And it's worried that could take a big bite out of its bottom line.
APPLE HAS WARNED it could be made to pay a decade of extra taxes for Ireland potentially taking a billion-dollar bite out of its bottom line.
The world's biggest public company, which this week announced a booming $58 billion in sales for the first three months of 2015, said the financial hit would come if European officials slapped it with a negative ruling for its tax dealings in the Republic.
In its latest company filing, Apple said it believed the European Commission's allegations were "without merit" – but if findings went against it and the Irish government that could lead to a significant tax bill.
"If the European Commission were to conclude against Ireland, the European Commission could require Ireland to recover from the company past taxes covering a period of up to 10 years reflective of the disallowed state aid," it said.
The Financial Times reported a "material event" under US securities rules was usually considered anything that could cost the company 5% of its average earnings over the past three years – a figure potentially worth over $2.5 billion (€2.2 billion).
Both the US tech giant and Ireland deny any wrongdoing, with Finance Minister Michael Noonan claiming the case against it was "weak" and adding it would use all legal options to fight an adverse finding. Apple has said it simply followed Irish tax rules.
The case centres on the tax dealings of two Irish-registered Apple offshoots, Apple Sales International (ASI) and Apple Operations Europe.
Figures from 2012 showed ASI booked revenues of $63.9 billion, but Irish officials agreed to set its taxable income at between €50 and €60 million – roughly 0.1% of the total – as the amount that represented its local operations.
Authorities in the Republic didn't make clear in which country either of the two companies was officially tax resident, which meant it was unknown how much tax – if any – the subsidiaries paid on their billions in revenue.
In last year's budget, Noonan announced the government was phasing out the controversial "double Irish" loophole which allowed companies to be registered in Ireland but pay tax offshore.
That arrangement made it possible for firms to siphon profits into tax havens like Bermuda without breaking any laws.
Email "Apple could be forced to pay 10 years of back taxes to Ireland".
Feedback on "Apple could be forced to pay 10 years of back taxes to Ireland".


text:
namespace System.ServiceModel.Channels
{
    internal interface IChannelBindingProvider
    {
        void EnableChannelBindingSupport();
        bool IsChannelBindingSupportEnabled { get; }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Media....
Video Series....
Knots & Rigging
Blogs, Podcasts, & Videocasts...
Shop...
Element Info...
Staff Log in...
Element's Zoom Room
Disruptive Rescue: Episode 0 -Introduction
Category Disruptive Rescue Series
We have been developing this for a bit... although the majority of effort has been taking place over the past six months. We are not big on labeling or "coining" irrelevant terms, but... we felt this was different and didn't want the message to get confused or diluted with "other" methodologies. Similar to Prolonged Field Care, is its own "thing", and cannot be described as protracted "Tactical Field Care", like many who oversimplify and don't get it attempted to.
We are currently finishing up a white paper for publishing that does go into the minutiae and key performance parameters of Disruptive Rescue©, unlike this post or PodCast Series. What we are attempting to accomplish with this podcast series is...
To set the stage for thinking about rescue differently
To show that rescue is not black and white - and doing things by "the book", in most cases, will not template success
To show that what we think we know about break strengths and rope system behavior...may not be correct
To show a systematic way to decrease the complexity of rescue, allowing critical capabilities to be integrated into non-professional rescuer TTP's.
...and to show how to not suck at rescue
More to follow on Disruptive Rescue...
This series will be a conglomerate of discussions with various rescue folks, from various backgrounds. The series will kick off with a two part discussion on data-driven rigging, anchor testing, prusik failures, and realistic SSSF evaluation with Tom Evans.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Home Club is a family entertainment centre located in the unique ecologically clean and unusual picturesque natural area of Zailiyskiy Alatau foothills. A harmony of modern infrastructure and wild country is highlight of Home Club. A luxury country cottage centre has everything necessary for comfortable rest and leisure throughout the year: a fenced territory under surveillance with asphalted alleys and pass ways, children's playground, fountains, a swimming pool and a lake. Buildings constructed in the style of chalet add extra colour and sophistication to the centre.
Spacious and comfortable houses with a total space of 200 square meters are considered to be the most popular. VIP guests with stay in 5 unique cottages, which are built in different styles, including Kazakh, Russian, African, Japanese and cottage. Some cottages are equipped with sauna and billiards.
Home Club centre will also perfectly suit for guests preferring active rest. They will be offered a variety of recreation services, which include fishing, horse riding and cycling as well as rather new trend – ecotourism.
Basketball, volleyball or tennis tournaments depending on your preferences will be organized for your family team, besides everybody will be able to take part in darts competitions. Home Club offers two types of fishing to avid fishers: you may calmly and deliberately trout a mountain river flowing along the centre territory or excitedly compete in catching mirror, wild, grass and silver carps on special piers. All fish in our water bodies is environmentally safe and has excellent eating qualities, which you can easily check out for yourself!
Home Club offers rest on the shore of the picturesque lake for amateurs of water entertainments. They may go catamaran boating, organize romantic parties by candle-light and gaze nocturne beauty on a floating boat. Whole children's country called Baldyrgan is spread out within the Home Club territory. During summer season young visitors will enjoy a lot of entertainment programs with professional animators, playgrounds, amusement rides, thematic holidays able to lead children away to interesting and informative adventures on ground and in water. Having scampered about quite enough in Baldyrgan the whole family may go to the Нome-Club restaurant, which has combined harmonically European, traditional Russian and national cuisine while involving its guests into the atmosphere of exquisiteness. Home Club is waiting for you for excellent pastime and active rest!
Terms of visit registration: you need to have a driver's license or a technical passport, in case of unavailability of the said documents a compulsory returnable insurance deposit in an amount of 20 000 tenge for apartment undamaged condition, which will be returned at check out from the centre, is a must. Besides, it is necessary to leave a driver's license or a technical passport for a car for the period of horse livery.
Preliminary reservation for a cottage shall not be subject to deferral to a later date, thereat an advance payment will not be returned.
The administration shall have the right to cancel reservation if a guest is late for more than (3) three hours on the day of arrival. An advance payment will not be returned.
Thank you for your understanding. Best regards, administration.


Highlighting the role of Poshan Abhiyaan scheme, Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog on Wednesday said that it is very important to eradicate malnutrition from the country.
"Nothing more important than making the country free of malnutrition. It is unacceptable for a country known for its knowledge economy to have 38 per cent of its children under-nourished and hence it was of utmost priority to eradicate malnutrition," Kumar said.
The National Nutrition Mission titled Poshan Abhiyaan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year, targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight among children, and also focuses on adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
"Poshan Maah would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of frontline workers across ministries. We are proud to have them as the foundation of this system. We have a long road ahead and the success of Poshan Maah has invigorated our resolve to achieve our goals," Kumar added.
Apart from the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) which is the nodal agency, NITI Aayog is also in the Council. The month of September was celebrated by the Council across the country as 'Poshan Maah'.
Giving the details of the outcome of the 'Poshan Maah', Secretary, Rakesh Srivastava said that the celebration saw 25.4 crores total participation with 22.58 lakh activities conducted all across the country.
Madhya Pradesh topped the list of states with 7.7 Lakh activities followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
He said that of the out of 22.58 lakh activities, 32 per cent was conducted jointly by field functionaries, around 21 per cent activities were a convergence of inter-ministry activities.


text:
World TeamTennis Franchise To Play At USTA National Campus In Orlando
manfr3dw · March 5, 2019 · Leave a Comment
World TeamTennis (WTT) today announced that Orlando will be awarded one of two expansion franchises as the league grows to eight teams for the 2019 season. The Orlando Storm and the Vegas Rollers will debut as WTT begins its 44th season in July.
The Orlando Storm will play its home matches at the USTA National Campus. Both the Storm and the Rollers will begin to fill out their squads at the WTT Draft on March 12 in Indian Wells, Calif.
"We could not be more excited to have the Orlando Storm call the USTA National Campus home. Since we opened our doors we have looked at ways to bring new fans and players to the Campus and introduce them to the sport of tennis," said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, USTA National Campus. "Showcasing World TeamTennis is a great vehicle to do just that. Orlando fans really support their local teams and we are looking forward to building that same type of fan base at the Campus."
Jocelyn Davie will serve as the Orlando Storm's inaugural general manager and the team will be coached by former ATP Tour player Scott Lipsky.
The WTT season consists of seven home matches and seven away matches for each team and will run from July 14-31. The WTT playoffs begin in Las Vegas with the league's semifinals on Aug. 2, and the 2019 season concludes with the WTT Finals on Aug. 3 (see 2019 Orlando Storm schedule below).
"With the success that the USTA National Campus has had in Lake Nona the past two years, it made perfect sense for World TeamTennis to expand to the Orlando area," said WTT CEO Carlos Silva. "Orlando is a great sports city, and we are excited to bring our high-level brand of professional team tennis to this growing market."
WTT introduced professional team tennis to the world in 1974, with Billie Jean King famously serving as its co-founder. The new teams in Orlando and Las Vegas join the league's existing franchises – New York Empire, Orange County Breakers, Philadelphia Freedoms, San Diego Aviators, Springfield Lasers and Washington Kastles – for play in July 2019.
"The addition of two new teams in two strong markets is a positive move for WTT for 2019 and for the future," said King. "This expansion is not only good for the league, it also is another indication of the importance of bringing our brand of tennis to new audiences and our commitment to growing the sport at all levels."
In 2018, each of WTT's teams incorporated select tennis stars from the ATP and WTA tours – including seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and 13-year WTT veteran Venus Williams, 2019 Australian Open and 2018 US Open women's singles champion Naomi Osaka, 2017 US Open women's champ Sloane Stephens, and twins Bob and Mike Bryan, the most decorated doubles team in tennis history.
WTT is one of five active U.S. pro sports leagues which has been in operation for more than 40 years, along with the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. For more information on World TeamTennis, please visit www.wtt.com.
January 4, 2018 – USTA National Campus one-year anniversary event in Lake Nona, Florida. (Photo by Darren Carroll/USTA)


When it comes to screws and bolts, one of the inevitable things that would happen would be for the bolts to lose its threads, brought about by either constant wear and tear, loosening and tightening, as well as rusting due to exposure to open air, as well as water with plenty of dissolved oxygen. The former two would cause the threads of the bolt or screw to grow thinner, and therefore not fit properly or tightly in the hole. The latter, or the exposure to rust, on the other hand, would call for rethreading as the rust would cause the threads to be shallower, as rust may possibly get thicker as time goes by.
Any of these are not just undesirable, but are potentially damaging to the structure or device as well. It's common knowledge that bolts normally hold structures together, and weak, or unfit bolts would most definitely result to structural instability, which in turn could be a source of danger among people, as structures could pretty much collapse and be destroyed due to instability.
While one of the most popular means to solve this problem is to replace the bolts, chances are, bolts are not available at all times of the day. If there are no bolts to buy, then some of the best means in order for you to fix these issues is to rethread a bolt. While this may seem cumbersome and difficult, the reality is, you need only a few items to get this going, and this tutorial would teach you how.
Before you begin rethreading your bolt, make it a point to secure the following materials.
When it comes to rusty nuts, bolts, and screws, some people would most definitely be tempted to give the nut go with the wrench. This is one thing that you should avoid, however, given that this would be very hard to do so, as rust tends to tighten the area and cause difficulty in doing so. The friction should be reduced with the help of some lubricating oil. There are various lubricating oils you could use for this particular purpose, one of which is the WD 40 Variety, which works best for nuts, bolts, and screws installed near electronic components.
If you wish to rethread in the most accurate means as possible, then you ought to be able to secure a rethreading kit at home. Most of these kits come in various dimensions. This is so that as many lengths and depths for threads would be covered.
Some of the things you may find in the rethreading kit include the metal die or file, as well as a set of rethreading taps. The components of these kits are usually made of stainless steel and are used in conjunction with other tools.
Reset the threads with a thread file before screwing on the rethreading die.
One simply cannot do any form of rethreading without having a wrench around. The reason for this is because these wrenches help to effectively turn the nut, screw, or bolt that needs to be rethreaded in some way. Wrenches could be two types. They could either come in sets with different points corresponding to nuts and bolts, and some also have adjustable openings that make for a much versatile and convenient kind of wrench. If you wish for a rigid, more specific job, then you may opt for the former, but if you don't want to bring multiple wrenches around then you might as well opt for the latter.
A vise is a tool with "jaws" that help to secure any object, holding it in place. In order for you to properly use the threading file, it is best for you to keep the bolt and screw in place. This is because it has to be kept as perfectly perpendicular as possible with the thread file, and it is also needed to facilitate the movement of the thread die, keeping your other hand free, whichever it is that you decide on using. These vises are usually affixed to a solid surface and are used in several applications.
Given that most of the bolts that need rethreading are rusty in nature, it is hard to remove them. Before you begin rethreading of any nature, it is most definitely important for you to loosen the area up first. Ideally, it is best that you apply the Lubricating Oil of your choice on the area at least 12 hours before any work gets done. By this time, much of the oil would have already seeped through the crevices. Hence the un-screwing would be a significantly easier job.
Once the area has already been well-lubricated, this is now the ideal time for you to begin loosening the wrench up. Always remember the typical conventions for screws, tighten to the right, loosen to the left. Also, make it a point to turn things as slowly as you could.
Once the previous step has been accomplished, the next thing you have to do is affix the bolt to the vise. This would allow you to properly make use of the threading apparatus of your choice, given that proper rethreading entails as exact proportions, and in order for you to get the right proportions, you ought to affix the bolt to as stable of a position as possible.
As previously mentioned, there are 2 choices you could choose from when it comes to rethread. You could either make use of the rethreading file or the rethreading die. In using both, you have to make sure that it is kept as perpendicular as possible The rethreading die is much easier to use, given that you simply have to turn it all the way to the topmost threads.
Rethreading Taps are made to cleanse the corresponding nut from the accumulated rust. To use, simply affix the nut to the threaded part of the tap and slowly turn with the wrench. Make sure that it's lubricated well enough whenever you do so, given that rusty nuts would be difficult to rotate around the tap.
Once the threads have been cleansed from all of the rust, you can now return it to its original slot, where its fitting would return to being normal.
Rethreading your nuts and bolts is one which is indeed, important, and would work best whenever there are no other spare ones around. Also, these are economical in nature, given that you would not need to buy a brand new set altogether. This cuts costs and helps to reduce the overall waste of metal in the environment.
When it comes to threading, accuracy is key, especially if you're using a file. You have to make sure that the file is position as perpendicular to the bolt as possible because only through this means are you able to get the job done in the best way possible.
Also, don't forget to bring some rags to the workplace, as in every job that is to be done, you would need cleanliness. Moreover, rags are important as they would most definitely help in order for the entire bolt to keep clean. Most importantly, you ought to know when rethreading is still possible, and when would bolts have to be changed altogether.


text:
kidzsearch.com > wiki Explore: images videos games
KidzSearch Safe Wikipedia for Kids.
Audiences at the World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia. An audience at a sporting event are called "spectators".
An audience is a group of people that go to see the same thing (like a play or a movie). People looking at works of art or literature can also be called the audience. Audience members participate in different ways in different kinds of art; some events invite the audience to be part of the performance, while others allow only applause and criticism.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/w/index.php?title=Audience&oldid=4550829"
KidzSearch
Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use Privacy Policy. Content of this web page is sourced from wikipedia ( http://simple.wikipedia.org). Some content of the original page may have been edited to make it more suitable for younger readers, unless otherwise noted.
About KidzSearch Wiki


"You Know it's Fresh, when you cut it yourself!"
We hope you'll consider us for your Christmas decorating, gift exchange or stocking stuffers.
Rosie and Denise search near and far each year to bring you a wide assortment of items, styles, and prices.
Our Gift Shop occupies a 50' by 60' section of our barn. It's heated and has an area with picnic tables for customers to enjoy a snack, feed a baby, or let a grandmother relax while she waits for her more energetic family to find their tree. We have a lighted Victorian village with a working HO train running through and around it, plus an outdoor G scale train.
Last update: Friday, November 2, 2018 .


text:
Q: Roo with rails4 giving undefined method `[]' for nil:NilClass I'm trying to import CSV and Excel files into a rails 4 project (with validation) using the Roo gem, based on http://railscasts.com/episodes/396-importing-csv-and-excel.
I've made some changes to account for Rails4 instead of Rails3 and for changes to Roo, and my ProjectImporter model now looks like:
class ProductImport
  include ActiveModel::Model
  attr_accessor :file

  def initialize(attributes = {})
    attributes.each { |name, value| send("#{name}=", value) }
  end

  def persisted?
    false
  end

  def save
    if imported_products.map(&:valid?).all?
      imported_products.each(&:save!)
      true
    else
      imported_products.each_with_index do |product, index|
        product.errors.full_messages.each do |message|
          errors.add :base, "Row #{index + 2}: #{message}"
        end
      end
      false
    end
  end

  def imported_products
    @imported_products ||= load_imported_products
  end

  def load_imported_products
    spreadsheet = open_spreadsheet
    spreadsheet.default_sheet = spreadsheet.sheets.first
    puts "!!! Spreadsheet: #{spreadsheet}"
    header = spreadsheet.row(1)
    (2..spreadsheet.last_row).map do |i|
      row = Hash[[header, spreadsheet.row(i)].transpose]
      product = Product.find_by(id: row['id']) || Product.new
      product.attributes = row.to_hash.slice(*['name', 'released_on', 'price'])
      product
    end
  end

  def open_spreadsheet
    case File.extname(file.original_filename)
      when ".csv" then
        Roo::CSV.new(file.path, nil)
      when '.tsv' then
        Roo::CSV.new(file.path, csv_options: { col_sep: "\t" })
      when '.xls' then
        Roo::Excel.new(file.path, nil, :ignore)
      when '.xlsx' then
        Roo::Excelx.new(file.path, nil, :ignore)
      when '.ods' then
        Roo::OpenOffice.new(file.path, nil, :ignore)
      else
        raise "Unknown file type #{file.original_filename}"
    end
  end
end

When I try to run an import (using test CSV data), it fails on header = spreadsheet.row(1) with the error undefined method '[]' for nil:NilClass. The extra puts statement I've included confirms that spreadsheet itself isn't nil: it gives !!! Spreadsheet: #<Roo::CSV:0x44c2c98>. But if I try to call almost any of the expected methods on it, such as #last_row, it gives me the same undefined method error.
So what am I doing wrong?

A: I had the same problem, it seems a problem about file enconding, I used this code and it was fixed.
def open_spreadsheet
    case File.extname(file.original_filename)
        when ".csv" then Roo::CSV.new(file.path, csv_options: {encoding: "iso-8859-1:utf-8"})
        when ".xls" then Roo::Excel.new(file.path, nil, :ignore)
        when ".xlsx" then Roo::Excelx.new(file.path, nil, :ignore)
        else raise "Unknown file type: #{file.original_filename}"
    end
end

I hope that helps for you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Hillary Dupuis, MA, LMFT
For Individual Adults
Online Waiting Room
How Can I/We Possibly Heal from an Affair?
Infidelity can be hard to define but you can feel it when it's happening. Infidelity is not about sex, it's about betrayal. A betrayal of the couple's commitment to one another. It's an interpersonal trauma where the betrayed partner may experience symptoms akin to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yet, infidelity is not the problem, it's a symptom of the relationship's dysfunction.
Infidelity can look like the Hollywood version of a sexual affair to the more subtle emotional infidelity of oversharing with a stranger online. Infidelity can serve as an attempt to save the relationship or passive attempt to end it. Infidelity can signal an inability to communicate unmet needs on the betrayer's part. Infidelity can stem from family beliefs; sometimes it's an addiction, although this etiology is open to debate.
That said, there is hope for the couple that experiences infidelity - even if it may not feel that way after its discovery. In my work with couples, I have witnessed more of a willingness toward working through the wounding than allowing infidelity to destroy the relationship. Sometimes the discovery of infidelity can actually strengthen the couple's bond. Unfortunately, a lot of couples don't seek counseling and choose to separate instead, missing an opportunity for growth and re-connection.
I bring a number of interventions to the table when working with the betrayed and betrayer. I explore family of origin issues, attachment styles, communication and conflict resolution, the quality of the couple's emotional connection, goal alignment, values and boundaries, to name a few. It's challenging for both parties to move through the different stages of healing from infidelity. Having a safe space to honestly engage, rebuild trust and forgive can make healing from infidelity more of a possibility.


Help a girl out people!
I am looking for any advice from any one in the UK I have recently moved here and have found a new band but me are in need of a Bassist, producer and a good yet not too expensive way of mixing and mastering an ep!
and any good places to get gigs would help too!
I wish you luck, but it will likely be difficult to get a worth while response here as we're an international community. I'll leave the thread open just in case - but be sure to post any further requests you may have here in this thread.
As far as mastering an EP goes, have you considered doing it yourselves? Being your own producer really is the cheapest solution.
Hope things turn out well.
Where abouts in the UK have you moved to?
Everybody needs bassists! Find an out of work guitar player (which shouldn't be too hard) and tell him to check his ego at the door.
The free mastering offer ends Jan 31st.
The site they list on shows musicians which record labels are currently looking to sign acts (which is pretty awsom) and also has lots of musicians so you might find a bassplayer there.
Where are you living in UK? London is the place to be. Let me know if you need a guitarist as I am always up for a new project (if it's good)!
Does the UK have Craigslist?
what sort of band are you talking about? what style? how much experience does each member bring to the table? how long has the band been together? what's the goal of the band? how much original material do you have? how many gigs has the band had in the past?
the fact that you joined an international discussion site for general music rather than indicating you tried and failed with a local scene site leads me to believe your band has a whole lot of plans and ideas but very little of anything else going on.
if you don't have a full band yet you don't need a producer. i mean really, getting a producer before a bass player is like getting a trailer for carrying all your gear for your tour that will happen just as soon as you fix the chassis on your truck.
if you don't have a way of getting any gigs yet you don't need an ep. there's a modern fallacy that it's not possible to get gigs without pro-quality demos. that's a farce. go to an open-mic night. go to the karaoke bar and OWN the stage. go to gigs at venues you'd like to play someday and make contact with the staff. most importantly establish this contact while SOBER, make it clear to the people you're talking with that you're serious about being a musician (if you actually are) don't ever toss attitude, everyone knows someone who can turn out to be THAT connection in the right situation.
you'll be amazed at the kind of doors that open up with a bit of networking. you won't be getting headlining offers at the most prestigious venue in your city to start - but no one does. the quicker you can accept this without quantifying the statement with 'b...b... but... but we're different... our band is special' the quicker you'll actually start making the kind of small steps that actually accumulate into legitimate progress.
as for the earlier comment of forcing a guitar player to play bass - that's a fool's errand. you'll be wasting your time. yes, that person can technically play both instruments, but generally speaking it's a recipe for disaster. the guitarist will likely become resentful at not being able to play the instrument they prefer and being forced into a role he doesn't necessarily want by the people who control the band (regardless of how much they might want to call everyone 'equals'). it's a functional solution for the short term (if you need a fill-in for a recording session), but long term, it's usually not ideal.
tl/dr - get the ball rolling on a local level. word of mouth will take you farther than endless pages of praise on the internet.
Good post Mr Dave, spot on.


The next Procter & Gamble Co. dividend went ex 3 days ago for 74.59c and will be paid in 25 days.
The last Procter & Gamble Co. dividend was 71.72c and it went ex 3 months ago and it was paid 2 months ago.
There are typically 4 dividends per year (excluding specials), and the dividend cover is approximately 1.8.
How accurate are our Procter & Gamble Co. forecasts?


Thomas R. Dunning, 84, of 310 Gregg Street, Ellwood City passed away on Wednesday April 30, 2014 at Allegheny General Hospital. Born in Ellwood City on August 6, 1929, Thomas was the son of the late John M. and Gladys Agnew Dunning. He married the former Rose Ann Sulia on September 3, 1955. Thomas retired from J and L Steel in Aliquippa in 1986 after 31 years as a senior accountant. He was a Veteran of the US Air Force serving during the Korean War. Thomas was a member of Holy Redeemer Church and a former member of its Special Activities Group. Thomas was a 1947 graduate of Lincoln High School. He was also a past member of the Ellwood City Men's Gardening Club, the Ellwood City Recreation Board and the Ellwood City Moose Lodge, no. 93. He was one of the founding members of girl's softball in Ellwood City during the 1970's. An avid Pittsburgh sports fan, but most of all, he enjoyed spending time with his children and his grandchildren. His family was his life and he will be dearly missed. In addition to his wife, Rose Ann, Thomas is survived by his children and their spouses, Barbara and Jeff Jinar of Ellwood City, Mary Beth Dunning of Ellwood City, Thomas A. and Anne Dunning of Rochester, NY, Robert M. and Suzanne Dunning of Rolesville, NC, seven grandchildren; Sara and Jason Praster, Lindsay Jinar, Lauren Dunning, Marybeth Dunning, James R. Dunning, Cory M. Dunning and Marissa N. Dunning, a great grandson, Rylan Praster, a sister and brother in law, Janet and Vern McKissick of Wellsboro, PA and a sister in law, Joyce Dunning of Gainesville, FL. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers; Jack, James and Robert Dunning and two sisters; Phyliss Stoetzer and Charlotte Milnes. Friends will be received on Friday, May 2nd from 1:00 to 3:00 PM and 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Joseph A. Tomon, Jr. Funeral Home and Crematory, 97 Grim Avenue, Ellport. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, May 3rd at 1:00 PM at Holy Redeemer Church with Fr. Mark Thomas. Interment will follow in Locust Grove Cemetery. Full military rites will be offered by the Veteran's Honor Guard. Memorial contributions can be made in Thomas' name to Holy Redeemer Church, the American Heart Association or the American Diabetes Association.
So sorry for your loss your family are in my prayers.


text:
POV Summer 2020: Little Fires Everywhere
"The adoption storyline is objectively the worst I have ever seen."
Birth/first mothers' voices are not given the platform they deserve within the adoption community, especially taking into account their important role in adoption.
MPower Alliance's POV series is a forum for the voices and opinions of birth/first mothers to react to birth mother representation in popular culture and share their point of view with the adoption community and society at large. Each POV author reflects on how birth/first mothers are depicted and provides information to other birth/first mothers on potential triggers the media piece may bring up.
**DISCLAIMER: This review contains spoilers for the TV show Little Fires Everywhere.**
Little Fires Everywhere depicts the lives of two very different mothers in an affluent suburban Ohio city dealing with racism, socioeconomic status, parenting, and outside relationships and friendships. An overarching theme is just what makes someone worthy of the title of "mother". Mia is a single mother raising Pearl, an overachieving high schooler. Since Mia is an artist who travels for her work, Pearl has attended three highschools in two years. Elena is an affluent mother of four who decides to rent her duplex to Mia and Pearl after realizing she had previously called the police on the Black mother and child for sleeping in their car. Mia accepts a position in a Chinese restaurant to help with expenses and befriends a woman who is often found crying. The woman, Bebe, admits that she had a daughter but left her wrapped up at a fire station when she could no longer feed her. Mia discovers that Bebe is looking for her daughter and discovers that Elena's friends are actually in the process of attempting to adopt her. After a long court battle that was also played out in the media, Bebe is not given custody of her daughter. Mia and Pearl leave town, and Bebe sneaks in and kidnaps her daughter. Elena's house burns down thanks to "little fires everywhere" started by her youngest daughter.
The adoption storyline is objectively the worst I have ever seen. Little Fires Everywhere is clearly made for people who are masochistic and/or have no connection to a birthmother. Bebe made the decision to bring her child to the fire station in winter because she had no other choice. May Ling, Bebe's daughter, is refusing to breastfeed. Bebe is clearly not financially secure, and a cashier cruelly kicks her out of the store by telling her "breast milk is free" when she is 70 cents short to buy formula. Bebe desperately chooses to wrap her baby in a blanket and take her to a fire station.
When Bebe finally does find her daughter, she emotionally storms into the house during May Ling's first birthday party to scream that it is her child and she wants her back. It was exhausting to see her shown as unable to be trusted to "keep her emotions under control" or to make "smart choices", especially with so much past trauma. However, it is also so sensationalized to see her played in such an unstable fashion. The birthday scene was awful; I actually cried because I felt every ounce of pain and longing that she was feeling. Seeing her break into the house in the final episode was too much for me. Of course I wanted her to be reunited with her daughter since she was not in a position to make a life changing decision when she brought May Ling to the fire station. However, she ended up looking like a villain. Not just a villain, though. She looked like the villain that everyone assumes we will be as birthmothers--waiting to swoop in to steal our children the second we get the opportunity.
Bebe is only supported by two characters--Mia, the only person to tell her she is a mother, and a minor character who says Bebe could have made a different choice if the system had supported her instead of failing her. Other than those two, comments are made that Bebe is a monster and that she is not a mother. Elena, the main character, actually says "If you won't raise your child, you shouldn't get pregnant?" when discussing the situation with Mia. Elena eventually tries to pay Bebe off to give up her battle for May Ling and screams at Bebe, telling her that she is not a mother and she will never be able to provide the things May Ling's hopeful adoptive parents can offer. Elena, a mother who came from wealth and continued to be wealthy, tells Bebe that she should be in jail for taking May Ling to the fire station instead of acknowledging that Bebe was so desperate to help her child that she did the last thing she could think of--give her child to professionals who could help her more. While the stories involved were all beautiful and traumatic, I do not suggest actually watching it if you cannot handle cruel insults to women who place their children for adoption. I am over 11 years into this journey, and I broke down over some of the familiar comments. I also do not suggest watching it if you had a contentious adoption or have a rocky relationship with your child's adoptive parents. I can handle most types of media involving adoption, but this was too raw even for me.
Adoption Story Depiction: F
Potential Trigger Warnings: F
-Marilee Zafaripour
© MPower Alliance 2020
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MPower Alliance. If you are a birth/first mother interested in having your voice heard as a POV Reviewer, please email Pearl Chen at [email protected]. If you are interested in re-printing our POV, please contact [email protected]


Jan Uddenfelt, CTO of Sony Ericsson, isn't being shy about the prospects of Android growth. According to Unddenfelt, Android phone sales will go from 60 million in 2010 to 180 million in 2011 and over 400 million units by 2014. It makes sense that Sony Ericsson would follow the suggestions of their own analysis: in 2011 Sony Ericsson will release 8 Android Phones in contrast to the 4 they released in 2010.
We're happy to see Sony Ericsson doubling their Android portfolio and perhaps even happier that they're bringing a new level of innovation to Android with the Xperia Play. Could we see even further innovation through the Android Open Accessory project or is this where Sony draws the line and attempts to monetize Android themselves, outside of the smartphone sector?


text:
package jp.gr.java_conf.neko_daisuki.android.animator;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class HostPreferenceActivity extends Activity {

    private class PositiveButtonOnClickListener implements OnClickListener {

        public void onClick(View view) {
            String host = mHostEdit.getText().toString();
            if (host.equals("")) {
                return;
            }

            int port;
            try {
                port = Integer.parseInt(mPortEdit.getText().toString());
            }
            catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                return;
            }
            if ((port < 1) || (65535 < port)) {
                return;
            }

            Intent intent = getIntent();
            intent.putExtra(EXTRA_HOST, host);
            intent.putExtra(EXTRA_PORT, port);
            setResult(RESULT_OK, intent);
            finish();
        }
    }

    private class NegativeButtonOnClickListener implements OnClickListener {

        public void onClick(View view) {
            setResult(RESULT_CANCELED, getIntent());
            finish();
        }
    }

    private enum Extra {
        Host,
        Port;
    }

    public static final String EXTRA_HOST = Extra.Host.name();
    public static final String EXTRA_PORT = Extra.Port.name();

    private EditText mHostEdit;
    private EditText mPortEdit;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_host_preference);

        mHostEdit = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.host);
        mPortEdit = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.port);
        Intent intent = getIntent();
        mHostEdit.setText(intent.getStringExtra(EXTRA_HOST));
        mPortEdit.setText(Integer.toString(intent.getIntExtra(EXTRA_PORT, -1)));

        View positiveButton = findViewById(R.id.positive);
        positiveButton.setOnClickListener(new PositiveButtonOnClickListener());
        View negativeButton = findViewById(R.id.negative);
        negativeButton.setOnClickListener(new NegativeButtonOnClickListener());
    }
}

// vim: tabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 expandtab softtabstop=4


What did the American Revolution mean for people who were not elite white males? VFH Fellow Catherine Kerrison explores this question through the three daughters of Thomas Jefferson.
VFH Fellow Catherine Kerrison argues that Martha Jefferson Randolph's French education significantly influenced her ideas about female education and female identity, which in turn shaped the program of education she created for her daughters.
Andrea Press examines the aftermath of the feminist movement in the public imagination in her upcoming book project. A professor of Media Studies and Sociology at U.Va., Press also has several upcoming articles on the gender factor in the controversy over the resignation and reinstatement of U.Va. President Teresa Sullivan.
This past July, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources approved 13 new commemorative historical markers around the state.VFH has been involved with projects involving four of the newly-recognized sites and people.
VFH Fellow Lisa Woolfork examines questions of race, class, and spectacle in the digital age as seen through the lens of PeopleOfWalmart.com, a user-generated repository of photographs of Walmart shoppers.
Elizabeth Dowling Taylor with her son Luke and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart at the taping.
Being the guest on The Daily Show the day after my first book was released was a lucky break, a terrifying prospect, and, as it actually unfolded, a terrific experience.
Lawrie Balfour argues that reparation claims are worthy of attention precisely because they have been, both historically and in the present, dismissed as unthinkable.


text:
Prospects fade for GOP budget
by Sarah Ferris - 02/18/16 6:00 AM ET
Cameron Lancaster
The GOP's chances of passing a budget this year are dwindling as the Senate prepares for an impending brawl over a Supreme Court nominee this spring.
House and Senate Republican leaders have publicly declared they intend to complete the full appropriations process this year for the first time in two decades, just in time for the fall elections.
But the party's aggressive timeline is quickly moving out of reach, according to GOP aides and budget experts, making it increasingly likely the party will be forced to resort to another short-term funding measure or omnibus spending bill later this year.
{mosads}GOP leaders have said they want to pass all 12 annual spending bills before Congress's August recess, hoping to put the party's governing capabilities on display ahead of the elections. Any move otherwise could damage Republicans politically after they repeatedly vowed to restore "regular order" upon gaining control of both chambers last year.
Anxiety is now building as the battle over replacing the late Justice Antonin Scalia threatens to take up weeks of the Senate's already tight calendar this spring.
"That adds a whole other dynamic to what is already a fluid legislative situation," a GOP aide said. "Even in a perfect world, it's almost impossible to get those 12 bills passed."
It's also complicating the careful maneuvering of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who hopes to keep his GOP majority next year. Two dozen Republicans are up for reelection this fall, with about a half-dozen in vulnerable seats.
The outcome for a budget plan is less certain in the House, where conservatives are forcing Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to hit the pause button as they seek deeper spending cuts.
"There are serious doubts over whether the House and Senate can agree to [a joint budget]," said Stan Collender, a longtime aide to both the House and Senate Budget committees. "It's not even clear if the House can agree to one … that McConnell will want to subject his members to voting on one."
With an abbreviated calendar year in a presidential election cycle, it was always going to be a tall order to pass all 12 appropriations bills. The Supreme Court fight and the mounting pressure from House conservatives has made it far more difficult.
"It's becoming increasingly likely that they won't be able to get individual bills done by July," said Collender, who is now executive vice president at Qorvis MSLGroup. "They just won't."
Problems are mounting for both Ryan and McConnell, after telling their rank-and-file members at a joint retreat last month they intended to restore regular order and pass a GOP budget this year.
Ryan on Friday, for the first time, acknowledged that not passing a budget is a possibility this year, though it would be an outcome that most House Republicans would despise.
Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) said he wants to pass a budget "to do what we were elected to do, and not [wait] until the eleventh hour in the middle of September to pass a CR that none of us like," referring to the short-term continuing resolution, or CR, spending bill.
Another conservative, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said earlier this year that passing the budget was the GOP's "one job this year."
"If we are here next year having just passed an omnibus, that is an F-minus [for Ryan]. If we pass 12 appropriations bills and stand our ground and force the Senate to face these issues, that's an A," Massie told The Daily Signal shortly after the GOP retreat.
Ryan told members last Friday he had no timeline for agreeing to a budget resolution, an attempt to smooth over concerns within the party's far-right flank. Several House conservatives said they didn't expect that plan to be laid out for several weeks, a timeframe that would jeopardize the House GOP's aim of putting a bill on the floor by early March.
Ryan is looking for a way out of budget jam that helped doom his predecessor, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). As he briefed members Friday, the former Budget Committee chairman underscored that he wanted to return to regular order to give the party a chance to spell out its vision ahead of the elections.
Ryan warned that without a budget blueprint, the House would be forced to vote on another CR, which he described as counter to regular order.
But as he faces a jittery conservative caucus opposed to last fall's budget deal, Ryan acknowledged the party may not be able to pass all 12 appropriations bills even if it agrees to a budget.
"But we have an obligation to try," he said, according to a person in the room. One GOP aide described the remarks as "expectation management."
So far, House conservatives, several of whom take credit for helping to oust Boehner, said they were satisfied by Ryan's decision to slow down the process, even if it meant less time to write spending bills.
"We get in trouble when we rush," Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said. "We're having these discussions now, last year we weren't having those discussions. Decisions were made differently than they were now."
"He is giving members an opportunity to be able to think about those, and add to them and make a decision about what we will do as a conference, rather than just having something thrown out there," added Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.).
Slowing down the process is already causing headaches for GOP's budget writers, who say they are still committed to holding markups of the legislation by the end of this month.
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) said after Friday's meeting that he still planned to hold a markup on a budget by the end of February. If the bill is passed by the committee, a vote would be held the first week of March.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a member of the House Appropriations panel, also expressed concerned that dragging out the budget process would take away time from writing the spending bills.
"I'm still optimistic that we're going to be there," he said about the prospects of a budget.
"I actually think the problem tends to be, we have members who demand more than you can possibly deliver," said Cole, who oversees Department of Health and Human Services spending for the House Appropriations Committee. "If you want to change this stuff, go win the presidential election. That's actually a more helpful."
Tags Boehner Budget Diane Black House GOP John Boehner Mitch McConnell Paul Ryan Paul Ryan
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text:
China-based Moka Raises USD $100M for ATS and Talent Management Suite
China-based Moka announced a USD $100 million Series C Round of venture capital for its ATS and Talent Management suite. This brings its total raised to $144.3 million. The round was led by Tiger Global.
From Moka's blog post announcement:
"In recent years, the domestic HR SaaS market has developed rapidly and has broad prospects. Changes in policies, environment, and management concepts have brought huge opportunities to the industry:
First of all, Chinese companies' awareness of informatization and payment capabilities have become stronger. In the past 6 years, the industry's average customer unit price has increased by five times, confirming that customers are willing to pay for really good products; at the same time, compared to On-Premise (local More and more enterprises are seeking more agile and better SaaS products , which also brings new opportunities to the HR SaaS market."
Earlier this year Beisen, another China-based platform in HCM and talent management, announced a $260 million Series F Round of venture capital for its low code platform.
$13.7 billion was invested globally in work tech through Q3 2021 across 299 deals. WorkTech Market Insiders can access insights and analysis of all of the deals in our Q3 report with a free membership.
Source: Moka completes $100 million in Series C financing to deploy the next-generation HR SaaS overall solution
EXCLUSIVE: Work Tech Takes Its Place in the Tech Stack as New Market Leaders Emerge
by glarocque●January 31, 2023
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CEO Sam Fitzroy Discusses Dalia's $5M Series A Round and Recruitment Marketing Automation
EXCLUSIVE: These are the Hiring Work Tech Solutions Employers Plan to Spend More On or Add to Their Tech Stack in 2023


text:
France is Developing an Encrypted Messenger Service Alternative to WhatsApp
France will soon have its own encrypted messenger service amid fears of security breaches from Facebook and WhatsApp.
Pxhere
France is building a WhatsApp-like messenger service to avoid data leaks. The French government is reportedly developing an encrypted messaging service that will give users peace of mind when it comes to their data.
Facebook Denies Listening to Your Conversations to Target Ads
The French Government may have been motivated to begin the development following Following the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica saga. The Cambridge Analytica scandal began back in June 2014, when a researcher named Aleksandr Kogan developed a personality-quiz app for Facebook.
The app had many similarities to an app created by the Psychometrics Centre, at Cambridge University laboratory where Kogan worked. About 270,000 people added Kogan's app to their Facebook account which meant that Kogan then had access to all of these users and their friend's data.
Kogan then supplied this user data now around 50 million people to the voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica allegedly used that data to make 30 million "psychographic" profiles about voters. These profiles may have been used to influence elections in both the US and the UK
WhatsApp not trusted in Europe
WhatsApp also has a chequered history when it comes to security. In December 2016, the European Union issued a complaint to Facebook questioning whether they misled the union when Facebook took over Whatsapp in 2014.
At the time of the takeover, Facebook said it would be unable to reliably match people's Facebook accounts with their mobile phone numbers from WhatsApp. Though later in the US the social media giant did link WhatsApp users to their Facebook profiles causing the European Union to question whether Facebook had the technical capabilities to do this all along.
Facebook accused of misleading EU
They alleged that Facebook may have either intentionally or negligently supplied misleading information at the time of the merger. The French government might have concerns not only over Messenger and WhatsApp but also over Telegram, another popular messaging service, because their data is not based in France and is therefore vulnerable to possible data breaches.
The Australian government is also flexing its muscles in the instant messaging arena. Last month the Defence Department banned its officials from using the Chinese based service, WeChat due to fears about security. Defense Department barred officials from using officials from using Chinese social messaging platform WeChat on their phones last month, a move that is likely related to data security fears in the country.
France will offer app to officials before end of Summer
Details about the French-developed service are still thin on the ground but a ministry spokeswoman told Reuters the app is being designed by a "state-employed developer". It is reportedly being tested by "about 20 officials and top civil servants." The spokesperson said the government hopes the app would be rolled out before the summer to internal governmental staff before offered to citizens soon after.
Via: Reuters
Another Facebook Privacy Scandal: Thief Steals Hard Drives with Payroll Data
This WhatsApp Bug Could Have Crashed the App for All Group Chat Members
Chinese State-Backed Hackers Are Developing SMS-Stealing Malware
Facebook Aims to Distance Itself From its App With New Logo


This stunning Penthouse with private Roof Garden is located in one of the nicest stretches of seafront promenade in all of Sliema – Tigne seafront. The property is south facing and enjoys open sea views of Sliema ferries, Manoel Island and Valletta. Entrance leads to an open plan are with large front terrace, a jacuzzi, guest toilet, and double bedroom with en suite shower. Property is being sold finished and furnished with full airspace and a parking space within the block.


This is a brief and long overdue review of one of my favorite hotels, The Residence Boutique Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa.
My friends and I booked the most expensive, opulent suite in the hotel, and the final price was ~$500. THAT'S NOTHING compared to the price you'd pay for a similar experience in the US. You could cover that bill with the Capital One miles you'd earn by opening a card like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.
I'll give you a quick look around!
Traveling overseas to developing countries is equal parts enlightening, sobering, and enjoyable. It's crazy how far your money can go in areas like Mexico, the Philippines, or in this example, South Africa.
You don't have to pay much to receive a top-tier hotel experience. One of my seasoned travel buddies researched just about everything in the Johannesburg area, and decided this was the best place. I think she was right.
We booked the most expensive room in the hotel, the "Madiba Suite." It was 150 square meters (1,600+ square feet), which I can confidently state is larger than my apartment.
While the room came with plenty of fantastic features, like a wine closet, complimentary alcohol in every direction, and a giant hot tub, my favorite element was the sound system. The speakers were built into the ceiling, and played ubiquitous ambient Tibetan music throughout the room.
In case you don't have time to watch the above video, here are a few quick pictures of the room.
Immediately when you open the door, you've got giant windows to the right, giant mirrors to the left, and an abundance of sunshine.
Turning 180 degrees, you'll see an enormous portrait of Nelson Mandela. They cannot get enough pictures of Mandela in this hotel. Various sizes of this exact picture are framed innumerably throughout the hotel.
Walking straight ahead leads to the bedroom, with big closets, a decent TV, and complimentary mini bottles of Amarula (South African cream liqueur).
Also attached to the bedroom is the preposterously sized bathroom.
Walking back into the living room, there is a glass door to the left with your own massive private balcony. The wooden floors creak in a charming way. It's got a hot tub, sun bed, and far too many chairs. The balcony is about the same square footage as the actual room.
Beside the hot tub at the end of the balcony is an outdoor shower.
Food at The Residence was inexpensive, delicious, and BEAUTIFUL.
Something we ordered more than once were these chocolate ball things that were served with what I presume is strategically placed dry ice. Gimmicky but so much fun.
As you might guess, you can't use hotel points to stay at hotels like this. They aren't a member of Hyatt, Marriott, or any other hotel chain. So if you're going to stay at a boutique hotel like this, I highly recommend using credit card rewards like Capital One miles. You can redeem them for anything that is considered a travel purchase, which of course includes boutique hotels.
I'd love to hear your favorite hotel experience!


text:
Vyeson Court, Queen Street, Ramsgate, CT11
Offers in Excess of £90,000 For Sale
Flat for sale in Vyeson Court, Queen Street, Ramsgate
Miles & Barr are privileged to bring to the market this rarely available, dual aspect, one bedroom retirement apartment nestled in the heart of Ramsgate town centre and opposite Waitrose.
The often sought after Vyeson Court was built approximately 14 years ago boasting modern communal areas that are well maintained throughout. Entrance to the building is via a secure entry phone system that opens into the communal hall and spacious residents lounge with the managers office adjacent. Externally there are also communal gardens and residents parking to the rear on a first come first served basis. The lift offers access to all floors with the apartment situated on the third floor. Accommodation is exceptionally well-kept and opens into an internal hall. From here there are doors leading into the dual aspect sitting room with views over Queen Street and Cliff Street. The kitchen is adjacent to the lounge and is finished to a modern style with fitted flooring, wall units, hob, oven and inset sink. Off the hall you'll also find the double bedroom which has a built in wardrobe. The bathroom is fully tiled and comprises of a low level flush W/C, wash hand basin and shower cubicle with small step up.
Other benefits to the property include a guest bedroom to allow visitors to stay over night and weekly functions for and by the residents located in the communal areas along with refreshment facilities such as a kitchenette. The communal laundry facilities include washers, dryers and ironing facilities all of which are included in the monthly fees and water rates.
The property is available chain free and early viewing is recommended. Call Miles & Barr today on 01843 570500.
Sitting Room 7.14m x 3.35m (23'5 x 11'0)
Kitchen 2.31m x 2.18m (7'7 x 7'2)
Bedroom 5.26m x 3.07m (17'3 x 10'1)
Shower Room 2.08m x 1.96m (6'10 x 6'5)
Ramsgate Area Guide
Ramsgate – Marina paradise Ramsgate's waterfront and marina is an idyllic location. The seafront has a thriving café culture and many restaurants. The high street has a good mix of independent and chain shops. If you're interested in living in Ramsgate, come into our Ramsgate office and we can help find a property to suit you.
Broad Street, Ramsgate
Archway Road, Ramsgate
Wellington Crescent, Ramsgate
Offers Over £95,000
Plains Of Waterloo, Ramsgate
3 bedroom Maisonette for sale
Queen Street, Ramsgate
Hardres Street, Ramsgate


text:
ICIC
About the ICIC
The ICIC Johannesburg Charter
El Estatuto de Johannesburgo para la ICIC
Charte de Johannesburg de la CICI
Meet the Executive Committee
ICIC 2021 Conference
ICIC 2021 Conference Open sessions
ICIC 2021 Conference Closed Session
ICIC Processes
IDUAI 2020
The Membership
Become a Observer
Become an Observer
ICIC members
Become an observer – observer application process
This information sets out how national and international public entities and governmental organisations involved or interested in the development, research, protection, promotion and respect of access to public information may apply to become an observer to the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) closed session or to parts of the ICIC closed session. It also sets out how their application will be processed under the governance mechanisms of the ICIC.
The prime objective of this information is to assist interested entities in understanding how their application will be reviewed and what is the decision process. It also provides guidance to the Secretariat of the ICIC to allow it to work diligently on the Observer Applications it receives.
National and international public entities and governmental organisations involved or interested in the development, research, protection, promotion and respect of access to public information are encouraged to apply to become Observers.
Sections 16 to 18 of the Charter state that the ICIC encourages the participation of observers from applicants who do not meet the criteria for eligibility as members. These observers may be invited by the Executive Committee to attend the entire closed session or parts thereof.
Responsibility and rights of Observers
To become Observers, applicants must commit to respecting the Vision, the Mission, the Values and the Goals of the ICIC as enshrined in the Charter.
Attendance at the Annual Meeting will be determined by the Conference host in consultation with the Executive Committee. That determination will be made in light of the agenda.
Observer Status is granted for a period of three years, renewable.
Observers to the Conference have no voting rights.
By applying to become an Observer, the applicant agrees to have information about their organisation published on the ICIC website.
Application timing
Only accredited members and observers are eligible to attend the closed session of the ICIC.
An entity interested in attending the closed session of the ICIC must submit their application to become an Observer at the latest 9 weeks prior to the Annual Meeting of the ICIC.
This is to accommodate the time required for the Executive Committee to review your application and issue a decision and to account for the registration deadline specified by the annual Conference Host.
Step 1 – Starting an application
To apply, applicants must complete the online application form entitled Observer Application Form.
The online application form requests the following information:
The identity of the entity
The identity of its official representative
The description of the applicant
The description of the entity's involvement or interest in the development, research, protection, promotion and respect of access to public information
The entity's commitment to the Vision, Mission, Values and Goals of the ICIC
Contact details of the applicant
Additional comments supporting the application, including the entity's expectations for joining the ICIC, such as bilateral cooperation, specific project collaboration, exchange of knowledge, networking, training, etc.
Most fields are mandatory and the application won't be submitted until all mandatory fields have been completed.
Step 2 – Review an application – overview
Upon its receipt, the application will be reviewed by the ICIC Secretariat who will issue its recommendation to the Executive Committee. The recommendation is then passed on to the Executive Committee for review and decision.
Step 3 – Assessment process
3.1 – Initial review by the Secretariat
As a first step, the Secretariat will check the application to ensure the applicant has completed the application correctly.
If the information appears to be incorrect or inconsistent, the Secretariat will contact the applicant to request further clarification.
Once it is satisfied that the application contains all the necessary information, the Secretariat will complete an initial "Review and Recommendation form" without undue delay to ensure it can be reviewed by the Executive Committee prior to its next meeting.
The "Review and Recommendation form" is formed of two parts: a review of the application and a recommendation as to the applicant's eligibility to become and Observer.
3.2 – Review by the Executive Committee
All applications are reviewed and decided upon by the Executive Committee at its regular meetings. The Executive Committee meets every six weeks. So any applications will be reviewed and decided within that timeframe.
Applications received by the Secretariat in any given time will be grouped and sent together to the Executive Committee in advance of its next meeting.
Members of the Executive Committee have two weeks from the date of the Secretariat's correspondence to provide comments on the Secretariat's initial recommendation. Comments are sent to the Executive Committee and the Secretariat.
The Secretariat will compile the responses and comments from the members of the Executive Committee in time for its next meeting.
Following the consultation with members of the Executive Committee,
If no observations and no reservations have been received from members of the Executive Committee on the Recommendation, the Chair will ask the Executive Committee to adopt it at its next meeting and invite the Secretariat to inform the applicant of the Executive Committee's decision.
If observations (without reservations) have been received from members of the Executive Committee on the initial Recommendation, the Secretariat will update its recommendation in line with the Executive Committee's comments in time for the Committee's next meeting. At the meeting, the Chair will ask the Executive Committee to adopt the revised recommendation. In the absence of further comments, the revised recommendation will be considered as adopted.
If members of the Executive Committee have expressed reservations on the initial recommendation, the Chair will ask the Secretariat to review its recommendation and take appropriate action in line with the Executive Committee's comments (e.g. request that further information is provided by the applicant, change its recommendation altogether, etc.):
In case further information is required from the applicant, the Secretariat will notify the applicant specifying the nature of the request and allow the applicant two to four weeks to respond.
That period can be extended to a longer deadline on request by the applicant.The Secretariat will inform the Executive Committee of the extended deadline.
In the absence of a response by the applicant within the agreed upon response time, the application will be considered expired and a new application will need to be submitted by the applicant.
If additional information is provided to the Secretariat within the extended deadline, the "Review and Recommendation form" is revised by the Secretariat in light of the new information and resubmitted for review by the Executive Committee.
Members of the Executive Committee will then have two weeks to express any further comments. In the absence of comments, the revised recommendation will be considered as adopted.
The Chair may choose to discuss the application at the meeting of the Executive Committee to allow opposing views and reservations to be expressed.
During that meeting, the Chair will seek to reach a decision by consensus. In the absence of consensus, the Chair can put the decision to a simple majority vote of the members present at the extraordinary meeting. If the vote ends in a tie, the Chair will have the deciding vote.
The meeting will be recorded by the Secretariat. The minutes of the meeting will be used to review the recommendation and serve as the record of decision by the Executive Committee.
3.3 Urgency procedure
Where the Secretariat or the Chair considers that there is a need to move quickly with an application, it may request, by way of a derogation from the procedure described above, that the Executive Committee immediately reviews the application. The Secretariat will confer with the Executive Committee on an appropriate period of consultation.
Step 4 – Assessment outcome
If the application is successful, the applicant will be awarded Observer Status by the Executive Committee. The new Observer must respect the Vision, the Mission, the Values and the Goals of the Charter.
If the Executive Committee is of the opinion that the applicant does not meet the conditions set out in the process, the application will be considered unsuccessful. The recommendation will encourage the organisation to reapply should they feel it appropriate at a future time.
Step 5 – Announcement
Upon reaching its decision, the Chair will request the Secretariat to issue a decision letter to the applicant as soon as feasible.
If the application is successful, the Chair will instruct the Secretariat to inform the ICIC membership and to add a news entry on the ICIC website.
Step 6 – Appeal
If the applicant is dissatisfied with the decision made by the Executive Committee, they can apply directly to the Chair within two weeks of the date on the decision letter to have their application reviewed.
The appellant should provide a statement as to why they believe the decision of the Executive Committee should be rescinded or reviewed.
Upon receiving the appeal letter and statement, the Chair will request that the Secretariat adds a point on the agenda of the Executive Committee's meeting to examine the grounds for appeal and issue a final decision.
The decision of the Executive Committee is final.