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Want to see where we've been? Check out our Previous Shows!
Big Al and the Heavyweights
The Love Shack Bar & Grill, 1013 Government Street, Ocean Springs, MS 39564
8:00 PM CDT. This is always a fun show! Please support #LiveMusic and #LiveMusicVenues! See you there! #BigAlandtheHeavyweights Ocean Springs, MS
Little Town Bar Hwy 48, 3010 Highway 48 EXT, Magnolia, MS 39652
Local bar and a lot of fun! Come out and see Big Al and the Heavyweights at the Little Town Bar!
Blues Tavern, Mobile, AL
7:30 PM CDT Voted #1 Blues Club is the Southeast by Southern Living magazine!
Thursday, February 11 @ 8:00PM Thu, Feb 11 @ 8:00PM
Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar, 201 W Marion Ave, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
8 PM EST A new place for Big Al and the Heavyweights! #PuntaGorda #FL Hope to see you! Leroy's Southern Kitchen And Bar...the great taste of New American Cooking With Southern Flair.
Friday, February 12 @ 7:00PM Fri, Feb 12 @ 7:00PM
Whiskey River On the Water, 5245 Limestone Dr, Port Richey, FL 34668
7 PM EST Big Al and the Heavyweights will be debuting at Whiskey River On the Water in Port Richey! It will be a Mardi Gras Par-te so come on out!
Non smoking indoor bar freshly remodeled, with waterfront views, live bands for your dancing needs, waterfront patio, delicious food and an amazing staff to make you all feel right at home! Happy Hour 11AM-6P Mon-Fri
Saturday, February 13 @ 8:00PM Sat, Feb 13 @ 8:00PM
Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444
Big Al and the Heavy Weights at 8 PM EST Arts Garage, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a multi-media arts venue located in downtown Delray Beach. This cultural hub proudly presents Grammy award-winning musicians, icons-in the making, arts education and outreach programs, and a spacious visual art gallery that displays emerging local talent.
Sunday, February 14 @ 7:00PM Sun, Feb 14 @ 7:00PM
Joe Cain Day Mardi Gras Celebration
The Love Shack, Ocean Springs, MS
Saturday, March 27 @ 6:00PM Sat, Mar 27 @ 6:00PM
Abita Brew Pub, 72011 Holly St., Abita Springs, LA 70420
A blast for Big Al and the Heavyweights to play at Abita! Come out and have some fun! Home of Abita beer, Abita Brew Pub has been serving up exclusive craft brews, delicious food, and good times since 1994.
Friday, April 16 @ 7:00PM Fri, Apr 16 @ 7:00PM
The Salty Snapper, 1405 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA
7 PM EDT Always a fun time out on Salty Snappers Patio! Come out and spend the evening with us! Our main focus at The Salty Snapper Seafood & Oyster Bar is to provide you with a great experience through food, drinks, service and atmosphere
Saturday, April 24 @ 7:00PM Sat, Apr 24 @ 7:00PM
Please confirm the time before coming out as the date gets closer! Big Al and the Heavyweights at the Little Town Bar Local Bar and a lot of fun!
Wednesday, May 12 @ 7:00PM Wed, May 12 @ 7:00PM
Englewood's on Dearborne, Englewood, FL
Thursday, May 13 @ 8:00PM Thu, May 13 @ 8:00PM
Crazy Uncle Mike's, 6450 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton, FL
Big Al and the Heavyweights takes the stage at Crazy Uncle Mike's. Brewery restaurant in Boca Raton. Scratch kitchen, live music, craft cocktails, extensive whiskey selection, and their own brewery. Good Times found here! Please check back to confirm times
Friday, May 14 @ 9:00PM Fri, May 14 @ 9:00PM
The Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
First time out for Big Al and the Heavyweights here at this genuine Irish Pub in the heart of Punta Gorda! You will find conversation, laughter, music, the finest imported beers, & feast on homemade Irish food! #BigAlandtheHeavyweights
Saturday, May 15 @ 7:00PM Sat, May 15 @ 7:00PM
Buckingham Blues Backyard Blues Festival, Fort Meyers, FL
Big Al and the Heavyweights will take the stage at the World Famous Buckingham Blues bar! Watch for their Time Slot. The Party starts at 2:00 PM Come on out and enjoy!!
Sunday, May 16 @ 2:00PM Sun, May 16 @ 2:00PM
Earl's Hideaway Lounge, Sebastian, Florida
2 PM EDT
Bluesmusic #RandB #FL #Sebastian #Music ALWAYS have a fun time playing for everyone at Earl's. Be sure to catch Big Al and the Heavyweights Sunday show there! Last of the Season!
Friday, October 22 @ 8:00PM Fri, Oct 22 @ 8:00PM
Blue Rooster, Sarasota, FL
Saturday, October 23 @ 8:00PM Sat, Oct 23 @ 8:00PM
The Little Bar Restaurant, 205 Harbor PL, Goodland, FL
8 PM EST Haven't been? You won't be disappointed! Great little place ! We are going to blues the house !
Big Al and the Heavyweights @ Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar
Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar, Punta Gorda, FL
Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar, Punta Gorda, FL 8:00PM
Big Al and the Heavyweights @ Whiskey River On The Water
Whiskey River On The Water, Port Richey, FL
Whiskey River On The Water, Port Richey, FL 7:00PM
Big Al and the Heavyweights @ Arts Garage
Arts Garage, Delray Beach, FL
Arts Garage, Delray Beach, FL 8:00PM
Big Al and the Heavyweights @ Blues Tavern
Blues Tavern, Mobile, AL 7:00PM
Big Al and the Heavyweights @ The Love Shack
The Love Shack, Ocean Springs, MS 8:00PM


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Fantasy Football Beat: Why Stephon Gilmore could shadow Travis Kelce in Patriots-Chiefs rematch
Phil Perry
December 5, 2019, 8:41 PM UTC
Fantasy football players seem to get smarter every year. The leagues get deeper. The competition gets better. That's partially because of the sheer amount of information available to fantasy geeks willing to put the time in.
But it's not always easy to find sound fantasy advice on players making up the back ends of fantasy depth charts. That's where we'll try to help fill in the gaps by providing you with information we've gleaned by being on the Patriots beat.
MARQUEE MATCHUP: STEPHON GILMORE vs. TRAVIS KELCE
How the Patriots opt to match up with Kansas City this weekend will be fascinating. There are a variety of options, which will be dependent on the availability of starting corner Jason McCourty, who's missed time lately with a groin injury.
What we saw in the AFC title game last year was a) Stephon Gilmore matched up with Sammy Watkins and J.C. Jackson matched up with Travis Kelce, then b) the opposite later in the game with the season on the line and the Chiefs in more passing situations. The Patriots could start the game off similarly this year, but the McCourty injury complicates matters. The Chiefs like their three-receiver, one-tight end looks. If McCourty is available, he might be a matchup for Demarcus Robinson. That would leave Jackson for Watkins (who has been largely a non-factor this season and has just two catches total in his last two games) and Jonathan Jones combining with Devin McCourty to double Tyreek Hill. That would free up Gilmore to take on Kelce, who's considered by the Patriots - based on how they've covered him - to be a big receiver rather than a true dual-threat tight end.
If McCourty isn't available, that could throw things into flux. Then perhaps Devin McCourty or Patrick Chung would be called upon to take Kelce, with Gilmore on Watkins and Jackson on Robinson. Jones and a safety (either McCourty or Harmon) could check Hill. If Gilmore ends up on Kelce, he's totally capable. We saw him frustrate Zach Ertz in Philly earlier this season.
CURRAN: Are we watching Brady's final days in N.E.?
"I gotta slow myself down a little bit because they're so slow," Gilmore said after the game when asked about covering tight ends. "But they're big and they push off a lot. Just gotta slow myself down a little bit because I'm used to covering faster guys. If I do that, I can play them pretty tight..."
"You can see it on film. Ertz is a fast guy, but like I said, I've guarded faster guys. I gotta really slow down and not get on top like I play receivers. Let him beat me a little bit. If I play on top he'll push me off. That's the game plan I had."
That plan worked in limiting Ertz's truly effective moments. He didn't touch the ball on third down or in Patriots territory. But Ertz still ended up with nine catches for 94 yards on 11 targets.
Allowing Gilmore to run with Kelce - Kansas City's money player in tight situations - might be the best move for the Patriots. But there's still an opportunity for him to get his numbers. And since this is a fantasy article, I'd suggest you go ahead and start the best fantasy tight end in the game. The position is so weak there's little chance you have anyone better to play. Just be prepared for a down day.
Julian Edelman: He's banged up. He's getting double-teamed. And yet still he puts up numbers. It's the same story every week. He's seen double-digit targets in seven straight weeks. The Chiefs aren't great at defending slot receivers, either, allowing over 70 percent completions.
James White: New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his pattern-match zone coverages have helped this defense improve ever so slightly against the pass. Last year they allowed 7.5 yards per attempt. This year they're allowing 7.1. Where they've struggled most is in defending pass-catching running backs, allowing 7.6 yards per attempt to backs, which is 31st in the NFL. They're also, according to Sharp Football Stats, allowing a bottom-third success rate (24th) to backs in the passing game. Whether as a receiver or as a runner taking advantage of the lighter boxes he's seen of late - 5.6 yards per carry against the Texans - White should do some damage.
Sony Michel: The Chiefs have one of the worst run defenses in football. They allow 5.1 yards per carry (30th) and allow 141.3 yards rushing per game (30th). This could be the Michel breakout game you've all been hoping for. (Unless your fantasy team has to face Michel this week.) He showed positive signs last week in Houston, rushing for 4.5 yards per carry until the Patriots got down in the game and got away from running the football.
PERRY: What exactly do Patriots do well offensively?
Tom Brady: Will the Patriots get this thing figured out eventually? I believe so. I believe a healthy Mohamed Sanu will help. I believe utilizing N'Keal Harry a little differently will help. But until you start to see some signs of real improvement, you can't depend on Brady as your fantasy quarterback going into the fantasy playoffs. The situation around him is simply too messy at the moment.
Patriots receivers not named Edelman: While the Chiefs play a lot of zone coverages, they pattern-match. That means it's zone that eventually looks a little like man. They aren't necessarily just dropping to a spot and reading the quarterback's eyes. They might also simply play man. The Cowboys played way more man than normal a few weeks ago and it worked because they believed they could match up with the talent the Patriots had on the field.
If the Chiefs do the same, who's beating one-on-one coverage if Edelman is doubled? Sanu might be able to if healthy. Harry might be able to on certain routes. But it's hard to envision anyone filling up the stat sheet from this group. And that includes the tight ends. The Chiefs have actually been pretty good against tight ends this year, allowing just 6.7 yards per attempt to that position, which is fifth in the NFL.
Tyreek Hill: The Patriots were lit up by Hill in the regular season last year, allowing seven catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns. They made a point not to allow that to happen again in the AFC Championship Game, doubling him everywhere on the field and giving up just one catch for 42 yards. Expect a similar plan Sunday. Plus, Hill hasn't exactly looked like himself of late. He's dealt with a hamstring injury at different points this year, and though he played 52 snaps last week against the Raiders, he had five catches for 55 yards on mostly short catch-and-run plays while aligned primarily on rookie Trayvon Mullen. It looked like he wasn't able to open it up and step on the gas.
Matt Cassel explains how Pats process bulletin board material
Patrick Mahomes: I'm not saying you should bench Mahomes. I'm also not *not* saying that. Some numbers! In his last two games against the Chargers and Raiders - the 21st and 29th pass defenses in the NFL terms of yards per attempt allowed - Mahomes did not crack 200 yards passing. He threw just one touchdown in each game. He lit it up against the Titans in his first game back from a knee injury (446 yards, three touchdowns) so that's not an issue. (Which you can see if you watched him run for a touchdown last week against Oakland.) But the recent sample size has not been real encouraging.
The Chiefs have had to shuffle running backs. The offensive line has been spotty at times. And Hill didn't look like himself last week (see above). Against a defense that gave Mahomes a hard time for one half in each of their last two meetings - a defense that has improved since last year - I wouldn't expect this to be a tour de force performance. I think if you have Matt Ryan going against the Ron Rivera-less Panthers or Krik Cousins against the Lions, I think you've got a real decision to make.
LeSean McCoy: He's a big name, but he isn't getting all that much work. He hasn't seen double-digit carries or recorded 70 total yards since Week 7. While the Patriots have had their share of issues in the running game and against pass-catching backs at different points this year, McCoy isn't a reliable option this week for fantasy purposes.
Sammy Watkins: In his team's last two games, Watkins has two catches on six targets despite playing 95 snaps. He has 33 catches and no touchdowns since a monster Week 1 (nine catches, 198 yards, three scores). He's playing. And he's playing a lot. With one of the best quarterbacks in the game. You'd think that would lead to fantasy points. It hasn't. His last best game was in Week 9, when he caught seven passes for 63 yards. Anticipating a bounce-back game against one of the best pass defenses in football doesn't seem wise.
Bad news for fans hoping for Vinatieri-Pats reunion
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Fantasy Football Beat: Why Stephon Gilmore could shadow Travis Kelce in Patriots-Chiefs rematch originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Sky Sports extends DP World Tour rights
The DP World Tour and Sky Sports have announced an extension to their broadcast partnership in the UK and Ireland, with Sky Sports remaining the home of the DP World Tour until 2024 and the Ryder Cup until 2025.
The deal will see all DP World Tour events broadcast live exclusively across Sky's platforms, including both its linear and on demand services. That means Sky Sports customers will be able to watch a minimum of 32 live events each season across the Tour's global tournament schedule.
Fans will also be able to enjoy new featured group coverage for the Tour's flagship Rolex Series events, and the Tour will also be working closely with Sky's VIP loyalty programme to offer access to a selection of UK and ROI tournaments. Sky Sports customers will also enjoy a range of golf programming across both linear and digital platforms, including masterclass sessions with former DP World Tour winners, behind the scenes access ahead of the world's biggest events, and much more.
The deal will also see Sky Sports broadcast both the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, and the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York, to its UK and Ireland customers on a dedicated Sky Sports Ryder Cup channel.
Managing Director of Sky Sports, Jonathan Licht, commented: "As we kickstart a record-breaking year of golf on Sky, we are thrilled to be extending our long-term partnership with the DP World Tour, further cementing Sky Sports as the home of golf in the UK and Ireland. This year our customers can enjoy the DP World Tour alongside our live coverage of all four men's majors, all five women's majors, the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour, all whilst they countdown the days to next year's Ryder Cup in Rome, live exclusively on Sky Sports."
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour group, added: "Sky Sports have been a trusted partner to our Tour as we continue to grow and transform, ensuring that fans of our sport in the UK and Ireland remain as close to the action as possible – with comprehensive live coverage of our events, world class analysis, and behind the scenes features. We're delighted that our partnership will continue until the end of the 2024 season for the DP World Tour and will continue until 2025 for the Ryder Cup. As a Tour, we are focused on giving fans innovative and insightful content, so we're excited about what is to come in collaboration with the talented team at Sky."
Sky Sports and European Tour extend partnership
Sky Sports extends US Open rights
Sky Sports wins more PGA Tour Golf
Sky Sports extends women's golf rights
Sky Deutschland extends European Golf rights
Categories: Articles, Content, Rights
Tags: golf, ryder cup, sky, sky sports, Tiger Woods


KGO news director Milt Weiss told the staff in a memo yesterday afternoon that Peabody-award winning anchor Richard Brown "is leaving" the station immediately and will be replaced by Dan Ashley on the 6 and 11 p.m. news broadcasts.
"Richard and I have been talking for quite some time now about change," Weiss said yesterday. "Monday was the day it became official and formal."
Brown, who was not in the office at the time of the announcement, was informed of the decision by his agent around noon yesterday.
"I was never personally informed by management," said Brown, reached at his home at 6 p.m., when he ordinarily would have been on the air. "I found out today that I am done, finished. My last show was last Thursday. I won't be on the air again. I am very disappointed that I won't get a chance to say goodbye."
Although Brown's one-year contract wasn't up until September, the station decided not to renew it, Brown said.
"I am not angry; I am not bitter," he said. "This is a high-risk, high-reward business." Brown, 44, is believed to earn in the vicinity of $300,000.
KGO (Channel 7) leads the early evening newscasts in the ratings both at 5 and 6 p.m., but trails KRON at 11 p.m. KTVU has the highest-rated late broadcast, at 10 p.m.
Brown, a Canadian, joined KGO in October 1990 to co-anchor the 6 and 11 p.m. news with Anna Chavez. He replaced Pete Wilson, who went to KRON (Channel 4). Last year, Brown won a George Foster Peabody award, one of the most prestigious honors in broadcasting, for his news reports about the war in Rwanda. The station also won an Emmy this year for best newscast at 6 p.m.
Brown said he was told by station management that in audience surveys his "Q" (recognition quotient) was low. "We've been talking about this since last August, the writing was on the wall," said Brown, who has no concrete plans at the moment, "but I have several irons in the fire."
Brown's replacement, Dan Ashley, has been with KGO for a year, coming from the ABC affiliate in Charleston, S.C. Ashley has been co-anchor of the 5 p.m. news with Cheryl Jennings and has been a reporter for the 11 p.m. news.
He will co-anchor the 6 and 11 p.m. news with Terilyn Joe. Dan Noyes replaces Ashley at 5 p.m.
"Terilyn Joe and Dan Ashley are a permanent team at 6 and 11 as of Tuesday night," Weiss said.
Brown hasn't been in the office since Thursday. "I will go in later this week and pack my office," he said. "This is the way it is; I would have liked them to have made a different decision, but I'm not sitting here stewing about it."


RNET Keith Olsen Insider Trades for RigNet Inc.
Apr 22, 2019, 2:31 p.m.
Mr. Keith Olsen is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at vXchnge Operating LLC. He is on the Board of Directors at IntelePeer, Inc. and RigNet, Inc. Mr. Olsen was previously employed as President, Chief Executive Officer & Director by Switch & Data Facilities Co., Inc., Vice President by AT&T Corp. /Old/, Vice President by Graphnet, Inc., and Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer by Fibermedia Group LLC. He received his undergraduate degree from State University of New York College at Geneseo.


When did TIGAR become a British group?
Apparently "today" Don. That's the NY Post for ya. Do they ever get it right?
Anybody know what prompted them to publish that piece today?
Is this a result of a slow news day or has there been progress on this rescue?
Guys, My apologies for taking so long to post to this thread. The story back in February was due to a local reporter here in Wales following up on the story from 2008,she contacted Ric for comment and the world media picked it up.
The Maid remains safely buried and the beach is monitored regularly. Progress is still being made and data collected,but to really move forward there has to be a suitable museum home for the 38 before further consideration can be given to a recovery, to recover without first having a long term home would be irresponsible.


Well, my husband warned me that it would be coming – – – The hair. The shedding. The dust balls. And here we are. I admit it, I let Finn sit in the back seat of my car without even thinking about the fact that I had black seats. I saw the seats every time I put her in there, but this abundance of fur seem to explode out of nowhere. One day I was in the front passenger seat and turned around and saw it all – WHAMMO! I even noticed hair on the back of the front seats from when she tried to climb from the back to front.
I've been reading up on this, and it seems some goldens don't tend to shed when they are puppies, or, in particular, during their first year. We're just lucky I suppose!
Holy cow! We need to get the vacuum out!


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KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company based in The Hague, Netherlands.
ID Quantique is a Swiss company that specialises in quantum-safe network encryption, secure quantum key generation and quantum key distribution solutions.
KPN and ID Quantique have announced they are now using quantum encryption and have implemented end-to-end quantum key distribution (QKD) in the network between KPN's data centres in The Hague and Rotterdam.


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We have rejected the double standard that the ICC is applying in dispensing international justice–Tedros Adhanom
Post-Colonial "Freedom"
As of July 2012 the ICC consists of 121 states parties, 32 signatories and 41 non-signatory UN member states. The states parties are countries that have both signed and ratified the Rome Statute and are thus subject to the ICC's jurisdiction, including all of South America, most of Europe and approximately half of Africa. The non-signatories are those countries that neither signed nor ratified the Statute and are thus exempt from its jurisdiction, such as China and India.
The big fish – the United States and the NATO nations – are free to violate the international law, to violate human rights with complete impunity. Since the ICC was founded, the United States invaded Iraq …. Israel attacked Gaza, targeted a civilian population … so it seems these rules apply only to weak nations–Kimberley Margaret
The signatories are countries that have signed but not ratified the Rome Statute, effectively meaning they are undecided as to whether or not to accept its jurisdiction (an exception being Côte d'Ivoire, which does accept it). These signatory states are required by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to not commit acts "which would defeat the object and purpose" of the treaty until they definitively decide not to become states parties [1]. There are 3 countries that originally signed but have withdrawn from state party status, i.e. Sudan, Israel and USA, which makes them totally outside its jurisdiction.
Its headquarters are in The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands. Its top four funders are Britain, Italy, Germany and France [2] – incidentally all European Union members. The first Chief Prosecutor was Luis Gabriel Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer and prosecutor who is currently 60 years old. In 2006 he dismissed a staff member who accused him of sexual abuse, though that allegation was found to be false. His 9-year term ended in June of this year, and he was replaced by a Gambian lawyer named Fatou Bensouda. She has served as a government civil servant, legal adviser and international criminal law prosecutor. Jeune Afrique, Africa's leading magazine, has listed her as the 4th most influential African personality in the Civil Society category [3]. She very strongly believes in the ICC's power and necessity in the world.
THE ROME STATUTE
The Rome Statute of the ICC is its founding treaty, the documented body of principles according to which the ICC operates whose functions are to describe its jurisdiction, structure and functions. According to it, the ICC has the power of complementarity, meaning it can investigate and prosecute in states whose national court systems have failed. This seems noble, until one realises this means that even in best-case scenarios the court is only a last resort against grand-scale crimes. This does nothing to close the impunity gaps by which most perpetrators of grand-scale crimes can get away scot-free, and thereby leaves the victims dissatisfied [4].
Due to the statute having been made on the same day as the institution itself was set up – 1st July 2002, it can only prosecute crimes committed on and after that date. This is known as temporal jurisdiction. It would have gained the power of universal jurisdiction – when a state can prosecute for crimes committed outside its borders regardless of the criminal's relation to that state, or lack thereof – except that the USA fervently opposed this [5]. Thus the court's powers have been restricted to the following 3 circumstances:
1 – When a criminal is a member of a state party or any state that has otherwise acceded to the court's jurisdiction,
2 – When the crime was committed on a state party's territory or that of a state that has accepted its jurisdiction,
3 – When the court receives a referral from the UN Security Council [5].
Thus, from its inception, the Rome Statute and the court have been heavily restricted in what they can really do. But perhaps this is an advantage considering their track record, outlined below.
'Special' Relationship With Africa
The first impression one might glean from its founding principles is that the ICC is benevolent, acting for the greater good of the entire world. However, one well-noted feature that has sparked much criticism is that the people it has indicted and prosecuted so far are approx 90% Africans. The ICC is therefore probably better described as the ICCA, International Criminal Court for Africans, as it seems to harbour a deep-seated "Africa problem" [6]. From this one might accidentally conceive the idea that only Africans commit war crimes, genocides and the like. Here is a list of all the people prosecuted and indicted by the ICC to date, listed by name and country of origin:
Sylvestre Mudacumura – Rwanda Bosco Ntaganda – Congo
Simone Gbagbo – RIvory Coast Abdel Rahim Hussein – Sudan
Laurent Gbagbo – Côte d'Ivoire
Muammar Gaddafi – Libya
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi – Libya
Abdullah Senussi – Libya
Mohammed Ali – Kenya
Uhuru Kenyatta – Kenya
Henry Kosgey – Kenya
Francis Muthaura – Kenya
William Ruto – Kenya
Joshua Sang – Kenya
Callixte Mbarushimana – Rwanda Simone Gbagbo – Ivory Coast [4] Omar al-Bashir – Sudan
Abdallah Banda – Sudan
Saleh Jerbo – Sudan
Bahr Idriss Abu Garda – Sudan
Jean-Pierre Bemba – Congo
Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui – Congo
Germain Katanga – Congo
Ahmed Haroun – Sudan
Ali Kushayb – Sudan
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo – Congo
Joseph Kony – Uganda
Raska Lukwiya – Uganda
Okot Odhiambo – Uganda
Dominic Ongwen – Uganda
Vincent Otti – Uganda
This is a criticism that Fatou Bensouda has had to deal with time and time again, and in a nutshell she is sick of it. She claimed that the court's focus on Africa is a sign that the continent is dedicated to international justice [7]! Not surprising she would say this, considering she has been the ICC's deputy prosecutor for seven years before her promotion to Chief Prosecutor [8]. Let's say the ICC has a sincere superhero mission to cure the international problem of undue aggression against a particular group of people, as Bensouda so fervently believes. The problem with Bensouda is that she is voluntarily playing the role of the ICC's token black friend, their way to "prove" they're not racist. This is especially poignant considering Moreno-Ocampo's reputation as a racist due to his disproportionate focus on African aggressions. Why does Bensouda support their work so much when the criticism stands so firmly?
ICC and Co The QUACK DOCTOR – FIXING AFRICA:
The ICC works via referral to the UN Security Council, like as happened with the case of Kenyan rape survivor Ursula Cherono. She was brutally attacked in retaliatory attacks after the Kenyan elections. The attack resulted in spinal cord injury, broken legs and a lost uterus due to the many rapes she endured [7]. She hoped the ICC could do what Kenyan officials couldn't. Cherono wanted justice as we all would, so she joined the many others who have referred their cases to the ICC. But are Africans the only people on the planet that experience such horrifying and traumatising events? What about the rape victims of the US Armed Forces, for there are extensive records to support their cases? Isn't that one of the greatest crimes against humanity (women) or crime of (men's) aggression?
This criticism has been echoed by Chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping, who is "unimpressed" at the ICC's overemphasis on war crimes in Africa. He questioned why other places where war crimes are committed, i.e. Colombia, Iraq, Caucasus & Gaza, are being ignored [7].
The Western world seems to have something of a love/hate relationship with the ICC. Take for example the case of Omar al-Bashir, which Britain publicly backed and supported but was found to have deemed the ICC unhelpful [9]. Furthermore, Britain seemed to think of the court at the time as some kind of token to "free" South Sudan, which immediately brings the ICC's self-proclaimed independency into serious doubt [9].
On top of that, the ICC's referral system gives the impression that the court can only be implemented by nations who volunteer to be part of it. Though many African nations did support it at its inception (and many still do), there was also a hidden agenda. Apart from the funding of pro-ICC NGOs to convince nations to accept it, there was also the amended Cotonou Agreement of 2002 to coerce African nations into ratifying the Rome Statute. This version of the Agreement, revised by the ICC itself, explicitly stated that any ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) country that refused to ratify would be denied hundreds of millions of Euros worth of development aid [2].
The Negro who lives on the patronage of philanthropists is the most dangerous member of our society, because he is willing to turn back the clock of progress when his benefactors ask him so to do– Marcus Garvey
This, however, is a false threat because judging from the media one would think Africa as a whole actually needed such aid. Despite ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's claim that Africa isn't making enough progress against poverty Africa's GDP had increased by 6% as of 2006 (which is above the historical average for rich or "developing" nations), and despite how the media loves to portray the continent Africa as rife with child soldiers,AIDS and/or war victims the actual percentage of Africans in these categories is at most 0.5%, and in many cases much lower [10].
Prominent vocal – and successful – Africans would argue against this, as Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda did when confronted by Irish rock star Bono in an African aid conference in Tanzania back in 2007 [11]. His point was that flooding the African continent with aid money solves nothing, as it encourages laziness and neediness. What would be better is for Africans to stop playing the victim role and appreciate the value of investment, and for the West to likewise treat Africans as business partners instead of parasitic beggars. Africans' aim should not be to get out of poverty, he argued, but to generate wealth for themselves and become rich. It shouldn't matter that this is unpopular to Western minds, who prefer to feel that giving handouts is enough, because that attitude got China and India where they are now [11].
Unfortunately, too few Africans share this view, and as long as this is the case they will continue relying on foreign aid. On top of that, Bono directly branded Mwenda's critiques as "b******s" and "bulls**t" [11]! If this doesn't exemplify the true beliefs of the Western world about Africans nothing does.
As if that weren't bad enough, George Bush who was in presidency at the time signed into law the American Service-members' Protection Act (ASPA) to grant USA the right to use military force to free any US citizen being detained by the court. This would mean America has given itself the right to invade The Hague, Holland [12], and the ICC must accordingly pander to America's sensibilities. This fact alone disproves the ICC's claims to independence but it doesn't stop there, because the ICC is funded via voluntary contributions from the UN, contributions from states parties and others [13][14]. It would be downright foolhardy to think this has no influence in how the Court is run.
As Africans themselves can tell anyone, the ICC has spent all of its 10 years involved in human rights cases in Africa [6][7][15]. This occupation takes a good amount of funding and commitment. Why the dedication? Why the hassle? Is it purely to protect the defenceless victims of human impunity against the "uncivilised" acts of vicious dictators? Is Africa an inadequate enforcer of justice, despite African leaders convening in Addis Ababa earlier this year to discuss enforcing justice without international aid [15]? Despite the existence of the African Union and the African Court on Human and People's Rights (AfCHPR)? Is Africa the only place where dictators abound and human rights are compromised for selfish greed, or is this another Eurocentric plot against African progression?
To this day Africa is somewhat divided on the ICC; government officials and the African Union generally disapprove while the ordinary citizens show somewhat more support. One could interpret this to mean that the corrupt African leaders are attempting to evade justice, but what seems more likely is the ICC is targeting African leadership – regardless of legitimacy. Much of this legitimacy is not Africans' definition thereof, as there is an acknowledgement in the diaspora that many African politicians and leaders are educated in and "elected" by the West. In the interests of fairness, though, the ICC has successfully convicted one suspect (though after many failed attempts) – the Congolese lost boy Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. He was convicted of using child soldiers under the age of 15 in his militia, and has been sentenced to a total of 14 years of prison. However, his conviction was weak from the beginning, as the trial had been halted due to Moreno-Ocampo's refusal to disclose some evidence, and Dyilo's defence team was given a smaller budget than the court, and many documents were too heavily censored to be fully legible [16].
But why didn't the AfCHPR execute the conviction of this leader? It was in existence at the time of his prosecution; it was founded in 2004 while Dyilo's (successful) conviction was in March 2012. Some say it simply doesn't have the capital to convict such a daunting case [15]. That is why the ICC at its conception was so largely supported by Africans – as with any "developing" nation you do not have to look far to see the injustice in the justice system.
The white man has succeeded in subduing the world by forcing everybody to think his way. The white man?s propaganda has made him the master of the world. And those who have come in contact with it and accepted it have become his slaves.– Marcus Garvey
Assuming the lack of funding is the reason for the African Court's lack of success and support, why is this so? As a continent Africa is and always has been abundant in natural resources and wealth. Could it be because of the collective wealth stolen from Africa during the Atlantic slave trade, colonisation and the historical (and current) scramble for Africa? Let's look at the case of Jean-Pierre Bemba. When he was being tried by the then Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, it was noted that only Bemba sat in the dock and none of the armed pro-government forces of Congo [9]. Why was this?
Besides, are only African victims ratting out their leaders to the international community? We need not look far to find crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression in other regions of the globe, as Jean Ping pointed out [7]. Let's look at some of the war crimes of the US and British forces. The occupation of Iraq involves many illegal operations, based upon international humanitarian law [17]. From the beginning, the fallacies of a quick and tight occupation of Iraq were debunked by reporters and Iraqi media sources. The bombs that were marketed as precise proved to be much less. Iraqi infrastructure, communities, and families were demolished by the inaccurate bombings. Rules of engagement in Iraq became very vague which made every Iraqi an insurgent. Iraqi civilians were killed out of assumptions or fear. The amount of force and firepower against civilians was deliberate overkill considering the relative dearth of military might of their opponents [17].
There have been leaks of soldiers giving accounts of these attacks on civilians. In one specific case, a US chopper opened fire on a minivan filled with children and family not once, not twice, but thrice. One of the soldiers that saw the aftermath tried to mend the situation by saving a bullet-riddled child from death. The US chopper's reason for engagement was the illusion of an RPG in the hand of an onlooking civilian. Later investigation showed very vaguely that the RPG was handled by insurgents across the street from the van. But the civilian within the minivan did not have any weapons. Movies like Green Zone tell a more vivid story of the reasons of US and British occupation of Iraq. These stories are a common theme in US history. Are these not crimes against humanity or crimes of aggression?
And even in Africa, why are Africans the only ones being indicted and prosecuted? One could argue that because no war crimes or genocides are being committed by foreigners (at least not ones the ICC is doing anything about for whatever reason) the ICC can't do anything. Considering the dearth of institutions to oppose foreign encroachments on African development, this once again leaves Africans at the mercy of the world. It's once again up to "the white man" to undertake his burden to instil civilisation in the world to rescue the other peoples from themselves and their "savage" ways.
Facts do show that the African leaders are usually guilty of the crimes they commit. The international media is littered with accounts of the wrongs of Africa. Mugabe, to say the least, has made quite a name for himself through his own form of reparations in Zimbabwe.
Nevertheless, this isn't always the case. Laurent Gbagbo, for example, had been transferred to the Hague unusually quickly following allegations against him. In fact the transfer was so speedy it was comparable to an abduction, [8] and was in breach of international procedural code and directly ignored Ivoirian demands for peace. Even Jerry Rawlings, ex-president of Ghana, was angered to the point that he issued a statement on behalf of most Africans demanding that Africa should have the right to prosecute its own criminals and get rid of international intervention [8]. This was all around the time the Court declared Bensouda would be promoted to Chief Prosecutor.
Around the same time Gbagbo was being transferred to The Hague, Alassane Ouattara was left well alone in his hotel in Abidjan. He was Gbagbo's rival and a former official of the International Monetary Fund [18], therefore favoured by the Western powers, and was married to Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara, a white Frenchwoman [19]. He issued military force and former rebels from the north, led by Guillaume Soro, to oust Gbagbo and cut off his access to international financing & funds from the cocoa industry.
As if that weren't enough, the USA, UN and EU imposed sanctions to ruin Côte d'Ivoire's economy, just to force Gbagbo to step down from leadership. When that didn't work, French and UN helicopters bombed his place of residence by dropping missiles on the whole city of Abidjan [18].
Now one must ask: if the ICC turns a blind eye to European and Euro-American aggressions, how can they be trusted to dispense true justice anywhere in the world? In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and since some injustices are being ignored there is no hope for justice to prevail.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere– Martin Luther King,Jr
Whether they draw attention or are given undue investigation they have all been highly publicised. The Gaddafi family has gained a somewhat Kardashian-level popularity. Media outlines their lavish spending in the international retail and real estate community. They are given this celebrity status because of their failed leadership. The Kony and the Lost Boys headline takes the cake. These crimes are serious, granted, but why are they given such pop recognition by mainstream media and such grim recordings by NGOs? Are the inhumane crimes of Africa more atrocious than the crimes of any other region? Or is Africa the arch-villain who terrorises the international community? History and current events reply with a resounding NO.
Thus the occupation of the ICC in Africa by proxy is no longer the debate; it is an established fact. The particulars of this occupation and the necessary resistance are the topics worthy of debate.
ICC & GADAFFI
This Section is added from another article, it was written prior to the Western Execution of Gaddafi
The ICC has issued a typical "Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court" For Gaddafi. How does the International Criminal Court (ICC) work? They have been issuing selective warrants to African leaders, some more deserving than others (re: Bashir).
However, the state of Libya is not a party to the Rome Statute, and is therefore not bound by the ICC unless something is referred by the UN Security Council. Article 16 of the Rome Statute has a built in time delay for cases presented through the UN Security Council.
Article 16: Deferral of investigation or prosecution
No investigation or prosecution may be commenced or proceeded with under this Statute for a period of 12 months after the Security Council, in a resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, has requested the Court to that effect; that request may be renewed by the Council under the same conditions.
ICC STATES: The situation in Libya was referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council, through the unanimous adoption of Resolution 1970 on 26 February 2011. The Security Council decided, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, that "the Libyan authorities shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor pursuant to this resolution" and, while recognizing that States not party to the Rome Statute have no obligations under the Statute, the Security Council urged all States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully with the Court and the Prosecutor.
The flexibility of the ICC should be reported to Guinness World Records under the category of best contortionist. They have not followed the Rome Statute in this situation, because they didn't wait 12 months as required, but only 6 days. So again, we see how the choir of Europe sings in tandem and how all institutions: the 4Ms Media, Merchant, Missionary and Military synchronize to bring about an intended result.1)African Agency by 'Alik Shahadah
USA & ISRAEL: EXEMPTIONS & EXCEPTIONALISM
In specific regard to the USA, there has from the start been what can rightly be called exceptionalism: the concept that American citizens should be exempt from being tried by the ICC simply by virtue of being American [20]. First it began with USA's (and Israel's) decision to withdraw, or 'unsign', from ICC jurisdiction after initially signing the treaty, and thereafter continued by manipulating the ICC's referral process. This allowed USA back in 2011 to vote for the situation in Libya to be referred to the UNSC, despite the fact that both USA and Libya do not accept the ICC's jurisdiction [21]. This is blatantly a tactic to undermine African figures of authority; if Libya didn't ratify the Rome Statute why should it accede to the court's jurisdiction, especially considering the USA never would if the situation were reversed?
On top of that, Bush's adoption of the ASPA gives USA military personnel the right to commit any war crimes they wish with impunity. Then there are also certain bilateral immunity agreements USA made with over 100 countries, including states parties to the ICC, that effectively mean USA can refuse military aid to those nations should they refer Americans to the UNSC [16][20]. Additionally, as a veto-wielding member of the UNSC, the USA also has the right to refuse to refer its nationals to the court [7].
Specifically addressing Israel, there are the ongoing attacks made by Israeli civilians (i.e. the price taggers & hilltop youth) and military personnel alike against Palestinian civilians. However, Palestine is somewhat unique in that it has referred cases of this to the ICC, but the ICC flat-out refused to investigate! Their reasoning was that the UN General Assembly doesn't recognise Palestine as a state [22], therefore its claims are effectively invalid! However, it may accept future claims if Palestine upgrades its UN status from 'observer' to 'non-member state'. All this really means for Palestine is that Israeli aggression is ignored and allowed until Palestine accepts certain terms and conditions laid down in paperwork that may or may not make any difference.
There's also the point that back in 2010 Israel's Operation Cast Lead were deemed violations of the rules of war and maybe even crimes against humanity [23]. However, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) was in response called "the most moral army in the world" [23]! Israel to this day refuses to ratify the Rome Statute for fear that IDF officers, soldiers and Israeli politicians may be prosecuted, and thus remain outside its jurisdiction.
CRITICISMS AND OPPOSITION
Despite the ICC's self-portrayal and founding tenets, it has consistently failed to live up to its own standards. Needless to say, many around the world have found much to criticise about its practice. For instance, both India and China have been highly critical of it since 2005 [24][25]. However, many of those criticisms are based on their own national interests. China has 5 main qualms with it:
1 – Acceptance of its jurisdiction is not voluntary and complementarity gives it the right to judge other nations' fitness to conduct their own trials,
2 – Internal armed conflicts are qualified as war crimes,
3 – Crimes against humanity are defined as crimes even outside of wartime,
4 – The ICC's power to prosecute for the crime of aggression weakens the UNSC (of which China is a permanent veto-wielding member),
5 – It can be easily manipulated by political influences. [25]
India's qualms, meanwhile, are that it has no option for states to accept its jurisdiction voluntarily or temporarily. India also worries about how the ICC will judge its own legal systems, and the ICC does not limit its definition of war crimes to international armed conflicts. As with China, India opines that the ICC can be politically manipulated due to the Prosecutor's power to prosecute proprio motu and the involvement of UNSC [24].
Other people and groups, though, have had more altruistic motives to condemn the ICC. In June 2012 David Comissiong, President of the People's Empowerment Party (PEP) founded in Barbados, issued a written challenge to the ICC. Drawn up by Comissiong and an international assembly of Pan-African activists who travelled from New York to The Hague, the text was directed to Bensouda herself and by extension the whole ICC [26]. After warning that the world was watching them, this document stated how all of the prosecuted have been African leaders the West wishes to be rid of. This naturally leads to a suspicion that the ICC is nothing but a tool of Western powers, then a request was made to the ICC to prove this wasn't the case. Finally, the ICC was demanded to do something for the victimised Libyans, Haitians, Ivoirians and African-Americans, with a reminder that it would be judged on its response to this unambiguous challenge [26]. The reason the Libyans, Haitians, Ivoirians and African-Americans were specifically addressed was to highlight the roles played by American, British, French, Canadian and Italian leaders in crimes against humanity and war crimes against these people, whom Comissiong and his team requested the ICC to investigate and prosecute during their visit to The Hague.
Other critics have furthermore noted how the court exacerbates ongoing conflicts, treats the defence unjustly and does not truly clarify why it takes on certain cases and not others [16].
There is also the problem of its temporal jurisdiction, especially troublesome for people of African descent. This means if any of them wish to have Europe or USA, for example, prosecuted for genocides done before 1st July 2002 (e.g. the German genocide of the Herero & Namaqua from 1904-07, the European trans-Atlantic slave trade of 1501-1865, the British atrocities against the Kenyan Kikuyu in the 1950s, the European Scramble for Africa of 1881-1914, etc.), the ICC will refuse to do anything. This is despite the fact that the sheer numbers of slaughtered innocents reaches well into the millions and the amount of reparations can be fairly easily calculated. As always with European and Euro-American elites, they refuse to recompense their victims, or even accept their ways as immoral.
All in all, the ICC is basically another tactic in the gentrification and subjugation of Africa. To justify the foreign investment in Africa there must be a legitimate reason for the invasion, and the Western media supplies this by casually associating African leaders as a whole with bad leadership and war crimes. The ICC's involvement in Africa and seizure of its leaders is a tactic needed to make Africa more "civilised" and culturally appropriate for foreign development, which it will do nothing to oppose.
The ICC should thus concern itself much more with the criminal invasions of "developed" nations on "underdeveloped" nations, and allow the internal cases of human rights to be settled internally. That's why organisations such as the AfCHPR and the African Union exist. The African Union does not oppose justice or condone impunity [7], and it seeks to establish justice in Africa without the publicity or intrusiveness of the international media. It should thus be left to do this, using the abundant resources and wealth Africa still possesses to build itself up as and when necessary. The same goes for the AfCHPR. They ought to use this power to alter the leadership of African nations, rejecting faulty leaders as & when they show up and supporting the ones who benefit African interests, as well as strengthen African media sources to give the citizens a greater say in how their countries are run and a more accurate portrayal of African people to the rest of the world. This effectively means the ICC should scrap its concept of complementarity, as it had failed its own mission ever since America was allowed to restrict its activity. Why should a legal system, especially one so heavily influenced by two of the world's greatest repositories of war criminals, have the right to judge other nations' fitness to try their own criminals? And with specific regard to Africans and their descendants in the diaspora, why should this court be supported or allowed to hold any kind of power over them when Western powers have been the greatest instigators of war crimes and crimes against humanity for at least the past five centuries?
People of African descent (continental & diasporic alike) would do well to keep their eyes on the ICC's response to Comissiong's letter, as would the African Union and AfCHPR. It may reveal something about how the Western world thinks of Africa and the "developing" world in general.
[1] http://web.archive.org/web/20050208040137/http://www.un.org/law/ilc/texts/treatfra.htm
[2] http://www.newafricanmagazine.com/special-reports/sector-reports/icc-vs-africa/europe-masters-behind-the-icc?print=1&tmpl=component
[3] Jeune Afrique, No. 2450-2451, 26 Dec 2010 – 8 Jan 2011.
[4] http://ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-RSRC-Global-Complementarity-Briefing-2010-English.pdf
[5] Elizabeth Wilmshurst, 1999. 'Jurisdiction of the Court', p. 136. In Roy S Lee (ed.), The International Criminal Court: The Making of the Rome Statute. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. ISBN 90-411-1212-X.
[6] http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/03/20123278226218587.html
[7] http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/International+justice+Is+Africa+on+trial+/-/440808/1380106/-/javpde/-/index.html
[8] http://www.newafricanmagazine.com/features/politics/an-african-now-heads-the-icc-what-next
[9] http://www.economist.com/node/18176088
[10] http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-easterly6jul06,0,5290414.story
[11] http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/bono_heckles_speaker_at_african_aid_conference/
[12] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-jett/icc-united-states_b_1368182.html
[13] http://www.cfr.org/international-criminal-courts-and-tribunals/frequently-asked-questions-international-criminal-court/p8981#p7
[14] http://www.insidejustice.com/law/index.php/intl/2008/11/10/differences_icc_icj
[15] http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-05-11-d-day-for-the-icc-in-africa
[16] http://www.cfr.org/africa/africa-international-criminal-court/p12048
[17] http://www.consumersforpeace.org/pdf/war_crimes_iraq_101006.pdf
[18] http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/g/laurent_gbagbo/index.html
[19] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12934834
[20] http://consortiumnews.com/2011/06/05/american-exceptionalisms-hypocrisy/
[21] http://www.redress.cc/global/slittlewood20110527
[22] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/04/icc-rebuffs-palestinians-war-crimes-case-against-israel.html
[23] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-must-stop-boycotting-international-criminal-court-1.265600
[24] http://www.ielrc.org/content/a0505.pdf
[25] http://jicj.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/3/608.abstract
[26] New African, No. 520, August-September 2012, page 20.
1. ↑ African Agency by 'Alik Shahadah
Mohammad Baseer
FRANCIS MAINA KURIA
March 7, 2018 #2 Author
i need to critisize african leaders who despite having the spirit of PANAFRICANISM brought about by our forefathers namely JOMOKENYATTA,KWAMENKRUMA and JUSHUANKOMO they still lag behind by not accepting the outcome of various election outcome across the continent hence bringing about unnessesary political tension eg: KENYA 8\8\2017
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Tag: Rick Perry debate
Republicans deserve to lose
November 11, 2011 November 11, 2011 James Edwards
Join us on the show tomorrow night as we revisit the GOP primary field. In the meantime, Republican voters remain as clueless as ever.
In the Republican race for the presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich's support continues to slowly grow, and he is now tied with Mitt Romney for second place, while Herman Cain just edges both of them out for the top spot. Both Cain and Romney have lost support since late October.
In a new CBS News Poll, 61 percent of Republican primary voters say the sexual harassment accusations against Cain won't make any difference in their vote, but 30 percent say the charges make them less likely to back him, and that rises to 38 percent among women. Cain has lost support among women since last month – from 28 percent in October to 15 percent now. He has lost ground with conservatives and Tea Party supporters as well.
But the race could still change; seven in 10 Republican primary voters say it is still too early to say for sure which candidate they will support.
The field of Republican candidates now has three candidates within striking distance of each other at the top of the list: with 18 percent, Herman Cain is in the top spot, followed by Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich with 15% each. Support for both Cain and Romney has declined since late last month, and Gingrich is the only one of the top three whose support is steadily – if slowly – on the upswing.
Cain has lost support among women since late October. Then, he led among women, garnering 28 percent of their support. Now, his support among women is just 15 percent. He has also lost ground with conservatives, from 30 percent to 23 percent now. And there has been some movement among Tea Party supporters as well; their support for Cain has declined from 32 percent to 19 percent. Romney has lost support among men, while Gingrich's support among that group has increased eight points.
Six in 10 Republican primary voters say the charges of sexual harassment against Cain make no difference to their vote. Still, 30 percent say the charges make them less likely to support him.
Of self-identified Tea Party supporters 71 percent say the allegations make no difference, as do 67 percent of conservatives. This poll was being conducted as new, and more specific, allegations arose against Cain.
Among women, 38 percent say they are less likely to support Cain because of the allegations against him. Fifty-seven percent say that will make no difference in their vote. Just 23 percent of men say they are less likely to vote for Cain because of the harassment allegations.
Voters, overall, are following the story. Most say they have heard something about the harassment allegations, including 59 percent of Republican primary voters who have heard a lot.
Among Republican voters who have heard or read a lot about it, a majority still says the allegations won't impact their vote.
What about you, TPC fans? Who has your vote if the primaries were to be held today?
Rick Perry sparkles at recent Republican debate
Republicans|GOPHerman Cain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Rick Perry debate, Ron Paul23 Comments


I think it's safe to say that most of us that work in the office, slaving away at a computer all day, yearn for something interesting and different. Something that forces you to get out of that chair and get moving. Perhaps that's just me, but I'd like to wager that a few of you desk dwellers feel the same. I was thinking about this exact thing when I came across an infographic on Visual.ly that discussed exactly that: jobs that make you wonder if they are really things that you should be getting paid for since they are so different and "non-worky." (I'm not sure if that's really a word, but we're gonna roll with it!) Not only are these jobs a far cry from the norm, but the people that hold these jobs make a good amount of dough, too!
So how do you feel about cooking? How do you feel about ships? Combine those two things and you could make close to $180,000 annually. The job I'm talking about is that of a submarine cook. They cook the food that is served on the submarine- simply enough. Withing just six years though, these submarine cooks could be making as much as a junior admiral. What about diving? Have you always loved to swim? Then you may be someone that considers making oil and gas diving your career. These divers inspect and install rigs, welding or pipes for oil rigs under the sea. I'm not sure of the danger involved with this odd job, but it pays about $80,000 annually. Not too shabby, right? Check out the other odd jobs below in the infographic. Perhaps you'll reconsider your hum-drum, computer toiling office job after all.


At Allied Universal Corporation, workers are given retirement benefits. To help ensure a steady income source later in life, many employees take advantage of employer-provided pension plans. Allied Universal Corporation provides defined contribution pension plans. With a defined contribution pension plan, businesses help workers save and invest for retirement.
Companies in the same industry as Allied Universal Corporation, ranked by salary.


The CRM in question must have a proven level of homogeneity such that the observed variance in repeat assays can be attributed almost exclusively to measurement error. In other words, any sampling error resulting from inhomogeneity of the reference material should be small enough in comparison to measurement error to be negligible.
The CRM should be well characterised by round robin evaluation at a minimum of 10 recognised mineral testing laboratories and certified in accordance with International Standards Organisation (ISO) recommendations. This evaluation program should include analysis of variance (ANOVA) treatment to establish uniformity of the measured property throughout the entire batch.
A reference material is no better than the user's perception of it. It is critical, therefore, that the user has total confidence in its quality. If this is not the case and analytical problems are suspected, the task of assigning the source of error to the suspect laboratory is fraught with uncertainty. It is imperative, therefore, that the CRM producer's credentials and reputation are unassailable and that the certification documentation is sufficiently comprehensive.


Oasis Academy Sholing, previously known as The Sholing Technology College and, before that, Sholing Girls' School, is an academy school in east Southampton, Hampshire, in the south of England. The school is for girls and boys aged 11 to 16 years. In February 2018 it was announced that the school would become an Oasis Charitable Trust academy in September 2018.
The Ofsted inspection that led to the academisation of the school was conducted on 17–18 May 2016. It downgraded the school from 'Good' to 'Inadequate' and recommended special measures. The report states "Underachievement has become widespread in core areas of the curriculum. Standards of achievement and behaviour have fallen significantly since the last inspection and leaders have not delivered recommendations made at that time. Consequently, governors and leaders are not demonstrating the capacity to improve the school." The headteacher of the school, Martin Brown, challenged the report.
The Middle Road school buildings originally housed a boys' school, but this was converted to a girls' school - then called Sholing Middle Road Girls' School - in the years 1910-1912. The buildings were further altered between 1914 and 1920. In 1938 the school was referred to as "Middle Road Senior Girls' School, Sholing" when Southampton Corporation were tendering for an electrical installation to take place there. By 1954, the school was named "Sholing (Middle Road) Secondary Girls' School" and Southampton Town Council were seeking tenders for a constructor to build a new annexe.
In February 2018, after nearly two years of negotiations between The Sholing Technology and Oasis Community Learning, it was announced that the school would join Oasis, and become an academy, despite an improved Ofsted report in late 2017. The school was officially re-established as Oasis Academy Sholing in September 2018.
^ a b "School inspection report" (PDF). Ofsted. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^ Adams, Rachel (9 July 2016). "Sholing Technology College said it will challenge an Ofsted report after they were given the lowest possible rating". Southern Daily Echo. Newsquest. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
^ "Sholing Middle Road Girls School SC/EN 4/1/13 1910-1920". The National Archives. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
^ "The Electrical Journal". 121. 1938: 581.
^ "The Civil Engineer". 8. 1954: 96.
^ "TSTC to Join OCL" (PDF).
^ "About Oasis Academy Sholing".
This page was last edited on 13 December 2018, at 15:25 (UTC).


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Climate Change Health Human-Wildlife Conflict
Rwandan people and mountain gorillas face changing climate together
July 14, 2018 September 15, 2018 scienceadminComments Off on Rwandan people and mountain gorillas face changing climate together
All Text and Images: Elham Shabahat
This article originally appeared on Mongabay.com, 27, June 2018 (Republished under under Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0).
The Critically Endangered mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), has been brought back from extinction's brink in Rwanda, with numbers in the Virunga Mountains around Volcanoes National Park estimated at 604 individuals in 2016, up from 480 in 2010. But long-time observers say climate change is bringing new survival challenges to the area.
Longer and deeper droughts in recent years have caused serious water shortages, which impact both local farmers and the mountain gorillas. People now must often go deep into the park to find clean water, which increases the likelihood of contact with the great apes, which increases the likelihood for the transfer of human diseases to the animals.
Hotter temps and dryer conditions could also pressure farmers to move into gorilla habitat in future, as they seek more productive cropland at higher altitudes. Also, as the climate changes, bamboo availability may be decreasing, depriving gorillas of a favorite food. This could force troops to forage outside the park in croplands, possibly leading to conflict.
Forced changes in diet could impact gorilla nutrition, making the great apes more susceptible to disease. A major disease outbreak could be disastrous due to low population numbers. Scientists urge more research to understand how climate change affects human behavior, which then affects gorillas, and how the fate of the two primates intertwines.
Meet Lucky, a silverback and head of the Hirwa group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Silverbacks are adult, male gorillas, known for the silver hair on their backs; they lead groups composed of adult male and female gorillas and their babies. Image by Elham Shabahat.
The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of humanity's closest relatives, and the largest primate to roam the rainy, high volcanic habitat of Rwanda. Recent conservation efforts have brought this Critically Endangered, charismatic species back from the brink of extinction. But now these great apes, and the people who live near them, face a slower moving, but more insidiously invasive threat – a changing climate.
"When we talk about climate change, we need to understand that what happens to us is what happens to the gorillas," explained Dr. Jean-Bosco Noheri, a veterinarian at Gorilla Doctors, a team that provides direct, hands-on care to gorillas in the African wild.
Volcanoes National Park, home to the mountain gorillas, is located in a very densely populated rural region of northwestern Rwanda. Known for its successful ecotourism program, the park is partially encircled by croplands whose subsistence and commercial farmers till the highly fertile volcanic soils. Entry to the park and to see the mountain gorillas is heavily restricted, with fees to tourists as high as $1,500 for just an hour with the great apes.
The national park and the surrounding region is a complex landscape, where gorilla and human fates intertwine, and where global warming is now starting to make its impacts felt in myriad, sometimes complicated and unexpected ways.
"The question is not about whether climate change will affect mountain gorillas directly," explained David Greer, Great Apes Coordinator at the World Wildlife Fundwho has worked with gorillas in both the Central African Republic and Rwanda. "We need to understand how climate change is affecting human behavior, which then affects mountain gorillas."
Recent conservation efforts have brought back this Critically Endangered, charismatic species from the brink of extinction, but how these great apes will fare as climate change escalates is largely unknown. Image by Elham Shabahat.
Search for water drives people into gorilla habitat
For farmers living near Volcanoes National Park, the most-tangible effect of climate change so far is escalating drought, and decreased access to clean water during intensifying dry times.
"Even a hundred years from now, we will not be able to say that a single event is caused entirely by climate change. But, by virtue of the atmosphere holding more moisture due to warmer temperatures, almost every weather event is potentially being affected by climate change [today]," said Nikhil Advani, Lead Specialist of Climate, Communities and Biodiversity at the World Wildlife Fund. "So while we can't say a drought or hurricane is caused by climate change, we know that it is being exacerbated or super-charged by climate change."
Many local farmers, necessarily acute observers of rainfall patterns, have already noted East Africa's deepening periods of drought. "There have been many changes to the dry season. Before the dry season used to come in July, and even in mid-July we would get rain for 2-3 days," said Vestine Mukanoheri, a farmer from the Gahunga Sector. "Now, the dry season starts in May and goes up to October. This [negatively] affects the water we have access to."
Vestine's adaption to worsening drought has received an indirect assist from the gorillas, whose habitat is nearby. She meets her household needs via a water tank next to her home, provided by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, an NGO dedicated to the conservation of mountain gorillas and to sustainable livelihoods for communities. The tank collects rainwater in wet times, and Vestine relies on the stored water for basic needs during the intense dry season.
Farmers living near Volcanoes National Park face decreased access to clean water due to intense drought, a result of climate change. Vestine Mukanoheri, a farmer from the Gahunga Sector, manages her household needs using a home water tank provided by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme. However, many farmers must travel into the national park to find potable water. Image by Elham Shabahat.
But not everyone has access to a water tank. According to Gaisserie, a farmer from Kinigi Sector, the lack of access during the severe August dry season causes many local farmers to venture into gorilla habitat seeking clean sources of water. Volcanoes National Park has streams, lakes and ponds that can provide water to communities. In dry times, "It is critical to fetch water in the park. We go every day to the park in August as a group," said Gaisserie. "We sometimes see gorillas when we go into the park. Buying water is expensive and not everyone can afford it."
But as climate change worsens, bringing longer droughts, easily-accessible water sources are drying up near the park's edge. "I have worked in Volcanoes National Park for 22 years, both as a gorilla tracker and as park staff. I know exactly where the water was before, and today, those spots have dried up," said Benjamin Mugabukomeye, Country Director at the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.
As a result, farmers like Gaisserie must go deeper and deeper into the protected area in search of water, which often means going higher up the volcanoes, which increases the likelihood of contact between people and gorillas.
However, increasing the number of people entering and penetrating deep into the park without controlled access can be problematic for gorillas. "Women go into the park with babies and children for water, and this can affect disease transmission. Kids bring diseases, sneezes and coughs. There has been an increase in respiratory disease outbreak in gorillas which has caused deaths," said Noheri.
For park management and Rwanda's government, stopping farmers from entering the park for water is not seen as a solution as water is a basic human need. Instead, Volcanoes National Park manager Prosper Uwingeli asserts that more and better monitoring and control systems to regulate the flow of people into the park for water are needed.
Farmers – very careful weather observers – are seeing their crops affected by water shortages, the longer dry season, and unpredictable weather, all of which are forecasted by climate change models. The weather problem is only likely to worsen in the future. Image by Elham Shabahat.
"We currently do not have systematic monitoring and control measures in place regarding how many people go into the park for water, and what they do when they get there. We know from our rangers where people are fetching water, and they mostly do it during the dry season," he said. "We also need more scientific evidence about whether the shortage of water is related to climate change, and whether people going into the park for water has an impact on disease outbreak in gorillas."
Reports by non-governmental organizations paint an increasingly serious pictures of future climate vulnerability for Rwanda: high temperatures and lower overall rainfall are projected in the near term, and more variable rainfall with more frequent storms are forecast for the long term.
The increased heat and erratic rainfall is already impacting the region's crops. "For farmers near Volcanoes, the most tangible effect of climate change [so far] is the reduced number of Irish potatoes. Their crops are affected by the long dry season and the unpredictable weather," said Mugabukomeye. "It's a big issue for farmers to know when to plant crops for good production." The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted very high risks of reduced crop productivitydue to climate change in Africa. And as with the water shortages, such changes could impact great apes, increasing pressure on gorilla habitat as farmers might seek new, fertile cropland higher up the mountains to increase their productivity.
A mountain gorilla chomps on eucalyptus bark. Gorillas sometimes move into farmers' fields looking for food, particularly their favorites such as bamboo shoots and eucalyptus. Image by Elham Shabahat.
Climate change bringing dietary shifts and disease to mountain gorillas
People aren't the only climate change-related problem gorillas are facing. "Changes in temperature and rainfall will have an impact on gorillas' habitat and food. Gorillas are flexible in their diet, but they will need to adjust to these changes," said Dr. Winnie Eckardt, research manager at the Karisoke Research Center at The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Karisoke scientists have been working with mountain gorilla populations since the 1960s.
"I have a general feeling from being in this park since 2004 that bamboo shoot availability has gone down," Eckardt said. Bamboo shoots are seasonal – only available a few months out of the year – and the plants are concentrated along park boundaries at lower altitudes. During the peak growing season, some gorilla groups feed almost exclusively on bamboo shoots and spend 90 percent of their time in the bamboo zone.
The proximity of this bamboo to the park's borders is a problem, as the amorphous borders serve as a gateway for gorillas who move into farmers' fields, seeking food – particularly their favorites: bamboo shoots and eucalyptus. This heightens pressure on farmers' crops and livelihoods, already under strain because of lower productivity due to drought and heat brought by climate change.
"Bamboo is a key food plant for gorillas, and the natural regeneration of bamboo seems to be changing over time," said Eckardt. "But we need more research about this change and the connection to climate change."
Blurred boundaries make it easy for foraging gorillas to move beyond the bamboo groves of Volcanoes National Park into farmers' fields. The park is located in a densely-populated region of northwestern Rwanda, which makes meetings between gorillas and people more likely. Image by Elham Shabahat.
Studies have clearly shown shifts in the availability of some of the gorillas' most frequently-consumed foods. A vine called Galium is a favorite among the great apes, but the plant saw a 50 percent decline in biomass between 1989 and 2010. Other key plant species that gorillas eat have either shifted downslope or moved higher up the mountains over time, and some scientists agree that it is reasonable to assume that these altitudinal shifts were caused by changes in climatic patterns.
Another concerning factor for scientists is the relation between climate and great ape diseases.
"Climate change has an impact on the viability of gorilla populations. If there are any changes to food availability, then gorillas' nutrition and food intake is affected, which makes them more sensitive to diseases," said Noheri.
Over the past twenty years, there has been an increase in the frequency of respiratory infections in mountain gorillas. Researchers and veterinarians at Gorilla Doctors are currently conducting research to examine the potential factors behind these infectious outbreaks, including changes in weather, temperature increases, and more people in the park.
Children watch as gorillas eat eucalyptus and move through a farmer's field. Known for its successful ecotourism program, Volcanoes National Park is partially surrounded by farms, whose farmers rely on the land for their livelihoods. Image by Elham Shabahat.
Any increase in disease could be potentially catastrophic to the great apes. While the most recent census put the estimated number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains around Volcanoes National Park at 604 individuals in 2016 – up from 480 in 2010 – the species is still listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with a small population and low genetic diversity.
"If there are any new diseases, and the population is under more stress due to longer periods of heat, heavy rain – new pathogens and diseases in a short time can do a lot of damage to the gorillas," said Eckardt.
"The capacity to react to disease is a challenge for such a small population of gorillas. Their habitat is also small, and if there are traumatic and fast environmental changes, can they adapt? These are open questions and areas that need to be studied more deeply with regular and consistent monitoring," she added.
Dr. Jean-Bosco Noheri is a veterinarian with Gorilla Doctors, a team that provides direct, hands-on care to gorillas in the African wild. Image by Elham Shabahat.
How will mountain gorillas respond to long-term climatic shifts?
Volcanoes National Park is part of a larger region called the Albertine Rift, one of the most biodiverse spots in Africa. Climate change projections for the rift region are dire, with a recent study anticipating that 75 percent of the suitable habitat for its endemic species will disappear by 2080, with most areas of suitable habitat shifting upwards into the mountains.
For the high elevation, volcanic ranges that mountain gorillas inhabit, climate model projections indicate warmer temperatures and more rainfall across the next few decades. This increased warming would likely force the great apes to move higher and higher, where they would face pressure not just from other gorilla groups competing for resources, but also from humans seeking higher elevations for better livelihoods.
Where will the gorillas go if the peaks of the mountains become too warm? Dr. James Thorne, a landscape ecologist from University of California, Davis, researched the climatology of the region for three years to try and understand the potential impacts of climate change on mountain gorillas. "If the park area gets warmer and the vegetation dries out, there might be a reduction in the body size of the gorillas," he speculated.
There is also a chance that gorillas might be able to adapt to warmer temperatures, if their protected area was enlarged. "Our study found that if the park is expanded downhill, it would allow for a larger population of gorillas. Given the warming predicted in our models, it's an unusual result and safe bet that gorillas might be able to adapt and survive in the downhill parts of Volcanoes National Park," Thorne added.
Golden monkeys, another endangered species, live in a bamboo forest in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. While the research hasn't been done, it seems likely that if global warming escalates and reduces the amount of bamboo, then golden monkeys will be impacted. The park is located within the Albertine Rift, one of East Africa's most biodiverse spots, but also an area likely to be severely threatened by climate change over the coming decades. Image by Elham Shabahat.
However, region-specific and long-term climate data remains sparse. "Climate data in this region is limited, with most data going back ten years or so," said Michel Masozera, Deputy Leader for Wildlife in Africa at the World Wildlife Fund. The absence of a long-term data record makes accurate area-specific climate projections difficult. "One way to assess impact could be to look at available climate data and relate it to data on gorilla home range and patterns of food availability," he added.
Scientists suggest that the most serious risk to the survival of primate populations comes from the synergistic effects of multiple stressors, including a changing climate and other extinction drivers, such as deforestation, disease, changes in nutrition, and declining health of ecosystems. A high-impact threat remains the introduction of diseases through pathogens; propelled by climate change, disease could abruptly threaten the entire population of mountain gorillas.
Noheri ultimately sees climate change as having an impact on the survivability and health of both human and mountain gorilla populations: "We know this because we have been working with gorillas for more than fifty years. You see deforestation, you see changes in food availability, an increase in people in the park and increase in diseases. We need more scientific evidence, but we work in the forest every day – we know that climate change is behind these changes," he said.
Elham Shabahat is a 2017 Pulitzer Center fellow, and her reporting project was supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Tagged Drought, Gorillas, Wildlife ecology, Zoonosis
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