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Dhaka, Wednesday, 19th January 2022
Biz-Econ
Japan election: Ruling LDP struggles over COVID, inequality
International Desk Published: 30 October 2021, 08:52 AM
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, (centre), gestures during his party campaign for the upcoming general election in Tokyo on October 27, 2021 [Kazuhiro Nogi/ AFP]
Voters in Japan will head to the polls on Sunday with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's party fighting to save its majority in the lower house, amid frustration over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic as well as worsening economic inequality, reports Aljazeera.
Prior to the dissolution of parliament for Sunday's vote, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had 276 seats in the 465-member chamber, while its coalition partner Komeito had 29.
Most polls are again projecting that the LDP will win a majority, albeit with a reduced number of seats, and Kishida - who took office earlier this month - said on Monday that the party faces an "extremely tough" situation in the upcoming vote.
Part of the reason is that five main opposition parties have teamed up to field joint candidates in a large number of single-member districts. The other is that there are a large number of voters who are still undecided - perhaps as many as 40 percent.
Kyodo news agency, which polled 119,000 eligible voters, said on Wednesday that the large proportion of undecided voters means the "result could still swing in either direction". The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which polled 380,000 voters, also said it was "still possible for the tide to change toward voting day".
In the Japanese capital, Tokyo, where the LDP took the most seats in a July city election but failed to win an outright majority, voters were divided on the ruling party's prospects.
Its supporters think despite LDP's initial delays in responding to the pandemic, it is to be credited for ensuring 70 percent population is now fully vaccinated against the virus. They also note infection rates have now fallen to record lows this week, with Tokyo recording just 17 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday compared with 6,000 infections a day at the pandemic peak.
COVID-19 success
Mari Narahara, a 27-year-old marketing executive, says she will vote for the LDP in the hope of "improvements on policy responses to COVID-19 … to return more to everyday life, including having freedom to travel overseas and eat out".
At least 18,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Japan since the pandemic began, while 1.7 million people have been infected.
Kishida, who succeeded the unpopular Yoshihide Suga a month ago, has set a target of 233 seats for the coalition, and polls published by the Nikkei and Yomiuri Shimbun dailies on Friday showed the LDP alone would struggle to reach that number.
The LDP's critics say if the party had responded faster, Japan could have reduced the number of deaths from COVID-19. And they hope public dissatisfaction over the pandemic response (approval ratings for Kishida's cabinet remain below 50 percent), as well as a united opposition, might bring an end to the LDP's dominance in Japanese politics. The party has governed Japan for all but four years since 1955.
Sakurako Amatesaru, a kimono model, says she expects large numbers of people to turn out and vote against the LDP.
"I think reform is necessary. After experiencing corona, I think we need political parties to protect people's health and economy," she said. "I believe this election will increase voter turnout, which will end the one-party politics of the LDP."
Reiko Suzuki, an 86-year-old supporter of the Japanese Communist Party, also said "many people will vote for different political parties" on Sunday. "I believe that this will change the one-party politics of the LDP," he said.
Kishida's 'New Capitalism'
Urara Ichihara, an English teacher, says she too expects "more people to vote for parties other than the LDP than before". The 61-year-old says that while she has not yet decided which party to support, she certainly will not vote for the LDP.
"They [the LDP] have not handled the situation well so far and I feel they are not thinking about the people," she said.
Chief among Ichihara's concerns is Japan's widening wealth gap, which many of the governing party's critics attribute to "Abenomics", the signature economic policy platform of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an LDP legislator who was Japan's longest-serving prime minister when he announced his resignation in 2020.
While received well initially, "Abenomics" has been criticised for boosting the profits of companies, without improving the real wages of workers.
Kishida has taken that criticism on board, and has pledged to address income inequality, by calling for a "new capitalism" that he says would "raise the income and salaries of as many people as possible".
But beyond tax incentives for companies that raise worker wages, critics say the prime minister has provided little detail on how he plans to tackle the issue.
Neither has the opposition, however.
At least, according to recent editorials in the Mainichi and Asahi Shimbun newspapers.
"At the October 18 leaders' debate in the Diet, most of the parties stressed economic 'redistribution'. However, none had a good explanation for how specifically this would be done and where the funding would come from," lamented an editorial in the Mainichi last week.
"The parties must take a hard look at the wealth distortions in Japanese society, and compete on their compelling visions for how to fix it."
Mitsuru Umemoto, a 64-year-old business owner, agrees that the policy solutions on offer were neither varied nor inspiring.
"I honestly feel that it doesn't matter which party I vote for," said the undecided voter. "They will all be the same."
Still, Umemoto - who says he is most concerned about the economy and public health - says he will vote. And although he has still to make his choice, the businessman expects the LDP to win again.
Mutsumi Kato, a 60-year-old lobbyist, also says she believes the LDP is on course for another victory.
"But I think the opposition party will also increase the number of seats this time," she said.
"I believe that the proper reforms will be carried out if the number of seats of the LDP and the opposition parties is balanced."
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"NATO's lake"
Black Sea: Pentagon's Gateway to Three Continents and the Middle East
by Rick Rozoff
With the sixtieth anniversary summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to occur jointly in the French city of Strasbourg and the German one of Kehl on April 3-4, the world should take note of how far from its original area of operations this international military bloc has expanded since its creation in 1949. At the 2004 Istanbul summit, post-WW2 historical thresholds were crossed, broadly expanding NATO's area of responsibility and interest. In January 2009, the US signed Strategic Partnership Charters with Georgia and Ukraine as part of a strategic "takeover" of the Black Sea region. This article is the latest of a series in which Rick Rozoff maps out the various stages of this expanding geopolitical agenda spearheaded by NATO.
Voltaire Network | Chicago | 3 March 2009
The Black Sea region connects Europe with Asia and the Eurasian land mass to the Middle East through Turkey on its southern rim, which borders Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The northern Balkans lie on its western shores and the Caucasus on its eastern end, the latter a land bridge to the Caspian Sea and Central Asia.
Ukraine, Russia and the strategic Sea of Azov are on its northern perimeter.
Given its central location, the Black Sea has been coveted for millennia by major powers: The Persian and Roman empires, Greeks and Hittites, Byzantines and Huns, Ottoman Turkey and Czarist Russia, even by Napoleon's France and Hitler's Germany in their wars to unite Europe to Asia and the Middle East.
The famed Trojan War was fought for control of Troy/Dardania/Ilium, the entrance to the Sea of Marmara which connects the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The strait connecting the two is still called the Dardanelles after ancient Dardania.
Going back to Antiquity a third continent has also been involved, Africa; the Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the Black Sea city of Colchis, now in modern Georgia, was founded by Egyptians and in Virgil's if not Homer's account of the siege of Troy Memnon, king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), is slain by Achilles fighting in defense of Troy.
A Romanian news source recently reiterated the importance of the region for the modern era:
"Through the Black Sea, the European area strategically meets Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East, hydrocarbon production and transit areas." (Nine O'Clock News, May 14, 2008)
Allusions to the Black Sea's importance for not only energy and transit but for world military purposes will occur frequently in citations to follow.
Prior to the breakup of the Warsaw Pact in 1989 and the Soviet Union two years later the Black Sea was mainly off limits to the West in general and to the Pentagon and NATO in particular. Until 1991 only four states bordered the sea, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and the Soviet Union.
Turkey as a key NATO member state was the West's sole beachhead in the region with Bulgaria and Romania, the second more nominally than in fact, members of the Eastern bloc and the Warsaw Pact.
In the intervening eighteen years the situation in this region, like so many others, has been transformed and a new battle for control of it has emerged.
There have arisen two new littoral states, Georgia and Ukraine, with Abkhazia added last August, and every past Warsaw Pact nation outside the former Soviet Union is currently a full member of both NATO and the European Union - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the former German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia - with three former Soviet republics on the Baltic Sea - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - also dual members.
As an Indian commentator, Premen Addy, described it last summer:
"NATO's noose is drawn ever tighter round the Russian neck. American military and missile bases are already ensconced in Romania and Bulgaria - two states once in harness with Adolf Hitler's Third Reich and the invading Nazi legions into the USSR - in a bid to strangle the possible emergence of a rival centre of power in the Black Sea...." (Daily Pioneer, August 16, 2008)
A year earlier the online intelligence site The Power and Interest News Report in an analysis called "Bulgaria, U.S. Bases and Black Sea Geopolitics" summarized the situation regarding one key Black Sea state in the following words:
"Geographically speaking, Bulgaria provides the U.S. (and N.A.T.O.) a greater presence in the Black Sea, through which there are plans to build oil and gas pipelines. "Also, it is close to the former Yugoslavia, a place of constant tensions, particularly in the last decade. "The [new Pentagon] bases allow the U.S. to keep increased control of the country and the Greater Middle East region, as Washington now has a military presence in the south (America's 5th fleet is based in Bahrain) and will have a presence in the north through nearby Bulgaria." (August 29, 2007)
Since 1991 but especially since the December 2003 "Rose Revolution" the United States has transformed Georgia on the Black Sea's eastern border into a private military preserve, first dispatching Green Berets, then Marines to train, equip and transform the nation's armed forces for wars abroad and at home.
The revamped Georgian army was first tried out in Iraq, where with a 2,000-troop contingent it had the third largest foreign force in Iraq until last August when the US military, whose creation it was, flew the soldiers home for the war with Russia.
Before the echoes of last August's gunfire and artillery rounds had died down the US sent its warship the USS McFaul to the Georgian port city of Batumi and the flagship of its Sixth Fleet, the USS Mount Whitney, to Poti whose mission was announced to the chronically credulous as delivering "juice, powdered milk and hygiene products."
Batumi is the capital of Ajaria, a former autonomous region subjugated by the then newborn 'Rose' regime in April of 2004 after its US-trained army staged Georgia's largest-ever military exercises in nearby Poti and threatened invasion, lies just south of the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi, where Russian ships were then stationed. Warships of the world's two major nuclear powers faced off against each other off the Black Sea coast just 75 kilometers apart.
At the same time NATO deployed a naval strike group to the Black Sea consisting of three US warships, a Polish frigate, a German frigate and a Spanish guided missile frigate as well as four Turkish vessels with eight more warships planning to join the flotilla.
The NATO warships were only 150 kilometers from Russian counterparts then docked in Abkhazia.
On the north end of the Black Sea the US has led annual Sea Breeze NATO exercises in Ukraine's Crimea, evoking mass outrage and spirited protests from the Crimeans themselves whose parliament three days ago voted against a proposed US representative office being set up, one which no doubt would oversee both the suppression of increased autonomy demands and anti-NATO actions in Crimea and prepare the groundwork for the eviction of Russia's Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol.
Regarding the second point, a Russian news site offered these insights:
"Analysts speak about Ukrainian plans to kick out Russia and turn over the Crimean bases to NATO and the United States, as both salivate for a military presence in the Black Sea Basin." (Voice of Russia, May 28, 2008)
"One of the conditions for NATO membership is absence of foreign bases on the country's territory....[Ukraine's 'orange' authorities] do what they can to drive away the Russian Black Sea Fleet from the Crimea. In such a way Kiev signals to Brussels that it is preparing a base for NATO naval ships in the Black Sea." (Voice of Russia, May 22, 2008
Georgia's and Ukraine's next, complete, phase of integration as Pentagon's military outposts was announced last December and January, respectively, when Washington signed Strategic Partnership Charters with first Kiev and then Tbilisi. Months before that and only days after Georgia launched its attack on South Ossetia and Russian peacekeepers there, triggering last August's war, all 26 NATO members sent representatives as part of a delegation to the Georgian capital to establish a new NATO-Georgia Commission.
At the same time the regime of Ukraine's Viktor Yushschenko, who rode to power on the US-financed and -directed 'orange revolution' of December 2004, and whose wife Kathy is a Chicago-born and -raised former official in the Reagan State Department and the George H. W. Bush Treasury Department and was once described by a fawning admirer as "a Reaganite's Reaganite," used the deployment of Russian ships to the Black Sea during the war with Georgia to apply pressure on the Black Sea Fleet, at one point implying the ships might not be permitted to return to Sevastopol.
Several weeks after the Caucasus war ended, Washington sent an intelligence gathering ship, U.S. Pathfinder, to Sevastopol harbor.
The Yushchenko junta renewed its accusations against the Russian fleet late last month on another score, slightly over a month after the Charter on Strategic Cooperation was signed with Washington.
The Black Sea connects with the Sea of Azov, surrounded almost entirely by Russia, at the Kerch Strait, the scene of a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine in 2003.
A Russian newspaper at the time explained what was at stake in the dispute:
"The Kerch Strait at the center of Russia's dispute with Ukraine controls access to the Azov Sea, which is reputed to have largely untapped hydrocarbon reserves. "Ownership rights to potential oil and gas resources have not been decided between the two countries, despite years of negotiations to delimit the seabed. "Although unlikely to be a second Caspian, geologists believe the Azov Sea is likely part of the same seam of hydrocarbon deposits that stretches from southern Ukraine and Russia through the Black Sea to the Caspian and beyond." (Moscow Times, October 24, 2003)
The US's Stratfor augmented the above with this brief analysis:
"The Kerch Strait is a 25-mile-long channel that is no wider than 9 miles, linking the critically important Black Sea to the Sea of Azov off of Russia's Northern Caucasus border. It has served as a key location for some strategic battles in the past from the Crimean wars to a Nazi-Soviet naval clash. To Russia, the Kerch Strait is a continuation of the Northern Caucasus into Ukraineâ's Crimea regions, which is one of the country's most pro-Russian regions and home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet located at Sevastopol." (November 10, 2008)
More concisely and even more to the point, a few weeks ago this quote appeared in a Ukrainian press wire report:
"Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations require that it solves all its problems, including border disputes. They need a border [in the Kerch Strait] for just one reason: to be able to join NATO as soon as possible." (Interfax-Ukraine, January 31, 2009)
Bulgaria and Romania
The US has signed Strategic Partnership Charters with both Georgia and Ukraine over the past two months and the two nations are the centerpieces for Washington's takeover of the Black Sea and indeed the former Soviet Union as a whole.
They are the main fulcra for the US-created GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) bloc originally set up in 1997 as the main transit route for 21st century Eurasian energy wars and for undermining and undoing the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States. They are also the foundation stones of the European Union's Eastern Partnership.
But to date the main emphasis of the Pentagon's campaign to conquer the Black Sea region, and arguably the major focal point for its international shift to the east and the south, is with Bulgaria and Romania.
Both nations were formally brought into NATO at the 2004 Istanbul summit of the Alliance and since became the last - perhaps in both senses of the word, most recent and final - members of the European Union.
Earlier, Bulgaria and Romania both denied Russia use of their airspace to transport supplies to troops they had moved into Kosovo in June of 1999.
Russia was acting within its rights under the terms of UN Resolution 1244 to protect ethnic minority communities in the Serbian province, but clearly Bulgaria and Romania were following US and NATO orders in blocking the flights.
Whether, if Russia had persisted in its intent, the two nations would have grounded the Russian aircraft or even shot them down is a matter of conjecture, though perhaps not much.
Later Romania allowed the US to use its Mikhail Kogalniceanu Air Base in 2002 for the buildup to the following March's invasion of Iraq.
In December of 2005 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to the Romanian capital to sign an accord to use - take control of - four military bases, the aforementioned Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and training and firing grounds in Babadag, Cincu and Smardan.
The US's explanation at the time was that it was to employ the four bases for training, including joint and multilateral exercises, provision of supplies and transit for the downrange wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
And Romanian territory has served those purposes ever since.
In April of the following year, 2006, the US signed a comparable agreement with neighboring Bulgaria for the use of three of its major military bases - the Bezmer air base, the Novo Selo army training range and the Graf Ignatievo airfield.
Both pacts were signed for an initial ten year duration.
The US was allowed to station troops - estimates vary from 5,000-10,000 - on a rotating or permanent basis in both countries.
In the case of Bulgaria it will be the first time foreign troops have been stationed on its soil since Nazi Wehrmacht forces were driven out in 1944 and with Romania since Soviet troops withdrew in 1958.
The seven sites in both countries will be the first US military bases in former Warsaw Pact territory.
The Bezmer air base in Bulgaria is a major facility, similar in scope to Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu, and its scale and purpose for current and futures campaigns in the east and south are indicated by this Bulgarian description:
"[T]he airbase...according to the US-Bulgarian agreement...will acquire the status of a strategic military facility in two years, like the Incirlik airbase in Turkey and Aviano in Italy." (Standart News, June 10, 2007)
The same newspaper added that, "The Bezmer military airport near the town of Yambol (southeastern Bulgaria) will be transformed into one of the six new strategic airbases outside US borders." (Standart News, June 6, 2007)
Britain's Jane's Defence Weekly in late 2006 informed its readers of the strategic sweep of the Pentagon's move into the Black Sea:
"[T]he new land, sea and airbases along the Black Sea will provide much improved contingency access for deployments into Central Asia, parts of the Middle East and Southwest Asia. "Perhaps just as significantly, the new land, sea and airbases along the Black Sea will provide much improved contingency access for deployments into Central Asia, parts of the Middle East and Southwest Asia." (Sofia Echo, November 17, 2006)
From the other end of the planet Lin Zhiyuan, deputy office director of the World Military Affairs Research Department of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, saw the developments through the same lens but with trepidation:
"[N]ew military bases, airports and training bases will be built in Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and other nations to ensure 'gangways' to some areas in the Middle East, African and Asia in possible military actions in the years ahead." (People's Daily, December 5, 2006)
Both preceding analyses were confirmed by the US military itself the following year when Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, the U.S. Army Europe operations chief and deputy chief of staff, spoke of Romania to an armed forces publication:
"It's in a critical location with emerging partners, at a location which is really a place that has been a historical transit route for bad guys."
The interview added "The bases would house rotating U.S. troops that would train under the command of Joint Task Force East, headquartered at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base. "The U.S. signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement with Romania in December 2005 to allow U.S. forces to use the former communist nation for training, pre-positioning of equipment and, if necessary, staging and deploying troops into war zones." (Stars and Stripes, May 4, 2007)
Two months after the US-Bulgarian agreement the US led joint military training exercises in Bulgaria in which the head of local troops involved effused, "We want to be certified as part of NATO forces. We want to conduct expeditionary exercises as part of NATO." (Stars and Stripes, July 22, 2006)
The war games, named Immediate Response 2006, were designated to break in the new bases in Bulgaria and Romania and to implement the Rumsfeld era Pentagon's plans for military 'lily pads' from which to spring into action to points east and south.
In reporting on the exercise the main newspaper of the US armed forces provided this background perspective:
"According to the agreements, the U.S. would be able to use the Romanian and Bulgarian bases for pre-positioning of equipment, and to send U.S. troops and equipment into war if necessary. The "forward operating sites," as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calls them, would be in Romania at the Smardan Training Range, Babadag Training Area and Rail Head, Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, and Cincu Training Range." (Stars and Stripes, July 5, 2006)
A Bulgarian civilian cited by the same source said, "Every day we can see them (U.S. troops) in the cities and villages." (Stars and Stripes, July 24, 2006)
By September of the same year, "Sofia and Washington are to sign about 13 additional agreements to regulate the joint usage of several military bases in Bulgaria. "Defence Minister Veselin Bliznakov has announced that next week US European Command (EUCOM) experts will arrive in Bulgaria to draw a draft document." (Sofia News Agency, September 21, 2006)
The pacts with Bulgaria and Romania are, as usual in such instances, to be jointly used by NATO as all three signatories are members of the bloc.
In a US armed forces dispatch titled "England-based airmen head to NATO exercise in Bulgaria" it was reported that a British "squadron plans to test-fire laser-guided and general-purpose weapons at a Bulgarian range, as well as conduct air-to-air training with the Bulgarian MiG-29 and -21 aircraft" in war games coded Exercise Immediate Response. (Stars and Stripes, July 13, 2006)
Later NATO continued its leapfrogging over the Pentagon into Bulgaria as detailed in an article called "NATO bases may be set up near Bulgaria's Sungulare" which included this report:
"NATO asked if the former buildings of a tank brigade in the town of Aitos could be turned into a reserve storage base. "NATO planned to store here the equipment for one or two battalions, which would be based in the military bases of Novo Selo and Bezmer." (Sofia Echo, January 3, 2008)
In fact what NATO achieved was securing a base of its own.
"NATO will pay 150 million US dollars to the Municipality of Sungurlare (central Bulgaria) in exchange for a plot of municipal land for the construction of a military base." (Standart News, December 2, 2007)
The comparison between the Bulgarian Bezmer air base and the US's and NATO's main strategic air (bombing) bases in Aviano, Italy and Incirlik, Turkey was established earlier and this report later confirmed the analogy's accuracy, though immediately in reference to another air base.
"NATO will move aircraft from the US air base in Aviano, northeastern Italy, to Bulgaria's Graf Ignatievo air base near Plovdiv." (Sofia News Agency, October 6, 2007)
The above news item described the transfer as temporary, but it may have been a portent of what is planned for the future.
Aviano was the main base used by the US and NATO in their joint Operation Deliberate Force bombing of the Bosnian Serb Republic in 1995 and in the 78-day terror bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999.
To leave no further doubt as to under whose auspices the Pentagon was able to secure its seven new bases for attacks to the east and south, in the autumn of 2007, "A top general from the NATO's Southern Command in Naples will inspect the two-week military exercises of army units from Bulgaria, the USA and Romania which will be held near the town of Sliven, in southern Bulgaria." (Standart News, September 3, 2007)
And to dispel any misconceptions as to who the main target of the US- and NATO-acquired bases was, in June of that year Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing the emerging and unmistakable pattern of "a new base in Bulgaria, another in Romania, a site in Poland, radar in the Czech Republic," rhetorically queried "What are we supposed to do? We cannot just observe all this." (New Europe [Belgium], Week of June 2, 2007)
The severity and urgency of the threat perceived by Russia was such that General Vladimir Shamanov, adviser to Russia's Defense Minister, was quoted as saying "We will point our missiles at the US military facilities in Bulgaria and Romania." (Standart News, June 6, 2007)
This concern was echoed by the Russian foreign ministry:
"Russia once again voiced her concern with the deployment of US military facilities in Bulgaria and Romania. "'We are deeply concerned, because such a move entails an expansion of the US forces in countries, which not long ago were allies of Russia,' Anatoly Antonov, Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Security and Disarmament Department, said at an extraordinary conference on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (DOVSE,) held in Vienna." (Standart News, June 13, 2007)
The Russian military, most directly alert to and aware of the repercussions of the deployments, voiced its alarm in the person of Maj. Gen. Vladimir Nikishin, a representative of the Defense Ministry's Main International Military Cooperation Department, who said, "The location of NATO bases in Bulgaria and Romania actually means that the Alliance is creating bases for building up it forces in Eastern Europe, which is at variance with the adapted Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty." (Interfax-Military, September 19, 2007)
Two months afterward Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would add, "Russia finds it hard to understand some decisions of the NATO like, for example, the deployment of US military facilities in Bulgaria and Romania." (Standart News, December 7, 2007)
Lastly, the then chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, Yuri Baluevsky, voiced concern that "Plans are...afoot to set up new US military bases in Bulgaria and Romania, and unlike Russia, no NATO country has so far raised a finger to ratify the modified CFE treaty." (Voice of Russia, December 17, 2007)
The above apprehensions could not have been assuaged by comments that year from Solomon Passy, former Bulgarian foreign minister, advocating that US infantry, air and naval forces be followed by missile deployments.
"Following the NATO treaty and the agreement for joint military bases in Bulgaria I think this will be the next strategic step that would enhance the security of the country, the region and the whole of Europe....This shield should be [placed] above all member states of NATO and the EU.†(Focus News Agency, June 10, 2007)
Nor could Russian fears be alleviated by the announcement the same month that "NATO defence ministers agreed at their Friday meeting in Brussels to initiate procedures for adding a short-range missile defence system in Eastern Europe to the on the US proposes that would also include Bulgaria." (Sofia News Agency, June 15, 2007)
Slightly over a year after the US-Bulgarian bases accord had been inked it was announced that US troops were heading there and Romania and "The bases are part of an ambitious plan to shift EUCOM's [the Pentagon's European Command's] fighting brigades from western Europe - mostly Germany - to forward bases closer to the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa, for a quicker strike capability." (United Press International, May 18, 2007)
The same report added:
"'When this rebasing process is complete, two-thirds of USAREUR's [United States Army Europe and Seventh Army's] maneuver forces will be positioned in southern and eastern Europe,' [EUCOM and NATO's top commander John] Craddock told the U.S. Senate in written testimony. "USEUCOM has requested $73.6 million to build out Mikhail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, and to establish a forward operating station in Bulgaria." (Ibid)
The Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base received the first US troops deployed to Romania in 2007 and has hosted the US European Command's newly formed Joint Task Force East, formerly the Eastern Europe Task Force.
The title of that unit alone reveals volumes.
As soon as the Bulgarian and Romanian "full spectrum" air, land and sea bases were acquired, the Pentagon moved to expand and integrate them with its other Black Sea military partners, Georgia and Ukraine.
Referring specifically to the Romanian bases, it was reported that "It is also possible that troops from others nations would go to the sites to train, and that U.S. forces based there would, as part of their six-month tour, travel to nearby nations such as Georgia and Ukraine for shorter training missions." (Stars and Stripes, July 8, 2007)
In May of 2007 the commander of US Air Forces in Europe, Gen. Tom Hobbins, "visited with defense and air force leaders in Bulgaria and Georgia May 14-16 to discuss air force capabilities, modernization and future goals." (U.S. Air Forces in Europe, May 18, 2007)
The same commander the following month, described as looking "eastward to the Black Sea and southward into Africa," said: "Both Bulgaria and Romania have over a dozen projects where runways are being enhanced, facilities [and] buildings are being built. So we're actually taking advantage of the fact that there's a lot of NATO money being spent...." (Air Force Magazine, June 2007)
To make maximal use of the runways Hobbins mentioned, in February of 2007 Reuters reported that the US was selling Romania 48 new fighter jets and recalled that "The Romanian facilities and bases in Bulgaria will be the first U.S. military installations in the former Soviet bloc." (Reuters, February 22, 2007)
In August the US launched war games in Romania to inaugurate its new forward sites and break in its new Joint Task Force East, a process accompanied by no little fanfare:
"About 1,000 mostly Europe-based military personnel and civilians will have a ceremony today to commence the United States' first deployment to Joint Task Force East." (MakFax [Macedonia], August 17, 2007)
The significance of the exercise, named Proof of Principle, was highlighted as being a watershed, that "The U.S. military's new era in Eastern Europe has begun."
The same news source elaborated:
"American and Romanian military forces marked the start of a historic, two-month exercise on Friday that will serve as a trial run for thousands of U.S. troops expected to rotate in and out of Romania and Bulgaria for years to come." (Stars and Stripes, August 18, 2007)
Two months afterward the US held the Rodopi Javelin 2007 air warfare exercise in Bulgaria at the Graf Ignatevio air base where US F-16s were able to practice against Russian-made Bulgarian MiG-29s for future purposes.
Earlier in the year a US destroyer, the San Jacinto, had docked in the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna.
In April of last year the US reprised the earlier joint air exercise, also at the Graf Ignatevio air base. Similar aerial combat drills have been conducted in Romania and in both countries US warplanes are provided the opportunity of test their abilities against Russian-made aircraft.
A month afterward the US embassy announced that "a deal to re-fit a Bulgarian military base, one of four due to be used...in autumn 2008. "The Novo Selo camp in eastern Bulgaria will undergo a $6.5 million refurbishment by the German-based company Field Camp Services (FCS). "The Pentagon has also set aside some $60 million for the construction of a permanent base at Novo Selo." (Agence France-Presse, May 14, 2008)
In June a Bulgarian news source, in an article titled "US Army Town to be Built near Novo Selo," wrote:
"Five hundred soldiers and officers will settle in Bulgaria permanently, the other 2,500 will live in the bases of Bezmer, Novo Selo, Graf Ignatievo and Aitos on a rotation principle. "It means that up to 5,000 troops may be using the bases when need arises....The first US servicemen will arrive in Bulgaria this August. "Over 1,200 soldiers will take part in a three-month exercise called 'The Bulgarian Panther.'" (Standart News, June 23, 2008)
The following day another Bulgarian report appeared on the expansion of US military sites in the nation:
"T]he US military base to be built near Novo Selo...is expected to be of the size of an average Bulgarian town....500 US rangers and their entire families would arrive at the base then to live permanently there while deployed to Bulgaria. "Another 2,500 US soldiers would use on rotation bases the military facilities in Bezmer, Graf Ignatievo and Aitos....[T]he military airport in Bezmer...is slated to become one of the 6 strategic military airport bases outside the US...." (Sofia News Agency, June 24, 2008)
Events proceeded similarly in Romania.
"Construction of a permanent U.S. base in Romania to house 1,700 personnel is well under way, with work on a similar facility for up to 2,500 personnel due to start in Bulgaria this winter, according to a U.S. official." (Stars and Stripes, July 27, 2008)
In August of 2008 the Deputy of the Office for Defense Cooperation with the US embassy in the Bulgarian capital Jake Daystar held an interview with a Bulgarian news agency in which he said of one of the new US bases in the nation, "The main purpose of the base is to improve abilities through training – both of NATO troops and divisions of the US Army....The imperatives are hidden in the location of the state "with its geographic location Bulgaria has always been a strategically important country, as it stands on the crossroad between Asia and Europe." (Focus News Agency, August 14, 2008)
If Daystar was quoted accurately, his comments contain an amazing admission. US army divisions range in size from 10,000 to 30,000 troops. Though perhaps he intended divisions as in various units rather than in the formal designation.
By September of last year Russian concerns over the escalating US military buildup in the Black Sea had not abated and in citing the Pentagon's new bases in Bulgaria and Romania as well as its missile shield plans and ongoing NATO expansion to its borders, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "Parity as the basis of the strategic balance in the world has been violated."(Itar-Tass, September 29, 2008)
Nothing loath, within days of Lavrov's dire warning it was reported that "U.S. warships will call at the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Burgas, and drills involving the U.S. and Bulgarian air forces are also scheduled for next month...." (Sofia News Agency, October 15, 2008)
While that dispatch was being filed US and Bulgarian troops were engaged in a joint military drill at the Novo Selo Training Area and "Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Commander of the U.S. Army in Europe Gen. Carter Ham...watched the drill....".
The news story added, "More than 62 million dollars will be spent on the training area's permanent facilities and equipment in the next two years, and construction is expected to be completed by then conflict zones in the Middle East and beyond." (Ibid)
Bulgaria and Romania, now full NATO members for almost five years, have deployed military contingents to the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq and have lost troops in the last two nations.
While neither hosted Soviet forces or Warsaw Pact bases during the Cold War, both are on the front line of future wars in the Black Sea region like that of last August between Georgia and Russia, one which might easily have drawn in Ukraine and in alleged defense of Ukraine NATO and the US directly.
As Romanian President Traian Basescu was quoted in a feature of last August titled "Romania is responsible for EU, NATO borders protection," "The Romanian navy is responsible in the name of the EU and allied countries." (Focus News Agency, August 15, 2008)
Romania and Bulgaria will both be held to that pledge. That is one of the crucial reasons they were absorbed into the Alliance.
Both will be ordered to intervene in former Yugoslavia - Kosovo and Bosnia - if their masters in Washington and Brussels will it.
They are both involved in the transit of troops and materiel for the war in Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq.
For two years now it has been repeatedly mentioned that Bulgarian, now joint Bulgarian-US, air bases may be used for attacks against Iran, most recently by Russian envoy Dmitry Rogozin last September.
The US and allied NATO military expansion into the Black Sea is aimed at all four compass points.
A proponent of this dangerous strategy, Vakhtang Maisaia, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Association of Georgia, offered this terse yet comprehensive summary of what is involved in the Georgian Times of April 2, 2008:
"The Black Sea is a vital geo-strategic area for the Alliance in conjunction with the Alliance's ISAF mission in Afghanistan, logistic operations in Darfur, the NATO training mission in Iraq, and peacekeeping operations in Kosovo. "Currently, some clear signs of the new interest of NATO in the Black Sea region comprised of the South Caucasus and the South-East Europe sub-regions and Black Sea area itself, can be seen by looking at the geo-economics (including the Caspian energy reserves)....
"[W]ith the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria into the Alliance, the Black Sea has been incorporated into NATO's Article 5 (collective defense) operational zone where activation of the Combined Joint Task Force (a deployable, multinational, multi-service force with a land component and comparable air and naval components) is possible.
"'In the event of crises which jeopardize Euro-Atlantic stability and could affect the security of Alliance members, the Alliance's military forces may be called upon to conduct crises response operations.' (1999 NATO Washington Summit)."
See other articles of the NATO series by Rick Rozoff:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=listByAuthor&authorFirst=%20Rick&authorName=Rozoff
Graduate in European literature. Investigative journalist ; Manager of the organization Stop NATO international.
American Liberal Left Succumbs to Anti-Russian Hysteria
NATO's Incremental Absorption of Ukraine
NATO's Global Open Door Policy
Norway: NATO Rehearses For War In The Arctic
Mali: U.S. Africa Command's New War?
Israeli-Lebanese agreement for the exploitation of Mediterranean gas
EU renews public dialogue with Israel
The United States declares war on Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and France
EuCom: Control of Europe
Poland resurrects issue of WWII damage
The scuttling of peace in Europe
CentCom: Control of the "Greater Middle East"
Saudi-Iranian negotiations moving forward
Only 3 out of 21 states in Greater Middle East loyal to the US
Fanaticisms at the service of the United States
In the 1980s, the Pentagon was preparing a nuclear war in Iran
Source: "Black Sea: Pentagon's Gateway to Three Continents and the Middle East", by Rick Rozoff, Voltaire Network, 3 March 2009, www.voltairenet.org/article159192.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Experience Center to lead Dormer Pramet into the future.
A brand new purpose built facility aims to bring together more than 100 years of industry knowledge to develop new materials and technologies.
Dormer Pramet's Experience Center is a major investment by the company that aims to provide expertise, training, research and development and equipment to further increase the scope and performance of its wide assortment of cutting tools.
The Experience Center, or XP Center for short, is located at Dormer Pramet's indexable production unit (PU) in Šumperk, Czech Republic.
It was officially opened at a special ceremony with Klas Forsström, Sandvik Machining Solutions (SMS) president, Stefan Steenstrup, Dormer Pramet president, Marek Kotrlý, managing director and production manager Dormer Pramet and Zdenek Broz, Mayor of Šumperk, performing the ribbon cutting.
Stefan Steenstrup, Dormer Pramet president, added: "Šumperk is a very important location for Dormer Pramet and the ideal place for our XP Center. More than 600 of our 1,400 employees are based there and around 40 percent of everything we sell is manufactured there.
"The XP Center is, though, very much a global facility and will be a focal point for a number of activities. It will help us to expand our knowledge in order to develop new solutions for our customers.
The XP Center will be home to Dormer Pramet's materials team who are currently focusing on researching the properties of substrates, developing new CVD and PVD coatings and improving the implementation of the cutting edge.
Part of the R&D projects driven from this site will be the creation and implementation of new production technologies, improving knowledge to support the manufacture of cemented carbide products in the most efficient way.
Also, the XP Center features a modern laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art technology, such as electron microscopes, 3D scanners and a machine for measuring material wear during repeated stress.
The very core of the XP Center is a modern testing room featuring a variety of machine tools and measuring equipment. This will allow Dormer Pramet to test the functional properties of product prototypes and verify whether the cutting tool meets expectations before being put into production.
Further machines will be reserved for customer tests. These will also form part of a comprehensive training base, which consists of a presentation hall and several conference rooms.
For more information regarding the Experience Center visit www.dormerpramet.com or contact your local Dormer Pramet sales office.


text:
Israel France Threatens Reprisal If Annexation Proceeds
France Threatens Reprisal If Annexation Proceeds
By Zalman Ahnsaf
French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File)
The international drumbeat against annexation grew ever stronger on Wednesday as France repeated its threat of unspecified punitive action if Israel disregards the warnings.
France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing that "annexation of Palestinian territories, whatever the perimeters, would seriously throw into question the parameters to resolve the conflict," according to Reuters.
"An annexation decision could not be left without consequences and we are examining different options at a national level and also in coordination with our main European partners."
The German parliament was expected to pass a resolution later in the day calling on its government to dissuade Israel from taking unilateral action in Yehuda and Shomron, The Times of Israel said.
But the non-binding motion, which will likely pass, rules out sanctions against Israel as unproductive, a position already taken by the foreign ministry.
The resolution urges Berlin to use its "special relations and contacts [with Yerushalayim] to express to the Israeli government our concerns and our urgent demand to refrain from annexation…"
In Israel, Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli Military Intelligence and a leading expert on defense and foreign policy, wrote an op-ed arguing that the price of extending sovereignty would not be worth the risks.
Yadlin cited the distinct possibility it would set off a new cycle of violence, would entail unacceptable economic costs, would seriously damage the country diplomatically, and undermined its moral standing in the world.
"Over the long-term it would challenge the country's fundamental principles by bringing Israel closer to a "one-state reality" in which Israel loses either its democratic or its Jewish character," Yadlin warned.
"But there are still four people who can prevent this blunder from going forward," he said, and urged President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz and Mahmoud Abbas to bring the process to a halt.
Earlier in the day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson published his view of the matter on the front page of Israel's mass-circulation daily, Yediot Ahronot.
"As a life-long friend, admirer and supporter of Israel, I am fearful that these proposals will fail in their objective of securing Israel's borders and will be contrary to Israel's own long-term interests," Johnson wrote, adding that annexation "would put in jeopardy" the gains Israel has made in recent years in improving relations with the Arab world.
"I profoundly hope that annexation does not go ahead. If it does, the U.K. will not recognize any changes to the 1967 lines, except those agreed between both parties," he said.
Abutbul Wins Beit Shemesh
Another 42 Million Shekels Cut From Yeshivah Budget
Opposition Leaders Propose Alternative Plan If Iran Opts for Bomb
MK's Argue Over Tax Break for Amnesty International
Poll: Israelis Mostly Satisfied With Health-Care System


The nursing profession is very rewarding as it puts one in the frontlines of critical care and impactful services to patients with affliction, injury, and discomfort. Nurses bring comfort and healing to other people, and it is important for them to be competent and well trained because they handle critical procedures and functions that could well mean the life and death of a patient.
As such, employers are often very selective of the nurses that they hire, and to advance to a good nursing role, one must possess a well-written resume that contains all of the required information. Presenting a competent, empathetic, responsible, and professional image to your prospective nursing employer entails outlining all of the key elements in your resume so that you can move past the screening rounds and into bagging an interview that could potentially get you your next fulfilling and enriching nursing engagements.
Your nursing resume should highlight your licences and certificates, as it is important for nursing employers to see that you are qualified for the role right of the bat. Nursing is a heavily regulated profession because of its critical caregiving nature, and therefore, there are certain professional and regulatory licences that you must posses before you put yourself out for consideration for any nursing job. Whilst licences and certificates are required for nursing positions, graduate nurses or nurses with limited professional experience may also state on their resumes whatever certificates they are currently working on or are planning to obtain in the near future.
Regardless of your experience and expertise in the field, employers look for previous professional placements, especially in terms of what department, ward or healthcare unit you worked in. Scrub nurses, intensive care unit nurses, medical-surgical nurses, ER nurses, paediatric nurses, oncology nurses etc. all have various specialisations and niche functions, but it is also important for your employers to have an idea of previous rotations or related medical experience that you have undertaken. For graduate nurses with limited hospital and clinical experiences, professional placements will still allow you to highlight required skills. Detailing how these placements have contributed to your progress will convince the employer that you are adaptable and enthusiastic about training opportunities, which is important in the nursing profession as continuous learning is a primary priority in growth and development.
Nurses working in different departments and hospitals may experience different situations or day-to-day scenarios so it is of utmost importance that you are able to paint a clear picture of your experiences and previous working history vis-à-vis the requirements of the job that you are applying for. By addressing these technical skills, you send a message that you are ready to take on any challenge thrown at you by the hospital or clinical setting. However, apart from technical skills, equally important are soft skills such as effective listening, outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, initiative, professional growth, and effective written and documentation acumen. These soft skills work together with technical knowledge in order to provide patients and their family with most appropriate healthcare services.
Learning is an important component to success in any medical profession. Every day, scientists and researchers are able to come up with medical breakthroughs that may help extend the life of patients, as well as hasten their recovery from their conditions. As such, it is important for nurses to be able to demonstrate their participation in voluntary and required talent enhancement sessions. These include classes, lectures, seminars, conferences, and other gatherings that allow information sharing and the cascading of novel approaches to healthcare services delivery. The willingness to learn more and adopt new strategies in care is an important trait among nurses, and you should be able to highlight this by outlining in a clear and concise way the seminars and conferences that you have attended. Included in this category are any avenues to contribute to knowledge, such as case presentations, research publications, and commentaries on practices and approaches to care. More importantly, you should also outline in your resume how you are integral in the passing on of training knowledge to junior nurses and new graduate nursing staff.
Lastly, one of the most important considerations in nursing applications is that most of the nursing jobs, whether in the private sector or in government nursing areas, require a selection criteria. Selection criteria documents require you to state specific and pertinent examples of how you are able to respond to requirements for the specific role. These are competency-based statements that must be addressed by the STAR method, in which an applicant must outline specific situations through outlining the Situation, Task, Action and Result. The STAR method gives context to an applicant's skills, and it is a record of how the said applicant applies competencies and skills in actual, real-life situations. Most STAR responses tell anecdotes of how each criteria, say excellent communication skills, can be applied in the nursing setting. It is a good exercise at demonstrating how you, the applicant, can fulfil these roles should these situations arise in your new workplace setting. Furthermore, a well-written selection criteria must express how you are willing to replicate your success in this role in the conduct of your work in your prospective position.
Are you applying for graduate nursing or RN roles? Contact us today for assistance on how you can prepare professional, flawless, and comprehensive application documents. Get in touch with Adelaide Resumes today and leave your nursing resume to a team of professionals who can help you secure an interview.
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"The National Ocean Industries Association applauds the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for passing the OPENS Act, which will strengthen America's energy and national security, improve our national economy, and benefit consumers across the country. Over 85 percent of our federal offshore acreage is off limits to oil and natural gas development. Opening access to these areas will result in hundreds of thousands of new American jobs, billions of dollars in new private investment and millions more barrels per day of oil and natural gas production, not to mention new revenue to the government.
"Oil and natural gas are not just reliable and affordable sources of energy today, but are also predicted to still provide about 80 percent of the energy the world needs through 2040. We could be a source of that energy, not only for the US, but for our allies around the world. The outdated ban on oil exports is locking the U.S. out of world markets and hampering both the health of our domestic energy industry as well as America's economic growth.


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text:
Southern Cross is governed by a Board of Directors......
From humble beginnings in 1983, Southern Cross Housing has......
Alex Pontello, CEO (left) congratulating Eric Coulter, Manager Access......
Annual reports 2019 Annual Report 2018 Annual......
Southern Cross is governed by a Board of Directors who are elected members of the company. The Board has a Business Evaluation Committee and Governance Evaluation Committee.
The company's day-to-day operations are managed by the Chief Executive Officer, Alex Pontello.
Nick Thomas Chairperson
Nick Thomas
Nick was previously a Managing Director of STA Travel, directing STA's international businesses in the US, Asia and Europe. Between 2007 and 2009 he managed a World Bank development project in Tonga, improving the sustainability of their airport infrastructure, before returning to Australia as CEO of Recreational Tourism Group. Nick became CEO of Wunan Foundation, based in the East Kimberley, providing educational employment and housing opportunities to local Indigenous communities.
Veronica Husted Deputy Chairperson
Veronica Husted
A Board Member since 2001, Veronica was Treasurer from 2003-2005 and Vice-President/Deputy Chairperson since 2005. She is currently the President of Bay and Basin Financial Services (Sanctuary Point Branch of the Bendigo Bank). Veronica also holds Executive Board positions with other local community organisations including the Sanctuary Point Rural Fire Brigade, Shoalhaven Group of Unions and a number of other community organisations.
John McDermott Director
John McDermott
John has over 19 years' financial accounts management experience in the building sector, including 7 years with Southern Cross Housing. he knows the shoalhaven economy having worked locally for 16 years in a range of small to medium sized businesses. John has strong governance and reporting knowledge complimented by strong project and people management skills.
John Olsen Director
John is a Mental Health Advocate for the New South Wales Mental Health Service. He is the former Treasurer of Eurobodalla Community Housing and a previous Board Member for Eurobodalla PRA service.
John Penkaitis Director
John Penkaitis
John has been a Board Member since 2003. He has been the Auditor for many local community organisations such as the Women's Refuge, Family support, as well as local pre-schools and churches. John has an Economics Degree, is a Chartered Accountant and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.https://www.scch.org.au/wp-admin/post.php?post=5458&action=edit#
June Stevens Director
June Stevens
June has been a Board Member since 2002. She is the former Chief Executive Officer of Australian National Lifeline and Lifeline South Coast. She is a Foundation member of the Nowra Neighbourhood Centre and has been a Marriage and Family Therapist for over ten years. June is also a Board member of Kemblawarra Child Care Centre and was the Chair of "Shoalcare" for two years.
Peter Beer Director
Peter Beer
Peter is a Councillor with Snowy River Shire Council. He was formerly the Chairperson of the Monaro Tenancy Scheme and is the former Director of Environmental Services of four Councils. He is also the Chairman of the Uniting Church Committee, Cooma. Peter is a qualified Building Surveyor, Town Planner and Health Surveyor.
Lee Hillam Director
Lee Hillam
Lee is a registered Architect and Director of Dunn & Hillam Architects. She is an invited Juror for City of Sydney Design Excellence Competitions and a sessional tutor in the Bachelor of Architecture program at Faculty of the Built Environment UNSW.
Lee previously worked with the Government Architect NSW as the principal and acting director of design excellence.
Michael Pryke Director
Michael Pryke
Michael holds a Professional background is in Sales, Marketing and General Management. The first half of his career was spent in the Medical arena, working for multinational corporations, working tin the high end of medical consumables and treatments. The second half of his career was spent in IT, predominately in the area of client and contract management in large scale outsourcing contracts.
Michael's focus has always been on managing complex commercial relationships to profitability and equity between the client and supplier. Since retiring in 2017, his focus has been on finding ways to contribute to growth in the Bega Valley and contributing his skills where they may be of use to others.
Michael is currently:
Chair of the local Community Housing Provider in the Bega Valley – Sapphire Coast Tenancy Scheme
Chair of the Mumbulla Foundation, a local group that raises funds and provides grants to local organisations supporting our community, and grants to support students of UOW Bega
Member of the Distribution Committee of the Mayoral Fund for the Tathra and District Fire
Member of the Bega Valley Shire Council's Cemeteries Advisory Committee
Alex Pontello Executive Director
Alex Pontello
Alex has over 30 years' experience in the property, construction and housing industry. He has held numerous Senior Executive and advisory positions in private, public, and not-for-profit organisations. The last 11 years has seen Alex work with Housing NSW and three large Community Housing Providers, prior to becoming CEO of Southern Cross Housing. As well as having a number of tertiary qualifications, Alex holds a Graduate Diploma in Urban Estate Management and a Masters Degree in Property Development. Alex also holds "clerk of works" qualifications, is a licensed Builder and a Registered Certified Practicing Property Valuer. He has extensive knowledge of property portfolio planning, and NRSCH, having overseen the implementation of the accreditation at numerous CHPs.
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible to the Board of Southern Cross Housing and holds overall responsibility for the services, governance and growth of the organisation.


Choosing the most suitable lenses is often the most confusing part of purchasing new spectacles. At Haine and Smith Opticians we are committed to ensuring you are given the best possible advice allowing you to decide which are the best lenses, customised for you.
As independent opticians we are not tied in to one specific supplier and we have the freedom to offer the widest choice of lenses from suppliers such as Nikon and Zeiss.


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Because Everybody Loves a Good Fight
A lot of people spent the last eight Sunday Nights watching Ryan Murphy's TV series, Feud, and I think I know why. First, it was a quality product: well-written, acted, edited and produced. It was also an intriguing story about well-known people in a fascinating industry. My mom, with her collection of books on the Golden Age of Hollywood, would have raved about this series, either praising or vilifying it to High Heaven. But, mostly I think the title explained why people tuned in Sunday after Sunday and can't wait for the next season: everyone loves to watch a good fight, and the nastier it gets, the better. In case you are experiencing Feud-withdrawal, and you like a battle of wits, may I suggest Literary Feuds: A Century of Celebrated Quarrels? Trust me, when it comes to insecurity and ugly behavior in public, writers are pugilists with words.
Take one of my favorite battles in the book, the one between Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy. You could argue these two, like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, might have made better allies than enemies. As creative writers, political liberals, and women succeeding in fields still dominated by men they would have profited from mutual support. Unfortunately, they also shared twin faults: neither responded well to criticism and both liked to get in the last verbal slam. So, Lillian dismissed Mary's negative review of her script by saying the opinion of a mere "Lady magazine writer" wasn't worthy of her respect. Now, Mary wasn't a girl to let something like that go so when she was on TV, said Lillian, was an overrated, has-been and, "every word she writes is a lie, including 'and,' and 'the.' To Lillian, whose reputation at the time was based on her memoirs, those were fighting words. Lillian sued Mary the TV show, the station, and its host for every dime they had. Never mind that, since these gals were both past their peak of popularity, no one was really listening, or that Mary didn't have enough money to make the litigation cost-effective. Never mind that a lawsuit could (and did) ultimately cause Lillian more damage than Mary's original, catty remark. Ms. Hellman stuck to the fight for years, while her health and reputation sank like the Titanic. Only dying allowed her lawyers to drop the suit. And, McCarthy complained afterward that Lillian's death kept her from winning outright in court. Talk about your sore winner!
There are other wonderful tales of Writers Behaving Badly, like Truman Capote's shot across the bow to Gore Vidal ("So, how does it feel to be an enfent terrible?) and Theodore Dreiser slapping Sinclair Lewis, but I'll leave those for you to peruse. In the meantime, before you get into your own war of words, remember, fights are only truly fun to those outside of the line of fire. And writers know all the mean words.
Tags: Gore Vidal, Lillian Hellman, literary feuds, Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis, Truman Capote
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Every garage door is unique!
We mill your garage door to your design.
E.g. with your initials, house number or your own creative designs. Your creativity knows no bounds. A sketch is sufficient as a template. Of course, with so much individuality advice for adjusting your ideas is necessary. Talk with us about the possibilities.


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Extended: Willow
Extended: is a new event series coming to Leeds in Autumn 2019, inviting the very best international DJ's to take the reigns for special extended sets.
"To play an extended set to a high standard requires a deft ear for music curation, set building and of course, technical prowess with the chosen equipment. There's something supremely satisfying for both the audience and the selector in a longer set. It means the DJ has the time required to command a crowd, to build a set around a start, middle and an end and to really explore all corners of their record bags." – Mixmag
With an output spanning the realms of classic hip-hop, stripped back broken beat and sparse elements of left-field house, electro, minimal, dubby techno; Willow has developed a sound that's unusually distinctive, yet hard to define.
Willow's introduction came in 2014 when veteran DJ Move D included her first production 'Feel Me' in his Fabric 74 mix. Having pricked ears when he played the track out for the first time, Move D passed 'Feel Me' on to his friend Lowtec – who decided to give it a full release in a compilation on his Workshop imprint the following year.
The sub-heavy house tune with an earworm R&B vocal was a highlight on the LP, and then became No.6 in Resident Advisor's tracks of 2015.
Willow made her return to Workshop in 2016 with a full EP; Workshop 23 -bringing together warm, twisting melodies with delicate vocal flecks and heavy low-end stabs over lingering dimensions of beat-less bars.
The finer points of Willow's sound continue to stir intrigue from the mysterious variety of her productions to date. Her dynamic DJ style has been honed from years of record collecting in Manchester's Northern Quarter, and the on-going residency in Nottingham as one of the key drivers of party series 808 with best friends Alex (Turinn – modern love), James, and #FS1Sammy.
BOILER ROOM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6155YqoKIE&t=1157s
< Sunday Joint w/ Skint
Vanilla 02 Hallow-cream Special w/ Shai Spooner & Harry Wills >


A division of OEM Controls Inc, OEM Data Delivery is a technology, design, and manufacturing company specializing in rugged, custom, and wireless data delivery systems for the off highway market. We've been very successful implementing solutions for companies that are frustrated with their inability to monitor their remote equipment, aggravated with the fuel "spoilage" and lost tax rebates, or irritated that they've invested millions in IT and they can't trust the data.
We've been able to help our customers substantially improve their ability to track, capture, and deliver key equipment data while at the same time slashing their staff's time and allowing them to spend more time on real work not paperwork.


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Real-Time Hudson Valley News
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Opening Date Announced For Ashokan Rail Trail
Ulster County Government
The Ashokan Rail Trail (ART) project has been in the works since 2012 and the opening day is now in sight. The 11.5-mile trail runs along the northern edge of the Ashokan Reservoir between Basin Road in West Hurley and Route 28A in Boiceville.
According to UlsterCounty.gov, the trails will provide the first access, without a permit necessary, to the banks of the scenic reservoir for the first time in more than 100 years. The ART will serve as an important link between trails connecting the Walkway Over The Hudson and Catskill Park.
Design work and environmental review began in June of 2016. Construction got underway in 2017 which included the removal of old rail and remaining ties, drainage improvements, construction of trailheads along with a number of other projects.
The Ashokan Rail Trail will partially open to the public at noon on Friday, October 18th and access is not permitted until then. Phase one opening will include the Woodstock Trailhead in West Hurley and approximately nine miles of trail from Basin Round to Mile Post K-19. The additional 2.5 miles is expected to open in December.
The ART is ADA compliant and you can expect crushed stone trails ranging from 10 to 12 feet in diameter. It is for non-motorized use which includes hiking, bicycling, running, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.
Listen to Afternoons With Simon weekdays from 3 PM to 7 PM on 92.7/96.9 WRRV. Stream us live through the website, your Alexa-enabled device, Google Home or the WRRV mobile app.
Listen to Afternoons With Simon weekdays from 3 PM to 7 PM through your WRRV mobile app. Connect with WRRV on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
How Did Poughkeepsie Get Its Name?
WRRV Presents Bush, Live & Our Lady Peace At Bethel Woods
Two Hollywood Actors Co-Own Hudson Valley Candy Shop
Top 10 Celebrities Who Live In The Hudson Valley
America's Oldest Intersection Is In The Hudson Valley
The Jerky Boys Hudson Valley Connection
Hudson Valley Drone Pilot Captures Haunting Footage Of The Old Psyche Center
Source: Opening Date Announced For Ashokan Rail Trail
Filed Under: ashokan rail trail
Categories: Around the Hudson Valley, Hudson Valley News
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Q: How to send user to mobile login facebook screen? I have used facebook PHP SDK which generates login Url . Which I simply put in anchor tag inside HTML . Problem is when user visiting my website on mobile device click on this link they see desktop version of facebook which I do not want .
Why facebook not checking user agent and showing there mobile website for login by default ?

A: Adding parameter
display=touch

to the login url open up the facebook mobile site when clicked .

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


What is it like to work at Teradata?
Working diligently with account managers to provide a sufficient service to clients – helped me to inherit grander communication amongst colleagues and heightened my confidence levels when working in a team.
Difficult when sourcing approval for various tasks as the management team were all based in the US. Time difference between the US and UK inevitably - more... causing an effect.
What are people saying about the leadership at Teradata?
Worked in project management in the professional services department. It was a great experience as I had the right people around me. Also perfect location.
What jobs are available at Teradata?


Can you see the moon, way up in the sky on an almost-cloudless day? Can you see Alex?
Categories: Blogging, Blogs, One-Liner Wednesday, Prompt | Tags: #1linerWeds, children, family, inspiration, moon photos, walking, writing prompt | Permalink.
Out walking with Alex the other evening, he spied a rabbit and asked me to take a picture. It's cute, but I'm more interested in the strange light shining on the house next door. Yes, the sun was going down and that's a west-facing wall, but the two houses are the same size in depth. Weird.
4. Add our lovely new badge to your post for extra exposure!
Categories: Blogging, Blogs, One-Liner Wednesday, Photograph, Prompt | Tags: #1linerWeds, cute bunny photo, inspiration, photography, support, walking, weird light photo, writing prompt | Permalink.
It's funny how life finds a way. Though it's rarely spoken of, we instinctively seek out the things that keep us alive. The sun, for one.
I found these when I went outside this morning. The same flowers that the other day, before the ice storm, were in such lovely bloom. Their warmth is apparent from the way they seem to have melted their way through the snow.
It's often used for wedding pictures–I see photographers there with couples doing practice shots on a regular basis, and I've even seen a wedding party there once. What I realized today when I was on the phone is that it looks much more romantic than it literally sounds.
Today, for the first time in the years I've been going there, I spoke while I was standing under the roof. It's made of metal. My voice echoed tinnily (is that a word?)–my voice echoed off the metal roof making me sound like I was speaking somehow through a transistor radio. I hurried out of there before I said much. I seemed very loud to my own ears.
It occurs to me that that's an illustration of how our words can ruin an experience.
Sometimes it's best to just stay silent, and take in the beauty: let it speak for itself.
Categories: Adventures, Blogging, Cool Stuff, Life, Photograph, Stream of Consciousness Saturday, Waterfront Trail | Tags: inspiration, nature, SoCS, spring, spring flowers, walking, writing prompt | Permalink.
The waterfront trail is finally emerging.
Categories: Blogging, Blogs, One-Liner Wednesday, Photograph, Prompt, Waterfront Trail | Tags: #1linerWeds, inspiration, photography, receding flood, walking, WordPress, writing prompt | Permalink.
I'm looking forward to taking lots of pictures as the trees change. There are herons and swans, ducks, cormorants, seagulls, and geese, and of course, turtles in abundance. The indoor track, though handy and free, is going to seem very dull when the snow necessitates it.
Categories: Adventures, Cool Stuff, Life, Photograph, Waterfront Trail | Tags: Canada, children, family, fun, hiking, Lake Ontario, photography, walking, writing | Permalink.
My boss at the newspaper found someone who is willing to take over my route until the snow is gone! Which is wonderful (for me, not for my replacement) since the freezing rain is coming down like a bugger right at the moment. In fact I hope I can get this post finished before the power goes out.
In celebration of the fact that I didn't have to deliver papers today, I went to the local community center where they have an indoor track for walking and running. It encircles a hockey arena, so the temperature was rather chilly, but it's a safe environment for walking, albeit pretty boring. I walked for 40 minutes and it felt great! With the lack of interesting things to look at however, I think I may take my headphones tomorrow and listen to music while I walk.
So that's my news. What's new with you? How's the weather?
Categories: Life | Tags: freezing rain, life, paper route, support, walking, weather, writing | Permalink.
Of this, I am now certain. Please bear with me.
So I'm procrastinating right now. I should be delivering papers but instead I'm reading. What, you ask? Blogs. Anything that's short enough that I don't feel as though I'm actually getting into something. Because that would be serious procrastinating rather than the 'I can stop doing this at any given moment because it's short' procrastinating. Hey, that sounds like a blog entry, doesn't it? I may just copy and paste later.
And now that I have another million and one other things to do, what am I doing instead? You get the idea.
While I was walking around the block delivering my papers (yes, I did finally do them) I thought more about blogging and the effect it has had on me since I started a little over a month ago. It's addictive! It keeps me up at night and better yet, gives me something to think about when I'm delivering papers! Hey, it's sapping my energy! And for energy, I need… food! But do I? Not as much as you might think. I'm just a teensy bit overweight.
So then why is blogging better than food? (I had to get around to it sooner or later.) Before I discovered this wonderful way to avoid the things I should be doing, I would graze. Procrastination meant weight gain.
Therefore I triumph in the logical conclusion that blogging is indeed better than food.
At the very least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Categories: Blogging, Blogs, Life | Tags: food, paper route, procrastination, time, walking, wasting time, weight gain | Permalink.


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Foreign Correspondence: A Trip to Edinburgh
By Emma Buchman
Foreign Correspondent
As my friend Nick and I sat on our train from King's Cross, London, we waited eagerly for our arrival into Edinburgh Waverly Train Station. Not only because we were excited to see the city, but also because we had been sitting on the aforementioned train for over four hours talking about how much we hate policy drafts. Shortly after looking at Google maps and confirming that we had crossed the border into Scotland, Nick looked out the window and told me to look as well. We could see the North Sea outlining fields of grass, complemented by small stone houses. Finally arriving in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, I saw a historic city filled with a lot of opportunities for adventure.
It's boring to constantly drone on about how great this new town you went to is and how you should totally go too, especially when you're reading this in a newspaper 3,000 miles away. Luckily, Edinburgh spared me this terrible fate by being one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. Edinburgh is what I wished Athens would be like when I went several years ago. Don't get me wrong, Athens has a rich culture you could drown in and a fascinating history that draws you in over and over, but to me it seemed like its history was just an afterthought in the layout of the modern city. You would wander through less than pristine streets and stare at the graffitied walls that seemed to surround you. Suddenly the Parthenon would spring up on the Acropolis, above the lackluster city that Athens has become.
Above is Edinburgh Castle as seen from the Grassmarket. This is one of the many sights Buchman has seen on her trip.
Edinburgh, however, was like something out of a historian's fairytale. There were cobblestone streets everywhere, and the antiquity of the castles and churches met the modernity of the pubs and street shows almost seamlessly.
There was so much to do there. It has one of the most beautiful castles that I have ever seen. Edinburgh Castle sits atop a hill overlooking the whole of the city. The sunlight hits it perfectly no matter what time of the day it is, and the greenery around it makes everything pop. There is a perfect view of it from the Grassmarket, which is paved with cobblestones and has too many pubs to count. The interior of the castle is extensive and has parts of it that date back to the 1500s. It has everything any tourist could want: history, shiny stuff, and, of course, a whiskey shop.
Of course, there are whiskey shops apart from the one in the castle, and they are always stocked with bottles of whiskey more precious than your first born child (there were some worth over £4000, or $6,058.) All of the shops seemed to embody the honey color of the different whiskeys, and the atmosphere was always warm and inviting. Of course, tasting the whiskey was always the best part. At 46 percent alcohol content, it will wake you right up.
For my fellow nerds, there are a couple of Harry Potter sites to visit. The majority of them are either places where J.K. Rowling wrote the books (The Elephant House and the Balmoral Hotel) or that provided inspiration for characters. One example is Greyfriar's Kirkyard which contains the grave of one Thomas Riddell, who is rumored to be the inspiration for the name of Voldemort's father, Tom Riddle.
As I write this article on the four hour train ride back to London, I am reflecting back on my time in Edinburgh and how much more I wish I could have done. I am a firm believer in taking every opportunity as it comes to you, even if you have to go somewhere alone or you have to drag yourself out of your comfortable double hotel bed to go and do it (though I'm also a believer in taking advantage of sleeping in a double bed for as long as possible.) Edinburgh has quickly climbed its way to my top three favorite cities, and I barely scratched the surface of the culture that it had to offer. Cities like this don't come to up very often in a lifetime, so if you find yourself captivated by a new city, don't just sleep. Absorb as much as it as you can to hold you over until the next time you go.
Alum Olivia Hughes: Saving the World One Turtle at a Time
A Goose and A Gander: Let's talk about sex… and relationships, and dating, and everything in between!


Q-1: 交通学校 (Traffic School) 法院登记费和学校学费的关系?
The Court is in receipt of your traffic school Certificate of Completion; however, we are unable to accept your certificate at this time because you forfeited bail and did not request traffic school. In order for the Court to accept your certificate of completion, you must submit payment of the administrative fees in the amount of $61.00 and must be received no later than DATE If payment is not received by this date, no further action is allowed.


Thousand Oaks Plumbing is a family-owned, full-service plumbing company serving the greater Conejo Valley and its surrounding areas. Our facility is located in Thousand Oaks and our owners and employees all live locally! We are licensed, bonded, and insured, and we have a triple A rating with the Better Business Bureau. We rely on repeat customers, so our reputation is very important to us. Our fair pricing approach is reflected in our 5,000 satisfied customers. With over 20 years' experience, we can confidently meet your plumbing needs anytime, 24/7/365.