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The Court Martial and the HRA
The military court martial is a quasi criminal court dispensing military discipline. Few would argue with the need for a distinct system of military justice; operational effectiveness demands high standards of discipline and as such there will be different weight attached to offences and different sentencing considerations. However, that does not mean that military justice is not subject to domestic oversight or that service personnel can be treated unfairly without redress. The modern court martial system has improved considerably since the Second World War, and the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law via the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) has led to greater independence within the courts martial and better training for the lay panel. Most of the recent challenges based on human rights violations have failed, confirming that the system of courts martial is now compliant with the HRA. One question remains unanswered; the position of the military personnel who serve as lay members of the panel has been heavily considered by the Courts but there has been no decision which address whether the contribution made by them during the sentencing exercise amounts to a human rights violation. As these lay members are responsible for both determining guilt and assisting the Judge Advocate in the sentencing exercise, their views can currently outweigh the sentencing views of a professional Judge.
His Honour Judge Rant warned the Ministry of Defence in 1999, upon his appointment as the Judge Advocate General, that the Armed Forces' system of justice did not comply with the ECHR. His warning went unheeded. At that time the three services managed their own system of justice without much scrutiny and with no uniformity of approach. It was the case of Lance Sergeant Findlay that brought this issue home to the Forces. Lance Sergeant Findlay suffered a particularly adverse reaction to witnessing the death and mutilation of his friends during the Falklands campaign. In July 1990 he held members of his unit at gunpoint but surrendered the gun after firing two shots into a television set. Psychiatric reports indicated the incident arose from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He was charged with six civilian and two military offences. The convening officer was responsible for appointing the prosecuting officer and members of the court martial. This consisted of a president who was a member of the convening officer's staff and four officer of ranks subordinate to that of the convening officer and serving in units commanded by him. A Judge-Advocate, a barrister whose role was to provide legal advice to the court martial, was appointed by the Judge Advocate General's office. The Applicant appeared before the court martial and pleaded guilty to seven of the charges. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, demoted in rank to guardsman and dismissed from the Army. No reasons were given for these decisions. At the time of the trial of Lance Sergeant Findlay, the court martial procedure was governed by the Army Act 1955. Before his challenge was considered by the European Court of Human Rights the procedure was changed by the Armed Forces Act 1996 which came into force on the 1st April 1997.
The ECtHR found that the convening officer had played a role in the Applicant's prosecution that caused the court-martial to lack independence. There was concern that all members of the court-martial were military personnel subordinate in rank to the convening officer. He also acted as confirming officer. The decision of the court-martial was only effective if ratified by him and he had power to vary the sentence. The provisions of Article 6 of the ECHR are well known; the ECtHR considered the relevant section, namely that "… everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law" and determined that in the case of Findlay the procedure established by the Army Act 1955 did not comply.
However, by this stage Parliament had passed the Armed Forces Act 1996 which dealt with many of the Findlay complaints. It abolished the Convening Authority and created the Court Administration Officers, the Prosecuting Authorities and the Higher Authority which referred cases to the Prosecuting Authorities. Further, the role of the Judge Advocate was enhanced. No longer was he a quasi clerk who provided legal advice to the president and the board reminiscent of the Magistrates Court. Instead, he became a fully functioning Judge.
The challenges then turned to the lay members of the Panel. The case of Morris v UK (2002) 34 EHRR 1253 raised a number of issues which were duly rejected, but the ECtHR did accept that there were significant concerns about the independence and impartiality of the lay members. It is important to note that this did not affect the independence of the court martial to a fatal degree but the ECHR did comment upon the lack of legal training and the risk of outside influence. This lead to the adoption of the direction now known as the Morris direction, which reminds the board of their duties, the fact that they are not reported on for their performance during the trial and that they must report any external attempts to influence the to the Judge Advocate. This direction is now given at the beginning of each trial.
The Ministry of Defence did not act upon the comments made about the lack of training of the lay members. It maintained that all servicemen in the relevant ranks received a certain amount of legal training. This view had been reinforced in the case of R v Boyd, Hastie and Spear, Saunby and Others [2002] UKHL 31 in which Lord Rodger of Earlsferry concluded that since there were other safeguards in place, the absence of legal training did not affect independence and impartiality. In fact, Lord Rodger went further and observed that the lay members needed no training to exercise their function as a jury. It is, of course, right to say that no training at all would be necessary if the lay members confined themselves to the role of a jury. However, they do not.
There was a return to the issue of legal training of the lay members in Cooper v UK [2003] ECHR 48843/99. The Grand Chamber concluded that the independence of the lay members was not undermined by their lack of legal training but again it made no distinction between the fact finding aspect of their contribution and the sentencing exercise. The MOD somewhat overstates the amount of training devoted to legal issues in an officer's career and it is arguable that the training is not adequate to equip a servicemen to contribute to a sentencing exercise.
Of course, Magistrates do outnumber the professional Judge when they sit upon appeals to the Crown Court. They act as judges of fact and contribute to the sentencing exercise creating the same risk as lay members of the panel during a court-martial. However, while the problems with civilian magistrates cannot be denied, they do receive far more training and practice than Army officers.
It is acknowledged that this issue may not fall squarely within Article 6; the argument is not that there is a lack of independence as a result of the function of the lay members but that there is a risk of injustice in a system where lay members can outweigh the wishes of a professional Judge. Even with sentencing guidelines this situation cannot have the appearance of fairness. Any sentence that is manifestly excessive can always be corrected by the Court Martial Appeal Court but that does not deal with complaints of disparity, undue leniency and heavy sentencing which falls short of this mark.
Service life is for people who are more interested in their duties than their rights. However, if the Forces wish to retain a professional army rather than a conscript army then the terms of service must be sufficiently attractive to achieve that end. It is understandable that the Army does not want people with an attitude of entitlement but it must want to, and be expected to, treat its personnel fairly. It cannot be right that a serviceman who risks his life to protect civilians should be in a position of disadvantage before the law simply by virtue of the fact that he appears before the courts martial rather than the civilian courts.
Jo Morris
Fiona McAddy
www.churchcourtchambers.co.uk
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Movement-related changes in oscillatory activity in the human subthalamic nucleus: ipsilateral vs. contralateral movements.
Alegre M, Alonso-Frech F, Rodríguez-Oroz MC, Guridi J, Zamarbide I, Valencia M, Manrique M, Obeso JA, Artieda J.
A voluntary movement is accompanied by a series of changes in neuronal oscillatory activity in the subthalamic nucleus (STN).
These changes can be recorded through electrodes implanted for deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson's disease in the time interval between the surgery and the internalization of the connections to the batteries. Both baseline activity and movement-related changes are different in the 'on' and 'off' medication motor states. In the 'off' state a low frequency activity in the alpha-beta range (8-25 Hz) that dominates the spectrum is interrupted during the movement, while in the 'on' state baseline frequencies are higher and a peri-movement gamma increase (70-80 Hz) is usually observed.
Similar changes have been described with electrocorticographic recordings over the primary motor cortex but the gamma increase was only present during contralateral movements. We compared ipsi- and contralateral movement-related changes in STN activity, using a time-frequency analysis of the recordings obtained simultaneously in both STN and the scalp (electroencephalography) during right and left hand movements. The movement-related changes observed in the STN in the 'on' and the 'off' states were similar to those described previously in terms of predominant frequency bands, but we found bilateral changes in the STN during movements of either hand. A contralateral earlier start of the beta STN changes was mostly observed when the moving hand corresponded to the less-affected side, irrespective of hand dominance.
These results suggest that movement-related activity in the STN has, by and large, a bilateral representation and probably reflects cortical input.


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Cosmin is a masculine Romanian given name of Greek origin. Notable people with the name include:

Cosmin Băcilă (born 1983), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Bărcăuan (born 1978), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Bodea (born 1973), Romanian footballer and manager
Cosmin Chetroiu (born 1987), Romanian luger
Cosmin Ciocoteală (born 1997), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Contra (born 1975), Romanian footballer and manager
Cosmin Frăsinescu (born 1985), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Gârleanu (born 1989), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Gherman (born 1984), Romanian futsal player
Cosmin Hănceanu (born 1986), Romanian fencer
Cosmin Cristian Iancu (born 1987), Romanian artistic gymnast
Cosmin Malita (born 1989), Romanian artistic gymnast
Cosmin Mărginean (born 1978), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Matei (born 1991), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Moți (born 1984), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Muj (born 1988), Romanian aerobic gymnast
Cosmin Năstăsie (born 1983), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Olăroiu (born 1969), Romanian footballer and manager
Cosmin Paşca, Romanian sprint canoeist
Cosmin Pașcovici (born 1978), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Alin Popescu (born 1974), Romanian rector of the  Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USABTM)
Cosmin Popescu (gymnast) (born 1987), Romanian artistic gymnast
Cosmin Radu (born 1981), Romanian water polo player
Cosmin Rațiu (born 1979), Romanian rugby union player
Cosmin Tilincă (born 1980), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Vancea (born 1984), Romanian footballer
Cosmin Vâtcă (born 1982), Romanian footballer

See also
Cozmin Gușă (born 1970), Romanian politician

Romanian masculine given names

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Home PsycCRITIQUES Understanding Brain Function by Looking at Damaged Brain Structures.
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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Name: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Date: July 22, 2021 - September 5, 2021
Website: http://www.firesidetheatre.com
Fresh from the success of OKLAHOMA, SOUTH PACIFIC, and THE KING AND I, Broadway's greatest composing team wrote an original musical comedy - the first of its kind - to be performed live on TV in 1957. It was the most watched program in television history in its original airing starring Julie Andrews. There have since been two more spectacular TV productions over the years starring such greats as Lesley Ann Warren, Ginger Rodgers, Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, and many more. Now you can enjoy this live stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical adaptation of one of the world's most enduring love stories. This is a show designed to delight the child in all of us. Whether you're eight or eighty you'll be captivated by its humor, its romance, its beauty, and its great, great music.
The Fireside Dinner Theatre, 1131 Janesville Avenue, Fort Atkinson
Matinees Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday matinees arrive 10:30 a.m., Thursday and Saturday evening arrive 5:00 p.m., Sunday midday arrive 2:30 p.m.
$73.95 per person plus tax and facility fee. Youth packages for age 14 and under, group rates for 18 or more guests, and season ticket pricing available. All shows include dining.

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Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
Gauteng Human Settlements Department turnaround strategy
Chairperson: Ms N Mafu (ANC)
The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS) briefed the Portfolio Committee on Human settlements the challenges that led to poor performance and the turnaround strategy put in place to remedy the situation; and further briefly updated the Committee on the progress of the Friendship Towns Petition.
GDHS Department has been plagued by serial poor financial and non-financial performance as well as institutional weaknesses and deficiencies.
MEC Moiloa gave an overview and highlighted a lack of forward planning and development planning by GDHS. He touched on title deeds and said there was a deficit of townships not registered, in part by the Apartheid colonial system, and now SA is paying the price for that legacy. The Department is working hard to improve this situation.
Some of the challenges identified are that the Department has a history of underperformance, and for the past five years the Department has not been spending its budget in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) to provide for at least 95% spent on what is agreed upon in the business plan and this has been recurring for the last five years.
The biggest expenditure in recent research in the performance of the Department are that even at the point when the Department was spending 80% of its budget, it was still not achieving its targets, and this non-achievement of targets has been recurring for many years. He submits that this is because of inefficiencies in their system; no forward planning; un-integrated planning; and all of the disciplines required in terms of planning.
By the end of the first quarter, the Department has spent 7% of its budget, because the business plan was not approved for 2019/20; it was approved on 2 June 2019. The Department then developed the turnaround strategy being presented. The Department has been working with the National Department, assisting them to plan better and to present realistic projections with regards to the projects that were hitherto planned for.
The Housing Development Agency (HDA) said its projections for quarter three and four are that it could complete most of the legacy projects in these quarters, or by the end of the financial year.
In total of the R875 million that was transferred to the HDA, it has committed about R257 million to its projects, and is left with a balance of about R337 million, which can be committed to projects if reallocations are made.
One observation with regard to how they contract, going forward the GPF's experience helped to show them that there was a sizeable amount of investment in planning, designing and conceiving. And at the point of getting to a point where you have to deliver the HDA has a much more aligned implementation and delivery mechanism that is able to get the contract off the ground. But there is a two year lag that they have to learn about, ad consider.
The Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF) said the Division of Revenue Act issue was creating a problem of speeding up the delivery of service sites and top structures, however the GPF put some countering measures and the matter has since been resolved, so the GPF did receive the R609 million. Of this R295 million has been dispersed already on Affri Village.
The management between the GPF and the Rand West Municipality has enabled it to speed up the delivery of service sites and housing. GPF are confident that in quarter three and four they will reach their targets of both service sites and housing units.
The National Department said the Department has agreed with the province in that the offices of the Premier together with the MEC and HOD intervention is a short, medium and long term action plan. An issue that needs to be addressed, both from a province together with respective responsibilities is that concurrent to the situation in Gauteng is the issue that there has been a loss of capacity at the municipalities. The reason why there is a skewed nature of the transfer of funds to respective municipalities is because on assessing the previous three years, Ekurhuleni has only received R43 million whereas the City of Johannesburg together with the City of Tshwane in total have received between R500 and R600 million. The issue is of performance around the funds transferred to City of Tshwane, the same thing that exists with the City of Johannesburg and this it must be dealt with.
In the case of the HDA, the Department have indicated that their legacy performance is satisfactory, the issue is contractual and compliance in relation to the catalytic/mega projects and must be addressed within the next two years. The turnaround strategy is a medium to long term strategy because it is about building institutional stability and therefore it will require patience.
The Committee had a detailed discussion on the submissions made and focused on the backlog prior to, as well as after 1994; the allocation of funds between municipalities; the eradication of squatter camps; and the role of the Red Ants.
Members mentioned that the report itself spoke lvery little to the issue of informal settlements; the units/sites for military veterans; and the impact of the fact that 2018/19 business plans have not been approved.
Meeting report
DHS Proposed Recovery Framework
Mr Uhuru Moiloa, MEC, Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS), said challenges faced by the Department included that there was no forward planning and development planning was disintegrated. The Department discovered that the various municipalities were doing their own things. Municipalities have also been ventilated and that might mean that departments were under spending on bulk infrastructure grants, development grants and other grants. He said that there was a general under expenditure.
On the issue of title deeds, there was a deficit of townships not registered, in part by the Apartheid colonial system, and now SA is paying the price for that legacy. The Department is working hard to improve this situation.
Also because of the manner in which the government budgets for the country, resources are allocated without concrete tested plans. He said that the country would better provide services if National Treasury could base its allocation on the basis of the integrated development plans identified at local government levels. Once that kind of coordination is established, it would be easier for National Treasury to allocate resources in an effective, efficient and economic fashion.
The culture of budgets not being spent in terms of the business plan will have to be a thing of the past. Integrated planning is very critical and the Department has been implementing this. There is evidence that if municipalities plan with the province and national, better results would be achieved in that regard. The Department is in pursuit of that, and have prepared a budget performance review for 2017/18 and 2018/19 and convened all municipalities under one roof, including various departments (rand water, education, sports and culture, transport and roads), deeds office and other stakeholders and these stakeholders appreciated that it is a better, efficient way of addressing the challenges of human settlements and Gauteng.
He said he has instructed the Department that at the start of 2019, before the SONA and before the Budget Speech, the business plan of Gauteng must be approved by National Treasury. He has also instructed that all new contracts for 2019/20 must have been concluded before the beginning of the year, such that there is certainty and people can plan ahead. The principle of forward planning gives better results in outputs and it eliminates other expenditure and inefficiencies. He said he was looking forward to the 2019/20 financial year demonstrating improvements in that regard.
There is a backlog of legacy projects and among those will be commercial retail units (CRUs) which have good policy but were assigned to inefficient people. Some examples of this are Dube Hospital which is the disappointment of the department, completely ransacked and vandalised because of a standoff between the City of Johannesburg, Department of Human Settlement and the National Policy; and Meadowlands Hostel in which the housing units have not been occupied but have been vandalised.
He said that there has been policy change and interventions that the Committee made and the National Department were beginning to produce improvements in CRUs which now have adopted RDP make-ups. The Minister is visiting Gauteng on the 8th and 9th of November, and they will show her the good and the bad of their expenditure, the projects that the Department have been working on and what the Department think should happen to those.
The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) agreed that it would send engineers to the Department, to do a structural audit of all of those CRUs and give a report on what should happen with recommendations.
The Annual Report reflects an unqualified audit report for 2017/18 but it will also include in the auditor's statement that they have transferred funds to agents without approval of Treasury function. There was a huge under expenditure of over R1 billion, but with committed projects to agencies such as the Housing Development Agency (HDA) this needed to be resolved. Unfortunately, National Treasury in terms of the Division of Revenue Act, did not give a letter of consent whilst the DHS had agreed that those funds should be transferred to the HDA because it was committed to projects and in particular the Catalytic/Mega Human Settlement Projects. On that subject, the Department takes responsibility and agrees with Treasury raising it as a matter of concern, but believe there were pressing reason for this happening.
Ms Matilda Gasela, HOD: GDHS said some of the key measures to improve performance included that the Department are ensuring that their norms and standards of Human Settlement Development Grant (HSDG) are aligned with that of the municipalities to ensure expected quality assurance sign-off approval of completion certificates which will allow for more realistic performance.
There has been a lot of misalignment between the Department and the municipalities and this has led to the underperformance evidenced. Contract management has been an issue for the Department; however they are undertaking to improve this. The Department has implemented regular reviews so that where the contractors are not performing as they should, those contractors would be terminated, and those that are doing well would receive an increase in scope.
The payment of invoices has also been a very big challenge and the Department is dealing with the issue on a regular basis. Every Friday, the Department checks where they are in terms of the invoices submitted and to ensure payment is received.
With regard to the status quo of financial and non-financial performance for the 2018/19 HSDG allocation, a summary of performance conducted from the 27th August to the 26th October, showed that in the West Rand, the target of 4 000 sites and 4 050 units to be built was overachieved by the 26th October and 4 086 sites were delivered, however only 613 units were built, thus underachievement in this area.
Sedibeng was given a target of 2 035 sites to be delivered and 2967 units to be built, they have delivered 1094 sites and built 658 units by review date, and therefore underperformed in terms of the target. The grand total of sites to be delivered was set at 12 842 and 29137 units to be completed, however only 6917 sites have been delivered and 9187 units have been completed by the performance date.
The Milestone Performance – Work in Progress is a graphic representation of what has been discussed above in the presentation in terms of work in progress. The foundations have been achieved at 68.2%, wall plates are at 55.7%, roof/finishes are at 39.5%, completed units are at 29.8% and quality assurances conducted are at 22.4%. The reason why the Department met with NHBRC was so that it could assist in quality assurance because the Department has realised that when it comes obtaining quality assurance over the units completed, there were issues discovered, so the Department met with the NHBRC and it have agreed to deploy engineers to the Department to assist in that regard.
She highlighted that the Expenditure Report did not take into consideration the funds that are already at provincial treasury, but not yet been processed. In terms of where the Department is to date, she said that the Department had spent 39% of the available budget.
In terms of gazette funds and transfers for 2018/19 financial year, the Department had budgeted to transfer R68.9 million to the City of Johannesburg, R22.9 million to the City of Tshwane, R294.6 million to the City of Ekurhuleni, R33.3 million to Rand West City and has allocated R609 million to GPF. In total R739 million has been budgeted to be transferred to both GPF and the municipalities.
In terms of the Key Projects Performance List, when looking at some of the Departments' mega projects there have been improvements. For example in Greenhills Affrivillage, a target of 1000 units and stands had been set but already the Department have over performed and achieved 1594 stands, however only achieved 816 foundations and 256 wall plates. Thus, because the project was doing well, it was one of the projects that the Department would be improving scope for.
In terms of the HDA's summary performance, the target set was 5 769 housing units and 1 716 serviced sites, however the HDA only achieved 1 319 housing units completed and no serviced site. The HDA have spent R71.94 million of their R755.08 million budget with regards to housing units. With regard to serviced sites, the HDA seem to not be doing too well in that regard.
A summary of performance with regard to legacy projects is that of the total target of 2 409 projects to be completed, only 1 319 have been completed and 1100 have been quality assured, and the Department has spent R71.9 million already on these projects.
A graphic representation of the progress of the legacy projects reveals that 83.4% of the foundations have been achieved, 77.9% of the wall plates have been achieved, 64.3% of the roof/finished had been achieved, 54.8% housing units had been completed and 43.2% of these had been quality assured.
The summary of beneficiary administration showed that out of the 7 961 beneficiaries budgeted for only 3 903 have been approved as it relates to the province and 1032 housing units have been allocated. The Mega/Catalytic projects have not allocated any houses to beneficiaries yet, but the Department will be starting on the 14th November 2018 to do so. Out of the 11 320 total beneficiaries that have been budgeted for only 5 712 have been approved for and 1 032 houses have been allocated.
Some recommendations for consideration were that the turnaround plan presented by HDA be confirmed and supported; the proposed re-allocations from non-performing projects to the proposed ones be approved; the Mawiga and Hlano programme be approved as provincial programmes with dedicated and time bound project management; the proposed analysis and plan contained in must include a medium to long term institutional and performance enhancement plan for the GDHS to be drafted and presented to the Accounting Officers and Executive Authorities by 31 October 2018; the Accounting Officer and Executive Authority governance oversight and monitoring and oversight arrangements previously adopted, to ensure improved institutional performance and enhancement for the GDHS, is reconfirmed.
All of the relevant submissions confirming the recommendations are compiled and signed off by the relevant Accounting Officers and Executive Authorities namely the Minister for Human Settlements, the Premier of Gauteng, the MEC for Human Settlements, the Director-General for Gauteng, the Director-General for Human Settlements and the relevant Heads of Department.
HDA performance summary
Mr Pascal Moloi, CEO, HAD, said that there were three major components behind the figures presented in the report. These are legacy projects; the second one having to do with housing units outside of the legacy projects and these largely being units in the broad category of mega/catalytic projects; and the third component having to do with service sites, both in legacy projects and mega/catalytic projects.
He said the HDA's projections for quarter three and four are that it could complete most of the legacy projects in these quarters, or by the end of the financial year. He went on to talk about the problems that might be faced with regard to the mega/catalytic projects, which are that although contracts are in place, the HDA still has to go through a process of reviewing the contracts and still has to transfer the contracts so that the processing of invoices can start, and project management can begin.
The HDA has concluded contracts with Lufhereng and Chief Albert Luthuli. These are areas where there is traction and movement. Unfortunately there were contracts with ValuMax and the City of Johannesburg, but the City and ValuMax are currently locked in a discussion for contract extension, and until that contract extension is concluded the process for transferring that contract to the HDA cannot be concluded. The HDA is making a commitment to the turnaround strategy and that the contractual issues would be resolved by the time they enter quarter 3.
With reference to Fort West project, where the HDA have a contract that is not performing, the HDA made a specific request in for the reallocation of funds that were allocated to Fort West to five other performing projects (being the Langaville Ext 4 projects, Balmoral Ext 4 project, Payneville Ext 1 project, Moleleki Ext 2 project and the Palm Ridge Ext 9 project). Although the HDA have a contract on site in Chief Albert Luthuli, there are sections of that project that did not yield desired results, thus a recommendation was made that a portion of that project be allocated to the five other projects (as listed previously).
The streamlining of different stakeholders helped, in the case mega projects in Gauteng for example, all the agreements are streamlined and this then makes it possible for contractors to get the contracting done as there are not too many middle people.
The Chairperson then requested GPF to, due to the fact that the minor issues with regard to the Division of Revenue Act have been resolved and seem to be working well, to give the Committee a high level report on their relationship with the Department and how they have been performing.
Mr Geoffrey Makhubo, Outgoing Acting CEO, Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF) said the Division of Revenue Act issue was creating a problem of speeding up the delivery of service sites and top structures, however the GPF put some countering measures and the matter has since been resolved, so the GPF did receive the R609 million. Of this R295 million has been dispersed already on Affri Village.
The three projects in the Western Corridor are the ones that are performing which are Montrose, Elijah Barhayi and Greenhills. In the Lesedi area, the Kwazenzele project is starting to perform. Thus at a high level the Department and the GPF are working well. There are some quality assurance issues that are delaying the GPF and the Department, which are being resolved.
Mr Neville Chainee, Deputy Director-General: Strategy and Planning, DHS, said, in relation to their current year performance, that the Department has agreed with the province in that the offices of the Premier together with the MEC and HOD intervention is a short, medium and long term action plan.
One outstanding issue that the province has indicated as part of their planning that the Department have their short term measures to meet between now and the end of March 2019 and how are the 2019 business plan will be implemented, the outstanding issues that needs to be dealt with must be put in the institutional turnaround plan.
He said that an issue that needs to be addressed, both from a province together with respective responsibilities is that concurrent to the situation in Gauteng is the issue that there has been a loss of capacity at the municipalities. The reason why there is a skewed nature of the transfer of funds to respective municipalities is because on assessing the previous three years, Ekurhuleni has only received R43 million whereas the City of Johannesburg together with the City of Tshwane in total have received between R500 and R600 million. The issue is of performance around the funds transferred to City of Tshwane, the same thing that exists with the City of Johannesburg and this it must be dealt with.
He said that there is quality assurance and verification that is taking place in relation to the HSS. The Committee and the Department need to be able to concede collectively that Gauteng has never been in the position where it have spent 50% of their budget with commitments up until the end of September for the last four quarters, therefore the Committee must be fair and objective to this as there is still a lot of work to be done.
Disscussion
Ms M Nkadimeng (ANC) commended DDG for the work that the Department had been doing in assisting the province. She asked with regard to the townships that are not registered, what the Departments' plan going forward are to make sure that those townships are registered. She asked for further explanation with regard to the fact that the HDA had still not spent any expenditure or built any sites however had budgeted to have achieved 1 716 sites completed and to spend R78.9 million. She asked on the issue of title deeds, i.e. if the Department could make a breakdown of the backlog prior to, as well as after 1994 and how much they have achieved. The Committee would like to see the progress on the issue.
Ms K Hlonyana (EFF) said, addressing Mr Chainee and his remarks that for the first time Gauteng had spent almost 50% of their budget, that it was not a point of celebration as it meant that the other 50% represents the houses that people have not been allocated. She commended the DDG for explaining the allocation of funds between the different municipalities. With regard to the Key Projects Performance List, she highlighted that the targets set are very low for projects classified as Mega/Catalytic projects. She then asked with regards to squatter camps that she did not see anything in the report relating to the eradication of squatter camps. She said that she wished the Department spoke more to this point, as there are a lot of squatter camps in Gauteng. She then highlighted that a lot of corruption and illegal activities occur within unregistered townships. Thus something should be done about unregistered townships and the issue must be dealt with.
She said, by addressing MEC Moiloa that there was an incident where people died because of the Red Ants, when the people were removed from their houses or dwellings on land owned partly by the province. She stated that she hoped such incidents do not happen again and a solution must be found.
Mr L Khoarai (ANC) said, referring to the point raised by Ms Hlonyana that the presentation spoke very little to the issue of informal settlements. He was interested to know about any upgrades and progress happening within these areas. He pointed out that the presentation does not mention anything with regard to the units/sites for military veterans, and is concerned about this issue. He asked if the Department could give the Committee a report on the payment of invoices in terms of the policy that invoices must be paid within 30 days. He asked if the Department was achieving this goal. With regard to the issue of the contractors, the Division of Revenue Act states that 30% of contractors should be youth contractors, however the report presented did not speak to this issue. On the milestone performance of work in progress, he asked whether Gauteng is also experiencing the challenging of not being able to finish/ complete housing units. As he has seen in practice across the provinces, foundation targets are always high however this does not translate into finished units.
Mr M Shelembe (NFP) asked for clarity with regard to the stakeholder engagement. He does not see the role of the Social Compact Agreement, as the non-application of this would mean non-compliance. He further asked for clarity with regard to who the beneficiaries are, because there is no real explanation as to who these people are. Before a project is approved the MEC would look at whether all the adequate housing requirements in terms of bulk infrastructure etc are met, but he has a problem with the fact that the Department is reporting that there is a lack of infrastructure as this would have been raised before the project is approved. On the poor performance by contractors, he asked why it takes a long time to see that the contractors are not performing accordingly.
Ms B Mabe (ANC) commended the Department for their efforts/work done. On the CFO and the R5 billion not yet received, she said that the matter must be raised with the Minister. She asked with regard to the 159 unregistered townships, to what extent the HDA can assist with the registering of townships. Who approves business plans?
The Chairperson responded and said National Department.
She asked for clarity with regards to the impact of the fact that 2018/19 business plans have not been approved. Gauteng is the worst performing metro in the country and she said the Department needs to start performing better and delivering on their targets and people must be held accountable for non-performance.
Mr M Malatsi (DA) started by addressing the MEC's opening remarks, that government allocates budgets without tested claims. How does the MEC plan to turn around the Department to make sure that it has those tested plans so that funds are aligned to deliverables? He asked for clarity as to what the Gauteng Provincial Governments' approach is on land invasions because this drives the demand for the allocation of basic services. He asked what the key drivers of the spike in informal settlements, and how does the Department then plan to then provide the services that are needed in those communities, aligning that with the budgetary requirements that the Department has. Lastly, he wanted to know what the frequency of engagement is with the municipalities in Gauteng with regard to their performance when it comes to housing allocations and budget deliveries.
Mr D Kabini (ANC) asked for clarity on the R1 billion which was transferred to HDA by the Department, i.e. a breakdown of how that money was used, or how far has it been spent.He further asked for clarity with regard to the deeds in Project Mawiga and whether the credit and non-credit links have been initiated in the programme as it relates to Gauteng. On the backyard dwellers, he asked whether there is a programme established to eradicate this problem.
Mr M Bara (DA) said that the one key issue was around the relationship between the province and the municipalities within Gauteng. He asked whether this has improved. He commended the MEC for highlighting that forward planning is a critical function and said the Department must avoid and discourage land invasion. He asked whether there are any measures in place that can be jointly taken up to ensure that land invasion does not occur because they reflect badly on the province. Committee Members must be responsible leaders outside and discourage activists that are stifling progress in the communities.
The Chairperson commended the Department for the improvements made in their performance. She said the turnaround strategy of the Department does not speak to the challenges outlined by the MEC in his opening remarks of poor communication between the Department and the municipalities and the lack of forward planning, and the strategy needs to be increased to speak to these issues. It was important to know with regard to the turnaround plan, what the Department was doing to make sure that they are taking lessons from what the GPF is doing well, to improve the overall performance if the Department. On the milestones work in progress and around the roof/finishes that need to be completed, she asked whether the NHBRC has committed to assisting in making sure that these move towards being completed. The Department should inform the Committee when they need assistance from them. In relation to the HDA performance and the summary of the Gauteng legacy performance, the actual expenditure of R71.94 million under summary performance and the Gauteng legacy performance total expenditure of R71.94 million - these numbers are the same. Does this mean then that the HDA is only working on legacy projects and nothing else? Her understanding is that they are working on mega/catalytic projects and other things and she asked for clarity. The Department and the HDA could do better in terms of performance. She asked for further clarity as to how out of the R833 million budgets allocated to the HDA, only R71.94 million only has been spent?
MEC Moiloa replied by agreeing with the Chairperson that the turnaround strategy should address the issues that they are dealing with, what is it that they are putting in place to deal with the issues that were identified. The Department has clearly instructed that the contractors that are not performing be taken out of the system and those that had been just residing in the department must be reallocated or also terminate. They have indicated that contract management is their weakness in the Department and they are working on improving this.
On the Red Ants, he said there are members in society, some of them representing certain political formations that encourage land invasions. The consequence of this is that the Department then has to divert grants towards security to prevent these Red Ants and other threats. Thus money that should be used for building houses for the poor is rather being redirected to paying security companies. Then National Department says that the Departments' mandate is not to manage security but rather to build houses, so the Department then has to withdraw from that engagement and the consequence of this is that is proliferation of informal settlements, compounded by configuration of political power players in the province. He suggests that the issue should be tabled as a national policy matter, because they are signators to international protocols on an inclusive basis as a country, immigrants are flocking to SA. So he suggests that the issue be tabled for national discussion and debate so that it may be agreed as to what should be done about the issue.
He said that the Department welcomes the Chairperson's comments.
In response to Mr Kabini, he said he was quite delighted and very happy when the Minister of Finance, last week, made the public pronouncement about Vaal Rivers' Water System. It was a culmination of Parliament at work. The Department has elevated this issue to the level of the Inter-ministerial Committee, where the Premier attended. Through these interventions Model 6 is going to be completed by the end of the financial year, and that is going to unlock the potential for the whole of Johannesburg south leading to the Vaal River City.
He said that the Department has proposed to the Committee that the portfolio should work with the Department of Water and Sanitation and COGTA to ensure that there is coordination even at a parliamentary oversight level, so that a common approach is developed with regard to helping the Department to work achieve synergies with regard to issues that really matter. He further highlighted that the Department has started a programme called Rapid Land Release where the Premier of Gauteng had instructed them to identify land, service the sites and give people the sites to build houses for themselves and he thinks that this programme will discourage backyard dwellers.
Ms M Gasela replied to the registration of townships, and said it was an issue that the MEC was dealing with. The MEC had written a letter to the municipalities and asked them to try and relax some of their requirements as this forms part of the reason why townships are not registered. Another reason why townships are not registered is because of the Slums Act and it has various stringent requirements for townships to be registered. These are the discussion that the Department have been engaged in and are hoping that it would lead to results.
In terms of the backlog, it is huge, for pre-1994 the number of properties that do not have title deeds is just over 12 000 and for post-1994 the number is much higher at 231 000, the total number is therefore about 244 000.
The Department has prepared a briefing at a very high level, and hence why a lot of the issues mentioned have not been included in the report. In terms of the upgrading of informal settlements, there are 63s units completed in quarter one and 2 464 units in quarter two. The point the Department was making when they referred to the 50% spending is that it has been able to spend 50% of the budget in September, so there is still spending which is yet to happen and as mentioned some of those amounts have been processed.
In terms of the targets for Mega/Catalytic Projects, the Department agreed with Ms Hlonyana that some of the targets are low, and she said that it is a problem for the Department as well however, the Department targets in terms of the budget allocation that they have been given, hence why it is so low. Further there are other issues, such as legacy projects that they are also dealing with and therefore also need a portion of the budget. On the military Vveteran units, they have 610 units that the Department will be building during the financial year and on the 8th and 9th of November the Minister and the MEC will be issuing 200 completed units to military veterans. There are projects that the Department is working on and there are sites being established.
In terms of the payment of invoices, the Department is not where they should be. She pointed out that some of the invoices that the Department submits sometimes have to be sent back because of challenges. The Department does have problems in Gauteng with respect to foundations and it has found that the foundations were being paid at 50% or 40% of the actual subsidies and therefore there was no incentive for the contractors to complete their work. The Department has stopped this and has said that foundations should be paid at 20% to incentivise the contractors to complete their work and milestones occur. In the Departments' discussions with NHBRC it has asked them to look at uncompleted projects and the Department then would make a submission to the National Department to see how it can assist them in completing these abandoned projects.
With regard to the issue of stakeholder engagements, the MEC has identified this as a very big problem in the Department and it is very poor in the Department. However the MEC has had summits with all the municipalities, except Tshwane due to various issues. In all their projects the Department ensures that there are projects steering committees so that they are able to discuss the committee involvement.
With regard to the frequency of engagements of municipalities, she notes that things have improved in this regard and they have seen improvements as a result of this. The Premier is dealing with Mawiga and Hlanu. There is money that has been set aside and processes that are going through to deal with the issue.
Similarly with regard to the non-credit link individual subsidies, the Department has 250 beneficiaries. The Department is taking lessons from and is working together with GPF and acknowledges the good work that GPF have done. The Department has realised that it has to invest in planning, which is why it has established a dedicated team of planners
She said where the Department would want the assistance of the Committee; they will send a report to Committee for assistance. The NHBRC has committed to assist the Department but it is also deploying engineers to the Department to assist them.
Mr Funani Matlatsi, CFO, DHS, on the appointment of designated groups, said the Department is sitting at 4% however in terms of the Division of Revenue Ace it is specified that designated groups should be allocated 30% of the work awarded by the Department. The HOD and the Chief Director of Supply Chain Management gave the Department an instruction that for the balance of the financial year, the appointment will be revised towards these targeted groups such that they up their appointment of these groups and ideally by the end of the financial year they should have met this target.
In terms of the issue of paying service providers within 30 days, the Department is not at an ideal situation. However, in terms of the Gauteng Provincial Treasury they do keep records of the Departments' performances, with regard to the 15 days target set by the Premier the Department is around 86% and with regard to the 30 days target the Department is at 95%.
Some of the challenges that they experience in the Department are the time at which it takes claims from the regions to be submitted to HOD, and the Department is considering instructing all the service providers to submit their claims at head office where that will serve as the first point of entry and then they register the claim on their CMS and thereafter they allocate it to the relevant project manager to attach all the relevant documents for them to be paid.
The Chairperson's closing remarks highlighted that engagements between the Department and the Committee should occur more often to help the Department can perform better.
She further asked for an update on the Friendship Town Petition.
Ms M Gasela replied that the Department has appointed a firm of attorneys and that there is work that has been done and that they are almost at the tail end of the process. She further indicated that the Department needs two weeks to compile a report on the matter.
Consideration and adoption of minutes
Minutes dated 4 September and 9, 10, 18 and 23 October was adopted without amendments.
The meeting was adjourned.
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Gauteng Human Settlements Department turnaround strategy; Friendship Towns Petition
Gauteng Human Settlements: Proposed Recovery Framework – Human Settlements Development Grant
Mafu, Ms NN Chairperson
Bara, Mr M R
Hlonyana, Ms NKF
Kabini, Mr D
Khoarai, Mr L P
Mabe, Ms BP
Malatsi, Mr MS
Nkadimeng, Ms MF
Shelembe, Mr ML
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Navy picks first woman War College leader after removing president
Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield was named the first female leader of the U.S. Naval War College. / Source: Commander, Navy Installations Command
Posted: Fri 12:20 PM, Jun 14, 2019 |
Updated: Fri 1:35 PM, Jun 14, 2019
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A helicopter pilot who heads a military command in Guam will be the first female leader of the U.S. Naval War College, the Navy announced Friday, days after removing the college president who came under investigation over questionable behavior.
Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield will be the new president, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said in a statement released after the school's graduation ceremony, calling her a "historic choice."
Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley was removed as the college's president Monday after The Associated Press reported he was under investigation and more than a year after the initial complaint was filed.
Spencer was at the college in Newport, Rhode Island, on Friday for graduation. About 550 students crossed the stage, and about 1,000 students graduated from the distance learning program. Spencer challenged them to be innovative and act with urgency.
Shortly afterward, he released the announcement about the school's new leadership.
Chatfield served as commander of a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan in 2008 and as an assistant professor of political science at the United States Air Force Academy from 2001 to 2004. She assumed command in Guam, of Joint Region Marianas, in January 2017.
"She is the embodiment of the type of warrior-scholar we need now to lead this storied institution as it educates our next generation of leaders," Spencer said in the statement.
Both Spencer and Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, were involved in picking Chatfield.
The AP reported Harley was under investigation for allegedly spending excessively, abusing his hiring authority and otherwise behaving inappropriately, including keeping a margarita machine in his office.
Richardson told the AP that though the investigation into Harley isn't yet complete, he felt he had enough information to warrant removing Harley this week.
Richardson said he received reports from investigators around the same time the AP article was published. He called the AP report "responsible and balanced."
A small group of longtime college employees filed an anonymous complaint about Harley in April 2018 with the Navy's office of the inspector general. The group contacted the inspector general again in January with additional allegations of Harley flouting Navy rules and norms.
Inspector general investigations, across the Defense Department, routinely take months or more than a year.
Emails obtained by the AP show the college has struggled to make payroll under Harley's leadership and spent about $725,000 annually on raises while facing an annual shortfall of $5 million or more.
Harley declined last week to answer a series of questions about the allegations, including his use of a margarita machine. He downplayed the complaints in a campuswide email, saying that they were from "a few individuals" and that all his decisions were subject to legal review and within his authority.
Oscar Mayer to list Wienermobile on Airbnb for overnight stays
'Lion King' composer Hans Zimmer finds circle of life
Athlete of the Week: Eau Claire Cavs' Paul Petit
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Culture: The plant grows on limestone cliffs, on edges or in crevices It dies back in winter or dry season and resumes next spring from the corm.
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Thursday, May 12, 2016.
WCSP (2016). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on Thursday, May 12, 2016.


Assateague Island provides visitors the opportunity to see wild ponies like nowhere else in the country. The famous wild ponies on the island have been freely roaming the island since the 1600s. After a short 25 minute drive from the Fenwick Inn, you can enjoy a wildlife adventure that you will never forget. If you are looking for a fun-filled family outing in a natural environment, then Assateague Island is the place for you.
Of course, the most famous inhabitants of the island are the wild ponies. Whether the ponies arrived on Assateague Island from a sunken Spanish galleon or accompanied an early settler is a great topic of debate, but it is clear that they have adapted nicely to the island environment since arriving in the 17th century. However, the island contains a wide variety of animal and plant life. There are other exciting mammals on the island like white-tailed deer and sika deer. You are sure to notice them lazily grazing on the local plant life. Additionally, seven different species of frogs use a pond in the middle of the island for their breeding grounds. If you aren't afraid, you will be pleased to look upon the different snakes that live on the island, like the black rat snake. But be aware, you don't want to spend all of your time looking at the ground. Assateague Island is also home to hundreds of birds who use the island as a stop on the migration routes. The natural beauty of the island makes it the perfect place for a family to spend an afternoon.
After a fun day full of wild ponies, amazing scenery, and lots of exciting animals, head on back to the Fenwick Inn to rest up for whatever adventures the next day of your trip has in store for you. Be sure to try one of the amazing restaurants in the area before calling it a night.


Long ago, astronomers had this amazing theory about Mars and said it was home to an advanced and progressive civilization in which water was channeled through canals. Although later proven false, scientist were able to come up with an interesting discovery.
Every summer, the temperature on Mars reaches -10°F. And whenever this happens, dark streaks show up in certain areas across the planet. Scientists then came up with a conclusion that these 100-meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae are formed by flowing water.
With the help of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters, scientists and researchers were able to discover that hydrated salts called perchlorates exist on the surface of the planet. These chemicals are responsible for keeping water from freezing at lower temperatures but also keep it from evaporating into the planet's thin atmosphere.
During summer season, the super-salty water then flows down the mountains.
In some areas across the planet, the dark streaks reach up to 300 feet long, which is similar to the length of a football field.
The video above is a simulation of a trip around the Hale Crater, where dark streaks were spotted flowing down the slopes during the summer season.
Previous article Remember These Halloween Costume Ideas from the '80s and '90s?


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Deze lijst van Xbox-spellen is een lijst van op alfabetische volgorde gerangschikte computerspellen die voor Microsofts Xbox-spelcomputer verkrijgbaar zijn.

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 Lijst van Xbox 360-spellen
 Lijst van Xbox-spellen die speelbaar zijn op Xbox 360
 Lijst van Xbox One-spellen

Xbox


Hands-on guidance, in your home. We get you started and let you take it from there. Unless of course, you need more help or don't want to do it at all.
Do you want the satisfaction and cost savings of completing your home projects yourself?
How many of your home projects have been started but yet to be finished?
Wouldn't it be great if you had a buddy to show you the ropes.
Have you started a project and found yourself in over your head?
Maybe you just don't have the time to do it yourself. Projects tend to take much longer to DIY.
Do you have a whole list of little projects around the home and no idea where to start?
Would you like to know what to do in what order and get some questions answered?
Do you want to only do parts of the project but not others?
"Hiring Drew and DIY With Pro Help for my home improvement work was the best decision I've made. I had a page-long list of household projects I needed professional help with before listing our house to rent. The projects ranges from drywall repair, outdoor stucco, bathroom tile work, screen replacements, garage door construction, and bathroom plumbing. I did not have the time or expertise to take these projects on myself.


The Belmont High School Guidance Department invites ALL Freshmen Parents to….
The event will take place in the auditorium at Belmont High School. Parents will enjoy coffee while the school counselors brief them on freshmen year.


Photo provided by the Michigan Lottery.
I don't about you, but I've never met a lottery winner. But with Michigan's anonymity law, I wouldn't have known anyway, unless I'd been told. But the Michigan Lottery sent a press release today. A Vicksburg man won $300,000. It's only a few paragraphs, but it reads like you'd want it to read about someone finally cashing in. David Elben II cashed in the scratch-off ticket on Friday, and says he looking forward to going on camping trips with the family, and moving into a nice house.


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Meet man behind admitting 'Al-Aragouz' to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list - Daily News Egypt
Culture Meet man behind admitting 'Al-Aragouz' to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list
Meet man behind admitting 'Al-Aragouz' to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list
'File is result of 18-year-effort in which I spent documenting this art, rescue it from vanishing': Bahgat
Nada Deyaa' December 31, 2018 Be the first to comment
For hundreds of years, Egypt's most famous traditional puppet show 'Al-Aragouz' was an irreplaceable part of the Egyptian heritage. As many others, Al-Aragouz faced the threat of being buried beneath the layers of the modern western culture taking over the society. Nonetheless, Nabil Bahgat, a passionate Aragouz fan and the head of the Theatre Department at the Faculty of Art, Helwan University, gave the distinguished art a chance of revival, by fighting for it until it was admitted to the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List, at the end of November in Mauritius.
For 18 years, Bahgat has been fighting for the heritage to see the light and help in spreading it among people again. He established the Wamda Troupe, the only band in Egypt still performing Al-Aragouz shows at Bayt Al-Suhaymi every Friday.
Bahgat also wrote the only book chronicling the existence of Al-Aragouz in the Egyptian society. He wrote and applied Egypt's folder to the UNESCO, which was later accepted and admitted to announce that the wooden puppet is one of Egypt's art heritage.
Al-Aragouz is a wooden marionette puppet that is about to be revived within city life. It was first presented to Egypt during the Fatimid era. The historical books could not detect the origin of the puppet, but it was stated that it was not originally created in Egypt.
When it first came to Egypt, that type of art was only exclusive to the sultans and the elites. The art gained wide popularity in Egyptian society as it reflected the political, cultural, and economic situation of the people through the puppets which appeared in different shapes and roles.
Throughout the years, Al-Aragouz widely spread among all social classes and became an inseparable part of Al-Moulids (Prophet's birthday celebrations). It started fading away with the appearance of animated shows on TV.
In an interview with Daily News Egypt, Bahgat shared his lifetime journey with Al-Aragouz, the details of applying Egypt's folder to the UNESCO, and his future plans to help spread it across the Egyptian society, the transcript for which is below, lightly edited for clarity:
What drove your passion to adopt the issue of Al-Aragouz?
When I was a little child, I was walking down a street to see an old man performing this art for free for the children in this area, without even charging any money for it. From that moment onwards, this moving puppet captured my heart, and the values it taught me are still carved in my heart. This old man showed me a lesson that I believe in till now: art is a matter of granting people values for free.
When I grew older and studied theatre, I saw that our society began looking for theatrical arts in Europe, forgetting that we had this form of art, hundreds of years ago before they even did, without referring to this form as being 'theatrical'. That is when I decided to adopt the issue to revive the forgotten art.
What is unique about Al-Aragouz which makes it different from any other art heritage?
The cost of creating Al-Aragouz is very cheap. It only takes to make the puppet, create the small theatrical box, and a well-trained artist performing it. It is considerably less costly than any other art heritage. Plus, it depicts all three major life aspects, namely, religion, politics, and society.
Al-Aragouz plays are not only for children as they convey concepts that can be understood by both adults and children, each on a different level. Moreover, the core of these plays is always to transmit values and ethics.
Why did you start the Wamda Troupe?
When I grew up, I kept on looking for people performing Al-Aragouz, but I was always met with failure. I roamed the country's Mouleds, keeping in mind that that they are the hub of traditional cultural arts, yet I could not find any. I later deeply searched for the art, but I barely found any authentic books chronicling it. That is when I thought I should start a troupe performing Al-Aragouz.
I searched until I found two remaining Aragouz players in the whole country who were delighted to form the troupe with me, along with four other members. Until now, we are the only troupe performing that show every Friday at Bayt Al-Suhaymi.
How much is the turnout from the Al-Aragouz shows which you hold every week?
The theatre gets filled every week with people coming from all across Cairo wanting to see the show. This is the main indicator telling us that with greater attention to it, this kind of art has a high potential of revival to spread it across the country.
From what we have seen so far, people still need Al-Aragouz in their lives to teach them and their children new values and ethics, while manifesting their lives on the theatre.
Can you elaborate on the Al-Aragouz folder which you filed to the UNESCO earlier this year?
I believed I was responsible for keeping Al-Aragouz and documenting it in history, as well as to save the art from extinction. That is why I prepared the folder in which I wrote about the art's history, explained the Wamda Troupe and their attempts at reviving that heritage, and the increasing attraction it could receive with invested efforts aiming to revive it. The folder also included the future plans of keeping Al-Aragouz in the culture, through the establishment of a school with the purpose of teaching young people that specific art. When the committee looked into the folder, they stated that it is a heritage worth listing.
Now that it is stated at the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, what is the future of that school?
Part of listing Al-Aragouz in the committee means funding a school that will be responsible for teaching young people the aptitudes of that art, the ways of making the puppet, and the voice techniques required to present the different characters in the show, each with a different sound.
We are currently establishing a committee to discuss the professors who will be at the school and the exact launching date.
We have come to agree that the school's programme will last for six months, as we believe it is enough time to teach students the basic required skills to perform that art.
Why did it take so long to admit Al-Aragouz into the list?
In Egypt, the files to be admitted to the UNESCO are prepared through individual efforts, not through public or private organisations. I had to personally fund the preparation of the folder, and apply it to UNESCO, as well as follow-up on the process through the Egyptian Society for Folk Traditions, which is an NGO responsible for documenting and reviving the distinguished heritage.
This folder is the outcome of an 18-year-effort which I spent documenting this art in order to rescue it from vanishing. It contains all the details of that art, starting from its past, with plans to adjust its future.
After all of these efforts, how do you currently feel after it has been admitted to the UNESCO's list?
I'm thrilled, excited, and happy that my endeavours were not wasted. I exerted significant effort into reviving that art and seeing it internationality recognised now, is a dream come true.
Did you receive any support from the ministry of culture?
I cannot deny that I had some support. The ministry granted us Bayt Al-Suhaymi as a place to perform our shows weekly, and it also pays for the troupe's salary. However, I did not have any other form of support when I applied for the folder or financed its preparations. Even when the show was admitted to the list, the ministry did not mention any of my efforts, which was disappointing,
What are your future plans regarding Al-Aragouz?
I have spent my lifetime concentrating on Al-Aragouz. I did not get married or have any kids, and the only future I am thinking of now is that of Al-Aragouz's. The troupe is currently working on renovating and modernising the plays of Al-Aragouz in order to give it a sense that will match the current generation's, the modern lifestyle, and the current social and political struggles. Now that the old plays are documented, we are working on adjusting them to come up with an updated version to attract more people, and work on spreading the art among the society once again.
Topics: Al-Aragouz Intangible Cultural Heritage UNESCO
Nada Deyaa'
Culture reporter, passionate reader and writer, Animals lover and Arts follower.
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Egypt's oldest puppet show Al-Aragouz joins UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list
December 31, 2018 Breaking News


Existing house on-Contempory California Ranch Style, in great highlands location.Needs work. possible flip or suited to contractor buying for himself. Potential to go up a level, may require variance. Other option, you could take down and rebuild from scratch.


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Biohazard, Trauma & Crime Scene Clean Up Services for Allegan
Bio-One of West Michigan is always prepared to remedy situations that arise from unexpected events such as death, traumatic injury, and hazardous situations in the Allegan area. We deploy our teams quickly so you can focus on all the other necessary arrangements to begin the healing process.
Servicing Allegan and all surrounding areas
Bio-One of West Michigan services all types of trauma, distressed property, and biohazard scenes in communities throughout Allegan Area. We partner with local authorities, communities, emergency services personnel, victim services groups, hoarding task forces, apartment complexes, insurance companies and others to provide the most efficient and superior service possible.
We are your Allegan crime scene cleaners dedicated to assisting law enforcement, public service agencies and property owners/managers in restoring property that has been contaminated as a result of crime, disaster or misuse.
Facts About Allegan, MI
Allegan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,998 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Allegan County. The city lies within Allegan Township, but is administratively autonomous. Allegan was named in a neologism by Michigan historian Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in 1837 to sound like a Native American word. Land was purchased from government to form the downtown business district; village organization came in 1838 with city incorporation authorized in 1907. Allegan is located in the south-central portion of the county. To the west and northwest is the nearly 50,000 acre forest Allegan State Game Area for which the city is considered a gateway. Lake Allegan in Valley Township is also a great tourist destination for boating, fishing, and swimming activities. Allegan's dense forests, lakes, and river geography served as a source of water power, trade routes for steamboats and timber production. Once cleared, Allegan became a center for business, industry and expansive farmland.
Allegan County is the 18th largest physical county in Michigan (at 827 square miles) and enjoys 25 miles (40 km) of Lake Michigan coastline. The City of Allegan, as the other towns and the county itself, enjoys numerous parks, natural areas and access to multiple opportunities for lake activities and water sports. Allegan's largest annual celebration, widely reputed as the largest county fair in Michigan, is the Allegan County Fair each September. Allegan's local newspaper, locally owned and in publication since 1858, is the Allegan County News.
As of the census of 2010, there were 4,998 people, 1,986 households, and 1,204 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,298.2 inhabitants per square mile (501.2/km²). There were 2,226 housing units at an average density of 578.2 per square mile (223.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.4% White, 4.3% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population.
Fennville


I regularly receive emails from readers asking me for suggestions where to go and what to do in Amsterdam. For all of you visiting Amsterdam , The Netherlands, I have created a Amsterdam Design Guide with all the best tips for (design) hotels, great restaurants, where to go for your design shopping, the best museums, places of interest etc.
It took me a bit longer than expected to finish this guide, due to the fact that I have been very busy and also because I wanted to make sure that I had included ALL the interesting places for you to visit. You can find the Amsterdam Design Guide here. I hope you'll enjoy it! The guide will be updated from time to time. Please email me if you have any suggestions that should be included in the list. Thanks!
this is wonderful, i LOVE amsterdam. i'll be using this for my next trip, which has yet to be booked, but hopefully will be soon.
Bedankt voor dit handig overzicht. Als ervaren Amsterdam-ganger kende ik 90% al. Maar met een nieuwe woning in het vooruitzicht vind ik het super handig alle adressen op een rijtje te hebben.
Dank voor je dagelijkse inspiratie via je blog en nu dit onmisbare overzicht.
This is such a fabulous idea. I wish I had a guide like this when I was in Amsterdam.
thank you so much, just what I need right now. In 10 days I'll be visiting A'dam for a few days, it will be very usefull.
Wow, that's a great guide, i was in Amsterdam over 4 years ago, so i think i ll be planning a visit for 2008 and your guide will be my design scouting bible ! Thanks so much !
The guide looks great, Danielle, and makes me nostalgic to go back to all the great places in Amsterdam (and check out the ones I missed!). . . My friend Felice and I just created a Baltimore Design*Guide for Design Sponge if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods!
Found your site through Siagrafica! Next friday I will go shopping all day in Amsterdam with my dad so thanks for all the great recommendations! and lover your site by the way!
Thank you all for your kind comments! I am happy to know that this guide is helpful to you!
I am going to amsterdam this weekend – and I can not get the guide to download! Waah!!! Any chance you'll e-mail it to me? I love your style and would hate to miss any important haunts!
reliable as we found it very complete.
Thank Gerry for letting me know! I have corrected the address in the guide. I am sorry to hear that you missed dinner at Envy because of this!
I lived in Amsterdam in '97 and soon I will be going back for work and this is exactly what I needed for my trip back! Thank you!!!
we're coming to amsterdam in a few days and i just found your site. it is excellent! we have a design studio in the u.s. and i have only a few short days to grab some inspiration on our travels. your amsterdam design guide looks great but the pdf does not translate on my system. do you have another acess to the document?
we are off to amsterdam in three weeks with your very comprehensive guide in our hands.
oh my gosh…..I really want to come for a visit now!!!!!
I found a website to design your home together with installing shutters against the sun named http://www.sunshutters.nl. Does anyone know if this is nearby Amsterdam? I really like those thinks!
Again perfect because Amsterdam is the other honeymoon location we've selected!
I would love to go to Amersterdam. It looks like such a great city.
Amersterdam seems to be a great place.
Nonetheless unsure what you're trying to say however I do get a little bit of it I think. Thanks.
Another thoughtful comment, Great stuff. I've made a point of reading more posts on here and I enjoyed it. I'll be back.
GREAT guide. Will be using it on our trip there!!!!!
Amsterdam is such an amazing city- this design guide is SO GREAT to have!
Hay thanks for this, I am planning a trip to Amsterdam and as a design geek I am getting very excited now.
Very useful and trendy guide. This July, I will be there. Txs for this!


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Lambert, Maude-Emmanuelle and Carman Miller. "Anne-Marie Huguenin (Madeleine)". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 16 December 2015, Historica Canada. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anne-marie-huguenin. Accessed 20 January 2020.
Lambert, M.,, & Miller, C., Anne-Marie Huguenin (Madeleine) (2015). In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anne-marie-huguenin
Lambert, Maude-Emmanuelle, and Carman Miller, "Anne-Marie Huguenin (Madeleine)". In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published December 16, 2007; Last Edited December 16, 2015. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anne-marie-huguenin
Lambert, Maude-Emmanuelle, and Carman Miller . The Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "Anne-Marie Huguenin (Madeleine)", Last Edited December 16, 2015, https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anne-marie-huguenin
Anne-Marie Huguenin (Madeleine)
Article by Maude-Emmanuelle Lambert, Carman Miller
Published Online December 16, 2007
Last Edited April 29, 2015
Anne-Marie Huguenin (née Gleason, pen name "Madeleine"), writer, journalist and editor (born 5 October 1875 in Rimouski, Québec; died 21 October 1943 in Montréal).
Université de Montréal, Division des archives, IFP,00539.
Anne-Marie Huguenin (née Gleason, pen name "Madeleine"), writer, journalist and editor (born 5 October 1875 in Rimouski, Québec; died 21 October 1943 in Montréal). Anne-Marie Huguenin was one of the first female journalists in Canada. For more than 19 years, she wrote and edited the women's pages in the newspaper La Patrie. She then founded and managed her own magazine, La Revue moderne.
Education and Early Career
Born into a well-to-do Rimouski family, Anne-Marie was the daughter of John Gleason, an Irish Canadian lawyer. Her mother, Eugénie Garon, was the daughter of notary Joseph Garon, the first member of Québec's National Assembly from Rimouski (1867–71). Anne-Marie studied at the Sœurs de la Charité (Sisters of Charity) convent in La Malbaie, and then at the convent in Rimouski until 1890. In 1897, she wrote for Le Monde illustré under the pen name "Myrto" and for the Courrier de Rimouski. She then moved to Ottawa, where she became a columnist for Le Temps.
Royaume des femmes
In 1901, Joseph-Israël Tarte put Anne-Marie in charge of the women's pages in the Montréal newspaper La Patrie. For 19 years, Anne-Marie, known as "Madeleine" to her readers, wrote and edited "Royaume des femmes" (Women's World). At the time, women's pages like "Royaume des femmes" were found in most large-circulation daily newspapers. Their purpose was to attract female readers, a clientele increasingly sought after by advertisers. Poetry, recipes, biographies and fashion were mixed with advertising aimed at women, with letters to the editor occupying a prime spot in the pages. Readers regularly sent in questions about literature and the theatre, and Anne-Marie was happy to provide reviews of plays that were on stage, to recommend readings, and even to review texts submitted by her readers.
Improving Working Conditions for Journalists
In June 1904, Anne-Marie was among the 16 female journalists from Canada (8 francophones and 8 anglophones) selected to cover the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Travelling aboard a special car on a Canadian Pacific train, the group included Kathleen "Kit" Coleman (first accredited war correspondent in Canada), Kate Simpson Hayes (first female journalist from Western Canada), Robertine Barry, better known under the pen name "Françoise" (first woman employed by a large daily newspaper in Québec), and Léonise Valois (first woman to publish, in 1910, a collection of poems in Québec). On the trip, the women forged friendships and discussed the challenges of their occupation. This experience led to the establishment of the Canadian Women's Press Club, of which Anne-Marie was one of the founding members. In the 1920s, a total of 400 women were members of this network, and the number climbed to more than 700 in the 1970s. The group was dissolved after celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2004.
In 1903, Anne-Marie also helped create the Association des journalistes canadiens-français with male colleagues who worked for the various Montréal newspapers, including Omer Héroux, Amédée Denault, Arthur Côté and Hector Garneau. The organization's aim was to improve the working conditions and status of journalists in French Canada, in particular by establishing local press clubs, employment agencies, retirement homes for elderly journalists and a mutual aid society. Despite these laudable objectives, the association ceased its activities around 1907.
Founder and Editor of La Revue moderne
In 1904, Anne-Marie married a wealthy Montréal doctor, Wilfrid-Arthur Huguenin. Being lovers of the arts, the Huguenins opened their home to a group of writers, architects and musicians who later founded the literary magazine Le Nigog (named for an instrument used by Aboriginal peoples to spear salmon) in 1918. The couple had a daughter in 1905 (whom they named Madeleine), but this did not stop Anne-Marie from pursuing her career at La Presse.
In 1913, Anne-Marie founded La Bonne Parole, which would be published in Montréal until 1958. La Bonne Parole was a publication of the Fédération nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, an association of francophone Catholic women) (see Women's Organizations) that was created in 1907 by Caroline Béïque and Marie Gérin-Lajoie, née Lacoste. In November 1919, Anne-Marie left La Patrie and founded La Revue moderne, which she initially edited alone for five years and then with the help of various collaborators. Anne-Marie gave the magazine a twofold thrust, publishing both intellectual and popular culture material. Scientific, literary and political articles were mixed with lighter fare provided as entertainment. In 1928, Anne-Marie created another magazine, La Vie canadienne, which she merged with La Revue moderne in October 1929.
After Anne-Marie left La Revue moderne around 1930, the magazine published content of a more general nature. Women had become the main target of advertisers; thus, more than half the content focused on subjects of interest to women. It was apparently this success with women that enabled La Revue moderne to adapt to the times and increase its circulation. From 23,000 copies per month in 1922, the magazine's monthly circulation increased to 80,000 in 1944, then 97,000 in 1956, and finally 101,000 in 1960. That year, the Toronto publisher Maclean Hunter bought La Revue moderne and made it the French version of the English-language magazine Chatelaine, while keeping "La Revue moderne" as the subtitle for a few years.
In 1934, Anne-Marie was literary editor of Action conservatrice, a political and literary weekly openly in favour of the Conservative Party. From 1897 to 1943, the year of her death, Anne-Marie published more than 3000 columns and articles on all types of topics. Apparently, she never retired.
In addition to her writing, Anne-Marie gave lectures and talks to a variety of audiences. In 1912, at the first Congrès de la langue française, she gave a lecture entitled "Le foyer gardien de la langue française" (The home: guardian of the French language) in which she shared her ideas on the importance of women, and particularly mothers, to the dissemination of the French language.
As she had in her writing, Anne-Marie promoted access to education for women (see Women and Education) and the improvement of their working conditions (see also Status of Women) in her lectures. She did not speak out, however, on the question of women's suffrage. In 1921, Anne-Marie gave her assessment of the status of women in Québec to the Fédération nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Seeking to reconcile a liberal, militant feminism with the so-called "maternal" feminism that she espoused, she invited women to cast off their supposed intellectual and moral inferiority by joining an emerging solidarity movement: the women's movement.
Anne-Marie was the author of several collections of columns, including Premier Péché (1902), Le long du chemin (1912) and Le meilleur de soi (1924). She also wrote two plays: L'Adieu du poète, staged on 12 June 1902 at the Théâtre national français in Montréal, and En pleine gloire!, staged for the visit of a French dignitary in 1919.
In 1938, Anne-Marie published Portraits de femmes, which included a preface by Senator Raoul Dandurand. This work, which was reissued many times, contains biographies of women who, each in their own way, had an impact on the history of French Canada. She wrote a novel, Anne Mérival, which appeared in the pages of La Revue moderne in 1927 but which was never published as a book.
In 1910, the French government awarded Anne-Marie the Palmes académiques (Silver Palms), and then, in 1916, the Palmes de l'instruction publique (Golden Palms). Her work as a journalist and her charitable work during the First World War (notably as president of the French section of the Red Cross) earned her the Médaille d'argent de la reconnaissance française (Silver Medal of French Gratitude) in 1920 and the Médaille d'or de la reconnaissance belge (Gold Medal of Belgian Gratitude) from King Albert in 1921.
Despite the fact that several academic research projects have focused on "Madeleine," this pioneering female journalist is not well known to the general public. A street in Rimouski (rue Madeleine-Gleason) and a street in Montréal (rue Madeleine-Huguenin) were named in her honour.
LA REVUE MODERNEBrowse digitized issues of La Revue moderne (1919–60) available on the website of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. (In French.)
Arla Saare