text:
HANSARD 1803–2005 → 1990s → 1996 → July 1996 → 12 July 1996 → Commons Sitting → Clause 1
MEANING OF "PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE"
HC Deb 12 July 1996 vol 281 cc743-50 743
§ 2.3 pm
The Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs (Mr. John M. Taylor)
I beg to move amendment No. 2, in page 1, line 7, after 'not' insert `in the exercise of any existing jurisdiction'.
§ Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Janet Fookes)
With this, it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 3, in page 1, line 8, leave out `(apart from this Act)'.
No. 5, in page 1, line 14, at end insert— `( ) In this section "existing jurisdiction" means any jurisdiction as it is exercisable immediately before the commencement of this Act'. No. 6, in page 1, line 14, at end insert— `( ) The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument vary the definition of "public interest disclosure" in this section but no such order shall be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament'. No. 8, in clause 2, page 1, line 20, leave out from 'not' to `payment' and insert 'obtained'.
No. 9, in page 1, line 21, after 'gain' insert `as a result of making the disclosure'. No. 10, in page 1, line 22, leave out from 'had' to `taken' in line 23.
No. 11, in page 1, line 25, at end insert 'and (e) has complied with the requirement in subsection (1A) below. (1A) That requirement is that, before the employee makes the disclosure, the employer has had a reasonable opportunity—
(a) to investigate the matter for such a period as he considers appropriate bearing in mind—
(i) the nature of the alleged misconduct or malpractice,
(ii) the seriousness of the consequences which could ensue if such misconduct or malpractice were occurring or were to occur, and
(iii) when such misconduct or malpractice might occur or reoccur; and
(b) unless the employer reasonably concludes that no misconduct or malpractice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, to take within a reasonable period such steps as are reasonably practicable—
(i) to remedy any significant consequences of the misconduct or malpractice, and
(ii) to prevent the occurrence or recurrence of the misconduct or malpractice, bearing in mind the matters mentioned in paragraph (a) above'.
No. 12, in page 1, line 25, at end insert— `(1B) If the employer has carried out the procedures mentioned in subsection (I A)(a) and (b), any disclosure relating to the matter in question which is subsequently made by the employee is not a protected disclosure'. No. 13, in page 2, leave out lines 1 to 3.
Mr. Taylor
A number of hon. Members have registered their apologies for early departure, but I shall not be following them in doing that.
744 The amendments go very much to the heart of the Bill, which the Government consider to be flawed. I want to put it on record that the Government are not in favour of the Bill. That is a collective view that is not directed in any personal way to the hon. Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig), or to his integrity or good faith, which are unquestioned. It would be candid for me to make it clear that I do not intend to give the hon. Gentleman his Bill, and I intend to speak to the amendments.
§ Mr. Ian McCartney (Makerfield)
The Minister has shown his part in the conspiracy to prevent the Bill going through today. If the Bill falls, how do the Government intend to deal with internal company fraud and commercial fraud? If the Bill were passed, that could be easily identified and action could be taken. If the Bill is not passed, there will be a considerable number of criminal actions to undermine companies in this country, which will now go undetected. What measures do to Government intend to introduce?
First, I am not aware of any conspiracy. I have tried to be open in my dealings at all times on the Bill. The Government do not like the Bill. They genuinely think it flawed, and I am with the Government in that judgment.
Secondly, the Government have, not least in the Department of Trade and Industry, an almost non-stop task of trying to identify malpractice and fraud in the City and elsewhere, and to provide mechanisms for redress, some of which are criminal in nature; others are regulatory, with disciplinary sanctions from supervisory bodies. The Nolan report has strongly recommended and fortified the in-house complaints procedure route so that good employers have mechanisms in place, as codes, with confidential cover for employees who wish to report to a specified officer within the organisation, without redress, to say what it is they are worried about or what they think is irregular or harmful.
§ Mr. Don Touhig (Islwyn)
The Minister said that he is not going to give us the Bill. I very much regret that. Will he explain therefore why he and the Government are not prepared to extend to the citizens of the United Kingdom a privilege that Members of Parliament enjoy—being able to expose something in the public interest without fear of reprisal?
The House, as we have been made uncomfortably aware recently, is in a unique position constitutionally, going back to the Bill of Rights in the 17th century. It would not be fruitful or useful for me to try to go down the avenue of why the entire country is not like the House of Commons. The entire country cannot be like the House. The House of Commons is the unique focus of the whole country, with a special set of rules enshrined constitutionally or by convention that are simply not capable of wider application in any practical or realistic sense.
§ Dr. Tony Wright (Cannock and Burntwood)
Will the Minister just take a moment to explain why the Government are not going to give us the Bill? As the House and the country will know, the Bill has wide cross-party support. It won overwhelming support. Indeed, there was no opposition at all on Second Reading. 745 It went through Committee. At that point, the Government had not tabled rafts of amendments, and the Bill came back to the House. The Bill has had the widest consultation outside the House, including the business community, and there was wide—
§ Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. I am sorry, but the hon. Gentleman is making a speech rather than an intervention.
I thank the hon. Gentleman, but I remind the House that I opposed the Bill on Second Reading and in Committee. I have always tried to table amendments that would improve the Bill. At no stage have I said other than that I am fundamentally opposed to it. I shall try to do justice to the hon. Gentleman, who has followed the proceedings acutely throughout. His credentials as a sponsor of the Bill are beyond question. There are real flaws, but I do not think hon. Members want me to engage in a litany of flaws, although I could do so. I do not say that in any deprecating way because I know that the Bill was brought to the House, and has been sustained throughout, in good faith.
One of the difficulties is to be found in clause 1(a) which, in referring to a public interest disclosure, says that it means a disclosure of information which, because of the public interest, a court would not restrain". That invites the impossible—the use of a crystal ball to say at the time of a disclosure that, if subsequently tested in a court, that disclosure would be sanctioned. However, that decision of the court is not known at the time of the disclosure. It is a great difficulty with the Bill, which I have not been able to remedy or regularise by amendment.
§ Mr. Roy Thomason (Bromsgrove)
Can my hon. Friend confirm that the Bill is riddled with uncertainties? Even in amendment No. 11, the word "reasonable" is used four separate times, in one form or another. There is no clear definition of many of the requirements in the Bill. Is not an uncertain law a bad law?
§ Mr. Ian McCartney
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Should not the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Thomason) declare an interest relating to his business arrangements, given that there has been a great deal of effort to secure for the public domain a number of issues relating to his companies and activities?
I must make it clear that it is up to the Member concerned to decide whether he or she feels that there is an interest to declare.
§ Mr. Thomason
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have absolutely no interest to declare in relation to the Bill. I can assure the House of that. It was a disgraceful intervention.
§ Mr. McCartney
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. It was a genuine point of order because there are people, including creditors, who very much want 746 to get into the public domain matters relating to the hon. Gentleman's companies—which, presumably, would have been covered by this Bill had it been in force.
Order. We cannot take that matter further now.
I almost lost my place in that flurry of points of order. I support my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Thomason) in his strictures about the original point of order. He has expressed himself entirely appropriately.
My hon. Friend was critical of the uncertainty in the Bill and I agree with his view. Long ago, it was cynically said by a learned judge in England—I am not sure that I whole-heartedly subscribe to his view, but we get the point—"It is not so important that the law be fair, but that the law be certain." My hon. Friend used a more critical idiom than I have used. I have spent a lot of flying hours with Labour Members and I am aware of their good faith in these matters, so I possibly express myself in a more gentle idiom. We have spent many hours together and, rather like hostages and captors, there comes a time when we begin to understand the other man's point of view.
§ Mr. Touhig
I thank the Minister for his kind remarks about me. The whole House knows that there is no personal animosity between us on this matter. He has referred to his attempts to improve the Bill. I have made repeated attempts to meet the Minister and his officials—even before the first draft was completed—so that we might work together to produce useful legislation. The Government failed to respond to all the overtures made by me and other hon. Members, including Conservative Members such as the hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Duncan Smith), who are all desperately keen to see the measure enacted.
I do not think that I am unavailable or not contactable. The hon. Gentleman came to see me at an early stage in the passage of the Bill. I am sorry that he does not feel that the liaison between us has been sufficiently productive. I am afraid that the Government do not think that the Bill as it stands, and in view of its origins, is perfectible. The flaw in clause 1(a) is perhaps not the least insurmountable obstacle.
§ Dr. Wright
The Minister's answer to my hon. Friend is inadequate. The Minister's raft of amendments is designed to point to inadequacies and imperfections, but from the beginning the Government have resisted consultation and that makes the Minister's position quite indefensible. Do not this morning's proceedings bring the House into massive disrepute?
I do not agree with any of that. I do not think that anything that I say in the next 15 minutes will satisfy the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright). He and I have different views about this. One of the virtues of this place are that views can be exchanged. I do not think that he will come round to my point of view or that I will come round to his.
§ Mr. Paul Flynn (Newport, West)
Does the Minister agree that we are falling into bad habits on Fridays? Hon. Members have set themselves up as Friday assassins and have made speeches of stunning insignificance. There are 53 Bills on the Order Paper. We have spent four hours discussing two of them, leaving about half an hour to discuss the other 51.
Somebody more authoritative than l will have to rectify human nature or redeem original sin. I cannot do that. I do not often attend on Friday mornings but I know what happens then. Here I am with my amendments and I intend to speak to them, although so far I have not been given much chance to do that. I hope that no one will say that I have been reluctant in giving way.
Perhaps we could put in proper context the reason for the amendments. Will the Minister confirm that in Committee on 17 April he did not formally oppose the clause, which was passed unanimously? I assume that in Committee he was satisfied that the clause met the needs of the Government and the Committee. Why has he now tabled amendments?
I am again in the same pass and I shall not be able to satisfy the hon. Gentleman. I have said from the outset that the Government are not happy with the Bill. I may not have sought to amend every jot and tittle at every stage, but I have constantly reflected on what the Government should do to make the Bill better. In trying to do that through the amendments, I cannot avoid the conclusion that the Bill is fundamentally flawed and the Government do not wish to accept it. I do not have total recall about whether I put down amendments at any specific stage in the Bill's proceedings.
I have asked the President of the Board of Trade a couple of times about consultations that the Government have had on the Bill. How many representations has the Minister had about his amendments?
I do not have the representations in front of me, but within the past 48 hours I replied to a written question from the hon. Gentleman asking how many representations I have received. From memory—I urge the House to believe that I offer this answer in good faith—I have received about 11, perhaps nine one way and two the other. I do not know, but if it is material,I will check. I do not have the information with me.
I really should say something about the amendments. The Bill is essentially designed to protect employees from being victimised by their employers for making a public interest disclosure. The term "public interest disclosure" is defined in clause 1 as a disclosure of confidential information acquired in the course of employment which tends to show that significant misconduct or malpractice…has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur and which, because of the public interest, a court would not restrain". Significant misconduct or malpractice is described in the schedule as:
"(i) an offence or a breach of any statutory requirement or legal obligation;
(ii) improper or unauthorised use of public or other funds;
(iii) miscarriage of justice;
(iv) danger to the health and safety of any individual or to the environment."
The amendments that I tabled to clause 1, and that were accepted in Committee, achieved a number of things. They made it clear that the definition of public interest disclosure referred to the existing case law on cases in which the courts declined to restrain the disclosure of confidential information. They made the test of what constituted a disclosure in the public interest an objective rather than a subjective one. They extended the coverage of the Bill to cases such as breach of contract cases, where previously it had been limited to formal actions for breach of confidence.
My amendments established that, in line with the Bill's stated aims, its protection would apply only where the information disclosed was confidential at the time when the disclosure was made. They restricted the coverage of the Bill to information acquired in the course of employment and they limited the significant misconduct or malpractice covered by the Bill to the matters set out in the schedule, which originally constituted simply an illustrative list.
In addition, the schedule was amended to remove some terms that were unacceptably vague and open to misinterpretation. Without question, clause 1 is a much better drafted provision than when the Bill was first introduced. However, that said, in the Government's view, the Bill is still seriously flawed in such a fundamental way that nothing short of a complete rethink of its underlying principles could possibly rectify it.
In view of the Minister's most recent remarks, what would he say to Lord Nolan, who at the launch of his most recent report said that he strongly endorsed the approach of the Bill?
I am advised that the second report of Lord Nolan, far from endorsing the Bill's approach, fortified, encouraged and emphasised the overriding importance of employers putting in place confidential channels and a designated appropriate officer to receive internal complaints. That was the thrust and emphasis of Nolan, and I think that he was right in that regard.
Has the Minister had an opportunity to see a recent survey carried out by the reader in law at Middlesex university, who surveyed The Timestop 500 companies to find out whether they had such procedures in place? He found that 83 per cent. did not. His conclusion was that companies would put such procedures in place only if there was an underpinning of legal requirement, that is to say that the law and the good practice would go together. Does that not undermine what he has just told the House?
No, I do not think that it undermines it. I must be honest with the hon. Gentleman and confess that I have not read the article to which he refers. Perhaps it would be to my advantage to make early time to do so. We all receive tremendous amounts of paper to read these days and one has to be selective. I am sorry that I did not see the survey to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I join 749 him in saying that the more that can be done to ensure that the procedures are regarded as the correct, proper, orthodox and expected thing, the better. I support that.
In response to the hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney), I should like to add that the letters that I received did not point to specific amendments tabled for discussion today. However, informal contacts and careful consideration of the issues led to the amendments, which would materially improve the Bill.
For the record, let me say that my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig) put that question. Is not the Minister really saying in gentlemanly language that nobody in the business community supports the proposals in the amendments?
No, I stop far short of that. In a plural, free and eclectic society there will be support for almost any proposition at certain times. No doubt the hon. Gentleman could provide me with a litany of highly reputable institutions and companies that, on first reading the intentions of the Bill's sponsors, might say that they favour them in principle.
It devalues consultation on the Bill for it to be described so casually. There has been extensive consultation. Even in the last week, the Confederation of British Industry told us that it finds no reason for opposing the Bill. The overwhelming evidence from the business community is that the Bill is moving in the right direction. There is sheer incomprehension outside the House that the Government, at the last minute, should feel the need to wreck a Bill that is wanted by everyone else.
That is all very well, but I do not accept that we have taken a casual approach. I was reflecting earlier today how much time and resource costs the Department has devoted to assisting me in trying to overcome the Bill's fundamental flaws. I honestly doubt that the hon. Gentleman would argue when I say that it is one thing to express an opinion on a broad principle but that the devil is in the detail. When one gets down to the detail of the Bill, one discovers great difficulties. While the Bill is unquestionably born of good intention, it has all the potential for failing both the employer and the employee.
I will respond to the Minister's invitation for a further exchange. The measure began as a ten-minute Bill in my name, then progressed in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig). In the interim, it was the subject of extensive consultation with business and financial interests, as a result of which 750 amendments were made. It is not true to say that that process did not happen and that it is suddenly important to make amendments. The Government decided at the outset that they did not want the Bill and have used disreputable tactics to make sure that it wold not progress.
I do not doubt that the hon. Gentleman has put his heart into his side of the argument, as I and those who advise me have put our hearts into our side of the argument. Ultimately, the Government of the day are responsible for what is put on the statute book. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove said, if the Bill is left imperfect or unworkable it will not be its sponsors who are blamed but, as ever, the Government. It would be said that we were carried away with what seemed to be an attractive idea, did not address the details and fudged.
Other organisations, such as the Campaign for Freedom of Information and Public Concern at Work, have also done a great deal of work on the Bill. It is a good measure. It offers protection to the individual who discovers something that is going wrong and exposes it in the public interest. After the next inevitable financial scandal, tragedy, child abuse case or abuse of an elderly person in care case, what will the Government say when the inquiry reveals that somebody knew what was happening but was afraid to speak up? The Bill could prevent that happening.
I dare say that, on face value, it could. I should tell the hon. Member for Islwyn that if we are going to enact legislation to deal with the situation that he is concerned about, it must be good, it must be workable and it must be certain.
My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn has raised the issue of child abuse, and, some weeks ago, the Government announced an inquiry into child abuse. Hon. Members from both sides of the House are concerned about the lack of measures to protect people who discover child abuse at an early or a later stage and attempt to put that information into the public domain. If the Bill is not passed, the problem will remain. Will the Minister give the House a commitment today that he will refer the proceedings of the debate and of the Bill's Committee stage to that inquiry so that it can consider the procedures in—
§ It being half-past Two o'clock, further consideration stood adjourned.
Debate to be resumed what day?
The Government will give no day, so I offer none.
Back to Clause 1
Forward to Remaining Private Members' Bills


text:
2011-02-01 Army Vows Not to Shoot as Protesters make Million Man Marches in Cairo, Alexandria Today [UPDATE: 2]
9:30pm Cairo - Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has just given a speech in which he vowed not to run for president in the fall but would not step down until them. He said protests are "manipulated by political forces" in his TV address. Initial reaction from the estimated two million people still protesting in central Cairo is that he has to go now.
6:00pm Cairo - Tweets and news reports we are seeing as the Sun sets in Cairo indicated that the Million Man March has been an overwhelming success. Araby tweets "2 Million in Alexandria. Almost 3 Million in Cairo. Around half a Million Suez. It's happening."
People on Tahrir Square in Cairo where Al Jazeera is reporting 2 million people have gathered are saying that they aren't leaving until Hosni Mubarak does. People are standing shoulder to shoulder in the famed Tahrir Square, the atmosphere is lively but peaceful as protesters wave signs a loft and chant slogans demanding that Mubarak go. Someone even hung an effigy of Mubarak from a street sign. The army has placed barbed wire around Mubarak's residence and they have been checking protesters for weapons as they entered the square but they have done nothing to stop the march.
While the largest protest is taking place in Cairo, the nations capital, large protests also took place in other cities across Egypt including Sinai, Alexandria, Suez, Mansoura, Damnhour, Arish, Tanta, el-Mahalla and el-Kubra. A quater million marched in Sinai and over a million in Alexandria.
Gigi Ibrahim, one of the protesters, told Al Jazeera the activists will not be satisfied until Mubarak steps down. "... Every day there are more numbers on the street than the day before. I think the protests are gaining momentum. The people ... will literally not leave until Mubarak steps down," she said.
As the people demanding an end to the 30 year presidency of Hosni Mubark plan an historic Million Man March in Cairo's Tahrir Square today and a second Million Man March in Alexandria, the army pledges not to fire on the protesters. While Mubarak is now belatedly offering to open talks with the opposition and make reform, he has fired his old cabinet and even appointed his first vice-president in 30 years, the people just see these promises as another desperate attempt to stay in power. Now, in the most recent developments, even the army is indicating that it will take the side of the people against Mubarak and without the army he has no chance to maintain his rule.
Today the Egyptian people will demand his resignation with a loud united voice.
Tuesday morning Al Jazeera says:
Protesters in the Egyptian capital have begun gathering for a planned "march of a million", calling for Hosni Mubarak, the embattled Egyptian president, to step down.
Demonstrators began gathering from early on Tuesday morning in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has been the focal point of protests in the capital and served as the meeting area for the march to begin on the eighth day of an uprising that has so far claimed more than 125 lives.
Another million-strong march is planned in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, as national train services were canceled in an apparent bid to stymie protests.
Army support, without which Mubarak can not stay in power, is unraveling quickly in the face of the people's support for the army and determined opposition to Mubarak. Reuters reports:
"The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people," it said, though it would stop looters.
"Your armed forces, who are aware of the legitimacy of your demands and are keen to assume their responsibility in protecting the nation and the citizens, affirms that freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody."
Yesterday Mubarak pulled the plug on the last Internet Service Provider functioning in Egypt. One ISP had been left standing to service the Egyptian stock market after the earlier Internet take down. Now his desperation has reached a new level. The government even shut down train service to try to stop people from getting to Cairo. The protest movement would not be thwarted though. Activist used faxes, cell phones, after service was restored and made use of satellite and dial-up Internet access wherever they was available.
The Egyptian President is now offering a program of sweeping reforms that almost everyone is calling too little too late. His newly appointed vice-president Omar Suleiman appeared on state run TV to say he was beginning a dialogue with all political forces on constitutional and other reforms.
People are no longer interested in anything he has to say. It is too late to promise reform. They will not stop their protests until he is forced from office.
"But all groups, young, old, rich, poor, Christians, Muslims they are all heading [to Tahrir Square]."
Gigi Ibrahim, a political activist who is planning on attending the rally, told Al Jazeera the protesters will not be satisfied until Mubarak steps down.
"I think today there will be great numbers on the street ... every day there are more numbers on the street than the day before. I think the protests are gaining momentum. The people ... will literally not leave until Mubarak steps down," she said.
This will be a historic day for Egypt and the world.
These are our most recent articles on the Egyptian struggle:
2011-01-31 Egypt's Military jockeys to maintain Longstanding Grip on Power
2011-01-30 Million Egyptian Protest Planned as Resistance Continues
‹ News Archive - 2011-02 (February 2011) up 2011-02-01 Bradley Manning's dual citizenship eligibility and the law [Update 1] ›
Don't give them a chance...
Submitted by tinker (not verified) on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 19:33.
Note to the Egyptian People.
Egypt's regime is trying the same strategy that the Tunisian regime used just before it fell. Security forces in civilian clothing are causing chaos and disorder in the streets:
- to re-instill fear in the protesters minds.
- to show foreign media that the protesters are nothing but rabble.
- to show the general population that the only road to peace is the old regime.
In Tunisia, it didn't work.
Like Tunisia, don't give the old regime time to plan effectively. Tunisia's old regime collapsed because the ongoing pressure from the Tunisian people kept them in crisis mode, back peddling and in constant damage control. If Egypt's old regime lasts until September, they will spend all of that time in 'closed room meetings' working diligently on how to 'game the system' so that they end up back on top again. They will do this. They've have three decades of practice, it's what they do.
I hate to say this, I really do, but it's now... or never.
Egyptian people, DO NOT give the old regime time to plan. Your very future is at stake.
P.S. Don't worry, there is a whole world of us 'out here' that would be more than happy to help you rebuild your country into the great nation it once was.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In these verses the apostle Paul urges us to turn good information into responsible action.
Television infomercials invite us to embrace the prospect of having a perfect body, perfect sleep, or perfectly clean air. And if we follow their reasoning, the results appear obvious—or at least we're led to think so.
For true followers of Jesus, the results of being "united with him" are obvious. People who have "fellowship with the Spirit" will exercise the same attitude as Jesus Christ. Having been birthed in his love, they love one another. Having received his joy, they seek to complete it by partnering in the gospel's purpose.
Two key principles are given to help believers here. First, we must avoid "selfish ambition." And, second, we must consider the interests of others.
Ultimately, Christians are invited to see themselves as sponges. Just as we use a sponge to soak up water in order to squeeze it out, so believers receive God's generous joy in order to share it with others.
So if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, then allow the Holy Spirit to squeeze your life so that Jesus' good name, his generous love, and his joy-filled grace will flow through you deep into the hearts of others. The Bible's message of joy is given not for information but for transformation.
Dear Lord, thank you for filling my life with your generous grace. By your Spirit use me as a pipeline to bring the joy of Christ into the lives of others.	In his name, Amen.


Sometimes when I walk, I have a purpose, a mission, a reason for being. I'm busy assessing threats or looking to lick up bird droppings, that kind of thing.
For instance, this plant sure looks a lot like cilantro, #amirite?
Cilantro makes me think of guacamole, and guacamole makes me think about avocados, and avocados make me think about mmmmmmmmm avocados!
Unfortunately, if you keep daydreaming about cilantro you are bound to run your schnozzle into a sharp thorn.
Then I see paw prints … Wendy … Wendy??
I dream of playing mixed doubles … Wendy and Dash against the fabled Chubacabra and a smelly, nasty Yeti. Final score … six-love, six-love.
… dreaming of sharing a generous sampling of avocado slices with Wendy.
Sometimes it seems like the world is on fire. Blazing. Planet heating up. Book of Revelations bad. Jacksonville Jaguars kind of bad.
If you are like me, you have to turn off Facebook, CNN, and Food Network's Holiday Baking Championships. You simply desire something more nourishing than the vapid emptiness, the empty calories associated with modern media consumption.
For me, that something is a veggie bone.
These things border on being succulent, until you look up the word "succulent" and realize that the word "juicy" is in the definition. So let's just say that these things are delicious and addictive. Anything that is addictive can be stolen. Theft is a threat, no different than rusted metals or the dreaded Chupacabra.
Dad thoughtfully offers me a veggie bone every third day #calorieconscious. Immediately, I begin assessing the threat of theft.
Oh God, Dad's following me. DAD IS A THREAT. I decide to hide in the Master Bedroom.
I didn't think that the bedroom was secure. I mean, no room is really secure! I needed to hide the veggie bone. But where?
Yeah, that's the ticket. The couch!
Oh for the love of God, I dropped it.
Time for a new game plan. I picked up the veggie bone, and attempted to hide it in the other end of the couch – nobody will notice me there.
Nobody notices that I'm hiding it here … oh wait … Dad again!
STOP LOOKING … JUST STOP IT … STOP LOOKING.
It's the old couch accessory gambit … set up a diversion with the pillow coupled with the effective shrouding of a blankie. That should work, right?
Nope. Time for Plan D.
STOP LOOKING AT ME – I'm trying to hide in this blankie, don't you get it?
I sensed that Dad was going to keep hawking me – maintaining a constant and annoying threat. I needed to develop a game plan, a diversion. I plotted my next move.
And then, I "dashed" into the dining room. And while Dad looked at an abandoned blankie, I turned left and never looked back.
That, my friends, is how you avoid a dire threat. Via careful planning, swift decision making and a modicum of deception, I was able to enjoy my veggie bone in peace.
On a random trip into the closet, I found this sock in one of the bins, so I selected it as a preferred chewie, eschewing the lovely stick sitting right in front of my face.
You see, pre-laundered socks have just the right combination of male foot sweat and embedded particles to really tempt the taste buds.
And I honestly don't understand why Dad would sneak up on me and demand that I relinquish my newly found hosiery.
Dad you ?$&# stop taking my sock … stop it … MINE!
Could somebody please turn off the rain machine that has consumed the Pacific Northwest?
I mean, unlike humans, I have to go to the bathroom in that stuff. The whole situation is depressing, if you ask me!


text:
Ek Mulaqat
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VICE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ATTITUDINAL CHANGE IN BUILDING AN ENABLING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
HeadlineEconomy
By Nneka Torti	 On Jun 26, 2018
The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has called for attitudinal change among public servants and the enforcement of sanctions against offenders to improve Nigeria's business environment.
Osinbajo gave the advice in Abuja on Monday at the expanded Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council meeting tagged, 'Building an Enabling Business Environment: the Journey so Far'.
According to the vice president, the presidency remains committed to putting every mechanism in place to make the business environment to work.
"The combination of this re-orientation as well as sanctions will greatly help in changing our business environment.
"But more importantly in changing some of the bad habits that have been imbibed over the years."
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari had requested the council to apply sanctions where necessary.
According to him, building an enabling business environment is not even more of a journey of national transformation, but changing attitudes that have long been entrenched.
He explained that the attitudinal change required involved changing mindsets and the way people think.
"If people had for years thought that when I am in any position as a regulator it means that this is also a position that I can bully people, I can make money for myself, and all of that.
"If people have that impression, and have had that impression for years, it will take a while and those who they deal with will believe that perhaps they have the right to actually do what they are doing.
"So it takes a while to be able to change that and part of it of cause is ensuring there is consequence for misbehavior.
"And this is one of the issues that the president himself has asked that we take a good look at,'' he added.
Osinbajo observed that some of the frustrations experienced by businesses were also experienced at the intelligence level, but expressed gladness that the country was committed to fostering change.
He noted that the council had spent so much time with the NNPC and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to enable the organisations to understand that the measures put in place were not just about revenues but first about trying to do things right.
He said that things must be done in a manner that it worked for everyone especially the private sector being the investors in the environment.
Osinbajo added that for the NNPC it was an on-going reform process and challenge, adding that the administration was not unmindful of the challenges because it knew there were issues to be dealt with.
He said that the council could not be naïve about how the changes could take place and how quickly it should happen.
"We recognise here that we are dealing with systemic problems that have taken a while to entrench themselves and we need the private sector,'' the VP said.
He, therefore, urged the business community to be patient to enable the government to surmount some of the difficult being experienced.
Osinbajo also expressed disappointment with the arbitrariness being carried out in the NCS and the oil sector but noted that efforts were on to address them.
He remarked that the Executive Order 001 of the government was one that underscored the importance of the overall strategy of government which when well implemented would transform the way the Federal Government and its agencies served both business community and the public.
He said the order tried to address six limitations identified in the public service including transparency, default approval, one government (efficiency), entry experience of visitors and travellers at the borders.
Nneka Torti
CYBERCRIME: TWO NIGERIANS, SIX OTHERS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING $15 MILLION FROM U.S. FIRMS
WE ARE WAITING FOR A FORMAL REPORT ON YOUR SON'S DEATH, LAGOS POLICE TELLS DBANJ
NIGERIAN BANKS TO BE RECAPITALIZED – EMEFIELE REVEALS AGENDA
VERY IMPORTANT: HOW TO REPORT ERRANT BANKS TO CBN
FEAR: NIGERIA MAY SLIDE TO ANOTHER RECESSION – CBN


text:
The Tiger's Mouth
Thoughts on the history and heritage of Chinese Australia
First impressions of Celestial City
I've been keen to see the Musuem of Sydney's new exhibition, Celestial City: Sydney's Chinese Story, since it opened last month. So, with two weeks of school holidays and three kids to amuse, it seemed that a trip to Sydney was in order. I hope to have a chance to write up some more detailed thoughts on the exhibition, particularly on its treatment of gender, but for now I'm going to give some quick impressions from our visit. Our party of seven included two adults (one historian, one non-historian) and five kids, ranging from age 4 to age 11.
One of the first things you see walking into the exhibition space are large reproductions of two of the best-known anti-Chinese cartoons, images that are (to my mind at least) racist and offensive. One, which depicts the Australian colonies as beautiful young women working together to dispose of 'the Chinese pest' in the form of the large, disembodied head of a Chinese man, particularly caught the little kids' eyes. The other cartoon, the Bulletin's notorious 'Mongolian Octopus', also caught their attention. On surrounding walls are other large reproductions of illustrations of 19th-century anti-Chinese activities. These images were a sudden and unfortunate introduction for the kids to an exhibition that claims to celebrate 'the diversity of experiences and successes within the Chinese community'.
These images dominate the space so much that our only real conversation in the exhibition was about racist ideals of White Australia, not about the old and deep connections that tie Sydney to China and the Chinese to Sydney. Supervising the kids meant I didn't get to read everything for myself, or even to take note of other objects or text that might have told this deeper story in the first part of the exhibition. But if I didn't see it, the kids certainly didn't either. (I do have photographs, though, which I'm going to refer to again – it's just first impressions here.)
The only other item in the exhibition that really caught the little kids' eyes was a labour contract written in Chinese. Three of the little kids are studying Chinese and have spent significant amounts of time in China. They keenly tried to spot words that they knew. From memory, there is only this one piece in the exhibition in Chinese (actually, now I think about it, there is also an article from a Chinese newspaper and a Chinese-English word book). It would have been great to see more Chinese language material included in the exhibition (and yes, it does exist), particularly as the museum seems keen to attract a Chinese-speaking audience (there is a Chinese-language version of the exhibition catalogue).
When interrogated the day after we saw the exhibition, my 8-year-old said that along with 'those cartoons', the thing she remembered from the exhibition was 'the speaker with the Nomchong thing', an oral history recording with Lionel Nomchong. She said she listened to a bit of it until her 4-year-old sister came and snatched it off her. Such are the perils of visiting museum exhibitions with (even littler) kids.
The 11-year-old gave the exhibition a much more considered look than the four younger ones. A little way into the exhibition, though, she told me she was confused, although she later said she had 'mostly understood' what it was about. Her favourite part was the bit on hawkers and market gardeners – she liked the objects that accompanied it. And she liked Margaret Tart's Chinese jacket (but hadn't understood who it belonged to or why she had it).
And as for the impressions of my non-historian friend and me? She thought Celestial City was 'shallow', with that shallowness mostly coming from the dominance of White Australian voices throughout the exhibition. White Australians saying how the Chinese were good, White Australians saying how the Chinese were bad. She also didn't feel she had learned anything new, that the 'Yellow Peril' material didn't really expand her understanding of what life was like for Chinese at the time. Largely that's how I felt about the exhibition too.
I would have loved to see some of the more recent scholarship on Sydney's Chinese communities being drawn into the exhibition (e.g. Mei-fen Kuo's Making Chinese Australia), as well as newer theoretical approaches such as transnationalism. I also have some real concerns about the historical accuracy in parts, the language used (e.g. 'influx'), and parts of the story that are omitted (which I'll blog about separately when I've had time to think it through a bit more). I had wanted so much to love this exhibition – and there is some great material there, even an item or two that were new to me! – but overall I'm afraid we all came away disappointed. Sydney's Chinese story is just as fabulous as the exhibition's publicity hype says it is. Unfortunately this exhibition just doesn't manage to convey it.
Celestial City
children in museums
Chinese language sources
Museum of Sydney
'A Chinaman's wife on matrimony', 1882
Tung Wah Newspaper Index


The crankcase is made from an special alloy, developed by novarossi to make obtain the best possible strength to weight ratio.
All the engine under the Cesare Rossi line feature their High speed Needle on the rear cover. Far away from any rotating parts.
This is a REX "Short Body" type glowplug which cannot be changed for Standard or Turbo type glowplug!


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Police dog Bandit's training helped nab suspect
By Kathryn JonesEditor
Feb 16, 2012 at 12:01 AM Feb 16, 2012 at 12:49 PM
Of all the law enforcement tools that authorities used Thursday morning to apprehend a suspect after a long chase, a four-legged one with an excellent sniffer was invaluable.
His name is Bandit, a Belgian Malinois, or shepherd. Bandit looks similar to a German Shepherd, but his coat is much more reddish.
He and Officer Brandon Kramer form the K-9 Unit of the Mansfield Police Department.
Bandit used his training to find the suspect after he had crashed his Suburban through a barbed wire fence along U.S. Highway 67 west of the roadside park past the Brazos River bridge. The suspect then fled on foot and climbed up a tree.
Officer Kramer and Bandit, who have been working together for four years, were trained in Patrol and Narcotic Detection at Kasseburg Kennels in New Market, Ala. They are assigned to the Mansfield department's Patrol Division.
Kramer said that during Bandit's training, the instructors would hide people in trees.
"Someone would try to pretend he was the suspect," Kramer said. "The dog will walk around in circles" once he's discovered the scent.
The scent of someone up high falls down the tree and makes a pretty wide "scent cone," Kramer said.
Although Bandit has helped catch suspects before, this is the first time the police dog has actually found one in a tree, he added.
Bandit expertly followed his training. He detected the suspect's scent and walked around the tree in circle.
"It was pretty cool," Officer Kramer said.
It also helped lead to the suspect's capture.
"They tracked him pretty effectively," said Capt. Mike Gilbert with the Johnson County Sheriff's Department. "In this instance, it's hard to put a value on what they did."
Several dozen people posted their thanks to Bandit and Officer Kramer on the Reporter's Facebook page. If you'd like to add your thanks to the Facebook posts, we'll print out the comments and send them on to Bandit, Officer Kramer and the Mansfield Police Department.


text:
Police Technology
Cradlepoint wins NASPO ValuePoint contract for software-driven, cloud-managed LTE and 5G Ready solutions
BOISE, Idaho — Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-delivered LTE and 5G Ready wireless network edge solutions, announced today that it has been awarded a five-year NASPO ValuePoint Data Communications Products & Services contract for its NetCloud Service platform and edge router solutions by the State of Utah and NASPO ValuePoint following a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Cradlepoint is one of just nine vendors in the NASPO ValuePoint Data Communications (2019-2026) contract portfolio —solidifying its status as a premier networking and wireless technology provider.
The agreement allows quick and easy access to Cradlepoint's software-driven wireless WAN and network solutions for public sector entities in all 50 states. Cradlepoint currently has more than 6,000 public sector agency customers, 3,000 of which belong to the public safety market. The company now has public safety deployments on five continents and in every U.S. state and territory — enabling secure, mission-critical communications for vehicles, stations, mobile command centers, incident response teams, surveillance cameras, and other sites and devices over both commercial and dedicated public safety cellular networks.
"Cradlepoint is recognized as the public sector market leader in cloud-delivered 4G LTE and 5G Ready network solutions," said John Campbell, VP, Public Sector, Cradlepoint. "Today we strengthen that position with the award of a NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement. This will make it even faster, simpler and more straightforward for public sector organizations to access and deploy our portfolio of intelligent, innovative software-driven wireless WANs and initiate the first steps on their 'Pathway to 5G.'"
About Cradlepoint
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About NASPO ValuePoint
The NASPO ValuePoint Cooperative Purchasing Organization (formerly WSCA-NASPO) provides the highest standard of excellence in public cooperative contracting. By leveraging the leadership and expertise of all states with the purchasing power of their public entities, NASPO ValuePoint delivers best value, reliable, competitively sourced contracts. Since 1992 NASPO ValuePoint has been the cooperative purchasing arm of NASPO (the National Association of State Procurement Officials) encouraging, fostering and guiding the nation's most significant public contract cooperative. NASPO ValuePoint is a unified, nationally focused cooperative aggregating the demand of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the organized US territories, their political subdivisions and other eligible entities spurring best value, innovation and competition in the marketplace.
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text:
County program could ease conservatorship process for some people with severe mental illness, addiction
San Diego County Board of Supervisors agreed to pursue an expanded conservatorship program that could be in place some time next year.
(Rob Nikolewski / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles are cities that can adopt pilot programs that can place more people into conservatorship
By Gary Warth
San Diego County is pursuing a pilot program that would make it easier for judges to order some homeless people with mental health issues into conservatorship, a step that could lead to them to treatment they otherwise would not voluntarily accept.
Because of its strict requirements, they program isn't expect to apply to many people. However, some concerns already have been raised about how it would affect the civil rights of people with mental health issues, although none of those concerns were voiced when the Board of Supervisors approved the program at a Oct. 29 meeting.
San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco counties have an option to create the program under Senate Bill 40, written by State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October. It was brought to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on the recommendations of Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Nathan Fletcher.
The supervisors' vote directed the county to develop a pilot program as outlined by SB 40 and report back with recommendations for implementing it within one year.
In San Diego County, 43 percent of homeless people surveyed during the 2018 annual Point-in-Time Count stated they had mental health issues. Another 14 percent acknowledged having substance abuse issues, and 9 percent said they abused alcohol.
The bill is focused on helping a small percentage of homeless people so deeply affected by addiction or mental issues that they cannot make their own decisions responsibly. In certain cases, a judge can appoint a guardian or protector as a conservator for six months to make choices for the person that could lead to housing and treatment.
The new program identifies specific reasons why a person may be placed under a conservator, while existing law requires people to be gravely disabled, defined in part as being in danger of seriously harming themselves.
"We will utilize every available tool to address the issues of behavioral health and homelessness," Fletcher said in advance of the board's vote in support of the program, which was passed without discussion on the consent calendar.
Fletcher said the county hopes to build a regional, coordinated, integrated behavioral health system that prevents people from needing a conservator, but the new program could be helpful until then.
"Our ultimate success as a region should be judged on keeping people out of that situation, but in the interim we will utilize every option that can provide help to those most in need," he said.
There is a high bar for eligibility in the program under the bill, which requires people to have been diagnosed with serious mental illness and substance-use disorder. They also must have had at least eight involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations under state Welfare and Institutions code 5150 over 12 months.
Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe's Villages, said there is a need for such a program, but it must be be respectful of people's civil rights.
"I just want to make sure that any measure that's adopted is one that's compassionate and not a matter of criminalizing the issue," he said. "The core challenge is, these individuals out on the street can't help themselves. We need to make sure there is a balance where we don't take away civil rights, but we compassionately and effectively address those issue."
The bill amends similar bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year. Senate Bill 1045 allowed the three counties to have expanded conservatorship programs, but with the additional requirement that people had to have been ordered into assisted outpatient treatment.
Under Laura's Law in California, the treatment can be ordered for people who have severe untreated mental illness and a history of violence or repeated hospitalizations.
Because of those restrictions, an analysis of SB 1045 in San Diego County found only eight people would be eligible for the conservatorship program, said Tim McClain, group communication manager for the county's Health and Human Services Agency. More are expected to be eligible for the program under SB 40 guidelines, but just how many is not known, he said.
Only San Francisco County voted to create a program under SB 1045. Although it was expected to affect only five people in that area, it was considered a controversial move and was met with protests.
About two dozen people, including representatives of the Coalition on Homelessness, disability rights groups and medical professionals, disrupted an April town hall meeting where Wiener and other legislators had appeared to discuss the bill.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Western Center on Law and Poverty and Disability Rights California sent a letter opposing the bill to Newsom in September. No members of any of those groups spoke against it in San Diego.
Homeless advocate Martha Sullivan and former state Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña co-wrote a commentary against the program that appeared this month in The San Diego Union-Tribune. The two cited an analysis of SB 40 that estimated it would assist only up to 100 people in all three counties and doesn't provide any housing or services for people beyond six months.
Bob McElroy, president and CEO of the nonprofit homeless service provider Alpha Project, saw merit in the program, if done right.
"You have to have either institutionalized care or assisted living care. somebody who knows these populations and has training with these folks," he said about the need facing some people on the street.
Homeless advocate Michael McConnell also said he said he saw a need for getting mental health treatment to people on the street, but was cautious to endorse the plan.
"I think the execution is what's going to be super important," he said. "I'm on the fence about whether we should implement laws like this or not. We haven't tried hard enough to house these folks, and now we're going to say we failed. But if we do this, I certainly support the very conservative, narrow definition of who it applies to."
Linda Mimms, a San Diego advocate for reforms to mental health policies, said she was encouraged by many things the county is doing, but saw problems with the proposed conservatorship program.
"The actual idea of it is great," she said before quickly adding that more resources for mental health patients are needed statewide for the program to be effective.
She also has criticized for the program for taking a punitive rather than medical approach to mental health by requiring 5150 holds for people.
"We're criminalizing neurological illness in order to get treatment," she said.
Vargas said the move is a step in the right direction in helping a specific population get off the street.
"This is a serious issue we have as a society," he said. "As a society, I think we're not doing enough to care for those individuals."
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Chairman Nathan Fletcher said a new legislative agenda will reflect the values of the board majority seated this week
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Chairman Fletcher and Vice Chair Vargas will present the proposal to fellow supervisors Tuesday
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The Buffalo Bills advanced to their first AFC championship game in 26 yards after Taron Johnson scored on a 101-yard interception return to seal a 17-3 win over the Baltimore Ravens


James Norton stars on McMafia which is a fascinating show on AMC about the mafia. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.
On the show, which is very dark and serious, James hardly ever smiles, so it was funny to see him smile so big in our photo. Love it!


text:
Cornufer es un género de ranas de la familia Ceratobatrachidae. Se distribuyen por las Molucas, Melanesia.

Especies
Se reconocen las 57 siguientes según ASW:
 Cornufer acrochordus Brown, 1965
 Cornufer aculeodactylus (Brown, 1952)
 Cornufer adiastolus (Brown, Richards, Sukumaran & Foufopoulos, 2006)
 Cornufer admiraltiensis (Richards, Mack & Austin, 2007)
 Cornufer akarithymus (Brown & Tyler, 1968)
 Cornufer batantae (Zweifel, 1969)
 Cornufer bimaculatus (Günther, 1999)
 Cornufer boulengeri Boettger, 1892
 Cornufer browni (Allison & Kraus, 2001)
 Cornufer bufoniformis (Boulenger, 1884)
 Cornufer bufonulus (Kraus & Allison, 2007)
 Cornufer caesiops (Kraus & Allison, 2009)
 Cornufer cheesmanae (Parker, 1940)
 Cornufer citrinospilus (Brown, Richards & Broadhead, 2013)
 Cornufer cryptotis (Günther, 1999)
 Cornufer custos (Richards, Oliver & Brown, 2015)
 Cornufer desticans (Brown & Richards, 2008)
 Cornufer elegans (Brown & Parker, 1970)
 Cornufer gigas (Brown & Parker, 1970)
 Cornufer gilliardi (Zweifel, 1960)
 Cornufer guentheri (Boulenger, 1884)
 Cornufer guppyi (Boulenger, 1884)
 Cornufer hedigeri Brown, Siler, Richards, Diesmos & Cannatella, 2015
 Cornufer heffernani (Kinghorn, 1928)
 Cornufer latro (Richards, Mack & Austin, 2007)
 Cornufer macrops Brown, 1965
 Cornufer macrosceles (Zweifel, 1975)
 Cornufer magnus (Brown & Menzies, 1979)
 Cornufer malukuna (Brown & Webster, 1969)
 Cornufer mamusiorum (Foufopoulos & Brown, 2004)
 Cornufer manus (Kraus & Allison, 2009)
 Cornufer mediodiscus (Brown & Parker, 1970)
 Cornufer mimicus (Brown & Tyler, 1968)
 Cornufer minutus (Brown & Parker, 1970)
 Cornufer montanus (Brown & Parker, 1970)
 Cornufer myersi (Brown, 1949)
 Cornufer nakanaiorum (Brown, Foufopoulos & Richards, 2006)
 Cornufer neckeri Brown & Myers, 1949
 Cornufer nexipus (Zweifel, 1975)
 Cornufer opisthodon (Boulenger, 1884)
 Cornufer paepkei (Günther, 2015)
 Cornufer papuensis (Meyer, 1875)
 Cornufer parilis (Brown & Richards, 2008)
 Cornufer parkeri Brown, 1965
 Cornufer pelewensis (Peters, 1867)
 Cornufer punctatus (Peters & Doria, 1878)
 Cornufer schmidti (Brown & Tyler, 1968)
 Cornufer solomonis Boulenger, 1884
 Cornufer sulcatus (Kraus & Allison, 2007)
 Cornufer trossulus (Brown & Myers, 1949)
 Cornufer vertebralis (Boulenger, 1887)
 Cornufer vitianus (Duméril, 1853)
 Cornufer vitiensis (Girard, 1853)
 Cornufer vogti (Hediger, 1934)
 Cornufer weberi (Schmidt, 1932)
 Cornufer wolfi (Sternfeld, 1920)
 Cornufer wuenscheorum (Günther, 2006)

Referencias

 Brown, R. M., C. D. Siler, S. J. Richards, A. C. Diesmos & D. C. Cannatella. 2015. Multilocus phylogeny and a new classification for Southeast Asian and Melanesian forest frogs (family Ceratobatrachidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174: 130–168.

Enlaces externos

Géneros de anfibios

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The aim of this research has been to take a snapshot of Netskills as an organisation at a moment in time. The organisation has had a growing interest in digital storytelling since 2010 and it is now at a crucial stage in exploring the topic. Netskills has to make choices whether to commit time and resources to developing skills and approaches in digital storytelling so I wanted to capture thinking among employees as well as recording the activities that had been completed so far. This is by no means the end of the journey for Netskills.
There seems to me to be a logic in framing this research in terms of a story. I am piecing together the experiences of a set of individuals, identifying the hurdles that they are trying to overcome and interpreting the information to establish its importance, to give it meaning.As a result my approach has been shaped by the needs of narrative, rather than hard quantitative data.
As I outlined in the review of literature, storytelling is based on something instinctive within humans. There may be biological, evolutionary reasons for this but I have chosen to focus on the social experience of storytelling. This is partly because of my background as a social scientist but it is also because I have chosen to look at how colleagues within Netskills perceive stories themselves.
Truth is a difficult concept when it comes to stories. As Bruner points out (2004) within a story the line between what is fact and what is truth is not a direct relationship. A story may contain poorly remembered facts, even falsehoods, but can still point to an essential truth.This research has an obligation to reflect the truth of a situation but both the subject matter and the methodology are intertwined with the ideas of storytelling. I need to set out where my assumptions about where that truth lies in such an ambiguous topic. I have chosen to look at my research questions based on an assumption that I can do this by looking at a social reality more effectively than if I was looking at a purely scientific one.
The impact and uses of stories don't lend themselves easily to quantitative research although there is work that is taking a scientific approach to understanding stories. For example there is ongoing research into the impact of hearing stories on neurochemistry and feelings of empathy and distress, measuring the levels of hormones like cortisol and oxytocin in people watching stories (Zak 2012). This however, isn't the reality of storytelling and narrative that I want to reflect.This study examines the ideas and perceptions of a number of individuals within an organisation towards storytelling. It is trying to document the truth as people see it subjectively and does not try to access a universal, objective view of the situation (Burrell and Morgan 1979).


As a photographer, I'm pleased to be able to work with an amazing, professional photo lab. All of my images are printed on some of the highest quality photo paper. Their technology guarantees that the images match the quality, color and resolution of my computer, so literally, what you see is what you get.
The high quality of the paper and ink also ensure that all of your prints will withstand the test of time without the rapid fading that is common of inkjet printers.
Their exceptional customer service quality means a quick turnaround from the time the images are ordered to the time they are delivered.
Additional sizes are available upon request. All prints are available in matte and glossy finishes.
** Any a la carte prints purchased separately from a collection have a $30 Minimum purchase. A la carte prints can be added to any of the collections above without any minimum purchase requirements.
Interested in using your prints as wall art? I also offer canvas and metal wall prints. Contact me for more information.


text:
Train Wreck
Doug is upset when his new trainee doesn't make Carrie jealous; Meanwhile, Arthur must deal with his purchase of his tombstone in advance and changing the first two numbers of his death year from 19 to 20.
Pilot Sep. 21, 1998
Fat City Sep. 28, 1998
Cello, Goodbye Oct. 05, 1998
Richie's Song Oct. 12, 1998
Paternal Affairs Oct. 19, 1998
Head First Oct. 26, 1998
The Rock Nov. 02, 1998
Educating Doug Nov. 09, 1998
Road Rayge Nov. 16, 1998
Supermarket Story Dec. 07, 1998
Noel Cowards Dec. 14, 1998
Fixer Upper Dec. 21, 1998
Best Man Jan. 11, 1999
Dog Days Jan. 18, 1999
Crappy Birthday Feb. 02, 1999
S'Ain't Valentine's Feb. 08, 1999
Court Date Feb. 15, 1999
White Collar Feb. 22, 1999
Rayny Day Mar. 01, 1999
Train Wreck Mar. 15, 1999
Hungry Man Apr. 05, 1999
Time Share Apr. 26, 1999
Where's Poppa? May. 03, 1999
Art House May. 10, 1999
Maybe Baby May. 17, 1999


We offer just-in-time notices for key places where you submit data, so you can review how the data you submit might be used.
Example: Before adding a roommate, we present to you information about what data of yours they'll be able to see.
We have strong security measures, including SSL, encrypted passwords, lockouts for failed attempts, and more.
Example: It's technically impossible for our database admins to view a user's password.
We engage in privacy-by-design, meaning that we workshop the expectations of the user, find potential misuses of the data, and build our products around those insights.
Example: To protect against landlords creating fake accounts to learn more about tenants, roommates are invite-only. Even if two people claim to live in the same apartment unit, we don't share data between tenants unless they've reviewed and accepted a roommate invite.
We review the security practices of all our vendors to ensure that they have strong practices.
Example: Our key hosting vendors (Heroku, AWS, FireBase, BlueHost) are all known for world-class security practices guaranteed through their data processing agreements.
Our system is designed for rapid deployments of security updates across all platforms.
Example: In one case, a new vulnerability was discovered by the cybersecurity community in a commonly-used dependency (the sprockets gem). Our hosting provider flagged this for their clients and recommended patching the software. We were able to implement the patch and deploy it within an hour of this notice across Android, iOS, and web, all with only a few seconds of downtime.
Our customer service is strong, highly educated, and we respond quickly to users' concerns.
Example: Email us with your concern. We reply quickly.
For more details on how our technology protects your privacy and security, click here.
As you share information about your home and chat with others in the community, we always work to make sure you fully understand where exactly your data is going. RenterPeace is founded by a certified privacy professional, so we've taken your rights seriously from day one with features like just-in-time privacy notices, SSL protection, and real-time data validation. If you ever have questions, reach us at privacy@renterpeace.com.
We collect information about how you use our Services, from user-submitted information about landlords, and in limited circumstances, from partners. We collect PII, DII, and log information about your interactions as described below.
Personally identifiable information (PII) is information that can be used to identify or contact you online or offline, such as your name, address, email, phone number, photos, videos, or audio data, and payment information. We may collect PII when it is provided to us, such as when you use our Services, attempt to contact us, submit a resume or job application, or connect with us on social media or one of our partners. For example, you may see a "Log in with…" button, which means we request PII from a partner to streamline the login the process. You will likely be presented with a "request for permission" screen by a third party asking to share your ID, profile picture, and other listed information with us.
In some circumstances, we may receive user submissions or complaints about tenants that are not part of the platform. For example, a tenant may send an invite to a roommate. Tenants are also encouraged to submit information about persons they enter as landlords, including the landlord's PII, with or without the landlord's permission.
We may also create or collect more technical device-identifiable information (DII), such as cookies, unique device and advertising identifiers, usernames, and similar identifiers that are linkable to a browser or device, but not directly linkable to you as an individual. We may also receive other information, such as your IP address, user agent, timestamps, precise and imprecise geolocation, sensor data, apps, fonts, battery life information, and screen size.
Our Services collect information about your interactions, including navigation paths, search queries, crashes, timestamps, purchases, clicks and shares, and referral URLs. We may combine this data with PII and DII. For efficiency's sake, information about your interactions may be transmitted to our servers while you are not using the app. We may also partner with third parties that collect additional information – please see their privacy policies for more details and see below for your choices regarding these parties.
We use the information we receive to provide, maintain, protect and improve our Services, to develop new Services and offerings, and to protect us and our users.
PII is primarily used for business purposes, such as for sending you occasional newsletters and updates, hiring, responding to inquiries, logins, and providing Services. When you contact us, we may keep a record of your communication as well as the other information to help solve any issues you might be facing. We may use your email address to inform you about our Services, such as letting you know about changes or improvements. Please keep in mind that comments, chat rooms, and other similar areas of our Services are public. Any information posted in those areas is viewable and usable by anyone that has access.
For legal reasons – We will share PII with companies, outside organizations or individuals if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request, detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues or protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of our users or the public as required or permitted by law. This includes sharing information with authorities about serious crimes or threats.
If you wish to similarly opt out of cross-app advertising on mobile devices, you can enable the Limit Ad Tracking flag on the device. Enabling Limit Ad Tracking sends a flag to third parties that you wish to opt out of targeted advertising on that device, and major mobile platforms require companies to honor this flag. Screenshots on how to find these options on various devices are available here: http://www.networkadvertising.org/mobile-choices. As of June 16th, 2018, our only third party ad vendor is AdSense, who we've confirmed participates in all of the mechanisms listed above (they may be listed as Google).
Users covered under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (or similar laws) have the right to access their data, rectify mistakes, erase their data, restrict certain processing (i.e., opt-out), export their data, withdraw consent, and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Before using these rights, we may ask you to verify your identity to ensure that only you can use these rights on your own account.
It is contractually necessary and a legitimate interest to process your username, email, password, cookie data, IP address, and similar information to fulfill our obligations in the terms of service to provide you with high-quality web and mobile from ourselves and our partners. Where users log in with social media accounts (like Facebook or Google), those companies have obtained consent on our behalf to use that data to create your account, verify your email, and import some profile information. We do not import your data about your friends from these login services.
Tenants can upload their landlords' contact information and track the landlords' apartment issues, chat, ratings and reviews, last login time, response times, and similar details about how to contact their landlord. They may also be able to see the contact information others have tracked. There is a legal, vital, legitimate, and public interest in storing this information so tenants may better notify their own landlords and obtain safer housing conditions. Such data may be stored on a private blockchain.
Knowing users' addresses is essential to the operation of our services. We have a contractual necessity to provide you with localized legal information, help select your currency and time zone, and similar customizations based on your region. We have a legitimate interest in processing users' addresses for statistical analysis, aggregate reports, and more.
It's contractually necessary to process your searches to provide you with navigation our site and features, namely the functionality of the smart assistant. We have a legitimate interest in monitoring the use of this search to improve our algorithms.
It is a contractual necessity and a legitimate interest to collect user posts and replies, related pictures/files, the account that posted the data, and metadata (such as the time of the post and any metadata attached to the files). This information powers a "social guestbook", which functions both as a guestbook and a social media. It is also used as a method to comment on various parts of the site.
It is a contractual necessity and a legitimate interest to collect information about users' chores, shopping, expenses, and other data as entered for the purpose of tracking. This data is used to provide users with lists, analysis, and sharing with selected people. We have a legitimate interest in analyzing the content of this data (in aggregate form) to improve our services, such as providing shortcuts to frequently posted chores. We also have a legitimate interest in reviewing such data to resolve issues, debug our software, and to help comply with users' data requests.
We offer a variety of social features on our services. We obtain users' consent for the processing of data necessary for chats and forums, and any optional profile information, such as a phone number, profile pictures, and mailing address. Consent is also obtained to add and engage with friends and other scenarios as appropriate.
We have a legitimate interest in asking for and collecting tenants' rent, length of time in their apartment, lease type, and similar information. This information is useful to encourage landlords to connect, to provide tenants with info about their apartments, and either now or in the future, useful to provide additional features to the user.
We have a legitimate interest in monitoring the usage of our services to conduct analytics, measure usage and conversions, detect fraudulent users, implement data security measures, and other such activities to improve our services. We and our processors have measures in place to protect your privacy.
We have a legitimate interest in processing payments to provide advanced features and storing users' purchase history for the purpose of providing users help in fixing purchase and payment issues.
Landlords may obtain tenant screening reports through a report provided by a third party services for tenants that have a US social security number. This is simply a co-branding relationship. We do not share any user data with this service or in any way determine the means and purposes of their data processing (and vice versa).
We have a legitimate interest in enabling third party personalized ads and data collection on services to help provide a more customized ad experience for our users and site visitors. Our reputable partners provide opt outs and other measures to protect your privacy (currently, all ads are serviced by Google AdSense). In some cases as appropriate, we or our partners obtain consent.
We have a legitimate interest and a contractual necessity in processing usage data necessary to suggest products and services to our users.
We have a legitimate interest in sending periodic email and direct marketing to inform registered users of updates and offers. We make clear disclosures when users sign up and offer opt-outs for anyone not interested.
For HR and internal operations, we rely on contractual necessity and legitimate interests to process the data of applicants and staff, such as for resumes and applications, payroll, internal chat and communications, and project management.
We have a legitimate interest in processing users' personal data to provide customer support and answer sales questions, including data such as emails, names, and other details as necessary to answer user questions.
We aim to provide you with reasonable opportunities to access, update, and delete to your PII. In some cases, we may have to keep that information for legitimate business or legal purposes. When updating your information, we may ask you to verify your identity before we can act on your request.
We work hard to protect our users from unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of information we hold and undertake reasonable security measures with appropriate confidentiality, integrity, and availability protections. However, since no software or storage system is 100% secure, we cannot guarantee for the security of your information associated with the Services, or any other service for that matter. You can help protect your account information by using unique and hard-to-guess passwords. We retain your data for up to 5 years since the last login or where we have a legally valid reason to store it for longer (e.g., where a user has purchased a service or where we are required by subpoena to keep data).
Our services are intended for users that rent apartments, who are usually over 18. We do not knowingly collect information for any child under the age of 13. Our Services are not directed toward children under 13 and we will not knowingly collect information for any child under the legal age to provide consent to data processing (13 in the US and up to 16 in EU countries). If you are the parent of a child under the age required to provide consent and have a concern regarding your child's information on our Services, please contact us at the email listed at the bottom of this policy.
Note: This we have submitted our self-certification and this section will be applicable only if and when the International Trade Administration approves the application.
If we transfer personal information from the European Union to the United States, we comply with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss – U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States, respectively. We have certified to the Department of Commerce that we adhere to the Privacy Shield Principles. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/.
For any questions or complaints regarding our compliance with either the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss – U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, please contact us at the email listed at the bottom of the page. If we do not resolve your complaint, you may submit your complaint free of charge to the dispute resolution panel set forth by the data protection authorities, our designated independent dispute resolution provider (a panel established by the EU data protection authorities). Under certain conditions specified by the principles of the EU-U.S. and the Swiss – U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks, respectively, you may also be able to invoke binding arbitration to resolve your complaint. We are also subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the US Federal Trade Commission. While we do our best to ensure our partners are also compliant, we are not liable for third parties' processing of EU Data in violation of the Principles. We may be legally obligated to disclose personal information to authorities to meet national security, law enforcement, or other legal requirements.


uTry.it: Mixed Fruit Iced Tea (冰鎮水果茶) and a Giveaway!
The official first day of summer is June 21st this year! Seriously? I thought summer has arrived 2 months ago. Well, at least in Los Angeles, it has! That's why I've been posting Shaved Ice, detox soup, salad, and icy treats recipes on my blog and Facebook page. I hope you like them all so far. And today, I have another refreshing and delightful treat for you, Mixed Fruit Iced Tea (冰鎮水果茶). Plus, a wonderful giveaway that you don't want to miss, more to that in just a minute. Have I grabbed your attention yet?
The first time when I tried a sweetened fruit tea was during a visit to Taiwan. I felt in love with the tea right away. It's fruity, refreshing, slightly sweet, and packed with wonderful aroma. What's not to love, isn't it? Of course, I can't help it but to replicate it at home. And I found the tea leaves and a secret ingredient that can take this lovely drink to the next level. The kind folks at Singing Dog Vanilla sent me a collection of their vanilla tea leaves to try out along with their latest product, the Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar!
I have to say, the Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar is the bomb! You can taste each element from it and the aroma is so complex, yet, each aroma compliments each other. This is the secret ingredient that I used, to flavor the Mixed Fruit Ice Tea. Okay, I guess there's no more secret now.
I've always loved Singing Dog's Vanilla Tea. I've used their Vanilla Blackberry Sage Tea and made a berry version of this tea and it was so wonderful. Take a look at the tea leaves in the picture below. You can see the vanilla bean pieces among the tea leaves. The vanilla aroma would slowly releases while you steep your tea. You simply can't get this gourmet vanilla bean aroma from anything else. It's sweet, fragrant and oh so soothing.
Each package of Singing Dog Vanilla Tea comes with a reusable tea bag for steeping.
And the plastic bag comes with a re-sealable tape to assure freshness with the remaining tea leaves, how thoughtful!
The traditional fruit tea usually calls for using black tea as a base. In this recipe, I used the Singing Dog Vanilla Black Assam Tea. A one cup serving of tea requires 1 teaspoon of tea leave. Since I'm making a concentrated tea mixture (for a large pitcher), I used 2 tablespoons of tea leaves. Here's how I made it. First, fill the tea bag with the tea leaves, then place the tea bag in a large heat proof pitcher along with the Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar.
This time, I chose the fruits that are commonly used to make Taiwanese Mixed Fruit Tea. They are apple, lime, nectarine, and lemon. You can basically use any kind of fruit you prefer or in season. Simply pick three to four of your favorite fruit and include a citrus one in there. The tang from the citrus will brightens up the tea.
Next pour in hot water and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolved. Then, remove the tea bag and discard the tea leaves. Rinse and dry the tea bag for future use. Next, pour in some apple juice and ice cubes.
As simple as that, and your Mixed Fruit Iced Tea is ready for your enjoyment!
This will be the most refreshing drink for the summer! The tea is slightly sweetened and not overly sweet. The fruits will retain their natural sweetness and as they steep with the tea leaves, they will release their wonderful flavors into the tea. You can taste the wonderful vanilla bean and see the little specks in your tea as well. The subtle coconut and palm sugar flavors give this tea depth, and compliment the black tea and fruit wonderfully.
And the best part of my photo shoot always comes at the end when I can finally enjoy my iced cold drink in these steamy hot days! Ahhh…..so good!
What is better than enjoying the Mixed Fruit Iced Tea in the hot summer days? It certainly is enjoying my fruit tea while I can share my recipe and these awesome ingredients and products with you! Yes, it's Giveaway time!
How about winning a set of Vanilla Black Assam Tea (2 oz) AND the Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar (2.5 oz), as shown in the picture above, courtesy of the kind folks at Singing Dog Vanilla!? And there will be 3 winners. Thank you Singing Dog Vanilla for providing the giveaway. Here's how to enter.
To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me what's your favorite fruit. Please also leave your email address so I can contact you if you are one of the 3 lucky winners.
3 lucky uTry.it readers will win the Vanilla Black Assam Tea AND the Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar. This Giveaway is open worldwide. Deadline to enter is June 15th by midnight PST. Winner will be selected through Random.org and announce shortly after the giveaway is closed. Prizes will be shipped out directly by Singing Dog Vanilla.
1) "Like" Singing Dog Vanilla on their Facebook Page, click here.
3) Follow Singing Dog Vanilla on Pinterest, click here.
4) Add me to your Google+ circle here.
6) Pin a picture from this post onto Pinterest.
Disclaimer: I received the Singing Dog Vanilla Teas and Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar free of charge for the purpose of this review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are 100% my own and always will be.
Fill the tea bag with the tea leaves, then place the tea bag in a large heat proof pitcher along with the Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar. Next, add the fruit and pour in hot water and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolved. Then, remove the tea bag and discard the tea leaves. Rinse and dry the tea bag for future use. Next, pour in some apple juice and ice cubes. Stir well and enjoy!
A perfect summer drink, Amy. Thanks for this great giveaway, I want to try those coconut palm sugar!
You have been on my google+ circle and facebook since long!
Pinned Giveaway Picture on Pinterest!
I love Singing Dog Vanilla!!
I love fruited and herbal teas in the summer. This looks so good. Right up my alley.
You are now in my Google+ circle.
I really wonder what Vanilla Coconut Palm Sugar tastes like. I also love all fruits and peach is one of my favourite fruit. zhengmun2 at gmail dot com.
How nice that the tea comes with a reusable tea bag, that is terrific. When I think of any kind of iced tea I always think of lemon and lime or herbs. If I had to choose a summer fruit to enjoy in a cold glass of tea I think it would probably be peaches or strawberries as them are the fruits I associate with summer.
What an awesome post! My favorite fruits are pomegranates and peaches!
Liked Singing Dog Vanilla on their Facebook Page-annushka s.
Liked uTry.it's Facebook Page-annushka s.
Wow oh wow I truly love this recipe and hope I can try these products!
I liked Singing Dog Vanilla!
Since I have already liked your Facebook page prior to this I shared your blog on my page. I love this entry and must compliment you again on your photography and color!!!
Delicious looking iced tea Amy, I love the fruits in it...super refreshing for the summer!
Good to be back again, Amy! Great giveaway & good luck to all!
My goodness, I so wanna have another try Singing Dog vanilla & tea products. You make them sounds really good.
Hope you're having a fabulous day Amy.