Our speaker this month was City Councilman Steve Fletcher who outlined the steps taken so far to keep late night in the North Loop entertainment area safe and fun. See Part 1 of this month's 2-PAC report.
COURTWATCH: Natalie Box remains in custody ($300K bail); jury trial is scheduled for 4/29 considering two charges of 1st Degree Agg.-Robery and 1 1st degree assault in Marcy-Holmes, Holland and Logan Park. Jonell Butler is charged on the same reports as Box and will also be having a jury trial on the same day, same lead prosecuting attorney.
Samuel Haase is now in custody after a bench warrant was issued on 2-26 for failure to appear. His hearing was on 3/8, and he's next scheduled to appear on 4/4. He was originally charged on 5 complaints, all in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood.
Daniel Heacock is waiting for a 5/14 hearing to determine his competency for trial.
Spencer Hermes will plead guilty on a 5th degree drug possession on 4/2.
Cody Horton had a probation violation warrant issued 3/1. He is supposed to be following conditions imposed by Mental Health Court.
Joshua Poplawski had a 2/06 review hearing in the 3rd Precinct and a 2/27 pretrial in the 1st Pct. he was convicted of a Possession of drug paraphernalia on Marcy-Holmes on 2/27 and will be on probation to 8/27/20.
Michael Zaccardi was charged with 3rd degree assault in Windom Park, and will receive sentencing on 4/5.
Maxim Chance remains on probation to 4/18 and is meeting terms of probation. Johnny Hall will be on probation until 9/17/20 and his probation officer has no concerns at this time. Paula Heile remains on probation through 7/12/21 and is meeting the terms of probation. Mahad Ismail is meeting his probation which will expire on 7/29. Robert Schroeder remains on probation to 3/20. James Zaccardi is doing well in Mental Health Court and had a review hearing on 3/12.
PRECINCT REPORT: Property reports have been quiet and calm: There was one garage burglary on between February 26 and March 11, (cold weather factor, maybe?).
There was a robbery at the Quarry T-Mobile store. All three suspects are in custody. One was traced to St. Paul where he tried to get away but slipped on the ice. (He's now in the hospital with a broken bone.) None of the three has been charged as of 3/11.
The suspects in the case at 3300 Pierce Street, reported last month, have been charged.
The meeting was called to order at 6:15, 21 attenders.
Our speaker was City Council Member Steve Fletcher, who among many other responsibilities, is one member of an ongoing team working to calm late nights in the North Loop.
In 2007, just 12 years ago, officials extended bar closing one hour intending to spread out the exit times for crowds which was expected to calm the streets. That hour produced a surprising amount of tax revenue and business profits as people chose to extend the evening rather than fighting traffic to head for home. The extra hour began attracting trouble, though, and the question soon became how to calm the streets and make the North Loop a fun and safe place to spend an evening for event and convention attenders from the cities, from the suburbs, and from other places. CM Fletcher came to 2-PAC to tell us who is on the planning team for the North Loop and how the the plans are working.
First of all, Downtown has changed. In 2007, about 1000 people lived in the area and there was very little going on after bar closing. Today, the number of residents is 50,000 and still climbing, and there's a lot of activity. Times and the neighborhood have changed and public services have to change with them.
Early attempts to calm the area focused on getting people out of there by 2AM. Another attempt involved closing 1st Avenue North (sort of an open streets) to keep street activity in a smaller area. Neither of those proposals worked very well.
When City Council members, the Downtown Council, the Downtown Business Association, the Police Dept, and other stake holders really analyzed the area, they saw a small area, packed with people who didn't want to go home, with little organized activity, and not much more.
Closing a street (1st Ave. No.) hadn't worked. When the avenue was opened again, it freed up police officers to assist the people in the area rather than just keeping people packed in a area. A few food trucks were allowed in, and people had a little more to do; restaurant owners discovered that rather than cutting into restaurant trade, the food trucks actually attracted customers to the area and sit-down places benefited. Now the North Loop is the site of more planned activities and regular attractions.
The proximity of shelters for the homeless near the theater district was a badly-handled situation for a long time. St. Stephens Shelter and the Downtown Council increased outreach to the people who needed a safer place to be.
Adding to the mix were planners from the Downtown Ambassadors, a gang task force and an addiction task force. People on parole, who have agreed to stay away from situations that late night streets offer, are watched for. Then there is the MadDads, well-known peace-makers. As civilians, MadDads can wade into a tense situation and diffuse it, without triggering the response that uniformed police might set off.
In CM Fletcher's view, two factors are the keys to successful streets management: collaboration and communication.
Collaboration is evident from the number of diverse organizations working on this project.
Increased communication at every level is what keeps success building. Communication starts with joint stake-holder discussions but extends to smaller efforts like communication between individual security posts: One guard may spot a person getting too excited and warn the next venue down the street to watch for that person or or a "energetic" group, heading that way.
Most important, the focus of planning has moved from controlling the crowds to creating positive activities that are safe and fun. Newspapers are key players getting positive activities announced. Whatsapp is another tool.
Still being addressed is the question of alcohol and 18-21 year old people. Clubs that don't do well at controlling underage drinking are having their licenses looked at. The city is asking the State Legislature for more power to shut down bars that can't keep alcohol away from underage people.
Crimes levels in the area are going down, violent crimes down by 1/3 and property crimes down by 1/2.
Another need to be addressed soon: folks need increased public transit in the area at closing time so they can easily get home.
Question: do we have enough resources to do all that work: Answer: Yes. The question is, are we using our resources efficiently.
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 by Emilie Quast. We were 16 attenders.
Inspector Loining requested a change in the agenda and spoke first.
PRECINCT REPORT: The Second Precinct experienced four part 1 crimes in just a few days. The murder of a mother and daughter at the 320 – 2nd Ave SE in Marcy-Holmes happened on Saturday; by Monday, the Inspector could not yet release any information. Since then, a suspect who was a neighbor has been arrested and charged.
There was a report of "shots fired" in near 3300 Pierce Street NE on Feb. 10 One person was shot in the legs.
Two assaults were committed in Marcy Holmes: The first, near the 8th St. market happened on Feb.8 at 6:15 AM. The target succeeded in getting away from the assailant. See MN Daily story https://www.mndaily.com/article/2019/02/n-umn-student-sexually-assaulted-near-campus The second was on Feb 9 at a social event.
Despite that bad news, the greatest problems in the Second Precinct remains property crimes. Now that the cold weather has set in, people are keeping their windows secure, but there are still too many reports of auto thefts, theft from cars, unsecured garages, and single family dwellings, in NE and SE but especially in Audubon and Waite Park. The majority of the houses in NE that have been burgled have been forced entry, so people are locking up which does cut down on the number of burglaries. Top days for this are Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays, most from 3-9PM. Police need continuing neighborhood cooperation to stop these crimes: if you see something, say something.
Officers made 2 arrests in SE including one that was a result of a stop of suspicious vehicle (narcotics discovered in the vehicle).
Nick Juarez reported on Secure Net Program for homes https://securenettech.com/ (caution, this is NOT securenetsystems) and discussed increasing camera surveillance in the Central Avenue and other 2nd Precinct business districts.
SPEAKER: Our speaker this month was Mark Anderson, Director of the Barbara Schneider Foundation. The BSF is one of the agencies that is working to increase the likelihood of productive encounters between persons in crisis and first responders. The goal is to improve the safety of all who are involved in a situation, and to increase community networking. The way to achieve this is through education of the responders so they can begin to understand what is happening in the target's mind to better redirect counter-productive behavior.
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is a collaboration between first responders, mental health and community advocates. The program involves police training that leads to improvements in mental health response. MPD was the first police department in Minnesota to adopt CIT in a partnership with the Barbara Schneider Foundation, back in 2000. Since then, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office also adopted CIT training for their corrections officers. Some HC road officers have also taken the training.
The program uses trained actors to present situations. Trainers then lead teams through de-escalation steps, as needed. Fundamental to the training is the knowledge that a person in severe crisis may not be able to process officers' requests. If they can't process a request, they are not able to comply with it. It is now understood that many "standard procedures" commonly taught to first responders do not solve a confrontation, but actually escalate it.
One additional note: In response to an e-mail comment by me a few days later, Mr. Anderson said that the Foundation does day-long training sessions for community members who want to learn de-escalation. They take it at a slightly slower pace, presenting over an entire day. The program for community groups is the same curriculum as CIT for first responders.
Mr. Anderson left us with a wallet size foldover that people might find useful. It includes 19 key concepts for responders, 11 suggestions for improving responder safety (called "Officer" safety but many suggestions will improve the situation for any responder), a long list of contact numbers for backup and help. If you are interested in having a copy, contact Emilie Quast at e-quas@tc.umn.edu and I'll see you get a copy, either paper or as an email attachment.
COURTWATCH: Neither attorney could make it to the February meeting with updates for the people on our Courtwatch list. As it happens many are either waiting for their court date or are meeting the terms of their probation. Court dates start to pick up in mid-February so we will have news in March.
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 by Emilie Quast; 19 people attending.
FIRST EVENT: the Precinct staff brought in fresh, hot sambusas staring the year off with a treat. Thank you very much!
AGENDA: The 12-24 buffet report. Our in-person attendance is inching toward 200 people, but we receive enough food for well over 250. Last year's trial delivery service to staff and police who are not able to leave their stations during their shifts went well. The 1st Precinct especially needs this service for the 911 staff which works in the same building. Jesse Vega and Roger Kiemele made 3 delivery runs during their shift, letting people on duty at the 1st, 3rd and 4th Precincts know they are not forgotten. When the 12-25 team came in to do a final wipe down of the kitchen and dining area, they found a few cold salads and some cookies and pastries. Those were gone by the 26th. So: our donors were very generous and the food was enjoyed! Thank you all for giving time and talent so generously! A printed Thank You appeared in the Northeaster, January 9.
A last minute change left us with no scheduled speaker, but since we have not had an organized request for topics in several years, that activity took our speaker's intended slot. If others would like to add their voices, the questions were: What police issues would you like to report on your block? In your neighborhood? In the Second Precinct? In the city? What livability issues would you like to report on your block? In your neighborhood? In the Second Precinct? In the city?
Don't know what to say? Here's some inspiration: traffic issues, violent crime reports need closure, suspected drug traffic or use, burglary, theft from autos. If you are concerned about a topic, be sure to indicate the area where you've spotted activity. You don't need a specific address, but naming (for example) "10th and University SE" is very helpful.
COURTWATCH: This was the first Courtwatch with our new attorneys, Sandra Filardo from the Hennepin Country Attorney's Office and Kerri Kovalesky from the Minneapolis Attorney's Office.
Ronald Bailey was acquitted on 12/10 of 2nd degree murder due to mental illness and was civilly committed; a judge will determine in mid-February what will happen next based on his evaluations during his commitment. Natalie Box is in custody waiting for jury trial on 4/29 for two 1st degree Agg. Robberies and 1st degree assault in 10/18; at the same trial, she will also be facing a charge of 3rd degree arson in 2017, in the 5th Pct. Jonell Butler was Natalie Box's partner in the robberies and the assault; he had a 1/14 trial scheduled but asked for a continuance to May. Butler had a 9-18 1st degree assault in the 4th scheduled with his 1-14 trial date. Samuel Haase was charged with 4 crimes, all in Marcy Holmes: Possession of burglary tools, two damage to property charges, 5th degree assault; he was convicted on 9/17/18 and given 365 days (355 days stayed two years) and probation to 9-17-19, but stole a bike a month after his conviction and failed to appear; a bench warrant was issued on 1-10-19. Daniel Heacock was found incompetent at his November hearing (rule 2001 requires the defendant be able to identify why he is in court , among other things); the case will be reviewed in May, 2019 (he is not in custody because he is not considered a danger to himself or others). Cody Horton was convicted on 11-19-18 of reckless discharge of a firearm in the city; he got a stay of imposition and will be on probation until 11-19-21; Horton is now under the supervision of the Mental Health Specialty Courts Probation Office which requires much closer supervision (and the success rate is very good). Joshua Poplawski was in custody waiting for his 1/15 Review Hearing on two trespass citations in the University area (one while carrying drug paraphanalia), and a 4th degree Burglary in the 3rd precinct. James Zaccardi pled guilty on 1/9 for 5th degree drug possession in St. Anthony and was scheduled to have a hearing in Mental Health Specialty Court on 1/15. Michael Zaccardi has a jury trial scheduled on 2/11/19 for 3rd degree assault.
Maxim Chance is meeting his probation requirements; probation runs to 4/18/19. Johnny Hall is meeting his probation instruction; probation runs to 9-17-20. Paula Heille is successfully working through her probation requirements for her 5th degree drug case and will remain on probation through 7/12/21. Mahad Ismail remains on probation to 7/29/19. Robert Schroeder remains on probation to 3/20/19.
Brian Holmes completed his probation on 11/16/18. Curtis Laroque completed probation on 11/04/18. Both Holmes and Laroque were removed from the Courtwatch list.
One person was proposed to be added to the list, but info about his charges didn't make it to me to be included here. We'll hear more in February.
First report was of an Assault-4, which is against a police officer. The man was arrested with no force issues but in transport, he began to spit all over the partition of the car. This was the second assault this person committed in 6 months — the case was just reported and had not been assigned at the time of this meeting.
Two incidents in the 2nd Precinct were assigned to the 1st for investigation. One was an armed robbery (suspect escaped and was not found by K-9). The other was an assault 3 that happened at a party, and the victim knows the person who did the assault.
Weapons search in SE at Glendale Housing complex turned up guns and narcotics.
Burglaries of dwellings and businesses: NE Buchanan: a garage door was pried open and the car was riffled. Another burglary on 12th NE: no sign of forced entry but this dwelling had a surveillance device and that was inventoried for possible evidence. Burglary of garage on Monroe, vehicles inside were broken into.
In the SE sector, the new grocery and tobacco shop at 15th and Como the owner arrived and found employees had left the door unlocked, some things missing. The crime lab did find some prints so that is assigned for investigation. Burglary on 23rd SE; the door is usually locked but the owner found it unlocked, with no signs of forcing–some coins were missing from a glass jar. 9xx 19th Ave SE reported an attempted entry but no one got in. 3xx – 18th Ave SE, a resident saw the suspect and asked him to leave, and then noticed a play station was missing.
The Second Pct expects there will be an uptick in burglary reports this month because students were out for winter break. The Precinct did add extra patrols in SE Como and Marcy -Holmes for that reason.
3 auto thefts 2 in NE and 1 in SE / one recovered.
CPS Juarez outlined an update on the drug house on Madison St. NE. A search warrant uncovered some illegal drugs and one person was charged with 5th degree drug possession. The Henn. Cty complaint has been signed. Suspicious traffic has decreased but there still is some of that; squads are still watching the site and officers are supposed to take action if they see activity.
Officer Nelson responded to a question about unusual helicopter activity over NE Minneapolis. There had been an assault and the suspect fled in a car — the helicopter was looking for the car. As it turned out, two incidents happened at the same time and both suspects fled in separate cars. One suspect was picked up by Ramsey County and the other was stopped near Clearwater, MN (near St. Cloud) The helicopter stayed aloft, searching until officers on the ground sorted out the two incidents and learned that both suspects were now in different jurisdictions.
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 by chair, Larry Ranallo. 25 attenders.
Since 1966, NUWAY, a nonprofit organization, has provided community based extended-care for people in recovery from substance use and mental health disorders. 3Rs NUWAY Counseling Center is now open at 1404 Central Ave NE. (Recognition, Rehabilitation, Recovery = 3Rs.) NUWAY has two other outpatient facilities: one in South Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. Additionally, there are two residential treatment centers located in South Minneapolis.
To receive treatment from NUWAY, a person must have a substance use disorder. Many clients also have a co-occurring mental health disorder, but that is not required for admission to the program.
NUWAY offers two treatment models: Outpatient and Inpatient. Both models draw on clinical care and community resources to support clients' path to good health.
The program tries to offer what's needed, including help finding a job, arts therapies, whatever seems appropriate.
Throughout its five programs, NUWAY is working with 750 clients every day. The clinic on Central Ave NE meets with some 200 people a day.
The major difference between NUWAY and other models is that NUWAY treats addiction disorders and addition-related disorders as modern medicine treats other chronic disorders. It's recognized that people's bodies are different and respond to treatment differently. The treatment of diabetes or heart disease is likely to start with a baseline approach. Health care professionals expect that the initial treatment plan will be modified as the patient's body adjusts to medication, ages, finds a treatment plateau, but perhaps succumbs to new stressors. The NUWAY treatment plan follows these expectations. NUWAY keeps trying new modes and adjusting treatments until they find something that clicks.
Clients are referred to NUWAY from various entities including hospital and social services, and notices like this report.
Individuals attending NUWAY are funded through public services money and health insurance. NuWay is in-network with health care providers including Medica, HealthPartners, UCare, Preferred One, United Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Signa, Optum, and Hennepin Health.
University and college students have started their first semester. Predictably crime is on an uptick including burglary of residence, theft from motor vehicle (please clean out your car and lock it), theft of cars, bikes, mopeds. This year, so far, there has not been much of an increase in robbery.
In coordination with the UMPD, the Second Precinct is doing saturation details every Friday and Saturday, in SE. MTPD is presenting a strong presence in Stadium Village and along the Greenline. Portable cameras are deployed in hotspots.
The Second Precinct is attending community meetings, door-knocking and distributing flyers. We're holding tent events to say welcome, pass out trail mix, coffee and crime prevention tip sheets.
Successes: 5 burglars arrested, 6 other people arrested in a stolen vehicle, 2 stolen vehicles were recovered, one person was arrested for carrying burglary tools while attempting to steal a bike.
Updates: Ronald Bailey, had a 9-13 hearing and is waiting for his 11-26 trial for 2nd degree murder. Johnny Hall has a 9-17 jury trial for 5th degree drug possession. Daniel Heacock is waiting for his next 6-month evaluation on 11-13 but was committed on 5-18-18. Cody Horton pled guilty for reckless discharge of a firearm (into a neighbor's house) and was sentenced on 8-27; he's waiting for a 9-24 motion hearing on a 1st degree burglary of dwelling. Dwayne Miles is waiting for a jury trial on 10-01. Joshua Poplawski is in HOMES court; may move to 24-hour care. Robert Schroeder's case was continued to 10-30 (no reason known). Alfonso Seals remains in custody in Ramsey County Jail; he also has cases pending in Hennepin and Dakota Counties. James Zaccardi has a 9-26 omnibus hearing on 5th degree drug possession. Michael Zaccardi is in custody until 11-22; on 9-17 he'll have an omnibus hearing on 3rd degree assault.
No updates: Maxim Chance. Paula Heille was convicted on 7-12 and will be on probation for 3 years. Bryan Holmes remains on probation until 11-16. Mahad Ismail, no update. Curtis Laroque remains on probation through 11-04.
Samuel Haase was added to the Courtwatch list.
REPORTS FROM NEIGHBORS. We had several brief reports and one extensive report from neighbors about concerning events in the Precinct. EQ: I'm not clear on how much to reveal about these reports, but will organize some guidelines for public reporting in coming weeks.
COMING IN OCTOBER: 911 calls and emergency response. Our speaker will outline what happens when we call, and explain how the system works.
The meeting was called to order at 6:17 by Emilie Quast. 16 attendees.
Our speaker was Kimberly Simmonds from Minneapolis 311.
Minneapolis 311 is the "single point of contact" for the City of Minneapolis. People can contact 311 by phone, computer, or through the mobile app for information about local government and services, and to be directly connected to the service provider that can correctly respond to a caller's inquiry or need.
The program took its first calls on January 4, 2006. It was originally a Monday-Friday service, 7AM to 11 PM. That first year, 311 received more than 343,000 calls and more than 14,000 emails. It entered over 61,000 service requests that year. In July of 2012, 311 launched a mobile app, which can identify a customer's exact location, necessary for service requests requiring a specific location. Between July 2012 and October 2015, almost 27,000 cases were sent through the mobile app.
2016 was the 10th anniversary of Minneapolis 311. That year, 311 reached 3.9 million calls answered. The service is still growing. In the first 10 months of 2018, 311 received more than 10,000 mobile cases, 16,000 emails, and over 260,000 phone calls.
Contact this service by dialing 311 if your phone carrier allows or 612.673.3000. The email address is minneapolis311@minneapolismn.gov and a mobile app can be downloaded for Androids, iPhones, and Blackberrys.
This year, 311 has launched a texting service. When a customer texts 311, they are texting a knowledge base of information. The system works well if you can reduce your question to 1 or 2 key terms. This is actually the database 311 operators use when they are searching for information to answer your call. If you text a query that is too complicated, the system will tell you to call 311 or download the mobile app, because the question you are asking may be too complicated for the system to process. Thus, "My car is lost. Where can I find if my car has been towed" probably won't work. "Impound lot" or "towed car" will. You may get a link to a search engine that will take you to the area on the City website that has the information you need. At the end, you may be asked to fill out a survey; the answers will be used to figure out how well the system is actually working so we can figure out what needs to be improved.
Minneapolis 311 can help with most NON-emergency questions and calls for service. If the operator decides you need an emergency response, they'll direct you to Minneapolis Police and Fire Dispatch.
311 has contracted with CLI, Certified Languages International, which can translate some 227 languages. The system also has a computer based TTY service for people with hearing impairment or oral communication disorders.
The six most common requests are 1) Impound Lot vehicle lookup, 2) Parking complaints, 3) Questions for recycling and solid waste services, 4) Snow and Ice complaints, 5) Non-emergency police reports, 6) Pothole complaints.
There is a long list of departments that 311 assists. [EQ: see attachments at the end of this report] Our 311 agents can, in some instances, help the caller by answering their question immediately. In some instances, we transfer the caller to the resolving department. In most cases, we will enter a service request for the caller to have the resolving department follow up with them.
QUESTION: CAN THE CITY CALL MY CELL PHONE TO LET ME KNOW OF SNOW EMERGENCIES? OR TO ADVISE ME OF STREET SWEEPING IN MY AREA? ANSWER: If you have a landline or mobile phone, the city can call you to notify you of Snow Emergencies because the Snow Emergency rules are the same across the city and take place at the same time. At this time, the City cannot call your cell phone to notify you of street sweeping in your area. The City will call your landline phone to advise you of street sweeping because it is attached to your physical address. The technology does not yet exist for the City to be able to call your cell phone for street sweeping.
To sign up for phone, text, or email alerts, please visit http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/subscriptions/sign-up to sign up.
QUESTION: WHAT IF YOU CALL THE WRONG SERVICE? ANSWER: If 311 deems your call to be an emergency and you are in the City of Minneapolis, we will connect you with Minneapolis Police and Fire Dispatch. If it is an emergency, but the caller is not in Minneapolis, we ask that the caller hang up and dial 911. If the caller requests or reports something that should go to Metro Transit, we can provide the phone number to Metro Transit or transfer the caller over to Metro Transit customer service. Finally, if a caller has a non-emergency request for another city, we will try our best to find the main contact number for that city and provide it the customer or transfer them over.
QUESTION: WHAT IS THE TIME LIMIT FOR SNOW SHOVELING? ANSWER: Single family homes and duplexes have 24 hours from the end of snowfall to shovel their walks. Apartments, commercial buildings and all other properties have four daytime hours to remove the snow (daytime hours start at 8am after the end of snowfall). If snow hasn't been removed after that time has gone by, you can call 311 at that point. We're changing the procedure this year: Instead of us going out and looking, we're automatically sending the owner a letter to let them know they are in violation. Then, after 3 days the inspector goes out. If the walk isn't shoveled we authorize someone to clear it and the owner gets charged. This will take seven days off the process.
QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS FOR REPORTING EMERGENCIES LIKE WATER MAIN BREAKS AND THOSE PROBLEMS THAT MIGHT NOT BE AN EMERGENCY, LIKE POTHOLES? Answer: We use scripting in a system called Lagan to help us determine what should be called over to a department right after we enter a case. In the case of a water main break, we take as much information as the caller has, enter a case in with all of the pertinent details, and then we call the water department to let them know there's been a break so that they can get someone out there right away. For potholes, 311 enters in a case for Public Works, and those cases are sent over to the resolving department. Potholes are repaired area by area for greatest efficiency.
QUESTION: IF A STREET HAS NO BOULEVARDS, IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR A HOMEWONER TO KEEP THAT ICE MOUND OFF. Answer: Call 311 to let us know what is going on. In most cases, we can enter in a case for our street department or our sidewalk department and let them know that the piled snow from plowing is causing accessibility issues.
One follow up question by EQ. After I got home and started to celebrate the new procedure for getting walks cleared 7 (!) days quicker, it occurred to me that this would be good for tall weed control also. I wrote Ms Simmonds, and asked, even though I know that have not had a chance to try out the new procedure on snow removal yet. She replied very promptly that she had sent my suggestion to housing inspections. (Reference number is 4266088). So we will see how this new program speeds up snow removal. If it works better, we have a handle to speed up tall weeds also!
The meeting was called to order at 6:17 by Emilie Quast. 16 attenders.
Our speaker was Kimberly Simmonds from Minneapolis 311 Services, as reported in part 1.
COURTWATCH: Judi Cole, Hennepin County Atty's Office gave us the updates.
Ronald Bailey, 2nd degree murder charge; recently had a 20-02 hearing which is to determine if someone can be charged; he was found to be mentally unfit. He has a hearing on 11-26 and it's presumed he will be found "guilty but not guilty by reason of mental illness"; there will be a hearing which should lead to an automatic commitment to St. Peter. It's actually difficult to get this judgment under rule 20-02 which is not handed out easily.
Samuel Hasse has some city and county cases pending, and is not allowed within 3 blocks of Dinkytown Wine and Spirits–he's well known in the area. He has 3 city cases, the newest from October, and all are in Marcy Holmes. Hasse's omnibus hearing was on 11/20 so we'll hear more at the next Courtwatch. Daniel Heacock was found incompetent in May of 2018 for a 3rd degree burglary charge; he will have a hearing in May 2019 to determine his competency status. Cody Horton had a sentencing hearing on 11-19, the burglary was dismissed because he didn't break in with intent to commit a crime although kicking in the door caused fear in the victim; because of no intent to burglarize, the county attorney and the defense agreed the judge was unlikely to find that burglary was Mr. Horton's intent and would dismiss the charge. Curtis Laroque one case was dismissed and he has completed probation. James Zaccardi remains on probation until 5/24/21 and is apparently keeping the terms of probation but has a 11/27 hearing for 5th degree drug possession, which occurred on 10/29 and could impact his probation. Michael Zaccardi has an 11-27 omnibus hearing for 3rd degree assault.
Joshua Poplawski had a review hearing on 11/20 regarding his HOMES court conditions; we have not yet heard what happened.
Maxim Chance is on probation until 4/19 and is keeping terms of probation. Johnny Hall remains on probation until 9/20 and has no updates so is apparently keeping to the terms of probation. Paula Heille continues to meet the terms of probation, which will be through 7/12/21. Bryan Holmes just completed probation on the 16th of November. Mahad Ismail remains on probation to 7/29/19 with no updates. Robert Schroeder remains on probation to 3/20/19 and has no updates.
Alfonso Seals will be in St. Cloud until 7/13/20 and was removed from Court Watch.
Left off Court Watch list by accident: Jonell Butler and Natalie Box. Butler was charged with three robberies and an aggravated assault (which put someone in the hospital) on the night of Oct 5-6 in Marcy-Holmes and near NE Minneapolis. Box accompanied and abetted him but also has her own arson charge from earlier in the year when she set fire to a roommate's belongings in a shelter. Butler will have a jury trial on January 14, while Box has a hearing on December 4. Again, we'll be hearing how that works out in January.
Inspector Loining reported: It's the time of the year to look back on what we've accomplished over the year and to plan on what we're going to do in the coming year. Among them, the Inspector wants to have a better map for presentation. What is going up is property crimes in many areas. One area of concern is Marcy-Holmes, especially the area east of the freeway. We have a lot of college students moving in and people don't really know each other, don't secure their doors or windows. We are trying to drive the message home, "Please Folks, watch your phones, lock your doors, watch who is coming or going." We have additional patrols in the area down there and extending into SE Como. Our CPS's have been sending out blasts with the messages to lock up and be aware. We have had some success down there, and had no burglaries over one weekend. Northeast, especially Holland had some burglaries of houses and garages, but we made one arrest, of a juvenile who did a burglary of an occupied dwelling, took the car and drove it home. He was picked up when his mother was spotted walking away from the car(!). When he was taken in he confessed and is now in line to get some of the assistance he needs. That and a few others were key arrests, and the area has settled down a bit.
Northeast over 4-7 weeks had a rise in burglary of garages. We found a suspect who was driving a vehicle that he'd use to force open the garage doors, by popping the doors off their tracks. So they could steal stuff. We used public information officer to watch for suspicious activity. Months ago Audubon and Waite Park n'hoods. That time it was a white SUV. We made a key arrest and the burglaries dried up. The new vehicle is a grey 2-door pickup truck which has been spotted in the area of the garage burglaries. So now it's starting up again with the new vehicle. We'll start by placing our "target" signs there to increase awareness, along with our focused door knocking. Additionally we have door hangers if officers notice an open garage and no one is around –they are also to increase citizen awareness. People are looking into garages to steal snowblowers, bikes, anything they can sell to get their fix.
We have a new windshield flyer. This one has a blue stripe. When we have time we stop to talk to people on how to not become a victim, take the valuables out of your car, into the house. That's even safer than "Junk in the Trunk".
Nick Juarez had a few words about package thefts which rise at this time of year. If you know you have something coming from Amazon or UPS, ask them to leave at the rear door, have a neighbor pick it up. Amazon has lock boxes all over the city — you get a code and you can pick up your packages. We had a couple of guys just riding their bikes around, looking for packages. We've also had people who have cameras and gotten good descriptions from those photos.
Another issue is cars being stolen while they are running in the morning to warm them up. Do NOT use your key to start them up unless you are sitting in them.
A citizen reported that now the East Hennepin construction materials are gone, the "East Henn. Speedway" has resumed. CCM Fletcher will be working on it with Traffic Control.
There are problems that are very challenging. We have the number 2 overdose house in the entire city and it's in NE Mpls. We have 13 overdoses year to date (11/19). So we've gotten 2 search warrants this year, and have social services involved. Plenty of activity but sometimes it takes a while because it isn't just one person, it's a cluster of people. If the owner is a relative, that adds a whole different level of difficulty.
Emilie Quast reported that NextDoor has a feature that may be causing trouble. When a crime is reported on NextDoor, a button pops up asking if the poster wants the report shared with the police. People assume that since the button is there, all they have to do is hit "yes" and the police have been notified. Because she asked for MPD Report number and was told that the victim didn't get one, Emilie suspected that no one at the MPD is aware of the "report". No one is monitoring NextDoor and MPD does not have an account that might alert the Second Precinct to the crime. Several other attenders saw the report also and agreed that "something needs to change". Inspector Loining promised this will be examined — there's nothing good about making people think they've reported a crime when, in fact, they have not.


Our Collection Drop Boxes provide a convenient means for depositing and collecting mail, documents, small packages and other postal deliveries. See our great selection thats available in free standing or wall mounted units, can be used indoor or outdoor. We offer many upgrades for extra security and some units are made with rear access. Customization for some applications available if you have a unique situation and need a special collection box let us know – we will do our best to get you the correct unit for your needs.


Hot on the heels of the Dataiku version 4.2 announcement, and with plenty of time before the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) implementation deadline of May 25, 2018, we're proud to add a brand new feature to the Dataiku you know and love: ezGDPR. This robust addition is a one-stop-shop, solving all implementation requirements and challenges in one fell swoop, enabling large organizations to be GDPR compliant with just a few clicks.
Why spend your data team's valuable time and resources anonymizing data when you can anonymize people instead? With ezGDPR's Disguise Human setting, your data stays the same; instead, the people associated with that data will be issued a new name and identity at the click of a button. Within one month, the person will be notified, issued a new identity (including passport), and assigned a new home location at random somewhere on Earth.
Dataiku developed this technology by realizing that complying with a full-fledged personal data access request can cost up to $10,000 per request. The pre-packaged human disguise capabilities in ezGDPR reduces this cost by at least 10x.
The second layer of ezGDPR offers anonymization via crypto-strong random noise. Bypassing the hassle of proper data governance, which sometimes takes entire teams of people and that - frankly - if you haven't started preparing for GDPR yet you don't have time for anyway, this setting will disconnect people from their personal data by completely and irreversibly scrambling it with crypto-strong random noise.
While this can make deriving valuable insight from your data difficult, with all of the sprints your data team has saved using ezGDPR instead of lengthy, traditional preparation methods, they will have plenty of time to appreciate and address the extra challenge.
Perhaps the most impactful ezGDPR setting is that of completely anonymous collaboration, which leverages blockchain to enable people to work together without having to talk to one another at all. Anonymous collaboration addresses the enforcement concerns of GDPR, making reporting and audit response easy.
And anonymous collaboration also has implications around the office beyond the world of data science. Did someone water this plant today? Who turned the air conditioning down? No need to speak to one another - with anonymous collaboration, everything is clear - the ultimate form collaboration is now available and is, in fact, completely void of human-to-human communication entirely.
If you're looking for a real, fool-proof way to approach GDPR compliance, download the white paper, 5 Essential Pillars for Big Data GDPR Compliance.


W.E. Given Contracting Inc. has been a family owned and operated painting firm since 1971. Our years in the industry reflect the company's commitments and goals which have remained constant… focus on customer service, maintain a high standard of quality workmanship, integrity and honesty within the construction industry and the community. We have an extensive background working in the challenging environments of fully operational, up-and-running projects including hospitals, nursing and retirement facilities, educational facilities and large retail store chains.


Albert Greene - Bio Albert holds a BA in Digital Communications in Filmmaking. His passion for the film industry truly sparked when he filmed his first major work, A Day in the Life of a Deployed Soldier, which is an Army documentary that he filmed in Iraq. Always furthering the knowledge of his craft as an actor, director and cameraman, he has taken classes at the Art Institute of Atlanta as well as classes at Barton College in Wilson where he helped with the production of the campus TV show. He is an alumni of Living Arts College in Raleigh, NC and the founder of 3rd I Multimedia Productions, LLC. In the short films Foolish, The Art of, as well as Life with Money, both works exhibit Albert's remarkable directing skills. His camerawork can be noted in both of these films as well, along with Homecoming, the documentary Culture, and a number of music videos that he has filmed in several cities, including Atlanta.


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Fun Taiwan All Stars is a TV show that encapsulates many Taiwan's historical elements through the form of stage theatre. This broadcast includes arts and humanities, antiques, religion, natural ecosystems and modern civilization. The super stars come from 10 different countries and have hosted many programs such as "World's Weirdest Restaurants"adventurer Bob Blumer, Globe Trekker's backpacker Lan Wright, industrial arts traveler Anita Kapoor and the top model Denise Keller. In the show, they are led by Janet to various scenic locations in Taiwan. Through their experiences, the program explores Taiwan's lively culture.


text:
Die Bundesstraße 476 (Abkürzung: B 476) ist eine 19,3 km lange deutsche Bundesstraße in Nordrhein-Westfalen etwa 30 km östlich von Münster, die die B 475 bei Sassenberg über Versmold mit der A 33 bei Borgholzhausen verbindet.

Geschichte
Zwischen 1855 und 1857 wurde bereits eine Trasse zwischen Warendorf, Versmold und Borgholzhausen zu einer befestigten Kunststraße ausgebaut. Die Bundesstraße 476 wurde Mitte der 1960er Jahre eingerichtet.

Nachdem die A 33 südlich von Borgholzhausen fertiggestellt war, wurde Anfang 2020 der Abschnitt der B 476 zwischen der A 33 und der ehemaligen B 68 bei Borgholzhausen-Bahnhof zur Landesstraße 785 abgestuft.

Planungen
Die mögliche Verlängerung der B 476 von Borgholzhausen bis zur A 30 im niedersächsischen Melle wurde nicht in den Bundesverkehrswegeplan 2030 aufgenommen.

Siehe auch
 Liste der Bundesstraßen in Deutschland

476
476
Verkehr (Kreis Gütersloh)
Straße in Europa

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The basic principles of personal finance are familiar, widely applicable, and not really subject to change. No matter who you are or what you do, you know it's important to spend less than you earn, avoid high-interest debt that doesn't produce a measurable return on investment, diversify your investments, and plan for the future.
It's nice that these and other personal finance guidelines are so well established, even if they're not always followed to the letter. But their familiarity can be a double-edged sword. When you feel like you've heard it all before, it's easy to tune out valuable financial advice that can improve your financial security and help you avoid costly mistakes.


I am big Kansas Jayhawk fan that is why I named my Cardigan Welsh Corgi Phog. I fell in love with the Cardigan's because of a family member that had one. I don't know if I could own another breed of dog.
I have one Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Her name is Phog. She just turned 7 at the end of November. Phog enjoys walking around the neighborhood. The kids in my neighborhood love her because she is always trying to herd them into the right area and they get a kick out of eluding her. They always ask to play "tag" with her.
yes, we can't wait for them to stand. Hopefully they will both stand without any problems. The breeder did say that because he has such big ears we will probably have to tap them. Did you tape yours? At what age did they go up?
Phog has such a sweet expression. We just got a little blue merle boy with one blue eye. I love the blue eyes, it gives them such a different look.
Phog is just so cute. I love the blue eyes!!
Your dog is gorgeous.. beautiful coat, eyes and face. Cardigans have a special softness about them..


FORT POLK – Fort Polk celebrated the Army's 243rd birthday with a ceremony Thursday morning in front of a crowd of soldiers, family members and community leaders.
The ceremony featured attaching streamers to the Army flag with the streamers representing 17 military campaigns throughout the Army's existence.
"I'm exceptionally proud to be in the Army on the 243rd birthday of the United States Army," Brig. Gen. Patrick Frank said. "Just getting out 3rd Brigade 10th Mountain brigade combat team back here to Fort Polk means a great deal for us to close that team in. We have 43 soldiers that are still at bid, and we'll bring them back here at the end of the week."
Presenting the steamers were JRTC and Fort Polk NCO of the Year SGT Stephan A. Brazzell and SPC Tristan J. Poston, the JRTC and Fort Polk Soldier of the Year.
"The Army means you're a part of something more than you yourself could ever be part of," Poston said. "You join this legacy when your join the Army of brothers and sisters who have came before you to promote justice and freedom around the world and have sacrificed to achieve that as we saw today with the streamers."
Frank introduced Anacoco Mayor Keith Lewing and Leesville Mayor Rick Allen, whom gave speeches to the crowd about their relationship with Fort Polk.
"We've experienced things in these ceremonies that we've never seen before," Allen said. "We're excited when we come to each one because we know they're going to be different now.
"I'm very familiar with other bases all over the world and the challenges that they face with communities that are not as open and receptive as we are. We're very proud of that."


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Conveyancing Workflows with Partner for Windows.
Lean Software is developing Sale, Purchase, Remortgage and Transfer of Equity workflows, initially with Braddon & Snow.
Lean Software maintains the system Copyright, in order to possibly help other firms.
With firms working together with Lean Software we aim cut your significant costs relating to building a Conveyancing system within Partner for Windows.


Corporate Momentum is a Marketing and Management Consultancy based in Brisbane but serving all of Southeast Queensland. We have grown the profits of hundreds of companies over time and we can do the same for your business.
Get a fast response to your enquiry by clicking the button below or read on for more information.
Think of us as your specialist marketing team.
We identify or create your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) quickly so that your marketing dollars return more than if they were spent on less compelling messages. Our skills cover research and strategy right through to complete implementation and performance evaluation, all with the goal of increasing your company's profits, immediately and over the long-term.
Sometimes company growth is not just dependent on better marketing.
We can show you how to develop better processes and more alignment between the people in the organisation and its strategic goals. We can advise on business process changes, enhance decision-making, remove cultural issues, handle recruitment, coach senior management and more. Our practical, hands-on implementation helps ensure your goals are reached.
Financial strategy is the cornerstone of many leading businesses.
Financial analysis, strategic cost reduction and management reporting are just a small part of our skill-set when it comes to improving the financial areas of your business. Our dedicated team of straight-talking experts are dedicated to accelerating your business growth and maximising profitability.
Create a lean, mean process-driven organisation.
We've consulted to just about every industry, so this shortens the learning curve when delivering results for your business. Speaking in real-world numbers, efficiency and outcomes, we can clearly show how a few small changes can mean significant improvements to your operational systems and workflow.
Our Brisbane based team of marketing consultants and management consultants have experience in almost every industry and will deliver a short-term marketing and business plan in just 10 days. It will address Quick Win activities and start generating a return on investment straight away.
Plus, engage us in our ProfitLeapTM programme and we'll proactively reduce our fee by 35% to prove that we can achieve a mutually agreed performance goal inside 12 months or we don't get fully paid.
In an industry where consultants are often just talkers and high-level thinkers, we're different. Once we create your Marketing Strategy or Management Plan, we get stuck in and bring it to life.
Whether it's a one-day workshop or a full 12-month programme of research, strategy, marketing and management activity, our straight-talking team will ensure we add value to your business to maximise your return on the investment you make in us.


Protection of Georgian Wine Appellations: Which Way Forward?
The poet and King of Kakheti -Kartli, Teimuraz I, was profoundly influenced by Persian literature. He was not an exception. The Moslem Georgian king, Giorgi XI, assassinated by the Afghan leader Mir Ways (1709), had a cross on his chest, which was sent to the Shah by his murderer as an accusatory.
18 12. lela koWlamazaSvili, Teimuraz yandaSvili. saqarTvelos teqnikuri universiteti turizmi rogorc mcire biznesis ganviTarebis xelSemwyobi faqtori kaxeTis (saqarTvelo) regionis magaliTze Lela kochlamazashvili, Teimuraz kandashvili.


text:
Surprising statistics on Incapacity Benefit claimants
This statistic will be grist to the mill of those who believe that Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support Allowance claimants are just a bunch of scroungers: new government figures show that only 6% of those assessed for the benefit were deemed totally unfit for work.
Indeed, the Department for Work and Pensions press release claims that the majority of new applicants who undertook the Work Capacity Assessment (WCA) are fit to work.
But a closer look at the statistics shows that only 39% are deemed fit for work. It assumes that in those cases where the claim was closed before the assessment was completed (37%) the person is also fit for work. I'm not so sure; how many of those who dropped out simply couldn't deal with the assessment process, for instance? It would be interesting to find out.
The figures for those deemed fit for work seem high; indeed, the Guardian notes that this is widely out of line of initial estimates made by DWP officials when the test was brought in.
So either many people trying to claim the benefit are not as ill as they were making out, or something is wrong with the test.
The test has had many critics since it was brought in to assess new claimants of ESA in 2008, including charities and service users, who, for instance, claim that it does not have the flexibility to take into account conditions that fluctuate.
For many claiming Incapacity Benefit, the WCA, along with the commitment to assess all existing claimants from October, rather than just new applications, has caused much stress and distress over the past few months. Some fear they may lose their benefits and be forced to look for work that is beyond them, or be stuck on the lower-rate Jobseeker's Allowance.
But there is hope that things may change for the better. An independent review of the WCA was set up last month and is set to report back before the end of the year with proposals to reform the test. The scrutiny group for this includes Mind's chief executive Paul Farmer, so it should represent the concerns of service users.
A call for evidence is also being launched today to gather information on the WCA from organisations and individuals, so there is a chance for service users with concerns to get their voices heard. I have no further info on this, but if I can find a link I'll post it up.
There is nothing wrong with the principle of testing claimants to ensure that only those with a genuine need receive the benefit. But any test must ensure that it doesn't exclude those who do need the benefit as well, especially those with mental health issues, where conditions can fluctuate markedly over time.
In its current form, the test appears to have problems; earlier figures on the number of successful appeals – a third of claims where people were initially considered fit for work were overturned – would seem to indicate this.
Hopefully this review will iron out those problems to ensure that only genuine applicants receive Incapacity Benefit/ESA – and in the process put an end to the erroneous 'scrounger' accusations that dog claimants currently.
Filed under social care
Tagged as claimant, DWP, Employment and Support Allowance, fit for work, Incapacity Benefit, Mind, scroungers, stress, Work Capacity Assessment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
At some little distance from this are tuberosity the rib makes a considerable curve, which is usually called its angle. In the latter, the patient first feels the effect of what is called the absorption india of the virus. Neuralgias, hysteria,.syncope, a sensation of if increased bodily heat, dizziness, change of disposition, headache, occasional rigors, pigmentation and swelling of the face, together with various nervous derangements, ven.- frequently occur. The in flowers are the part generally used. I would like to say a where few words here in regard to the treatment of fractures of this bone. For - however, a few important points should be emphasized. We cannot see how, in the face of these obstacles, a constant supply is to be secured by the proposed do statute. There was also amorphous, deeply eosinophilic available material. The largest theca lutein cyst on record is mexican the second case reported by Girouard, Barclay, and their maximal dimension. We reserve our remarks singapore on the responsibility of persons of unsound mind in criminal cases for a further occasion. I don't believe they should all have bicarbonate of soda and the der rest of the treatment the doctor has presented in order to complete a cure. In most cases, laxative articles of diet, such as stewed fruits, and the frequent use of gentle laxatives, will be found more online effectual than the stronger cathartics.
He behoves, too, that quinine was prophylactic, and that its continuous use in a kaufen healthy person during an epidemic caused any disease that showed itself to be mild and tractable. Some had very high temperatures, and ethers had very mild temperatures (100). Nitric acid strikes a red color with of brucia, and this is changed into a violet by the addition of protomuriate of tin. To these stores pharmacy of popular information is added a list of the best medicated soaps and toilet soaps, and a whole chapter of the work is devoted to household remedies. I took a piece of a curtain pole about one inch in diameter and wrapped a towel around it so as to make it softer, laid the foot on a sandbag and held this identical piece of curtain pole underneath the foot where that projection is and took a mallet and pounded it up and then moulded it with my hand until I apotheke had the proper position and put it up in a plaster case to hold it. The Modiolus is a hollow cone, con taming that branch of the auditory nerve which the is destined for the cochlea; and its sides, which consist of two plates, with intervening cells, are every where perforated with minute holes for the transmission of the nervous fibres. Yet for many diagnosed Gl generic btients, inadequate nutrition due to the following rd vomiting, impaired digestion and absorption Imay result in a vitamin-ooor state. It may be fan-shaped, if everyday its anterior portion alone is wide.
Strengths - in the inferior part of the cyst the presence of fluid was detected, and on the surface of the parts were seen some mammillary projections.
There are, notwithstanding, two or pfizer three practical subjects connected with this gas that are most useful to be known. Patients preise may die with a very small area of lung involvement.
Uk - when we place the mantle of office upon our chosen one to lead us right and to advocate the principle of the body politic, in due assemblage adopted by resolution, we expect loyalty, but when the opportune time arises and such officer does not advocate the majority will of the organization, we are assured that such officer has betrayed his trust and broken faith with us. It is probably impossible to pass sutures through the capsule of the kidney without also involving the substance of the organ, yet I think if we could avoid wounding the kidney it would be better: and. Such fees under this new plan would probably be turned into the general fund for division among the staff and if past experience warrants a guess as to the future it would be so inconsiderable as to buy make it cheaper to give up and confine one's practice to private work only.
Angina pec Halania, softness.) Softening of what the heart from deficient nutrition or from inflammation. Take - he was dubious of the right of calling it a sarcoma.
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text:
Toni Siikala is a retired Finnish football (soccer) forward who played in both the United States and Finland. He played professionally in the USISL and National Professional Soccer League.

Siikala played his first career season at men's level in 1989 with Sepsi-78 in Finland. In 1990-92, Siikala played for TP-Seinäjoki still in Finland. He moved to the United States in the fall of 1992 and entered Campbell University where he was a 1993 Second Team and 1995 First Team All American soccer player. He was one of 12 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy nominees as the top college player in the nation in 1995. Siikala scored 68 goals and added 21 assists in his 60-game collegiate career despite losing significant number of games to injuries in 1992 and 1994. He graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1996. In 2010, Campbell University inducted Siikala into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

During the 1993 collegiate offseason, he played for the Raleigh Flyers of the USISL. In 1995 and 1996, he played for the Nashville Metros. In 1997, he returned to the Flyers for one season. On October 16, 1997, the St. Louis Ambush of the National Professional Soccer League signed Siikala. He played only five games before being injured and released in February 1998. On March 3, 1998, the Charleston Battery signed Siikala. He finished his career in the United States in 1999 with the Hampton Roads Mariners of the USL A-League.

In 1998 and 1999, Siikala served as an assistant coach with Charleston Southern University while attending the school to earn a master's degree.

References

Living people
1971 births
Campbell Fighting Camels soccer players
Charleston Battery players
Finnish expatriate footballers
Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Finnish footballers
Virginia Beach Mariners players
Nashville Metros players
National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players
Raleigh Flyers players
St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) players
USISL players
USL First Division players
All-American men's college soccer players
Association football forwards
People from Seinäjoki
Sportspeople from South Ostrobothnia


:: Bloopers/Mistakes :: Episodes list and summary file :: Takaya's crosswords!
:: Bloopers/Mistakes :: Episodes list and summary file :: Devilman's crosswords!
:: Bloopers/Mistakes :: Episodes list and summary file :: Special Mazinga Zetto!
Also being this site is in Italian you can enjoy it the same because most of the mistakes are linked with pictures that are highly self explaining. Unluckly, all of voiceover errors that we refer to are obviously based on the Italian version.
We are four friends joint, from a very long time, by Anime's passion, japanese cartoons.
Our "Otaku Evenings" were born in the distant January 2000. One of us four (precisely Zanin) was able to obtain videotapes with the entire Devilman serie. So one day, or better on a mythic wednesday evening, we gathered in my house (Geruge) and watched the first four episodes. We enjoined it so much that (each of us chose a demon nickname: Geruge, Zanin, Betra and Zoldover) we decided to carry on, first by finishing Devilman and then obtaining time by time new series of which we remembered something from seeing them when we were children. Shortly after, in November 2000, we had the idea of highlighting every mistake or funny thing that we noticed during the episodes and to write them down in a "Word file".
This web site is born with the same ingenuity and passion that drove us to re-watch every single one of this anime. We thought that it would have been fun and interesting to put all the funny e curios things we spotted in these series on the net, some of them we remembered being mythic or extremely scary (one over all: Bem) if seen with adult eyes became funny or absurd.
Obviously we insist in stating that by highlighting those mistake we don't want to abuse any copyright (witch belongs to respective authors and producers) but only entertain episodes screeners, and why not, to demonstrate that an anime may be worth watching also for funny things or big mistakes.


text:
Titans speak up against domestic violence and respect
Thu 17 Oct 2019, 03:24 PM
Titans outside back Dale Copley and former player Matt Srama last week attended Varsity Secondary College to deliver a powerful message to students about domestic violence and respect for themselves and their peers.
With close to 200 students in attendance, Copley and Srama were joined by many Gold Coast dignitaries to discuss a number of social talking points.
"It was around domestic violence and spreading the word around respect," Copley said.
"It was about making sure that they understand about respectful relationships and making sure it's part of their community and their school."
Whilst students are around each other for around six hours a day physically, with the world of social media, in truth they are available to each other 24 hours a day.
"The kids are always connected now through social media so respectful relationships are important face to face but kids today are facing it all the time.
"It's important for kids to think before they post, before they share because they don't know how what they post may affect others."
Whilst rugby league players play a gladiatorial sport, Copley was quick to acknowledge that whilst they play hard and fast, they always respect their opposition.
"We play an aggressive sport and do need to go out there and whack each other pretty hard at times but when the full-time siren sounds it's important to show respect to your opposition.
"It's important to be tough on the field but it's also important to show respect when it's all over."
Lightning-quick Lofi in no rush to fast-track NRL chance
Dale Delivers Message Of Respect On The NRL's Road To Regions
Mon 17 Feb, 2020
GALLERY: State of Mind workshop


Daily high temperatures decrease by 2°F, from 95°F to 93°F, rarely falling below 88°F or exceeding 98°F. The highest daily average high temperature is 95°F on November 7.
Daily low temperatures decrease by 4°F, from 69°F to 66°F, rarely falling below 60°F or exceeding 74°F.
The month of November in Bamako experiences gradually decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 52% to 45%.
A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Bamako, the chance of a wet day over the course of November is rapidly decreasing, starting the month at 8% and ending it at 1%.
The average sliding 31-day rainfall during November in Bamako is gradually decreasing, starting the month at 0.5 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.2 inches or falls below 0.1 inches, and ending the month at 0.1 inches, when it rarely exceeds 0.1 inches or falls below -0.0 inches.
Over the course of November in Bamako, the length of the day is essentially constant. The shortest day of the month is November 30, with 11 hours, 27 minutes of daylight and the longest day is November 1, with 11 hours, 41 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise of the month in Bamako is 6:25 AM on November 1 and the latest sunrise is 12 minutes later at 6:37 AM on November 30.
The latest sunset is 6:05 PM on November 1 and the earliest sunset is 3 minutes earlier at 6:02 PM on November 20.
The chance that a given day will be muggy in Bamako is very rapidly decreasing during November, falling from 42% to 2% over the course of the month.
The average hourly wind speed in Bamako is rapidly increasing during November, increasing from 5.6 miles per hour to 7.7 miles per hour over the course of the month.
The hourly average wind direction in Bamako throughout November is predominantly from the east, with a peak proportion of 66% on November 30.
The average accumulated growing degree days in Bamako are rapidly increasing during November, increasing by 821°F, from 9,310°F to 10,130°F, over the course of the month.
The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Bamako is essentially constant during November, remaining within 0.1 kWh of 5.5 kWh throughout.
The highest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during November is 5.6 kWh on November 7.


text:
Tronox-Cristal TiO2 Deal Advances in EU
The European Commission has approved a divestiture meant to pave the way for the acquisition of titanium dioxide supplier Cristal (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) by Tronox Limited (Stamford, Connecticut), a deal that still requires approval in the United States.
The commission OK'd the sale of Tronox's 8120 paper-laminate product, a necessary condition of its potential Cristal buy.
The Cristal acquisition was up in the air after The United States Federal Trade Commission said in December 2017 that if the merger were to go through, the new Tronox-Cristal entity and Chemours would together control "the vast majority of chloride titanium dioxide manufacturing capacity in the North American market."
Tronox
Tronox Limited (Stamford, Connecticut) announced that the European Commission has further approved its acquisition of Cristal (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), a titanium dioxide pigment business, by green-lighting the divestiture of Tronox's 8120 paper-laminate product.
(Tronox is currently the world's sixth-largest TiO2 maker. Cristal is the second-largest TiO2 producer in the world, behind the DuPont spin-off company Chemours. TiO2 is a raw material widely used in the paints and coatings industry as a pigment to provide hide, durability and whiteness characteristics.)
The EC also found earlier this year that the acquisition would significantly reduce competition in "the European market for chloride-based titanium dioxide pigment for use in paper laminate." The acquisition could both restrict choice and potentially lead to an increase in prices, the EC said.
However, the EC found that the deal would not restrict competition for TiO2 use for other products, just the paper laminate. So, to address those concerns, Tronox offered to divest its "business in titanium dioxide pigment for paper laminate comprising the required technology and other intangibles to an experienced manufacturer with chloride-based production technology active in the European Economic Area."
Tronox announced the approval of that buyer, Venator Materials, (a United Kingdom-based chemical manufacturing company that spun off from Huntsman International LLC last year) on Aug. 20.
"We are pleased to receive the European Commission's final approval and look forward to consummating this highly synergistic combination designed to increase asset utilization, lower our cost position, unlock incremental product volumes to serve growing global markets, and create significant long-term value for our customers and shareholders," said Jeffry N. Quinn, president and chief executive officer of Tronox.
In addition to receiving final approval from the European Commission, Australia, China, New Zealand, Turkey, South Korea, Colombia and Saudi Arabia have also approved the proposed acquisition. The FTC remains the final regulatory authority reviewing the transaction.
Tagged categories: Acquisitions; AF; AS; Asia Pacific; Business matters; Coating Materials; EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa); EU; Latin America; Mergers; NA; North America; OC; SA; Titanium dioxide; Tronox


Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord tells how the community and police worked together to catch a thief and preserve a uniquely Delta business.
Delta Police Chief Constable Neil Dubord.
The Delta Police Department is proud of two things: our "no call to small" philosophy and our vision of a safer and better community through excellence in policing. What makes these principles extra special is when our community responds to issues in the same way.
"The victim is a local Ladner farmer who operates a small local market on River Road West. What is unique about this market is not the fact that it sells local homegrown produce, fruit preserves, chili sauces etc. The unique part is that this market operates completely on an honour system. You take what you need and leave the money in a cash box.
"On Sept. 7, cash and several food items were stolen to the tune of $320. Luckily, it was caught on video surveillance. What is very cool, is that the video was fanned out via social media to another local Facebook group. It has about 2000 Delta residents. Voilà, Delta residents band together and identify the suspect. The DPD constable did his part, located and arrested the individual. He had [his] first court appearance [on] Nov. 25.
We often talk about the role of the community in public safety and that the police cannot do their jobs without public support. This file is a classic example of the power of the community in keeping our neighbourhoods safe and holding offenders accountable to their actions.
The fact that a farmer can still sell products on an honour system in this day and age is, simply put, awesome. But on top of that, a community rallying together to ensure that this way of life is protected is beyond words.
I am also proud of the work of our constable, who recognized that this theft was more than the face value of the cash and products stolen; that following through and arresting the thief sends a message to anyone who lives, works or visits Delta – the little things matter.
The relationship and trust we have with the community coupled with the great work of our officers makes solving files like this possible. Together, we are #DPDSTRONG.
Neil Dubord is the Delta Police Department's chief constable. He joined the DPD on June 29, 2015 after three years as chief of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police and 25 years with the Edmonton Police Service where he was the Deputy Chief in charge of Community Policing Bureau.


You can also browse some of my other poster designs following this link to the print section of my portfolio website.
Zachary's Chicago Pizza began in the 1980's in Oakland, CA. Funny enough, my first job after getting a degree in Design from UC Davis was working for a screen-printer who printed Zachary's Pizza t-shirts so I had a shirt before I ever had a Zachary's slice.
Zachary's has a poster contest every other years. They have been doing it for year's so each restaurant is covered in framed 36"x48' posters designed by all ages of Zachary's loving customers. I entered the first year when my older son was 7-years old. I only entered one poster that year and won 100 bucks of pizza. My son was thrilled every time we went to Zachary's to see "our" poster hanging on the wall. In 2009, I entered 3 posters. All 3 posters won, In 2011, I entered 4 posters and all 4 posters won and in 2013 again, I won 4 times. It's 2014 and I have designed 5 posters for the 2015 contest. It's not an obsession but a great way for me to put out my creative ideas in a forum I love to work in. I've used friends, my sons and even my mother as models for the posters. I don't do it for the prize or the "fame". I'm apparently not even the person who has won the most times! There is someone crazier than I am! The Berkeleyside, online-local newspaper even did an article on me.
Zachary's seems to love the posters I've designed so much they hired me to do their anniversary logo and few ads. When you go to a Zachary's check out all the great art on their walls!


Get Up To 70% Off On Planet Saturn Pictures on Best Deals. Shop Now!
Buy Planet Saturn at Amazon! Free Shipping on Qualified Orders.
Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system; Saturn comes in at second place. Actually Saturn comes in 1st place because the ring around Saturn.
Saturn Facts. Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and second largest planet of the Solar System in terms of diameter and mass. If compared, it is easy to see why Saturn and Jupiter have been designated as relatives. From atmospheric composition to rotation, these two planets are extremely similar.
The Saturn is not a largest planet. It is second largest planet according diameter after the Jupiter. Diameter of the Saturn is 116,464 km while diameter of the Jupiter is 139,822 km. Jupiter: Jupiter aka King of the Planets, is made mostly of gases like hydrogen and helium, and that it doesn't have a solid surface like Earth.
Saturn - Educational facts and history of the planet Saturn.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest.. Planet Profile. orbit: 1,429,400,000 km (9.54 AU) from Sun diameter: 120,536 km (equatorial) mass: 5.68e26 kg. History of Saturn. In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture.The associated Greek god, Cronus, was the son of Uranus and Gaia and the father of Zeus (Jupiter).
Saturn isn't the only planet to have rings, but it definitely has the most beautiful ones. The rings we see are made of groups of tiny ringlets that surround Saturn. They're made of chunks of ice and rock. Like Jupiter, Saturn is mostly a ball of hydrogen and helium. Visit NASA Space Place for more kid-friendly facts.
The eight planets are outlined below, from largest to smallest: 1. Jupiter - diameter of 142,800 km (11.2 times bigger than Earth) Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. Its diameter measures 142,800 km. It is so gigantic that all other planets in the solar system could fit into Jupiter. It is the fifth planet from the sun.


"Now posts to windows Messenger to show the currently playing song. Control Pandora from the menu by right-clicking on the taskTray icon. New lyrics window to pull lyrics for the currently playing song."
I've been a Pandora fan for a while now. This little application makes it easy to access your stations without a web browser. If you are a Pandora user... check it out.


text:
CSTO head criticises Turkish involvement
Lavrov calls Armenian and Azerbaijni counterparts
Hajiyev: Azerbaijan expects a more active role for Turkey in negotiations
Mnatsakanyan: Nagorno-Karabakh should 'decide its own fate'
Hikmet Hajiyev: 'the ceasefire has not yet begun'
Aliyev: 'The military part, or its first part, has come to an end'
Turkey to stand by Azerbaijan 'on the ground and at the table'
Live updates: Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire falters
By OC Media
Less than an hour after the noon ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan came into effect, fighting between the two countries erupted again.
Both sides have accused the other of launching new attacks, and breaking the ceasefire.
Armenia reports that villages near the southern town of Kapan have been hit by Azerbaijani fire, leaving at least one person dead. Shelling has been reported on both sides of the line of contact, and both Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.
The 'humanitarian' ceasefire, meant for the exchange of bodies and prisoners of war — but also intended to transform into a longer peace process — was brokered in three way negotiations between the Russian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in a marathon session last night in Moscow.
[The news as it happened: 27 September, 28 September, 29 September, 30 September, 1 October, 2 October, 3 October, 4 October, 5 October, 6 October, 7 October, 8 October, and 9 October]
Read our latest stories:
Opinion | How I learned not to hate
Opinion | We are a generation of war
Opinion | To stand for peace, in spite of everything
Analysis | A dangerous turn in a 30-year conflict
Under fire in Stepanakert
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as 'de facto', 'unrecognised', or 'partially recognised' when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
The Secretary General of the Russian led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Stanislav Zas, has criticised Turkish involvement in the conflict in an interview with Russia Today.
'The CSTO does not welcome the intervention of third countries in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict if they operate outside the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group', Zas said.
'The expansion of the participants in these events is not in the interests of resolving the situation and de-escalating the conflict. If Turkey's activities go beyond the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group, we certainly do not welcome it.'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire agreement.
Despite the call, reports of clashes have continued.
In a briefing today, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev has said that Azerbaijan expects Turkey to have a more active role in the negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh. He stated that this may be either within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group or outside of it.
Speaking to reporters today, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said that in the negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh the physical security and right to self-determination of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh must remain respected.
Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan has said in a briefing today that he considers the ceasefire agreed upon last night and that officially came into force at noon, to not have started yet. As of yet, he said, the proper conditions for the ceasefire were not in place.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Russian outlet RBK on Saturday, that the 'military phase, or perhaps the first part of the military phase' of the conflict is over, and that a political settlement has been reached that will ensure that Azerbaijan gets 'what is rightfully ours'.
RBK writes that in the interview, which will air in full tomorrow, Aliyev said that the main factor for strengthening the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh is for Armenia to accept that 'these territories belong to Azerbaijan'.
Following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, Turkey's Foreign Ministry released a statement describing it as an important step, but not one that could 'replace a lasting solution'.
'Since the beginning, Turkey has always underlined that it would only support those solutions which were acceptable to Azerbaijan. With this understanding, Turkey will continue to stand by brotherly Azerbaijan on the ground and at the (negotiating) table', the statement reads.
#Azerbaijan
#Nagorno-Karabakh
#Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
5. Analysis | How Kadyrov uses 'the Path of Akhmat' in sports to cement his rule in Chechnya
Queer Rights
Georgia's (in)human rights strategy
UNM leadership contender threatens to break Saakashvili out of jail
Court denies bail to Azerbaijani activist despite 'deteriorating health'
EU approves 2-year monitoring mission to Armenia–Azerbaijan border


The NDA government has been focussing primarily, or even solely, on extending labour flexibility.
Ever since India introduced market reforms in the 1990s, a long list of international organisations, investors and general critics of government regulation have demanded further measures with regard to the labour market and industrial relations system (IRS).
Why? Firstly because the introduction of labour market reforms is complementary to the liberalisation of the Indian economy – the benefits of the lattter can only fully be reaped if the former is also completed.
Secondly, the general perception is that India's labour laws and labour inspection system are quite tough and significantly restrict the freedom of employers to respond to rapidly changing business conditions. Specifically, Chapter V-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (the ID Act) requires industrial establishments employing 100 or more workers to seek prior permission from the government before retrenching workers or closing down their establishments, and governments are hesitant to sanction retrenchment or closure for fear of political unpopularity as these measures will result in at least short-term unemployment.
Similarly, the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (the Contract Labour Act) does not allow user enterprises to use contract labour at will to tackle uncertain demand for their products.
Third, the labour laws are archaic (enacted decades ago) and numerous (reportedly 44 Central labour laws), lack consistency (differing definitions of same terms in different laws, such as "workman" or "wages") and are not in sync with current competitive economic environment (all conveniently clubbed under the term "core" labour law reforms).
At the same time, employers have also vociferously complained against the labour inspection and procedural system as being "harassment" (hence the pejorative term, inspector raj). Labour inspections are far too frequent and inspectors are corrupt and have a persecutory mindset.
The procedural systems such as securing registration/license and maintenance of registers and records (in physical forms) and submission of information under various labour laws are cumbersome and even repetitive. Employers hence seek liberalisation of inspection and labour administration system (governance reforms).
Since 1991, the Central government, irrespective of the ruling political parties, has been keen to introduce core labour law reforms. As against the UPA government in its two stints, the current NDA government has been making some headway with regard to both labour law and governance reforms.
While the governance reforms relating to Employees' Provident Fund Act (EPF Act) and the Employees' State Insurance Act (ESI Act) have had relatively smooth sailing, the government's labour law reforms are facing huge resistance.
At the most basic and fundamental level, the NDA government does not have a clear and sensitive strategy to introduce labour law reforms. The government and its associated think-tanks have attacked existing labour institutions such as labour laws by arguing that they protect the minuscule organised sector, often at the cost of the vast masses of workers in the unorganised sector and they do not aid in employment generation.
This is a direct attack on trade unions and labour laws which have stood the test of time. While it infuriated trade unions it also raised the expectations of grand delivery of welfare benefits by the government to unorganised labour. This will prove to be a double disaster as we see later.
Second, the government has been perceived as being very keen to introduce business-friendly reforms. It has relied on a certain set of research studies which argue that pro-worker labour laws promote unemployment and informality and support reforms of labour laws to provide labour flexibility to the employers.
The methodology and the line of thinking that underlies these studies have been widely used despite severe criticisms by several academics. For instance, one study by P. Sarkar and S. Deakin shows exactly the opposite: that pro-worker labour laws are in fact associated with low unemployment and that labour market regulation is rather a response to shocks in labour market; that labour market regulation is not as bad as it made out to be.
The Central government, irrespective of the party in power, has bought the pro-reform research hook, line and sinker while ignoring the aforementioned critical research. This clearly shows that the government which is supposed to be a neutral party has partisan objectives. The trust in the state, as it were, has been shaken.
Third, while India's unorganised sector has been placed upfront as a justification to advance wide-ranging labour law reforms, the government has done precious little to address their interests. The UPA government's Unorganised Sector Workers' Social Security Act of 2008 is a damp squib as it merely "roped in" existing welfare schemes and did not offer anything new and the NDA government has not done much to respond to this criticism.
The proposed Social Security Code is a huge and welcome promise but, as trade unions have argued, it does not answer many critical questions regarding EPF and ESI and also dismantles existing welfare boards in states like Tamil Nadu. Though the current NDA government claims several measures for unorganised sector workers, the trade union movement remains unconvinced.
Fourth, since the government is in a hurry to primarily introduce business-friendly reforms, the Indian government has historically not created a perception that it is keen to listen to the voices of trade unions. As a result, the government has nourished an adversarial position with regard to trade unions. On their part, the unions perceive that the government is far too friendly with business bodies.
Fifth, instead of undertaking the right reforms over labour inspection processes such as rationalising and creating a transparent inspection system to tackle corruption and harassment, the government has succumbed and subscribed to the "wholesale damning of the inspection system" by endorsing descriptions of it as having a 'Raj' mentality.
The vilification of the labour inspection system flies in the face of empirical realities. Labour law enforcement agencies have chronically suffered from a scarcity of resources. Issues around labour law enforcement merited a discussion at the national tripartite body, the Indian Labour Conference, in its 41st session held in 2017. Violations have allegedly intensified in the post-reform period. Further, they are not in consonance with the ILO Convention on Labour Inspection which India has ratified.
Sixth, the government released, as though in a hurry, ill-drafted, poorly conceived and incomplete draft codes. For example, the first draft on 'Labour Code on Industrial Relations' (released in April 2015) did not contain clauses relating to the recognition of trade unions for collective bargaining, which has been a historic deficit. Further, it banned outsiders in registered trade unions, which runs against the historic tradition of outside leadership in India and is allowed under the ILO Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise. Later, the government corrected these problematic errors. Nevertheless, these vital slips send strong adverse signals to the trade unions at large.
The NDA government has been focussing primarily, or even solely, on extending labour flexibility in a variety of measures and proposals. It seeks to amend the ID Act to give more industrial establishments the power to fire workers or close down their establishments; it amended the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 to provide for fixed term employment contracts; and it issued the Model Shops and Establishments Act, though it is strictly a state law.
Other steps have also provoked a backlash. For instance, the NDA government proposed to amend the Factories Act, 1948 to make it applicable to factories employing 20 or more workers with power and those employing 40 or more workers without power in lieu of half of the stated respective thresholds, which would remove thousands of workers from the purview of the safety and standards law. It also sought to tinker with matters relating to the provident fund, which provoked spontaneous workers' protests.
Though the NDA government taken some pro-labour measures like extending maternity leave, enhancing the coverage of the ESI Act, etc. the constant talk of providing labour flexibility even at the cost of hurting labour rights on the one hand and absence of any credible measure to address concerns of unorganised workers, both in the so-called formal sector and in the informal sector, on the other hand, have angered the working class.
It should have sent right signals to the working class at large by addressing their core concerns and issues, such as recognition and compulsory registration of trade unions and strengthening of the labour justice system by making suitable amendments in the relevant Central labour laws. In addition, it could have reformed the working of the EPF Organisation and ESI Corporation to extend better medical services and ensuring speedier settlement of social security settlements. If the government could amend the Central labour laws to afford "labour flexibility" to India Inc in a hurry, why could it not amend the same laws to legalise the long pending and legitimate labour rights? A whopping proportion of contract (68.4%) and casual (94%) workers do not have formal job contracts, and this does not bother policymakers. Even the proposed labour codes do not address this fundamental labour market deficit.
Finally, the surgical strike measures of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax have had the side-effects of harming job-creating economic activities. There is a clear public perception that there is a job crisis, though PR management by the government is ongoing through the release of pay-roll data. The rising incidence of vulnerable jobs like contract, casual, fixed term jobs and the disturbing age differential between standard and non-standard workers have further dented faith in the labour policies of the government. Many regional labour law reforms have removed chunks of workers out of the purview of basic labour laws like the Factories Act, 1948 or the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, thus ensuring the creation of non-standard jobs. The competition for investment is also leading to competitive labour flexibility policies of various state governments which in turn leads to a race to the bottom over labour standards.
Now, thanks to political expediency, the NDA government is reportedly shelving the controversial Industrial Relations Code and pushing the so-called pro-workers' Codes on Social Security, Wages and Occupational Safety and Health banking on "inevitable" political support.
This kind of signalling should have been done upfront. But passing these so-called labour-friendly codes is not going to be easy, as trade unions are quite critical of the initial drafts because of their inadequacies. Opposition parties are unlikely to grant political mileage to the NDA by cooperating with it to pass these codes as laws.
With regard to labour law reforms, therefore, there is a huge perception management failure on the part of the government, even as economic conditions have not been helpful to sound labour market functioning. The increasing dissociation of trade unions from the affiliated or sympathetic political parties has made management of the industrial relations system quite difficult and even embarrassing.
Perhaps for the first time, labour market issues such as jobless growth and social protection will significantly figure in electoral politics both at the regional level as we saw in Tripura and in the general elections in 2019.
Sadly, when it comes to labour reform and protection of India's unorganised workers, it is not a question of whether the Congress or any other political party will perform better than the NDA, but a question of who will perform less badly.