The Fidelity SME Forum is a weekly radio programme organized by Fidelity Bank Plc., to educate, inform, advise and inspire budding entrepreneurs in Nigeria with knowledge and expertise that will enable them build sustainable and successful businesses. The interactive radio programme features Subject Matter Experts and Model Entrepreneurs as guests on a weekly basis to share their insights and unique success stories. In this interview, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo CEO, Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), shared his thoughts on the 'Practical Guides to Empowering Nigerian SMEs for Export Trade Competitiveness'.
Q:With the current FX crisis, the dwindling revenue from Dollar and export seems to be the magic bullet, what is the NEPC's mandate and how are you focused on helping SMEs in this time?
A:The Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC) is the apex agency mandated by government to drive and promote non-oil exports. Non-oil meaning everything else but oil. Even when oil is processed for export, it is categorised as 'non-oil'. We are in charge of taking it out of the country. Our vision is to make the world a market place for Nigerian non-oil products. Our mission is to spearhead the diversification of Nigeria's monolithic economy by expanding and increasing non-oil exports for sustainable and inclusive growth.
The strategic objective of the council is to diversify the productive base of the Nigerian economy away from oil and foster a market-oriented, private sector driven economy. None of these can happen without strengthening Nigerian SMEs. Globally, SMEs play significant roles in the growth, development and industrialisation of many economies. There is a saying that goes like this: "It's not the government that creates jobs, it is small businesses." SMEs are the key drivers of social economic growth and we really need SMEs to work for us.
Q:Can you share with us a few of the initiatives you have launched to support SMEs?
A:SMEs are critical to us. But interestingly, women represent a powerful source of economic growth and opportunity. Women entrepreneurs in Nigeria are producing many of our products; shea butter, ginger, cashew and so on. I was in Ilorin recently to flag-off the annual cashew festival and we had a room full of female farmers who came to us excited about the prospects of cashew. Unfortunately, we had been looking at only the oil figures which has become the bane of Nigeria's economic growth. We have been looking at dwindling oil figures, but we have not been looking at other areas to generate revenue. On the flip side, cocoa prices have continued to climb up over the last 5 years.
For cashew as well, prices have maintained an upward trajectory. A female farmer was telling me how excited she was about the N800 profit on a little thing, but now the prices have gone up and she is making up to N1,600. These are the little things that tell you that there is hope for this country even as we move away from depending solely on oil for revenues. A good example of helping SMEs as part of what we do is we take SMEs mostly… We are participating in Ghana's international trade fair. We paid for the pavilion and take their goods all the way there. We also provide a rebate ticket for them as well. Pretty much, the bigger companies are covered, so they can get there on their own.
Apart from that, we do a lot of capacity building for small businesses because Nigeria's manufacturing industry is not export-orientated at all. Perhaps, owing to our huge consumer base, we don't really look at export. So, we need to change their perception and get them export ready. Export-ready means that you need to meet standards. For instance, your packaging has to be up to it and particularly, your labeling. We're doing a lot of work and training for SMEs. We have initiatives like the Zero to Export Programme, Women in Export. These are all the things we are doing to get them to be export ready.
Q:There are some SMEs that have products that they feel are export ready, but they don't know how to go about finding the right customer base abroad. What does the NEPC do to create those linkages?
A:We are constantly looking for international markets. We are looking for countries that are interested in our products. I was looking at the Cobalt Report recently and it was telling me of Mila Seeds. We just started exporting Mila Seeds to Korea. But, what are Mila Seeds? It's a byproduct of sugar-cane. That is very interesting for us. Constantly, when we discover such products, we put our exporters in the know. They can see it on our website and they can see what is trending and what they can export. As a result of the crash in oil prices, there are a lot of young business men looking for what they can do.
You don't just get up and go. We have moved on from the days of suitcase exporters. Nigerian needs to grow more SMEs in this regard. We have international offices and under our new strategic framework now, we have revised where we are going to have our offices. it is linked to our strategy and it is linked to the needs; the countries with huge capacity to absorb Nigerian products, whose economy is relatively doing well. We are going to work with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the trade desk here and get proper offices in those locations to enable us to penetrate the market. That is what we do.
We look for those markets and we come back to form a synergy and we link our exporters with our market. We take them for exhibitions and trade fairs. For example, in America, we found out that we had been attending trade fairs and exhibitions, but not buyers' fairs. Now, the buyers' fairs are important because that's where the buyers actually go.
Q:A lot of SMEs also complain about the cumbersome steps for exporting. How is the NEPC working to reduce the barriers for exportation?
A:Yes, that is a very critical point. There were about 32 steps to go to get into exporting and that is just crazy. I was with the Kwara state governor recently and we talked about the Zero Oil plan. The governor said, "You are at the tail end, but the whole supply structure or the value chain, there is something missing there which is where you need to concentrate on." So, we are looking at is to bring the steps down. We are looking at streamlining the steps to enable us build a critical mass of exporters. Interestingly, we need to work with the relative agencies. We need National Agency for Food Drug and Control (NAFDAC) to be firmly on our side. We need the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on our side and most importantly, we need the Customs' service. We are currently talking with the new Customs Controller General and he was in our office recently. We had a chat and he looked at the idea and he will tell you that the Nigerian Customs are not export friendly. It is all about imports for them because for years we have been using the Customs as revenue generation agency. Although, Customs is actually a trade facilitation agency, but because of our huge import base, we have been generating a lot of funds from that and so we got comfortable with that without realizing that a nation can only be rich when it is exporting. The Customs requires re-orientation to enable them become more export friendly.
With the new Controller General, we are looking at different ways such as export warehousing in all our ports and airports. We are looking to get a one-stop shop where all the agencies are present to deal with exporters. Even our Customs agents must be friendly. We are not saying assist fraudulent exporters. No. For instance, many exporters don't know that we have over 6,500 items that can be taken into America, tax free.
So, our Customs must also know that. So, when you are taking your goods they know that this is going straight into America under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and it is tax free, but they don't even know. So, they are even stopping you from here in Nigeria before you even go to face America. So, we need the Nigerian Customs Service to really work with us; be export friendly, assist exporters, know that is also generating foreign exchange for the country. I think we are on the right steps with that. We promise you that in a couple of weeks we are going to publish the new guidelines for exporters with reduced steps. It will be on our website and we will link the Customs Service on this so you know the steps for you to export.
We are also working with the Nigerian Customs to create an export hub. On the Nigerian trade hub run by the Nigerian Customs Service, every information you want about imports is there with categories such as prices, grades and so on. It's all about exports. On the Nigerian Trade Hub, you can actually track your goods; which freight it is on, if it has been delayed and so on. You can track it till your goods get to the Nigerian seas. There is nothing there at all about exports and so we all stunned when we saw that. The last Controller General said 'we need to create an export hub. We need NEPC to be on the Nigerian trade hub and so you can trace your goods and have all the information you need'.
We also want to improve our own website and create an export portal. That will really be interesting for SMEs because it will be a virtual exhibition centre for them. You can put your goods on there and buyers from America and all over the world can visit and see what your company is doing. Also, you can order online, because that is what is happening now; people sit down in the comfort of their homes and offices to place order. So very soon, you're going to be able to do that for your exports.
Q:What are regulations on financing from the CBN?
A:The nation is facing a very critical point in its history. We had $70 Billion in 2014 in export figures for oil. In 2014, we had about $40 Billion. The nation has lost $30 Billion in revenue and government is facing a revenue crisis. So, when a country gets into this kind of problem, you have to come up with macro-economic policies to cope with the short term effects of these external shocks. The nation has received a big external shock in the loss of revenue. So, they are trying whatever they can. Those are just temporary steps. We are making a case for exporters, for example. Really, if you export and you remit your money and it's at bank rate and you say that you can only keep it at bank rate and you can't use it for anything else. Everybody else is changing at N300 and that doesn't really encourage exporters. These are all temporary policies to withhold the external shocks and we are talking with the Federal Government on this and telling them to relax some of these stringent measures for exporters to access to their foreign exchange.
Q:Is it true that Nigerian goods have been banned in Europe; that we cannot export Nigerian goods to Europe?
A:We got this news sometime last year and it went viral. It was somebody writing in the Punch newspapers that the European Union (EU) banned all Nigerian goods into Europe. Of course, there was nothing like that. The EU operates what it calls the rapid alert system. When you come in with your goods, they screen it for health reasons. Once you are in the United Kingdom (UK), you are in the EU. What happened was that it was an alert on our beans. There was a rapid alert system on that and they traced it and said no that they were having a temporary ban on beans until we clear our SPS or afloat toxin and so on.
So, we have a ban in place on just beans and nothing else. What are we are doing to resolve the issue? We have until June, and there are things we need to do. We need better training for our farmers on better use of chemicals and tracking of their toxins. We need to tell them the best agricultural practices all the way. So we even set up a 17 member committee; NAFDAC, SON, Quarantine, and so on. All of them were together; we just finished meeting because we need to clear this up. Interestingly, Nigeria has not been sleeping. For the first time, we are working on our national quality infrastructure policy.
We are working assiduously with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to develop this policy. Also, the EU is fully aware of that. On the other side, we are already setting up our National Foods Safety committee. We never had these two things in Nigeria. Every country must trace the quality of their goods and what they are producing, not just to meet the standards of export goods, but for the wellbeing of the nation. So these are game changers for the Nigerian economy and once we get that we will have no problems. At the NEPC, we are working on the zero rejects policy. We start telling you that by the end of the mid 2016, before June, Nigerian products will not be rejected again.
We had this same issue on the melon seeds. It was banned, but it has been opened now. Let me emphasize again, we went to the National Assembly and EU reps to explain to the leadership that there was no ban on all Nigerian products. It was just on beans which is temporary and will be lifted by June 2016 when we have satisfied all the requirements.
Q:Can you tell us what the requirements to register with the NEPC are and how people can get in touch with you?
A:The easiest step is to visit our website – www.nepc.gov.ng. You will have to register online which is quite easy. You can also go to any of our 15 offices across the country. Then again, we are implementing our institutional and functional review of the entire council and we are going to have an office in every state capital of the federation to give people access. It is a simple process; we look at your certificate of registration. The whole process takes about 2 days to conclude.
A:I was reading one of my grandfather's books and what he was saying was that the agrarian revolution must precede the industrial revolution. What I am saying is that we need to scale production on all our agricultural products. If there is nothing available, I cannot export. So scale up production on all agricultural products across the country. That is what the zero oil plan we are doing with the Federal Government is saying. Scale up production across all sectors and then we start to export.


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The Tree Team
Roo Games
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Die Gmina Mrocza [] ist eine Stadt-und-Land-Gemeinde im Powiat Nakielski der Woiwodschaft Kujawien-Pommern in Polen. Ihr Sitz ist die gleichnamige Stadt ( Mrotschen) mit etwa 4400 Einwohnern.

Geschichte
Im Rahmen der Ersten Teilung Polens 1772 kam das Gemeindegebiet zu Preußen. Nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg wurde es aufgrund der Bestimmungen des Versailler Vertrags an die Zweite Polnische Republik abgetreten. Nach dem Überfall auf Polen wurde es 1939 deutsch besetzt und einzelne Orte wurden umbenannt.

Die Stadt-und-Land-Gemeinde besteht seit 1975, damals kam sie bis 1998 zur Woiwodschaft Bydgoszcz.

Gliederung
Zur Stadt-und-Land-Gemeinde gehören die Stadt Mrocza und weitere 15 Dörfer (deutsche Namen amtlich bis 1945) mit Schulzenämtern:

 Białowieża (Bialowierz)
 Drążno
 Drzewianowo (Hohenwalde)
 Izabela
 Jeziorki Zabartowskie (Seethal, 1942–1945 Seetal, Kr. Wirsitz)
 Kaźmierzewo (Kazmierowo, 1942–1945 Kasdorf, Kr. Wirsitz)
 Kosowo (Lindenburg)
 Krukówko
 Matyldzin
 Ostrowo (Grünhausen)
 Rościmin (Roscimin, 1939–1945 Rosmin)
 Samsieczynek
 Wiele (Wiele, 1942–1945 Weilensee)
 Witosław
 Wyrza (Wyrza, 1939–1945 Friedrichsberg)

und 14 Ortschaften ohne Schulzenamt:
 Chwałka
 Dąbrowice
 Drążonek
 Jadwigowo
 Konstantowo (Clarashöh)
 Kozia Góra Krajeńska
 Modrakowo
 Orle
 Orlinek
 Orzelski Młyn
 Podgórz
 Rajgród
 Słupówko
 Zdrogowo

Gemeindepartnerschaften
Partnergemeinde ist Lindern in Niedersachsen.

Verkehr
Mrocza hatte einen Bahnhof an der Bahnstrecke Oleśnica–Chojnice, weitere Bahnhöfe befanden sich in den Orten Kozia Góra Krajeńska, Rajgród und Witosław.

Weblinks

Fußnoten

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hey, I'm Homer Nievera. I am determined to help small businesses grow. I fuse marketing and technology to amp your revenue strategy. Let's talk.
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I am HOMER NIEVERA and I am a Digital Evangelist, Revenue Strategist, Tech Entrepreneur and Speaker in those areas.
I help businesses, just like yours, transition into the next level. I help you establish goals and hit revenue targets through strategic mentoring, positioning, content marketing, social media, platform solutions, and business/product development.
I train people — from board directors, C-level execs to company staff on how to embrace the full power of digital and technology.
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WNBA: General
Chicago Sky poised for championship run
The Chicago Sky have went through some changes this offseason. But, even with the trade request of Sylvia Fowles, the Sky feel they have everything needed for a championship -- especially with the welcome addition of Cappie Pondexter via trade
By Ric Lampkins Jun 3, 2015, 11:00am EDT
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Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
After suffering a disappointing 3-0 sweep in last year's WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury, the Chicago Sky seem just as ready to make another run into August this season. Despite the poor showing in last year's Finals, the team has improved year after year in recent seasons, maintaining the best record in the East two seasons ago and reaching the championship series last year.
Their continued improvement is undoubtedly a product of the roster's perfect blend of youth and experience. Eleven of Chicago's players have been in the league for 3 years or fewer, including the four rookies currently on the training camp roster, leaving even more room for growth over the course of the season.
But veteran leadership is often cited as one of the things that transforms great teams to championship teams, unfortunately for the Sky, their longest-tenured veteran will soon be on her way out. Sylvia Fowles' refusal to negotiate a new contract with the Sky, and her following trade request changed the dynamic in Chicago, seemingly leaving a void in her wake.
Some analysts have even posited that her imminent departure casts a shadow over the Sky's chances to return to the WNBA Finals.
Luckily, Chicago has been preparing for this moment since draft day in 2013. Forward Elena Delle Donne, while not boasting the traditional post presence Fowles, is one of the WNBA's most dangerous scoring threats.
The former Rookie of the Year showed that she was ready to carry the team in last year's playoffs, leading the team in scoring through their run. Her versatility on offense is unparalleled, and Delle Donne will inevitably be counted on to make up some of the production lost by Fowles' eventual departure.
Delle Donne's playoff scoring is even more impressive in hindsight when you consider that she was fighting a back injury throughout the Sky's Finals run. After taking a hit in game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, she struggled with back spasms and inflammation all through the rest of the playoffs (for the record, she still managed to score a career-high 34 points in that game).
The injury's effect on her play was obvious after that, with coach Pokey Chatman even occasionally using Delle Donne as a decoy in the following games. Coupled with Delle Donne missing 17 games due to a continuous battle with Lyme disease, it's a wonder that the Sky made it to the Finals at all.
But they did. This season, a rested Elena Delle Donne will be the key to returning to September basketball, even without Sylvia Fowles. The team's offseason moves seem even more appropriate now with Fowles' absence; WNBA legend, USA gold medalist, and six-time All-Star Cappie Pondexter will play an instrumental role in filling the leadership gap that Fowles left vacant.
Her Finals experience is in fact one of the reasons Chatman decided to trade for her, hoping that the extra playoff experience would help lead the team away from a Finals sweep and towards a Finals victory.
Veteran Tamera Young will have to shoulder some of the load left behind by Fowles, and point guard Courtney Vandersloot will be expected to run the offense after Epiphany Prince's trade to the Liberty.
But between a revitalized Cappie Pondexter's leadership and a healthy season of Elena Delle Donne, the Sky are poised to not only return to the WNBA Finals this year, but to take home the championship trophy for the first time in Chicago Sky history.
WNBA Eastern Conference: team previews, interviews
2015 WNBA season Outlook
Sky's the limit for Chicago
Williams may hold key to Connecticut Sun's success


Trees are wise teachers and poets.
These grounded Spirits spiral upward toward the heavens as their branches spread like an umbrella offering shelter to any one who happens by.
I credit Trees for playing a significant role in the development of my telepathic and Reiki skills.
When I began learning Reik many years ago, I first practiced with Trees instead of with people and animals. At the time, I intuitively felt Trees would help me stay grounded and focused as I learned how to be an open-hearted conduit for the spiritual energy known as Reiki.
When I was reawakening my telepathic animal communication gifts a couple of years later, I again turned to my trusted friends the trees. To this day, I love talking with trees. Their wisdom and knowledge continue to humble me.
An Oak Tree caught my attention telepathically the other day as I was contemplating the role trees have played in the evolution of my animal communication and Reiki skills.
She seemed amused by my inquisitiveness and interest in her musings.
I swing. I sway. I dance with the wind.
My roots run deep into the crevices of Mother Earth.
Keeping me connected with all of Creation.
Each day I deal with whatever comes my way.
Even when losing a branch or leaves, I'm rewarded with new growth.
Welcoming those seeking safe haven in my trunk and canopy of branches.
Even in death, I shelter those who call me home.
Offering lessons in standing tall and being grounded.
Listen with an open heart and you will hear the truth of who you are.
I thanked the Oak for taking the time to share her wisdom with me.
Next time you feel a tree reach out to you, I hope you will open your heart to feel their wisdom as they have much to share.
Another interesting post - thanks Cathy. I will take the time to notice nature and trees and also feel very grounded when I see the strong roots that trees have laid down. In our other house a big maple tree had such long roots that they were lifting up the driveway - the strength was remarkable. As a nature lover we refused to cut them or harm the tree.
What Does A Tree Witness in a Year?


Is Robert Rubin more important than the U.S. Congress?
Matt Taibbi's latest piece in Rolling Stone is attracting a lot of attention (Digby, Drum, Yglesias, Fernholz, Salmon), which is testament to Taibbi's talent for breathing life and urgency into topics that too many consider dull. But in this case, Taibbi chose a swift-moving narrative at the expense of an accurate picture of how -- and more importantly, where -- Wall Street is capturing the political process.
Taibbi begins by selling Robert Rubin, who led both Citibank and Goldman Sachs, as the Johnny Appleseed of the Obama administration. Rubin worked with Michael Froman, who advised Obama during the transition, and mentored Larry Summers, Peter Orszag and Jason Furman, along with a handful of others. There's something to this, actually, though Taibbi takes quite a while to say exactly what it is, and then gets it wrong.
Before he gets there, though, he lays down a couple of misleading signposts. For one thing, he makes much of the fates suffered by Austan Goolsbee and Karen Kornbluh. Goolsbee and Kornbluh were campaign advisers whose administration gigs were considerably less influential than some had expected. Goolsbee is staffing Paul Volcker's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which has proven a pretty sleepy outpost (though Goolsbee, in practice, has his hand in a lot more pots -- he was heavily involved in the auto bailout, for instance). And Kornbluh wound up the ambassador to the OECD in Paris.
Whether Goolsbee and Kornbluh are happy in their jobs, they're not the "populists" Taibbi sells them as. For instance: When Taibbi assails Furman, he does so because Furman is "a persistent advocate of free-trade agreements like NAFTA and the author of droolingly pro-globalization reports." That same sentence could've been written about Goolsbee, a fairly orthodox free trader who hails from the University of Chicago and ended up in hot water after telling the Canadians that Obama would never touch NAFTA, or at least something that was interpreted to that effect.
As for Kornbluh, I'm a great admirer of her work, but it's orthogonal to the financial regulation debate. Kornbluh focuses on domestic policy and is particularly interested in updating the safety net to better fit the modern family. The obvious spot for Kornbluh would have been the Domestic Policy Council, which is chaired by Melody Barnes and never mentioned by Taibbi, as it's not heavily involved in financial sector regulation. That said, if Kornbluh had gotten the gig, you can bet she'd be featured in this article: She formerly served as deputy chief of staff to Robert Rubin, a detail Taibbi doesn't mention when he's explaining her ouster as a triumph of Rubinism.
As the Kornbluh example suggests, there are a lot of ways to win a game of six degrees to Bob Rubin. Taibbi lists four: "Through Goldman Sachs, the Clinton administration, Citigroup and, finally, the Hamilton Project." But rolling all those folks together doesn't make much sense. Wall Street titans are different from career bureaucrats, who are different from academic economists, who are different, sort of, from think tankers. Hank Paulson knew Bob Rubin at Goldman Sachs, and Karen Kornbluh worked for him at the Treasury Department, but Paulson does not equal Kornbluh, even in Taibbi's article.
Eliding those differences, however, helps Taibbi to the conclusion of his first piece: "The point," he says, "is that an economic team made up exclusively of callous millionaires ... has absolutely zero interest in reforming the gamed system that made them rich in the first place." It's an appealing moral, not least because a relatively simple problem promises a relatively simple fix: Stop stocking the government with Rubin's familiars. Even better, it's pretty easy to see how you get there: Make the offending appointees unpopular, and then wait for Rahm Emanuel to fire them.
Simple as it may be, it manages to be false both conceptually and specifically. The financial system made Michael Froman rich, and Rubin, too, but neither is working on financial regulation. You can argue that Larry Summers skimmed a few million off the top, but he's spent a lot of time in academia and government for someone so concerned with money. But Orszag? Furman? Geithner? Christina Romer? They may represent intellectual capture, but that's not the same thing as what Taibbi is implying.
Worse than being unfair, though, it actively misses the point. What unites not only Obama's economic team, but his whole White House, is not its emphasis on rich people. It's the emphasis on people accustomed to dealing with Congress. You've got a former Treasury secretary, CBO director, DCCC chairman, chief of staff to the Senate majority leader, chief of staff to the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, chief of staff to the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and on it goes. It's rather difficult to say what these people do and don't believe, as their whole world is finding 218 in the House and 60 in the Senate, and every word, action and policy brief is squarely aimed at that goal.
This becomes obvious in the second section of Taibbi's piece, an overview of the ways in which financial regulation is being chopped up as it travels through the House and Senate. This marks the end of our time with Summers and Orszag and Furman and Froman. Now the villain is Barney Frank, whose committee has watered down the reform bill.
But Frank isn't an associate of Rubin, nor was he employed by a Wall Street bank. Most everyone I talk to seems to believe Frank wants a stronger bill but can't find the votes. You can blame that on the massive lobbying campaign launched by banks both big and small, and on the ceaseless obstruction of a Republican minority that wants to attract Wall Street's money while hanging the banks around Nancy Pelosi's neck. You could even blame Frank himself. But you can't blame Jason Furman.
On Friday, financial reform, or something called financial reform, passed the House without a single Republican attached. That is to say, regulating the banks attracted fewer Republicans than health-care reform or cap and trade. And it's not because Republicans were joining with Brad Sherman and Maria Cantwell. Indeed, the Kanjorski amendment, which Taibbi identifies as the sort of thing the White House "should be doing," passed on a party-line vote. A party-line vote of Democrats.
But Taibbi lets Republicans, and conservative Democrats, totally off the hook. He quotes Rep. Cliff Stearns, a Republican from Florida, saying, "you can't expect these people to do anything other than protect Wall Street." It's a good quote, and it fits well with Taibbi's story, but it's destructive to the readers' understanding of what's going on.
The issue here is not that Taibbi should be nicer to the Obama administration, which is how he's framing most of the criticism of his article. Quite the opposite, actually. Taibbi is being much too nice to the Obama administration. He's imbued them with a lot more power than they have.
If the result of the 2010 election is that Obama fires his economics team and moves his administration to the left, but the Republicans pick up 60 seats on the House and move the body to the right, then American public policy outcomes move to the right. Conversely, if Obama brings Bob Rubin back as his vice president, but Kanjorski picks up 65 allies in the next election, then outcomes move to the left.
"At a minimum," Taibbi concludes, "Obama should start on the road back to sanity by making a long-overdue move: firing Geithner." I'm actually among those who think Obama should probably fire Geithner, but I believe that because Geithner's presence is a liability for moving better bills through the Congress. The power resides in the legislative branch, not the executive branch. But so long as the media keeps telling the story of American policy outcomes primarily in terms of the opinions and skills of the executive branch, it's going to be very hard to make anything better.
I basically agree and think the problem is that it is really difficult to believe just how dysfunctional our legislative branch has become. On CNBC this am Tom Friedman was talking about global warming with Marc Haynes and Erin Burnett, not exactly a clutch of flaming liberals, and they agreed that the US Congress was basically playing "dumb as we want to be" while the country faces very, very, severe problems.
I don't agree with everything Obama is doing by a long shot. But at least he and his people are adults trying to solve problems, while Congress is a collection of spoiled, ignorant, corrupt children with a few adults who understand the problems but are exasperated by the rest of them. How do you govern with a Joe Lieberman? A whole bunch of Melissa Beans? And then there is the other party: Grassley, Inhofe and those dumb-as-a-sack-of-hammers GOPers like Mike Pence and Trent Franks and even Boehner and Cantor.
It is hard to see how the US isn't more or less doomed to sink into a mediocrity approaching that of its leaders.
you best be careful, Ezra, you'll be shredded by raving loons on the left calling you a DLC traitor next. Don't you know that it's all Obama's fault?
Here is my problem with your analysis: the current political situation is about as favorable to liberal legislation as we are ever going to get. When was the last time we had such large majorities and a president elected with a popular majority opposed by a discredited opposition? 1964, right? The reason I and others like me are so frustrated is that the Democratic leadership have been given a once-in-a-generation opportunity and they are making a dog's dinner of it. Obama is the leader of the party, and hence he gets the blame. Perhaps it's because he didn't take the institutional constraints seriously enough. Perhaps there's nothing else that could have been done. But if that's so, then liberal legislative accomplishments are simply impossible. Blaming Obama and Reid is actually the optimistic interpretation of events, because the alternative is utter despair.
Tabbi does focus interest on the financial bailout and regulations that are flying under the radar. His problem is that he focuses on the personalities and not substantive commentary on the policies and how likely they are to pass congress. My biggest problem with the Obama administration is that they never laid out the case for a real progressive solution and said "This is what will really work. If congress doesn't like it here is plan B, a compromise that won't work as well, but I can live with it." Instead he starts with the compromise position and it gets watered down to nothing (see public option). Obama didn't do this with the stimulus. He proposed 900 billion when he should have proposed 1.5 trillion, the amount that would really stop job losses and jumpstart the economy, or passed separate tax cuts and been able to use all 900 billion for stimulus. Now we have a stimulus that is too small and it looks like it is what Obama wanted instead of what he had to settle with.
Clearly, Obama did not realize that Congress was as inept as it is when he decided to make health care reform an early priority.
The 2010 election cycle will now be fought in the light that Congress and Obama have failed on health care reform, cap-trade, wall-street reform, Afghanistan (Karzai has said Obama's surge goals are impossible), Gitmo (still open), and Iraq (we're still there).
It's not enough that Obama understands our problems and what fixes are needed. The fact is, he can't get nothing done, and that's his fault, not Congress's.
The problem with your analysis is that you completely ignore the leverage the executive branch had over financial reform in late 2008 and early 2009. If Obama and his advisors wanted real financial reform, they would have tied it to the bailouts/guarantees/loans. This was a calculated decision by Obama and his advisors; to assume otherwise means that they were complete fools, which is obviously not the case.
Obama gave away the milk for free (government assistance), so of course he could not sell the cow (financial reform). He knew it.
catalystoffire - As I remember, Ezra did point out this issue some time back - the biggest 'missed' opportunity by Obama Administration when they did not bring legislation while bailing out banks.
No matter how much President barks and keep calling these as 'fat cats'; it really does not matter as long as he is not ready to act.
Today, if President and Congress put a bill to cap banker bonuses (single item only); it will get bipartisan support and a fantastic tool to effect a change as well as gain popular support. We do not know why President does not want to adopt such a simple, clean but effective line. Not everything needs to be complex. In any case, his job is to make 'change simple' so others can adopt it.
Further, Taibbi did point out the way Congress has watered down many terms of financial regulation bills. Congress is responsible for that and Admin. too since this Admin never talks about 'veto'.
Ultimately, Reid and company in Congress are one of the most incompetent bunch of Democrats and that reflects in the mess of every regulation this gang is sponsoring (HCR being the prime and next Financial Regulations too). However, as long as Admin does not want to put their stakes on the line, Taibbi has a point; this Admin is culpable too.
umesh409 - don't recall Ezra pointing that out in prior posts, but he certainly doesn't make the case for that now.
The point I think is that the Obama Administration made a calculated decision not to tie financial reform to government assistance. This lays at the feet of the Obama administration. The fact that Congress is not willing or unable to pass meaningful financial reform now is a separate issue. This does not let the Obama administration off the hook.
"The problem with your analysis is that you completely ignore the leverage the executive branch had over financial reform in late 2008 and early 2009."
Really? I guess I can't disagree, but Barack Obama wasn't President of the United States in 2008 or the first three weeks of 2009. You're right of course -- the Bush Administration should have used its leverage over financial institutions to exact specific guarantees concerning regulatory reform -- but your argument is mostly with the last guy.
Charlie14 - Thats a quite disingenuous.
I mentioned 2008 because Obama's advisors were involved in bailout pre-Obama, and their overall approach to the financial industry hasn't changed. TARP was passed under Bush, but Bush only presided over the use of the first half of the TARP money. Obama had a choice to more wisely use the remaining $350M.
That being said, TARP only represents a small portion of the total.
Also, if Obama pursued real financial reform on 1/20, there would have been significantly less resistance in Congress. The financial industry had both of its legs cut off at the time.
catalystoffire - No, what's disingenuous is claiming that the Obama administration existed in 2008. You're the one who used the language, not me -- probably because "late 2008 and early 2009" sounded more damning than "February and March 2009." I correct your error and you call ME disingenuous? Neighbor, please.
You appear to be suggesting that, this error notwithstanding, Obama's advisors had some sort of influence in how the Bush administration carried out the bailout. Please provide evidence of this. As I recall, President-elect Obama was always careful to say that America has but one President at a time. But you may be privy to some evidence about the transition that has escaped my notice, so please educate me if you can.
Listen, I fault the President for many mistakes in judgment and execution during his first 11 months in office. From civil liberties to the conduct of the was in Afghanistan to detainee policy, the Obama administration has made a number of bad choices. But your criticism here is factually and demonstrably wrong. Just admit it and move on.
Ezra Klein: "But rolling all those folks together doesn't make much sense. Wall Street titans are different from career bureaucrats, who are different from academic economists ..."
Are they? See "door, revolving".
Rubin, to cite one of many examples, was at Goldman-Sachs, become Secretary of the Treasury, then made tens of millions more helping to drive Citi into insolvency. Summers has moved back and forth between academia and government, and picked up a few million on Wall St (for part time work). Emanuel has spent almost his whole career in government, but took a few years off to make millions in banking.
Do you think these career moves are just a series of coincidences?
Ezra Klein: "They may represent intellectual capture, but that's not the same thing as what Taibbi is implying."
What he's implying? How about what he explicitly stated: "The significance of all of these appointments isn't that the Wall Street types are now in a position to provide direct favors to their former employers [but that] virtually all of the Rubinites brought in to manage the economy under Obama share the same fundamental political philosophy"
There's no difference between what Taibbi said and your notion of "intellectual capture".
Ezra Klein: "Now the villain is Barney Frank, whose committee has watered down the reform bill."
Yes, which is Taibbi's point. To quote him: "with one or two exceptions, they [Obama's appointements] collectively offer a microcosm of what the Democratic Party has come to stand for in the 21st century".
Taibbi's obvious point isn't to vilify everyone who's ever met Robert Rubin, but that the Democratic Party as a whole has been subject to "intellectual capture". The inbreeding of Rubinites is one approach to that, but he never claims it's the whole story.
Funny, when Taibbi was ripping into Goldman Sachs he was everybody's darling. When he starts criticizing Obama and the Dems, not so much.
You are a very young man with not much experience in the world. You are smart and gravitate towards some interesting information but your judgment about these matters starts to falter when you editorialize.
You and some of the people you reference and together hope to form a "climate of opinion" like Yglesias are all over-impressed with "savvy" and attempts to show the world and the inside the Beltway crowd that you are "savvy".
In this case you folks SERIOUSLY discount the power of simple and powerful narratives that are largely TRUE. The President has the most discretion and power in the land as a single individual...he is after all the leader of the executive branch. One of his powers which he has continually DISOWNED since entering office is the power to MOBILIZE the people in support of him and his policies. To mobilize people in favor of Democratic policies, Obama needed simple powerful narratives. Taibbi is pointing out how Obama went the opposite way of simple powerful mobilizing narratives from the start. It is ALARMING.
Because you very young reporters sited in Washington have no memory of mass movements that affected change, you make a great deal of savvy internal politics and maneuvering. You do not understand that Obama left much of his power and the power of the Democratic party on the table in the very first months that he was in office. It is also interesting to speculate as does Taibbi backed by some interesting research about what happened before the inauguration.
So Ezra, study how REAL change has occurred in the past, then maybe you can start editorializing as if you know something about it.
Put another way, the American people is WAY more important than either Rubin or the Congress and Obama and the Democrats led by Obama have in almost every major issue failed to use the American people and their anger.
extra applause line for michaelterra!!!!!
In fact, picking up on michaelterra's point, Ezra's sincerity in covering the democratic proposals for healthcare reform are often at odds with the realities of the actual legislation. For Ezra, the proposed HCR legislation is, ultimately, good enough and he will hail it as historical. However, it's not nearly as groundbreaking as legislation passed during eg administrations of FDR or LBJ. Obama had people power when he came into office that no other politician in congress had. He continues to not use that power and, as a result, legislation so far from his administration continues to be relatively conservative and certainly not indicative of the strength behind the powerful "yes we can" campaign.
While I'm kicking Ezra, I want to mention again the arrogance of writing a post last week attacking physicians which was entitled "first do no harm." Ezra, it's fine if you're a progressive liberal; I am, too. But, it makes no sense for someone with no medical background to say something like that. Stick to talking points about how much waste is in the system since you have no ability to speak knowledgeably about specific waste from different physician specialties.
First - three cheers for michaelterra. Couldn't have said it better myself.
"I'm actually among those who think Obama should probably fire Geithner, but I believe that because Geithner's presence is a liability for moving better bills through the Congress."
Why doesn;t that logic apply to all the other appointees cited in Taibbi's piece?
...and why all the defensiveness about Obama in this article and this board. I voted for him and like him too. But Jesus, time to spend your well earned popularity on doing the right thing in a big way. you are the President after all.
Ah yes, the realities of power in Washington and the need for "savvy". Everything is in the vote totals. Klein and Yglesias both give us this pitch. So ... let's step back and parse Obama's campaign rhetoric in that light. "We will restore civil liberties, roll back unchecked executive powers and government secrecy, establish proper financial reform -- [and here we add the unspoken clause] -- IF Joe Lieberman and Olympia Snowe get their votes right." Gee, it loses a little zing doesn't it?


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Pa. man charged for abusing child, other charges expected
By Editor | August 8, 2018 | 4
A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and charged with first-degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual contact with a young child several years ago in Berkeley Springs.
Robert J. Taylor, 32, of Warfordsburg was arrested on August 1 by Captain Tim Stapleton of the Morgan County Sheriff's Department on a warrant stemming from an investigation by Cpl. Kevin Barney and other members of the department.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court, Cpl. Barney was contact by the Pennsylvania State Police in June after police in McConnellsburg received an anonymous fax alleging that Taylor was a child sex abuser.
Trooper Jeffery Hahn reportedly received two faxes that made the claim, and said Taylor continued to be around children. According to court documents, Trooper Hahn contacted one alleged victim of Taylor, but that person denied any knowledge of incidents.
After the second fax, Trooper Hahn contacted the Sheriff's Department to ask officers to do a welfare check at a Berkeley Springs residence where Taylor was known to live.
Sgt. Wade Shambaugh determined that Taylor no longer lived at the address, but Taylor's ex-wife provided contact information for Taylor to police.
In an interview with Trooper Hahn, Taylor allegedly admitted to having sexual contact in 2015 in Berkeley Springs with a child under the age of five.
Trooper Hahn also concluded that there were other incidents and victims in Pennsylvania in which Taylor had committed similar crimes.
Based on investigations in Pennsylvania and Morgan County, an arrest warrant for Taylor was issued on July 18 and he was taken into custody last Wednesday.
Taylor remains in the Eastern Regional Jail in lieu of a $20,000 bond.
Trooper Hahn confirmed on Monday that Taylor will also be charged in Pennsylvania for incidents in that jurisdiction.
Posted in Hancock News, News
Jennifer L Hovermale on August 9, 2018 at 5:26 am
anyone that has child and do this kind of act, should not even see the light of day. How someone can do that to a young child is SICK…. I hope the enforcement will give him the time.
Misty taylor on October 15, 2018 at 7:12 pm
When is the sentencing date?
Editor on October 16, 2018 at 1:26 pm
He hasn't been convicted, only charged.
Ashley on March 11, 2019 at 3:37 pm
He's been convicted


The business community of Happy Camp has had some changes recently. Bob and Trista Parry turned over the market, which became Kingfisher Market under Leon and Erin Hillman's ownership last month. Now they are excited to announce that their other retail business, Marble Mountain Gift Co. is also under new ownership. It's always a joy to see Connie Rasmussen there. Her granddaughter, Meranda makes me delicious coffee on occasion. They will remain, and more family will be involved as Jason and Veronica Rasmussen are new owners. Veronica has given notice at the Forest Service and they will all be available to help you meet your coffee and gift needs.
It wasn't that long ago that the MMGC start up was celebrated and a couple of Christmas grand openings! The store is always a fascinating place to look for the perfect gift as they have so many great things!!
Now that we are in November, I must say, we have abundant causes to be thankful for, the harvests and all the blessings that have come to us in this year!


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Volker, unlike Nuland, does not hate Russia – Simes
By Inessa S Last updated Feb 19, 2018
November 16 , 2017 – Fort Russ News –
Politnavigator – translated by Inessa Sinchougova
The Special Representative of the US Department of State for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, is engaged in the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass on a voluntary basis. This was stated on the air of the TV channel "Russia 1" by American political analyst, and publisher of "The National Interest", Dmitry Simes.
"He did not come out of retirement. In recent years he headed the McCain Institute. He did not return to civil service, he does not get paid for his work. He does it on a voluntary basis and agreed to carry out this mission for a year. He does this from American patriotism and from the desire of a professional diplomat to achieve results," Simes said.
He is sure that Volcer wants to negotiate without humiliating Russia.
"He is a tough negotiator, he was a NATO ambassador, he is Atlanticist in his convictions. But unlike the notorious Victoria Nuland, he has no hatred for Russia. He has no desire, when he talks with Surkov, to do so in a way that will humiliate Russia and Putin personally. He wants to get the best result for the Donbass, but to do it in a way that is acceptable for Russia. But this, I think, will be very, very difficult, " the expert believes.
Inessa Sinchougova is an Editor and Journalist at Fort Russ News, as well as a research fellow and translator of the Belgrade based think-tank, the Center for Syncretic Studies. She was educated at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), in the field of Political Science and was previously employed in Marketing and Communications Strategy for a Multi-National Corporation. She runs a popular YouTube channel for translations of key Russian Foreign Policy figures and appears regularly on other alternative media channels.
DonbasNovorossiaNulandSimesVolker
Inessa S 2368 posts 0 comments
Inessa S is an Editor, Journalist and Translator at FRN. She was educated in the field of Political Science and has previous marketing and communications strategy experience for enterprises and corporations. She runs a popular YouTube channel for translations of key Russian Foreign Policy figures and appears regularly on other alternative media channels. If you like her work, you can support her Patreon here.
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Teignbridge District Council
Popular Asian restaurant could become flats
The Chi is Kenton could be turned into nine flats
Daniel ClarkLocal Democracy Reporter
A family run Asian restaurant and bed and breakfast could be turned into flats.
The Chi in Kenton, formally the Devon Arms, underwent a major refurbishment in 2006, before re-opening in July 2007 as Chi, an oriental & seafood restaurant, serving fine oriental cuisine and fresh seafood.
Now plans have been submitted to convert the Chi Restaurant and Bar in Kenton into nine flats, but the scheme has drawn criticism from local councillors as the proposed 14 parking spaces are too few for the number of residents
The Chi, Kenton
A statement submitted with the application says: "The proposals are for conversation of the existing building to nine self-contained apartments and the proposed works only affect the interior of the building.
Ex-husband of jailed nursery paedophile Vanessa George says: "I'd jump for joy if she killed herself"
"The proposal would involve using the existing garden as a communal amenity area for the apartments and as the capacity of the apartments is limited to 24 people, it will have less use that it would do as a pub garden."
Answering questions about the effect of a loss of a restaurant in the village, a statement says: "The rhetorical questions is 'how many restaurants does Kenton need?' It is suggested that 'none' is not an unreasonable answer due to its size, and the presence of Chi (and Rodean) in the village is coincidental and that the provision of two fine dining establishments in the village is overprovision for local needs.
"The proposal of one and two-bedroom apartments should appeal to first time buyers so will meet the aspiration of the local plan."
Is there a Beast of Bodmin? All the evidence for and against the big cat roaming the region
But local councillor Alan Connett has raised concerns about the plans and has called for the application to take another look at the scheme.
Cllr Connett said: "The Chi is a popular restaurant and will be missed if it closes, but I am very concerned by their planning application because it has too few parking spaces for the number of residents.
"Just 14 car spaces are shown to serve six two-bed and three one-bed apartments. With the number of people who could move into the new homes, there simply are not enough parking spaces.
All fire engines will have oxygen masks that can save your pet's life
"Part of the site is being kept for possible later development and this would be an over-development of the site in my view. The impact of that is visitors will be forced to park elsewhere in the village centre where space is already at a premium.
"In my view, it would be better if the applicants took another look at their plans and took account of the fact that the building is in the village centre and part of the conservation area."
Teignbridge District Council planners will decide on the fate of the application.


That would be Blue Bell pistachio and almonds. I love its crunchiness.
Can I say a sleepy bird. I want to go to bed early and wake up late. Hmm, I guess that's a problem!
I consider myself adventurous and would try anything once as long as it isn't moving. So no moving food for me.
Definitely peanut M&M's. I can almost convince myself that they're good for me.
I had no idea. Nothing seemed as exciting as daydreaming. Those daydreams did include actress and singer, though. Funny enough, being an author never seemed an option.
A vacation to New Zeland. I want to go there SO bad!
I can enjoy both, but I do like the way my hardbacks look on the shelves.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I absolutely love that book.
Yes! I have finished the sequel to Ignite the Shadows and have an idea for another YA Sci-Fi novel that is begging me to commit it to paper. I can't wait.
Ingrid Seymour is the author of IGNITE THE SHADOWS (Harper Voyager, April 23rd, 2015). When she's not writing books, she spends her time working as a software engineer, cooking exotic recipes, hanging out with her family and working out. She writes young adult and new adult fiction in a variety of genres, including Sci-Fi, urban fantasy, romance, paranormal and horror.


text:
Leadership is important
Physicians and Staff
The physicians and staff of Nephrology Consultants are totally dedicated to providing state-of-the-art, comprehensive, and compassionate care to our patients with all types of kidney disorders and high blood pressure.
Call today to make an appointment
9am-5pm M-F
David G. Bains, M.D.
Dr. Bains was born and raised in Birmingham, AL. He graduated magna cum laude from Auburn University in 2004. He attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and received his Doctorate of Medicine in 2008. Dr. Bains completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. He stayed on at UVA to complete his Nephrology fellowship in 2013. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a member of the medical staff at Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center. Dr. Bains is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Nephrology, and the Renal Physicians Association. His clinical interests include chronic kidney disease and critical care nephrology. He is married with two children. He enjoys spending time with his family, golf, and long distance running.
Todd A Broome, M.D.
Dr. Todd A. Broome, M.D. graduated from Purdue University in 1983 and received his medical degree from Marshall University School of Medicine in West Virginia in 1987. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at St. Francis Hospital in Illinois in 1991. Dr. Broome is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the National Board of Medical Examiners and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Subspecialty of Nephrology. He serves as Director of numerous Dialysis Centers throughout North Alabama and Tennessee. Dr. Broome has served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Secretary, and Vice President and as the President of Medical Staff at Huntsville Hospital. His interests include hunting, fishing, gardening, beekeeping, music and exercise.
Carlo Castillo, D.O.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but raised in Alabama, Dr. Castillo earned his bachelors degree at the University of Alabama, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He attended the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City, Missouri and earned a Doctor of Osteopathy, graduating Cum Laude. He worked as an Internist at St. John Moross and St. John Macomb for two years. He then completed his Nephrology fellowship at St. John in Warren, Michigan. He is licensed to practice in Alabama and Michigan. Dr. Castillo is recently married. Dr. Castillo enjoys college football and outdoor activities.
John A. H. Clark, M.D.
Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, Dr. Clark earned his bachelors degree at Auburn University. He attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham and earned a M.S in Physiology. He then attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, North Carolina. He then completed his nephrology fellowship at Vanderbilt University in 2007. He is board certified in Nephrology and Internal Medicine, and is a member of the medical staff at Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center. He is currently the medical director of the Discovery Dialysis Center. His interests include hockey, golf, outdoor activities and spending time with family. His practice interests include Hypertension and Critical Care Nephrology.
Roger W. Coomer, M.D.
Dr. Roger W. Coomer, M.D. graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1987. Dr. Coomer received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University in 1991. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University in 1994. Dr. Coomer remained at Vanderbilt, completing a fellowship in Nephrology and serving on the faculty until 1997. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine in the fields of Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Dr. Coomer is a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Society of Nephrology. Dr. Coomer's interests include fishing, sailing, outdoor sports and family activities. He is board certified in Nephrology and Internal Medicine.
Michael Quadrini, M.D.
Dr. Michael Quadrini, M.D. joined Nephrology Consultants in July of 2007. He attended the University of Notre Dame for undergraduate, where he received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering magna cum laude in 1998. He subsequently received his Doctorate of Medicine from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2002. He stayed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois for completion of his residency in internal medicine in 2005. He then completed his nephrology fellowship at Vanderbilt University in 2007. He is board certified in Nephrology and Internal Medicine, and is a member of the medical staff at Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center. He is currently the medical director of the Elk River Dialysis Center in Fayetteville, Tennessee. His clinical interests include chronic kidney disease and proteinuria. He is married with four children.
Dr. Madan K. Gowda
Nephrology Consultants, LLC is pleased to announce Dr. Madan K. Gowda is jointing our practice as of January 1, 2020. Dr. Gowda graduated with honors in 1999. Having more than 20 years of diverse experiences in NEPHROLOGY.
Fellowship, University at Buffalo (2013)
Residency, Internal Medicine, Jewish Hospital (2011)
Dipl, Internal Medicine, Royal college of Physicians, MRCP(UK) (2006)
MBBS, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Mysore University (1999)
David Prescott Tietjen, M.D., F.A.C.P
David Prescott Tietjen, M.D., F.A.C.P. graduated from Duke University in 1976 and completed his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore in 1981. He completed his internship in Internal Medicine at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii in 1982 and his residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas in 1984. He received his fellowship in Nephrology from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D. C. in 1987. Dr. Tietjen is board certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Internal Medicine subspecialty of Nephrology. He is a member of the International Society of Nephrology, The National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Tietjen enjoys spending time with his family and is and avid birder.
Physician Extenders
Heather Ginther, R.N., C.R.N.P.
Heather earned her Associate's Degree in Nursing from Wallace State Community College in June 1997, a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from UAH in August 2004, and a Master's Degree in Nursing from UAH in December 2006. She worked at Huntsville Hospital as an RN from 1998-2004 in areas of Med-Surg, ER, and cardiology. She continued her work at The Heart Center from 2004-2006. After receiving Master's Degree in Nursing, she helped establish CHF and Coumadin Clinic at Crestwood Medical Center, working there from 2006-2009. She is certified through the American Nurse's Credentialing Center.
Elise Pierson, R.N., C.R.N.P.
Elise earned her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing form the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2005. She began working as a registered nurse at Huntsville Hospital in a medical surgical unit specializing in the care of respiratory patients. After several years, she transitioned to working in the medical intensive care unit at Huntsville Hospital. Elise received her master of Science in Nursing in Acute Care from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2011. She is certified through the American Nurse's Credentialing Center. As a nurse, she enjoyed caring for her patients. She is committed to continue to practice quality and comprehensive care as a nurse practitioner.
Cindy Martin, R.N., C.R.N.P.
Alabama native and veteran of the United States Army, worked as a radiation technician at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant for 12 years when she decided to made a career change.
Kaeli Jeter, R.N., C.R.N.P.
Kaeli earned her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from UAH in 2013. She began working as a registered nurse in the progressive surgery unit at Huntsville Hospital specializing in the care of vascular and general surgery patients. She completed her Master's of Science in Nursing in Family Practice at Vanderbilt University. She is certified through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She joined the Nephrology Consultants team in 2015. She strives to provide quality and compassionate care to all her patients.
Jennifer Renfro, C.R.N.P.
Jennifer recieved her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing in 2010 from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She worked as an RN in the ER at Baptist South in Montgomery, before moving to Birminghang to work in the SICU at UAB working with a wide variety of critically ill and transplant patients. She recieved her Master's of Science in Nursing in Acute care and Geriatirics from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 2015 and joined the Nephrology Consultants team. She is ceritifed through the American Nurse's Credentialing Center. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with friends, family, and pets, working on craft projects.
Jana Zbinden, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC
Jana received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in 2000 and her Masters in Nursing as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) in 2006 at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She is board certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She began her nursing career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) as an RN with Cardiac & Thoracic Surgery and Lung Transplant patients and later served as a case manager for Thoracic surgery. After earning her Masters, she continued her work at VUMC with the Department of General Surgery and Center for Surgical Weight Loss. In addition, she served as a clinical preceptor for UAH and VUMC graduate nursing programs. She served on committees whose work revolved around standardization of patient care and protocols for best outcomes and was active in the local NP association. Jana returned to Huntsville to be closer to family and joined Nephrology consultants in February 2017. She is a member of the American Nephrology Nurses Association. As a Christian, she attends the Rock Family Worship in Huntsville. Her interests and hobbies include: traveling, hiking, gardening, spending time with her family and Bernese Mountain dog!
Scott Henniger, MHS, PA-C
Scott is originally from Huntsville Alabama. He got his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL in 2013. He continued his studies at the University of South Alabama and recieved his Master's of Health Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 2015. He is a NCCPA certified Physician Assistant and became a part of the Nephrology Consultants team in October 2015. Scott enjoys staying involved with his church, spending time with his wife, and hiking.
Lanita Reid, PA-C
Lanita obtained a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Oakwood College in Huntsville in 1989 and a B.S. in Health Science from Long Island University in New York in 2000. Lanita is a board certified physician assistant and has worked in neurosurgery and otolaryngology prior to working in nephrology. She has been working as a nephrology physician assistant since 2004 and joined the Nephrology Consultants team in 2009. She is committed to providing quality care to her patients. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, especially with her daughter.
Nephrology Consultants
2780 Bob Wallace Ave SW


text:
India's foreign policy in Afghanistan
C Rohan
By C. Rohan
In 1971, after the creation of Bangladesh, India emerged as the leading stakeholder in South Asian affairs. This stake hold further strengthened with India's first nuclear test in 1974. India was at the peak of its hierarchy of power in South Asian politics. But this remained for a short time. In 1979, the intervention of USSR changed the geometry of the region. The cold war between USA and USSR came into the South Asian region. Due to this India's power diminished in the region. USSR's retreat from Afghanistan in 1989 and end of the cold war in 1991 between the superpowers brought (what?) India's hopes in the region. India's increased active participation in international politics and its growing positive relationship with U.S made it a responsible actor not only in South Asian affairs but also in world affairs. After September 2001, the attack on U.S and U.S' military intervention again raised question of India's stakeholdership. But this time India managed compared to the 1979 intervention. In sum, India's foreign policy in Afghanistan is travelling from debacle to revival.
India's foreign policy was at the stage of debacle because of three reasons. First its policy of non-alignment; second the cold war between U.S and USSR and third India's friendship treaty with USSR in 1971. India's policy of Non-Alignment did not permit to interfere in other countries' internal affairs. India was in dilemma between its foreign policy of non-alignment and its friendship treaty with USSR. India preferred to remain mum on intervention. This action was against India's commitment to third world solidarity and also its policy of non-alignment. Instead of taking decisive action and sticking to the notion of non-alignment movement, India preferred to go along with USSR. This action later harmed India's long term national interests. First, the intervention of USSR proved a fiasco for itself which resulted into disintegration of USSR. With that, India remained without friend in international politics as against US-Pakistan strong relationship. Second, US – Pakistan relations became closer. US used Pakistan against USSR in Afghanistan by giving financial assistance and equipping it with arms. This assistance has continuously been used by Pakistan to promote terrorism and making itself advanced in weapons to counter India. In a way, India was on the losing side of history. India remained a victim while formulating its foreign policy in Afghanistan.
The last two decades were a mark of immense change in international politics and in India's approach towards Afghanistan and outside as well. The international environment and the domestic environment have changed dramatically after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the changes in India's economic policy respectively. Today the military power has been replaced by economic and technological power. Domestic politics has also changed from one party politics to multi-party politics. These changes made multi actor participation possible in India's foreign policy, in contrast to one actor participation. (Nehru and Congress Party) These changes give wider approaches to domestic as well as international challenges. Old ideologies are getting competition from new ideologies in India's foreign policy. These challenges coincide with India's status as an emerging power. Issues like non-proliferation, relations with other countries especially major powers and role in international organisations are influenced by more than one ideology now.
Primarily, there are two important reasons because of which India's foreign policy in Afghanistan is in the process of revival. Firstly, India managed to encircle Pakistan by strengthening the relationship with Afghanistan. India's increasing engagement in Afghanistan along with US and Pakistan's increasing hostile relations with U.S cannot be looked into isolation. India and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership last year, which among other things promises more Indian help in building up Afghan security forces. More than 100 Afghan officers are already attending Indian military colleges, with the number set to rise. In financial terms, India is already one of the biggest players in Afghanistan. It has spent some two billion US dollar worth of aid over the last decade to build roads, power stations and even the Afghan parliament. India has played an active role in the development of Afghanistan based on the understanding that social and economic development in Afghanistan is crucial to regional stability. India's pledged assistance to Afghanistan stands at a little under U.S. $2 billion, making it the fifth largest bilateral donor in Afghanistan. This is all the more impressive considering the fact that India is not known on the world stage as a traditional donor. All the projects are undertaken in partnership with the Afghan government, in consonance with the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. These initiatives are a matter of concern for Pakistan, who wants to be a big stakeholder in Afghanistan.
Secondly, India has made significant shift in its foreign policy in making global commitment to promote democracy along with the US. India joined the 'Community of Democracies' (CD) as a founding member along with more than 100 other countries. India also joined the UN Democracy Fund announced by the UN Secretary General in July 2005 and committed financial resources to the promotion and protection of democracy at the global level. In August 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Afghan Parliament said, "The real test of a functioning democracy does not lie within the pages of the Constitution. That will lie in the august House where the elected representatives of the Wolesi Jirga and Meshrano Jirga will sit and debate the issues of the day. Our initiative to join you in building the Afghan Parliament marks the beginning of a new and strengthened friendship between our two countries and peoples. It reflects our commitment to work with all of you for a democratic, stable and prosperous Afghanistan." India has managed this time to work with US for the development in Afghanistan. In 2001, while addressing the Joint Session of the Parliament of Afghanistan, PM of India emphasised the strong relations between Afghanistan and India. He said, "I have come to Afghanistan to renew these ties of friendship, solidarity and fraternity. This is the only agenda that I have come with. This is the only agenda that the people of India have in Afghanistan." The consequences of this effort made a compulsion on Taliban to recognize Indian engagement in its country. Taliban appreciated India while saying "No doubt that India is a significant country in the region, but it is also worth mentioning that they have full information about Afghanistan because they know each other very well in the long history," India is aware of the Afghan aspirations, creeds and love for freedom. It is totally illogical they should plunge their nation into a calamity just for the American pleasure."
This statement has prons and cons, but there is no doubt that India is on the verge of the revival of its foreign policy in Afghanistan. India should stick with its way and methods to engage with Afghanistan without external pressure. If India produces its own model of engagement in Afghanistan, India's stakeholdership will remain even when the US will withdraw its force from Afghan soil. At that time India will influence the world with its Afghan model. India can show without using its force how one can contribute to country's development. In the course of action India will success to deter Pakistan also.
The author is in M. Phil program of Political Science at Center for Security Studies, School of International Studies, Central University of Gujarat.
The above views expressed by the author are his own. It has nothing to do with the Editorial policy of the organisation.
Photos | Life under the remnants of conflict
Four CSK players involved in fixing: Lalit Modi
2010 Killings: Families accuse Inquiry Commission of shielding guilty


Written on June 21, 2005, and categorized as Secret and Invisible.
Happy solstice all. I am eating coconut and drinking Leffe.
Thanks and happy solstice to you.
I'm eating pork and onions at 7.27am and drinking water – yours is better.


Today I was driving out of a parking lot, with my dogs in the car, and a woman almost reversed into us. She was on her cellphone. I managed to speed up and dodge out of her way, but I stopped, put on my hazard lights and got out of my car to talk to her. She had frozen, clearly ready for the confrontation. I asked her in the friendliest way to please not try and drive and speak on her phone at the same time and she almost burst into tears and spewed an apology, mumbling something about an emergency. I begged her to consider never doing this again, and showed her my dogs, waiting for me in the car, as if she should understand what was at stake.
But, as I carried on driving home I was overcome with how wrong we have gotten this whole speed thing. Why do we want to get everywhere faster? Why do we want to do everything quicker? Why is faster better? Surely it should be the other way around? Surely we should drive as agonisingly slowly as we are permitted to, to see all the fabulous things. Surely we should eat slower, walk slower, savour more. We should take longer to decide things, longer to fall in love, longer to miss things when they are gone. We should walk slowly with the dogs and enjoy them more. We should breathe slower and more deeply. We should enjoy slow, and indulge in it. Cook for longer. We should sleep longer, and take longer to fall asleep and take longer to get out of bed. Slow is delicious. I am going on a go slow tomorrow. Just for the deliciousness.
i like this so much and agree a lot.
when i plan ahead and leave in time for things then i generally savour this, but because i am often trying to do as much as possible in the time allotted i am often on the edge of late and that's when the speed comes in for me.
Ah Brett, you understand exactly.


Salvia spathacea (picture right), in the United States this one is called 'Pitcher Sage' or 'Hummingbird sage' a reference to the shape of its flowers and its bird attracting characteristics, in Australia we have also seen it referred to as 'fragrant sage' and indeed both its flowers and foliage are fragrant.
The foliage does have a distinct citrus perfume and the flowers are a little different to most other species. This is a low growing species, sometimes slow to establish, however once it is settled in it will spread by underground runners to form a large clump.
Not a species for humid climates, however it is both frost and drought tolerant once established.
Like most salvias this one is drought tolerant and hardy once established, a fairly low growing evergreen salvia (to around 50cm) with attractive flowers with a lighter green foliage. We have found it to be early flowering.
Salvia spathacea is a species from California and is well suited to our Mediterranean climate.
Botanical Name – Salvia spathacea.
Common Names – Fragrant Sage, Hummingbird sage.
Height – Will reach form .5 metre to 1 metre, variable.
Spread – To .5 metre.
Drought tolerance – Good once established.
Frost tolerance – Mild frosts only.
Foliage – Mid green and aromatic.
Flowering period – Through spring and summer until autumn.


text:
Established in 2012, Tamayouz is an international architectural award, a scholarship fund, international design workshops and training & internship programs. The Tamayouz Excellence Award is an independent initiative with no political affiliation, which aims to advance the profession of architecture both academically and professionally. Tamayouz drives the evolution of design excellence in Iraq and the wider Middle East region and thus provides a healthy cultural and architectural environment in the region. In 2018, 1026 entries were submitted for the award's 7 categories, coming from 74 countries:
Awards and Prizes:
The Tamayouz Lifetime Achievement Award: Launched in 2014, aims to celebrate the pioneers of Iraqi architecture, is presented annually to an individual who has had a significant contribution towards the advancement of architecture in Iraq.
The Tamayouz Women in Architecture and Construction Award – Near East & North Africa: Launched in 2013, this award aims to celebrate the achievements of women who have contributed to the fields of architecture and construction throughout the Near East and North Africa. The award consists of two categories; women of outstanding achievements and rising stars.
The Mohamed Makiya Prize for Architecture: Launched in 2014, this prize is presented annually to the Middle Eastern architectural personality of the year, which will be the individual / organisation that has made the greatest contribution towards the advancement of architecture in a specific period.
The Rifat Chadirji Prize: Launched in 2017, a thematic international prize focuses on proposing designs responding to local challenges. The prize aims to introduce local challenges to the world and invite them to submit their ideas and to establish an uncompromising open source of ideas tackling social issues through design.
The Dewan Award: Launched in 2018, an international award which aims to Empowering young architects around the world, while responding to design challenges in Iraq.
Tamayouz International for Graduation Projects: Launched in 2016, this award aims to celebrate excellence in architectural education and is open to architecture, graduation and landscape design students worldwide to submit their graduation projects, winners received a scholarship for an MSc in Architecture at the polytechnic university of Milan.
Tamayouz for Iraqi Graduation Projects: Launched in 2012 and the first ever Tamayouz category to be launched, this award aims to support the academics' efforts in Iraqi universities, reward and promote design excellence at an early stage among young Iraqi architects and to highlight young Iraqi talents. Winners receive a 3 months internship (salary and accommodation provided) and the Makiya Kufa Charity funded scholarship for 1-year MSc degree at Coventry University. In 2012 the chairperson of the Tamayouz Excellence award judging panel was Zaha Hadid.
Bab Bu Jallud
Fes, Morocco
Ould el-Hamra Mosque
Dar Demana Mosque
Jamaa Al-Kabir
Sidi Mojluf Marabout
Complex of Sidi Bu Medyan
Tlemcen, Algeria
Jami' al-Kabir (Tlemcen)
Masjid Hassan el-Bacha
Oran, Algeria
Bey Mosque and Madrasa
Sidi Ahmed Filehli Marabout
Sidi Kebir Cemetery
El Boulaïda, Algeria
Sidi Sophie Mosque
Bejaia, Algeria
Jami' Sidi Mahres
Tourbet El Bey
Jami' al-Zaytuna
Great Mosque
Sfax, Tunisia
Amir Aqsunqur Funerary Complex
Masjid al-Sultan Hasan
Jami' ibn Tulun
Yeni Camii Külliyesi
Sultanahmet Külliyesi
Rumeli Hisari
Beylerbeyi Sarayi Complex
Dolmabahçe Sarayi
Masjid Muhammad 'Ali al-Kabir
Masjid al-Mahmudiyya
Masjid al-Juyushi
Khanqah al-Nasir Faraj ibn Barquq
Bab al-Khalil
Jami' al-Umawi al-Kabir (Damascus)
Damascus, Syria
Maqam al-Sayyid 'Abdullah al-Tannukhi
Ghazir, Lebanon
Kapalıçarşı
Maiden's Tower
Yedikule Hisar
Kariye Museum


Attached is the November 2005 Emerging Information Technologies (EIT) newsletter. Feel free to share with anyone interested. Those wishing to subscribe to the free EIT newsletter should email me, sknode@gmail.com.


Chefs (All Grades) Madigan Pubs Dublin 1.
Required for New Pub Opening - Madigan's Lesson Street, Dublin 2.(Formerly East Side Tavern Pub)Wednesday 17th April. Open Day 9am to 12pm at Madigan Head Office - 32 Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, D4.Please send CV in advance to pubs@madigan.ieFluent English is a requirementIf you require a working visa. please state expiry date and stamp and if you are limited by 20hrs per week.