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Former Bragg doc to become first Army physician in space
Drew Brooks
dbrooks@fayobserver.com
While he was in the fourth grade, Drew Morgan wrote a letter to Apollo astronaut Alan Bean.
Today, Morgan, an Army lieutenant colonel and emergency physician, often thinks back to what happened next.
Bean, the fourth person to walk on the Moon, sent Morgan a signed lithograph.
For a boy growing up with the movie "The Right Stuff" and father-son visits to see the space shuttle, the gesture meant the world to a young Morgan.
Now, it's Morgan, who took an unusual route to becoming an astronaut himself, who receives letters from children all over the world.
And while he hasn't walked on the Moon, Morgan is preparing for his first trip into space.
Last month, NASA announced that Morgan would be one of two American astronauts heading to the International Space Station next year.
He will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz 59S rocket and spacecraft in July 2019 as a member of Expedition 60/61.
Morgan, who has ties to various Fort Bragg units during his Army career, is set to become the first Army doctor to go to space.
Now, with training for his launch underway, Morgan still finds the time to respond to the letters he receives.
"That was a pinnacle moment when I was young," he told the Observer last week from Houston. "It really ingrained in me how important it is, how role models have an impact in shaping the next generation."
Morgan said he responds to the letters in hopes that those who receive his answer will be inspired to do something they love.
"You will be more successful in life if you love what you do," he said. "It doesn't have to be an astronaut. If that's not your interests… pursue what you love."
For Morgan, he found that love not in searching out the stars, but in putting on an Army uniform.
The son of an Air Force colonel, Morgan attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, serving as a member of the school's parachute team, the Black Knights.
After graduating, he attended medical school and volunteered to work in the Army special operations community.
That brought Morgan to Fort Bragg, where his first assignment was as an attending physician at Womack Army Medical Center.
He later served with Joint Special Operations Command and as a part-time physician for the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights. He subsequently was assigned as the battalion surgeon for 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group and has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa in support of special operations forces.
Morgan is a flight surgeon and special operations diving medical officer, having completed Ranger School, the Combat Diver Qualification Course and advanced airborne and freefall parachutist courses.
Most astronauts come from flight or engineer backgrounds. But Morgan said he didn't pursue his Army career with a goal of going into space.
"I never built my career to come to this point," he said. "I was fortunate along the way. I see this as a continuation of my service to the nation."
Morgan was one of eight people selected in June 2013 to be members of NASA's 21st astronaut class.
One of his classmates, Christina Hammock Koch, will beat Morgan into space by a few months.
Koch also has ties to North Carolina. She grew up in Jacksonville and earned bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and physics, and a master's degree in electrical engineering from N.C. State University.
She has experience in space science instrument development and remote scientific field engineering, having begun her career at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and later serving as part of the U.S. Antarctic Program, completing several deployments to the South Pole.
Koch and Morgan were selected from among thousands vying to be astronauts as part of the 2013 class.
Morgan said Koch will already be aboard the International Space Station when he arrives. And they will overlap for the first half of his seven-month mission.
To prepare for that mission, the astronauts have a busy year ahead of them, about half of which will be spent overseas.
In addition to training with NASA in the U.S., Morgan will also travel to Russia to train on the Soyuz 59S that will take him into space next year.
He'll also train alongside astronauts in Germany and Japan to prepare for missions aboard the International Space Station and will eventually make the trip alongside an Italian astronaut and Russian cosmonaut.
By the time he leaves Earth, Morgan said he will have six years of rigorous training under his belt and a confidence in his own abilities and the abilities of his fellow astronauts.
While Morgan is a doctor, his role in space will be as a jack-of-all-trades.
All astronauts receive some medical training, are flight engineers, maintainers and scientists.
"We're all trained to the same standards," he said.
The typical day will include a mix of science, space walks and making improvements to the International Space Station, he said. Every waking moment will be scheduled by officials back on Earth.
"It sounds like a good Army day," Morgan said. "The duty day ends and it all starts over again."
Morgan said it's an exciting time for the space program and that his experience has exceeded his expectations.
Most astronauts wait eight to ten years before they go into space, he noted. But Morgan will be in space just six years after his selection.
And while he will be riding a Russian rocket to the space station, he said American-led space flight is in the near future.
He hopes more soldiers will be part of that future.
Morgan is now the senior Army astronaut, with three other soldiers in the program, including a physician with ties to the 10th Special Forces Group.
Morgan said NASA and Army special operations have many parallels.
Both go out of their way to find high quality people, he said. And the work is extremely rewarding.
At Fort Bragg, Morgan said he formed strong bonds and built cherished memories with his fellow soldiers. And it's a similar dynamic with astronauts.
"I trust them with my life. They trust me with theirs," he said. "We work hard together. We play together. We make great memories together."
Morgan hopes his background will open the door to more soldiers following him into the astronaut program.
He said the experiences of building a team and working together were just as important as any technical competence an astronaut candidate could bring to the program.
Already, Morgan said he has heard from many soldiers hoping to become part of NASA. And last year's astronaut class included a record number of applicants from the Army, particularly from the special operations and medical communities.
"One of the most valuable things I can do is open pathways for people who haven't thought about it," Morgan said. "You can do anything in the Army. I mean, literally, anything. An astronaut is just one of them."
Morgan said he is excited to go to space. But confident that he would have been just as excited in his Army career had he not become an astronaut.
If not selected, he would have continued to serve in special operations, he said.
"My career would have been equally rewarding," he said.
And while he now wears a NASA flight suit, Morgan said he remains a soldier first.
"The Army has made me who I am," he said. "I'm an astronaut because the Army gave me some really incredible experiences."
Morgan said his years at Fort Bragg were among the most formative of his career.
"It's some of the best memories of my life there," he said.
And he'll be taking a piece of the Fort Bragg community with him into space.
"The spirit of Fort Bragg and the surrounding area is very special to me," Morgan said. "I look forward to representing them... and I look forward to the Fayetteville community following along."
Military editor Drew Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.


Just How Important Is Your Cell Phone To You?
Owning a cell phone as helped to make life a little more convenient for all of us. If you happen to be concerned about a relative or a friend, you can just pick up your mobile phone and call them instantly, wherever you may be. If you�re driving along and you have problems with your car, you can now get help instantly at your fingertips! These are just a few of many examples of how the cell phone as made our daily lives just a little simpler for us.
The cell phone is seen as a necessity by many of the public in today�s society. Whenever you leave your house, the likelihood of seeing people conversing on their cellular phones is extremely high!
These days, acquiring a cell phone is easier than ever. Whatever your budget may be, you will soon realize that there are many cell phone providers and cell phone plans available to you as well as a wide selection of cell phones to meet your needs. Modern cell phones come with a host of features; it seems possible to do just about anything now! Besides making your phone calls (an important feature!), depending on the cell phone that you have, you may be able to take pictures, send text messages, access your email, play games and download songs to name a few.
It may surprise many, but the United States is actually trailing many countries when it comes to cell phone technology. It�s a similar story in regards to the actual cell phone networks too. It�s the networks that allow our cell phones to function properly. When a network falters then we lose the calls we are making. These days, this is an unusual occurrence for those who live in, or close to, the cities. However, for people who live in remote areas, this can be a more familiar problem.
Cell phones have come a long way in the last few years and are a lot cheaper than they once were. You are likely to get a cellular phone with a lot more features too!
About the Author: Mark Gardner is a popular webmaster and publisher of at-cellphone.com To get more information on cell phones check out his website today!


After Burt's Bees, after the national monument, she could take it easy. But this famous entrepreneur can't stop doing.
GOULDSBORO — About five years ago, Roxanne Quimby looked around Raven's Nest Farm, the 25-acre place she has owned in Gouldsboro since 2002. She wanted to participate in the local food movement ramping up around Maine. She had eggs. She had kale.
These are hardly unique items on Maine farms. Quimby, however, had a few other, more ephemeral things. Thanks to having sold Burt's Bees (estimates are at more than $300 million for the personal care products line), she had the time and money to travel to Italy to study pasta making, an excellent way to add value to farm products like eggs and kale.
Quimby also had the desire to help build the local economy in this summer place she'd come to love, a peninsula just Down East from Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park where jobs are scarce even in the summer, and particularly in the winter when nearly everyone clears out but the lobstermen. Maybe she could add a few.
"That was a big part of it," she said on a recent July afternoon in the commercial kitchen of My Pasta Art, the company she's positioning for a growth spurt.
In the background, one of the three pasta machines (big, bigger, biggest) she imported from Italy emitted a steady whine along with squiggles of beet-colored pasta formed in a shape called campanelle.
My Pasta Art will be represented at four trade shows this year alone, and the wholesale orders that come from those trade shows make up the bulk of the company's sales. But Quimby also sells to local restaurants and a few retail outlets, like John Edwards Market in Ellsworth and Tiller & Rye in Brewer. Even as she says "mid-Atlantic," one gets the sense that she could easily move that line south, or west. Really, once you get to Maryland, why not push through to Virginia, or the Carolinas?
In person, Roxanne Quimby gives the impression of being both resolutely practical and, incongruously, almost dreamy. As if her gears whir as steadily as those pasta machines, turning out ideas as fast as pretty pasta.
Because the third reason for this pasta business – and the five or six other Gouldsboro-based enterprises she's working on – is that Roxanne Quimby cannot stop making and selling things: ideas, places, pasta.
Kelli Grover checks the cut on an Italgi pasta machine while making fresh Gigli pasta at Raven's Nest Farm in Goulsdboro.
You'll notice there's no recent photo of Quimby accompanying this story. Quimby is no J.D. Salinger, hiding out in a remote New England town. But when she had St. Clair take over the role of family spokesman and advocate in the effort to turn the family's massive land holdings in Maine's North Woods into what is now the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, she decided to stay out of the limelight – and while she was at it, the camera's gaze, as well.
Often, this can be handy. Once she was sitting at the Bangor airport, waiting for a flight, listening to the people next to her talking about "Roxanne Quimby." She said they were describing her alleged intentions to shut down hunting and keep all the locals out of the woods they'd always considered theirs. They clearly thought she was awful. She thought about turning to them and announcing, "Hey, I'm right here!" Instead she kept quiet in her seat. She shook her head and smiled over the memory.
But she likes talking to people. About a minute after she sat down to lunch at Corea Wharf Gallery & Grill, owner Joe Young strolled by with a topic he wanted to discuss. What if the Island Explorer that ferries people around Acadia, including the new campground on the Schoodic Peninsula, could make a run down to Corea? It goes as far as Prospect Harbor already, he reasoned. Would she be willing to help him lobby for that? It would help his business – which Down East magazine named the best lobster shack in Maine in 2016 – and it would also reduce the number of cars on the road, he said.
Quimby listened and nodded and seemed unfazed by being pitched an idea over lunch. Young felt comfortable pitching her; it could be good for her as well. Ultimately, when Quimby gets the campground she bought in the fall of 2016 – Ocean Woods Campground, a beloved institution that closed and that many feared would be developed for homes – up and running again, campers could hop the bus down to the wharf.
Plus, the millionaire next door is not only approachable, he trusts her opinion.
"Obviously, she knows her way around business," Young said.
Quimby particularly likes talking to people at markets. One of the formative experiences that shaped her as a businesswoman was selling hot dogs on Revere Beach in Massachusetts when she was a child, making change for her grandmother.
"Baba was like her favorite person in the whole world," St. Clair said. "And she learned so much about being a merchant from her. And that, in a lot of ways, set her on this course." It's what makes her drive down to Belfast to the Saturday market in the new United Farmers Market of Maine and sit behind a booth, hand-selling her pasta.
"That is the merchant in her," St. Clair said. "She wants to see what people's reaction to say, a pasta with poppy seeds in it is." This back-and-forth with customers, and really, Quimby's constant curiosity, is a large part of what made Burt's Bees – now owned by The Clorox Co. – so successful.
Pasta isn't the only thing Quimby is cooking up in Gouldsboro. She's been quietly working at ways to bring tourists into the area, which she calls so beautiful it's almost "outrageous." She considers it underappreciated by the public.
"People just don't get past Ellsworth," she said.
There's the campground, a 113-acre property that operated as a campground until 2009, when it went into foreclosure. It features beachfront and has many loyal fans who followed the saga of its closure, possible sale on the auction block and then rescue from development by Quimby. She paid an undisclosed amount in a bank sale, right before a scheduled auction. The campground is being restored and should be open next year.
She even took part in a beautification project involving buying two properties with some serious Beans-of-Egypt-Maine style trailers on them and turning the land they were on into a meadow.
But she's not looking to turn her summer community into the next Bar Harbor.
Grover checks the cut of gigli pasta that has come out of an Italgi pasta machine. This batch included beet juice.
Pasta, though, pasta has a simplicity she admires. When she traveled to Carasco, the town near Genoa where the company that makes her machines is based, she was surprised to learn how easy it was.
She found a good source of semolina flour in the Great Plains, and the rest of the ingredients she could produce in Gouldsboro. Originally, she planned to make only fresh pasta. She'd encountered enough people who had given up on making fresh pasta at home – because, well, the work, the mess, the uneven results – to believe there would be a demand for it.
The dry pasta (which for My Pasta Art is her fresh pasta carefully dried and packed to travel) seemed like a logical next move. Now she's considering adding ravioli to the line. But the notion that it stay "local" is important to her: Maine jobs, mostly Maine ingredients and Maine-made.
Of course, the woman who made a fortune off beeswax may not have a normal sense of what a "nice little" business is. Lucas St. Clair says he has learned to not make predictions about his mother's next move, but he suspects his mother's pasta company will go bigger than she expects.
"Only because she is unbelievably fearless," he said.
Case in point, the name My Pasta Art. Quimby's pasta has a beautiful website by that name, and that's the name on the packages, but standing at the worktable in the commercial kitchen that once was a falling-down shed, she studies the purees of vegetables and the containers of eggs, and says that this particular name might not stick, even several years in.
"It is sort of the working name right now," she said.
Conventional wisdom would be that consistent branding is a key part of business. St. Clair said he'd be terrified to change the name of a business he was running. But not his mother. "She doesn't think twice about it," he said. Burt's Bees made dog biscuits and fruitcakes and sold seeds at various points, he said; his mother was experimenting.
This story then, the story of the Maine-made pasta, is still being written.


Wait? You mean we might not see any more Dresden's from you? I think that's the baby talking. I love seeing your Dresden's. I love this spiderweb too though.
Oh, I always love spiderwebs. Dealing with the gestational diabetes must be so hard. I couldn't have made it through my pregancies without a little chocolate and icecream.
This is adorable! I remember all too well how you're feeling right now. Lucy went on sleep strike when I was pregnant with her sister and it was awful. But hopefully you'll get a little burst of energy to finish this for your new little one! It'll be worth it!
So pretty -- I love the dot you chose to use for the background, makes it so much more interesting!
I love your Spiderweb. I'm a survivor of Gestational Diabetes, and year and a half ago I was diagnosed as 'insulin resistant', so if you need any tips let me know. There are variations of the foods we all love that can be made 'friendly' to the un-welcomed 'diet'.


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Q: Does $ab \in Z(\mathbb{H})$ imply $ba \in Z(\mathbb{H})$? Let $\mathbb{H}$ be the ring of real quaternions and $Z(\mathbb{H})$ be its center. Of course $Z(\mathbb{H})=\mathbb{R}$.
Suppose $a+bi+cj+dk$, $x+yi+zj+wk \in \mathbb{H}$ such that $(a+bi+cj+dk)(x+yi+zj+wk) \in Z(\mathbb{H})$.
Does it imply $(x+yi+zj+wk)(a+bi+cj+dk) \in Z(\mathbb{H})$?

A: If either $a$ or $b$ is zero, so is $ba$.
If they are nonzero, and $t=ab$ is real, then $b=ta^{-1}$
and then $ba=ta^{-1}a=\cdots$.

A: If $ab$ is real, then it commutes with everything in $\mathbb H$.
Then $aba=a^2b$. Either $a=0$ and $ab=ba=0$, or else you can cancel $a$ from the left and get $ba=ab\in\mathbb R$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Blaze the Vancouver Island Golf Trail
Vancouver Island offers year-round golfing in some of the prettiest places you'll ever swing a club. Just ask Scott McCarron, recent runner up in the PGA TOUR Champions Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, who had this to say about the Mountain Course at Bear Mountain Resort on the Vancouver Island Golf Trail: "It's really one of the prettiest golf courses I've played in my life." And Scott McCarron has played a lot of golf courses in his life.
Bear Mountain is not alone in offering views aplenty and gold-medal worthy golf. Vancouver Island is home to more than 40 golf courses, boasting a vast array of golfing options, from mountain-top fairways to oceanside courses, city clubs to world class destination golf resorts.
Named in the top North American Islands by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine for the last 10 years, Vancouver Island is worth visiting even without its quite incredible golfing options. But once you realize the quality of golf to be had here, it may become the only reason you visit. Courses on the island include designs by renowned architects Jack and Steve Nicklaus, Les Furber, Graham Cooke and Bill Robinson – making for what GOLF Magazine deems "plenty of gold medal worthy golf".
The Island's most concentrated play can be found along what is known as the Vancouver Island Golf Trail, where 12 championship courses are laid out along a 250-kilometre (155-mile) corridor between Victoria and Campbell River. That's 250kms of Pacific Golfing Paradise where you get to play some of the best golf in North America on island time.
Explore Golf

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
10167 Yoshiwatiso eller 1995 BQ15 är en asteroid i huvudbältet som upptäcktes den 31 januari 1995 av den japanska astronomen Tsutomu Seki vid Geisei-observatoriet. Den är uppkallad efter Yoshikazu Watanabe.

Asteroiden har en diameter på ungefär 4 kilometer och den tillhör asteroidgruppen Nysa.

Referenser

Huvudbältesasteroider
Nysa-asteroider
Småplaneter namngivna efter personer
Astronomiska upptäckter av T Seki
Astronomiska upptäckter 1995

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Riverton goalkeeper Seegmiller voted Preps Utah Week 23 POW
kurtj
Riverton High goalkeeper Parker Seegmiller got out of the gates quickly in voting for the Week 23 Preps Utah player of the week award, and the fast start was enough for him to hold off a late charge by Alta keeper Einar Johnson. Seegmiller was the leading vote-getter for the week of March 23, 2015, when slightly less than 1,000 votes were received.
Seegmiller finished with just over 50 percent of the votes in a what turned out to be largely a two-way race between he and Johnson, who topped just under 40 percent. Provo soccer player Jonathan Ruvalcaba finished third with slightly more than five percent, while Josh Young from Logan and Snow Canyon's Angel Muniz split the remaining votes.
Riverton goalkeeper Parker Seegmiller with a sliding save. (Photo by Kurt Johnson)
Seegmiller has delivered three shutouts in the Silverwolves' eight contests so far, and he allowed just one goal in four others as Riverton is out to a 7-1 record to open the soccer season. The senior goalkeeper is looking to duplicate his numbers from last year, when the Silverwolves won the state title and he recorded a dozen shutouts.
Each week, we select five new candidates for consideration by the followers of prep sports in the state of Utah as the Preps Utah athlete of the week. Readers vote online on our website at PrepsUtah.com and the winner is announced on Monday, when five new nominees are announced.
At the end of the school year, we will draw at random one of our female and one male weekly winner, and the two athletes whose names are selected will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Over the past two years, we have awarded $4,000 in scholarships to Utah high school student-athletes.
Five of the state's top girls performers in track and field are up for consideration this week, seeking readers' votes as the Preps Utah player of the week. The candidates are Britney Lund of Maple Mountain, Weber's Mckayla Thomas, Alyssa Hirschi from Brighton, Herriman's Amarissa Hawker and Chrissy Glasmann of Park City.
Vote now by scrolling down the right-hand side of the Preps Utah website to the poll at www.prepsutah.com. Voting ends at 9 a.m. Monday.
Related TopicsBoys' SoccerParker Seegmillerplayer of the weekPOWRivertonSilverwolves
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A person familiar with the negotiations says slugger J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a $110 million, five-year contract.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the agreement was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced.
He hit .303 with 45 homers and 104 RBIs last year for Detroit and Arizona, which acquired him on July 18 for three prospects. He had 29 homers and 65 RBIs in 62 games with the Diamondbacks, and hit a record-tying four home runs in a game.
Martinez figures to become the primary designated hitter for the AL East champion Red Sox, which would turn Hanley Ramirez into a platoon player at first with Mitch Moreland.


Former Bolton Wanderers and Crystal Palace manager, Sam Allardyce has urged Chelsea midfielder, Ruben Loftus-Cheek to leave Stamford Bridge during the January transfer window in order to build his career.
Loftus-Cheek has not being a regular starter for manager, Maurizio Sarri's side this campaign.
The England international featured twice as a substitute in the club's first four games of the new Premier League season.
The arrival of midfielders, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic to Chelsea in the summer have served to massively increase the competition for places in the middle of the pack, with N'Golo Kante and Fabregas also vying for a regular spot.
But, Allardyce believes Loftus-Cheek should leave the West London club because he's too talented to play.
"I'm disappointed for Loftus-Cheek," Allardyce told talkSPORT.
"And not on loan, get away from Chelsea properly and build his career.
Chelsea will take on Man United in their next Premier League fixture on October 20 after the international break, this weekend.


Albano Carrisi (born 20 May 1943), better known as Al Bano, is an Italian singer, actor, and winemaker.
Hugo Boss AG is a German luxury fashion and style house based in Metzingen, Germany. It is named after its founder Hugo Boss (1885–1948).


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Madrid Journals
Covid: Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica begin mass vaccination
Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh receive Covid-19 vaccine
Dozens killed in suspected jihadist attack in Niger
Niger votes in presidential and legislative elections
Brexit: EU, UK finally clinch 'historic' trade deal
Singapore oil tanker hit by explosion caused by 'external source' off Saudi Arabia
Lessons for Africa from devastating Mauritius oil spill
More than 100 children killed and injured as violence intensifies in Ituri, DRC – Save the Children
Creepy technologies invade European post-pandemic workplaces
GCO responds to Amnesty report on non-payment of salaries by stadium contractor
Covid: Brisbane to enter three-day lockdown over single infection
Australia v India: Five touring players in isolation after restaurant visit
Covid: Sydney announces new restrictions ahead of New Year
Australian expeditioner evacuated from Antarctica in five-day mission
Covid: Australian states enforce travel bans amid Sydney outbreak
Bosnia: Icy struggle for many migrants stuck in freezing tents
Covid: Sweden official defends Christmas trip to Canary Islands
UK regulator approves Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
Pope urges coronavirus vaccine access for all
Covid: Flights shut down as EU discusses UK virus threat
Coronavirus cases in Spain officially top two million
The year that Spain had to leave the hugs behind
Health Ministry reports 14,000 new coronavirus infections, adds 320 victims to overall death toll
As Covid vaccine program gets started in Spain, what happens next?
Spain 'to register' those who refuse to have Covid-19 vaccine
Mynor Padilla: Killer of anti-mining activist pleads guilty
Deepening divisions: Venezuela's haves and have nots
Argentina abortion: Senate approves legalisation in historic decision
Félix Vásquez: Honduran environmental activist killed
Storm Filomena: Spain sees 'exceptional' snowfall
Spain, UK reach 'preliminary agreement' that will see an end to the border with Gibraltar
The Spanish prime minister's migration journey
Christmas in Spain: All the latest coronavirus restrictions, region by region
Brexit clock 'still ticking over Gibraltar', warns British enclave's leader
Giants knock out Cowboys to stay alive in NFC East as questionable decisions doom Dallas
Wisconsin drops trophy after beating Wake Forest in Duke May's Bowl
Manchester City's 'compromised' Covid-19 security bubble forces postponement of game at Everton
The challenges COVID-19 poses for youth sports
Blink and you'll miss it — Rafael Leao scores fastest goal in Serie A history
Google suspends 'free speech' app Parler
20 years of tech with Jeff: From green iMacs and DVDs to the iPhone era
Are you willing to pay for email? How about podcasts? Here are our tech predictions for 2021
If you want to travel next year, you may need a vaccine passport
Nuro set to be California's first driverless delivery service
A Mexican nurse became the first person in Latin America to receive a coronavirus jab when her country began its vaccination programme on Thursday.
Mexico has received an initial shipment of 3,000 doses of the US-German Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The country has one of the highest pandemic death tolls in the world, behind only the US, Brazil and India.
A short time later on Thursday, Chile and Costa Rica also began administering Pfizer-BioNTech.
Argentina also plans to start inoculations in the next few days but has chosen the Russian-produced vaccine Sputnik V for its initial phase, with a delivery of 300,000 doses arriving in the capital Buenos Aires on Thursday morning.
Brazil, which has recorded the highest number of deaths in the region, is not due to start until mid-February despite a recent surge in the number of cases.
President Jair Bolsonaro says he is not planning to be inoculated. He believes he has developed immunity against coronavirus as he tested positive earlier this year.
'We have to move on'
In Mexico, María Irene Ramirez, 59, the head of the intensive care unit at Ruben Leñero Hospital in Mexico City, was the first to volunteer to be vaccinated.
"We are afraid, but we have to move on… and I want to stay in the line of fire," she said afterwards, according to El Universal newspaper.
The first 3,000 doses – of 34 million purchased – arrived in Mexico on Wednesday from Belgium, where they are being manufactured.
Footage of the launch was broadcast during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's televised morning news conference.
The Mexican government says it wants to vaccinate all health workers fighting the pandemic by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
The country has recorded more than 1.3 million infections so far, with at least 121,000 Covid-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins university.
Chile has had nearly 600,000 confirmed cases and more than 16,300 deaths; Costa Rica – nearly 163,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths; and Argentina – nearly 1.6 million cases and more than 42,300 deaths.
Chile's President, Sebastian Piñera, described the start of his country's national coronavirus immunisation programme as a moment of hope and excitement.
Why is Argentina getting a Russian vaccine?
Argentina's health authorities earlier this week had given Russia's Sputnik V vaccine "emergency" authorisation – the first Latin American nation to do so.
On Thursday, the first 300,000 doses were flown in from Moscow to Buenos Aires.
Read from source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55440940
The ex-security chief at a mine in Guatemala, Mynor Padilla, has pleaded guilty to killing an anti-mining activist in 2009.
Adolfo Ich was killed at the Fénix mine, which was owned at the time by a subsidiary of Canadian mining giant Hudbay Minerals.
He had been campaigning against the mining project and for his community's land rights.
Germán Chub, a bystander, was also shot, leaving him paralysed.
The guilty plea comes at a retrial after Padilla was cleared of murder at a previous trial.
What happened in September 2009?
The Fénix nickel project was owned by the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN), a subsidiary of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals.
CGN wanted to develop the mine, but the indigenous Maya community objected, arguing that much of the company's land belonged to them.
The company said it engaged in talks to negotiate their resettlement but members of the Maya community said they were threatened with forced evictions.
On 27 September 2009, security guards at the mine attacked members of the community with machetes and firearms, according to witnesses.
Adolfo Ich was killed, Germán Chub was left paralysed, and at least seven more people were injured.
What was Mynor Padilla's role?
Mynor Padilla was the chief of security at the Fénix project and witnesses said he was the key man in the attack on 27 September 2009.
Hudbay defended its personnel, alleging that members of the Maya community had turned on each other and that their security staff had acted in self-defence.
Following a three-year murder trial Padilla was acquitted, much to the outrage of the victims' families who launched an appeal.
The court of appeal overturned the acquittal and ordered a retrial which began in December 2020.
After having for years maintained his innocence, Mynor Padilla entered a guilty plea which was accepted by the court on Wednesday.
A lawyer for Adolfo Ich's widow in a civil lawsuit against Hudbay Minerals in Canada called it a "momentous day".
There are three civil lawsuits under way against Hudbay Minerals in Canada, in connection with the Fénix mine.
One of them was filed by Adolfo Ich's widow, Angélica Choc, who alleges that the company failed to take adequate precautions to ensure that human rights abuses would not be perpetrated by Hudbay's security personnel.
In 2013, a court in Ontario allowed the lawsuits to proceed, making it the first time that foreign claimants were allowed to pursue a lawsuit against a Canadian company in Canada for alleged human rights abuses.
Cory Wanless, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, said that following Mynor Padilla's guilty plea "it will be difficult for Hudbay to continue to argue that it does not bear responsibility for the killing and shooting".
Hudbay Minerals has released a statement saying it would "review the court's decision once it is released", which is due to happen later this month.
The company, which sold the Félix mine to Swiss-based Solway Group in 2011, also stated that "any agreements made in the Guatemalan court do not affect our view of the facts of Hudbay's liability in relation to civil matters currently before the Ontario court".
The Hotel Humboldt sits atop El Ávila, a national park overlooking Venezuela's capital, Caracas.
At more than 2,000m (6,500ft) above sea level, you have to take a 20-minute trip in a cable car to the top of the mountain to reach it.
From there, a golf buggy drives guests along the ridge to an impressive glass and aluminium structure surrounded most of the day by rolling clouds that suddenly clear to reveal the most astounding view.
The hotel was built in 1956. Finished in less than 200 days, it was the pet project of dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who ruled Venezuela from 1950 to 1958.
At a time of great oil wealth, it was a show of pomp and modernity.
National icon
It operated as a hotel for just a few years before falling into disrepair, but it has remained an icon, one that the late President Hugo Chávez wanted to restore to its former glory. After his death in 2013, his successor, Nicolás Maduro, has been intent on finalising the restoration.
"This building means so much for the Venezuelan people," says Carlos Salas, one of the hotel's managers.
He shows me around the hotel, which has just started accepting overnight guests after nine years of renovations.
"It's a representation of a golden era for Venezuela."
But that golden era is long gone.
The economy is in crisis, oil prices have slumped as has production and around 60% of Venezuelans now live in poverty, according to researchers at the Andrés Bello Catholic University.
Financially sound or a folly?
A stay at the Hotel Humboldt costs around $300 (£225) a night.
Clearly a lot of hard work has been put into restoring this architectural jewel but it is not your typical five-star lodgings. Indeed, the classification was awarded by the government which is promoting it, and the hotel is still a bit rough around the edges, despite having been inaugurated a month ago.
The Marriott hotel chain was given the concession to run it in 2018 but it did not stay long as partner. The team now in place is clearly proud of its achievements but in crisis-hit Venezuela, the hotel's restoration feels like a folly, promoted by a president with his head buried in the sand.
"One banana here costs triple the price [elsewhere]," Mr Salas says, explaining the logistical challenges of getting supplies up the mountain to the hotel.
"My people here, we have to pay them more, the maintenance of the building, water, electricity, it's really difficult."
So what, I ask, is the demand for a hotel like this, in a country where the minimum wage is around $2 (£1.50) a month.
He responds without flinching, arguing that five-star hotels are not within everyone's reach anywhere in the world. Venezuela is no different, he says.
The hotel is seen by many as a symbol of the rise of a group of newly wealthy Venezuelans, in particular those who have become rich thanks to their close ties to the government.
And Hotel Humboldt is not the only sign of an economic revival in Venezuela.
Faced with US sanctions, rampant hyperinflation and a spiralling economic crisis, President Maduro responded by removing the price controls and easing the capital controls introduced by his predecessor and fellow socialist, Hugo Chávez.
With the local currency increasingly hard to come by due to the sky-high inflation rate – a cup of coffee with milk can set you back almost 1.5m bolivars in Caracas – Mr Maduro also begrudgingly accepted the use of the US dollar.
The result of this easing of economic restraints can be seen across Caracas, where new "bodegas" (shops) have opened up, selling all sorts of imported goods to people long-used to shortages of even the basics.
The Caracas stock exchange is another beneficiary, booming because of an uptick in private enterprise, although it is still comparatively small.
A brighter future?
It has made life a bit more bearable for many, especially in this toughest of years, but not everyone is positive about these changes.
"The government is building on the ashes of this wrecked economic model in a very disorganised fashion," says economist Tamara Herrera.
"This re-accommodation of the economy is amorphous, disorganised and positive results are difficult to judge. This won't mend the tragedy that you can see in the population," she argues.
And there is no doubt that while there may be an emerging class of haves, there are still plenty of have nots – those with little or no access to dollars, or basic services.
In the poor neighbourhood of Catia, on the outskirts of Caracas, I met former housekeeper Diurka González, who is helping out in a soup kitchen. Every day, the kitchen provides lunches for as many as 140 children, including her two-year-old daughter.
"My boss couldn't keep me on because she was scared of the pandemic," Ms González tells me.
She did not even earn $2 a month, but now she gets nothing. The soup kitchen allows her daughter to eat one decent meal a day.
Hard realities
A few doors down, Jonathan Fermenal is feeding his two-year-old daughter Samara with the lunch they have just picked up from the soup kitchen. He relies on the free lunches for Samara and his other two children.
Mr Fermenal's wife, Laila, left to find work in Colombia at the beginning of the year.
The plan was for the rest of the family to follow a few months later, but then came the coronavirus pandemic. They have not been able to see her since.
"At the beginning, it was horrible, horrible," he says about his wife's departure. "My youngest was 18 months old, she was still breastfeeding and had to stop suddenly. The first month, I didn't sleep at all."
Mr Fermenal has had to learn to play the role of both mother and father. "For my wife it's also been hard, everything is done by Whatsapp, a photo here, a voice message there, but it's not the same," he says.
"And the way I live is how thousands and thousands of Venezuelan families are living," says Mr Fermenal about the more than five million Venezuelans who have left to escape their home country's economic hardships over the past six years.
Lives – and hardships – that are far more common than those who invested in the Hotel Humboldt would like to believe.
Argentina's Congress has legalised abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy, a ground-breaking move for a region that has some of the world's most restrictive termination laws.
Senators voted in favour of the bill after a marathon session with 38 in favour, 29 against and one abstention.
Until now, abortions were only permitted in cases of rape or when the mother's health was at risk.
The bill had been approved by the Chamber of Deputies earlier this month.
The Catholic Church, which remains highly influential in Latin America, had opposed the move, calling on senators to reject the bill supported by centre-left President Alberto Fernández.
Pro-choice activists hope the passing of the law in Argentina – one of the largest and most influential countries in the region – will inspire other countries to follow suit.
Large crowds of campaigners both for and against abortion had gathered outside Congress in the capital Buenos Aires, following the debate on huge screens.
When the vote finally happened in the early hours of Wednesday, there was jubilation in the pro-choice camp.
While Argentina's powerful Catholic Church, and its growing evangelical community, put up strong opposition against this bill, it was Argentina's mighty "green wave" women's movement that has been at the forefront of this change.
A grassroots feminist movement that has grown in influence in the past few years, its campaigning prevailed, overturning a law that had been in place since 1921.
What has happened in Argentina has been closely watched across the region.
With Argentina now legalising abortion up to 14 weeks, activists in major neighbours like Chile and Brazil will no doubt use this precedent to help their cause in rewriting the law in their countries and allow broader reproductive rights in a region known for tough restrictions on abortion.
Long fought for change
Activists have campaigned for a change in the law for years. The passing came two years after senators narrowly voted against legalising abortion.
President Fernández had made reintroducing it one of his campaign promises. "I'm Catholic but I have to legislate for everyone," he argued.
The president also said providing free and legal abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy was a matter of public health as "every year around 38,000 women" are taken to hospital due to clandestine terminations and that "since the restoration of democracy [in 1983] more than 3,000 have died".
Alongside the legalisation of abortion, Senators also voted in favour of a bill dubbed the "1,000-Day Plan", which will provide better healthcare for pregnant women and mothers of young children.
After the vote, President Fernández tweeted: "Today, we're a better society, which widens women's rights and guarantees public health."
Vilma Ibarra, who drafted the law, was overcome with emotion as she spoke to reporters after it passed. "Never again will there be a woman killed in a clandestine abortion," she said, crying.
Emotional debate
The vote had been predicted to be extremely tight but in the end, all four senators who had said they were undecided voted in favour of the legislation after a 12-hour debate.
Senator Silvina García Larraburu voted against the bill in 2018 but backed it this time. Speaking during the debate she said, coming close to tears: "My vote is in favour of free women, of women who can decide according to their own conscience."
Anti-abortion activists, who followed the proceedings but were separated from pro-choice activists by barriers, were dejected.
"The interruption of a pregnancy is a tragedy. It abruptly ends another developing life," said Inés Blas, a senator who voted against the law.
But Argentina's Women's Minister, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, said that "we're making history" and many of the pro-choice activists said they hoped it would set a signal for other lawmakers across Latin America.
Abortions are completely banned in El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic and only allowed in certain restricted circumstances in most other Latin American nations.
In the wider region, only Uruguay, Cuba, Guyana and parts of Mexico currently allow women to request an abortion, with varying limits on the number of weeks of pregnancy in which an abortion is legal.
The director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco, said that he thought that the new law "could have a domino effect in the region".
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UPDATE 11/1/18 - Last month our In Your Corner team exposed a new side of the robocall epidemic.
Some of them make you think you're donating to veterans, cancer research, or law enforcement.
Turns out your money could actually be funding political ads and mailings instead and as we told you last month, It's perfectly legal.
Lora Hadfield thought she was donating to a worthy cause, but instead of her $250 donation went into the pockets of a PAC, a Political Action Committee, a group that raises and spends unlimited amounts of cash to try to influence political elections and campaigns.
The person soliciting Lora over the phone for political stuff was actually a paid solicitor from the Heroes United PAC doing business as the Volunteer Firefighters Association.
According to Federal Election Commission filings, the Washington DC based organization has brought in over 3-and-a-half million dollars and spent nearly all of that money on donor outreach and media buys, helping fund the campaigns of Democratic and Republican Congressional candidates across the country, none of whom are in Oklahoma.
That doesn't sit well with Lora.
Lora says her pair of cash donations totaling $350 dollars was in honor of her two boys, John and Edward, both of whom died young.
They risked their lives as volunteer firefighters to protect their community of Paoli.
We brought family friend and real life Paoli volunteer firefighter Lt. Terrel Erwin up to speed on the PAC calling Oklahomans pretending to be affiliated with firefighters.
"It is sickening," he said.
Paoli's Volunteer Fire Department primarily receives its funding from a county sales tax and its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser.
Erwin says 100 percent of the donations raised stay in Paoli and they will never call anyone soliciting donations.
Before you donate, listen up.
The guy behind Heroes United PAC also has ties to other Political Action Committees, using charitable sounding names that make you think you're helping injured veterans and breast cancer victims.
FEC filings show most of the cash they're raking in is also going to donor outreach and media buys, not veterans or breast cancer causes.
The name that keeps coming up tied these Pac's is Zachary Bass.
Our repeated emails and phone calls trying to reach him were not returned.
No one is really keeping close tabs on PAC's, but they are required to make their donations and spending public with the Federal Election Commission, which keeps a database that is available for anyone to view online.
CHOCTAW, Okla. - Debbie Foster didn't recognize the number. She answered anyway.
It was one of those pesky automated robocalls that disrupted Foster's day and tugged at her heart strings.
The robocaller claimed to be raising money for an organization by the name of Breast Cancer Health Council.
"My very, very dearest friend died from [breast cancer], and I was with her during chemotherapy," Foster said.
Don't be fooled. It might sound like a charity, but it is not.
Breast Cancer Health Council is registered as a Political Action Committee, an organization that raises and spends money to elect and defeat political candidates.
PACs will use robocalls to collect a bunch of money, fast, without much oversight but they are required by law to register with the Federal Election Commission.
That means all their donations and spending are public.
"You should be able to go look at the 990s and legitimately read what they've been giving to," said Hal Hoxie of the Butterfield Memorial Foundation.
Hoxie's worked in fundraising for years and said it's perfectly legal for a PAC to solicit under a charitable sounding name.
"He's legitimately put these together without violating any laws, but his intention is nefarious at best," Hoxie said.
In this case, the bread crumbs lead to a guy by the name of Zachary Bass.
The FEC filings list him as the treasurer for Community Health Council PAC, doing business as the Breast Cancer Health Council PAC.
According to FEC filings, the organization brought in over $771,000 in less than a year and spent nearly all of the money on donor outreach and media buys but most of the money doesn't appear to be helping breast cancer victims or research.
"It is deceptive marketing to get us to believe we're giving to breast cancer, which is a legitimate concern, and instead they've registered themselves under a PAC and they're making money," Hoxie said.
Bass's name is also tied to several other PACs.
One solicits under the charitable name American Coalition for Injured Veterans, and the other goes by the Volunteer Firefighters Association.
We keep calling and leaving messages for Bass. So far, he hasn't called us back.
Foster can't stop the robocalls but, with October being breast cancer awareness month, she wants to put Oklahoma on alert.
"I know everybody in America has been touched by breast cancer, so they are going to automatically assume that these people are honorable," she said.
Hoxie said it's much safer for people to do their own research.
"Make contact with the company you thought was calling you and find out if they legitimately do those calls," he said.
You have the power to control where your hard-earned cash goes.


text:
It seemed absurd. That they'd come all this way in the hope of — what? Finding more? Finding peace? Surviving? Survival was obsolete: the instinct which had once decided everything was abstracted the moment she'd stopped breathing; changed instantaneously; rendered pointless. But he had learned to adapt, ever malleable; his instincts adjusted for continuity. So at first he treated her passing as just another obstacle to overcome; something he could remedy with more supplies, a sturdier shelter, more kindling. It wasn't until a day later that it became apparent: there was no continuity. There was nothing. It struck him as he returned to camp, clutching a bundle of sticks to feed the dwindling fire, the senselessness of it all. He halted, his brain restarting, re-calibrating. What now? He didn't want to think, anything to keep his mind from her, he didn't want to stop, but he couldn't move. He pictured her face. He shook uncontrollably, dropping to his knees, clutching the bundle tighter. He stayed that way for a time. And then a distant memory formed behind his eyes, replacing the acute pain in his chest with a dull ache. He began to walk.
It was high noon by the time he got to the road. Empty of course. It was comforting in a way; the hushed trees surrounding him standing vigil, sharing his loss. He kept walking. The road seemed endless, but so was his new-found resolve, ceaseless, pulled by an intangible force. The sun began to set. The trees were less comforting now, he'd mistaken their apathy for empathy. Or was it dominance? Triumphant in the knowledge that they would outlast. He pushed on.
It was night when he reached the town, the buildings barely outlined in the dull moonlight — but he didn't need light, he knew the streets well, and everything was as it had been. The night almost explained the absence of life, allowing him to pretend for a moment: maybe he was just returning from a night out. Maybe it was all okay. They had been back before when they'd needed supplies, but the place had haunted them, the memories jabbing at their tender hearts, bereaving them anew. They'd known the place would drown them in grief if they stayed. But now he craved it, the suffocating nostalgia, to extinguish the anguish.
The house too, was just as he'd left it, the spare key hidden under the plant pot. He stood in the porch for a while, basking in the warm familiarity of home — the feeling of security, of belonging. He braced himself. The door gave way to an intoxicating fragrance of long-since-past, the dizzying bouquet of memories provoking an overwhelming, almost allergic reaction. He moved carefully through the house, each minute detail loosing a long-dormant memory to conquer his thoughts, only to be usurped a moment later by another forgotten particular: a stain on a rug, a curled leaf of wallpaper, a faded photo. He followed his memories around the house until they finally led him to the bathroom.
The rising sun cast a warm glow as he undressed, the sound of the bath filling soothed his overactive mind — he stopped the flow: peace prevailed. He thought about everyone he'd known as he lowered himself into the water. He thought of her as he reached for the knife. He smiled as he raised it. Then —
"SURPRISE!!! WE GOT YOU YOU MAD BASTARD! OH MY GOD THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE.. WE JUST PRETENDED IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD AND EVERYONE WAS DEAD BUT IT'S ACTUALLY YOUR BIRTHDAY!! AHAHAHA, I'VE GOT TO UPLOAD THIS VIDEO RIGHT NOW… HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO. YOU'RE AN ACTUAL LEGEND."


Lamb is well attuned to the Eighteenth District; for some Democrats, he might be a little too much so—for the future, if not for this race.
In the early morning hours on Wednesday, Conor Lamb came out on a stage at a hotel in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to say that he'd won the special election for the state's Eighteenth Congressional District seat. "We did it!" he said, smiling—even though, technically, he hasn't won anything yet. His margin was slightly more than six hundred votes, out of more than two hundred thousand cast, but he has good reason to think that, even with a couple thousand absentee, provisional, and military ballots still to be counted, the whole thing will go his way. And, in truth, he had other reasons to declare victory. First, he had shown that a Democrat could win, or at least reach a tie, in a district that President Donald Trump had won by nineteen points. Lamb is thirty-three, a former Marine captain, military lawyer, and federal prosecutor, and his bright cheer, in Canonsburg, seemed to illuminate a disproportionately large political space.
The second reason is somewhat more complicated, both for him and for the Democratic Party. Unless courts intervene, which doesn't seem probable at this point, the Eighteenth Congressional District is about to be scrambled in Pennsylvania's redistricting and will no longer exist, as it is now, by the time of the midterms in November. The territory that Lamb fought Rick Saccone, the Republican, over, and for which their parties and related PACs spent what may turn out to be well more than ten million dollars, is going to be divided, mostly, between the newly conceived Fourteenth and Seventeenth Congressional Districts. Saccone has said that he will try to run in the Fourteenth in November. Lamb has deflected the question of where he will run, but his home and, likely, his best prospects are in the Seventeenth, which will encompass only Beaver County and a part of Allegheny. They have only until next Tuesday to gather signatures and file for the election, which means that both men will likely be running again in a matter of days—just not against each other. And by then the Democrats will also need to have a clearer picture of what, exactly, they think the lessons of Conor Lamb's run might be, not only for Trump but for their Party.
Why was there a special election for a seat that is going to cease to exist, anyway? Because the incumbent, Tim Murphy, resigned after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on a text-message exchange between Murphy and a woman with whom he was said to be having an affair. Murphy is married, but the bigger problem was that the woman was writing to say that she was upset with him for posting an anti-abortion statement on his Facebook page, "when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options." Perhaps an even bigger problem was Murphy's response to the woman, in which he compounded his alleged hypocrisy by seeming to claim ideological emptiness as a defense, saying, of his anti-abortion statement, "I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced." Politics, in general, can make a person wince.
Conor Lamb did not fit that profile—not that anyone, in either political party, really does. (What does it even mean to have a "hatred for God"?) As my colleague Eliza Griswold noted in a dispatch from the Eighteenth, Lamb is well attuned to the district. For some Democrats, he might be a little too much so—for the future, if not for this race. In his first ad, mention of his military service was followed by a shot of him at a firing range with an AR-15-style weapon and a voice-over attesting that he "still loves to shoot." He also appears to be opposed to most gun-control measures. He has said that he personally opposes abortion but would respect the law of the land in that regard. He made it clear that he likes both unions—which came out in force in support of him—and President Trump's steel tariff. He campaigned with Joe Biden, and spoke about defending Social Security and other social programs against Paul Ryan, but presented himself as an opponent of Nancy Pelosi. And he tried to shake off the idea that this election was a referendum on Trump; Lamb's criticisms of Trump himself have been directed more at his tone, and at the general tone of American politics today. The value of all this depends on the lesson that the Democratic Party draws for 2018: Will it be that candidates should put out pictures of themselves firing high-powered weapons? That it is foolish to impose litmus tests? Or just that candidates should know, and be known in, the districts where they run, and—without changing who they are fundamentally—know what it takes to win them?
To take another example, Lamb told Griswold that, when he was out campaigning and people asked about his party, "I just say, usually, 'Look, I'm a Democrat because my grandfather was a Democrat, and he was because F.D.R. was.' " Similarly, on election night, he said that he was the candidate of the party "of my grandfather" and of F.D.R. One lesson here is that Democrats should not be afraid to fight for the allegiance of voters who have left them behind. Lamb made that point in his victory speech, saying, "We went everywhere; we talked to everyone." President Barack Obama has made that point, too. But there is a risk of coming up with a more cartoonish version of that insight, to the point of acting as though F.D.R. were the last Democratic President it was safe to talk about.
The wrong lessons can also be arrived at when other aspects of the dynamic between the candidate and the electorate are ignored. The Eighteenth is, demographically speaking, one of the older districts in the state. (It is also overwhelmingly white.) Many voters there, when they hear Lamb talk about his grandfather, may be picturing their own western Pennsylvanian grandfathers. But some number will also be thinking about Lamb's particular grandfather, Thomas Lamb, who was a local politician and, at one point, the Democratic leader in the State Senate, as well as both a trustee and a lobbyist for the University of Pittsburgh. When Lamb announced his candidacy, last fall, his uncle, Michael Lamb, who is now the Pittsburgh city controller, was on hand to tell the Post-Gazette that his nephew "has always been very committed to the idea of justice." Lamb himself had never run for office. But the circumstances make this less than a perfect test of whether neophytes or those with institutional backing make for the strongest candidates, since there are ways in which Lamb was both. The best lesson might be, again, that candidates matter, and voters do, too—voters as people who are appealed to, not simply as demographic profiles.
And what does that mean for the campaign in November, the one that will matter in terms of who will represent this part of Pennsylvania for the next two years and perhaps, given the advantages of incumbency, many more? There are several candidates in what had been the Twelfth District who have already started running in what will be the Seventeenth—where Lamb may run, too—against the Republican candidate, Keith Rothfus, who is seen as vulnerable. The Seventeenth will not be as conservative as the old Eighteenth, and a victorious Democrat might not need to be, either. (One candidate, a local lawyer named Beth Tarasi, went to the University of Pittsburgh on a scholarship to play for the women's basketball team; she supports gun control and Planned Parenthood more openly.) Perhaps national Democrats are so far into their commitment to Lamb that the debate over what it means to be a Democrat now, in Western Pennsylvania or anywhere, is less important than consolidating an unexpected and important victory in an engagement with Trump. They won where they hadn't before, and it has sent the message that they can win everywhere.
Lamb, speaking to CNN on Wednesday morning, said, "This is my home. You call it a red district, I call it Western Pennsylvania." That seems right. But he was also asked whether he thought that his victory said something about Trump. He replied, "Not really, other than to say that there are plenty of people here who are still pretty supportive of him." People in both parties would argue otherwise. Lamb added that he had seen plenty of Trump bumper stickers on cars parked outside the polls, and he was sure there were people who had voted both for Trump and for him. That is surely true, too, but raises a bigger question: Whom will they vote for next?


text:
16.3: Important Hexoses
[ "article:topic", "showtoc:no", "license:ccbyncsa" ]
Introductory & GOB Chemistry
Book: The Basics of GOB Chemistry (Ball et al.)
16: Carbohydrates
Concept Review Exercises
Skills to Develop
To identify the structures of D-glucose, D-galactose, and D-fructose and describe how they differ from each other.
Although a variety of monosaccharides are found in living organisms, three hexoses are particularly abundant: D-glucose, D-galactose, and D-fructose (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). Glucose and galactose are both aldohexoses, while fructose is a ketohexose.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Structures of Three Important Hexoses. Each hexose is pictured with a food source in which it is commonly found. Source: Photos © Thinkstock.
D-Glucose, generally referred to as simply glucose, is the most abundant sugar found in nature; most of the carbohydrates we eat are eventually converted to it in a series of biochemical reactions that produce energy for our cells. It is also known by three other names: dextrose, from the fact that it rotates plane-polarized light in a clockwise (dextrorotatory) direction; corn sugar because in the United States cornstarch is used in the commercial process that produces glucose from the hydrolysis of starch; and blood sugar because it is the carbohydrate found in the circulatory system of animals. Normal blood sugar values range from 70 to 105 mg glucose/dL plasma, and normal urine may contain anywhere from a trace to 20 mg glucose/dL urine.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Fischer projection of D-glucose
The Fischer projection of D-glucose is given in Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). Glucose is a D sugar because the OH group on the fifth carbon atom (the chiral center farthest from the carbonyl group) is on the right. In fact, all the OH groups except the one on the third carbon atom are to the right.
D-Galactose does not occur in nature in the uncombined state. It is released when lactose, a disaccharide found in milk, is hydrolyzed. The galactose needed by the human body for the synthesis of lactose is obtained by the metabolic conversion of D-glucose to D-galactose. Galactose is also an important constituent of the glycolipids that occur in the brain and the myelin sheath of nerve cells. For this reason it is also known as brain sugar. The structure of D-galactose is shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Notice that the configuration differs from that of glucose only at the fourth carbon atom.
D-Fructose, also shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\), is the most abundant ketohexose. Note that from the third through the sixth carbon atoms, its structure is the same as that of glucose. It occurs, along with glucose and sucrose, in honey (which is 40% fructose) and sweet fruits. Fructose (from the Latin fructus, meaning "fruit") is also referred to as levulose because it has a specific rotation that is strongly levorotatory (−92.4°). It is the sweetest sugar, being 1.7 times sweeter than sucrose, although many nonsugars are several hundred or several thousand times as sweet (Table \(\PageIndex{1}\)).
Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Relative Sweetness of Some Compounds (Sucrose = 100)
Relative Sweetness
lactose 16
maltose 32
sucrose 100
fructose 173
aspartame 18,000
acesulfame K 20,000
saccharin 30,000
sucralose 60,000
Looking Closer: Artificial Sweeteners
Although sweetness is commonly associated with mono- and disaccharides, it is not a property found only in sugars. Several other kinds of organic compounds have been synthesized that are far superior as sweetening agents. These so-called high-intensity or artificial sweeteners are useful for people with diabetes or other medical conditions that require them to control their carbohydrate intake. The synthetic compounds are noncaloric or used in such small quantities that they do not add significantly to the caloric value of food.
The first artificial sweetener—saccharin—was discovered by accident in 1879. It is 300 times sweeter than sucrose, but it passes through the body unchanged and thus adds no calories to the diet. After its discovery, saccharin was used until it was banned in the early 1900s. However, during the sugar-short years of World War I, the ban was lifted and was not reinstated at the war's end. One drawback to the use of saccharin is its bitter, metallic aftertaste. The initial solution to this problem was to combine saccharin with cyclamate, a second artificial sweetener discovered in 1937.
In the 1960s and 1970s, several clinical tests with laboratory animals implicated both cyclamate and saccharin as carcinogenic (cancer-causing) substances. The results from the cyclamate tests were completed first, and cyclamate was banned in the United States in 1969. Then a major study was released in Canada in 1977 indicating that saccharin increased the incidence of bladder cancer in rats. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a ban on saccharin that raised immediate public opposition because saccharin was the only artificial sweetener still available. In response, Congress passed the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act in 1977, permitting the use of saccharin as long as any product containing it was labeled with a consumer warning regarding the possible elevation of the risk of bladder cancer. Today this warning is no longer required; moreover, the FDA is currently reviewing the ban on cyclamate, as 75 additional studies and years of usage in other countries, such as Canada, have failed to show that it has any carcinogenic effect.
A third artificial sweetener, aspartame, was discovered in 1965. This white crystalline compound is about 180 times sweeter than sucrose and has no aftertaste. It was approved for use in 1981 and is used to sweeten a wide variety of foods because it blends well with other food flavors. Aspartame is not used in baked goods, however, because it is not heat stable.
In the body (or when heated), aspartame is initially hydrolyzed to three molecules: the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine and an alcohol methanol. Repeated controversy regarding the safety of aspartame arises partly from the fact that the body metabolizes the released methanol to formaldehyde. It should be noted, though, that a glass of tomato juice has six times as much methanol as a similar amount of a diet soda containing aspartame. The only documented risk connected to aspartame use is for individuals with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU); these individuals lack the enzyme needed to metabolize the phenylalanine released when aspartame is broken down by the body. Because of the danger to people with PKU, all products containing aspartame must carry a warning label.
Acesulfame K, discovered just two years after aspartame (1967), was approved for use in the United States in 1988. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar and, unlike aspartame, is heat stable. It has no lingering aftertaste.
One of the newest artificial sweeteners to gain FDA approval (April 1998) for use in the United States is sucralose, a white crystalline solid approximately 600 times sweeter than sucrose. Sucralose is synthesized from sucrose and has three chlorine atoms substituted for three OH groups. It is noncaloric because it passes through the body unchanged. It can be used in baking because it is heat stable.
All of the extensive clinical studies completed to date have indicated that these artificial sweeteners approved for use in the United States are safe for consumption by healthy individuals in moderate amounts.
Three abundant hexoses in living organisms are the aldohexoses D-glucose and D-galactose and the ketohexose D-fructose.
Describe the similarities and differences in the structures of D-glucose and D-galactose.
Describe similarities and differences in the structures of D-glucose and D-fructose.
Both monosaccharides are aldohexoses. The two monosaccharides differ in the configuration around the fourth carbon atom.
Both monosaccharides are hexoses. D-glucose is an aldohexose, while D-fructose is a ketohexose.
Identify each sugar by its common chemical name.
levulose
brain sugar
Identify each sugar as an aldohexose or a ketohexose.
What hexose would you expect to be most abundant in each food?
D-glucose
D-fructose
ketohexose
16.2: Classes of Monosaccharides
16.4: Cyclic Structures of Monosaccharides


"5,000 years of literature, lyrics, poems, passages, phrases, and proverbs from voices from around the world"--Dust jacket.
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text:
Curious George Takes a Train with stickers
by H. A. Rey, Margret Rey and Martha Weston
Curious George heads to the train station to take a trip with the Man with the Yellow Hat, but when he tries to help out the station master, he gets himself into trouble. George finds himself a hiding place—only to discover that his help is really needed when a little boy's toy train is about to fall onto the tracks. NEW on inside and back covers: connect-the-dots, fun facts, and telling time activities. Includes a sheet of fun travel-themed stickers!
Paperback – $4.99
H. A. Rey
Hans and Margret Rey created many books during their lives together, including Curious George, one of the most treasured classics of all time, as well as other favorites like Spotty and Pretzel. But it was their rambunctious little monkey who became an instantly recognizable icon. After the Reys escaped Paris by bicycle in 1940 carrying the manuscript for the original Curious George, the book was published in America in 1941. More than 200 Curious George titles followed, with 75 million books sold worldwide. Curious George has been successfully adapted into a major motion picture and an Emmy-winning television show on PBS.
Margret Rey
The Reys were born in Hamburg, Germany. Hans Augusto Rey (1898-1977) met his wife-to-be, Margret (1906-1996), at a party in her father's home in Germany; when he first caught a glimpse of her, she was sliding down the banister. In their twenties and thirties they lived in Paris and in Rio de Janeiro, where Hans sold bathtubs in villages along the Amazon River. Eventually Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the Reys' home and community. Throughout their lives the Reys created many lively books together, including SPOTTY, PRETZEL, and lift-the-flap books such as HOW DO YOU GET THERE? The manuscript of the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and CURIOUS GEORGE was published in 1941. Their incorrigible little monkey has become an American icon, selling millions of books and capturing the hearts of readers everywhere. CURIOUS GEORGE has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS. Visit www.curiousgeorge.com.
Martha Weston
Martha Weston was the author and illustrator of two charming picture books about Tuck, as well as the illustrator of Clarion's successful Owen Foote books by Stephanie Greene. Martha Weston died in 2003.


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What a treat to start the morning, watching the World Cup finals in a bar in Cienfuegos. It was a great location for photographing the people and the soccer game was exceptional! Most of the patrons in the bar were young men who radiated with that feeling that comes with sharing a sporting event with friends. Glasses were promptly filled from large bottles of rum set upon the tables and bottles of beer were quickly quaffed. At first I had thought the crowd favored the Argentinians because there was quite a ruckus when they scored. But then, when France scored, the whole place erupted leading me to believe there might be more French supporters than Argentinian. By noon when the regulation play ended in a tie I noticed that the three extra large bottles of rum on the table in front of me had nearly been consumed by the 6-7 guys sitting there! We spent two hours photographing and just participating in the joyous gathering while watching an exciting sporting event and feeling very much part of the culture of Cienfuegos. This is something I feel most people do not experience when visiting Cuba as they just pass through without connecting to the people. So it was quite a delight to hang out with these young people who were unassuming about letting us photograph them, especially at half time when they had already been hitting the booze!
We left when the game went into overtime and headed down to Playa Giron to visit a museum about the Bay of Pigs, obviously from the Cuban point of view. Our museum guide gave us a tour in English and I think all of us learned some things we had not known, having only previously been presented with the American version of the invasion. Travel is a great way to get different perspectives about major historical events. After our tour of the museum we wound our way up to Playa Larga which is a most beautiful area at the head of the Bay of Pigs. We checked into our casas, which sat on the bay, and took some time to wander and photograph. We also were able to watch a replay of the last hour of the World Cup as we relaxed in the lounge of our casa. Go Argentina!!!
The map shows the area of the Bay of Pigs (Bahia de Cochinos), Playa Giron, Playa Larga and the location in relation to Cienfuegos.
Morning and Afternoon
Cienfuegos to Playa Giron, Cuba
PrevPreviousCienfuegos Part 2
NextGuasasaNext
Children of Cuba
Children are the hope of any country and we are naturally drawn to them, their joy,
More about Haiti and Cuba
Because of our visit with the small Haitian community in the Havana suburbs I sought more
Photographing Men in Cuba
One of my projects over the past year has been to photograph men – an assignment
Day in Havana
This last day in Havana started out with a walk through the streets of Old Havana
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Carpet cleaning by extraction method is highly regarded among experts for high efficiency, short drying time and significant positive effect on the durability of surfaces. Our staff are carefully selected and trained experts in addition to mechanical work they are also able to critically evaluate the situation well choose its method of cleaning and last but not least, we can offer you an expert advice regarding treatment of your carpets.
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It is important to connect with a professional educational institution in order to build a good career. Students need to make a proper research while getting into an institution. Distance education has been helping many people to get a proper certification and finishing off their career. Distance Education in Ahmedabad focuses on helping students across India. They provide BED courses, B.Com, M.Com, BHMS, BA, MA and many other courses.
It is known to be one of the best college in Ahmendabad as it provides different options to students. A well ranked institution can help in getting good placements. For getting a BED / MED Admission in Ahmedabad one needs to apply to institution and go through the entrance test. If the students are found eligible then they can expect to go through their post graduation courses.
Aceas has programs for quality BBA / MBA Admission in Rajkot in order to cover whole of Gujarat. Students from different regions including Kalol , Dahod ,Baroda, vapi , surendranagar , kadi , kutch , jamnagar , Mahesana , rajkot , bharuch , surat , patan , Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar come in this institution. BCOM/MCOM Course in Ahmedabad Gujarat has become quite common and students should make sure that they make a good research before getting into any post graduation institution.
This BA / MA College in Ahmedabad Gujarat, focus on providing quality education to students from different parts of India. One cannot expect to compromise on the quality of education. This college focuses on providing the value for money to the students and helps them in shaping up a good career for themselves. The BHMS Course in Surat gives importance to homeopathy students. Providing quality education to students from different fields has been their speciality.
Opting for a post graduation degree is a common practice among students. It has become important to go ahead with higher education in order to get a good job. In the field of teaching the students need to go for M. ED. education once they finish B. ED. M. ED. course in Gujarat India provided by Aceas is known for its reputation of preparing quality teachers.
The students should make a research and find out the best institute that can help them in shaping up their career. Some of the branches of Aceas include Baroda, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jamanagar, Morbi , Vadanagar , Rajkot, etc. Among these branches it is important for the student to make sure that the branch is close to them and they get the course that they are looking for. Having options is always useful and provides interesting options to the students.
When it comes to M. ED. then students like to go for distance education. Opting for distance education helps them in practicing their job and studying at the same time. Some of the branches that student can try out are Kutch, Dahod, Surendranagar, Vapi, Kalol, Himmatnagar , Patan, Mehsana, Kadi, etc. Aceas has branches in different regions of Gujarat and this makes it easier while they are looking for the best. These options make their research easier and they can ask all their questions to the professionals in the institute. M.ED. Admission in Gujarat is not that difficult and students just need to pass the entrance test in order to get admissions.
M.Ed Distance Education in India ensures that students can go through the course, irrespective of the region where they are situated. It provides them enough opportunity and helps them in making a smart decision.
New Delhi, Sept. 23: The Centre has lifted its six-year-old ban on B.Tech and M.Tech in distance mode but said institutions will require the approval of regulators to start such courses.
A gazette notification by the human resource development (HRD) ministry said all degrees, diplomas and certificates – including those in technical education – awarded through open and distance mode , stood automatically recognised for employment to central jobs, provided the courses have been approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC). But there is no relief for those already holding such degrees, which continue to remain invalid.
The UGC has a distance education bureau (DEB) to approve such programmes. The bureau, advised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), has been giving approval to two such technical courses – MCA and MBA – in distance mode.
Students are displaying increasing trends in enrolling to professional courses besides conventional degree courses of various subjects. It is because the job market has become much more competitive and to acquire any decent job students need to have some kind of specialized job training. This can only be possible when students participate in professional job training programs on a full time basis. UGC for the benefits of the students has now rolled out many professional courses in its approved universities where students can enroll on a full time basis.
Now every UGC affiliated universities have to set up infrastructures for beginning full time professional courses in subjects like M.Pharm, MTech, MSc.IT and so on for helping students to acquire the desired skills of specialization which is very important in a competitive job market of India. To know more about the faculty, syllabus and infrastructure students can visit the websites of these universities.
As per UGC directives these universities have to monitor the progress of the students enrolled in these professional courses on a regular basis. The universities must hire qualified teaching staffs for such professional courses and must update student's performance regularly to the University Grant Commission.


What happened in Las Vegas has already happened in Orlando. It's happened in Connecticut, it's happened in Berlin, in Paris, in the UK, in Nice, etc. etc. etc.* There is no longer a profile that fits evil. One may delude themselves into thinking it is a refugee problem or a Muslim problem or a gun control problem or a poverty problem and if we can just "fix" this, then our world will magically emerge harmonious. But the world has never been harmonious. It has always been a violent and dangerous place to live. I admit that in recent years more dangerous because there are fewer places to hide and those with intent to kill find it much easier today with the help of modern technology.
Let me explain here: hiding and technology. Hiding first.
In days gone by, but as recently as my youth, people could hide behind the labels, rich, white and Christian and get away without truly understanding that black people all over America were suffering, in spite of the Civil Rights Movement. My high school was not integrated, for example, until 1969 and even then I remember well our drama club heading up through rural Texas and the Dairy Queen refusing service because black students were at the table. I remember a story told in our family about the young daughter of a black maid who showed great talent at the piano but would need lessons to become competition worthy and so the maid asked the mistress of the house who was white, rich and Christian if she could help with the lessons and she promptly refused justifying it as a waste of money because black people wouldn't amount to anything anyway. So we thought we were safe in this position of superiority…and we were, for a while. We soothed ourselves by thinking we were somehow better than others to have been born into such bounty, that we were different than "them". We hid ourselves in other cunning ways as well. We hid abortion. Young women who got pregnant in the fifties had to go the "local butcher" to rid their pregnancy and many were left unable to have children after such a brutal ordeal and some even died during the process.
In ancient times, I calculate the guess that we hid behind the church and its dogma or the royal families while all kinds of injustices and economic instability for most others prevailed. For the "thems" of the world.
But our systems are crumbling and we find it harder and harder to hide. I suppose we can still hide behind security systems and if you're particularly wealthy you can hide in gated communities but then, if you want to attend a night club or an outdoor music concert or go to the Berlin Christmas market, or pick up your children from school, then you might find yourself exposed.
So, technology. Technology offers all of us something faster, such as the internet and plane travel. I can access information quickly and fly half way across the world in less than a day. Weapons with great power are accessible and organisations whose agenda is to harm are equally as accessible with the aid of the internet.
But guns are not evil. The internet is not evil. Technology is not evil. Plane travel is not evil.
We cannot change anything unless we accept it. We must first change ourselves before we see the change in the world we seek.
Over four decades ago, Carl Jung said that the real danger is man's psyche and as far as I can see few have taken him seriously. As time passes, even fewer will remember who he was. I realise that what I'm affirming here is unpopular or somehow falls into the category of new age thinking, new age in its most stereotypical form of an assertion without substance, but if one actually considers what he meant, studies the definition of collective, then we must put into practice what sages and mystics and philosophers have decreed for centuries: We must know ourselves.
The man that killed over fifty innocent people and injured over 500 in Las Vegas is part of us; he is part of what Carl Jung called the collective. To understand what happened that night and on all the other nights that struck terror in the hearts and bodies of those murdered and injured and all the ones to come, we must look at ourselves first before we can look at policy and political change.
Is your personal house in order? Are you in harmony with the ones who live the closest to you, your siblings, your children, your parents, your spouse? If not, then what work must be done to bring awareness to these social problems?
I am driven mad by those who talk about love and kindness and peace when if you look at their home life, it's in shambles. Especially those who purport to be "Christians" yet can't bring themselves to forgive. This one is not speaking to that one and that one is not speaking to this one which impacts who actually shows up to the "dinner table" so to speak. We avoid these difficult confrontations; we hide and post on social media how sunny and bright our lives when in fact we are suffering terribly. Hiding through technology now, the social media pages, another system that is banal at best.
"Several times, he shifts from the theme of suffering back to the book and its contents. I had… brought up the Big Bang, and…on this Krishnamurti now pounces. What's the point of talking about the Big Bang, he asks me, when the world is in flames, when people are crying, when man is indescribably cruel to his fellows? These things are facts, he says repeatedly, the other is a luxury".
Indeed, what is the point of talking about the big bang when the world is in flames? What is the point of pretending we are happy and all is well when inside we're broken, frightened and confused? Why are we so inherently resistant to looking at ourselves in the cold light of day? To looking at what is not so sunny and bright and cheerful about ourselves. Why do we run away from what is dark about us, what we'd rather not anyone else know about, why we can't forgive, why we're so judgmental, xenophobic and critical?
If we ask these questions of ourselves, and if we're not afraid to look at ourselves, piece by piece, then we can perhaps begin to better understand the heart of man. That each of these small, violent, aggressive thoughts, we have about ourselves and about others mounts in the collective and produces horrific events such as the ones referenced here.
Change the one and you change the world. Thank you, Krishnamurti!
*On October 1, 2017, a gunman took the lives of 58 and injured nearly 500 more in Las Vegas, Nevada. On June 12, 2016, a gunman killed 49 people and injured 58 others in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. On December 14, 2012, a gunman fatally shot 20 children, six adults and his mother in Connecticut. On December 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into the crowds at the Berlin Christmas market killing 12 and injuring 56. On Friday, December 13, 2015, a series of coordinated attacks in Paris left 137 dead and 413 injured. On May 22, 2017, 22 concert goers were killed at Manchester Arena by suicide bombing, leaving 250 injured. On July 14, 2016, Bastille Day in Nice, a man drove a truck into the crowds killing 86 and injuring 458.


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Nikki E. Walker
(Bio as of June 2006)
Nikki E. Walker most recently appeared at the Goodman in The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove during the 2005/2006 Season. New York credits include the role of Ginger in Jamaica at the York Theater; Sandra in Building a Popera in Starfish Theatreworks' production at Lincoln Center; Sandra in God, the Crackhouse and the Devil at La Mama Theatre; and Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing with New York Classical Theatre in Central Park. Regional credits include Esther in Intimate Apparel at Indiana Repertory and Syracuse Stage; Marilyn Stokes in Carter's Way at Kansas City Repertory; Queenie in Showboat at MerryGoRound Playhouse; Regina in Classyass at Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival; and Madame Centaur in The Silent Woman at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Television credits include The Sopranos, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Sex and the City, Brooklyn, Ordinary People, Sleight of Hand and The Chris Rock Show. Ms. Walker also has numerous voiceover credits.
The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove


London, September 21, 2011 – Trane is introducing its High Performance Buildings continuum of offers at a unique showcase on Thursday, September 22. Trane is a brand of Ingersoll-Rand plc (NYSE:IR), a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient environments. The introduction is part of an effort to help European building owners realize significant financial and operational savings.
Trane High Performance Buildings complement building industry standards and help owners link the physical environment of a building to a business mission. Trane applies a unique methodology that combines financial, operating and energy analysis with specialized systems and services.
Trane is hosting thought leaders from the public and private sectors to explain and demonstrate high performance buildings, and to discuss the financially-driven business case for energy and operating efficiencies at 9:00 BST at the Sofitel Hotel, Terminal 5, London Heathrow Airport (TW6 2GD London, UK).
The program begins with a welcome from Manlio Valdes and a presentation by Chris Webber, senior editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Webber will share results of a 2011 C-level executive study: " Unlocking the Benefits of Energy Efficiency: An Executive Dilemma ." The study offers insights into the effectiveness of corporate energy programs, gaps and executive-level requirements that need to be addressed in order to achieve success.
Following the panel discussion, attendees will hear luncheon remarks from Andrew Warren, director of the Association for the Conservation of Energy. Warren will discuss the current trends and government policies that help organizations become more energy efficient and help them on their high performance building journey.
After lunch, Trane is presenting its "Energy Efficiency Leader Award" to Arora Hotels for its commitment to sustainability. The Hotel's completed upgrades link the physical environment of the hotel to the company's business objectives. This approach represents a key step in Arora Hotels' journey toward high performance building.
These infrastructure solutions also reflect the company's strong environmental ethos evident in commitments to staff training on environmental issues, supporting a 'green team' based in each hotel, investing in water-saving and high-efficiency technologies, and recycling all waste. Arora Hotels also conducts annual environmental audits of its hotels to ensure compliance with environmental policy and to measure progress in key environmental areas.
Manlio Valdes will present the award to Surinder Arora, CEO and founder of Arora Hotels and Sofitel London. Building tours will commence following the award presentation.
Trane High Performance Buildings is an approach to creating safe, comfortable and efficient buildings.
The approach takes building owners and C-level executives through a six step methodology: 1) understanding the company's mission as well as European Union and national regulations and requirements; 2) conducting a whole-building, whole-lifecycle system performance assessment; 3) using energy modeling to simulate conservation measures, collect data and analyze savings; 4) providing predictive maintenance solutions that tie building performance to mission and operating objectives; 5) providing customer-specific turnkey solutions to improve energy efficiency at every phase, from design to service; and 6) completing measurement and validation to ensure that the building is operating as promised, including country-specific inspection services for Energy Performance Buildings Directive compliance.
The benefits of Trane High Performance Buildings include maximized value and return on invested capital of an asset; application of leading edge technology to use knowledge and data about the building to make decisions; an ideal indoor environment for occupants; and a sustainable building that is environmentally responsible and good for business.
Trane High Performance Buildings complements the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) certification process used throughout Europe, along with the Europe 2020 Initiative, Energy Efficiency Plan 2011, UK Green Deal and Carbon Reduction Commitment, and other European Union and member country energy-efficiency initiatives.
For more information about high performance buildings, visit www.trane.com/highperformancebuildings.