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Weaver: Zarqawi's Death 'Significant' But Not 'Decisive' in Ending Iraqi Insurgency
Mary Anne Weaver, a veteran Middle East correspondent whose biographical article on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is in the current issue of The Atlantic Monthly, says the killing of Zarqawi "is significant, but I don't think it's decisive." Weaver says Zarqawi's organization was only responsible for 10 percent of the insurgent attacks in Iraq.
Interview by Mary Anne Weaver, Interviewee
Bernard Gwertzman, Interviewer
June 9, 2006 3:27 pm (EST)
Mary Anne Weaver, a veteran Middle East correspondent whose biographical article on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is in the current issue of The Atlantic Monthly, says the killing of Zarqawi "is significant, but I don't think it's decisive." Weaver, who was an Edward R. Murrow Fellow two years ago at CFR, says Zarqawi's organization was only responsible for 10 percent of the insurgent attacks in Iraq.
"While Zarqawi's attacks were the most spectacular, while Zarqawi was probably one of a number of key figures who actually played a crucial role in fanning sectarian warfare, curiously the other groups are the ones which mainly targeted U.S. troops," says Weaver. With Zarqawi gone, it is important to know whether his group will "continue targeting Shiites, particularly civilian Shiites, or will it refrain itself—reprogram itself is a better word—and begin attacking coalition forces?"
You have an article on the life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the current issue of The Atlantic Monthly that you researched a few months ago in Jordan and elsewhere. What do you think is the significance of his death?
Obviously it is significant, but I don't think it's decisive. It was a symbolic victory more than an ideological victory vis-à-vis what Zarqawi did. He certainly was the most brutal perpetrator of acts of terror in Iraq, but I think it's also necessary to keep in mind that he actually only committed some 10 percent of the total number of attacks.
Where does that 10-percent figure come from? I've seen that elsewhere also.
When I was in the Middle East in March, I talked to a number of intelligence officials in both Jordan and Israel. They first gave me the figure. It was later confirmed to me by a senior American officer who had served in Iraq.
And the other 90 percent of the insurgent attacks come from local Iraqis, is that your impression?
Exactly. There are some sixty or more Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq. The Sunnis of course are propelling the insurgency, but you know there are a lot of Shiite militias out there as well. And while Zarqawi's attacks were the most spectacular, while Zarqawi was probably one of a number of key figures who actually played a crucial role in fanning sectarian warfare, curiously the other groups are the ones which mainly targeted U.S. troops. And I think that is one of the key things to watch in the future. Now that he is gone, will al-Qaeda in Iraq, Zarqawi's group, which became part of a composite umbrella organization, the Mujahadeen Shura [Council], in January, continue targeting Shiites, particularly civilian Shiites, or will it refrain itself—reprogram itself is a better word—and begin attacking coalition forces?
But is there a chance that with him gone, the Sunni insurgents might be persuaded to join in some kind of truce since a Sunni general is now the defense minister?
I am very, very skeptical about this because the Sunni insurgents in fact have a key game plan—to get the Americans out of Iraq and also to get the Shiites out of power in Iraq. And Zarqawi was part of the larger framework of this, but he was not key. American officials have been talking to various Sunni insurgent groups since at least January of this year. And of course there was a split between many of the major Sunni insurgent groups and Zarqawi, which went on for about two months earlier this year. Then in February with the bombing of the Shiite holy shrine in Samarra, there was a newfound unity.
Zarqawi viscerally hated Shiites, much more so than ordinary Sunni groups. Sunnis and Shiites had more or less lived together and often intermarried. But you say after the bombing of the Shiite holy site there was a coming together of the Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda? Why?
That was because the bombing of Samarra's Askariya shrine [the Golden Mosque], which is one of the Shiite's holiest sites, brought about immediate retaliation by Shiites against Sunnis. In fact I was in Jordan at the time that the Askariya shrine was bombed, and within twenty-four hours there were hundreds of deaths of Sunnis at the hands of Shiites. Dozens of Sunni mosques were burned to the ground. There were very arbitrary killings in Sunni neighborhoods. The number of IED's, or improvised explosive devices, tripled during those first twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
Wouldn't the Sunnis want to strike a deal with the Shiites to stop all this violence?
One would think so, but at this point the insurgency, the sectarian warfare particularly, has already developed such a momentum of its own. It's going to be very, very difficult to stop it.
Let's talk a little bit more about Zarqawi. What, from your conversations with the various people who knew him, did you learn about what it was that turned him into such a fanatic?
You know it's rather ironic because Zarqawi really is a creation of America's wars, first in Afghanistan, the Jihad of the 1980's against the Soviet Union. He joined late, he arrived in 1989, but he stayed for four years. And then [there is] what is perceived by the insurgents to be the Jihad in Iraq. This is above and beyond the inflation of his profile by U.S. officials, primarily the U.S. military.
But what got him into this feverish anti-Shiite position?
When he first went to Afghanistan in December 1989, he met Huthaifa Azzam, whose father was kind of a legendary mujahadeen leader, Shiekh Abdullah Azzam. Huthaifa had picked up him and other volunteers at the airport in 1989 in Pakistan, and he told me that at that time Zarqawi wasn't really very religious at all. In fact he had only, as they say, "returned to Islam" three months before coming to Afghanistan in December of that year.
Up until that point Zarqawi was a gang leader, he was a street thug, he was a pimp, he was someone who allegedly played a key role in the underworld of Zarqa, the town in which he was born and raised, and he was drifting. He had no grounding; he had no sense of purpose. And when he went to Afghanistan in December of 1989, he stayed until 1993, and it was the first time he had ever left Jordan.
And for him it changed everything. For the first time he met really militant jihadists and salafists from all over the world. He had his first contacts with al-Qaeda—he didn't meet Osama bin Laden of course, but he trained in one of bin Laden's camps. He met also, and this is exceedingly important, a Palestinian cleric by the name of Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, who is one of Salafism's three key ideologues. Zarqawi came under the sway of al-Maqdisi, and al-Maqdisi really became the single greatest influence in Zarqawi's life.
But al-Maqdisi came to be at odds with Zarqawi, right?
Exactly. When Zarqawi's organization bombed the three hotels in Amman [Jordan] last November, al-Maqdisi, with whom Zarqawi had minor and increasingly major theological differences over the years, publicly, without denouncing Zarqawi personally, criticized and chided Zarqawi on al-Jazeera television. The break between the two men had been building since they went to prison together at the end of 1993.
And that criticism was what, that it was not good to just kill ordinary civilians?
That there was no justification for the mass slaughter of civilians.
In fact I never understood why Zarqawi ordered those bombings anyway.
The bombings were interesting and indicative because they occurred in November 2005 and Zarqawi only pledged allegiance to bin Laden in October of the previous year. The Amman bombings clearly expanded his reach, his sophistication, his appeal, and also showed him to really be distancing himself from bin Laden. And my understanding is that bin Laden was absolutely furious about the attacks, because, again, civilians were the targets. And it was Muslim killing Muslim.
You have a very interesting section in the article about the differences between bin Laden and Zarqawi. Could you summarize those?
Well you know when Zarqawi first met bin Laden in December 1999, according to an Israeli intelligence official with whom I spoke, it was "loathing at first sight." Bin Laden found Zarqawi to be aggressive, abrasive. He distrusted him immediately, fearing that he and the group of prisoners with whom he was released earlier that year in a general amnesty in Jordan had been infiltrated by the Jordanian Muhabarat [secret police]. So there was the distrust and the suspicion. There was also the intense dislike because bin Laden looked at Zarqawi as being overly ambitious, streetwise, lacking any real ideological grounding.
Zarqawi, on the other hand, openly criticized bin Laden in justifying his attacks on Shiites. Bin Laden has never advocated sectarian warfare between Sunnis and Shiites. He sees things in the larger context, i.e. war against the United States and Israel. So Zarqawi was very impertinent, to put it gently, with bin Laden vis-à-vis the issue of Shiites. He also told bin Laden—ironically now in retrospect—that he totally opposed bin Laden's giving Arab fighters to Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, to fight the Northern Alliance, which still at that point in December 1999 held 10 percent of Afghanistan even though the Taliban had come to power a number of years earlier. And the temerity of this young, streetwise, smart kid telling the leader of al-Qaeda that he disagreed with him very strongly on two very basic ideological grounds, left bin Laden simply aghast.
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A motion of support was approved for the towns of Charlotte and Cherry Creek to expedite a wind energy project with the Everpower Wind Co. Borrello said he was opposed because the project will receive a lot of tax subsidies and will not be a source of viable renewable energy. The motion was passed by a vote of 13 to 4.
MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature Wednesday voted against the appointment of Charles Cornell as a member of the Legislature to replace Frederick Larson, D-Jamestown, who resigned recently to take a judicial position.
Cornell had been recommended by Democratic committee members from Larson's home district. The motion was defeated 10 to 7; two legislators were absent.
The seat will remain empty until another appointment is recommended.
Cornell is a former legislator.
In other business, a paving project for a runway at the John Nalbone Field in Dunkirk was approved. The airport was recently rededicated with a larger, longer runway, which will allow medium-sized jets to land there.
A bike path named for Lucille Ball was approved for Celoron. The new path would be a 1.4-mile trail in the community where the actress was born. The path will be used for both bicycles and pedestrians.
Bicyclists also will be able to stow their bikes on the county's buses. Approval was granted for the racks to be installed outside on four of the buses so that bicyclists can ride with their bikes.
Several water improvement projects were funded through the county's occupancy tax fund. Silver Creek will benefit from a $40,000 grant to help stabilize the creek banks.
Legislator George Borrello, R-Silver Creek, said he was pleased that the grant will go to the village as well as other grant funds that will go to stream bank stabilization.
Family members spoke on behalf of Merle Elderman of Gerry whose property was scheduled to be foreclosed upon due to unpaid taxes. James Caflisch, director of real property tax services, made a recommendation that the Legislature take over some of the parcels that were listed on the foreclosure rolls. Caflisch said the properties would be listed at an auction on June 25.
He said most of the properties were delinquent for 21 years. Back taxes were paid on some properties in the amount of $221,000. The motion to foreclose on the properties was approved by a vote of 15 to 2 with Terry Niebel, R-Sheridan, and Janet Keefe, D-Fredonia, voting against it.


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The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979 - Administrative law
The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
accordance action activity agency agreement amended amount appear applicant appropriate approval areas Armed Army assigned Assistant authority award Board Chief civil civilian claim claimant clause command complete concerning conduct considered contained contract contracting officer contractor copy cost course damage Defense Department designated determined direct duty employees Engineers established exempt Federal Forces foreign Form forwarded furnished Government head inch individual installation institution instruction interest involved issued Judge Advocate land limited listed maintained Medal ment military necessary officer operation otherwise paragraph payment performance period person personnel prescribed present prior procedures procurement purchase reasons received records regulations relating request responsible result ROTC Secretary serve sources specific standards statement student submitted Subpart supplies tion U.S. Army United unless
Page 368 - Government employment for private gain for himself or another person either by direct action on his part or by counsel, recommendation, or suggestion to another person, particularly one with whom he has family, business, or financial ties. For the purpose of this section, "inside information" means information obtained under Government authority which has not become part of the body of public information.
Page 376 - ... (3) any drug which contains any quantity of a substance which the Secretary, after investigation, has found to have, and by regulation designates as having, a potential for abuse because of its depressant or stimulant effect on the central nervous system or its hallucinogenic effect...
Page 32 - Services or his designee to determine whether the record has such value ; (7) to another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activity is authorized by law, and if the head of the agency or instrumentality has made a written request to the agency which maintains the record specifying the particular portion desired and the law enforcement activity for which the record...
Page 376 - An employee shall pay each just financial obligation in a proper and timely manner, especially one imposed by law such as Federal, State, or local taxes. For the purpose of this section, a "just financial obligation" means one acknowledged by the employee or reduced to judgment by a court, and "in a proper and timely manner...
Page 86 - records" includes all books, papers, maps, photographs, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any agency of the United States Government in pursuance of Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business...
Page 375 - Presidential appointee shall not receive compensation or anything of monetary value for any consultation, lecture, discussion, writing, or appearance, the subject matter of which is devoted substantially to the responsibilities, programs or operations of...
Page 380 - Information not known by employees. If any information required to be included on a statement of employment and financial interests or supplementary statement, including holdings placed in trust, is not known to the employee but is known to another person, the employee shall request that other person to submit information in his behalf.
Page 261 - Forces who was lost or buried at sea or officially determined to be permanently absent in a status of missing or missing in action.
Page 158 - Any claim based upon an act or omission of an employee of the Government, exercising due care, in the execution of a statute or regulation, whether or not such statute or regulation be valid, or based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.
Page 386 - It shall be the duty of any such board to review, at the request of any officer retired or released from active service, without pay, for physical disability...
Title The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America
Contributors United States. Division of the Federal Register, United States. Federal Register Division, United States. Office of the Federal Register

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Ben Judd
Home » Works » In This Wonderful Country (Part 1, 2005)
In This Wonderful Country (Part 1), 2005, 4:20 min
Judd uses the words of preachers from Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and central London, whom he filmed for several months. After isolating key phrases, he supplied sections of the texts to actors and musicians, who then performed on stage or in the street. Judd filmed these performances, confusing his roles as voyeur and participant.
In This Wonderful Country depicts acoustic singer-songwriters, who have written songs based on the words of the preachers at Speakers' Corner. Each singer is paired with a twin image of himself, singing the same song but out of sync, so they seem to be anticipating and contradicting one another, yet also harmonising. As in earlier videos which used voice-overs, this piece and The Truth Will Set You Free present an ambiguity over who is pre-empting who; an oscillation between a connection and a disconnection, or a closeness and a distance.
Copyright © 2020 Ben Judd
Website by Emma


M-1 helmet & Hawley fibre liner, 21 Rec. Sta.
McCord'fixed bail' steel shell with Hawley fibre liner. The helmet is 100% original, nothing added, nothing replaced. The Hawley liner was produced during early 1942 and has rayon suspension, rectangular aluminum washers and fixed leather chinstrap with brass square slide buckle. The use of aluminum and brass in the liner indicate this was one of the earliest production. These materials were shortly after replaced by steel. The helmet is interestingly marked 21 Rec. Sta. (Receiving Station). This is a for a First Aid post were the wounded were brought. Other helmets with these markings were found (see last two photos). There are also markings stamped in the visor of the steel shell. This may all be further researched. Original marked helmets especially with an early production fibre liner are hard to find. This is a nice and all complete helmet is excellent condition. View the many photos.
This is a helmet from the M-1Helmet.com collection.


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Daily wagers of Spiti valley to get employment round the year: CM
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said that the State Government has added priority for development of tribal areas and it was being ensured that they get all essential services nearer to their homes. He was addressing a public meeting at Kaza in Lahaul-Spiti district. He said the Spiti Valley had witnessed all-round development and various important developmental projects were being implemented in the valley to benefit the people.
The Chief Minister announced to provide employment to around 700 daily wagers of the Spiti valley round the year, besides giving them facilities of allowance. He also announced that as per the policy of the State Government, the wagers completing seven years of service would be regularised. Earlier, the Chief Minister listened to the public grievances at Losar and approved the demand of the local people to construct a sports stadium at Spiti.
He announced to open Health Sub Centres at Kyamo, upgradation of Government middle school Key Gompa to high school and construction of second storey of Manjushri Bodh Temple. Shri Virbhadra Singh dedicated Kyamo-Hansa bridge over the Spiti river constructed at a cost of Rs. 3.38 crore and also laid foundation stone of Sheela Nallah to Kaza irrigation scheme which would be completed by spending a sum of Rs. 8.82 crore.
Virbhadra Singh
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Home News Radiation therapy may be coming to Hawke's Bay Hospital
Radiation therapy may be coming to Hawke's Bay Hospital
Hawke's Bay Hospital may be in line to receive one of Palmerston North's ageing linear accelerators that are used to deliver radiation therapy.
By: Astrid Austin
The more than 400km round-trip for cancer patients may be no longer, with radiation treatment set to come closer to home within the next few years.
The Palmerston North-based regional cancer treatment service are replacing their four linear accelerators that are used to deliver radiation therapy and Hawke's Bay may receive one.
MidCentral District Health Board acting clinical executive for cancer screening, treatment and support Dr Claire Hardie said it was proposed that two accelerators remain in Palmerston North, with one is sent to Hastings and one to New Plymouth.
"This aim of this proposal is for all people to have fair access to the treatment they need," Hardie said.
"The most significant barrier for radiation oncology services is the distance between a patient's home and the nearest treatment site."
Hardie said the distance between Palmerston North and Hawke's Bay was disruptive to patients' every-day schedules and an "off-putting" factor.
Some patients had opted for surgery when treatment was possible, or decided not to do go through any form of treatment, because of the round-trip, Hardie said.
Bringing radiation therapy to Hawke's Bay ensured the "highest clinical standards" could be maintained, Hardie said.
While some patients will still require more specialised care in Palmerston North, it is expected the move will reduce the numbers of people travelling from Hawke's Bay to Palmerston North by about 80 per cent.
Hawke's Bay DHB spokesman Dr Colin Hutchison said staff were "very excited" that a new linear accelerator could be installed in the near future.
"This will be great news to patients needing radiation treatment and will prevent them having to travel and stay in Palmerston North."
Cancer Society New Zealand Hawke's Bay centre manager Trudy Kirk said it would make an "enormous difference" to those who currently had to leave their families, organise childcare, and arrange often costly transport and accommodation in Palmerston North.
The Cancer Society HB provides a shuttle service for Hawke's Bay cancer patients and their families to receive treatment in Palmerston North.
The shuttles makes the return trip from Napier/Hastings and Central Hawke's Bay to the service on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Kirk said public donations went towards covering the cost of this service.
Source: Hawke's Bay Today
Previous article$224m funding boost for North Shore/Whangarei hospitals
Next articleHospital health shock: Starship, one-fifth of Auckland and Northland hospital facilities 'not fit for purpose'
New cancer treatment machine for Palmerston North Hospital
DHB funding falls short by $300 million – Expert
Elective surgery rates: 10,000 patients could miss out on 'much-needed surgery'
New drug access scheme gives hope to NZ cancer patients
Asthma rivals malaria's death toll
One in 10 New Zealanders don't feel comfortable asking their doctors key questions
'I survived cancer. So why am I so sad?'
An Australian study in 2011 found higher rates of anxiety and depression among cancer survivors.


If you watched North Korea play a hard-fought game against Brazil in the World Cup on Tuesday, you may have wondered how all those North Korean fans were able to attend the game given the nation's dire economic condition and dictator Kim Jong Il's strict prohibitions on leaving the country.
We are told that the supporters of North Korea aren't North Koreans--they're handpicked actors from China who have been sent here to act out the part of North Korean fans. I haven't found one I can speak to, who can speak back to me to tell me whether that's the case--I doubt he'd tell me the truth if that is the case.
Although the news has been circling the Internet for a month, AOL's Fanhouse brought to our attention yesterday that North Korea provided 1,000 tickets to a group of Chinese fans, including actors and musicians, to fly to South Africa for the game.
China, who is one of North Korea's closest allies in the world, failed to qualify for this year's World Cup. North Korea hasn't played in the tournament since 1966.


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Buhari Endorsed Corruption With The Nomination Of Chibuike Amaechi As Minister PDP Says
The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the political intrigues which surrounded the screening of the former state Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, and his eventual confirmation for appointment as a minister by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-dominated Senate is an official endorsement of corruption and gross abuse of democracy.
The state Chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah, in a statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt on his behalf by his media aide, Jerry Needam, said: "For throwing the most revered rules of the Senate and the sanctity of the laws of the land to the winds for the singular reason to compensate an indicted party member does not only amount to fait accompli but also exposes the hypocrisy of the APC-led federal government that anchored its campaign slogan on anti-corruption crusade."
The PDP said it was appalled that the Senate would confirm Amaechi as a minister "despite the monumental allegations of fraud, looting of state treasury and unprecedented abuse of trust while he held sway as governor of the state for eight 'wasted' years, as contained in the Justice George Omereji led – Judicial Commission of Inquiry and the tate government white paper which indicted Amaechi."
Obuah expressed shock that the APC senators could descend so low as to fling away the report of the ethics and privileges committee just to have their way without minding the feelings of the people they are representing, adding that that amounted to formal approval of corruption.
He, however, commended the courage of the PDP senators for staging a walk-out, which he said, was a historic statement that they were not and could not be part of the institutionalisation of corruption in Nigeria and the legalisation of criminality and sacrifice of integrity on the altar of loyalty.
Obuah insisted that Amaechi was only representing "the interests of his benefactors and definitely not Rivers people as the state prefers to suffer persecution for standing on the side of truth and what is right to being eulogised and pampered as a chief servant in a slave house."
He said: "While we look to the end of the APC-led federal government which has started on precarious feet of falsehood and deceit, we can only say that the end can never contradict its means which in this case, is suspect.
"Our regret is the APC's disservice and disappointment to the entire Nigerians whose hope of getting a better alternative government from the Buhari administration and 8th Senate has been dashed.
"It's an illusion to think that Amaechi and his like as ministers would perform anything different from what they did while they served in all other capacities."
Related Topics:NigeriapoliticsMuhammadu BuhariChibuike AmaechiMinisterial Nominee
Senate President's Travails Far From Over After Clearing Buhari's Nominees, APC Chiefs Insist On CCT Trial For Saraki
El-Rufai's 'Reckless Statements' Directed At Those Who Voted Him 'irresponsible' Says Shehu Sani


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Productivity/Collaboration Apps
Microsoft Is Shuttering Sunrise Calendar App
Microsoft plans to sunset Sunrise, the calendar app it acquired in 2015, later this summer. The Sunrise team will now work on the company's mobile Outlook app.
Kelly Sheridan
Staff Editor, Dark Reading
(Image: Sunrise)
10 iOS, Android Apps To Drive Team Collaboration
(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
Microsoft is planning to shut down the Sunrise calendar app, which it acquired in February 2015 for a reported $100 million.
Redmond bought Sunrise in the midst of an acquisition spree and mobile revamp. Shortly before it acquired the startup, it purchased email app Acompli and released Outlook for iOS and Android.
Following the Sunrise acquisition, the technology and talent behind the calendar app joined Microsoft to work on the Outlook mobile apps for iOS and Android.
[Microsoft eliminates controversial Wi-Fi Sense feature in Windows 10.]
The Outlook app quickly grew in the months following its January 2015 debut. By October, Microsoft reported there were almost 30 million people actively using the app on smartphones and tablets. One in five of those users were connecting to multiple accounts.
With employees from both Acompli and Sunrise working on the Outlook team, the iOS and Android mobile apps started to take on subtle, but noticeable design changes. These included easier access to key features like email, calendar, people, and files on the front page of the mobile app.
Sunrise, in particular, influenced changes to the design of the Outlook calendar. The team gave the calendar a makeover to simplify navigation, bring key event details to the top of the page, and color-code attendee responses with green, gray, and red dots.
At the time it announced the Outlook redesign in October 2015, Microsoft promised more features were on their way and confirmed Outlook would eventually replace the Sunrise calendar app. However, it intended to keep Sunrise on the market until its features were fully integrated into Outlook.
Now, it seems, this integration is almost complete.
What's more, the Sunrise team is now entirely committed to the Outlook mobile apps. While the team behind the startup acknowledges the opportunity of working on a large-scale app like Outlook, it also explains it cannot keep churning out new features and fixes for Sunrise users going forward.
"Unfortunately, as all good stories go, there's a sad bit to it: we're not able to support and update Sunrise anymore," wrote the Sunrise team on its company blog. "No new features. No bug fixes. For us, that's the definition of a lousy app and it's not a user experience we want to leave you with."
According to the blog post, the Sunrise team will continue working with Microsoft, and it remains committed to its original goals of improving productivity for mobile users. It also reports the same features users appreciate in Sunrise, including calendar apps, interesting calendars, and event icons, will make their way to Outlook mobile apps.
Over the next few days, Sunrise will be removed from app stores. The app will officially shut down and stop working altogether on Aug. 31.
Mobile Software & ServicesMobile DevicesMobile BusinessMobile ApplicationsEnterprise Applications
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THE PREMISE: There are thousands of Flagstaff transplants living in the Valley of the Sun. If ever they were to become organized and motivated, they could take over a Phoenix high school. I've been to enough high school sports events in Phoenix to know that unless that school as a star player or the team is a contender for a championship, school spirit in this city is rather meh. Too many times, when the Eagles and Panthers come down the mountain to play, the visitors' side is bare except for a few die-hard parents.
Flagcoco wants to see if we can change that paradigm, at least for a few games a year.
THE PLAN: At least twice a year, depending on when the various Flag High and Coconino teams play in the Phoenix area, Flagcoco will organize a "takeover". That is, we will plan to meet at a given site for a particular game. We will root for the teams from our public high schools. We will be vocal without being annoying, we will root ferociously for our own without disparaging the opponent (seeing as how we're taking over the opponent's home field or court for the night, we can be boisterous guests without losing control), and we will represent Flagstaff at its very best. All Flagstaffites are welcome. Often, to show solidarity, the takeover will seek for us all to wear one of our teams' colors; no one will think the worst of you, however, if you're an alum from one school, want to attend, but refuse to wear the colors of the other school. The fact that you showed up to represent the city you grew up in, whether 20 or 2000 show up, would mean the world to the players and coaches.
Flagcoco will be posting information for these events on its website and on Facebook and Twitter. If you're already part of the Flagcoco Family, odds are you'll see the bulletins in your everyday news feeds.
WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TO A TAKEOVER? I can think of a few reasons:
Because you would be rooting for the Flagstaff Eagles and/or the Coconino Panthers. They are teams you played on when you were younger, cheered for, and probably never forgot.
Because you would be representing the city in which you grew up, Flagstaff.
Because, like a reunion, these events lend to the possibility of meeting old friends. Unlike a reunion, you don't have to drive 130 miles up the mountain to find friends who live here in the Phoenix area, and because it's a sporting event, it will be very informal and fun.
Because the players and coaches could always use some support when coming down here to play, often with few fans in the visitors' bleachers. A show of support may be enough to motivate them to play harder, and that motivation could alter the course of the game for the better.
Because if you're a sports fan, a takeover would be an inexpensive way to take the whole family to see a game on a level where athletes aren't going so hard and fast that their bodies can't handle it, where the sport isn't corrupted by money, where the players are in the media because of their play on the field and not because the paparazzi are all over them or they're in trouble with the law, and (understanding that Arizona has become a hotbed for talent bound for Division I colleges and the pro ranks) where you may watch a great performance by a great athlete and then be able to say you watched that kid when he was in high school.
TAKEOVER #1: GET THE RED OUT! Varsity Football, Coconino at Tempe, 9/5/14. The Panthers took on the Buffaloes and Division III's best quarterback, Emmanuel Gant. They lost, but an encouragingly good crowd attended. Many old Panthers from the 1980's and 90's attended.
TAKEOVER #2: COME SOAR WITH THE EAGLES! Boys' Basketball, Flag High at Dysart, 1/20/15


Shooting sports are a great way to practice valuable life skills. This fun group activity requires great concentration and focus in order to hit the target, while still encouraging a friendly and supportive environment — no matter your abilities. Whether simply to enjoy the outdoors or to find your competitive side, shooting sports are always an exciting activity for shooters of any skill level.


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GTA IV Fighting Game Adventures Fun For PC
الصفحة الرئيسية العاب خفيفة تحميل العاب اكشن تحميل العاب سيارات تحميل العاب كمبيوتر
Game GTA IV for PC is one of the best gaming series ever released for the PC. Rockstar Games is a leader in the gaming industry that relies on many studios for the gaming industry. Las Rockstar Northro, part of the company's studio series, made the first release of the series, which has been a huge success, so the company sought to release other parts of the series but developed the graphics and control system until it reached the free play system we see today at GTA. IV.
The story of the great adventure game, the GTA IV
GTA games of the best games that were released for the PC this is because of the system your playing of these parts is fully dependent on the system free play I this game was featured by the appearance of the first part since 1997 and that since that computer was too weak where the GPU is rather weak and to be developed after that to the excellent graphic that was developed a short while ago said gaming companies to manufacture a new generation of games with graphic particular, the company Rockstar Games is one of the leading companies in the gaming industry which relies on many of the studios and Industry games, They are the manufacturer of all parts of GTA games has the studio Rockstar Northern Lights which is part of a series Studios, the company made the first version of the game which has been a resounding success, so the company sought to issue other parts of the authority, but the development of graphic control system until I came for the free play that we see today in GTA IV.
GTA. IV game features
Graphic :
gta games games that we all know they are games that are developing the system of graphic in each part are issued every year, it also changed the system of graphic carbon to the graphic three-dimensional forms embody Arabia for that play not to play he was inside the movie and not in just a game.
The story is one of the basics of the game when the story is strong and exciting with the wonderful and realistic graphics that has been added to find the game realistic and wonderful, so the company made a very strong story such as the scenario of the movies we watch.
Cars: In this version of the game has been used to the same pattern as usual cars, motorcycles and also armored ships and tanks, but followed a very new style unlike the previous versions, you will get a lot of different new types, and speeds above description.
More than one person in the game :
both the game by the players and users to enjoy the utmost fun in playing, he joined the team then participated in various tasks which through its acquisition of Ali points to the difficult transition from one level to another, this feature supports you to play realistically of playing solo, that's what distinguishes this version from others.
gta iv system requirements on the computer
Minimum requirements for running the game :-
intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon processor
Blank space on hard drive: 16GB
Screen card: 256MB NVidia 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900
DirectX 9
Requirements for running the game at maximum :-
Intel Core 2 Quad, AMD Phenom X3 processor
RAM: 2GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista))
Screen card: 512MB
NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870
Game GTA IV for PC
You can download the game gta through the game site or through the store site, which allows you to listen to the game can visit the steampowered site from here.


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CNN just received some bad news that will have Donald Trump grinning from ear to ear
CNN stopped being a news network when Donald Trump entered office.
The channel turned into a rapid response propaganda outfit for the Democrat Party.
And CNN just received some bad news that will have Donald Trump grinning from ear to ear.
January 6, 2020 was riding high for the Left.
After overhyping the January 6 riot at the Capitol into an overblown attack on democracy where America survived by the skin of its teeth, CNN surged to first place in the cable news ratings.
But one year later and CNN's decision to go all-in on anti-Trump agitprop now looks like a losing political decision.
In just 12 months, CNN lost 90 percent of its overall audience as well as viewers in the coveted aged 25-54 demographic that advertisers use to set rates.
The Daily Mail reported, "The once-proud leader in cable news averaged just 548,000 viewers during the week of January 3, a precipitous drop from the nearly 2.7 million viewers for the same week in 2021, according to the most recent ratings."
"Those numbers were supercharged by the left-leaning network's coverage of the January 6 Capitol Riot, which resulted in CNN having its most-watched day since Ted Turner launched the news outlet in 1980," The Daily Mail continued.
"However, on the one-year anniversary of the insurrection, viewers chose right-wing rival Fox as it topped ratings for coverage of the event," The Daily Mail added. "CNN also saw an 86 percent decline in the much-desirable 25-to-54 demographic, with a paltry 113,000 tuned in last week, compared to the 822,000 CNN averaged a year ago."
There are rumors of big changes coming to CNN.
The largest shareholder in the media company that merged with CNN would like for the network to drop its mission to advance the left-wing agenda and go back to reporting the news.
Network President Jeff Zucker – the architect of the anti-Trump, all the time strategy – may also be on his way out.
Donald Trump always said these media outlets that covered him negatively also depended on him to survive because without him they could not attract an audience.
In terms of CNN, that turned out to be the truth.
PULSE POLL: Is CNN a real news network?*
Tags: CNNDonald TrumpJanuary 6thJeff Zucker
Top Republican double-crossed Donald Trump right in the middle of impeachment
CNN's latest fake news bombshell just blew up in their face
Chuck Schumer just asked Donald Trump to admit this massive defeat


Utilizing used Cisco switches is the more practical option these days, compared to purchasing brand-new ones. By purchasing a refurbished model, not only will a business be able to get what is expected from the equipment, but they can even contribute to making the Earth a greener planet. It's surprising that purchasing such efficient equipment, even when refurbished, can actually make a difference in the current critical status of the environment. In fact, installing pre-owned Cisco switches and other used networking equipment reduces the overall impact on the environment of the company's network infrastructure. In addition, utilizing such products can further reduce material usage, as well as greenhouse gas.Checkout sell cisco switches for more info.
As networks have become a major force in environmental sustainability efforts, there is no doubt that they will also continue to play a key role in the future. Having said that, recycling used Cisco switches and other types of networking equipment can make a huge impact in saving the environment. One may ask how such types of equipment can further current environmental sustainability efforts.
The answer is simple. These days, networks have become an essential part of companies of all shapes and sizes, as they enable people to collaborate with one another no matter how far the distance or location. This reduces the consumption of fossil fuels for business travel and commuting, translating into lower greenhouse gas emissions as well as more productive workers. Utilizing used Cisco switches goes a long way, not only for the company but for the planet as well. Not only do they provide the same level of efficiency as brand-new ones, but they also contribute to making the Earth a greener planet.


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NATO Hospital Offers Top Notch Care in Taliban Heartland
Physicians work at the NATO hospital at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
Whether a soldier needs a cure for the common cold or brain surgery, the NATO hospital on Kandahar Airfield can handle it. This is one of Afghanistan's most sophisticated hospitals, and it provides top medical care on the front line. Just minutes by helicopter from most conflict spots in the country's south, the hospital saves the lives of 98 percent of the injured who come here.
Recently this hospital's emergency room was filled with the cries of a three-year-old Afghan boy.
The trauma team rushes to their positions, quickly hooking monitors and other equipment to check the boy's vital signs. He is lucky to be alive after stepping on a land mine outside his village. His 10-year-old brother died.
It is a familiar story for the staff of this military hospital on Kandahar Airfield, in Afghanistan's south.
U.S. Navy Commander Michael Danenberg, a doctor who specializes in emergency medicine, estimates 20 to 30 percent of his patients are under the age of 12, and most have severe injuries.
"This is why I signed up with the Navy," Danenberg said. "I've been doing Navy emergency medicine for 19 years now. To me this has been the most fulfilling aspect of my 19-year career so far, the fact that I know I am doing it as close to the time of injury, in a combat zone, and being able to go from there," he said.
The NATO hospital on Kandahar Airfield is one of the most advanced medical facilities in the country. It serves not only international coalition troops and the Afghan military, it also cares for the citizens of this impoverished, war-torn nation.
Despite the war going on not far away, this looks like a hospital transplanted straight out of the United States. The building has the latest medical equipment. A huge air-conditioning system blocks the summer heat out, and helps keep the hospital quiet and clean. Doctors and nurses monitor patients who lie on comfortable beds with white sheets.
It is just minutes by helicopter from most of the region's conflict spots, which means injured soldiers and civilians can reach help as soon as possible. Having an advanced medical facility so close to the front lines saves lives, said U.S Navy Captain Darin Via, the hospital's commanding officer.
"Military medicine has learned over time the closer we can treat any casualty to [the] combat setting, the potential of returning them to their unit is that much greater," said Via. "Obviously in the extreme trauma casualties, the [medical] capabilities closer to combatants saves their lives."
This hospital can treat everything from colds to depression and can handle complex procedures such as brain surgery. But trauma is the specialty.
Commander Joseph Strauss, chief orthopedic surgeon at the NATO hospital at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
Doctors see up to 200 severe cases each month, mostly victims of bombs or leftover land mines from earlier conflicts. Chief orthopedic surgeon U.S. Navy Commander Joseph Strauss estimates that more than 85 percent of his patients come directly from the battlefield. That, he said, brings medical challenges that doctors in most hospitals do not face.
"The severity is much higher here, the wounds themselves are significantly contaminated with debris, hay, grass, mud, everything from the terrain that is all over the patient. The wounds are dirty," Strauss said.
But being so close to the battlefield means if a patient makes it to Kandahar alive, chances are he will stay that way. The hospital has a 98 percent survival rate.
Beattie report
UN: Civilian Casualties Rising Sharply in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, US Pilots Aim to Save Lives, Win Hearts
US Military Works to Prepare Afghan Air Force
More Asia News
Australia Urged to Boost Military Assistance to Ukraine
Pentagon Chief Set to Reassure South Korea Amid North's Provocations
Third-Generation Toyota CEO to Step Down in April
Late Poet Credited with Rescue of Kashmiri Language


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Any high school with accreditation from a recognized accrediting agency and offering courses in mathematics may petition to have a chapter, provided it meets the following minimum requirements:
High schools must offer at least two years of algebra and one year of geometry, or their equivalent, and a minimum of one year of more advanced mathematics. These requirements cannot be fulfilled by courses in general mathematics, general business mathematics, or arithmetic.
The school must employ at least one teacher whose primary teaching field is mathematics and who has completed an undergraduate mathematics major or its equivalent at an accredited college or university. The equivalent of a mathematics major shall be understood to include a minimum of six college mathematics courses at the calculus level or above.
The principal, or other chief administrative officer of the institution must approve the chartering of the chapter at the high school.
High school chapters shall be admitted for membership on the approval of the president and the governor of the appropriate region. Should either deny a petition for membership, the school may appeal the decision to the Governing Council for consideration. A two-thirds vote of the Governing Council shall be required to approve such a chapter for membership.
We offer a reduced membership fee of $5/member to Title I schools. Please let us know if your school is a Title 1 school.
***PLEASE NOTE: SPONSORS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PRODUCE THEIR OWN CERTIFICATES FOR MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES. THE ONLY CERTIFICATES SPONSORS MAY DISTRIBUTE ARE THE CERTIFICATES THEY RECEIVE FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL MEMBERS.***
The national requirements for individual membership in a local chapter are as follows. These are the minimum requirements; chapters may elect to have stricter standards but not lower ones. Students are encouraged to participate in Mu Alpha Theta club meetings and activities, even if they do not qualify as members:
Members must be high school students in grades 9 through 12.
Members must be registered with Mu Alpha Theta at the school at which their permanent records reside.
Members must have completed the equivalent of two years of college preparatory mathematics, including algebra and/or geometry, and have completed or are enrolled in a third year of college preparatory mathematics.
On the 4-point grading scale, members must have at least a 3.0 math grade point average.
Associates:
Associates are not members of Mu Alpha Theta but are likely candidates for membership. Associates do not pay the initiation fee but are eligible to be listed with the National Office, should they wish to participate in Mu Alpha Theta national math contests. While they are not entitled to vote nor hold office in their chapter, they are entitled to attend and be heard at meetings. A student may remain an associate for only one year and then, if eligible, must be inducted as a member of Mu Alpha Theta.
Associates must be high school students in grades 9 through 12
Associates must be at the school where their permanent record resides.
Associates must have completed one year of algebra, or its equivalent, with distinction and are currently enrolled in a higher math course.
APPLY FOR A MU ALPHA THETA HIGH SCHOOL CHAPTER HERE.
*You will need to be upload this Excel file with your members' names and graduation years as you complete your petition. This file is also available in the petition itself. Middle names are optional. "Year" means graduation year for the student.
*Through the application, you will need to request the e-signature of yourself as sponsor and of your Principal (if you're at a virtual or high school) or Dean or Math Department Chair (if you're at a two-year college).
*We cannot accept applications submitted by students. Sponsors must submit applications.
*Your petition will not be reviewed until you submit payment (via one check or credit card) for the $25 chapter fee and $10/member registration fee. Please call or email the National Office if you need to pay by credit card. If paying by check, please make sure your school's name and "New Chapter" are on the check.
Each petitioning institution will be notified within two weeks as to the council's decision. When a charter is granted, each student will receive a certificate of membership and a membership card. The school will receive a charter certificate.


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Coal Aston and Dronfield Against Fracking
Campaigning against fracking in S18
Who Are CADAF?
Govt imposes Moratorium on fracking
Bank Holiday Horror
Appeal Court rips apart INEOS' Injunction.
Written Questions to Claire Perry
Cuadrilla: Fracking At Any Cost
Spitting His Dummy Out
Fracking hits trouble
INEOS Chief To Relocate To Monaco Tax Haven
Government Fracking Proposals Are An Attack On Democracy
Current Appeals and Petitions
What is fracking?
So, what is fracking?
Why Fracking? Shale Gas and Plastics
Fracking in S18?
The Daily Mile
Debunking Natascha
Bye-bye Natascha!
Manipulating The Media
Natascha Engel & Mail Online
"Natascha says …"
Off To A Good Start!
In November 2018 Natascha Engel wrote a letter which she circulated to media editors complaining about what she saw as unfair and biased coverage of fracking, with particular reference to their reporting of the problems encountered by Cuadrilla as they began fracking operations at Preston New Road in Lancashire. You can read her letter in Word format here or in PDF format here.
Let's examine what she says, shall we?
Natascha: "There is constant coverage of the "earthquakes" caused by fracking at the Cuadrilla site in Preston. Whilst technically true because even the slightest movement underground is called an earthquake, it is not what normal people understand by the word."
Reality: The " constant coverage" was because of constant seismic activity which happened whenever Cuadrilla carried out fracking operations. Although "seismic activity" is perhaps a more precise description of what was happening, the use of the word "earthquakes" by media is not inaccurate and is perhaps more readily understood by the general public.
Natascha: "Quarry blasting is common in Derbyshire and causes earth tremors many times greater than fracking. In fact, a blast in the Peak District in August was so strong that it was picked up by Cuadrilla's highly sensitive equipment as a 1.7 magnitude event. But it wasn't reported because it had nothing to do with fracking."
Reality: You can't compare quarrying with fracking. Quarrying is a surface or near-surface activity and tremors are caused by the explosive blast and the resulting rockfalls. Fracking occurs deep underground and tremors are caused both by the deliberate fracturing of the rock and by subsequent unintended fractures occurring in the surrounding rock after drilling has been paused (known as "trailing events").
Possibly the 1.7 magnitude event Natscha refers to was recorded as 1.7 as a surface blast: potentially far less damaging than a 1.7 event in the immediate vicinity of a fracking well. But just imagine the kind of explosive forces needed to trigger a 1.7 blast in a quarry: just imagine the amount of rock blasting out of a quarry face under those circumstances. Now try to imagine an identical 1.7 force occurring right next to a drill rig containing toxic chemicals being blasted into rock layers underground.
Fracking uses a mix of water (95%), sand (4.5%) and a cocktail of hazardous chemicals (0.5%) pumped into the rock at extremely high pressures. No-one knows exactly where all those chemicals go to (some is returned to the surface, but by no means all). It's this, together with the trailing events that worries us. Quarrying does not use any such chemicals.
Natascha: "Geothermal energy falls into the renewables category and is therefore embraced by the very organisations that oppose fracking for gas. The same process of injecting water into rock (fracking) is used to access geothermal energy. "
Reality: Again, you can't compare the two. The important thing here is that drilling for geothermal energy injects only water, and into existing faults. It doesn't seek to create new fractures therefore is not "fracking". Natascha says it "often causes larger tremors" but doesn't give any figures to support this claim.
Natascha: "The traffic light system for earthquakes related to fracking was applied to the industry after it caused small tremors in Blackpool in 2011. It was set extremely low …"
Reality: The reason the so-called "red light" was set as low as 0.5 Local Magnitude (or "ML") as the trigger to pause drilling is that any tremors detected during the drilling process would often be followed by "trailing events" which are almost invariably of a considerably greater magnitude. It has also been observed from fracking operations in the USA and Canada that continued and sustained fracking leads to an increase both in the frequency and the severity of tremors and associated trailing activity. The bar has indeed been set higher in both those countries but fracking in North America is often carried out in great wide-open terrain where there is little or no nearby human habitation. This is just not possible for fracking the Bowland Shale in the UK.
Natascha: "It [the traffic light system] was never intended to stop the industry but rather to reassure people. No such traffic light system exists for other construction projects that cause far greater tremors because they are not the targets of a well-organised and concerted campaign to stop fracking from happening in the UK."
Reality: It's there so as to pause the drilling when seismic activity over 0.5 ML occurs so that the activity does not become any worse, and to watch out for any trailing events. Trailing events at Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site reached 1.5 ML within just a few weeks of fracking operations. Pausing the work also allows the operator to carry out checks on their drilling equipment and well casings to make sure that neither have been damaged or compromised as a result of the tremors. Natascha doesn't specify what "other construction projects" she has in mind but again, it's only fracking which causes such seismic activity at these depths below the surface, where any damage cannot be visually assessed.
By Natascha's own admission the traffic light system was introduced after "small tremors" (which actually exceeded 2.0 magnitude) in Blackpool in 2011. It was introduced well before local protest groups began to organise themselves to stop fracking.
What Natascha fails to mention in all this talk about how the "traffic light" system is disrupting fracking is that the oil and gas industry itself agreed to the safety limits which it is now compaining about. They were so adamant that fracking did not cause any seismic activity at all that they were happy to do so; now that it has been proved beyond any doubt that they were wrong and that fracking does indeed cause earth tremors, they are whingeing because the system is working well.
Natasha: "By reporting fracking events that cause tremors of 1.1 (or indeed anything below 2 magnitude) as earthquakes but not reporting similar or greater events in other industries, the media is feeding the narrative of fear that originates from those who have been spreading scare stories because they want to stop fracking at all cost."
Reality: The media is simply reporting what is happening. These are news-worthy events of great local interest. Does Natascha advocate a state-sponsored suppression or censorship of the news?
Natascha: "Where is the science in this debate? Without putting these earthquakes into a proper context and making people fearful about something that can't even be felt, we can't ever look at the wider picture and ask ourselves why extracting gas from beneath our feet is so important."
Reality: We have been talking the science right from the very beginning of this debate: the science of injecting chemicals into rock to fracture it; the science of fracking activity causing earth tremors and creating more and more unintended fissures in the surrounding rock; the science of the millions of gallons of fresh, clean water each well would need to be mixed with the sand and chemicals to be pumped into the wells and injected into the shale deposits; the science of bringing hazardous materials up to the surface together with the shale gas and the need to transport it away and dispose of it safely; the science of damage to the local environment through drilling activity and the use of large numbers of HGV's emitting diesel fumes as they carry water and hazardous materials along our highways and through our communities; the science of climate change and global warming and the need to stop using fossil fuels such as natural gas; the science of INEOS extracting ethane and propane from the gas to use in the production of plastics; and the science of global pollution due to the proliferation in plastics production. We have been talking about the science since Day 1 but the oil and gas industry, the Government and Natascha herself have been ignoring us!
Natascha talks about "something that can't even be felt". On Tuesday 11 December 2018 Cuadrilla had to stop drilling again due to tremors being caused. The strongest of these, measured at 1.5 magnitude was equivalent to those (also in Lancashire) which brought about a temporary moratorium in fracking in 2011. This latest tremor was felt and reported by several people in Blackpool. Admittedly, this occurred after Natascha had written her letter, but the 2011 events were felt at the surface.
And as for that question of "why extracting gas from beneath our feet is so important" that's a question we ourselves have been asking right from the start. We know what the answer is of course: that a handful of very powerful concerns have seen what they think is an opportunity to make huge amounts of money and they don't want anyone or anything to stand in their way.
Natascha: "Gas is significantly cleaner than coal. By changing our coal-fired power stations to gas the UK reduced its carbon emissions by over 7% between 2015 and 2016."
Reality: Burning gas to produce electricty produces less carbon dioxide (CO2) than burning coal and produces fewer particulate emissions: but methane is at least 30% more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2. So in terms of global warming, it is actually much worse.
Natascha: "85% of us use gas to heat our homes and over 60% of us use it for cooking."
Reality: You could also say that 200 years ago 100% of us used wood to heat our homes and for cooking. We have changed our habits before and we can change them again.
Natascha: "Since 2004, we have been importing gas – more and more of it as our North Sea fields run out. That means billions of taxpayer pounds being spent on buying in gas from Qatar and, yes, fracked gas from America."
Reality: The Government recently announced that new oil and gas fields are to be opened up in the seas to the west of Shetland, Orkney and Scotland. INEOS are a major bidder for these rights. Latest figures show that Qatar provides 29% of our imported gas (in the form of liquified natural gas), which equates to just 9% of our total national consumption. (We get less than 1% of our gas from Russia, by the way). INEOS buy fracked gas from the USA for their Grangemouth plant, but not one drop of our national gas consumption comes from America's fracking fields. Not one drop.
Natascha: "Last year, of all the energy we consumed, only 2.2% came from wind and 0.5% came from solar. We are a very long way off a time when renewables plug the energy gap."
Reality: Hmmm … in other interviews elsewhere Natascha has said that in 2017 (the "last year" she refers to, since this letter was written in 2018), renewables comprised 7% of our national energy consumption. Her figures just don't add up. Has she suffered a memory loss or is it just that she doesn't know what she's talking about? Or maybe she's forgotten what numbers she plucked out of the air last time around? Who knows?
However it may be, renewables do indeed make up a lamentably low proportion of our national energy usage. This is largely because of the Government's policies relating to renewables. This Government has cancelled all subsidies for solar panel installations and has cut back on feed-in tariffs. There has effectively been a moratorium on on-shore wind farms. We do understand that these are no more popular amongst local communities than fracking is. So why can't the Government take the same approach to fracking as it does to on-shore wind? In response to Natascha's figures, we could equally say that in the same period, of all the energy we consumed, 0% came from fracking!
Natascha: "To help us do so, getting gas from underground in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, creating hundreds if not thousands of good jobs in places that really need them, with the potential billions in tax receipts from a developed shale gas industry, we could save the money we are spending on imports and invest it in renewables instead."
Reality: All this talk of hundreds if not thousands of good jobs being created is a complete fantasy. During the drilling phase the majority of jobs would be for technical staff; and these staff would move from one site to another as they are developed in turn. The only new jobs that would be created would be the HGV drivers needed to transport all the water and waste to and fro.
Where would the billions in tax receipts be coming from? INEOS have openly declared that all the shale gas they extract they would keep for themselves to power their industrial plants. And as for the gas extracted by other companies, the methane extracted would be used in our own national energy supply; and since the fracking operations are entirely privately operated, the country would still have to buy that gas. There would be no vast sums pouring into the Treasury's coffers in tax receipts and there would be little money saved – if at all – in buying gas from the fracking companies instead of from abroad. Furthermore, much of our imported gas is subject to Trade Agreements which would be difficult to extricate ourselves from.
Natascha: "The real story that everyone seems to be missing by focusing on tiny tremors that can't even be felt at the surface is that Cuadrilla's test results look like there is plenty of gas down there."
Reality: Natascha seems to be growing more petulant! Again, she's talking about "tremors that can't even be felt at the surface", despite the 2011 events which were felt at the surface. The events of 11 December 2018 also disprove the point she is trying to make.
If Cuadrilla have had test results which "look like there is plenty of gas down there" then they're keeping it pretty quiet. At the time of writing Cuadrilla have stated that they managed to get a small flow of gas in November 2018 from their Preston New Road operation, but they later rowed back on that by admitting that they'd had to inject propane to propel it out!
Natascha: "Forty years ago when we found North Sea oil and gas we rightly celebrated our energy independence, the hundreds and thousands of jobs that it has brought over the years and the boon to our public finances."
Reality: Again, that claim of "hundreds and thousands of jobs". If Natascha came up with an actual figure it might be believable, but again she doesn't. Instead she takes the option of using a vague, unsubstantiated "hundreds and thousands". Either it's laziness on her part or she knows it's a flimsy argument that can't be supported. The boon to our public finances has long since been squandered away due to selling-off of oil and gas fields to private enterprise for private profit. Since fracking never will be owned and run by the state, there will be no such "boon to our public finances" from this dreadful industry.
Natascha: "But today we are behaving like we did in the mid-1800s when our nascent car industry was nearly destroyed by forcing a man with a red flag to walk in front of automated road vehicles to stop them from driving faster than 4 miles per hour."
Reality: The legislation surrounding this was introduced as a result of protests and lobbying from those interested in promoting the railways as a mode of transport. It was repealed as a result of protests and lobbying from those interested in promoting the motor car as a mode of transport. What is Natascha's point here: that protests and lobbying really can achieve results?
Natascha: "If we stopped all industries that caused 0.5 magnitude earthquakes there wouldn't be a house, hospital, school or road built. That's not precaution. It's anti-progress."
Reality: We're not Luddites. We see true progress as the advancement of renewables into our national energy mix. The threat of global climate change means that we need to transition to an all-renewable sourcing policy as soon as possible: and that does not mean opening up a new fossil fuel industry whilst mothballing solar, wind and wave development as this Government is presently doing.
We don't want to stop all industries that cause 0.5 magnitude earthquakes. We just want to stop one industry that causes earthquakes several kilometers below the surface where we don't know what damage is being done, and when there are dangerous and hazardous chemicals being unleashed: not just those used in the fracking process itself but also those which are presently trapped in the shale deposits; chemicals such as selenium, molybdenum and arsenic which are bio-hazardous and a threat to human health and even life. We just don't know whether any of those chemicals might become able to seep and release into other, more permeable rock strata or even, heaven forbid, into the aquifers; and more worryingly, even the oil and gas industry itself doesn't know.
The industry tells us this can't possibly happen: but they also told us that fracking doesn't cause earth tremors, remember?
Meeting with Lee Rowley,MP, Saturday 15 October 2022
Bye-Bye INEOS!
General Election 2019: Statement
CADAF welcomes INEOS!!
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This article was published on February 2, 2010
100x Faster WiFi Closer to Reality
February 2, 2010 - 3:45 am
Kim Heras
Kim Heras is a Sydney-based technology writer and entrepreneur. His passions include the Australian startup industry, innovation and the (show all) Kim Heras is a Sydney-based technology writer and entrepreneur. His passions include the Australian startup industry, innovation and the web as an enabler of change. You can follow Kim on twitter - @kimheras
National ICT Australia (NICTA
), an Australian ICT research and commercialisation organisation, has spun-out its Gigabit Wireless project into a new startup.
The plan is to start commercialising their technology, according to David Skellern, the research body's Chief Executive Officer.
NICTA's Ultra-High Speed Wireless Project (formerly known as GiFi) was the world's first to integrate a transceiver on a single chip operating at 60GHz on the CMOS. That technology is now one step closer to hitting the market, which means we're all one step closer to having the super-fast Wireless connections we've always wanted.
NICTA says that short-range wireless technologies have long been seen as a solution, however most cannot deliver the multi-gigabit speeds needed to transmit high-quality video signals. Those that can have been prohibitively expensive. NICTA's research team has overcome both these challenges. The end result is a wireless chip that is 100 times faster than current WiFi chips, which can be built for a tenth of their cost.
Between the upcoming 802.11ad conference (which will try to sort out standards for the prototcol) and the Wireless Gigabyte Alliance, there's a lot of momentum in the space at the moment. Alot of that has to do with the need to shift large amounts of data (e.g. HD video) around wirelessly without having the wireless connection as a bottleneck and people wanting to kill off the need for wired networks wherever possible.
NICTA's advances mean that the team are winning the race to get that all important Gigabit Wireless technology into the hands of consumers.
Published February 2, 2010 - 3:45 am UTC
Why Australian courts should drag Google for its dubious location tracking practices
Uber-rival Taxify launches in Australia (and hopefully has a license this time)
Electronic skin that 'feels' pain could lead to smarter prosthetics and robots
Australia hit by cyber attacks from 'state actor' — experts suspect it's China


The power exchange in Leipzig, Germany, has published a position paper on the Energiewende in German. Craig Morris sums up the main points.
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is based in Germany, but the German and Austrian grids are basically inseparable nowadays, and the grids in Benelux countries, Switzerland, and France are also increasingly woven with Phelix, as the Austria-German grid is known. In its new position paper (PDF in German), the EEX therefore focuses on the "two dimensions of the 'market' and 'Europe'" in proposing changes to power market design.
The paper makes eight proposals, not all of which can be discussed here. I'll start with the charge that "sticking to national energy independence" is the wrong path – a comment that increasingly looks outdated the more Germany intensifies cooperation with its neighbors.
The main focus is on protecting competition, an obvious proposal from the folks who would lose their jobs if there were none. Unsurprisingly, the position paper opposes capacity mechanisms as "yet another subsidy" and more government intervention in markets; instead, they would like to see demand management and European integration promoted instead. Essentially, the EEX wants to power consumers to receive price signals that encourage them to shift loads – an option that is currently being discussed as an option within a capacity market, which the position paper does not mention.
For renewables, the EEX would like hybrid compensation for renewables: basic compensation at a lower rate than under current feed-in tariffs along with the price on the exchange when green power is sold. The idea is nothing new; Spain has had a similar combination for wind power for years, and similar proposals have become common in Germany in the past few years.
The idea is that there would be "label" for green electricity; yet, one already exists for retail consumers. The EEX basically wants a separate market: "Consumers who are willing to pay more to cover the cost of renewables could then do so" – an option that already exists. After all, all German retail consumers have been able to switch power providers, including to a 100 percent green provider, for more than a decade.
Direct sales of green power would "reduce the renewables surcharge." But as I once tweeted to German Environmental Minister Peter Altmaier, the level of this surcharge does not matter; if it makes up 100 percent of the retail rate, but the retail rate drops, no one will complain.
Finally, the EEX would like to see a European carbon emissions target for 2030 – and again, the EEX is a trading platform for emissions allowances. But admittedly, we need a higher carbon price.
In short, the proposals stem from the organization's own business plan. Nonetheless, they seem reasonable enough and are within the mainstream of current debate. Perhaps the most interesting passages are those made on the side, such as the comment that the energy market is "flying by sight" because of the recent shift in power production since Germany shut down 40 percent of its nuclear capacity in March 2011. Long-term trading has dropped – to the benefit of monthly and weekly contracts.
In other words, the business community does not know what to expect and cannot plan. A call for longer planning horizons and more reliable policies seems justified.


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New exhibitions for Lanchester Gallery Projects and Roots in Coventry centre
It seems at the moment if there's one gallery having an opening night in Coventry, then there's two.
A few weeks ago it was the Mead and The Herbert, and the Herbert also clashed with the Coventry Transport Museum last week. Last night it was the turn of the Roots Gallery and Lanchester Gallery Projects to double date, but as they're so close together it was possible to get to both, as quite a few of us proved, as familiar faces were spotted in both, quaffing a couple of glasses of wine.
First on my schedule was the LGP, which is staging On the Desperate And Long-Neglected Need For Small Events. Arriving a bit after 6.30pm, I found I'd missed this small event, though luckily it was repeated at 7pm.
The information tells us the title comes from the subtitle of a Barbara Vanderlinden 1990s curatorial project, and will involve LGP in a programme of "live research". There will be lectures, readings, screenings, conversations, club nights, performances and print. Local organisations and community groups, along with artists, will be invited in to coffee mornings to help "contribute to and build a sustainable cultural ecology in Coventry."
The first event was the singing of Sing Me a Song With Social Significance, performed by a choir of Coventry University students. It was written apparently for the 1930s musical revue Pins and Needles and was the only trade union Broadway hit. It certainly has something about it, so I was glad it got performed twice!
For details of lots of other events you could get involved in pop in for a leaflet, or see the website at http://lanchestergalleryprojects.org.uk/
For my second free drink of the night it was off to Roots gallery, for what was the launch of a solo exhibition by Dresden-based artist Jean Kirsten, and which also launched the 2012 Coventry Peace Festival and piloted the Coventry Dresden Arts Exchange.
Coventry-based artist John Yeadon founded the exchange which he said had been in his head for a long time, as he thought of other ways Coventry had exchanges with its twins. This exhibition was made possible with help from Coventry City Council Small Arts Grants Committee and the Coventry Peace Festival.
Jean Kirsten's exhibition is called For R Laban, and follows previous work he has done on the theme of expressionist dance. He explained: "You can see here works from two series. In 2009/10 I came to see the lecturers at the Metropolitan University in London and I took photos and I transferred them into prints and I looked for titles for the prints but I didn't want to write so I came to these Labanotation. (a system used to record and analyse motion).
"I thought these signs were really interesting so I created the signs series where I worked with the signs. The next step for me now is to translate these and bring these again into dance."
The prints are small and interesting, each movement filling the space. The symbols from Labanotation have been used to 'name' them, and the signs themselves used in big black and white collages.
Jean is hoping to go to London during his visit to the UK to make more studies of Laban dance in action, but is also holding an In Conversation at the gallery on November 8, from 6-8pm.
So with the Herbert's current exhibitions to be viewed between LGP and Roots there's lots for the art and culture lover to see in a short stretch of Coventry city centre.
Posted in Artists, Coventry events, Galleries, Interviews and tagged Coventry, Lanchester Gallery Projects, Private View II, Roots on November 2, 2012 by Julie Chamberlain. Leave a comment
← Souren's exhibition at Gallery 150 is a triumph over suffering
Hearts Gang's Handsome Gentlemen exhibition is a Coventry must-see →


Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan may not be the best of friends, but they definitely aren't foes! Though both Aamir and SRK have professionally clashed with each other at various occasions, the latest one was regarding the release of the PK teaser on the day Happy New year released, there is no bitterness in their relationship.
In fact, while Aamir said at the PK press conference that SRK movies provide global platform for his film's trailer, Shah Rukh has gone a step ahead and admitted his openness of doing a film with Mr. Perfectionist.
At a press conference held at Shah Rukh's palatial home Mannat on the occasion of his 49th birthday, King Khan revealed that he is open to work with Aamir Khan, if there is a director who can come up with a great script.
"10 years back Ashutosh Gowariker, Aamir Khan & I had decided to work together but things didn't work out for some reason. Instead of that, we made SWADES. But if there is a director who has a story where we two can work then that will be nice. We both cannot think of a story," admitted SRK adding further, "It will be nice to do a two hero film with Aamir because we have known each other for years and we are good friends. We have also done a lot of theatre and we discuss many things, so if given an opportunity, would love to work with Aamir Khan."
Well, now this indeed sounds interesting!


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4 Tips to Using Content to Build Brand Awareness
Content marketing is the best way of boosting long-term brand awareness with your audience. Sounds simple enough! All you need to do is publish a few posts, sit back, and watch as traffic comes flooding in right?
Well, not quite.
As every marketer knows by now, building brand awareness through content is a bit more complicated than that. So what are some of the things you ought to keep in mind when designing a B2B inbound marketing strategy geared towards building awareness and establishing long-term brand recognition?
I spoke to Nolan Necoechea, Director of Marketing at data observability platform creator, Bigeye, to get his thoughts on the subject, amongst other things.
Here are my observations, along with Nolan's thoughts on the subject.
Figure out What your Audience Responds to
As every content marketing guide out there preaches, know thy audience. However, how do you get to know them? You could use existing data to help you figure out your customer personas and update them.
Another way of getting to know your audience better is to look at what content they engage with.
"At Bigeye, we are largely starting from scratch," says Necoechea. "The important thing was to figure out who our audience was and what content they responded to. Knowing that was going to take a little bit of testing."
Necoechea highlights an example of using Bigeye's Medium publication's dashboard to collect engagement metrics. Correlating metrics such as reads versus views to the kinds of content published gave him insight into what Bigeye's audience was thirsty for.
In addition, use of basic SEO tactics such as keyword research to figure out search volumes and structure content around Google's "People also ask" section.
The questions highlighted here often give clues as to what people's search intent is.
Structuring content around answering these questions is a good way to address audience pain points. Speaking of pain points, Necoechea mines his sales team and even sales calls to figure out common issues and use content to address those concerns.
While some of these pain points might belong deeper in the funnel, they're nonetheless valuable data points around which content can be structured. Examining the channels your audience prefers also points to what content they prefer and the tone your content should adopt.
One of the toughest tasks a content marketer has is benchmarking. Let's say your post received 100 views in a week.
Is that good or bad?
Without a benchmark, you're firing blind. The most obvious way of generating a benchmark is to look at prior traffic data and compare that to current volumes.
However, what if you're beginning from scratch? Necoechea admits that's a tough situation and the only option is to generate a history of your own.
Another method could be using a tool such as SimilarWeb to compare your traffic patterns to those of your competition to derive a benchmark.
Keyword research tools also provide a ton of insight into related keyword search volumes and competitor analysis tools. These metrics will assist you in creating a realistic benchmark for your content.
In addition, expectations play a role as well. If you know a topic is a major pain point, you would expect a certain volume of traffic over time.
At the end of the day, benchmarking isn't always a science. However, it's an essential part of the process.
Categorize Your Content Properly
Awareness content belongs at the top of the funnel, while content designed to drive leads into deals belongs towards the middle or the bottom. A common mistake B2B companies make is adopting the same tone and depth across all their content.
This leads to improper funnel classification.
For instance, if your web copy is just as technically deep as your whitepapers are, you're not differentiating between prospects. When queried about tailoring content to suit different stages of the funnel, Necoechea feels gated content is more suited towards driving leads.
"If we were to have a problem with leads for next quarter for instance, I'd be more aggressive with middle-of-the-funnel content," he says. "I would create more gated content so that the sales team has warmer leads that they can work with immediately."
Identifying the methods that provide funnel-appropriate content is also important. "SEO gives more top of the funnel content in our case," says Necoechea, "while for the middle of the funnel, I'm looking at where the barriers in the sales cycle are and what the customer's questions are."
It's also important to figure out what your topic clusters are and craft pillar content.
Creating a pillar and satellite structure is the best way to capture Google's attention, according to Hubspot. Even if your goal is to raise awareness, creating pillar content will help you establish authority and provide useful tools for your audience to overcome their issues.
Analyze What isn't Working
Not every piece of content is going to work. In fact, in the beginning, most of your content is probably going to miss the mark.
In such situations, it can be tough to figure out what went wrong. There is no blueprint that you can apply for every situation. However, digging into your data provides many clues.
"Did people find the content but not read it? If they didn't spend much time on the page, the topic and headline were right but the content was off. Or were people not finding it at all, which means the question wasn't framed the right way."
Necoechea points out that it's an iterative process. He mentions that email promotion tends to provide better feedback since it allows for A/B testing.
"If it's a content issue, was it too long?," he explains, "Was it not detailed enough? Was it too much explaining and not enough practical steps? Usually you go in with some assumptions depending on the kind of content and figure it out from there."
A lack of engagement is merely a symptom, and many things might have gone wrong. Was the headline not aligned with audience expectations? Was the language in the article not what your audience expected?
Metrics such as bounce rates and page visit times point to such issues. If your content had a CTA and conversion rates were low, the CTA message, design, and content flow might be an issue.
Often a mismatch between the CTA type and the content's funnel position is an issue.
For instance, asking top-of-the-funnel viewers to contact your sales team is a bit premature. The thing to do in such situations is to direct them to your newsletter or other mid-funnel content.
Another problem is that the content itself might be incorrect. Speaking to sales teams and gathering feedback from discovery notes will highlight issues with content creation. Always make sure you're working with a creator who speaks your audience's language and knows your subject.
Measuring and tracking relevant metrics also helps. For instance, Necoechea highlights tracking organic visitors versus direct visitors when seeking to build awareness.
While both numbers are positive, the latter indicates PR and direct referrals are driving traffic while the former points to content-generating traffic. An equal, or close-to-equal mix is preferable, and an imbalance indicates something isn't working.
Aligned Content Wins
Every winning content strategy classifies and aligns content well with the company's goals and a prospect's position in the funnel. Pulling this off is easier said than done, but working with the right team that understands how your product works is a huge step in the right direction.
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