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Thursday 18 Jul 2019 | 19:44 | SYDNEY
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Go to the Interpreter
After the voting, personality beats policy in Southeast Asia
Greg Earl
Malaysia is not the only country consumed by speculation about who takes over from a conspicuous and captivating leader.
Karida village killings: violence and the vulnerability of women
Nicole George
This immensely sad and troubling episode has a context in the Pacific, and women of the region know it.
How Indonesia finds itself in the middle of a US-China trade war
Retno Maruti
Jakarta is attempting to navigate tensions between Washington and Beijing by backing the multilateral system.
Institute - Top Menu
The Americas|
A LOWY INSTITUTE TIMELINE
Donald Trump was elected as US President on a promise to 'Make America Great Again'. How much of his agenda has he achieved thus far? What is the impact of his presidency on global affairs? What will the Trump Administration mean for global trade and environmental policy, for relations with China and the other great powers, for Southeast Asia and for the US-Australia alliance?
These are the kinds of questions the Lowy Institute's scholars have wrestled with since Trump was inaugurated on 20 January. On this page, we present an attractive, easy-to-use timeline so you can keep track of the Lowy Institute's coverage of Trump's presidency. This page will updated regularly with links to opinion pieces, Interpreter articles, podcasts and our long-form research. For deep background on the policy implications of the Trump presidency, we also recommend this October 2016 Analysis paper by Thomas Wright, one of Washington's most incisive foreign-policy analysts: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Crisis of US Foreign Policy.
All eyes on Congress as Watergate shadow looms
The United States is awash with headlines decrying President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey last week. A multitude of news stories and broadcasts suggest Trump is engaged in a cover-up of his ties to Russia at the expense of the United States and the fairness of the 2016
By Paul Schroeder
Proof the US is losing hearts and minds in Southeast Asia
Trump sniping has become a sport with no marksmanship. Facile Trump click-bait circulates freely on social media fulfilling a confirmation bias in its audience and perpetuating a parasitic cycle of groupthink that is feeding poor analysis and driving solutions to complex problems deeper underground
By Elliot Brennan
Why Trump attending Southeast Asia's summit season is good news
Last month US Vice President Mike Pence announced in Indonesia that President Donald Trump would attend the US-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit (EAS) in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Vietnam this November. This should come as welcome news to doubters of
By Hunter Marston
Why now? Trump's sudden interest in Southeast Asia
More than 100 days into the Trump presidency, the administration's Asia policy, departmental Asia teams and new ambassadors to the region are still absent and there is no indication of when this will change. For Southeast Asia the first three months of the Trump administration provided very few
By Malcolm Cook
The allure of orthodoxy and the peril of sentimentality
In one respect, the symbolism of President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meeting aboard the USS Intrepid in New York on Thursday could not be more ideal. After all, the moment will surely provide the perfect opportunity to showcase an alliance which has always – and
By James Curran
When Turnbull meets Trump
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump is an opportunity to deliver some key messages about the role the United States should play globally and in Asia. Photo: Getty Images/Pool
By Alan Dupont
Trump still a long way from coherence
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review. Photo: Getty Images/Washington Post
By Michael Fullilove
The Xi-Trump Summit: Rearranging the furniture
In his inimitable way, US President Donald Trump promised major things with the Chinese president's visit to Trump's residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago. In the end, this particular informal summit, if it is remembered at all, will be because of the intervention Trump ordered, almost minutes before
By Kerry Brown
Missile strikes do not signal US shift on Syria
In a complex and confusing civil war in which decisions can result in unforeseen consequences, the Trump Administration was presented with a relatively straightforward choice and with a perfect target. Syrian military aircraft, launched from Shayrat airbase in Homs, carried out an attack
By Rodger Shanahan
The Trump-Xi meeting: A view from China
As the White House finalises its preparations for the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping, it is to be hoped both sides are as much invested in working towards outcomes of substance as they are in protocol. In terms of substance, there are ample areas for the two presidents to address. These
By Shen Dingli
Convention likely to win out in Trump-Xi meeting
Of all the startling events of the Trump Administration's first three months, the one most consequential for the rest of the world is quite likely the meeting between Trump and China's President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Largo, beginning Thursday. The importance of this meeting is not any likely outcome
By John Edwards
Trump's legislative headaches no good for predictable foreign policy
Australians should care about the healthcare debacle in Washington. Republicans said yesterday they still want to repeal Obamacare, but after events last week it is hard to see how President Trump and congressional Republicans can undo President Obama's signature legislative achievement.
By Dougal Robinson
Don't waste time trying to get Trump to Manila
Over the last two months, Australian and Southeast Asian officials have been urging their US counterparts to ensure President Donald Trump shows up at two major summits in Southeast Asia in November. They argue that Trump's presence at the APEC Forum in Danang and the East Asian Summit in Manila
By Aaron L Connelly
Dear foreign policy elite: You're obsolete
Rex Tillerson recently completed his first trip to Beijing as Secretary of State. Since then, a slew of critics have panned Tillerson for supposedly handing China a 'diplomatic victory' because a joint media conference includes phrases like 'win-win' and 'mutual respect' - notions these
By Crispin Rovere
The Merkel-Trump meeting: NATO, jobs and trade
Few world leaders embody the virtues of patience as completely as Angela Merkel. Fewer still demand them as much as Donald Trump. So when the two met face-to-face for the first time on Friday, the news media concentrated on these two antithetical personalities and the contrasting worldviews they
By Marcus Colla
India and Australia eye the world according to Trump
There's a momentum towards greater cooperation among India, Japan, and Australia, writes James Curran in CFR's Asia Unbound blog on 9 March. Photo: Flickr/Us State Department
The strategic nous of H R McMaster
Given the extraordinary events that continue to take place in the United States, it is salutary to note that the appointment of General H R McMaster as President Doanld Trump's National Security Advisor took place a bare two weeks ago. At the time his appointment was widely welcomed, with
By Milton Osborne
The Trump trade agenda
Trade and migration were the two big economic issues in Donald Trump's electioneering. As president, he has moved swiftly on migration but has done very little on trade so far. China has not been blacklisted as a currency manipulator; NAFTA remains untouched; and no tariffs have been imposed on
By Stephen Grenville
Letters from a more dignified America (Part 2)
This post is the second in a two-part series. For Part 1, click here. The second of Alistair Cooke's Letters from America I want to highlight honours General George Marshall. It was broadcast in 1959. Cooke says of Marshall that 'most Americans were willing to credit the reports of his eminence
By Mark Ryan
Letters from a more dignified America
This post is the first in a two-part series. For Part 2, click here. As the world struggles to adjust to the Trump phenomenon, I'm reminded of a man who might have come closer than most to making sense of it all. Englishman Alistair Cooke, it can fairly be said, understood America better than
Trump and America the ordinary
Donald Trump has no time for talk of the 'indispensable power'. That might be safer than a US which talks big but doesn't back it up, writes Sam Roggeveen for the Australian Financial Review on 4 March. Photo: Getty Images/Win McNamee
By Sam Roggeveen
Welcome to the post-American era
The opening lines in US President Donald Trump's first speech to a Joint Session of Congress could have come from any recent president, with optimistic stock phrases about a 'new chapter of American greatness', a 'new surge of optimism', and a 'renewal of US spirit.' At first it seemed like a
Quick comment: Seiichiro Takagi on China, Trump and Japan-Australia relations
Yesterday afternoon International Security Program Director Euan Graham spoke with prominent Japanese Sinologist Seiichiro Takagi, Senior Research Advisor at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, on the Chinese Communist Party's upcoming 19th National Congress, President Xi Jinping's
By John Gooding
Abe's Trump moves: Proactive pragmatism at its finest
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has accomplished what no other foreign leaders has with US President Donald Trump. Not only has he already met him twice — once before and again just after the inauguration — but Trump appears to genuinely like Abe. Of course, the state of US-Japan relations
By Yuki Tatsumi
Saving NAFTA: Canada's three-point playbook
Last week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau completed his first official visit with President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. Trudeau and his staff were no doubt aware that it's usually the other way around: since the early 1980s, there's been an unofficial tradition that the first
By Brendan Thomas-Noone
Why Australia and Japan need a Plan B
Concern over the possible decline of US power and the resilience of its commitment to underwriting security in Asia is not new. In the post-1945 period, doubts over Washington's commitment to maintaining a leadership role in the region have followed President Nixon's shift to the Guam Doctrine
By Andrew O'Neil
Julie Bishop's Washington mission: Find out who's running the show
Every four years there are wholesale shifts in the immense machinery of the US government. Even when a President is re-elected, hundreds of officials rotate in and out of the executive branch. If one does business with America, of whatever kind, these quadrennial games of musical chairs mean coming
By Nick Bisley
Trump versus American institutions: The foreign-policy battleground
In just a month in office, President Donald Trump has put forward the most illiberal agenda of any president since Andrew Jackson, along the way attacking the news media, the courts, and the civil service. The story of 2017, and perhaps of the next four years, will be of a struggle between the
Trump's info wars not so easily won
While it might be overshadowed by future revelations on the extent of Russian-American collusion in the rise and rule of President Donald Trump, this week's departure of the president's national security adviser Michael Flynn is now most notable for the roles played by US intelligence agencies
By James Bowen
On Australia, rank-and-file House Republicans are nowhere to be seen
Republicans say Australia is the United States' strongest ally, according to a recent survey featured in the New York Times. Yet Republicans in the US House of Representatives have been conspicuously absent in the last two weeks as the rest of Congress rallied around Australia. With the major
Flynn the first casualty in chaotic Trump White House
What a mess. Less than a month in and the Trump administration is reeling from the forced resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn. The ostensible reason: holding inappropriate phone conversations with the Russian ambassador during the transition period and deceiving the vice
By Barbara Slavin
Trump critics need to be careful what they cheer for
It is surely no exaggeration to say that a large majority of the journalists and commentators covering the Trump White House are hostile to it, and would like to see President Trump fail. But Trump's critics have already done themselves a lot of harm, and Mr Trump a lot of favours, by the lack of
Tense times for the Iran nuclear deal
This week US President Donald Trump is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On the agenda will be Iran and, more specifically, the nuclear deal reached between Iran and five other major powers in July 2015 that both men oppose. Late last month an attempted ballistic missile test
By Sahar Nejati Karimabad
Congress rallies around Australia
The US-Australia refugee deal may die once President Donald Trump has studied the 'dumb deal' and considered whether it will get him 'killed' politically. But if domestic political calculations are the primary factor shaping Trump's upcoming decision, it seems likely the deal will remain intact
How Trump's economic plans will come unstuck
There is plenty to ponder about President Donald Trump's impact on global politics, but in the realm of economics, there are grounds to wonder if his administration will make quite as much difference to the rest of the world as either Trump promises or his critics fear. Trump has pledged to get US
Losing the plot on immigration policy
After three decades in the immigration business, I thought I understood how it worked, but now I am convinced I have lost the plot. In the past, governments that were concerned about security threats from individuals of particular nationalities might have quietly intensified scrutiny of visa
By Peter Hughes
Cracks in the US-Australia Relationship
Turnbull and subsequent Australian leaders may have to say no to Washington more often in future, writes James Curran for CFR's Asia Unbound blog on 6 February
Trump's travel ban likely to go to US Supreme Court
It is often said that a week is a long time in politics, but in the United States the weekend saw the political and legal landscape change almost by the hour. On Friday evening District Judge James Robart granted a temporary restraining order with nationwide effect suspending the travel ban
By Linda Kirk
Mattis visit unlikely to calm Trump-rattled allies
This is a weird time for US allies in Asia. This week's visit by the new American Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, to northeast Asia should be a routine alliance maintenance trip. A new presidency brings new people and new ideas. Officials need to make the rounds and get up to speed. But under
By Robert E Kelly
After Trump's phone call, Australians worry about an old alliance
Australians have benefited from the liberal order that the US president wants to dismantle, writes Michael Fullilove in the Financial Times on 4 February. Photo: Getty Images/Andrew Renneisen
Why the Turnbull and Trump phone call is no passing spat
Yes, it was just a phone call, and the storm will pass. But in the background, history is moving against the US-Australia alliance, writes Sam Roggeveen in the Australian Financial Review
Australia needs to adapt to the new circumstances of Trump's America
Malcolm Turnbull was right to stand his ground over his refugee deal with the US but the episode reveals the limitations of his interpretation of the new administration, writes James Curran for the Guardian on 3 February
The Trump call forces Australia to confront a big question
Let's consider a few alternative theories to explain President Trump's behaviour in his phone call with Prime Minister Turnbull, revealed by the Washington Post yesterday, starting with what is probably the most conventional explanation. He's erratic and guided by emotion rather than reason
Australian immigration in the Trump era
Earlier this week Malcolm Turnbull said it wasn't his job as Prime Minister of Australia 'to run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries' after President Trump signed an executive order banning travellers from seven majority Muslim countries. There are many reasons to question
By Henry Sherrell
The three factors that will drive US policy in Asia
In the 10 days since his inauguration President Trump has sought to convey the appearance of a strong and energetic leader committed to delivering exactly what he promised. Executive orders have come thick and fast covering most of the major election issues including immigration bans, building the
Trump's trade protectionism
President Trump is off to a flying start on his promised trade protectionism, with executive orders on withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and renegotiation of NAFTA, together with his threatened import duty on any US company off-shoring domestic jobs and his promise to make Mexico pay for
Donald Trump's administration: It's not as good as it looks
Trump's dark vision of America's role in the world is worrying, even if he had the teams and political skills to pull it off, writes Michael Fullilove in the Australian Financial Review on 30 January. Photo: Getty Images/Bloomberg
Trump's CIA speech reveals a challenge to America's 'deep state'
Yesterday, in his first official engagement as President, Donald Trump visited CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia where he gave a 15-minute televised speech in front of the Agency's memorial wall to around 400 employees. The decision to visit the CIA, and to speak publicly, as virtually
By Euan Graham
From Obama optimism to Trumpian gloom
When the heavens opened up and it started to rain just as President Donald J. Trump began his inaugural address, it was hard not to see it as an omen. Barack Obama, a relentless optimist and dedicated globalist is gone, replaced by a neophyte populist politician whose promise to 'make America
Trump and the intelligence community
Not for the first time in US history, Russia hysteria has hijacked the political discourse. Rhetoric abounds that Russia 'hacked' the US election; the actual charge is that the Russian government covertly accessed the email account of senior Clinton aide John Podesta and later supplied his


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Three Reasons Why the State Buys Conservation Easements [VIDEO]
The Land Journal
The Land Journal recently sat down with Dean Saunders to discuss conservation easements. Saunders outlined three reasons why the state buys conservation easements from landowners.
1. Avoidance of managing costs.
2. The property remains on the tax rolls.
3. The property still stimulates the economy.
Since 1985, Dean has specialized in Florida land and conservation easements. He served in the US Senate as Agricultural Liaison, Special Assistant, and Director of External Affairs to US Senator Lawton Chiles, then Governor Chiles (D-FL). From 1992 to 1996 he served in the Florida House of Representatives, where his strong passion for supporting landowner property rights and conserving the integrity of a property's natural resources culminated in his authorship of groundbreaking conservation legislation. He comes from an eighth-generation Florida agricultural family, earned a BSA from the University of Florida in Fruit Crops, Food and Resource Economics, and is a recognized Florida land and conservation easement authority.
A conservation easement is a restriction on future development rights of the land while the landowner still maintains ownership and agricultural use of the land. This can be of great benefit to a landowner for many reasons.
If you own natural, undeveloped property that you want to preserve for future generations, selling a conservation easement is a great option to take into consideration.
There are many types of easements and programs are run at the county and state level among varying departments and organizations. Conservation easements can protect your land from development that might destroy its natural beauty and ecosystem.
While conservation easements can be beneficiary to landowners, it is also a great way for the state government to approach land conservation. When asked why states purchase conservation easements from landowners, Dean gave the following three reasons:
According to Saunders, management costs for land are "extraordinarily high." The government can get around these costs by purchasing a conservation easement and leaving land management to the landowner.
By keeping the property on the tax rolls, the government still gets some tax revenue from the land regardless of its status as a conservation easement.
"If a property is used for running cattle, farming, or ecotourism, then it is still providing some stimulus to the economy." Saunders stated.
For more insights into conservation easements, check out the video below:
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aka Torture! and From the Banned Book "Wild Dance of a Beautiful Woman": Torture! is a 1977 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Noboru Tanaka and starring Junko Miyashita. Set during the Taishō period, it uses Nikkatsu's superior technical resources to create what Jasper Sharp calls a pink film-style "sumptuous festival of cruelty" portraying the artistic life of the photographer, writer and kinbakushi, Seiu Itō.

Synopsis
The life of the S&M-theme artist and author Seiu Itō is depicted in the film. His artistic life and Sadian philosophy, inspired by his torturing of his two wives and Tae, his favorite prostitute, are portrayed as shown in his journalistic writings.

The film begins by introducing Tae, showing her as stuporous and unresponsive to Ito's tortures, with Ito being helped in his tortures of Tae by an elderly woman. Then, through a series of flashbacks, we see Ito submitting his wife to various tortures, including being submerged in an icy lake and being suspended upside down by rope while pregnant. During these tortures, he would use a team of photographers to capture the position and pain of his wife to then paint the photos.

Itō meets Tae in a brothel when he stays on past closing time, and intrigues Tae by telling a gruesome story of mutilating his wife when she left him, which he initially pretends to be a personal one. They begin their relationship, with Tae increasingly curious as to the tortures that he inflicted on his wife that drove her away, seemingly enjoying the challenge of being able to withstand the tortures herself.

As their relationship progresses, the tortures become more and more extreme, with Tae's resilience causing Itō to fall more and more in love with her. Eventually, Tae begins to act erratically. Itō visits a doctor and is told that Tae has congenital syphilis, and is thus going insane. At this time, Tae's mother, the elderly woman from the beginning of the film, finds Itō and Tae, and accuses Itō of driving her insane with his tortures. Realising that Tae's mother was the source of Tae's syphilis and likely similarly insane, he accepts the mother's suggestion that further torture may undo her insanity and accepts her help in torturing a mostly unresponsive Tae.

Eventually Tae dies, and she is carried away in a coffin by Itō and her mother. The film ends with Itō musing that he should have kept her corpse, as he would have been able to position it in ways not possible with his human subjects.

Reception
Because of the film's more overtly sado-masochistic theme, Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! received less critical acclaim than the previous two entries in Tanaka's Showa trilogy-- A Woman Called Sada Abe (1975) and Watcher in the Attic (1976). However, in their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! a top-rating of four out of four stars. Noting Tanaka's use of "dark images, obsessive nihilistic philosophy, and gravely somber atmosphere", they write, "Like all of the movies from Tanaka's Mad Love period, it's filmed in matter-of-fact, non-flinching style, creating a dangerous ambivalence towards traditional concepts of right and wrong, sanity and insanity."

Allmovie calls the film "an amoral masterpiece" and one of "the most disturbing films ever released by the Nikkatsu studio". Writing that the dark and oppressive nature of the film works in its favor, the review concludes, "[t]he cumulative effect is quite powerful, and not for the faint of heart."

Availability
Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! was released theatrically in Japan on February 23, 1977. It was released for home video in VHS format on January 12, 1996,. It was released on DVD on September 22, 2006 as part of Geneon's fifth wave of Nikkatsu Roman porno series.

Bibliography

English

Japanese

Notes

1977 films
Films directed by Noboru Tanaka
1970s Japanese-language films
Nikkatsu films
Pink films
1970s Japanese films

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Today is the 12th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center. Another day in the history of America "that will live in infamy". More "remember the" and "never forget" pieces in the patchwork of American strength and American sorrow. Those two so often go hand in hand.
I remember the day. 11 September 2001. My daughter phoned me and told me to turn on the TV. I was stunned. It looked like footage out of a Hollywood disaster or action movie. Hard to believe it was real. It was actually happening. America was under attack. The War on Terror was right on our doorstep.
Last week I watched a special produced by Fox News Channel. It was called 9/11: Timeline of Terror. They showed it commercial-free. It brought back the feelings so intensely. I could remember so clearly how I felt that day.
In addition to the fear, I remember the confidence I had in President George W. Bush. I remember feeling so proud about how he handled the situation when he got word in the classroom. People sometimes deride him as being a "cowboy", but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. I just don't think people who use the term derogatorily truly understand who a cowboy really is.
A cowboy is a man who just does what needs to be done. They work hard. They play hard. They take care of what needs fixin' and who needs tendin'. They are among the living myths and real-life legends of America. They are both fact and fiction. They are John Wayne mixed with Average Joe. A little larger than life, but still very down to earth.
I have lived a good portion of my life in the West. I cannot remember not loving going to rodeos and watching John Wayne movies. I have been lucky enough to know some honest-to-goodness cowboys in that time. Some have been rodeo cowboys, others have been working ranchers. They are usually patriots and Christians. A little rough around the edges, but good-hearted on the inside. They have all been men. Real men. The kind of men who support their families and will wear pink on Breast Cancer awareness days at the rodeo. They got nothing to prove . . . 'cause they done proved everything of any importance to those who matter.
I would trade anyone of them for the pathetic excuse for manhood and statesman who currently resides in the White House. How grateful I am that George W. Bush was our president in 2001 and not that other liberal weenie, Al Gore!
Sometimes it just takes a cowboy. The kind of man who will admit his fear, but saddle up anyway. The kind of man who might be partly a figment of our imagination, but still fills us with assurance. As was said, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." I think the same thing is true sometimes about needing to believe in people being a little larger than life. We need a Chuck Norris, a John Wayne, a Ronald Reagan, a George W. Bush. A man with a little touch of cowboy to inspire us with confidence. Not a confidence man to try to delude us that he is inspirational.
So, on this day when we remember those who died and those who survived. When we count the cost of freedom once again. When we think of the past, the present, and the future, let us say a prayer for America. In that prayer, let us also give thanks for George W. Bush. A man with enough cowboy to step up to the task and make us proud. Make us a little less fearful. Make us a whole lot safer. God bless America!


Add a new skin to your tabletop with the Deep Space Water Colour Tabletop Wrap. This awesome wrap will create a whole new look with its mixture of deep space and watercolour. Use it to cover old tables, damaged surfaces, or if you want to upgrade a boring white table!


Today's share is of a Christmas card that I made using the Stampin' Up! Thinlits. I love the Thinlits!!! You have your choice of two different "packs", each containing a different base... you can either get one that has a Circle (like the one shown today) or one that has a label shape. You can see the two different ones below. Both come with TONS of great framelits for all of your decorating needs!!
Here is a view of the card when it is opened. I didn't want to do a ton of decorating on this so I decided to just use the Winter Frost DSP on the inside, not covering the entire inside, but I wanted a piece larger than just a strip. For the front of my card I used the snowflake from the set Festive Flurry stamp set and cut it out with my Big Shot and the coordinating Festive Flurry framelits. Then, I used my Circle Framelits, (the second and the third largest) framelit, put the smallest of the two inside of the larger one, ran it through my big shot and that is how I got my hallow circle.
For the inside of my card I used the greeting from the set Joyful Christmas. I stamped it on just a piece of plain Whisper White card stock and left it at that!!
Here are a closer look at each of the Thinlits that you can purchase!


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Director | Producer | Writer
Known for Gigantosaurus (2019-2021), Zou and the Camera (2012), Zorro the Chronicles (2016), Tales of Tatonka (2010)
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Zou and the Camera (2012)
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Ozie Boo! (2005–2007)
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Belmont (pop. 150) is a Canadian rural farming community located in the larger community of Lot 16 in central Prince County, Prince Edward Island.  Lot 16 is actually three communities: Belmont, Central, and Southwest Lot 16, and is one of the last communities on Prince Edward Island to continue using their lot designation from the original Island survey by Samuel Holland in the 18th century.

The community is situated at the southwestern shore of Malpeque Bay and its primary industry is agriculture, notably dairy and beef cattle, as well as potato and grain crops.

Author Lucy Maud Montgomery taught at the Belmont School during the early 20th century. This one room schoolhouse now resides at Avonlea Village in Cavendish, PEI.

Residents of Belmont are largely of English, Scottish, Irish, and French ancestry, with recent immigrants from other backgrounds.

Belmont is also home to Belmont Provincial Park, a day-use park located at Winchester Cape, jutting into the bottom of Malpeque Bay alongside the Grand River, a salt-water estuary of Malpeque Bay.  Lobster, mussels and oysters are fished along the coast of Belmont, but Belmont is not home to a harbour or wharf.

The only public building in Belmont is its only church, the Belmont United Baptist Church, which maintains a cemetery about 1 km away.

References

Communities in Prince County, Prince Edward Island


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Killing Your Self For Love
By Alexandra Molotkow
Some relationships are artful; some relationships—say, ones in which the participants undergo surgery to look like each other—are art. Is that romantic?
Alexandra Molotkow
Alexandra Molotkow is an editor at Real Life magazine. She was a founding editor of...
Follow @alexmolotkow
There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This
32 Things We Need Words For in 2015
28 'Til I Die
"John and Yoko today entered the London Clinic for a series of sex-change operations which, if successful, would make them the first married couple in history to completely reverse their marital roles," read a press release presented to the London Evening Standard in 1970. "If the massive hormone injections are successful Lennon will become a woman, while Yoko will become a man. The Lennons want to become the world's first unisex family."
The date was April 1, just over a year after John and Yoko had wed in Gibraltar and honeymooned in bed at the Amsterdam Hilton, with the world as their guests. The world didn't understand them, but the world wouldn't leave them alone, so—like Kimye after them—John and Yoko had turned their relationship into a public performance: appearing at Royal Albert Hall in a giant bag, bedding in for peace, and now, apparently, flying in surgeons from Los Angeles "to demonstrate once and for all our complete love for each other," the release quoted Lennon. "We are doing it for peace and because 'Instant Karma' is slipping down the charts."
It was an April Fool's joke, obviously, engineered by a Standard writer and friend of John's; as biographer Hunter Davies notes, the former Beatle had not been offended. The stunt might have seemed metaphorically accurate: John and Yoko did form a two-headed public entity, and the model partnership they performed became more inspiring, arguably, than any of their peace projects. But there's a difference between performing a creative partnership for an audience and turning the partnership itself into a creative project. JohnandYoko were more about the first than the second; for starts, they never did merge surgically.
In 1993, Genesis P-Orridge, artist and frontman of the bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, was staying in New York at the home of a friend, who worked as a dominatrix. He'd been sleeping in her dungeon when a beautiful, lithe woman appeared in the doorway, dressed all in '60s clothing, which she shed for fetish gear: this was Jacqueline Breyer, aka Lady Jaye, a performer and registered nurse by day. P-Orridge began praying that they'd end up together. Following an impromptu date at a sex club later that evening, they did.
Over the years, as their relationship deepened, P-Orridge and Breyer realized they weren't content to be just individuals united. So, in 2003, they began a series of surgical procedures to match appearances—cheek implants, breast implants, a little lipo, an added birthmark—on the way to becoming one entity they called the Pandrogyne.
Breyer died suddenly of stomach cancer in 2007. "She lives in the immaterial dimensions," P-Orridge, who goes by an altered female pronoun but refers to h/erself in plural, said in an interview for the podcast Love + Radio. "We live in the material dimensions, and the two of us together are one being."
Pandrogeny had been both a way of life and an art project, documented through photographs and video; a 2011 documentary, The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye, was the product of a seven-year collaboration between director Marie Losier and her subjects (Breyer passed away during filming). The project wasn't about gender, P-Orridge said in the Love + Radio interview, but "absolute intimacy" and transcendence—becoming "a third being, not just a third mind." Maybe about is irrelevant. P-Orridge and Breyer's labour was the elevation of a relationship, which is ephemeral and mundane, to an artwork, which is permanent and divine.
"There was this huge erotic, emotional relationship, and from there came the work," said performance artist Marina Abramović to interviewer Janet Kaplan, about her partnership with the German artist Ulay, which lasted from 1976 to 1988. "To me it was much higher to work with somebody else than to work by myself because the main problem in this relationship was what to do with the two artists' egos. I had to find out how to put my ego down, as did he, to create something like a hermaphroditic state of being that we called the death self." That third self created the work, which found them staring at each other for hours across a table; breathing into each other's mouths until they both collapsed; walking from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China to meet at the centre and say a final goodbye.
This is not work inspired by a relationship, nor an abstraction thereof: the relationship is the work, or the work is a way of submitting the relationship as art. And with the exception of the Great Wall Walk, it all seems very unromantic to me.
Which is strange to say. I've always idealized the creative partnership, and I'm very attached to an ideal of romance that often strikes me as just as good, if not better, than the real thing. I think the second half of this song sounds exactly like romantic fervour, and unlike romantic fervour it has never prevented me from sleeping, reduced me to sobbing jags at my desk, or induced a sinus infection so severe that my tears turned green. Relationships take you away from yourself, partners leave you, partners die, and connection is hard enough to find at all. But you can depend on art as a substitute.
Furthermore, it's disturbing, this idea of fusing with one's beloved—not in the heat of passion but as a lifestyle, so that buying produce becomes a hobbling three-legged race to the spinach tub. Eroticism is supposed to lie in difference. Overfamiliarity, I thought, bred revulsion. What is romantic is Abramović's account of her first meeting with Ulay, on the birthday they share, during which they had dinner, went back to his house, and stayed in bed for ten days. "Back at home," she told Judith Thurman in The New Yorker, "I get so lovesick I cannot move or talk." Romance lies in the anguish of separation. Couplemorphing, on the other hand, seems like the bogeyversion of dependency, which is both unsexy and wildly uncool.
As a romantic model, mutual absorption (the "death self") seems outdated, given how much we tend to lionize the individual. Mutual self-sufficiency, embodied by the likes of Beyoncé and Jay-Z—whose relationship is a dream of productivity without bed death—is a much more tasteful ideal. Ideals, by the way, allow you to opt out of the whole painful, compromising business of relationships altogether: venerate famous couples, pine away to your favourite songs, get all the feeling you're after without the risk of springing a leak in your self. It's a deranged and solipsistic way to live—for your needs alone, scavenging the outside world—but it's safe, and unrevolting.
This is what makes Pandrogeny so compelling, by the way: it's a little revolting. Intimacy is a bit of a taboo. Intimacy is a fetish!
The relationship-artwork is not an idealization of love, not a view of love from a distance, but an attempt to hoist one particular love to an ideal plane. It's not romantic because it's too specific. Relationships are closed systems; by nature, they are alienating to everyone who's not in them. To observe one closely is to be steeped in a world that's not yours, like waking up in a room with wallpaper you'd never have chosen and a human odour you haven't attached to anyone. Take, for example, Bob Flanagan, "supermasochist," the poet and performance artist who passed away in 1996 from cystic fibrosis. From childhood, masochism had offered him a different relationship to pain. In public, it became his work; in private, it formed the foundation of his 16-year relationship with Sheree Rose, which also became work in public.
"I had been photographing and videoing Bob since we met in 1980," Rose told interviewer Ryan Holladay in 2011. "I was documenting him because I found him to be the most fascinating person I had ever met. He had told me that he wasn't expected to live more than two years and I felt that I wanted to capture as much of his extraordinary talent and personality as possible and share it with the world. Of course, he lived for another sixteen years—and the documentation of our relationship became more and more public." Much of this documentation went into Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, the film released a year after Flanagan passed away.
Flanagan and Rose's relationship wasn't about merging identities, more the opposite: negotiating and enacting roles relative to one another. To watch them enact those roles might not be your pleasure. In a 1994 video, Autopsy (shown in Sick), Flanagan lies naked on a slab while Rose, wearing a surgical apron which, at some point, acquires a few drops of blood, demonstrates certain features of their physical rapport: she slaps the "nice, fatty part" of his cheek; pierces the skin beneath his dick; grazes his shaft with the blade of a knife he bought her as a gift; inserts a ball into his ass, after coaxing him to loosen his sphincter. What stays with you is the way she rubs his back between blows, kisses the back of his neck as he lies convalescing. Sick is less about masochism as such as it is about care.
Bob and Sheree are not the Captain and Tennille; Sick is not Double Fantasy, by which I mean the aspirational element is muted. Generally speaking, there are few things more off-putting than an intimacy that's not yours. Still, watching Sick, or The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye, or even reflecting on the John and Yoko saga, you understand that relationships are great subjects for creative work because relationships are creative work. An attraction, like an idea, contains its own possibilities, and works best when it's realized on its own terms. Those who have it build it slowly, decision by decision. For outsiders, "getting it" entails a feel for how it works and, simultaneously, a feel for who it works for.
The wonder of being in a relationship isn't just the emotional byproduct that slips neatly into abstractions, but the process of discovering constantly what the relationship is. I guess there is no substitute for that. This is easy to forget; maybe it's important to be reminded.
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Alexandra Molotkow is an editor at Real Life magazine. She was a founding editor of Hazlitt, an associate editor of the Hairpin and arts columnist for the Globe and Mail. Her writing has appeared in The Cut, The Believer, The New Republic, and The New York Times Magazine.
A Student and Not a Tourist: On tUnE-yArDs' Nikki Nack
The Unmanageable Life of Rob Ford
'No Villains, Only Messes': An Interview with Lee Lai
Alyssa Favreau
The Business of a Marriage
Linda Besner
The Real Lolita
Sarah Weinman
Death in the Village
Anthony Oliveira
All Saints' Mountain


Thanks to Joe who squeezed me in so I did not get arrested for faulty lights.
Great first experience at Rob's Automotive! The staff was super friendly and they are HONEST. We booked an appointment to have work performed, only to be told it wasn't necessary at this time. We walked out with a free inspection of the entire car, coupons toward future work and became a rewards program member. We plan to have both our cars serviced by Rob's in the future.
I really like how all the employees strive to please their customers. Joe was especially helpful with keeping me informed on what was going on with my car servicing that day. He also went out of his way to explain what would be helpful to keep my car in tip top shape. Thank you.
Robs is the only place I will let work on my truck. Very knowledgeable crew and fast turn around time.
The only place I will allow to work on my truck if it's something I cannot or am not equipped to do. Bryan is the man! He is very honest and thorough and will NOT sell you anything you don't need! Always very friendly and attentive and always have issues resolved on time and according to plan. I never hesitate to recommend Rob's to anyone looking for a great Auto Repair shop!
Went in for oil change and received a thorough inspection of my truck and there was some issues that I didn"t know I had. The personnel was very courteous and knowledgeable. What I liked is they did not push any extra repairs on me. The coolest thing about the visit is that a text was sent to me with everything they had done on my truck so I could see what needed to be done in the future . The oil change only cost me $2.94 because I had built up rewards with the previous visits . When visiting for service ask about the reward system.
The service was wonderful. Joseph was my service manager and he was very helpful and courteous.
Everyone is friendly they are not pushy you are given recommendations for things that should be done so you can plan for them.


After becoming tired of the disorganization of my closet, I decided it was time to do something to make it more efficient. For about $20 i was able to add a rack in my closet to hang my jeans from. It was pretty easy to install, and well worth the time and money!


text:
const createLanguageDropDown = require('./attach_dom/language_dropdown');
const Client                 = require('../base/client');
const BinarySocket           = require('../base/socket');
const getElementById         = require('../../_common/common_functions').getElementById;
const Crowdin                = require('../../_common/crowdin');
const Language               = require('../../_common/language');
const State                  = require('../../_common/storage').State;
const applyToAllElements     = require('../../_common/utility').applyToAllElements;

const checkClientsCountry = () => {
    if (Crowdin.isInContext()) return;
    BinarySocket.wait('website_status', 'authorize').then(() => {
        const website_status = State.getResponse('website_status');
        if (!website_status) return;
        const clients_country = website_status.clients_country;
        // only limitLanguage for japanese if ip address is from japan and client is logged out or logged in with jp residence
        if (clients_country === 'jp' && (!Client.isLoggedIn() || Client.get('residence') === 'jp')) {
            limitLanguage('JA');
        } else if (clients_country === 'id') {
            limitLanguage('ID');
        } else {
            createLanguageDropDown(website_status);
        }
    });
};

const limitLanguage = (lang) => {
    if (Language.get() !== lang) {
        window.location.href = Language.urlFor(lang); // need to redirect not using pjax
    }
    if (getElementById('select_language')) {
        $('.languages').remove();
        $('#gmt-clock').addClass('gr-6 gr-11-m').removeClass('gr-5 gr-6-m');
        $('#contact-us').addClass('gr-5').removeClass('gr-2');
    }
};

const checkLanguage = () => {
    if (Language.get() === 'ID') {
        const $academy_link = $('.academy a');
        const academy_href  = $academy_link.attr('href');
        const regex         = /id/;
        if (!regex.test(academy_href)) {
            $academy_link.attr('href', academy_href + regex);
        }
    }
    if (Client.isJPClient()) {
        $('.ja-hide').setVisibility(0);
        applyToAllElements('.ja-show', (el) => {
            if (!/client_logged_(in|out)/.test(el.classList)) {
                el.setVisibility(1);
            }
        });
        if (Client.get('residence') !== 'jp') {
            $('#topMenuCashier').hide();
        }
    }
};

module.exports = {
    checkClientsCountry,
    checkLanguage,
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Samsung Unpacked — how to watch and what to expect
Samsung Galaxy I7500 Coming to O2 UK This Week?
By Casey Chan
The Samsung Galaxy is reportedly slated for release in the UK this week, kind of. Reports have shown that O2's retail staff have found the Samsung Galaxy, Samsung's first Android phone, in their inventory system and that shipments will arrive this week. Though this doesn't necessarily mean that the Galaxy will be immediately available to customers, it shouldn't be too far off in the future.
O2 representatives have stated that the handset will launch in the next few weeks and our own report has expected an August release date for months now so we believe that this rumor of a Samsung Galaxy launch on O2 carries some weight. Though the Samsung Galaxy has taken a back seat to the HTC Hero, Sony 'Rachael' and others in our eyes, we're definitely excited to see it back in the spotlight and hopeful for its success.
Any UK'ers out there going to buy a Galaxy?
[bgr]
Casey Chan
My wife has a Blackberry on O2 - it is coming up for renewal in October or November, so we'll probably switch to the Galaxy at that point - if she likes it. :)
I was in an O2 store last week (Oxford St, London) and *finally* I was able to get some staff to not only acknowledge the existence of the Samsung Galaxy but also state that they had the phone on their system and that the store was getting some in this week (starting 17th Aug). He recommended checking back towards the end of this week. I'm quite keen to get my grubby hands on one for a look-see. The 3.5mm jack and flash on the camera are really want I'm looking for in my next phone. I was disappointed with the HTC Magic as the UI was a bit jerky and I'm hoping the Galaxy doesn't have the same problem.
If you check the O2 UK forums you will see many people have been waiting for this phone for weeks, unfortunately for O2 many got impatient and went for the Hero. I'm personally holding out for the better screen and camera, but if only O2 would give a firm release date they might have not lost some sales. Last comment I read in the forums was that the in-store stock inventory system changed from the 17th to the 24th August so a bit longer yet.
i spoke to 02 today and the chap i spoke to was very helpful, he said that i can order the phone from tuesday to upgrade as the phine is out today but not on the system, and then i spoke to the store, they said that the warehouse has got them in stock so waitin for their delivery which will be either thursday or friday, lets hope we see this happen.
The Fairphone 4 to finally receive Android 12 update on February 1
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs. 8+ Gen 1 vs. 8 Gen 1: Testing performance and battery life
Samsung Wallet is finally available in India
Samsung Galaxy S23 reservations are closing — claim $50 before it's too late
OPPO Find X6 leak reveals specs, smaller camera bump than expected


text:
GM buys LIDAR tech firm to speed up self-driving car push
General Motors Co has announced the acquisition of 'Light Detection And Ranging' (LIDAR) technology company Strobe, Inc. to define and develop next-generation solutions for self-driving vehicles.
LIDAR uses light to create high-resolution images that provide a more accurate view of the world than cameras or radar alone – image courtesy of GM
As part of the deal, Strobe's engineering talent joins GM's Cruise Automation team to define and develop next-generation LIDAR solutions for self-driving vehicles.
Kyle Vogt, founder and CEO, cruise automation, said: "Strobe's LIDAR technology will significantly improve the cost and capabilities of our vehicles so that we can more quickly accomplish our mission to deploy driverless vehicles at scale."
LIDAR uses light to create high-resolution images that provide a more accurate view of the world than cameras or radar alone.
As self-driving technology continues to evolve, LIDAR's accuracy will play a critical role in its deployment.
Julie Schoenfeld, founder and CEO at Strobe, Inc., said: "The successful deployment of self-driving vehicles will be highly dependent on the availability of LIDAR sensors.
"Strobe's deep engineering talent and technology backed by numerous patents will play a significant role in helping GM and Cruise bring these vehicles to market sooner than many think."
Last month, Cruise Automation revealed the world's first mass-producible car designed with the redundancy and safety requirements necessary to operate without a driver.
The vehicle will join Cruise's testing fleets in San Francisco, metropolitan Phoenix and Detroit.
The UK's biggest digital manufacturing show!
Liverpool and the North West's advanced manufacturing is in the spotlight as the region plays host to 4000 manufacturers from across the country at Smart Factory Expo – the biggest digital manufacturing show in the country.
The UK's largest standalone 4IR expo coincides with the government's much anticipated Industrial Strategy, and features:
Dedicated Exhibition Zones – Industrial Automation, Digital Transformation, Smart Factories, Industrial Internet
Free conference content – 96 presentations from world-class manufacturers and technology experts over two days
Innovation Alley – lifting the lid on the UK's manufacturing tech start-up scene
Hack & Pitch – real engineers, tackling real problems, in real time!
Carrs Tool Steels maintains productivity, profitability with ERP implementation
BusinessModels
Industry 4.0: Developing Leadership Within


Limited Edition- 9K Yellow Gold Very Rare Size AAA African Ruby (Ovl 14X 10 mm 8.75 Ct), Natural White Cambodian Zircon Ring 11.000 Ct.
Crowned with an extraordinarily rare ruby of African origin, this Limited-Edition ring is a collector's dream come true. Made from 9K Yellow Gold, the ring features an extremely rare-sized (14X 10 mm) African Ruby that weighs an outstanding 8.75 Carats. Prongs showcase its faceted façade that gleams in a saturated blood-red hue. Natural White Cambodian Zircons lend a diamond-like brilliance to the ring (11.000 Ct).
African Ruby Oval 14x10 Faceted 1 8.750ct.
Natural White Cambodian Zircon Round 2.75 Faceted 20 2.250ct.
Verified reviews of 9K Yellow Gold African Ruby (Ovl 8.75 Ct), Natural White Cambodian Zircon Ring 11.000 Ct.
Beautiful ring! Real eye catcher!
Just was not for me! I realise I like flawless stones !


text:
Elizabeth Stapleton
Old is New Again: Alternative Methods of Execution in the United States
May 22, 2015 • Criminal Law and Criminology •	3	min read
In the United States some states are beginning to legalise alternative methods for capital punishment.
Last month Oklahoma adopted a new method of execution as a backup for lethal injection when Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed a bill to allow nitrogen-induced hypoxia. This is the third state to approve an alternative to lethal injection: Utah passed a bill allowing death by firing squad and Tennessee did the same with the electric chair.
Why are states reverting to these archaic methods? With a shortage in the chemicals needed to implement lethal injection, states are scrambling to find alternatives. Lethal injection, the primary method used in the U.S. to implement the death penalty, is legalised in 32 states and has been used for 1,232 executions since 1976. However, chemical manufacturers are now refusing sales to states practicing capital punishment. As a result, states are trying alternative chemicals for lethal injection, such as Midazolam, which was involved in three high-profile problematic executions. The Supreme Court in Glossip v. Gross is questioning whether the use of Midazolam is an infringement of the Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. The outcome, in combination with the shortage of drugs, could be the end of lethal injection and may cause other states to approve substitutes as well. Alternatives must adhere to the Eighth Amendment and be 'humane'. For example, in Glass v. Louisiana it was ruled that electrocution does not violate the Eighth Amendment. By examining past cases one can better understand the development of capital punishment and its practice.
In 1976, the ruling of Gregg v. Georgia ended the moratorium on capital punishment based on the rational that it serves the social principles of retribution and deterrence for severe crimes. More than 35 years later the reasoning for the death penalty remains the same, but the support has decreased from 80% in 1994 to 60% today. A recent study found respondents worried about the risk of executing innocent people, process fairness, and the inability of capital punishment to serve its basic objectives. All of these apprehensions are valid given current statistics regarding capital punishment practice.
Frequent inconsistencies in practice support the argument that the death penalty does not serve its original purpose. Not all eligible cases receive death sentences under the theory that only the "worst of the worst crimes" result in execution. However, an examination of the appeals process reveals that sentencing does not seem to rely on crime severity or defendant culpability. The appeals process provides an opportunity for proportionality review to compare a death sentence with other sentences for similar crimes in that state. Many states are not using proportionality review, and when it is used it is only to allow a death sentence for a crime where the death sentence was used previously, despite similar cases resulting in life sentences. Death penalty reversals also vary greatly by state. This wide disparity in reversal rates raises concerns about discrepancies in the law resulting in an unreliable system where some states overturn most death sentences and others rarely reverse them. For example, Wyoming has had 1 execution while Texas has had 524. Hence, questions are raised on whether the objective of retribution is met. Regarding deterrence, there has been conflicting data, but one study shows the majority of leading criminologists do not believe the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long-term prison sentences.
While some may argue that the death penalty does, in fact, meet its objectives, it is undeniable that racial disparities in sentencing exist. According to the Baldus Study, one of the most comprehensive studies on race and capital punishment, defendants charged with killing white victims are 4.3 times more likely to receive the death penalty than defendants charged with killing black victims. Furthermore, cases with black defendants and white victims are more likely to result in a death sentence than cases with any other racial combination of defendant and victim. The Supreme Court reviewed this study in McCleskey v. Kemp but ruled not to reverse McCleskey's death sentence on the basis of the study because doing so would have 'threatened the entire criminal justice system.'
This case and others before it have strengthened the legislation allowing capital punishment despite implementation issues. With countless cases ruling it constitutional, the decision to keep the death penalty will be up to each state. The lack of drugs and Glossip v. Gross may cause some states to reconsider sustaining their capital punishment laws, but for those with strong support for capital punishment the only change will be in the method used.
U.S. legislation
Criminal Law Adrift
Criminal law is likely to become overburdened. Therefore a renewed reflection on the course of criminal law is required.
Jan Crijns • July 03, 2013
The Future of Collaboration with Justice in The Netherlands
Recent events underscore the need, demonstrated in a comprehensive study published earlier this month on the instrument of collaboration with justice, for the Dutch legislature to make clear decisions in an area which is both complex and controversial.
Jan Crijns, Kelly Pitcher and Marieke Dubelaar • May 25, 2018
Political haggling with constitutional values
Recent developments show that even under the currently resigned Rutte Cabinet the drafting of new legislation, especially in the realm of law and order, remains a cause for concern.
Jan Crijns and Maartje van der Woude • July 04, 2012


text:
Programs Coastal Zone Management CZM Issues & Initiatives Marine Debris
Blue Green Infrastructure
Coastal & Estuarine Land Conservation Program
Ecotour Guide Certification
Living Shorelines
Virginia Native Plants
Ocean Planning
Public Access Authorities
Seaside Heritage Program
Seaside Water Trail
Southern Tip Partnership Land Conservation
Special Area Management Planning
Working Waterfronts
Marine Debris In Virginia
2019 Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit
June 17 - 19; GMU - Arlington Campus
Learn more and register today!
The Issue...
Marine debris is of local, regional, national, and global concern. It has become one of the most widespread pollution problems in the world's oceans and waterways, impacting wildlife, human health and safety, habitats, and economies.
As much as 80% of marine debris comes from land-based sources such as plastic bags and food containers. Abandoned or derelict fishing gear, vessels, and other water-based sources also significantly contribute to the problem.
In Virginia, the most problematic and abundant types of debris are: fishing gear (commercial and recreational); cigarette butts and balloons; food and beverage containers; and plastic bags.
What is the Virginia CZM Program doing to address this issue?
Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan
In October 2104, Virginia became the first state on the east coast to have a plan in place to address marine debris.
The Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan charts a course to reduce the amount of trash and marine debris from land-based and water-based sources in Virginia - for ecological, social and economic benefits.
Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan (Download the full document: October 2014. 57 pages; 2 MB; PDF)
Appendices, October 2014. (53 pages; 2 MB; PDF)
Bay Journal article discussing the Plan
Virginia Marine Debris Plan Summary & Look Ahead (A summary outline of the Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan providing highlights of projects/accomplishments to date as well as next steps in implementing the plan. March 2016; 20 pages; 17+ MB; PDF)
Near Term and Specific Steps of the Plan:
On-going Leadership and Coordination. Establish an ongoing Virginia marine debris advisory committee.
Balloon Reduction Campaign. Develop and implement a social marketing campaign targeting behaviors that will reduce balloon litter in the marine environment. (See below.)
Legislation and Policy. Analyze existing legislation and policies and provide recommendations to support land-based waste minimization of the most common items found as marine debris (e.g., single use plastic bags, food and beverage packaging, balloons, cigarette butts.).
Revenue. Identify existing and potential revenue streams to sustain statewide marine debris and litter prevention.
The Virginia CZM Program's Ocean Planning Initiative and Section 309 Ocean Resources Management Strategy addresses the growing problem of marine debris through funding to Clean Virginia Waterways at Longwood University to coordinate development and implementation of the plan. The plan guides the work of a collaborative team of Virginia agencies, community groups, citizens, and other stakeholders for the next decade. Having a plan in place also helps Virginia meet one of its goals as a member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO). One of MARCO's water quality issues of concern is marine debris.
Current Project:
Released balloons are a common and deadly source of marine debris. To reduce the practice of balloon release at celebratory events, the Virginia CZM Program has launched a new campaign to encourage the use of alternative ways to celebrate wedding sendoffs. Visit the Joyful Sendoff campaign website at www.joyfulsendoff.org. |
Also read more about balloon litter at www.PreventBalloonLitter.org.
TOP 20 ITEMS FOUND BY VOLUNTEERS IN VIRGINIA
(Based on 20 years of data)
Cigarette Filters
Beverage Bottles (Plastic)
Cups, Plates, Forks, Knives, Spoons
Food Wrappers/Containers
Beverage Cans
Caps & Lids
Beverage Bottles (Glass)
Straws, Stirrers
Clothing, Shoes
Oil/Lube Bottles
Fishing Buoys, Pots & Traps
Cigarette Lighters
Six-Pack Holders
Impacts of Virginia Marine Debris
Helium released balloons contribute significantly to the problem of marine debris in our waterways. Marine animals also consume plastic bags, balloons, and other types of marine debris when they mistake it for a food source or ingest it accidentally during normal feeding habits (NOAA). Ingesting debris items can cause throat or digestive track obstruction and damage to the gut, resulting in malnutrition or death. The photo above shows the skeleton of a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, a critically endangered species, that was found on Fisherman Island, Virginia with the string of a balloon protruding from the mouth. A latex balloon attached to the ribbon was found in the turtle's esophagus. The Virginia Aquarium's Stranding Response Team found a second balloon in the lower GI tract. (Photo: US FWS Northeast Region)
Improperly discarded cigarette butts are consistently on the top ten debris items found in Virginia during annual clean-up events. Cigarette butts contain cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that persists in the environment.
Lost, abandoned, or discarded fishing gear can damage sensitive habitat, capture or entangle both target and non-target animals, and pose human navigation safety hazards.
Food and beverage containers constitute a significant portion of the plastic found in the ocean and coastal waters. Plastic in bottles, caps, cups and carry-out containers may degrade into smaller pieces of plastic, but continue to be detrimental to marine life.
Plastic bags rank near the top of the lists of marine debris collected in the U.S. and worldwide. Plastic bags are also one of the most common forms of debris linked to marine animal serious injuries and mortalities. Sea turtles mistake the bags for jellyfish. Their abundance, propensity for dispersion in the environment and adverse animal interactions make plastic bag debris a serious problem.


Improper maintenance will lead to a premature failure in the turbine.
After the end of treatment in the morning and the afternoon, and before autoclave sterilization, be sure to perform maintenance following the procedure below.
Remove a bur or a point, then wash any cutting powder and blood out of the head with a soft brush and running water.
Do not immerse the handpiece in chemical solutions or functional water.
: Be sure to wash chemical solutions or functional water, if any, out of the handpiece, bur, and point with running water.
Cleanse the whole handpiece with a soft brush or gauze dampened with ethanol for disinfection.
Handpieces with this symbol mark can be washed and disinfected with a high-temperature washer disinfector.
: When using the high-temperature washer disinfector, observe our specified conditions attached to the product.
Lubricate the chuck and the handpiece with AR spray for 2 seconds.
Idle them for 15 seconds or more to remove any excess oil out of the head.
: Use a spray nozzle that fits the turbine joint.
: During lubrication, cover them with gauze etc. to prevent mist from dispersing into your eyes.
: Do not push the push cap during idling.
Using the AR spray, perform maintenance in Lubrina.
: For how to use Lubrina, refer to the instruction manual.
Wipe any oil off the surface with gauze etc.
Put the instruments in a sterilization pack and autoclave it.
: Sterilization and drying temperatures must not exceed 135°C.
Take the pack out of the autoclave and store it.
Be sure to use the AR spray.


text:
require 'rubygems'
require 'sinatra/base'
require 'erb'
require 'cgi'
require 'uri'
require 'auth'

module Auth
  class Server < Sinatra::Base
    dir = File.dirname(File.expand_path(__FILE__))

    set :views,  "#{dir}/server/views"
    set :public_folder, "#{dir}/server/public"
    set :static, true
    set :raise_errors, true
    set :show_exceptions, true if development?

    helpers do
      include Rack::Utils
      alias_method :h, :escape_html

      def cgi_escape(text)
        URI.escape(CGI.escape(text.to_s), '.').gsub(' ','+')
      end

      def query_string(parameters, escape = true)
        if escape
          parameters.map{|key,val| val ? "#{cgi_escape(key)}=#{cgi_escape(val)}" : nil }.compact.join('&')
        else
          parameters.map{|key,val| val ? "#{key}=#{val}" : nil }.compact.join('&')
        end
      end

      def merge_uri_with_query_parameters(uri, parameters = {})
        parameters = query_string(parameters)
        if uri.to_s =~ /\?/
          parameters = "&#{parameters}"
        else
          parameters = "?#{parameters}"
        end
        URI.escape(uri.to_s) + parameters.to_s
      end

      def merge_uri_with_fragment_parameters(uri, parameters = {})
        parameters = query_string(parameters)
        parameters = "##{parameters}"
        URI.escape(uri.to_s) + parameters.to_s
      end

      def merge_uri_based_on_response_type(uri, parameters = {})
        case params[:response_type]
        when 'code', nil
          merge_uri_with_query_parameters(uri, parameters)
        when 'token', 'code_and_token'
          merge_uri_with_fragment_parameters(uri, parameters)
        end
      end

      def sentry
        if Auth.sentry
          @sentry ||= Auth.sentry.new(request)
        else
          @sentry ||= request.env['warden'] || request.env['rack.auth'] || Sentry.new(request)
        end
      end

      def validate_redirect_uri!
        params[:redirect_uri] ||= sentry.user(:client).redirect_uri
        if URI(params[:redirect_uri]).host.to_s.downcase != URI(sentry.user(:client).redirect_uri).host.to_s.downcase
          halt(400, 'Invalid redirect URI')
        end
      rescue URI::InvalidURIError
        halt(400, 'Invalid redirect URI')
      end
    end

    error AuthException do
      headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/json;charset=utf-8'
      [400, {
          :error => {
            :type => 'OAuthException',
            :message => request.env['sinatra.error'].message
          }
        }.to_json]
    end

    error UnsupportedResponseType do
      redirect_uri = merge_uri_based_on_response_type(
        params[:redirect_uri],
        :error => 'unsupported_response_type',
        :error_description => request.env['sinatra.error'].message,
        :state => params[:state])
      redirect redirect_uri
    end

    before do
      headers['Cache-Control'] = 'no-store'
    end

    ['', '/authorize'].each do |action|
      get action do
        sentry.authenticate!(:client)
        validate_redirect_uri!
        sentry.authenticate!
        unless ['code', 'token', 'code_and_token', nil].include?(params[:response_type])
          raise UnsupportedResponseType,
            'The authorization server does not support obtaining an ' +
            'authorization code using this method.'
        end
        @client = sentry.user(:client)
        erb(:authorize)
      end
    end

    ['', '/authorize'].each do |action|
      post action do
        sentry.authenticate!(:client)
        validate_redirect_uri!
        sentry.authenticate!
        case params[:response_type]
        when 'code', nil
          authorization_code = Auth.issue_code(sentry.user.id,
                                               sentry.user(:client).id,
                                               params[:redirect_uri],
                                               params[:scope])
          redirect_uri = merge_uri_with_query_parameters(
            params[:redirect_uri],
            :code => authorization_code,
            :state => params[:state])
          redirect redirect_uri
        when 'token'
          ttl = ENV['AUTH_TOKEN_TTL'].to_i
          access_token = Auth.issue_token(sentry.user.id, params[:scope], ttl)
          redirect_uri = merge_uri_with_fragment_parameters(
            params[:redirect_uri],
            :access_token => access_token,
            :token_type => 'bearer',
            :expires_in => ttl,
            :expires => ttl, # Facebook compatibility
            :scope => params[:scope],
            :state => params[:state])
          redirect redirect_uri
        when 'code_and_token'
          ttl = ENV['AUTH_TOKEN_TTL'].to_i
          authorization_code = Auth.issue_code(sentry.user.id,
                                               sentry.user(:client).id,
                                               params[:redirect_uri],
                                               params[:scope])
          access_token = Auth.issue_token(sentry.user.id, params[:scope], ttl)
          redirect_uri = merge_uri_with_fragment_parameters(
            params[:redirect_uri],
            :code => authorization_code,
            :access_token => access_token,
            :token_type => 'bearer',
            :expires_in => ttl,
            :expires => ttl, # Facebook compatibility
            :scope => params[:scope],
            :state => params[:state])
          redirect redirect_uri
        else
          raise UnsupportedResponseType,
            'The authorization server does not support obtaining an ' +
            'authorization code using this method.'
        end
      end
    end

    ['/token', '/access_token'].each do |action|
      post action do
        sentry.authenticate!(:client)
        validate_redirect_uri!
        case params[:grant_type]
        when 'authorization_code', nil
          account_id, scopes = Auth.validate_code(
            params[:code], sentry.user(:client).id, params[:redirect_uri])
          if account_id
            ttl = ENV['AUTH_TOKEN_TTL'].to_i
            access_token = Auth.issue_token(account_id, scopes, ttl)
            @token = {
              :access_token => access_token,
              :token_type => 'bearer',
              :expires_in => ttl,
              :expires => ttl, # Facebook compatibility
              :scope => scopes
            }
          else
            raise AuthException, 'Invalid authorization code'
          end
        when 'password'
          sentry.authenticate!
          ttl = ENV['AUTH_TOKEN_TTL'].to_i
          access_token = Auth.issue_token(sentry.user.id, params[:scope], ttl)
          @token = {
            :access_token => access_token,
            :token_type => 'bearer',
            :expires_in => ttl,
            :expires => ttl, # Facebook compatibility
            :scope => params[:scope]
          }
        when 'refresh_token'
          raise AuthException, 'Unsupported grant type'
        when 'client_credentials'
          access_token = Auth.issue_token("client:#{sentry.user(:client).id}")
          @token = {
            :access_token => access_token,
            :token_type => 'client'
          }
        else
          raise AuthException, 'Unsupported grant type'
        end
        if request.accept.include?('application/json')
          headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/json;charset=utf-8'
          [200, @token.to_json]
        else
          headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded;charset=utf-8'
          [200, query_string(@token)]
        end
      end
    end

    get '/validate' do
      sentry.authenticate!(:client)
      headers['Content-Type'] = 'text/plain;charset=utf-8'
      if account_id = Auth.validate_token(params[:access_token], params[:scope])
        [200, account_id]
      else
        [403, 'Forbidden']
      end
    end
  end
end


I presented Inner Voice Dialogue with Alexandra Milonas, on June 5, 2013 at NASW- NY Addictions Institute Conference on Innovations in Addiction Treatment. Our facilitation demonstration dialogued with an Inner Party Girl and then with an Inner Anxious Self. Both parts love cigarettes. Of course, the problem is that long-term substance dependence effects the whole person and not just the parts that reach for the short-term fix to avoid their feelings in the moment.
National Association of Social Workers doesn't stop in holding a forum or an event that will be an eye opener to their guests. Recently, they had a forum with the theme "Innovations in Addiction Treatment". We still cannot deny the fact that a lot of people are still addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, and other related stuff. If a person doesn't realize that it's about time to stop their vices, they would keep on repeating the same mistake over and over again, which is very alarming!


text:
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Introduction Back To Top
Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch - who named it in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU - in the 17th century. The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later an air station, playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. Independence from the UK was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.
Geography Back To Top
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.61 cu km/yr (25%/14%/60%)
per capita: 488 cu m/yr (2000)
Total renewable water resources:
2.2 cu km (2001)
Land boundaries:
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)
Map references:
Political Map of the World
20 17 S, 57 33 E
Natural resources:
arable land, fish
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m
small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau
Geography - note:
the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs; home of the dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons, driven to extinction by the end of the 17th century through a combination of hunting and the introduction of predatory species
total: 2,040 sq km
land: 2,030 sq km
water: 10 sq km
note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Coastline:
Area - comparative:
almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC
Irrigated land:
220 sq km (2003)
Environment - current issues:
water pollution, degradation of coral reefs
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Natural hazards:
cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards
arable land: 49.02%
permanent crops: 2.94%
other: 48.04% (2005)
People Back To Top
Total fertility rate:
1.83 children born/woman (2008 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
700 (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.75 years
male: 70.28 years
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female: 80.5% (2000 census)
Net migration rate:
-0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups:
Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%
total: 31.5 years
1,274,189 (July 2008 est.)
Education expenditures:
3.9% of GDP (2006)
Population growth rate:
Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
Death rate:
6.55 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 100 (2001 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 13 years (2005)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 23% (male 148,573/female 143,859)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 443,968/female 449,670)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 35,269/female 52,850) (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
14.64 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)
noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian
Government Back To Top
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Cesar CABRERA
embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis
mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450
telephone: [230] 202-4400
FAX: [230] 208-9534
National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 March (1968)
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Government type:
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: various labor unions
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Keerteecoomar RUHEE
chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, CPLP (associate), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SAARC (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats - AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2
Legal system:
based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Flag description:
four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green
12 March 1968 (from UK)
Country name (Goverment):
conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius
local long form: Republic of Mauritius
local short form: Mauritius
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance Sociale or AS [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] (governing coalition - includes MLD, MMSM, MR, MSD, PMXD); Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]; Mauritian Socialist Militant Movement or MMSM [Madan DULLOO]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH]; Mouvement Republicain or MR [Jayarama VALAYDEN]; Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval or PMXD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR]
name: Port Louis
geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution:
12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 19 September 2008 (next to be held in 2013); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly
election results: Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH reelected president by unanimous vote; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%
Administrative divisions:
9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne
Judicial branch:
Economy Back To Top
Exports - partners:
UK 35.1%, France 14.4%, US 7.7%, Madagascar 6.3%, Italy 5.8% (2007)
Electricity - consumption:
2.058 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Current account balance:
-$982 million (2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$2.55 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Unemployment rate:
8% (2008 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2006)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$12,400 (2008 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
27.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$8.582 billion (31 December 2007)
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$15.75 billion (2008 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$8.128 billion (2008 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
39 (2006 est.)
Exchange rates:
Mauritian rupees (MUR) per US dollar - 27.973 (2008 est.), 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004)
GDP - real growth rate:
Stock of money:
Labor force:
584,000 (2008 est.)
Imports - partners:
India 21.2%, China 11.4%, France 10.7%, South Africa 7.4% (2007)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.1% (2008 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.5%
Oil - imports:
23,650 bbl/day (2006)
$2.36 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Currency (code):
Economy - overview:
Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Natural gas - exports:
manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism
Electricity - exports:
Population below poverty line:
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
21.87% (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
Electricity - production:
$4.503 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
agriculture and fishing 9%, construction and industry 30%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 22%, finance 6%, other services 25% (2007)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.909 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:
22,450 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Public debt:
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Currency code:
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish
Economic aid - recipient:
$31.93 million (2005)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 90.8%
hydro: 9.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production:
revenues: $1.866 billion
expenditures: $2.243 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2008 est.)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Communications Back To Top
Internet users:
Telephones - main lines in use:
Televisions:
Internet country code:
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios:
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Television broadcast stations:
2 (plus several repeaters) (1997)
Telephone system:
general assessment: small system with good service
domestic: monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005; fixed-line teledensity roughly 30 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with teledensity in 2007 reaching 75 per 100 persons
international: country code - 230; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
Internet hosts:
Transportation Back To Top
Ports and terminals:
Merchant marine:
by type: passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2008)
Airports - with paved runways:
over 3,047 m: 1
total: 2,028 km
paved: 2,028 km (includes 75 km of expressways) (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
914 to 1,523 m: 2
Military Back To Top
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 341,018 (2008 est.)
Military branches:
no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2008)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 11,089
female: 10,843 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.3% of GDP (2006 est.)
Transnational Issues Back To Top
Disputes - international:
Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin Island
Illicit drugs:
consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry
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