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[Updated] Choose wisely: IMO's carbon intensity target could be the difference between rising or falling shipping emissions this decade
May 21, 2021 | By: Bryan Comer
Decarbonizing Transport Strategies Tracking progress
Sector Maritime shipping
Policies GHG emissions Testing & compliance
The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) initial greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy calls for emissions to peak as soon as possible, to fall at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, and for at least a 40% reduction in the carbon intensity of international shipping by 2030 relative to 2008. On that last part, the IMO hasn't yet defined "carbon intensity," and at the 8th meeting of IMO's GHG intersessional working group next week, member states will pick one of two competing ways to measure it: the energy efficiency operational indicator (EEOI) or the annual efficiency ratio (AER). Then they'll need to agree on how quickly to reduce the carbon intensity of the fleet.
Member states should choose wisely. IMO's GHG strategy also aims to pursue efforts to phase out emissions on a pathway consistent with Paris Agreement temperature goals, which would include efforts to limit warming to no more than 1.5°C. In this context the carbon intensity choice matters a great deal, because our analysis shows that achieving the bare minimum 40% reduction based on EEOI could allow emissions to grow 22% this decade, which is even worse than business as usual (BAU). Achieving a 40% reduction based on AER still allows emissions to grow more than 5%; this is better than BAU, but higher than the 2008 peak year.
Keep in mind that I'm assuming all ships reduce their carbon intensity. In reality, only a portion of the fleet will be covered by the policy, due to proposed exemptions and correction factors, as well as data limitations. Ships reporting to the IMO's Data Collection System (DCS), which covers ships greater than 5,000 gross tonnes, emitted 614 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2019, which is only about two-thirds of the 919 Mt CO2 emitted by international shipping in 2018, as estimated in the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study. The DCS will probably be used to ensure compliance with the regulation. If the policy ends up covering at best two-thirds of the emissions, then policymakers need to err on the side of higher ambition to ensure that emissions fall this decade, instead of rising.
As shown in the figure below, greater emissions reductions can be achieved if IMO chooses annual reductions in carbon intensity that are aligned with keeping emissions below the 2008 peak, -3% per year, achieving its 2050 emissions target, -4% per year, or limiting warming to 1.5°C, -6% to -7% per year. The table at the end of this post has details of the methodology. So, you can see that it's the choice of carbon intensity reduction rate that really matters here. No matter which way IMO decides to measure its progress to its 2030 target, it has already decided that all ships will need to reduce their carbon intensity from today's levels, even if they've already achieved a 40% reduction in carbon intensity relative to 2008. This prevents backsliding. They've also decided that ships will comply with the carbon intensity regulation by reducing their AER each year. This is because IMO already collects data that can be used to estimate a ship's AER, but not it's EEOI; more on that later. This implies that a reduction in AER reduces EEOI by the same amount. It's a simplifying assumption that works well enough to estimate how reducing carbon intensity will affect absolute emissions between now and 2030, as I've done in the figure.
Figure. International shipping CO2 emissions (million tonnes) from 2018 to 2030 and associated annual reductions in carbon intensity (gCO2/dwt-nm) required to achieve various policy objectives, assuming full compliance and no exemptions or correction factors for any ship.
What makes the two ways to measure carbon intensity so different? The EEOI is a "demand-based" efficiency metric, a measure of the real-world carbon intensity of the fleet because it estimates how much CO2 was emitted to transport 1 tonne of cargo 1 nautical mile (gCO2/t-nm). The AER is a "supply-based" efficiency metric, a measure of the theoretical carbon intensity of the fleet because it divides the amount of CO2 a ship emits by its cargo carrying capacity (deadweight tonnes, or dwt), no matter how full the ship is, and then again by the nautical miles the ship traveled in a year (gCO2/dwt-nm). You might be thinking: If we have the choice, why wouldn't we go with the EEOI over the AER? Two reasons. First, the IMO's DCS contains all the information needed to calculate AER for each ship, but it's missing actual cargo data; that means the IMO would need to modify its data reporting requirements to have an official estimate of international shipping's EEOI. This process could take years and there's no guarantee that IMO member states will ever agree to force ships to report cargo data. Second, it turns out that setting the carbon intensity target based on EEOI is less ambitious than setting it based on AER.
Under the EEOI metric, ships had already reduced their carbon intensity 32% relative to 2008 as of 2018, according to the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study. That means we only need a small annual fleetwide efficiency improvement from 2018 to 2030 to get to the IMO's minimum 40% reduction target. Reducing the carbon intensity is great, but because demand for shipping is growing faster than efficiency is improving, we can expect total emissions from the global fleet of ships to continue to grow. Indeed, one of the business-as-usual projection scenarios in the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study, which we use in this analysis, predicts a 16% increase in emissions between 2018 and 2030, despite a 17% reduction in carbon intensity over that time. This is equivalent to a 43% reduction from 2008 and means that aiming for only a 40% reduction based on EEOI is actually a step backward.
If we instead try to achieve the minimum 40% reduction in carbon intensity based on AER, we still see emissions grow, just not as much. Under the AER metric, shipping's carbon intensity in 2018 was 22% better than 2008, according to the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas study, and shipping's carbon intensity has to fall about 2% annually starting in 2019 to achieve the minimum 40% reduction from 2008 levels by 2030. By choosing AER, instead of rising 22%, we expect emissions to grow 5% by 2030 compared to 2018. So aiming for a 40% reduction in AER doesn't even peak emissions.
Achieving a 40% reduction on either metric allows emissions to continue to grow this decade, which makes it harder to achieve IMO's 2050 target, and growing emissions are wholly incompatible with the Paris Agreement temperature goals.
So, how to get on a 1.5°C-compatible trajectory? Instead of requiring the bare minimum to achieve the 2030 carbon intensity target, IMO member states could do much more to align with the organization's goals. Let's sum things up.
To keep emissions below the 2008 peak:
Require at least a 3% annual reduction in carbon intensity per year, equal to a 33% reduction from 2019–2030.
To be aligned with IMO's 2050 target:
Require at least a 4% reduction in carbon intensity per year, equal to a 44% reduction from 2019–2030.
To be aligned with a 1.5°C pathway:
Require at least a 6%–7% reduction in carbon intensity per year, equal to a 66% to 77% reduction from 2019–2030.
It's up to IMO delegates to choose at the intersessional meeting, which will be held virtually from 24–28 May 2021. They've been charged with putting the international shipping sector on a pathway that helps society achieve its climate goals, and now's their chance to make a difference. It's important that they choose wisely.
Table. Details of the methodology used to generate the figure.
Source or methodology
2008 baseline International shipping emissions, based on the Third IMO Greenhouse Gas Study.
BAU The Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study's SSP2_RCP2.6_L business-as-usual scenario expects a 16% increase in total shipping emissions from 2018 to 2030. We've estimated BAU international shipping emissions by assuming they also increase 16% from 2018 levels by 2030, resulting in 1,062 Mt of international shipping emissions (vessel-based approach) in 2030. Under this scenario, demand for shipping grows 39% from 2018 to 2030, while emissions grow only 16%. This implies a 17% reduction in carbon intensity from 2018 to 2030. This is contrary to the 10% reduction assumption reported in Table 41 of Annex K of the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study, which appears to be an error.
EEXI Assumes that the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) results in about a 1% reduction in BAU 2030 emissions, based on this ICCT research.
-40% EEOI aligned Assumes ships just barely achieve a 40% reduction in EEOI compared to 2008 levels by 2030. EEOI was 17.1 gCO2/t-nm in 2008 and 11.67 in 2018, according to the Fourth IMO GHG Study. By 2030, an additional 17% improvement from 2018 levels is projected under the SSP2_RCP2.6_L scenario, which equals 9.68 gCO2/t-nm in 2030, a 43% reduction from 2008. A 40% reduction from 2008 would equal 10.26 gCO2/t-nm, which is worse than BAU carbon intensity. Given that BAU emissions are expected to be 1,062 Mt CO2 in 2030, we can estimate 2030 emissions under a 40% reduction in EEOI as follows: 1,062 * (10.26/9.68) = 1,125 Mt CO2.
-40% AER aligned Assumes that the equivalent reduction in EEOI carbon intensity to just barely achieve a 40% reduction in AER by 2030 compared to 2008 is twice as much as needed to achieve a 40% reduction in EEOI. It also assumes that from 2019 onward, a percent reduction in AER is results in an equivalent percent reduction in EEOI. This is based on modeling done by the coordinators of the IMO Correspondence Group on the development of technical guidelines on carbon intensity reduction. This results in an equivalent EEOI of 8.85 gCO2/t-nm in 2030 to achieve a 40% reduction in AER (equivalent to a 48% reduction in EEOI relative to 2008). As mentioned before, BAU carbon intensity is predicted to be 9.68 gCO2/t-nm in 2030. Given that BAU emissions are expected to be 1,062 Mt CO2 in 2030, we can estimate 2030 emissions under a 40% reduction in AER as follows: 1,062 * (8.85/9.68) = 970 Mt CO2.
Keep below 2008 peak Assumes carbon intensity falls 3% per year which results in a 2030 carbon intensity of 7.72 gCO2/t-nm. Under full compliance, this results in 847 Mt CO2 in 2030, as follows: 1,062 * (7.72/9.68) = 847 Mt CO2.
IMO 2050 aligned Assumes international shipping emissions are 50% lower in 2050 compared to 2008 and draws a straight-line trajectory from 2008 to 2030.
1.5°C aligned (ICCT) Based on the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, to have a 67% chance of keeping warming below 1.5°C, the world's remaining carbon budget from 2018 onward is 420 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2. On average, between 2012 and 2018, international shipping accounted for 2.47% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, according to the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study; assuming a similar share going forward, this suggests that shipping has about 10,362 Mt of CO2 budget remaining from 2018 onward. Emitting only that amount would mean zero emissions by 2039 and that emissions reductions start in 2019; this allows for 414 Mt of CO2 in 2030. If emissions are not yet decreasing, fewer emissions will be allowed in 2030 within the carbon budget, and it would require faster improvements in annual carbon intensity.
1.5°C aligned (CSC & PE) Based on the 1.5°C aligned pathway presented by Clean Shipping Coalition and Pacific Environment in Figure 1 of document ISWG-GHG 7/2/12. Note that their pathway assumes that global as opposed to international shipping emissions fall to zero no later than 2035 and that absolute emissions do not begin to fall until 2023.
This blog was revised on 21 May, 2021 to correct an apparent error in the business as usual carbon intensity improvement from 2018 to 2030 reported by the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study, which we estimate should be a 17% improvement from 2018 to 2030 (43% improvement relative to 2008), rather than a 10% improvement from 2018 to 2030 (39% improvement relative to 2008). Please see the "BAU" row in the table at the end of the blog post for more information. The previous version can be found here.
Choose wisely: IMO's carbon intensity target could be the difference between rising or falling shipping emissions this decade
Accounting for well-to-wake carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in maritime transportation climate policies
Potential CO2 reductions under the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index
Limiting engine power to reduce CO2 from existing ships


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Counter terrorism expert: People on jihadist websites discussing missing plane
(CNN) – Investigators of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have ruled out the possibility that it was targeted by the same terrorist group behind a Malaysia hijack plot in 2001. Meanwhile, a Chinese official Tuesday said that background checks on Chinese citizens aboard the plane show no signs of ties to terrorist organizations.
"The fact that nobody has claimed credit so far makes me suspicious this was actually an act of terrorism," says Seth Jones, associate director of RAND Corportation's International Security & Defense Policy Center.
When terrorists are involved, there is usually chatter on websites trafficked by extremist groups. Jones scanned a few such jihadist forums on Tuesday.
"They are actually quite mixed along these lines. There are some individuals who have said that an act like this would be legitimate, especially if there was Chinese on board. The Chinese have repressed the Uighurs in parts of China," said Jones.
"But there's been a very strong push back from some of these jihadist forums that there were Muslims on board, an so taking down an airplane that killed Muslims was at its core an act not supported by Islam," said Jones.
For more analysis from counter terrorism expert Seth Jones, check out the video above.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Most Garcinia supplements in New Zealand use extracts containing 60% HCA, or between 300-600mg per tablet/capsule. Sanderson GarciniaMAX 95% HCA is different. The state of the art extract used in GarciniaMAX contains 95% HCA; so each tablet contains 750mg Hydroxycitric Acid, and just two tablets delivers the 1500mg daily dose suggested in research. The tablets are suitable for vegetarians.
Garcinia Cambogia, also known as Malabar Tamarind, Brindleberry, and Kudam Puli, is a tropical fruit mainly found across India and Southeast Asia. It has centuries of traditional use as a condiment and as a remedy in Ayuvedic medicine. More recently the focus has fallen on a component found in the fruit rind called Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA). Laboratory, animal and human studies have shown the potential for HCA as a weight management supplement supporting fat metabolism, appetite and cravings. Research indicates most effect at higher doses between 1500mg and 2800mg of HCA daily.
Do not use if you have diabetes, are taking anti-depressant medication or any other prescription medication without consulting your health professional.
CLA or Conjugated Linoleic Acid provides a dynamic nutritional support for a planned weight management programme. CLA is a phytonutrient found in safflower oil that appears to support the body's 'fat burning' ability by enhancing the metabolic rate.
Some thirty-five intervention studies have been conducted using CLA in humans to investigate the effects of CLA on weight management. These studies, which vary widely in CLA dose and duration, show the most significant effect of CLA on weight management is on body composition, a reduction in total body fat and an increase in lean body mass.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is a powerful natural support to a weight management programme combining diet and exercise.
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, published in the December 2000 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that CLA reduces fat and preserves muscle tissue. According to the research project manager, an average reduction of six pounds of body fat was found in the group that took CLA, compared to a placebo group. The study found that approximately 3.4 grams of CLA per day is the level needed to obtain the beneficial effects of CLA on body fat.
CLA appears to increase the body's metabolic rate giving a 'fat burner' effect.
Dosage:Take 2 capsules daily with food, or as professionally prescribed.
Warnings:May interact with some diabetic medication. Not recommended for breast feeding mothers.


I'm a huge fan of romantic suspense, so I'm thrilled to be able to offer an ARC giveaway of an upcoming release by a very RS talented author. Lena Diaz writes thrilling, fast-paced romances, and she has a new one out in June. I scored an early copy of EXIT STRATEGY, which I'm giving away on my VK Sykes facebook page. If you're on facebook, just click here to enter!
Happy release day to Danger & Desire, an outstanding collection of romantic suspense novels now on sale! That's right – ten full-length books by bestselling authors like Pamela Clare and Katie Reus. I'm thrilled that Lethal Confessions, the VK Sykes book I wrote with hubby, is part of this stellar collection.
And what's truly exciting? Danger & Desire is on sale for ONLY 99 cents!! But this is a limited time offer folks, so make sure you download your copy today from Amazon, B & N, Kobo, iTunes, and at All Romance ebooks.
The authors of Danger & Desire are also holding a facebook party today to celebrate the release of the collection. We'll be chatting with readers and giving away books, gift cards, and other swag for most of the day. I'll be on at 1 pm EST, so be sure to stop by and see me! Just click here to join the fun.
Danger & Desire Facebook Party!
Check out this fantastic anthology of romantic suspense novels, which releases Monday for the amazing price of only 99 cents! And I'm thrilled that Lethal Confessions, one of my VK Sykes books, is included in this collection. The anthology authors are celebrating our release tomorrow by holding a grand party on facebook from 9 am to 2 pm, CST. Please stop by to chat with us, find out about our books, and win prizes. You won't be sorry, I promise!
To RSVP and join the party, just click here.
You can also pre-order Danger & Desire on Amazon, B & N, and iTunes, and it will be available from all digital retailers this week. For more info, visit my VK Sykes website.


How do we take a great cross training shoe and make it even better Start with the features everyone loves: a Vibram® sole. barefoot-inspired performance and the versatility of a traditional trainer. Now throw in a new burrito tongue to keep it all in place and provide a better fit. an upper that features no sew overlays for added durability and welded seams utilizing lightweight and breathable materials and you get the men's Minimus 20v5 trainer. Push your workouts farther.
Perfect for your toughest strength or interval training workouts. the new men's MX20v5 features a burrito tongue and advanced breathability. as well as odor-resistant treatments so you can wear them with or without socks.


CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Police Officer Vu Nguyen has passed away after he collapsed earlier this week during a physical agility assessment.
On Monday, July 2, 2018, Patrol Officer Vu Nguyen suffered a medical emergency while participating in a physical agility assessment for a position within the Canine Unit. Officer Nguyen, a 25 year law enforcement veteran, was rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center and on Thursday, July 5, 2018, Officer Nguyen was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic for further treatment, where he was placed on life support.
The outpouring of support from the Cleveland community and beyond has been truly amazing and greatly appreciated. Patrol Officer Vu Nguyen is greatly loved by his family and by his brothers and sisters in blue.


I am now officially a tourist!
We left the Ashram and the lovely company of Chris and Frank yesterday. They don't have a website but if they did I'd recommend any visitor to the Adelaide Hills to stay with them. Over the time we spent there I tried the most amazing Australian king prawns (OMG!), chilled out watching their resident Koala, tried Frank's awesome homemade dark ale, salads picked fresh from their land, and watched black cockatoos fly across the sky.
I am rapidly falling in love with Australia. It might be hot, but it's a dry heat, so I'm finding it more comfortable than some of our hotter English Summers. The food, wine and beer is fresh and glorious, and the people are full of life and really fascinating to spend time with. Our hosts Mike and Louise are wonderful people – and to think this trip all came about through contact via MySpace!
I am now officially a tourist. Today we went out and I bought a Jackaroo Australian hat and no wonder they are so popular! Light and perfect for this climate. Then Louise took us to a little restaurant in Mount Barker where we ate probably the most healthy meal of my life!
Last night while we sat and watched some TV I saw an advert for a Pearl Jam concert here in Adelaide this coming Tuesday. Now there is no way there would be tickets available for a PJ gig two days before a show in the UK, but we checked on the web and there were tickets! So tomorrow we are going to a wildlife park during the day, and then off to the Adelaide Oval stadium to see Pearl Jam in the evening. What a ride!
That's great you are having such a good time. Yes, we are blessed with our wonderful fresh food and beautiful wildlife. This country certainly has a magic about it.
The hat looks great on you mate! I'm glad you bought one. One needs a good bonnet to keep the sun off. You're almost a local now!
Yes, I know the place that you ate at, but have never been there. I work in Mount Barker and often pass it. There is a great bakery just accross the road that does great pies and pasties.
That's brilliant that you have got tickets to the Pearl Jam concert. That should rock! Tikarma and I are off to Tori Amos on Thursday.
Take care mate and I hope to catch up with you soon.


The 2nd seating of the re-opening of the Ahmed Timol Inquest commences at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Room 2D at 10:00 this Monday morning, 24th July 2017. Tentative witnesses expected to testify this morning include former South African Officer Paul Erasmus who was stationed at John Vorster Square. He will be followed by a witness who had seen Timol's body fall and by Stephanie Kemp, member of the ANC and SACP who was responsible for secret-writing text to Timol during his underground operations.
Good luck to Timol's family, this is long overdue, and hopefully there will be a closure on the matter to relieve the family and the nation.
We are with you throughout even though we are unable to attend as it's during the week and we are at work.
Wishing the family and friends of Comrade Timol strength. Justice must and will prevail, and the "suicide" lie erased from the history books.


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By the Light of the Moon
By DANIEL WEISS
A site in Cornwall known as Hendraburnick Quoit appears to have been host to nighttime rituals starting around 2500 B.C. and continuing for several hundred years. In a recent excavation, researchers led by Andy Jones of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit discovered that a stone at the site contained dozens of circular carvings called cup marks, along with an extensive network of radial lines, all so faint that they are only visible in moonlight or low sunlight, "when the sun casts shadows across the surface of the stone," says Jones. Previously, just 17 cup marks had been observed on the stone. "We already knew about the most deeply carved cup marks," he says, "but we only started to be able to see other elements during the excavations later in the day." Further evidence of activity after dark was provided by the discovery of nearly 2,000 pieces of fragmented quartz, apparently smashed at the site, which would have produced luminescent effects.
In the Time of the Rosetta Stone
Reading the White Shaman Mural
Letter From Singapore
The Hidden Stories of the York Gospel
Iconic Discovery
Arctic Ice Maiden
Living Evidence
Putting on a New Face
Fit for a Saint
The Glass Economy
Henry VIII's Favorite Palace
Itinerant Etruscan Beekeepers
Spain's Silver Boom
Conspicuous Consumption
Tablet Time
Viking cod exports, Bronze Age cereal box, Commodore Perry's Revenge, Easter Island ecology, and Zanzibar's colonial past
A face from the past


Movies released at Christmastime always make me happy! It reminds me that Christmas is not that far away and is the most magical time of the year! What better way to spread the magic than with a twist on fairy tales!
I'm excited to share the new trailer for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' "Into the Woods!"
Into The Woods hits theaters on December 25, 2014, just in time for the most magical season of the year!
What are your thoughts? Are you excited to head Into The Woods this holiday season?? Share your comments and pass the word along to your friends!
Awesome Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Trailer in LEGO!


Adding a deck, porch or sunroom to your home is an ideal way to expand your outdoor living and entertaining space. Energy efficient features, including climate-controlled glass and skylights, can transform a screened porch into a four season room, giving you maximum flexibility throughout the year. From design to finish, One Way will work with you to create a beautiful space that enhances your home and outdoor enjoyment.
One Way's designs include simple and highly functional decks, porches with historically accurate hand-turned columns and rails, and luxurious sunrooms with hot tubs. We use superior materials and fine craftsmanship to build a space that's aesthetically pleasing and structurally sound for years of enjoyment. We'll finish your customized residential porch, sunroom or multi-level deck with the highest quality paints and stains to keep it attractive and long-lasting.
Talk to One Way about tailoring an outdoor space to your home and lifestyle.


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Q: How can I update an entire table column I have a Micropost table with columns user_id and sender_id (both integers). I've just added the sender_id column and by default it's value is nil for existing table rows. As a one time thing I want all of the user_id values to be copied and pasted into the sender_id column for the rows already existing. some sort of migration required?

A: You can do this from rails console.
Micropost.update_all("sender_id = user_id")

A: I would have done it inside the migration, but since you already ran it, you can just do it directly in the rails console:
Micropost.all.each do |m|
    m.update_attribute :sender_id, m.user_id
end

A: If its a one time thing I suggest you just run a sql command to do this.
update micropost set sender_id = user_id;

If you have to make it by rails run the following line in console,
ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute "update micropost set sender_id = user_id"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Commentary | Комментарии
One More Modernization Dialogue?
Andrey Makarychev
It seems that German diplomacy found a new role to play in Eastern Europe – assisting housing and labor market reforms in Belarus. Incomprehensible housing tariffs, legal imperfections, unprotected consumer rights, excessive red-tape regulations – all these mundane issues were discussed at a two-day conference ("European Dialogue on Modernization with Belarusian Society") convened by the German Foreign Ministry.
Evidently, Belarus is a hard case where traditional mechanisms of EU's neighborhood policies fail to work. This explains why Germany, which is eager to play a role as a key EU member state, wishes to take a lead in developing new approaches to Minsk, which – quite comfortably, by the way – finds itself isolated from the EU and its European Neighborhood Policy.
EU Commissioner on enlargement, Stefan Füle, in his address, emphasized the political conditions the EU stands for: "We won't compromise on the indispensability of civil society participation in any dialogue with Belarus. We also insist on the release of political prisoners. It is regrettable that the authorities in Minsk feel threatened by the plurality of opinions within their own country." In fact, this was the only political statement at this conference dominated by much more technical issues.
Of course, Antje Leendertse (Federal Foreign Office special envoy for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus) assured everyone that "we do exactly what the EU does." But when one of the participants mentioned that Germany, which had a tradition of conducting a dialogue with the USSR even during the Cold War, nowadays should be ahead of the EU, the audience started applauding.
Germany, preparing for a stronger role within the EU, tries different options in its Ostpolitik. Since it is impossible to have a political dialogue because of EU sanctions, why not try technical venues (like transfer of expertise)? Berlin wants to frame the agenda for transformation in neighboring countries, and believes that the regime in Belarus is on the brink of recognizing the need for reforms. German speakers referred to the parallels with the German Democratic Republic, which failed because of the lack of developmental perspectives and procrastination with overdue reforms. Perhaps some Germans think well ahead, having in mind the presidential election scheduled in Belarus for 2015.
German expectations were sustained by Alexander Chubrik (director of the Institute of Privatization and Management in Minsk) who suggested that the government in Belarus is not a unified bloc, and there are people within it who are quite open to a dialogue with international financial institutions. He said, "We didn't call to change regime, but we propose technical solutions to everyday problems – banking accounts insurance, taxation, climate change, etc."
Of course, there is nothing wrong with maintaining a certain dialogue with NGOs operating under the authoritarian regime and expecting that the government will join it. Perhaps, the Belarusians were happy to discuss in Berlin what is wrong with their utilities bills and how to explain to babushkas the advantages of communal reforms, but what can the Germans do about all this? The conference clearly unveiled the most vulnerable points in Germany's Ostpolitik.
First, there is a need for conceptual clarity. It makes sense to distinguish between the launch of a fully-fledged modernization partnership and non-binding discussions on how to make life better.
Second, as Elena Tonkacheva (from the legal center "Lawtrend") made clear, there are no channels of communication between the government and the opposition in Belarus. "There is no local self-government in my country – we can't develop what does not exist. The government is not interested in launching something what can become detrimental for its power. The regime only might be taking some practical advantages from the German projects."
Third, Germany has already had an experience of initiating a modernization dialogue with Russia, which nowadays is more dead than alive. Shouldn't this experience be a subject of deep analysis before engaging in another modernization project? The Modernization Partnership with Moscow clearly elucidates the key point: for an authoritarian regime, modernization only makes sense if it is reduced to technical issues and is conducive to getting better access to Western technologies, without changing the functioning of an unreformed state apparatus. Germany's efforts to launch a modernization dialogue with Belarus will inevitably face the same constraint. The very fact that Minsk is eager to mold the EU–Belarusian modernization dialogue along the lines of the moribund EU–Russian Partnership for Modernization is very much illustrative of the true intentions of the Lukashenko regime.
Fourth, the very tone of the discourse that dominated at the Berlin conference seems to legitimize and sustain Belarusian officialdom. Here are just a couple of the most striking examples from the discussion: "We ought to find something to evoke some interest from the regime of Lukashenko", "Shouldn't we have to think about offering a beneficial deal to him?", "We need to prove that it is in the interests of the ruling elite to conduct reforms."
These utterances only legitimize the Lukashenko rule. This is exactly what the Belarusian dictator wants – you Germans try to contrive something for convincing me that you are worth of being taken seriously.
The intentional reduction of the concept of modernization to technical services provided for porches and courtyards is also a strong concession to the Lukashenko discourse. Instead of raising issues of rampant corruption in housing market, a couple of dozen of discussants preferred to engage themselves in endless conversations on how hard it is to reform the housing sector.
Major German corporations, which strongly influence German foreign policy, consistently do their best to avoid letting political issues unfold. Berlin officials need only some kind of symbolic interaction with Belarus to show that against the backdrop of EU inaction, Germany does have a policy. Even if modernization is impossible, a dialogue on modernization looks like a compromise option for all parties. Yet wishful thinking ends up playing by Minsk's rules. Perhaps Belarus is not that important to Germany to start a policy that can irritate both Lukashenko and Putin.
Andrey Makarychev is a Guest Professor at the Free University of Berlin, blogging for PONARS Eurasia on the Russia-EU neighborhood.
Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu, Estonia
University of Tartu (Bio)
Russian Foreign and Security Policies, EU-Russian Relations, Foreign Policy Discourses, Regionalism and Federalism
https://www.ponarseurasia.org/members/andrey-makarychev/
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SOURCE: The Atlantic
Europe Under Siege
tags: terrorism
by Jamie Tarabay
Jamie Tarabay is a writer based in London.
In Paris, church bells clang against the squawk of police sirens. Security forces of every stripe patrol the Jewish quarter in the Marais neighborhood, watching over tourists posing by the Louvre's pyramid and hovering near the doors of the city's landmark hotels and boutiques. Even as Paris prepares to empty out just as it does every August, leaving its cobbled streets to dwindling numbers of tourists, it is a city on guard.
The recent, deadly Bastille Day rampage through a seaside boulevard in Nice and the summary execution of an elderly Catholic priest in a village in Normandy have kept the country in the state of emergency President Francois Hollande instituted last November, following the coordinated attack in Paris that left 130 people dead. Heavily armed police now patrol the streets. "What can we do? Stay home?" asked one older man who declined to give his name, waiting in line by the Seine to collect boules for a game of pétanque. "We have to keep moving, keep living, otherwise, what is the point?"
France and the rest of Europe have endured this near state-of-siege before. Older Europeans can recall a time when communists, nationalists, anarchists, Islamists, and international criminals wrought havoc on the continent. Palestinian terrorists shattered the harmony of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, taking hostageand murdering 11 Israeli athletes. Italian communists kidnapped and murdered a former prime minister in 1978. In 1988, Libyan terrorists brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Through the 1970s and into the 1980s, warring Palestinian factions and Iranian revolutionaries turned Europe into a battleground for settling internal feuds and assassinating enemies, opening fire on the Rome check-in counter for the Israeli airline El Al, and hijacking planes. In France itself, an Algerian Islamist group that had fought the Algerian government during the civil war in 1991 bombed Paris metro stations, a Jewish school, and L'Arc de Triomphe. Hezbollah, as part of its declared aim to expel any French or American presence from Lebanon, conducted at least five bombings on French soil between 1985 and 1986. Armenian terrorists, seeking vengeance for the Armenian Genocide, struck the Orly airport in 1983, killing at least five people.
As Europe grapples with a wave of attacks either conducted or inspired by the Islamic State, the violence and tension the continent now faces have been dubbed a "new normal." Yet it is a problem with a precedent. And how Europeans dealt with and ultimately overcame their terrorism problem in the past could bear lessons for how they deal with it in the future.
Despite the obvious ideological and strategic differences between ISIS and the threats of decades past, local law enforcement agencies across Europe can still draw on the tactical lessons of that previous age. To crack down on the possible movement of suspected bomb material by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Belfast police established checkpoints and searched cars and their drivers, for example. In the 1970s, authorities set up a "ring of steel" around the city center to prevent private cars from entering. Even then, of course, attacks persisted. ...
Read entire article at The Atlantic


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Fumie Yokota, Ph.D.
Fumie Yokota received her doctoral degree from the Ph.D. Program in Health Policy at Harvard University. During her doctoral work, Dr. Yokota provided research assistance to the Kids Risk Project. Her efforts include several published studies on movies with Professor Thompson and her dissertation research, which focused on using a Bayesian decision theory framework to characterize the expected value of information (VOI) from the EPA's Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation Program. Drs. Yokota and Thompson comprehensively reviewed the existing literature on value of information analysis related to health. Dr. Yokota graduated in 1996 with distinction from Stanford University with a B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems, an interdisciplinary environmental science, policy, and technology program, with a concentration in environmental economics. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Economic Policy Division of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC and following graduation Dr. Yokota returned to DC to work for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
Yokota F, Gray G, Hammitt JK, Thompson KM. Tiered chemical testing: A value of information approach. Risk Analysis 2004;24(6):1625-1639.
Yokota F, Thompson KM. Value of information literature analysis (VOILA): A review of applications in health risk management. Medical Decision Making 2004;24(3):287-298.
Yokota F, Thompson KM. Value of information (VOI) analysis in environmental health risk management (EHRM). Risk Analysis 2004;24(3):635-650.
Thompson KM, Yokota F. Violence, sex, and profanity in films: Correlation of movie ratings and content. Medscape General Medicine 2004(July 13);6(3). (Available at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/480900).
Thompson KM, Yokota F. Depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances in G-rated animated feature films. Pediatrics 2001;107(6):1369-74.
Yokota F, Thompson KM. Violence in G-rated animated feature films. Journal of the American Medical Association 2000;283:2716-2720.


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The Weight of One
We don't make things the way we used to. Mass production, factory systems, and industrial machines have replaced the heart and soul of creating. The clothing and textile industry is designed for efficiency and profit.
But the industry works in all the wrong ways. From many perspectives, human progress has done just a much harm as it's done good. Its efficiency also translates into human and resource exploitation, and cutting corners because it's easy to get away with.
Credit Remake: www.remake.world
What if we went back to pre-industrial revolution days. Not because we want to reverse progress but because we want to do less harm. What if the best way to make a shirt is the old way, by hand, one at a time?
We have to ask ourselves, have we ever assigned value to our clothing? Say you've ordered an inexpensive shirt online after a rough day. You feel slightly better after the purchase, but you forgot your ordered it until it arrives at your door. You open it up, try it on, and it doesn't fit perfectly, but it was inexpensive, so you put it in your closet and forget about it. It's just another shirt, right? It has no value or origin.
Is there weight behind one shirt?
We are far removed from the origin of our clothing. We often don't think about the person who made them or the time they spent making them. When we get a new shirt, it's almost as if it didn't exist before it was in our hands.
Since we often undervalue most of what's in our closets, we are surprised when we come across a slow fashion shirt. We think, oh, that's too expensive. We know that there is something different about it, but we are subconsciously comparing it to the inexpensive shirt we just bought so effortlessly. There's a disconnect. Suddenly we have to think. Why is this slow fashion shirt so expensive? It's thoughtfully designed, thoughtfully made and materials thoughtfully sourced. It's expensive because it requires more time and effort. It's expensive because it was made one at a time.
Slow fashion encourages re-connecting to the weight of a single garment.
The more we understand the creation process, the more we value it. When we can put a name, a face and hands to a piece of clothing, we discover a story, and it becomes conscious. Once we know its story, we are less likely to forget about it, and we are more likely to take care of it, wear it and love it.
Slow fashion can be more than our buying habits it can be a state of mind. It's thoughtful actions and thoughtful living, no matter who you are.
Slow fashion is recognizing the weight of one.
By Kristin Anton - Abel Wear Coordinator
← Back to Process


The 430 has the best value. It can get pretty low in price sometimes.
Technically the 430w-600w CX's are all the same platform so they should perform similarly.
The 750w/850w are based on a better platform than the 430-600. They should also perform better.
When people spend all this money on a super gaming rig, and put in a power supply that isn't that amazing sometimes blows my mind(not firing shots at OP). Is it going to explode? No. Should you get a better one? Yes. Just don't sell your dog or something because some one said it is going to blow up your house.
Agreed, it blows my mind too. Personally believe it doesn't hurt to ensure you have good quality unit even on a lower end build, I say sell your dog and get a Seasonic..
I say sell your dog and get a Seasonic..
Sells whole rig to by new power supply.
Currently the RMx from Corsair has some really nice deals attached to it. Top of the line power supply. On par with the EVGA G2. Maybe even better.


Find out the secrets behind effective sales pipeline management!
The usual tactics for meeting sales targets consist mainly on setting aggressive individual quotas for your employees and relying on your top staff to achieve those quotas and at least a satisfactory amount of sales from sub-par or new employees.
Are there any secrets you can use in order to ensure more effective sales pipeline management, apart from those traditional outdated methods?
Yes, you're right, there are. Stay tuned to find out all about them.
What is a sales pipeline and why is it important to manage it?
A sales pipeline describes an approach to selling founded on the fundamental principles of the sales process.
It describes the set of individual steps your salespeople take all the way from the initial contact with a prospective customer, transforming the lead into a buyer and seeing the buyer all the way through the active sales process until the sale is complete.
If you are a business owner, chances are you are already using a sales process to guide your sales activities through to the final buying stage.
The sales process is what defines the best steps to take when selling to customers. Each sales step describes everyday tasks and deliverables that need to be accomplished to take the transaction to the next phase in the sale.
You need to know how many stages your sales pipeline should contain. Having too many stages in the sales pipeline is unproductive and inefficient. Six or seven steps are the optimal number of stages for the traditional sales pipeline.
Get to know how your prospects make decisions, and use it to your advantage. Don't let your clients 'think about it' while you are uncertain just what they are thinking about.
Know that it's okay to shove your customers a little. Do it adequately and you will reap huge rewards. Make suggestions or promote items or features that are currently discounted.
Show the customer that you believe in your product and that confidence can go a long way.
Get responses to your proposals faster and don't worry about being turned down. The quicker you get them, the better for you.
You should be able to judge when a lead is hot or cold. Don't spend too much time and effort on leads who are most likely to turn you down when you can be calling others who may be ready to buy.
Ensure you have effective sales pipeline management with Pipefy!
Pipefy's Sales Pipeline Template is a step-by-step process that was specially developed to enhance your team's focus and productivity.
This template will guide your team all the way through the steps of the sale: from prospecting, to properly qualifying hot and cold opportunities all the way to effectively closing the deal.
Get your free Sales Pipeline Template!


The Key to Corporate Buy-In: Trickle-Up Employee Engagement?
When you ask any professional from a corporate sustainability leader about the keys for driving their sustainability efforts, you will likely hear a common refrain: Support from corporate leadership creates enthusiasm that trickles down through every corner of the company. This idea was illuminated at the SUSTPACK session, "How to Run a Thread of Sustainability Champions Throughout the Enterprise to Challenge the Status Quo." Although the nature of the speaker's companies shared little in common, every speaker attributed much of their success in leading sustainability initiatives to the willingness of their company's leadership.
It's something we hear about all the time, and it's no mystery that corporate buy-in drives any effort through a company, but we rarely hear about how to obtain that support from leadership. The speakers in this session offered their advice. Michael Chung from Johnson & Johnson spoke about their focused and streamlined approach that cuts across all sectors of the business with a simplistic set of goals — making it easy for corporate leadership to understand and reinforce the efforts from the top. Ashley Hall from Walmart stressed the importance of setting sustainability targets that resonated with other corporate goals, never ignoring trade-offs and shooting for win-wins. Tetra Pak's Carla Fantoni recommended developing internal sustainability champions from outside the sustainability team and creating the desired enthusiasm from within, which was supported by an insight from PepsiCo's Daniel Brena that we rarely hear: It's always nice to have support from the top ranks, and if you happen to have it, you'll likely be in good shape, but it doesn't need to start at the top. A groundswell of enthusiasm from the bottom of a corporate pyramid can be just as effective — and maybe more effective. Because when employees get excited about sustainability initiatives and spread that energy throughout the bottom ranks of a company, leadership listens.


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thiscangobacktothearchives
Lots of UJA-Fed Photos Now Viewable Online
Filed under: audio-visual material, interesting or noteworthy archival material — Tags: archival photographs, camping — Heather Halliday @ 3:58 pm
Good News! We now have nearly 500 images from the UJA-Federation collection selected, digitized, cataloged, and available online! Believe it or not, this represents just a small selection of all the photographs in the collection. It contains 71 bankers boxes of photographs from each of the four subgroups of the collection (Federation, UJA, Joint Campaign, and UJF). Each box holds an average of 850 prints, so, we estimate the grand total of photographs to be around 60,000.
The dates of the photos range from as early as the 1910s up to as recently as the 2000s, with the bulk of the material landing in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Both UJA and Federation sought to document and promote their accomplishments, events, and prominent personalities through these images. As these institutions merged, the Joint Campaign and UJA-Fed continued the practice of documenting their activities and their people, so researchers will have an unusually rich visual record of the whole organization to draw upon.
While the majority are black and white 8 x 10″ prints, many other sizes and formats, such as 35mm color slides, various types of color polaroid prints, and negatives of all sizes, are included as well. Below are a precious few for you to sample, but be sure to check out all the digitized photos in our digital gallery when you a chance.
Campers at Hebrew Orphan Asylum Camp
Sophie Tucker, 1965
"My Dad Upped His Pledge," 1977
Rosenwald and Tisch at Special Gifts Dinner, 1974
Silbert donating to Israel Emergency Fund, approximately 1970s
Elaine K. Winik, First Woman President of UJA Greater New York
Filed under: interesting or noteworthy archival material, the process of archival processing, UJA people — bonijoi @ 10:48 am
I'm Boni Joi Koelliker, the Photograph and Reference Archivist at the American Jewish Historical Society, and this week I am excited to be the guest blogger. I was available to work with Elaine Winik when her donation was ready for transfer. The following is my account of my meeting with Elaine and the opportunity I had to go through the albums and documents with Elaine herself.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting with Elaine K. Winik, the first woman President of the UJA of Greater New York (1982-1984), to survey the materials she donated to the UJA-Federation NY collection. Mrs. Winik documented her time serving as UJA President by creating over a dozen albums that are part photographs, part ephemera and include correspondence, itineraries, notes, mementos, and UJA fundraising materials.
One advantage of an onsite visit with a donor is discovering additional materials relevant to the collection and being able to hear first hand about the context of the materials. This was the case with Elaine; while sorting through her papers we found a plastic bag full of audiocassettes containing speeches and interviews she gave during her tenure. Elaine Winik is known for her speeches so this was an auspicious find. She also donated correspondence, writings describing her experiences working with UJA, and notes she took on her trips to Israel and Russia. I was delighted to hear the stories of Elaine's time working with UJA in person.
Below are photographs of the items before sorting and after waiting to be packed and shipped to AJHS.
Raised in New York Elaine Winik retired to Palm Beach, FL a couple of decades ago but at ninety-two years old she continues to campaign for the causes for which she advocates. She is an honorary officer of the UJA-Federation of New York, an honorary board member of the Joint Distribution Committee, and describes herself as a fierce Democrat. To learn more about Elaine K. Winik, listen to her oral history in the UJA-Federation of New York Oral History Collection.
We received this wonderful plaque, above, of Elaine Winik (aka Mrs. Elaine Siris with Moshe Dayan) serving as the Co-Chairman of the Jewish Agency Assembly Plenary Session in Jerusalem February 7, 1973.
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1917 provision for Jewish Education
Filed under: early history — susanwoodland @ 6:47 pm
As Federation was preparing to officially incorporate in 1917, the men and women of the Committee on Federation met frequently in 1916 and 1917 to set up the structure of the new organization and determine how it would function and which agencies it would support. I have found one set of minutes particularly interesting – the minutes of January 8, 1917 (beginning on page 13), which include several appendices. Appendix C is a letter to Felix Warburg, the Chairman of Federation prior to incorporation and his election as president, from a group "constituting … a temporary committee of twenty-five to consider the financial aspect of Jewish religious education in New York City". A faction involved with the creation of Federation was in favor of including Jewish education as agencies eligible for Federation's support; this issue was discussed repeatedly in the meetings that year. It was clear that in addition to disagreements about Federation's core responsibilities to the community, and whether that included any agencies in addition to medical institutions and the truly poor and needy, there were financial hurdles to adding Jewish education to Federation's commitments.
The group proposed various solutions, and recommended that Federation form a Board of School Aid in order to solve the issue of funding.
There were several fears in NOT becoming involved in funding Jewish Education soon. High on that list was that another federation would form specifically for that purpose, and would compete for resources and influence from within the same community.
The letter is signed by the 25 members of the committee – an illustrious group of Jewish educators in New York, most of whom were not involved with Federation in any other capacity. Please follow all the links for additional information about some of these remarkable committee members:
Israel Unterberg (chairman) – Self-made manufacturer, banker, philanthropist and president of the Jewish Education Association. Unlike other members of the committee, he was on the board of Montefiore Hospital, an early Federation agency, and his wife Bella was a member of the Special Committee on Federation. Their daughter Lillian Derecktor speaks about her father in her oral history.
Henrietta Szold – In 1917, 5 years after founding Hadassah, Henrietta Szold continued as the head of the Department of Education of the ZOA in New York. She remained influential in the field of Jewish Education in America before moving to Jerusalem in 1920 to focus on the Hadassah Medical Organization.
Samson Benderly – "Benderly was a visionary and was capable of inspiring others to follow his vision. He developed around him a group of remarkable young people who shared his excitement about changing the face of American Jewish education", known as "The Benderly Boys". [quoted from the review of the book about the Benderly boys – click on "Samson Benderly" above to follow link]
Judah L. Magnes – First Chancellor and President of Hebrew University, and a founder of Ihud, which proposed a bi-national state in Palestine.
Louis Marshall – Lawyer and Jewish community leader who was a founder of the American Jewish Committee. The finding aid to his collection is here.
Mordecai M. Kaplan – Rabbi, essayist and Jewish educator and the co-founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. The finding aid to the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation Records is here.
Cyrus L. Sulzberger – Jewish communal leader who was director of the Jewish Publication Society, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Bureau of Jewish Social Research, founder of the American Jewish Committee and later, treasurer of Federation.
Women Executives at UJA-Federation
Filed under: Uncategorized — Leah Edelman @ 1:54 pm
Coinciding with national discussions in the 1980s about women in the workplace, the topic of women in executive positions at Federation was under consideration, as seen in this excerpt of minutes from a Board of Trustees meeting in January, 1984.
Responding to "a problem in relation to the lack of women in executive positions" and the sentiment expressed by Federation leadership (including two of the women who would later become Presidents of the organization) that "everyone needs to be sensitized to this problem and something must be done about it," in this excerpt we find a mandate for a task force. This task force, composed of Federation and agency leaders, was charged with recruiting more women to "all levels of executive positions." Indeed, in its nearly 70 year history before the 1986 merger with UJA, Federation had only one female president who served a complete term (Wilma Tisch served from 1980-1983, while Madeline Borg served as acting President for a shortened term, from 1938-1939). We also find some opposition to the idea of more women in leadership positions, in the form of an anti-"affirmative action" argument.
Though the specific actions of the task force at this point remain unclear, perhaps this outline from the year of the merger, titled "Ratio of Women to Men in UJA-Federation Structure," was a product of their efforts. As of 1986, all categories except one (Board of Directors, New Candidates, Domestic) show that less than half of existing positions were filled by women.
Women in leadership positions continues to be a hot topic. In the case of presidents (the highest office) at UJA-Federation, Peggy Tishman became the first President of the newly merged organization, serving from 1986-1989, and Louise B. Greilsheimer was its fourth President, serving from 1995-1998. Alisa Robbins Doctoroff was appointed President in 2013, and currently holds that office. However, this is still only three women out of ten presidents of UJA-Federation, since 1986.
Using the UJA-Federation of New York collection, and an award
Please visit our new blog, On The Rescue Front
UJA-Federation project is complete
Wrapping up the project
audio-visual material
Federation people
found in the archives
interesting or noteworthy archival material
the process of archival processing
UJA people
UJF people


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Significant Investor Visa Launched by the Australian Government.
Significant Investor Visa Launched by the Australian Government
Posted on November 24, 2012 · Posted in News
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, today launched a new visa designed to encourage significant migration investment into Australia. "From tomorrow, 24 November, business migrants with $5 million or more to invest in our economy can apply for a provisional significant investor visa, a new stream within the Business Innovation and Investment program," Mr Bowen said.
"The Significant Investor visa is an important new tool in the armoury of Australia's financial services sector as Australia looks to compete in our region for high wealth and high skilled migrants and the capital that comes with them." The new visa makes it easier for migrant investors by offering concessions on visa requirements, such as a not having to meet a points test and no age restriction. It has a low residence requirement of 160 days spent here over four years, after which migrant investors are eligible for permanent residence provided they have maintained their investment.
Investment options include Commonwealth, state and territory government bonds, Australian Securities and Investments Commission regulated managed funds and direct investment into proprietary Australian companies. Significant Investors can also extend their four-year provisional visa by two years, with a maximum of two extensions.
"Since I announced the new Significant Investor visa in May, there has been substantial interest from potential migrant investors and the financial services sector so I expect many people to apply," Mr Bowen said. The new visa is consistent with visas in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, which provide for migration on the basis of investment of a specified size and conditions.
Significant investor visa details are on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.
Business Intellect GroupNewsSignificant Investor Visa Launched by the Australian Government
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Trichomasthus danzigae är en stekelart som beskrevs av Trjapitzin 1978. Trichomasthus danzigae ingår i släktet Trichomasthus och familjen sköldlussteklar.

Artens utbredningsområde är Finland. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Sköldlussteklar
danzigae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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MEDICAL & HEALTHCARENEWS
Pfizer Raises Awareness In Nigeria, Ghana to Empower Patients in Fight Against Breast Cancer
To drive greater awareness around breast cancer, empower and support breast cancer patients in Nigeria and Ghana, Pfizer along with medical professionals held a media roundtable on Thursday, October 14, 2021.
Pfizer held the virtual media roundtable to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Metastatic Breast Cancer Day that falls on the 13th October.
The roundtable was attended by two reputable medical professionals from Nigeria and Ghana, and addressed local metastatic breast cancer incidence, how it is diagnosed, who is at risk, steps to take to fight breast cancer and set the right expectation, as well as latest treatment advances.
The participants stressed that although great progress has been made in the treatment and care of breast cancer, there is still a lot more work to be done.
They agreed that this is especially true within underserved and hard-to-reach communities in places, too often, experience critical gaps in their care.
Timely access, affordable treatment options and expansion of resources and programmes that address current disparities across age, race, gender, and location can remove barriers that stand in the way of the most vulnerable people with breast cancer.
According to the Globocan 2020 study, breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women in Nigeria and Ghana and accounting for 22.7% of new cancer cases in Nigeria and 18.7% of new ones in Ghana respectively in 2020. Moreover, it impacts over 247,000 people across Africa and the Middle East (AfME).
Early-stage breast cancer is when cancer cells have not spread beyond the breast or axillary lymph nodes. However, in AfME, 50-60% of breast cancer patients are in locally advanced or advanced stages at initial diagnosis. , , Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is the most advanced stage of breast cancer, and it occurs when cancer spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lung, brain, liver, and bones.
READ ALSO: Lagos To Improve Agricultural Output Through Mechanisation Programme
Dr. Kodjo Soroh, Medical Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pfizer, commented, "At Pfizer, we remain committed to improving patients' lives and supporting them at each step of their breast cancer experience.
Dr Kodjo
Across the region, patients are diagnosed with late or advanced-stage cancer at a higher incidence rate than other regions globally. There is a distinct need for more awareness campaigns to regularly encourage patients to check themselves for breast cancer and better understand the disease.
Moreover, over the past decade, improved diagnostics, and newer treatment options for late-stage breast cancer, including those with different gene abnormalities, offer new horizons and hope for these patients."
He added: "We feel a deep obligation to advocate for people with breast cancer at every stage of their disease. Through our partnerships and programs we continue to create access to better screening services, clinical trials, treatment options and extended support to mental health and financial resources more so during life's unexpected events, such as COVID-19."
Dr. Hannah Naa Gogwe Ayettey Anie, National Radiotherapy Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Centre, Ghana commented, "Most women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have any signs or symptoms of the disease. However, there are changes in the breast that some women do not notice.
Therefore, it is hard to overestimate the importance of conducting self-examination and going for regular check-ups. While each case is unique, age, certain genetic mutations (like BRCA1 and BRCA2), getting periods before age 12 or starting menopause after age 55, having dense breasts, and family history are all known risk factors.
With better awareness, prevention, treatment, and access to diagnostics, early detection could save between 2.4 and 3.7 million lives each year globally. "
Prof. Ifeoma Joy Okoye, Professor of Radiology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka added, "It is crucial for patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer or even metastatic breast cancer to have the right information and expectations.
It is our duty to encourage them to have open conversations with their healthcare teams to understand how they can be supported but also how they can participate in their own care – taking an active role in their treatment can help them feel empowered in making the best decisions for themselves."
In response to such a high incidence of late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer across AfME, Pfizer is joining forces with Breast Without Spot and Breast Cancer International to disseminate educational content designed to encourage and empower individuals, patients, and families to get checked for breast cancer, better understand the disease and have the right expectations and act against it.
According to WHO, breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women worldwide, with more than 2 million women impacted annually. Most women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have any signs or symptoms of the disease. However, there are sometimes changes in the breast that a woman may notice. While rare, men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. For men, the lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 833
Skye Bank Partners NGO To Battle Cancer
World Cancer Day: Nigeria to Tackle Enormous Increase in Cancer Deaths
In "MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE"
Merck KGaA gives back to society through Merck Foundation's program to improve access to Cancer Care
Victor Okeh
Victor Okeh is a graduate of Economics from Lagos State University. He is versatile in reporting business and economy, politics and finance, and entrepreneurship articles. He can be reached via – [email protected]
US War Hero, Colin Powell, Dies Of COVID-19
Stock Exchange Dips By N150bn, As ASI Drops By 0.71%
BUSINESS & ECONOMYCOVERNEWSNEWSLETTER
Nigeria-Russia Chamber Of Commerce, Industry To Be Inaugurated
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The formal launch of the Nigeria-Russia Chamber of Commerce will set in motion a ball of economic activities between both countries, this is according to Vi
April 28, 201540277
Switzerland Govt Digs Up $370m Fresh Abacha Loot
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The government of Switzerland has discovered aother $370 million belonging to the late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha. This disclosure was made o
October 3, 20141232
FG Considers Investment In Transcorp Hilton Hotel
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The Federal Government is said to be considering expanding its equity stake in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, a move which is being informed by the company's level


CBG Informatik GmbH was founded in Vienna as a former member of the SIS Group in 2001 by today's CEO Ing. Helmut Friesl.
With its specialization in the efficient realization of sophisticated IT projects, the company supports international clients in the areas from production to financial services.
The focus of the range of services offered by CBG Informatik is management consulting, project management, customization, programming and training with the aim of achieving sustainable savings and competitive advantages for your customers by automating the processes.
Our growing team of competent consultants will advise you on any questions or requests and assist you with the implementation, adaption and the entire life cycle of your projects.
Partnership and collaboration go hand in hand with us. For us partnership doesn´t mean a contract, but cooperation, trust and reliability.
Our products and partners are carefully selected. We offer you only the best services that we are particularly convinced of and that have the greatest added value for your business.
We look back on 16 years of know-how and experience. Our comprehensive knowledge qualifies us to stand by your side and to convey this to you.
Infor is a strategic technology partner for over 90,000 organizations worldwide and a provider of enterprise software. The software promotes the progress of individuals, businesses and entire networks, and continuously developed for specific industries. Since the last millennium we are a partner of Infor and experts in the ERP world.
Changepoint's solutions provide all members of management, executives, and even individual teams with new ways to collaborate, improve resource management, and enhance the transparency of their business initiatives. For more than 2 years, we have partnered with Changepoint's DACH region and assist companies through the move to digitization.


How will Africa's stars fare in the English top-flight this season?
The frenzy of the 2017/2018 Premier League season is upon us, after three months of waiting. As a subplot, the African contingent in England will be hoping to grab the headlines this term. Here are some bold predictions for African players in the upcoming Premier League season.
The 21-year-old finally found a resolution to his stalling career, sealing a move to Leicester City for 25 million pounds: the highest fee ever paid for a Nigerian footballer. There will now be a lot of pressure on him to repay the faith of the transfer heads at the King Power, and early signs suggest they are on to a winner.
He may have had to come off soon after taking the field in the friendly victory over Borussia Monchengladbach, but he made his (brief) presence felt, setting up Jamie Vardy's winner. While the selflessness was encouraging, the darting run in behind showed Iheanacho has lost none of his edge, and with a run of games, this could be the season he betters his tally of eight goals and two assists in 2015/2016.
Ayew's future has been the subject of some speculation this summer, but it now looks like he is set to stay in London. What is rather less clear, though, is the status of manager Slaven Bilic.
The Croatian's job security is precarious, and it looked, at various points last season, like he was on his last legs. This term, he will be expected to hit the ground running right away, and it is not at all certain that he can. West Ham's recruitment has been a mixed bag, from signing a proven goalscoring gem in Javier Hernandez to acquiring the infuriating Marko Arnautovic at great expense.
It would not be a surprise to see Bilic bite the dust first in the managerial sack race.
Simply put, it is impossible not to get excited at the prospect of these two running at Premier League defences. While it remains to be seen how they line up (both Mane and Salah prefer the right flank, and Philippe Coutinho starts on the other), if Jurgen Klopp can get both into the side and performing optimally, goals will result.
Liverpool finished third last season, but if to stand still is to go backwards, then their activity in the transfer market ought to see them knock off a languid Tottenham side and mount an even stronger title assault. Salah, with his pace and finishing ability, will be an essential part of that progression.
Along with Tammy Abraham and Dominic Solanke, Christian Atsu was another to escape the Chelsea loan circuit, and looks to have finally found a home at Newcastle.
His loan spell at St James's Park last season was a definite success, and with the Magpies now back in the Premier League, he is set to push on. There has always been a sense that, with stability, there is a new level of potential to unlock with Atsu. He will finally get the chance, and having been in sparkling form in preseason, it would not be a stretch to see him finally come into his own and become the unstoppable force we have only briefly glimpsed so far.
The Ivorian defender was one of the unequivocal successes of Jose Mourinho's first season at Manchester United, and led the Red Devils in interceptions last term. Impressively, he only earned four bookings in over 2000 minutes of Premier League football.
It is remarkable given his style, which is quite physical, and it may be that, with an increase in workload, he will become more and more ragged in his decision-making. There is plenty of pace to trouble defenders in the Premier League, and Bailly could well struggle in his second season at Old Trafford.
If there is one criticism of Alex Iwobi, twinkle-toed maverick that he is, it is that he does not hurt the opposition often enough. He only scored three times last season for Arsenal, and assisted five times: it is clearly an area of weakness. His shooting is often derided as weak.
Arsene Wenger had previously been vocal of his desire to see playmaker Mesut Ozil add more goals to his game, and the German obliged somewhat in 2016/2017. It would not be a surprise to see Iwobi follow a similar evolutionary path, and indeed judging by the viciousness of his strike in the Emirates Cup rout of Benfica, he may well be ready for it.
Moses was one of the revelations of the season for Chelsea last term, bedding into an unfamiliar specialist role at wing-back with consummate ease. It marked a rebirth of sorts for the Nigeria international at Stamford Bridge; whereas he has been on the books since 2012, last season under Antonio Conte was his first of such central relevance in blue.
There were, though, warning signs. Chelsea have elected not to strengthen in the position, an admirable statement of trust in Moses, but they will compete in the Champions League this term—surely, not having cover in such a role would be foolhardy. In any case, the ease with which he was exploited by London neighbours Tottenham and Arsenal in the second half of the season may come to be viewed as a template, a potential chink in the Blues' armour.
Quite what the rationale is behind Crystal Palace's decision to hire former Ajax boss De Boer is hard to divine. His patient possession style was, after a while, considered dull even in Amsterdam, and he was hardly a roaring success in a brief spell in Italy at Inter.
He almost certainly has learnt a thing or two about adaptation in the intervening period, but quite how he will get the best out of the Eagles' pacy attackers remains to be seen. Zaha, in particular, relishes the chance to play on the break, and came into his own in the second half of the season as Palace stunned the likes of Arsenal at home and Liverpool away. It is hard not to imagine the Ivoirian chafing at slow build-up from the back denying him wide-open spaces behind opposing defences in which to cavort.
Barely six months in, it is already abundantly clear that Wilfred Ndidi was born to play in the Premier League. His long stride sees him cover ever blade of grass, he can play the ball, and he can hit belters with either foot.
The Foxes seem to have rediscovered stability under Craig Shakespeare, and go into the new season brimming with optimism and with no pressure on them. Ndidi will no doubt come on in leaps and bounds (if last term is anything to go by), and by the time the season is done, he will take the next step and move up the ladder. He simply is too good to remain at Leicester for very long, and he keeps getting better and better.
No team scored more from corners last season than West Brom, so of course they acquired a 6 ft 5in centre-back to chuck into the mixer.
All jokes aside, Egypt international Hegazy is a perfect fit for the Baggies. Physically dominant, aggressive, and with a fierce determination to never get beaten in the air; Tony Pulis can be proud of his scouting team. He has joined on the cheap, and relatively unknown on English soil, but by the time the season is out, there will be widespread acclaim. His style is so innately British, he is bound to be a hit at the Hawthorns.
5 African breakout stars in the EPL Africans with a point to prove this season African Power Ranking: August 2017 Who are Africa's title contenders?


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Flying Through the Glass Ceiling: Sexism and the UAE's First Female Fighter Pilot
Camille Bigot 11 November 2014	No Comments
Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri is the first female fighter pilot in the history of the United Arab Emirates' air force. She joined the army in order to take part in the air strikes against ISIS militants in Syria, and the media reacted with a highly gendered discourse on the role of women in conflict. I aim to assess critically the narratives built around Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri and its mediatisation, especially through one infamous Fox News report.
Image courtesy of Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz ©2010
Becker's article in the IJReview argues 'It's about time more women joined the fray against an adversary who is a threat to their very existence, in addition to that of helpless children'. Through her statement, the journalist is drawing upon the often seen victimization of women in war and conflict, also associated to 'helpless children'. There is an implicit assumption which suggests women to be 'helpless' in their natural state and threatened by organisation such as ISIS. Elshtain talks about the idea of the 'Beautiful Soul' where women are the 'one[s] who should be protected from war' (Elshtain 1987) and men are the 'Just Warrior' defending them, and Gentry & Sjoberg characterize women as 'innocent of the war' (2007: 3). In her piece Becker suggests violence as the solution to the victimization of women in war.
Fox News further glorifies this exhibition of violence through the female presenter Kimberly Guifoyle. 'This is really incredible,' Guilfoyle said, 'Major Mariam Al Mansouri is who did this. Remarkable, very excited. I wish it was an American pilot. I'll take a woman doing this any day to them. I hope that hurt extra bad from you because in some Arab countries, women can't even drive. Her nickname, per Jennifer Griffin? "Lady Liberty," baby.'
This news report was followed by sexist comments from her two male co-hosts. Greg Gutfield first stated: 'Problem is, after she bombed it she couldn't park it.' Eric Bolling continued the myriad of sexist jokes adding: 'would that be considered boobs on the ground?'.
A theoretical feminist approach would analyse the dismissive and patronizing tone of the men to the story. The notion of 'boobs on the ground' sexualises the fighter pilot and focuses on her female body and sexuality, rather than her military achievements. The sexist reaction of the men shows the stigmatization still present for women participating in the army. Gentry & Sjoberg argue that gender is an important part of military identity for female soldiers, who are often defined not as soldiers but 'women soldiers' (2007). They explain the distinction exists 'because women who commit these violences have acted outside of prescribed gender role, they have to be separated from main/malestream discourse of their particular behaviour' (2007: 9). Indeed, women are often perceived as 'peaceful' and violence would be contrary to their 'natural state' of being (Elshtain 1987).
Due to her gender, the men have sexualised and dismissed Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri in order to limit her agency. However, this critique of the sexism exhibited by journals such as The Guardian, albeit correct, is a simplistic approach to the Fox News broadcast.
Guilfoyle's statements glorify violence and display an orientalist perspective. Firstly, the title of the Fox News segment–'Hey ISIS! You Were Bombed by a Woman. Have a Nice Day'–is extremely gendered. The title constructs a gendered hierarchy of violent enactments. It seems that being 'bombed by a woman' is more shameful than being bombed by a man. Violence perpetrated by women in the military is therefore inferior than that exhibited by male soldiers. This goes back to women portrayed as 'peaceful' stigmatizing their violence in narratives challenging their motivations and agency.
Furthermore, the female anchor stated that she wished 'she was an American pilot' and 'I hope that hurt extra bad from you because in some Arab countries, women can't even drive'. Homogenizing Middle Eastern countries with the word 'Arab countries' draws on a neo-orientalist view of the world. Wishing for an American woman to do same suggests that white women's violence is better than 'brown women's' violence. Moreover, passing cultural judgement suggests a superiority of American women as 'liberated women' compared to 'Arab women' who are victims of social, political and cultural practices and stigmas related to religion and political regimes. It constructs the assumption of all Muslim/Arabs being inferior to Westerners (Nayak 2006). Nayak describes political orientalism by the United States as using nexus of power and knowledge to be able to securing the state against 'the Other' (2006). Arab women are often used as a reason to intervene in Middle Eastern states as they are portrayed as victims of the subjugation of Arab men. Therefore, the axis created by the reporter between 'American women' and 'Arab women' suggests an intersectional approach to the news story where the hierarchical framework of the military is further transcended by not only gender, but also ethnicity and race.
Finally, the glorification of violence is due to the UAE fighter pilot being a woman. If she was a man, the story would have never made it to the news. Therefore there is a double standard when it comes to violence perpetrated by women. Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri has become a figure embodying gender equality in the military, however, not once do we stop and think about the implications of such violence. I would question the moral implications that would go beyond a simple glorification of women's violence in global politics in the name of gender equality. Although her achievement in military ranking is honourable and is a step towards equality in the UAE air force, do violence and killing become more acceptable when they are enacted by a woman?
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Q: Rewrite `git` History of a Large File I am trying to remove some large files from my git repository.
After a fair amount of browsing I have come across the following solution,
git_delete_file() {
    git filter-branch -f --index-filter "git rm -r --cached --ignore-unmatch $1" --prune-empty
    git for-each-ref --format='delete %(refname)' refs/original | git update-ref --stdin
    git reflog expire --expire=now --all
    git gc --aggressive --prune=now
}

git_file_space() {
    git rev-list --all --objects |
        git cat-file --batch-check='%(objectname) %(objecttype) %(objectsize) %(rest)' |
        grep blob |
        sort -k3nr |
        head -n 20
}

However, when I run git_delete_file large/file/path and then git_file_space the files are persisting. I have not tried to download git-filter-repo but I am considering it a last resort.
Regards
Jordan

A:
I have not tried to download git-filter-repo but I am considering it a last resort.

It is true you need to install it (after installing Python), but after that, removing a file is simply, using path-based filtering:
git filter-repo --invert-paths --path 'path/to/large/file'

That seems easier than the all filter-branch + update-ref + reflog + gc workflow.


Dress up any room with our wonderful Wall Words – Be True to who you are and the family you bear computer cut vinyl lettering. It's easy to apply and looks great. This is the same stuff used by all the cable home show decorators. Tons of colors and layouts available in various sizes. As seen on TV at a fraction of the price.


We are all invited to proclaim a message of hope to our world. In a world of war and terrorism, of poverty and injustice, of dishonesty and manipulation of the truth, and of political expediency, and the effects of climate change, we are invited to be like a 'flea' or a 'mosquito' and practice our faith in the spirit of the great prophets and address issues of justice, peace, and genuine human development for all God's people. Last week, Mark exhorted us to stay alert, to stay awake. And we need people who will stir us into waking up to what is happening around us, to remind us that there are people around us who are hurting and suffering and unjustly treated, that our Earth is suffering; to remind us that God is present in each situation of hurt, suffering and devastation.
A journalist once founded an award called 'The Giraffe Project' to honour people who courageously advocated for others, raised their voices, and stood in solidarity with people to promote human dignity. In South Africa, during the apartheid regime, there were many such people, but now, very few remain prophetic voices as the churches go to bed with the government. Prophetic exceptions exist such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu who, like giraffes, stick their necks out to advocate for those on the lowest rung; those unfairly treated and vilified by church and state.
John the Baptist could also have been a contender for such an award as he appeared when there were few prophetic voices. Like him there are people who encourage and stand with people who lived on Manus Island (where asylum-seekers are being detained by Australia) and were caught in cold-hearted rules and systems more intent on keeping people out rather than welcoming them as asylum seekers and refugees; people who advocate for children, youth, women and men or work to prevent the various forms of modern slavery; people who promote workers' rights and rights for people living with disabilities; people who struggle for equality and liberation for gay people, women and minority people. These bring to life the dream expressed in the psalm of 'kindness and truth meeting, justice and peace kissing, truth springing out of the earth while justice looks down from heaven'. This image of 'kissing' in the psalm assumes an intimacy, a willingness to be vulnerable ['able to be wounded'] and a commitment to be in solidarity. Yet, often, the steadfast love and faithfulness still have not met, and righteousness and peace still do not hold hands – let alone kiss.
There is a deep sense of passion and care for people expressed in Isaiah and John. They express God's heartbeat and passion for humanity as their words and actions touch our hearts with the offer of reassurance and comfort: 'Comfort, my people. Comfort them!' John the Baptist was speaking – not unlike in our time – when many so-called prophets were silent. We see in the gospel how people rather than heading for the Temple in the city went to the wilderness to hear him speak of God's concern for their oppression and need for justice. Archbishop Oscar Romero became the 'voice of those without voice' in El Salvador, as did the prophets of our faith [Isaiah, Micah, Ezekiel] and contemporary prophets [Mohammed, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Ita Ford, Maura Clark, Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan, Desmond Tutu and Rigoberta Menchu].
Many unlikely people among us have become 'prophets' when they day after day confronted our immigration system and particularly the harsh treatment of innocent people on Manus Island. In so many ways they have been present and spoken out against systemic injustices and evil at great personal and social cost. They were vilified, their professionalism questioned, labeled as unpatriotic and even lost friends. But they tried to wake us up or confront people who were lulled in a position of comfort in the face of the evil we do and the evil that is done on our behalf by a Government pretending to look after our interests. They reminded us of the humanity of people made faceless and anonymous. They gave us the hope that change is possible and does happen. They reminded us that our humanity is bound up with the way we engage with the most vulnerable and that if we look into their faces, we might see our faces.
Isaiah imagines the equivalent of a superhighway. But let's remember that we are called to be peacemakers. Too often we can do more harm than good by trying to force change and growth when 'the ground' has not been prepared. This superhighway should not come about with dynamite and bulldozers but with small implements such as a shovel and a bucket of water. Recently in Germany, I was made aware of the fall of the Berlin wall. Its fall seemed like a superhighway had been built to reunify Germany but how many more walls have been erected in our world (Gaza, Arizona), not to mention the walls in our minds and hearts against asylum seekers, Muslims, other minority groups, to divide and exclude people? Ordinary people accomplished great things that seemed impossible because they dreamed and acted, planned and believed.
Like the people in Babylon, the people in detention centres, the people of Gaza, and the people in our urban ghettos who are addicted in some way or homeless, want to know who will raise their voices on their behalf.
Advent calls us to wake up, pay attention, find the glimmers of light in the overwhelming darkness, and find hints of progress, to take courage, and realise that God is at work among us and through us. Each reading today communicates the same thing: Ours is a God who comes to be in our midst. God comes through evil and trials and in prayer, no matter how feeble that may be. God comes to us through the life of another in whom we can see beauty and truth. God comes in the love of one who loves us so deeply and unconditionally that our loveableness is difficult to accept. There is no limit to the ways in which God comes, and for that reason, every juncture of our lives can be a place of encounter with the divine.
As we saw last week, Advent calls us to be on the lookout for the presence of Christ who inhabits our every loss, who is present in each devastation, who is present even in our betrayals and infidelities, and gathers us up when our world has shattered and offers healing now. Mark's opening words announce a 'beginning' (as Genesis did, 'In the beginning…'). Mark is saying that God is doing something new with the coming of Jesus – a new era, a new covenant and a new people are beginning. The world that was and is stuck in its old, sinful and destructive patterns can be made new and alive.
John and Mary are always calling out that a new spirit and a new time is coming. So we do not go back to Bethlehem, but forward, for Bethlehem is to be found in a new and unknown time.
I have difficulty reading the small print on my I-pad . Can you advise.?


In the context of the excellent outcomes for pupils the school may wish to consider: strengthening pupils independent and collaborative learning by pursuing existing good practice in teaching by providing opportunities for pupils to further engage in lessons, as seen in the most effective lessons.
We will, naturally, be developing an appropriate response to ensure that this recommendation is addressed.
The Focused Compliance Inspection focuses on the Education Regulations 2014 (the Independent School Standards) and the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools 2015 and associated requirements. These include: the quality of education provided; the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils; the welfare, health and safety of pupils; the suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors; the premises of and accommodation at school; the provision of information; the manner in which complaints are handled; the quality of leadership in and management of schools.
The school was found to meet all the required standards.
"Overall, we are delighted to receive such a positive inspection report and one that, rightly, emphasises the tremendous qualities of our boys and staff" Gus Lock .


The Lubrication Black Ale from Clown Shoes/Mercury pours a deep brown body, pushing black with a ruby glow around its edges and on the pour. The full tan head is small, but creamy in consistency with a mild oily sheen. The head fades slowly and leaves light lace behind as it goes. The robust smokey nose features hints of coffee and a dry powdery essence on the back end.
With a smooth and satiny mouthfeel the beer features a toffee sweetness up front. Slowly the sweets slide into a medium roast coffee with mild smokey notes. The beer seems dry with a vague mineral influence. From the mid-palate through the finish the flavor fades and leaves an exceedingly dry and lightly smokey finish.


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Rigid plastics get smart
The rigid plastic packaging market is forecast to top $166 billion worldwide by 2022, thanks to a number of factors including urbanisation, rising plastic production, increased applications, and smart packaging technology.
Market-leading companies such as Amcor and Berry Global are innovating in their product portfolios, as well as partnering with or acquiring other companies to grow their footprints and expand their customer bases.
"To tackle the issue of food safety, food and beverage manufacturers are developing efficient smart packaging systems that will ensure safe food supply and long-term storage, thereby extending a product's shelf life," said Prateeksha Kaul, research analyst, visionary science at global research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan.
"They are also developing game-changing technologies such as inert barrier, which eliminates numerous manufacturing processes, equating to reduced cost and waste, and making the manufacturing process more eco-friendly."
According to Kaul, there are concerns about the environmental impact of producing and disposing of rigid plastics, despite their benefits. "The market is also affected by the presence of competitive packaging options, such as flexible plastic packaging.
"To mitigate these risks, players will need to develop innovative packaging that conforms to current recycling and re-usability regulations but also to increasingly stringent future environment regulations," says Kaul.
Frost and Sullivan offers a number of recommendations in its Global Rigid Plastic Packaging Market, Forecast to 2022 market intelligence, including customising rigid plastic packaging to end-user specifications; expanding in the APAC region; focusing on high-growth sectors such as food and beverage; and offering better products at lower costs in developing countries to boost growth.
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FoodTech QLD: arrives in Brisbane on 28-30 July
Queensland's Food Technology and Manufacturing Exhibition returns to Brisbane this month! The triennial FoodTech Qld expo is on 28-30 July 2019 (Sunday to Tuesday) at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. This year's theme is "Creating new lines in manufacturing" and aims to deliver nothing less.
STUDY: Sugary drinks and the risk of cancer
Findings from a study of more than 100,000 people over nine years suggests that reducing sugary drinks may reduce cancer risk.
Researchers to trial Cypriot vines in Aussie drought
Drought-tolerant grape varieties from Cyprus will soon be trialled for suitability in Australian conditions, with researchers from the University of Adelaide hoping the vines will be able to grow "with minimal to no irrigation".
Packaging News (PKN) is the magazine for Australia's packaging industry.