text:
/**
 *
 * Process Editor
 *
 * (C) 2009, 2010 inubit AG
 * (C) 2014 the authors
 *
 */
package com.inubit.research.layouter.interfaces;

import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Point;

/**
 * An interface for nodes, so they can be used in layout algorithms.
 * If an Adapter is used,
 * it has to be ensured that equals() and hashCode() can be used as if this interface
 * was directly implemented
 * @author ff
 *
 */
public interface NodeInterface extends ObjectInterface {

	/**
	 * if this node is directly connected to an edge (like an edge docker)
	 * preprocessors can take that into account.
	 * @return
	 */
	public EdgeInterface getDockedTo();

	/**
	 * Should returns the current position of the center of node
	 * @return
	 */
	public Point getPos();

	/**
	 * the current size of the node (width,height)
	 * @return
	 */
	public Dimension getSize();

	/**
	 * Gets the text or label present on the node
	 * @return
	 */
	public String getText();

	/**
	 * virtual nodes are nodes not visible in a diagram (e.g. an Edge Docker)
	 * virtual nodes will usually be ignored! in the layouting process!
	 * @return
	 */
	public boolean isVirtualNode();

	/**
	 * sets the new position for this Node.
	 * The position refers to the center of the node!
	 * @param i
	 * @param _y
	 */
	public void setPos(int x, int y);

	/**
	 * The value returned by this method adds a padding on the bottom/top (half of the value) of a node.
	 * It can be used e.g. to avoid that the nodes contained in a Choreography SubProcess
	 * interfere with the participants at the bottom/top. In this case a Padding which is equal to
	 * twice the height of the participants should be returned here.
	 * @return
	 */
	public int getPaddingY();
	/**
	 * The value returned by this method adds a padding on the left/right (half of the value) of a node.
	 * It can be used e.g. to avoid that the nodes contained in a Choreography SubProcess
	 * interfere with the participants at the left/right. In this case a Padding which is equal to
	 * twice the height of the participants should be returned here.
	 * @return
	 */
	public int getPaddingX();

}


text:
<?php
/**
 * Created by PhpStorm.
 * User: Crocell
 * Date: 25/04/14
 * Time: 13:44
 */

/**
 * Interface ElementManagerInterface
 * @interface
 * @author Alban Truc
 */
interface ElementManagerInterface
{
    /**
     * Retrouver un Element selon des critères donnés
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array|Element $criteria critères de recherche
     * @param array $fieldsToReturn champs à récupérer
     * @since 29/03/2014
     * @return array|Element[]
     */

    function find($criteria, $fieldsToReturn = array());

    /**
     * Retourne le premier Element correspondant au(x) critère(s) donné(s)
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array|Element $criteria critère(s) de recherche
     * @param array $fieldsToReturn champs à retourner
     * @since 29/03/2014
     * @return array|Element
     */

    function findOne($criteria, $fieldsToReturn = array());

    /**
     * - Retrouver l'ensemble des Element
     * - Gestion des exceptions et des erreurs
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array $fieldsToReturn champs à retourner
     * @since 11/03/2014
     * @return array|Element[]
     */

    function findAll($fieldsToReturn = array());

    /**
     * - Retrouver un Element par son ID.
     * - Gestion des exceptions et des erreurs
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param string|MongoId $id Identifiant unique de l'Element à trouver
     * @param array $fieldsToReturn champs à retourner
     * @since 02/2014
     * @return Element|array contenant le message d'erreur
     */

    function findById($id, $fieldsToReturn = array());

    /**
     * - Retrouver un Element selon certains critères et le modifier/supprimer
     * - Récupérer cet Element ou sa version modifiée
     * - Gestion des exceptions et des erreurs
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array|Element $searchQuery critères de recherche
     * @param array|Element $updateCriteria les modifications à réaliser
     * @param array|NULL $fieldsToReturn pour ne récupérer que certains champs
     * @param array|NULL $options
     * @since 11/03/2014
     * @return array|Element
     */

    function findAndModify($searchQuery, $updateCriteria, $fieldsToReturn = NULL, $options = NULL);

    /**
     * - Insère un nouvel élément en base.
     * - Gestion des exceptions et des erreurs
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array|Element $element
     * @param array $options
     * @since 31/03/2014
     * @return TRUE|array contenant le message d'erreur dans un indexe 'error'
     */

    function create($element, $options = array('w' => 1));

    /**
     * Fonction d'update utilisant celle de {@see AbstractPdoManager}
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array|Element $criteria description des entrées à modifier
     * @param array|Element $update nouvelles valeurs
     * @param array|NULL $options
     * @since 31/03/2014
     * @return TRUE|array contenant le message d'erreur dans un indexe 'error'
     */

    function update($criteria, $update, $options = array('w' => 1));

    /**
     * - Supprime un/des élément(s) correspondant à des critères données
     * - Gestion des exceptions et des erreurs
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param array|Element $criteria ce qu'il faut supprimer
     * @param array $options
     * @since 31/03/2014
     * @return TRUE|array contenant le message d'erreur dans un indexe 'error'
     */

    function remove($criteria, $options = array('w' => 1));

    /**
     * - Distingue deux cas: récupération des éléments d'un utilisateur et récupération des éléments partagés avec un utilisateur
     * - Dans le 1er cas (isOwner = true), on retourne les infos de l'élément et du refElement
     * - Dans le second cas (isOwner = false), on retourne le droit, le refRight, l'élément, le refElement et le propriétaire
     * - Gestion des erreurs
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param string|MongoId $idUser
     * @param string $isOwner
     * @param string $path emplacement sur le serveur des éléments
     * @since 01/05/2014
     * @return Element[]
     */

    function returnElementsDetails($idUser, $isOwner, $path = 'all');

    /**
     * Retourne le droit, le refRight, l'élément et le refElement
     * @author Alban Truc
     * @param string|MongoId $idUser
     * @since 01/05/2014
     * @return Right[]
     */

    function returnSharedElementsDetails($idUser);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Zen Mariani, PhD
Research scientist in the meteorological research division specializing in remote sensing observations
Develop ground-based integrated observing systems in the Arctic using new remote sensing technologies (radar, lidar, etc.) for meteorological measurements. Investigate applications and capabilities of these new instruments and provide recommendations on technology adoptation. Evaluate their impact on numerical weather prediction models.
PI for meteorological research sites in Iqaluit, NU & Whitehorse, YT as part of the Canadian Arctic Weather Science (CAWS) Project, and Squamish, BC research site
Test and evaluate new ground-based remote sensing technologies, such as Doppler lidars and radars, and assess their performance and applications in the Arctic climate
Produce integrated meteorological products in near-real time, delivered to operational forecasters and researchers, in order to assess their impact on forecast capabilities
Provide reccomendations on technology transfer to operations
Use the enhanced meteorological observations to evaluate the Canadian numerical weather prediction forecast models
Investigate lake breezes, turbulence, and high-impact weather using remote sensing technologies in urban areas and around lake boundaries
Ph.D. Physics, University of Toronto, 2014 (collaborative Ph.D. program in Environmental Policy and Management)
M.Sc. Physics, University of Toronto, 2010
B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics, University of Western Ontario, 2009
-Mariani, Z., N. Stanton, J. Whiteway, and R. Lehtinen (2020): Toronto Water Vapor Lidar Inter-Comparison Campaign. Remote Sens., 12(19), 3165, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12193165
-Mariani, Z., R. Crawford, B. Casati, and F. Lemay (2020): A multi-year evaluation of Doppler lidar wind-profile observations in the Arctic. Remote Sens., 12, 323: doi:10.3390/rs12020323
- Mariani, Z., A. Dehghan, G. Gascon, P. Joe, D. Hudak, K. Strawbridge, and J. Corriveau (2018): Multi-instrument observations of prolonged stratified wind layers at Iqaluit, Nunavut. Geophys. Res. Lett., 45 (3), 1654-1660.
- Mariani, Z., A. Dehghan, D.M. Sills, and P. Joe (2017): Observations of Lake Breeze Events during the Toronto 2015 Pan-American Games. Boundary-layer Meteor., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-017-0289-3.
- Mariani, Z., K. Strong, and J.R. Drummond (2016): Distributions of Downwelling Radiance at 10 and 20 μm in the High Arctic. Atmos-Ocean, 54(5), 529-540, DOI: 10.1080/07055900.2016.1216825.
- Mariani, Z., K. Strong, M. Palm, R. Lindenmaier, C. Adams, X. Zhao, V. Savastiouk, C. T. McElroy, F. Goutail, and J. R. Drummond (2013): Year-round Retrievals of Trace Gases in the Arctic using the Extended-range Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1549-1565.
- Mariani, Z., K. Strong, M. Wolff, P. Rowe, V. Walden, P. F. Fogal, T. Duck, G. Lesins, D. S. Turner, C. Cox, E. Eloranta, J. R. Drummond, C. Roy, D. D. Turner, D. Hudak, and I. A. Lindenmaier (2012): Infrared Measurements in the Arctic using Two Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometers. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 5, 329-344.
- Mariani, Z., K. Strong, M. Wolff, P. Rowe, V. Walden, P. F. Fogal, T. Duck, G. Lesins, D. S. Turner, C. Cox, E. Eloranta, J. R. Drummond, R. L Lachance, C. Roy, D. D. Turner, D. Hudak, and I. A. Lindenmaier (2012): Infrared Measurements throughout Polar Night using Two AERIs in the Arctic. Conf. SPIE, 8534, 85340H-1.
Contact Zen Mariani, PhD
Toronto, ON M3H 5T4
Environment›Climate›Climate Change and Processes›Measurement Science
Environment›Weather & Meteorology›Aerosols
Environment›Weather & Meteorology›Cloud physics›Remote sensing
Environment›Weather & Meteorology›Severe Weather›Prediction
Technology›Technology transfer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Animation Confabulation
Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive – Walt Disney
Tag Archives: hotel transylvania
Hotel Transylvania Review
With Dreamworks steadily improving their output, and leaving behind their old, Shrek 3 ways, there was an empty space in the animation world; a black hole ready to be filled by someone else making slightly empty comedies about talking animals following one note plots. Enter Sony Animation, the studio responsible for Rio and Open Season. Like Dreamworks of old, they've had a couple of excellent films (Surf's Up and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs), and have had a fruitful partnership with Aardman (Arthur Christmas and Pirates!). However, also like Dreamworks of old, they have a propensity towards shallow storytelling, annoying characters and end of film musical numbers. So their latest, Hotel Transylvania, about a human-free retreat for famous literary and cinematic monsters, shows a lot of promise but ultimately feels a little rote, and is seriously lacking in the screenplay department.
That is, perhaps, slightly unfair. Genndy Tartakovsky's homage to horror characters has lots to enjoy, and it's unlikely to bore you over the course of its run time (how children will react could be entirely different though). Tartakovsky crams the frame with visual jokes, and horror fans are in for a treat with the massive amount of references to genre classics that permeate the film. The writing is at its strongest when riffing on the tropes and clichés of horror that even the uninitiated are familiar with: the issue of Dracula's aversion to stakes through the heart is addressed pithily; the Invisible Man gets insecure about his appearance.
But aside from these few wry observations and one or two big laughs, it all feels rather uninspired. The jokes are mostly visual, and many are confined to mere background details. The characters are somewhat one-note, with only the central trio of Dracula, his daughter and Johnny, a human back-packer, getting anything that resembles an interesting personality. And as the meat of the story is a rather tired plot about an over-protective father, these three fail to do enough to leave a lasting impact.
Another issue is the voice casting, which is a cross between the cast of Grown Ups and the Disney channel, with Ceelo Green thrown in for good measure. The strongest performance comes from Steve Buscemi, whose nasal drawl is a perfect fit for a world-weary werewolf. The rest of the cast are forgettable, but Adam Sandler is worse than that, as he seriously struggles to maintain an accent that Steve Carrell did better in Despicable Me. He fails to bring Dracula to life, a problem which is even more frustrating and baffling given how iconic the character is. Such a bland cast undoubtedly contributes to the rather flat tone of the film.
Perhaps the biggest letdown, for a film by the man behind the inventive, aesthetically unique Star Wars spin-off The Clone Wars, is that the animation fails to be especially interesting or engaging. The characters are the strongest visual aspect, Tartakovsky giving them his signature angular look, but the world they inhabit feels too polished and flat to have any effect. The castle doesn't carry any sense of grandeur, the rooms don't breathe with history as they should; it's cutting edge animation but the execution is lifeless. Which, in a film about a hotel full of famous monsters, is very disappointing indeed.
So while Hotel Transylvania is a fun, sporadically amusing film, it is seriously hampered by a poor cast, edgeless characters and uninspired animation. The result, aptly for a film about vampires, is sadly bloodless.
Posted by Nathanael Smith in Review Tags: Adam sandler, Andy samberg, animation, hotel transylvania, review, vampires
Animation Preview – The Horror! The Horror!
Autumn 2012 in cinema is notable for an apparent effort in the big animated releases to scare kids senseless. Some of the biggest upcoming animated films look to set to give children across the nation nightmares, with plots rooted in horror, and styles clearly influenced by the genre greats. This isn't especially new for animation – think back to the deeply unnerving sight of Coraline's Other Mother going full-on evil, or the inventive scares of Monster House, and you can see that the medium is well suited to terror. Disney have long been in on this, too, with many a childhood scarred by Sleeping Beauty's unforgettable villain Maleficent, or the truly haunting scene of Snow White running away to the woods.
So horror in animation is almost as old as animation itself. What is new with this current clutch is that they are all arriving at once. In the space of the next few months, Paranorman, about a zombie invasion, Frankenweenie, the story of a boy and his reanimated dog, and Hotel Transylvania, in which Dracula runs a retreat for classic horror figures, will all hit cinema screens round the country, and all of which feature the undead in some way. The only other big name animation coming out during this time is Madagascar 3, which is, hopefully, vampire and zombie free. So why the current move towards a genre that, more often than not, is not targeted at children? And will any of them be any good?
The answer to the second question is, of course, impossible to say until we've seen them, but the signs are good. Laika, the studio behind Paranorman, have excellent form in stop-motion terror, as their last film, Coraline, proved to be both beautifully animated and wonderfully imaginative. It was also a creepy, sometimes downright terrifying work of cinema, and if they can maintain all these elements for Paranorman, then we should have a treat on our hands. The one worry is that Henry Selick, the director of Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, is not involved with this one, but the signs are still good and you can scare yourself silly when it comes out on September 14th.
Frankenweenie also looks like it could be worth our time, as this is going for a resolutely old school approach. Homaging the classic James Whale Frankenstein films of the 30s, the black and white, bolts-in-the-neck aesthetic display director Tim Burton's love of classic horror. I've sadly not seen the original short that Burton did before his career in feature films, but anything that sees him going back to his roots as a director, before he became an indulgent self-parody, can only be a good thing. At his best, Burton is a visually impressive, constantly imaginative director. At his worst he makes messy, plotless rambles with cliché ridden visuals and phoned in Johnny Depp performances. Let's hope that the former turned up to direct Frankenweenie.
The other film in the trio of terror, Hotel Transylvania, is a far more straightforward, studio comedy that will probably have very little horror but lots of pop culture references. Sony, the studio behind Rio, have assembled a cast that would be terrible in a live action comedy – Adam Sandler, Kevin James and David Spade don't exactly inspire confidence – but may do well as a voice cast with a good script. Some of the gags in the trailer are pretty sharp, and director Genndy Tartakovsky has done some impressive work with the Star Wars TV series, but it remains to be seen if this will be more than a run of the mill comedy.
As to that first question – why all the animated horror? – there are a couple of possibilities. Studios often mimic each other, Pixar and Dreamworks in particular have a history of it (Antz vs. A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo vs. Shark's Tale and so on), so perhaps there is some of that here. If something proves to be successful, then others will want to get a piece of the action. It could just be that Hallowe'en is coming up and studios LOVE to tie releases in with holidays (Legend of the Guardians, for instance, looks set for a nice wintry, Christmassy release). Yet maybe, just maybe, there is a desire to instil a bit of fear and backbone into a generation of kids softened by bland, threatless films and television. Whatever it is, it's a curious trend that may just prove to be a bit too much for the younger demographic: parents may end up being very grateful for the primary colours and circus afros of Madagascar 3.
Posted by Nathanael Smith in Preview Tags: animation, coraline, dracula, frankenstein, frankenweenie, horror, hotel transylvania, madagascar 3, nightmare before christmas, paranorman, tim burton
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text:
Happy Sad is the third album by American singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, released in April 1969. It was recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California and was produced by former Lovin' Spoonful members Zal Yanovsky and, coincidentally, his subsequent replacement Jerry Yester.  It marked the beginning of Buckley's experimental period, as it incorporated elements of jazz that he had never used before. Many of the songs here represent a departure from the binary form that dominated much of his previous work. The sound of the album is characterized by David Friedman's vibraphone, an instrument which gives the album a more relaxed tone than Buckley's earlier work. The songs are much longer than on previous releases and this style continued through to later works. The vocals on the album are more drawn out than earlier performances and this represents the beginning of Buckley using his voice like an instrument. The lyrics on Happy Sad represent a change as Buckley stopped working with Larry Beckett, his lyricist on the two previous albums Tim Buckley and Goodbye and Hello, and began writing the lyrics himself. Buckley's self-penned efforts stand in contrast to Beckett's occasionally political and literary-style work. Buckley would also go on to author all his own material on the following two albums.

Inspirations and song analysis
Happy Sad shares much in common with his later albums, Lorca and Blue Afternoon. Much of the material that would appear on those albums was written at the same time as the songs that appear on this album, representing the most productive and prolific period of Buckley's career. Buckley's musical tastes expanded during the period that the album was written.

The first track, "Strange Feelin", was instrumentally inspired by Miles Davis' "All Blues" from Kind of Blue, while the melody of the song is totally original.

"Buzzin' Fly" was written much earlier than the rest of the work and was originally performed with a group Buckley had during high school, the Harlequin 3, with bassist Jim Fielder and later lyricist, Larry Beckett.

The third track, "Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)", is a song composed of various movements and this represents the second time Buckley wrote in this manner, his previous effort being the title track of Goodbye and Hello. The segments of the song were written separately as "Danang" and "Ashbury Park", as demonstrated on the later released demo sessions, The Dream Belongs to Me: Rare and Unreleased 1968 - 1973. The final version of the song is backed by an 'ocean' sound effect, however this was not originally intended to feature on the song. Buckley and the band were happy with the take of song but because of a recording problem the track had a slight electric buzzing in the background. The producer solved this by muffling the buzzing with the ocean overdub.

"Dream Letter" is an ode and apology to his ex-wife, Mary Guibert, and his son Jeff Buckley. This is the second song Buckley wrote about the pair, the first being "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" on his previous LP, Goodbye and Hello. In comparison to that song "Dream Letter" has a more apologetic tone, the lyrics reveal this with Buckley lamenting "Does he ever ask about me?". It would be over five years later that Buckley would meet with his son again. The name of the song would later be used for a live album: posthumous release Dream Letter: Live in London 1968. The concert features much of the same personnel from the Happy Sad sessions.

"Gypsy Woman" is a long track highlighting Buckley's vocal acrobatics and on the record has some qualities of a jam session. Buckley and his band were disappointed with its recording but the song would remain as part of Buckley's live repertoire for the following years.

The closer of the album, "Sing a Song For You", is more similar to Buckley's work on Goodbye and Hello than to the songs on the rest of the album. It shares the verse/chorus style and folk leanings of "Song to the Siren", which though released on Starsailor, was written around the same period.

Reception

Released at the height of his popularity, Happy Sad was his highest charting album, reaching No. 81 in the US Pop albums chart, but Buckley's experimentation on this album would alienate some of the fanbase and his mainstream appeal he gained with Goodbye and Hello. However, this was only the beginning of Buckley's experimentation with sound and genre, and subsequent releases would further reduce his mainstream popularity and see his sales take a downturn.

In 2000 it was voted number 954 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

Track listing
All tracks written by Tim Buckley.

Side One
"Strange Feelin'" – 7:40
"Buzzin' Fly" – 6:04
"Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" – 10:49

Side Two
"Dream Letter" – 5:12
"Gypsy Woman" – 12:19
"Sing a Song for You" – 2:39

Personnel
Tim Buckley – vocals, 12-string guitar
Lee Underwood – lead guitar, keyboards
John Miller – double bass
Carter C.C. Collins – congas, conductor
David Friedman – percussion, marimba, vibraphone
Technical
Zal Yanovsky – producer
Jerry Yester – producer
Jac Holzman – production supervisor
Bruce Botnick – engineer
Ed Caraeff – photography
William S. Harvey – art direction
Robert L. Heimall – design

References

Further reading
"Tim Buckley Biography" by Lee Underwood
Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley, David Browne

Tim Buckley albums
1969 albums
Elektra Records albums
Albums produced by Jerry Yester
Albums produced by Zal Yanovsky

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
WorldABC.xyz: facts on every entity in the world
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan's surrender, but it required four years of sometimes brutal fighting, intermittent negotiations, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949. A period of sometimes unruly parliamentary democracy ended in 1957 when President SOEKARNO declared martial law and instituted "Guided Democracy." After an abortive coup in 1965 by alleged communist sympathizers, SOEKARNO was gradually eased from power. From 1967 until 1988, President SUHARTO ruled Indonesia with his "New Order" government. After rioting toppled SUHARTO in 1998, free and fair legislative elections took place in 1999. Indonesia is now the world's third most populous democracy, the world's largest archipelagic state, and the world's largest Muslim-majority nation. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, improving education, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing economic and financial reforms, stemming corruption, reforming the criminal justice system, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, addressing climate change, and controlling infectious diseases, particularly those of global and regional importance. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in Aceh in December 2006. Indonesia continues to face low intensity armed resistance in Papua by the separatist Free Papua Movement.
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates
5.00° S, 120.00° E
Area 15/257
Area - comparative
slightly less than three times the size of Texas
total: 2,958 km
border countries (3): Timor-Leste 253 km, Malaysia 1,881 km, Papua New Guinea 824 km
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
mean elevation:
highest point: Puncak Jaya 4,884 m
petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
agricultural land: 31.2%
arable land 13%; permanent crops 12.1%; permanent pasture 6.1%
forest: 51.7%
Irrigated land
67,220 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources
2,019 cu km (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
total: 113.3 cu km/yr (11%/19%/71%)
per capita: 517.3 cu m/yr (2005)
occasional floods; severe droughts; tsunamis; earthquakes; volcanoes; forest fires
volcanism: Indonesia contains the most volcanoes of any country in the world - some 76 are historically active; significant volcanic activity occurs on Java, Sumatra, the Sunda Islands, Halmahera Island, Sulawesi Island, Sangihe Island, and in the Banda Sea; Merapi (elev. 2,968 m), Indonesia's most active volcano and in eruption since 2010, has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Agung, Awu, Karangetang, Krakatau (Krakatoa), Makian, Raung, and Tambora
Environment - current issues
deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note
archipelago of 17,508 islands, some 6,000 of which are inhabited (Indonesia is the world's largest country comprised solely of islands); straddles equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian
Javanese 40.1%, Sundanese 15.5%, Malay 3.7%, Batak 3.6%, Madurese 3%, Betawi 2.9%, Minangkabau 2.7%, Buginese 2.7%, Bantenese 2%, Banjarese 1.7%, Balinese 1.7%, Acehnese 1.4%, Dayak 1.4%, Sasak 1.3%, Chinese 1.2%, other 15% (2010 est.)
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese)
note: more than 700 languages are used in Indonesia
Muslim 87.2%, Christian 7%, Roman Catholic 2.9%, Hindu 1.7%, other 0.9% (includes Buddhist and Confucian), unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
Population 5/238
255,993,674 (July 2015 est.)
0-14 years: 25.82% (male 33,651,533/female 32,442,996)
15-24 years: 17.07% (male 22,238,735/female 21,454,563)
55-64 years: 8.18% (male 9,608,548/female 11,328,421)
65 years and over: 6.62% (male 7,368,764/female 9,579,379) (2015 est.)
total dependency ratio: 49%
youth dependency ratio: 41.2%
elderly dependency ratio: 7.7%
potential support ratio: 13% (2015 est.)
total: 29.6 years
Population growth rate 125/233
0.92% (2015 est.)
Birth rate 110/224
16.72 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Death rate 151/225
6.37 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Net migration rate 152/222
-1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
urban population: 53.7% of total population (2015)
Major urban areas - population
JAKARTA (capital) 10.323 million; Surabaya 2.853 million; Bandung 2.544 million; Medan 2.204 million; Semarang 1.63 million; Makassar 1.489 million (2015)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2012 est.)
Maternal mortality rate 52/184
126 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Infant mortality rate 71/224
total: 24.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.46 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 19.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)
Life expectancy at birth 140/224
total population: 72.45 years
male: 69.85 years
female: 75.17 years (2015 est.)
Total fertility rate 103/224
2.15 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
61.9% (2012)
Health expenditures 180/191
3.1% of GDP (2013)
Physicians density
0.2 physicians/1,000 population (2012)
Hospital bed density
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Drinking water source
improved:
Sanitation facility access
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
660,300 (2014 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
33,700 (2014 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate 160/191
5.7% (2014)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight 31/138
Education expenditures 143/173
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 13 years
female: 13 years (2012)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 49/134
total: 31.3%
conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia
local long form: Republik Indonesia
local short form: Indonesia
former: Netherlands East Indies, Dutch East Indies
etymology: the name is an 18th-century construct composed of two Greek words, "Indos" (India) and "nesoi" (islands), meaning "Indian islands"
name: Jakarta
geographic coordinates: 6.10° S, 106.49° E
note: Indonesia has three time zones
31 provinces (provinsi-provinsi, singular - provinsi), 1 autonomous province*, 1 special region** (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 national capital district*** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya***, Jambi, Jawa Barat (West Java), Jawa Tengah (Central Java), Jawa Timur (East Java), Kalimantan Barat (West Kalimantan), Kalimantan Selatan (South Kalimantan), Kalimantan Utara (North Kalimantan), Kalimantan Tengah (Central Kalimantan), Kalimantan Timur (East Kalimantan), Kepulauan Bangka Belitung (Bangka Belitung Islands), Kepulauan Riau (Riau Islands), Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara (North Maluku), Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Nusa Tenggara), Nusa Tenggara Timur (East Nusa Tenggara), Papua, Papua Barat (West Papua), Riau, Sulawesi Barat (West Sulawesi), Sulawesi Selatan (South Sulawesi), Sulawesi Tengah (Central Sulawesi), Sulawesi Tenggara (Southeast Sulawesi), Sulawesi Utara (North Sulawesi), Sumatera Barat (West Sumatra), Sumatera Selatan (South Sumatra), Sumatera Utara (North Sumatra), Yogyakarta**
note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, regencies and municipalities have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services
17 August 1945 (declared)
Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
drafted July to August 1945, effective 17 August 1945, abrogated by 1949 and 1950 constitutions, 1945 constitution restored 5 July 1959; amended several times, last in 2002; note - a new constitutional amendment was proposed in February 2015 (2015)
civil law system based on the Roman-Dutch model and influenced by customary law
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Indonesia
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 continuous years
17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
chief of state: President Joko WIDODO (since 20 October 2014); Vice President Jusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2014); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joko WIDODO (since 20 October 2014); Vice President Jusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2014)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 9 July 2014 (next to be held in 2019)
election results: Joko WiDODO elected president; percent of vote - Joko WIDODO (PDI-P) 53.2%, PRABOWO Subianto (GERINDRA) 46.8%
description: bicameral People's Consultative Assembly or Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat consists of the Regional Representative Council or Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (132 seats; non-partisan members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (560 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote to serve 5-year terms)
note: 29 other parties received less than the 2.5% vote threshold and failed to win so did not obtain any seats; because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the percentage of votes received by parties
elections: last held on 9 April 2014 (next to be held in 2019)
election results: percent of vote by party - PDI-P 19%, Golkar 15%, Gerindra 12%, PD 10%, PKB 9%, PAN 8%, PKS 7%, NasDem 7%, PPP 7%, Hanura 5%; seats by party - PDI-P 109, Golkar 91, Gerindra 73, PD 61, PKB 47, PAN 49, PKS 40, NasDem 35, PPP 39, Hanura 16
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (51 judges divided into 8 chambers); Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi (consists of 9 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by Judicial Commission, appointed by president with concurrence of parliament; judges serve until retirement at age 65; Constitutional Court judges - 3 nominated by president, 3 by Supreme Court, and 3 by parliament; judges appointed by the president; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts: High Courts of Appeal, district courts, religious courts
Political parties and leaders
Democrat Party or PD [Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO]
Functional Groups Party or GOLKAR [Aburizal BAKRIE]
Great Indonesia Movement Party or GERINDRA [PRABOWO Subianto Djojohadikusumo]
Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]
National Awakening Party or PKB [Muhaiman ISKANDAR]
National Mandate Party or PAN [Hatta RAJASA]
People's Conscience Party or HANURA [WIRANTO]
Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Anis MATTA]
United Development Party or PPP [NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Commission for the "Disappeared" and Victims of Violence or KontraS
Indonesia Corruption Watch or ICW
Indonesian Forum for the Environment or WALHI
International organization participation
ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, CD, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, EAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-11, G-15, G-20, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OECD (Enhanced Engagement, OIC, OPCW, PIF (partner), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Flag description
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; the colors derive from the banner of the Majapahit Empire of the 13th-15th centuries; red symbolizes courage, white represents purity
note: similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red
National symbol(s)
garuda (mythical bird); national colors: red, white
name: "Indonesia Raya" (Great Indonesia)
lyrics/music: Wage Rudolf SOEPRATMAN
note: adopted 1945
Economy - overview
Indonesia has seen a slowdown in growth since 2012, mostly due to the end of the commodities export boom. During the global financial crisis, Indonesia outperformed its regional neighbors and joined China and India as the only G20 members posting growth. The government has promoted fiscally conservative policies, resulting in a debt-to-GDP ratio of less than 25% and historically low rates of inflation. Fitch and Moody's upgraded Indonesia's credit rating to investment grade in December 2011. Indonesia still struggles with poverty and unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, a complex regulatory environment, and unequal resource distribution among regions. President Joko WIDODO - elected in July 2014 - has emphasized maritime and other infrastructure development, especially increased electric power capacity, since taking office. Fuel subsidies were almost completely removed in early 2015, a move which has helped the government increase spending on its development priorities. Indonesia, with the nine other ASEAN members, will continue to move towards participation in the ASEAN Economic Community, though full implementation of economic integration was completed by the previously-set deadline of year-end 2015.
GDP (purchasing power parity) 9/230
$2.839 trillion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2015 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$872.6 billion (2015 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 46/225
4.7% (2015 est.)
5% (2014 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP) 131/230
$11,300 (2015 est.)
Gross national saving 10/179
31.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
household consumption: 56.8%
government consumption: 9.4%
investment in fixed capital: 32.3%
investment in inventories: 1.2%
exports of goods and services: 21.7%
imports of goods and services: -21.4%
(2015 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 13.6%
Agriculture - products
rubber and similar products, palm oil, poultry, beef, forest products, shrimp, cocoa, coffee, medicinal herbs, essential oil, fish and its similar products, and spices
petroleum and natural gas, textiles, automotive, electrical appliances, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, medical instruments and appliances, handicrafts, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, processed food, jewelry, and tourism
Industrial production growth rate 40/202
Labor force 5/233
122.4 million (2015 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
Unemployment rate 62/207
Population below poverty line
11.3% (2014 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 28.2% (2010)
Distribution of family income - Gini index 80/144
revenues: $123.3 billion
expenditures: $142.8 billion (2015 est.)
Taxes and other revenues 199/219
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) 78/220
-2.2% of GDP (2015 est.)
Public debt 146/176
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 188/226
Central bank discount rate 58/156
6.37% (31 December 2010)
note: this figure represents the 3-month SBI rate; the Bank of Indonesia has not employed the one-month SBI since September 2010
Commercial bank prime lending rate 59/184
12.8% (31 December 2015 est.)
12.61% (31 December 2014 est.)
note: these figures represent the average annualized rate on working capital loans
Stock of narrow money 44/192
$69.01 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
Stock of broad money 29/193
$348.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
Stock of domestic credit 34/191
Market value of publicly traded shares 25/121
$390.1 billion (31 December 2011)
Current account balance 186/197
-$19.56 billion (2015 est.)
Exports 30/224
$176 billion (2014 est.)
Exports - commodities
mineral fuels, animal or vegetable fats (includes palm oil), electrical machinery, rubber, machinery and mechanical appliance parts
Exports - partners
Japan 13.1%, China 10%, Singapore 9.5%, US 9.4%, India 7%, South Korea 6%, Malaysia 5.5% (2014)
Imports 31/223
Imports - commodities
mineral fuels, boilers, machinery, and mechanical parts, electric machinery, iron and steel, foodstuffs
Imports - partners
China 17.2%, Singapore 14.1%, Japan 9.6%, South Korea 6.7%, Malaysia 6.1%, Thailand 5.5%, US 4.6% (2014)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 22/170
Debt - external 33/206
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 25/120
$279 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 50/105
Indonesian rupiah (IDR) per US dollar -
13,577.6 (2015 est.)
9,386.63 (2012 est.)
Electricity - production 23/220
185.3 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Electricity - consumption 22/219
Electricity - exports 152/218
0 kWh (2013 est.)
Electricity - imports 162/219
Electricity - installed generating capacity 23/214
47.75 million kW (2012 est.)
Electricity - from fossil fuels 92/214
83.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Electricity - from nuclear fuels 111/214
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants 114/214
11% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Electricity - from other renewable sources 55/212
5.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Crude oil - production 23/214
789,800 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil - exports 25/214
Crude oil - imports 23/214
Crude oil - proved reserves 29/215
3.693 billion bbl (1 January 2015 est.)
Refined petroleum products - production 23/214
Refined petroleum products - consumption 14/212
1.718 million bbl/day (2013 est.)
Refined petroleum products - exports 51/214
78,690 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Refined petroleum products - imports 10/213
Natural gas - production 12/216
70.4 billion cu m (2013 est.)
Natural gas - consumption 24/215
Natural gas - exports 12/215
Natural gas - imports 211/214
0 cu m (2013 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves 12/212
2.955 trillion cu m (1 January 2014 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy 15/212
456.2 million Mt (2012 est.)
Telephones - fixed lines 11/219
total subscriptions: 29.64 million
Telephones - mobile cellular 4/217
total: 319 million
general assessment: domestic service includes an interisland microwave system, an HF radio police net, and a domestic satellite communications system; international service good
domestic: coverage provided by existing network has been expanded by use of over 200,000 telephone kiosks many located in remote areas; mobile-cellular subscribership growing rapidly
international: country code - 62; landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks that provide links throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2011)
mixture of about a dozen national TV networks - 2 public broadcasters, the remainder private broadcasters - each with multiple transmitters; more than 100 local TV stations; widespread use of satellite and cable TV systems; public radio broadcaster operates 6 national networks, as well as regional and local stations; overall, more than 700 radio stations with more than 650 privately operated (2008)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998)
Television broadcast stations
54 local TV stations (11 national TV networks; each with its group of local transmitters) (2006)
Internet country code
Internet hosts 42/232
1.344 million (2012)
Internet users 14/217
total: 42.4 million
percent of population: 16.7% (2014 est.)
Airports 10/236
Airports - with paved runways
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 72
under 914 m: 37 (2013)
Airports - with unpaved runways
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
condensate 1,064 km; condensate/gas 150 km; gas 11,702 km; liquid petroleum gas 119 km; oil 7,767 km; oil/gas/water 77 km; refined products 728 km; unknown 53 km; water 44 km (2013)
Railways 35/136
narrow gauge: 8,159 km 1.067-m gauge (565 km electrified)
note: 4,816 km operational (2014)
Roadways 14/223
total: 496,607 km
paved: 283,102 km
Waterways 7/107
21,579 km (2011)
Merchant marine 8/156
by type: bulk carrier 105, cargo 618, chemical tanker 69, container 120, liquefied gas 28, passenger 49, passenger/cargo 77, petroleum tanker 244, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 12, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 11
foreign-owned: 69 (China 1, France 1, Greece 1, Japan 8, Jordan 1, Malaysia 1, Norway 3, Singapore 46, South Korea 2, Taiwan 1, UK 2, US 2)
registered in other countries: 95 (Bahamas 2, Cambodia 2, China 2, Hong Kong 10, Liberia 4, Marshall Islands 1, Mongolia 2, Panama 10, Singapore 60, Tuvalu 1, unknown 1) (2010)
Ports and terminals
major seaport(s): Banjarmasin, Belawan, Kotabaru, Krueg Geukueh, Palembang, Panjang, Sungai Pakning, Tanjung Perak, Tanjung Priok
container port(s) (TEUs): Tanjung Priok (5,617,562)
LNG terminal(s) (export): Bontang, Tangguh
LNG terminal(s) (import): Arun, Lampung, West Java
Indonesian Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI): Army (TNI-Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD)), Navy (TNI-Angkatan Laut (TNI-AL); includes marines (Korps Marinir, KorMar), naval air arm), Air Force (TNI-Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU)), National Air Defense Command (Kommando Pertahanan Udara Nasional (Kohanudnas)) (2013)
Military service age and obligation
18-45 years of age for voluntary military service, with selective conscription authorized; 2-year service obligation, with reserve obligation to age 45 (officers); Indonesian citizens only (2012)
Military expenditures 116/132
0.78% of GDP (2012)
Disputes - international
Indonesia has a stated foreign policy objective of establishing stable fixed land and maritime boundaries with all of its neighbors; three stretches of land borders with Timor-Leste have yet to be delimited, two of which are in the Oecussi exclave area, and no maritime or Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundaries have been established between the countries; many refugees from Timor-Leste who left in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; all borders between Indonesia and Australia have been agreed upon bilaterally, but a 1997 treaty that would settle the last of their maritime and EEZ boundary has yet to be ratified by Indonesia's legislature; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef; Australia has closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing and placed restrictions on certain catches; land and maritime negotiations with Malaysia are ongoing, and disputed areas include the controversial Tanjung Datu and Camar Wulan border area in Borneo and the maritime boundary in the Ambalat oil block in the Celebes Sea; Indonesia and Singapore continue to work on finalizing their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Indonesia's Batam Island; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; maritime delimitation talks continue with Palau; EEZ negotiations with Vietnam are ongoing, and the two countries in Fall 2011 agreed to work together to reduce illegal fishing along their maritime boundary
Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: at least 31,440 (inter-communal, inter-faith, and separatist violence between 1998 and 2004 in Aceh and Papua; religious attacks and land conflicts in 2012 and 2013; most IDPs in Aceh, Maluku, East Nusa Tengarra) (2015) (2011)
illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; producer of methamphetamine and ecstasy; President WIDODO's war on drugs has led to an increase in death sentences and executions, particularly of foreign drug traffickers (2015)
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Lucky Lucy Lindstrom finished college and headed west. She started as a financial analyst with a large company in Seattle. After just four years, she became a Registered Investment Advisor and began advising clients. Lucy also managed her own investments. With her keen insight into financial markets, Lucy soon began to move from traditional stocks and bonds into futures and commodities markets. Lucky Lucy was so successful in these markets that she now only manages her own large personal portfolio.
Lucy had invested $1,000,000 in stock in a Canadian oil "wildcatter" with the name Northern Long Shot, Inc. This company has been drilling new exploratory wells in the far north. Recently, the stock rose from the $1 per share that she paid to over $5 per share. Lucy was delighted with her gain and decided to give the $5,000,000 to a supporting organization (SO) with her favorite charity.
For the first two years, the SO distributed grants for charitable purposes. However, in year three, Lucy made a major mistake in her personal commodities investing. She wants to borrow $3,000,000 from the SO to "tide her over" through this difficult time. Since she needs all of her assets to cover her leveraged obligations, Lucy would like to obtain a no-interest loan for two years. After all, she thinks, "I gave $5,000,000 to the SO, so it surely would be okay to borrow $3,000,000 at no interest for two years."
Would this plan work? Can the supporting organization give a no-interest loan to Lucy?
There are major problems with the proposed no-interest loan. First, the supporting organization is a public charity that must be operated for the benefit of the public. Public charities are subject to the intermediate sanctions rules of Sec. 4958. A public charity may not engage in an excess benefit transaction. An excess benefit transaction occurs when a public charity engages in any direct or indirect transaction with a "disqualified person" and the disqualified person receives a benefit from the charity for which he or she did not pay. Excess benefits occur in many ways, including below-market loans from a public charity to a disqualified person and the payment of unreasonable compensation from a charity to a disqualified person.
A major potential issue for Lucy is the restriction on excess benefits under Sec. 4958. If a supporting organization (Type I, Type II, or Type III) makes a grant, loan, payment of compensation or other similar payment to a substantial contributor or related person, there is an automatic Sec. 4958 excess benefit for the entire payment. Lucy is subject to an initial tax of 25% of the amount of the payment under Sec. 4958(a)(1). An organization manager who participated in the making of the payment, knowing that the payment was made to a substantial contributor, is subject to a tax of 10%. Sec. 4958(a)(2). Second tier taxes of Sec. 4958 may also apply to the entire payments, not just the excess value.
With this huge potential penalty, Lucy decided to forgo the $3,000,000 loan from the SO and use other methods to cover her investment needs. Fortunately, the markets turned in her favor and she was soon back in excellent financial condition.


On a recent trip to Minneapolis to see the Minnesota Orchestra, we had dinner at McCormick & Schmicks. The restaurant is an easy walk from the Orchestra Hall, we got seated immediately and the food was good.
When you first enter the restaurant, the doors you enter look quite impressive with the leaded glass. You might think that you need to dress up but lots of people were in jeans.
It is a bit noisy though. I'm not sure if it's because the ceilings are high and the noise bounces back to the floor but if you're looking for a quiet romantic evening this probably isn't the place to go to. Although — they do have rooms that close with curtains so perhaps those rooms would be more intimate.
I decided to try the Salmon over Pasta that came with a Spinach & Vegetable Orzo and Sundried Tomato Pesto. It was okay. The orzo was greasy and the salmon didn't taste any better than the one I had made at home that week.
It wasn't bad but I guess my expectation was that it should taste better than what I make at home. Is that an unrealistic expectation?
Overall, the dinner was good and its a good place to eat before heading to a concert.


text:
No shooting in Donbas on August 18
Over the past 24 hours, there were no ceasefire violations in Donbas, the Joint Forces Operation HQ reports.
No shooting was observed in the combat area. Ukrainian forces did not take any casualties. The government troops are ready to respond to any actions coming from the Russian occupants.
Earlier, the National Security and Defense Council reported that the ceasefire is Donbas has been holding for three weeks in a row.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky included first Prime Minister of independent Ukraine Vitold Fokin in the composition of the Ukrainian delegation at the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas as the President's Office reported.
"According to the document, Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Vitold Fokin as the first deputy head of the delegation (by agreement)," the message said.
Related: Russia's demand to enshrine Donbas special status in Constitution is futile, - official
Earlier, Vitold Fokin accepted the offer to work in Minsk trilateral contact group that seeks to end Donbas conflict.
Note that Vitold Fokin headed the government of Ukraine in September 1991, and in December of the same year, together with President Leonid Kravchuk, signed the Belovezhskaya Agreement on the liquidation of the USSR on behalf of Ukraine.
Ukrainian military Donbas conflict Russian aggression in Ukraine Joint Forces operation


Trigger points are hyperirritable contraction knots found in tight bands of muscles resulting in what we call myofascial pain syndromes. These points are usually associated with muscle tightness and pain. Trigger point pain can often refer down other parts of the body and mimic pain from a pinched nerve resulting in patients undergoing numerous tests. Importantly, trigger points cannot be identified on a blood test, x-ray, MRI or CT scan. The best test for detecting a trigger point is a careful physical exam performed by someone with specialized training in this area.
Trigger points can cause chronic debilitating myofascial pain with loss in muscle function, strength and coordination. Disabling pain results in inactivity which causes a spiral down effect of worsening the pain, further tightening of painful muscles and involvement of other parts of the body. In fact, patients with myofascial pain syndrome are often diagnosed with overlapping fibromyalgia which may not be completely accurate.
Trigger point dry needling utilizes a very thin filament needle. The needle used is similar to an acupuncture needle but this treatment is not considered acupuncture and is based on Western physiologic approaches and not eastern meridian points. The needle is inserted into the trigger point and a local twitch response is ideally elicited but often not necessary to achieve results.
Dry needling is thought to work by disrupting a reflex arc of contracted tissue as well as stimulating biochemical changes to allow improved blood flow and healing to the area. The twitch response is an involuntary contraction of the muscle that allows the muscle to relax permitting blood flow to an area which was normally deprived of oxygen and flushing out of painful waste products, free radicals and cytokines. Sometimes electrical stimulation is applied to the needle to elicit these twitches to help the muscle relax as well.
Patients with acute or chronic pain disorders emanating from trigger points may benefit from trigger point dry needling. This technique differs from trigger point injections in that no foreign chemicals are being injected into the patient's body and a much broader area of the body can be treated rapidly.


This is the fourth volume in this popular biennial series designed to help medical physicists, technically inclined physicians, and other professionals stay current in medical radiation science and technology. This volume is particularly strong on the topic of imaging and computerized tomography, with 12 of the book's 20 chapters dealing with the physics of imaging or radiation dose assessment in CT. Many chapters begin with a short history of the technology in question, followed by the latest developments on the topic.


text:
May 10, 1997: Briefings
(Bridgetown, Barbados)
For Immediate Release May 10, 1997
PRESS BRIEFING BY
MIKE MCCURRY AND JIM STEINBERG
Grand Barbados Hotel
Bridgetown, Barbados
MR. MCCURRY: The President is in very many ways delighted with the success of this trip, and now delighted that it's given him an opportunity for a day of relaxation. He asked me to report that -- I asked him if he had any plans to go out, and he said his only travel plans are from the back door to the pool. And that applies, as near as I can tell, to tonight and tomorrow and through tomorrow night.
So we're going to ask again to see if we can't give you sort of a full lid for all day tomorrow, and then you can make arrangements with Mary Ellen and David if you want to just get a little update on anything that we hear from where the President is.
Q So you wouldn't need a pool to hang out then?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, I've asked -- I explained to the President we need about -- given everyone, staff and press and everybody, is scattered over so many hotels, that we would need time to assemble a group if he planned to go anywhere. And he seemed to understand that. But he indicated to me he didn't have any plans to go anywhere.
Q What's the Monday outlook, Mike?
MR. MCCURRY: I have no idea at this point. Just no idea -- don't even want to speculate.
Q Might they stay --
MR. MCCURRY: Don't want to speculate, Peter, I don't know.
As a general proposition, from Mexico City to Barbados, the President has done a great deal on this trip to reengage with the nations of this hemisphere to follow through on the commitments made at the Summit of the Americas and really to set the stage for just under a year of work, looking ahead to Santiago and the Summit of the Americas next year.
We think whether the issue is migration, whether it's fighting drug trafficking, whether it is advancing the economic interests of the people of the United States and the people of this hemisphere, this trip has been about America setting an agenda that looks ahead to the 21st century and finding ways to grow the economies of this region in a way that benefit all of those, so that none get left behind.
And in that respect the President, from his meetings with the Mexican government, the Binational Commission meetings to the summit in Costa Rica to the summit here today, is convinced that this trip has done a great deal to advance our interests in this hemisphere and to really keep us focused and
engaged on the importance we attach to this hemisphere and relations in this hemisphere.
So he's delighted with the trip and happy with the outcome of a lot of the discussions today, which were very profound. To tell you more about that now, we've got Jim Steinberg, the Deputy National Security Advisor to the President, who can tell you more about the summit, if you want to; can report to you a little bit about the working lunch, which was a very good discussion that ran overtime.
And then Ambassador Jim Dobbins, who is the Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council is here. He can tell you more about the just concluded bilateral with President Preval. Meanwhile, we'll try to get a little bit on the President's bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Arthur, which is probably concluding right about now. My colleagues, my friends.
MR. STEINBERG: Thank you, sir.
The meeting today I think was a continuation of a series of themes that have gone through the entire trip, which is the President talking about the opportunities that change brings to this region, but also helping the countries of this region understand the dangers of change and how the United States is prepared to work with them, both to take advantage of the opportunities and deal with the dangers.
The focus of the first session was on the economic issues. I think what was interesting about the discussion is that most of these countries accept the fact that as part of the Summit of the Americas process, that we are moving towards a free trade area of the Americas by 2005, but there are unique problems that the smaller economies face in this region. And they talked a lot about how to deal with those problems of adjustment -- not in terms of trying to exempt themselves in the long run, but rather dealing with the transitional problems that they need both in terms of dealing with specific sectors of their economies, like bananas, and also in terms of the kind of adjustment they need -- for example, how do they participate in these negotiations for the free trade area of 2005 and how that United States -- the President talked about how we can provide technical assistance, how we can help them work through these problems to be part of the process.
The second part of the discussions focused on the security issues broadly understood, particularly the problems of crime and drugs and the partnership that we're building here. As you heard the President say, we've now completed maritime cooperation agreements with virtually all the countries in the region, important agreements with Jamaica and Barbados. There are a number of efforts that are underway both bilaterally and regionally to try to deal with these problems, which is a growing concern here. And the President made clear that he understood from our perspective that there is a relationship between the two halves of the discussion, that is to the extent that there is economic opportunity and prosperity here that it's a stronger base from which to deal with the problems of crime and drugs.
I think it was clear from all of the discussion that the President's presence here was something that almost every one of the speakers noted as important to them, as a sense of a real understanding of the nature of their problems. It was a very detailed discussion. In many cases, countries had particular concerns, particular issues that were of concern to them and they were all discussed.
At the lunch, discussion was quite eclectic. The group heard President Preval talk about the situation in Haiti and expressed his thanks to the members of CARICOM and the United
States for their support. He invited them to join for the 250th anniversary of Port-au-Prince next year, in 1998. And he also indicated that Haiti would be applying for membership in CARICOM, which is something I think we've all felt would be a positive step. And I believe it would be welcome by the members of CARICOM.
There was a discussion of a particular economic concern that the Dominican Republic and several others had with a provision of the tax code, section 936, which was recently eliminated by Congress. They discussed the problem of the volcanic activity on Montserrat, which was particularly of concern to the government of Montserrat. And they discussed environmental issues. And they did have a discussion of Cuba as you heard foreshadowed at the press conference where they both agreed on the overall perspective of trying to enhance democracy and have a discussion about how that best should be done.
Let me now turn it -- unless you have questions in this, maybe I'll turn it over to brother Dobbins who can talk about the President's meeting with Preval.
Q Just a -- at the lunch, did the President bring up the Fletcher case with Sir James at all?
MR. STEINBERG: The President did have an opportunity to discuss the Fletcher case with the Prime Minister and indicated his concern and his hope that at the highest levels there would be an effort to make sure that full due process was given to the case.
Q Did he give him a satisfying answer?
MR. STEINBERG: I think the President felt that he was heard, and he's certainly hopeful that that will be the case.
Q How did the President leave it on Cuba? Did you just agree to disagree or --
MR. STEINBERG: I think that there's obviously a variety of viewpoints on the question of how to proceed with Cuba. I think again that everybody agrees that they would like to support democracy. But as has generally been the case in discussions in the hemisphere, there are different viewpoints about how best to do that and what the best strategy is. There's no attempt to reach any conclusion. There certainly were quite widely different viewpoints on that.
Q Back on Fletcher, did the President -- was the President specific about what he meant by he wants full due process?
MR. STEINBERG: The President had a private conversation with the Prime Minister on that topic, and they discussed -- the President raised his concerns.
Q He didn't say anything else?
MR. STEINBERG: I'm not going to say --
Q -- what he meant by full due process?
MR. STEINBERG: I think that's a fair characterization of what the President said.
Q Did he speak about the conditions under which the Fletchers are being kept?
MR. STEINBERG: I'm just not going to -- the President, as I said, had a chance to -- it has certainly been raised by others, and as I say, the President raised his concerns
about the issue.
Q Raised by others in the administration?
MR. STEINBERG: Yes, at all levels.
Q At all levels, including the highest level?
MR. STEINBERG: I'm saying that the issue of the Fletcher case has been raised at all levels, and in more detail it has been raised by the State Department, by the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs and others.
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: The President greeted Preval, expressed his admiration and support for the efforts Preval is making to move forward with his economic reforms, noted that they had something in common -- both of them had had major achievements on the budget in the last week or so. The President had concluded his negotiations in principle, and Preval had actually secured passage by the Parliament of his budget. And the President said that he could appreciate based on his own experience what a significant achievement this was for Preval.
The President expressed the hope that the Haitian government would be able to move forward with the planned privatizations that they have announced and that there would be one or two specific decisions in this regard over the next several months. He also expressed the hope that the U.S. and Haiti would be able to conclude a maritime agreement of the sort that we've concluded with other countries of the region sometime in the near future.
The President also briefed Preval on several additional steps which we and others in the international community are taking to assist Haiti. He indicated that the U.S. Corps of Engineers had completed a survey of Port-au-Prince Harbor, based upon which we had discussed with the World Bank and secured World Bank agreement to dredge Port-au-Prince Harbor, which would make a significant contribution both to safety and to the commercial use of that harbor.
He indicated that the U.S. Coast Guard would organize and lead interagency teams to do surveys of Haiti's other harbors with a view to both safety and improved commercial use of those harbors, and that, in addition, that the Coast Guard was going to survey two additional possible Haitian Coast Guard bases. There's one small facility in Port-au-Prince and they will do surveys on the possibility of two others.
We've been assisting the Haitian Coast Guard; they and we have worked together and there have been a couple of significant drug seizures as a result, and we want to sustain that cooperation.
The President also told Preval that as a result of our budget negotiations, we had been able to identify $10 million in PL-480 agriculture assistance for Haiti that would be available this year, this fiscal year, and that the revenues which would be generated by this assistance would be available for rural credits in Haiti, something that's very close to Preval's heart.
Preval, for his part, talked at some length about his discussions with the World Bank and other international lenders on some projects that he's personally involved in that have to do with land reclamation and watershed -- preservation of watersheds, and he's quite excited about these and talked at some length to the President about them.
Q Was there any discussion about U.S. troops, when they might come home, or maybe extending their --
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: There was discussion about the international presence. As you may know, President Preval has requested an international presence through the end of November of this year. The President said that we were consulting with other countries with a view to seeing what the international communities response to that might be.
Q So it went no further than that? The President didn't make any commitments?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: No. Regarding international presence, no. He said we were in discussion with other countries; we're not in a position to make commitments on that.
Q When does the current mandate end?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: It ends on July 30th.
Q So there's not a lot of time to begin to discussions if you're seeking an extension of the mandate, is that correct?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: It's been extended about five times. I'm not saying it will be extended on this occasion, but the extensions have occurred previously and this is not an unusual time to be discussing with other countries whether to extend and on what basis. Each time it's been extended, it's also been reduced very significantly. So the issue before the international community is whether to further reduce and extend, or to leave on July 30th.
Q And what is the President's position on it?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: We're sympathetic to Preval's request, we're consulting with other countries.
Q Which ones?
Q How many U.S. troops are there now?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: There are approximately 450 troops. They're not part of this international presence. They don't have a security role. They're mostly engineers, medical personnel doing civic action type projects -- training and construction projects.
Q How much international assistance is being upheld right now, and was there any discussion of when or if it would be release?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I think that there's a good deal of international assistance which has been pending based on specific steps by the government of Haiti in regard to its economic reforms. The biggest hurdle was passage of the budget, which has just been passed. I can't give you exact amounts, it's in the tens of millions of dollars. The IMF, the World Bank will examine the exact bill the budget passed and all the signs -- either they will find it adequate and release further funding.
Q Does Haiti's unwillingness to service its domestic debt pose a problem to the release of --
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I think that one of the issues -- it's not that they're unwilling to service it. There was something in the budget that set a limit on debt servicing and, in effect, allowed some small increase, or some increase in their overall debt.
And that's one of the issues that the IMF, the World Bank will have to look at to see whether it meets the conditions
that they set. The preliminary soundings that I have heard -- and I don't know that they're conclusive -- are that this is not going to prove a problem. But that was not a definitive judgment by those institutions.
Q Does the administration think the Haitian government is anywhere close to being able to cope once the international security presence leaves? As you know, the argument is that as soon as the international forces leave, the guns that's been hidden away are going to come back out in the streets.
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: Well, there's a couple of parts to that question, I guess. The Haitians obviously have been getting a lot closer to this since we've gone from an international force of 22,000 troops to one that's 1,300 troops at the moment. And those troops have, I think, with one exception, which was in error, not been engaged at any time in the last five months.
So, clearly, the Haitian police forces are taking hold. For instance, they conducted elections which were almost entirely peaceful and the security for which was almost entirely provided by the Haitian National Police with very little in the way of international assistance. So the answer is they certainly are becoming more and more ready and at some point will be ready.
On the issue of whether there are huge stockpiles of guns that have been hidden away, personally, my view is that there aren't and never were huge stockpiles of guns. There are undoubtedly guns in Haiti, as there are on every other island in the Caribbean, and I doubt that they're more numerous. In fact, I suspect that they're less numerous than they are most elsewhere.
Q Just to be clear about the conversation about peacekeeping, did the President indicate that the U.S. was sympathetic to the idea of extending the peacekeeping mission or did he just take a pass and say we're consulting with other nations?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: He said he was consulting with other nations in a way which would have led to the assumption that we thought that Preval's request was a reasonable one and that we wanted to talk to others as to how it could be accommodated.
Q How many -- how big is the international force there?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: It's 1,300 at the moment.
Q What's the breakdown roughly on that?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I think it's 700 Canadians and 600 Pakistanis.
Q And how many -- you said about 350 Americans?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: 450, which are not part of that force.
Q We heard some fairly candid comments at the press conference. Could you give us a sense of whether the private discussions were even more candid? And secondly, it's sort of unusual for a President to meet with leaders of such small nations. Could you give us an example of one or two of the rather small issues that came up?
MR. STEINBERG: I think what you heard at the press conference pretty much reflected the discussion. There was a
real sense that everybody felt that what they wanted was some attention on the part of the United States to their issues and concerns. The fact that the President was there -- I think it was very striking to them that the President of the United States was there, was listening. And the President made a point on each of the issues, like 936 and the like, to respond on specifics.
They had a lot of discussion about the scholarship program, for example. One of the leaders brought up the fact that during the Reagan administration a scholarship program had been started, the so-called Reagan Scholarships. They had been ended and the President was now preparing to reinstitute them.
And they really had a back-and-forth. They had a lot -- they had a discussion on aviation safety. They had a discussion on problems with structures of phone rates. And each of these countries have very specific problems that they're trying to deal with. And the President engaged with them on each and every one of those issues. And I think that that was very much sort of what they wanted to hear.
They understood, whether it was the larger ones like bananas, or the smaller ones, not in every case were we able to give them fully the answer they wanted, but the President was listening, was attentive and the fact that there is this continued engagement, including the annual meetings that Secretary Albright is intending to have with her counterpart foreign ministers, I think was a real sign that they were not going to be left behind or ignored in this process.
And it's something we've obviously heard throughout this trip -- a concern that to make sure that this region, which is so important to us, is not somehow neglected. And I think the President feels, and we all feel, that that was a very significant accomplishment of the trip.
Q Ambassador Dobbins, could you just tell us a little bit more about what's anticipated in trying to develop a consensus for extending this mission? Is it consultations with Security Council partners? Is there anything more than that?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I think it's fairly standard. I mean, it's discussions with possible troop contributors -- there's two there now -- and it's discussions with the Security Council. And this is something which in the way the Security Council does business is just beginning. I mean, these decisions are made by the Security Council usually at the conclusion of a mandate. And so it will continue for a month or two.
Q And the extensions in November is what's being contemplated. Just logistically, does it make sense to extend it four months at a time or would you be looking for a six month -- AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: The average extension is six months, but Preval asked for it through November and that's what people are talking about.
Q Could you give us a little more information on the $10 million in agricultural aid? Where is it coming from?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: It's PL-480, there's two types of PL-480. This is the type where you bring the agricultural assistance in, it's sold for certain purposes and then that generates local currency revenue, which is in turn used for other aid projects. And one of the main possible uses is agricultural credits to assist small farmers, capitalize them.
Q How long did they meet?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I guess 20, 25 minutes.
MR. MCCURRY: A little bit longer, it was almost an
hour.
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: Was it? Half an hour.
Q Why is Haiti not a member of CARICOM now and what will it take for it to join?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: Haiti has historically been rather isolated. And it's beginning, as a result of the installation of democracy and also the way democracy was restored, with the participation of many nations -- including, in particular, all of the CARICOM nations -- to become part of a broader communities of which CARICOM is one.
My understanding is that it has been invited and expressed an intention of becoming a member of CARICOM and that it currently has an observer status. And I honestly don't know what the specific criteria are that it would need to meet to become a full member.
Q One more time on the peace keeping force. Is it the U.S. view that if the force is extended until November that should be the last extension, or can this go on and on like Cyprus and other places --
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: Well, it's certainly not going to go on and on like Cyprus. I mean, the force has been dramatically drawn down virtually every time it's been extended. So there's no sense that this is a permanent requirement. The question has just been tapering it off and at what stage.
Q -- mandate -- from the U.N. mandate? Is there any possibility of being --
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: It's hard to speculate. I mean, nothing is impossible, but I think the first inclination would be to go through the U.N. and there's no particular reason not to if that works.
Q Why was the President so reluctant to endorse and to support Preval's idea for extending mandate as a U.N. force?
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I didn't say he was.
Q Well, I mean, he did not endorse it. It's difficult to think that he would -- that Preval would attain extension without U.S. support.
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: I'm not -- there wasn't a sense of Preval asking for something and not getting it. These have been ongoing consultations. What the President said to Preval was not new. Preval has made this request. He's talked to the Canadians. He's talked to the U.N. He's talked to us. We told him that we were anticipating an ongoing consultations.
So we weren't giving Preval any new information on this. We were simply confirming that the President of United States was aware that there was ongoing consultations. And the President of Haiti acknowledged that and acknowledged that he did have this request.
Q The question still holds, which is, why wouldn't the President embrace this idea of lend some more public support for Preval's campaign for --
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: Preval's not campaigning for this. He's made a request. He made it nearly a year ago. He's said that he stands by that request. He thinks it would be useful for the international presence to stay until that period. And we've said, we are consulting with other countries on his
MR. STEINBERG: Let me just answer this. I think part of the problem may be we're not being clear enough is that the problem is not the concept of having an extension of the mandate. The problem is you've got to get the specifics.
And so, what we're talking about is -- there's no problem at all with the concept of extending the mandate. But you need to have the support of the Security Council and the troop contributing forces. So what the President is basically saying is, yes, I'm trying to work this problem. And that's what we're discussing here. I don't think -- there was no sense at all of a divergence on this issue. But until we have a concept lined up, the troop contributing countries, and have an idea of what it is, the proposition is still being worked.
Q Do you mean to say that he supports the concept of extension, they're just simply working out the details?
MR. STEINBERG: I think that -- I mean, the problem is a lot of the support comes from making sure that we have the right kinds of people there to do it. And so, I think that he is -- I think the right way to put it is the President is very sympathetic to the request, and now he's working with Preval to get the kind of response that Preval wants and the international community. So, I would say, very sympathetic to the request, wants to work with him and with the Security Council and potential troop contributors to figure out how that would come to life.
MR. MCCURRY: I'm surprised you're more interested in this than the movie you've been watching here. (Laughter.)
Other subjects?
Q Mike, not to beat a dead horse, but you say he's sympathetic --
MR. MCCURRY: That's what -- you got what you're going to get on that, I think. (Laughter.)
Okay, any other subjects?
Q Immigration.
MR. MCCURRY: Immigration.
Q The President said that he wasn't seeking changes in the immigration law, which seemed a rather -- I don't know if it's running counter to what Doris Meissner said the day before yesterday or if they're talking about different things.
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: Let me try to answer that. I think the distinction is between what the Caribbean countries were asking and what the Central American countries were asking. The Central American countries were particularly concerned about this issue with the cap on the suspension of deportation, which I think Doris Meissner went in at some length with you on. And that does -- that would require some changes in the legislation, and the administration has for the last several weeks been in consultations with the Congress about that.
The Caribbean were more concerned about this issue of notification when people who are in our criminal justice system are returned. And we have established -- we are establishing and have committed to establish a system of prior notification. And that does not require legislation that's purely administrative.
MR. MCCURRY: All right, any other subjects?
Q Can you tell us anything about Sir Anthony and Lady Bamford?
MR. MCCURRY: I don't know much about them. I know that they are obviously -- it's a fine, long-standing prominent British family, and they are, I understand -- have a number of vacation homes around the world. We asked our embassy here to identify a place where the Clintons could have some privacy for the balance of the weekend and while they were here for the meetings. And the embassy worked with a local realtor, identified this property and Sir and Lady Bamford graciously offered it.
Q They don't know the Clintons?
MR. MCCURRY: Not to my knowledge, no. They are fairly prominent, and they've -- you can find out a lot about the Bamfords if you want to go do a Lexis search. But they -- to my knowledge, the President -- the Clintons had no connection to them, and the embassy worked it out for us.
Q I'm going to go back to the immigration question. What he said, according to the transcript, is that we pledge not to engage in any mass deportations. That is not required under our law, nor was it contemplated. So he's talking about the mass deportations, not about the criminal aliens who are deported.
MR. MCCURRY: The President's view, as he stated it in Costa Rica even several days ago, is that mass deportations, particularly as they affect the Central American populations that are of concern to those leaders we saw in Costa Rica was not foreseen by the law, nothing in the legislative history and the law that suggests that, and we don't believe it is necessary to fulfill the requirements of the law.
Q Does that mean then that you are going to cease your efforts, the efforts the administration is making to soften the law?
MR. MCCURRY: That question was explored in great detail with Commissioner Meissner and I don't have anything to add to that.
Q But it sounds like it's changing.
MR. MCCURRY: There's no change from -- this is just as we briefed, just as the President said and just as she briefed. We've been over that question a number of times.
Q The President and the Commissioner both said that she was seeking consultations with Congress --
MR. MCCURRY: No change from what we've said. And I think that if you go back over that transcript, the President said in Costa Rica there would be no mass deportations. In fact, I think he said it in Mexico, too.
Q He did, but that's not what I'm talking -- he also said there were consultations with Congress.
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: There are several different issues here. The issue of mass deportation is trying to relieve a concern that somehow we are going to reorient the use of INS resources away, for instance, from processing people who come into our criminal justice system or catching people at the border as they come in, to other types of enforcement which might end up in large-scale roundups and expelling of large numbers of people in a manner different than the process. That wasn't what was contemplated in the law.
What's contemplated in the law is doing more of what you're doing better, and not reorienting resources in different directions. And levels of deportations are largely a function of resources. So the note "mass deportations" is not designed to suggest we're going to change the law or change the way the law was intended to be enforced. It's designed to relieve those kinds of anxieties which are not based on a realistic appreciation of what are likely to be the deportation rates based on the application of INS resources, based on the size of INS budget and based on the priorities that the INS has established, which the President outlined today. That's one issue.
A second issue is the cap, the limit on suspensions. The people from Central America who went to the United States during a period of civil war were allowed to stay in the United States, but were not allowed to become permanent residents and thus were not allowed to become ultimately citizens -- who are now in this status where they've been there a long time, but unlike other people who have been there a long time they haven't been able to become naturalized or become eligible for citizenship.
And the President was talking about that and the cap on suspensions. That's not an issue here in the Caribbean and it wasn't addressed in today's discussions with the Caribbean leaders.
Q Well, let me ask you one more time very simply and it's the last time I'll try. Does this mean that the administration will cease its efforts to try and soften the law as it deals with the cap or --
AMBASSADOR DOBBINS: No, I just said -- I thought I just said that what the President said in Central America related to the cap was that we were in consultations with the Congress to see whether there could be some way of ameliorating the effect of that 4,000 cap on suspensions. Those consultations with Congress have begun and the President has confirmed that he intends to pursue them.
Q Do you know how long the U.S. forces are going to stay in Haiti? Is there any --
MR. MCCURRY: Well, that will await the outcome of some of the consultations that are underway.
Q But they're not there as part of the U.N. forces.
MR. MCCURRY: But their presence there is, obviously, synchronized with the U.N. mission.
Q Were you going to give us a readout on the other bilat that took place this afternoon?
MR. MCCURRY: Did you get anything on Arthur? It's not over yet? Just finishing now? Okay. We'll get a couple of sentences on it. Maybe David could just post two sentences on it. They intended to talk about -- review the outcome of the meeting. There were one or two particular issues relating to airline issues and telecommunications issues that are of specific concern here that might have come up. But other than that, I think it was pretty straightforward. The President wanted to thank him again for the splendid hospitality of the Barbadians as he was here.
Anything else? Last thing.
Q Is Chelsea staying in Washington or flying in to spend Mother's Day with her mom?
MR. MCCURRY: I believe she's staying at home.
Anything else? We'll see you all on Tuesday. There will be no briefing on Monday because I assume you'll still be down here. One thing you should know is that -- some people have asked Mary Ellen -- I think the President's Counsel will file a
writ for cert in the 8th Circuit on Monday. We had already indicated that to a number of people and it's been, I think, reported in some of the stories already. But that will go in on Monday. And we will release that brief on Monday. So, somehow or other, we'll get it done here if any of you down here need to have that.
And I also expect -- some people have been asking about the Starr comments today and I think that Lanny Davis was taking some questions on that. So, just so you know that if you need anything more on that, you can talk to him.
Q Are you not going to brief tomorrow?
MR. MCCURRY: I'm not here tomorrow, and I don't --Mary Ellen's plans and David's plans are to be determined, but I don't imagine they plan to do much tomorrow.
Q I'm sorry, this writ is Monday --
MR. MCCURRY: We had already indicated in Chuck Ruff's statement at the time the 8th Circuit opinion was released -- well, when we successfully sought the unsealing of the proceedings, we indicated that we would appeal the 8th Circuit decision to the Supreme Court. And they're going to file that writ for certiori on Monday.
Q Formally file it?
MR. MCCURRY: Yes. It was formally filed and we will put the pleading out publicly, presumably, since it's a public document.
Q The President has indicated that he was going to start using a cane Monday.
MR. MCCURRY: The President on the way back will talk to his doctors about how he will next course of his rehabilitation. There are some different options and the doctors really want to talk through the different options with him, explain what the different risks are, the different things they might do and let the President decide. I think the President expressed what his hope is, but the doctors will talk to him and let him make an informed decision. They were going to talk to him, I think try to take the opportunity to talk to him on the way back on Monday.
Q Mike, are you talking about options for his therapy, cane versus crutches?
MR. MCCURRY: Yes, that kind -- there are different types of -- different ways that you can structure therapy at this point that have different levels of risk for reinjury or for giving the leg more time to heal, and they just want to talk to him about what the different options are and let him decide how he wants to proceed. But I think he's already pretty well stated what his preference is. But I think the docs want to give him a reasonable basis of information to make that decision.
Q Thank you.
MR. MCCURRY: All right. See you Tuesday, then. We'll brief on Tuesday.
President Clinton's Tour of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Barbados
Central America Trip Briefings
May 7, 1997 Press Briefing
May 7, 1997 David John Briefing


text:
Live Ultrasounds Will Be Shown in Times Square to Show How Unborn Babies are Human Beings
New Yorkers will be given the chance to see the value of life in the womb this May when Focus on the Family hosts a live, 4D ultrasound display in Times Square.
The event, scheduled for May 4, is the pro-life organization's response to the pro-abortion legislation that passed in New York and is being considered in other states across the country.
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, told CBN News this week that he hopes the powerful image will help people realize the radical political "overreach" of New York's new pro-abortion law.
"I think what's happened in New York and Virginia has prompted a response," Daly said. "These politicians that have overreached, in our opinion, when it comes to reshaping the abortion debate."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the law in January, allowing unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth and recognizing abortion as a "fundamental human right."
Focus on the Family hopes their positive, life-affirming ultrasound display will help people realize that every baby deserves to be protected under the law, Daly said.
"There is no way a person is going to be able to say, 'That is not a child.' It is a child and we want everybody to see it," he said. "We're not shy about going there and saying to Governor Cuomo and others, 'Let's look. This isn't adversarial. Let's just take a position. Let's see what an ultrasound looks like.' …
"And so to be able to do that on the jumbo screen and say, 'Here's a picture of a third-trimester pregnancy. Look at the definition. These children are viable outside the womb. These children are already fully human,' and to do it in such a way that we can all peer into the womb and see what that child looks like, developmentally and every other way – what an awesome sight to see and these politicians will have to defend their position," he said.
The May event will feature a live, 4D ultrasound scan of a third-trimester unborn baby, Daly said. It also will include speakers and music. He told CBN that they chose Times Square because it is the "epicenter of everything."
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Daly also mourned that history is repeating itself with the return to infanticide. He urged Christians and others to speak out against the barbarity of killing children.
"I would just say to Christians in particular – this is not new," he said. "There's nothing new under the sun. This is ancient Rome once again, and Christians were known for saving babies who were thrown out in the garbage heaps to die. That was their (Rome's) form of infanticide around the time of Jesus."
"… it was the Christians that stood up and said 'No. Everyone human is made in God's image and we can't destroy innocent human beings,'" Daly said.
Even now, lawmakers in Vermont, New Mexico, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are considering similar bills to legalize abortion for basically any reason up to birth. And pro-abortion Democrats in U.S. Congress repeatedly have blocked bills to protect infants born alive after botched abortions from infanticide. Pro-life lawmakers did block another radical pro-abortion bill in Virginia after its sponsor admitted unborn babies could be aborted at nine months even while the mother was in labor.
The truth is powerful, and abortion activists cannot argue with a real-life image of a baby in his or her mother's womb. Ultrasounds can make a huge impact because they demonstrate that the woman is carrying more than just a "potential person" or a "blob of tissue." She is carrying a living, unique human being who can smile, turn somersaults, yawn, suck their thumb and much more – a precious, valuable child.
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