rudner2009topological,huang2016realizing,chattara2016effects}, $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry and so on.

	\begin{acknowledgments}
	We acknowledge Shunyu Yao, Yumin Hu and Zhexuan Gong for helpful discussions. Z.Y. is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China NO. 61771278, 61435007, and the Joint Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (6141A02011604). T.L. is supported by the NSF under Grant No. PHY-1555035 and the Tellabs Foundation.
	\end{acknowledgments}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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6 labs
Photonics and semiconductors
Spintronics and nanomagnetism
Quantum nanoelectronics
Electrical energy
Advanced superconductivity
New frontiers in cryogenics
Nanosensors and nanomaterials for healthcare and biology
Theoretical and Computational Physics
Home > Alliances > Photonics and semiconductors > Photonics and semiconductors
Quantum optics, production and conversion of light, silicon photonics
Contact: photon@grenoble-lanef.fr
Research axes and tools
Generally speaking, research in photonics aims to improve the control of the generation, propagation, detection and conversion of light, at all intensities from intense beams to single photons, thanks to innovative materials which are often micro or nanostructured. Research on materials for optics (non-linear crystals, thin layers, multilayers, organic/inorganic hybrid structures) is a pre-required condition fulfilled in this project to support innovation in the field of laser sources, parametric generation, new states of light… One section of this field, nanophotonics, has been strongly developed by the Grenoble community during the last decades, especially with the creation more than twenty years ago, of a joint group between Institut NEEL and INAC dedicated to "Nanophysique et Semiconducteurs". By exploiting the confinement of electrons at the nanometer scale with quantum wells, quantum dots (QDs) or wires, and/or the confinement of photons at the wavelength scale with optical microcavities and photonic crystals, this group has evidenced numerous new basic physical phenomena, such as Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons, polariton laser, detection and manipulation of a single spin in a QD, efficient monomode single photon sources, giant optical non-linearities. This know-how opens new opportunities to implement these original effects in various directions.
Actions within LANEF
Quantum Optics. The "artificial atoms" realized with QDs and colloidal nanocrystallites allow a lot of new experiments in quantum optics. The coupling of these nanoobjects with photonic nanostructures (2D cavities, microdisks, photonics crystals, photonic wires, metallic nanoantennae for plasmonics) opens the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (weak and strong light – matter coupling regimes). The production, manipulation and detection of these new quantum states of light (generation of single photons, pair or triplet of entangled photons, non-linear optics and optical quantum logic gates working at the scale of a single photon, quantum coherence on the macroscopic scale) will be systematically studied in order to develop revolutionary devices for communications, sensing and spectroscopy.
We also focus on developing the means of exploiting spin properties, with a single electron spin, single magnetic atom spin, and polarization of a single photon as ultimate limits.
Nano for energy. Nanotechnology provides a key to overcome current performance barriers for the production and the conversion of light. The goal of our initiative is to exploit the benefits of these nano-objects by enhancing understanding of conversion and storage phenomena at the nanoscale level: indeed nanoparticles and nanostructures can improve the collection and conversion of solar energy, while at the same time providing better thermal storage and transport. The area of bandgap engineering, involving nanostructures such as quantum wells, strained or type II superlattices, quantum dots, and nanopillars, opens new paths for a wide variety of applications including energy generation and harvesting, laser and light emitting diode (LED) sources, infrared imaging. The consortium is also motivated to develop organic and hybrid photovoltaic systems by using a molecular engineering approach for the design and the synthesis of new molecules and polymers, new QDs in view of their use in stable, flexible, large area and low cost solar cells.
Silicon photonics. Our aim here is to unveil new devices based on the unique properties of silicon down-sized to the nanometer scale, and to explore their potential applications compatible with conventional microfabrication and nanofabrication silicon technology. For example, light generation using Si or SiGe quantum dots, or silica doped with rare earth ions, embedded in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic crystals can lead to ultra strong light confinement in high Q nanocavities and is a promising building block for future on-chip all optical light logic functions.
Key figures:
Permanent scientists from INAC, LNCMI, NEEL
50 PhD students and postdocs
Strong collaborations with Warsaw, Lausanne, …
R&D and industry: LETI, LITEN, …
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Obi Robotic Dining Companion for Physically-Challenged People
The simple act of eating a meal will become more dignified and enjoyable for many people with physical challenges with the launch of Obi™, a revolutionary robotic dining device. Obi blends cutting-edge robotics, elegant design, intuitive controls and a friendly personality to give individuals who are fed by others the ability to take control of their meals at home and in public.
Modern. Iconic Design. Minimalist Set Up and Operation
"We believe dining is one of life's greatest pleasures that absolutely everyone should enjoy," said Jon Dekar, DESῙN's co-founder. "What our device stands for is equally as important as what it does. It represents our belief that living with physical challenges can be fulfilling and inspiring. Technology, and specifically robotics, combined with modern design, should facilitate that."
Obi is the first product from DESῙN, a small team of visionaries from Michigan and Ohio. The first Obi prototype was developed in 2006 by Jon Dekar, a University of Dayton engineering student who saw the challenges faced by people with disabilities as varied as his aging grandfather and a 6-year-old girl with Arthrogryposis.
"Every day, millions of people must be fed by caregivers, and they find the experience to be conspicuous and frustrating. Feeding oneself is a basic human need, and there was no good solution available. I became inspired to change that," said Jon Dekar.
Jon and his father Tom, a retired vice chairman of Deloitte and community leader, founded DESῙN in 2010. They spent the next six years refining Obi's design, securing investors, sourcing suppliers, testing prototypes with a diverse group of users and building relationships with key community stakeholders.
"This has been an incredible nine-year journey to go from my dorm room prototype to having Obi units manufactured and ready to sell," said Jon Dekar. "Today is a milestone for our team, but it's far more important in terms of what Obi brings to people living with physical limitations. During this journey, I've met so many amazing people who face incredible challenges with grace and strength. It's an honor and privilege to be able to help them reclaim something as fundamental as eating a meal together with friends and family."
Obi leads a new generation of devices that take advantage of emerging small-scale and sophisticated, yet relatively inexpensive robotic technology to deliver a meaningful lifestyle benefit to consumers.
MIT Senior Develops Solutions to Help Physically Challenged People
NCKU Develops Intelligent Robot for Physically Challenged People
"To date, consumer robots have generally been toys. People have been entertained by plenty of dancing robots and they are now looking for technology that will help them in their daily lives," said Jon Dekar. "We saw an opportunity to do just that with Obi. We have truly advanced the state of the art to create a practical solution that also offers the stylish design detail that today's consumers expect from a modern device."
When people first use Obi, they feel astonished and then elated as they realize how the robot will change their lives for the better. Diners are empowered by the independence it provides; how easy it is to use; its elegance and beauty; and its ability to restore the social interaction of dining with others. Typically, in a public setting, individuals feel being fed by others highlights their physical challenges. With Obi, that attention is both alleviated and diverted towards Obi's iconic design.
"It's just not an enjoyable experience to have someone feed you, either for the person who's eating or the person doing the feeding," said David Hare, a year-long Obi diner living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). "I can't describe how much more fun meals are now, both for me and my wife, who has long helped me eat. I know people are passionate about their cell phones and laptops, but it's nothing compared to the excitement I feel about my Obi. Getting it was literally a life-changing experience."
Countless others feel the same.
"Obi has benefited the whole family," explained Amanda Golembiewski, mother of Grace, a 3-year-old living with Arthrogryposis. "The time I used to spend feeding Grace can now be spent taking care of all three of my kids!"
Obi's key functionality is a robotic arm that selects virtually any properly sized food from one of four compartments. Obi then delivers the food to one of several thousand potential locations where the diner can eat from the spoon. That means Obi can accommodate nearly any age demographic and diner preferred position or orientation.
With Obi, diners have complete control over what they eat, and when they eat it – some for the first time in their entire life. "Finally, I can skip over my vegetables!" proclaimed Isaac Wilcox to his parents, a 15-year-old Obi diner living with a C4 spinal cord injury.
Supplied by a rechargeable battery, Obi holds enough energy to serve four to six meals on a single charge. Obi also fits within the confines of a dinner placemat, operates quietly and can be carried with ease like a laptop computer. The product has been awarded eight patents to date, covering a variety of innovations and capabilities. Obi is also a finalist in the 2016 International Design Excellence Awards. Designed and manufactured in the United States, Obi is FDA compliant and is certified by Underwriters Laboratories.
The name "Obi" is derived from the word "obeisance" which is a term for a gesture of respect or deference, such as a bow or curtsy. In recognition of this, the Obi device fluidly "bows" to its user when turned on.
An Obi device is available for purchase in the United States through DESῙN's website at www.meetobi.com.
Source: http://www.multivu.com/


This Amendment No. 1 on Form 8-K/A (this "Form 8-K/A") is an amendment to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc., dated January 30, 2019. This Form 8-K/A is being filed to correct certain information presented in the press release filed as Exhibit 99.1 thereto (the "Exhibit"). Due to a clerical error, the Exhibit, as previously filed, did not state correctly the results of the stockholders' elections related to the special dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock, which is payable on January 31, 2019.
On January 31, 2019, Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. issued a press release announcing the results of the stockholders' elections related to the special dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock, which is payable on January 31, 2019. A copy of the press release announcing the results is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated into this Item 8.01 by reference.
Press release, dated January 31, 2019.
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ABR) announced today the results of the stockholders' elections relating to the special dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock announced on December 17, 2018, which is payable on January 31, 2019.
· Stockholders of 20.1 million common shares made no election or elected to receive the dividend all in shares of common stock, and will receive $0.150 per share in common stock (100%).
· Stockholders of 63.8 million common shares elected to receive the dividend all in cash and will receive approximately $0.039 per share in cash (26%) and $0.111 per share in common stock (74%).
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ABR) is a nationwide real estate investment trust and direct lender, providing loan origination and servicing for multifamily, seniors housing, healthcare, and other diverse commercial real estate assets. Headquartered in Uniondale, New York, Arbor manages a multibillion-dollar servicing portfolio, specializing in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other government-sponsored enterprises, as well as CMBS, bridge, mezzanine, and preferred equity lending. Rated by Standard and Poor's and Fitch Ratings, Arbor is committed to building on its reputation for service, quality, and flexibility, and dedicated to providing our clients excellence over the entire life of a loan.


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Posts Tagged 'Eye-witness account'
Story of Mehdi Ben Barka: The Moroccan assassinated leader
In: biographies/books | Book Review | Essays | Events/Cultural/Educational/Arts | Islam/Moslem/Islamic world | political Artical | religion/history | short stories/novellas
Mustafa Alaoui, the current dean of Moroccan journalists, published the French book "The Journalist and the Three Kings". The story of the assassinated Moroccan leader was related in the book.
"My first encounter with Mehdi Ben Barka in the 50's was in a packed waiting room, and I was the youngest journalist who published a daily. Mehdi ordered me to sit down as he stood all the time: He was conscious of his short stature and felt more comfortable with people as tall as he was.
Ben Barka was the math teacher of prince Hassan II since 1942 and had convinced the monarch Mohamed 5 to open the public schools to girls in 1943.
Via phone calls, this leader Ben Barka teleguided armed groups disseminated all over the country. The chief of police was at his order, same as most directors in public institutions and most dailies.
When in public political positions, Mahdi kept 20 phone lines constantly active: He would communicate with 3 persons simultaneously, dictate an editorial, follow-up on the activities of his party, and receive information on European political parties, all virtually in the same time.
Mehdi was chairman of the constitutive assembly (Parliament) and earned this position hands down. One of his multiple plans was to mobilize the youths and mining their potentials in order to counter the well-rooted party of Istiqlal (Independence).
Ben Barka, one of the main founder of the Istiqlal party was about to split from this largest political party in January 1959 and form the Unity party as he declared that the Resistance Liberation Army should not be taken for granted as the property of the Istiqlal but belonging to the people.
To Ben Barka, the cadres of the Istiqlal were cooperating too closely with the French mandated power and practically maintaining and sustaining the standing power of the colonial power in the administration and management of the public institutions.
For example, the government of moderate Bekkay, the guarantor of a progressive evolution as stipulated in the Aix-les-Bains treaty, was politically crushed by Ben Barka. Mehdi was in the center of the news of national political events in 1958.
The project of the Unity, supported by the prince Hassan 2 and who will succeed his father King Mohamad 5, assembled 15,000 young citizens, cadres from the army who crisscrossed the country side in working attire and taking meals under tents. Ben Barka was the Secretary general while Hassan 2 was the behind the scene leader.
In the 1958 congress held in Tangier, Mehdi was received by Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser as the leading revolutionary of the north African (Maghreb) independence movements. France saw red, especially that Mehdi was proclaiming that Morocco is Arabic, Islamic, and a Constitutional monarchy.
Ben Barka had his circle of journalists and authors that met regularly in Rabat: He took advantage of these gathering to dictate editorials in various dailies. Prince Hassan imitated Ben Barka and would meet with same circle an hour later.
In 1960, Oufkir, chief of intelligence services, arrested the director of the Unity daily Mohamaed "Fqih" Basri, and summoned to justice Youssoufi. Ben Barka got the message and he exiled himself to France.
I met mahdi in Geneva during the negotiation of Algeria and france for independence. Mahdi was the brain whispering in the ear of Karim Belkacem, head of Algeria delegates, during a TV press conference.
I again met Mahdi in the airport of Orly. I was carrying a little book on Portugal's dictator Salazar. Mahdi said: "Are you already reading the life of your absolute monarch Hassan II?"
During a Mediterranean conference in Nice, we were approached by the Israeli Avner, supposedly the Dean of political sciences at the Univ. of Haifa. Avner extended an invitation to Mehdi to visit the university. Mahdi declined but encouraged me to jump on the occasion: "A journalist has to listen directly to all parties and see the world: the professional journalist has to set aside ready-made principles and catch the reality of facts and events…"
The brother of Mehdi, Abdelkader, recounts that after the events of March 1965 in Casablanca the ambassador in Paris, the cousin of the monarch Moulay Ali, demanded that Abdelkader visit him promptly from where he lived in Frankfort.
Moulay Ali told him: "Tell your brother Mehdi that the monarch needs to resolve an equation and he doesn't need any intermediaries."
Mehdi was in Cairo and responded: "Moulay Ali is a nice guy. I have no response for him". In the meantime, Hassan 2 had extended an amnesty to political prisoners. Thus, Mehdi relayed to Moulay Ali that he will meet him in Nice in 10 days after he returns from Algeria.
The meeting took place in April 25. Mehdi said that he feared for his life from the high-ranking army officers. Hassan 2 decreated in June 4 the State of Exception which freed Mahdi's comrades. The monarch met with the freed opposition leaders, sending the signal for forming a unity government. This sent the message for Mehdi to return from his exile.
Oufkir and the secret services were kept in the dark of the monarch's two key decisions and they had to react quickly.
Mehdi wrote a letter to his wife Ghita in May 3:
"The monarch is apprehensive for his life and throne after the Casablanca events. He is trying to open up to the opposition. He wants to let us in his political game, but practically we will be kept hostage to this bunch of opportunists and traitors. We are demanding a contract, valid for 2 years, that guarantees from false promises.
Fact is, the position of the monarch is still not clear and the army, which accumulated wealth from the French colons, is not about to relinquish its privileges…"
Apparently, Jacques Foccard, general secretary to President de Gaulle, and the minister of the interior Roger Frey had planned with Oufkir the kidnapping and assassination of Mehdi. These French politicians have been involved in previous covert operations in Morocco, Algeria, Congo, Viet nam, Tunisia… and had their own personal agenda and views on the role of France in the previous colonies.
My impression is that Hassan 2 caved in to the comploters in order to maintain temporarily his throne, pending better opportunities to strengthen his power.
Ben Barka was born too early: he was so active and engaged that he couldn't find enough dedicated and qualified people to keep up with his work pace.
The assassination of Mehdi made strong waves and the case lasted for decades and precipitated drastic reforms in France and the curtailment of the French secret services that were getting out-of-bounds and forming their own clubs of power.
Note: Oufkir perpetrated a military coupin 1971 against Hassan 2 who was returning from France. The monarch plane was intercepted and shot by a military jet. Hassan 2 played the dead by demanding the pilot to say it on the intercome. This move prevented a second missile to be launched. As the monarchsafely landed, the coup was foiled.
Tags: adonis49, Avner, Constitutional Monarchy, Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser, Eye-witness account, Ghita, Hassan 2, Istiqlal (Independence party), Jacques Foccard, journalism, Journalist of the Three Kings, Karim Belkacem, Mehdi Ben Barka, Mohamed 5, Moulay Ali, Mustafa Alaoui, Oufkir, politics, Portugal's dictator Salazar, Roger Frey, story
What are the Missions of physicians within the secret service agencies? An eye-witness account from Syria…
Posted by: adonis49 on: December 5, 2012
In: Essays | Events/Cultural/Educational/Arts | health/medicine | Lebanon/Middle East/Near East/Levant | medicine/medical treatment | political Artical | social articles | Time for Outrage
What are the Missions of physicians within the secret service agencies Mukhabarat? An eye-witness account from Syria…
All secret service agencies around the world hire their special physicians to tend to prisoners during interrogation sessions. In dictatorial and absolute regimes, the missions of the physician increase in spectrum and specificities…
Abu Salim was a physician for the military Syrian Air Force Intelligence Services, before he deserted "stopped showing up, or didn't return to work" and started treating the victims in makeshift hospitals and clinics in Homs.
Abu Salim divulged to journalist Jonathan Littell in "Diaries of Homs" what were his missions:
1. Maintaining alive the tortured prisoners (mostly political) until they admit on specific pieces of information.
2. Re-animating prisoners who lost consciousness during interrogation.
3. Administering psychotropic chemical products such as Chlorpromazine, diazepam, Valium, ketamine, ketalar…
4. Injecting alcohol 90% in eyes and noses… Alcohol is an excellent torture technique
5. Dispatching the prisoner to the military hospital, once he reached a dangerous resistance level
6. At the hospital, only the physician working for the Mukhabarat and the chief-physician of the hospital are permitted to treat the prisoner…
After the Syrian uprising, two years ago,:
1. Prisoners, judged not to be of major importance, are left to die. The physician sends his report to the high administrator in the prison who decides for any transfer to the military hospital
2. The physician is attached to the tortured prisoner and is not allowed to talk to him…
3. The physician stays with the prisoner patient and he is searched every time he exits or re-enters the room, by the two guards posted outside the room.
Abu Salim claims that there are 16 "Arab" prisoners (non-Syrian) in jail since 1985, and they are kept in individual cells.
13 of the special Arab prisoners are Lebanese, including two considered to be highly "dangerous", 2 Jordanians, and an Algerian.
One of the dangerous Lebanese prisoner confessed that "I had a problem with Hafez al Assad (father of bashar)"
The 16 Arab prisoners went on hunger strike for 33 days requesting:
1. The right to read dailies
2. the right for fresh bread
3. the right for food that don't smell bad!
The Arab prisoners had their dangerous and controversial demands satisfied.
Abu Salim report was told in February 2011, a couple of weeks before the regular Syrian army devastated the district of Baba Amru in the city of Homs.
Since then, the civil war escalation has taken foolish proportions and unimaginable cruelty and brutality, especially against civilians.
So far, over 200,000 Syrian citizens flocked into Lebanon territory, and reaching even to the Arkoub region in the south.
The Lebanese government finally admitted to 125,000 refugees (official count on legitimate border crossings) and asked the UN to extend funds and support for the Syrian refugees.
And the cycle of refugees from various Arab States continues to be the name of the game in these unstable political regimes…
Tags: "Diaries of Homs", Abu Salim, adonis49, Chlorpromazine, diazepam, Eye-witness account, Hafez Al Assad, hunger strike, Jonathan Littell, ketalar, ketamine, Missions of physicians, Mukhabarat, psychotropic chemical products, secret service agencies, Syrian Airforce Intelligence Services, Valium, writing
Lebanese Parliament deputy: Put back in Line at Heathrow airport (London). No passaran dude before me…
In: Events/Cultural/Educational/Arts | humor | Lebanon/Middle East/Near East/Levant | political Artical | short stories/novellas | social articles | Time for Outrage
Putting Lebanese Parliament deputies back in Line at Heathrow airport (London): No passaran before
How do you react when a politician, minister, deputy, governor… on vacation, bypass the line of passengers and exerts "privileges" that he thinks he is entitled to?
Malek Takeiddyne posted on FB this Dec.2 "Get back in line"
I had a fight today with a well-known Lebanese Member of Parliament at the Heathrow airport in London. I was standing in line ready to board my flight and this deputy just came confidently and overpassed everyone in the queue.
The Lebanese MEA employee did not object and, instead, he welcomed the MP like a God to the astonishment of other non-Lebanese ground staff and passengers.
I did not take it lightly and voiced my complaint to the MP without acknowledging that I recognized him. The deputy did not stop and kept moving forward. My voice and anger grew louder.
This deputy felt "disrespected" and irritated and told me to shut the fuck up ('sid bouzak'). I was enraged and a loud fight of words and shouting erupted between me, him and his companions which drew the attention of a large crowd.
In the midst of the fight I did not loose sight of the non-Lebanese people witnessing this. I was interested to see their reaction. They were shocked and did not understand why such a chaos erupted out of nowhere.
These non-Lebanese people would never understand. They would never understand that my reaction had nothing to do with the fact that I was overpassed in the queue.
These non-Lebanese people would never understand that my reaction is the result of 30 years of anger building up against what this well-dressed man represents.
These non-Lebanese people would never understand that this "gentleman" they see in his expensive suit, well-groomed hair and business class ticket is nothing but a criminal running loose, a war thug and a thief with his hands deep in the pockets of the Lebanese people.
They would never understand that my anger is the anger of millions of Lebanese people held hostages to an malfunctioning system run by sectarian and illegal politicians.
If the London airport police had interfered in this fight I would have told them that this is a personal matter and they should keep out.
I would have explained that this is a revolution in the making and that I am an angry man; a very angry Lebanese who is committed to pursue this fight all the way – that this is a larger fight to put everyone back in line." End of post
As soon as I get names, I certainly will post them. Names of Lebanese thugs and civil warlords and criminals must be posted.
I want to know.
Is the Lebanese Middle-East Airline a private company?
Is it owned by the Hariri Clan?
Is this deputy owns shares in that airline?
Did this deputy pay for his ticket?
In Lebanon, commentators say: "There is no need to mention names. Everyone know who we are talking about…"
But I don't know. And I want names and I want details, like every Lebanese citizen.
And I want to know who is taking responsibility for any action and decision.
Tags: Eye-witness account, Get back in line, Heathrow airport (London): No passaran before me, Heathrow airport in London, Lebanese Parliament deputies back in Line, Malek Takeiddyne, Putting adonis49, sid bouzak, writing
"We want to know" site on Lebanon civil war? It is never too late
Posted by: adonis49 on: March 18, 2012
In: Essays | Lebanon/Middle East/Near East/Levant | political Artical | religion/history | social articles | testimonials/civil war | Time for Outrage
More than 100 interviews later, the eye-witness accounts of people and families who suffered deaths, losses, disappearances, and handicapped cases during the long civil war of Lebanon (17 years), and conducted by 44 high-school student selected from 14 schools in Lebanon, are now available to pursue on www.badnanaaref.org (We want to know).
Under the title "On generations of civil war diaries" the program was administered by Carmen Abu Jaoudeh (coordinator of the center for justice), and Maria Sanchez (EU representative in Lebanon).Maria Sanchez said: "Ignoring the past leads to committing the same mistakes in the future…"
Siege Mental Attitudes: Sample of Lebanon Civil War Account
Many Lebanese immigrated during the civil war. They did not experience the siege mentality or the horrors or psychological scars inherited by those who had to submit to these indignities and humiliations. Since 1991, there are new generations that don't know much about the civil war or don't care: They simply don't read even the abridged descriptions. What they know is mainly hearsay and from biased family and peer-pressure sources. Basically, only documentary films, telling eye-witness stories, may effectively convey impressions and feeling.
This piece is a brief translation from Arabic of a chapter in "Ain Wardeh" by Jabbour Douweihy.
Marguerite, the Austrian wife of Joujou, had no control over her body each time she hears the whistling of a missile or a rocket. She hysterically and silently runs and opens the main door and steps outside with a pillow and then re-enters and keeps the same wandering habit through the staircases and outside. She then would sit on the upper stair and cry her eyes out.
In the beginning, Marguerite would freeze like a cat surrounded by drummers. At the start of the civil war, Marguerite wanted to have an idea of "What's going on" and pointedly asked sensitive and targeted questions. Each answer generated more questions that finally baffled those who were supposed "to know it all in the Lebanese family".
Marguerite was judged to be very naïve to comprehend this ultra complex situation. For example, when the militias started summarily executing drivers on confessional grounds, Marguerite would ask "How can a militia know the religion of the driver?" The answer could be: "Because religious affiliation is mentioned in the ID". Then, "And if the driver is not carrying an ID?". The reply could be "They know from his name". The follow-up questions is: "Is the name Rida (a member in the family) Moslem or Christian?". "The militias know from his face or his slang or his pronunciation" and on and on.
Joujou has imposed himself as the experienced worrier who never participated effectively on any front lines. He claims to know the type and caliber of every canon. When he hears a 155 mm bombs he exclaims "Those bastards. This is a field gun. The 155 mm should not be targeting civilian neighborhoods" Or he would say "This is a Hawn 80 mm caliber. It is totally useless and a relics of the short civil war of 1958″
Joujou tries to locate the coordinates of the gunners with the help of maps in his "war room", only to realize that those guns are movable on trucks. Joujou attempted once to drive a Panhard carrier and injured 5 people when the gun got activated by mistakes. When the phone lines go dead or disrupted, Joujou would volunteer his intelligence that the communication "central" has been targeted. At the start of the civil war, Joujou refused to believe the news on the radio saying: "Those announcers behind their desks are fabricating imaginary events"
The whole family is hooked to the transistor (radio) for the routine news and emergency flash news. When the news warns of the imminence of an all-out attack then the daily routines of every member in the family is put on hold and two candles are lighted and people barely move so that their vast shadows would not scare off the others.
The worst news was when the radio announced a cease-fire with precise date and time. Everybody learned not to believe that this deal would remain for any length of time: snipers were their worst nightmares. Joujou would then carry the radio when everyone is asleep and mechanically locate "Monte Carlo" and "Voice of Cairo" and "The BBC" on the ground that these airwaves were unbiased and might bring confirmation.
In the morning, Nouhad, the tiny spinster aunt, would fetch the radio because she was not appeased with the many shelling during the night. If anyone tried to change channels then she would shout "This is not the time for chatting". By the by, as events escalated and everyone realized that this civil war is for the duration then Joujou declared "The US Administration is not wiling to put an end to the war; it is waiting for critical political changes to take place before the Administration decides on a policy"
Nouhad started to persist commenting on the news, especially if not to her biased stand, and nobody could hear the news anymore. If the piece of news was not to Nouhad's liking she would interject "Lier!" Slowly but surely the radio was put to rest and went into desuetude. The cook woman used the radio in the kitchen to listen to music.
Note: You may access many of my post in the category "Eye-witness account"
Tags: "We want to know" blog, adonis49, Ain Wardeh, Carmen Abu Jaoudeh, Eye-witness account, Jabbour Douweihy, Lebanon Civil War, Marguerite would freeze like a cat surrounded by drummers. At the start of the civil war, Maria Sanchez, never too late, Siege Mental Attitudes, the Austrian wife of Joujou, writing, www.badnanaaref.org


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@allmychandler
Adam Chandler is a former staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom.
McDonald's Restaurants Are America's Ultimate 'Third Places'
Americans have fewer and fewer spaces to gather. That's where nuggets come in.
Americans Can Soon Buy Groceries Online With Food Stamps
A new program will allow low-income families to purchase goods that they might not have access to locally.
What It's Like to Be an Immigration Attorney Just Before Trump Takes Office
One lawyer says that she's seen a tenfold increase in calls, emails, and inquiries to her firm since the election.
Infrastructure Is Only Popular Without Concrete Details
Left-leaning economists, Democrats, and Republicans may agree with Donald Trump about the need to rebuild and repair, but how to pay for it is another issue.
Minimum-Wage Increases: A Big Winner on Election Night
At least 2 million Americans will get raises after ballot measures passed in a handful of states.
An Exit for an Iconic Deli
After nearly 80 years in Manhattan, the Carnegie Deli is the latest gut-busting spot to close its doors.
Predictable Schedules Are the New $15 Minimum Wage
Following San Francisco's lead, Seattle and New York City have introduced initiatives to regularize workers' hours.
A Tale of Two Cities' Language Requirements for Drivers
Why is New York scrapping its language test for cab drivers at the same time London is planning to enact a similar one?
Where the Poor Spend More Than 10 Percent of Their Income on Energy
Hint: It's almost everywhere in the United States.
What Happens to the Coins People Toss Into Fountains?
There's a lot of confusion about the secret life of submerged pennies.
What Should the 'Sharing Economy' Really Be Called?
Many people aren't familiar with the term that encompasses businesses like Uber and Airbnb, while others argue that the phrase may be deceptive.
Why Some Restaurants Are Walking Back Their No-Tipping Policies
A major chain and a high-profile New York spot have reversed course on a dining trend that's come to be tied to workers' welfare.
Shutting Down France Over Uber
Widespread protests in French cities have been marked by burning tires, multiple arrests, and impenetrable traffic.
7 Ways To Follow the U.S. East Coast's Massive Snow Storm
From outer space down to the streets.
Marina Koren
Mali Hostage Crisis: What We Know
Gunmen have killed at least three people and taken 170 guests and staff members hostage at a luxury hotel in the capital city of Bamako.
The Latest Reports: Details on the Deadly Paris Attacks
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks that killed at least 129 people. French President Francois Hollande has vowed a "merciless" response.
Krishnadev Calamur
Overtime Gets a Break
President Obama announced a regulation to more than double the threshold for overtime pay. How much will this help the American middle class?
Dzokhar Tsarnaev Gets the Death Penalty
On Friday, a federal jury applied six of the 17 capital counts to the surviving Boston Marathon bomber.
'We Disagree With Any Implication That Freddie Gray Severed His Own Spinal Cord'
A leaked police report suggests that the Baltimore man tried to injure himself, a notion that his family and supporters angrily reject.
A Marathon Through the Shadows
Despite the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial, Boston's annual race begins to resemble itself.
Walking Out for a $15 Wage
Protesters mobilized in hundred of cities across the country and the world yesterday to demand higher pay.


I think by now everyone already guessed the theme we are going for our baby Peanut's nursery =] CIRCUS! and one of the elements I really wanted to integrate are the entry tickets (the vintage ones) – even though the nursery will be very modern I just really wanted to have a ticket, and what better way than making a pillow!
Since the size I decided to make is very custom, I made the pillow and the pillow cover. For the letters, I used the font Corben by Vernon Adams from the Google Webfont directory. A free font that had just the look I was going for.
And just in case you are wondering – I made the pillow in the Spanish date order (day, month, year) because that's still the way I write dates down.
Two pieces of 20 by 14 for your pillow (inside) I used white cotton.
Make a template to cut the corner of your pillow with a 2 by 2-inch paper and then round one of the corners. Use it so that all your corners are the same.
Matching color threat for the felt letter and for the pillow cover topstitching.
For the inside pillow cut the pieces and shown in the graphic (1/4″ seam allowance is included) sew leaving an opening on one side, and remember to zig-zag after you sew to prevent fraying. Turn inside out, stuff and close your pillow with a topstitch.
1- For the letters on the pillow cover, you will need to set the back pieces aside. Print your template and pin your felt to it, I cut the template along with the felt that way I didn't need to mark the letters, but if you don't feel comfortable I would recommend you to cut the template mark the letters and then cut.
2- I used very sharp point scissors so I could cut with a lot of detail and cut the letter one by one definitely helped.
3- Once I had all my letters I centered them using a ruler. If you want to be very exact I would suggest you to first find the horizontal and vertical center of the pillow cover and then place the letters. it makes it much easier.
4- Carefully pin each letter, so that when you topstitch one the other won't move.
6- For the numbers, I first decided how many I wanted and in what order. then I measured and marked a frame. I used chalk so that the marks will be easily removed because all the stitching had to be done with my piece facing out. I topstitch the frame and then the numbers.
7- finally I finished the pillow cover by placing the bottom and the top pieces facing each other on their right sides. I sewed the edges (remember to sew the edges of the back pieces, the ones that overlap before sewing the whole pillow together) I turned my pillow cover inside out and then topstitch at 1/4″ from the edge.
Wish you all a lovely day!!
I love this idea! It's so great to see something so original, and the additional touch of the date blew me away.
This is simply amazing! I really need to learn to use my sewing machine so that I can try out all your wonderful tutorials!
I love this! I can't wait to see the room finished you already have some awesome pieces!
Gorgeous! I love the use of the vintage style!
Aw, you've done it again! Another amazing piece. Your child is seriously going to have the absolute cutest nursery!
I love the pillow and everything else you've made for the baby's room – I follow you on pinterest.
I absolutely love your pillow. I've got two teenage children and I'm going to make it for my daughter's birthday as I think that she'll really like it. In England we also write the date that way. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Hope everything goes pain free when you have your baby. Take care.
Sooooo cute! I've been thinking about making a small ticket type of item, but oversized is even better! Also, I love your pins!


Set in the foreground of the scenic El Misti Volcano, Arequipa's white stone architecture is truly a sight to behold. This tour will introduce you to several of the city's religious buildings – including the very special Santa Catalina Monastery – and take you to a few key lookout points to see the city of from above.
This tour of the city and monastery will bring you to the following attractions.
The Plaza de Armas, or main square, of Arequipa is centered around a large fountain. It's bordered on all sides by stunning white stone buildings.
Presiding on one whole side of the square, the Cathedral creates awe-inspiring areas both inside and out. First built in 1612, the cathedral's profile is unmistakable, both for its enormous size and the pair of matching white towers. Inside, the high vaulted ceiling, light color palette, and flanks of columns create a breathtaking space.
You'll also visit the Iglesia de la Compania, which was built by the Jesuits. Noteworthy for its intricate carved details, the church has wooden doors that seem built to mythic proportions. Inside there is a large number of colonial paintings.
Next door stand the Claustros de la Compania. These walkways encircle courtyards that today are inhabited by upmarket stores rather than monks. The mesmerizing carved stone continues on columns lining the perimeter.
The Monasterio de Santa Catalina is an enormous complex that was built in 1580; it is one of the largest attractions in Arequipa. To name a few of its attributes, this convent has three major cloisters, living quarters, a chapel, café, art gallery, and mortuary with portraits of inhabitants of yore.
Carmen Alto and Yanahuara are two neighborhoods just north of Arequipa. From these pretty spots, Arequipa's stretches out below, giving you another perspective of the buildings you see during the city tour. On clear days, you can also see the three volcanoes near Arequipa.
Comfortable shoes, camera, and sunscreen.
"Interesting visit and history. Excellent guide."
Interesting visit and history. Excellent guide.


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Iowa Libertarians Nominate Down-Ballot Candidates
The Libertarian Party of Iowa re-convened their state convention to nominate candidates for vacancies on the general election ballot in two Congressional and five state-wide races.
The American Medical Association's Pride Month Pandering
Iowa 1st Congressional District Race,
Iowa 2nd Congressional District Race,
Iowa 3rd Congressional District Race,
Iowa 4th Congressional District Race,
Iowa Attorney General Race,
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture race,
Iowa Secretary of State Race,
Iowa State Auditor Race,
Iowa State Treasurer Race,
Libertarian Party of Iowa
On Saturday, the Libertarian Party of Iowa reconvened a state convention to nominate candidates for federal and state-wide ballot vacancies. Caffeinated Thoughts already reported that Lynne Gentry was nominated to be Jake Porter's running mate in Iowa's Gubernatorial Race.
They also nominated:
Secretary of State: Jules Ofenbakh who is an attorney from West Des Moines. He is currently an officer of the LPIA State Central Committee. Ofenbakh brings a business law background to the race and is an advocate for voter access as an immigrant to the United States from Russia.
Attorney General: Marco Battaglia, who is a Des Moines independent journalist and musician. Battaglia recently ran against Porter in the party's gubernatorial primary, participating at forums and debates statewide. He was Communications Director in Iowa for the Johnson/Weld Presidential campaign and is a longtime libertarian advocate.
Secretary of Agriculture: Rick Stewart from Cedar Rapids brings his passion for agricultural freedom and free markets to this race. He was a candidate for Linn County Sheriff in 2016 on the Libertarian ticket and ran as an independent for United States Senate in 2014, visiting all 99 counties on his bicycle your.
Auditor of State: Fred Perryman is a sales manager from Cedar Falls sales manager. He brings his private sector leadership experience into the race. He is an alternate representative for District 1 on the LPIA State Central Committee.
Treasurer of State: Timothy Hird, an engineer from Des Moines, will represent the Libertarian ticket. Tim is stalwart party activist and longtime treasurer of the LPIA State Central Committee until 2016.
For the first time, Libertarians will have a candidate in all four Congressional districts. Two candidates were nominated by convention joining Bryan Jake Holder in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District and Charles Aldrich in Iowa's 4th Congressional District who were on the party's first primary ballot.
Iowa 1st Congressional District: Troy Hageman is a Libertarian activist from Calmar. Hageman ran for Iowa Senate in 2016.
Iowa 2nd Congressional District: Mark Strauss, a businessman from Bettendorf businessman, brings his leadership experience and passion for limited government and transparency to the race. Strauss recently volunteered with the "Cajun Navy" in Houston following Hurricane Harvey as a volunteer, assisting with search and rescue.
Election Central
Iowa Small Business Leaders Endorse David Young
Former U.S. Rep. David Young announced the endorsement of over 60 small business owners from across Iowa's 3rd Congressional District.
Would Corporate Tax Cuts Stimulate Job Growth?
All three of the Iowa Republican gubernatorial candidates say yes, but a…
Iowa Sees Uptick in Initial Unemployment Claims
Iowa saw 28,827 file an initial claim for unemployment last week, a slight uptick in claims from the previous week. 170,990 remain on unemployment.
David Wiggins Becomes Acting Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
Justice David Wiggins becomes Acting Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court following the unexpected death of Chief Justice Mark Cady.


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Uber to pay $20 million for misleading drivers
By: Allissa Corak
Posted: Jan 19, 2017 9:53 PM EST | Updated: Jan 19, 2017 9:55 PM EST
By Sara Ashley O'Brien
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Uber will pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission for misleading drivers about how much they could earn on the platform.
The FTC alleged that Uber made false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims about driver earnings and its vehicle financing program. According to the complaint, Uber claimed its drivers could earn a median income of more than $90,000 per year in New York and more than $74,000 in San Francisco. In reality, the FTC said, less than 10% of drivers earned that.
Regarding its vehicle leasing program, Uber has made "unlimited mileage" claims, but the actual leases do impose limits. "Uber has had no basis with which to make these claims," according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Uber has collected "significant revenue" from driver fares, as well as "tens of millions of dollars" from drivers participating in its leasing program.
This is a win for drivers when it comes to more transparency from the company moving forward. Uber drivers -- considered to be contractors, not employees -- have long complained about the company's payment practices.
While Uber did not admit or deny that it engaged in these misleading practices, it has agreed to not misrepresent the potential earnings for drivers or its terms and conditions for leasing vehicles.
The $20 million will go toward repaying drivers affected across the country.
"We're pleased to have reached an agreement with the FTC," Uber said in a statement. "We've made many improvements to the driver experience over the last year and will continue to focus on ensuring that Uber is the best option for anyone looking to earn money on their own schedule."
TM & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Sawbridgeworth's Village Pharmacy burgled during the early hours as police look for two potential witnesses
It happened in the early hours on July 30
A CCTV image of a man police believe could help them with a burglary at a pharmacy in Sawbridgeworth
Police are searching to find two men who they believe could help them with a burglary at a pharmacy in Sawbridgeworth.
On Monday morning (July 30), at around 3.40am, someone broke into the Village Pharmacy in the town. CCTV footage in the area showed two people that police believe could help them with the investigation.
The two were in the area at the same time as the offence taking a place, and were driving an old silver BMW 3 series car.
Sawbridgeworth driver has licence suspended for three years after leaving motorcyclist in a wheelchair after a crash
Anyone who recognises the men, or knows anything about the burglary, are asked to contact PC Shelly Marshall on the non-emergency number 101 and quote crime reference number 41/22536/18. They can also report it to the Hertfordshire Constabulary online at www.herts.police.uk/report.
Alternatively anyone with information can contact the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.


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Carlyle enters into exclusive negotiations to sell a controlling stake in Euro Techno Com Group
Carlyle has supported ETC's exceptional growth, accelerated its product innovation, expanded internationally and strengthened management
Carlyle will re-invest for a significant minority stake to support ETC's long term ambitions
Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to a sell a controlling stake in Euro Techno Com Group ("ETC" or the "Company"), a leading a "one-stop shop" value-added distributor for the telecom network and technology infrastructure industry, to Cinven. As part of the transaction, Carlyle will re-invest for a significant minority stake. The transaction is subject to works council consultation and customary regulatory approvals. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Carlyle invested in ETC through Carlyle Europe Technology Partners ("CETP") IV, a EUR 1.35 billion fund that invests in small and mid-market technology-focused opportunities. Through Carlyle's partnership with Founder Cédric Varasteh, ETC has delivered exceptional growth. The Company has tripled revenue which exceeded €1bn in 2021, increased staff from 440 to 1,200 employees, and has expanded its geographic footprint from 4 to 12 countries - consolidating a strong position in the attractive US market, which represents more than half of its sales. Leveraging its deep technology and telecom sector experience, Carlyle has supported ETC's organic growth through investment in new product segments (mobile, datacenter, metrology) as well as R&D for ETC designed products and innovative solutions. Carlyle has supported the business through M&A, transforming ETC into a leading consolidation platform in a highly fragmented market, notably with the acquisitions of Comtec in the UK, and Walker & Associates and Comstar Supply in the US. Cédric has worked with Carlyle to implement operational and organizational changes to strengthen the Company's management capabilities and increase its scale.
Innovation in technology and diversification into new product areas has been an integral component of ETC's growth under Carlyle's ownership, enabling ETC to penetrate new customers and geographies, particularly in the US and in Europe. The creation of an R&D and innovation lab in Portugal for ETC's designed and branded products has supported the Company's drive in innovation and accelerated expansion into new product segments.
With growing spend in telecom infrastructure to support increasing bandwidth requirements and connected economies, further technological evolution has driven capex and increased complexity across the telecom value chain (including fragmentated local demand across operators and network technologies, outsourcing of installation, and the procurement challenges in a sector of global supply), supporting the emergence of a specialist distribution platform in this space. Cédric and Carlyle shared a common vision to build a global, industry-leading value-added distribution platform, utilizing the Company's exceptional management, its unique and differentiated expertise in telecom, and its strong relationship with suppliers. In partnering with Carlyle, ETC has established itself as a leading one-stop shop, offering a comprehensive portfolio of more than 55,000 products and value-added services for diverse technologies and segments (fixed mobile, datacenter and tooling & accessories), that benefit from increasing telecom capex and investment in technology infrastructure.
Cédric Varasteh, Founder and Co-Chairman of the ETC Group, said: "I want to thank my entire team and Carlyle, particularly CETP's Cyril Bourdarot and Remy Salettes, for this truly successful partnership and their outstanding involvement in ETC's transformation. Carlyle has leveraged its extensive understanding of our industry coupled with its global network to drive remarkable growth, completing three strategic acquisitions, bolstering the team with high quality talent and supporting us to build a specialized, diversified and truly unique proposition within the complex telecom value chain. We are delighted to continue this incredible journey with Carlyle as they retain a significant minority stake."
Cyril Bourdarot, Managing Director on the CETP advisory team, said: "Through a combination of investment in innovation, M&A and international expansion - particularly in the US, and strengthening management teams, ETC has achieved remarkable growth. Together with Cédric, we have established ETC as a category leader in value added distribution for telecom and technology infrastructure equipment and as the natural best-in-class consolidator on this attractive and highly fragmented market. It has been a great pleasure partnering with Cédric and his management team. We are delighted to reinvest for a significant stake in the business to continue to support ETC's strong growth trajectory."
Vladimir Lasocki, Managing Director and Co-Head of the CETP advisory team, said: "The success of ETC under Carlyle's ownership is another great example of our Fund strategy of working closely in partnership with founders and management teams to execute ambitious value creation plans in a global environment. We are incredibly proud of the significant growth the Company has achieved over Carlyle's period of ownership."
About The Euro Techno Com Group
The Euro Techno Com Group (the ETC Group) is a one-stop-shop valued-added distributor of equipment and supplies for the telecommunications market. Founded in 1993 by Cédric Varasteh, the ETC Group supplies and distributes a comprehensive range of passive and active equipment and tools for telecom network deployment and maintenance and offers a comprehensive range of services including product design and equipment selection, sourcing, outsourced procurement and logistics solutions for cable and telecom operators and network installers and their subcontractors. Today, the ETC Group employs over 1,200 people and serves 14,000 customers in 12 countries including the USA, the UK, France and Germany.
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $325 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2022, Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs nearly 1,900 people in 26 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.
Carlyle:
Charlie Bristow
Charlie.bristow@carlyle.com
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Get in touch with me here!
Tell me about what photo adventure you have in mind and we'll make the magic happen!
We can compare calendars soon but for now I'm just wondering how soon you're wanting to have your photo session - this month, in the next 6 months, or further in the future?
What's your favorite tv show? Favorite food? What do you like to do in your free time?
Do you want to get outdoors and say "I Do" by a waterfall? Want to challenge your partner to a game of mini-golf? Or do you want to sport matching PJs at home and cuddle on the couch? The possibilities are endless - let's make the magic happen!