Bioquell, a leading global expert in reducing the risk of bio-contamination in the healthcare, life science and pharmaceutical markets, recently completed a 6-log decontamination of the key clinical areas within a newly constructed world class hospital, Sidra Medicine. The disinfection of 450 rooms totalling 56,000m3 was implemented in a short 15-day time frame ahead of the Qatar-based facility's grand opening.
Bioquell performed a 6-log decontamination of a suite of 12 operating theatres, sterile processing unit, paediatric and neonatal intensive care units and other high risk patient areas such as oncology and dialysis. Working alongside numerous departments at Sidra Medicine, the project was successfully completed within the allocated three-week time frame.
The process was validated with Bioquell's 6-log Geobacillus stearothermophilus biological indicators as well as a third party air sampling procedure organised by Sidra Medicine. A 6-log reduction was achieved in all areas within the scope with 100% of the independent air sampling results being within the acceptable range.
Bioquell's Rapid Bio-decontamination Service (RBDS) was chosen to establish a degree of sterility as high as practically possible within key areas. The company used its scientifically-proven Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour technology due to its ability to offer a scalable solution while maintaining a high efficacy standard.
The larger areas being targeted, such as intensive care units and the hospital's operating theatre complex, were treated as single, discrete decontamination zones, which minimised the risk of cross-contamination between rooms and corridors, and allowed the project to be completed in time.
The largest area of the hospital to be treated as a single zone was the operating theatre complex with a total volume of c.7000m3. This entire suite was decontaminated within one day using 32 of Bioquell's Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour generators simultaneously to provide effective decontamination. Distribution fans were also used to disperse the vapour within specified zones, whilst Bioquell's aeration units provided the capacity to quickly break down the vapour to complete the decontamination cycle rapidly.
Bioquell's 6-log Geobacillus stearothermophilus spore biological indicators were placed in challenging locations within each area, as well as proprietary Bioquell chemical indicators designed to give a real-time verification of a successful bio-decontamination process. Biological indicators provide insight to the success of a cycle after a 24-hour incubation period, with final results available after seven days.
All areas decontaminated strictly adhered to Bioquell safety protocols with doors giving access to each target area sealed using Bioquell tape to prevent leaks, warning signs placed to prevent entry to the area during the cycle and calibrated low level sensors to continually monitor the perimeter of each area throughout the cycle. The sensors also ensure that the Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour concentration had fallen below the safety limits after the cycle was complete.
Bioquell used 800 biological indicators to confirm the efficacy of the process. Additionally, Sidra Medicine also arranged for third party air sampling tests in all of the decontaminated areas. All the air sampling results were within the acceptable limits.
As demonstrated by the full inactivation of biological indicators and successful air sampling results, the project was completed safely and within the required time.
Following the successful delivery of the project, Sidra Medicine purchased multiple Bioquell BQ-50 Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour systems to perform regular decontamination cycles of single rooms and other small areas within the hospital.
Russell Gates, Office of the Vice Chairperson at Sidra Medicine commented: "The Bioquell team worked well with our own people and were very flexible in their approach. The planning prior to their arrival in Doha made the implementation of the project much easier as we were able to ensure the right people were in place to support the process.


A Social Security Disability attorney can help SSD applicants avoid filing mistakes, provide proper documentation and understand the claim process. Hiring an attorney can make a significant difference in the outcome of a claim. Still, Illinois applicants will only see these benefits if they choose the right representative. Applicants should consider the following factors before deciding whether to partner with a given attorney.
Strong relevant knowledge. Social Security Disability law should be the attorney's primary focus, rather than a secondary practice.
A history of success. Applicants should ask the attorney about the firm's overall claim approval rate. Applicants may want to clarify how many claims are approved initially, at the review level, at the hearing level or during subsequent appeals.
If scheduling an initial meeting or following up afterward proves difficult, applicants may need a different representative. Applicants should ask each attorney direct questions about accessibility. Applicants can inquire about the attorney's staff support, typical caseload and frequency of contact with clients.
Personal manner. During direct interactions, applicants should weigh whether the attorney is someone they can work with. SSD applicants must feel comfortable discussing highly personal information with their representatives. Poor communication can raise the risk of claim denial. Applicants benefit from finding an SSD attorney who they find trustworthy and easy to talk with.
Applicants should be wary of attorneys who guarantee claim approval or quick results, as these outcomes are rarely certain. Applicants should also be cautious if an attorney requires upfront fees. Most attorneys work on a contingency basis, collecting pay only if benefits are awarded.
In addition to these traits, there are a few other qualities certain SSD applicants may need to look for in an attorney.
People with complex or not readily evident conditions, such as mental illnesses, may face uphill battles to secure SSD benefits. These individuals should work with attorneys who are familiar with the condition and the relevant SSA criteria.
Older and younger applicants should look for attorneys with experience filing claims on behalf of people their age. The SSA uses a unique system to evaluate whether children are disabled. Distinct rules also affect the disability evaluation process for claimants older than 50.
Many attorneys provide complimentary initial case reviews. SSD applicants should take the opportunity to receive a case evaluation and determine whether a particular attorney would be the right advocate.
What is the difference between the listings and the grids?
How does ADA interact with the SSA rules?
What is an acceptable medical source?
Are Disability Benefits Protected in A Bankruptcy?


text:
Ведреньское () — озеро в Чашникском районе Витебской области.

Озеро находится в 10 километрах от города Чашники, между деревнями Малый Ведрень и Большой Ведрень.

Соединено рекой Свина на севере с озером Глубочино, на юге — с озером Конечное.

Местность преимущественно грядистая и холмистая, поросшая кустарником и редколесьем, местами болотистая. Берега песчаные, преимущественно высокие, поросшие кустарником.

Мелководье обширное, песчаное, глубже дно сапропелистое. Озеро зарастает незначительно.

В озере водятся такие виды рыб как: окунь, плотва, лещ, щука, линь а также другие виды рыб. Также в озере обитают раки.

Организованно платное любительское рыболовство, разрешена подводная охота.

Марфометрия озера
Площадь зеркала 0,11 км², длина 0,47 км, наибольшая ширина 0,32 км, максимальная глубина 11,5 м, длина береговой линии 1,35 км. Объем воды около 0,45 млн м³, площадь водосбора около 7 км.

Примечания
 Комментарии

 Источники

Озёра Чашникского района
Бассейн Оболи

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Browsing News Entries
Planned Parenthood eschews federal funding to continue abortion referrals
Posted on 07/19/2019 08:31 AM (CNA Daily News)
Washington D.C., Jul 19, 2019 / 12:31 am (CNA).- As a new regulation takes effect, barring Title X recipients from making abortion referrals, Planned Parenthood has reportedly decided to forego the federal funds in order to continue directing women to abortion.
"We are not going to comply with a regulation that would require health care providers to not give full information to their patients," Jacqueline Ayers, the group's top lobbyist, said Tuesday as reported by ABC News.
The Trump administration announced July 15 that parts of the Protect Life Rule, which prohibits recipients of Title X family planning funds from referring or performing abortions, will go into effect immediately. Clinics that provide "nondirective counseling" about abortion may still receive funds.
Pro-life advocates have praised the regulations as a commonsense way to ensure enforcement of already-existing rules against taxpayer money being used for abortions.
"A strong majority of Americans have consistently voiced their opposition to taxpayer funding of abortion – it is even unpopular among Democrats and self-described pro-choice Americans," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List last week.
"Without reducing Title X funding by a dime, the Protect Life Rule simply draws a bright line between abortion and family planning, stopping abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood from treating Title X as their private slush fund."
The Protect Life Rule will strip about $60 million in federal funding from Planned Parenthood, whose clinics both refer for abortion services and are co-located with abortion facilities. Planned Parenthood presently receives about one-fifth of the total amount of Title X funds distributed and serves about 40 percent of all clients who benefit from Title X.
Title X does not pay for abortions, but recipients have in the past been able to refer patients for abortion.
The Department of Health and Human Services informed Title X fund recipients on July 15 that they will no longer be permitted to refer mothers for abortions, and must keep finances separate from facilities that provide abortions.
Planned Parenthood described the court's decision as "devastating" and "crushing news," though the organization remains eligible to receive $500 million in other federal funding.
As of March next year, abortion facilities will no longer be allowed to co-locate with clinics that receive Title X money.
HHS received $4.1 million in Title X funds in April to disburse to almost 70 service sites, many of which are Planned Parenthood affiliates, The Hill reports.
The rule is being challenged in federal court, but the administration says there is currently no legal obstacle to enforcing it, ABC News reports.
Title X is a federal program created in 1965 that subsidizes family-planning and preventative health services, including contraception, for low-income families. It has been frequently updated and subject to new regulations.
An independent family planning provider in Maine announced that it too would continue to refer for abortions and eschew federal funding.
Planned Parenthood's president Dr. Leana Wen parted ways with the organization earlier this week, saying her employment had been ended due to "philosophical differences" with the board "over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood."
Wen noted that when she was interviewed for the role of president, she asked the search committee whether they viewed the organization primarily as an advocacy organization "with medical services that are necessary to strengthen its impact" or as a health care organization "with advocacy as a necessary vehicle to protect rights and access."
Wen said that she firmly believes Planned Parenthood to be fundamentally about health care, and has spent her eight months as president focusing on patient care and the promotion of reproductive rights as health care.
The board, however, wanted to move in a different direction, emphasizing abortion advocacy as their fundamental mission, she said.
Wen was appointed head of Planned Parenthood in September 2018, following the 12-year presidency of Cecile Richards. Political organizer Alexis McGill Johnson has been named as acting president.
Chilpancingo, Mexico, Jul 18, 2019 / 11:01 pm (CNA).- The bishop of one of Mexico's most violent areas has said that Wednesday's sentencing of drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera to life in prison plus 30 years is proper and prudent.
Guzmán, known as "El Chapo", is a fomer head of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was sentenced July 17 by a judge in New York, after having been found guilty of 10 charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
"I believe there is justice by God and human justice," Bishop Salvador Rangel Mendoza of Chilpancingo-Chilapa told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish language sister agency.
"I believe he was properly judged. I have more confidence in American laws than Mexican, and I believe that they judged it to be prudent to give him life in prison plus 30 years," Bishop Rangel stated.
Guzmán's sentence "is the fruit of the criminal acts he committed, and in particular I believe this should help many other criminals to see that sooner or later they will have to face justice and the we all have to answer for the evil deeds we have done," the bishop said.
"I believe it's a just sentence given to that man and especially so it's an example for everyone else."
"Hopefully this will also rein in crime a bit here in Mexico," he added.
Guzmán had been captured by Mexican authorities in 2014, but escaped from a maximum security prison in July 2015. He was re-captured in Junary 2016, and extradited to the US in 2017.
In addition to his prison sentence, Guzmán was also ordered to pay $12.6 billion in forfeiture.
The Department of Justice said that the drug trafficker's trial brought out the methods used by the Sinaloa Cartel to transport tons of drugs to the United States as well as the violence the organization "relied on to maintain its power throughout the region and beyond."
Mexico faces much violent crime, often related to drug trafficking. According to the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice, 15 of the 50 most violent cities in the world during 2018 were in Mexico.
According to the Mexican daily El Universal, the first six months of 2019 have been the most violent on record in Mexico's history.
Bishop Rangel lamented that "the circumstances in Mexico are very tough. I believe what does the most harm is the corruption in the different levels of government, as well as in society itself, in business."
"In the end, what's predominating is political and economic expediency, and I believe these criminal gangs will hardly go away as long as we don't get to the root of the problem: for example, the lack of opportunities in education and the economy," he said.
For the Mexican prelate it is critical "to remake the social fabric, which has unraveled for us. And this, as we know, can only be achieved on the basis of principles and values."
"We must shore up values within the family, the school, society, the Church. We must all aim at those values, because unfortunately we have generations lacking those values."
After noting the violence with which organized crime tortures and murders it victims, Bishop Rangel stated that "we must teach them that we must love life, respect it, and care for it."
Villanova historian says Chaput, Cordileone, and Strickland are 'devout schismatics'
Denver, Colo., Jul 18, 2019 / 06:35 pm (CNA).- A Church historian at Philadelphia's Villanova University has said three U.S. bishops are "devout schismatics" who try to diminish the authority of Pope Francis.
"They are devout in the sense that they publicly display their preference for a traditionalist Church and its devotions, such as the rosary. They are schismatics because they openly promote the undermining of the bishop of Rome among the Catholic faithful," Massimo Faggioli wrote in a July 16 essay for La Croix magazine.
Faggioli made specific mention of three U.S. bishops: Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, and Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas.
The historian said the "schismatic instincts" of those bishops were manifested in August 2018, when they "sided with Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former papal nuncio to Washington who called on Francis to resign."
Viganò released on Aug. 25, 2018 a "testimony," which, among other things, accused Pope Francis of ignoring warnings about former cardinal Theodore McCarrick's sexual deviancy, and then raising McCarrick's status within the Vatican.
After the testimony was released, Strickland issued a statement calling Viganò's allegations "credible," and Cordileone said he could confirm that some of Viganò's statements were true.
Contrary to Faggioli's claim, however, Chaput did not endorse Viganò's allegations. While a spokesman told reporters in August that Chaput "enjoyed working with Archbishop Viganò during his tenure as Apostolic Nuncio," he declined to comment on the former nuncio's allegations.
The spokesman said that Chaput could not comment "on Archbishop Viganò's recent testimonial as it is beyond his personal experience."
In 2013, Chaput told radio personality Hugh Hewitt that the election of Pope Francis had made him "extraordinarily happy, because quite honestly, he is the man I was hoping would be Pope eight years ago."
Two years later, Chaput hosted Pope Francis in Philadelphia for the 2015 World Meeting of Families. Reflecting in 2018 on that meeting, Chaput wrote that the pope's "time with us was filled with powerful public moments and deeply grace filled intimate gatherings hallmarked by an overarching spirit of mercy, compassion, and charity."
"[Pope Francis] has repeatedly challenged us to bear witness to Christ through concrete action—by serving the poor, by helping immigrants, by preserving families, and by protecting the sanctity of life. It's the kind of challenge we can and should answer with a hearty yes each day," Chaput added.
In his essay criticizing "devout schismatics," Faggioli wrote that "dissent against this pope has become radicalized with schismatic instincts because this kind of political devotion is more about a partisan ideology than about the Church. Catholicism was exposed to ideological manipulation by those who do not really care for the Gospel, but who are more interested in a particular conservative political culture."
Chaput, among those identified as a "devout schismatic," has frequently emphasized his unwillingness to align with a political party.
In 2016 he criticized Catholics, especially politicians, who accept "the transfer of our real loyalties and convictions from the old Church of our baptism to the new 'Church' of our ambitions and appetites,' in order to achieve political or personal goals. he group of those who do so "cuts across...both major political parties," Chaput said.
The Church's canon law defines schism, the charge Faggioli makes against the three bishops, as "the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."
Faggioli could not be reached for comment.
UK is 'hijacking' N Ireland on abortion, bishops say
Armagh, Northern Ireland, Jul 18, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- The bishops of Northern Ireland noted their alarm Wednesday at the British parliament's passage of a bill that will legalize abortion and same-sex marriage in the region, highlighting the value of human life and the importance of devolution.
The House of Lords approved the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill July 17. It had passed the House of Commons the week prior.
"With the thousands of others who have voiced their concern in recent days, we wish to express our alarm at the unprecedented way in which the Westminster Parliament has used the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to rush through legislation which will have a devastating impact on the right to life of unborn children," read a July 17 statement from the four bishops whose dioceses include territory in Northern Ireland.
"The equal right to life, and love, of a mother and her unborn child is so fundamental to the common good of every society that citizens deserve the fullest participation in the democratic debate about the legislation which governs it. This also applies to decisions regarding the nature of marriage."
They noted that "what is happening in Westminster during these days recklessly undermines this fundamental right of citizens and the principle of devolution at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement. It should be a matter of grave alarm for every citizen in Northern Ireland and all who cherish the right to life as the most fundamental of all human rights."
The bishops urged prime minister Theresa May and her government "to move to overturn this hijacking of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill for purposes for which it was never intended and to uphold the right of citizens in Northern Ireland, under the Good Friday Agreement, to decide these matters for themselves."
They also asked that citizen in Northern Ireland "give expression to their commitment to the care of every mother and unborn child by asking their political representatives to ensure the equal right to life is upheld in our devolved legislation."
The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill and its amendments legalizing abortion and same-sex marriage will take effect only if the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has been suspended the past two years due to a dispute between the two major governing parties, is not functional by Oct. 21.
The bill is meant to keep the region running in the absence of a functioning devolved government.
The House of Lords approved the amendment liberalizing abortion provision in Northern Ireland by a 182-37 vote.
May's government has said there will be an eight to twelve week consultation period to discuss how abortion provision is to be implemented.
The upper house also passed an amendment delaying the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland until January 13, 2020, allowing "the government and the Northern Ireland civil service more time to make necessary changes to legislation as well as the essential operational changes."
Lord Tebbit said the bill had been introduced poorly and was "fatally flawed," calling for devolution to be repealed and for Westminster to "take over in an honest manner."
The bill returned to the Commons July 18, where an amendment was added meant to keep a new prime minister, due to be announced July 22, from suspending parliament to push through a no-deal Brexit.
Liz Parsons, advocacy director for Life Charity, told The Catholic Universe that "This Bill with its abortion amendments is a vicious slap in the face of the people of Northern Ireland and their elected representatives at Westminster. It represents a mad opportunistic rush by allies of the abortion lobby to exploit the current absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly to bully the people of Northern Ireland into accepting abortion."
"We urge all parties in Northern Ireland to do the decent thing and resist this undermining of devolution by Westminster and return to the table before 21st October in order to stop these dangerous abortion amendments," Parsons added.
Liam Gibson, a SPUC representatives in Northern Ireland, said, "it is outrageous that MPs and peers from England, Scotland and Wales cared so little for the rule of law that an overwhelming majority were prepared to disregard the right of the people of Northern Ireland to maintain legislation which has saved the lives of over 100,000 children since 1967."
He stated: "By ramming abortion on demand down our throats Parliament has torn-up the devolution settlement and is treating Northern Ireland as a colony."
Michael Robinson, another SPUC representative, commented that "Upon leaving office next week, Theresa May will only be remembered as the Prime Minister who undermined devolution in Northern Ireland and ushered in one of the most ruthless abortion regimes in the world. Anyone who values human life must urge the new Prime Minister to refuse to implement this inhuman and unconstitutional law."
May said in the past that abortion should be a devolved issue for Northern Ireland.
Abortion and same-sex marriage are both legal in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Elective abortion is legal in the rest of the United Kingdom up to 24 weeks, while currently it is legally permitted in Northern Ireland only if the mother's life is at risk or if there is risk of permanent, serious damage to her mental or physical health.
Bills to legalize abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape, or incest failed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016.
Northern Irish women have been able to procure free National Health Service abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales since November 2017.
The abortion amendment was introduced by Stella Creasy, a Labour MP who represents a London constituency. Earlier this year Creasy intended to propose an amendment to a draft Domestic Abuse Bill that would give the British parliament jurisdiction over abortion laws throughout the United Kingdom. However, the bill's scope was restricted to England and Wales by the Conservative government.
Creasy also introduced an amendment to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 to repeal Northern Irish law on abortion and gay marriage, which was defeated.
London, England, Jul 18, 2019 / 05:30 pm (CNA).- A new study suggests a link between autism, autistic traits, and identifying as transgender or non-binary, raising new questions about the growing use of so-called "gender transition" procedures as a treatment for gender dysphoria.
The study, which was released July 14 and will appear in the September issue of the academic journal European Psychiatry, was led by Dr. Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. The study examined 177 people who identify as transgender, non-binary, or as the gender of their biological sex.
A person who identifies as "non-binary," which is also referred to as "genderqueer," identifies as neither male nor female or on the male/female binary. A person who identifies as transgender identifies as the opposite sex than their biological sex. A transgender person may opt to undergo cross-sex hormonal or surgical treatments in order to better resemble the gender with which they identify.
Of the 177 people studied, four percent of those identifying their gender with their biological sex were diagnosed with autism. For the transgender or non-binary group, that figure rose to 14%. An additional 28% of the transgender or non-binary group exhibited traits that would result in an autism diagnosis, which the authors of the study say could mean that autism is potentially being underdiagnosed, particularly among girls.
Among the autistic traits identified by Stagg were a difficulty in empathizing, as well as "an overreliance on systematic, rule-based reasoning."
"One of the striking findings was the number of individuals born female who met the cut off for autism spectrum disorder. This is particularly important given that individuals born female are twice as likely to be referred to gender identity clinics," said Stagg.
In England, girls make up 74% patients at the country's only gender clinic for minors, Tavistock. In 2019, more than half the patients referred to Tavistock were under the age of 14. Data has shown that 2.8 girls are referred to Tavistock for every boy.
"People with autism are also more likely to seek unequivocal answers to the complex issues surrounding gender identity," said Stagg. Given that the study also suggested that autism is underdiagnosed in girls, this could be contributed to the percentage of girls seeking gender reassignment.
The number of minor girls who have been referred to Tavistock has jumped from 32 in 2008-2009 to 1,740 in 2018-2019. In July, the UK government announced an inquiry into why so many young girls were seeking to change their gender.
"The statistics we have been made aware of show that more and more young people, particularly girls, are using health services to explore changing their gender," said Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Women & Equalities.
"It is vitally important that we prioritize finding out why this is the case, making sure we gain an understanding of the driving factors behind this whilst doing everything we can to support these individuals and their families," she said.
Stagg suggested that gender clinics screen for autism before performing any sort of treatment, and then adapt their approach as necessary.
While the Stagg study was small, it is not the first time that a link between autism and identifying as transgendered has been identified. A 2018 report from Slate noted that researchers began in the 1990s to study the co-occurence between gender dysphoria and autism spectrum disorder.
Slate reported a "growing consensus" in the medical community that there is a disproprortionate correlation between the two.
Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and the author of "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment" told CNA that this study is further proof of how little understanding there is about the best means of treating cases of gender dysphoria.
"This is another in an ever-growing list of studies which reveal just how little we know about the underlying causes of gender dysphoria," said Anderson.
"It should prompt people to exercise great caution before making any life-altering medical interventions on the bodies of young people," he added.
In June, the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education released a document warning against the "radical separation between gender and sex, with the former having priority over the later," and the damage it was doing to society and individuals.
"In all such [gender] theories, from the most moderate to the most radical, there is agreement that one's gender ends up being viewed as more important than being of male or female sex," the document stated.
Religious persecution is a global problem, Pence and Pompeo tell Ministerial
Washington D.C., Jul 18, 2019 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Religious persecution is a concern for the entire global community, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a religious freedom gathering on Thursday.
"We're gathered here, 106 nations strong, because we believe in the freedom of conscience—the right of all people to live out their lives according to their deeply held religious beliefs," Vice President Pence told religious and civic leaders from around the world at the Second Annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C.
The Ministerial was hosted by the U.S. State Department from July 15-19. Religious and civic leaders from all over the world, as well as over 100 foreign delegations, gathered to bring attention to global religious persecution and discuss strategies to promote and defend religious freedom.
Survivors of religious persecution were present and shared their stories; these victims have endured prison sentences, mob violence and state-sanctioned terror," Pence stated on Thursday, the last day of the Ministerial. For some others, they have been killed for their beliefs, he said.
Pence noted that "on a personal level, my faith in Jesus Christ has brought meaning and purpose to me and my family every day of my life."
The Vice President was baptized Catholic, but said has said that while in college, his faith became "real" when he "made a personal decision for Christ"; in a 1994 interview he identified as an "Evangelical-Catholic," began attending an Evangelical megachurch with his family and calls himself a "Christian."
Also on Thursday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his keynote remarks at the Ministerial. He stated that "religious freedom isn't just a Christian concern, a Jewish concern, a Muslim concern, a Buddhist concern, a Hindu concern, or a humanist concern. It's all of our concern; it is everyone's concern."
In their remarks, Pompeo and Pence mentioned persecution of religious minorities in the Western Hemisphere in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, as well as anti-Semitism in Europe, genocide against Christians and Yezidis in Iraq and Syria, and the persecution of religious minorities in Iran, China, and North Korea, as well as the "ethnic cleansing" against Rohingya Muslims in Burma.
"In Nicaragua," Pence said, the regime "condones thugs who repress and intimidate Catholic Church leaders for defending democracy and religious freedom." Meanwhile, in Venezuela, "dictator Nicolas Maduro is using so-called 'anti-hate' laws to prosecute Catholic clergy who speak out against his brutal regime," he added.
Pence drew attention to the mass detention of more than one million Chinese Muslims and ethnic Uighurs in the Xinjiang province of China; they have endured brainwashing by Chinese authorities in what survivors have described as "a deliberate attempt by Beijing to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Muslim faith," Pence said.
The Chinese Communist Party has targeted Uighur Muslims as well as Christians, Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners in its brutal campaign of "sinicizaition" to forcibly bring religion under its control, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) stated in his remarks at the Ministerial on Wednesday.
"Under sinicization, all religions and believers must comport with and aggressively promote communist ideology—or else," Smith said. The government has harassed, surveilled, detained and tortured believers, burning Bibles and crosses, destroying churches, and rewriting Bibles and religious texts, he said.
"Muslim-majority countries must protest these abuses even at the risk of endangering the benefits from China's Belt and Road infrastructure projects," Smith said.
Pence reaffirmed U.S. support for "people of faith in China" regardless of the outcome of U.S.-China trade negotiations. He also stated the administration's support for religious freedom in North Korea while talks continue on the country's denuclearization.
Certain countries actively suppressed or tried to intimidate attendees of the Ministerial, Pompeo said. Cuba prevented four Evangelical pastors from attending the Ministerial, and China tried to intimidate delegations from other countries into not attending.
"If you're here today and you're a country which has defied the Chinese pressure to come here, we salute you and we thank you," Pompeo said.
The Secretary of State urged those in attendance to attend regional roundtables and conferences on religious freedom to be held in Albania, Columbia, Morocco, and the Vatican.
August 22 will be the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, as proclaimed by the UN General Assembly and "thanks to Poland's efforts," Pompeo said.
Both Secretary Pompeo and Vice President Pence announced funding for victims of religious persecution and actions the U.S. has taken to punish human rights abusers.
This week, the U.S. sanctioned four military officials in Burma, including two high-ranking leaders, and also placed additional sanctions on two leaders of Iranian-backed militias in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, Pence said. Iranian-backed militias are harassing Christians in the Ninewa Plain as they return home from the ISIS genocide, and have posed some of the greatest security threats in the region to Christian minorities.
Meanwhile, the State Department "trained nearly 12,000 employees on how to identify religious discrimination and persecution and how to work closely with faith leaders all across the world," Pompeo said. a 2016 law authored by Rep. Smith, the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, required training on international religious freedom for all foreign service officers.
In addition, the agency established an International Religious Freedom Fund for victims of persecution; the fund has helped with the medical bills of some of the survivors of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, which targeted churches and hotels on the holiest weekend of the year for Christians, Pompeo said.
In addition, over $340 million in U.S. assistance has supported "vulnerable religious and ethnic communities in Iraq, particularly those that ISIS had targeted for genocide," he said.
Ebola outbreak in DRC an international health emergency, WHO declares
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jul 18, 2019 / 04:26 pm (CNA).- The nearly year-long Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached the level of an international health emergency, the World Health Organization declared yesterday.
The declaration, which critics say is long overdue, could bring greater resources to the region, where violence and skepticism of international medical personnel have hampered treatment and prevention efforts.
Officials made the international health emergency designation – for only the fifth time in history – after a priest died from Ebola in Goma, a city of some 2 million residents, which serves as a major crossroads on the border with Rwanda.
Risk of the virus being transmitted to neighboring countries is "very high," WHO officials said, although outside of the immediate region, risk remains low.
For months, public health experts have feared that the deadly virus in DRC could spread to surrounding countries. Two Ebola fatalities were confirmed in Uganda last month, after the victims returned from a funeral in DRC. Kenya and Rwanda have also been on high alert for signs that the virus may have entered the country.
The Ebola outbreak began in the DRC in August 2018. Since then, it has infected more than 2,500 people in the country and killed more than 1,600, making it the second largest outbreak in history.
Dr. Joanne Liu, president of Doctors Without Borders, voiced hope that the emergency declaration would prompt a unified international response.
"The reality check is that a year into the epidemic, it's still not under control, and we are not where we should be," she said, according to the Associated Press. "We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results."
The Associated Press reported that internal WHO documents showed a reluctance to make the emergency declaration over concerns about whether it might prompt border closures that could negatively affect economic and health care efforts, and deter countries from reporting outbreaks in the future.
The DRC health department displayed skepticism over the emergency declaration, suggesting that it may have been made as a fundraising move, while some residents of eastern Congo voiced fear that neighboring countries would close their borders, which provide trade routes that are vital to DRC's economy, the Associated Press reported.
The WHO will reassess the situation in three months to determine whether an international health emergency still exists. Such an emergency is defined as "an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response."
Efforts to contain the disease have been hampered by misinformation and distrust on the part of local communities, who in some cases have retaliated against health teams by attacking them. Nearly 200 attacks on medical centers and staff have been reported this year, according to the BBC. This has limited many of the health services that non-governmental organizations are able to provide.
Catholic Relief Services has been supporting local Caritas partners in responding through education campaigns to help residents know how to prevent and respond to the virus.
More than 160,000 people have received the Ebola vaccine, which is 99% effective, according to the BBC, but many more are fearful of it and refuse to receive it. In addition, violence in the eastern part of the DRC has made it difficult to reach some areas of the country, and difficult to monitor the virus as it spreads.
Ebola is a deadly virus that is primarily spread through contact with bodily fluids. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains and occasional bleeding. The disease is fatal in up to 90 percent of cases.
Several outbreaks have taken place in Africa in recent decades. An outbreak in 2014-2016 in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people and spread briefly to Spain, the United States and the UK.
During that outbreak, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas worked to treat those who were infected, support Ebola orphans, provide food support and educate people on hygiene practices to help avoid the spread of the virus, such as hand washing and avoiding contact with dead bodies.
Suzanne Van Hulle, a Catholic Relief Services team member who worked on the agency's response to the West Africa outbreak, stressed the importance of education in fighting Ebola.
"During an Ebola outbreak, information and understanding people's perception about the virus is just as important as medicine or a vaccine," she said in a statement last month.
"Local community leaders play a critical role in educating people around Ebola and how to prevent both acquiring the virus and ongoing transmission."
Priests and sisters arrested with protestors at immigration demonstration on Capitol Hill
Posted on 07/18/2019 23:30 PM (CNA Daily News)
Washington D.C., Jul 18, 2019 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- A group of Catholics were arrested at the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill on Thursday during a peaceful protest organized as a "Catholic Day of Action." The group, including priests, religious sisters, and lay people, sought to draw attention to the situation at the southern border of the United States and the detention of children in particular.
"We felt like it was time for something more significant, and needing to take more of a risk to raise the consciousness of Catholics across the country," demonstrator Maggie Conley told CNA during the demonstration, held July 18.
Conley, who works with the justice team of the Sisters of Mercy explained that she would like to see immigration reform presented as a pro-life issue, and expressed hope that Catholic members of Congress and the Trump administration will offer a more public witness on Catholic teaching and immigration.
"It's challenging when we don't hear [a call for action] coming from the pulpit as often as we want, and as integrated as some of the rituals of our faith," said Conley.
Religious orders present included the Sisters of Mercy, the Bon Secours Sisters, the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Jesuits, and Franciscan friars. There were also several men at the protest wearing clerical collars, who did not appear to be part of any order.
Members of the group who intended to provoke arrest wore yellow bracelets, and many wore signs with pictures of migrant children who had passed away in U.S. custody and the date of their deaths. Five people laid in the center of the Russell Senate Building rotunda, forming the shape of a cross.
Among those arrested included Sr. Pat Murphy, age 90, a member of the Sisters of Mercy. Sr. Pat has worked in immigration and migrant advocacy in the past, and has held a weekly prayer vigil outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Chicago for over a decade.
Sr. Judith Frikker, a member of the Sisters of Mercy, was not one of the people who got arrested, but was still present at the protest "to stand in solidarity with my sisters, and more importantly, with immigrants." This was not Sr. Judith's first time participating in demonstrations of this kind, and she told CNA that she believes that "immigrants, detainees, their families--especially children--are being treated in a way that violates their human rights."
Sr. Judith told CNA that she believes the crisis at the southern border is not about immigration itself but about how immigrants are received into the country as they try to enter.
"The crisis isn't the people coming in, the crisis is what is happening to the people when they try to enter," she said. "They're seeking to live with dignity. Many people are seeking asylum and their rights are being denied. We have to act against that."
Frikker said that she advocates for policy options to address immigration, asylum processing, and detention at the border which do not require changes to infrastructure.
"Instead of building a wall, I would increase our judicial system [in a way] that would allow the processing of immigrants and their asylum cases so they could enter here," she said.
Katie Murphy, a local resident and Catholic, said she was attending the event out of "concern for the children, and also for the character of our nation, the soul of our nation."
"I feel that the way we treat the most vulnerable is who we are, is like our character. I am deeply saddened and distraught over what our nation is doing. We have a crisis on the border, and we need to address that crisis in a way that dignifies the values that we stand for."
The demonstration occurred just days after the president of the U.S. bishops' conference publicly denounced action by the Trump administration to tighten rules on asylum seeking at the southern border, and to enforce court-ordered removals against thousands of people who had exhausted their legal appeals to remain in the country.
On Tuesday, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo issued a statement condemning a newly-announced rule which requires that those seeking asylum along the U.S. southern border first apply for asylum in any country they may pass through along the way.
"The rule adds further barriers to asylum-seekers' ability to access life-saving protection, shirks our moral duty, and will prevent the United States from taking its usual leading role in the international community as a provider of asylum protection," DiNardo said.
The cardinal also spoke out against a recent series carried out by ICE in cities across the United States.
"Enforcement actions like those anticipated this week by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency separate families, cause the unacceptable suffering of thousands of children and their parents, and create widespread panic in our communities," said DiNardo.
"I condemn such an approach, which has created a climate of fear in our parishes and communities across the country. I recently wrote the President asking him to reconsider this action."
Wheeling, W.V., Jul 18, 2019 / 03:22 pm (CNA).- In the wake of reports of financial and sexual misconduct on the part of former Bishop Michael Bransfield, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia announced several new financial policies and procedures for increased transparency.
These new policies include the use of a new third-party auditing firm which will audit the diocese and publish the findings annually, the expansion and strengthening of the diocesan finance council, and the dissolution of the discretionary "Bishop's Fund," among other changes.
In a July 17 letter, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who serves as Apostolic Administrator of Wheeling-Charleston, announced the financial policy changes, which were decided at a meeting with the diocese's finance council.
"From my visits and communications with people from throughout the Diocese I clearly understand that the Church has a long way to go to regain your confidence and trust," he said.
The reports about Bransfield's "excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle," as well as sexual misconduct, Lori said, have caused "great pain and caused many to rightly ask: How could such behavior go unchecked for so long a time? Is there a process in place to check a bishop's behavior when he takes advantage of his co-workers or when he misuses diocesan funds that should be dedicated to the Church's mission?"
"These are questions that must be addressed not only in West Virginia but also in the wider Church," Lori added.
Lori was named apostolic administrator of Wheeling-Charleston in September 2018 by Pope Francis, following a series of allegations made against Bransfield including sexual and financial misconduct.
According to reports made public by the Washington Post, Bransfield used diocesan money to fund an extravagant lifestyle, including luxurious personal travel, a multi-million dollar home renovation, large monthly amounts spent on alcohol and fresh flowers, and large financial "gifts" to other members of the clergy.
The gifts of money he conferred on fellow clergy in the years leading up to his retirement totaled $350,000, the Washington Post reported.
An investigation into Bransfield also found that while there was not conclusive evidence that he sexually abused minors, there was credible evidence of Bransfield's sexual misconduct with adults.
Bransfield's resignation was accepted by Pope Francis last September, eight days after he turned 75, the age at which diocesan bishops are required by canon law to submit a letter of resignation to the pope. Lori subsequently barred him from public ministry in both Wheeling-Charleston and Baltimore.
In his July 17 letter, Lori also announced that a third-party reporting system was being put in place in the diocese, "to make it easier to report abuse, harassment and malfeasance by bishops."
Other policy changes include rebalancing the distribution of resources in the diocese so that greater resources will remain with parishes, restructuring the diocesan school board, enhancing the training of advisory bodies, reviewing the administration of Wheeling Hospital and Wheeling Jesuit University, and entering into a Contract of Sale for the former bishop's home.
Lori added that a review of best financial practices for the diocese is still underway, and that additional details or updates will be announced "in a spirit of openness and with the goal of restoring your confidence and trust" as they are made.
"When a bishop is entrusted to care for a diocese, he is expected to be a wise and honest steward of its resources. He has responsibility to ensure that these resources are for the Church's mission of faith, worship and service. The Church has also put into place structures to help ensure that funds are used well and wisely," Lori said.
Several such checks and balances existed under Bransfield, though he managed to circumvent them. Lori said he hopes the new policies will strengthen the measures in place and prevent such financial abuse by bishops in the diocese in the future.
Lori added that although bishops, like priests, do not take a vow of poverty, "they are expected to lead a simple lifestyle and to manage their own finances."
"Excessive financial expenditures and the personal use of diocesan funds by any bishop stands in contrast to those bishops who engage in responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to them and who abide by the fiscal policies and controls in place to ensure a fiscally healthy Church," he said.
Lori concluded his letter by calling for prayer for the appointment of a new bishop to the diocese, and urged Catholics to entrust the future of their diocese to God.
"In the darkest days of exile, Jeremiah told the Chosen People that God had plans for them, plans for 'a future full of hope,'" Lori said. "As a diocesan church rooted in Christ's saving love, how much more confident we should be as we look to the future? Together, as the People of God, let us walk together, undaunted."
According to diocesan spokesman Tim Bishop, Lori's letter was sent directly to approximately 40,000 Catholics in the diocese, and it was published on the diocesan website and through its social media channels as well.
London, England, Jul 18, 2019 / 10:03 am (CNA).- UK Ambassador to the Holy See Sally Axworthy said this week that the UK government will consider a recommendation to impose sanctions on foreign governments that violate religious freedom.
"The Foreign Secretary … has said that we will look at imposing sanctions on people who commit violations of freedom of religion and belief, as we do impose sanctions on people who commit other kinds of crimes," Axworthy told EWTN News Nightly July 15.
The ambassador's comments came after the publication of an independent review to assess the response of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to the global problem of Christian persecution.
The report concluded that the UK government's opportunities for independent action on the global stage have been under-utilized, and that the UK's changing relationship with the European Union provides an opportunity for the Foreign Office to do more to preserve the rights of persecuted Christians, who make up 80 percent of those affected by global religious persecution.
Among the report's recommendations to the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the Anglican Bishop of Truro Philip Mounstephen, who oversaw the report, recommended that the UK government be prepared to impose sanctions against perpetrators of "freedom of religion or belief" abuses.
"The Foreign Secretary has said that we are going to accept all of the recommendations in the report, and of course now we study how we do that," Ambassador Axworthy said.
The results of the report were shared at an event at Rome's Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island July 15.
"The plight of Christians suffering torture and death is particularly distressing for those of us who also share with them a deep spiritual bond," Mons. Antoine Camilleri, the Vatican Under-Secretary for Relations with States, said at the report launch in Rome.
"Governments must ask themselves to what extent are they really committed to defending religious freedom and to combating persecution based on religion and belief," Camillieri said.
"How many refrain from condoning such acts, or even condemn them, yet still 'collaborate' politically, economically, commercially, militarily or otherwise, or simply by turning a blind eye, with some of the most egregious violators of this fundamental freedom?"
The Vatican Under-Secretary for Relations with States underlined that the "growing tendency, even in established democracies, to criminalize or penalize religious leaders for presenting the basic tenets of their faith, especially regarding the areas of life, marriage and the family" is also a concern.
"The right to religious freedom is rooted in the very dignity of the human person, and it is not only an achievement of a sound political and juridical culture but also a condition for the pursuit of truth that does not impose itself by force," Camilleri said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


APS takes a total of 100 students as intake every year, which includes 40 students for Grade-8. APS invites families to visit school campus at any time. Visiting our campus while school is in session makes it much easier to envisage oneself as an APS student. To arrange a visit, call the Principal or Public Relation Officer (PRO) on their following mobile numbers.
The students who visit our campus for admission will be given an entrance test before confirming his/her admission.
The entrance test will comprise of subjects like Mathematics, General Science, Kannada & English and is of one hour duration.
There is no test for students who seek admission for Grade 1- 4.
Admission is given on 'First come First served basis '.
The School reserves the right to consider or reject any application for admission without giving any reason.
SB a/c number of the child being admitted.
The school fee at APS is very moderate & affordable. The parents may collect information related to fee Structure from Principal or PRO directly.
Copyright © 2019 Anmol Public School. All rights reserved.


Sticky: Poll: Which anxiety disorder/s do you suffer from?
Sticky: Poll: Which secondary mental health disorders do you suffer from?
"Separation anxiety disorder: not just for kids"
Do I have an anxiety disorder?!?!?!?!?


Hemi power and chassis upgrades make the Durango SRT fun for the whole family.
Let's cut to the chase: No, people around you don't automatically slow down and drive like saints when you're driving a cop car. You'd be forgiven for thinking so, because let's be honest: Every one of us does exactly that when we see a cop. But seeing them is the key, and most people don't.


Slide-O-Mix offers you exceptional lubrication for your trombone slide. Long lasting. The Slide-O-Max Trombone Lubrication System is used by professional trombone artists worldwide. This long-lasting trombone maintenance formula needs only a minimum application to give your slide maximum speed and action. Apply directly from the bottle to your trombone. No mess, no oily hands, just smooth sliding.


text:
MICHAEL BETANCOURT NEWS
movies: AESTHETICS
movies: NEWS & REVIEWS
movies: SHOWS & SCREENINGS
random art notes
random how-tos
research: AVANT-GARDE MOVIES
research: MOTION GRAPHICS
research: VISUAL MUSIC
theory: CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS
theory: DIGITAL CAPITALISM
theory: GLITCH & POSTDIGITAL
theory: working notes
The Visual Music Village
michaelbetancourt.com
Going Somewhere
exhibitions [pdf]
archives begin in 1996
by Michael Betancourt
Michael Betancourt is a research artist, historian and theorist who has been working on the links between media theory and media practice since 1989. He is the author of The ____________ Manifesto, and has exhibited internationally since 1993 at the Black Maria Film Festival, Art Basel Miami Beach, Contemporary Art Ruhr, Athens Video Art Festival, Festival des Cinemas Differents de Paris, Anthology Film Archives, Millennium Film Workshop, the San Francisco Cinematheque's Crossroads, and Experiments in Cinema, among others.
His process is a self-conscious engagement with history and research that began as a child. Although he has published work as an historian/theorist, all this writing and publication is a side effect of my consistent, structured heuristic and critical research into movies. He uses logical argument to understand the theoretical and aesthetic issues he encounters while making his movies; as a consequence of this approach, and has published extensively, and continuously to look for ways to more directly link theory to practice. Cinegraphic presents work-in-progress fragments and notes from this critical-theoretical analysis and updates on his screenings, lectures and publications.
The 3 Periods of Abstract Film & Video in the US
Theory writing on Digital Capitalism
Interesting primary source documents:
The Last of the Mohicans: Oskar Fischinger's "Symphony in Blue", FilmLiga, 15 November 1935, pp. 314-315 [.pdf]
Dreams That Money Can Buy, Hans Richter, 1947 [.pdf]
Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film, second edition, 1918 [.pdf]
Copyright © Michael Betancourt 1996 - 2019 all rights reserved.
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Many people suffer from heel pain at some time in their lives; some of us are more at risk than others. There are many different types of heel pain.
Pain on rising in the morning or from rest.
Symptoms can be of sudden onset or appear gradually, with either one foot or both at the same time.
Rest from activity that is aggravating the pain.
Correction of foot mechanics if required.
Stretching of calf muscles and plantar fascia band.
Surgical boot for severe cases.
If you have heel pain please see the podiatrist as soon as possible, if left untreated it can become chronic.


The town of Falmouth, Massachusetts near Cape Cod, authorized funding for a pilot project to evaluate the efficacy, installation cost and public acceptance of both composting and urine-diverting toilets (called the Eco-toilet Demonstration Program). Check out Recode's case study in the Code Innovations Database.
Homeowners were given rebates and other incentives to encourage them to use eco-toilets. Massachusetts is the first state to give a variance to allow urine-diverting fixtures and site-built composting toilets, which do not have 'product acceptance' in Massachusetts.


text:
David Colton
A personal portfolio
Ethics Essay
An Ethical Dilemma
The following is the final draft of my ethics essay.
I've had plenty of experiences in and around the newsroom that have caused me to question my own ethical motives, or those of people I interact with. Most frequently, these situations happen outside of the newsroom, when I'm tasked with interviewing someone who might not understand the journalistic process as well as I do. This responsibility seems to increase tenfold around election season, as people really start to dig into their beliefs and winning arguments becomes more important than finding the truth. As we're all well aware, the comment sections of the Missourian's social media pages does serve as a forum for Columbia residents to discuss stories and ask questions. By the same token, many businesses in Columbia have Facebook pages that teem with conversation and debate, and these act as a great resource for reporters looking for story ideas.
That's exactly how I stumbled into my ethical dilemma last fall, a few weeks before the midterm elections. I live above Sycamore on the corner of Broadway and Eighth, and as I walked out of my apartment that morning to head to my 9:30 reporting class, I saw an interesting chalk sign propped up outside the restaurant. It read "1/2 off sandwiches for 18-30 if you bring in your 'I Voted' sticker on election day!" The first time I saw the sign, I didn't think much of it — I just wanted a sandwich. Later in the day, somewhat desperate for a story idea and definitely still hungry, I ventured to the Sycamore Facebook page to see if they posted anything about the deal I saw on the chalk sign.
Sure enough, Sycamore had recently posted an advertisement for the deal, and people were already commenting in support of the policy, which was clearly intended to turn out young voters, regardless of political affiliation. After a few minutes of scrolling, and some more supportive comments, things suddenly took a turn. A man named Josh Kezer commented the following:
"I've done some research on this. This is actually illegal. It may not be illegal in state, as state election laws vary from state to state, but it is federally illegal, as this election has federal consequences. A bribe need not take the form of money; however, it may include items of pecuniary value given in exchange for a vote."https://elections.uslegal.com/violations-of-election-laws/ Additionally, given the age restrictions, it's arguably a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the VAEH Act of 1984. According to Rick Hasen, a law professor and election law expert at the University of California Irvine, 'In elections in which federal candidates are on the ballot, no one can offer any kind of benefit or reward for voting. The simple way to deal with this is to open up the event to all comers — voters and nonvoters alike. This is a very common problem, because people believe they are doing their civic duty by encouraging other people to vote. And in many states, in elections when federal candidates are not on the ballot, this activity is perfectly legal. These things can be targeted to help voters known to vote for one candidate or another.' Limiting rewards to 18-30 is indicative of a coordinated attempt to influence liberal millennial voter turnout. Again, why not open up the reward for every age? The last I checked there isn't a voter age demographic that's voted 100%. Every age demographic needs encouragement to vote."
That was actually only about half of what he commented, but I made an effort to condense his points, since they weren't particularly easy to paraphrase. Essentially, Kezer was suggesting that the Sycamore owners were bribing young people to vote by offering this promotion, and that there is a federal statute prohibiting businesses like Sycamore from offering any sort on incentive to vote. This placed me at an interesting crossroads. Obviously, this guy had a lot to say about the voter promotion, and it was more than evident he was against it. However, I was unsure how normal it was to turn a Facebook comments fight into a story, considering I had seen so many end pointlessly before. In theory, it doesn't sound great to take an argument from an online forum to a real-life one. I decided before I made my decision, I would have to take a look at the credibility of the commenter's argument and whether there was actually a chance it had tangible consequences. Although my initial instincts told me that this guy was just playing devil's advocate and wanted attention, I thought it would be worth following up with some research on the federal statute and the points Kezer was trying to make. Poynter Institute's Code of Ethics states "we manage our conflicts of interest and seek to remain free of influences that might interfere with journalism…" I wanted to make sure I wasn't just giving him what he wanted by reporting on what he said, and I had to be sure there was a real story there. Basically, I had to be sure he wasn't just making a fuss so we would pay attention to him. At the same time, I knew I also had to put aside my first impressions and attempt to pursue the story in an objective manner. So, I followed the link Kezer included and discovered that he was actually correct about the federal statute, and technically the Sycamore promotion was illegal.
At this point, Kezer's comment had already stirred up so much conflict on the restaurant's Facebook post that Sycamore's owners decided to cancel the promotion the same day they announced it, because of public scrutiny. The conflict in the comments quickly turned to one about ageism and the right of a restaurant to offer specials to one demographic but not the other. This had blossomed into a story right before my eyes, as I watched in real time as this rogue Facebook commenter single-handedly destroyed a restaurant's attempt to increase turnout among young voters. The first part of my ethical dilemma came from determining whether this story was a story at all, because at first it seemed to be a determination based on if I wanted to give this guy a voice or not. When the conflict blossomed into something that actually affected the restaurant, unfortunately, that decision was made for me and it was officially newsworthy.
I knew I had an interesting ethical situation on my hands from the very beginning because there was no clear winner and loser in the situation — there's no cop arresting someone alleged to have committed a crime. There was only an accusation, which resulted in action. Plus, even though the monkey-wrench-thrower was technically right, I still had my reservations because other parts of his comments seemed to suggest he just wanted everyone to know he was right. I spoke with the owners of Sycamore, who seemed very frustrated with the situation. They had two children, aged 17 and 19, and wanted to do something positive to encourage young people to go out and vote. They thought food would be a good idea, since young people aren't known for their deep pockets, and Sycamore's food is on the pricy side. It was clear the owners of Sycamore were not happy to have had to cancel the promotion, and said would not have done if they didn't feel pressured by the threat of imminent legal action from Josh Kezer. If I'm being honest, I really felt for Jill and Sanford Speake, who own Sycamore, because they had just witnessed a completely well-intentioned promotion that was supposed to affect positive change get taken down on the internet by someone who has no clear motivation for doing this. That said, it was my job to find out what Kezer's motivation was, and it wasn't ethically right to make that judgement before talking to him myself.
As soon as I reached out to him, he made it clear that he wanted to operate on his own schedule, and refused to talk to me until after 5 p.m. despite my deadline-driven protests. However, once I spoke with Kezer on the phone, he immediately asked who I was and what I studied, and this line of questioning quickly escalated to somewhat inappropriate questions about my political beliefs. It was my first time interviewing someone who truly didn't want to talk about the story, but wanted to talk about himself. As it turns out, Josh Kezer is somewhat of a household name in Columbia newsrooms, and his story had been covered by nearly every publication in town. He was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was exonerated seventeen years later when his innocence was proven with DNA evidence. Since getting out of prison, Kezer has become an outspoken advocate for exonerations for the wrongfully convicted, and had a full arsenal of personal injustice stories ready to unload on me. He essentially wanted me to frame him as a freedom fighter who has overcome adversity and saved the community from injustice (like, apparently, 'ageist' sandwich deals).
Kezer kept pestering me to include his backstory in my story about the voter promotion, even though there was no clear reason to. This put me in a real ethical dilemma, because I was faced with a tough decision: Do I attempt to respectfully inform Mr. Kezer that his backstory is irrelevant to my reporting, or do I put in a sentence or two about his newfound, police-like approach to illegal activity? In my opinion, part of the reason the promotion got canceled is because he was so vocal about his opinions. But did that mean he didn't deserve to have his opinion expressed? Or was I creating a false balance between his story and the sandwich promotion, which weren't really related at all? Kezer wanted me to frame his backstory as a sort of hero's journey from behind bars to on the forefront of political conversation, and that just really wasn't the case. Almost every single other person who commented on the status was in support of the promotion, and most comments were defending the restaurant when it stood accused of knowingly promoting an illegal deal. Now my dilemma had an extra layer — would I be defending illegal activity by choosing to emphasize the positive public reaction instead of the illegal nature of the promotion?
Thus, it was quite difficult to weigh the stakeholders in this situation. It was clear the owners of Sycamore didn't intend to do anything wrong, but it was also clear that no matter how obnoxious it was, Kezer was right that the promotion was illegal. It was back to that same Poynter Institute Code of Ethics passage that states "we manage our conflicts of interest and seek to remain free of influences that might interfere with journalism…" I felt that Kezer was pressuring me to include something in the story that I didn't necessarily have to, and thus was getting in the way of my journalistic responsibility to be objective. I was having trouble determining the best way to frame this story, and then I finally realized why: I needed a third party. Here I was stuck in the middle of what was essentially a bickering match between two parties, both of which were right to some extent. I needed an external source, and an expert one at that. I decided the best way to go about this was to speak with a law professor and election rights expert who had no real stake in the situation. The law professor seemed reluctant to say so, but admitted that Kezer was right. However, this excerpt from the story summed up his argument very well:
"In my view, that's not what the federal statute was aimed at," Reuben said. He said he personally doesn't see any harm in Sycamore offering discounts to people who voted. "The application of that rule to a situation like this is, in my view, ridiculous."
Now that I had consulted an expert source, the framing of the story was much clearer to me: The promotion was illegal, but most people don't really know why. The story is not about the person who called out the promotion for being illegal, it's about the fact that it's illegal and nobody seemed to know why, and that maybe it shouldn't be illegal. I wrote the story and included nothing about Kezer's backstory or any of the legal opinions he talked my ear off about, and I respectfully told him I would do my best to tell his perspective, but that the story was about the promotion. I framed the fact that the sandwich deal was illegal as a surprising fact. The headline of the story read: "A local restaurant tried to offer a special for young voters. Turns out, that's illegal."
The story was pretty popular and actually got picked up by AP, but I still felt weird about the entire situation and know I could've done things a little differently. I absolutely should've consulted Liz, my editor, from the very beginning. On top of the fact that she's a genius, she definitely would've been able to give me advice about how to speak with Kezer on the phone and curb some of those monopolizing conversation techniques. In conclusion, I ended up writing a solid story, but I wasn't confident about it until I fleshed out all of my resources and interviewed three people. If my high school journalism adviser was around, he would absolutely cite this as a prime example of why it's important to interview more than two people every time you write a story.
Most conflicts only have two sides, and sometimes all it takes to bring them down to earth is an external expert. It also taught me to be conscious of my own biases in situations like this, because if I had not recognized my own views on this situation I may have went ahead and published the piece leaning towards favoring the restaurant. Because I was able to step back, observe multiple perspectives and remain objective in my reporting, I was successfully able to tell the story of a well-intentioned voter promotion gone wrong, and a confusing law that most people didn't even know existed.
April 25, 2019 dcolton28 Leave a comment
Copy Editing for Print and Digital
As this semester went on, I found I got better and better at catching small errors in stories. Eventually, I was fully confident in my ability to catch grammar and sentence structure errors, and I no longer hesitate to call a reporter when I have a question. There were stories where I had multiple notes on every single line, and there were others where the only required change was replacing a single word in a headline. Here are some examples of my best work at the ICE Desk editing stories for both digital and print editions of the Columbia Missourian.
As this semester went on, I found myself getting better at catching small errors in stories. Eventually, I was fully confident in my ability to catch grammar and sentence structure errors, and I no longer hesitate to call a reporter when I have a question. There were stories where I had multiple notes on every single line, and there were others where the only required change was replacing a single word in a headline. Here are some examples of my best work at the ICE Desk editing stories for both digital and print editions of the Columbia Missourian.
Restructuring a list
When I edited this story for the Missourian's special BoomTown edition of the paper, I knew immediately that I would have to make a lot of changes. Although the content was all accurate, the formatting was not consistent or well-structured. In a situation where we want to make things as accessible as possible for our readers — especially for a section directly targeted at an older generation — using concise writing is key. Keeping descriptions short and direct keeps the reader's attention and draws attention more directly to the story itself, which in this case was just a a list of volunteer options for people over 55. The following is an excerpt from my weekly reflection about the process of reorganizing this list:
February 25, 2019: One thing I began work on this week that proved grueling was the BoomTown collection of stories. These stories are very long, and I spent nearly two hours rearranging a poorly-constructed schedule so that each event's title had parallel structure. It seemed like the reporter was literally experimenting new ways to write the time, date and place each time.
Writing headlines for print
These are a few examples of the restructuring and rewording of print headlines I did. Finding succinct ways to describe complex stories can be a daunting task, and it took me several weeks before I felt confident taking on longer headlines and jump-heads. Having the opportunity to cut down the story and write a print headline for this consequential national AP story stands out to me as a highlight of the semester. Perhaps my favorite headline (which appeared the same way in print as it did online) was the one I wrote for the medical marijuana story. I was able to find an effective way to use a question in the headline, which I've always been advised against. The following is an excerpt from my weekly reflection about the process of writing the medical marijuana headline:
February 17, 2019: I wrote one of my best headlines I think I ever have this Thursday about a proposed bill that would make it legal for employers to drug test and fire workers for medical marijuana. I worked for almost an hour reworking the words and structure of the sentence in order to give it the weight I felt it deserved. It was an interesting process, especially because of the blunt language I settled on using. I just realized that when it comes down to it, describing the legislative stakes in this way was not really oversimplifying anything. The end result was something I'm very proud of, and I feel did a good job of communicating the crux of the story without over or under-explaining things.
The crucial role of copy editors
This was the story that gave me the most trouble this semester. It was riddled with factual errors from the first sentence forward, and I was forced to make several changes that required some serious critical thinking. Editing this story was the first time that I felt responsible for saving the public from misinformation — and consequently, the reporter and the Missourian from embarrassment. To give you a good idea of my thought process throughout the editing procedure, here is an excerpt from my weekly reflection from that week:
March 4, 2019: I read the first sentence and couldn't go on without looking deeper into it. I just googled "Bluestem Missouri Crafts died" and found a Tribune article detailing how one of the founders passed away in 2013. I couldn't find anything about any of the other founders passing away, even after in-depth search narrowed down by name. I ultimately decided, after confirming that the 2013 death was the only loss of the business' founders, to rewrite the lead entirely based on my research. The way it was written was not only confusing but incredibly boring, and her rambling sentences desperately needed to be cut down to size. As I continued working, I found that this story had the potential to be an inspiring tale, and if I hadn't had the chance to rip it apart, it could have been published and disseminated in a manner that renders the story and its stakeholders completely irrelevant. Editing this story gave me my first true chance to change a story for the better, and leave a positive thumbprint on the topic. It felt good to improve the sloppy way a reporter decided to tell someone else' story.
Here are links to examples of my best copy editing work:
Use medical marijuana? You could lose your job.
Bluestem passes management to familiar faces
Fears of racial profiling could stymy citizenship proposal
April 25, 2019 April 26, 2019 dcolton28 Leave a comment
Working in the Missourian Newsroom
This semester I had the opportunity to gain real newsroom experience working as a copy editor for the Columbia Missourian. I was tasked with editing stories for content, sentence structure and grammatical errors, resizing and rewording headlines for print and I was even given the chance to serve as the author of the newspaper's weekly newsletter. I was lucky to be able to continue to have an influence with my writing at the Missourian since finishing as a reporter here in December 2018. Learning to publish social posts was another way I managed to let my creativity shine, especially when it came to things like constructing the daily weather haiku and writing the newsletter when it came time for a city-wide event.


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ECOTON (or the rollercoaster of Surabaya)
Blog / 5 October 2018
By Marjolein van Rijn
From the first moment I arrive in Surabaya, I enter the rollercoaster called ECOTON. I'm visiting them to get to know the work of this long-time Both ENDS partner, and have only three days for this. But ECOTON does a lot, and all of it at the same time. Tirelessly, they work on the protection of the Brantas River.
That's why I suddenly find myself, with a jetlag and with my suitcase still in the car, in the burning sun on a bridge next to a couple of women and men in white suits who are fishing diapers from a river. They get a lot of attention from the traffic passing by, and that is exactly what they want.
The fight against diaper dumping
ECOTON is committed to stop people from Surabaya from throwing their children's diapers into the rivers. They do so because of the superstition that their children get sick when the diapers are being burned (with the rest of the waste). ECOTON is therefore trying to create awareness about the consequences of dumping diapers in nature: research has shown that the fish of the Brantas River change sex on a large scale because of the chemicals in the water. In addition, ECOTON pleads with local authorities for special containers for the diapers.
Sometimes this succeeds, but later at a meeting in the municipality of Sidoarjo the local environmental department is not enthusiastic at all. In this city, a group of women collects recyclable waste from their neighbors and sells it to a waste processing plant. These women also want diaper containers to be placed in their city. Unfortunately their wish is not fulfilled this time, but these women and ECOTON will continue the fight.
The fight against the factory in Lakardowo
The same applies to the women in Lakardowo. This week their long-awaited lawsuit against the local government starts, which has unrightfully extended the permit of the waste processing plant Pt. PRIA. This factory causes such a serious pollution of water, soil and crops that they'd better not be used anymore. In spite of this, the mayor has extended the permit on the basis of incorrect data, incomplete consultation with the community and the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment has not yet been completed.
ECOTON has been preparing the case with this women's group for over a year. They learned about their rights, and in the meantime get more courage and self-confidence to stand up against injustice. The evening before the first session we meet them again for a final instruction and to make protest signs. The community has rented 4 buses to demonstrate with a large group in front of the courthouse the next day.
When I ask the women who will testify in court to tell their story in front of the camera, they do not hesitate and speak to me as if they were professional spokespersons. I'm confident that these women will make a strong impression in court. Let's hope that the judge withdraws the permit of the factory and recommends that the soil be cleaned up so that the women of Lakardowo can grow safe food for their families.
The fight for a clean Brantas, from spring to mouth
These are just two of ECOTON's many projects, many of which are supported by Both ENDS. They work with pupils and women in the source areas of the Brantas so that at least the origins of the river remain clean. With a simple but reliable method to measure water quality developed by ECOTON, pupils in Wonosalam draw up a report every quarter for the local government, while women from the village are committed to preserve a forest containing three springs of the river.
They measure the water quality around the drain pipes of factories that end up on the river. Because the government only measures during the day, many factories discharge their waste water in the evening. Which is why ECOTON researchers go out in the middle of the night to take water samples.
They catch fish and examine their stomach contents. They help communities to set up fish sanctuaries. They educate communities along the river on sustainable forest management. They teach at schools about the importance of clean rivers. And they do much more; I've only seen a fraction of their work in those few days.
Tireless guardians of the river
The ECOTON team is a group of tireless river defenders who, by using different tactics - education, advocacy, research, legal procedures and peaceful protest - can convince communities along the river as well as local authorities to take action.
So the least I can do as a communications officer is get on board of their rollercoaster and record their work. To inspire others to support, replicate, and applaud the work of ECOTON - and many other Both ENDS partners around the world. Because these people are heroes who deserve an applause!
Marjolein van Rijn
Ecoton (Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation)
Read more about this subject
A Negotiated Approach for Inclusive Water Governance
A Negotiated Approach envisages the meaningful and long-term participation of communities in all aspects of managing the water and other natural resources on which their lives depend. It seeks to achieve healthy ecosystems and equitable sharing of benefits among all stakeholders within a river basin.
News / 2 July 2019
Indonesia: Women's Right to Water
The water quality of East Java's largest river, the Brantas River, is increasingly deteriorating due to a combination of industrial and household waste. This environmental pollution has a disproportionate impact on women. Yet, their participation in decision-making remains lacking. ECOTON is working to improve the situation.
The Negotiated Approach in Indonesia: cooperating with communities in river basins
A protected nature reserve, better waste processing, restricted mining and participation of local residents in water management: these are the results of eight years of working on a Negotiated Approach to integrated water management in five river basins in Indonesia.
Publication / 19 April 2016
Involving communities in Indonesia: Promoting Community Participation in Integrated Water Resources Management
Blog / 21 January 2020
Oil palms, water and women: gender in the watershed
By Michael Rice
Photo Blog - Like many communities in Indonesia, life in Semanga Village, West Kalimantan, revolves around a river. The 90 or so houses follow the curving bank of the Sambas River, each with a path down to a small pontoon where fishing traps and baskets are stacked and boats are tied.
News / 26 September 2018
Temporary ban on new hydro dams in the Brazilian Pantanal
Good news from Brazil! The National Water Agency (ANA) has stopped issuing new permits for the construction of hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Paraguay river basin, which is part of the Pantanal wetlands in South-America. The suspension will last at least until May 2020, after the publication of a comprehensive socio-economic and environmental impact assessment that the ANA started in 2016.
External link / 19 June 2020
Women and water in the shadow of oil palm plantations (Annual Report 2019)
In 2019, women from Semanga, Indonesia took action to improve the water quality in their community affected by palm oil. "The pollution needs to be stopped somewhere and it can start with me."
External link / 3 December 2014
Indonesia Water Community of Practice
The Indonesia Water Community of Practice (IndoWater CoP) was declared on December 3, 2014 by a group of Indonesian NGOs whose members felt very concerned about the poor management of Indonesia's water resources due to a lack of integrated planning on river basin management, community participation and law enforcement.
Blog / 16 October 2018
The case of Kasepuhan Karang: Secure land rights lead to food security
Photoblog - In 2016, the state forest around the community of Kasepuhan Karang, in Java, Indonesia, was transformed into customary lands. With these newly acquired land tenure rights, the community has started initiatives to use their land in a sustainable and inclusive way. What this means for the community in terms of livelihoods and food security, became clear during a field visit at the start of the Global Land Forum 2018.
Community-based governance for free-flowing tidal rivers (Annual Report 2019)
Tidal River Management (TRM) is based on age-old community practices. In 2019, Uttaran helped ensure that TRM was seen by policymakers as a solution to waterlogging in the delta of Bangladesh, and that the voices of women and youth were being taken into account.
Kenya: Community Network for a healthy Athi river
Through pollution and water scarcity, communities along the Kenyan Athi River have learnt the hard way that upstream and downstream communities are inevitably connected. In response to indiscriminate impacts on the environment and people's livelihoods, civil society organisations within the Athi River Basin formed the Athi River Community Network (ARCN).
Video / 1 July 2013
Getting control over natural resources: the Negotiated Approach
In this short movie we follow Indian professor Vijay Paranjpye, who has dedicated his life and work to finding ways of involving local communities in the management of natural resources such as water. What is the Negotiated Approach and what has been achieved so far? This film takes us to India and to Benin to show both results and possibilities.
Bangladesh: Involving communities for free rivers
Tidal rivers in the southwest coastal area of Bangladesh have been dying since flood plains were replaced by Dutch-style polders in the 70s. Rivers are silted up, and during monsoon season water gets trapped within embankments. Every year, this situation of waterlogging inflicts adverse consequences particularly on women, as they take care of the household in waterlogged conditions in the absence of men who travel to the city in search of temporary work. NGO Uttaran is advocating for a change in policy and practice.
Video / 5 April 2016
Water for all: participatory river basin management in Indonesia
Indonesia has many rivers, but clean water is increasingly scarce. To address the Indonesian water crisis, Both ENDS and 3 Indonesian civil society organisations initiated IndoWater Community of Practice. IndoWaterCoP is born out of concern that the implementation of Indonesian water resource management is failing. It aims to assist Indonesian government to improve its performance.
Shifting Grounds: sustainable water management in the Ganges Delta
In and around the rapidly growing cities of the Ganges Delta in India and Bangladesh, there is a serious threat of groundwater shortages. The Negotiated Approach is intended to offer a fair and sustainable solution.
Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP)
Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) is a rights-based approach ensuring inclusive and gender-responsive land governance, especially for those whose rights to land are not fully acknowledged.
Publication / 8 January 2021
Advancing inclusive land governance
Wetlands without Borders
With our Wetlands without Borders program, we work towards environmentally sustainable and socially responsible governance of the wetlands system of the La Plata Basin in South America.
Video / 8 November 2019
Athi River Community Network
The Athi River Community Network is made up of communities who live along the Athi River watershed. Members of the Athi River Community Network promised to join forces with the Friends of Ondiri Wetland to ensure that this critical wetland is restored and conserved for the sake of current and future generations.
Philippines: The People's Plan for Manila Bay
Manila Bay is crucial site for biodiversity and home to over 23 million people, but their wellbeing is at risk due to reclamation projects, which are part of a large-scale top-down masterplan for the bay. It is estimated that more than 11 million people are threatened with displacement due to land reclamations and related disaster risks. As an alternative, Kalikasan is developing a People's Plan.
Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, Both ENDS works towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world. We gather and share information about policy and investments that have a direct impact on people and their livelihood, we engage in joint advocacy, we stimulate the dialogue between stakeholders and we promote and support sustainable local alternatives.
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Home > News and Policy > CIBSE certifies Non-Domestic Green Deal Advice Organisation
CIBSE certifies Non-Domestic Green Deal Advice Organisation
Posted: 05 February 2013
With the Green Deal officially launched on 28th January 2013, CIBSE Certification is pleased to announce it has certified its first organisation to become a Non-Domestic Green Deal Advice Organisation. The Company, Digital Energy, was also one of the first companies to employ CIBSE-certified Energy Assessors when the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations were first introduced.
Digital Energy intends to employ at least two Non-Domestic Green Deal Advisors in the coming weeks.
Dr Andrew Geens, Head of CIBSE Certification said: "This is an important move and we are delighted to have Digital Energy listed right at the start of this initiative."
On both a domestic and global level, CIBSE members are working to meet the challenge of encouraging better building performance. Buildings use almost 50% of the UK's energy and it is recognised that 20% of the energy used in buildings
is needlessly wasted.
The Green Deal is a UK Government initiative to enable building owners and operators to install energy efficiency improvements to buildings at no upfront cost to the owner or operator. Green Deal Advisors who will be employed and supervised by Certified Green Deal Advice Organisations such as Digital Energy, will identify areas within buildings where improvements can be made, and these will then be installed by certified Green Deal Installers.
The improvements aim to reduce the building operators' energy bills, and the costs of the installation are added to the electricity bill. The estimated savings on the total energy bills will always equal or exceed the cost of the work, otherwise the improvements will not qualify for Green Deal finance. Under the Green Deal, the liability for the payments remains with the building, and does not follow the owner or occupier after they leave the building.