In his novel The End of the Affair, Graham Greene wrote, "It's strange how the human mind swings back and forth, from one extreme to another." As with individuals, so with society: the pendulum tends to swing. In the history of the medical profession, one can observe the same tendency concerning the respective roles of doctor and patient.
Traditionally, a patient who wanted to enjoy good health was counselled, "Follow the doctor's orders." In a society when the masses were poorly educated, and physicians well educated, such counsel made sense. But that approach sometimes led to unhealthy paternalism, with doctors disregarding legitimate concerns and wishes of patients.
Now the pendulum has swung. In a culture where ordinary people are better educated, where adherence to authority has declined and the value of individual autonomy has greatly risen, the doctor-patient relationship is much changed. Physicians are now expected to closely consider patient perspective.
But sometimes that approach goes too far, when a doctor defers too readily to a patient's unreasonable or unethical wishes, for an abortion or an assisted suicide, for example. When a physician abdicates conscience, we end up with the doctor following the patient's orders. That is unhealthy for the practice of medicine.
The solution is not to revert to unquestioning paternalism where a patient blindly follows the doctor's orders. The solution is for doctor and patient to together seek what is medically best, without on the other hand, having the patient impose their values on the doctor.
It comes down to the question of what it means to be medical professional. If society expects physicians to be professionals, we need to think about what that means.
Any profession involves not just a set of knowledge and skills but a commitment to use those in a disinterested way in the service of others, following ethical standards such as honesty, integrity, etc. To be a professional is to be involved in a moral undertaking.
The moral character of medicine was helpfully elucidated in 2002 by a landmark statement jointly authored by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, the American College of Physicians Foundation and the European Federation of Internal Medicine. Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium: A Physician Charter has been endorsed by over 130 medical organizations worldwide including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Medical Council of Canada.
Physicians must be honest with their patients and empower them to make informed decisions about their treatment. Patients' decisions about their care must be paramount, as long as those decisions are in keeping with ethical practice and do not lead to demands for inappropriate care.
Patients have a right to make decisions about their health. Being a good patient is not simply about blindly following the doctor's orders.
What does it mean to be a good doctor in this context? As stated, it is to help the patient make "informed" decisions. But there's more. A physician is not simply to inform the patient, then do whatever they may decide. Decisions must be "in keeping with ethical practice" and "not lead to demands for inappropriate care". There is therefore an onus for the doctor to judge what "ethical practice" and "inappropriate care" entail.
It is entirely normal for a physician to judge, for example, whether an abortion or assisted suicide requested by a patient is ethical or appropriate. A discussion based on that judgment needs to be part of the doctor-patient relationship. A good doctor does not just follow the patient's orders. Seeking what is best for the patient's health should be a joint ethical pursuit by both doctor and patient.
In Canada, medicine has an added moral dimension that must be factored. For medical treatment to be Medicare-insured, a physician must certify that it is "medically necessary." The doctor has a contractual obligation with the insurer to honestly make that certification.
A treatment decision cannot simply be about patient wishes. A wish is not ipso facto a medical necessity; it is in fact an elective ineligible for Medicare coverage unless the physician certifies – in good faith, exercising judgment about what is best for the patient – that it is a matter of medical necessity. It would be a manifest dereliction of professional duty for a Canadian doctor to simply follow patient orders.
Autonomy run amok is bad medicine. Physician conscience, on the other hand, is absolutely vital to good medicine. It keeps things in healthy balance. Avoiding those wild pendulum swings.
Peter Ryan is President of LifeCanada and represents New Brunswick. He holds an advanced degree in theological ethics.


This was the repository for journals, speeches and photos detailing what I'd been up to in the UK and Australia from 1997 to 2004.
I've stopped updating this, but for the time being I've left online the archive of old journals etc.
For those who asked what I got up to in Western Australia, I did a page on what I was doing there.
See www.katieclemson.com for Katie's linocuts etc.
What a long strange trip it's been - from 1969 to 2014 via 1999.
Windsurfing to work during a train strike in London.
The Tale Of The Turkmen Stallion.


text:
La place des personnes trans dans le sport a été débattue à plusieurs moments dans l'histoire. Les études académiques manquent à ce sujet, et la représentation des athlètes transgenres est de qualité variable.

Historique
Dans les années 1930, plusieurs personnalités du monde sportif réalisent des transitions : Zdeněk Koubek, Mark Weston, Sophie Smetkowna et Dora Ratjen.

Les médias français au cours de la période 1977-2018 emploient très majoritairement des titres informatifs avec la mention  ou , sans mentionner le plus souvent le nom et prénom des sportifs. Mégenrer est également fréquent. Ils retiennent essentiellement l'aspect chirurgical de la transition. Les soupçons de tricherie dans les compétitions pour les femmes transgenres sont relevés alors que pour les hommes transgenres la question n'apparait pas.

Concept
Une étude publiée en 2021 dans Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise montre que la suppression de la testostérone chez les femmes transgenres ne supprime pas l'avantage de la performance masculine. Selon les auteurs de l'étude, la question de savoir si la réglementation en cours supprime l'avantage de la performance masculine n'a pas été examiné. Ils rapportent que les études longitudinales examinant les effets de la suppression de la testostérone sur la masse et la force musculaires chez les femmes transgenres montrent systématiquement des changements très modestes, où la perte de masse corporelle maigre, de surface musculaire et de force s'élève généralement à environ 5 % après 12 mois de traitement. Ainsi, l'avantage musculaire dont bénéficient les femmes transgenres n'est que très peu réduit lorsque la testostérone est supprimée. L'assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l'Europe adopte en 2019 la résolution 2276 visant à condamner les propos et actes haineux dans le sport, notamment la transphobie, et invite les États membres de mettre en œuvre de bonnes pratiques. Vladimir Poutine déclare en 2021 son hostilité à la participation des femmes trans à des compétitions sportives, car pour lui . Le premier ministre Boris Johnson se prononce contre la présence de femme trans lors des compétitions.

Les méta-analyses montrent un manque d'études pour statuer sur les performances dans le sport entre personnes transgenre et cisgenre. Plusieurs sportifs de haut niveau expriment les difficultés de l'acceptation de leur transidentité dans ce milieu. Les quelques études menées semblent montrer que les différences de genre assigné à la naissance ont un impact différent selon les sport pratiqués. L'environnement est considéré comme inconfortable et peu inclusif pour les personnes transgenres ainsi qu'une inadéquation des réglementations sportives aux besoins des personnes transgenres.

Décisions de fédérations internationales

Le Comité international olympique n'envisage pas de modifier les textes avant les jeux olympiques de Tokyo de 2020 car il considère comme injuste d'apporter des modifications alors que les qualifications sont en cours. Le , il indique vouloir laisser les fédérations internationales choisir les critères de participation. Il leur propose un « cadre » à partir duquel elle pourront établir leurs propres règles. La Fédération sportive LGBT+ diffuse la Charte Sport et Trans dans les clubs de sport en partenariat avec OUTrans et Acceptess-T afin de . La charte "sport et trans" de 2016, en cours de révision, a pour objectif de faciliter et promouvoir l'inclusion des personnes trans et non binaires et de favoriser leur pratique sportive. Elle peut être adoptée par les clubs sportifs.L'article L100-1 du code du sport français prévoit : . La présence de sportifs n'ayant pas bénéficié d'une opération de réattribution sexuelle dans les toilettes / douches / vestiaires suscite des débats.

Des réflexions font l'objet d'actives considérations sur cette thématique.

Un groupe de fédérations internationales s'est réuni afin d'établir un consensus sur de règles qui permettront aux athlètes transgenres d'accéder aux compétitions féminines d'élite. La réunion est organisée par l'IAAF à Lausanne le  avec l'audition d'une série d'experts dans des domaines disciplinaires pertinents et des athlètes cisgenres et transgenres. Il en résulte les points suivants:
 Ils restent attachés à l'équité et à l'égalité des chances pour les athlètes féminines
 L'inclusion des femmes transgenres dans la catégorie des femmes devrait être encouragée par des normes d'éligibilité significatives, à condition qu'elle ne crée pas d'injustice intolérable
 Les règles destinées à accommoder les athlètes transgenres devraient être spécifiques aux sports et conçues par la fédération internationale concernée
 La testostérone est le principal facteur connu de l'écart de performance entre les hommes et les femmes et le taux de testostérone sérique est considéré comme un indicateur acceptable pour distinguer les athlètes masculins des athlètes féminins
 Si une fédération décide d'utiliser la testostérone sérique à cette fin, elle devrait adopter un seuil fixe égal ou inférieur à 5nmol/L pour l'éligibilité de la catégorie féminine
 Des recherches supplémentaires sont nécessaires sur cette question et devraient être encouragées par les fédérations sportives
Les fédérations sportives internationales d'aviron, d'athlétisme, de golf, de tennis et le comité international paralympique se sont réunies afin d'échanger sur la situation des athlètes transgenres et de leur possibilité de participer à des compétitions. De nouvelles règles concernant l'athlétisme sont en cours de préparation. Il s'agirait de considérer qu'au-delà de 5 nmol/L (nanomoles par litre) de testostérone, la sportive ne serait pas autorisée à concourir dans la catégorie féminine en athlétisme. L'Union cycliste internationale oriente également son règlement en ce sens à partir de mars 2020. Ce seuil est remis en cause par plusieurs études. En effet, bien que des variations existent entre les hommes et les femmes, la chercheuse en médecine de l'université de Montréal, Cara Tannenbaum, relève que ces différences peuvent être très inégales selon les personnes. En l'occurrence, des femmes produisent plus de testostérone que certains hommes. Natalie van Gogh, cycliste transgenre, témoigne : son taux de testostérone est quasiment nul depuis sa transition.

La Fédération d'Israël de football sensibilise l'UEFA et la FIFA au sujet de la transition d'une arbitre. Elle arbitre son premier match le  : Hapoël Haïfa / Beitar Jérusalem Football Club. L'organisme international World Rugby envisage d'interdire aux femmes trans de jouer dans la catégorie féminine au regard d'un  par rapport aux femmes cisgenres. Les hommes transgenres, en revanche, pourraient être autorisés à jouer dans des équipes masculines après le passage d'un test et la signature d'un . Un ancien escrimeur trans (FtM) devient membre du conseil d'administration du Comité olympique japonais en 2021. La Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) adopte par un vote à plus de 71%, la création d'une catégorie spécifique de compétition pour les sportifs transgenres à partir du . De nombreuses nageuses trans ( voir infra Lia Thomas) devraient ainsi être de jure exclues des championnats de l'élite féminine et pourront seulement concourir dans cette catégorie. La ligue Internationale de Rugby à XIII interdit aux femmes trans de participer à des matchs internationaux féminins avant qu'une "politique d'inclusion des femmes transgenres" soit adoptée en 2023, à laquelle elle réfléchit. Une ancienne joueuse Australienne considère cette mesure comme une punition. La Fédération internationale de triathlon le  autorise les femmes trans à participer aux compétitions dans la catégorie "féminine" à la double condition: la concentration de testostérone dans le sang doit être inférieure à 2,5 nmol/l depuis au moins 24 mois et un délai d'au moins 48 mois doit s'écouler depuis la dernière participation en tant qu'homme dans toute compétition sportive.

Athlétisme

En 2020, les familles de trois athlètes américaines du secondaire assignent en justice l'association du Connecticut des Conseils sportifs interscolaires du Connecticut et les conseils d'administration des établissements scolaires des communes de Bloomfield, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Canton et Danbury afin d'empêcher 3 jeunes femmes trans de participer à des compétitions d'athlétisme sur piste. Cependant, la loi anti discrimination en vigueur dans cet État, comme dans dix-sept autres États américains, prévoit que les élèves doivent être traités en fonction du sexe auquel ils s'identifient et leur permet ainsi de concourir en tant que tel dans des compétitions féminines du secondaire. Une des élèves cisgenre, dont la famille est demanderesse dans cette action pour le moment non jugée, remporte nettement deux courses dans lesquelles l'une des trois jeunes femmes trans participe. L'État de l'Idaho adopte en 2020 une mesure visant à interdire la participation des femmes trans (MtF) à des compétitions sportives organisées par des établissements d'enseignement public alors que cette interdiction ne concerne pas les hommes (FtM). Le procureur général de cet État évoque un problème de constitutionnalité de ce texte. Un projet de loi similaire est déposé en 2021 au Texas. Un autre est adopté dans le Montana la même année. La NCAA LGBTQ One Team, en publiant une lettre ouverte, s'indigne et condamne ces mesures intrinsèquement discriminatoires. Elle défend, elle aussi, les politiques trans-inclusives s'inspirant de celles établies par la NCAA et le Comité international olympique fondées par les preuves scientifiques actuelles. En l'occurrence, elles montrent que les femmes transgenres ne présentent pas d'avantages différentiels par rapport aux femmes cisgenres. Un projet de loi est adopté le  à la chambre des députés afin d'interdire la discrimination basée sur l'orientation sexuelle et l'identité de genre notamment dans le sport. Plus de 400 grandes entreprises (Pepsi, Starbucks, Amazon) expriment leur solidarité envers la communauté LGBTQ par une lettre ouverte en faveur de ce texte. La Fédération américaine d'athlétisme signifie à CeCe Telfer (MtF), âgée de 26 ans, son incapacité à démontrer qu'elle remplit les critères demandés afin de pouvoir participer aux sélections Olympiques organisées dans l'Oregon en juin 2021: un taux de testostérone inhabituellement élevé pour les courses comprises entre le 400 mètres et le mille. L'USAFT supporte cependant avec force l'inclusivité. Elle veut offrir une méthode claire pour assurer la participation de tous au sport, en maintenant l'équité sportive. En 2019, CeCe Telfer est la première athlète ouvertement transgenre à remporter le championnat NCAA d'athlétisme. Pour la fédération internationale d'athlétisme depuis 2019, la présence de testostérone doit être inférieure à 5 nmol/l dans le sérum pendant douze mois.

Basket-ball

La basketteuse américaine Layshia Clarendon annonce son opération de réattribution sexuelle (retrait des seins) en 2021. Riley Knoxx est la première pom-pom girl ouvertement transgenre à participer à un spectacle de la mi-temps lors du match de basket du championnat des Wizards de Washington de la NBA en mars 2020.

BMX (Bicycle motocross)
L'américaine (MtF) Chelsea Wolfe participe aux Jeux Olympiques de 2021.

Boxe thaïlandaise

La Thaïlande voit la boxeuse transgenre Nong Toom devenir une légende dans ce sport national. Elle enseigne ce sport aux enfants.

Canoë-kayak

En 2016, la multi championne olympique Sandra Forgues effectue sa transition après avoir quitté la compétition en 2000.

Catch

Le catcheur Tyler Reks annonce sa transition en 2021 (MtF).

Cyclisme

L'Union cycliste internationale n'autorise pas la participation de Emily Bridges à l'épreuve féminine des championnats de Grande-Bretagne d'Omnium de 2022 car elle a débuté son traitement hormonal en 2021 et doit attendre l'expiration de son enregistrement à l'UCI en qualité de cycliste masculin avant de pouvoir concourir dans la catégorie féminine. Le règlement de 2022 de la  Fédération Britannique de Cyclisme en charge des championnats nationaux, demande de son côté, que les cyclistes démontrent un faible taux de testostérone pendant les douze mois précédant la compétition
.

Duathlon

L'Américain Chris Mosier est le premier athlète transgenre à participer à des sélections olympiques dans la discipline du duathlon.

Football

La Fédération écossaise de football, s'agissant d'une joueuse trans, déclare qu'.
L'Argentine Mara Gomez est recrutée par le club de football argentin de première division de Villa San Carlos en 2020. Il s'agit de la première footballeuse transgenre à rejoindre un club de haut niveau. L'Argentin Marcos Rojo (FtM) joue au poste d'avant-centre dans le club Union del Suburbio à Gualeguaychú dans le nord-est du pays en 2020. La footballeuse canadienne de l'équipe nationale Rebecca Quinn annonce sa transidentité en 2020. Blair Hamilton, après avoir joué comme gardien de l'équipe masculine de son Université, joue désormais, après sa transition, dans l'équipe féminine de football de Stonehaven en Écosse. Elle est âgée de  en 2019 et est l'une des premières footballeuses transgenres d'Écosse. L'arbitre britannique de football Lucy Clark se déclare transgenre (MtF) en 2018. La première arbitre transgenre du championnat d'Israël de football est soutenue par la Fédération d'Israël de football après sa transition en 2021. Le responsable de l'organisation de la coupe du monde de football au Qatar en 2022, bien que le droit applicable de l'émirat à l'égard des personnes transgenres ne soit pas très clair, tient à rassurer les supporters : . Pourtant en 2022, le responsable de la sécurité de la Coupe du monde 2022 met en garde les spectateurs LGBT. Ils devront éviter de manifester des signes de leur préférence sexuelle en public afin de respecter la culture conservatrice en vigueur. La footballeuse japonaise Kumi Yokoyama révèle sa transidentité au printemps 2021. En novembre 2021, des critiques sont transmises par la Fédération jordanienne de football auprès de la Confédération asiatique au sujet de la présence d'une joueuse iranienne - Zohreh Koudaei - dont la féminité n'apparait pas de façon évidente. En 2014, 4 joueuses iraniennes dont les opérations de réassignation sexuelle demeurent incomplètes doivent être écartées de la sélection. Quinn obtient une médaille pour le Canada en 2021. Il devient donc le premier sportif trans (non binaire) à monter sur un podium olympique. Il reste éligible pour concourir au football professionnel féminin sur la base du sexe qui lui a été attribué à la naissance malgré son identité de genre. La Fédération allemande de football depuis 2022 offre aux footballeurs amateurs trans et non-binaires, le choix d'évoluer dans une équipe féminine ou masculine.

Football américain
La ligue nationale de football américain accueille, Justine Lindsay, une pompom girl afro-américaine trans en 2022. Elle soutient les Panthers de la Caroline au sein de l'équipe d'encouragement des TopCats.

Golf

La golfeuse transgenre américaine Lana Lawless s'est vu retirer son titre de championne mondiale car selon le règlement en vigueur aux États-Unis, elle n'est pas une femme de naissance. Elle a saisi la justice pour contester cette décision. La golfeuse américaine trans Hailey Davidson bénéficie d'une chirurgie de confirmation de genre en janvier 2021 et suit des traitements hormonaux depuis 2015. L'United States Golf Association l'autorise à participer à ses championnats. La Ladies Professional Golf Association examine sa demande de participation aux événements du LPGA Tour au regard de sa politique de genre.

Haltérophilie

Mary Gregory, une haltérophile trans de Virginie, en 2019, est démise de ses titres féminins de développé couché et de soulevé de terre par la fédération américaine car elle , au moment de la compétition. Subséquemment, la fédération adopte un amendement dans son règlement intérieur prévoyant l'impossibilité pour les athlètes en plein processus de changement de sexe de concourir. L'haltérophile néo-zélandaise Laurel Hubbard réalise sa transition en 2012 à l'âge de 35 ans. Elle devient vice-championne du monde des plus de  en 2017 et devient la première athlète trans à participer aux Jeux olympiques en 2021.

Une athlète haltérophile trans poursuit en justice la fédération américaine d'haltérophilie devant le tribunal de l'État du Minnesota avec le soutien du groupe de défense des droits de l'homme Gender en 2021. La fédération, selon elle, l'interdit de compétition en raison de son identité sexuelle alors même que son taux de testostérone est inférieur à celui prévu par le Comité international olympique et la Fédération internationale d'haltérophilie.

Handball

En France, le club ES Troarn Calvados Handball compte sa première arbitre trans.

Natation
Le professeur de sport et nageur Rook Campbell (FtM) de l'Université de Californie du Sud débute sa transition en 2018. Il souhaite revoir la communication des médias à propos des athlètes trans en leur donnant quelques conseils. En l'occurrence, l'aspect non organique de la transition reste  éludé : identité, société, juridique, annonce, premiers pas en public, bien-être ressenti.

Lia Thomas (MtF), étudiante à  l'Université de Pennsylvanie, réalise le meilleur temps de son université et de la saison 2021 pour les États-Unis. Bien qu'elle respecte le règlement interne de la fédération américaine de natation et de la NCAA d'un point de vue médical, ses très bonnes performances sont critiquées par le mouvement Women's sports policy working group car sa transition a débuté après la puberté. Aussi, la fédération américaine de natation envisage désormais de revoir les-dit critères en particulier la présence d'un taux de testostérone (inférieur à 5 nmol/l) dans le sérum pendant une durée d'au moins trente-six mois avant la date de la demande. Seize nageuses de son équipe publient une lettre ouverte dans le magazine Swimming World afin de demander à leur université et à l'Ivy League sport de les soutenir en tant que femmes biologiques et de ne pas engager d'action judiciaire avec la NCAA pour contester ces nouvelles règles. Elles reconnaissent pleinement à Lia Thomas  mais considèrent que . L'entrée en vigueur du nouveau règlement, selon l'Ivy League sport, est fixée à la prochaine compétition c'est-à-dire avec les futurs championnats d'hiver 2022 de la NCAA. Le Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports examinera le cas de Lia Thomas en relation avec ce changement de règlement lors de sa prochaine réunion et fera des recommandations appropriées au conseil d'administration de la NCAA à la fin du mois de février 2022. Au championnat national disputé à Atlanta en mars 2022, elle s'impose sur le 500 yards nage libre devant les médaillées d'argent olympiques aux Jeux de Tokyo, Emma Weyant (400 mètres quatre nages) et Erica Sullivan ( nage libre). Le gouverneur républicain de Floride Ron DeSantis considère la sportive floridienne, classée deuxième, comme la « gagnante légitime ». Un texte adopté en juin 2021 dans cet État interdit à toute personne assignée homme à la naissance de participer à des compétitions pour filles et pour femmes. La nageuse arrivée en troisième position soutient la championne et évoque : . Lia Thomas souhaite se qualifier pour les prochains JO de 2024.

Rugby

Les rugbywomen trans pesant plus de 90 kilos ou mesurant plus de  pourraient être soumises à une évaluation par un entraîneur avant d'être autorisées à jouer au rugby féminin en Angleterre. Il s'agirait de déterminer si elles représentent un risque pour la sécurité des autres joueuses. Le projet de la Fédération anglaise de rugby à  prévoit également la communication des détails de leur passé sportif. Pour cette fédération, en 2020, afin de participer à une compétition, une athlète transgenre doit se déclarer comme étant une femme et ne pas avoir un niveau de testostérone dépassant , sur une durée de douze mois précédant la première compétition.

La joueuse trans Julie Curtiss aurait contesté judiciairement la décision de la fédération anglaise. Au préalable, elle en aurait été informée par lettre via ses avocats, où elle invoque notamment une disposition de la loi sur l'Egalité de 2010 interdisant les discriminations. Elle n'est plus obligée d'être reconnue juridiquement dans son nouveau sexe d'après l'IAAF.

La Fédération française de rugby annonce modifier son règlement en faveur de la participation des sportives (MtF). Il prévoit, en effet, que « non opérées » elles devront attester « qu'elles suivent un traitement hormonal depuis a minima 12 mois », mais aussi que leur organisme ne dépasse pas un certain taux de testostérone. Aucune démarche similaire n'est exigée pour l'examen des dossiers des hommes (FtM) par les commissions professionnelles. C'est la première fédération sportive française à adopter de telles dispositions. La Fédération irlandaise de rugby à XV annonce le  la modification de sa politique sur les joueuses transgenres. Elle se conforme aux directives de la fédération internationale du World Rugby, selon lesquelles la participation au rugby de contact pour les joueurs de la catégorie féminine est limitée à celles dont le sexe a été enregistré comme féminin à la naissance.

Depuis 2018, Alexia Cérénys est une joueuse trans de l'équipe féminine d'Elite 1 du rugby club de Lons. C'est la seule femme transgenre à évoluer à ce niveau en France. Elle est soutenue par la Fédération française de rugby et son équipe lors de la Journée mondiale contre l'homophobie, la transphobie et la biphobie de 2021.
À l'initiative de la Commission Anti-Discriminations et Égalité de Traitement de la FFR, pour la première fois un coup d'envoi (test match France - Japon en rugby à XV) est donné le  par la sportive olympique Sandra Forgues. Sophie Marceau défend pleinement la présence de joueurs trans dans ce sport en France.

Saut à la perche

Balian Buschbaum réalise sa transition (FtM) en 2008 après avoir mis fin à sa carrière d'athlète.

Surf
La World Surf League en accord avec l'Association internationale de surf depuis 2023, les surfeurs nés de genre masculin peuvent participer aux compétitions féminines. La WSL ne testera pas elle-même les athlètes s'agissant du niveau de testostérone. Ils organiseront leurs propres tests, puis rencontreront le médecin en chef confidentiellement avant de lui présenter les documents médicaux requis. Le seuil de testostérone établi par la WSL et l'AIS est similaire à celui de la Fédération internationale des sociétés d'aviron et de la Fédération internationale de tennis (inférieur à 2,5 nmol/L pendant 24 mois).  En réaction, Bethany Hamilton fait savoir qu'elle ne participerait plus à des compétitions de la WSL si celle-ci autorisait les « hommes biologiques » à surfer dans les épreuves féminines.

Tennis

L'ex-joueuse de tennis Martina Navrátilová dans un article publié par The Times considère qu'autoriser  à participer à des compétitions féminines s'assimile à . Elle a pourtant, à la suite de son coming out en 1981, milité en faveur des LGBT et été la porte-parole des premiers Outgames en 2006. Elle a solennellement lu le , avec le médaillé olympique Mark Tewksbury, la Déclaration de Montréal sur les droits humains des LGBT, issue de la Conférence mondiale sur les droits des LGBT de Montréal.

Triathlon

Le , la fédération britannique de triathlon décide d'interdire de la présence des femmes trans lors des compétitions féminines de triathlon en Grande-Bretagne. Cette mesure entrera en vigueur en 2023. Les femmes transgenres devront intégrer une nouvelle catégorie avec les hommes dite « ouverte ».

Volley-ball

La Brésilienne  est la première femme trans à évoluer en première division féminine au Brésil. Elle participe à une campagne publicitaire en 2022 pour Adidas. Après avoir obtenu son changement d'identité, la joueuse originaire du Pérou Nicole obtient sa licence sportive de la fédération. Seul le sexe figurant sur sa carte d'identité doit être conforme au genre mentionné sur sa licence. Elle devient la première joueuse trans du championnat de France.

Références

Voir aussi

Bibliographie

Radio

Vidéographie
  : Thaïlande, toutes sur le ring ! de Martin Schacht, documentaire de  diffusé sur Arte

Lien externe
 Centre de ressources documentaires pour les sportifs trans

Transidentité
LGBT dans le sport

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Furnace Creek Resort is situated in a lush oasis surrounded by the vast and arid desert of Death Valley National Park, California – just 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada and 275 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. This is one resort with two hotels – the historic, four-diamond, 66 room Inn at Furnace Creek and the more family-oriented, 224 room Ranch at Furnace Creek.
This resort presents a complete contrast to the desolate desert landscape and an oasis that consists of an 18-hole golf course (the world's lowest course at 214 feet below sea level), four restaurants, a saloon, cocktail lounge, retail outlets, a Borax Museum, spring-fed swimming pools, tennis courts, horseback riding, horse-drawn carriage rides, a children's playground, massage therapy, a 3,000 foot airstrip, a service station and conference and banquette facilities for 10 – 120. (Some services are available only on a seasonal basis.) Furnace Creek Resort is the perfect vantage point from which to explore Death Valley National Park!


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Arkady Shevchenko
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Arkady Nikolayevich Shevchenko
Arkady Shevchenko, 1984
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
10 July 1973 – 10 June 1978
Leonid Kutakov
Mikhail Sytenko
Horlivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
February 28, 1998(1998-02-28) (aged 67)[1]
Washington, DC., United States
Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Soviet Union then American
Arkady Nikolayevich Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Аркадій Миколайович Шевченко, Russian: Аркадий Николаевич Шевченко; October 11, 1930 – February 28, 1998), a Soviet diplomat, was the highest-ranking Soviet official to defect to the West.
Shevchenko joined the diplomatic service of the Soviet Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as a young man and rose through its ranks, becoming advisor to Andrei Gromyko, Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 1973, he was appointed Under Secretary General (USG) of the United Nations. During his assignment at the UN headquarters in New York City, Shevchenko began passing Soviet secrets to the CIA. In 1978, he cut his ties to the Soviet Union and defected to the United States.
1 Early life and education
2 Foreign service career
3 Espionage and defection
Early life and education[edit]
Shevchenko was born in the town of Horlivka, eastern Ukrainian SSR, but when he was five years old his family moved to Yevpatoria, a resort town in Crimea on the Black Sea, where his physician father was the administrator of a tuberculosis sanatorium. When the Crimea was overrun by German forces in 1941, he and his mother, along with the patients in the sanatorium, were evacuated to Torgai in the Altai mountains of Siberia. The family was reunited in 1944 after the Germans were driven out of the Crimea. He later recalled how his father attended the Yalta Conference, partially to observe and report on the health of Franklin Roosevelt.
Shevchenko graduated from high school in 1949 and in the same year was admitted to Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He studied Soviet law, Marxist, Leninist and Stalinist theory and trained to become a foreign service diplomat. He married Lina (Leongina), a fellow student, in 1951. He graduated in 1954, but continued his studies as a graduate student.
Foreign service career[edit]
In 1956, Shevchenko joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an attaché and was assigned to the OMO (Russian: Отдел Международных Организаций Министерства Иностранных Дел СССР, Department of International Organizations at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the USSR), a branch of the Foreign Ministry dealing with the United Nations and NGOs. In 1958, he was sent to New York City on a three-month assignment to represent the Soviet Union at the annual United Nations General Assembly as a disarmament specialist.
Shevchenko attended the 1962 Geneva Committee on Disarmament Negotiations as a member of the Soviet delegation. The next year he accepted an assignment as Chief of the Soviet Mission's Security Council and Political Affairs Division at the United Nations. This being a permanent posting, his family accompanied him to NYC. He continued in this post until 1970 when he was appointed advisor to Andrei Gromyko. His duties covered a broad range of Soviet foreign policy initiatives.
In his disarmament role, Shevchenko had a close view of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Soviet leadership's perspective of it. He later described it in an interview with WGBH.[2]
In 1973, Shevchenko was promoted and became an Under Secretary General of the United Nations. Although he was nominally employed by the United Nations and owed his allegiance to that international organization, in practice he was expected to support and promote the aims and policies of the Soviet Union. He eventually became resentful of the restrictions that his Soviet superiors subjected him to which prevented him from carrying out his duties as an Under Secretary in an unbiased manner.
Espionage and defection[edit]
The early 1970s were a time of détente between the Eastern Bloc and NATO nations. SALT I, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Helsinki Accords, and other international agreements were negotiated during this time. According to Shevchenko's memoirs, he became increasingly disillusioned with real Soviet attitudes toward these international agreements. He had immediate access to the inner workings of the Soviet foreign policy establishment and felt that the Soviet government was cheating on the intent of the agreements for short-term political gain, ultimately to its own disadvantage. He also states clearly that Soviet leaders, while pretending to respect the UN, actually disdained it and viewed it solely as a means to advance Soviet interests, covertly or otherwise. Furthermore, Moscow's requirement that he, as a UN officer, must put Soviet interests ahead of UN interests while pretending otherwise was a violation of the UN charter. He also came to believe that Soviet internal economic policies and insistence on hard-line Communist centralization of power were depriving the Russian people of their freedom and ability to better themselves and their country. His long years of exposure to Western democracies convinced him that the Soviets were "taking the wrong path", economically and politically. He also was tired of, and bitter about, being unfree and speaking unfreely, and he wanted personal freedom. He briefly considered resigning his position with the UN and returning to the Soviet Union in an attempt to change the system from within, but he soon came to the realization that it would have been an impossible task, as he had neither the power nor the influence to effect any significant change. He did not like this option because he felt that such a life in retirement would be meaningless.[3]
By 1975, he had decided to defect. He made contact with the United States Central Intelligence Agency seeking political asylum. However, the CIA pressured him to continue at his post with the United Nations and to supply them with inside information on Soviet political plans. Although fearful of the consequences if he were to be found out by the KGB, he reluctantly agreed, with the idea that if he wanted to fight against the regime's existence, this was an opportunity to do so in a way with real effect or power. For the next three years, he became in effect a "triple agent". Outwardly, a dedicated servant of the United Nations but covertly promoting the political aims of the USSR and, on top of that, secretly reporting the Soviets' hidden political agenda to the CIA.[4]
In early 1978, he became aware of increased KGB surveillance of his movements. Then suddenly in March he received a cable from Moscow summoning him to return to the Soviet Union for "consultations". Suspicious of the demand and realizing that if he flew to Moscow he might never be permitted to return to his UN duties or even leave the Soviet Union, he called his CIA contact and demanded that they fulfil their promise of political asylum.[4]
Shevchenko often wrestled with how he would broach the idea of upcoming defection with his wife Leongina.[3] He knew that she would probably react angrily and refuse to accede. He ended up never telling her until leaving a note for her right before rushing out the door while she slept.[3] His plan, at least consciously, was that she could read the note and catch up with him soon if she chose to, which he hoped she would. However, when he called her the next day, a KGB man answered the phone. He surmised that as soon as she read the note she called the KGB.[3] She was immediately whisked back to Moscow, where she died mysteriously, supposedly a suicide, less than two months later. Shevchenko surmised that in trying to gain leverage in her predicament she may have threatened senior Party people with exposure of their corruption, which made killing her the easiest solution.[3] He also admitted to himself later that the reason he never told her in advance about his defection is because he knew she would probably get angry and expose his plan to the KGB. In the Soviet Union Shevchenko was tried in absentia and sentenced to death.[3]
From 1978 until his death twenty years later in Bethesda, Maryland, Shevchenko lived in the United States and supported himself with written contributions to various publications and on the lecture circuit. In 1985, he published his autobiography, Breaking With Moscow. In his book, he described Soviet Russia as, among other things, a gangster economy where the KGB intelligence service played a prominent role.
Shevchenko died of cirrhosis of the liver on February 28, 1998, and was buried in Washington, DC.
List of Eastern Bloc defectors
^ "Arkady Nikolayevich Shevchenko - American former Soviet diplomat". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
^ "War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Europe Goes Nuclear; Interview with Arkady Shevchenko, 1986". WGBH-TV. March 10, 1986.
^ a b c d e f Shevchenko 1985.
^ a b Barnes, Bart (12 March 1998). "SOVIET DEFECTOR ARKADY SHEVCHENKO DIES". The Washington Post.
Shevchenko, Arkady (1985). Breaking with Moscow. ISBN 978-0394520551. OCLC 11680691.
Arkady Shevchenko. Breaking With Moscow, 1985 - excerpts published online
Oleg Kalugin, The First Directorate. St. Martins' Press, 1994.
Memoirs of Arkady Shevchenko's son (in Russian)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arkady_Shevchenko&oldid=933049308"
American spies against the Soviet Union
Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Deaths from cirrhosis
People from Horlivka
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Are You Measuring Part or All of the Customer Experience?
"A satisfied customer is a happy customer." That's a well-worn saying — one that carries a degree of truth.
But how do you know whether your customers are truly satisfied?
Measuring something as emotional as an experience can be as much of an art as it is a science.
Sure, we have tools and metrics, including surveys and Net Promoter Scores or the number of likes or followers we accumulate, as well as behavioral analytics like time on page and click-through and abandonment rates. And we use those to try and determine satisfaction levels. But in truth they are just indicators of what some people do, not why they do it.
Are you measuring based on what you believe your customers want as opposed to what they actually need?
Customers don't come to our websites or digital platforms actively seeking out our latest marketing messages. They come because they have things they need to do. Those things can range from making a purchase to setting up an account, changing account information or paying bills. Therefore, efforts to measure the success of a customer experience must be based primarily on how easy it is to accomplish those tasks, with less of an emphasis on how often users click your "call to action" buttons.
One area where there is a long history of helping customers get stuff done has been the customer support call center. In recent months, I've heard many companies talk about a customer experience success metric as being the number of calls that get "deflected" from the support center to a self-help portal on the website. That isn't a measure of customer experience success; that's just a measure of a change in process. If you don't have the right content on the self-help portal, and if that content isn't easily accessible and navigable, then you are potentially delivering a worse experience when you send people to the self-help portal.
I'll be honest, the use of the word "deflected" makes me shudder because it implies (at least to me) that the company is actively avoiding engaging with its customers.
Answers to the five W's (who, what, when, where and why).
Definitions (especially of complex terms).
That research confirms that customers want answers easily supplied from across the organization. It's no longer true (if it ever really was) that it is marketing's job to supply one type of information and customer support's job to provide another.
In the B2B environment, there is strong evidence that there is an increasing trend for this cross-functional convergence of content being driven by customer experience needs. A leading software company reports that over three-quarters of the visitors to its main websites want to look at technical content about the use and implementation of its products. Therefore, the metrics for what was traditionally seen as a support function are now included in the overall customer experience reporting.
Related Article: Are You Playing Whack-a-Mole With Customer Experience?
Are you measuring in isolation as opposed to holistically?
In general, the metrics used for measuring customer experience still tend to be the indicators of success (or failure) for individual operational departments or groups. Rarely, if ever, are they looked at in a holistic way to provide an overall measurement of customer satisfaction. It's possible that you could be scoring highly in specific categories but are still delivering a poor overall customer experience because the journey is disconnected.
By looking at customer-related metrics as part of an overall ecosystem and not as separate performance indicators, you can develop a clearer picture of a customer's overall journey and his or her life cycle value.


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Apple accuses Fortnite maker of 'theft' in App Store dispute
Move escalates legal row between two companies over Apple's management of App Store
By James Titcomb San Francisco 9 September 2020 • 6:51am
Apple has launched a legal offensive against Epic Games, the developer behind the hit video game Fortnite, suing the company for attempting to bypass the Apple payment system.
The countersuit, which seeks damages for breach of the contract that app developers sign, comes four weeks after Epic sued Apple, claiming the iPhone maker abuses a monopoly over app distribution on its devices.
Apple said that when Epic used its own payment system, violating Apple's App Store rules, the company was stealing from.
"Epic has reaped millions of dollars in in-app purchases through its unauthorised external purchase mechanism thereby diverting to itself commissions that Apple was entitled to possess under the License Agreement. This is theft, period," the company said.
Apple requires iPhone apps to use the company's payment system when buying digital items, and takes a cut of up to 30pc. Last month, Fortnite was kicked off the App Store, making it inaccessible on iPhones, when Epic introduced its own payments system. Epic claims Apple's rules are an unfair exercise of power that hurts developers and forces consumers to pay more.
Fighting back on Tuesday, Apple said: "Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store."
Apple's app fees: at a glance
The company also accused Epic of a "smear campaign" that had damaged Apple's reputation with users, and said Epic had made more than $600m (£462m) from the App Store. Fortnite allows players to purchase "V-Bucks", a digital currency that can be spent on cosmetic upgrades in the game.
Apple defended its cut of purchases, saying it funds development of app-making tools, moderating the store, and handling payment fees. It said that if Epic was allowed to continue to break rules, consumers would lose trust in the store.
"In addition to the loss of Apple's contractual commissions, Epic's actions have caused Apple to suffer reputational harm and loss of goodwill with consumers who rely on Apple to offer the apps they want to download, like Fortnite, with all of the safety, security, and privacy protections that they expect from Apple. Left unchecked, Epic's conduct threatens the very existence of the iOS ecosystem and its tremendous value to consumers."
As well as seeking monetary damages, Apple is seeking an order forcing Epic not to circumvent Apple's payment system by adding alternative options to its app.
Apple is coming under increasing pressure over its management of the App Store, which is the only way iPhone users can download new apps. Facebook and Microsoft have also criticised the company, although Apple has consistently rejected claims its fees are unfair or that it is exercising a monopoly.
Epic has also sued Google after it introduced a similar workaround to the payments system on Google's Play Store for Android phones.
Fortnite,


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About Aaron Ziemer
So far Aaron Ziemer has created 27 blog entries.
Montevideo teen killed in crash near Morris
Aaron Ziemer2019-07-10T12:18:18+00:00July 10th, 2019|Categories: News|
MORRIS (KMHL) – An 18-year-old Montevideo woman was killed in a crash that occurred along Highway 59 south of Morris. The Minnesota State Patrol says Madeline Gorham of Montevideo was driving a 2014 Ford Taurus that collided with a DOT work truck on the shoulder of the highway. Authorities say Gorham's Taurus then entered the oncoming lane after striking the DOT truck where it was hit by a 2006 Freightliner semi-truck.
MN State Chancellor starts tour to promote a new scholarship program
Aaron Ziemer2019-07-09T13:07:30+00:00July 9th, 2019|Categories: News|
ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) - The chancellor of the state college and university system is stopping in 20 Minnesota cities this week to promote a scholarship program for students wanting careers in high-demand fields. Devinder Malhotra (duh-VIN-der mal-HOE-truh) says anyone is eligible -- from students finishing high school to those returning to the work force. "Who, for whatever reason, they have dropped out and now are coming back to get some post-secondary credentials as they enter the work force," said Malhotra. Hundreds of scholarships worth 25-hundred dollars or more are available at two-year state colleges. They'll assist students pursuing careers in advanced [...]
Vesta man injured when motorcycle hits deer on Hwy 19
VESTA (KMHL) – A second area motorcyclist hit a deer near Vesta in the last week. The Minnesota State Patrol says Lonnie Mercie, 58, of Vesta, was injured yesterday morning when the 2011 Kawasaki motorcycle he was driving hit a deer just west of Vesta. The incident occurred around 6 a.m. Mercie was taken to the Avera-Marshall Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities. A Franklin man, who was also riding a motorcycle also received non-life threatening injuries when he hit a motorcycle near Vesta last week.
Walz again calls on lawmakers to get the differences worked out on insulin bill
ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) - Governor Tim Walz is again urging Minnesota Senate Republicans to hammer out a compromise on an emergency insulin assistance program, saying he'll call a special session right away if there's a deal "pretty much close" to the House bill: "The pinch-point on this is the manufacturers and their unwillingness to try and help with that," said Walz. "The pinch-point is that I need the Senate. I need the Senate to come together and get this done." Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (guh-ZEL-cuh) said an insulin bill will be high priority next year, but before that "the [...]
Franklin motorcyclist injured when bike hits a deer
VESTA (KMHL) – A Franklin man was injured when the motorcycle he was riding when he struck a deer. The Minnesota State Patrol says 61-year-old Paul Dennis Woods received non-life threatening injuries when the 2012 Harley Davidson he was riding hit the deer in Vesta Township around 5:30 yesterday morning. Authorities say after he struck the deer Woods had to lay the bike down. Woods was taken to the Avera-Marshall Regional Medical Center. The State Patrol says Woods was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Gov. Walz signs executive order to ease fuel shortage in Minnesota
ST. PAUL (KMHL) – Do you have enough fuel to get home from a few days away over the Fourth of July? Hopefully, it won't be a problem for you, but the state of Minnesota has been hit with a fuel shortage at an inopportune time. Wednesday afternoon Gov. Tim Walz issued an Executive Order to alleviate the fuel shortage in the state. Some local gas stations across the state have been experiencing shortages because of unanticipated events at refineries in other states – disrupting the normal supply of gasoline. Walz's order grants a temporary exemption from the hours of service requirement [...]
Baby boy is born right outside Minneota Police Station
Aaron Ziemer2019-07-03T19:26:51+00:00July 3rd, 2019|Categories: News|
MINNEOTA (KMHL) – There was an exciting few minutes outside of the Minneota Police Station. Around 1 p.m. this afternoon a young woman riding in a vehicle on her way to the hospital to give birth realized she wasn't going to make it. The driver of the vehicle pulled into the parking lot at the Minneota city building and went inside for help. Police Chief Bill Bolt said he another officer and members of the Minneota First Responders helped the young woman give birth right in the parking lot. On Facebook, Minneota Police say it was a beautiful and healthy baby [...]
Army Corps to release water from Lac Qui Parle Reservoir
MONTEVIDEO (LEARFIELD) - The U-S Army Corps (COR) of Engineers is increasing outflows from the Lac Qui Parle Reservoir, upstream from Montevideo. "We need to release water from those reservoirs," said Patrick Loch with the Corps' St. Paul District. "Which is going to impact the downstream users of those rivers." Corps (COR) officials say they're also working with the National Weather Service to update river water-level forecasts at Montevideo and downstream on the Minnesota River. "We certainly monitor the forecast, but it's important to know we manage our reservoirs for the water that's already on the ground," said Loch. "So we're [...]
Judge rules Olivia teen incompetent to stand trial for molesting girls at a daycare
OLIVIA (KMHL) – A judge ruled an Olivia boy, who is accused of sex crimes, is incompetent to stand trial in his own defense. Authorities say the boy sexually molested three girls at his mother's daycare from August 2017 through last January. He is facing three counts of criminal sexual conduct. Judge Dwayne Knutson ruled the boy was at least temporarily incompetent to defend himself. The boys' mother, 45-year-old Peggy Uhlenkamp is also charged with failing to report the abuse and child neglect. Knutson ruled previously the case against her case could proceed.
AAA: Record number of travelers expected for 4th of July weekend
Aaron Ziemer2019-07-02T12:25:42+00:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: News|
MINNEAPOLIS (LEARFIELD) - If you're taking a trip for the 4th of July this week, you'll be far from lonely. "We are expecting nearly 49 million people to hit the roads and air," said Meredith Terpstra of Triple-A Minnesota. Terpstra (terps-truh) says that's a four-percent increase from last year and the highest volume of travelers they've seen since they began tracking holiday travel in 2000. "Lower gas prices compared to last year, low unemployment, robust consumer spending and rising disposable income are all encouraging consumers to go ahead and invest in travel this summer," said Terpestra. The majority of people across [...]


videorecording Action and adventure films. Fantasy films. Computer animation films. Animated films. Feature films. Fiction films. Video recordings for the hearing impaired.
Sy, Omar Heboyan, Alexandre Philippon, Benoît Sy, Omar Izïa Ballard, Joshua J.


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Russian Firebird Vladislava Evtushenko
December 20, 2015 viola bz Beauty contests
Russian Firebird Vladislava Evtushenko. Image source facebook.com/senatus.net
19-year-old representative of Russia Vladislava Evtushenko, Miss Russia 2015, performing at Miss Universe 2015 National Costume contest in Las Vegas. She is in the image of a Firebird. Firebird is a common figure in Russian folklore. It's a beautiful delicate dress, great work of a designer Gleb Vinokourov. Evening dress created by the fashion house of Igor Chapurin. Vladislava Yevtushenko was born on 1 May 1996 in Chita – the capital of Trans-Baikal Territory. As a child, she was fascinated by geology, professional dancer and active in sports – tennis and athletics.
1st Runner-up Miss Russia 2015 Vlada Evtushenko
In 2014, Vladislava studied at the Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University named after Peter the Great, the Institute of International Educational Programs, Department of "Management of international cooperation". In her spare time she works as a model and on creative and commercial projects. Vlada is seriously interested in psychology, often involved in coaching training to achieve her goals, and self-development. In the upcoming school year she will study at the Russian Peoples' Friendship University at the Faculty of Philology. Vladislava Yevtushenko is also a model. Her height is 173 cm, the parameters of 84-58-89 figure.
Miss Universe – one of the most prestigious international beauty contests. Last year the title of Miss Universe won the Colombian model Paulina Vega. This year, as in the past, Russia at Miss Universe and Miss World is presented by two different girls: Miss Russia 2015 Sofia Nikitchuk participated in the Miss World pageant, and the first Vice Miss Russia 2015 Vladislava Yevtushenko fights for the crown of the Miss Universe 2015, the final of which will take place in Las Vegas (USA) on 20 December.
On Wednesday, 16 December, the participants passed the preliminary stage of the competition, during which they told about themselves, defiled on the catwalk in swimsuits and evening gowns. The competition was attended by 80 women. 15 girls who will receive maximum points for the first rounds of the show, will take part in the final on 20 December. The next competition will be held in January 2016 in Budapest.
Russian model and beauty pageant titleholder Vladislava Evtushenko
Vladislava Evtushenko
Russian model Vladislava Evtushenko
Russian beauty Vladislava Evtushenko
Vladislava Evtushenko, Vice miss Russia 2015


text:
class CreatePopulations < ActiveRecord::Migration
  def change
    create_table :populations do |t|
      t.integer :province_id
      t.integer :race_id
      t.float :piety
      t.integer :count
      t.integer :loyalty

      t.timestamps null: false
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


For many, airplane travel is fraught with a great deal of fear and anxiety. Let's face it. The idea of being some 36,000 feet up in the air, above all birds and clouds, isn't the most comforting thought. Those with anxiety disorders have an especially hard time grappling with the fact that their safety is out of their control. This is where airplane anxiety begins to come in.
Friedemann Schaub, M.D., Ph.D., molecular biologist and physician specializing in cardiology, and author of The Fear and Anxiety Solution, explains that the fear of flying is much more than a fear for most. It's more akin to a phobia. "For many, this fear is a special form of anxiety disorder. [This] by definition, is a strong fear of a specific object or situation that in reality poses very little or no danger," he says. "An airplane phobia can also occur in response to a traumatic, anxiety-triggering experience, such as flying in bad weather with strong turbulences or a malfunction of the plane during the flight." A person may have been completely comfortable using planes for decades. But, he adds that one traumatic event can be enough for a phobia to develop.
For those dealing with airplane anxiety and fear, traveling can be a dreadful experience. Here, Schaub and other experts share their best tips for managing the phobia on your next flight.
Collect and redirect your thoughts.
Practice deep breathing and relaxation exercises.
Focus on the bigger meaning.
According to Moore, some people find it helpful to use their religious faith or beliefs. It helps to power them through fearful or anxiety-provoking situations in which they feel out of control. "Praying or thinking of that larger power as carrying you safely is a way to decrease anxiety about flying," she says. For those who are not religious, she recommends focusing on a bigger meaning of life. For example, your beautiful contributions to the world and what you still have left to do in this life. "Think of how flying aligns with your values and the type of person you want to be. Flying [can be] an activity that helps you become more like the person you want to be," she suggests.


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The Conversations At Curlow Creek by David Malouf.
We're back in Australia, this time in the 1820s (so about 10-15 years before the events portrayed in A Fringe Of Leaves. Wikipedia reckons it's 1827, but I don't recall an actual date being mentioned in the book). A small group of men huddle round a campfire near a small hut in the bush. Inside the hut are Daniel Carney, an escaped convict and bushranger, and Michael Adair, the military officer charged with overseeing his execution, scheduled for dawn the following day. While the other men sleep, Adair and Carney talk, partly to while away the hours until dawn, and partly because Adair wants to extract as much information as possible about the criminal gang of which Carney was a part (and the other members of which are presumed to have been killed) before he is silenced permanently.
At various intervals the two men either doze or retreat into their own thoughts - we never find out very much about Carney, but we are privy to Adair's reminiscences about his childhood and upbringing in Ireland. Orphaned at an early age when his parents went down with a boat sailing from Holyhead (to, presumably, Dublin), he was put into the care of his mother's eccentric friend Mama Aimée in her sprawling country residence, soon striking up a friendship with local girl Virgilia and Mama Aimée's own son Fergus. Fergus is a great strapping lad, six-foot-six and the apple of everyone's eye, and what soon develops is a three-way relationship similar to the one described in The Leaves On Grey (and, as I said back then, numerous other novels including Le Grand Meaulnes and The Great Gatsby), except without any overtly sexual element. Virgilia and Fergus are the golden couple (she adores him, to which he seems blissfully oblivious) and Adair the wistful observer, hopelessly in love with Virgilia but forced into the role of trusted friend and confidant. Always conscious of the precariousness of his position as foster-child (compared with, say, Fergus, who stands to inherit the estate) he eventually decides to head off and become a soldier.
Adair's specific interest in the gang of outlaws of which Carney was a member isn't clear at first, beyond a general wish to enforce the law by tracking them down, but it eventually becomes clear. Fergus has disappeared, and after some frantic letters sent to him by Virgilia while he was stationed in Spain, Adair is trying to track him down, and has a particular interest in the semi-legendary figure of Dolan, the leader of Carney's gang. A great strapping giant of a man, apparently, six-foot-six in his socks, and, well, you get the general idea.
Eventually time passes, dawn arrives and the two men emerge from the hut to do what must be done. Adair allows Carney down to the river for a final wash, as the other men look on from the shore.
And that's it. There's no climactic execution scene, indeed the epilogue which follows is highly ambiguous as to whether Adair followed through with the sentence or contrived to allow Carney's escape in some way. Just like A Fringe Of Leaves, the novel ends with the departure of a ship taking the central character back to their home country, in Adair's case with a new-found resolution to make his feelings known to Virgilia (whether by proposing to her or slapping her about a bit and bending her over the dining-room table we are left to decide for ourselves).
The ambiguity of the ending will probably frustrate those who like clear resolution of loose ends before a book finishes, but I enjoyed it, tidy resolution of plot points not really being the point. It's very good on the central paradox of trying to enforce the law, including things like property and land rights, in a territory you've obtained by ignoring just those notions as they relate to the original inhabitants of the land, and also on the desire for adventure and excitement that drives people to engage in frontier-expanding activities, and the fine line between how Adair and Fergus have harnessed their respective desires, one legitimately, the other not. This light/dark contrast crops up elsewhere as well, notably Lolita and Riven Rock.
input contrary to established facts
toff on swans, toff on the causes of swans
oodles of noodles
everyone knows blogging gives you cancer
news headline of the day
have I got shoes for you
non-overlapping my arse
hi, I'm Jay Garrick, hope you are too
your sunday science/comedy video mashup
you butter you batter you bet
this week I have been mostly eating taramasalata
they'll never take me alive
just a green salad, please
warning: dave's nuts may make your eyes water
ecky thump
asterix and the germans
that is both tidy and lush
compare the meercack
it's only 4.5 inches, but I'm hoping it'll go hard...


text:
30 years in jail for demanding sex videos of girls
Miami.- A Miami-Dade County man was sentenced to 30 years in prison. the prison to extort girls To whom, according to prosecutors' allegation, he forced her to send him photos and videos of explicit sexual content.
Oscar Williams Jr., 30, originally from the municipality of Opa-locka, fired four girls for "producing child sexual abuse material," according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
A bulletin from the prosecutor's office indicates that Williams Jr. was previously convicted of four counts of producing child sexual abuse material and one count of extortion.
The incidents took place between November 2019 and September 2020. The investigation revealed that Williams was required to send photos and videos to minors through an application on the social network.
"Williams threatened to post material on social media and pornography websites if she did not continue to send him such material," the federal agency said.
He also said that the man "demanded as many as 50 photographs a day from some of the victims."
Williams was arrested after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at his home, following social media applications where Williams committed the crimes he was charged with.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez and FBI Special Agent Robert M. DeWitt.
The case was brought by the Department of Justice as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the "growing epidemic" of child sexual abuse and abuse.
The program brings together federal, state and local resources to detect, apprehend and prosecute online child abusers, as well as identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
La Jornada: Vindicting Villa will allow us to land on what insurgency was and is


Arrayit offers the market's finest 96- and 384-well glass bottom plates activated with the most widely used microarray surface chemistries including amine and epoxy. Our glass bottom microplates support important life sciences, pharmaceutical and diagnostics applications including genotyping, serum diagnostics and compound library screening. Manufactured and packaged in class 1 cleanrooms for superior quality and performance.
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text:
Q: How do I calculate one of the points in a vector? I always have a hard time visualizing how this is done.
I know, given two points $p$ and $q$, the vector $\vec{pq}$ in $\mathbb{R}^3=\langle q_x-p_x,q_y-p_y,q_z-p_z\rangle$.
But if I am given a vector and one of either $p$ or $q$? How do I calculate the other one?

A:
I know, given two points $p$ and $q$, the vector $\vec{pq}$ in $\mathbb{R}^3=\langle q_x-p_x,q_y-p_y,q_z-p_z\rangle$.
But if I am given a vector and one of either $p$ or $q$? How do I calculate the other one?

We can think of $\vec p, \vec q$ as being the vectors corresponding to points $p, q$ respectively, i.e. vectors from the origin to the coordinates represented by point $p$, $q$.
Then given vector $\vec v = \vec{pq} = \vec q- \vec p$, and say, point $p = (p_x, p_y, p_z) \iff \vec p = \langle p_x, p_y, p_z \rangle$, then $$\vec q = \vec{pq} + \vec p$$
So, we are adding two vectors, $\vec{pq} + \vec p$ using vector arithmetic, resulting in $\vec q$, where point $q = (q_x, q_y, q_z)$ is given by reading off the coordinates resulting from the addition.

A: Use the fact that $\vec{pq} = q-p$ and that vector subtraction is defined component wise.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Anthony Sylvan - Don't do it!
They did a really good job of listening to what I wanted. I didn't ever have to repeat myself. They didn't give me canned responses. They really cared about putting a pool in the ground that met my family and I's needs. In the midst of Hurricane Harvey my pool never overflowed, that's the design of irrigation system and installation of this pool.
They installed a swimming pool. The overall product and the quality of the work was just outstanding. If you're going to invest such a high dollar amount into a pool I would definitely recommend Anthony & Sylvan.
Do you have something to say about Anthony Sylvan? What happened? What can we help you with?


text:
Q: how to put an img under a header(div) that contains other divs? I put a header which contains three divs. One has an image and the other two contain text.I then tried putting an image under it which has the same width of the header. But when I first put it, it was over the header div( I thought it should go under it). I then tried pushing it down by increasing the top margin and it worked. But as I increase the width of it the text in the header moves although it is not touching it!
This is the html code:

JANE DOETTE

Front-End Ninja

This is the css code:
#header {
    height: 6em;
    width:80%;
    background-color: white;
    margin-left:10%;
    margin-right:10%;
    border-bottom:2px solid #BCBBBB;
    margin-bottom:10px;
}

#image{
    margin-left:10%;
    margin-right:10%;
    height:10em;
    width:80%;
}

#logo {
    height:88px;
    width:89px;
}

#name {
    color: #BCBBBB;
    text-align:left;
    float:right;
    font-size:2.7em;
    font-family:sans-serif;
    height:50%;
}

#job {
    color: #BCBBBB;
    text-align:left;
    float:right;
    font-size:0.5em;
    font-family:sans-serif;
    font-weight:bold;
    margin-top:0.2em;
}

Those are my questions:

*

*Why doesn't the image automatically go under the header div?

*Why does the text move?

*Why is the top text the one that moved although the one at the bottom is nearer to the image?

*What should I do to get the image under the heading div?

*I adjusted the width of the image to 80%. But it seems to be just 20%. Why?

*Has it got anything to do with position or display?
***Sorry for not adding an image of it but I don't have a reputation of more than 10 ( I am not allowed to).
***Sorry for the long questions.( I am still a beginner).
***Your answers would be much appreciated.

A: You are missing a slash. Instead of

JANE DOETTE

it should be:

JANE DOETTE

After adding the slash it appears fine to me in Chrome and Firefox (except for the missing images obviously). See fiddle. Does that solve all of your questions?

A: Your question isn't all that clear (please clarify), I will try to answer regardless, but I might misrepresent your question.
1 / 6 . The biggest problem you have I think is that you don't tell the browser how to 'order' the divs. Should they be under eachother or next to eachother? Use the "display" property for this. Use "display: block" to make sure that page-elements like divs or images are stacked under eachother. Depending on the margin the browser uses the remaining space to stack elements next or above eachother.
2 / 3. Because it floats. A float is relative to other elements on the page. If you make it float right, but the content within it align to the left the box goes left while the content within it stays as far to the left as it can keeping with the contraints of the div container. Therefore it seems to move. Lose the float and use "display: block" to make the div be the full width of the header div.

#name {
    color: #BCBBBB;
    text-align:left;
    font-size:2.7em;
    font-family:sans-serif;
    height:50%;
    display: block;
    padding-left: 10px;
}

4 / 5 . Lose the "height" property of the image. Because the image has a relative 'height' property next to a relative 'width' property it distorts the image scaling. Use only the width as a percentage and it will scale proportionally.


text:
News & Events > News > Extra 100 Armed Forces personnel to support Scotland's vaccine rollout
Extra 100 Armed Forces personnel to support Scotland's vaccine rollout
twitter WhatsApp Facebook Linkedin
An additional 100 Armed Forces personnel have been made available from 14 December to accelerate the vaccine rollout in Scotland amid a wave of Omicron infections, bringing the total number of personnel supporting this effort to 221. Further support from the UK Government including Defence is on standby should it be requested or required.
121 personnel have been supporting the vaccine programme across Scotland since early October, and the boosted cohort of personnel are expected to be on task until the end of February 2022.
Alongside supporting the accelerated vaccine programme, 114 Armed Forces personnel are driving ambulances in support of the Scottish Ambulance service. As of today, this support will be extended until the end of March, with 96 personnel remaining on task to provide this life-saving service.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "Our Armed Forces continue to tirelessly support the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Scotland to give people and communities vital protection against this virus.
"This uplift in support will help to get more vaccines into arms faster, working shoulder to shoulder with the dedicated health services."
Once again our fantastic British Armed Forces are stepping up in times of need to help tackle Covid-19 in Scotland and across the UK and I pay tribute to them Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack
The 221 personnel supporting the vaccine programme includes health care professionals and general duties personnel who will be working in support of NHS Scotland staff and volunteers, administering vaccines and providing planning expertise.
Personnel on task come from units across the three services – Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Some of those deploying have been active on other tasks in Scotland since the pandemic began including community testing.
Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said: "Once again our fantastic British Armed Forces are stepping up in times of need to help tackle Covid-19 in Scotland and across the UK and I pay tribute to them.
"The deployment of a further 100 personnel will make a significant contribution to getting people vaccinated in Scotland. As the festive season approaches, when we want to spend time with loved ones, it's more important than ever to be protected. I urge everyone to book their jabs as soon as they are eligible."
There are now 398 personnel available to support on Operation Rescript tasks in Scotland, the operational name given to Defence's work to support the pandemic response across the UK. This includes around 60 personnel supporting NHS Lanarkshire hospitals.
Support is being provided through the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) process. Since March 2020, Defence has responded to over 430 MACA requests across the UK.
Brigadier Ben Wrench, Commander Joint Military Command Scotland said: "Whether it be responding to the impacts of storms or national health crises, the members of our Armed Forces are always prepared to deploy at short notice to support the nation and our communities.
"I commend the dedication of all those serving and supporting this effort, many of whom will find themselves away from their families and loved ones this Christmas and Hogmanay."
The Armed Forces stand ready to step up and support civil authorities, devolved nations and communities as required in the coming months where the requests meet the MACA principles.
Recently, Defence deployed 134 personnel at short notice to support Aberdeenshire Council conduct welfare checks on vulnerable people and isolated communities impacted by Storm Arwen.
The Queen's Birthday Parade starts Platinum Jubilee celebrations
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Military recognised in New Year Honours
Future Soldier unveils radical transformation for the British Army
British Army responds to the Atherton Report
Health People What We Do
Defence steps up support to vaccine programme
Armed Forces personnel begin their Ambulance Driver training
Female Brigadier competes in one of world's toughest endurance events


text:
Muharem Husković (; born 5 March 2003) is an Austrian footballer currently playing as a forward for Austria Wien.

Personal life
Born in Austria, Husković is of Bosnian descent. His father hails from Čajniče and his mother hails from Brčko.

Career statistics

Club

Notes

References

2003 births
Living people
Austrian footballers
Austria youth international footballers
Association football midfielders
2. Liga (Austria) players
Kremser SC players
FK Austria Wien players
Austrian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
Austrian people of Croatian descent


text:
News On Iran & Its NeighboursIraqIran claims an oil field it seized
News On Iran & Its NeighboursIraq
Iran claims an oil field it seized
New York Times: The Iranian government said Saturday that an oil field that its troops occupied a day earlier was on its side of the border with Iraq, despite Iraqi claims to the contrary. The New York Times
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS and SA'AD AL-IZZI
BAGHDAD — The Iranian government said Saturday that an oil field that its troops occupied a day earlier was on its side of the border with Iraq, despite Iraqi claims to the contrary.
A group of about 11 Iranian soldiers seized a portion of the remote Fakka oil field in Maysan Province in southeastern Iraq early Friday, according to Iraq.
Government officials in Baghdad said they had summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the military action, but diplomatic efforts had so far failed to resolve the dispute.
Ramin Mihman-Parast, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denied on Saturday that Iranian soldiers were occupying an Iraqi oil field, said the Iranian state news agency.
But a statement attributed to Iran's Armed Services Command took a harder line.
"Our forces are on our own soil, and based on the known international borders this well belongs to Iran," the statement said, according to Iran's state news agency.
Iraqi soldiers in the area said they had frequently had disputes with Iranian troops over the oil field, with each side replacing the other nation's flag with its own every few weeks.
Iraq's National Security Council issued a statement late Friday calling the occupation of the Fakka field a "breach of Iraqi sovereignty" and demanded that Iran remove the Iranian flag its soldiers raised above one of the field's wells, known as Well No. 4.
"This well is inside Iraqi territory," said Labeed Abawi, Iraq's deputy foreign affairs minister.
Mr. Abawi said that sections of the long border between Iran and Iraq were unmarked, but that a technical committee consisting of representatives from each country had been seeking to resolve disputes when Iranian troops raided the field.
Also on Saturday, Iraq said 185 bodies of people who were probably killed during the late 1980s and early 1990s were found in a mass grave near Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
Duraid Adnan and Omar al-Jawoshy contributed reporting.
Previous articleMullen: 'concerned' about Iran's influence in Iraq
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I have been wanting to create a serious web app for some time now, and I think I just did. Well, to be more accurate its a pretty simple web service. Let me introduce to you Instamator, it lets you easily grab and use the photos you've liked on Instagram, the popular photo-sharing app(for iOS devices only- but you can check Inkstagram for a web interface).
How does it do that? It produces feeds(JSON, RSS and text) about the photos you liked on Instagram which you can use to easily download all your Instagram "likes" or integrate on your website or blog.
Instamator was inpired by Flickmator, a similar web service built by Thomas Pelletier. It is powered by Flask, Redis and hosted on ep.io.


text:
Latest Mass. numbers
Reopening metrics
Reopening phases
FDA authorizes emergency use of first US vaccine for COVID-19
OK comes following a day of pressure, threats from the Trump administration.
By Jonathan Saltzman Globe Staff,Updated December 11, 2020, 9:38 p.m.
Pfizer's Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich., where doses of the COVID-19 are being manufactured.Paul Sancya/Associated Press
The Food and Drug Administration cleared the first COVID-19 vaccine in the United States for emergency use on Friday, a historic scientific achievement that came barely a year after the deadly novel coronavirus emerged and ran rampant around the world.
The emergency use authorization is for a two-dose vaccine developed by drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech that is expected to begin shipping immediately, once the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meets Sunday to issue the final clearance.
"The FDA's authorization for emergency use of the first COVID19 vaccine is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world," the agency's commissioner, Stephen M. Hahn, said in a statement.
The agency acted in the hopes of controlling the pandemic in the United States, which leads the world in cases and deaths. The illness killed more than 3,000 Americans on Wednesday, the highest single-day death toll of the pandemic, and continues to upend life in the country. Now inoculations of high-risk groups could start as early as Monday.
The vaccine, which appeared to be 95 percent effective at preventing the illness in a late-stage study and caused no major side effects, has been authorized for people at least 16 years old. A second vaccine developed by Cambridge-based Moderna that uses the same cutting-edge technology is widely expected to receive the same authorization in a week or so.
Related: From the Globe and STAT: The story of two firms, Pfizer and Moderna, who raced for approval of a COVID-19 vaccine
The first recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Massachusetts are expected to include health care workers and elderly residents of long-term care facilities. Boston hospitals are preparing to begin vaccinating their staffs as early as Tuesday, hours after the first shipment of frozen vaccines arrives from Pfizer's manufacturing site in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The FDA authorization came the day after a panel of outside experts voted 17-4, with one abstention, to recommend that the agency clear it for emergency use.
Dr. Eric Rubin, chair of the department of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who sits on the committee and supported emergency use, on Friday called the swift development and authorization an "incredible feat."
He was relieved that the two-dose vaccine will soon be rolled out because the United States has done a poor job at preventing coronavirus cases through social distancing and mask-wearing, he said, and the country's testing program has been inadequate.
"We've really been relying on a miracle to save us, and I hope this just might be our miracle," Rubin said in an interview.
Pfizer and its German drug partner, BioNTech, smashed the record for the fastest developed vaccine in history — a mumps shot produced in four years in the 1960s is often cited as the previous record holder. BioNTech, a little-known biotech founded in 2008, began working on the vaccine in January and formed a partnership with Pfizer, the 171-year-old Fortune 500 powerhouse, a couple of months later.
As total US coronavirus-related deaths approach 300,000, Moderna appears likely to get a thumbs up for its vaccine from the FDA advisory committee on Dec. 17 and then the agency. Other drug makers hope to get the same authorization for additional vaccines in the coming months, including a collaboration between AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and another between Johnson & Johnson and Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Britain's drug regulator gave its approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 2, and that country began inoculating people on Tuesday. Canada's drug regulator took the same action on Wednesday, and vaccinations are expected to start next week.
Meanwhile in the US, approval did not come without politial fireworks, as is common in the Trump administration. Earlier Friday, as FDA staff were deliberating, the president lashed out and called the agency a "big, old, slow turtle."
"Get the dam [sic] vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn," Trump wrote in a Friday morning tweet,. The agency, which has sought to move quickly without eroding limited public confidence in vaccines, had originally planned to announce emergency use authorization on Saturday.
Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, called Hahn on Friday to complain about the agency moving slowly to make the announcement, according to a story first reported in the Washington Post. Meadows told Hahn that he may as well start looking for his next job if he didn't get it done Friday, the newspaper said.
The White House is reportedly angry that Britain, not the United States, was the first nation in the West to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine. Trump has also complained the vaccine wasn't authorized before Election Day, blaming it on a "Deep State" inside the FDA that he said was working against his reelection.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines rely on synthetic messenger RNA, a cutting-edge variation on the natural substance that directs protein production in cells throughout the body. The vaccines contain custom-made messenger molecules that instruct cells to create part of the coronavirus and then stimulate the immune system to make antibodies to fend off the disease if exposed to the actual virus. No mRNA vaccine has ever been approved.
The Massachusetts biopharma industry has played a key role in both vaccines.
Although Pfizer is based in New York, it has about 2,400 employees in Massachusetts, including about 1,400 at a manufacturing plant in Andover. That plant is one of three in the country helping to make components of the vaccine. BioNTech is based in Mainz, Germany, but has a small US headquarters in Cambridge.
Moderna is a homegrown company with 1,200 employees. Roughly half work at its Cambridge headquarters, while the rest work at a manufacturing plant in Norwood.
Governor Charlie Baker this week outlined a distribution plan that expects to provide 300,000 doses in the state by the end of the year, with the first phase including health care workers, elderly people in nursing homes, and police and emergency personnel. The first 60,000 doses are expected to reach Massachusetts around Dec. 15, Baker said.
But the governor's plan hinges on critical factors outside the state's control, including approval of more COVID-19 vaccines in addition to the two developed by Pfizer and Moderna, health officials said Thursday.
With the FDA's authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, attention now turns to Pfizer's massive distribution plant in Kalamazoo. About 350 large freezers there cover an area the size of a football field. The freezers are filled with stacks of trays that resemble pizza boxes, each box loaded with at least 195 glass vials. Each vial contains a few droplets of frozen coronavirus vaccine — enough, when thawed, to give five people the first shot in the two-dose regimen.
As soon as they get the word, Pfizer employees plan to pack the boxes into special containers and load them on to trucks. They will then be driven to airports and flown all over the country. The special containers will be filled with dry ice that keep the vials at minus-94 degrees Fahrenheit ― colder than the temperature on Mars ― so the vaccine inside doesn't spoil.
Last month, Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, announced results showing that the vaccine, injected in two doses three weeks apart, was remarkably effective and safe in a late-stage trial of more than 43,000 volunteers. Half of the participants in the study received the vaccine, while the other half got a placebo. They then went about their daily lives, unaware of what they received.
On Nov. 18, the firms said that 170 people in the study had confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of those cases, 162 were among recipients of the placebo, compared with only eight cases among those who received the vaccine, which accounts for the 95 percent figure.
The vaccine appeared to be consistently effective regardless of age, gender, race, and ethnicity, and there were no serious safety concerns. The most significant adverse reactions were fatigue and headache, and they typically disappeared soon after the vaccinations. Older adults tended to report fewer and milder side effects, according to the companies.
The Trump administration has provided more than $12 billion to drug makers through the Operation Warp Speed program to speed development and distribution of coronavirus vaccines. Pfizer and BioNTech, unlike other drug makers, opted not to take any money up front. The government agreed to pay them $1.95 billion for at least 100 million doses once the vaccine got approved.
In the case of Moderna, the government has bankrolled the costs for developing the firm's vaccine and pledged to buy at least 100 million doses, all for $2.48 billion. On Friday, Moderna announced that the government has exercised its option to buy an additional 100 million doses, bringing its total order so far to 200 million doses. The government has an option to buy an additional 300 million doses.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com.
More coronavirus resources >>
The latest COVID-19 numbers from Massachusetts
Here's a look at the latest coronavirus numbers in Massachusetts, including case numbers, deaths, demographics, and more.