text:
<bill session="115" type="h" number="1522" updated="2017-06-19T21:30:28Z">
  <state datetime="2017-03-13">REFERRED</state>
  <status>
    <introduced datetime="2017-03-13"/>
  </status>
  <introduced datetime="2017-03-13"/>
  <titles>
    <title type="short" as="introduced">Fair Lending Discovery Clarification Act of 2017</title>
    <title type="short" as="introduced">Fair Lending Discovery Clarification Act of 2017</title>
    <title type="official" as="introduced">To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act to amend the statute of limitations for civil liability, and for other purposes.</title>
    <title type="display">Fair Lending Discovery Clarification Act of 2017</title>
  </titles>
  <sponsor bioguide_id="M001137"/>
  <cosponsors/>
  <actions>
    <action datetime="2017-03-13">
      <text>Introduced in House</text>
    </action>
    <action datetime="2017-03-13" state="REFERRED">
      <text>Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.</text>
    </action>
    <action datetime="2017-03-13">
      <text>Referred to House Judiciary</text>
    </action>
    <action datetime="2017-03-13">
      <text>Referred to House Financial Services</text>
    </action>
    <action datetime="2017-03-31">
      <text>Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.</text>
    </action>
  </actions>
  <committees>
    <committee subcommittee="" code="HSJU" name="House Judiciary" activity="Referral"/>
    <committee subcommittee="Constitution and Civil Justice" code="HSJU10" name="House Judiciary" activity="Referral"/>
    <committee subcommittee="" code="HSBA" name="House Financial Services" activity="Referral"/>
  </committees>
  <relatedbills/>
  <subjects>
    <term name="Civil rights and liberties, minority issues"/>
    <term name="Civil actions and liability"/>
    <term name="Consumer credit"/>
    <term name="Housing discrimination"/>
  </subjects>
  <amendments/>
  <summary date="2017-03-13T04:00:00Z" status="Introduced in House">Fair Lending Discovery Clarification Act of 2017

This bill amends the statute of limitations for civil liability under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act to: (1) extend the period for an aggrieved person to bring an equal credit action to five years after the applicant knows or has notice that the applicant was a victim of discrimination (currently, five years after the violation); and (2) specify that the two-year period for an aggrieved person to bring a fair housing action excludes any time during which the aggrieved person did not know or have notice of the existence of the discriminatory housing practice or the breach of the conciliation agreement.</summary>
  <committee-reports/>
</bill>


The Blower's friends at Backstabbers.com define "Backstabbing" as attacking someone unfairly, especially in an underhanded, deceitful manner. Backstabbing was first mentioned in historical literature with reference to Julius Caesar and Brutus – a conflict that was memorialized by William Shakespeare with his notable quote "Beware the Ides of March…." Since that first documented backstabbing the act has been perfected as an art form. Most of us know of at least one Backstabber and some of us are unlucky enough to have to deal with many of them on a daily basis. (Bosses, "Best Friends," Spouses, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, or even Gayfriends.) Today we find ourselves surrounded by public backstabbers in Politics. That's why we all needed to nominate all those Backstabbing Bastards for The Whistleblower's Annual Backstabber Awards that we'll announce tonight at the Backstabbers Ball on Backstabbers Day (The Ides of March).
HURLEY THE HISTORIAN says Benedict Arnold was a very promising colonial general during the American Revolution. Much to his displeasure, however, he was passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress in 1777 in spite of a sterling record and an honorably wounded leg. When he was given command of West Point in 1780, Arnold finalized his plans to not only defect, but also surrender his fortress to the British for the price of £20,000. Benedict Arnold was the original American Backstabber.
Then there's the well-known story of Judas Iscariot, one of the earliest and least popular accountants of all time, teaching us that even the nicest of guys have to watch their backs. And sides.
Until January 20, 2009 in America. That's when Obama became our Backstabber-in-Chief. Was Obama really a backstabber? Just ask the Trumpster and any of America's allies. We're learning more about Obama's crimes every day. He'll still be stabbing the entire United States of America in the back every day he's not in jail.
TODAY'S TONGUE TWISTER: "How many stabs could a backstabber stab if a backstabber could stab backs?" tongue twister?
And have you ever noticed how we've all become more familiar with the term "thrown under the bus" since Barack Hussein Obama became our President?
BACKSTABBING PRESIDENT TRUMP became a national sport during the 2016 Campaign and continues until this very day.
And our Good Friend Bobby Leach wonders if it's only a coincidence that BB&BJ Day on March 20 comes during Women's History Month.
e-mail your nastiest nominations today.
Some backstabbing items in today's Blower were sent in by our equally backstabbing subscribers, but we could always use more.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged "How many stabs could a backstabber stab if a backstabber could stab backs?", BACKSTABBER BALLOTS, BACKSTABBING PRESIDENT TRUMP, Benedict Arnold was the original American Backstabber., Judas Iscariot, Obama became our Backstabber-in-Chief, There's A Whole Lot of Backstabbing Going On on March 15, 2019 by charlesfosterkane.


text:
A new recruit to the CIA quickly rises through the ranks, but the more he learns, the more he begins to question the mentor who showed him the ropes….
Nothing is what it seems. Trust no one.
James Clayton (Farrell) is the top prospect of the latest CIA recruits. His attitude may not be in line with a typical trainee, but he is one of the smartest graduating seniors in the country – and he's just the person that Walter Burke (Pacino) wants in the Agency.
James thinks the CIA's mission is an intriguing alternative to an ordinary life, but before he becomes an Ops Officer, James has to survive the Agency's secret training ground, where green recruits are molded into seasoned veterans.
As Burke teaches him the ropes and the rules of the game, James quickly rises but just when James starts to question his role and his cat-and-mouse relationship with his mentor, Burke taps him for a special assignment to smoke out a mole.
But it soon becomes clear to James, the only thing more dangerous than crossing the line is trusting the man who took you there.
Don't miss The Recruit, Monday 4th June, 9.30pm on DUKE.
The Cul De Sac

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Give Miami Day is a 24-hour online philanthropic campaign that encourages the Miami-Dade community to give to their favorite nonprofit organization. Driven solely by social media, Give Miami Day is considered to be the most active day of giving in South Florida!
From midnight to 11:59pm on November 17, 2016, individuals can visit givemiamiday.org to view Miami Jewish Health Systems' online profile and make a charitable donation. Or you can donate by clicking the link below on November 17, starting at 12:00am.


An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River near Billings in south-central Montana ruptured and dumped an unknown amount of oil into the waterway, prompting temporary evacuations along the river Saturday morning.
Company spokeswoman Pam Malek said the pipe leaked for about a half-hour, though it's not clear how much oil leaked.
The cause of the rupture in the pipe carrying crude oil from Belfry, Mont., to the company's refinery in Billings wasn't known.
Brent Peters, the fire chief for the city of Laurel about 12 miles east of Billings, said the break in the 12-inch diameter pipe occurred late Friday about a mile south of Laurel.
He said about 140 people were evacuated starting about 12:15 a.m. Saturday due to concerns about possible explosions, and the overpowering fumes. He said they were allowed to return at about 4 a.m. after instruments showed fumes had decreased. He said more evacuations occurred farther downstream outside his district but those numbers weren't immediately clear.
In a statement Saturday, ExxonMobil said it was sending its North American Regional Response Team to the area to help with cleanup work, and that state and federal authorities had been alerted to the spill from the pipe belonging to the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company.
The company "deeply regrets this release and is working hard with local emergency authorities to mitigate the impacts of this release on the surrounding communities and to the environment," the statement said.
A 600-foot-long black smear of oil coated the riverfront property of Jim Swanson just downstream from where the pipe broke.
"Whosever pipeline it is better be knocking on my door soon and explaining how they're going to clean it up," Swanson said as globules of oil bubbled to the surface of the river. "They say they've got it capped off. I'm not so sure."
By midday Saturday, two cleanup crews were putting out absorbent material along short stretches of the river in Billings and near Laurel. There appeared to be no attempts at capturing oil farther out in the river, and the smell of oil permeated the air for miles downstream and through the city of Billings.
ExxonMobil officials said cleanup crews of up to about 140 workers were expected to arrive in the area with 36 hours.
"Nobody's been able to lay their eyes on the pipe," Peters said. "Right now the Yellowstone River is at flood stage. The bank isn't stable enough for anybody to get close."
The cause of the break is not known, but Peters and Malek said speculation involves high water flowing through the river that might have gouged out the river bed and exposed the pipe, which was possibly hit by debris.
"I haven't seen it this high for at least 15 years," Peters said.
Jeb Montgomery, with the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, said the pipe was buried six feet below the riverbed.
The state has received record rainfall in the last month and also has a huge snowpack in the mountains that is melting, which has resulted in widespread flooding in recent weeks.
Three oil refineries are in the Billings area, and Peters said he asked all three to turn off the flow of oil in their pipelines under the river once the leak was reported. He said ExxonMobil and Cenex Harvest Refinery did so, and that Conoco Phillips said its pipe was already shutdown.
He said the river where the leak occurred is about 250 yards wide, and that early Saturday morning an oil slick appeared to be about 20 feet wide.
"That was the farthest my flashlight would reach," he said.
Laurel, which has a population of about 6,500, is known for a huge Fourth of July fireworks display put on by the fire department, which has its own pyrotechnics crew. Peters said the town can swell to as many as 50,000 people for the event.
He said the fire department plans to hold the event on Monday.
Jamie Leigh Jones said she was raped in 2005 while working for KBR at Camp Hope, Baghdad.
Across the U.S., maternal and infant death rates are far higher for African-Americans than whites.
With the state government shuttered, Minnesota's parks endure neglect and vandalism.


Another wrinkle in trying to prevent further suicide is the increasing awareness that heroin is involved in many suicide deaths. CNN recently reported from Lexington, highlighting children being abandoned by heroin use and death.
Kentucky and West Virginia have some of the highest rates of drug abuse overdose deaths in the country. Both states saw a double digit percentage increase in the overdose death rate between 2014 and 2015. Suicide death by heroin may play a role.
Among the approximately 35 percent of suicide deaths in Kentucky on which toxicology screens are run opioids are present 49 percent of the time. In the period from 2005 to 2014, that represents 1,474 deaths from a sample of 3,005 deaths, according to data from the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System.
The collateral damage done to family and friends from exposure to these deaths is serious and the epidemic of heroin takes on a new and dangerous color. Cerel's research suggests that 25 individuals seriously impacted by each suicide death may need intervention or services themselves.
The silence is deafening around the intersection of suicide and substance abuse. It seems to be unplowed ground, which is changing, thanks to suicide prevention expertise in Kentucky, caring public policy makers, law enforcement, and invested communities.
The federally funded Eastern Kentucky University Suicide Awareness and Focus on Education grant is providing leadership on this front. EKU SAFE is hosting "After the Heroin," a public forum on May 23 highlighting both intentional and unintentional death by heroin with emphasis on how to help those left behind as way of preventing further death.
Clinicians need to be informed about how they can help both those struggling with substance abuse and those who have been affected by a death. Usually, experts in Public policy and public health, along with law enforcement, shoulder much of this responsibility. We must be talking more and coordinating efforts to help. This may be a place to start.
Melinda Moore is an assistant professor of psychology at Eastern Kentucky University and principal investigator of the Eastern Kentucky University Suicide Awareness and Focus on Education grant.
If you want to go: 'After the Heroin' forum will be held Tuesday, May 23 10 a.m. to noon in the Combs Grise Room at Eastern Kentucky University. For more information, contact Judy van de Venne at judy.vandevenne@eku.edu.


text:
Turner Barber
Title: Turner Barber
Subject: Milan, Tennessee, 1918 World Series, Minnesota Twins all-time roster, Chicago Cubs all-time roster, List of Major League Baseball players (B), Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster, 1916 Washington Senators season, 1915 Washington Senators season
Born: (1893-07-09)July 9, 1893
Lavinia, Tennessee
Died: October 20, 1968(1968-10-20) (aged 75)
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
August 19, 1915 for the Washington Senators
April 30, 1923 for the Brooklyn Robins
Washington Senators (1915–1916)
Chicago Cubs (1917–1922)
Brooklyn Robins (1923)
Tyrus Turner Barber (July 9, 1893 in Lavinia, Tennessee – October 20, 1968 in Milan, Tennessee), was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1915-1923. He played for the Washington Senators, Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Robins.
Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Name Barber, Turner
Short description American baseball player
Date of birth July 9, 1893
Place of birth Lavinia, Tennessee
Date of death October 20, 1968
Place of death Milan, Tennessee
This biographical article relating to an American baseball outfielder born in the 1890s is a stub. You can help World Heritage Encyclopedia by expanding it.
Gibson County, Tennessee, Iowa, World War II, City, Tennessee
Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago, Fenway Park
Minnesota Twins all-time roster
Minnesota Twins, Minneapolis, Minnesota, American League, Rick Aguilera


Early intervention and prevention of a child or young person's contact with the youth justice system is the most effective way of reducing young people's offending behaviour in the long term. This approach is about helping those children and young people who are at risk of contact with the youth justice system to become strong and to connect with the services and supports they need.
For young people who are at risk of coming into contact with the youth justice system, intervening at the right time can transform their lives and set them on the path to a positive and fulfilling adult life. For intervention to work effectively it means tackling a problem in the early stages rather than waiting until the problem is established.
Children and young people receive supports that are responsive early in the life of a problem/s that may place them at risk of contact with the youth justice system.
The focus of work under this strategy has been about consolidating changes to policy initiatives and practice already underway and undertaking new policy planning and project development associated with identified actions.
Activity has focused on examining ways to increase early intervention across government services. This includes identifying the need for a whole-of-government early intervention and prevention model and practice framework.
Development of an early intervention and prevention framework.
Early policy work has been undertaken to deliver a better service response to families currently accessing multiple services. A selection of families was invited to identify service system barriers and trial potential solutions.
Development of a Family Information Profile by families to support information sharing across the service system and map existing support networks. Development of independent evaluation of the Strengthening Families project, including an analysis of the co-design process, family and service level impacts, and identified systemic issues.
MPower has been established to support better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other high risk young people in the justice system through interagency collaboration and flexible support arrangements to assist in addressing the needs and managing risks of these young people. These include, but are not limited to, health and wellbeing, educational engagement and criminogenic risk and need factors.
Expanding MPower to involve single case management processes and community partnerships.
193 referrals facilitated directly from Supportlink.
Government and community representatives will develop outcomes and key performance indicators for the Gateway.
A five year strategy to provide long term planning for the development of an out of home care sector that is better able to respond to increasing complexities of children and young people who are entering the care system.
A stakeholder engagement strategy developed.
The project is due for finalisation in June 2014 with the delivery of the Out of Home Care Strategy and Implementation Plan.
These two documents will inform a procurement process across 2014/2015 with implementation for July 2015.
Evidence-based analysis on effective early intervention and prevention strategies for reducing the number of young people involved in the youth justice system, including the release of the research paper on Youth Engagement in the ACT: Exploring integrated service delivery for young people through structure youth centres and youth participation for Families ACT and Youth Coalition ACT.
Completion of a literature review on effective early intervention and prevention strategies.
A steering group comprising developmental trauma experts and government and community service providers formed to oversee the development of the centre. A service delivery model to be developed and services will begin in the second half of 2014.
Work to develop a centre that will provide developmental assessment and therapeutic intervention for children and young people aged 0 - 12 who have experienced abuse, neglect and present emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Discussion paper released providing a platform for conversations upon which school communities can discuss their approach to engaging all students.
Building an engaging school culture.
Work to implement initiatives to ensure that all school students are actively engaged in meaningful education, training or employment.
The Early Intervention Pilot Program is an Australian Government initiative under the National Binge Drinking Strategy. In the ACT, the pilot is a partnership between Alcohol and Drug Services in the Health Directorate and ACT Policing Court Drug Diversion Services. The program refers young people under 18 years who came into contact with police for intoxication or possession of alcohol, for assessment by health services. Education and awareness about alcohol overdose is a key element of the program. From December 2010 to June 2013, ACT Policing referred 386 young people to the program.
Ongoing work will be around strengthening awareness of the program, including targeting young people through social media to provide information and education about harmful alcohol use. ACT Health and ACT Policing have provided funding to continue this program beyond the pilot.
ACT Policing made a total of 5265 referrals to SupportLink, of which 323 were referrals to drug and alcohol diversion programs.
Coordinate referral process to direct young people/ families to appropriate support services.
Rachel and Nick were referred to the Child Youth and Family Gateway (the Gateway) for assistance by Housing ACT in June 2013. Like many families who find their way to the Gateway service, their referral came at a time when the family was facing considerable stress in a number of areas.
Rachel and Nick were living in a house that was too small for the family's needs; they were under financial pressure and trying to cope with their young adult children (one who was pregnant and others who had drug and alcohol problems). On top of all of this, Nick had recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
The first step was a home visit by a Gateway Engagement Officer to talk to the family and get a better picture of what was happening for them, and to work out how they could be supported. Part of the Gateway Officer's job is to make sure that people don't have to keep telling their story over and over again. For Rachel this was a huge relief. Like many people who are doing it tough, she had experienced the sheer frustration of spending many hours explaining their situation to numerous service providers to try and get help for the family.
Following the home visit, the family agreed for their case to be raised at a Gateway weekly allocation meeting. This meant that the family could be immediately connected to a case management service who would work with them to link them to the support that was needed.
Diversion involves any process that prevents young people from entering or continuing in the formal criminal justice system. Experience shows that once a young person enters the youth justice system and receives a criminal record, they are more likely to develop a pattern of offending and their offences may get more serious. Diversion aims to avoid this as much as possible taking into consideration the safety of the community.
In contrast to prevention strategies, diversion occurs once a young person's behaviour has come to the attention of the police. Police warnings, cautioning, supervised bail and restorative justice conferencing are all examples of diversionary processes. Diversionary initiatives in the ACT range from universal services such as public health and education to more specialised and targeted services, such as community-based sentencing and referral to the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court.
Children, young people and their families receive targeted support early in the offending cycle to address their immediate and long term needs and reduce their likelihood of offending.
The focus of work under this strategy has been about consolidating changes to policy initiatives and practice already underway and undertaking new policy planning and project development associated with the identified actions.
In 2012-13, the service managed 673 client-related matters in relation to 169 young people. Twenty-six young people in police custody were diverted from custody at Bimberi as a result of an intervention at the ACT Watch House. The significant element of the program's success has been the training delivered to new recruits within ACT Policing by After-Hours Bail Support Service Staff. In May 2013, the After-Hours Bail Support Service won the Excellence Category at the ACT Public Service Awards for Excellence.
Build and strengthen partnerships that can support the After-Hours Bail Support Service.
Redevelopment of service model for the Narrabundah House Indigenous Supported Accommodation Service that was launched in August 2013. The service model aims to prevent young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men aged 15-18 years who are serious and repeat offenders from future offending through the provision of secure accommodation, community connection and support programs.
Consolidate operating model including developing partnerships.
The ACT Watch House provides a charging and custodial facility operating 24 hours a day. ACT Watch House staff notify After-Hours Bail Support Service (AHBSS) when a young person on bail arrives at the ACT Watch House after hours, who attend and make arrangements for accommodation and other support services as needed. AHBSS staff delivered training to new recruits within ACT Policing about the services provided.
Ongoing work to review procedures to ensure that they support the recommendations of the After-Hours Bail Support Service evaluation.
The program provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people with a way to voluntarily attend Court without having to be processed by the ACT Watch House. The program aims to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in custody at the ACT Watch House. Since July 2012, the Aboriginal Justice Centre has processed seven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the program.
Ongoing work to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in custody.
Restorative justice provides offenders with an opportunity to accept responsibility, help them understand the real impacts their behaviour has had on others and to be accountable for their actions by finding ways to make amends, including repairing the harm caused and addressing their offending behaviours. Processes are also designed to meet the needs of victims by empowering them to have a voice in how an offence has affected them, providing opportunities to address unresolved issues and allowing them to have a say in deciding what needs to be done to repair the harm.
Following initial success, the trial involving the referral of all eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to restorative justice was extended from May 2012 to April 2013. Results showed a 45% increase in the number of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders referred (48), compared to the same period the previous year (33). Of those 48 referred, 20% participated in conferences and nine agreements were developed. All nine agreements were complied with resulting in a 100% compliance rate, compared to 88% for the same period the previous year.
A total of 33 referrals consisting of 55 offences, 45 young offenders and 36 victims were received during the trial period, 1 November 2012 to 30 April 2013. All young offenders were referred as a diversionary measure. Of the young offenders referred, 4 are still undergoing assessment, 24 went to conference and 17 did not proceed to conference. Excluding those still undergoing assessment, 59% of those referred participated in conferences. Of the 24 young offenders that went to conference, 24 agreements were negotiated. Of these agreements, 6 are still currently being monitored, 4 whereby the conference itself satisfied the victims' needs, 12 were complied with and 2 have failed to be complied with. Excluding those agreements still being monitored, 89% have complied with their agreements.
Ongoing work between ACT Policing and the Justice and Community Safety Directorate to embed the trial initiatives into everyday practice, including training and refresher presentations and work to develop best practice in responding to the identified needs of diverse groups referred to restorative justice.
This court works to provide a culturally relevant sentencing option in the ACT Magistrates Court for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders. The Circle Sentencing process gives the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community an opportunity to work with the ACT criminal justice system to address over-representation and offending behaviour.
specific training for Panel Members on working with family violence matters as well as with victims who may be involved with the Court.
Agreed recommendations to be implemented over the next 12 months.
In February 2013, the Evaluation of Australian Capital Territory Drug Diversion Programs was completed. The aim was to evaluate ACT Alcohol and other Drug diversion programs focusing on how the system of five programs operates together instead of inputs and outcomes of individual programs.
Explore options in response to the recommendations of the evaluation.
The Community Services Directorate has undertaken preliminary work collaborating with the Health Directorate on the development of an evaluation for the two-year trial program. In 2012-13, one young person was referred for assessment of their suitability for the program. The program provides an intensive and holistic tertiary diversionary option for young people with a drug or alcohol problem who are at high risk of being sentenced to a period of imprisonment.
Ongoing work to evaluate the effectiveness and viability of the program.
Sharon is a 15 year old Aboriginal woman who is on a care order with Care and Protection Services. She is currently involved with Youth Justice Case Management on a Good Behaviour Order.
Sharon came into contact with the After-Hours Bail Support Service (the AHBSS) after police requested bail support for her. Sharon had been charged with trespassing and was in custody in the ACT Policing Watch House.
The police were considering conditional bail for her, but were concerned about her living arrangements (Sharon was 14 at the time). Staff from the AHBSS assessed Sharon as being suitable to remain in the community but agreed that she needed alternative accommodation. The AHBSS worked with Care and Protection Services to find suitable accommodation and transport and also negotiated with police for Sharon to be granted bail.
Sharon has also contacted the AHBSS on another occasion. This was after she had asked for a change to the conditions of her order to allow her to live at a different address. While her request was not agreed to, staff at the AHBSS talked her through the reason for the decision and made sure she understood what she needed to do to meet the existing conditions of her order.
Sharon's story demonstrates how the AHBSS works closely with statutory agencies to divert a young person from custody where this is appropriate and in supporting them to comply with the conditions of their community orders.
Ensuring the participation of children, young people and their families in decisions that affect them will encourage the development and ownership of solutions. This means ensuring case plans are culturally appropriate and a young person's family and natural supports are strengthened to support them. It also means providing young people and their families with information that clearly sets outs their rights, responsibilities and the processes of the youth justice system.
By giving young people and their families the opportunity to identify problems and find solutions, services can also be tailored to best meet their needs. This strategy aspires to a system that works with children, young people and their families to develop and design programs and services that affect them.
Children, young people and their families are valued and encouraged to have a voice in matters that affect them as well as the ongoing development of the youth justice system.
Cultural care planning in case management processes aims to provide staff with strategies and tools to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and their families to ensure culturally competent practice.
strategies that enable the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in developing and implementing case plans.
Progress policy work and implement cultural care planning in case management processes.
Work to date includes providing oversight and contributing to the design and implementation of the new Narrabundah House Indigenous Supported Accommodation Service, launched in August 2013.
Overseen the development of the Dunial program, a comprehensive cultural program for young people at Bimberi involving individual and family counselling, cultural supervision and the Yarning Program. The program is delivered by Relationships Australia Canberra and Region.
The Committee will continue to provide oversight of programs and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Bimberi, identify gaps in service provision and to provide cultural guidance in service delivery and practice.
In May 2012, a forum was held with 35 people representing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, government and non-government organisations to discuss how to provide culturally safe responses to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and their families.
The aim of the forum was to facilitate co-design strategies for improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people who are in contact with the youth justice system. A key outcome from the forum was the establishment of the Dunial program (see above).
Future forums to be determined.
The new position of Family Engagement Officer has been created and filled. The officer commenced at Bimberi in February 2013. The role is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identified position that was co-designed with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit and members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Continue to assist the engagement of families of young people, promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the day to day functions of Bimberi Youth Justice Centre and provide a point of contact and communication for services seeking to engage and support young people in custody.
Work to commence in 2013-14.
Preliminary work underway to develop resources to improve understanding of court processes and bail requirements and reduce breaches of bail and court orders.
Progress initial work including consultation with young people and their families to develop communication resources.
While restorative justice is a diversionary initiative, participation is also a fundamental objective of restorative justice. Restorative justice processes encourage the participation of young people and their families in decisions that affect them. Restorative justice also supports participation from victims by empowering them to have a voice in how an offence has affected them.
Currently, spaces are available in the courts for service providers and community groups, although there is no designated space for any particular service or group. Any work to allocate space or to manage sub-tenancies is the responsibility of courts management.
Future work on the building design of courts will include the co-location of the Forensic Mental Health Service, Youth Justice Case Management and the Court Alcohol and Drug Assessment Service. Work is expected to commence on this project in 2013-14.
Michael* is a young Aboriginal man who was referred to restorative justice in 2011 after being caught for breaking into a house with several other young people.
As part of the restorative justice process, Michael met with the family who lived in the house and who had also agreed to a face-to-face conference. During the conference, the family had a chance to talk about how Michael's offence had affected them and what would help them to deal with their experience. As well as expressing their concern about the damage that had occurred, they were generous in their concern for Michael and his future, especially if he continued to commit crimes.
For Michael, who had a background of family conflict and negative peer influences, the conference was very challenging. With the support of the Indigenous Guidance Partner, he was able to complete the process and take responsibility for his actions and come to an agreement about how he could make amends.
Part of the outcome of the conference was a commitment by Michael to find ways to connect with young Aboriginal people who might be in a similar situation. He believed that others could learn from his experience of restorative justice. Michael wrote about his reflections on his personal journey and why he decided to be part of the process, eventually turning this into a written presentation.
After seeing the presentation, one Magistrate forwarded it to colleagues as a compelling expression of the positive outcomes that could be achieved through restorative justice.
Each child and young person's circumstances are particular to them and responses need to be tailored to those circumstances if the response is to be successful. There is significant evidence that intensive, individualised support at times of crisis can significantly improve the outcomes for children and young people and their families.
Providing intensive, individualised support includes practical measures to help young people and their families to meet their obligations or specific interventions that build the capacity of young people and their families to make sure the changes necessary help to prevent future offending. The focus is to provide a service delivery approach where children, young people and their families are given the right type and intensity of support at the right time.
Children, young people and their families are strengthened and services meet their individual needs.
A single case management model has been fully implemented across Youth Services. The model provides coordinated case management that focuses on the needs of young people with continuity of a case manager for young people in Bimberi or supervised in the community.
The delivery of single case management has been enhanced by the Bimberi Integrated Management System. A working group has been established to expand the single case management approach to link with community services.
Identify and map service gaps in the single case management process including gaps in other agencies processes to strengthen case management processes with community services. Strengthen links and information sharing with the Child, Youth and Family Support Program.
Young people in the Turnaround Program are provided with an intensive and coordinated case plan that assists them to gain education and/or work readiness skills, living skills and community connections.
Twenty-eight young people were supported by the Turnaround Program in 2012-13.
Ongoing work to provide intensive and coordinated support young people with complex needs.
Education and skills development provides young people with training and vocational programs to develop skills to support them gaining employment on their reintegration into the community.
The Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre employed two part-time tutors to work individually with young people in the school's literacy program.
The Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre established a program to support young people who are exiting Bimberi with their transition into education, training and/or employment, and a weekly cultural program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people has been established.
In October 2012 Bimberi celebrated the opening of a new fire pit built by four young people as part of the Bricks and Blocks Program, an initiative that is designed to give young people an insight into the building industry.
Twenty-six young people participated in skills and resilience-based programs, including barista training and a Work Ready Training Program.
Forty-eight young people received training certificates including Certificate III in Business, Certificate III and IV in Fitness and Certificate II in Horticulture.
Ongoing work to provide education and skills development at Bimberi.
The ACT Youth Commitment requires all agencies working with young people up to the age of 17 to commit to ensuring that no young person is lost from education, training or employment.
A Student Engagement Working Group has been established to enhance guidelines and procedures to enable the Education and Training Directorate to track, monitor and respond to the needs of ACT students aged 6-17 years.
An increased number of young people have participated in Pathways Planning assisting young people to transition from school and post school.
The Career and Transitions (CaT) website will be implemented by February 2014.
The website will include online Pathways Plans, Individual Learning Plans and Personalised Learning Strategies, and link to more comprehensive career information and resources.
While this program is an early intervention initiative, support is also a fundamental objective of the program.
The Early Intervention Pilot Project is an Australian Government initiative under the National Binge Drinking Strategy. The project refers young people under 18 years who come into contact with police after being found intoxicated or in possession of alcohol, into health services. In the ACT, the pilot is a partnership between ACT Policing and the Police and Court Drug Diversion Services within the Alcohol and Drug Services in the Health Directorate.
Young people who are referred complete an alcohol or other drug use history and a bio-psychosocial assessment. This assessment is based around questions to gather information about the young person's physical, psychological and social issues. Following this, a young person will receive education and/or referral to appropriate treatment and support. Family members and friends who accompany a young person can also access information as support.
Early on in the project, drug and alcohol workers found that young people had little understanding of alcohol overdose or how to manage situations where they or their friends were at risk of overdose. In response to this, a wallet-card containing the signs of alcohol overdose and what to do in a situation was trialled. The primary message was about seeking professional medical advice and support, to 'be safe not sorry'. Young people responded well to the initiative and services for young people also reported that the card was a valuable resource in starting the conversation about how young people can increase their knowledge about harmful alcohol use.
Further work on the project has been around developing an alcohol education checklist for alcohol and drug workers to refer to and ensure that essential and consistent information is provided to young people. The checklist has been extended to include cannabis, ecstasy, energy drinks and heroin. The positive response to the initiative demonstrates that there is scope for adapting the program for use with social media. ACT Health and ACT Policing have provided funding to continue this program.
re-established in the community after their period of detention is the key objective of this strategy.
Detention is a last resort. In some cases, detention provides an opportunity to identify and address the circumstances that led to offending. Rehabilitation in detention will only be successful if it is complemented by a planned program of supports in the community upon a young person's release. This includes the provision of mentoring services, accommodation options and flexible learning options to improve a young person's reconnection with the community and to establish a better life.
Children and young people have access to supports and services to successfully reconnect with the community and the likelihood of re-offending is reduced.
The Unit teaches independent living skills, provides access to planned leave for work experience and encourages positive peer relationships. Ongoing work undertaken in the Unit has led to more young people being given community leave to participate in work or recreation activities to better prepare them for return to the community. Twelve young people participated in the Unit in 2012-13. Planning has commenced for a review of the Unit and early indications are that it is achieving positive outcomes.
Continue to provide intensive and targeted programs to young people to assist with moving from custody to the community while in detention at the Centre.
Ongoing work to coordinate youth housing homelessness services with the Child, Youth and Family Support Program (CYFSP) to address service capacity issues in youth housing. This includes the development of key performance indicators on referral pathways goals.
Formal protocols between services to be established over 2013-14.
This work is ongoing and recognises and responds to the different learning styles and needs of students, particularly those students at risk of being or already disengaged from school. Flexible learning options are available for year 9 -12 students in a variety of industry areas, resulting in nationally recognised vocational qualifications. 190 students participated in flexible learning options with 84% achieving a full vocational certificate and an additional 4% achieving a partial certificate.
Engaging Schools Discussion paper out for consultation in term 3 2013. Ongoing work to develop flexible learning options.
Community Services Directorate and Justice and Community Safety Directorate undertook initial policy work to explore options to support the successful transition of young people from custody to the community.
Work to develop options is ongoing.
Preliminary policy work undertaken to map a range of community services targeting young people in the youth justice system, including health, education, housing, family support, employment and training, cultural support and youth services.
Progress policy work to identify how current partnerships with the community sector, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service providers, can be strengthened to ensure services in the youth justice system are flexible, coordinated and needs focused.
Alex entered the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre (Bimberi) after a conviction for property and violence offences when he was 17. This was his first custodial sentence. Around the time of his offending, Alex was experiencing significant change in his life - his parents had separated and were in new relationships, he was frequently using alcohol and marijuana and he became involved with a group of young people whose anti-social and offending behaviour had a strong influence over Alex.
For Alex, coming into Bimberi was a chance to take stock and make some decisions about different areas of his life. He was able to continue his education and work through his drug and alcohol problems. Alex was supported to learn social and relationship building skills and this helped him to resolve issues with his parents and to strengthen a connection with his sister.
Alex's positive attitude in Bimberi meant he was well suited to move into the Bendora Transition Unit. Bendora supports young people to live more independently to help them move from detention into the community. In Bendora, young people have a chance to develop their living skills such as cooking and managing their money. They are also allowed to take approved leave from Bimberi to help them prepare for a successful transition to restart their lives.
It is now 18 months since Alex has left Bimberi. He is a more confident and independent young person. Alex has started a trade, drives his own car and is working. He continues to be part of the community recreational program that he started while in Bimberi. Alex has not re-offended since he has been out of custody.
A comprehensive and effective youth justice strategy that delivers the best outcomes for children, young people and their families relies on coordinated action by government and authentic participation of the community. The ACT Government has placed significant priority on agencies working collaboratively to achieve better outcomes for children, young people and their families.
A whole of government and community approach to youth justice focuses on the need to break down barriers to communication and to get people within agencies to work as part of one inclusive sector. By collaborating effectively, government agencies must work together and with community organisations, regardless of organisational boundaries. Working effectively across government and community will support continuous improvement and seek better ways of doing things.
Preliminary policy work undertaken to explore multidisciplinary service responses for defined children and young people who are suspected of having experienced abuse or neglect.
Progress policy work to investigate multi-agency cross-sector statutory mechanism.
The ACT Criminal Justice Statistical Profile provides quarterly updates of trends in recorded criminal offences in the ACT.
The profile was reviewed during 2012-13 to improve the collection of youth justice data (particularly for community-based supervision) to include expanded age and gender breakdowns across all data sets and enhance offence comparability.
Improvements to the profile will be included in the 2013-14 quarterly update.
Preliminary policy work undertaken to develop a scoping paper to ensure that a common evaluation process is used across staged evaluations. The framework will also inform the continuing development of the youth justice system and services across the ACT.
Progress policy work to develop the framework.
Information sharing protocol with Forensic Mental Health Services and Justice Health has been developed and implemented.
The protocol will enable the timely and appropriate sharing of information between key service providers to deliver coordinated and continuous service provision to all young people entering and exiting Bimberi Youth Justice Centre.
Follow-up work on implementation as required.
While there is good work happening in the ACT's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, this group of young people continues to be over-represented in the youth justice system. It is clear that for many young people and their families, services and supports do not always match needs, are not culturally responsive or linked in the best way.
Genuine engagement between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the youth justice system in tackling this challenge has been boosted with the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth Justice Programs and Service Coordination Committee. The group has a clear brief to influence how supports can work better in helping to get young lives back on track. Membership is a mix of Aboriginal elders, community members and staff from across all areas of youth justice. The group meets on a quarterly basis.
"Our role is to listen, share knowledge and guide how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people can be better supported when on community-based supervision and in Bimberi Youth Justice Centre", said Mark Collis, co-chair.
"We want to see services and programs for young people and their families that have the right focus and that are linked in the best way. And these have to be absolutely grounded in the respect and understanding of culture".
While it is early days for the Committee, so far members have been involved in a number of specific projects as well as providing general guidance on developing culturally specific programs, including training for workers. This initiative will take time to bring results that are measurable, but a commitment to genuine partnership for change is a solid place to start.
A skilled youth justice workforce is critical to the delivery of effective youth justice outcomes. Building a strong and capable workforce is about more than just training staff-a long-term workforce plan is required to build and sustain workforce capacity and capability. It is also acknowledged that the workforce needs to have the capability to respond to needs of culturally and linguistically diverse children and young people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to adapt to changes in context and practice over the life of the Blueprint.
People who work in the youth justice system have the skills and capabilities to meet the needs of young people and their families.
Implementation of the Integrated Management System (IMS) at Bimberi has supported youth justice staff in their work with young people by connecting every aspect of the operations at Bimberi.
a knowledge portal that provides staff with access to information.
Monitoring and review of the IMS as required.
a Valuing our People project which includes new ways of engaging with staff, revised staff retention tools, staff separation and stay surveys, and training package to support Respect Equity and Diversity Officers.
a revised Performance Management Program with mentoring and support provided for managers and staff, new performance agreement templates and a target set for performance agreements in place for 80% of the workforce.
Progress work to deliver actions.
ACT Council of Social Services were engaged to provide the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Service to build cultural awareness, engagement and capacity within the community sector.
Facilitate improved connection between government and community services to develop cultural understanding and proficiency across policy and practice for service delivery.
Bimberi Annual Training Plan developed and implemented to ensure workforce capability requirements for staff are met and to identify current and future training needs.
Action is complete. Monitoring and updating the Training Plan as required.
Ongoing work to attract and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the youth justice workforce. Within the Community Services Directorate, the number of staff identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander has improved slightly from 35 or 2.7% in 2011-12 to 39 or 3% of staff in 2012-13.
Ongoing work to attract and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the youth justice workforce.
The inaugural Australasian Youth Justice Conference was held on 22-22 May 2013 in Canberra. The theme of the conference was changing trajectories of offending and re-offending. The aim of the conference was to support professional development through the presentation of the latest research findings and international and national best practice in youth justice. Approximately 250 delegates attended, including international delegates and front line ACT Youth Services staff.
Action is complete. Planning for future conferences is to be considered.
A youth worker is usually the first person to meet a young person when they arrive at Bimberi.
From that point, it is a youth worker's job to make sure that a young person has their immediate needs met, are given information about their rights and obligations and about what happens each day. A youth worker is also there if a young person wants someone to talk to about any concerns.
Much more than 'supervisors' of young people in detention, youth workers at Bimberi are now highly skilled and sought after. They come from a range of career choices. This diversity is also reflected in the ages, life experiences and cultural backgrounds of staff.
"Our workforce, along with reviewed and updated policies and procedures has been an important part of the change and reform process of the ACT's youth justice system since 2008 when the Centre was first opened," said Greg Corben, Manager, Bimberi Youth Justice Centre.
Since April 2012, Bimberi has had 36 youth workers who have graduated with a Certificate IV/Diploma in Youth Work from Canberra Institute of Technology. One recent graduate, Jodie Muir said, "The knowledge and skills we have gained are invaluable for our role to supervise, support and show guidance to the young people we work with." Following their graduation, several youth workers have gone on to undertake further tertiary study.
In 2012-13, the After-Hours Bail Support Service received over 670 client-related matters relating to nearly 170 young people. Importantly, this work resulted in 26 young people being diverted from custody. In recognition of its success, the After-Hours Bail Support Service won the ACT Public Service Award for Excellence earlier this year.
The increased referral of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and first-time offenders to a restorative justice process is also demonstrating positive outcomes. There has been a 45 per cent increase in the number of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders referred to restorative justice in 2012-13, compared to the previous year. In addition, 53 percent of all first-time young offenders were referred to restorative justice.
The Early Intervention Pilot Program aims to provide alcohol and other drugs education, referral and treatment to young people caught on underage drinking offences. From December 2010 to June 2013, ACT Policing referred 386 young people to the program. The strategies and actions identified in the Blueprint are about finding better ways to support children, young people and their families who are vulnerable to, or at risk of, coming into contact with the youth justice system through their offending behaviour. In just the past year, we have seen the number of days young people spent in the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre reduced by 22 per cent, and by 47 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
Work will continue to consolidate changes to policy initiatives and practice already underway and to undertake policy planning and project development. The focus on establishing early intervention and prevention initiatives will continue over the next year. This will include progressing work to establish a performance and evaluation framework.
Providing targeted responses to young people who remain in the youth justice system - high-risk, repeat young offenders with complex needs who need wrap-around services. This group usually begin offending early, offend at high rates and often very seriously, and are likely to continue offending into adulthood. These young offenders often exhibit early conduct disorder and are frequently characterised by major personal, family and social concerns.
Developing strong links between care and protection services and youth justice services to support early intervention for children who have experienced trauma, abuse and neglect and those who are repeat offenders.
Continuation of workforce initiatives including the monitoring and review of the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre Integrated Management System (IMS), and building cultural awareness, engagement and capacity within the youth justice workforce. The focus of this work will be to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the youth justice system.
While there has been a 47 per cent reduction in the number of days Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people spent in detention in 2012-13, work needs to continue to reduce their disproportionate representation in the ACT youth justice system. This includes building on services with the help of the community that have been established to address this concern.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth Justice Programs and Service Coordination Committee has been established to provide advice on the development of targeted responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people on community-based supervision and in Bimberi Youth Justice Centre. In addition, the M-Power program has been established to provide interagency collaboration and flexible support arrangements to assist in addressing the needs and managing risks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
These include, but are not limited to, health and wellbeing, educational engagement and criminogenic risk and need factors.
Further work will also be undertaken on the six actions that have yet to commence.
1.4 - Establish a shared understanding and co-ordinated actions across the government and the community to implement evidence-based programs to address behavioural disorders in children aged 5-12 years.
2.6 - Strengthen therapeutic programs for young people on community and detention orders.
3.2 - Develop a Family Engagement Plan that will recognise the role of families in preventing offending and strengthen them to support their children and young people more effectively.
3.4 - Develop collaborative service approaches to support young people and families with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
3.5 - Contribute to the forward planning of the new Supreme and Magistrates Courts building design to ensure the buildings are child and family-friendly and culturally appropriate.
7.3 - Provide staff with training and professional development in trauma and its impact on children and young people, including intergenerational trauma resulting from abuse, neglect and past discriminatory policies targeted at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.


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Contests 2021 Eurovision Week 1 Day 6 Afternoon 1 – Nick's View
Eurovision Week 1 Day 6 Afternoon 1 – Nick's View
Nick Deller
So I decided to join an, umm, 'interesting' virtual tour of the area arranged by the D'Arcy De Farcey independent tourism agency this morning, of which I'll be reporting considerably more later in the day, but thankfully I just about made it back to the virtual press centre in time for the Big 6 to do their first rehearsal sessions.
Måneskin, Italy, First Rehearsal, Rotterdam Ahoy, 13 May 2021
Italy's Maneskin are knocking it straight out of the park from the outset. They have a delightful sleaze about them, and while I'm loath to make unfair comparisons, I suddenly have a mental image of Team Finland being on an 8pm curfew because they've got their geography homework to get finished. "BUT MOOOOOMMMMMMM…". This mob aren't on an 8pm curfew, in fact I'll be surprised if they get home in time for tomorrow's lunch. Their rise to bookies' favourite smacks slightly of "Something must win and THIS IS SOMETHING", but it's definitely a textbook example of how to give people a little taster portion of rock concert and just for a second forget that there's a contest on.
Jendrik, Germany, First Rehearsal, Rotterdam Ahoy, 13 May 2021 — EBU / Thomas Hanses
Jendrik from Germany kind of takes it to the other extreme. I expected something proptastic, but props were in short supply unless you count somebody dressed as a hand. This one definitely is a made for TV show, and it's really very obvious that there's a contest on. It crossed my mind that if Lou (und Band, obviously, mustn't forget Band) had tried to deliver a live action interpretation of the Let's Get Happy preview video in 2003, it might not have looked a million miles different. I think nine-year old Me might well have begged the parents to cast a couple of votes for this, and I'm a big advocate of having a couple of songs every year that gives the nine-year-old Me of today the first song he'll have a memory of in years to come. It'll pull up no trees, but I'm glad it's there for the variety.
Jeangu Macrooy, The Netherlands, First Rehearsal, Rotterdam Ahoy, 13 May 2021
The Netherlands'es's Jeangu is taking advantage of having a lot of the pressure off as the home town contender. I don't think a home entry since Anna Vissi's in 2006 has had any particular desire to top the scoreboard, and I think this is the same – it's using the artistic freedom to produce something very personal and true to the performer. Ironically though, there's so much integrity and passion in the performance of Birth Of A New Age that it could end up cutting through and getting greater support than anybody expects. A slight clash of onscreen graphics and the press centre screen overlay has led to me humming "Yu no can film the screen, yu no can film the screen, PROHIBITED TO FILM THE SCREEN" a few times since the session, but obviously that won't be a problem when it goes to air on Week 3 Day 1, hopefully.
Barbara Pravi, France, First Rehearsal, Rotterdam Ahoy, 13 May 2021
Barbara Pravi from France is one of those who brings no surprises. We expected darkness and spotlights, we expected emoting by the tonne, we expected Frenchness by the tonne and by god we GOT Frenchness by the tonne. If it were any more French it'd be wearing a string of onions. I'm happy – I hasten to add – that it isn't wearing a string of onions. It doesn't actually leave me much to say about it beyond that it is EXACTLY as likely to do well as it was 24 hours ago, because nothing has changed.
James Newman, United Kingdom, First Rehearsal, Rotterdam Ahoy, 13 May 2021
The most nervous moment of any rehearsal week for me is when the United Kingdom's Insert Name of Performer, In This Instance James Newman takes the stage, because of the permanent worry that the BBC will have BBC'ed it up again. If you're reading this right now BBC, please forgive me on that point! Honestly though, I think they've BBC'ed it up a bit. I wanted the brass hook visually emphasised, and they delivered an absolute sufficiency of emphasis by employing four people to look like they were playing brass instruments. To be fair, I didn't need a pair of prop trumpets 10 goats long, 4 goats wide and 5 goats high to press the point home. It's a song with a brass hook. I got that point by ACTUALLY LISTENING TO THE SONG IT'S NOT SEASIDE SPECIAL 1982 GODDAMMIT. And breathe…. and relax… Considering the team weren't even in the Netherlands this morning, they all look pretty comfortable with what they need to do. It's just a weird visual blend of far too much of some things and not nearly enough of some others, and I'm not sure who its constituency will turn out to be.
Blas Cantó, Spain, First Rehearsal, Rotterdam Ahoy, 13 May 2021
Finally came Blas Canto from Spain to complete our contingent. I think a lot of delegations must have had Eurovision 1987 on their watchlist during lockdown, because we've seen a good number of enormous balls up on stage this week, and not a few dodgy looking piles of clinker. Blas has brought probably the largest spherical object of all… I mean, there might be some forced perspective going on with his enormous moon, but if I'm any judge of scale it's as tall as 130 to 140 of Tix's angel wings piled atop each other. It must be easily the size of 30 of Miki's houses laid out side by side. Kate Miller-Heidke would have taken one look at it and said "Yeah, you wouldn't catch me that high up mate". It's 100 – 200 – perhaps even 300 recumbent goats tall. It's just a Really. Enormous. Moon. I'm telling you, you want to watch out for that moon. IT IS ONE HUGE MOON. Obviously I'm assuming here that it's actually a moon.
Oh, I think Blas sang a song as well.
Well, that wasn't too stressful in the end. Quite a relaxing day really. Not too hard on the nerves. Back a little later to have a look through my holiday snaps, and then we'll get close to polishing off these second rehearsals over the next couple of days.
Luke, ik ben jouw vader!
Vader? Je bent mijn vader, Vader?
Ja, leuke Luke! Ik, Vader, ben jouw vader!
Image Credits: Dave Geensen, EBU / Thomas Hanses, EBU / Thomas Hanses , EBU / Thomas Hans.
First Rehearsal
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Vladana is going to Turin – not for fun, for Montenegro


Anyone who works with fast moving technology knows that there is always a new shiny tool that gets all the attention. It tends to change every few months and anytime you start to use a new tool, you do secretly wonder if it will be around all that long. By any measure, Twitter has passed these boundaries. It has been around for several years. Every day more and more people discover it and it's usefulness in their personal lives. New stories of the business potential of the tool are also coming out, such as Dell's recent report that they have made more than $1 million dollars through their DellOutlet Twitter account. Small business superstars like Gary Vaynerchuck (@garyvee) declare it the #1 most useful promotional tool in their arsenal. Clearly, Twitter isn't just the new shiny tool on the block anymore.
Feel free to link to this image, grab it for use in your own presentations or blog (click to see a bigger version that you can download).
UPDATE 2: Check out my follow up post, "9 Ways To Make Twitter More Useful For You."
UPDATE: Thanks to those that pointed out I didn't share my Twitter name in this post. It's @rohitbhargava.
I'm certain that for some Businesses it will work well.
What I have trouble with is the constant evangelising that goes on.
The Twitterati and the S'mores proclaiming that if everyone isn't on Twitter they are missing out.
The above is simply untrue.
Their must always be an element of common sense applied to any tool that is available for use. That bit is often missing.
I find it also interesting that many of the Twitterati / S'mores actually aren't at stage 5. Some are still at stage 3.
They want followers. Converse? forget it..
That impacts what people think of them (reputation management anyone) and their "personal brand", if indeed they have one.
That is a great graphic. I was stuck at #2 for the longest time and then progressed to a #4 where I think I am now. Wanting to get up to a #5 superstar soon :) Thanks for this.
This is spot on Rohit. #1 was my first reaction and came very naturally. It took a while to get over it and I would say I am between #3 & #4 right now but I can see acceptance is not too far away.
I agree with Mike in that it's hard to believe that one tool can have high effectiveness for *everyone*. It really depends on the industry you're in, and what that industry uses. If I were a musician, I'd be all over MySpace, in contrast there are some industries that still rely heavily on forums for communication and promotion. Of course, the best way is to use a combination of tools to get the job done. Can't build a house with just a hammer, right?
Stage 6: Addiction "I'll check twitter one more time before I go to bed"
1. What is the best way for a career strategy services company to utilize Twitter. Simply put what is the best strategy for tweets?
2. How do I maximize my search-ability on Twitter?
One year ago I wrote a post that compared Twitter to a nosy neighbor who "always wanted to know what I was doing."
Today, I embrace Twitter fully as the most functional research, marketing, resource, media relations, broadcasting tool in social media.
Twitter was the means I used to contact BlogWorld Expo 2008 staff / Dave Cynkin and Rich Calvert.
I volunteered my video recording services in exchange for an unlimited pass. It was there that I met you and recorded your excellent Sunday Keynote session with Mike Ferriss (the 4-hour Workweek), and Mike Shinoda of the Linkin Park band.
The power of the "Tweet" on Twitter.com cannot be minimized.
Now Sir Richard Branson is following me, and Chris Brogan is helping me understand the impact of Social Media on my various web properties for 2009.
Thank you Rohit, for a timely and informative post. I am so very grateful for your keen insight, and willingness to give away so much of value.
Love the 5 stages concept! (I was stuck on #1 for a long time until I dove in.) Now the advice I give to Twitter newbies is that, to get past #2, they need to follow a bunch of people to listen and begin to learn how they are using the tool. If they pick the right people, they'll soon be microblogging.
It's great that you were able to see how Twitter wasn't working for your community and making headway in changing that to provide value to them while still growing your online presence.
There's a lot of ways to use Twitter and certain feeds are setup strictly for promoting and it works because there is full disclosure to the community. For a personal account, such as yours, that is where it gets tricky and where you have thousands of eyes reading and analyzing your every tweet.
Great points that helps shed some light on how we each are using Twitter.
Rohit, you just nailed it with this post. What an accurate depiction... at least, it is accurate for me. I was just reflecting today that I finally "get" Twitter. At least, I'm enjoying Stage 4 very much!
I just signed up for Twitter and I'm trying to figure out how to make it useful and to generate business. I have gotten clients/business through facebook and I've heard the stories of Dell and other companies/people who have gotten a lot of biz through Twitter so I'm hopeful.
Rohit, Thank youfor the great graphic - a picture's worth a thousand words. I borrowed it for a post I wrote today on why people need to be on Twitter.
Your visual aid can be helpful for people who opened a Twitter account and then didn't know what to do. If I hadn't have had a friend show me the shortcuts of using www.tweetdeck.com and expalaining te benefits she's gotten from Twitter I may never have gotten my Twitter mojo going.
Great post! I think I ran from step 1 to step 5 within a week. I love communicating and have found the being authentic in all I say and do on Twitter has worked well for me in business.
Your post is right on target! I think that I've just this week graduated from stage 3 to stage 4. I've finally started interacting directly with many of my "tweeps."
Great post. I am at stage 3 and am looking forward to the leap to get to stage 5. I can conceptualize it, and I'm working to make the jump.
Although I am not usually given to following links about Twitter in general, let alone about using Twitter as a business tool, I like to try and follow links tweeted by members of the Twitterhood, as I call my following and follower group, to get to know them better.
This page made me see Twitter from a completely different viewpoint and I am grateful for that. To me Twitter has been the equivalent of a cocktail party and I have invited, and been invited by, people I meet there to join them at LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and so on, depending upon the nature of our interaction.
It is fascinating to hear that some companies have succeeded in making useful income directly through their use of Twitter as I have generally considered it a totally unlikely place for corporate sales to be made. In fact, as soon as I leave this page, I plan to take a look at how Dell Outlet has conducted its Twitter presence.
Thank you for a very interesting read, including the many comments your piece has attracted.
Great post and nice breakdown of Twitter usage. I am in stage 3/4 myself. I recently looked at Twitter more seriously from a revenue generation stanpoint ( detailed here: http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2008/12/why-twitter-will-not-help-your-blog.html ). I am still unconvinced that Twitter can help with improving your revenue stream.
Great job on the five stages. I am trying to move up the scale myself.
Sometimes I find it hard to fit my thoughts into the 140 character limit, but I've found that discipline makes me a better writer.
Your Twitter stages gave me a good laugh. A lot of people I know at first were in Twitter denial and are now addicted. I don't think I've hit the 5th/expert stage quite yet (I post about what I'm doing pretty often, which I think cancels some of the useful information out), but I'm working on it!
I love the way you break down the five stages of Twitter acceptance. We're just geting into twitter at my office, and your description is right on the mark. I'll be sending this url to my fellow agents.
I really liked your graphic and I think it truly represents the stages that every Twitter user goes through. This is definitely a must-see for every Twitter skeptic. You nailed it with such an interesting visual aid. I even borrowed it for one of my blog posts.
I have enjoyed twittering promotions, catching up with friends, seeing breaking news, learning from others, growing a community, leveraging my time by letting Twitter update the status of some of my other programs and a host of other things.
My name is WendyMerritt and I am a Twitter addict. There I've said it!
2009 - Mass Market - ?
Will it happen? I see some real problems ahead.
1. Twitter can be a time and productivity sponge. A day can disappear in a wirlwind of posts and replies. Even today I'm surprised that some users get any work done given how many tweetts they post!
2. Companies feel they are losing control of their messaging, brand and reputation. Employees are becoming their public face through blogs and microblogs. Will they let this continue?
3. Information overload. Can our minds process the information from thousands of followers? Will we reach information saturation and rebel against having this much data pushed at us 24 hours a day?
4. How useful is the information that most Tweets contain? I estimate that one in a hundred tweets I read are genuinely useful. Is this really an effective use of our time?
Will Twitter be a genuine revolution or will it be the next Second Life? 2009 could be the defining year. It will be interesting to see.
I'm still mired in #2. I'm struggling with figuring out how this Twitter is supposed to benefit me.
One of the problems that I have is that I am in a rural area with only dial up access. Since my wife run's her business out the home (and she has a lot of calls to make) I can't be online all day or it ties up the phone line.
I think that Social Media will be easier for me to use when I can finally get a high speed connection (I'm starting to seriously consider satellite since DSL, cable and wireless just seem to reach all around me.
Thanks for the eye opening info.
Great post. Thanks for offering up your 5-Stage graphic for others to use.
Man, you nailed it. I'm at stage 4 and working on 5.
I am at the conversing stage, and I see that I hit every single stage that you mentioned. I think that once I find a way to find unique and intriguing content, I'll be able to ascend to the microblogging stage.
Very informative article but in my case I'm just wondering if in TWITTER, it's really natural clicks from people who are interested be your followers? Or it's the ADMIN who's just sending some accounts to be followers of other users?
Twitter has definitely brought new subscribers to my blog. It has also given me awesome opportunities, such as guest blogging on popular sites, like Problogger.com. The really cool thing about Twitter, you can actually converse one-on-one with such icons as Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan, and Chris Garrett. I still haven't quite figured out how to pull it all together to fully benefit from the Twitter experience, but I'm working on it. Great post. Thanks for the input.
spot on indeed; still in my twitter infancy (3 days and counting) and have managed to make it to dumping stage!
have received a great twitter induction from pjnet http://padajo.wordpress.com and am really getting my head round it.
I love it! I was so in denial for the longest time. I heard "twitter" hundreds of times before I ever even checked the site out. Now I'm microblogging full steam.
I think im transitioning between stage 4 and 5. Good post Rohit.
I agree with @cjguest - I can see immediate benefits for certain industries. I am still wondering about the cult of cyber celebrities though... whether stage 3 is in the eye of the beholder, one person's dump is another person's invitation to 4 & 5.
Hi, great tips for Twitter users.
At first I logged in to Twitter and signed up, there it was a blank sheet of paper and my first thought was OK what the hell do I do now then. It appeared to be like watching the proverbial paint drying!
It was a little while before the deeper possibilities began to dawn on me and I wish I had found your tips a little earlier on.
Would you consider a 6th? Extending. Maybe it is something like "I am using Twitter as an interaction as well as an introduction service via the link feature."
If you consolidate your web presence on one page and stick that page in the link section on your twitter profile then twitter is great for extendring your networks.
I built http://www.extendr.com for just this reason. We all only have one link in twitter. We all don't have the time to google everyone we meet on twitter. Why don't we all collect our own web presence one one page and share that page. It's about who knows you™ Help people know you.
I just wanted to add one thing especially in regards to the common sense thought. It's all about a good mix.
I never see anyone acknowledge the fact that you don't have to have a huge audience that follows you everywhere. You can "own" different audiences with different tools. Your friends on facebook. Business associates on linked in. Associates, friends, and business people on twitter. Clients on a blog, the masses on a TV show or vlog.
There will NEVER be an all in one solution because that's not how people work, it never has been and regardless what tools are available I don't think people will change. Just my two cents.
yah - i got it baaaad!
Ha Ha Ha, love the stages!
Stage 6: Evangelize and apply to client business challenges.


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We were too busy opening Christmas presents and fixing stuff from December's features-n-improvements binge to add anything new. But by golly, those developers are stuffing the pipeline full, and I'm sure we'll have some kind of rupture soon.
Okay, a small leak already occurred: there's a new tags filter condition in the Students Table.
And this also seeped out: the addAddress and updateAddress API calls now let you set said addresses to primary or private. You can also find out from the API whether a given academic term is standard or non-standard.
Cloned courses would sometimes give students alerts for things they couldn't access. This was actually a practical joke we were playing on everyone.
The new Lessons stuff didn't necessarily hew to the strictures of course syncing, but now it heweth most closely.
Fixed a bug that would import lesson files from a Common Cartridge file but then not display them.
Exporting members from an organization was giving some users (to-wit: those who were exporting members from an organization) a blank browser window.
Failed courses later retaken were being counted in the GPA calculation for course groups, which no one who knew about this took to very kindly—least of all the developer who shut this thing down.
The course catalog XLS export wasn't including course group prerequisites, which frankly made the spreadsheet a much less compelling read. We put those prereqs in there and the thing is a spectacular, edge-of-the-proverbial-seat page-turner. A filmed adaptation starrring Nicholas Cage is due to hit theaters and VOD in early 2018.
Some videos were not viewable on the PC-version of the Chrome browser. We did some stuff and then some more stuff to fix this.
If an admin user was working in a lesson, if she deleted a lesson element Populi would kick her over to Academic Term > Courses. This was a feature we worked hard to implement, but it turns out that it was useful to absolutely no one whatsoever.
Decimal-type custom fields wouldn't show two decimal places if the second decimal was 0. So, 4.10 was showing as 4.1. And 57484789039.10 was showing as 57484789039.1. There are literally trillions more examples I could give of this phenomenon, and if things ever slow down around here, I hope to get around to finishing that project.
Fixed another Common Cartridge import issue to make sure Populi could digest stuff from Discussions v. 1.1.
Add Assignment was taking an incredibly long time for some users. Now it's LIGHTNING-QUICK.
File-type assignments, meanwhile, couldn't be added to lessons.
And during that time, cloned discussion assignments attached to lessons would become DETACHED from those lessons in the cloned-to course, roaming like buffalo on the prairie, wandering like kittens who've tumbled out of the basket, floating like rose petals scattered from the hand of a brokenhearted maiden over the dusk-blue surface of a still, quiet pond. We put a stop to all that junk.


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Meme's in Your Head: Why You Mad Tho? The Struggle to Develop Universal Health Care Policy, 1912 – 2009
August 12, 2011 August 19, 2011 | ExtremeLiberal
Guest Blogger: theangryliberal
There have been six times in the past to deliver major legislation restructuring of the provision of hospital and medical services: 1913- 17, 1937-39, 1943-46, 1964-65, 1969-75 and 1993-94. Each previous attempt collapsed usually generating a series of legislation crafted to assuage the legislators who fought so hard ultimately to achieve so little (Danielson and Mazer 161). In 2009, after nearly 100 years, Democrats with Nancy Pelosi in the lead, took that ball and finally passed legislation that would guarantee access to health care. The rest is history, but it did not come without a fight. No doubt, every time the efforts failed, more policy was developed and negotiated for the inevitable, because it was inevitable that some form of Universal Coverage would pass Congress and be signed by a President from the Democratic Party.
To be perfectly honest, there was no public option in the policy that was eventually developed and finally passed through congress some parts have already been implemented and other parts are waiting for funding in this fiscal year. Although I had been somewhat involved in Comprehensive Health Care Policy research at our local committee level for this blog I thought some extra research would be in order. I ran across an interesting excerpt of a column originally published in the Washington Post by Don Coburn one of their staff writers. I found the excerpt in the British Medical Journal Summer, 1986, and lo and behold, I found a copy of this on-line at the National Institute of Health.
This is the first universal health insurance plan in the United States, and Governor Dukakis hails it as a model for the whole country. "Forty years after Harry Truman first proposed it we are finally on the road to basic health security for the citizens of this state," he said. "It's something which is long overdue for Massachusetts and long overdue for the country.'
However, the real issue before us is in understanding how we got to today, and taking some personal responsibility for the failures of the past, and some joy in the huge accomplishment of 2009. Because, in all honesty, we should have some pride in finally being able to move on from those who continue to say this will destroy us, to defending the bill, and keeping Republicans from further demonizing what is a huge accomplishments by Democrats in office. My particular thanks to Nancy Pelosi and her deft handling of her caucuses to get this bill passed. She ultimately will go down in history as one of the greatest speakers of all time. There is an excellent interactive time line of the history of Health Reform in America at the NY Times.
1912 – Teddy Roosevelt campaigns on a National Health Insurance policy, Great Britain passed such a policy in 1911, and many European nations had such policies, the earliest being Germany they passed a national health insurance policy in 1883. The debate in America went on until 1917.
1937 – 38 The New Deal omitted plans for a national health insurance program in 1934, although it was included in the original discussion and planning for implementing New Deal Programs. What happened in 1934? By 1938 it began to push a National Health Insurance Program. Again, it failed. There were many forces against this new plan, but in the forefront were doctors who opposed national health insurance.
1948 – Harry Truman includes a national health insurance program in the platform of his election campaign and it stays in the Democrat Party platform. Back then the AMA opposed a national insurance program, and claimed we were heading towards socialized medicine, the same tired argument employed by conservatives today. Essentially this is where the hard fight began.


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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Edward Snowden 'Probably Not' A Foreign Spy Says NSA Chief Michael Rogers
*New NSA director plays down speculation that 'our gentleman in Moscow' was working for a foreign intelligence agency
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Spencer Ackerman in Washington
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 5, 2014: The new director of the National Security Agency says he believes whistleblower Edward Snowden was "probably not" working for a foreign intelligence agency, despite frequent speculation and assertion by the NSA's allies to the contrary.
In one of his first public remarks since becoming NSA director in April, Admiral Michael Rogers, who also leads the military's cybersecurity and cyberattack command, distanced himself on Tuesday from contentions that Snowden is or has been a spy for Russia or another intelligence service.
"Could he have? Possibly. Do I believe that's the case? Probably not," Rogers said during a cybersecurity forum hosted by Bloomberg Government.
The recently installed NSA director struck a more nuanced tone on the man he called "our gentleman in Moscow" than his predecessor, Keith Alexander, or many of his congressional champions – chief among them his namesake Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, who has frequently intimated that Snowden is a Russian spy.
"You gotta be very balanced. I thought he was an intelligent individual, articulate. [He] seemed fairly arrogant to me," the NSA's Rogers said on Snowden's interview with NBC last week.
"He clearly believes in what he's doing. I question that; I don't agree with it. I fundamentally disagree with what he did. I believe it was wrong, I believe it was illegal."
Rogers declined to say that there were no other Snowdens waiting to leak documents from the NSA. He sounded cautious about how many documents Snowden actually took from the NSA, despite a still-classified Defense Intelligence Agency assessment asserting that Snowden absconded with 1.7 million documents – an assessment based on Snowden's internal access to NSA documents.
"We have a fairly good idea here, and I'm not going to get into specifics here," Rogers said.
In another departure from past practice, Rogers confirmed the broad outline of a New York Times story based on the Snowden disclosures that reported NSA's mass collection of digitized images of people's facesand other biometric identifiers.
"We use facial recognition as a tool to help us understand these foreign intelligence targets. Counter-terrorism is another big area – this has probably had more impact for us in the counterterrorism arena than anywhere else," Rogers said.
The Guardian reported in February that the NSA has aided its British counterpart, GCHQ, in collecting imagery from millions of unsuspecting users of Yahoo webcam chats, which GCHQ used for experiments with automated facial recognition software. At the time, months before Rogers became NSA director, the NSA declined to answer questions about its involvement in the effort.
At the Tuesday event, Rogers pledged increased candor with the public about NSA's operations, which he acknowledged was a cultural challenge for America's most secret intelligence agency. But he indicated a desire to move the agency out from under the shadow of the Snowden revelations.
"One of the things that I try to tell the workforce out there is: this is not what is going to define us," he said. "We cannot go into this hunched-down crunch. We have an important mission."
Echoing a year's worth of reluctant statements by intelligence leaders, Rogers told Reuters last month that transparency would be key to restoring confidence in the NSA, even as he declined to criticize the broad surveillance that prompted widespread outrage.
Fulfilling the agency's transparency pledge has been complicated by measures from the US director of national intelligence to clamp down on public interaction, even on unclassified matters, without the approval of the secretive agencies' press monitors. Critics, noting the government's selective and incomplete intelligence disclosures, consider the NSA and its allies more interested in reasserting control over its public image than in shedding light on its practices and authorities.
Occasionally animated during his talk, Rogers appeared relaxed and jocular. While rejecting charges of NSA wrongdoing, he said he was open to public debate about the proper scope of the agency's surveillance authorities – though he neglected to mention that the agency and its allies worked behind the scenes last month to weaken privacy and transparency provisions in a major surveillance reform bill.
"A broad dialogue of what we're doing and why is a good thing for us as a nation. I don't question that for one minute," said Rogers, who repeatedly described himself, to laughter, as a "direct" person.
Rogers declined to discuss Bowe Bergdahl, a former Taliban captive in Afghanistan whom the Obama administration traded for five Taliban leaders detained at Guantanamo Bay. Responding generically to a question about the NSA monitoring the five ex-detainees, Rogers noted that the agency has "the means to track individuals with a foreign intelligence dimension to them" but said he could not guarantee tracking "every individual constantly."
More broadly, Rogers warned of a danger in inflating national security threats to justify the expansion of government security powers.
"There are groups and individuals out there who if they had their way, we would no longer exist as a nation," Rogers said.
"Now, I'm not one who's going to sit here and overhype the threat [or say] that in the name of this threat we have to make dramatic changes and curtail our rights, because if we go down that road, in the end, they've won. If we change who we are and what we believe and what we represent in the name of security, they have won. I have always believed that."
*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Spencer Ackerman in Washington
Posted by Defense-Technology News at 6/05/2014 05:15:00 AM No comments:
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Edward Snowden 'Probably ...